Two: Angel Attack!
Fourth Ward, Tokyo-3 Special Administrative District, Japan.
July 8th, 2015.
Misato pulled over in front of a nondescript office building and shoved a file into the boy's arms. "Shinji-kun, take this. NERV should have someone waiting for you inside."
"Where are you going?"
Misato met his eyes steadily. "They need me up here. I'll come back for you, alright? I promise."
Shinji got out of the car, and Captain Katsuragi sped off towards the blaring sirens. I've heard that before. Nobody ever comes back.
He hesitated for a moment. The Angel's nowhere near here. I'm safe… so why do I feel sick?
The Third Child took a deep breath, grasping the door handle with a shaking hand. Everything's going to be alright. Everything's going to be fine. Misato-san is going to come get me, and then everything is going to be fine.
Shinji shoved the door open, walking into a desolate lobby. Muted jazz music played over the speakers and a small, neglected fern languished atop a dust-caked reception desk.
"Ah, Ikari-kun, right?"
Shinji turned around. A handsome man in a rumpled suit lounged upon a decrepit piano, a smoldering cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth. A battered leather case stamped with a UN insignia and the name KAJI RYOJI was propped against the bench. The man hopped down, snubbing out the cigarette on the corner of the piano, and stuck out his hand. "Special Inspector Kaji Ryoji, United Nations Office for Meta-Armaments Control. I'm here to take you down to NERV HQ."
Shinji shook his hand. Kaji-san's got calluses on his fingers. I wonder if he plays an instrument?
Ryoji walked across the lobby, gesturing to Shinji to follow. They entered a dingy elevator. Kaji palmed his badge on the scanner, which beeped, and inserted a fob into a keyhole. The elevator shuddered and began to descend. He leaned against the railing and gave Shinji an appraising look. "So, Katsuragi-san brought you here, huh?"
"You know Misato-san?"
"In a manner of speaking. I think I know why your father sent for you, Ikari-kun."
"Why?"
Kaji fixed Shinji with a stern look. "If I told you, you wouldn't be willing to leave this elevator. I'll tell you something else, though. Technically speaking, I'm not an employee of NERV—and my last boss is buried under a few thousand tons of rubble downstairs—so I'm not required to keep secrets." The elevator shook, and Shinji gripped the railing tighter. Is he talking about my father? Kaji continued, absentmindedly toying with the lock on his briefcase. "They're going to ask you to do something you don't want to do. You can say no; nobody can force you into that beast. But if you choose to take up that call, beware. Nobody at NERV has your best interests at heart. Especially stay away from Akagi. She'd feed you feet-first into a woodchipper if it benefited her." The elevator chimed, and they exited into a hallway. "Good luck, Ikari-kun. I'll be headed back to Germany now to look after my ward–you'll meet her soon enough. Keep your eyes open, trust nobody, and you might just survive to the end of the Scenario." They reached the end of the hallway. The UN Inspector opened a door with a keycard, revealing a decontamination chamber, before turning around and heading back towards the elevator.
"Kaji-san, wait! What–"
Kaji looked over his shoulder, giving Shinji a half-smile. "Don't worry, Third Child. You'll have a chance to turn back. And if you choose to go forward with your father's plan…well, you could end up saving us all. Now, don't keep Rit-chan waiting. Auf Wiedersehen!" He turned a corner and disappeared.
After a moment, Shinji faced the door and entered the decontamination chamber. A vent hissed open, spraying out a gas that smelled vaguely of bananas, before the other door opened with a digital chime. A sign on the wall announced, "AUXILIARY EVANGELION HANGAR–RESTRICTED AREA." Shinji walked through one final automatic door and entered a vast chamber partially flooded with red liquid. A series of catwalks crisscrossed the blood-colored sea. Upon a nearby platform, a blond woman wearing a white lab coat was conferring with a technician. She apparently hadn't noticed Shinji entering the room. Mechanics and engineers swarmed across the floor, far too busy to notice the teenager that had wandered into the laboratory. Or I'm just not threatening enough to bother calling security. Shinji moved a little closer to the shore of the lake. He got within fifteen feet of the edge before the woman noticed him. The labcoated scientist turned to face the interloper.
"Ah, Ikari-kun, you're here. I am Akagi Ritsuko, Acting Supreme Commander of NERV." She nudged the technician at her side, who looked up from her computer. "This is Brevet Captain Ibuki Maya, the current Acting Director of Project E." Ibuki smiled nervously at him, before returning to her computer. "Did you find your way down here alright?"
Shinji nodded. "Mi— Katsuragi-san dropped me off at the gate. Commander, what happened to my father? He can't be–"
"Dead?" Ritsuko withdrew a cigarette from her pocket. "I'm afraid so. The whole sector he was in collapsed. The divers are still trying to find his body, but that part of Central Dogma is currently under fifty feet of water." She clenched the cigarette between her teeth and lit it with a battered Zippo. "That leaves me in command. Did Subcommander Katsuragi tell you why your father called you here?" Subcommander?
"No. Kaji-san mentioned something on the way here"—Akagi's eyes narrowed dangerously, and Shinji flinched—"but I don't know why Father decided to call me." The Commander fixed Shinji with a piercing stare for a few more seconds, before turning to Maya. "Captain Ibuki, show him the Evangelion."
Maya cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled to the operators below, "Open the first three valves!"
The room rumbled, a sound like a hundred thousand engines roaring to life, and the crimson liquid began to slowly recede. A bridge emerged, fluid pouring off in great red torrents. Out of the midst of the lake, two oblong spires of green and black metal rose. A technician unlocked a rusted safety barrier and pulled it open, and Akagi stepped onto the walkway. "Ikari-kun," she snapped. "Come here." Shinji followed, keeping back a few yards. One of the mechanics gave him a sympathetic look. I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away.
Something awful is about to happen.
Shinji felt bile creep up the back of his throat and pushed it back down. It left an acrid taste in his mouth. Akagi paused near the edge of the bridge, which sloped down into the lake's depths. There's something else in the water . A third spine emerged, and an apparition appeared from the lake. A vast purple head, crowned with a single horn. Dark empty eyes, a mouth full of razor teeth. The fluid finally settled at the creature's neck level, revealing orange muscles and a skeletal frame encircling the neck. Shinji recoiled violently, striking the guardrail, and nearly pitched into the lake. A technician with long hair steadied him. "Easy there, Ikari-kun," he said. "I know, it's a bit of a shock to see it up close." Shinji opened his mouth and tried to speak, but the words came out as a strangled yelp. Commander Akagi gave him an unimpressed look and shouted to the shore, where Ibuki still stood at the control panel. "Wake it up!"
"Yes Ma'am!," the Captain answered, issuing a rapid-fire stream of orders to the bridge crew. "Initiate cold boot protocol. Begin synapse polarization." With a crack, the robot's head twitched. "Charge S2 simulacrum starter. Start psychometric readings. Prime socket for plug insertion. Deliver core shock!"
With a jolt, the beast awoke. Its eyes glowed like twin searchlights, and the supports groaned as it flexed its jaw. Evangelion Unit-01 fixed a transfixed Ikari Shinji with its massive eyes. So this is how Captain Ahab felt. After a tense moment, the creature huffed out a breath and relaxed. Shinji breathed again. The Commander lit another cigarette, taking care not to blow any smoke towards the Evangelion. "Well, now you're acquainted. This is Evangelion Unit-01, the greatest weapon in human history, the second to be classified as a meta-armament. It took us seven years to build this monstrosity"—Unit One let out a low growl, and Akagi flinched before catching herself—"and another four to get it to stop trying to kill us all. We're still working on that last part."
Shinji took a step closer to the creature. Unit-01 turned its face towards him, as if waiting for something. That's odd. With some difficulty, he lifted his head and met the Evangelion's gaze. It doesn't have a monster's eyes. Unit-01 shifted slightly, lowering its head, and Shinji saw something in its expression shift. It looks…sad? Akagi cleared her throat, and Shinji jumped. The Evangelion's expression returned to its regular blankness.
"If you're finished staring at the weapon," she said. Shinji looked over his shoulder. "You wanted to know why you are here?" He nodded, and the Commander flicked the butt of her cigarette into the lake. "You are to pilot the Evangelion against the enemy, hereby designated Sachiel. You will close to melee range, engage the Third Angel in combat, and destroy its core. This was your father's plan. This is why you have been recalled to Tokyo-3." Shinji looked at her in utter shock. "What? I'm supposed to pilot that thing?"
"That's right."
"I can't. There's no way. I've never—"
"You must. There is no other way to stop the Angel."
Shinji balled his fists."I'm not going in there! I'm done! Father only called me back because he wants to use me—"
"What are you, stupid? You didn't think Ironskull Ikari cared about you, did you? The old bastard killed everyone he loved. He wanted something out of you, and that thing is to save the damned world—"
"I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" Shinji gagged, bile creeping into his mouth, and he scrambled away from Commander Akagi, leaning towards the Evangelion. Her eyes were harder than ice, and for a moment Shinji felt more scared of her than the biomechanical monster in the lake. After a moment, she broke eye contact and scoffed. "Pathetic."
She put a two-way radio to her lips and spoke. "Bring in the spare."
She lit another cigarette, ashes falling near Shinji's foot. He leaned backwards to avoid getting burned…
And brushed the Evangelion with his hand. Straightaway, Shinji felt an odd sensation, like a caress on the surface of his thoughts, and the mind-numbing panic lessened to overwhelming fear. He gasped, turning to look at the Evangelion. The creature was gazing at him, more aware than a machine should have been. He cautiously reached out, resting a hand against its face. The same effect washed over him again, mingled with a strange warmth. I'm sorry. I'm scared. I don't want to die here. The Evangelion sent back a bittersweet sensation, one Shinji could taste; the flavor of sakura tea, steeped slightly too long and slightly too hot.
At that moment, a hospital bed was rolled to the bridgehead. Six stretcher-bearers lifted the patient onto a bier and bore her onto the bridge. Shinji felt a hand on his shoulder and shrunk back instinctively. The technician from earlier squatted next to him. "Hey, Ikari-kun, right? Don't worry. We'll send you back. You don't have to fight."
The stretcher bearers arrived at the platform, and Shinji raised his eyes. A girl dressed in a white latex suit and swathed with bandages climbed off, slipping and catching herself on the railing. Shinji's heart skipped a beat. It's the girl from before. What the hell did they do to her?!"
The girl stood upright, and Akagi turned towards her. Akagi-san looks like she wants to strangle her.
"Pilot Ayanami," the Commander barked. "You will complete the mission in Unit-01. Your orders are to destroy the Third Angel, with any means necessary. Understand?"
"Yes, Commander," Ayanami replied. In contrast to Akagi's clipped, sharp tones, Ayanami spoke in a near whisper. "I will carry out my orders."
I can't let this happen.
Are you crazy! Getting in that…thing… could kill me.
Still, she's injured. The robot might kill me, but it will definitely kill her.
Ayanami walked towards the platform. A metal plug had been moved into place by four workers in a speedboat, and the technician opened the gate to the ramp. I have to do this. The workers moved the plug alongside, lashing it into place with ropes. The pilot turned towards the plug…
"Wait!" Everyone looked at Shinji. He stood up and deliberately stepped in front of Rei. He glared at Akagi. "I'll go. I'll fight your monster for you. Let her go!"
She sighed and gestured to the workers to stop. "Alright. Pilot, return to the infirmary. Ikari, get strapped in." Ayanami nodded, face as inscrutable as always, and limped back the way she came. Shinji stormed over to the plug, slapping away an offered hand from one of the workers. They opened the hatch, and Shinji entered, sitting down in the elaborate seat. He looked back one last time. Akagi stood above them, silhouetted by the lights. Her face was hidden in shadows, save for the dim glow of the cigarette burning down. The technician leaned in, fastening Shinji to the seat.
"Alright, Ikari-kun. I'm just going to cinch you in." He tightened the last set of straps, before stepping back to the platform. "Good luck, Pilot."
Shinji looked at him. "What's your name?"
The man froze. After a moment, his surprised expression shifted to sympathy. "Aoba. Aoba Shigeru." He smiled at the boy, before closing the hatch with a resounding thud. Shinji heard a grinding screech, and knew the hatch had been sealed. I'll remember that.
A sudden force lifted the plug up, before sliding it home. Lights flashed on, revealing a blank control panel. Shinji took hold of the unfamiliar joysticks, pushing one forward experimentally–nothing happened. A voice channel opened, and Commander Akagi's voice came through.
"Pilot Ikari. We're going to begin the syncing process now." Liquid poured into the plug, and Shinji held his breath. Are they trying to kill me now? Seriously?
Eventually, he ran out of air and took a gasp of fluid. Instead of drowning, however, Shinji found he could breathe. He wrinkled his nose. This stuff smells like blood. A strange pattern of lights flashed across the inside of the plug, and the presence he had felt earlier pressed against his consciousness. With a flash, Shinji felt something change. His body was suddenly too big, surrounded by a lukewarm sea. Shinji raised one hand, and the robot moved. He was aware dimly that he was pulling on a controller with his flesh hand, but the machine limb extended smoothly, moving with effortless power. Shinji felt for a moment perfectly synchronized with the machine. The warmth of the presence now seeped into his very bones. The last of the LCL in the pool drained, and the commander's voice came through. "Ikari-kun, move towards the launcher on the other side of the pool. We'll do the rest." Shinji did so, taking his first step with the Evangelion. The earth itself trembled at his passage. A small stone fell, pinging off his armor plating, and Shinji felt a tiny sting in his shoulder. He moved into the box, standing between the rails. The commander yelled, "LAUNCH!" and the Evangelion rocketed upwards. Shinji felt the air rushing along his pylons and back. Bolts of lightning issued from the magnetic launcher. Shinji breathed, and relaxed his mind. The sensation of contact increased, as the Evangelion wrapped around his senses.
After a moment, he emerged into the heart of Tokyo-3. The cold night air rushed around him, drying off the remaining LCL from his body. The wind shifted, and Shinji caught the reek of rotting tissue. The Angel stood like a living gargoyle amidst the wreckage. The creature had grown at least another ten feet, and a second mask sat crookedly beside the first. Shinji strode towards Sachiel, withdrawing a progressive knife from his pylon. The blade gleamed in the dim starlight. He picked up speed, readying the weapon for a stab. Suddenly, he felt something catch his foot. He went crashing down into the street, kicking up a cloud of dust. Pain flared along the front of his body. For a moment, Shinji's two bodies separated, before merging once more. When Unit-01 feels pain, so do I. Shinji tried to get up, but felt an iron hand closing on his arm. The Angel lifted him to eye level. The abomination's eyes were cold, dark, and empty. Shinji could hear someone screaming orders over the mike, but panic overrode his mind. Every fiber of his body screamed at Shinji to run away, but the Angel's had him in a vice grip. Sachiel tightened its hold, and Shinji screamed as his wrist bones cracked.
Light. The eyes of the Angel blazed, and Shinji's world exploded into blinding agony. He felt Unit-01 reach out to him and shoved it away. The Evangelion tumbled into a building, bringing it crashing down. The Angel fell upon him, striking his ribs and face with a barrage of blows. Shinji felt the ribs of Unit-01 straining, a phantom knife stabbing into his own side. The Angel took hold of his face and struck Unit-01 with lances of energy. Shinji curled up in his seat, screaming. His right eye was on fire. The clamor over the comms had reached a crescendo, but Shinji heard only confused noise. The once-quick Evangelion moved sluggishly, as if exhausted in mind and body.
With one final convulsion, the Angel breached the Evangelion's skull. Shinji's world telescoped into agony, and he felt the presence of Unit-01 disappear from his head. The Angel cast the inert hulk aside, bringing down an apartment complex.
Darkness.
A day at the park. A smiling woman leaned down and brushed a sakura blossom from Shinji's cheek.
A gravestone in a field of mourning.
A parting at a train station. Even as the train pulled away and Shinji reached, the man turned away. Light gleamed off his amber glasses.
Light.
Warmth.
Rage.
The Evangelion stirred. Shinji felt something in the LCL change. Unit-01 touched him, and this time Shinji let it in.
His self melted away, merging with the warmth. The boy and the machine rose together as one. Shinji's vision sharpened a thousandfold; his jaw opened wide. He howled to the night, and the Angel froze. He charged, effortlessly covering the space to Sachiel, and slammed it through a building.
The voices over the comm set were louder than before; Shinji caught something about inverted graphs. The Angel struck him with a blast of light, and this time he withstood the blow. He slammed a fist into Sachiel's chest, and an orange barrier flickered into being. The mingled smells of pinesmoke and ozone filled the air. Shinji felt a tingle run up his hand, and the armor regrew over the wounds left by the Angel. He thrust his hand into the barrier, feeling something like a scream washing across his synapses.
Finally, he tore it apart. The Angel punched his shoulder, sending a brief spike of pain through it. Shinji hit back, knocking Sachiel headlong into the side of a tower. He launched a barrage of blows, feeling the creatures' flesh pulp under his hands. The Angel flung up a hand to ward him off, and Shinji ripped off the entire arm. Blood splattered onto his face, and he eagerly licked it up. He broke off a rib, and stabbed wildly at the core.
Almost there!
The core cracked—and the Angel changed form, melding around Shinji's upper body. With a brilliant glow, it disintegrated, blowing apart the ground at their feet. Shinji felt the heat scorch his skin, kindling the paint on the armor. He stepped forward, away from the charnel ground that was once the city's downtown. A luminous crucifix rose into the sky behind him. The pain faded away from him, and Shinji felt Unit-01 pulling him into its embrace. We…won? He drifted off into unconsciousness, as the intercom chattered with confusion and cheers.
Notes:
Ryoji here, with your preview. NERV is put under new management. The triumphant hero bears the cross of his victory. The schemes of Ikari Gendo set into motion a new Scenario. Akagi Ritsuko seeks her revenge. SEELE's mysterious leader awakens his divine agent. Next time on Herz und Seele, Chapter Three: Hostile Takeover. Don't worry, there'll be plenty of fanservice–as usual.