Depth, Part 2
Note, the parenthesis indicate languages other than Japanese, in this case, English.
This chapter was only partially beta-read, it might be edited later on.
Please Read and Review. I'd like to know what I'm doing right (to keep doing it), and what I'm I doing wrong (to correct it).
Over the Rainbow, in route to the Command Bridge
The group approached the bridge, following Misato, who was still smiling softly after the two pilots´ introduction. By mutual and silent agreement, Shinji and Asuka had silently decided to walk a few steps apart; Shinji with Misato at the front, and Asuka at the rear with Kensuke, and Toji in the middle; to deny the Captain any other chance to tease them. However, to walk the long hall to the bridge, they had to close distance.
In the narrow hall, Kensuke had ended between Toji and Asuka. He didn´t dare to try to talk to her, but she whispered in his ear. "Hey, Geek-Stooge, is he always like that?"; Kensuke turned his head, seeing that the redhead was looking ahead.
"What? Oh, no. He is way more easy-going. I assure you. I don´t know what happened."
"Really? Hmph, too bad." The redheaded girl said, and kept silent the rest of the walk to the bridge, confounding Kensuke to no end.
Over the Rainbow, Command Bridge
Spiritual Plane
Deadman took a few minutes to watch the crew of the Over the Rainbow, until he chose a sailor who was about to send messages for delivery. The ghostly acrobat hijacked his body, and quickly typed a short coded message; the text wasn´t actually important, but the heading and sender contained a couple of codified shorthands; Deadman printed the sheet, addressing it to Ryoji Kaji. He added the paper to the bottom of the stack, and released the sailor.
The man passed the stack of papers to an ensign. The young man went to deliver the messages. In a few minutes, Ryoji Kaji would receive a message telling him there was a possible double agent in the fleet; prompting him to take Adam and go to Commander Ikari immediately.
´(Ah, irony… Kaji himself is a triple agent!)´, Deadman thought, smiling.
Over the Rainbow, Command Bridge
While the sailor went out to deliver the messages, Misato and the kids arrived to the bridge. As both the Admiral and Captain were in a very bad mood, the smooth transfer of duties she had expected became a heated war of words between NERV and the Pacific Fleet.
"The fate of the world depends on those children? What a joke! If they had enlisted, we would have tossed them back!"
Misato took breath to defend her charges, when she was distracted by the soft touch of a hand on her shoulder. It was Shinji.
"He is right, Misato; we children shouldn´t be here." Misato was about to argue, Shinji had an impressive record in combat. Potentially, Asuka could surpass him, even though she had not seen real action yet. The German pilot was about to start her own tirade, when Shinji cut her off, gently raising a hand, asking silently for a moment to talk.
He looked directly into the Admiral´s eyes, "I have seen whole tank divisions crushed under the bare feet of an Angel, big VTOLs swatted from the sky like flies, after expending their entire ammo loads against an enemy that barely blinked at the impacts. That same Angel take a N2 Mine to the face and live to keep fighting. And that was just the first one to attack. The two that came next were even worse. My friends here," he tilted his head towards Toji and Kensuke, "almost died with me when the Fourth Angel attacked." Both kids nodded solemnly, confirming Shinji´s words. "The sister of one of them is now at the hospital, recovering from the injuries she suffered during the Third Angel´s attack." Toji nodded again, looking down.
The crew seemed mesmerized by their respective screens, no one else dared to even breathe.
Shinji continued, "The First Child and myself almost died fighting the Fifth Angel. I myself would have been boiled alive, if not for the quick actions of Captain Katsuragi and NERV´s Bridge Personnel; I owe them my life. That monster not only destroyed cannons the size of a traincar, it burnt a whole mountainside to ashes, to the point the maps of the area had to be redrawn. The Angels have to be fought with weapons that can hurt them, Sir." He waited a second, lo let that sink into their minds. "Right now, the only weapons able to do that are the Evangelions. And although I would prefer to leave the duty of fighting the Angels in the hands of professionals, like you and your crew, the sad fact is that not a single one of you can pilot an Evangelion Unit. So, that duty falls to us, Children. And yet, for all the power we have at the controls of an Evangelion Unit, we cannot fight the Angels alone, we need your help."
The Admiral was astonished. The kid had a look in his eyes… He had seen it before, in his own crew, during the Post-Impact Wars. It was the look of someone who has seen Hell up close and survived, and yet is willing to keep fighting to the bitter end. He opened and closed his mouth several times, not knowing what to say. Finally, he relented. With deliberation, he nodded towards Shinji.
He took the documents from Misato´s limp hand, and started to sign them. "Anderson!" A sailor stood immediately. "Take these copies to the Chief Engineer, coordinate the installation of the extension cord for Unit-02."
"Aye aye, Sir!"
The Admiral turned to Misato. "It´s not every day an old seadog like me gets schooled in his duty. Even rarer if it is a young man like him." He shook Shinji´s hand. "You have spirit, young Ikari. If you ever want to see the world, enlist in the Navy and send me a message. I´ll be glad to sponsor you." He turned to a shocked Misato, "Captain Katsuragi, if this is the actual caliber of the pilots under your command, I must congratulate you." It was Misato´s turn to stay open-mouthed for a minute.
A new voice cut the remaining tension. "I see you have not lost your touch, Misato." A scruffy looking man stood just outside the bridge, leaning a shoulder against the door.
"I don´t remember inviting you to the bridge, Mr. Kaji." The Admiral seemed ready to restart hostilities, this time against a really annoying target. Before he could say anything, Asuka had wrapped her arms around the scruffy man´s right arm, with a happy squee.
Misato facepalmed. "There go my 5000 yens…" she murmured. "What the hell are you doing here, Kaji?"
"Well, I just got a message, and came to ask the Admiral for permission to leave the ship. I have to deliver an urgent package."
"Yes, yes, of course, anything to get you out of my ship! I´ll let you know when you can board a plane, a motorboat; an inflatable raft, whatever! Now, out of my bridge, all of you."
"Thank you, Sir." He saluted half-heartedly, and left the bridge, with Asuka still hanging from his arm. The redheaded pilot pleaded, "Must you really go, Kaji? Can I go with you?" She leaned her head against his arm.
"Sorry, Asuka. Someone must stay to guard Unit-02, and as its pilot, that must be you." And he thought ´and it will give me some time for myself…´
"Oh." She seemed a bit crestfallen. "I see."
Meanwhile, the rest of the group was walking slowly, and soon were left behind, As they walked, Misato, Toji and Kensuke were looking sideways at Shinji. Once they had turned a corner, Shinji put his back against the wall, exhaled noisily, and slid down to the floor, his hands were shaking. "Man… That was hard… I can´t…"
"You okay, pal?" Toji and Kensuke knelt next to him, worried.
Shinji waved his hand, "I´m okay, I just need a minute. I though he was going to throw me to the brig."
Misato took his pulse. "Kensuke, pass me a paper bag. There must be one with the bentos Hikari packed." A moment later, she had a bag in her hand.
"Okay, Shinji, breathe in the bag, I think you hyperventilated or something. Breathe deep and try to relax, Okay?" She held the bag over his mouth and nose. Shinji nodded frantically and did as he was told. It took him a minute to feel better. "Thanks."
Misato and Toji helped him to stand, "Man, that was intense!"
"Yeah!" Kensuke added. "What the heck did you eat?"
Before he could answer, Asuka had returned, she was annoyed, with her fists on her hips, and tapping her left foot impatiently. "What are you waiting for? A sherpa? Follow me!"
In Route towards the Pacific Fleet position
250 meters under the surface
Meanwhile, a titanic creature swam like a shark from hell, towards the Pacific Fleet and the traces of Adam it could sense in it. On his wake, clouds of sediment rose, covering the ruins of a city, sunken during Second impact.
Over the Rainbow, Mess Hall.
The trip down to the mess hall had been… eventful. Somehow, six people had crammed themselves into an elevator designed for four. Okay, four adults, but still, they had traveled in sardine class. And both Misato and Asuka had complained loudly about somebody´s wandering hands.
Misato poured coffee in a white porcelain mug, while Shinji and Toji poured tea for the rest. Asuka had taken the first cup of coffee and gone back to the table to sit next to Kaji. as she waited for the others, she was busy mixing sugar and cream to the beverage. She hissed into Kensuke´s ear. "You said he wasn´t like that!"
Surprised, Kensuke looked at her. "Wait. You meant Shinji? I thought you asked about Toji!"
Asuka rolled her eyes, "Why would I ask about Jock Stooge?"
"Uh, you were looking at him…"
"No, I was looking beyond him! At the Third Child!"
"Oh," Kensuke pushed his glasses up his nose. "I get it. Well, when Shinji came to Tokyo-3, he was very… um… meek, he barely spoke to anybody at school. It took him a while to open up. After he fought the Fourth Angel with Toji and me in the plug, he really changed. Now he takes charge when he has to. He´s like our big brother or something like that."
"Really? How interesting." She said, flatly. It seemed the Third was more complex than she had thought.
Misato and Shinji carried the trays full of cups to the table, and sat.
"So, Asuka, what do you think of your new partner?", said Kaji, curious to see if he could try to match the pilots
"He needs to get up to standards, his way to fight is ludicrous!"
"But effective." Kensuke chirped. "You should have seen him fight the Fourth Angel!" Seeing her glare, Kensuke decided to shut up for a while.
"We have seen the videos." Kaji rescued the kid. "for somebody without previous experience, you are very effective, kid; you have real talent."
Before Asuka could express her opinion on talent, Shinji answered, "Talent only carries you so far. I would prefer to have had training." He turned towards Asuka, "Miss Soryu, I would really like to train with you, you have the best record of all pilots, by far; I´m sure you can teach Ayanami and me a lot, so we can support each other better. I would hate to lose to an Angel because we couldn´t coordinate our actions."
Asuka was conflicted. On one hand, Third Stooge kept interrupting her before she could even talk; on the other hand, he was acknowledging her superior capabilities. She decided on a compromise. "Very well," a dangerous gleam sparkled in her eyes. "I´ll train you. I´ll train you so hard you will cry for your Mama!"
Shinji tensed, both Kaji and Misato froze, exchanging a very significant look. Both knew what had happened to Yui Ikari. The young pilot stood, "I-I´m sorry, I need some fresh air…" and left the mess hall.
Misato looked at Kensuke and Toji, and silently motioned them to go after Shinji. As they went after Shinji, Toji emptied his cup of tea in a couple of gulps and put it back on the table, and ran after his friends, but still took the time to glare silently at the Second Child.
It took a moment to Asuka to react to the Stooges´ absence. "What? Was it something I said?"
"Yes. He lost his Mother too." Kaji answered.
Misato added, "I know you had no way to know that, Asuka, but it´s a very painful memory for him."
Asuka paled, her own memories were just as painful, she was about to stand up when Misato grabbed her forearm for a moment. "Wait. Let them talk for a while. Toji and Kensuke are good kids, and his best friends."
"I agree, surely they know him better. You should talk to him later, in more private circumstances." That was it, Asuka nodded, and looked pensatively at her cup, letting the coffee get cold while she resolved to treat the Third Child with a bit more tact.
Neither realized it at the moment, but three tables away, enveloped in shadows no one else could see, an unseen, severe figure, clad in a dark blue suit and a high collared cloak nodded his silent approval.
Over the Rainbow, Stairs to Flight Deck
"I´m better now." Shinji waved a hand. His friends were at his sides, ready to do something, they didn´t know what, exactly.
"Man, that Red Demon really is a pain in the… neck", awkwardly, Toji patted his friend´s shoulder.
"She didn´t know, Toji. Leave it at that, it was an innocent mistake." Shinji shrugged.
"Yeah, but she acts like she´s a big deal." Toji looked in the distance for a moment.
"She is. She has the best synch rate of all of us. Pilots, I mean." His friend looked him in the eyes, to stress his point.
"But you are the one here with actual combat experience!", Kensuke added. "She should at least respect that."
"I´m sure she will. Let´s go back. Thank you, guys."
Over the Rainbow, Mess Hall.
Once the boys returned, they sat back on their places. Shinji Took his backpack and got five bentos, "Hikari prepared lunch for all of us," he passed the boxes around, one of each teen, plus one for Misato and Kaji each. He looked at Asuka, "She wanted to come, but his dad didn´t give "
Toji just took his bento back from Kensuke. "And she is a great cook. So, let´s dig in!"
The group chorused their thanks.
Asuka ate in silence, contemplating the posibilty of actually apologizing to the Third Child, something she wouldn´t normally consider.
Over the Rainbow, Flight Deck
"Well, I´ll be on my way, nice to see you again, Misato." Kaji was about to board a VTOL, heavy suitcase in hand, well secured. Handcuffed to his wrist, actually. He didn´t miss the way Misato looked at him, some of the venom in her glare had dissipated during their talk with Asuka, while the boys came back to the Mess Hall. Still, her animosity was well in evidence. Ah, well, he would have some time to try to heal the rift between them.
"Asuka," the girl lit up at the mention of her name, "You are in Unit-02 guard duty for the moment."
She beamed at him. "Of course, Kaji! I will see you at HQ!" she hugged him effusively and let go.
The VTOL took off, and a few seconds later, it was on its way to Tokyo-3.
Over the Rainbow, Flight Deck
Spiritual Plane
"(Okay, one problem taken care of, Stranger. Now what?)"
The Phantom´s Strangers cloak flapped in the sea breeze, "(I must speak to Shinji. Go back to the bridge and be ready to support the kids.)" And he vanished from sight.
Deadman scratched his head. "(Bats liked to do the same disappearing act, but without magic. I still have no idea how did he do that.)"
Over the Rainbow, Flight Deck
Just after the VTOL disappeared, Shinji noticed the color shift in his surroundings. That could only mean one thing, the Phantom Stranger was around. And the way his day had gone so far…
He looked around, until he found the unmistakable silhouette of the mysterious man.
"Shinji. There is an Angel on its way here. The scent of Adam attracted it."
"Adam? Here?"
"Not anymore, Ryoji Kaji has it with him, Adam´s remains are in that metal suitcase he carries with him."
"But how? Why?" The young man was getting agitated. He was very well aware of what Adam could cause.
"We will talk about that later. Right now, Gaghiel is getting frustrated, he knows Adam is not here anymore, but he has caught the scent of Unit-02, and will try to destroy her."
"What can I do? Unit-01 is back in Tokyo-3. Oh, gods…" Finally he realized what had been bugging him all day long. He knew the route the convoy carrying Unit-02 passed through open sea, and hadn´t made the connection; "If Unit-02 has B-Type equipment she won´t be able to fight underwater!"
"I am sorry for that, I realized what would happen too late to warn you. But I´ll lend the help I can. You and Asuka Langley Soryu must fight. Try to lure Gaghiel above the water. He cannot maneuver as well in the air."
"I will! How long do we have?"
"Gaghiel will be here in about twenty-three minutes."
"Damn! I must get Asuka to Unit-02 before that!"
The Phantom Stranger nodded once, and while he disappeared, the colors shifted back to normal.
"Miss Soryu, could you show me Unit-02? I… I´d like to see how it compares to my Unit-01."
Asuka smiled, what better way to repair bridges than showing him something cool? And there was nothing cooler than Unit-02. "It will blow you off the water, Third Child! It´s the best Evangelion ever constructed. Nothing but the best German workmanship!"
´Great!´ Shinji thought, "Let´s go! Misato, Miss Soryu and I will go to see Unit-02."
"Okay, but if you´re gonna flee to get married, I want pics of the honeymoon!"
Both chorused "Misato!"
Once in the little motor boat, Asuka poked Shinji´s chest with her index finger. "(Pay attention, Third Child, I hate having to repeat myself! I´m tired of all this formality of yours, Miss Soryu this, Miss Soryu that! Call me Asuka or Second Child or whatever!)"
Shinji smiled back at her "(Sure, Asuka. Call me Shinji, please.)" This earned him a little smile from the redhead.
Behind them, the sailor piloting the boat smiled too, remembering his own girlfriend back in Austria. She was just as bossy as the German girl.
Author´s Notes
Something that has always irked me a little about the Asuka Strikes episode is that there is no real time for the crew of the Over the Rainbow to actually install the umbilical cable for Unit-02. By the time the Admiral yields to Misato´s authority, they have Gaghiel sinking ships left and right. Yet, by the time Unit-02 arrives to the carrier, the cable is in working order.
I´m guessing they had to drill some holes in the estructure of the ship to install the rig, otherwise, it would have been yanked off the ship as soon as they ran out of cable.