Remove ads

Advice and Trust [NGE]

Reader mode
This sort of scenario is why I've cultivated expensive tastes in liquor despite being a stereotypical starving artist. I always run out of money before I do anything really dumb.
 
The last time I was in Vegas I lost ninety dollars on roulette, but on the other hand it took me seven and a half hours to lose it.
 
Strypgia said:
"I won it all back and then some at poker!"

"From a mob boss's son."

"....mistakes were made. In my defense, I was so drunk I'm surprised I still have my pants."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

The Kaiji Cameo: "Meh. At least you have both your ears. And all of your fingers."

Kaji: "............"

Kaiji: "So, anyway, thanks for the beer, but I have to go and gamble my internal organs for $300,000,000 so that I can save a mob boss from cancer-"

Kaji: "................This is more Misato's speed, but Sweet Jesus, Jehoshaphat and Mary, what the fuck were you into!?"

Kaiji:".....Gambling."
 
Remove ads
Comedy Omake #57 - Matt R's "Inheritance: Part III -- Rei's Not At All Haunted Mansion
  • Apocrypha
    • Part 3 of Inheritance is here. 3000 words of exploration and strangeness as Rei and company seek to unravel the mysteries of the Ayanami Manor... and hopefully find some way to pay off Rei's ridiculous tax bill.

    Inheritance: Part 3: Something Strange in the Neighborhood
    ​
    "Hello, Okinomiya Utility? This is Ms. Ayanami... yes, we spoke yesterday; thank you again for all your assistance. My friends and I have arrived at the mansion; we are ready for you to reapply main electrical power...yes, certainly."

    Everyone jumped at a sudden booming sound behind them that faded into a sizzling growl; turning around, they saw a shower of sparks falling from a transformer atop a utility pole.

    "...Turn it off, turn it off! ...It appears the mains transformer had fallen into disrepair... it was smoking, growling, and showering sparks. I assume this means the damage is significant. How soon can you have it replaced? ...Two days?" Rei sighed. "Very well. Please make it so."

    Rei turned back to the group. "Needless to say, the power is out... and will be out for some time. Apparently it will take two days to get the required parts and labor to replace the power transformer."

    "At least the water seemed to turn on without trouble," Touji replied, returning from the valve box near the road.

    "So it'll be flashlights for us, then?" Hikari asked.

    "It will. Actually, before we head in, we should take a moment to distribute all our gear," Rei replied, moving towards the first of two plastic rollaway trunks. She opened it and began handing out equipment.

    "First, flashlights for everyone: high powered LED lamps," she noted. "Handheld radios as well; while we all have cell phones, these should be more convenient for quick communications. Next, thermal imaging viewers," she continued, "we may be able to use these to detect hidden passages more easily -- given the building's unusual construction, the presence of such seems likely."

    "Could also come in handy in searching for ghosts," Asuka chimed in.

    "Asuka..." Rei warned.

    "What? It's what they use on that reality show," Asuka protested.

    Rei sighed and moved on. "This next item should be particularly useful -- it is a touch screen personal digital assistant, combined with a GPS, running a mapping program. Lt Ibuki has written up a program to allow these units to network with each other through their wireless function, so that updates drawn on one unit's chart will appear on the others. We only have three, but since I expect us to split into three groups at most, I do not anticipate that being a problem."

    "That's actually pretty impressive," Shinji noted.

    "Apparently it is an extension of something Lt Ibuki had been tinkering with. Her interest in computers extends to electronics as well; Dr. Akagi says she has been toying in her spare time with combining functions such as GPS mapping, computing, and telecommunications into a single portable device. These models are cumbersome, but functional, at least."

    "What, no camera?" Touji asked.

    "Not in this version," Rei replied, "which is why I requested separate digital cameras. One for each group. There is additional laser range and elevation measuring equipment, but since it depends on a tripod mount, I think we can safely leave it here for now, and come back if we need it."

    "So what's in the other trunk, Rei?"

    Rei frowned, nibbling on the end of the stick of Pocky in her hand as she thought.

    "Now that I consider it, I had expected the gear we requested would fit in one case. And everything we requested is accounted for... So then, what is this?" Rei demanded, opening the second case.

    The other case contained an apparatus consisting of a series of concentric rings around a clear plastic tube, with a trigger, connected by a thick, insulated cable to some sort of backpack.

    Rei stared for a moment. "This... is not survey equipment."

    "Whoa. What is that," Touji asked, "some sort of... unlicensed nuclear accelerator?" Hikari blinked before looking at him with wide eyes. Touji shrugged. "What?"

    Noticing a handwritten note in the case, Rei took it and began to read aloud for the benefit of the others:

    Rei,

    Got your request through Misato for survey equipment. Also added in a little something I cobbled together that might help you. In the event you DO encounter some sort of free-floating soul, try using this? It's a field projection coil array based on NERV soul-salvage technology, coupled with a crystalline storage medium and power plant based on EVA core technology; since the soul in question won't be bound to a physical body, it should require far less energy to move or contain. The power plant is rated safe up to the highest marked level. If you need more power than that and try to push it past the red line, either you or Kaworu should use it -- your abilities make you much more likely to survive if it blows up.

    "Thank you so much for your concern, Doctor Akagi," Rei muttered before continuing.

    If you do meet a ghost, please try to catch it? It'll be Nobel prizes all around for sure if we can pull off such a feat!

    --Ritsuko

    Rei stuffed the note in her pocket with a groan, and facepalmed. "Ritsuko, there are no ghosts here. It is merely a creepy old mansion I have been saddled with by an overzealous estate executor."

    Touji looked in the case a few moments longer. "Aww, man; she forgot the PKE meter!"

    ___________________________

    The keys Rei had received thankfully fit both the lock on the perimeter fence, and the one on the front door. Gingerly, Rei pushed it open and stepped inside, shining her flashlight across everything.

    The grand entryway had two staircases, one of which actually even led to the second floor. Mismatched windows opened either to bare brick walls or other rooms. Wood paneling gave way to wallpaper and back again. No two doors were alike. The decoration seemed to be a mix of Western and Japanese styles, with altogether too many old good luck charms on the tables and shelves.

    "Finding a bathroom in this structure could be challenging," Rei remarked.

    "Finding anything in this structure could be challenging," Shinji replied.

    "Hey, what's that?" Hikari asked, pointing.

    On an end table, thick dust covered a sheet of paper with a drawn arrow and the word "bathroom."

    "Looks like whoever wrote this did it a while ago," Hikari added.

    "Should we trust it?" Touji asked.

    "We might as well," Asuka replied.

    "You seemed to have the most pressing need, Asuka," Kaworu remarked, "You should take the lead."

    "Right! Onward!"

    As the others moved to follow, Kaworu gently took Rei by the arm. "Rei, do you... see anything?" he asked with a strange expression on his face.

    Rei frowned. "No... what is it?"

    Kaworu frowned slightly and furrowed his brow. "I am not certain. At certain moments, it is almost as if I can hear something. Nothing coherent; when I try to focus on it, it is gone. It is... unsettling. Perhaps it is my imagination. Perhaps not."

    Rei nodded. "We will be cautious."

    ___________________________

    The arrows were indeed accurate, making the winding course to the bathroom fairly easy to navigate. Once everyone's needs were taken care of, Rei addressed the group.

    "Hikari and Touji, take the back rooms of the house. Asuka and Shinji, please begin with the upstairs. Kaworu and I shall begin our investigation at the front. Update the common map as you go, and notify everyone over the common frequency if you find anything of particular note. And if you find anything you like, go ahead and take it before you forget where you found it. Consider it a gift."

    Everyone nodded.

    "Any last ideas?" Rei concluded.

    "Rei?" Asuka asked.

    "Yes?"

    "I think you're the only one who can point with a stick of Pocky like it's General George Patton's riding crop and actually make it work."

    "...thank you?"

    ___________________________

    "Found anything you like so far, Asuka?" Shinji asked. Asuka was on the other side of the upstairs display room. Between them was what seemed like an ordinary interior door set in the floor; alas, when opened, it revealed only floorboards.

    "I'm afraid Ukiyo-e is a bit of an acquired taste -- they're just not my style," Asuka said, looking at the framed works hanging on the wall. "Hmm... think these are worth anything to collectors? Maybe there's enough to pay off Rei's debt hanging right here!"

    "If they've been hanging like that for this long and they're still in that good condition, then no -- because they're probably just reproductions. And they look a bit too big to be originals, anyway."

    "Phooey. Hey, what do you have there?" Asuka looked over at Shinji, who was moving something from a stand into a carrying case.

    "It's a kokyū -- a traditional Japanese stringed instrument. The only one I know of that uses a bow. I'd never actually seen one before."

    "Branching out from the cello?"

    "I figured, why not? It's got a case and everything. I picked up a few music books from in here, too."

    Moving on to the next room, Asuka grinned. "Now this is more like it," she said, admiring the paired swords on display against the back wall.

    "Oh, wow."

    "Think she'd let me keep them?"

    "You'll have to ask her. Though I'm not sure if she'd really consider them an heirloom or not, given the circumstances. I think the only reason they're even here is as a family keepsake; the laws are normally pretty strict about such things."

    "Huh. In the West, even lots of places with strict laws about guns don't say much about swords."

    "Well, Rei said to take anything we liked. The way I see it, if she doesn't want them, they're yours, and if she does want them, you've saved her the trouble."

    "Sounds reasonable. Let me gather these up before we move on."

    Asuka opened up another door to proceed... and nearly fell through to the floor below before Shinji grabbed her and pulled her back.

    "Yah!"

    "Careful, Asuka!"

    "...Let's go a bit slower."

    ___________________________

    Rei and Kaworu walked down a darkened hallway on the ground floor. Windows on both sides had been bricked over, assuming the openings had ever actually held windows in the first place.

    "Exploring a mansion potentially haunted by the souls of the departed in hopes of finding something of value to pay off a government debt... What is that Lilin phrase about inevitability? Death and taxes?" Kaworu asked.

    Rei smirked slightly. "This coming from one who says his own fate is to live forever, speaking to another who may well be in the same boat?"

    "Touché, Rei-chan. And yet, it seems even we cannot evade taxes. I do find it impressive that the Lilim have managed to create something whose inevitability surpasses even that of death itself."

    "You only find it 'impressive' because you are not having to pay the bill, Trout."

    "Not yet, anyway. Remember, we are engaged to be wed. That entails joint finances, does it not? Hmm... it seems the process of joining one's life with another is more complicated than I thought, even without Instrumentality."

    "I trust you are not getting cold feet about this?"

    Kaworu smiled. "Not at all."

    Opening another door at the end of the hall, they found what appeared to be a surprisingly normal utility room. A large stain covered the floor near the entrance, but gave no indication as to its source.

    But within the room, hanging open, was a circuit breaker box.

    "What have we here?" Rei mused.

    "Will it do any good, without main power?" Kaworu asked.

    "Unlikely. But it may give us some insight into the building's arrangement."

    Several closed breakers appeared to refer to wings of the mansion. One heavy-duty closed breaker was labeled "Outside Main." Another, open breaker was labeled "Backup."

    Rei's eyebrows raised in surprise. "The building has a backup power supply? Perhaps we will be able to shed light upon this subject after all," she remarked, closing the breaker.

    The lights in the room and hallway flickered to life.

    And a loud bang echoed distantly, soon replaced by a distant, rhythmic squeaking sound.

    Kaworu's eyes went wide. "Rei, turn it off," he whispered, "I heard something..."

    "Yes, that mechanical..."

    "No, I heard something! Turn it off!"

    Rei seemed to go even paler as she reopened the backup circuit breaker.

    As the lights went out again, the squeaking diminished slightly.

    Kaworu's frown did not.

    "What did you hear?" Rei asked after several long moments.

    "Nothing good," Kaworu muttered. "I fear we may have just made a terrible mistake."

    _________________________

    "Looks like the old guy had quite a collection," Touji remarked.

    Touji and Hikari were standing in what looked to be the mansion's library -- what seemed to be a freestanding building of its own inside another, larger room. Bookshelves lined the walls, filled with both books and occasional displays. Near the center of the room, a stand held a photo album.

    "See anything you like?" Hikari asked. She took a book off the shelf and opened it to a random passage -- suddenly blushing at what she read. She quickly closed the book and moved to replace it on the shelf... before discreetly placing it in her bag instead, and reaching for another.

    "I'm not exactly a bookworm. Although this," Touji said, flipping through the photo album, "looks like something Kensuke would love."

    "What is it?"

    "Shipyard photos. Looks like they're from back during the war." He closed the album and placed it carefully in his backpack.

    Looking up, he turned his eyes to the objects on display. "What's this?"

    A signed baseball was on display in a glass case.

    "Ruth, Gehrig, Mack... holy crap."

    Hikari looked up. "What's that? A signed baseball? I thought basketball was more your thing?"

    Touji grinned. "It is, but still, even I recognize some of the names on this thing. '1934 MLB All-Star Tour of Japan,' it says."

    "Is that a big deal?"

    "You bet it is! I think I found my souvenir. How about you?"

    "Oh, just a few books."

    "Anything I'd know?"

    Hikari blushed. "Oh, just odds and ends, nothing you'd recognize! Like you said, you're not much of a bookworm!"

    Their conversation was interrupted by the lights briefly flickering on, accompanied by a loud bang and a squeaking noise.

    "What was that?!" Hikari asked.

    Touji squinted and tilted his head in concentration. "Sounds like... a bearing gave out somewhere. C'mon, let's lighten our load out front, and then go investigate."

    ___________________________

    "There's something wrong about this place," Asuka muttered.

    "Besides the architecture? We've hit four dead ends, three staircases to nowhere, two more dead drops, and I think we've seen more windows opening into other rooms, or through the floor, than actually opening to the outside."

    "Something feels wrong now. Ever since that noise."

    Asuka came to a dead stop, looking pale. "Shinji," she said in a low voice.

    Shinji startled at Asuka's sudden change in demeanor. "What?" he whispered.

    "There's something here," she hissed back.

    "Something?" Shinji asked.

    "I can feel it looking at me. I think I can see it in the corner of my eyes, but it disappears when I look at it..."

    Asuka took a few more steps forward. Suddenly, she turned to the side and drew the katana she had taken earlier.

    "ZEIGE DICH, SCHWEINHUND!"

    "Asuka!"

    She whirled to look behind her, breathing heavily.

    "GOTTVERDAMMTER SCHATTEN! SCHAU MICH AN!"

    "Asuka, there's nothing here!"

    Shaken, she lowered the sword. "Shinji, I..."

    "Maybe I should carry those."

    "...Yeah. Yeah, you should."

    ___________________________

    "Infrasound."

    "Infrasound?" Kaworu queried back.

    Rei nodded. "There is a phenomenon I have heard about... the human eye resonates at approximately 18 hertz. When this occurs, it generates optical illusions that the brain often perceives as shadowy figures in the corners of the eyes. In addition, sound around this frequency often triggers a distinct sense of unease in humans. The damaged machinery is likely producing strong vibrations at 18 hz, which are resonating with rooms in the house. This would explain both the uncanny sensation and the apparitions."

    "Fascinating."

    _________________________

    Touji looked around in confusion. "What the hell? I saw light coming from around the corner here. Am I crazy, or did you see it too?"

    "I saw it too," Hikari replied quietly. "Is someone there?" she called down the next passageway. "If this is a prank, it isn't funny!"

    "That noise is getting louder, at least," Touji remarked. "We might be getting closer to the source. C'mon, let's keep moving."

    "R-Right," Hikari agreed nervously.

    ___________________________

    "...Swamp gas," Rei declared.

    "Swamp gas?" Kaworu asked.

    "From Onigafuchi Swamp. The swamp has a reputation for being demon-haunted, it is right in the name; clearly it has a very long history of producing such apparitions. The vanishing lights are clearly luminescent gas from the earth."

    "Rei, Onigafuchi Swamp is quite some distance away..."

    "The entire area undoubtedly shares geological similarities. I would in no way be surprised to see similar flares in this location."

    "If you say so..." Kaworu replied doubtfully.

    ___________________________

    Following the noise -- and several more inexplicable lights -- had led Touji and Hikari to a heavy door at the very back of the mansion.

    "It sounds close," Hikari remarked.

    "Yeah. Stay behind me," Touji replied.

    Touji pushed open the door and peered inside.

    "Huh. That explains a lot."

    ___________________________

    "The kitchen appears remarkably normal, even if the appliances appear somewhat outdated," Kaworu remarked.

    "I suppose we should not be too surprised. More than any other room besides the bathroom, this one has to work."

    "We should move on; there doesn't appear to be-"

    As Kaworu walked through the center of the kitchen, one of his steps suddenly echoed.

    "What...?"

    Rei stepped beside him and stamped her foot. A hollow echoing sound followed.

    "Some sort of secret door?" Kaworu asked.

    "Hmm..." Rei took out the thermal camera. "There is a cold spot directly under you. A hand, please?"

    A moment's search revealed a pull ring concealed under a false stone in the kitchen floor. Kaworu pulled, lifting up a panel.

    Rei looked down, before climbing inside.

    "What is it?"

    Rei popped her head back up, clutching a bottle.

    "Wine cellar."

    She turned back to the cellar's interior, looking at more of the bottles.

    "While I admit I lack expertise in alcohol, I expect that anything of this vintage, which the former owner would have seen fit to stock in such a place, would be appreciated by Major Katsuragi. Wouldn't you agree, Kaworu?"

    After a moment's silence, she asked again, "Kaworu?"

    Finally, she stood on the ladder again, and looked up, to see Kaworu staring in shock. "Is there something wrong?"

    Wordlessly, Kaworu raised his hand to point behind her. Rei turned around.

    A luminous humanoid figure disappeared down the hallway towards the interior of the mansion.

    Kaworu finally found his words again. "... ball lightning, correct?"

    _________________________

    Rei strode out into the yard, flung open the second equipment case, and looked down at the contents, glaring at Ritsuko's apparatus for a good minute as if she could change her circumstances just by willing it.

    Finally, she sighed.

    "Dammit." She slung the backpack over her shoulders and walked back into the house.

    Kaworu raised a quizzical eyebrow.

    "Not one word, Trout," she muttered.
     
  • Apocrypha
    • Remove ads
    Chapter 10.17
  • Threadmarks
    • Matt R said:
    The power plant is rated safe up to the highest marked level. If you need more power than that and try to push it past the red line, either you or Kaworu should use it -- your abilities make you much more likely to survive if it blows up.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Gee, thanks Ritsuko...
    Matt R said:
    The grand entryway had two staircases, one of which actually even led to the second floor. Mismatched windows opened either to bare brick walls or other rooms. Wood paneling gave way to wallpaper and back again. No two doors were alike. The decoration seemed to be a mix of Western and Japanese styles, with altogether too many old good luck charms on the tables and shelves.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    ....Who the fark built this place?
    Matt R said:
    "Nothing good," Kaworu muttered. "I fear we may have just made a terrible mistake."
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    That's not ominous at all!
    Matt R said:
    "Ruth, Gehrig, Mack... holy crap."

    Hikari looked up. "What's that? A signed baseball? I thought basketball was more your thing?"

    Touji grinned. "It is, but still, even I recognize some of the names on this thing. '1934 MLB All-Star Tour of Japan,' it says."

    "Is that a big deal?"
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    A big deal? Hikari, I think this little collection could send your grandchildren through college!
    Matt R said:
    "See anything you like?" Hikari asked. She took a book off the shelf and opened it to a random passage -- suddenly blushing at what she read. She quickly closed the book and moved to replace it on the shelf... before discreetly placing it in her bag instead, and reaching for another.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Ooooh, Hikari, you spicy girl! Did you just find a first edition copy of Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure or such? :V
    Matt R said:
    "There's something here," she hissed back.

    "Something?" Shinji asked.

    "I can feel it looking at me. I think I can see it in the corner of my eyes, but it disappears when I look at it..."
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Ok, Kaworu can sense it, Asuka is nearly going berserker on it... wtf is going on in here?
    Matt R said:
    Wordlessly, Kaworu raised his hand to point behind her. Rei turned around.

    A luminous humanoid figure disappeared down the hallway towards the interior of the mansion.

    Kaworu finally found his words again. "... ball lightning, correct?"
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    ....ok, that's a thing. Um...
    Matt R said:
    Kaworu raised a quizzical eyebrow.

    "Not one word, Trout," she muttered.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    He has learned well. :V

    And now, since I'm on a roll, how about an update? Yes, a full one. Here's 3930 words of tests, reactions, trouble with parents, and the last happy night before the storm.

    Art?





    Chapter 10.17
    Choices and Sacrifices

    +++

    "Ahhhhh~, this is even nicer than I expected," Asuka said with a pleased sigh as she wriggled under the new silk sheets. "The mattress is just right, too, and so much room to roll around! Excellent present, liebling."

    Shinji smiled at her expression. "I'm glad you like it."

    Asuka grabbed Rei's box off the headboard of the bed and rolled over to face Shinji. She placed the box between them on the bed. "Now... I've been wondering all evening what Rei gave us, and it's time to satisfy my curiosity. I've got some ideas..."

    "Do you think she... well, she said it was personal. Do you think she gave us, um... a new version of that... box she gave Kaworu-kun?" Shinji guessed.

    Asuka tore the paper open and lifted the top off the box. "........yup," she said in a strangled voice. Her eyes widened and her face started to turn as red as her hair. "She did. Holy Gott, Shinji! Look at these!"

    "I... I... Wow. Um... Rei is..." Shinji fumbled for words. "...Beautiful," he finally got out, sounding almost astonished.

    "Yeah..." Asuka turned the pictures over slowly, examining each one in detail. "Wow... I... Shinji, have I told you lately that I love you?"

    Shinji blinked, confused. "Um... yes?"

    "Good. Ok, there are deeper emotional aspects I want to take about regarding these pictures, the fact Rei told us she loves us and gave us these, and that she also gave some to Kaworu to help fight that compulsion SEELE put in his head... but that's for tomorrow. Right now..." Asuka carefully put the pictures back in the box, closed it, and put it aside.

    "...I want my lover," she said, and nearly leapt on him.

    +++

    Rei clicked 'STOP' on the SDAT and took out the headphones. She laid the tape player aside and stared at the ceiling. After a moment she lifted one hand in front of her face and noted it was shaking slightly.

    Her phone chirped. She looked at the message. DID YOU LIKE IT?

    She did not need to look down to sense the nervous anticipation. She typed a quick reply back.

    WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?

    +++

    Four stories below, a young half-Lilim who at the moment was very much Kaworu Nagisa and not at all Tabris stopped where he'd been pacing in circles for over half an hour. He had tried to lay down on his futon and relax as instructed, but this had proved utterly impossible. Relax? Relax? With his first tentative efforts at both love and Lilim creativity on the line?

    He looked at the message she's just sent. He steeled himself for a moment, then slowly looked up, through the four floors of concrete and metal that hardly impeded his Sight at all, and...

    Shinji-kun and Asuka were like a bonfire of emotion and bonds. They shone like the sun, lighting up the whole building. Not far away, Major Katsuragi and Inspector Kaji were making their own glow, smaller and lesser in comparison. And just beyond that was Aya-... Rei.

    She was glorious. Her Light shone like a star, rippling and shifting like a rainbow in a kaleidoscope. The same fractured splendors that always made her so beautiful to him were there, this time flaring with notes of deep emotion and enjoyment... and a recurring, rich ochre thread of... something he saw constantly between Shinji-kun and Asuka.

    His heart soared. She liked it! And a thing he had made! He threw his fists in the air. "I did it! I did it!"

    His phone beeped again. NOW GO TO BED, YOU STUPID FISH. I'LL MOST LIKELY KILL YOU IN THE MORNING.

    He couldn't stop the grin that threatened to split his face. He typed back a reply, and flopped onto his futon, exhausted but happy.

    +++

    AS YOU WISH.

    Rei put her phone down and closed her eyes. "Idiot."

    +++

    "Try again, Hikari-chan," Maya insisted. "We'll take it from step 108."

    On the screen overhead, the rainbow-colored silhouette of the Fourth Child shifted slightly. "I'm trying, Lieutenant Ibuki. I'm just… not getting any response."

    The flickering readout on the screen in front of Maya was steady in one respect. It showed SYNCH RATE: 0% without a blink. The trembling systems indicator wobbled just below the threshold for activation, but refused to cross it.

    Ritsuko scratched a note on her clipboard and frowned. "That's odd. When we did the last cross-synch tests, Shinji-kun was able to get Unit-00 to activate and synchronize without much trouble. But now we're not even getting it to start at all for Pilot Horaki. It's not even passing the absolute borderline. I thought for sure she'd at least get…" the scientist muttered half to herself. She sighed. "Alright, shut it down. Switch the Core data profile to the Fifth Child, and get him into the Entry Plug as soon as the Fourth is out. He's managed to get Unit-03 to respond to him, maybe he'll have better luck."

    "Yes, ma'am."

    Misato stirred behind her. "How are Shinji and Asuka doing?"

    Ritsuko turned to look at her. Misato stood a couple meters further back in the Pribnow Box, her arms folded across her chest, expression all business. "Better than Pilot Horaki is in Unit-00," she told the Operations Director.

    She waved Misato closer, and pointed to the next bank of readouts on the far side of the display for Unit-00. "They're both lower than they are in their usual units, but not too much. Asuka's managing a 61.2% Synch Rate in Unit-01, and Shinji is at..." Ritsuko's eye narrowed at the wobbling readout. "Hmm... he keeps shifting back and forth between 67.2% and 48.7%. Not much in between, just... either, like he's connecting to two different circuits erratically. Must be some glitch in the hardware interface."

    Misato walked past her and pressed the mic button on the console. "How's it going in there, Shinji-kun?"

    +++

    Shinji had his eyes pinched tightly shut, trying to shut out all noise. It took him a moment to register Misato was talking to him. "Uh? Oh, um, it's... tricky, Misato. Unit-02 feels... different from Unit-01."

    'Also, my girlfriend's mother's soul is split in two and one half of it is insane and won't stop talking about how she wants everyone she cares about to die with her, and it's creeping me the fuck out.'

    He and Asuka had quietly had a bit of panic when Doctor Akagi had announced they were doing a whole new set of cross-synch tests. As excited as they had once been to make contact with their mothers' souls in their Evas, they both now had some serious misgivings about exposing each other to their counterparts. Shinji because he'd discovered his mother had been raised within an apocalyptic death-cult conspiracy, was questionably sane, and at least partly the architect of many of their miseries, Asuka because she'd learned that her mother's soul had never recovered from the trauma of being ripped in two from her Contact Experiment and now seemed obsessed with death.

    'Die with me... you make her happy, you must come with us... die...'

    'Oh, shut up, would you?'     Shinji thought back at her.

    'Shinji? Are you Shinji? She talks about you a lot,' the other voice said. 'She loves you. Be good to my little Asuka, please? I miss her so much...'

    'I know she does, ma'am. I love her too. I'll do anything for her.'

    'Protect her.'

    'Always and forever. Until the end of the world, I've promised. She means more to me than anything.'

    'Until death do you part...'     said the crazy voice.

    Shinji did his best to mentally glare at the broken spirit of Kyoko Soryu. 'No. Not even then. I'm hers until she makes me go. She's what makes my life worth living. If she wants me to go beyond death for her, I'll try.'

    For the first time, both voices were silent. A moment later they answered in unison. 'Good boy.'

    +++

    "Huh," Ritsuko grunted. "Whatever it is you're doing now, Shinji, keep it up. Your Synch Rate just stabilized at 66.9%."

    "Hear that, Asuka? Shinji's in the lead again," Misato commented with a slight smile.

    +++

    'It smells like Shinji in here. That's weird but comforting,' Asuka mused.

    Misato's snark interrupted her thoughts. "Yeah, yeah, Misato. That's probably because he's in my Unit-02, which is of course the more advanced, superior machine! It's only natural his performance increases when he has such fine German engineering at his fingertips, nicht wahr?"

    "Weren't you going on about being the superior Pilot, Asuka?"

    Asuka humphed. "Just watch me, Misato!"

    She closed her eyes and concentrated. 'Come on, Dr. Ikari, work with me, here! I know you're in there! Shinji's told you about me, right? You know he's my love and I'm his! Help me!'

    The dim presence of Shinji's mother stirred and slowly became a little more distinct to Asuka. 'Hello, Asuka. It is good to meet you. Yes, he has. I don't think even speaking like this can adequately convey how much he cares for you. I'm sorry he had such a sad and lonely life before he met you, but I am glad beyond words that he has. He's been... reluctant to speak to me much since I told him about what happened to me.'

    Asuka tried not to frown. Outwardly, at least. 'Because between you and Commander Assh-... Commander Ikari, my poor sweet baka is half-convinced he's got some kind of 'tainted blood' Japanese curse or something, and he'll turn into a moral monster one day.'

    Doctor Ikari gave a mental sigh. 'I am well aware of how you both feel about Shinji's father. I can hardly blame you, if even half of what Shinji has told me is true. I failed to realize just how much losing me would shatter him. I never meant him to treat Shinji like that.'

    'You're no saint yourself, lady,'     Asuka growled mentally. 'How he treated Shinji is one thing, but what about you both being eyeballs-deep in SEELE and Second Impact, huh? I don't want the love of my life to have to live his worrying history is going to remember the name 'Ikari' as 'that family that makes Hitler look like a small-time nobody!'

    'Asuka, I-'

    'You made him watch, you bitch! He has nightmares about losing you to this day that I have to hold him through, and when he finally finds you're still 'alive' in here, you tell him you were part of a plot to kill the whole world?!'     Asuka could tell she was about to lose the fight to hold in a wave of angry tears, but she couldn't stop. 'How could you do that to him?! He's one of the sweetest, most self-sacrificing people I've ever known, despite what you all did to him! He deserved to have a mother as good as him love him, not... you.'

    Tense silence filled the Entry Plug.

    +++

    "Asuka, what's wrong? Your Synch Rate is dropping sharply. You're down to 53.3% and falling," Doctor Akagi said, frowning.

    +++

    "It's fine, just a momentary headache!" Asuka deflected.

    Doctor Ikari finally broke the silence. 'I'm glad you are here, Asuka.'

    'What?'

    'Yes, I made him watch. That was supposed to be so he would understand, later, why I did it, when he read the letters I left him, watched the videos. So he would know I did it because I loved him and wanted a bright future for him. There was no other way to stop SEELE, and if sacrificing my life was the price of even having a chance, then it was worth it. Shinji was not supposed to be... abandoned by Gendo. I-'

    'Yeah, well, he was'     Asuka snapped back. 'And even granting you all that, there's still the tiny problem of you being part of SEELE's little conspiracy to murder three billion people. You and Commander Asshole knew it was coming and didn't even try to warn anyone!'

    'How do you know I didn't? You have no idea how far SEELE's reach goes, Asuka. Even overlooking 'a secret cabal is going to blow up Antarctica' being more like the ravings of the mad than a warning that people would believe, others tried to send warnings: To family, to their governments, whatever. It didn't matter. SEELE always found them, intercepted the warnings, and then killed them. I was raised inside SEELE, Asuka. I knew how trapped I was. Gendo... did what I told him to do. He loved me more than he feared SEELE. So yes, he left the Katsuragi dig site ahead of the Contact Experiment. There was nothing we could do. Once SEELE found out I wasn't 100% loyal, they made it clear my time was running out. My father was a member of the command group. Even he signed off on my death. I did what I could to oppose them.'

    Asuka just glared angrily at the wall of the Entry Plug.

    'As I said, I'm glad you are here. I had to give up my life, my body, and even the ability to hold my son for the sake of humanity. I told Shinji a few days ago that anywhere could be paradise, as long as you had the chance to be happy. And you make him happy. I can only speak to him when he sits where you are. And I can tell what I have told him has... disturbed him and he doesn't know how to feel about me now. I wish I had not had to leave him. But I did this for his sake. Either we will succeed in stopping SEELE from dissolving humanity as it exists now, or we will not. If we fail, nothing will matter. If we succeed, I will remain in Unit-01 as a monument to humanity's having been here. In all likelihood, I will never incorporate outside of Unit-01 again. Please... He loves you. Be there for him always, since I cannot.'

    'You're Gott-damn right I'm going to love him,'     Asuka retorted. 'Humanity or the whole world isn't half as much to me without him there to share it with. As long as I have my sweet baka with me, we're invincible. I'm not going to let SEELE, Commander Asshole, or anyone stop him and I from saving the world and grabbing a nice, properly famous and acclaimed victory afterwards. I want the whole world to know how awesome he is and how much I love him. No one in his life is going to love him as much or as deeply as I will.'

    'I don't expect you to ever fully understand or forgive what I've had to do, Asuka, but knowing Shinji has you beside him eases my heart a great deal. I will be here for him as long as Evas are needed to fight the Angels, and always keep him in my thoughts. Whatever else you both think of me, never let him doubt his mother loved him. Please.'

    'And don't you ever expect to get forgiveness from me, Doctor Ikari. I'm not a forgiving person. That's more Rei's lane. Maybe Shinji will one day. I'll let you know if it happens, because I'm going to be right there with him, no matter what.'

    'Good. You... for whatever it's worth, Asuka, I approve of you and Shinji, and you have my blessing.'

    Asuka nodded just slightly in the Entry Plug. 'I think we understand each other, Doctor Ikari. Shinji is the world to me. Any time you and I have to fight together, it's for him. Good enough?'

    'I think we can work with that.'

    +++

    "Pilot Soryu's Synch Rate with Unit-01 stabilizing at... 62.4%," Lieutenant Ibuki reported. "Get that headache sorted out, Asuka?"

    "More or less. It's dealt with for the moment, anyhow. I doubt it's ever really going to go away totally," Asuka said a little grumpily.

    "Start in on the series 4-D exercises for the recording systems, please," Maya told her, then switched to the next monitor. "Ah, Doctor Akagi? The Fifth Child is almost ready in Unit-00, and the First Child is about to activate Unit-03."

    Ritsuko tore her stare away from Unit-01's readouts and nodded. "Put hers on the main screen. Rei, are you ready to go?"

    +++

    "Yes, Doctor," Rei said coolly. "I am ready."

    "Beginning activation... now," Maya's voice said.

    The Entry Plug flashed through the rainbow spray and swirling black and white shapes before stabilizing into the crystal clear view of the outside of the Production Unit. Rei did her best to open her mind and reach out to Hikari's mother.

    Rei's brow furrowed. She was there, but... Rei could barely feel her. Only the vaguest impression was possible.

    'This is not going to be terribly effective. I do not have the mental or spiritual link necessary to connect efficiently with Mrs. Horaki.'

    Distantly, Rei felt ~confusion, wariness. Hikari? Hikari?~

    'Forgive me, madame. I am not her, and she is not here.'

    ~sadness~

    +++

    Ritsuko pursed her lips. Rei's Synch Rate in Unit-03 was meager, just 24.1%. Sufficient to activate and fight in the Eva in an emergency, but barely.

    "Mid-twenties, Rei. Looks like Unit-03 is not going to work out too well for you."

    "No, Doctor, I am unable to synchronize effectively with this Evangelion," Rei agreed. "Unit-00 is my optimal Unit."

    "Speaking of which," Misato nodded at the other screen.

    +++

    'It smells like Rei in here,' Kaworu noted. He immediately tried to focus on anything else, before his damnably energetic autonomic nervous system began the predictable reaction cycle that thinking about Rei's scent caused since the Christmas Party.

    Anything else, such as the simmering rage he could feel rising from this Unit's Core. The broken piece of Rei's Song sounded beneath him, the gaps that were usually there when he listened to her suddenly reversed. But while it was pleasing to hear the missing parts of her Song, it was just as... disconcerting to feel what was almost the opposite of the composed, dedicated, and forgiving girl he knew. The fragment of Rei within Unit-00 was... angry. Very angry. Wild, unstable, and tensed to explode into boundless anger that was only worsened when she became aware that the Pilot who now sat in the Entry Plug was a hated Adamite creature.

    He kept his face calm and let Lieutenant Ibuki go through the motions of activating Unit-00. He suppressed the urge to bypass it all and simply seize control of the Evangelion's Adamite flesh and directly control it via his AT-Field, free of the pretenses of the Entry Plug interface and the bindings the Lilim had wrapped it in. That was what Tabris would do, and he was Kaworu Nagisa. He chose.

    'A sad facet of irony that I must suppress the darker side of my soul in order to talk to the darker side of Rei's,' he mused. He closed his eyes and concentrated, reaching out with the Light of his soul carefully, brushing the Eva's Core.

    The Rei in the Eva attacked.

    +++

    "D...Doctor Akagi, Unit-00's readings are... I don't understand!" Maya exclaimed.

    The instruments were going crazy, readings bouncing all over the scale. Kaworu showed 2% synch one moment, 217% the next. The biofeedback and EKG readings were as wildly erratic, showing jagged spikes and huge swings that could not have been good for the Fifth Child's body.

    Unit-00's fists curled into balls. The massive bolts restraining the arms and shoulders had been heavily reinforced after the last berserk incident. That reinforcement was all that kept them from shattering already. Even with it, they began to groan and vibrate alarmingly.

    "Kaworu-kun?! Are you alright?" Misato shouted, staring at the violently shifting readings. "Ritsuko! Is it going to berserk again?"

    Ritsuko was frozen, staring at the monitor, her face gone white as a ghost. "No no no no no no no," she whispered frantically. "Not again not again not again..."

    Misato grabbed her by the shoulder and tried to break the paralysis. "Rits! RITS! Snap out of it!"

    The shaking only cause Ritsuko to stumble forward, leaving her leaning heavily for support on the control console just to the left of Lieutenant Ibuki's spot.

    Seeing her lover's distress, Maya bit her lip and shot a worried look at the security camera in the corner of the control booth. Fervently hoping her calculation that the placement of Ritsuko and Major Katsuragi's bodies blocked the angle of view, she reached out her left hand and grasped Ritsuko's right.

    Her touch was like magic. Ritsuko suddenly stopped panting, took a deep breath, and blinked. She threw a momentary grateful glance at Maya, squeezed her hand back for just a second, and then began snapping out orders. "Lieutenant, prepare to cut the power supply and shut everything down. Tanaka! Get the Bakelite system ready to go on my order! I don't want this booth smashed to pieces again right after we got it repaired! Nagisa-san! Are you there? We're shutting it down!"

    +++

    "N-No! I-geh... I've got this, Doctor Ak-kagi!" Kaworu bit out through clenched teeth.

    'HATE! ENEMY! ENEMY! ADAMITE! KILL THE INVADER! DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE!' Unit-00 screamed at him, hammering away at his brain, trying to crush his mind and soul.

    This was not the Rei he knew and... was friends with. This was an unstable, almost feral shard of her Light that could not see him as anything but an Adamite interloper, an enemy to be attacked with pure fury and hate. He could not withstand this assualt for long, not without something happening. He could feel Unit-00's arms trying to rip themselves free from the restraints.

    He clenched his eyes shut as hard as he could to hide the red glow, and unfurled his AT-Field just the smallest bit. He seized control of the Evangelion's limbs and forced them to relax. The giant cyborg's fists unclenched and the restraints stopped groaning.

    'Listen to me! I am not your enemy! I am Rei Ayanami's friend!' he tried. 'I will not allow myself to hurt her!'

    'ENEMY! LIAR! KILL!'

    'I AM NOT YOUR ENEMY! I am Adamite, but I SURRENDER! I choose HER! Not Adam!'

    The assault paused.

    'Liar.'

    'No. I will let her kill me before I succumb to the Call. I have made her promise to do it. Look at my heart, see what I feel about her, about all of them!'     Very, very slowly and carefully, Kaworu lowered his defenses, letting the deranged fragment of Ayanami's Light look into his own.

    He could feel the strange stare examining him. He forced himself to remain still and exposed, though his every instinct clamored for him to slam his shields up and attack in turn. 'No. I choose. I choose.'

    The other Light withdrew. It sat silently for a moment. 'Kill yourself,' it ordered.

    'I once wished to. Now I do not. She has told me not to, not as long as there is hope. I will not disobey or disappoint my friend. You know what she means to me.'

    He waited. 'So... can we work together for now, together under her command?'

    He received no response beyond the hostile presence retreating, and the walls to the Entry Plug flashing through the normal startup patterns.

    +++

    "Synch.... Synch Rate stabilizing at... 23.1%. Unit-00 has activated," Maya said hesitantly, as if she was worried she'd startle the Eva into action again.

    Ritsuko let out the breath she'd been holding and took her hand off the Emergency Shutdown lever. "Alright... Tanaka, stand down the Bakelite. Nagisa-kun, run through the basic systems check as fast as you can, and then we're shutting this down."

    "Yes, Doctor. I think things should be ok now. Unit-00 just seems to... react wildly to new Pilots. I thought it might, so I was prepared," Kaworu said.

    "Is Unit-00 going to do this every time we put a new Pilot in it? At this point, I'm almost amazed it didn't do the same thing with Hikari-chan!" Misato said, still tense.

    Ritsuko forced a smile to her face. "At least we're safe now? The only Pilot who hasn't tried out Unit-00 is Asuka, and at this point I think we'll just... leave that aside. The only test left for today is Hikari in Unit-02, and frankly I think we can just make that one as fast and basic as possible, then call it a day." She shivered and ran one hand through her hair. "I need a cigarette and a drink. I did not need that flashback to the last incident."

    "At least this time you didn't end up in the hospital?" Misato jibed weakly. "How about dinner for us all at my place tonight? It'll be takeout since it's Shinji's night off cooking, but I think we could use the relaxation of some Chinese." Misato carefully didn't let her eyes flick towards Lieutenant Ibuki, or her smile become as sly as it wanted to be.

    Ritsuko did smile weakly back at her. "That... that sounds great, Misato. I think we'll be there."

    "Hey, Asuka! I still won by two and a half percent!" Shinji said over the network channel. "Nyah nyah!"

    "Shut it, baka Shinji! You'll pay for that later!"

    Misato sighed. They didn't stop for even a minute. The reason it was Shinji's night off from making dinner was he was taking Asuka out on a date again. She could tell what sort of 'paying for it later' Asuka probably had in mind. At least their new bed didn't squeak.

    +++

    A few days later...

    "So at midnight, we kiss?" Shinji asked.

    Asuka nodded, grinning. "The tradition is you do at the stroke of midnight what you want to be doing all through the New Year. So," she gave Shinji a peck on the lips, "you and I will be lip-locked."

    "I like it." Shinji looked at the TV. The traditional Japanese New Year Red versus White show was winding down, and the countdown timer had less than a minute left. "Ready?"

    Asuka grabbed him and pulled him tight against her body. "Always, Third Child. You're mine."

    Behind them, Rei mulled the idea. She glanced at Kaworu, then back at her loves. They were utterly focused on each other. The rest of the partygoers were wrapped up in their own versions of the same, or just watching the countdown. Still, Rei tried not to be noticed as she shifted slightly towards the Fifth Child, positioning herself so both she and Kaworu were out of line of sight from Shinji and Asuka.

    She reached her hand out on the floor between them, letting her fingers carefully interlace with his. Kaworu's Light flashed through an amazing display when they touched, as always.

    He swallowed, and looked at her. "Rei?"

    The countdown reached the final seconds. Rei looked him right in the eye. "Live," she ordered.

    He blinked for a second, then smiled. "Yes."

    They both leaned forward.

    Midnight struck.

    +++
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • Strypgia said:
    She waved Misato closer and pointed to the next bank of readouts on the far side of the display for Unit-00. "They're both lower than they are in their usual Evas, but not too much to function. Asuka's managing 58.7% in Unit-01, and Shinji is at…" Ritsuko's eyes narrowed at the wobbling readout. "Hmmm… He keeps drifting back and forth between 44.9% and 59.1%. Not much in between, just… either, like he's connecting erratically to two different circuits. Must be some glitch in the hardware interface."

    She waved Misato closer, and pointed to the next bank of readouts on the far side of the display for Unit-00. "They're both lower than they are in their usual units, but not too much. Asuka's managing a 61.2% Synch Rate in Unit-01, and Shinji is at..." Ritsuko's eye narrowed at the wobbling readout. "Hmm... he keeps shifting back and forth between 67.2% and 48.7%. Not much in between, just... either, like he's connecting to two different circuits erratically. Must be some glitch in the hardware interface."
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    I think this is an editing artifact?

    Strypgia said:
    Shinji did his best to mentally glare at the broken spirit of Kyoko Soryu. 'No. Not even then. I'm hers until she makes me go. She's what makes my life worth living. If she wants me to go beyond death for her, I'll try.'

    For the first time, both voices were silent. A moment later they answered in unison. 'Good boy.'
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Well, it seems that Kyouko's shattered soul parts can agree on at least one thing. Overall, a productive mental discussion imo.

    Strypgia said:
    'I don't expect you to ever fully understand or forgive what I've had to do, Asuka, but knowing Shinji has you beside him eases my heart a great deal. I will be here for him as long as Evas are needed to fight the Angels, and always keep him in my thoughts. Whatever else you both think of me, never let him doubt his mother loved him. Please.'

    'And don't you ever expect to get forgiveness from me, Doctor Ikari. I'm not a forgiving person. That's more Rei's lane. Maybe Shinji will one day. I'll let you know if it happens, because I'm going to be right there with him, no matter what.'

    'Good. You... for whatever it's worth, Asuka, I approve of you and Shinji, and you have my blessing.'

    Asuka nodded just slightly in the Entry Plug. 'I think we understand each other, Doctor Ikari. Shinji is the world to me. Any time you and I have to fight together, it's for him. Good enough?'
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    This one didn't go quite as smoothly as the one between Shinji and Kyouko, but an accord (if an uneasy one) was also reached here.

    Strypgia said:
    He waited. 'So... can we work together for now, together under her command?'

    He received no response beyond the hostile presence retreating, and the walls to the Entry Plug flashing through the normal startup patterns.

    +++

    "Synch.... Synch Rate stabilizing at... 23.1%. Unit-00 has activated," Maya said hesitantly, as if she was worried she'd startle the Eva into action again.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    I think a synch rate like that is a very grudging Yes, borderline No answer to Kaworu's question. I sympathize with Ritsuko during Unit 00's Rage episode, probably a mix of guilt and PTSD flashback for just how close she came to dying (rather messily) during the last occurrence.

    I'm not too surprised by Hikari's 0% ratio for Unit 00, though. A strong bond doesn't really exist there.

    A nice update Strypgia.
     
    Strypgia said:
    She waved Misato closer and pointed to the next bank of readouts on the far side of the display for Unit-00. "They're both lower than they are in their usual Evas, but not too much to function. Asuka's managing 58.7% in Unit-01, and Shinji is at…" Ritsuko's eyes narrowed at the wobbling readout. "Hmmm… He keeps drifting back and forth between 44.9% and 59.1%. Not much in between, just… either, like he's connecting erratically to two different circuits. Must be some glitch in the hardware interface."

    She waved Misato closer, and pointed to the next bank of readouts on the far side of the display for Unit-00. "They're both lower than they are in their usual units, but not too much. Asuka's managing a 61.2% Synch Rate in Unit-01, and Shinji is at..." Ritsuko's eye narrowed at the wobbling readout. "Hmm... he keeps shifting back and forth between 67.2% and 48.7%. Not much in between, just... either, like he's connecting to two different circuits erratically. Must be some glitch in the hardware interface."
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    This seems to have slipped past the editing process, pick one and delete the other.
     
    Strypgia said:
    ....Who the fark built this place?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    The real-world inspiration was the Winchester Mystery House... the product of another guilt-ridden and slightly unhinged mind.

    Strypgia said:
    A big deal? Hikari, I think this little collection could send your grandchildren through college!
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Not if current Japanese tuition rates are anything like current US tuition rates, sadly. The real baseball sold for $22,500 -- very nice, but not spectacular.


    On a separate note, I'm wondering if Technician Tanaka hears any of his daughter's school gossip connected to the Pilots he's monitoring in tests all day. That could get awkward.
     
    Reader mode
    You must login or register to reply here.
    Remove ads
    Back
    Top