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Advice and Trust [NGE]

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Ranma-sensei said:
*shakes head as WC-83 is apprehended by Section Two* Silencers are next to useless for real stealth, especially with rapid fire weapons.
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Hmmm... speaking from direct personal (albeit limited) experience, I have to disagree. Even if using supersonic ammunition, but especially if sticking to subsonic.

EDIT: Whhoops, derailing. Sorry, I shouldn't post after midnight...
 
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Sir_Braazmiir said:
Nah, Kaworu is gonna break open his emergency can of Tabris-brand Whoopass.
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Which may save Rei's life, but is inevitably going to give away to anyone who knows what they're looking at that, basically, HOLY FUCK HE'S AN ANGEL WE HAVE TO KILL HIM RIGHT NOW

So much for breaking the news gently. With the amount of broken trust and poisoned relationships floating in the wake of an incident like that, it would almost be better if someone had died.
 
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Arizona said:
Which may save Rei's life, but is inevitably going to give away to anyone who knows what they're looking at that, basically, HOLY FUCK HE'S AN ANGEL WE HAVE TO KILL HIM RIGHT NOW

So much for breaking the news gently. With the amount of broken trust and poisoned relationships floating in the wake of an incident like that, it would almost be better if someone had died.
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Which is why I suspect Rei and Kaworu are making a mistake by waiting until after Armisael to reveal the final secrets. One, because too much can go wrong in that fight (thus forcing the issue under unfavorable circumstances), and two, perhaps more importantly, because both Gendo and SEELE will presumably want to advance their plans immediately after Armisael's death in order to beat the other to the punch (also forcing the issue under unfavorable circumstances). Granted there's the risk that they'll know just that bit too much that leads them to give it away, but as it is, most of the major players (Misato, Kaji, Ritsuko, Maya, Asuka, and Shinji) already know that SEELE is planning to end the world, was already responsible for Second Impact, and Gendo is connected to it all; they're already managing to hide that knowledge from Gendo and SEELE, or at least they seem to be. The last bit of info is what Rei and Kaworu are, and Rits and Maya at least already know that much.

Instead, get inside the enemy's decision loop. Our heroes already have the advantage that neither Gendo nor SEELE seem to realize that they're active players in their own right, rather than just someone else's game pieces. Find some pretext ("Hey, Rits, the kids want to bury the hatchet by thanking you and Maya for taking care of Rei this last time...") to get everyone together the night before the weekend so they'll have several days to digest everything before they're back at NERV, order some take out, lay the entire situation out in chronological order to put everything into context, take stock of their resources and assets (physical, information, anything), then start brainstorming the desired end state, how to get there, and the likely contingencies (including 'how, if it proves necessary, to publically reveal Kaworu's nature in a way that garners public support') along the way. If anything, I'd think the reveal to be reassuring to Misato, Kaji, Shinji, and Asuka once they've had a chance to get over the shock: vital elements of Gendo and SEELE's scenarios have already betrayed their 'masters,' are on their side, and are phenomenally powerful beings to boot.

Of course, Murphy's law says that if Rei and Kaworu come to this conclusion themselves, and schedule the "Pizza and Beer Party of Things Man Wasn't Meant to Know but Desperately Needs To Anyway" for Friday, Armisael will attack on Wednesday, because this is Eva...
 
Sir_Braazmiir said:
Tabris chose humanity over his animalistic brethren. That's good enough for me.
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True, but leaving the framing of 'how this might become general knowledge' up to chance without planning ahead for the circumstances in which it could come up and how to exploit those circumstances is like leaving free points on the table.

"Is there a spin doctor in the house?"
 
Sir_Braazmiir said:
Nah, Kaworu is gonna break open his emergency can of Tabris-brand Whoopass.
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Keep in mind; in addition to the obvious problems of going public like that brings, the more he lets himself be Tabris... the stronger the Call gets. Part of why it's been so weak since Rei gave him the Box is that focusing on his Lilim desires has kept him very much Kaworu Nagisa, and not the other one. The Angel of Free Will is choosing, but parts of him still want to answer.
Tsukaistarburst said:
Why have I been reading this for so long but only made an account because of Evangelion: THE HANGOVER?
And on that note, can we see more of THE HANGOVER?
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I'll see what I can do. KSK #2 is supposed to be next, but I've got at least a partial mental 'script' for the next scene of E:TH ready, so... Depends on writing time, which has not been available the last 3 days.
 
Strypgia said:
I'll see what I can do. KSK #2 is supposed to be next, but I've got at least a partial mental 'script' for the next scene of E:TH ready, so... Depends on writing time, which has not been available the last 3 days.
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Personally I'd rather get on with the main plot, but it's your story. Write it in whatever order makes you happy.
 
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Comedy Omake #58 - MattR's "Inheritance IV - Things That Go Bump In The Light"
  • Apocrypha
    • Strypgia said:
    Keep in mind; in addition to the obvious problems of going public like that brings, the more he lets himself be Tabris... the stronger the Call gets. Part of why it's been so weak since Rei gave him the Box is that focusing on his Lilim desires has kept him very much Kaworu Nagisa, and not the other one. The Angel of Free Will is choosing, but parts of him still want to answer.
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    True, but the information Rei gave Kaworu on their origins and the purpose of the Call might give him some nuance there for bargaining with... himself. The purpose of the Call is strictly to seed a world, after all; the destruction of Humanity is an undesirable side effect, not a core goal, and ultimately counterproductive towards the larger FAR legacy goal the Call is meant to facilitate. Meanwhile, attempting to seize Adam and fulfill the Call by force would bring him into conflict with the Evangelions, which have thus far slain 13 others of his kind who have tried it, and with Rei/Lilith, a being more or less his equal, all at once -- very much losing odds. Establishing conditions on which he could negotiate to have Adam transferred to some other planet in the solar system, and fulfill the Call there? Much more likely to succeed, and averts the danger to humanity -- indeed, it benefits humanity by getting Adam out of the picture before some other damn fool tries to use it and blows up the planet again. And besides, it's fitting that the Angel of Free Will would succeed through open communication, honest dialogue, and voluntary exchange that benefits all parties, where the others failed by resorting to force or guile. Looked at in this way, if it occurs to Kaworu to do so, Tabris's goals are actually most readily fulfilled by backing Kaworu's intention of peaceful coexistence... if Kaworu can get the Tabris part of him to listen.

    Strypgia said:
    I'll see what I can do. KSK #2 is supposed to be next, but I've got at least a partial mental 'script' for the next scene of E:TH ready, so... Depends on writing time, which has not been available the last 3 days.
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    I've got something to fill that gap... Inheritance, Part 4: Things That Go Bump in the Light. ~3000 words of ghosts, grimoires, and Shinji finding that, sometimes, running away is an excellent and highly mature idea... at least for the moment.

    Inheritance -- Part 4: Things That Go Bump In the Light​
    "I have you now," Asuka muttered.

    "Asuka..."

    Having finished the sweep of the upstairs rooms they could find, Asuka had led Shinji back downstairs, ending at a heavy door at the back of the mansion.

    "I know we've been following something. And there's nowhere else it could have gone. And it led us right to the source of this noise."

    Asuka placed her foot against the door, turned the handle silently, aimed her flashlight at the door, and kicked.

    "Aaah!" came a voice from inside.

    Asuka stopped in her tracks. "...Hikari?"

    "Asuka?" Touji asked.

    "What are you two doing here?"

    _________________________

    Rei cautiously returned to the kitchen, clutching the wand of Ritsuko's device in front of her. She pressed her side against the wall next to the door and slowly peered around the corner.

    A faintly glowing figure seemed to occupy the far end of the room.

    Rei pulled back.

    "It is still there," she whispered.

    "It returned? Why?"

    "Why should I know? Perhaps it wants a snack and is too incorporeal to grasp it? I do not even believe in ghosts; why would I be an expert in their behavior?"

    "If you do not believe in ghosts, why did you bring the device?"

    Rei made a chagrined grimace and sighed. "Once you have eliminated the impossible..."

    Kaworu grinned briefly. "Does its Light tell you anything?"

    Rei narrowed her eyes. "I see no Light about it at all. It is strange... I would have expected something."

    "Perhaps because it is already dead?" Kaworu speculated.

    "Dead or alive, I would expect to see something."

    "It is apparently a naked soul, yet remaining within this world. Perhaps it has no AT-field for you to see?"

    "Perhaps."

    "So what do you plan to do?"

    "Capture it for study, if I can. Stand back."

    At this, Rei took a deep breath, swung around the corner, and fired.

    The ghost, if ghost it was, was unperturbed.

    The drawer next to the ghost, on the other hand, was dragged open by the projected attraction field. It slammed against its stops, flipping a plastic insert tray and sending a volley of stainless steel cutlery straight at Rei.

    Rei dodged to the side, accidentally pointing the wand at the cabinets. A metal tin of powdered confectioner's sugar came flying out, knocking the cabinet doors open with a bang before covering her with white powder.

    She staggered, half-blinded and sneezing, inadvertently sweeping the wand across the countertop with the trigger still held down. It came to rest pointing at a toaster oven, which hurled itself right at Rei's head just as she managed to brush the last of the sugar out of her eyes.

    Rei dropped to her back to duck under the flying appliance... only to find the wand now pointed directly at the light fixture hanging from the ceiling, which dislodged from its bracket and fell towards her. Finally remembering to release the trigger, she rolled out of the way just in time.

    As the apparition leisurely disappeared around the corner again, Rei slumped against the cabinet... only for an aluminum cake tin to fall off the shelf and land directly on her head.

    "Ow."

    Kaworu rushed to her side. Rei scowled.

    "Not one word," he promised, holding up his hands.

    Rei hung the wand back on the side of the backpack.

    "What happened?" Kaworu finally asked.

    "It appears the electromagnetic field component of Ritsuko's coil array is working perfectly," Rei grumbled. "As for the rest..."

    They were interrupted by the radio.

    "Team Nephilim, this is Team Awesome," Asuka hailed confidently.

    Rei rolled her eyes and answered. "Go ahead, 'Team Awesome.'"

    "I think we found something you'll want to take a look at. We're at the back of the mansion; I should be able to draw you a route on the map."

    "We'll be right there."

    _________________________

    Asuka pondered the squeaking, shaking machinery in the room. "This looks like..."

    "A Stirling engine running off a geothermal source, driving an electrical generator," Touji finished. "Judging from the sound, the bearings are failing. It looks pretty old, so it's probably been running for years unmaintained... although a few parts look less grimy than the rest, and that drive belt looks like a replacement for that worn-out one over there on the bench. From the timing of things, the noise started when the lights came on, so I'm guessing someone put too much load on the generator and the back EMF overstressed the bearings. We're lucky it didn't shear the shaft."

    As Asuka stared at him in shock, Touji explained, "Before my family moved to Tokyo 3, I used to spend summers helping my grandpa out on his farm down in Kansai. He has a setup kinda like this one; we used to work on it together. A bit newer than this, but not quite as fancy; this must have been hot stuff when it was put in."

    Asuka finally managed to pick up her jaw off the floor. "Score one for hick wisdom," she deadpanned. "Sometime when we have a minute, you'll have to tell me everything you know. For now, though, any idea on who turned on the lights?"

    "That would be me," Rei admitted as she walked into the room. "I found the breaker box and attempted to power the building by closing the circuit breaker to the backup."

    "Rei, what happened to you? You're a mess!" Shinji exclaimed.

    "Do not ask," Rei growled.

    "You saw something too, didn't you?" Asuka asked.

    "What makes you say that?" Rei asked back.

    "You're wearing Doctor Akagi's Ghost Catcher on your back."

    Rei stopped for a moment, and then groaned and facepalmed.

    "I don't suppose you caught it?" Touji asked.

    "The device had no effect whatsoever. None on the... whatever it was, at least. It nicely grabbed hold of everything else it was pointed at. And flung it all right at me."

    "That's too bad," Hikari said.

    "I caught the bulk of what you were saying before I walked in, Touji," Rei said. "It seems surprising that just turning on the lights and appliances was enough to damage the generator. Even with old, inefficient appliances, I would not expect the load to be that great."

    "I don't think it was," Touji said. "There's two separate sets of cables coming from the generator. I think only one of them goes to that breaker box."

    "What about the other one?" Asuka asked.

    "No idea, but I think it might be where most of that generator's output has been going for a while now. Suddenly turning on the lights was just the straw that broke the camel's back."

    "You have experience," Rei remarked. "Can you repair it?"

    "Not with what we have here," Touji admitted. "Think we should just shut it off? It's running pretty rough -- I don't think it can last like this."

    Rei thought for a moment, frowning. "No. Not yet, at least. This generator has been powering something, all on its own, for some time now. I would not want to find out the hard way what that something is. See if you can trace those lines to see where the power has been going. The rest of us will continue exploring."

    _________________________

    "Alright, Shinji; see if this sounds reasonable. Take a look at the map here," Asuka said. "We've checked all these rooms, and their interior walls don't quite seem to match up. But there's no windows into the interior, and it doesn't look from the outside like the mansion has a courtyard or anything there."

    "So you think there's another part of the mansion sealed off from the rest?" Shinji speculated.

    "Exactly."

    "And since we've inspected every room around the center on both floors..."

    "There must be a secret passage somewhere!" Asuka finished excitedly.

    "You know, it could be that the interior of the mansion was just sealed off entirely. We've seen enough doors to nowhere that it might have just gotten cut off from all the rest in the remodeling."

    "Hmm... it could be," Asuka mused, "But I'd still like to check."

    "Any ideas where?"

    "Mmm... the office. All those bookshelves..."

    "What about the library?"

    "It doesn't border the interior; looking at the map we've made, I don't see any way for a passage there to lead into the interior."

    "Good point. Lead on!"

    Shinji and Asuka quickly made their way back to an office they had seen before.

    "Let's see if this thing can help us," Asuka muttered, pulling out her thermal camera and slowly panning it around the room.

    "Asuka, do you hear anything?" Shinji asked.

    "Not really. How about you?"

    "I'm not sure; ever since Rei flipped that switch and damaged the generator, I feel like I've been hearing something in the background."

    "Huh. I haven't... wait!"

    "You heard something?"

    "I saw something, on the camera. I thought I saw movement. Something seemed to flicker across the screen."

    "Are you sure we should be in here?"

    "I don't see anything else; this is a thermal camera, so it might have been just a draft of cold air. Speaking of cold, I think I have something else -- look at that bookshelf there."

    "It looks normal to me."

    "There's a cold patch behind it."

    Shinji's eyes widened. "Really?"

    Asuka was already inspecting it close up.

    "Pleasebeasecretdoorpleasebeasecretdoorpleasebeasecretdoor... yay!"

    With a click, the bookshelf slid smoothly to the side.

    "Well, I'll be..." Shinji said.

    "Hah! Chalk one up for the Great Asuka Langley Soryu! Now to see what's inside..."

    The immediate interior looked to be stacked with boxes and junk, but beneath them...

    "Oooh, this looks promising!" Asuka said, rubbing her hands together.

    "A strongbox..."

    "I'll haul this thing out in a minute. Let's see what's further ahead!"

    The passage ultimately led to some sort of workshop. A large table with a few chairs dominated the center of the room, with cluttered workbenches and bookcases lining the walls. Another passage led further into the interior of the mansion.

    "This is weird. Why hide something like this?" Asuka asked.

    "Who knows," Shinji mused. "As if this place isn't crazy enough already." He idly took a book off one of the bookshelves and opened it.

    "What is it," Asuka asked.

    Shinji brought the book over to Asuka.

    "I recognize the script, but not the words. I'm afraid it's all Greek to me, Asuka."

    Asuka looked back at him and grinned. "It's actually Latin, Shinji."

    "Whatever. I'm going to look ahead just a bit. Let me know what you find."

    "Sure thing," Asuka replied, opening another book.

    _________________________

    "Oh, wow," Touji muttered.

    "What is it?" Hikari asked.

    "Get Rei. This is big."

    _________________________

    Looks like a dead end, Shinji thought to himself. The passage had ended in what looked to have once been a small library, now empty.

    Wait, what is...

    One of the bookcases seemed out of alignment with the others.

    Shinji leaned on the bookcase, only for it to suddenly swing inwards. Off-balance, Shinji found himself stumbling forward. When he regained his bearings, he was in a room he hadn't seen before, its only notable features being a noticeably bent chair, an empty stand with a sign-in log of some sort, and a large door across from him. Turning around, he saw a panel in the wall swinging back shut with a click.

    Figures there'd be another secret passage. He bent to inspect the now-closed secret door, but the only handle he found broke off in his hand. Great, now how do I get this thing back open?

    Suddenly, he was interrupted by a faint, whispering sound.

    A voice? It sounded like... 'Help me?' Could there actually be someone down here?

    What looked to have once been a formidable pair of locks on the large door had apparently been smashed at some time in the past. Behind it was a long hallway. Though the ceiling was lined with light fixtures, most were broken, leaving only patches of illumination.

    The lights work down here, Shinji realized. Is this where that power from the generator is going?

    Shinji shot a glance back at the panel through which he had entered. Still no idea how to open it... should I try to call for Asuka?

    He heard the voice again.

    Dammit, I can't just ignore it, Shinji thought.

    Reluctantly, Shinji started down the long, dark hallway.

    I'm gonna regret this.

    _________________________

    "What have you found?" Rei asked.

    "I'm not sure quite what it's for, but whatever else that generator was powering, it's big. It's built right into the walls. It looks like something that was added on, and I think it runs through the entire house," Touji explained.

    "Show me."

    _________________________

    Asuka closed yet another heavy tome. "What was this supposed to be, some sort of wizard's study? De Vermis Mysteriis? Voynich Manuscript? Secrets of the Essenes? Why would someone have that occult nonsense in what otherwise looks like a perfectly normal workshop?" she wondered as she looked around the room.

    "Now how did I miss this?" Asuka mused, finally noticing a small notebook lying open on another table. "And this one's actually in Japanese..."

    _________________________

    Touji and Hikari took Rei and Kaworu to where he had pulled some of the wood paneling away from the walls.

    "This looks familiar," Kaworu remarked.

    Rei nodded. "Yes. While primitive, if they continue like this, these coils resemble..."

    "... that thing you're wearing," Hikari whispered. "Doc's Ghost Catcher."

    "...You're right," Touji added. "What's going on here?"

    _________________________

    The hallway ended in two doors, one to the left side, and one straight ahead. Shinji began with the door straight ahead of him, opening it cautiously and entering.

    "Hello? Are you here?"

    The room Shinji entered looked like nothing else in the manor. Seventy feet across easily, a large coil of some kind hung from the ceiling in the center, a good thirty feet across itself, mirrored on the floor by a circular inscription lined with arcane symbols. Racks of equipment Shinji didn't recognize were placed around the periphery. On his left, some sort of observation room was visible through a large window.

    Piles of empty clothing were strewn about haphazardly.

    No, they're not random, Shinji realized, those piles look like complete sets...

    Looking down at his feet, Shinji noticed that the floor was covered in a pale film that stuck briefly to his shoes as he raised them.

    What is this smell? Shinji thought. I recognize it... it's... Oh, God...

    It was all too familiar. He had spent two days surrounded by that smell, locked in one of NERV's holding cells after his fight with Bardiel.

    Two days coated in the same film that covered the floor.

    Behind him, Shinji heard the door softly click shut. Whirling around, he tried for the handle.

    It would not budge.

    The hairs on the back of Shinji's neck stood up as, behind him, he heard something like a slow exhalation, accompanied by a wet tearing sound.

    _________________________

    "We need to fill Asuka and Shinji in about this," Kaworu said.

    "Judging from the additions to the map, it looks like they found their way into a new part of the building," Hikari added.

    "Come. We should all discuss this development together," Rei said, heading towards the new passage.

    Kaworu's face suddenly became grim. "We must hurry. I hear something again. Something awful."

    Rei stiffened with shock at the blossoming, clashing colors she saw emanating from the center of the mansion, before doubling her speed.

    _________________________

    Still reading, Asuka's eyes went wide at the words on the page. "Oh my god..."

    Raising her head, she looked around, and saw no one.

    "Shinji?" she called.

    There was no answer.

    "Shinji?!?"

    Still, there was no reply -- until Asuka heard a crashing sound further down the passage.

    "SHINJI!"

    At that moment, Shinji came around the corner in a hurry, clearly out of breath.

    "Shinji!"

    Shinji took a moment to catch his breath, cradling his left arm. "Asuka, I don't think whatever is in here is actually a ghost!"

    "Shinji, you're hurt! What happened?"

    "It's just a bruise. It's not important compared to..."

    "What. Happened."

    "So I found another passage by accident and got lost, and I started hearing something. It sounded like 'help me,' so like an idiot I followed it. I came to... I think I found the center of the mansion. There's a room there, a big one full of all sorts of weird equipment. And when I walked in, the floor was sticky, the whole place stank like dried LCL, and there were empty piles of clothing all over the place. And that's when the door behind me that I had come in through swung shut, and somehow locked itself, and when I turned around to face it I heard something behind me in what had been an empty room. Thankfully it wasn't much of a door, because I was not staying in there to see what was happening next."

    "...Shinji, all the interior doors we've seen in this house are solid oak."

    Shinji paused for a moment. "That would explain the bruise. Asuka, I don't think this place is haunted, not exactly. I think someone did something really horrible here, and it's still here."

    Asuka held up the book she had been reading, her face grim. "So do I. Rei needs to see this right away."

    "See what?" Rei asked, entering the room with Kaworu, Hikari, and Touji in tow.

    "The truth," Asuka replied.

    Rei sat at the table and began to read.
     
  • Apocrypha
    • Matt R said:
    I've got something to fill that gap... Inheritance, Part 4: Things That Go Bump in the Light. ~3000 words of ghosts, grimoires, and Shinji finding that, sometimes, running away is an excellent and highly mature idea... at least for the moment.
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    So far, nothing to contradict my theory that time-travelers have placed themselves in stasis in the mansion.
     
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