Interludes After the Fifth Angel, part 3

Note, the parenthesis indicate languages other than Japanese, in this case, German.

At this point, Shinji's German is still stilted and hesitant, I skipped the pauses and errors, plus Misato's corrections, for clarity.

NERV Japan
Evangelions Cage
Synch Test

´There they go again…´ Shinji looked through the Evangelion´s eyes, while he waited for the shut-off sequence to begin; and permission to leave the plug. The synch test had ended a few minutes before, but he was still synched with Unit-01.

On the other side of the cage, Rei Ayanami waited for the order to enter her own plug; meanwhile, she was busy doing some last minute checks on the systems. A few seconds later, the Commander walked to her, smiling. Rei jumped down to meet him, a big smile on her lips. For an instante, Shinji felt the sting of jealousy, immediately extinguished by the memory of the death of the first Rei, and the maiming of her soul to power Unit-00. The times Rei and the Commander met at the Evangelion cages were the only times he could see them acting like normal people; smiling, animated, instead of the cold masks they showed the world.

´I would like to tell her…´" he thought, ´ I wonder what would Ayanami say if she knew I want to stop what my… what the Commander plans on doing to all of us.

A wave of emotion enveloped him. He felt betrayed, abandoned, jealous, deceived, and angry. All those emotions… he could almost believe they were his own. He had more than enough reasons to feel like that. But, knowing Ayanami´s story, he realized those emotions weren´t actually his.

´Is that you, Mom?´, he thought, trying to reconnect with Yui Ikari´s soul, trapped in the EVA-01´s core.

A warm feeling surrounded him. ´Listen. Mom, I don´t know if you can understand me, but it´s not Ayanami´s fault, she´s a victim too.´

The emotional whirlwind calmed down a bit, a moment of intense curiosity. Shinji focused on the scenes the Phantom Stranger had shown him. Two new emotions appeared in the emotional maelstrom. Pity and outrage.

´I want to save her… No one else but the commander, and maybe Dr. Akagi know it, but Ayanami is the closest I have to a sister. She´s family too, like she was your daughter.´ A wave of sadness, of loss, appeared. ´I can´t do much for her right now, if the Commander suspects I know more than they have told me, he… he probably would do something terrible to me. I have seen what he´s capable of.´ He remembered how the first Rei had died, and then put in the EVA-00.

"Shinji! What´s going on there?!" Maya´s urgent voice jarred Shinji out of his thoughts. He heard a deep, vibrating, guttural growl, and realized it came from the EVA-01´s throat. The whole plug vibrated around him. A deep screeching noise came from the exterior. The EVA was pulling at its anchoring bolts! It wouldn´t take much time for it to be free.

Scared, Shinji thought intensely. "No! No, Mom! Stop! Leave it to me! I´m taking care of her. I will protect her."

Unit-01 paused, like waiting for something. Shinji continued. ´We will stop him. Him and SEELE. I have a friend who is helping me, but if you destroy NERV, the Angels will kill us all. I promise we will stop Third Impact. Just calm yourself, please.´ he sent images of his friends, and of the Phantom Stranger. This last image was answered with a new emotion that drowned all others. Shinji wasn´t sure if it was curiosity, recognition, or a mix of both.

Slowly, the Evangelion calmed down. ´That´s it, take it easy… calm yourself…´ The growl went gradually silent.

Quickly, he called the control box. "I-I´m sorry, Lieutenant Ibuki! I lost control for a minute. I-I-I have it back. Everything is okay here, how are you?" Realizing he was babbling, Shinji shut up and sighed.

Maya´s relieved sigh was clearly heard. "Ok, Shinji, I think it will be best if we finish the synch test right now. I´m starting the shut-off sequence." He barely heard Maya´s next words, before she cut off the line, "I just hope the Unit-00 incident won´t repeat…"

The emotions grew fainter and fainter, ´Just hold on, Mom, please.´ The flow of emotions ended.

Commander ikari´s Lai
A few hours later.

"Commander, here are the graphs of the synch tests." Fujutsuki put two rolls of printing paper on the Commander´s desk.

Gendo ikari examined the graphs, checking the timestamps. He smiled like a shark when he noticed the changes on the Third Child´s last minute of the test.

"The emotional response was as we expected, even more powerful. Although it took him more time than foreseen, the Third Child is jealous of the attention Rei gets from me. He will do anything to earn my approval." Satisfied, he dropped the print-outs on the desk. "Everything proceeds according to the scenario."

Commander ikari´s Lair (Spiritual Plane)
A second later.

´Everything proceeds according to the escenario!´ A cackle echoes in Commander Ikari´s vast and empty office. A laughter no living being could hear, but lifted Boston Brand´s soul. ´It does, but it´s not your scenario anymore, you big rube! We are changing the game rules and you haven´t realized it yet!´

From behind the only chair visible in the office, Deadman grabbed Ikari´s shoulders, like he was about to shake him, and whispered in his ear, perfectly aware he would not hear a single word. ´That kid is gonna give you the ass-kicking of the Ages! And I have the best tickets in the whole stadium!´

Ikari sat comfortably on his chair, with an ugly smile on his lips. He opened a drawer, taking out a shogi board.

Fujutsuki said nothing. He just opened a hidden closet, and pulled a chair close to the desk.

´Man... I am so tired of watching you two play...´sighed the ghost, but still smiling.

Katsuragi Residence
Days Later

Shinji picked up the mail at the mailbox on the reception of the building. As the lift went up, he started to classify the envelopes in groups. One for the bills they had to pay during the week, another for junkmail, another for Misato´s mail, and finally, his own mail. Ah! Two letters from Asuka! One for him and the other for Misato. He put them each at the bottom of their respective piles.

While he was preparing the food, he ocassionally eyed the little piles of mail on the table. Misato would take a little while to get home.

Once everything was in the right pot, cooking slowly, Shinji sat at the table. He was eager to read Asuka´s letter, but decided to do his homework first.

"I'm home!" Misato arrived as he was finishing the last subject. "Welcome home, Misato, dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes." She sighed tiredly, but the smell of food reanimated her in a second. "Great! I´ll go change. Be back in a minute!"

Pen-Pen chose that moment to come out his fridge. He deposited his newspaper in the reciclable paper basket, and stared at Shinji. The kid put the penguin´s plate on the floor, containing a generous serving of marinated fish he had prepared beforehand. The warm water penguin looked at him approvingly before digging in.

While Shinji checked on the food, Misato came back from her room, wearing a t-shirt three sizes too big, and her favorite ratty shorts. She sat at the table, and opened the first envelope from the bills pile. Her face seemed to get longer and longer, as she added the bills in her head. "I think I will be broke by the end of the month... Oh... Shinjiiii!" The young pilot knew what would come next, he was very familiar with that sing-song tone.

He put an envelope on the table, and slid it towards Misato. "Here´s my part for this month. But that dress you have to pay it for yourself."

"Thanks, Shinji! You´re the best roomie!"

Shinji smiled back at her.

Finally, Misato got to the last envelope. "Hey! A letter from Asuka! Didn´t she write to you? You´re too quiet."

"Yes, she wrote me a letter, but I´m saving it for later."

Right then, Shinji´s cell chirped. "(Time to change to German, Misato.)"

"(Okay, where were we.)"

"(Bills to pay.)"

"(Hah! Don´t try to escape, Shinji. Letter from Asuka. Have you proposed yet or will you wait until she comes to Tokyo-3?)"

"Misato!" Shinji was as red as a tomato.

"(Hey, a girl needs her fun. Now tell me.)"

"(Well... so far, we´re good. But we are just friends. Pen pals.)"

Pen-Pen raised his head, thinking he had been called. He shrugged and went back to his last fish.

"(So, what are you waiting for? Open your letter! I promise I won´t read over your shoulder. Much.)"

"(Not yet. Let´s eat first)" and he put the letter in his backpack.

"(Spoilsport.)" Misato pouted.

Once the meal was finished, Shinji took the plates to the kitchen sink. Misato awaited impaciently, while she read the letter Asuka had sent her. Hmm... It seemed Asuka was a bit curious about her future co-worker. The redhead was very reserved, but Misato knew how to read between the lines. There were a few questions implicit in the text.

"(Dishes done. Now, if you excuse me, I´m going to my room.)"

"(Hey! Are you going to leave me hanging here?)"

"(Yes.)"

"(You are no fun.)" Misato stuck her tongue at him, and went back to her letter.

In his Lovely Suite, Shinji opened the envelope.

"(Hey, Third!

My guardian and me are about to start our journey to Tokyo-3, we will arrive in a few weeks, so if you want to write me back, send your letter through NERV´s post; adressed to me, in Unit-02 Convoy; I´ll send you some postcards from the cities we pass through.

I got your pictures, I really hope your friends are smarter than they look. At least your female friend looks sensible enough; Class Rep, eh?

I´m sending you a picture of me and my guardian, his name is Ryoji Kaji. I hope you learn a lot from him. Who knows? Maybe you will get a girlfriend one of these days! Good luck with that!

About that restaurant, I trust in Misato´s taste, as long as she doesn't cook, but you should go and check the service. I´m very picky about where I eat.

Ah, and lastly, be ready to say goodbye to your Top Pilot title! :D

See you soon.

ALS)"

Shinji took the picture, and felt as if a lightning bolt had hit him square in the chest. Along with Asuka, there was the badly shaved man the Phantom Stranger had shown him. Ryoji Kaji. Now he had a name for that face. And the time they would take to arrive to Japan would seem an eternity.

"(Misato, Asuka is on her way here.)" he said as he re turned to the kitchen.

"(At last! They should have mobilized them ages ago. Stupid bean-counters... What else? Has she surrendered to your suave Casanova charm yet?)"

Once again, Shinji´s face was red. "(¡Misato!)"

"(Awww! You are too fun to tease! Now, seriously, what did she said?)"

Shinji just stared at her for a few seconds, but knew he couldn´t stay mad at her for too long. So he sat at the table and read from the letter.

"(Well, she and her guardian must have left Berlin by now. Any letters we send to her or his guardian should be sent through NERV´s delivery, she will be sending postcards on the way. She suggests I check that restaurant you told me about before she arrives…)"

Misato interrupted him, ("Be sure to ask for the private booth, its very romantic.")

"(Knock it off already, Misato!)"

Misato pouted; well, she had covered her Teasing Shinji quota for the day... So, she opened a beer, smiling like a sphinx. "(Okay, okay, enough is enough. Go on.)"

"(She also sent a picture of her and her guardian.)" Shinji gave the picture to Misato. She went suddenly pale. All her good humor drained away in a second. "(Oh, crap... It can´t be... Ryoji Kaji...)"

"(You know him?)"

"(Of course I know him! He is a complete idiot, a chauvinist pig, an egocentric jerk... a... a...)" Misato had run out of adjectives, "(Gah! I thought I had gotten rid of that idiot years ago!)"

Shinji didn´t know what to say, he had never seen Misato in such a foul mood. "(What will you do..?)"

"(Any luck and he will leave as soon as Asuka and Unit-02 are under NERV´s custody.)"

"(Oookay…)"

"(However, I have to be present during the transfer; and I´m almost sure it will be as soon as they enter into Japanese waters)"

"(Maybe it won´t be so bad. If that´s all there is, it won´t be more than a few hours.)" Inside, Shinji was wondering just what could have happened between them. Maybe Misato would tell him later; but for the moment, he thought best to deploy his own secret weapon. "(I have a chocolate cake in the fridge, freshly done. I had planned to give it to Dr. Akagi and Lieutenant Ibuki tomorrow, but I think this is an emergency. Want a slice?)"

"(Chocolate?)"

"(Double chocolate.)"

Misato forgot her bad mood in an instant.

NERV Japan
Transport Band to Science Section
A few days later

"Fifteen years ago, in the Antarctic, Mankind found the being that would be famous as the First Angel. Ritsuko Akagi spoke like a college professor during a conference. Shinji looked surrepticiously at Misato, noting she was crushing the folder she carried. She was looking anywhere but at them.

´Finally, they are telling me the truth about Second Impact...´ Shinji prepared himself to hide his knowledge.

"But, during the research, due to unknown causes, the Angel blew up."

Shinji kept silent, paying attention, comparing Dr. Akagi´s words to what the Phantom Stranger had shown him. ´Unknown causes, suuure.", he snarked in the privacy of his mind. ´SEELE sent Professor Katsuragi to poke a sleeping dragon. Of course something would go wrong there.´

"That was the Second Impact." Akagi continued her lecture.

Shinji tried a naive question. "So, then our mission is..?"

"To prevent a probable Third Impact, Shinji, That´s the purpose of NERV and all the Evangelion Units. By the way, Captain, tomorrow´s event has been confirmed."

Shinji realized his part in the conversation had ended, and wondered to what event they were talking about. Misato seemed to know it already, and didn´t add any more information. She just nodded, her lips tense with a deep dislike.

He hoped it would be something simple, like another parent/teacher meeting. No, on a second thought, it would be better if it wasn´t that. Misato´s appearance at school had put the gossip mill into overdrive, and he had more than half the boys at school asking for Misato´s phone number; and more than half the girls were sending him death glares because of that.

Quintessence´s Plane. (2009)

Deadman floated, sitting on the air, before the Phantom Stranger. "Any progress on your side?"

"A partial one. I haven´t been able to penetrate the fog that obscures my vision. But, thanks to your information, I have determined that at some point in the future Angels War, there will be a schism between SEELE and Gendo Ikari. He is not the faithful lackey he looks like. Their plans are compatible only up to a certain point. After that, Ikari will betray them to execute his own escenario. They are using each other."

"Just like supervillains. They never agree on anything. So, what about the kids?"

"They are merely tools for SEELE and Ikari. Shinji is barely a back-up plan in case of a contingency. Even so, Ikari has groomed him carefully to serve his designs."

Deadman slammed his fist against his left palm. "What a jerk! Leave him to me; I´ll get him to a place he won´t be able to return from!"

"No. There are two reasons. One, to take him off the board now would leave free reign to SEELE. And two, the same fog that hides SEELE from me also protects the Third Impact conspiracy from any direct interference from us. Or any other magic being walking the Earth."

A disbelieving Deadman stammered. "T-then... I can´t hijack his body?"

"No, Ikari and SEELE´s members are immune to your power and mine. That´s the reason your investigations couldn´t get you close to them. In fact, it is surprising you could find out so much, even with such a handicap."

Deadman beamed. A compliment from the Phantom Stranger was high praise indeed. The Stranger continued, "We have to act through indirect means."

He extended a hand towards the globe. "Through the children they have marked as their tools." the images of Shinji an Asuka appeared.

Deadman rubbed his chin. "I don´t like that."

"You will like it even less. We must let the Angels Wars to proceed. The only thing we can do is guide the events. At least, until I can find a way to destroy or bypass that mystic barrier. I´m afraid our best bet might be Barter." Next to the globe, the image of a man replaced the children. He appeared to be about fifty years old, portly but strong; with a thick, neat moustache; a sharp tailored suit, a bit outmoded; surrounded by shelves with all kinds of knick-knacks. Some of the objects were recognizable mystic relics.

"Damn... I haven´t had the pleasure, but his reputation preceeds him. He is famously mercenary."

"Barter is absolutely honest and literal. That is the problem. He delivers scrupulously, to the letter of any arrangement done. No more and no less than was agreed. One must be very careful about what´s asked of Barter. He never accepts payments on any kind of money, only trades; that´s part of his curse. He must receive something equivalent in value to whatever is asked of him, be it an objet, information or services. He can´t give nor receive anything unless those conditions are met."

"I think I would prefer a card reading from Madame, thank you very much."

The Stranger went tense at hearing those words.

Deadman added, a bit subdued. "Madame Olga? The furtune-teller back at the circus? Her tent always smelled to incense and tobacco. I felt sick everytime I passed next to it."

"I see." But the Phantom Stranger didn´t elaborate.

Author´s Notes

I know Shinji is usually portrayed in fics as not knowing he gets paid, but I think that, at least in this version, he gets to spend part of his pay checks. Though most of it is deposited in a trust fund for his education (even though both SEELE and NERV only do this to keep up appearances, they don´t really expect anybody to still be alive a year in the future); he still gets enough to help Misato with their apartment upkeep. And otherwise, where would he get the money for all those books and magazines about the Second Heroic Age he buys? Some of them are rare, expensive, imported, or all three!

This time, Misato won´t be blindsided by Kaji´s arrival. At least not as badly as she did in canon.

Barter was a little used character back in the 90´s, he only had a few appearances before being forgotten by DC. I always thought he was an interesting character and liked how hard a bargain he could drive. He always fulfilled any deals to the absolute letter of the agreement. And he was very well connected for a guy who never set foot ouside his (moving) shop.