Hopeless, Part 3
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.
Day Two After Return
Tokyo-3, Japan
GeoFront
NERV HQ
Holochamber
"Pilot Asuka Langley Soryu, The Second Chosen Child." The holographic monolith marked as Number One said, with a raspy, creepy voice.
The red haired girl held her head high with an effort of will, she stood rigidly at the center of a beam of light. She wore her school uniform, as it had been the only clothes provided. "Not at the moment, Sir. I'm off the roster. Commander Ikari's orders."
"I see." The voice paused, "For the record, state the reason."
"Evaluation to discard or confirm the possibility of Angelic contamination. It is possible that the recovery procedure was not completely successful, and that my body or mind could carry residues from the Evangelion Unit-02's core." She stood perfectly immobile, in perfect parade rest. Only her eyes moved ocassionally. Right towards a point behind and to the left of the Monolith marked with the "Number 1" text, clearly, the head of the Human Instrumentality Committee. And incidentally, of SEELE itself. The monster behind all her suffering, and most of the worlds too. She breathed deeply, controlling her emotions.
"You will also answer our questions about a previous incident. Previously, your mental state was considered… inconvenient for a direct debriefing."
"Understood, sir."
"This is the second time you have been… out of reach."
"The Twelfth Angel, yes, Sir. I was rescued by the joint efforts of the First and Third Child, under the direction of Dr. Akagi."
"That is correct. Major Katsuragi debriefed you then. Now you will,answer our questions directly. Keep in mind that lying or hiding information to this Committee is punishable by death."
"Understood, sir." Of course the monsters would want to know everything.
"Did the Twelfth Angel try to communicate with you during the time you were missing?" An oily voice asked, from Asuka's left side.
"Not to my knowledge, sir. If it did, I didn't recognize such attempt."
"According to Major Katsuragi's testimony, you experienced some kind of hallucination. Elaborate."
"After several hours without energy, the purification systems in the Entry Plug began to fail. I recognized symptoms of carbon dioxide exposure, headache, blurry vision, general weakness, and drowsiness. Fortunately I didn't experience nausea or vomiting, Sir."
"At what time did you notice those symptoms?" A different voice, coming from the back, demanded. Asuka didn't turn to face the projection.
"I think it must have been around after eleven or eleven hours and fifteen minutes after the Angel absorbed Unit-02, I didn't start the counter immediately. And my memory of the time is not precise enough to answer definitively, especially after several months, sir. My apologies."
"It's acceptable. Continue." Monolith Number One prompted.
"I may have fallen asleep or hallucinated due to the contaminated LCL in the Entry Plug. I remember , vaguely, a strange talk with a kind of double of myself, though at what I'd say was based on my self-image at four or five years old instead of a counterpart of me at my current age. The doppelgänger asked some strange questions about my self-perception. Who was I in the minds of others. Insisting on the strange idea I existed as different people for each person who interacted with me. A foolish notion, in my opinion. Existentialism is a waste of time, I think, Sir." No need to tell about matters SEELE didn't have any clearance to know.
Monolith Number Two asked, "Did you turn off the Entry Plug recording systems?"
"No, Sir. There is no access to that system from inside the Entry Plug. And I didn't have any reason to do such a thing. I was more worried about my continued survival. Until I lost consciousness, of course."
"Was the Angel interested in the human mind, the human soul?"
"I have no answer for that question, Sir. If it was, I do not know. It's more probable that the doppelgänger was nothing but my brain shutting itself down due to the lack of oxygen."
"Do you think it is possible that your… doppelgänger could have been a kind of interface with the Angel?" Monolith Number 3 asked next.
"I doubt it, sir. If it was, it would have taken a different form. Somebody with authority. Major Katsuragi or Commander Ikari would have been better suited to communication with me than my child version."
"Not Vice-Commander Fujutsuki?" Monolith Number One demanded.
"My interactions with Vice-Commander Fujutsuki have been limited, sir. Major Katsuragi is my direct superior, and Commander Ikari is rarely away from Central Dogma during combat operations."
"Acceptable. Now, about this new event. Narrate it in your own words, from the moment Evangelion Unit-02 reactivated itself."
"Yes, sir. Unit-02's internal battery used up its charge, and there was a general systemic shutdown. I couldn't e speculate how or why the Evangelion recharged itself. Is it possible that Unit-02 could have spontaneously developed a S2 Organ?"
"You are not allowed to question this Committee!" Monolith Number Three protested.
"Understood, won't happen again, Sir."
"Unit-00 manifested a replacement arm, shaped from its AT Field. What can you tell us about it?"
"Very little, sir. It was a combat situation, and I didn't focus on that event at that moment. I am still amazed about such an occurrence."
"You and the Third Child anticipate each other movements. How is that possible?" This time, it was a new voice, coming from behind her, either Monolith 5 or 6.
"We have synched with each other in two ocassionally. During the Sixth Angel incident, we established a crude three way synch with ourselves and Unit-02. That was accidental, and haven't tried to repeat the experience as it was a unique set of circumstances. Having two pilots in the same entry plug is not feasible. If we had more pilots, the possibility of a better… neural… handshake (1), if you allow me a crude metaphor, could be researched, sir."
"Continue."
"The second time was to fight the Seventh Angel, the one that split itself into two Angels. That level of synch required that the Third Child and me learned how to synchronize our movements for a whole week, and then practice a very complex series of coreographed series of combat maneuvers. The effects of that training still works. Plus, all three pilots spar… sparred frequently at the NERV gym, under strict supervision. We worked hard to achieve a good level of teamwork. I know their way to fight, they know mine, and each other's. Any two of us can coordinate maneuvers in actual combat."
"Back to the recent events, what happened after Unit-02 reactivated?"
"We coordinated an attack on the Angel. While it focused on Unit-00, I grappled it from behind and wounded it with the Progressive Knife. At that point, the Third Child warned me the Angel would detonate itself, ordering me to maximize Unit-02's ATF. While he managed to reinforce my own ATF and contain the explosion, up to a point. The explosion caused a lot of damage to the ecosystem of the GeoFront, but without Unit-00's ATF, the explosion would have razed both the GeoFront and Tokyo-3 itself."
She breathed deeply, bracing herself for the next part. "However, to reinforce the ATF, I had to push my synch with Unit-02 over 400%, causing my body to dissolve and be absorbed into Unit-02's core."
"Narrate your experience inside the core."
Asuka shrugged, "Not much to tell, Sir. I was practically asleep. I have vague impressions of… I'm not sure I could describe them correctly."
"Try."
"I felt… safe. As if I was in a very safe place. Peaceful. I had no sense of time passing. Could have been a minute or a year. I vaguely remember the Fifth Child calling me. Two times. The first time I lost her after a moment, the second one felt like she was reeling me in like a fish. Or maybe an anchor. I awoke fully in Unit-02's Entry Plug."
"In full possession of your mental faculties?"
"As far as I can tell, yes. I was very annoyed at being completely naked, though. I put my Plugsuit back on, and after coming out the plug, I felt suddenly weak and lost consciousness. I awoke in the hospital wing, under medical observation."
Asuka's eyes focused on the shadows beyond the monoliths, on the even darker shadow standing in attention, and drew strength from the silent support coming from that shadow.
And from her memories of a broken man finding the strength to help a complete alien. Unlike these bastards.
Unnamed Dimensional Pocket
Barter's Store
"There is a problem." Barter finally said, after sipping some tea. "The Render of the Veils is about three quarters charged, but the Emerald Eye of Ekron is almost spent. If I continue to drain it, it will be useless."
"I see." The Phantom Stranger mused. "Would another relic work?"
"It would have to be extremely powerful. The Render needs more and more energy to recharge."
"I think I have one. Would the Spear of Fate work?" (2)
Barter rubbed his chin. "It would, yes. But there is a problem with it. It's tainted. Hitler's psychic imprint is very powerful. In turn, the energy from the Lance would contaminate the Render of the Veils. You could still use it, but not even you are immune to such an insidious poison."
"It would have to be purified…"
"Yes. To be used in a pure purpose would be enough, maybe, but the force of will it would need… Elite Green Lantern level." Barter's eyes flickered to one of his showcases, one that contained four emerald lanterns and three of their corresponding rings. All of them dark, lacking a connection to the Central Battery of Power in the planet Oa (3). "And even then, it would be risky."
The Stranger nodded solemnly. "I'll look for more relics, Barter." He stood up, "Thank you for the tea."
Tokyo-3, Japan
GeoFront
NERV HQ
Human Resources Department
Mr. Weatherbee prepared his report for his boss, collating the productivity of the janitorial staff. It was a dull job, but very important. He had to lightly fudge a couple of evaluations, move a few employees, manage complaints, etc.
And make sure the Queen Bee's Drones under his watch wouldn't be detected.
So far, no member of H.I.V.E. had gotten close to the location of his Queen's prize. NERV had updated the security of the area, and none of the drones had yet achieved a high enough clearance to even look at the doors.
That was something that couldn't be avoided, only worked around.
Tokyo-3, Japan
Katsuragi-Ikari Apartment
Chief of Operations at NERV Japan, Major Misato Katsuragi, arrived with Asuka. Their debriefings completed. Awkwardly, Misato hugged Asuka with desperate strength.
Was she… was she crying?
Yes, she was. "I though you were lost." Misato sobbed.
Asuka trembled, and after some hesitation, she hugged Misato back. The older woman was one in a very limited number of people who actually mattered to Asuka, on a personal level. "I'm glad you didn't lost hope, Misato."
Rei was the next to add herself to the hug. "Shinji was right. He knew you would come back to us." Her voice trembled minutely. But the wet shine in her eyes said everything.
"Welcome back, Asuka!" Kaji, Shinji, Hikari and Kensuke chorused. Asuka disentangled herself from the hug, and proceeded to wrap the others in another. "It's good to be back."
She paused. "It's good." Her smile dimmed, but she shook her head, shaking away her sadness.
Tokyo-3, Japan
Building Where Katsuragi-Ikari Apartment is Located
Roof
That night.
Misato and Kaji laid down on two sun beds, looking up to the sky. Their hands held together in the space between the sun beds. A simple declaration of company.
"Kaji?" She said, her voice soft and shy.
"Hmhm?" He squeezed her hand softly, reluctant to derail her thoughts, it was better to let her find her words.
"Do you think…" she paused, "Do you think there's hope for us?"
"There's always hope. The kids will manage, and we will be there to help."
She turned towards him. "I know. These two weeks with Asuka in the core were the worse days of my life. Even worse than after Second Impact. I thought I had lost her. That little loud, brash, angry girl, so brave and capable of so many good things… lost forever."
"Yeah…" he said, his eyes wandering up in the sky. Looking at a very small point of light, a little green star, tracking its route through the night sky. Surely it was an artificial satellite. His thoughts came back to Earth. "Piloting EVAs is a very risky job. We have been lucky so far to not have lost any of the kids."
"Are we doing the right thing? Sending them to fight the Angels?"
"If I could, I'd trade places with them." He sighed.
"Me too… no hesitation."
She snuggled against him, he passed an arm over her shoulders. They kept silent for a few minutes.
"I'm a bit cold." She whispered.
"I have a thermos with coffee." He smirked at her. "Or… or we could go back down there."
"I would rather… you know… maybe…" she bit her lip and lowered her eyes for a second. "Maybe try again?" She looked at him.
He pulled her towards him, "Are you sure?" There was a hint of… fear… in his voice. "All the way? Not just…" His finger traced the shape of her jaw, ending at her chin.
She nodded, her eyes bright and warm. "I'm tired of running away. The world could end tomorrow. I'd rather go without regrets." She pulled herself towards him, and kissed his lips. It was a soft kiss, without the feverish passion of their affair.
He corresponded with equal softness. "No regrets." He whispered, and kissed her again.
And for them, for a fleeting moment, the world ceased to exist.
Tokyo-3, Japan
Katsuragi-Ikari Apartment
"You have your first completed mission, Hikari." Asuka said. "Time for you to have your own call-sign."
"Subject to Major Katsuragi's approval." Rei noted. "According to the rules."
"What about Toji?" Hikari asked.
Shinji shook his head. "He didn't get to be deployed, Hikari. That's the first rule. Even if you weren't deployed in combat, you fulfilled the mission objectives."
"Oh…" she said. "I see."
Shinji nodded, "Asuka? Do you have any call-sign in mind?"
"Yes." She cleared her throat. "Not one of your metas." She kicked him softly under the table. "Back in the old times, sailors used the stars to navigate. Hikari guided me back. But I won't be calling her 'Beacon' or 'Lighthouse'." She paused dramatically. "How about Dawnstar?"
Rei blinked twice. "Venus?"
"Um, yes. But Dawnstar sounds better, don't you think?"
Shinji leaned back. He thought for a moment, considering the name, and its hidden meanings. He knew Asuka was following the general route of his thoughts.
Dawnstar.
The doomed Legionnaire from a future now lost, who used her last moments of life to protect an innocent from the horror of annihilation
And it also happened to be Hikari's Ma'aleca'andrian real name. H'karii H'Rakki, Dawnstar FiveBlades.
They would have to tell Hikari about the other Dawnstar.
Tokyo-3, Japan
Ayanami-Soryu Apartment.
Sleep eluded Asuka for a long time. Her heart still hurt, and despite putting a brave face to the world, and trying to convince herself she could manage things, Despair's hook still gnawed at her heart.
Despite a supreme effort of will, a burning tear rolled down her cheek.
Two weeks were not enough!
"Mama… I miss you…" she whispered. Her words barely heard, even by herself, drowned by the tick-tock of her clock.
Author Notes:
First, a personal note, I forgot to check the date, but Stranger Visitations is now a year older! And over 450k words! (Including a lot of Author Notes!)
A big Thank You to everybody who has given me the chance to tell this big story!
Now, onto the Numbered Notes (TM).
1. The way Jaegers work in Pacific Rim, probably the closest we will ever be to a live action Evangelion movie. If you haven't seen the movie, each giant robot, the Jaeger, has two pilots connected into an artificial synch, known as the "Drift", the process of synching is called "Neural handshake". Also, go watch it as soon as you can! It's a great movie.
2. The Spear of Fate has appeared before in this story. Its history was part of the JSA origin in Chapters 80 and 81. The Phantom Stranger recovered from orbit in chapter 46, although out of frame.
3. At this point in the DCU timeline, there were only three Green Lanterns active: Alan Scott (the original Green Lantern, who wasn't part of the Green Lantern Corps), Kyle Rayner (who received the last Green Lantern ring and power battery from Ganthet) and Hal Jordan (now renamed Parallax, whose story we will see soon), they are in orbit around the Earth, stabilizing the weather patterns. We saw them back in chapter 43.