Chapter 5: Questions
I'm still puzzled somewhat by Shinji Ikari's readings. Senpai and I were exacting in taking the readings, and I know it frustrates her just as much as it frustrates me to only be getting error messages.
There must be something we're missing. But… a part of me doesn't want to pull the poor boy in for more testing, as much as I'm sure Senpai wants to. As much as I remind myself that he isn't fully human anymore… I have to wonder how much humanity he really lost in there. He protected Asuka. And he seems so… genuine in his reactions. Are we being played? Or are we hurting this poor boy by trying to protect ourselves?
- From the personal journal of Maya Ibuki, February 2nd, 2028
The Brig, February 5th, 2028
Shinji Ikari found himself doing something that he hadn't expected to be doing while he was here on the Wunder: he waited anxiously.
Anxiously might have been a strong term for simply sitting up and watching the bars, but he found it was a marked improvement over simply laying and facing the wall.
He looked down at his SDAT player by his side, still broken, and wished he could pass the time listening to the music within. The silence had become… deafening. Smothering.
Even still, his mind swirled with thoughts under the weight of that silence. Questions that even his limited amount of research hadn't been able to answer.
How had he done this? How did saving Ayanami cause Unit-01 to wake up, as it were? Could he fix it somehow?
The questions, joined by a whirlwind of others, never seemed to have any answers. No matter how hard he wracked his mind.
Even thinking about it made him sigh quietly in resignation. The words that Misato had said forced their way back into the front of his mind.
"You will do nothing, Shinji Ikari."
'But… I don't want to be useless anymore.'
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming down the hallway, and he looked up to see two familiar faces stop in front of the bars, and one that he didn't recognize.
"M… Daniel, what is Doctor Akagi doing here?" he asked as he stood slowly.
Daniel sighed quietly. "Along with Ms. Ibuki and Ms. Suzuhara, she'll be along to study the effects of long-term internment in a core space on the human body. It's an unfortunate concession, for today at least."
"We'll endeavor to be as discreet as possible." Doctor Akagi said coolly.
Shinji nodded slowly. It made sense if nothing else. "So…" he began as his gaze shifted to the woman who stood beside Daniel, looking at him with glittering blue eyes and a calm smile.
"This is Anna Sanders. She's the team mom, and the one who keeps most of us in line." Daniel replied as the bars slid away and Shinji stepped forward.
"I made sure that they remembered their objectives, and not stretch themselves too much back when it mattered. Hardly a mom when the kids are throwing themselves into gunfire." Anna replied as she stretched out a hand, Shinji taking it and shaking it once.
'See?' Daniel mouthed as Shinji looked back at Daniel, who nodded in Anna's direction. 'Team mom.'
Shinji couldn't help but smile slightly as they began to walk out of the brig, passing Karra and Zane, two guards who had visited him upon occasion, as they waved. He still thought the red welt on Zane's face looked painful, despite the rather soft-spoken man's words to the contrary.
"So," he heard Daniel ask Doctor Akagi as they exited the brig, "what exactly do these 'experiments' entail?"
"For now, simple observation." Doctor Akagi replied. "First Lieutenant Ibuki has gone ahead to the designated gym and set up several sensors that will be taking multiple types of readings."
"Such as?" Anna asked.
"Measurements of his physical vitals, as well as those of his mind and soul. With the advances that have been made in the last decade and a half, remote detection of such things as sync scores, harmonics values, and other readings has become quite easy. We will be measuring him against the scans Lieutenant Ibuki is currently making of herself and likely of Ms. Suzuhara."
They boarded the central tram that ran through the spine of the vessel, silence falling over them as the ride passed in a silence only broken by the tram's music.
Soon, they departed the tram, and after a short walk, entered an expansive gym, a seemingly clear floor hosting dozens of outlines of what was likely stored away gym equipment. In the center of the room, occupied by a standing punching bag, Lieutenant Ibuki walked around it slowly, looking intently at a tablet and tapping at the screen.
She looked up as they entered, coming to attention. "XO," she said professionally. "The sensors are almost done calibrating."
"Good, Lieutenant," Akagi replied, Shinji only barely noticing the two women walking over to a pair of folding chairs by the far left wall as Sakura waved at him. He waved back, thankful for her slight, but kind smile.
"Alright then. Focus on me for a second." Daniel said, drawing Shinji's attention back to him as he walked over to stand in front of him. "Do you at least know how to make a fist?"
'In the Eva, I do…' Shinji thought as he looked down at his hand, slowly clenching it into a fist.
"Good," Anna said beside him. "You even remembered not to put your thumb in the fist. I've seen more than a few people break their thumbs real quick not knowing that."
Daniel nodded, taking a step back. "Alright. Good start. Now, let's see you throw a punch."
Anna stepped away from his side as Shinji thought for a moment, trying to recall what little training he'd gotten to pilot the Evangelion. 'If I can copy that…'
He settled as best he could into a stance, shifting slightly as he cocked his fist back, then punched forward.
Daniel raised his arms as he looked at Anna. "Look at him. Kid's a natural at this already."
Anna rolled her eyes. "At least he's confident in you," she said to Shinji as Daniel walked over to the punching bag.
"Alright, Shinji. Step up to the bag," he said as he got behind it and popped it up. "Let's see what you can do."
Shinji walked over in front of the bag uncertainly, and Daniel nodded as he patted a part of the bag at chest height for him. "Put everything you've got into this next one, all right here."
"Um…" he looked up at Anna, her brow furrowed slightly in concern as she continued. "Are you sure that's a good idea with you behind the dummy like that? You ended up with a few broken bones last time we did something like this."
Daniel waved her off. "I'll be fine. Now, Shinji. Focus. Then strike this spot whenever you're ready."
Shinji looked at the point Daniel had noted, and took a deep breath as he clenched his fist.
At that point, he visualized the face of the 10th Angel. Unit-03. His father. The feelings he felt for all of them. Hate, confusion, hurt. He sent all those and more pouring into his fist, the feelings seeming to bubble and froth with a boiling intensity.
Finally, as his vision began to tunnel, he threw the punch with all the might he could muster. He wanted to shatter that damn mask. All of them.
The strike connected, and the air was pierced by a loud thud.
And Shinji's eyes went wide as he watched the bag go flying. And Daniel going along with it.
The pair impacted the far wall, and Shinji's heart nearly stopped as he heard the crunch. "Mr. Theisman!"
. . .
'Well, that was a little harder than I expected.'
Daniel felt his bones knitting back together as he rested behind the rather heavy bag that he'd brought for this. 60 pounds slamming into your chest was nothing to sneeze at, even for an Interfacer.
"I think you even dented the wall," Nynrya observed, an impressed tone to her words. "Good job." she continued, her words now tinged with sarcasm.
Daniel rolled his eyes as he began to lift the bag off of him. His efforts only for a moment as the bag was torn out of his hands and tossed aside, and he looked at Shinji, tears in his eyes.
"Oh, Mr. Theisman! I'm… I'm sorry! I didn't mean to punch that hard, I just… did. Do we need to… call…"
Shinji stuttered to a stop as Daniel waved him off, getting back to his feet, hands on his knees, as he surprised everyone with what he did next: he chuckled.
The chuckle escalated into full-blown laughter as he straightened up, and he let out a whoop as he arched his back.
"My, but you've got some moxie in you, kid!" Daniel finally said as he looked at Shinji, the boy's eyes almost wider than everyone else's. "I haven't taken a punch like that in decades."
He put a hand on the boy's shoulder and found that he was shuddering. "Now, we get to teach you how to control it so that you don't do that to someone you want to love through it."
He looked over at Sakura, Ibuki, and Akagi, two of whom were looking at him in shock, while the other looked intently down at her tablet. "I'm assuming you got some nice data from that?" he asked.
"I'm sure it will be once the system parses it," Akagi replied almost absentmindedly.
"Are you… okay?" Sakura asked.
Daniel nodded. "It's part of what we think the LCL did to our healing process. As long as we aren't blown apart, we can bounce back from just about everything."
Anna stepped forward and cuffed him lightly on the side of the head. [Just because we can do that doesn't mean you should just go and scare the poor kid, you idiot.] she said in German.
[Careful, Jünger,] Daniel replied, [your German side is showing.]
Daniel saw Anna roll her eyes for a moment before he glanced at Shinji, who looked at her with wondering eyes.
"She's German-Irish," Daniel said. "First-generation American. Just like all my kids. Besides Eleanor and I, everyone else was the children of immigrant parents."
Anna nodded, the others nodding slowly in turn. "Yes, I am. Anyway, let's focus on getting that strength of yours under control, shall we?"
Shinji nodded as Anna went over to go and pick up the punching bag, and Daniel looked over at Doctor Akagi. "Anything interesting so far?"
Akagi finally looked up from her tablet, looking at him intently as Anna led Shinji towards the bag again. "Well, once again, we aren't able to get any readings on his sync score and harmonics. They're returning error messages. As for the other readings we got on both his soul and yours…"
Daniel's brow arched. "And what kind of readings would those be?"
"Well, it's clear that something within both of you is doing something we've only seen AT Fields doing. Whether that has something to do with an extended—or in your case, concentrated—exposure to LCL, we'll have to see with the other pilots." Ibuki replied.
Akagi nodded. "This, of course, bears further research."
Daniel nodded slowly. "I see. Well, I'm going to get back to-"
He glanced over, and saw the bag launch into the air again, heading right towards him and Sakura.
In an instant, he grabbed Sakura's shoulder, jostling her to the right as he stepped aside, the bag whooshing past them and smacking into the wall again before landing on its base.
"You okay?" he asked a clearly frazzled Sakura, who nodded wordlessly.
"I recommend staying out of the way, now." Daniel continued as he walked past, looking back at the wall as Anna patiently went and easily hoisted the bag again.
"Man, I really hope there's nothing important behind that," he said quietly as he looked back at a Shinji who was quite clearly blushing from embarrassment.
"Sorry…" Shinji said as Anna set the bag down in its place.
Daniel sighed quietly. "It's okay. It's a tough old ship, and we've got some time before our duty shift starts. We'll get this figured out."
"Speaking of," he continued, "how's getting your strength under control feeling right now?"
"Not… great," Shinji admitted.
"Okay." Daniel was silent for a moment, stroking his beard thoughtfully as he glanced at Akagi walking out of the door. 'Interesting.'
"What kind of mindset are you in right now?" he asked, glancing over at Sakura sitting in the now vacant chair Akagi had left.
Shinji blinked. "Well, right now, I'm trying to learn to pull my punches."
Daniel nodded. "Alright. That's only going to get you so far, but that's not a bad line of thought."
He paused. "But for now, focus on mentally tuning it down. Close your eyes and picture something you can adjust, like a dial or switch, or-"
"Like a string on an instrument?" Shinji said, his eyes closed as his brow furrowed slightly.
Daniel smiled slightly. "Yes, actually. Just like that. Do you play?"
Shinji opened his eyes and nodded slowly. "Yeah. I used to play the cello."
"Good." Daniel smiled. "Maybe we should get you one sometime. But anyways, close your eyes and focus. Get the image of your instrument in your mind. Find the string that goes to your strength, and tune it down until it feels in tune again."
It was quiet for a moment before Shinji nodded. "Okay," Daniel said, "one more punch."
He found himself holding his breath without meaning to as he watched Shinji wind up his next punch. Then, the boy threw a fist into the bag, and it smacked the surface, the bag not budging an inch.
Daniel smiled as Anna patted him on the shoulder. "That seems to have done the trick." he nodded. "Good job."
"Thank you," Shinji replied, letting out a heavy sigh. "That… took a lot more out of me than I expected."
"Then we'll call it good for today." Daniel looked down at his watch. "Which leaves us plenty of time for the questions."
"Oh, boy," Anna said as she rolled her eyes. "The questions."
Shinji tilted his head, a confused and somewhat interested look in his eyes that mirrored Ibuki and Sakura's. "What kind of questions?"
"They're simple, really. Just two questions I've asked my kids and wife at a few points, and that I ask myself every day. They seem simple, but the first one has… hidden depths to it."
Shinji nodded slowly. "What is it?"
"Who are you?"
Shinji blinked. "Uh… Shinji Ikari?"
Daniel smiled slightly. "A string of names that could belong to any boy on the planet. Think more deeply. Who are you?"
He watched as Shinji cupped his chin thoughtfully, glancing over at a now thoroughly interested Ibuki and Sakura.
It was silent for several seconds before Shinji tried again. "Former pilot of Unit-01?"
"An occupation, thankfully, hardly defines a man in his entirety. It shapes how we think, and how we act, but when it comes to who we are in the moment, such considerations often become meaningless. So, who are you?"
It was silent again, the seconds stretching into minutes now as Daniel hoped that Shinji had picked up on the hint that he had dropped him.
Shinji finally nodded slightly. "I'm… confused. I'm a man who sees what's happened and wants to help. If I could get into Unit-01 and safely fix things, then I would. I'm a man who doesn't know how to, though. And…"
Shinji sighed quietly. "I can't do anything. And that… hurts."
It was silent again as Daniel walked towards Shinji slowly, coming to a stop in front of him as he put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Good job. It takes a little more thought than that from most before they reach the real answer to that question," he said softly.
"I have all day to think in that cell." Shinji shrugged. "I probably did most of my thinking before now."
Daniel nodded. "I understand. Now that you know the answer to the first question, I'll ask the second one. What do you want?"
"To fix this," Shinji said immediately. "To put everything that's been broken back together. To make…"
He paused as he looked down and to the side. "I just want to make everyone happy again." he nearly whispered.
Daniel nodded. "Someday, kid… I think you'll get your chance. Right now, though…"
Shinji looked back up at him as he paused. "Do what you can for yourself. If you aren't strong enough to support your own happiness, then the effort to ensure everyone else's will simply crush you. Trust me. I know."
Shinji looked up at him silently for a moment, then nodded.
Daniel nodded in turn, then looked at his watch. "And I'm afraid that's all we have time for today. We've got to get to our duty shift now."
Shinji nodded. "I guess we'll get more practice next time, then."
"Next time being tomorrow," Anna said as she looked at Daniel. "Right? I mean, it's not like we'll have much else to do on this ship anyway."
Daniel chuckled as he nodded. "As long as Shinji's up for it."
As Shinji nodded, he looked over at Ibuki and Sakura. "I assume you two are going to be present, at least?"
Ibuki nodded. "The XO has delegated the task of studying the pilots in your care. I'll be here this evening when you return with Pilot Shikinami. Barring any emergencies, of course."
Sakura nodded as well. "And, seeing as I'm his supervising medical officer, it stands to reason I should make sure he stays healthy."
Daniel nodded as the two women stood. "Very well. I'll make sure he gets back to where he needs to be."
They made their way to the door, Sakura turning and waving at Shinji before she disappeared from sight.
Ibuki, on the other hand, lingered in the doorway for a moment, looking at Shinji as she opened her mouth, then shut it wordlessly, following Sakura out as the door shut behind her.
Shinji looked at the door for a moment, then looked back at Daniel, a quizzical look in his eyes as he saw Daniel's contemplative look. "What was that about?"
"A good question. Perhaps something I said on the bridge was heard by more than just those that were on it."
Shinji tilted his head as the trio began to walk out the door as well, making their way back to the brig. "What do you mean?"
"I said that placing all the blame on you for Near-Third Impact was hypocritical, in so many words." Daniel paused. "That, as much as you were made to pilot Unit-01, that was the last place someone in your state of mind, what little I can glean of it, should have been."
Shinji nodded slightly. "I see," he said quietly as they boarded the tram system.
Daniel sat next to him, and it was silent for a moment. Then, Daniel looked over at him. "So. Seeing as we're going to be together for the next little while, I think I should get to know you better. So, tell me a little about yourself. What's your life story?"
Shinji looked up at the patient eyes of the man who had taken charge of taking care of him and hesitated for a few moments. "Well… it's probably not as exciting as yours before I got into the Eva."
"And yet, I treasure the nearly 20 years I got before I got injected with the superbug that started all this," Daniel said patiently. "So, I'm all ears."
Shinji looked over at Anna, who nodded silently. Then, he sighed quietly. "I… well, I didn't have… the best life, really."
. . .
Koji Takao had to keep fixing things.
Of course, part of that was that this ship, being incomplete as it was, was constantly in need of some repair or another. 'This damn thing is almost being held together by duct tape and prayers, and we haven't even had it for more than a few months.' he mused as he came upon a leaky pipe near one of the shower rooms, popping off the wall panel with a few tools from the belt around his waist.
It was a rather quick fix, really. A simple application of sealant tape, a few passes from a heat gun, and the leak was conquered for another few days as he replaced the panel and went on to the next problem to be conquered.
Such was how he spent his off time in the ship, wandering its halls, becoming familiar with them even as he passed the other people who walked through them without much more thought than a quick hello.
As he made his way through the ship, towards one of the gyms that someone said had a dented wall panel, he still couldn't help but marvel at the thing, though. It was utterly silent as they floated through the air, a ship bigger than any he could have ever even dreamed of serving aboard. It was like something from one of…
'No. Don't go there. Focus on the fixing.'
He left the possibility of thinking about… them behind, stuffing the void they'd left with concern for keeping the ship flying. For keeping something repaired that he could actually fix. It was becoming a rare occasion that he would be able to get off of the bridge, what with Misato keeping him at that station. He'd had to leave a lot of the work up to-
He blinked as he saw a flash of a person tucked away into one of the seemingly useless nooks that were scattered all around the ship, pausing after he walked by, then turned around and walked back to find…
"Hideki?"
The young, thin man in question looked up from a book he was reading, a somewhat startled look on his face only lit up by a pin-prick of light coming from above something he was holding. "Oh. Sir. Can I… help you?" he asked as he scooted out closer towards Koji.
"What… what're you doing in one of these?" Koji asked, glancing up and down the hallway for a moment.
"It's comfy in here, sir." Hideki shrugged as he closed the book over a finger. "No one really disturbs me, and I get to read in peace."
Koji tilted his head in confusion as he regarded the rather dark space within which Hideki Tama was nestled. "Read? In there?"
Hideki tapped a small light clamped to the cover of his book. "Well, I have this, sir."
Koji stood there somewhat in shock for a moment before he finally started chuckling. "So, you read for work and for play, huh, kid?"
Hideki nodded. "It's a hobby I've kept up ever since I was little."
"So, uh…" Koji trailed off before looking at the book Hideki was reading. "What's it about?"
Hideki blinked, then looked down at the book. "Oh. It's, uh… it's a fantasy novel. Temper of the Volcano Gods. An older one, and not exactly up to the level I usually read at nowadays, but… it's an old favorite of mine."
Koji nodded. The name sounded… familiar if nothing else. "What's it about?"
"It's about this boy from a kingdom between two mountains," Hideki began, "who manages to come across a seemingly ordinary stone. The two gods of the mountains, brothers, each want the stone for themselves, and it's up to the boy to ensure that his city doesn't get destroyed."
Hideki looked down at the book for a moment, then took a bookmark out from his jacket and slipped it in his place before holding it out to him. "I'd be willing to loan it out to you if you want to try it."
It finally clicked for Koji, and a memory sprang to mind unbidden.
Little Hachiro had come up to him with that same book countless times while he was on leave, at least what leave one could get in the middle of the Impact Wars. He'd always asked him to read it to him.
But he was often busy with one project or another, only ever reading a chapter or two at a time, something Nanami had often chided him about. "He isn't going to stay young forever, Koji."
"He'll grow up before you know it."
He never did.
"Sorry, Hideki," he said, looking away to not show the kid the tears welling in his eyes. "I've got to keep busy. I don't exactly have much time for reading these days. I appreciate the sentiment though."
"Okay, sir," Hideki replied, and he could hear a little sadness in the boy's voice.
Koji nodded, turned to walk away, and paused out of sight of the nook. "Don't stop enjoying it, kid. I haven't read much of it… but it's a good book."
With that, he walked away, rubbing at his damp eyes as he continued on his path towards that gym that probably needed to have the panels beaten back into shape if he could manage it on his own.
. . .
Asuka Shikinami Langley watched the door that led into the room their cell was within intently, silent as she ignored Mari peering over her shoulder.
Her mind swirled with thoughts, all of them capped by anxiety that she was now sure came from her darker part. 'What kind of tricks are up his sleeve? He's been training since the 40s, so I'd expect a heavy influence from boxing to be present in his fighting style. That likely means his legs will be mostly static whenever he isn't moving. Easier targets. Then again, he's had a lot of time to pick up a lot of different styles. I'll have to stay sharp in case he has a few surprises for me.'
That line of thought tapered off as she began to wonder about something else. Something that she didn't really wonder about anyone else, now or even back then. 'I wonder what he's seen.'
His attitude, that of an American soldier, didn't fully surprise her. She'd been around enough soldiers during her time in the EU Air Force before she'd transferred to Tokyo-3. They were often brash and cavalier, a perfect fit for her style of piloting. But the depth of his vitriol towards those that commanded him, while not entirely unsurprising, still made her wonder.
Before she could ponder too deeply, however, the door opened, and two figures began to walk across the bridge towards their room. One was, as expected, Daniel, while the other was another man, a little taller than him, with black hair and a full, well-trimmed beard.
"Well, hello, Danny boy," Mari said as they came to a stop before the glass, Daniel holding a bag in his hand. "Good to see you're a man of your word."
She looked over at the man next to Daniel, and her eyebrows rose. "Well, then. Who's tall, dark, and handsome over here?"
Daniel looked over at the man, who nodded, smiling slightly as the light coming from their room glittered off of his dark blue eyes. "Name's Shawn. I'm Daniel's sparring partner, at least this time around. I wanted to show off what a fight between us usually looks like, and Daniel decided it was okay."
Asuka nodded slowly as she looked at Daniel, then at the bag he was holding. "What's in there?" she asked.
"A change of clothes," Daniel replied. "It doesn't look like you two have much of anything in here beyond what you're wearing, and we figured that sparring in a Plugsuit gets… challenging."
Asuka rolled her eye. "Oh, come on. It's not like this is all I have. I just prefer my Plugsuit. Turn around, and I'll get dressed."
Daniel and Shawn nodded as they turned away, and Asuka slipped off her bomber jacket and clicked the button on the ciff of her Plugsuit.
As it became baggy, Asuka slipped out of the suit, uncaring of Mari's presence as she threw on a tank top, exercise shorts, and a pair of sneakers. "Alright. Let me out of this box now."
Daniel and Shawn turned, and their gaze rested solely on Asuka's DSS Choker even as Daniel swiped his keycard, the transparent door sliding open. "So," Daniel said coolly. "You have a DSS Choker as well."
"I was the first one to get it," Asuka said as she stepped out of the cell, the door closing behind her as they turned and walked away.
"Bye-bye, princess!" Mari said behind them. "Have fun on your date!"
Asuka sighed heavily as they exited, the door shutting behind her giving her that rarest of treats: near silence.
The silence remained as they boarded the tram, the car empty. Then, Shawn looked over at Asuka. "So," he began, "how did you get that bomb collar?"
Asuka looked over at the man, at the hard look in his eyes that she was sure wasn't directed at her. "I got it because of my time with… the 9th Angel." she almost said the thing's name, nearly called it back to being apart from her, able to torment her. She could feel the narrowness of the miss.
"Ah. Bardiel, then." Daniel said offhandedly.
Asuka's head whipped over to look at the man, a part of her distantly aware that Shawn had done the same. "Where do you know that name?" she nearly whispered. The darker part of her was nearly screaming in fright now.
"We had a theologian who we worked with in close proximity while we were working on Unit-03," Daniel replied, and her eye widened at the revelation. "While the Angels were coming, and whenever we got the after-action reports, the guy would go and scrounge around to give them easily recognizable codenames."
Daniel tilted his head as he regarded her further. "The question that comes to my mind is, where did you hear that name? And why did you react to it so strongly?"
It was a shocked silence that hung unsteadily in the car for a moment before Asuka's eye narrowed and her brow furrowed. "Right now, that's none of your damn business."
Daniel nodded. "Okay, then. So it shall remain."
The silence returned, rejoining the uneasiness that Asuka's darker part had now begun to feel instead. He knew. He knew and he wasn't saying anything. What would that mean? What would he do?
One final, terrifying question capped off the rest. 'What could he do?'
Even still, she kept the thoughts to herself as the tram slowed to a stop, and they walked into the gym, Asuka's brow arching as she saw the panels on the far wall that had been taken off and set to the side. "Your work, I assume?"
"Actually, no," Daniel replied. "That's from when Shinji threw me into the wall underneath a 60-pound punching bag."
Asuka's eye went wide again as he continued, looking down at himself. "Broke, like… 6, 7 ribs before I healed back up."
Asuka shook her head slightly. "Idiot Shinji did that?"
She snorted softly. "For such a wimp, I'm kind of impressed."
"I am too," Daniel replied. "Kid's got a big heart."
Asuka rolled her eye. "Yeah? Look at where it got us."
"Maybe," Shawn interjected. "But that's on breathtakingly little training more than a big heart."
Asuka looked over at Shawn. "And how did you figure that out?"
"I talked to Daniel and Anna, who were with Shinji this morning," Shawn replied as he turned to face her. "You talk a lot of shit on a kid who got shoved into where he was without a clue about what was happening."
Asuka stared at the man. "And what do you know about piloting, huh?"
"Not that much less than what Shinji knew before he tripped the switch. He shouldn't have been in there."
"Finally, something we can agree on."
"Alright, then," Daniel said as he put a hand on each of their shoulders, gently pushing them apart. "Let's leave the fighting for the spar, alright?"
He looked down at her. "He didn't get the chance to live a normal life. He had no parents, no friends to look after him after Commander Ikari abandoned him. All that was expected of him was that he would come when he was needed and pilot Unit-01."
Asuka blinked in surprise. "Really?" she said somewhat numbly.
Daniel nodded. "Yes. Having talked to the kid himself… I doubt he's making things up."
Asuka looked down and was silent for a moment as she stewed on the revelation. How had she not realized this? 'Well, it's not like you've gone and asked him or anything.'
"But I won't say any more about it." Daniel continued as he took his hand off of their shoulders and walked further into the room. "If you want to know more, you'll have to ask him once we're done here."
Asuka leered at Daniel. "And why would I want to do that?" she asked, venom from a lifetime of loathing, of confusion, and anger, dripping into the words.
"Because not talking about something as big as this is like leaving a bullet in your side," Daniel replied with a shrug. "And this wound seems to have been festering for a decade and a half now. If you don't dig it out now… one of you is going to end up dead over it."
"I was planning on dying when we won anyway."
Asuka blinked as she saw the man's face change. He was… genuinely sad about it. She could see the tears forming in his eyes. 'Why do you care?'
Before anyone could say anything, the door opened again, and everyone turned to look at First Lieutenant Ibuki and Doctor Aanderson walking in. "Have we missed anything?" Ibuki asked.
"No." she heard Daniel say as she looked back at him. "We were actually just getting started."
He settled into a ready stance, body bladed towards her and hand open at chest height, bending his legs slightly as she stepped forward. "I hope you're not too proud to be beaten by an old man," he said, a slight smile twitching on his face even as the tears remained.
Asuka nodded, putting a foot forward and raising her arms, fists just above her chin. "We'll see about that. I'll even let you throw it back to boxing to start."
. . .
Daniel stepped back as Asuka pressed the attack, slapping away and counter-striking as best he could. Asuka, however, was living up to the sort of training only someone who had spent the literal entirety of their life preparing to fight could have.
She grabbed a gloved left hand and elbow and spun into him, executing a near-perfect judo throw and sending him slamming onto his back, stifling a wheeze. Before Asuka could continue her attack, Daniel grabbed her right arm and rolled, pulling her off her feet with a force he was sure surprised her, the two rolling into a grapple with each other.
For all her strength and skill, however, this seemed to be the area she was weakest in, as Daniel found purchase and flipped her onto her back with no small amount of effort and pinned an arm to the floor, putting her other one into an arm lock.
Asuka continued to struggle for a few moments before finally, the hand he'd pinned tapped the floor.
Immediately, he released her, stepping back slightly and offering a hand that she took after a moment.
"Man," he said, taking deep breaths, "I haven't seen anyone besides my kids and wife take me on like that. I haven't managed to only get a draw like that in ages."
"I haven't spared like that in…" he saw Asuka pause for a moment. "A long time." she finally seemed to settle on.
Daniel nodded as he straightened up, arching his back as he looked over at Ibuki and Katara. "Enjoy the show?" he asked with a wry grin as he wiped the sweat from his brows and eyes.
Katara nodded slowly. "Seeing as no one needed me to step in, I'll go ahead and say yes," she said patiently.
He looked over at Ibuki, who studied her tablet intently. "Having Shinji Ikari's readings as a base, this is going to prove… fascinating to study."
Daniel looked back at Shawn as he linked their souls together. "Alright. Ready for our turn?"
"I have been all day," Shinji replied as he nodded and stepped forward, the two falling into ready stances, shifting like clockwork.
"Good, Shinji," Daniel replied. "Let's give the girls a show, shall we?"
Shawn responded by dashing forward, Daniel blocking what was, to him at least, a completely televised strike.
They went back and forth, back and forth, the fight becoming almost a dance, a debate of motion and violence with point and counterpoint guided away from each other by the barest of margins.
"So," Daniel said as he blocked a right hook, stepping away from the following knee strike that turned into a kick, "what do you think so far?"
"Frankly," Shinji replied, "it's worse than I thought. If we're going to try and avert an Impact by helping these versions of ourselves, it's going to take time. And…"
Shawn stepped away from what would have been a punishing series of strikes to the chest and head, staying out of range for just a moment before stepping back in. "I don't know how much of that we have."
"I'm still wondering what Commander Ikari wants to do if he's not picking up this world's Shinji for this long."
Daniel sighed quietly in exasperation as he took a glancing blow to the shoulder. "We might not be in the part of the loop where he's so… immediate."
"Oh, joy." Shinji presented an opening, which Daniel, of course, took. "Just what we needed on top of the Scions."
Daniel proceeded to sweep Shawn off of his feet, going to the ground and putting the man into a leg lock. "All we need to do is be careful, now. And make the most of what we get."
Shawn sighed and tapped out, the two getting back to their feet in short order as Asuka clapped overly politely. "Bravo. I guess that's what several decades of training are supposed to look like. Are you sure you two didn't script that for me?"
"I don't do scripting," Shawn replied. "I usually do winning."
He paused as he glanced over at Daniel. "Most of the time, at least."
Daniel chuckled as he rolled his eyes. "I think…" he looked down at his watch. "That's all the sparring we'll do tonight. Now, I get to ask you the questions."
"The questions?" Asuka asked, an eyebrow arched.
"What are the questions?" Katara asked.
Daniel looked at Ibuki with a wry smile. "I'd ask that you not spoil these for everyone, ma'am, seeing as you were here when I asked Shinji the same questions."
"And what are they, exactly?" Asuka asked.
"They're simple, but you have to answer the first one in order to fully know how to answer the other."
"And?"
"Who are you?"
As expected, Daniel watched Asuka blink, tilting her head slightly. "Who am I? Surely you already know that."
"We'll see about that. So, Who are you?"
It was silent for a moment. "Asuka Shikinami-Langley."
"A name that could belong to any other girl in reality. Think deeper. Who are you?"
He watched her jaw clench for a moment as she stayed silent for a few moments. "I'm…"
She trailed off, seemingly uncertain, Daniel nudging Shinji to react to whatever came next appropriately as she appeared to set herself in resolve. "I'm the last of the Shikinami line of clones."
"The what?" three voices said in stereo.
Daniel raised his hands to forestall any comments, looking intently at Asuka. "Care to explain some? Cause… that's quite the bomb to drop."
Asuka blinked as she seemed to fully realize what she had said, then sighed quietly. "The Shikinami series of clone pilots was begun in Cologne, Germany in the aftermath of the creation of Unit-01. As there would be a Unit-02, NERV-Euro wanted only the best. So, they got approval to start a line of clones from HQ in Tokyo-3. The person they put in charge of the program was Doctor Jürgen Herschel."
"Herschel?" Ibuki interjected with a look of horror in her eyes. "The not-so-in-the-closet Nazi eugenicist?"
Asuka looked over at her with no small amount of confusion. "The what?"
"We'll talk about that later," Daniel interjected, motioning for her to continue.
Asuka nodded slightly. "I was part of a batch of… hundreds. Possibly even over a thousand, all given different last name designations for differentiation. Mine was Langley. And we were trained to fight and pilot the Evangelion."
"Then…" Katara asked, dread creeping into her voice. "What happened to the others?"
"They were 'retired from the program'," Asuka replied, derision at the sterile description dripping from her voice. "All on the down-low. All of us fought to be the one who got to pilot Unit-02. To be the best weapon we could be."
"And now… I know I'm the only one who has the true right to pilot Unit-02. Because I am the perfect weapon that they made me to be."
It was silent again as Daniel lowered his arms, regarding the woman in front of him for long moments. 'The perfect weapon that they made me to be.'
He could feel Nynrya's deep sorrow. Her pain at hearing the words through him, and the memories that they stirred. Through his link to Shinji, he could sense the wounds from seeing the story he'd seen on a screen grow deeper through the words that had been spoken here.
Thus, he took a step forward. Then another, then still more, until he finally came to a stop in front of Asuka.
"Ms. Shikinami," he said quietly. "I don't care what else you listen to me about, I want to be absolutely sure you know this. You are not a tool. You are not a weapon. You are a human being. It doesn't matter what your past is, or what your perception of who you are is. You are human, and with that humanity comes… possibility. Choice."
He put his hands on her arms. "I didn't learn that until I'd spent over half a century thinking like you do. I spent a half-century more pulling myself and my kids out of that. Don't waste the time I did."
He was silent for a moment as he took a deep breath. "That, and while your past defines who you were, it has surprisingly little to do with the present you. So, who are you?"
Asuka sighed heavily as she stepped away from Daniel. "How about we turn this around. Who are either of you?"
Daniel's brow arched ever so slightly as he looked at Shawn. "Do you want to field this one?"
Shawn rolled his eyes. "Great. Now you're making me think."
He cupped his bearded chin for a moment before he nodded. "I am someone who is trying to support the man who trusted me to be able to become what I am. I'm saddened by what I've heard. How it makes me remember what I was like. I am someone who wants to help."
Asuka regarded Shawn at length. "I see," she said quietly.
"I am…" she began before sighing quietly. "Tired. Tired of my body. Tired of my mind. Tired of… everything and everyone I have to deal with. I'm ready to just lay down and get this over with, whatever way it goes."
It was silent again. Then, Daniel nodded. "I see. Now you know who you are now. With that in mind… what do you want?"
Asuka was silent again for long moments. "I want to ask idiot Shinji a question. Why?"
Her jaw clenched. "Why did he spend so much effort on the doll, nearly ended the world for her, but couldn't save me? Why?"
The last word came out shuddering, and Asuka paused as she marshaled her emotions.
"I think," Daniel said quietly, "my associates and I can arrange that."
Asuka looked at him silently for a moment, then sighed. "I guess you could, huh?"
She shook her head. "I'm done here."
"Very well."
Daniel looked over at Shawn. "You can go, Shawn. I'll see you back at our place."
Shawn nodded silently, and made his way to the door, passing beyond with only a look back at Asuka. Then, he was gone.
Daniel looked over at Ibuki and Katara, both of whom were standing. "I'll likely see you both at some point in the future. Good evening to you."
They both nodded silently, and exited the gym, leaving Daniel and Asuka alone for the moment.
"So," Daniel said quietly, "how long have you been sitting on that?"
"Since I left Europe," Asuka replied, equally quiet.
Daniel nodded slightly. "I see."
"Word's going to get out quick," Asuka muttered. "This may be a big ship, but it's still just a ship. Now… everyone gets to see me for the freak that I really am."
"Maybe. But that's the point where you own it. After all…" Daniel chuckled. "The fact that me and mine are older than everyone else took some getting used to as well."
Asuka snorted softly. "I guess that's one way to look at it."
Daniel nodded. "So, when do you want that meetup with Shinji then?"
Asuka opened her mouth, then closed it. "Not for a while. Whatever the answers… I want to be ready for it."
Daniel nodded again. "Let me know when. Do you want to keep sparring like this, or is there something else you want to do sometime?"
Asuka considered the question silently before shrugging. "Well, I went into the EU Air Force for a reason. I've always wanted to fly. I wonder what it's like, just… being in the open air on this thing."
"With the AT Field for this ship being what it is, we can go and find that out at your leisure." Daniel smiled slightly.
Then, he sighed. "Well, let's hit the showers. Then I'll take you back to your cell."
Asuka nodded a weary thing in more ways than one.
. . .
Hideaki Tama lost himself in another world.
It was a well-worn path of escape. He'd taken it ever since he'd been shut away by his family in a nice, out-of-the-way countryside house. They could afford it, after all. Anything to make sure the Tama name wouldn't be soiled by a boy who would not care to date and marry a pretty girl with a lot of money.
Part of that anything had become funding the not-so-small library that he'd accrued. And thus, he escaped the walls of his spacious prison, often only accompanied by the one man who seemed to care for him then.
His mind, then in the city of Tahraman, in a land between two mountains, eventually returned to Mr. Datane. The groundskeeper. The man who had opened the books, and thus his imagination, to him.
He missed him. He remembered the last memory he had of the man.
For all he had read of the end of the world, he never quite imagined he would see it for himself.
The sky was red as blood, and he pressed his face to the window, feeling the pounding of his heart in his face for a few moments before he looked over at Mr. Datane.
The older man wiped a rapidly graying brow of sweat, dragging his arm across a forehead with a rapidly receding hairline, his black eyes narrowed as he glanced around him.
"I'm taking you to Hadano." Mr. Datane said. "I've contacted a few associates there who can make sure you're okay."
"Hadano?" he'd said incredulously. "Are my parents going to be meeting me there?"
"Hideki…" Mr. Datane had paused for long moments, Hideki's mind racing to fill in the gaps.
"Mr. Datane… what's happened?"
"Your parents, and the rest of your family… they were in Tokyo-3, overseeing a business deal. And… Tokyo-3's gone, now."
Hideki had blinked. Then, everything seemed to fall away. "What?" he'd said numbly.
Before Mr. Datane could answer, they both heard a screeching of tires. Then, the world going mad, sound and fury and motion, tumbling over and over before… nothing.
Next he knew, he woke up in pain, outside of the car. And Mr. Datane…
"You're still here?"
Hideki blinked, looking up from his book and looking over at…
"Mr. Takao?"
Mr. Takao rolled his eyes. "Please, we've worked with each other long enough, kid. Just call me Koji."
Koji looked at his watch. "It's getting real late. You planning on staying here, or…?"
Hideki pulled out his phone and checked the time. 2046 hours.
"No." he sighed quietly as he began scooting out of the nook that he'd gotten into. "I really should go to bed."
He looked up at Koji, seeing the bags under his eyes. "And I'm guessing you should as well, sir. Seeing as we're going to be in the engine room tomorrow."
Koji nodded. "Good thing I decided to pass back this way, then."
They began to walk together, the evening rotation leaving the halls empty enough that they could hear their footsteps clacking through the hallway. There was little need to take the centerline tram, with their rooms on this side of the ship.
As they walked, Hideki looked down at the book in his hand, then back at Koji, recalling something he had said earlier in the day. "I haven't read much of it… but it's a good book."
"So…" he began. "What got you reading this book? Do you have a kid who used to read it?"
He saw Koji twitch, his eyes widening before they closed with a sigh. "Yeah," he said quietly. "I did."
It was a silent moment before Hideki realized what likely happened. "Oh. I'm… I'm sorry."
"No, no, it's fine," Koji said in a way that betrayed to him that it really wasn't. "It's… well, damn, it's been 14 years."
"Yeah." Hideki nodded, looking back at the hallway.
"So…" Koji said. "Did you lose your family, too?"
Hideki shook his head. "The closest I really had to family was the groundskeeper for my hideaway. But… yeah."
"Groundskeeper… oh yeah. You're a Tama, aren't you? Like the Tama Heavy Defense company?"
"Not like they would have wanted me anyways," Hideki muttered.
It was silent again for a moment. "Ah. Got it." Koji said quietly. "Hence, the reading."
Hideki nodded wordlessly. If nothing else, at least he was starting to understand.
"Hachiro would have loved you for knowing that book."
Hideki looked back up at Koji, who was looking ahead, tears rolling down his eyes. "He loved all the fantasy he could get his hands on. And he loved it when I read to him."
The older man chuckled. "He always said I did the best narrating it."
Hideki looked down at the book in his hand, considered it for a moment, then pondered as an idea, one which a part of him knew was utterly ridiculous, coalesced in his mind.
"If you were up for it," he began, "I'd almost ask you to read to me, finish the story. If only to see what your son was so impressed with."
Koji slowed to a stop, Hideki pausing beside him as he waited for a response.
Then, Koji looked at him, tears in his eyes. "Actually, kid… I wouldn't mind that. If you don't, at least."
Hideki's eyes widened, then he nodded. "Okay. When do you want to start?"
Koji blinked, then chuckled. "Well, far be it from me to interrupt a guy's sleep. How about tomorrow during one of our off shifts? I'll make sure you can get the job done quickly. Show you a few engineering secrets that use your hands as much as your head so we can work more easily together."
Hideki nodded. "Alright. I'd better hope I'm a good student then, I guess."
"If you apply yourself to the job like you read your books? Something tells me you'll be a natural."