Chapter 14: The Opening Flourish…
And so began this great march of Angels. From about June on, they would come at regular intervals, almost a schedule, testing at and trying to pry apart Tokyo-3's defenses. One got used to the attention after a while. Even if it did potentially mean the end of the world.
The first of this march, the forward assault element if you will, was… well, it set the tone. Something familiar to Eleanor and I with its own… little surprises to balance out for ours.
- Where I've Been, Entry 48
Pribnow Box, Geofront, June 5th, 2015
There were lights here in the Pribnow Box that only Rei Ayanami could see.
To some small extent, she'd always been able to see them during the synch tests, though her medical routine had kept her from being fully cognizant of their presence. Always they'd been something that was likely a symptom of one of her extensive medications.
Now, though, as her medications began to be stripped away from her… strange feelings and thoughts had started to come to the fore with the shimmering lights in the Box's observation chamber. Ones that she had no vocabulary she trusted to describe them.
She wanted to tell Commander Ikari or Doctor Akagi of these developments — they may signal something that would be outstandingly detrimental to Commander Ikari's Scenario, beyond the recently made changes to her housing and medication — but Pilot Ikari, Pilot Soryu-Langley, and both Captain Theisman and Flynn had warned her to refrain from doing so. All their current progress would thus be undone, and harsh punishments likely leveled against them.
'If they interfere in the Scenario,' she thought, 'then they should be reprimanded.'
Cause and effect, action and reaction. Logical, sensical, stable. But the thought of something happening to Pilot Ikari because he tried to assist her, even if it went against the Scenario…
She was not used to this level of complexity in her day-to-day life. Her mission had been utterly simple to this point; follow Commander Ikari's orders. But… Commander Ikari had not issued any new orders. He had not taken time to visit her new accommodations, and even here in the Geofront he had not met with her since her move.
There were reasons, of course, for extended periods without contact. Commander Ikari was a busy man. But with so much change having just recently taken place, the extended absence was… more than a little disconcerting.
'Pilot Ikari has mentioned being dissatisfied with his father,' Rei thought, recalling a brief interaction after he'd finally gotten her the ID he'd been sent to deliver. 'Is this… dissatisfaction what I am currently feeling?'
The little one gnawed at her, prowling in those depths which she could not see, only feel. It wanted to break free again, satisfy some desire Rei could not remember on someone in the Pribnow Box. Someone that Doctor Akagi seemed to be fitting for in the satisfaction of such vengeance.
The little one had overpowered her before, sent Unit-00 on a rampage that had broken her body as much as the Evangelion's. Now, though, physically healthy again, she stifled the little one's wants, its base desires. They were not necessary to her mission. She felt the hands of Unit-00 twitching, but she focused and managed to still them.
Finally, a tone sounded, and the little one began to fade from perception. "Well done, Rei," Doctor Akagi said over the comms channel in Unit-00's Entry Plug. "You've made remarkable progress. Your synchronization score has risen by 10 percent since your last test."
Rei was nothing if not observant; she could tell that these results were at least somewhat beyond Doctor Akagi's usual expectations. Whether that was for good or ill, she could not tell.
Before the comms channel could be closed, Rei heard another voice. "Doctor Akagi, do you have a minute? Eleanor and I have something we want to run by you."
"I have some time while I process these results, Captain Theisman," Doctor Akagi replied, the channel deactivating as she spoke the last word Rei could discern.
Captain Theisman. Daniel, as he wished to be called at home. This man, above all else, was an enigma to Rei. One that she had plenty of time to ponder on as her Entry Plug decanted and she went through the usual steps of cleaning off from the synchronization test.
Pilot Ikari thought highly of the man. Soryu-Langley did as well. Even still, he was strange to her, capable of appearing as calm and reserved as Commander Ikari, yet also of matching Soryu-Langley's expressiveness.
And along with the man came a question, seemingly physically impressed into her brain with its repetition; 'How are you feeling?'.
As she stepped into the shower to wash off the LCL, she thought on that question. It was one that she'd heard some more official variation from Commander Ikari. But never with this frequency, especially from Captain… Daniel. And, as her medications slowly began to wear off, that question had become far more complicated to answer. Daniel's patience in that regard was nothing if not reassuring.
Finishing with her dressing, she emerged from the women's locker room, Soryu-Langley and Pilot Ikari waiting for her.
"Hey, Wondergirl," Soryu-Langley said — the appellation another notion that mystified her — as she caught sight of Rei. "I managed to catch your synch score from Daniel. 34 percent is a solid improvement. Good to see that everything's starting to pay off."
"Your training has likely had a notable impact on my synchronization score," Rei replied as the trio began to walk down the hallway.
"I mean, yeah, I would hope so," Soryu-Langley replied. "It's been working wonders for Shinji, so I think my extensive knowledge would be able to help you out too."
She paused, looking at Rei with what she knew was called concern now. "It's probably also due to finally knocking one of those prescriptions out of your routine. How are you doing?"
Nothing Rei had read about Asuka had prepared her for this softer side to the brash boldness, many would say arrogance, that was prominent in her file. There was likely some previous history that Rei had not bothered to try and uncover.
As for the question…
"My sensations are expanding far more rapidly than I expected," Rei replied. "There is… something I would ask of you. Both of you."
They paused in the hallway. "Is there something we can do to help, Rei?" Pilot Ikari asked.
Rei nodded slightly. "Yes, Shinji Ikari. As I am sure you are both aware, my understanding of my emotions and faculties is… lacking. As I begin to… feel more, would you both assist me in making sense of what I experience?"
Pilot Ikari and Soryu-Langley looked at each other before nodding. "Of course, Rei," Shinji said. "We were always planning on it."
"We'll make you a real girl yet, Wondergirl," Soryu-Langley rejoined, pausing for a moment as she glanced out into the hallway. "We'll talk about how later. I've got somewhere to be. See you both later."
With that, Soryu-Langley made her way up the hallway, disappearing with a turn into a doorway.
As Pilot Ikari and Rei continued up the hallway, Pilot Ikari looked over at Rei. "So… what are you thinking about?" he asked, rather meekly.
"Many things," Rei replied. "How long will Commander Ikari be away?"
She studied Pilot Ikari's reaction as he glanced away, the concern in his expression caught in a flash of… something negative, too complicated for her to discern before it was gone. "He's at some sort of big personal meeting, last I remember. I don't know how long he's going to be gone. It'd probably be better to ask Misato something like that."
Rei was silent for long moments, her mind turning over the answer, the quiet sigh of, what was it again… relief. She still didn't fully understand it. A part of her didn't want to; the Scenario required Commander Ikari's full attention. But…
"Pilot Ikari," Rei said quietly. "Why do you hold such… animosity for your father? Do you not have faith in his work?"
A familiar question, and she saw Pilot Ikari put a hand to the cheek she'd slapped the last time she'd asked that question and he'd answered it.
"Well…" Pilot Ikari replied slowly. "Now that I'm not coming down from being remarkably embarrassed, could I sit down and talk to you about it?"
An explanation of Pilot Ikari's mindset concerning the Commander would be nothing if not… enlightening. "Very well," Rei replied. "Explain yourself."
She saw Shinji look around, a slight flush coming to his cheeks. "You want to do this… now?" he asked plaintively.
"I see little reason not to," Rei replied, her brow furrowing as Shinji sighed quietly.
"Alright," he said. "Let's find somewhere private."
. . .
Daniel kept an eye on the door to the little data processing room that he and Eleanor stood in, Ritsuko sitting at a computer console and typing a report of the test results as he and Eleanor leaned against one of dozens of shelves of paper and disk-based records. They had one more person to expect before the little presentation began.
"By the by, dear," Eleanor said through a link to Daniel's soul, "we also happen to be sharing the room with Ryoji and Misato. They haven't noticed each other yet."
Daniel smiled slightly as the door opened, Asuka nearly bouncing in and coming to Daniel's side. "Give them a second."
"Now," Ritsuko said as she turned away from her console, "I understand you three have something you wanted to show me."
Daniel looked over at Asuka, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's your brainchild, Fuerwerken. You should take the lead."
Asuka nodded, taking a step forward to stand at the fore. "So, Doctor Akagi, both Daniel and I studied the capabilities of the first two Angels in depth while we were still in Germany. And, while there were some things that we really can't replicate just yet, like their flight capabilities, there were some veryuseful ideas that we decided to take a crack at."
Eleanor handed Asuka a tablet, and Asuka tapped on the screen for a moment. "We passed off the ideas to Eleanor for her input, and she helped us refine them into what you're seeing today," she said as she handed the tablet to Ritsuko.
Ritsuko took the tablet and began examining it, turning to put her elbows on the console she had been working on. "These are… fascinating concepts if nothing else, and they take advantage of existing Progressive Filament technology. Captain Flynn, you've made a decent pricing guide for the development cycle, I see. Perhaps a little optimistic."
Before anyone could continue, the door opened again, Maya walking through with a tablet in her hands. "I've got that detailed harmonics report you requested, senpai," she said, putting the tablet next to Ritsuko.
She paused from turning away, leaning in slightly to peer at the screen. "What's this? New designs?"
"They're both quite experimental," Daniel admitted. "But there is a case to be made for both weapon systems for future combat against the Angels. The 'Prog Spike' is the simpler of the two, but allows for close-in attacks capable of breaching protective AT Fields in case anything tries to close into melee range. The Prog Lash is… well, a tougher sell, I'll fully admit."
"What's so tough about it?" Asuka said, sparing a glance at Daniel. "It requires experience and expertise manipulating AT Fields, which I have. You can ensure complete safety for the wielder and take any unwanted randomness out of the weapon. All you're left with is the ability to wrap things up, hold them down, and degrade AT Fields. All in a nice, simple package."
"If I didn't know any better, it sounds almost like this one was also a personal project along with being an adaptation of Angel attacks," Eleanor said with a slight smile.
Asuka rolled her eyes, then they went wide along with everyone else's as someone else made themselves known.
Ritsuko didn't even flinch as two arms fell over her shoulders, wrapping her in a loose embrace. "Still a world-class multitasker, huh, Ritsuko? The way it's been, you haven't even had time for a boyfriend, have you?"
Ritsuko simply smiled slightly as Maya turned beet red, and Daniel and Asuka shared a weary glance. "Hello, Ryoji. It's been a while. You haven't changed a bit."
"Do you get this flirty with everyone, or just your friends, Mr. Kaji?" Asuka said rather acerbically.
The comment managed to draw Ryoji's attention to her, the man holding that rather mysterious, slight smile. "I haven't really been flirty like this in a long time, Asuka," he said glibly.
"Not since Misato?" she asked.
Ryoji's smile faltered slightly. "Yeah," he said quietly.
"Well, you'd better get your hands off me quick, then," Ritsuko said, looking down at the tablet.
As Ryoji's gaze made its way past Asuka, the man's eyes widening, Ritsuko struck the coup-de-grace with a slight smile. "Because there's a scaaary lady watching us."
The rest of the group followed Ryoji's gaze to see Misato, holding a file and staring down Ryoji with an expression that was positively smoldering with annoyance.
"And what, exactly," she said quietly, "are you still doing here?"
Ryoji stood, turning to face Misato as she scoffed and rolled her eyes. "And really? Hitting on Ritsuko like that?" she said archly.
"I wasn't aware there was anything still between us," Ryoji said calmly, his hands up. "And should we really be talking about this in front of an audience?"
"I don't know," Misato said. "Should you really be nuzzling up against my co-worker in front of an audience? Besides, you didn't answer my question. What are you still doing here?"
"New marching orders," Ryoji said with a shrug. "I'm on assignment here for the long haul in the Intelligence Division. Something about too many leaks in the boat, so to speak."
His smile returned, and Misato's jaw clenched. "And hey, even with new work," Ryoji said, "It's nice to have the old trio back together. We should go out sometime, relive the good old days a little."
"Not a chance," Misato said quietly. "I might have been young, but getting with you is the stupidest decision I've ever made."
Ritsuko sighed. "Please, take this outside," she said quietly.
Before anyone could say anything more, the alarm system blared to life, drawing all eyes to it. It sounded its tritone call for one thing, and one thing alone.
"An Angel attack!" Misato said as stillness gripped the group only for a moment before they dashed towards their respective places.
. . .
2 hours later, Daniel and Eleanor sat tight in the mobile command center vehicle, rolling with all due haste towards the Kii Peninsula, and the signal that had been picked up by the JS Haruna. Their destination, funnily enough, was just outside of the city limits of Katsuragi, to intercept a confirmed Pattern Blue. An Angel.
It was a funny coincidence that was lost on most, Misato especially as she took in the comms screens the pilots involved.
Daniel was prepared for the obvious; Shinji and Asuka were both in the air, Unit-01 and Unit-02 borne aloft on the massive flying wings. What surprised him here was, of course, the variable. One that he and Eleanor had made a reality, but even still.
"Shinji, Asuka, Rei," Misato said. "we're going to be intercepting this Angel away from Tokyo-3. Our defense net's still getting repaired after Ramiel's attack. For practical purposes, 23% means zero percent, so we need to stop this thing in the shallows before it makes proper landfall. No wild goose chases here."
"Yes, ma'am," was the united response from the Children, professional and largely collected.
"Unit-01 and Unit-02 will attack the target in turns," Misato said. "Engage in close combat and keep it boxed in. Unit-00 will engage from long range and take advantage of any openings the two of you make."
"Well, Shinji," Asuka said, glancing to a corner where Shinji's face likely resided for her, "this should be easy enough with all of us dog-piling on this thing. This being your first time back in your own Eva in a while, just let me take the lead and we'll have this done and dusted in no time."
'I wouldn't be so sure, little sister,' Daniel mused as he saw Shinji nodding slowly, seemingly somewhat unsure, glancing over at Eleanor in the seat next to him. 'This one has quite the surprise in store for the both of you.'
But what would Rei add to the equation? Would the Angel take her presence into account? Would it have some other trick up its proverbial sleeve that his records had no idea of?
Only one way to find out, as the command vehicle came to a stop, the feeds from the Evangelions taking up a majority of the several screens showing them releasing from their air carriers and dropping to the earth towards the waiting mobile umbilical stations.
Unit-00, well into the hills, crouched as it took an Eva-sized sniper rifle, built and chambered to fire flash-heated tungsten rods shot through with Progressive Filament, and aimed it at the open water. Unit-01 and 02 would land on the rough beach that had formed where the edge of the town of Kinokawa flowed into what was the port city of Wakayama. Ruined buildings still poked out of the water, the dim shades of the sunken roads still somewhat visible in the noonday sun.
Daniel settled back in his chair with a quiet sigh, watching the edge of the horizon through the eyes of giants.
. . .
Shinji Ikari did his best to tap into his training as he plugged in his umbilical cable, picking up the Pallet Rifle that was waiting for him while Asuka made do with a massive Progressive Glaive, the blade gaining that familiar violet glow as the pair advanced into the water.
"Get a little distance from me, rookie," Asuka said, her professional tone tinged with a slight annoyance. "I'm going to need room to swing this thing, and Wondergirl's going to need a clear firing line."
"Sorry," Shinji said, the apology coming purely by instinct as he sidestepped through one intersection, then another, then advancing a little further before pausing, going to one knee in the water, and shouldering the Pallet Rifle.
The water was cool against his legs through the sympathetic connection, a slightly strange sensation as he swept his gaze and rifle across the horizon, a digital scope blowing up a portion of the landscape before him.
"Where is this thing?" Asuka asked as she paused a few dozen meters in front of him, that annoyance coming more to the fore.
"Sensors are showing it's about 5 kilometers out from your position," one of the voices, one that Shinji now knew was First Lieutenant Hyuga, replied. "It seems to have locked onto you. ETA 3 minutes."
Shinji focused as best he could, and the three minutes Hyuga said seemed to drag on for hours as he kept the rifle pointed to the sea. Then…
There, the feathering of white spray against the bright blue sky, almost invisible for a few seconds before it drew closer and became unmistakable. "I can see it now," Shinji said, hearing Asuka almost giddy with excitement as she chuckled.
As it drew closer, the spray calmed, and something began to emerge from under the water.
Slowly, it rose up, water cascading down a wide, almost hunch-like back that seamlessly arced into arms that were thick at the shoulders and tapered into almost blade-like, three-fingered hands, the back and arms a deep, shining gray that almost faded into black. The four ribs on its otherwise black body, and the slate-colored circular mask above them, reminded Shinji of the first Angel, Sachiel if he remembered correctly. But what raised the alarm in Shinji was that where Sachiel had one large core in the center of its chest, this one had two smaller cores, one atop the other, nearer to the center of its body.
It advanced slowly towards them, then stopped, its upper body twitching from facing Shinji, then Asuka, then to some space in between them and back, that same pattern once, twice…
"Alright, looks like this thing's stumped," Asuka said, Unit-02 hefting its Prog Glaive. "I'm going in."
"Wait," Shinji said, somewhat surprised that Unit-02 only took a single step. "What if it's not just looking at you and me?"
"You think this thing sees Wondergirl?" Asuka said incredulously. "She's all the way off in the hills, basically out of sight. We don't have time to-"
Before Asuka could finish her sentence, the Angel started to shudder, its skin… rippling as an unsettling, deep hum buzzed its way into the Entry Plug, seeping into Shinji's skin in a most unpleasant fashion.
"Beginning attack!" Asuka said, rushing forward with the glaive leveled at the Angel.
Shinji, left with little choice, set to work breaching the Angel's AT Field as he laid down fire in controlled bursts. It was… strange. Where he recalled nullifying the Angel known as Shamshel's AT Field like soaking up water with a sponge, this Angel's Field undulated and pulsed almost as much as its body did. It made the act of even just weakening it, let alone dispelling it, far more challenging than it should have been.
Even still, as Asuka began to jump from building to building, and a flash of light zipped past Unit-01 before the likely deafening crack of Ayanami's sniper rifle, the Angel stood in place, seemingly shrugging off the wound that came from Ayanami's shot going through the Angel's shoulder with explosive force.
Then, Asuka was upon it, jumping into the air and bringing the glaive slicing down with a shout. The blow connected, the long slice down the middle of the Angel's body nearly clean as it simply… fell apart.
It was silent for long moments afterward, Unit-02 stepping back as Asuka spotted a confident grin. "There we go," she said. "It's a little rough, but that's a matter of you guys getting used to following my lead and doing a little better next time."
Then, Shinji heard an alarm from within the command vehicle. "Energy levels from the Angel are increasing!" another voice, this one belonging to one First Lieutenant Aoba, said.
"It's got a trick up its sleeve…" Daniel said rather darkly as the halves became amorphous, ballooning up as a piece fell off of what had been the body of the Angel.
Those bulging, oblong forms soon resolved themselves… into a trio of copies, one golden, another silver, the last a bronze or pewter color.
"Oh, come on!" the pilots heard Misato shout. "Now that's just cheating!"
As if on command, the trio of Angels dashed forward, splitting off as the pewter-colored one began to glow with that purplish light and fly off past them.
Shinji had little time to try and shoot down the Angel, as its silver-colored compatriot dashed towards him. With a shout of surprise, all Shinji really had time to do was interpose the Pallet Rifle in front of a swing, the Angel's claws burying themselves deep into the weapon.
Knowing that the gun was little more than an extremely expensive piece of junk now, he shoved it into the Angel, giving him a precious second to deploy one of his shoulder pylon-stored Prog Knives.
As the blade grew hot, Shinji advanced, slashing, punching, and kicking at the Angel before him. It was sinuous and slippery, seeming almost to predict his moves before he could make them.
But it wasn't perfect, and he managed to catch a jab from the Angel and push it aside, leaving its core wide open. He slashed in, cutting through almost half of the core…
And as he pulled the knife back, he watched as the core simply… repaired itself. Shinji's eyes went wide in shock. 'This thing's cores can heal themselves?' he thought almost numbly.
"Was zum Teufel?" he heard Asuka exclaim, realizing she'd come to the same realization as him as he began to defend from another series of attacks. "These things are supposed to drop like a sack of potatoes after that!"
"You might need to find a way to force these things back together," Daniel said as Shinji regained the momentum and pressed the attack. "Their cores might need to be destroyed simultaneously."
"Easier said than done!" Shinji said as he grew more and more frustrated with how evasive this silver blur before him was. 'Damn it, just stand still!'
Then, as he prepared to stab into the silver Angel's core yet again, it dashed out of the way… and presented a crimson target instead.
As Shinji narrowly missed stabbing Unit-02 in the back, it jumped back, slamming into him and sending both of them stumbling. "Verdammt, rookie!" Asuka growled in exasperation. "Gimme some room to breathe here!"
"I'm trying!" Shinji shot back.
"I am inbound," Ayanami said nonchalantly.
Both Shinji and Asuka looked back to the shore… and saw a deep blue and white comet streaking towards them. All they could do before the impact was shout in surprise, the sound cut off as Unit-00 collided with both Unit-01 and 02, sending all three into the water as those umbilical cables still attached to Evangelion flew free.
Shinji simply sat there for a moment, his whole body aching as Unit-01 found itself in a tangle with the other two.
"Come on, you idiots! Move!" Asuka shouted, trying to extricate Unit-02 from the mess.
"The military's moving in," Misato said firmly even as exasperation tinged her voice. "It's going to draw the Angels out to sea, to buy us some time. Pilots… it's time to retreat."
. . .
NERV-HQ, 2 Hours Later
If there was anything Daniel was sure about, it was that the last thing anyone in the media room wanted to be doing right now was watching the news. Especially if it had to do with them.
"At 9:58 this morning, NERV engaged the most recent of the creatures that have been designated 'Angels', but unexpected tactics forced the JSSDF to intervene, drawing the creature back into Wakayama Bay. When it was drawn to the shores of Awaji Island, an N2 explosive was detonated directly on top of the gathered creatures, seemingly driving them into a dormant state."
Daniel reached for a remote, a cut to an all too brief interview with a clearly unamused Ritsuko fading to silence as he stood, glancing at Misato and Ritsuko and receiving slight nods from both. His gaze darted from them to Eleanor sitting next to them, to Maya, Hyuga, and Aoba, to Ryoji, to Fuyutsuki in the back of the room, his gaze stoic even as his eyes gleamed softly with a scholarly intensity.
Finally, he turned his gaze back to the most openly embarrassed of the gathered members of NERV; the Children themselves. Asuka smouldered with annoyance, Shinji looked positively glum, and Rei… well, there was a slight clench to her jaw, so that much was progress, at least.
"So," he began, "here's what the evening news isn't going to tell you. That N2 strike actually did quite a number on that Angel. Angels. Whatever the hell it's decided to be."
Asuka perked up slightly. "Does it mean we're down one of those little copycats? That'd certainly help even the odds a little bit."
Fuyutsuki sighed quietly. "No," he said somewhat wearily. "It simply means we need to update our mapping software."
"Unfortunately, Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki's right," Daniel continued. "The Angels are lying dormant in what is a new little bay. Doctor Akagi's determined that, due to them having split into three distinct, less powerful entities, that they'll be dormant for the next two and a half weeks."
He paused, sighing somewhat wearily. "Which gives us time to come up with a plan to actively fight against these things."
"Leave it to me, Daniel," Asuka said, standing. "I'll come up with something to kick this thing's ass in no time."
"Something that's more than just 'attack until it's dead'?" Shinji said, drawing more than a few surprised glances his was as he stood and faced Asuka. "You put a lot of emphasis on just slamming into something full force. I don't think that's going to work here."
Asuka rolled her eyes. "Rookie, I'm the one with the training and simulator experience. Right now, what that means is you need to be giving me ideas, not butting heads with me! If you're going to be this obstinate going forward, I'll need to count on Wondergirl more than you!"
"What it means," Daniel said meaningfully, drawing the two Children's attention back to him before they could go much further, "is that the focus needs to be on ensuring that all three of you are able to work together as a team. This was, after all, everyone's first combat sortie since Unit-02 arrived, and theoreticals and simulator time mean everything up until you get punched in the face. These Angels are going to have you beat 99 times out of 100 right now because they have the advantage in teamwork. Damnable thing about them sharing a mental link, more likely than not. So for now, we'll worry about getting a training regimen together, so that you have time to let cooler heads prevail and get focused on said training. Do you understand, Asuka?"
Asuka looked at Daniel challengingly for a moment, then sat back in her seat as she folded her arms. "Doesn't mean I'm going to like this state of affairs," she grumbled.
"Nonetheless," Fuyutsuki said as he stood, drawing all eyes to him as he looked at the Children with a stern glare, "we expect the best of you in the coming days. It is your duty, your responsibility, to destroy the Angels as efficiently and effectively as possible. Disappointment in that regard has dire consequences for all mankind."
With that, he left the room, the rest of the rather subdued crew soon dispersing.
. . .
1 Hour Later
Daniel sat in the breakroom that was closest to Unit-02, going over the damage reports with some of his crew. They weren't extensive by any means, but there was a fair sigh of relief when the length of time the Angels would be dormant was mentioned.
"We should be fine in most regards with replacement parts," Daniel said to his assembled section heads, "but there are some parts we need to replace that are unique to Unit-02, and we'll need to order them from Neuberlin immediately. I doubt the converter units that we have on hand here for Unit-00 and Unit-01 will precisely fit our little red devil, and the last thing any of us need is a drop in performance before a Battle. Alastair, I'll need you on top of that once we're done here."
As Alastair Levinson nodded, he regarded the rest of the section heads. "This should be nice and simple otherwise. The joys of largely interchangeable parts, huh? I think we can get a repair like this mostly done by the end of the day, barring said specialty parts. Once those arrive, we should be ready to go… end of next week, I'd imagine."
Daniel caught a glance of someone in the corner of his eye and found Ryoji leaning in the doorway, looking intently at him with a laptop under one arm.
Daniel turned his focus back to his section heads, nodding as he stood. "Alright, people. Let's be about it."
With that, most of the group departed, Ryoji sliding into the room to allow the section heads to stream out. In a moment, they were alone.
"Something I can help you with, Ryoji?" Daniel asked.
"I was just thinking," Ryoji said, "and I wanted someone to bounce my idea off of. You up for it?"
Daniel shrugged. "It's better than the nothing we've currently got. Shoot."
"So," Ryoji said after a moment, "what do you know about dancing?"
Daniel's eyes narrowed slightly. "Go on."
As Ryoji explained himself, Daniel pondered on the day so far. He'd found it refreshing, if somewhat alarming, that his reaction to the Angel's surprise had been genuine. What was considered to counter such a thing, however, he found thoroughly unsurprising. Some things hardly changed, did they?
As Ryoji finished his explanation, however, Daniel's brow furrowed. "It's not a bad plan, by any means," he said. "But it gets a little more difficult with the odd number of pilots."
"I'm sure we'll figure something out," Ryoji replied, sitting down and opening the laptop. "Recent history being what it's been, I think we can find something to make it work. Better than you might think, even."
. . .
Some time later, Misato found herself considering something far less pleasant. As she regarded her desk, piled high with papers that surrounded a computer that likely had a stuffed inbox, she didn't bother to stifle a groan.
Standing beside her, Ritsuko simply smiled slightly. "I've got to say," she began, "I'm impressed. You've managed to get complaints and documents from what feels like every corner of Japan, plus the UN."
Misato sighed as she rounded the desk. "If I knew something like this was coming, I'd have let the Angel come into the city, defense grid and giant crystal obstacle or not. They seem to prefer us trashing this place to anything else."
She paused as she shook her head slightly. "Any word on repairs for the Evas?"
"Having met with Captains Flynn and Theisman, they estimate five days in the shop for Unit-01 and Unit-00. Unit-02 might take a little longer while they order some of the parts NERV-2 has that we don't shipped over to us, but they'll be ready before the Angels are."
Misato sat at her desk, tenting her hands in an eerie facsimile of Commander Ikari. "Well, I'll come up with something before then, too," she said with conviction. "Plenty of time to think of something hare-brained that the Children can make work."
Ritsuko leaned on one of the piles of papers, still regarding Misato with that slight smile. "Well, much as he didn't show it today, Fuyutsuki's furious. Whatever you do is going to need to work, or you might not be Captain Katsuragi in the future."
Misato sighed as she leaned back in her chair. "Well, I'll take that to the alternative. The commander could be here, and then I'd already be living with Penpen out of my car."
Ritsuko chuckled softly. "He wouldn't even need to see the papers here to have you thrown out."
Misato nodded. "That would be true." Then, she stood, leaning on a stack of papers across from Ritsuko. "So," she said with a gleam in her eye, "being the eminent scientist you are, you've got some framework for me to build upon, I'm sure."
Ritsuko drew a flash drive out from a pocket in her lab coat, and Misato chuckled at the sight. "Well, Ritsky," she said with a grin, "I didn't figure you for being so old-fashioned for something like this. No digital presentation on a tablet?"
Misato shrugged. "But help from a friend is help from a friend. No need to look a gift horse in the mouth, is there?"
"That it is," Ritsuko replied, holding out the flash drive. Before Misato could grab it, she lifted it away. "But this isn't my idea. This is from Ryoji, with some help from Captain Theisman."
She allowed Misato to take the drive this time, Misato finding a paper taped to the side. It was a label, reading 'To my darling' with a heart at the end. For a moment, Misato wanted to toss it into the sea of papers, to sink and be lost forever. And yet…
She smiled slightly. As much as he reminded her of… him, something would be better than nothing when it came to saving the world. And besides, there was always adding her own… personal touch.