Retread Working Doc Compilation.
I'm probably not finishing this series, and I only recently re-found the drive these stories were on, after having lost the archival hard drive my stories were on some years back.
Pay no attention to the spelling and grammar issues, this is/was a working document for anything in the series including the very next story.
power outage not happens, Kaji asks for falsified data on power restoration to feed to Seele. Gendo gives false data and arranges real power outage after Matariel so SEELE not suspicious of the data.
Matariel appears, downs units 1 and 2, units 0 and 5 kill it. My Matariel is a shadow being like Clockiel, a 4 legged spider like Matariel, false core like Clockiel, fires blasts from eyes like Clockiel, has many many eyes like Matariel.
Unit 4 kablooie, NERV-2 gone. Evidence points to SEELE tampering with Shamshel core and infecting units 3 and 4.
Doctor Makinami popped into the office without an invitation. Gendo and Ritsuko looked up as she walked over. The entire lack of a seductive walk, and the determined look on her face prompted Gendo to ask, "You seem concerned. What is it, Doctor?"
"No one knows I've left Bethany except Commander Ulyanov, and he's covering for me. Branch 2 is why I'm here. I didn't say anything at the time when I received Unit-05, but with Unit-04 gone and Unit-03 on it's way here, I need to make it clear, do not activate that EVA without a thorough tear-down, inspection and non-standard part replacement."
"Why is that?" Ritsuko asked, "That's a lot of work to do."
"Unit-05 could not synchronize with Mari when it arrived because the Core was corrupted. I ran a diagnostic and found that it was not an EVA Core. It wasn't quite the S2 core from an Angel either. I also found Angelic material integrated into it, I recognized it as being from the Third Angel. Someone had been growing samples of it and implanting it within the American made EVAs."
"Could this be a ploy on the part of SEELE?" he asked neutrally.
"It's quite likely. You will need to finish rebuilding Provisional 5 into a full EVA as well. I would recommend you take some test bodies and start making backup EVAs and start acquiring new Children."
"Why is that?"
"The US, Bethany, Germany, Golgotha, Antarctica, and Luna are all building Evangelions. I haven't found much information, but they are a new model, equipped with production S2 organs. The United States has been feeding you false information on S2 organ construction. You don't have much time."
"Can you find out the specifications of the actual S2 organs?" Doctor Akagi asked.
She produced a datachip and held it between two fingers, "Already done. I know you don't trust me, but Commander Ulyanov and myself are in with you against whatever SEELE is planning. We will support you however we can. I know Branch Three is with you as well, as their production capability is being crippled intentionally. Commander Sohryu has been forced into acquiescing to SEELE, but he's making sure that there are setbacks. I'm the only one not being watched closely, so I'm able to act as a go between if needed."
"What is your price for this information, Doctor?" Gendo asked.
"My price is that you take care of my Mari. Keep her safe. She's my baby, and it would kill me to lose her."
Unit 3 shipped to japan. Gendo quarantines and demands dissection/analysis. Bardiel discovered, infected parts and Shamshel corrupted Core removed. Unit-3 being refurbished for combat.(Touji)
Bardiel regenerates, infects Matsushiro MAGI, and is stopped by units 0, 1, 2, 5. Matsushiro MAGI destroyed. Gendo and Akagi arrested and held by the Comittee. New commander(Jacobson) comes in.
"Do you have anything to say in your defense, Ikari?"
"Yes. Your coup to replace me will fail. I have several agents in place with instructions to begin a counter-coup, which will end in my being reinstated. SEELE's scenario has failed. It is too far off track to succeed. My Scenario, however, has gone exactly as planned, even down to this incident."
He leaned back and grinned, "Adam Kadmon is a dream that will never be achieved by SEELE."
"Take them away, place them under twenty-four hour surveillance and instate the maximum level of security. Inform Commander Jacobson that he will be placed in charge of Branch 1."
The Council disappeared and the Guards they had sent placed the two on trial in handcuffs.
As they were led away, Ritsuko stopped for a moment can called out, "Gendo!"
He paused and looked over at her, his expression neutral.
"If we get out of this, Gendo, and you ask me that question you always ask, I'll say yes."
A corner of his mouth quirked upward, and in a calm, cool voice, he replied, "We won't be incarcerated long, Ritsuko-kun. Shortly after the next Angel, we will be free."
Provisional 5 finished refurbish and commissioned as production model Unit-04A (Kensuke) just before arrest. Unit-03 finished rebuilt and commissioned.
New Commander arrives, Shinji elected by the other five to represent them and demand compensation from the Committee. New Commander denies it, Pilots strike. Shinji sneaks into lower levels and subverts all dummy plugs.
Zeruel arrives, dummys don't work.
"Oh, Gee. Looks like your vaunted Dummy System doesn't work." Shinji commented as he strode onto the Command Center upper level, behind the commander and the desk.
"Get out of my command center or I'll have you thrown out."
"Suck it old man," Shinji snapped as he flipped off the Commander, then pulled out a walkie talkie, "Guys, saddle up. We have an Angel to kill. You have my Command codes if you need to perform any overrides."
"You're not going anywhere."
"Wanna bet? Now you're going to find out why we're the ones who truly hold power in NERV, Commander. Without us, the EVAs don't work. Without the EVAs, the Angels will end all life on Earth. Your so-called Dummy system is exactly that. Dumb. Now, I have an EVA to pilot and an Angel to kill."
"We will have a talk later," the commander snapped, "Get him to the Cages."
Shinji's lips curled into a sneering grin as he replied, "Yes. Yes, I believe we will have a talk later. And if I'm not satisfied, well, you'll wish you were the one going face to face with that Angel."
Zeruel only barely stopped by massive coordinated assault by all six Evangelions. Three Evas crippled, Unit two decapitated per Series, Unit 0 eaten by Zeruel, per Rebuild, but Rei manages to eject just before, Unit 1 arm ripped off per Rebuild, Shinji goes berserker and finishes off Zeruel. Unit 1 eats the core per Series and regenerates it's damage.
Due to synch restrictions, cannot pass 100%, Shinji isn't absorbed.
Arael, stopped similar to stock. Asuka only brought out of it by Shinji's embrace.
Shinji ran into the beam, and time slowed to a crawl.
He found himself surrounded by shadow copies of Asuka, all surrounding the real her, who was screaming for it to get out of her mind. He felt enraged, and shoved through the shadows, coming face to face with a shadow version of himself.
"You want to run away now, don't you. You're struck with fear," the shadow said in his own voice. "I can take that fear away."
Shinji growled, "Go to hell, Angel." then reared back and punched the other him in the face, knocking it back as he heard a meaty 'crack' and the sound of a nose breaking.
He stalked towards Asuka, but with every step she became more distant, and he was confronted with another him. "Now you're enraged. You want to get to her, but can't. You're separated from her. And that makes you mad."
It clicked. The Angel wasn't truly attacking yet, it was using one's own inner Demons to assault the Psyche and break it down. He was stronger than this. Better than it.
Shinji calmed and pushed past, "How well you think you know us. You're nothing but a shadow of your father, come to destroy life as it is on this world. We won't allow that. We will stop you."
"Oh yes, indeed, the pride of being an Evangelion pilot. One of the Six Elite."
"Someone else could have just as easily been chosen. My entire class are all potentials."
Another him grabbed him in an inhumanly strong bear hug, "I'm you at your most stubborn. You won't get past me."
"But I already have," Shinji said, simply willing himself through the apparition, intent on getting to Asuka.
"All for what? A chance at love," another voice sneered, and he glanced over at another him lying in only his shorts, surrounded by all the women in his life in a pile around him as he lounged across several of them, "The chance to procreate and bring about the next generation?"
"Not yet, but the next generation is who inherits this world. How I better it is my blessing to them, how I worsen it is my curse on them."
"So now we come to the truth. You are a horrible person."
"Yes I am. I'm dishonest, sneaky, a coward, a terrible person. I have to live with every choice I make for the rest of my life. But you know what, I acknowledge that I'm like that, and with that, I can move on, grow and change. Become a better person, and leave behind a better world."
He took another step, and all of the shadows appeared in front of him. "You're not escaping us that easily."
"I'm not escaping. You're part of me. I carry you with me all the time. I'll never be rid of you. But you know what, you're part of me, and subject to my will, no matter how much that Angel is trying to make you into your own entities. So, either get behind me, and stay there, or fan out in front of me and clear a path to Asuka."
Shinji took a step, and felt the neural feedback from EVA unit 01 taking one as well. He took another, and his shadow selves melted into the background, With every step, Asuka got closer and closer, and just as Unit 01 hugged Unit 02 and hauled it back to the lift, he felt his arms close around Asuka, who snapped out of her daze. He carried her forward, and for an instant, something passed between them in that shadow world.
Half conscious of the shadow world, half conscious of the real world, Shinji felt her lips and her body pressed against his. It felt very real as he called, "Retrieve us!"
Then he felt it, a powerful longing, and her soul's cry for completion. He felt her trying to become one with him, to complete him and have him complete her. He was about to give in when he felt a jarring snap, and he blinked, being in the entry plug, halfway down to the cages in the Geofront.
He gently lay Unit-02 down, then locked Unit-01 back into the catapult and said, "I'm going back up. I know how to defeat this Angel!"
Asuka, freed of the Angel's attack, managed to get Unit-02 to crawl down to the cages, then force it to a stand so it could be secured.
She passed out just as the restraints locked Unit-02 in place and they ejected the plug.
Asuka awoke and looked out of the isolation bay at where Shinji had been the night before. She saw only Rei there, quietly reading a book. The albino glanced up, "Good morning."
"Where is he? Did he break his promise? Where is he? He promised he would be here." Tears started down her face as Rei replied, "Look in the other Isolation bay. We found that he had barely slept or eaten for three days. We gave him some food laced with sedatives to put him to sleep."
"WHAT? That idiot! He told me he'd been..."
"He had been here the entire time. He had not left for more than bathroom breaks."
"What is he, STUPID? Damnit, why?" Asuka panted, and grabbed her IV caddy, hauling to the side of her bay adjacent to the one he was sleeping in.
She pounded on the side of her cell, shouting, "Get up, idiot Shinji! What are you, STUPID! Get up!"
"He will not awaken for another hour at least. Please calm yourself."
"How can I not worry? He can't afford to ruin his health over me!"
"It is because he worried over you. I have long suspected he'd fallen in love with you. His actions have more or less proven it, no matter what he will say when he wakes up and you berate him for it."
She sank to her knees, her hands pressed against the plexiglass, "If could get through these walls right now, I'd make love to him, and then kill him."
"Do you love him, Second?"
"I, yes, no... Yes. I don't know. He treats me well, but he tends to dote on all of us, doesn't he? It's why we elected him as our Commander, isn't it? How much has he done for me as opposed to you? Or for Mari? Or for the Stooges?"
"He cares for all of us equally, but it is you who attracts his gaze when he thinks no one is watching. He is adept at hiding his heart behind a mask. In that respect he is very much his father's son."
"You sound like his mother, First."
"Not entirely incorrect. I am a partial clone of Yui Ikari, as you well know. However, we are as brother and sister, even if I am a bit..."Rei looked away and pursed her lips before continuing, "Maternal in my instincts towards any potential suitors for him."
Asuka kept replaying that instant in the shadow world the Angel had formed around her mind, how he had broken through, banishing her tormenting shadows, how his body felt as it pressed against hers, how she had not resisted her impulse and had kissed him then and there. How it felt deep within as she felt her soul melting into his, and then the sudden jarring snap back to reality as they made it into the Geofront.
She couldn't deny it to herself. She wanted that young man in the bed near her. She wanted to be his, and him to be hers. She felt such a powerful longing, and it threatened to choke her. She willed it down. She was still an Evangelion pilot, and a child. She could wait until after they stopped SEELE.
Then, she would see if he felt the same for her.
Armisael, pretty much the same, but Rei ejects. After physical contamination cleared from her, she returns to duty while Unit 00 is rebuilt from a test body again.
Kawaoru comes, meets all pilots as a group.
"Well, I must have words with you alone, Shinji, and you as well, Rei."
"Whatever you have to say can be said in front of the rest of the pilots. And I'm sure Rei will agree, right?
"Yes. Whatever you have to say can be done in front of the others, Tabris."
"Ahh, Tabris? So, that's which one he is."
Kawaoru took a step back, looking shocked, "Tabris?"
"I've seen the Secret Dead Sea Scrolls. You are Tabris, the Angel of Free Will."
"Being half-Angel myself, I can sense others of my kind," Rei said, "You are an Angel, but also Human."
"I see. This certainly puts a damper on things, does it not? Indeed, this is not in the Scenario."
"SEELE's Scenario went south the second I saw the Scrolls." Shinji paused, then leveled his fiercest gaze at Kawaoru, "You have a choice, Angel of Free Will. You can follow the Directives of SEELE, binding yourself and your will to those old men who fear death, and forcing us to kill you in their stead, or you can join humanity in truth, and embrace your Free Will, and truly understand what it is to be human, or you can leave and return to SEELE. Any choice you make boils down to those three. Die as an Angel, live as a human, or be a cowardly animal, and end up hunted by both those who sought to master you and those who sought to free you."
"We will await your decision," Rei said.
"Pilots, stay on Second stage alert. That means 8 hour rotating dual shifts, assigned by fire team."
"We'll take first," Touji said.
"Third," Asuka said.
"Then Rei and I are on Second."
The pilots walked away from the Nephilim, who simply smiled, "Choice. Free will. I think I shall endeavor to find a fourth option. That would be truly what is worthy of being the Angel of Free Will."
"He has way more choices than just three."
"No. I've thought it through pretty well."
"Mine, however, was worse than yours. She would stoop to anything to get what she wanted. She wanted Commander Ikari. She sabotaged the first Contact experiment and left Doctor Ikari's soul within an Evangelion Core."
Asuka was silent as the elevator rushed downward.
"Like mother, like daughter I was always told. I loved my mother, but I also hated her. I don't want to be anything like her. So, I dye my hair blonde. Despite my feelings, I won't pursue the man I love as he is already married to his work. I know what Commander Ikari did to my mother, even though he doesn't know that I know."
They rode on in silence, and tears formed in Ritsuko's eyes as she continued, "I can't hate him, even though he made sure she suffered the same fate as Yui Ikari. They'll live forever inside those cores. He even allowed her body to continue living, as a memorial to her sins. He finally let me take her off of life support last month. I'm finally free of her shadow."
"You're the one who worked with my mother and came up with the VI that we use in the Evangelion cores. You..."
"It's based on the MAGI AI, the system my mother developed. All I can do is build on her work."
"How many countless others is her work built on?" Askua replied, looking up at Ritsuko.
Ryoji Kaji leaned back as he said, "The Japanese Government has been ordered by the Human Instrumentality Committee to dissolve NERV, but they're stalling. JSSDF strike teams are enroute to the locations of all SEELE members we know about, by the end of the day they will be dead or in custody."
"SEELE has already been held out of the MAGI due to Doctor Akagi's firewall. She's currently working on trace-back and counter-hacks to take control of the other MAGI. Commander Sohryu just reported that Branch 3's MAGI have been shut down due to 'Technical problems'. He is evacuating the facility."
"So, what's SEELE's next move?"
"They will bring the Mass Production Evangelions out to destroy us, and use them to initiate Third Impact."
"So, we need to destroy the Mass Production Evangelions?"
"Yes."
"Piece of cake for our pilots."
"The reports I have say there are eighteen of them. We only have seven Evangelions. Units Six-P and Zero A is incomplete, Unit One has an Angel's S2 engine unlike the rest, one pilot is wounded, one is untrained, one is psychologically unstable, the other four are weary."
"I'd still place money on our pilots."
Gendo smiled darkly. "The Scenario is more or less going into uncharted and unplanned territory. I daresay Third Impact may be inevitable."
"I hope not."
"Ikari, we can't just let you send out the children to die and idly stand by while they fight for us."
"Gentlemen, it's already obvious that conventional weapons pose little more than a distraction to the Angels, much less the Evangelions."
"The JSSDF would be fielding conventional forces as skirmish and backup, but we have an Ace up our sleeve," Kaji said.
"And what Ace would this be?" Shinji asked.
"Jet-Alone's been retooled, completely. Minus the AT field, it might be a match for one Evangelion."
Dr. Akagi said, "Oh, great, the bomb on legs again."
"Not quite. Prototype fusion plant. The pilot's a combat veteran who has been training the last few months to pilot it. As we speak, they're fitting out the final weapons arrays and armor derived from the Evangelion Armor specs we were given. I can't tell you more, yet, because I don't know."
"So, we have seven Evangelions, only four in Combat condition, a small army and one giant robot against eighteen Evangelions. Great odds."
"Okay, we need to disable or destroy the rest of the Evas. We have three ways of doing this. Destroy the plugs, destroy the Cores, or destroy the spinal cord transmission systems."
The pilots all replied with affirmatives as a new voice cut in, "Evangelion pilots, this is JSSDF Command. We have forces on the way to Tokyo Three. A tank battalion and two squadrons of VTOLs for support in addition to the Jet-Alone Two Prototype."
"Verified, JSSDF Command, do not allow your vehicles to approach to melee range of the SEELE Evangelions. Engage at standoff ranges and utilize your mobility. Can you link the Jet-Alone pilot to our ARCTIS Battle Network?"
"Pilot Ikari, this is JSSDF Captain Mana Kirishama, Pilot of the Jet-Alone Two." a voice called as the computer systems completed handshake. A young woman appeared on a display on his HUD.
"Good to have you with us. I'm placing you with Evangelion Fire Team Three. They're our least experienced pilots, and don't have a lot of training. Having a military veteran will help them out. I'm relying on you for Combat SA."
"Confirmed, Pilot Ikari. This is a lot of information that's being piped into my overview."
"Tell ARCTIS you want Mode 3. That should cut it to target brackets, speed and other unit locks."
"Here they come, Shinji," Rei said.
"All right. This is it. No fancy speeches. We fail, Humanity dies. Let's not fail today."
"We won't die. We've got you leading us," Asuka said. Mari pitched in, "Let's show my great-grandfather that this world doesn't belong to him."
Doctor Akagi's voice cut through the comms, "Shinji, provisional Unit Six has been armored in B type. We're sending up Pilot Horaki."
A gleaming Evangelion in unpainted armor slid out of the ground just as a gate opened. Locks released, and Shinji said, "Class Rep, you're on Fire Team Three. Fire Team Three, you will guard the central city blocks. I'll leave targeting decisions to Captain Kirishama. Do as she says. Fire Teams One and Two are the front-line units and will engage the SEELE Evangelions one at a time as they close. We're leaving fire support and ranged combat to you."
Hikari nodded, and jogged her EVA over toward the marker that appeared on her HUD.
Shinji took a breath and sighed as the white Mass-Produced Evangelions landed just outside of the City limits.
"Weapons status?" he called.
"I have the Lance," Rei said as Asuka chimed, "Magorox at full power."
"Dual Saw fueled and ready." Mari replied.
"And I've got Dual Prog swords. Okay. Let's kill these bastards."
"Fortress City status?"
"Fifteen percent operational intercept capability."
"Link fire control targeting to Fire Team Three's computers. That way we have some of the static emplacements hitting what Fire Team Three is."
"Let's see if they fixed the heating problems with the F-type like they're supposed to," Askua said, "Activating armor polarization, actuation boosters and Magorox AT focusers."
Orange lines of force appeared from the long hollow shaft of the Magorox as it powered up and focused Unit-02's AT field into an edge in the sword. Meanwhile Mari sent the start signal, and a turbine spun up in the Dual Saw. She clutched it once, allowing the twin chain blades to move.
"Can't wait to make a mess," she cried.
"The Mass-Produced Models are equipped with some sort of two handed bladed staff thing. Can you get sensor analysis on it?"
"The MAGI are already working on it." Lieutenant Ibuki called.
Fight is a mess, Four at once charge Shinji, Rei, Auka and Mari, two harass the rest but get destroyed. Fire team 3 manages to down three the MP Evas. Kirishama tasks Kensuke and Touji with keeping the downed ones down.
Impact does happen, Shinji and Rei reject it, Rei disappears. Her sisters don't.
Meta-physical dream section during impact where this Shinji talks to the original from the series, and then they're joined by Rebuild Shinji and Gendo. (I need to finish watching the mess that is 3.01.0. Hell, 3.33 is too much of a schizophrenic mess and was what killed my interest in continuing this)
All Shinjis agree that this timeline is a good split, and it should continue, before they turn and walk away. Gendo is disbelieving that he is truly happy here.
"Happiness is what you make of it. My dad is happy. You aren't because you never grew up, and you're going to pursue that which has rejected you for the rest of eternity." Retread Shinji said, before turning and walking away. Fading into the mists as he willed himself back to his own reality.
Shinji comes to and with a crippled Unit 1, finishes off the last MP Eva, stopping impact. Meaning it happened, but it also didn't.
Epilogue: haven't decided yet.
Equipment types: * by canon
A-Type Battery Pack(unnamed as such but shown in)
B-type Standard armor
C-type Underwater
D-type Extreme environments
E-type AT Field Resonance Armor
F-type melee combat armor(Game)
G-type Sniper(Rebuild)
S-type Aerial(Rebuild)