X-X-X
CHAPTER 5
X-X-X
Asuka loved piloting Eva. The thrill of stepping into the war machine, the strength of moving the mighty beast as her own body, the prickling pressure in her skull and spine as the link activated - even the adrenaline rush of exhaling air and inhaling blood-like orange liquid. Practically everything about piloting was something to be relished, in her eyes.
I give her life, and she gives my life meaning.
She was, however, emphatically not a fan of leaving drying LCL on herself a second longer than necessary.
The moment she'd coughed the last of the goo from her lungs, she'd bee-lined it back to the locker room, and had barely waited for the door to slide shut before decompressing her plugsuit and peeling it off. Ultimately, she left it discarded on the floor of the shower - the things were technically reusable, but in anticipation of the complex biosuits suffering systemic damage from link feedback, NERV had produced dozens of replacement plugsuits that could easily be calibrated and recolored to the pilot's preference.
Besides, the general lack of algae and dust suggested that even the pilot locker rooms got cleaned sometime. The cleaning staff would, surely, know what to do with a discarded red plugsuit.
The First Child didn't seem to share the sentiment, and Asuka raised her eyebrow at the sight of the smaller pilot stepping under the adjacent showerhead with her plugsuit still on.
"Uh, First, you might wanna -"
"I have completed my assigned mission, Pilot Soryu."
Asuka blinked. What the hell is she on about? Rei simply stared back, her expression as blank as a sheet of cartridge paper despite the rivulets of orange-tinted water washing her hair into her eyes.
"… your… mission?" Asuka shook her head. "What the fuck are you on about, First?"
"You ordered me to 'try not to die out there.'" Rei's voice took on a strange inflection as she delivered the quote - although it was still soft and monotone, it sounded eerily similar to Asuka's voice.
Asuka pinched the bridge of her nose, and tried to ignore the rising headache. It's just sync stress. The blue haired weirdo isn't helping, but the headache is from sync stress. Keep it together.
"Okay, I didn't order a goddamn thing, First, so don't put words in my mouth. I was just - fuck, what am I saying? You're so witless you don't even seem to understand wishing someone good luck!"
Rei blinked, just slowly enough to look unrealistic - as if she'd actually made the conscious decision to close her eyelids for a second, rather than as a normal autonomic function. She still made no move to remove her plugsuit, or indeed even acknowledge that she was standing under a running shower.
"You told me not to die. You are my immediate superior, and we were both on duty. Therefore, it was an order."
Asuka let her head fall into her hands. "Gott im Himmel, First. Much as I like the sound of it, what the hell makes you think I'm your superior officer?"
"You told a nurse in D wing." Rei's stiff posture and blank, carmine stare were beginning to unnerve Asuka. No, no, they've been unnerving me from the very beginning…
Asuka thought back to the last time she had been in D Wing: she'd been getting a checkup after close exposure to a thermonuclear fireball. But Rei hadn't been there, that time. The only time she'd seen Rei in D Wing was when - "really, First? I fucking lied to that nurse to get into your room. I'm nobody's squad leader."
Rei gazed silently back at the German pilot. Perhaps her expression changed - but if so, not in any way that a casual observer would catch. A microscopic hint of a shift in her eyelid, a hair's breadth of dilation in her scarlet-rimmed pupils, a millisecond of downward curvature in her lips - barely there at all, and gone before Asuka could look again to check.
After thirty seconds or so, Asuka caved, averting her own eyes from Rei's inscrutable stare. The blood-red eyes remained fixed in her direction, like cut glass.
What the hell is wrong with her? Is she thinking it over or something? Is she judging me? She probably is, the gottverdammt icy bitch. I bet she's never broken a rule in her miserable life -
"Goodbye."
Asuka was left blinking in confusion as Rei - still dressed in her plugsuit, although now soaked more with water than LCL - turned away from her and began walking towards the door, her expressionless mask as immaculate as ever.
"Hey - fuck - where the hell do you think you're going, First?!"
"Commander Ikari is expecting me."
Was zur Hölle? We're supposed to debrief with Misato, not Shinji's wooden plank of a father. "Wow, could you try any harder to be the commander's pet? It's like you enjoy this doll act."
Rei paused, frozen mid-step for a second. Then she kept walking, stepping through the locker room door as it hissed open.
Yeah, you run along, dolly. Sucking up to your CO is hard work, after all! You don't become the fucking wonder girl if you don't jump on command! Asuka worked her second application of shampoo into her hair with deft fingers, rinsing it out as quickly as she could. How old is the Commander, even? I'd have thought he was way past the age to be playing with dolls!
A soft growl escaped her as she realized that her post-battle thrill had been effectively ruined. She slapped the 'water off' button with a little more force than necessary, and made her way over to her locker.
X-X-X
Shinji had never been a social butterfly at the best of times. Despite this, Asuka couldn't help but notice he was more subdued than usual as Misato drove them home from NERV - a lot more. His sullen withdrawal act could have given Rei's existential silence a run for its money.
He wasn't at the debriefing, either. The First was doing her thing, but why wasn't Shinji there?
The moment they had arrived home, Shinji had cloistered himself in his room. Asuka hadn't yet trespassed to yell at him, but only because it wasn't his turn to make dinner. If she was going to suffer Misato's cooking anyway, it wasn't worth the effort it would take to whip him into shape.
Still, a tiny part of her couldn't help but worry. If nothing else, he was a fellow pilot - Asuka needed him at his best if he was going to deploy alongside her.
Give them an inch now… Asuka growled at the memory, then shook her head. Fucking Mari, always ruining my fun. Even when she's on the other side of the damn planet…
"Misato." The NERV captain looked around at the flat, cold voice - a tone Asuka rarely used. "What's wrong with Shinji?"
Misato started like a child with her hand caught in a cookie jar. "Err… what makes you think that? Th- that there's something wrong with him, I mean?"
Weak, Misato. You're usually way better at deflecting questions.
"Because he's sulking. That spineless prick doesn't know how to face problems without shutting down." Asuka scooped up another mouthful of noodles, grimacing at the barely palatable texture. "Also, because you still won't tell me why he wasn't at the debriefing. So spill it."
"I…" Misato put down her third beer can of the evening. "You know I don't like to bring work home, Asuka…"
"Well, you had an opportunity to tell me at work and you didn't take it. Also, Shinji seems to have brought it home for you." Asuka crossed her arms and fixed Misato with a glare. "Spill, Captain."
Misato groaned softly, her posture sagging; Asuka maintained her unamused look. She knew she was treading on thin ice, invoking rank outside of NERV, but taking risks had always been her favorite way of doing things.
"I had to chew him out pretty hard," Misato finally murmured, bringing her beer can back up to her lips. "He might have brought down the angel itself, but… I can't ignore direct defiance of orders."
Asuka raised her eyebrow. Direct defiance of orders? I knew something had gone down, but…
"Scheisse," Asuka said, though her tone was subdued. "Can't the jerk make up his mind? One minute he's a spineless conscript, the next he's going rogue in the middle of a fight? I can't figure him out, dammit!"
"He's already heard it from me, Asuka." Misato's voice was more fatigued than Asuka had ever heard. "Don't beat him up over this. He's… he's carrying enough pain already."
Asuka let out a derisive snort. Pain? Yeah, right. The spoiled brat gets selected for the ultra-exclusive Eva program by his own father, and he has the gall to complain about it?
Misato's expression hardened. "Asuka, you don't even know him."
"I don't need to! He's -"
"You don't know him." Misato's voice was like steel. "Piloting Eva is easy for you, Asuka. You love it. But Shinji is not you. And he didn't ask the Marduk Institute to single him out."
Asuka looked away, her expression darkening. "You're defending him pretty hard, for all you claimed you'd chewed him out," she muttered.
At that comment, the fire went out of Misato's eyes, and her posture sagged even lower.
"I am, aren't I?" She said, her voice low. "This… fuck. This is too hard. I shouldn't… who the do I even think I am, his mom?"
After a minute, Asuka shrugged slightly. "If how you used to treat me and Mari is any indication, you're kind of… maternal. In general, really."
"But I'm also his commanding officer!" Misato whined. "See the problem?"
"So send him to live with someone else." Asuka's tone wasn't exactly sympathetic. "Or on his own, even. Or just take him off the pilot roster - I don't think either of us want a weak link in the chain, hmm?"
Misato shot Asuka a sharp look. "I'll take him off the roster if and only if he asks me to. I can't voluntarily reduce our deployable Eva strength otherwise - you know that."
"Yeah." The pilot shoved her plate of food away. "Okay, why don't you stretch out the chain of command?"
Misato's brow furrowed. "Stretch out the… what do you mean?"
"Make me squad leader," Asuka said, straightening her back and trying her hardest to keep her voice even and professional. "That way, when he breaks ranks, it'll be my job to chew him out."
"Squad leader? I don't know, Asuka -"
"Don't even try to tell me I'm not the best pick for it." Asuka folded her arms. "The only person who's been piloting longer than I have is Mari, and I'm still better than her in both sync score and the tactical sims. And do you really think any other pilot would be willing to take the job outside the entry plug?"
"Well, I would be willing to bet Rei would," Misato murmured. "But she's about as far from a natural leader as they come."
"Exactly." Asuka snickered at the thought of Rei trying to be commanding. We'd probably have to order her to give us orders. Madness. "So, what do you say?"
"I say I'm not making a decision on it right now," Misato said blandly, popping the tab on another can of beer. "I like to leave my work in the geofront, just like you pilots leave it in the entry plug. I'll say this - you make a better case than I would have thought. So, I'll think about it."
"I… guess I'll take that," Asuka replied, standing up from the table. "I'm going to bed. You should check on Shinji before you head that way yourself."
X-X-X
The adrenaline buzz wouldn't leave her system.
Although the double team of Shinji and Rei had cast a pall of ill humor over the rest of the day, Asuka found the nervous jitter was not as easily banished as the intoxicating pride of victory - and never was this more obvious than when she was in her futon and trying to sleep. Her hands wouldn't keep still, and she had a hard time forcing herself to breathe slowly.
Oh, fuck this.
Asuka rolled over and reached out, pulling her phone off its charger and unlocking it.
[Princess]: Hey, Four Eyes! You'll never guess what happened today!
[Princess]: There was an angel attack! A real live angel - with four minions, too!
A moment later, her phone beeped softly. Asuka brought it back up to her eyes - and furrowed her brow in confusion.
'Invalid Recipient: Number Does Not Exist.'
Was zur Hölle? Asuka's frown deepened. She tried re-sending the messages, hoping for a different response.
'Invalid Recipient: Number Does Not - '
"Scheisse," she hissed to herself. "Mari, what's going on…?"
She tried calling Mari's number, but even before she'd pressed the call button, she knew what the result would be.
"We're sorry, but the number you have dialled is not in service. Please-"
Asuka groaned and tossed the phone aside, slumping back with her arm over her eyes.
Well, this isn't fucking helping me calm down. In fact, it's got me more nervous than before.
Mari had burned a phone number once before in Asuka's memory, and to this day she didn't know the details of why. And whatever she was doing at Bethany Base almost certainly involved an angel… I need to tell Misato about this.
Asuka sat up - and stopped.
The last time Mari had gotten rid of her phone, she'd said that she couldn't risk using a phone that might be bugged… by NERV.
And we work for NERV - we're arguably the most important personnel on staff. It was shady as hell back then, and it's still just as bad… but if she burned her phone for a similar reason, she won't want Misato to know. Misato might be a good person, but at the end of the day, she's NERV.
Okay, I'm NERV, too, but I'm not selling out my sister. No matter how annoying she can be.
Asuka lay back down, staring at the dark ceiling in frustration. She'd hoped to calm down by venting at Mari - and now she was only more tense.
Her eyes slid shut, and her breathing slowed. If she forced herself to relax, she could sleep. It had always worked for her before when training stresses mounted to the point of keeping her up.
Fire! Searing plasma wrapping around her hand and arm, burning through skin and muscle like so much tissue paper -
"Scheisse." Asuka's eyes snapped open, and she clutched reflexively at her forearm. There was no burn, no blood. Her arm was whole and healthy, despite the lingering insistence in her nerves that it was damaged.
It hurts. It fucking hurts and it's not even real…
A preliminary test earlier that day had suggested that normal painkillers didn't work on feedback pain. If ones that did existed, they wouldn't be found in Misato's apartment.
Asuka picked up her phone, rapidly keying in the unlock code. I've got to take my mind off this somehow, or I'll go insane.
Her contacts list was rather sparse, but not empty. Though some of the names would be asleep - it was probably near dawn in Germany - she'd expanded the list somewhat since her arrival in Japan.
[Asuka]: Hey. Are you awake?
[Hikari]: Yeah, what's up?
[Asuka]: Nothing too serious.
[Asuka]: Just… looking for someone to vent at, I guess.
X-X-X
"Pilot Ikari's sync is down."
Misato looked over the myriad displays, scanning for a number that made sense. None of them did. The sync test overlook room was very clearly the domain of Ritsuko and Maya; more than a dozen computer displays lined the desks, each with a different set of data scrolling over it. There were only two chairs - one occupied by Maya, the other empty. Ritsuko herself was in her familiar perch, leaning over the back of Maya's chair.
"He was at forty-five percent at the peak of the battle with Shamshel. Now he's right back down to forty-one point zero - dipping as low as forty point six occasionally." Maya regarded the displays critically. "I wonder what could have caused it."
Ritsuko looked back over at Misato. The captain immediately tried to blank her expression, and probably would have succeeded under the scrutiny of anyone but Ritsuko Akagi.
"Looks like it could be subconscious thought noise…" Maya narrowed her eyes, absent-mindedly chewing the end of her pen. "Did anything happen to him recently? Something that might have caused emotional distress?"
Ritsuko's eyebrow twitched, almost imperceptibly. Misato quickly looked away, focusing on the modified entry plugs sitting in the coolant tank that served as sync test pool.
"Pilot Soryu's sync seems stable, perhaps a point one percent increase. Seventy-nine point nine… she's good, alright." Maya tapped the keyboard again. "Pilot Ayanami seems to have climbed a full point. Twenty-nine point zero percent, no variance, bringing her adjusted rate to about thirty-seven percent. I wonder why the sudden jump."
"Maya." The technician looked up at the sound of Ritsuko's voice. "The junctions in Tau block and Epsilon block have been generating signal noise. Could you go fault-check them? I want to make sure these readings are as clean as possible."
"Yes, Senpai!" Maya put on a determined look as she stood up, grabbing her laptop and speed-walking out of the observation deck.
As the door hissed shut behind Maya, Ritsuko pushed herself off the back of the chair and stood up.
"She has a crush on you the size of Ishtar," Misato said, her voice soft. "You know that, right?"
Ritsuko produced a cigarette. "I guess that makes two of you," she replied, a sardonic smile on her face. She lit the cigarette and took a deep drag, blowing out in Misato's direction. "Yeah, I know. She thinks she's a lot more subtle than she is."
"Oh, gross." Misato leaned back to avoid the cloud of smoke. "Does she know you're spoken for?"
"By you? Don't think so." Ritsuko's voice dropped even further, hovering on the edge of a whisper. "I'm pretty sure she thinks I'm fucking Gendo, actually."
Misato grimaced. "I could have done without that mental image, thanks."
"Anyway, fun as this is," Ritsuko said, her voice returning to its normal volume. "What's up with Shinji? You clearly know something about it."
The captain looked away again.
"Or you could evade the question. That's fine too, I suppose."
Misato's right hand curled unconsciously into a fist, and she took a deep breath.
"I… may have had some strong words for him after yesterday."
"Ahh." The doctor took another drag on her cigarette. "And that's probably what has him bent out of shape?"
"It's the only thing I can think of that might qualify. He seemed pretty broken up. The kid's brave, but fragile as hell."
"Well, be careful with him."
Misato looked up sharply. "Why do you care?"
Ritsuko sighed. "Because the Commander may dismiss him if his sync falls too low." She shook her head. "That'll be devastating for him - and for you too, I expect, since you seem to have enough maternal instinct for the both of us. Being down a third of our force won't be good either."
Misato stiffened, narrowing her eyes at Ritsuko. "That's all?" She said coldly. "Not even a little bit of your surveillance side-job?"
Ritsuko's smile vanished, and her expression darkened. "You don't have to make me sound like Kaji," she replied quietly. "And you're lucky the bugs in here aren't going to be replaced until tomorrow."
"You wouldn't have talked about us out loud if they were active. Not even quietly."
"Anyway. The more truth you give me, the more lies I can feed Gendo. The best lies are the ones that are close to the truth, no?"
Misato looked away, frowning. "Yeah," she managed eventually. "But I don't like this, Rits."
"If it helps, I don't either." Ritsuko turned, looking back out over the test pool. "I wish I didn't have to stretch your trust."
Misato tapped her lips with her fingertip. "Hey, my house isn't bugged yet, right?"
"Not as far as I can tell," Ritsuko replied, turning back to face Misato again. "Although I can only scan section two's integrated computer systems. It's possible, if unlikely, that your house would be on a separate system."
"Is your house on the main system?"
"So far, yes." Ritsuko ground the cigarette filter into her overflowing ashtray, extinguishing it.
"Then I doubt he'd make a special exception for mine. It'll be safe there." Misato folded her arms. "Come over to my place tonight. It'll look like a social call, and you'll be able to speak freely."
Ritsuko looked down. "I'm not afraid of getting caught, Misato. I'm afraid of what they might do to you, if you're caught. If you're a part of this…"
The audio feed from the plug monitors abruptly crackled. "Hey! Are we done yet?"
Ritsuko whirled, stepping up to the desk and pressing a button. "You are here for as long as I need you, Pilot Soryu," she answered. "Now kindly don't interrupt me again."
"I thought you were nearly done anyway." Misato raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, but they don't need to know that. Especially not Asuka."
"Senpai!" The door to the observation room slammed open, revealing the ramrod-straight figure of Maya. "You were right - the junctions are full of faulty connections. I recommend full inspection and maintenance on all the main link blocks. If those two were that bad, who knows what might be wrong with the others."
"Thank you, Maya." Ritsuko straightened, finally allowing her shoulders to relax. "We'll see if it can happen before the next sync test… worst case, we run a few more tests as is. The interference isn't impossible to work around."
"If I may, Senpai, the links from the simulation bodies and the Pribnow Box also run through those blocks." Maya's voice held a note of nervousness.
"True. Make a note of it… those links need to work flawlessly before the next harmonics test." Ritsuko produced another cigarette.
From the back of the room, Misato watched the Section 3 women working for a moment. Then she sighed slightly and headed towards the door.
"Ritsuko?" She called, as the door opened. The doctor looked back over her shoulder. "You on for tonight?"
Ritsuko nodded, a small smile gracing her usually composed features. "I'll be there."
Maya blinked quizzically at her mentor, but Ritsuko didn't elaborate.
The young technician pressed the intercom button. "Alright, we've got everything we need. You can come on out now; test's over. Captain Katsuragi will pick you up."
"About time!" The test plugs began sliding upwards, out of the pool and back up to the catwalk.
Ritsuko rubbed one of her eyes, a tired expression on her face. "Maya, can you compile the report? I'm afraid I have lab work I need to check on."
"Of course, Senpai! That's what an assistant is for, after all!"
Oh, Maya, how does someone as young and sweet as you end up working in this pit of vipers? Ritsuko sighed as she left the room, her fingers idly playing with the lighter in her lab coat pocket.
Her thoughts drifted to her destination - the branch of the Artificial Evolution Laboratory that stretched down into Terminal Dogma - and what awaited her there.
Of course, out of all the broken or bleeding or dead victims of Project Evangelion, Maya hardly has it worst…
X-X-X
"Your AT field is stronger than usual."
Rei simply stared at a fixed point on the opposite wall, unblinking. Ritsuko knew from experience that the teenager was listening, or at least hearing, but she very rarely responded if not directly asked to. Ritsuko simply continued reading down the scanner feed on her computer screen.
Her AT field was stronger. Its frequency had increased, and - while its overall flux density had only climbed a few percent - its usual unsteady flickering was visibly less pronounced. Ritsuko had never seen a stable AT output from her.
"In fact, your fluctuations are spiking at 1.07 Animara… that's higher than a human soul. I'm impressed, Rei." Ritsuko flicked the stub of her cigarette into one of the overflowing ashtrays on the desk. "I'm also a bit baffled by it. Your AT field hasn't shifted this substantially in over six years."
Rei blinked, for - as far as Ritsuko could tell - the first time since she'd entered the lab. "Perhaps you have discovered a medication regimen that compensates for my weak AT field," she droned.
Ritsuko winced, looking away quickly to hide the expression. No, Rei, that's definitely not it. That would require medications that were actually intended to help you.
She looked back at her blue-haired patient. "Speaking of medications. Anything unusual? Tremors? Nausea? Fever?"
It was a small effort to keep her voice steady. Ritsuko had gained plenty of practice, going through this every month for just over a decade - she had become quite skilled at maintaining a cold, detached facade when dealing with atrocities.
But no amount of practice will get the bitter taste out of my mouth.
"I have begun suffering nausea and minor tremors in the late evenings." Rei didn't even look at her as she spoke.
"I see." Sounds like it could opioid withdrawal… her body flushes those out so fast. Faster than the barbiturates, even. "Your blood tests should be done by now, and I don't think there's any need to put you through a deep core scan right now. Please follow me."
Wordlessly, Rei stepped off the scanner pad and followed Ritsuko into the next room.
It must be nice to be Misato. Her job is simple, clear - she kills angels. She doesn't have to keep an angel alive, while constantly drip-feeding it poison and lying to it about what she's doing. She doesn't have to look at a human face while she does it.
This room contained a small table with a chair beside it. On the table were all the necessary components for drawing a blood sample; at the other end of the room, there was a desk with a high-tech chromatography machine on it.
Rei simply stood where she was left, just inside the door of the room. Ritsuko walked up to the machine's control computer and tapped a rapid sequence into its keyboard. A spreadsheet appeared on the screen.
Ritsuko made a small sound of disapproval.
The sufentanil levels have dropped. Of course. Every time I think I've found an opioid that will work long-term, her damned angel body starts flushing it out. I've already gone through most basic opioids, as well as all the fentanyls I dare touch… She risked a glance over at Rei, who was predictably staring at the wall. At this point she's immune to half of anything I could give her. I haven't yet managed to wash out her immunity to basic morphine, but the psychoactivity profile clearly dictates that an opioid is necessary to the stability of both the inhibitors and the soul block.
Her body's also making slightly reduced use of the mineral supplement and LCL. And her AT field was stronger, too? Food for thought!
Ritsuko produced a prescription pad from her lab coat pocket, grabbing a pen and scribbling hastily.
"How much of your medication do you currently have?"
"Seven days' worth," Rei replied quietly.
Ritsuko nodded to herself. I can probably tide her over another month or so. I haven't tried meperidine yet.
"This next prescription will be for one month, not two." Ritsuko scribbled a final note. "As always, come to me if you experience any change."
Rei nodded, walking stiffly over to Ritsuko to retrieve the prescription slip. Once she had it in her hand, she turned and left the room without ceremony, and the doctor was left to stew in her thoughts.
The deed is done. Until next time, that is. Ritsuko lit another cigarette, her gaze still fixed on the blood test readout. Another cocktail of poison, mixed to order. Good god, Ritsuko, what have you become? You're a doctor! And you've let yourself be an accessory to the brutal mistreatment of a goddamn child!
Not a child. An angel. An angel, and the key to all our fates. Ritsuko glared at the suddenly offensive computer screen. Surely some sacrifices must be made for this, yes? SEELE must be stopped, and the commander's plan to do so involves Rei. What is one life overlooked for the sake of three and a half billion, anyway?
The cigarette met its end, stubbed out in one of the constantly overflowing ashtrays that were a feature of every space Ritsuko frequented regularly.
But the Commander's brutality is getting harder to stomach lately, isn't it? Ritsuko lit another cigarette, her expression still calm but for a tightness around her eyes. It's hard to remember the greater good when I'm staring down those innocent red eyes. I'm cold, but not cold enough for this.
Tapping the ash from her cigarette, Ritsuko stood up and walked out of the room.
Her destination wasn't far; it was technically another part of the Artificial Evolution Laboratory, although both this room and the ones before were restricted. None but herself, Rei and Gendo were permitted in most areas of Terminal Dogma.
The door auto-opened as it detected the signal in her badge. The lights clicked on a heartbeat later.
The familiar monstrosity of the red-painted dummy plug sat in the center of the room. Not far from it, Ritsuko noticed a new addition to the room's decor: an upright cylinder, perhaps a meter in diameter and more than two meters tall. The center of it seemed to be some kind of translucent plexiglass, but both ends were capped by steel-cased machinery. If she listened very carefully, Ritsuko could pick up the faint hum of a circulation pump running.
A humorless smile pulled its way across half of her mouth, and she stepped up to the strange vessel. A few quick taps of the small control panel on the upper cap, and the translucent plexiglass suddenly became clear.
Within the tube, floating gently in LCL with her eyes closed, was a picture-perfect lookalike of Rei Ayanami.
"Lovely to meet you, my dear," Ritsuko murmured. She stepped slowly around the tank. "And what might your name be, hmm?"
There were uplink taps on the skin of the girl's back. One on each axillary nerve, one on the nape of her neck, two more on her lower spine and two on the back of her hips. The skin around them was raw, crimson.
Fresh incisions; the cuts are barely clotted. They got you nice and ready for my chamber of horrors, didn't they?
On her back, between her shoulderblades, was a tattoo in dark red ink. Ritsuko was used to seeing a '03' in that exact position - this girl bore '09' instead.
"Well then, Nine," Ritsuko murmured, and took a drag on her current cigarette. "Looking forward to working with you…"
X-X-X