- Location
- Just north of those yodelling mountain tribes.
Also consider adding teenage hormones to her canon teasing of Shinji and she'd probably be worse with him that Asuka was with Kaji.
Advice and Trust [NGE]
Also consider adding teenage hormones to her canon teasing of Shinji and she'd probably be worse with him that Asuka was with Kaji.
FlyingScanian
Tea Addict
- Location
- Land of Eternal Night
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Oh dear. Poor Shinji.
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
Oooh... I just had an idea about Asuka and Ritsuko... Hee hee hee...
- Location
- Australia, mate
Why is there no 'OH GOD!' rating?
grommile
nasty-minded old cynic
- Location
- NERV-Mercia
- Pronouns
- Traditional/Animate
You're encouraging him
StorymasterQ
Chief of Weaponized Tropes First Division
- Location
- Denpasar, Bali
THERE IS NO GOD! ONLY ZUUL!
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
It could be a good thing. Maybe I just thought of some things for the end. Susano is right, Ritsuko's far from deserving forgiveness, and Asuka is not a very forgiving person. It would take a miracle. Several miracles.
- Location
- Australia, mate
Ritsuko: I worked out how to get your mother out of Unit-02?
Asuka: ...Your dye job still sucks.
Ranma-sensei
Sorcerer
- Location
- Citrix Receiver
- Pronouns
- Weatherdependent
Maya: Problem is, she'll probably suffer from MPD.
Asuka: And that's gotta appease me how?
Last edited:
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
Yeah, come to think of it, even in the event Ritsuko manages something like that, Asuka's 'forgiveness' will be more like 'I won't actively try to kill you on sight anymore, but stay the Hell away from me and don't push it' than 'all is forgiven, we can be friends'.
- Location
- Volksstaat Hessen, Deutsches Reich
I mean, she is part of the group which got her mother sucked into the EVA in the first place. So this wouldn't even be "making amends", but still in the "fixing the fuck-ups I participated" in phase.
). It's kinda like @Strypgia has said in the beginning about A/S: The important part is not the sex bits, but the relationship. The former are just a "symptom", so to speak, of the latter. So what I'm cheering is not so much "Israfel Special" but "1-2-3".
Also, those terms are very dorky
Well, it's not even that I want to see the Israfel Species (which I keep reading as "Israel Special" - maybe that is when you make extra sure to have protected safe sex?
). It's kinda like @Strypgia has said in the beginning about A/S: The important part is not the sex bits, but the relationship. The former are just a "symptom", so to speak, of the latter. So what I'm cheering is not so much "Israfel Special" but "1-2-3".Also, those terms are very dorky
Minor correction: While Ritsuko undoubtedly knows about the truth of that incident, she was not a part of it.
- Location
- Volksstaat Hessen, Deutsches Reich
That's why I chose the somewhat awkward "is part of the group" formulation. Sure, she basically took her mother's place in the conspiracy after this was all already done, but now she IS part of that conspiracy which has done all this.
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
He means 'She's still a long-time associate of SEELE', which is the damning part.
That 'ship' has definitely sailed. They've all acknowledged and are aware of each other's feelings, and they're all pretty much at the 'would die to protect the others' point.Well, it's not even that I want to see the Israfel Species (which I keep reading as "Israel Special" - maybe that is when you make extra sure to have protected safe sex?
I don't dispute that.
- Location
- Volksstaat Hessen, Deutsches Reich
Well, more part of Gendo's little conspiracy than really serving SEELE, but yeah, that amounts to much the same.
As I've said in my initial post. Hence the "Just kiss her you dolts"
I know!!!!
Hush, you'll wake it up.
Miracles you say? Almost like a something out of this other fic I once read....
Chapter 9.12
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
Ok, it's that time! @Susano, this is your trigger. 3000 words of using supercomputers for ERP, dangerous weapon testing, and trying to talk to your parents.
Art? Art!
Chapter 9.12
Everything I Do...
+++
'This is not going to be easy, now or later' Ritsuko thought to herself.
She made herself look up at the monitor above the observation window into the Test Cage. If she looked down, she'd have to peer over Maya's shoulder like she used to, and that would make it all but impossible to avoid a smile threatening to break out on her face.
The last few days had been equal measures exhilarating and terrifying. She and Maya had managed to 'have dinner' every night. Ritsuko had taken to carrying around the slightly bulky hand terminal she sometimes used for MAGI access because that meant she and Maya could constantly talk privately through the coding logs.
And talk they did. She'd tried to slow things down, tried to remind herself she was still rebounding from Gendo's mistreatment, her own emotional crash, and near suicide. It had crumbled before Maya's argument that they'd known each other for almost two years, that Ritsuko had known about Maya's crush on her for most of that, and that the two of them starting whatever they were starting was merely a small change of status.
Ritsuko fought down another strong urge to grin. This was intoxicating. For all the years she'd spent throwing herself at Gendo, and all the times she had honestly moaned in lustful physical pleasure under him, for he did hit a lot of her buttons, she knew perfectly well she'd never felt even a scrap of emotional involvement from him that she hadn't imagined up out of nothing. But with Maya… She couldn't even look at her without smiling, and know she'd find the younger woman smiling right back. She knew, knew Maya liked to see her and wanted to be around her. She'd spent the last few nights staying up way too late, messaging back and forth with Maya until neither of them could stay awake.
She couldn't help it. She stepped a bit closer and leaned over to see Maya's screen. This let her put her hand on Maya's shoulder and squeeze gently. She could see Maya smile into the screen, her hands still typing steadily at the reactivation test protocols. "Everything looking good?" she asked, for appearances sake.
"Just fine, Akagi-sempai," Maya said cheerfully, giving her a little nod.
Ritsuko just nodded, but smiled internally. One of the things they'd talked about was the need to hide. Second Impact had slightly weakened Japan's general taboo on same-sex couples, but it hadn't gone away entirely, and most gay couples learned to be very quiet about it. Ritsuko had assured Maya she didn't care about that. But Ritsuko herself knew far too much about Commander Ikari's Scenario, and if he ever got wind of the fact Ritsuko was no longer playing on his team (Maya had laughed at that), there was a good chance he'd have them both killed (She hadn't laughed at that. She'd gone pale.). So they had to give no public sign they were… together.
They hadn't slept together, kissed, or even so much as held hands, but she already felt a dozen times closer and happier being with Maya than she had in years pursuing Gendo. She felt positively giddy at times. Maya wanted her just for being her. Maya wanted to hold her, say her name softly, and wake up next to her. Without either of them saying three little words, without a kiss or anything, they were… a couple.
'I have a girlfriend,' Ritsuko thought with mild amazement.
She'd run that little statement past her conscious mind multiple times over the last couple days. It just got better every time. Maya was… amazingly forgiving. Even her involvement in Commander Ikari's Scenario was forgivable, as long as she dedicated herself equally to secretly fighting it, now. Even…
She grimaced. Maya was too good. She didn't deserve her. When she'd explained that as part of keeping Commander Ikari unaware of them, Ritsuko would still have to… come when he sent for her, at night, Maya had just… accepted it. No questions, no reservations. Just 'I understand.' Though her acceptance might have been eased by Ritsuko's blushing admission that it would not be Gendo she was thinking of, in the middle if things. And it had been true, too. Gendo had summoned her two nights ago. With Commander Ikari bulling away on top of her, she'd instead pictured it being Maya in her arms, equipped with a toy she already had in her apartment. Her climax had been sudden and surprisingly powerful. Gendo had thought her suddenly increased moans had been his doing. She'd managed to leave before he could see how she kept smiling.
'And I have started utilizing the most powerful computer array in the world for flirting and ERP with my girlfriend. This is ridiculous. And now… now you have to stop distracting yourself from what's about to happen, Ritsuko. The Second Child is about to reactivate Unit-02.' A twinge of guilt stabbed at her. Maya had accepted that they couldn't tell the Children how the Eva's Cores really worked. She'd accepted that far less readily than the other things. Ritsuko had spent years teaching herself to ignore that part of the Evangelion program. Maya's relentless look of hurt at the subject had painfully reawakened Ritsuko's conscience on the matter.
'And you know from her psych profile that Asuka would give anything to be able to know where her mother's soul is. And you've said nothing.'
She watched on the remote camera feed to the Entry Plug as the Second Child got into her seat and the hatch sealed. The Plug spun down into its slot in the spine of Unit-02 and began to fill with LCL. The young Pilot opened her mouth and let her lungs fill with the orange liquid with the ease of long practice. A trail of bubbles trickled upwards from her mouth as she settled back, her eyes closed and face relaxed.
'One day you're going to have to face her reaction when she learns you knew where her mother was all along, and kept it from her.'
Ritsuko sighed quietly. If they all lived through this, she'd need the rest of her life to even begin atoning for all this. That Maya could provisionally forgive her gave her some hope, at least. She turned to Maya.
"Commence activation," she ordered. "Connect main power to all circuits."
"Main power supply connecting... complete. Commencing activation system," Maya responded. "Activation voltage is approaching the critical level. 0.6, 0.3, Rising."
"Begin the second phase of the activation system."
"Pilot has begun link-up," one of the senior techs reported.
"Entry has started. LCL electrolyzed," Maya recited. "Initiating first connection. Data received. Reconfirming. Pattern green."
All normal so far. "Start system Phase 2."
"Synapses inserted. Junctions connected," the senior tech said.
"Transmitting pulse," Maya said. "No problems with initial contact. Harmonics are all normal. Checklist satisfactory up to 2500. Initiating 3rd connection. Self-psychograph is… active," she reported.
Active? Ritsuko switched her look to the Pilot readouts. Asuka's psychograph was… a little more erratic than usual. "Pilot Soryu, is everything alright on your end?"
"Just fine, Doctor," the young woman said. "I'm just eager to get my Evangelion back in action. Saving the world in Unit-03 is nice and all, but Unit-02 is my baby. This is where I belong. So let's get this kitty purring." She shot a challenging look at the communications window. "I'm ready. So is Unit-02."
Another pang of guilt shot through her. She managed to keep her face blank. "Initiate A-10 Nerve connection," Ritsuko said.
"Clear up to 2580." Maya said calmly. "Counting down to the absolute borderline. 0.9, 0.7, 0.5, 0.4, 0.3... Absolute borderline passed. Unit-02 has activated successfully."
+++
Asuka tried not to jitter in her seat. She'd never been this nervous in Unit-02 before, not since the first time she'd activated it ten years ago. She couldn't stop her hands from gripping the control yokes so hard she could hear the plastic creak. She hardly noticed breathing LCL anymore, but for now she tried to concentrate on the greater effort it took to pump the liquid in and out of her lungs versus air. It helped distract her, a little.
'Mama Mama Mama Mama Mama…'
Ok, it didn't distract her very much. And now the wait was over, the desperate wish she'd cried herself to sleep by too many times over the last ten years was about to come true…
"Absolute borderline passed. Unit-02 has activated successfully," she heard Lieutenant Ibuki say from the observation room.
The walls of the Entry Plug went through their prismatic spray of wild colors and stripes before settling into the fake-transparent view of the outside. Asuka felt the subtle tingle on her mind of the Eva, the same feeling she'd grappled with and tried to master every time she synched with her Evangelion. But now she paid more attention than ever. This time it wasn't about trying to force a giant doll to obey her.
This time… it was Mama.
She calmed herself as much as she could, and reached out like she and Shinji had in Unit-03. The smooth wall of presence in her mind, the way she'd always perceived Unit-02 as, was waiting… but this time she forced herself not to visualize it as a wall, but a curtain… and then tried to push beyond it.
The barrier rippled… waved… and parted.
Asuka could feel it change. She'd never tried this before… The Eva had always been an object, a thing she had to wrestle under control of her will. This time, she tentatively reached out, sending her thoughts inward to the Core…
'Mama? Are… are you there? It's Asuka. I'm… I'm here.'
There was a pause, like a held breath in her mind.
And then the Eva responded.
+++
"A…Akagi-sempai, the… I don't… Pilot Soryu's readings are going crazy!" Lieutenant Ibuki said worriedly from her console.
Misato tried not to react, but then realized she would normally. Asuka's heart rate had been higher than normal already, but her readouts on the biofeedback monitors had just gone wild, her pulse skyrocketing. She could feel Shinji tense as a bowstring next to her. The right hand of his plugsuit squeaked as he made a tight fist. He looked at her, his eyes pleading.
"Her psychograph is… there's all sorts of strange readings popping in. It's getting unstable," Ritsuko confirmed from the nearby console she'd moved to. "Synch rate at 52.8%...55%...68%...84%! Asuka, what's happening in there? Do we need to abort?" Her hands moved to the glass cover over the red Emergency Power Cutoff lever.
'Oh don't you touch that thing, Rits! I think Asuka would rather die. And if she really is making contact with her mother and you pull the plug, I'm afraid as soon as she gets out of the Entry Plug she'll steal my pistol and empty it into you.' Misato almost spoke over her college friend. "Asuka, are you alright?"
+++
"I'm fine! This is my Eva! I have… I will get this under control. Do not stop the test!" Asuka almost shouted at them. 'Do NOT take this away from me, you fake-blonde bitch! MAMA!' she managed not to add out loud. It was a small miracle she wasn't crying.
From joy.
~ASUKA! ASUKA! Daughterlovechildhereherehereyou'realivealive!~ The 'voice' was oddly blurred, like listening to two stereo speakers not quite in synch. But it was definitely, utterly, absolutely the voice she remembered from her earliest memories.
Her mother was alive.
~Pro-protectlovedaughteralive-ve!~ the voice almost shouted back at her. ~Here-ere!~ Again, that odd echo.
'Mama, it's me! Your Asuka! You've been here with me the whole time!' She couldn't stop it. The tears started to form at the edges of her eyes. She closed them and tilted her head back, trying to ensure no one could see them.
~Here-ereYesYes-es!~
+++
"Synch Rate now 94.3%!" Lieutenant Ibuki reported.
"That's it, I'm stopping this now. There's something very wrong here," Doctor Akagi said. "Cut the power and disconnect the nerve feeds before something happens to her."
"Doctor Akagi, wait!" Shinji burst out. "Don't cut her off!"
The scientist shot him an incredulous look. "Shinji-kun, we have no idea what happens once she passes 100% Synch, but I don't want to find out the hard way! And I think I know more about how the Evas work than you do!"
"But you've never sat in one. You don't know what it's like. The way it feels when you just... open up to the synchronization is... I can't even describe it. Let her be. Asuka's got this. Right, Asuka?" Shinji raised his voice and spoke towards the microphone near the monitor at the front of the room.
+++
"Yes! Everything's fine! Don't shut it down! Listen to the baka!" Figuring everyone was probably staring at Shinji, Asuka took the chance to quickly wipe at her eyes. 'Mama! That's him! My Shinji! I found him! He found me! He loves me!'
She sent a cascade of images of the two of them. Mindful of her accident with Hikari, she made sure to leave out any images of the two of them in flagrante delicto. She let many, many images of him lying next to her at night, smiling in the aftermath, tell that story.
~Surprise! Affection. Joy! Loss. Separation.~
'I've missed you, Mama… but you were always with me!' She didn't want to stop this, but she had to. She couldn't maintain her composure much longer. 'I… I have to go, Mama! We can't let them know about you! But I promise! We'll save you! We got Hikari out, we'll get you out too! Somehow! I want you to meet Shinji!'
~Asuka-ka! Don't leave-ve! LivDie with me.~
Asuka jerked in shock. What? The double-echo thing was getting worse, but… that couldn't be what Mama had said, right? 'Mama?'
+++
"Her Synch Rate is 98.5%! I'm pulling the plug!" Doctor Akagi said. "Maya, shut it down, now!"
"Beginning termination program!" Maya responded, fingers flying over her keys. Her hands froze. "Unit-02 is rejecting the signal!"
+++
~Die. No! Live! You must live! My daughter! Stay here. Die with me.~
It was distinctly two voices talking to her now. One joyful, loving, eager to see her… the other… almost the same, but… calling for her to die also...
The voices were… fighting? Diverging? And getting louder.
~You are always with me! Go! My beautiful girl!~
~Die with me…~
~No!~
~Die for me…~
+++
"Synch Rate at 99.8%!" Maya shouted.
"Cut the power!" Doctor Akagi ordered.
+++
This… Asuka didn't know what this was. Both voices sounded like Mama, but… one was… wrong. Dark. Broken. Happy to see her as the other one, but… it wanted her to join it in… NO!
Asuka pulled back, withdrawing from the intoxicating joy of finally speaking with her mother again. She tried to aim her thoughts at the 'good' voice. 'Mama, I have to go. I'll see you again soon! I love you!~
~Love!~
~Die… Love… Die…~
+++
"Power cut! Thirty seven seconds of power remaining in Unit-02's batteries!" Maya reported. "Sh...what? Synch Rate...Synch Rate is dropping! 94.9%... 90%... 85%... stabilizing at 78.7%..."
Doctor Akagi slumped slightly in relief. Then she threw a glare at Misato and Shinji before leaning in close to look over Maya's shoulder. "Alright. So what the Hell just happened?"
Maya shook her head. "The MAGI are unable to reach any conclusions yet. But… the instability… originated in the Core?" She tapped at the keyboard. "Unit-02 is responding again. Cutting links and starting shutdown protocols. Entry Plug ejection signal accepted."
Shinji stiffened. He could see Misato's jaw minutely tighten. They both knew what that had to mean. Asuka had succeeded, at least partially. But succeeded in a way that was entirely too noticeable. This would be hard to pass off as not worth investigating, if that was even possible.
'Still,' Shinji consoled himself, 'it worked! Asuka has to have made some kind of contact with her mother! And that means… I can too.'
"Asuka, what happened? Your readings are all over the place!" Doctor Akagi's question dragged his attention back to the moment.
On the monitor, Asuka blinked and focused on her questioner like she was coming back from somewhere else. "I… it was so easy. I don't know what you did in those repairs, Doctor, but… it was easier than ever to synchronize with Unit-02. It felt great!" Behind her, the Entry Plug flashed through it's shutdown cycle, ending in half-shadowed blank walls.
"You nearly hit 100% Synchronization, Asuka. We don't know what that would do to you, and that's probably not a good thing to find out the hard way. We're going to need to go over everything that happened in detail."
"You handle the technical side, Doctor. I'll debrief my Pilot," Misato interjected.
Doctor Akagi didn't look very happy at that. "I'm going to need to question her as well. She went from below 50% synchronization to barely short of 100% and completely unknown consequences! Or not unknown: what if she'd been absorbed like the Horaki girl?"
"Then tell me why that happened, Doctor Akagi," Misato shot right back. "This is the same Pilot we had last time. Only Unit-02 has changed. If the instability originated in the Core, that's on you."
Doctor Akagi looked like she was going to escalate further and opened her mouth, but suddenly stopped, a strange look passing over her face. "....right. Of course. See to your Pilot, Major. I'll… I'll talk to you about what we've both gotten later."
Misato jerked a tight nod at her and turned to leave. "Shinji-kun, follow me. We're done here."
Shinji nodded and fell in behind her. He didn't know what to make of it, when he looked back, and saw Doctor Akagi with her head hung low, hunched over the control console… and Lieutenant Ibuki touching her hand gently.
+++
Art? Art!
Chapter 9.12
Everything I Do...
+++
'This is not going to be easy, now or later' Ritsuko thought to herself.
She made herself look up at the monitor above the observation window into the Test Cage. If she looked down, she'd have to peer over Maya's shoulder like she used to, and that would make it all but impossible to avoid a smile threatening to break out on her face.
The last few days had been equal measures exhilarating and terrifying. She and Maya had managed to 'have dinner' every night. Ritsuko had taken to carrying around the slightly bulky hand terminal she sometimes used for MAGI access because that meant she and Maya could constantly talk privately through the coding logs.
And talk they did. She'd tried to slow things down, tried to remind herself she was still rebounding from Gendo's mistreatment, her own emotional crash, and near suicide. It had crumbled before Maya's argument that they'd known each other for almost two years, that Ritsuko had known about Maya's crush on her for most of that, and that the two of them starting whatever they were starting was merely a small change of status.
Ritsuko fought down another strong urge to grin. This was intoxicating. For all the years she'd spent throwing herself at Gendo, and all the times she had honestly moaned in lustful physical pleasure under him, for he did hit a lot of her buttons, she knew perfectly well she'd never felt even a scrap of emotional involvement from him that she hadn't imagined up out of nothing. But with Maya… She couldn't even look at her without smiling, and know she'd find the younger woman smiling right back. She knew, knew Maya liked to see her and wanted to be around her. She'd spent the last few nights staying up way too late, messaging back and forth with Maya until neither of them could stay awake.
She couldn't help it. She stepped a bit closer and leaned over to see Maya's screen. This let her put her hand on Maya's shoulder and squeeze gently. She could see Maya smile into the screen, her hands still typing steadily at the reactivation test protocols. "Everything looking good?" she asked, for appearances sake.
"Just fine, Akagi-sempai," Maya said cheerfully, giving her a little nod.
Ritsuko just nodded, but smiled internally. One of the things they'd talked about was the need to hide. Second Impact had slightly weakened Japan's general taboo on same-sex couples, but it hadn't gone away entirely, and most gay couples learned to be very quiet about it. Ritsuko had assured Maya she didn't care about that. But Ritsuko herself knew far too much about Commander Ikari's Scenario, and if he ever got wind of the fact Ritsuko was no longer playing on his team (Maya had laughed at that), there was a good chance he'd have them both killed (She hadn't laughed at that. She'd gone pale.). So they had to give no public sign they were… together.
They hadn't slept together, kissed, or even so much as held hands, but she already felt a dozen times closer and happier being with Maya than she had in years pursuing Gendo. She felt positively giddy at times. Maya wanted her just for being her. Maya wanted to hold her, say her name softly, and wake up next to her. Without either of them saying three little words, without a kiss or anything, they were… a couple.
'I have a girlfriend,' Ritsuko thought with mild amazement.
She'd run that little statement past her conscious mind multiple times over the last couple days. It just got better every time. Maya was… amazingly forgiving. Even her involvement in Commander Ikari's Scenario was forgivable, as long as she dedicated herself equally to secretly fighting it, now. Even…
She grimaced. Maya was too good. She didn't deserve her. When she'd explained that as part of keeping Commander Ikari unaware of them, Ritsuko would still have to… come when he sent for her, at night, Maya had just… accepted it. No questions, no reservations. Just 'I understand.' Though her acceptance might have been eased by Ritsuko's blushing admission that it would not be Gendo she was thinking of, in the middle if things. And it had been true, too. Gendo had summoned her two nights ago. With Commander Ikari bulling away on top of her, she'd instead pictured it being Maya in her arms, equipped with a toy she already had in her apartment. Her climax had been sudden and surprisingly powerful. Gendo had thought her suddenly increased moans had been his doing. She'd managed to leave before he could see how she kept smiling.
'And I have started utilizing the most powerful computer array in the world for flirting and ERP with my girlfriend. This is ridiculous. And now… now you have to stop distracting yourself from what's about to happen, Ritsuko. The Second Child is about to reactivate Unit-02.' A twinge of guilt stabbed at her. Maya had accepted that they couldn't tell the Children how the Eva's Cores really worked. She'd accepted that far less readily than the other things. Ritsuko had spent years teaching herself to ignore that part of the Evangelion program. Maya's relentless look of hurt at the subject had painfully reawakened Ritsuko's conscience on the matter.
'And you know from her psych profile that Asuka would give anything to be able to know where her mother's soul is. And you've said nothing.'
She watched on the remote camera feed to the Entry Plug as the Second Child got into her seat and the hatch sealed. The Plug spun down into its slot in the spine of Unit-02 and began to fill with LCL. The young Pilot opened her mouth and let her lungs fill with the orange liquid with the ease of long practice. A trail of bubbles trickled upwards from her mouth as she settled back, her eyes closed and face relaxed.
'One day you're going to have to face her reaction when she learns you knew where her mother was all along, and kept it from her.'
Ritsuko sighed quietly. If they all lived through this, she'd need the rest of her life to even begin atoning for all this. That Maya could provisionally forgive her gave her some hope, at least. She turned to Maya.
"Commence activation," she ordered. "Connect main power to all circuits."
"Main power supply connecting... complete. Commencing activation system," Maya responded. "Activation voltage is approaching the critical level. 0.6, 0.3, Rising."
"Begin the second phase of the activation system."
"Pilot has begun link-up," one of the senior techs reported.
"Entry has started. LCL electrolyzed," Maya recited. "Initiating first connection. Data received. Reconfirming. Pattern green."
All normal so far. "Start system Phase 2."
"Synapses inserted. Junctions connected," the senior tech said.
"Transmitting pulse," Maya said. "No problems with initial contact. Harmonics are all normal. Checklist satisfactory up to 2500. Initiating 3rd connection. Self-psychograph is… active," she reported.
Active? Ritsuko switched her look to the Pilot readouts. Asuka's psychograph was… a little more erratic than usual. "Pilot Soryu, is everything alright on your end?"
"Just fine, Doctor," the young woman said. "I'm just eager to get my Evangelion back in action. Saving the world in Unit-03 is nice and all, but Unit-02 is my baby. This is where I belong. So let's get this kitty purring." She shot a challenging look at the communications window. "I'm ready. So is Unit-02."
Another pang of guilt shot through her. She managed to keep her face blank. "Initiate A-10 Nerve connection," Ritsuko said.
"Clear up to 2580." Maya said calmly. "Counting down to the absolute borderline. 0.9, 0.7, 0.5, 0.4, 0.3... Absolute borderline passed. Unit-02 has activated successfully."
+++
Asuka tried not to jitter in her seat. She'd never been this nervous in Unit-02 before, not since the first time she'd activated it ten years ago. She couldn't stop her hands from gripping the control yokes so hard she could hear the plastic creak. She hardly noticed breathing LCL anymore, but for now she tried to concentrate on the greater effort it took to pump the liquid in and out of her lungs versus air. It helped distract her, a little.
'Mama Mama Mama Mama Mama…'
Ok, it didn't distract her very much. And now the wait was over, the desperate wish she'd cried herself to sleep by too many times over the last ten years was about to come true…
"Absolute borderline passed. Unit-02 has activated successfully," she heard Lieutenant Ibuki say from the observation room.
The walls of the Entry Plug went through their prismatic spray of wild colors and stripes before settling into the fake-transparent view of the outside. Asuka felt the subtle tingle on her mind of the Eva, the same feeling she'd grappled with and tried to master every time she synched with her Evangelion. But now she paid more attention than ever. This time it wasn't about trying to force a giant doll to obey her.
This time… it was Mama.
She calmed herself as much as she could, and reached out like she and Shinji had in Unit-03. The smooth wall of presence in her mind, the way she'd always perceived Unit-02 as, was waiting… but this time she forced herself not to visualize it as a wall, but a curtain… and then tried to push beyond it.
The barrier rippled… waved… and parted.
Asuka could feel it change. She'd never tried this before… The Eva had always been an object, a thing she had to wrestle under control of her will. This time, she tentatively reached out, sending her thoughts inward to the Core…
'Mama? Are… are you there? It's Asuka. I'm… I'm here.'
There was a pause, like a held breath in her mind.
And then the Eva responded.
+++
"A…Akagi-sempai, the… I don't… Pilot Soryu's readings are going crazy!" Lieutenant Ibuki said worriedly from her console.
Misato tried not to react, but then realized she would normally. Asuka's heart rate had been higher than normal already, but her readouts on the biofeedback monitors had just gone wild, her pulse skyrocketing. She could feel Shinji tense as a bowstring next to her. The right hand of his plugsuit squeaked as he made a tight fist. He looked at her, his eyes pleading.
"Her psychograph is… there's all sorts of strange readings popping in. It's getting unstable," Ritsuko confirmed from the nearby console she'd moved to. "Synch rate at 52.8%...55%...68%...84%! Asuka, what's happening in there? Do we need to abort?" Her hands moved to the glass cover over the red Emergency Power Cutoff lever.
'Oh don't you touch that thing, Rits! I think Asuka would rather die. And if she really is making contact with her mother and you pull the plug, I'm afraid as soon as she gets out of the Entry Plug she'll steal my pistol and empty it into you.' Misato almost spoke over her college friend. "Asuka, are you alright?"
+++
"I'm fine! This is my Eva! I have… I will get this under control. Do not stop the test!" Asuka almost shouted at them. 'Do NOT take this away from me, you fake-blonde bitch! MAMA!' she managed not to add out loud. It was a small miracle she wasn't crying.
From joy.
~ASUKA! ASUKA! Daughterlovechildhereherehereyou'realivealive!~ The 'voice' was oddly blurred, like listening to two stereo speakers not quite in synch. But it was definitely, utterly, absolutely the voice she remembered from her earliest memories.
Her mother was alive.
~Pro-protectlovedaughteralive-ve!~ the voice almost shouted back at her. ~Here-ere!~ Again, that odd echo.
'Mama, it's me! Your Asuka! You've been here with me the whole time!' She couldn't stop it. The tears started to form at the edges of her eyes. She closed them and tilted her head back, trying to ensure no one could see them.
~Here-ereYesYes-es!~
+++
"Synch Rate now 94.3%!" Lieutenant Ibuki reported.
"That's it, I'm stopping this now. There's something very wrong here," Doctor Akagi said. "Cut the power and disconnect the nerve feeds before something happens to her."
"Doctor Akagi, wait!" Shinji burst out. "Don't cut her off!"
The scientist shot him an incredulous look. "Shinji-kun, we have no idea what happens once she passes 100% Synch, but I don't want to find out the hard way! And I think I know more about how the Evas work than you do!"
"But you've never sat in one. You don't know what it's like. The way it feels when you just... open up to the synchronization is... I can't even describe it. Let her be. Asuka's got this. Right, Asuka?" Shinji raised his voice and spoke towards the microphone near the monitor at the front of the room.
+++
"Yes! Everything's fine! Don't shut it down! Listen to the baka!" Figuring everyone was probably staring at Shinji, Asuka took the chance to quickly wipe at her eyes. 'Mama! That's him! My Shinji! I found him! He found me! He loves me!'
She sent a cascade of images of the two of them. Mindful of her accident with Hikari, she made sure to leave out any images of the two of them in flagrante delicto. She let many, many images of him lying next to her at night, smiling in the aftermath, tell that story.
~Surprise! Affection. Joy! Loss. Separation.~
'I've missed you, Mama… but you were always with me!' She didn't want to stop this, but she had to. She couldn't maintain her composure much longer. 'I… I have to go, Mama! We can't let them know about you! But I promise! We'll save you! We got Hikari out, we'll get you out too! Somehow! I want you to meet Shinji!'
~Asuka-ka! Don't leave-ve! LivDie with me.~
Asuka jerked in shock. What? The double-echo thing was getting worse, but… that couldn't be what Mama had said, right? 'Mama?'
+++
"Her Synch Rate is 98.5%! I'm pulling the plug!" Doctor Akagi said. "Maya, shut it down, now!"
"Beginning termination program!" Maya responded, fingers flying over her keys. Her hands froze. "Unit-02 is rejecting the signal!"
+++
~Die. No! Live! You must live! My daughter! Stay here. Die with me.~
It was distinctly two voices talking to her now. One joyful, loving, eager to see her… the other… almost the same, but… calling for her to die also...
The voices were… fighting? Diverging? And getting louder.
~You are always with me! Go! My beautiful girl!~
~Die with me…~
~No!~
~Die for me…~
+++
"Synch Rate at 99.8%!" Maya shouted.
"Cut the power!" Doctor Akagi ordered.
+++
This… Asuka didn't know what this was. Both voices sounded like Mama, but… one was… wrong. Dark. Broken. Happy to see her as the other one, but… it wanted her to join it in… NO!
Asuka pulled back, withdrawing from the intoxicating joy of finally speaking with her mother again. She tried to aim her thoughts at the 'good' voice. 'Mama, I have to go. I'll see you again soon! I love you!~
~Love!~
~Die… Love… Die…~
+++
"Power cut! Thirty seven seconds of power remaining in Unit-02's batteries!" Maya reported. "Sh...what? Synch Rate...Synch Rate is dropping! 94.9%... 90%... 85%... stabilizing at 78.7%..."
Doctor Akagi slumped slightly in relief. Then she threw a glare at Misato and Shinji before leaning in close to look over Maya's shoulder. "Alright. So what the Hell just happened?"
Maya shook her head. "The MAGI are unable to reach any conclusions yet. But… the instability… originated in the Core?" She tapped at the keyboard. "Unit-02 is responding again. Cutting links and starting shutdown protocols. Entry Plug ejection signal accepted."
Shinji stiffened. He could see Misato's jaw minutely tighten. They both knew what that had to mean. Asuka had succeeded, at least partially. But succeeded in a way that was entirely too noticeable. This would be hard to pass off as not worth investigating, if that was even possible.
'Still,' Shinji consoled himself, 'it worked! Asuka has to have made some kind of contact with her mother! And that means… I can too.'
"Asuka, what happened? Your readings are all over the place!" Doctor Akagi's question dragged his attention back to the moment.
On the monitor, Asuka blinked and focused on her questioner like she was coming back from somewhere else. "I… it was so easy. I don't know what you did in those repairs, Doctor, but… it was easier than ever to synchronize with Unit-02. It felt great!" Behind her, the Entry Plug flashed through it's shutdown cycle, ending in half-shadowed blank walls.
"You nearly hit 100% Synchronization, Asuka. We don't know what that would do to you, and that's probably not a good thing to find out the hard way. We're going to need to go over everything that happened in detail."
"You handle the technical side, Doctor. I'll debrief my Pilot," Misato interjected.
Doctor Akagi didn't look very happy at that. "I'm going to need to question her as well. She went from below 50% synchronization to barely short of 100% and completely unknown consequences! Or not unknown: what if she'd been absorbed like the Horaki girl?"
"Then tell me why that happened, Doctor Akagi," Misato shot right back. "This is the same Pilot we had last time. Only Unit-02 has changed. If the instability originated in the Core, that's on you."
Doctor Akagi looked like she was going to escalate further and opened her mouth, but suddenly stopped, a strange look passing over her face. "....right. Of course. See to your Pilot, Major. I'll… I'll talk to you about what we've both gotten later."
Misato jerked a tight nod at her and turned to leave. "Shinji-kun, follow me. We're done here."
Shinji nodded and fell in behind her. He didn't know what to make of it, when he looked back, and saw Doctor Akagi with her head hung low, hunched over the control console… and Lieutenant Ibuki touching her hand gently.
+++
- Location
- Volksstaat Hessen, Deutsches Reich
... literally as I was about to turn the computer off. Like, "Just one last look at SV". But hey, reading material for tomorrow! And A&T reading material to boot
The Fourth Monado
S U B A R A S H I I
- Location
- Away
Nice. And Asuka discovers the raw edge of Mrs. Soryu's soul....
Rukatin
Malfunctioning NPC at best
- Location
- Land of Confusion
- Pronouns
- He/Him
She did go crazy and hang herself. From what I understand, her soul was split in half, all the positive parts and love for her child that drives the connection to the Eva, and everything else was stuck in the body, causing her to go suicidal. Apparently her soul retained the split.
Wow. That is quite the understanding and gracious girlfriend you have, Rtisuko. Don't let her go, if you can...
Annd here we go.
Oh dear. So, uh, the f-ed up Contact experiment in 2004 seems to have done more than just leave a notable portion of Kyouko's soul/sane mind in the Core, but it also kept some of the insanity too. This wasn't the joyous conversation I think Asuka was expecting, but at the same time, Kyouko's sane part was fighting back. So, progress can be made here I think.
Nice update!
I'm not sure her mother can be saved. it looks like only part of her is in there and its not exactly... stable. Shinji, Hikari and Yue were completely absorbed, mentally and physically, Dr Soryu wasn't that lucky.
Split was nowhere near this clean.
Nope that was the Beast the core is held in.