Usurper, Part 2

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).

Matsushiro Secondary NERV Base
Japan
R&D Section

"This feels so…" Toji said, as he flexed and stretched his arm and legs. His brand new plugsuit had adjusted itself perfectly to his body. His first attempt at vacuum sealing his suit had been a bit uncomfortable, but with some advice from Shinji, his second try had been perfect.

"Weird?" Shinji asked, innocently.

"…Yeah… I almost feel as if I was wearing nothing. Is that normal?" He closed and opened his fists, noticing the way the material on the palm and fingertips followed his movements exactly.

"Oh yes. Just be grateful they corrected the main problem the original suits had. They had been designed for female pilots, Toji. That hard cup in the groin area? I had to ask for it after testing my prototype suit. Let's just say that the design team didn't take certain areas of male anatomy into account. Unless it is an absolute emergency, never wear another pilot's suit. Especially if that pilot is a girl."

"When did you-? oh, damn!" Toji was in the middle of asking when he remembered exactly when Shinji had had to wear another pilot's suit.

"Yeah, exactly then." Shinji shook his head. "It chafes." He slapped Toji's shoulder. "And we are not talking about that, ever again. Got it? Or I would have to get… creative."

"Got it." Toji nodded.

Dr. Akagi tapped on the door frame, clipboard in hand, "Are you ready, you two?"

"We are, Dr. Akagi." Shinji answered for both.

"Very good, Toji, come with us. I want you to watch the procedure a couple of times. Shinji will demonstrate the procedure, while I explain exactly what is happening. We will go up to the step before actual plug insertion in the EVA's ID chamber. Pay attention and don't hesitate to ask questions. It's better you know the procedure before your actual synch test with an operational Evangelion Unit."

Toji raised a hand, Akagi cut his question. "Shinji's first time piloting was an emergency try. As you can imagine, there were many problems."

Shinji and Toji exchanged a very significant look. Shinji had revealed the circumstances to his friend months before. His inexperience had almost cost Toji and his sister their lives.

That had been enough to give Toji a very different perspective on all EVA-related things. He swore to himself that he would be the best pilot he could be.

For a moment, his mind wandered to that day he had punched Shinji's face. He felt ashamed. Not only Shinji had changed after that day. Having seen the pilot break down into ragged sobs after the battle had changed completely his own opinion about Shinji. He was not a self-centered jerk.

He was trapped.

Just as he himself was. Sakura's medical treatments had eaten the family's savings, and piloting was a very well-paid job. Even without the risk bonus he would receive for every battle he was deployed in, the money would be enough to get the family back on their feet. He had made sure there was a couple of clauses that would cover medical expenses for his father and sister, even if the worse happened and…

No.

He wouldn't go into battle thinking like that. Shinji had found his strength.

So would he, or his name wasn't Toji Suzuhara.

Quintessence Plane

Deadman paced around the Earth's image, the Phantom Stranger wasn't around, and he needed to talk to his partner.

Finally, the mysterious man reappeared. "At last! Hey, Stranger, I heard the kids managed to change plans with Unit-03. Shinji is piloting it, isn't he?"

"Yes. I must be around to watch over the test. The Dead Sea Scrolls describe the next Angel as a kind of 'biological unifier'. Most probably it is a parasitic or symbiotic entity, capable of assimilating other organism in a single entity."

"Oh, boy. I already saw that movie (1). Creepy-fest at top level."

The Stranger nodded. "The data from the Scrolls don't describe Bardiel in much detail. But it can be inferred that it can take control of other creatures. It is very probable it can form a type of network with the organisms it assimilates."

"Ooookay. Then, what's the plan? The usual stuff?"

"Yes. I'll stay on guard looking for any hint of Bardiel's arrival. You go to Unit-00 and stay with Rei."

"Yessir!" Deadman mock-saluted. "You know something? That kid really got a raw deal. Is there any way we could get her out of the core? Even my boss (2) is angry at Gendo! And she's the sweetest gal you could get as a personification of death."

"Unfortunately, her soul is an integral part of the core. Maybe if her bond to it was recent, we could rescue her. But after a decade, there is nothing we can do." The Stranger answered sadly.

Deadman shrugged. "Hey, maybe I could ask my boss if there's a way."

"I agree. Ask her, please. We lose nothing and she might know."

Deadman clapped once, soundlessly, "Okay, it´s SHOWTIME! (3) I'll be at EVA-00's core if you need me." And the wandering ghost disappeared from the Quintessence plane. "See you later, Phantom Stranger!", he almost sang the last words.

The Phantom Stranger looked back at the Earth before disappearing too.

Matsushiro Secondary NERV Base
Japan
EVA-03 Cage (provisional)
1 Hour Later (4)

"Okay, I got it."

After the third repetition, Toji did recite the plug boarding procedure correctly. Then Shinji and Dr. Akagi had him work on the start-up sequence. To Akagi's surprise, Shinji proved to be a very patient and understanding mentor. Whenever Toji made a mistake, Shinji guided him back to the correct procedure.

After an hour, Toji had changed his tone, from an almost mocking 'Shinji-senpai', to an actually respectful honorific.

Shinji didn't comment on that. He simply accepted it and continued to teach his friend.

Dr. Akagi checked her wristwatch, crosses a note on her clipboard, and cleared her throat. "Good job, you two. Now, close everything, go for lunch, and I'll see you on the Synch test room for the last review before the synch test."

Matsushiro Secondary NERV Base
Japan
Synch Test Primary Room
Another Hour Later

Major Misato Katsuragi sipped her coffee, checking the last details on the pre-synch test sequence. She would have preferred to have her usual crew on site, but SOP dictated the three Bridge Bunnies had to remain at the Main Base, apart from the pilots, only she and Ritsuko would be on detached duty at the Secondary base. The rest of the staff was the personnel designated for permanent duty on Matsushiro.

Her mind wandered back to the Eight Angel fiasco. Had it not been for the damned monster hatching on the way, this was the science team that would have studied it. Plus Ritsuko and Maya, who would split their time between the two sites.

Maybe they would have even found out how to destroy the Angels without having to risk kids in battle against enemies they had no way to know what they were capable of.

Her military instincts rebelled at that thought. Fighting an unknown, and ultimately unknowable foe was the recipe for a catastrophe.

She shook her head, that was not a good trail of thought. Demoralizing herself would be really harmful, not only to her, but the human race in general, and her wards in particular.

Matsushiro Secondary NERV Base
Japan
Forested Area Around the Site.
100 m east from the EVA Exit Hatch.

The Phantom Stranger stood invisible on the top of a small hill. He had a perfect view of the entry to the base, full of vehicles. The big hatch was also visible from his post. And the sky above the base.

He watched the sky and the passing clouds with inhuman intensity, with senses that had nothing to do with sight or hearing

He waited for the enemy to arrive.

Tokyo-3
Japan
In Route from the First Municipal Junior High School
To the Ayanami-Soryu Apartment

Three girls walked calmly back home. Hikari in the middle, flanked by her friends, Asuka Langley Soryu and Rei Ayanami.

Instinctively, the two pilots had surrounded Hikari as soon as they had exit school.

"I have an awful feeling of dread, Asuka." Hikari whispered. "What if this is what Madame Xanadu meant?"

Asuka turned to look at her. "The Boy wonder is with him; he will teach him all he needs to pilot." She said.

"He is in good hands, Robin is a very good teacher. Toji won't have problems with the activation test." Rei added

Hikari adjusted the straps of her backpack, looking at the ground before her. "But…"

"But nothing, Hikari!" Asuka interrupted her. "Jock Stooge won't be at the plug. Shinji and I convinced Misato and Akagi it would be better to do the activation test with a veteran pilot. The Boy Wonder is the one of us with more effective battle time. Of course, I am the one with most hours at the controls, but thanks to the NERV bean-counters, I came late to Japan; so Ayanami here and Shinji are the ones with the battle time record instead."

"I would have to check the logs, I think we are more or less equal in battle time."

Asuka arched an eyebrow, "Really? Well, I guess we are, yes. We have had three EVAs deployments, but usually it is two at a time. Still, Unit-01 is the battle horse of the group."

Hikari sighed, relieved. "Thank you, Asuka. I feel better, but I still have some misgivings."

Asuka passed an arm over Hikari's shoulder, an invasion of her friend's personal space, "You wouldn't be human if you hadn't, Hikari." Asuka managed to not look at Rei, knowing fully well the secret of her origin. "Relax, Hikari, your Stooge will be as safe as possible. Meanwhile, we can use this sleepover for some long overdue girl talk. Okay?"

The German-raised pilot hid her own apprehension.

Tokyo-3
Japan
Ayanami-Soryu Apartment Door

"Just let me leave this stuff at Misato's." Asuka said, ushering her friends into the apartment she shared with Rei. "I will be back in a moment."

Rei slid her card down the reader's slot, and nodded.

Asuka did the same in the other door. Her card opened any of the two places. She put the school papers on the kitchen table, and realized she was not alone.

Tokyo-3
Japan
Katsuragi-Ikari Apartment

"Kaji? What are you doing here?"

"Hi, Asuka. Misato asked me to take care of her apartment while she is at Matsushiro. This way a responsible adult can be at hand if you or Rei need something." He took a chocolate cookie from the cookie jar, "I'll refill the jar tomorrow." He chuckled.

"Um… but you could stay at our apartment?"

"Sorry, no. It would be terribly improper. Two girls alone with an adult who is not close family? Nope. Even if it was Shinji with either you or Rei, it would be very awkward. This way I'm close, but not too close. I already synched the intercoms of both apartments, you can call me any time. And viceversa."

Asuka nodded. "Ah, well. Glad to have you as a neighbour. This building is too empty anyway. Can we at least eat dinner together? All of us? Hikari will stay the night too."

"Sure, but my culinary skills are too basic. We can order some food, though, my treat."

Asuka beamed. "Great! I'll tell the others, 7:00 sharp?"

"Just like in Germany." Kaji smiled back at her.

Tokyo-3
Japan
Katsuragi-Ikari Apartment
(Spiritual Plane)

Deadman floated over the kitchen counter, watching the two talk. He sat Indian Style over the rice cooker.

"I better keep an eye on you, Mr. Kaji. Red sounds as if she still carries a torch for you. Not that I think you'll abuse her, but better safe than sorry." He said.

Matsushiro Secondary NERV Base
Japan
Forested Area around the Site.
100 m east from the EVA Exit Hatch.

The warning sirens began to sound their disturbing scream. Outside, the Phantom Stranger looked down at the steel frame covered in loudspeakers.

"T-300 seconds to Unit-03 Activation Test (5)." An unknown voice claimed.

"Five minutes." The Stranger whispered.

Matsushiro Secondary NERV Base
Japan
Underground Temporary Cage for Unit-03

"Main Power supply, no problems."

"Second Apotheosis, nominal."

On his way to the cage, Shinji half heard the tech crew voices, as they reported the state of every system or subsystem. 'So far, we are good.' he thought. He would have to wait a little while until he could try to establish contact with the soul in the core.

"Coolant systems are normal." A different voice informed. Shinji kept on walking, just as he had many times before.

"I will not break." He whispered.

Matsushiro Secondary NERV Base
Japan
Central Control Command Car.

Lt. Aoi Mogami read the data on her screen, and spoke towards her microphone "Repairs to left arm crimp looks completed."

Behind her, Major Katsurari stood rigidly, along with Dr. Akagi and the new pilot, Toji Suzuhara. All three looking around, studying the read-outs and ready for trouble.

Dr. Akagi reported, checking her clipboard, "It's ready enough for combat duty now. It´s been the smoothest activation test we've had to date." And she thought, relieved, 'And so far, no sign of the damned anomaly (6).'

Lt. Kaede Agano reported, "No problems detected in the data link to Unit-"

Major Katsuragi followed the procedures with detached focus. "Well, that's nice, Ritsuko."

"I'd have thought you'd be showing a little more enthusiasm, Misato, you have four active Evangelion units."

"Yeah, enough to conquer the world, if I wanted to."

Toji, clad in his plugsuit, kept silent, watching everything with interest.

Lt. Satsuki Ooi reported, "The Third Child has arrived at the cage." And at Dr. Akagi's nod, she relayed an order, "Second squad, begin readying the entry plug immediately."

The CCTV showed Shinji, wearing his blue plugsuit, stopping briefly at the base of the ladder. A moment later, he was at the top, and entered the open plug with practiced ease.

Matsushiro Secondary NERV Base
Japan
Unit-03's Core

At the very heart of Unit-03, Bardiel was busy overwriting the soul-code it had found inside the gigantic organism´s core. It was a difficult task, as all the motor systems were encoded into it. It would have been easier to simply wipe out the whole systems and re-start from scratch, but then it would have needed to try every nerve ending to catalogue their functions.

Substituting the soul-code with its own would work better in the long run. And it was easy, the entity that should have been in charge was completely passive, it showed no resistance at all!

Bardiel was about to finish the job when it felt a sudden change in the soul-matrix!

An unknown element had entered! And it was about to interface with the core!

Matsushiro Secondary NERV Base
Japan
Underground Temporary Cage for Unit-03

Unit-03's eyes lit up with inner light. But, unlike the eyes of Unit-01, Unit-03's showed vein-like lines at the edges.

Matsushiro Secondary NERV Base
Japan
Central Control Command Car.

"Entry plug inserted," Lt. Ooi informed, as she tapped the commands in her computer terminal. "Initiating first connection. Transmitting pulse."

Lt. Kaede Agano checked Shinji's synch graphics. "Graph readout is normal. All checklists up to 1350 have been cleared. No problems found in initial contact phase."

Toji watched as the three wave images slid on the screen, getting closer and closer to overlap perfectly. 'So… that's his synch rate?' he thought.

Matsushiro Secondary NERV Base
Japan
Unit-03's Plug

Shinji tried to relax on his seat. He listened to the tech chatter on the comm, readying himself to contact the soul in Unit-03's core.

Dr. Akagi's voice alerted him, it was almost time. "Roger. Shift the operation to phase two."

"All nerve links are normal. Harmonics are normal."

At the very edge of his hearing, he barely noticed a pinging sound. It was getting louder and faster by the second.

"Ping."

"Ping!"

"PING!"

"PING! PING!"

"PINGPING!"

"PINGPINGPINGPINGPING!"

Before he could say anything, he heard a last report, "We are now exceeding the absolute border."

He screamed in the microphone. "MISATO! STOP THE TEST! THERE'S AN ANGEL HERE!"

Sirens began to wail, the emergency lights activated, bathing the whole complex in red light.

Dr. Akagi yelled, "Abort the test! Break the circuit! NOW!"

With commendable speed, Lt. Mogami ejected the umbilical cable. Just as Unit-03 struggled with its locks.

Lt. Ooi reported "Not good! High energy readings detected in the body! Mission failure! Mission failure!"

One of the armor sections at the back protruded, about to eject the plug, but a net of tendrils held everything in place.

Unit-03's jaw broke the helmet, and a guttural scream filled the base with an unearthly sound.

At the same time, inside the plug, Shinji screamed too. "EVAC! EVAC! EVERYBODY OUT! NOOOOOW!"

Author Notes

1. The Thing, directed by John Carpenter. One of the best horror movies ever!

2. Death, of course. We already have seen her a few times in this story.

3. Bettlejuice´s catchphrase. Deadman thinks its is a really funny movie.

4. I fudged a little with the dates here. In the series, there is an additional day, Shinji has a deep talk with Kaji during the night. I though there would be less adjustments to do at Matsushiro, taking into account that Shinji's data have been recorded already, so most of the time that would have been needed to prepare Toji would be invested on Unit-03 itself.

5. The actual line in the series has the time as "300 minutes", I think that's too long a time to actually sound the sirens. Five minutes is a more reasonable time, I think.

6. Deadman, his soul registers as anomalous activity in the operational logs.