At the Circus, Part 3
Note, the parenthesis indicates languages other than Japanese, in this case, English.
Please Read and Review. I'd like to know what I'm doing right (to keep doing it), and what I am doing wrong (to correct it).
Tokyo-3
Japan
C.C. Haly and Norton Bros. Circus
Auditorium
"And now, esteemed audience! The moment we have been all waiting for!" The ringmaster bellowed. "The moment when life and death rest on the skill of a man! The greatest escape artist in this or any other world! As you were warned before, if you are of a nervous disposition or have a weak heart, please say so now. We have a waiting room ready for you, with alternative entertainment and a delicious buffet!"
The crowd fell silent in a moment, before laughing as one. An old man and a thin woman raised their hands, and two stagehands accompanied him outside.
A steel platform rolled to the stage, pushed by M'Raia, she placed it on the center of the stage. Two beautiful girls held a long tube on their hands, showing it to the audience. They hit it with a bar, to show it was solid.
They passed the tube under the platform, and secured it on a couple of rings at the bottom. The ringmaster hit it with the bar too, for good measure. "As you can see, this steel tube blocks the underside, there is no way for Mr. Miracle to use a trap door from the tank! But lets the man explain the Four Elements Death Trap! A big applause for Mr Miracle, please!"
The crowd burst into a thunderous applause, as Mr. Miracle entered the stage. Behind him, Oberon pushed a table with a big remote control, the type used in factories. While Mr. Miracle walked around the platform, his cape billowing behind him, Oberon connected the cable to a socket at the side of the platform.
"Thank you, Mr. Haly!" Mr. Miracle took the microphone from the hand of the rotund man, who took his hat off with a fioriture, holding it up as he left the stage. Mr. Miracle went up the steps to the middle level of the platform and sat on the highest step. "While my friends set the Four Elements Death Trap, please give them a big applause! To my right, the indomitable Oberon!" The dwarf bowed, amidst the audience's applause. "The remote control he has just installed, only sets the traps to start. There is no Off button!" The screens behind him showed a close of the device. Each button was labeled. Oberon tapped the RC next to the first button.
"The First Element is Water! But not simple H20, but LN2, liquid nitrogen! This button sets the liquid nitrogen tanks to pour their content into this reinforced glassteel tank!" He pointed at what seemed to be an oversized fish tank under the raised platform. "Once the tank is full, falling into it means certain death by freezing! Its not instantaneous, but once in, the only way I would come out would be as a corpsicle."
The crowd held their collective breath.
"Next! Fire! Personified here by industrial lasers! A big applause for the lovely M'Raia!" The crowd obeyed as the blue-armored girl pushed a set of three lasers, set in a circular array, rotating by itself. Mr. Miracle continued, "These babies are the very same used to cut reinforced steel for the kind of buildings we have here in Tokyo-3! You know the ones I mean, those big skyscrapers that go down into the ground! I bow before your ingenuity, people of Tokyo-3, that's amazing tech!" He did bow, holding his cape with his left hand. "Now, back to the lasers. They can cut through a piece of reinforced steel just like a hot knife cuts through butter! The block of steel M'Raia is setting up as I speak, is the only thing protecting me from those beams, and if I'm not out before the block is perforated, well, I will be sliced and diced to death! As a safety measure. Once the lasers cut trough the block, and to the other side of the platform, the beams will cut through the heavy duty cables that feed them power, so they will shut off by themselves."
At this, Shinji and Rei exchanged a brief look. Both had a flashback to the battle against the Fifth Angel.
"Next! Earth!" A truck backed into the stage, M'raia signaled the driver to position the vehicle, once she was satisfied, the truck dumped a mix of concrete and gravel on the container at the top of the platform. "Three tons of gravel and concrete! The button sets a countdown, and at the end, the whole container will be released and fall down. If I'm still in the trap by the time the container drops, I will be able to be mailed to anywhere in the world! Just fold me up and put me in an envelope!"
A deep hush dominated the place. It was so deep that the fall of a pin could be heard.
"And what will I be doing in the meanwhile, dear audience?"
A post was put in the central space of the trap. Two horizontal bars at the top, with three holes equally spaced; at the middle, a seat, and another horizontal bar, this one with two holes, one at each side. Oberon and M'Raia opened the locks holding the bars. Mr. Miracle took his cape off, and threw it down, where a stagehand caught it, and folded it down, before putting it on a box.
Mr. Miracle walked around the post, "I will be sitting down; in this modified pillory!" He sat down, and leaning forward, put his neck and arms in the spaces available, M'Raia closed the bars, and put a big lock at the side. Next, she put three sets of handcuffs on his wrists, while Oberon did the same with Mr. Miracle's legs, securing them in the pillory, and putting two sets of handcuffs on his ankles.
Shinji and his friends watched the proceedings as if mesmerized. Toji was the one who spoke in a hiss, "Isn't that overkill?" Hikari hushed him.
Shinji looked at him, with a slight smile on his lips. "They have only started! Look at the side." He pointed at a big chest. Oberon pulled chains and ropes from it. He and M'Raia practically wrapped Mr. Miracle in chains, ropes and locks.
As soon as Mr. Miracle had been completely tied, and locked, stage hands set up a glassteel barrier around the death trap.
Mr. Haly stepped back into the stage, "Ladies and Gentlemen! This barrier is for our protection, we don't want any accidents to happen. Last call! Last call! Anybody who still wishes to partake in our alternative show and buffet, now it's the time!"
No one took on his offer.
Somebody at the back yelled at the escape artist. "What about Air?"
Mr. Miracle laughed, "That's where I must vanish into, my friend. Into thin Air!" He paused, "But if that´s not good enough for you, well… the liquid nitrogen is getting warm, and I´ll be right in the middle of a cloud of pure nitrogen. Not harmful by itself, but without enough oxygen, I will suffocate in a few minutes."
The man sat down.
Tokyo-3
Japan
C.C. Haly and Norton Bros. Circus
Auditorium
(Spiritual Plane)
Deadman indulged his curiosity, floating around the death trap. Sticking his head into the mechanisms, looking for hidden latches, buttons, or whatever.
Surprised, he scratched his head, "(This guy is legit?)"
He returned to his post, sitting on one of the velvet ropes cordoning the VIP area. From there, he could keep watch on the pilots, and also look at the escape artist work the crowd.
Tokyo-3
Outskirts of the City
Behind the Cherry Flower Party Hall
10:45 PM
Had anybody been at the small alley behind the Party Hall, they could have seen two shadows at the entrance. One was obviously male, standing next to the other, holding the hair of the second shadow, bent over the previously clean floor. The noise of the inter-city train running at the other side of the street did little to hide the sounds of her upset stomach.
"Are you okay?" he asked, when she finally finished.
"…I wanna go home…" she answered, ruefully.
Tokyo-3
GeoFront
Nerv HQ
Dogma Terminal
"Adam is almost ready, Commander." Dr. Akagi said, still looking into the magnifying unit that watched the inert fetus-like form of the First Angel.
In the shadows, Commander Ikari grinned.
In Route Back to Tokyo-3
Kaji carried Misato on his back. His old car had quit on them right in the middle of nowhere (1), and to top it off, their cellphones were out of the reach of any repeater, so calling for help was out of the question. With his usual resourcefulness, Kaji had offered a solution to their predicament. Walking back into town, or at least, until their phones could make a call.
Misato had managed to walk for a while, but her shoes were killing her. It had been a while since the last chance she had had of wearing high heels, back during the Jet Alone fiasco, and these were new, specially bought for the occasion.
She wished she had brought her own car, instead of coming with Ritsuko. Or at least, her usual boots.
He wished he had taken his car to a check-up before making the trip to Kyoto.
Both wished to see a cab pass by…
On the way back, once Misato had recovered a bit from her overindulgence in alcohol, they began to talk.
"Drinking so much, you throw up like a kid. How mature of you, Misato."
"I know, I know… I'm not a kid anymore, okay? And I'm out of practice, okay?"
"We are the same age, remember? You have to take better care of yourself, Misato. Know your limits. It's time to mature."
"…I know… You too, I don't know how come you always carry some chocolate cookies with you. So don't you tell me to mature. But thanks for the cookies, I had the worst aftertaste, but it's gone now."
Kaji decided to change the subject, "I can't believe you wear high heels now. I remember how much you hated them back in college."
"…I still hate them, but I have to wear them for formal stuff…"
"Yeah, I hate wearing ties, but here we are, high heels and ties. Very mature we two." He chuckled.
The back of her hands rubbed his chin, and in her mildly intoxicated state, she changed subject, "You should shave… your face is rough… it feels like sandpaper…"
"I will, but later."
"Let me walk… I feel better now…"
He put her down carefully, and they kept walking. Fortunately, the road was very even, and though her stockings would be ruined, at least her feet were not compressed anymore by the high heeled shoes she carried.
"Kaji, do you think I've changed...?"
He thought about it for a moment, "You're even prettier, but yes. You have matured a lot since we parted ways."
"You… you knew I was lying when I said there was somebody else, didn't you?"
"It doesn't matter. I wouldn't try to keep you with me if you didn't want to stay."
She looked up. "It's just… I was afraid, Kaji. Afraid you were too much like my father. That you would end up putting your work before me. That scared me too much…"
He kept silent.
"I hated him, it was like my mother and I didn't matter, he was always away, working. Barely a phone call until we had to pick him up at the airport. Even when he was home, it was as if he wasn't there."
He looked at her, and hmmed, encouraging her to keep talking.
"I broke with you and went to work for the UN Forces, and later I joined NERV. And later on, I realized my father had worked for NERV too, back when it was still GEHIRN… I buried my feelings in my work… swore revenge on the Angels…" she huffed and choked a sob. "I became my father. And I hate that…" She stopped. "I'm sorry…" her eyes glistened with unshed tears.
"You took your own decisions, Misato. You don't have to be sorry."
"I just fled, Kaji. I was a coward. Shinji is so much braver than I am. He is more my guardian than I am his!" She sobbed openly now. "I'm so afraid of myself I had to get drunk to even realize that! I am a coward, Kaji. I have no right to be Shinji's guardian, nor Asuka's nor Rei's! I'm a user! I used you, I use him! I am a scared child!"
"Enough!" Kaji said.
"I'm pathetic!" her tears flowed freely down her cheeks.
"No, you are not! You are braver than you think! You are better than you believe!" He grabbed her by the shoulders. "You are so much better than you give yourself credit for."
He pulled her into a tight hug.
Misato cried on his shoulder for a long time. Somehow, it was just what she needed from him. She melted into his embrace.
Unnoticed by either of them, her shoes fell to the ground.
When she finally pulled herself off his arms, she looked into his eyes. Carefully, tentatively, she put a hand on his cheek, she caressed his face with her thumb. It didn't matter if he had a three-day stubble anymore.
Eight years of loneliness.
Gone in a moment.
Slowly, carefully, she pulled him towards her until their lips met.
Tokyo-3
Japan
C.C. Haly and Norton Bros. Circus
Fortune Teller Tent
"Enter freely and without fear." Madame Xanadu chanted in Japanese, as the curtains of her tent opened, and a shadow stood on the threshold. "(But you have already done so, haven't you?)" There was a certain coldness in her voice as she switched from Japanese to English.
"(Madame Xanadu.)" The man tipped his hat, but kept it on.
"(Phantom Stranger. What brings me to my parlour?)" the immortal fortune teller put her tarot cards over the table. The mundane deck she used with the clients who only wanted some vague answer about their future, not the ones who really needed mystical help only she could provide.
"(Courtesy.)" He sat on the empty chair, putting his hands on the table. "(Common interests.)"
"(Aren't you here to warn me off your turf? To warn me I'm meddling on matters beyond my ken?)"
"(We both know what happened last time I made that mistake.)" (2) The Phantom Stranger seemed to deflate.
"(Then, what are you here for?)" Madame Xanadu raised a delicate eyebrow.
"(To apologize. I allowed my pride to guide me back then. I allowed my prejudices free reign, and the price for my mistake would have been too high. I thank you and your comrades for your intervention. I should have done so long ago. And then…)"
"(I know, Second Impact. I never thought I would live to see the day.)" Madame Xanadu commented, leaving to the Stranger to decide if she meant Second Impact or his apology. "(In any case, of the ones who brought back Jim Corrigan from the edge of the precipice, only me and Father Craemer remain on the Earth. You know where the others are.)"
The Stranger nodded, a sombre expression on his face. "(On a different matter. I came here to tell you the Pilots are under my protection.)"
"(Warning me off?)"
"(No. I am not willing to let my pride to guide me again. The Pilots are under my protection, I am sure your cards guided you here with a particular purpose, am I wrong?)"
"(No. I was to be here and nudge a wounded heart to the place it could heal and realize its destiny.)"
"(I thank you for that. I have been working with the heart hers is joined to by the red string of fate. He is almost ready to destroy the role that has been imposed upon him. She, on the other hand…)"
"(The day is still full of surprises it seems.)" She hesitated for a moment, and put the cards back in the case.
"(The storm is coming. Time to, as an old acquaintance would say, batter the hatches and man the pumps.)"
"(It is the time, indeed.)"
"(I must go.)"
"(Walk in the shade, cherish the light, Stranger.)" An old blessing.
"(A song in your heart, bread in your hand, Nimue.)" An old answer.
The man disappeared silently.
Madame Xanadu listened carefully, the gasps of the multitude inside the auditorium told her the hour better than any clock. "(Time to set the table.)"
She opened a small chest, the ornate wood glistened with age and use. Her fingers caressed the wood, as if greeting an old friend.
The cards floated out the chest, their backs changing by themselves, until they settled in a complicated pattern.
Tokyo-3
Japan
C.C. Haly and Norton Bros. Circus
Auditorium
Shinji gripped the armrests of his seat. His knuckles white with unreleased tension.
A cloud of cold steam hid Mr. Miracle from view. The liquid nitrogen evaporated on the air, covering the stage in thick clouds.
He could hear the rattle of the chains, as Mr. Miracle worked the locks. Next to the stage, Oberon wrung his hands with obvious anguish in his wizened face. M'Raia bit her lower lip.
The block of steel glowed red, under the heat of the lasers, and the big clock marked the seconds until the concrete and gravel container was released on the platform.
Suddenly, three things happened almost at the same time.
The lasers cut through the metal, hit the cables and sputtered off.
The trap under the platform opened, and the pillory fell into the tank of liquid nitrogen.
And three tons of concrete and gravel fell on the stage with a thundering noise.
The silence could be cut with a knife.
The only noises in the place were the settling of the concrete on the removable stage, and the hiss of the heated block of steel, cooling rapidly in the tank of liquid nitrogen.
No one dared to move, to speak, to even breathe.
Author Notes
1. It bugs me a little that as I was watching the episode to get the dialogues right, I noticed a lot of inconsistencies. The timeline is quite wonky, as night and day scenes alternate; I did some adjustments to the sequence to make them fit in the same day. Also, just why did Kaji and Misato end up walking back to Tokyo-3 if there is a train right next to them? Granted, the station probably was not that close, but they could have called a cab or something. This was the best solution I could think of. Obviously, Misato and Ritsuko arrived together. That could explain why Misato didn't have her car, it seems she had decided to get some liquid courage well before the party started, so she would have been driving intoxicated. I think if Kaji hadn't arrived, she would have left the party with Ritsuko. Kaji would have his own car at hand, as he arrived late from Kyoto, most probably, direct from the other city, stopping only to change clothes. So, Kaji's car broke down in the way home.
2. The Stranger is referring to his own short-sightedness back in The Spectre issues 13 to 19 (Dec 1993 to May 1994). At the moment, the Spectre was extremely unbalanced after Amy Beitterman had been murdered. The Stranger discarded Madame Xanadu's warning, and as a result, the Spectre ended up joined with Eclipso! The Eclipsed Spectre was more than willing to burn the world, and only the intervention of several magic users, and a very human priest, stopped the rampage before it could cause permanent damage.