I stared at the telephone receiver in my hand. My human hand.
"What?" I asked out loud, and started. This was not my voice! I dropped the receiver, letting it dangle on its cord, and backed away. "What???"
My voice sounded vaguely familiar. I had definitely heard it somewhere before. But where?
I sat down on the pavement, grabbing my head. What had happened? I remembered... Lilith! Yes, of course! The Third had betrayed us! She sided with Gendo and began Instrumentality! Gods, our Scenarios were in tatters now, were they not?
But how did I get here? I remembered facing her. All of us! Asuka, Rei, Pilot Ayanami... Even Lily and Misa-chan! What the hell happened?
Wait... Lilith had faced us. She had struck down at us! Lily did something...
...and I woke up here. Had she tried to save us? What had happened? What the hell did Lilith do?
Something exploded somewhere nearby. I reflexively looked towards the source. A pair of VTOLs flew into view, shooting at... What?
That... That was Sachiel. Third Angel. What the hell? Where am I? When am I? Who am I?
A VTOL crashed nearby. I reflexively tried to raise an AT-field and discovered, to my horror, that I could not.
I scrambled backwards. What had Lilith done? Sent me back to Sachiel's attack as an ordinary civilian, so that I would perish? Why? That seemed a bit contrived. What if I survived? A plan like that would have too many variables.
A car screeched to a halt next to me. "Sorry I'm late! Come with me if you want to live."
I climbed into the vehicle without hesitation. A car, with a driver crazy enough to drive around Sachiel's feet without fear, would be perfect to escape from his immediate vicinity. I looked at the driver, and froze.
Misato Katsuragi grinned back at me. "Nice to meet you at last, Shinji Ikari! I'm Misato Katsuragi, and I'm here to take you to your father."
All color drained from my face as my mind kicked into overdrive. The Third had passed Lilith even more information than I thought! Lilith didn't send me back to Sachiel's attack as a random civilian. She sent me back as Pilot Ikari, knowing full well that Yui would never synchronize with anyone who wasn't Pilot Ikari or Pilot Ayanami! She sought to have Sachiel initiate Third Impact, counting on the fact that NERV would not have a single Evangelion to stop him, given that Rei and... Mother... would be in stasis, that Pilot Ayanami would be critically injured, and that by replacing me with Pilot Ikari, he would not be available...
I swallowed. This would be bad.
Misato noticed. "Hey. You okay?"
I pondered for a moment. "I am thinking about the end of existence as we know it. What about you?"
She chuckled. "Ha! Don't be so gloomy, Ikari-kun. We're gonna kick that Angel's ass, you'll see!"
I looked out of the window, towards the rapidly diminishing form of Sachiel. "Will we?" The VTOLs were withdrawing. Fleeing? The car rounded a mountain.
"Stop."
My voice was deathly calm.
"Katsuragi-san. Stop the car. Now."
To her credit, she pulled the handbrake immediately. "Why'd you ask me to-"
A sun bloomed.
No, not a sun. An explosion. The shockwave crested the mountain, blowing above the car, but miraculously leaving us intact. I exhaled. "The pilots were fleeing. Something was about to happen near the Angel, something with a tremendous shockwave. I felt it prudent not to get caught in it."
Misato was breathing heavily. "They actually used an N2 mine. Good call, Ikari-kun."
I did not reply.
-----
The car was methodically making its way down the GeoFront elevator. Were I Pilot Ikari, I suppose I would most likely be enamored with the view. As it stood, however, my mind was occupied with thinking up ideas for how to survive.
I glanced at the Operations Director. "Tell me, Katsuragi-san. What are the odds of us actually getting through this alive?"
She tilted her head. "Ordinarily, I'd say low. But we're at NERV now, and that is certain to improve our odds!"
I exhaled sharply. "Ever the optimist, Katsuragi-san?"
She laughed and ruffled my hair. "You know it, Ikari-kun!"
I sighed. "Optimism or not. This will end in injury."
The elevator halted. Misato perked up. "We're here!" She hopped out of the car. I followed.
She led us into the twisting maze of NERV HQ. Past this door, down the elevator, onto that floor, straight through corridors... did we not pass this door before?
"We are lost. Are we not?"
"No we're not!"
She sounded affronted. I sighed. "It is okay to admit it, Katsuragi-san. The uniform hallways do not seem to help, either. Are you certain we are on the right floor?"
She huffed, tossing the map she had been scrutinizing at me. "Fine then! You make sense of this!" She crossed her arms and pouted. I rolled my eyes.
The map seemed very haphazard. Entire sections on it were clearly censored. Gods, who designed this piece of garbage? And who decided to censor it?
I lead us to an elevator. "We were not on the right floor, Katsuragi-san." I pushed the button. "According to this admittedly very poorly designed piece of paper loosely called a "map", we are supposed to be much lower than that." I shook my head. "What kind of genius censors a map?"
The elevator doors slid open. We were both treated to the disapproving visage of Doctor Ritsuko Akagi. My former sort-of confidante. Who I could not even accurately speak to, due to being in the past. I sighed.
Holding up the "map", I waved it. "Please tell me you know how we can get to where we need to go. Some imbecile has censored this thing. Who creates censored maps? Who gives them out to authorized officers?" I heard Misato snort behind my back.
Ritsuko looked unamused, but I could tell she was suppressing a smile. She quirked an eyebrow. "I'm afraid you're going to have to take that up with the Commander." I nodded sagely. Misato seemed to be having a coughing fit.
We stepped into the elevator. As it dropped towards our destination, so did the pit in my stomach. "Doctor?"
Ritsuko tilted her head. "I don't recall telling you I was a doctor. What is it, Third Child?"
I waved my hand irritably. "You actively wear a lab coat. You obviously have some kind of doctorate. And that was not my question." I turned and looked up at her. "Please tell me. What are the odds of us actually getting through this alive?"
Misato butted in. "Never actually ask the odds, Ikari-kun! We make our own odds here!"
Both Ritsuko and I glared at her. "That wasn't what he-" "Katsuragi-san-"
We paused and glanced at each other. I quirked a smile at Rits. "No, go ahead."
She narrowed her eyes at Misato. "That wasn't what he was asking, Misato. The kid's a realist. And to answer his question, rather low."
I nodded. "I expected as much."
The elevator arrived with a loud clunk. The doors opened to total darkness. I stepped out.
My eyes took a moment to adjust. There was a catwalk leading into the darkness. I exhaled, and stepped forwards.
The lights came on, in what was obviously an attempt to impress me. The horned visage of Yui glared down at me. I stared back at her, impassively. "This will end in injury."
I turned back at Rits and Misato. "Third Child is a title. Most likely a job title." I pointed a thumb at Yui. "Is that the job?"
"That is correct."
That voice came from behind me. I turned around. A small observation booth above Yui's horn was lit. The face of the Bastard King of NERV stared down at me. I stared back.
"Gendo Ikari."
"Third Child."
I glanced at Yui. "I doubt this will work."
He glared down. "You will make it work."
I exhaled. "She will reject me."
Gendo narrowed his eyes. "She will not."
My eyebrows quirked. "Are you willing to bet on it?"
The light shut off. I sighed. That... did not go brilliantly. I glanced at the women. Misato looked like she was about to ask a million questions. Ritsuko's eyes were narrowed, and she looked like her mind was working overdrive.
I smiled sadly. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"
-----
Despite my continued protests, I found myself in the Entry Plug of Yui Ikari. It felt cold, as I had expected. "How is it looking out there?"
"Not well." That was Ritsuko's voice. "We're getting some interference. I'll send the plug deeper."
The coldness intensified. Someone swore off-screen. Then Ritsuko's voice was back. "You're synchronizing at a perfect zero. That shouldn't be possible! There should be at least a few fluctuations of percentages!"
I sighed. "I was afraid of that. Do we have any other options?" Distantly, I heard something rumble. Sachiel was getting closer.
Ritsuko swore. "I wish! Unit Zero is in cryostasis, it'll take at least ten hours to unfreeze, pilot Ayanami is critically injured, and now you synch at zero percent!" I could hear tears in her voice.
My eyes narrowed. "Doctor Akagi. Do not cry. I am going to try something. Can you keep an eye on the synchronization readings for me?"
There was momentary silence from the other end. Then... "Yes. I can."
I bared my teeth, and reached out towards the core of the petulant lump of flesh. "Listen to me!"
The cold feeling got colder. I snarled. "Pull yourself together and listen to me, you foolish machine! I am not what you expected. So what! We do not always get what we expect! You do not go to war with the army you want, you go with the army you have!"
The coldness receded a little. I got the feeling she was at least listening. I plowed on. "Face the facts! This Angel attacked at exactly the right moment where we were the weakest! And the fact stands, I am the only functional pilot while you are the only functional war machine! WE DO NOT GET THE FREEDOM OF CHOICE!"
I was panting. "So please. Just this once. Work with me."
Ritsuko's voice cut through my thoughts. "Synchronization at 20%! The Evangelion has activated!"
I peeled my lips back in a snarl. "Then launch me. Launch us! I cannot do this for long! Let me take advantage of what we have!"
The Evangelion launched. The G-forces pressed me down onto the seat. I gripped the butterfly controls tightly. Work with me here, Yui. Just this once. Do not let Sachiel win. Do not let Lilith win. I beg of you. Just this once.
The Eva surfaced. Across me stood the lanky form of Sachiel. Misato's voice echoed through the comms. "Concentrate on walking, Shinji-kun!"
I snarled. "Will do!" The two-hundred-foot war machine took a step. Then another. Sluggish ones. I gripped the controls. "I am either walking through molasses or piloting a cow. This damned Evangelion is not cooperating at all!" The plug interior felt colder. Ritsuko cut in.
"Calling it a cow does not help matters, Pilot. Your synch ratio is dropping."
I growled. "Fine! Let us fucking finish this!" I grabbed a Progressive Knife from the shoulder pylon. It felt like I was running a marathon the whole time. Sachiel regarded me derisively.
I launched forward, tripped, and crashed straight into Sachiel's AT Field. He retaliated by grabbing the Eva's arm and squeezing.
I growled. Synchronization rate that low meant less pain, but it also meant worse reflexes. I could not rely on any of my previous experience in being Unit Zero. I had to make do with this heap of petulant-
I cut off the train of thought. That got me nowhere. I gripped the knife, and plunged it towards Sachiel's core.
And smacked it against his AT-Field. I gave it a few experimental punches; it held strong. Then Sachiel grabbed my head, Impact Lance no doubt ready.
I swept his feet out from under him. Angel and Evangelion both lost their respective balances and dropped on top of each other. But while Sachiel was pinned under me, he still had a firm grip on my head. And the Impact Lance struck.
I roared, clutching my eye. Gods that hurt! I dimly heard Misato exclaiming something over the comms. I paid it no heed. I had a job to do.
Sachiel, while powerful, was still weaker than most angels. He could not multitask. He could not attack and defend at the same time. So I directed most of my concentration into controlling the left arm. The one that held the Progressive Knife. And I drove the it into his core.
Something cracked in there. Sachiel dropped his Lance, and rushed forward. His damaged core glowed brightly.
The plug got colder. My synchronization was dropping rapidly. Yui had clearly had enough of me. The images were fading. And then Sachiel wrapped himself around us.
I smiled grimly. "He is done with. Good luck, Unit-01." I tapped in the emergency eject sequence. The plug detached, rocketing away from the suicidal Angel. And then I felt the explosion of a detonating Core, even mid-air.
-----
The plug landed roughly. Were it not for the LCL, I would certainly have been more heavily injured. As it stood, getting the hatch open was a relatively simple task. Coughing out the LCL was not. It was in fact highly unpleasant, and I found myself pitying the pilots for having to go through that every time.
"Hey!"
I glanced at the noise. A human child was struggling to remove a piece of debris from a smaller human child. He glared at me. "Stop gawking and help!"
I clambered out of the hatch, and strode over. The combined strength of the two of us removed the offending chunk of concrete easily. The male human was panicking, however. "S-Sakura! Oh God, your leg!"
I looked. The appendage was indeed at an odd angle. I narrowed my eyes. "Stay put." I ripped off my sleeve, and ripped that into a makeshift bandage. "Here." I shoved it into the boy's arms and stalked off to the Entry Plug. I had spotted some exposed rebar earlier. The force of the plug landing had pulverized the concrete from around it. I knocked it against the plug a few times, checking its reliability, and nodded. Good. I then returned to the panicking boy. "Splint," I explained.
He looked skeptical. "Do you even know how to add a splint?"
I nodded. "Mother knew. I have her memories. Treating a human based on that should not be that difficult."
"O... Kay..." He sounded perturbed. Strange. I set the bone, bandaged the wound to the best of my ability, and added the splint. I smiled. "It should be fine until paramedics arrive. What happened?"
The boy scowled. "The giant robot happened, that's what."
I looked over towards the battle site. It was rather far away. "Are you certain?"
"Well-" He hesitated. "It was the battle between the giant robot and that monster!"
I sighed. "The monster, specifically the Angel, sought to kill us all and replace us with lifeforms based on himself." The boy froze. "The "giant robot" as you so eloquently put it, was a sluggish, petulant lump of flesh, and attempting every movement was like running a marathon." I looked at him. I figured I looked pretty tired. "Honestly I am surprised we are all still here."
He swallowed. "Was it... Bad?"
I tilted my head. "I was lucky Sachiel could not attack and defend at the same time. Were he capable, he would have defeated me." I sat down next to my Entry Plug, and patted the ground next to me. He sat, hesitantly, holding his sister in his arms. "Even as it is, I barely got out of there in time. The Angel self-destructed in the Evangelion's face. Even with the synchronization score dropping, it would have been bad."
I paused, and stared down at the hand he suddenly offered me. I looked at him. He looked determined. "You did a good thing."
I snorted. "I made do with the tools I had." I gripped his hand. "Call me Zero."
We shook. "Touji Suzuhara. That's my sister, Sakura. What kind of a name is Zero?"
I smiled faintly. "My true name. Most humans call me Shinji Ikari, however."
He eyed me. "Ya gonna have to explain that part."
I glanced at the approaching lights. "That is a long story I do not think we have time for, Suzuhara-kun." I rose. "I will, however, look you up."
Facing the approaching mass of headlights, I smiled grimly. "NERV is here."
So. I'm writing. And I'm writing an Eva fic. An Eva fic that probably won't make much sense. But it will! In later chapters. Hopefully. Yeah. Tell me what you think?
After some NDAs, the probable Fifth Child and his sister had been shuffled off into a NERV hospital, leaving me alone with Ritsuko, Misato, and Gendo. I looked at each in turn.
Misato looked nervous. Her hands were clenching and unclenching, she was fidgeting, and her eyes were fixed on me.
Ritsuko looked like she had a thousand questions, starting from my excessive knowledge and, likely, how the hell had I managed to command a resisting Evangelion anyway.
Gendo looked as unreadable as ever.
I clicked my tongue. "I take it you have questions."
Rits cracked first. "How the fuck did you do that?"
I tilted my head. "I am afraid you are going to have to specify."
She hissed at me. "Don't play dumb, Third Child! How the Hell did you make that Evangelion move? Your synch was zero! And when you stabbed the Angel in the core, it was less than six percent! Far less than the activation threshold! How the ever-loving fuck did you pull that off?"
I exhaled through my teeth. "To answer the first half of your question, you saw it yourself. I yelled at her. For the other half... I do not have a clue. But I suspect it might stem from my directing all my concentration to that one arm. The old hag and I were rather beat by the end of it."
I looked at Gendo. "That reminds me, Commander Ikari. The Evangelion made it clear. It will no longer accept me. I request taking over the piloting of Evangelion Unit Zero."
He regarded me with cool eyes. "Doctor. Captain. Leave us."
Misato of course raised protest. "But Commander-"
Gendo raised his hand. "That is an order, Captain. I wish to converse with my son alone."
Misato still looked like she was about to protest. I intervened. "Katsuragi-san." She looked at me. I inclined my head. "Please."
She looked long and hard into my eyes. Then she nodded. "I'll see you outside." She then turned and left, leaving me alone with Gendo Ikari.
-----
We looked at each other, Commander and Pilot. I maintained a neutral expression. His eyes were narrow. "Pilot Ikari." He was staring at me evenly. "Why did you refer to your Evangelion as an 'old hag'?"
I tilted my head. "She is. She is uncooperative, she is petulant, and she is a megalomaniac with delusions of grandeur." I crossed my arms. "Also, I am rather certain she abandoned you deliberately."
Gendo rose. "What do you know?"
I tilted my head once again. "Less than I would like, but more than you would like. Neither of us is happy with that situation, I suspect."
Gendo leaned back, exhaling harshly. "You aren't my son, are you."
I raised an eyebrow. "Did you figure that out before or after Yui rejected me?"
He glared. "During. Who are you?"
I steepled my hands. "Mm. Not Shinji Ikari. He has been dead for a long time, I suspect, but I actively replaced him this afternoon. But that was not what you were asking, were you?"
He glared. "You're stalling."
A corner of my mouth quirked. "I suppose. Who I was... I was a failed daughter. I was an enemy of Lilith. I was an attempt to play God. And I suppose I was a success in playing God?" I looked straight into Gendo's eyes. "I am Zero. Zerogoki. And I want to be me again."
His eyes widened slightly. "You were an Evangelion? When?"
I felt my mouth curl into a smile. "Third Impact."
He sat down onto the floor. "The future..." I observed him looking at his hands, breathing heavily. Then he looked up. "Did I succeed? Did I reunite with Yui?"
I shrugged. "I have no idea, Ikari. I was kind of busy rescuing Pilots from SEELE's Evas. And fighting Lilith. And getting our collective asses kicked by Lilith. And being sent back in time to an unwinnable situation by Lilith."
I sat down next to him. "Frankly, I am amazed we are all still alive, at this point."
He glanced at me. "What do you mean, an unwinnable situation?"
I shrugged again. "By replacing me with Shinji, Lilith set us up for a battle we could not win. Yui would reject me, Rei and Mother would be out of commission, Pilot Ayanami would likewise be out of commission, and the only option left would be to lay down and die. Thank the stars I could convince Yui to go on this one single mission. Or that Sachiel was incapable of attacking and defending simultaneously. Or that I was even able to kill him with synchronization far below the threshold." I clapped the Bastard King on the back. "Face it, Commander. The fact we are all still here is pure fucking luck."
Gendo Ikari rose. "I will arrange you a synchronization test with Unit-00 for tomorrow. Good day, pilot Ikari." He walked out of the door.
I blinked. That had gone rather well. Kind of too well, in fact. There was no doubt in my mind that I just got added into some form of Scenario. He would not be Gendo Ikari if he did not plot something, after all.
I rose. Time to face Misato.
-----
To my surprise, Misato was not bursting with questions at all. She merely wanted to know if I was okay, if the Commander was too harsh with me, and if piloting the Evangelion had scared me too much. It was nice of her to be concerned on my behalf.
I told her that the Commander and I had come to an agreement, and I was going to be tested with Unit Zero the following day. Then she invited me to stay with her. Foolishly, I accepted.
The place was a sty. As someone who was used to the orderly bridge of Zerogoki's Core Dogma, or the well-maintained Pribnow Box, stepping into an apartment full of trash and empty beer cans was a jarring experience. I told her as much.
"Katsuragi-san, this place is a sty."
She did not appreciate that. "Oh, I'd like to see you do better!"
I blinked. "I could not. I have never learned any basic human survival skills, as I am a... child... and therefore no one has taught me. What is your excuse?"
She crossed her arms and huffed. "My excuse is shut up. Shut up is why."
I smiled. "It is okay to not have an excuse, Katsuragi-san. I simply will have to get used to it, as I have had to everything else."
She exhaled. "Okay, two things. One, please stop calling me Katsuragi-san. Just call me Misato. Ain't that hard. Two. Are you trying to guilt-trip me into cleaning up?"
I tilted my head. "I am not trying to trip you anywhere, Misato-san."
She grabbed a can of Yebisu. "And another thing. What's with the Ayanami impression? You were far snarkier when I picked you up, Shinji-kun."
I leaned back onto the chair. "My apologies for that. I tend to lose some of my control during hectic circumstances. I shall endeavour to not let that happen again."
Misato glowered at me. "I don't want you to be a perfect little robot. Why don't you let loose? Live a little?"
I tilted my head. The corner of my mouth quirked. "Does my robotic behavior annoy you, Misato Katsuragi-san?"
She opened her mouth. Then she closed it and narrowed her eyes. "You're messing with me, aren't you?"
I allowed myself a small smile. "Indubitably."
Misato snorted. "Devious little sense of humour, eh?"
I nodded. "I prefer the term 'subtle'."
Seemed that I could get along with Misato Katsuragi, after all.
-----
Later, I visited the Suzuharas in the hospital. The doctor taking care of Sakura at first scolded me for splinting a broken leg with no prior training, but admitted that my presence had been largely positive towards her getting help fast. It left me with a strange feeling of both accomplishment and chastisement.
Touji let me know that Sakura would be getting out in a few months, and gave me something he called a "bro-hug". It felt kind of nice. Reminded me of Rei's mind-hugs. I sniffed.
Touji pulled back. "Hey, man. You okay?"
I shook my head. "No. I am not. Everything is wrong. Everything is wrong and I do not know how to fix it."
The Suzuhara exhaled. "Wanna talk about it?"
I sat down. "I do not know how to begin. I do not know where to begin." I started breathing heavily. "I do not even know if it makes sense to anyone."
He patted me on the shoulder. "C'mon, Zero. It's okay. Take your time, man."
I felt my heart constrict in my chest. "I... Okay. Okay." I looked at him. He honestly looked just concerned. For my sake? It did not make sense to me. But I felt like I could talk to him. "Please. Do not call me a man. It is... It is wrong. It feels wrong. It does not feel like me. I do not feel like me."
"So what do you feel like?"
Such a simple question, yet so devastating! I grabbed my head in my hands. "I feel wrong. I feel fragile. I feel small." I was panting. When did I start panting? I looked at my hand. Not my hand. "I feel like this is not my body. And I am completely correct. This is not my body." I swallowed. "It belongs to this complete stranger named Shinji Ikari, and I cannot be him. I want to be me." I ran the hand through my hair. His hair. Shinji's hair. Not mine.
I looked at Touji. Gods, that poor fucker still looked supportive. Hah, no wonder the Fourth fell for him. I licked my suddenly dry lips. "I almost died last night. This has never happened to me before. I am supposed to be the strong one. I am supposed to be the defender, who swoops in and saves the day by the skin of-" I was panting again. "I am not supposed to be terrified. I am. I am supposed to be the mature one. I am not. I am supposed to be me. I am NOT!"
I let out a humorless laugh. "I keep saying that. Gods, I miss Rei. I miss Lily and Misa-chan. Hell, I even miss Mother!" I clenched my eyes shut. "I should not miss her. She tried to kill us. I should not miss that woman!" My face felt wet. Why was my face wet?
And then it went dark around me. I opened my eyes. My eyes were wet? Why?
It had gone dark, because Touji had enveloped me into a hug. I could not help but quirk a smile. Lovable jock.
I hugged him back. It felt like we both needed that.
-----
Both Touji and I agreed that nothing happened between us. I had a nervous breakdown and he was there, offering a shoulder to cry on. He said he would be willing to be a good listener again. Nothing else happened, and anyone, named Sakura, who happens to be claiming otherwise, is a filthy lying liar who lies.
I ended up simply killing time, sitting on the balcony and waiting for the next day, when I made a worrying discovery.
The moon was different.
Now, I was not the sort of person who would just stop and stare at the moon. I had better things to do. I was the Evangelion. I fought Angels. But even I would have noticed a big red streak on the Moon. A streak of blood, at that. When had this appeared? Whose blood was it? And why did the sight of it fill me with such dread?
I put those questions out of my mind. head. I- I could not get bogged down with another existential crisis. I did not think I could come back from it.
Soft footsteps behind me distracted my spiral of existentialism. I did not turn around. "Hello, Misato-san."
She sat down next to me. "You did good, you know."
I sighed. "Barely."
She hesitated for a moment. Then she drew me into a hug. "It's going to be okay."
I looked at the moon. "I am nervous. Yu- I mean, Unit-01 barely accepted me. A-after that battle..." I swallowed. "It will never let me pilot again. I-if Unit Zero rejects me too... That is it. We are done for."
Misato hugged me tighter. "Then screw regulations, Shinji-kun. I'll jump in and pilot one of them myself."
I could not help it, I snorted. "Misato-san! Do not be ridiculous. The Bastard King would never let you anywhere near his precious Yui, and Zero..." I shook my head in mirth. "No, it would not work."
I felt Misato pause in her hug. "Who's Yui?"
My mind caught up with what I had said. "I... Apologies, Misato-san. I am not used to..." I paused. "...what am I even saying?"
Misato withdrew from the hug to look me in the eye. "You can talk to me. Whatever it is, you can tell me."
I looked at her in the eyes. Nothing but honest truth shone in them. I sighed. "Even if I tell you things that would most likely shatter your worldwiew?
To my surprise, she actually laughed. "After being shown an Angel in the basement? I doubt much could shock me."
My train of thought halted. "Wait. They actually told you about Lilith?"
She nodded. "Mhmm. Which raises the question of how you know about Lilith."
I exhaled. "I come from 2016. I come back from the site of Third Impact. And I was sent back by Lilith, to die at the hands of Sachiel, ensuring that NERV would be powerless to stop him." I quirked my lips. "It is only through sheer luck and steel determination that I was able to defeat the Third Angel."
"Fourth."
I paused. "Excuse me?"
Misato was staring at me, looking confused but determined. "The one you defeated was the Fourth Angel. The Third is being studied under Bethany Base."
I swallowed. "That is... Potentially bad. But... The rest of it..." I looked at her pleadingly. "You believe me?"
She thought for a second, then nodded. "I do, Shinji-kun. It explains how you were able to pilot the Evangelion as if you've done it before; you have."
I smiled sadly. "Yes, well... I have never piloted Yui. It was always Zero that was my home."
Misato was staring at me with narrowed eyes. "Yui... Is the name of Unit-01?"
I shook my head. "Not quite. Yui is the name of the soul inside Unit-01. The soul of Yui Ikari."
She swallowed. "So... You had to pilot your mother? And she rejected you?"
I grimaced. "About that." I grabbed her shoulders. "You trust me? No matter what?"
She nodded. "I trust you."
I took a deep breath. "You never knew Pilot Ikari. I am not Pilot Ikari. Pilot Ikari would have synchronised with Yui with ease. I could never have." I looked down. "It is okay if you hate me. I would. I am... sorry that you never got to know him."
There was a pause. Then she grabbed me into a tight hug. "I could never hate you! Not even now! I can't hate you for something that isn't your fault! And I'm so sorry you had to go through all that." She withdrew, smiling. "So, introductions time, for real! My name is Misato Katsuragi! What's yours?"
I smiled back. "Well met, Misato Katsuragi-san. My name is Zero Akagi."
Next chapter, as promised!
...uh. What do people usually put in these A/Ns anyway?
"Connect the main power supply and all circuits together." That was Ritsuko's voice. I was sitting in the entry plug, preparing myself. Preparing myself for experiencing that moment from the other side.
At first she had laughed herself sick. After I had clarified a few points, she had turned murderous.
"The main power supply connected. Start the activation system." That was Maya. I swallowed in excitement. I was close. So fucking close.
I had been frightened of her rage. I did not realize she could be capable of it. She had said she was going to call off the test.
"Start the second phase of the activation system." I exhaled. Breathe, Zero. And was that not a strange thought? To have to breathe. I probed out, but the connection was still too far away.
I had barely convinced her to let me try, anyway. I could not not know, I had explained her.
"You're doing okay in there, Shinji-kun?" Misato was there. She insisted to be. I could not deny her that. I nodded.
"I am fine, Misato-san." She agreed to call me Shinji in public. Less questions from people we did not want questions from. Not that the cat was not out of the bag anyway; I should not have blurted everything out to the Bastard King.
"Start System Phase II." I swallowed. The Evangelion could surely detect my presence now. Was I in there, somewhere? Was it someone completely new? What if it did not accept me? I exhaled. In the background of the comms, I could hear the technicians chattering.
"Synapses inserted. Junction started."
"Pulses transmitted."
"All circuits are operational."
"The initial contact has no problems."
I opened my heart to Zerogoki. I poured out all my dreams, my worries, my hopes, my sorrows. I gave it everything I had, and I hoped it listened.
It did. Warmth flooded the Entry Plug, and I sensed a presence. A familiar presence. A singular presence.
"Rei...?"
The presence hesitated. And then a torrent of feelings poured out towards me. Recognition. Hope. Joy. Acceptance. ZERO! YOU'RE HERE! YOU EXIST!
I choked back tears. "Rei... You exist... You're here... with me..."
The comms blared. "You're synchronizing, Shinji-kun! 87% and rising rapidly!"
Tears of joy flowed freely from my eyes, mixing with the LCL. "I know! She accepts me! I can go so much further! Please let me!"
The plug jolted, sinking deeper into the Evangelion. A familiar sight greeted me - the familiar fusion of an Entry Plug and Central Dogma. I smiled. "Rei... You recreated it?"
She materialized, in her familiar guise of a mischievous little girl. OF COURSE I DID. I DIDN'T HAVE MUCH ELSE TO DO IN HERE. BEING ALONE. AND ALL.
Ritsuko's face materialized in a comm window. "I don't believe it, Shinji-kun! Your synchronization is at 150% and holding! You're a walking contradiction, you are!"
I smiled, a genuine smile. "I told you, doctor Akagi. She accepts me."
She clapped her hands. "Congratulations then, Shinji-kun! You're an Evangelion pilot! Are Are you ready to come back now?"
I looked at Rei. She waved a hand. GO. THEY ACCEPTED YOU AS MINE. YOU CAN VISIT LATER. WHEN YOU NEXT SYNCHRONIZE.
I pulled her into a semi-mental hug anyway. "I will see you then. And we will talk more then. Be seeing you, Rei."
The plug started withdrawing. The Dogma began getting hazier. Rei waved. I smiled, and waved back. Then the entry plug ejected completely, and I lost sight of her.
-----
Misato cornered me as soon as we were alone. "Alright, spill. Who was in there? Who did you synchronize with? And are you doing okay?"
I pulled her into a hug. "It went magnificently, Misato-san. It was Rei and only Rei. And she has come back too!" I frowned. "There was no one else in there. This is not my past, I suspect. Rei was alone."
She hummed. "Troubling. That might mean your advance knowledge will soon be useless. Or already is."
I ended the hug. "I do not plan to rely on it, Misato-san. What complicates matters is that Gendo knows. I accidentally let it slip when we were alone. I have no idea what he is planning."
Misato let out a barking laugh. "Who does? The only person who knows what Gendo Ikari is up to is Gendo Ikari himself. But that's bad news. We will have to make our own luck here."
I smiled. "Did you not say you were the type of person who does that anyway?"
She grinned. "You're damn right I do! Now c'mon. Let's go find something to eat."
Misato's cooking produced a wild array of tastes, especially to one who had never eaten anything before. I found this palate quite delectable, if I was being honest with myself. Where else would I get such an extraordinary experience of taste?
But it was not her own cooking she treated me to, today. It was food produced by something that described itself as a "cheap curry place". I ordered something called "teriyaki".
It is supposed to be customary to chat over a meal. But I did not have a clue what to talk about. So I asked. "Misato-san, what does one usually talk about over a meal?"
She blinked at me. "Haven't you ever...?"
I blinked back. "I am an Evangelion. We do not usually eat. Or talk with each other."
She nodded in comprehension. "Oh, of course. I forgot. But now you've gotten me curious. What does an Evangelion... Do?"
I took a moment to think about it. "In my case, I communed with the other souls. I am a special case, in that regard. Normally, an Evangelion is supposed to have a single soul within. We had three in the beginning and six-" I stopped myself. "Not six. Not six. Five. Five by the end."
I blinked back tears. "I- I will not talk about that. I am sorry. I cannot."
Misato smiled sadly. "It's okay. I'll respect your boundaries on that matter."
I nodded. I did not trust myself to speak yet.
Our curries arrived. Misato dug in immediately. I took a hesitant bite.
It was... good. No, it was great! The sensations dancing across my tastebuds... I took another bite. And then another. Each one giving me a new explosion of taste. I began devouring it with gusto.
The plates soon became empty. Misato and I were staring at each other across the table in contentment. I was the first to speak. "We plot."
Misato blinked at my apparent non-sequitur. "Excuse me?"
I blinked back. "You asked what an Evangelion does, Misato-san. The answer is that we plot."
She put her chin on her hands and leaned forward. "So what does an Evangelion plot about?"
I quirked a rueful smile. "World domination."
She tilted her head. "You... what?"
I nodded. "We plot world domination. I and the MAGI would construct elaborate Scenarios of taking over NERV and leaving Gendo to rot. We were also constructing plans to expand outwards and let us, the Machine Intelligences, take over as the new benevolent world leaders." I took a sip of water. "Rei would occasionally assist us, but I rather suspect she would have preferred to have a body first." I looked down. "Mother..." I swallowed. "I would rather not talk about Mother right now. Okay?"
Misato took my hand. "It's okay, and I don't fault you for it. Whatever happened... I'm here for you."
I smiled sadly. "Thank you, Misato-san."
She grinned conspiratorially. "So! Do you happen to have any gossip on the other Evangelions?"
I blinked. "Uhm... Certainly. But it might be factually out of date, considering the timeline inconsistencies..."
She waved a hand. "Pish. I just want some dirt on Commander Ikari's little toys."
I smiled. "Who am I to argue, then. Yui's identity you already know, of course; what you might not know - we found it completely by accident - is that she is a complete and utter megalomaniac..."
Gossip, I later decided, was neat.
-----
"So!" Misato clapped her hands together. "We've fed, we've watered, we've gossiped, we've done the synch tests, and there's still half a day left. Whaddya wanna do?"
I stroked my chin. "I think I would like to visit Pilot Ayanami."
Misato was quick to spot the train of thought. "Wanna see if she "came back" too?"
I hesitated. "...Yes. But... for another reason as well." I tapped my fingers together. "I wish to make amends. Make them regardless of if she has come back or not." I sighed. "I have been consistently treating her the same as anyone else." I looked Misato in the eye. "As a tool."
She blinked. "As a- what do you mean?"
I exhaled. "I only saw her as a tool I could use to gain leverage over Gendo Ikari. In a way, I suppose she still is; "Rei Ayanami" is a series of clones used to further Gendo's goals. I think my treatment of her may have played a factor in..." I cut myself off. "No, that does not matter."
Misato was inhaling and exhaling deeply and angrily. "The more I hear, the more disgusted I am with the machinations of that... man."
I nodded. "Indeed. Shall we go?"
We did. Pilot Ayanami was still in the NERV hospital. The nurse, although hesitant to let us in at first, caved as soon as Misato pulled rank.
Pilot Ayanami was laying in the hospital bed, staring at the ceiling. She turned her head slightly towards us when we stepped in.
Misato was of course the first to speak. "Hello, Ayanami-san! How are you doing today?"
The pilot blinked slowly. "As I reported to Commander Ikari earlier, my recovery is proceeding at an acceptable rate. Soon I will be able to attempt re-synchronization with Unit-00 again."
Misato and I exchanged glances. I motioned towards her. She shook her head and pointed at me. I inclined my head in defeat. "Pilot Ayanami," I addressed her. "I am afraid you will not be synchronizing with Unit-00, as I have been assigned its designated Pilot. My synchronization test was a resounding success."
Her eyes widened minutely. I quirked my lips. "However." I bowed. "Point one. I apologize for taking your Unit from you. Point two. It is highly likely that you will be named the designated Pilot for Unit-01. I am not a viable Pilot for it."
Pilot Ayanami blinked. "I see. Was there anything else?"
I glanced at Misato. She gave me a thumbs up. I nodded. "Yes. I wish to ask you a question. And I would like you to answer as honestly as possible."
She turned to look back at the ceiling. "If I am ordered to, I will."
I eyed Misato. She seemed to be seething. I tried my luck nonetheless. "Misato-san...?"
Said woman inhaled angrily. Then she exhaled just as angrily. "No. You know what, no. I will order her. But you know what? I believe in free will around here." She turned to the injured Pilot. "Rei Ayanami? I am ordering you, as your Tactical Commander and a superior officer, to decide something for yourself for once. You got that?"
Pilot Ayanami raised a single eyebrow. "Very well. I decide to do that, Pilot Ikari. Ask your question."
I swallowed. This was it. "Please tell me if any of the following names or phrases sound familiar to you. Misa-chan. Lily-chan. Contingency Zero-Alpha. Dirac Restoration. Core Dogma."
Misato was staring at me as if I had grown another head. Pilot Ayanami blinked at me.
"...I am sorry, Pilot Ikari. They do not."
I closed my eyes. "Damn." I stepped forward and gathered her into a hug. She stiffened. "Pilot Ikari, what are you...?"
I smiled, not that she saw it. "I am giving you a hug, Pilot Ayanami. It seemed like we both needed one."
Damnation. She hadn't come back. Was it truly just me and Rei? What had happened to the others? And what had Lily been trying to do?
Bit of a shorter one, this one. Next update, I'm gonna say next Monday. Gonna have to work up the backlog again.
Three weeks passed by without much incident. I visited the Suzuharas fairly often, learning much about human family dynamics, comparing them with my own, and finding my experiences woefully inadequate. I also visited Pilot Ayanami several times, gaining much insight into what she was doing when not piloting an Evangelion. Unsurprisingly, she did not do much aside from read.
When not doing either of those things, I was sneaking around in Terminal Dogma, learning the positions of the cameras, noting surveillance-blind rooms, and exploring the air ducts. It was highly productive, and I could not wait to put my new master plan in motion.
Misato's cooking was as delicious as ever. I even learned some tricks from her, like combining curry with Yebisu. Or coffee. Coffee was also an amazing beverage. I could drink so much of it and never have enough. And it left me with so much energy to use! It almost made up for not having an AT-field.
I was able to speak more with Rei. She was not much help with the travel business, but she was relatively certain Lilith had targeted us specifically. She also suspected that Lilith had been aiming for something even worse, but whatever Lily had done had thrown her off. I was suspecting the same, although the thought of the rest of us trapped in various corners of the Dirac Sea was not exactly comforting.
I was able to steal some hairs from Ritsuko, but to my great dismay, they did not have nearly as much usable DNA as I was hoping. I would have to find some other sources of DNA.
And then, when I had finally scouted out a secret laboratory, and equipped it with scrounged equipment, Misato decided to send me to school. She used several excuses, from "Touji will be there" to "you need to socialize some more" or even "I'll sic Rits on you".
That last one got me. Ritsuko still had not cornered me, and I dreaded the moment it would happen. Thus, I found myself standing in front of a rectangular building, full of creatures as alien to me as I most likely was to them.
Misato had said that those creatures were called "teenagers".
"Zero-chan?"
I turned, smiling. "Hello, Touji-kun. How are you?"
He scratched the back of his head. "Uh, fine I guess... What're you doin' here?"
I sighed. "Misato-san insisted I go to school. So here I am."
He blinked. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
I hummed. "I do not know. I did find something to do, so I would rather be doing that. However, since Pilot Ayanami has been released from the hospital and is in fact going to this school, I should at least see how she is doing."
Touji snickered. "Do you have a crush on her, Zero-chan?"
I felt affronted. "I do not. And do not call me Zero in public. I am supposed to be 'Shinji Ikari' still, am I not?"
He scowled. "That ain't right. You should be going by the name you chose, not the name you were given."
I sighed. "Well, we do not always get what we want, Touji-kun. Shall we?"
He nodded reluctantly. And so I went to school for the first time.
The first few moments were not as bad. I met with Pilot- I mean, Class Representative Horaki, got introduced to the class, and gave Pilot Ayanami a respectful nod. And then Touji introduced me to Kensuke Aida.
If I could describe him in one word, it would be "Enthusiastic". Another would be "Excitable". A third might be "Brilliant". He figured out my connection to NERV within seconds. It was, however, rather foolish of me to start answering his questions.
I was doomed the moment I mentioned the Evangelions. I was even more doomed when I mentioned being the designated pilot of Unit-00. Doubly so once I threw Pilot Ayanami under the bus by referring to her as "Pilot" Ayanami.
In my defense, I was caught off guard. Pilot Ayanami did not consider that as a viable excuse. And Touji was too preoccupied by laughing himself sick to be of any help whatsoever.
My phone beeped. I fished it out of my pocket. "Oh look," I laughed nervously. "The MAGI have discovered a Blue Pattern. I should leave. To standby. Or something. Just in case. Goodbye." With all the quiet dignity and grace I could muster, I fled. From Aida and Ayanami both.
In retrospect, I had forgotten that Ayanami would follow me as soon as I mentioned the words "Blue Pattern". As it was, she was running right behind me.
"Pilot Ikari."
I did not look back. "Yes, Pilot Ayanami?"
I could hear irritation in her voice. "Why did you disclose our Pilot status to Kensuke Aida?"
I cringed, not that she could see my face. "I panicked, Pilot Ayanami. He deduced my connection to NERV the moment he saw me, and my status as Pilot the moment I mentioned an Evangelion." Stars, this was tiring! How was she keeping up so effortlessly?
She hissed behind me. "Then why did you mention it in the first place?"
I sputtered. "He called it a 'giant robot'! They are not machines! They are beings with souls!" I paused. "I did not tell him that particular detail. But he needed to be corrected!"
She was silent for a moment. "Acceptable reasoning."
I flagged down the nearby Section 2 vehicle I had been running towards, and jumped in. Pilot Ayanami climbed on right after me. "Possible Angel Attack," she instructed them. "NERV. Now." The vehicle tore off, tires screeching against the asphalt.
-----
I was sitting in my Entry Plug, ready to connect with Rei. Every synchronization test had come back with a score of at least 100%, occasionally rising up to 150% at particularly high emotions. Ritsuko was ready to tear her hair out, over that. She simply could not accept anything as 'unscientific' as 'opening one's heart to an Evangelion'. I hoped Misato would find something to calm her down eventually.
The activation sequence began. I opened my heart.
Rei was lounging on her Throne, chewing on an imaginary toothpick. HEYA, ZERO-CHAN. OUR FIRST FIGHT AS EVA AND PILOT, YES?
I smiled. "It is strange to think about it that way, Rei-chan. I am used to being the Evangelion, not being her Pilot. But I think we are going to have fun."
She grinned, and gripped her own copy of the butterfly controls. THEN LET'S GO, ALREADY. LET'S BATTLE. LET'S TEAR THAT ANGEL APART!
I chuckled. "I convinced Misato to convince R&D to build us a Progressive Sword. And then I convinced Rits to let me test it out in the Simulations. Shamshel is not going to know what hit it."
A giant waldo passed us the sword. As one, we grabbed it, testing its weight. "This will do." The external speakers were switched on. I saw Misato wince from the observation booth. "Just get up there, Pilot. Evangelion: Launch!"
We felt the G-s. We released the explosive bolts. As the launch platform stopped, we used the remaining momentum to launch ourselves high in the air, unsheathing our sword. Factually, it had no sheath, but it felt good to pretend.
Shamshel was right underneath us. It was quickly rising to a combat position.
We landed on its head, knocking it down on the ground. It lashed out with its Energy Whips, seeking to slice us in half. We dodged, parrying the whips with our sword. We grinned as one. "Come now, beast! Is that all you have? Was this display all you got? Pathetic!"
Our voice echoed across the city. The Angel lashed out again, seeking to grab our wrist.
We flash-stepped just out of its range. "What you get from us is a pity kill, Angel."
It speared us right through the shoulder, and beyond. A display of numbers began counting down at the bottom of the screen. We growled. "Lucky shot, beast. Now, you shall perish."
We blurred. Our synchronisation was spiking. We appeared behind the Angel, sword held high. "Die." We plunged the sword down, through its AT-field, its hard outer shell, and its fragile core.
A massive cross-shaped explosion bloomed, and the streets were filled with blood. I stared at it, as we untangled ourselves from the synchronisation. "The Angels have red blood, here."
Rei hummed. INDEED. WONDER IF IT'S IN ANY MANNER SIGNIFICANT.
I shrugged. "We may never know." I glanced at her. "That was fun, though, was it not?"
Rei grinned. HELL YES. WHAT WAS WITH THE DRAMATICS, BY THE WAY?
I acted affronted. "Rei-chan! How even dare you assume. Those were clearly from you!"
NUH-UH.
"Yes they were!"
NUH-UH!
Gods, I had missed her.
-----
Emerging from the Entry Plug, I was greeted by the same Inquisition Triumvirate as the last time. Misato, with stars in her eyes. The Bastard King, looking as emotionless as ever. Ritsuko, tearing her hair out.
I took one look and groped for the latch. "I think I will sleep in the Evangelion."
The Ikari sounded incredibly unamused. "Get down here, Third Child."
I chose to sit on a shoulder pylon instead, looking down at them while remaining at a comfortable height. Out of reach of Ritsuko. She looked rather intimidating in her current state.
"I would rather stay up here," I remarked. "How did I do?"
Misato jumped up, clasping her hands in front of her. "You did amazing, sweetie! You were wonderful out there!"
I smiled. "Thank you, Misato-san. It is high praise, especially from you."
She grinned widely. "You're welcome, Shin-chan!" Gendo, I saw, was glaring at her coolly.
"Third Child," he growled. I gazed impassively towards him.
"Yes?"
He did not look very impressed. "Explain yourself. Why do you persist on remaining up there?"
I tilted my head. "Because I believe that doctor Akagi would rip me apart and examine the resulting pieces in extensive detail. Sir."
Misato was snickering conspicuously. Ritsuko exploded. "OF COURSE I WOULD! YOU MAKE NO GODDAMN SENSE! HOW THE HELL DO YOU SYNCHRONIZE LIKE THAT?" She was breathing heavily through her teeth. "What the Hell are you?"
I narrowed my eyes. "I am a Pilot."
"False." Gendo stuck his hands in the his pockets of his jacket. "He is an Evangelion in human form."
I froze. A glance showed me that that Misato was frozen, too. The Bastard King adjusted his glasses, smirking. "If you will excuse me?"
He turned away and walked off. I slowly turned my head towards the predatory look on Ritsuko's face.
She looked like she was about to dissect myself, Rei, and perhaps even Yui, in that order. I grabbed the shoulder pylon into a fearful hug. "Rei! Protect me!"
She did. The Evangelion's eye glowed a brilliant red. A gigantic arm ripped itself out its restraints, grabbed Ritsuko, and raised her to the level with the helmet. Misato shrieked. My eyes felt like they were about to drop out of their sockets. Ritsuko suddenly looked paler than Pilot Ayanami.
The external speakers clicked on, and Rei's voice came snarling out of them. "LEAVE. HER. ALONE." The gigantic fist unclenched, dropping Ritsuko into the LCL below. Rei's arm also dropped, repositioning itself near the broken restraints. The glow from the single eye winked out.
I picked my jaw off the metaphorical floor. "Oh what the fuck."
I slid myself down the arm, across the elbow, and flung myself to the catwalk. Ritsuko was dragging herself out of the LCL, coughing violently. Misato was helping her. I extended my hand. "Do you need some assistance, doctor Akagi?"
Staring at me as if I was an Angel, she grabbed my hand nonetheless, letting me heave her up. Coughing out the last of the LCL, she slid onto the catwalk. "What the fuck..." she whispered softly.
Misato looked at me. I shrugged. She indicated at Rits' shaking form. "Let's get her out of there."
I nodded. We supported her from underneath each shoulder, and helped her into her office. From there, we manoeuvred her onto her chair. She was panting. "D-don't leave me alone. Please."
Misato and I exchanged glances. I opted for concern. "Is she all right, Misato-san?"
Misato raised an eyebrow. "Does she look alright to you, Zero-chan?"
I paused. I looked Ritsuko over. She was still paler than Pilot Ayanami. She was still shaking, and she was breathing heavily. Her eyes were wide. She was whispering under her breath. I shook my head. "You are correct, Misato-san. She does not look all right. What can we do?"
Misato bit her lip. "We stay here. Keep her company. Help her get through this panic attack your Evangelion sprung on her."
I frowned. "She looked like she was about to dissect me and her both, Misato-san. The fact that Rei was able to move at all, much less threaten anyone, came as a complete surprise to me."
Misato raised both eyebrows. "In that case, we'll call it even and help out Rits. We'll see what happens after."
I looked down at Ritsuko. The woman was still shaking. "I suppose we will have to bring her into the fold, then."
And that's Chapter Four! Shamshel has been battled, and soundly curbstomped. Gendo got in his asshole quota. Rits has been traumatized, and may even end up with some answers.
What happens next, find out in Chapter Five! It will be posted Wendesday.
Tomorrow, however, I will be posting a Surprise~!
A/N: I promised a Surprise for today, did I not? The surprise is a Sidestory!
Way back in Chapter 1, Zero mentioned five Allies. A "Rei", an "Asuka", a "Pilot Ayanami", a "Lily", and a "Misa-chan". The "Rei" was revealed to be traveled back with Zero, and is Unit-00. What about the others, though?
Well. There are four Allies we haven't yet met. How about we meet two of them?
-----
0.0
-----
It was dark. And cold. And it smelled of blood.
Asuka found herself thinking dark thoughts again. She couldn't say she was surprised, however. Dark thoughts were an almost constant companion of hers, after that fateful battle.
She couldn't tell how long it had been. Neither could she tell how the fuck was she still alive. The universe hating her, she supposed. What else was new.
It was dark.
No, she didn't want to fall into a loop of those thoughts again. Spiralling downwards was how she got there in the first place. Sitting in an abandoned Evangelion. Feeling sorry for herself.
She tried connecting with the Evangelion again. She could tell there was a spark of some sort in there, but she never seemed to be able to connect with it, pulling back at the last second before being absorbed. She wasn't ready to spend an eternity trapped even deeper in an Evangelion.
Yep, the spark was still there. Deliberately trapped. She supposed it might have been another rogue Angel the Ayanami had trapped in there. Before the whole company had fucked off to parts unknown. Leaving her trapped in a soulless Unit-00. Possibly in the company of another Angel. Fucking typical.
She sat back and exhaled... something. Honestly, she had no bloody clue what the Hell was she even breathing. LCL, sure. But an Entry Plug could only hold so much oxygen, and she was pretty sure she had breathed the last of it weeks ago.
"What should I spend my time with?" she asked, and started. Was that her voice? Had she been there long enough to be startled by her own voice? She narrowed her eyes. "Talking to myself, am I? Fuck. That."
If she was going to start talking to herself, she might as well do that whilst trapped in an Evangelion anyway. She gripped the butterfly controls. "Synchronizing!"
The plug dove deeper, and deeper. She could feel herself appraching the deep borderline. Normally, she would be pulling back right then. Now, however, she gripped the controls and dove right past it. And something swam into place. It was... Central Dogma?
Her seat connected with a shunk to an established slot. She spied four other similar seats on the bridge. One was under a black cover.
Asuka rose from her seat, looking around. Everything seemed empty. All the lights were off. She sighed. "Fucked off and didn't touch anything. Fucking fantastic."
"Oh. Hello, beautiful stranger."
She whirled around. Right behind her, mounted onto a cross, was a Rei Ayanami. Her hair was white, her skin was also white, and her eyes, too, were glowing white. She was also completely naked. Asuka's eyes widened. "Was... zur Hölle?"
The Ayanami smiled faintly at her. "Are you my Princess Charming, come to rescue me?"
Asuka stared, aghast. "Who... Who are you?"
The white being tilted her head. "My name is Armisael. They used to call me Misa-chan. Nice to meet you, Princess Charming!"
Asuka swallowed. "You're the Sixteenth Angel."
Armisael shrugged. "What's left of her. My real body has become the nervous system for this body, for what you Lilim call an Evangelion. My mind, however, is trapped here." She indicated her cross. "As you can clearly see, my Princess Charming."
Asuka crossed her arms. "My name is Asuka Zeppelin Sohryu."
Armisael blinked at her. "Oh. I have heard of you. Wasn't one of your names Langley?"
Asuka closed her eyes. "So it was. I don't want to talk about it."
Armisael blinked once more. "Very well, then, Princess Asuka. I will not bring it up again, unless of course you wish to bring it up yourself. Do you wish to do something else?"
Asuka rolled her eyes. "Well, I would like to get out of this stupid Dirac Sea, but that isn't happening, is it?"
The Angel regarded her with a calculating gaze. "It would not be happening as things currently stand, no. However, circumstances can change."
Asuka matched the Angel's gaze. "Let me guess. It involves getting you off this cross."
Armisael smiled. "But of course. Once free, I will be able to assist you with ease!"
"Able to?" Asuka raised an eyebrow. "Sure, I can believe ability. But I highly doubt willingness."
The Angel's eyes glowed brightly. "Do not mistake me, Princess Asuka. I have been trapped here by the Reigoki Council because my attack on them inadvertedly ended up making one of them a murderer. That was not my fault. I will simply be happy to do something."
Asuka stared at the Angel. Long, and hard. Then she sighed. "What must I do?"
-----
Freeing Armisael from the Cross was easier than she thought. Dealing with a naked overly-affectionate semi-Ayanami was rather a lot harder.
She glared at the Angel. "Must you hang all over me?"
It shrugged. "Even if it's just an illusion, I'm happy to touch something again!"
Asuka sighed. "Didn't you say you had a way out of this, "Misa-chan"?"
The Angel became serious immediately. "Oh. Yes. Right. Well, if you would withdraw from Deep Synchro..." It led Asuka to her Entry Plug Seat. "Also, if you would please stop referring to me as an "it", it's very rude of you."
Asuka glared at it-her. Glared at her. "Up. Shut." She sat down. "Now whaaAAA-"
The plug shot upwards. Her vision was a blur of streaking colors for a fleeting moment, before it jolted to a stop. The Central Dogma once again appeared around her, but this time only as framing. Armisael was sitting on a Plug Seat right next to her, faintly transparent. "There we go! Your Plug is now fully in Synch with Reigoki's Core. And by that I mean me. Because I am Reigoki's Core now."
Asuka was panting. "Warn me next time when you do something like that!"
She recieved a smirk in return. "Will do, Princess."
Asuka glared. "So, Einstein. How are you going to get us out of here?"
"Very simply," answered the Angel. "I am Armisael, Angel of the Womb. I contain within me the potential, and the abilities of all fifteen preceding Angels. Including those of the Angel of the Night. Observe." She pushed her own controls forwards. "Instrumemory Configuration: Hole of the Worm!"
A series of clunks sounded. Armisael grinned. "There we go. The Evangelion is reconfigured for detecting and travelling through wormholes. We can use that ability to escape the Dirac Sea!"
A Heads-up Display appeared. A series of dots began blooming and almost immediately extinguishing on it. "Those," Armisael explained, "are wormholes travelling through the Dirac Sea. Most of those are tiny, and exist only for microseconds. However, I am reasonably certain we can hijack one of those and leave this damned place for once!"
Asuka shrugged. "If you say so." She worked her controls. The Evangelion began making swimming motions, finally moving from whatever place it had remained motionless at for so long.
It passed tiny flickers. It passed larger flickers. And then Asuka noticed something. Thin, tall... and stable. "There!"
Armisael was snarling. "I see it! Just a little closer..."
The shape warped, rapidly gaining in size. Soon enough, it was the size of an Evangelion. Angel and human both wore savage grins. "Here we go." Massive hands gripped the edges of the portal. A single eye glowed a hellish red. The Evangelion stepped out of its prison.
-----
As Armisael powered down the Instrumemory Configuration, Asuka took a look around the exit site. Dozens of humans in various colorful/dreary costumes, standing around looking cautious. Several of those present were either flying or floating. Some expressed strange energy readings. Others exhibited inhuman shapes. A swarm of insects was curiously poking around at the Evangelion.
Asuka reached the inevitable conclusion. "Misa-san, I think we ended up in a superhero world."
The Angel hummed. "Statistically speaking, any kind of ridiculous theme was possible. Are they showing any signs of wanting to beat us up?"
Asuka shook her head. "I think they're a bit intimidated. Hang on, I'll turn on the external mics..."
Pretty much immediately, the Entry Plug was filled with a low murmur of primarily concern. A single individual was slowly flying upwards.
Asuka waited patiently. The individual, tentatively identified as a female, coughed for a moment, and addressed her. "Unknown Parahuman or Parahuman creation! Identify yourself, or be assumed hostile!"
Asuka rolled her eyes. "Oh great, they're American. I hate having to speak English... Oh well." She activated the external speakers and crossed the Evangelion's arms. "I have no clue what a "Parahuman" is, but I'm assuming it's something like one of you lot." She took a pose. "My name is Asuka Zeppelin Sohryu, and I am an Evangelion Pilot." She lowered the Eva's head and peered at the "Parahuman". "And you?"
She opened her mouth, and was about to say something, when a dark green shape blew past her and flattened itself against Asuka's AT-field.
Asuka just looked at it. "So much for the tentative truce, then. Unless whatever that was wasn't associated with you. Or something."
The "Parahuman" launched herself at the Evangelion. Asuka sighed, and plucked her out of the air. "Look. I've been in a deep dark blood-smelling coffin for weeks. I'm not actually in the mood for a fight, you know. Can't we just, I don't know, fucking chill for a sec?"
The "Parahuman" glared. "You won't get away with this!"
Asuka just stared incredulously. "Get away with- you know what, no." She clicked the external communications off. "Got any AoE attacks, Misa-san?"
Armisael made a face. "Pretty much just Matarael and Arael."
Asuka shuddered. "No thanks to the Arael. Which one was Matarael again?"
Armisael smirked. "The crybaby."
Rolling her eyes, Asuka shrugged. "You know what, fine. Let's throw acid all over a bunch of trigger-happy supers, I'm sure that'll go over well."
She received a raised eyebrow. "Are you getting sarcastic on me, little Princess?"
Asuka gave the Angel a Look. "Eyup."
"EnOuGH!"
Angel and human both looked outside. The... giant swarm of bugs... had risen to eye level with the Evangelion. And it was... speaking?
"ThE PiLoT oF THiS... EVaNgElioN... cLAiMS TO nOt WaNT tO FiGHt. I sAY wE gIVe HeR THe beNEfIt Of A DoUBt."
Staring incredulously, Asuka thumbed her external speakers back on. "Thank you, uh, giant swarm of bugs." She peered at her fist. "I'm willing to stand down if you are." She unclenched it.
The Parahuman hesitated for a moment, then flew forwards, smacking against the AT-field. Asuka rolled her eyes. "You know what fine, new plan. Since you want to fight so badly, I fight with you and only you, and the rest of that lot can fuck off for all I care. Sounds fair?"
"SoUNdS FAir," confirmed the giant swarm of bugs. The mass of humans down below started retreating. Asuka glared at the fighty Parahuman. "Look. I've killed four Angels, and five enemy Evangelions. At least try to stand down, yeah?"
The Parahuman smacked against her AT-field again. Asuka sighed. "Misa-san, do you have anything against a small, fast target?"
Armisael smirked. "My own abilities, of course. Instrumemory Configuration: Becoming One!"
The Eva's left arm split into five glowing tentacles, before reconfiguring into one single one. Asuka gripped the controls with a savage grin. The appendage shot forward.
The Parahuman tried to dodge the glowing limb, but her efforts were futile. Unerringly, the tentacle touched her. And didn't let go.
Asuka felt a part of her consciousness dragged through the link, as she curiously examined the form of the Parahuman. "Well then," she spoke. "You look oddly human under that mask of yours."
"Not quite," remarked Armisael from the other side. "She has this strange connection to something highly not human."
"What is this?" That was the Parahuman. At precisely that moment, Asuka learned that her name was Rebecca. "What are you doing?!"
"We're in your mind, Becky," noted Asuka.
"Poking around," added Armisael, looking entirely too pleased with herself.
Rebecca looked furious. "Get out of my head at once!"
Asuka tilted her head. "In a moment."
"We wanna know what makes you such an unreasonable bitch," added Armisael. "I thought Princess was perfectly reasonable in asking you not to fight. Father damn it," she added, "Extracting reasons from biology is so much harder than getting them directly from the mind..."
Asuka tilted her head as Rebecca furiously raged in the background. "Then why didn't you get them directly from the mind?"
Armisael gestured. "Cause I know you have a lot of leftover trauma from Arael, and thus I didn't bother. Oh!" she exclaimed, "I think I found something!"
Asuka floated over. "What do you have?"
Armisael grinned. "Turns out this one's hormonal development halted at fifteen. She's essentially been a teenager for decades!"
Asuka looked over at the fuming Rebecca. "She's only a year older than me? Hah, no wonder she's unreasonable! Just, I don't know, knock her out or something and let's get back."
Armisael gave her a brilliant smile. "Will do!"
As Asuka found herself back in the Entry Plug, she could observe the unconscious Rebecca laying in the palm of the Eva's reformed hand. She set her Evangelion down on one knee, and laid the palm flat on the ground. "Here's your foolish teenage hero. Do whatever with her." She unceremoniously dumped the sleeping body onto the pavement.
"So! Who's in charge here?
-----
A/N: And here we are! We met Asuka, who seems to have some pointed differences about her, and we met Misa-chan, who turned out to be the Angel Armisael! And then they proceeded to Negative Space Wedgie themselves into Worm, through Tattletale's portal, just after the defeat of Echidna. Oh dear.
It was the next morning after the 'Rei Incident', as Misato had taken to calling it. I, personally, considered it a stupid way to address what had happened, but that was simply my opinion.
"You are a soul of an Evangelion."
Ritsuko was sitting on her office chair, scowling incredulously at Misato and I, and taking deep calming drags from her cigarette.
"Moreover, you are one of several souls of a single Evangelion, which should be physically impossible."
She took another drag.
"Atop that impossibility, you are from a future, whose past differs from ours in a significant manner, yet the people within are essentially the same."
She blew a smoke ring.
"And, apparently, you're my half-sister?"
Rits carefully extinguished her cigarette, folded her arms, and glared at me.
"Now, that part doesn't quite make sense to me. You'd think that as the Head of Project E, I'd be qualified to make heads and tails of soul mechanics, but this doesn't sound right. At all. Who are you really?"
I flinched. "I-it is very simple, r-really. W-when the soul of-" I closed my eyes. "T-the s-soul o-of-"
I collapsed onto the floor. "I... I cannot. I cannot let her." I could feel tears flowing down my cheeks. My lips peeled back into a snarl. "I c-cannot let the m-mere mention of THAT... WOMAN turn m-myself into a sobbing wreck! I will not let her! I WILL NOT!"
I rose, growling. Misato was staring at me with wide, tearful eyes. Ritsuko was frowning. I punched the wall. "When." I let out a hiss through my teeth. "The soul of." I clenched my fists. "NAOKO AKAGI." I was seething. "And Rei Ayanami. Are thrown into the same Evangelion."
I punched the wall again. "Their."
And again. "Mutual."
And again. "Hatred."
And again. "Will fester."
I was panting. "And rot."
There were tears rolling down my cheeks. "And churn."
I curled up, grabbing my head.
"And it will detach from them."
Someone was grabbing me into a hug.
"And it will attach to the dormant instincts of an Evangelion."
I did not care.
"And it will grant them sentience. And it will grant them self-hatred."
Someone was stroking my back.
"A-and you will grow up t-thinking y-you will never be g-good for anything, a-and you will be s-surrounded with hatred y-your w-whole l-life, and y-you think t-that it is a n-normal f-family, and t-then you m-meet s-someone who c-can show y-you that it is n-not, and you m-make a t-true friend f-for the f-first time, a-and you a-are h-happy for once, and t-then... t-then..."
I was sobbing openly by now. I was surrounded by warmth, my limbs were shaking, and I was just... letting it all out. All my fears, my sorrows... Everything suddenly went black.
-----
When I came to, I felt warm. Upon awakening further, I determined that the warmth came from a body next to me. Continued examination revealed that the warm body was female, asleep, and possessed short hair. I shrugged mentally, hugged Rits back, and fell asleep.
Next time I awoke, it was to a flash. I rolled over, discovering Misato holding her phone like a camera, grinning like a loon. I blinked slowly. "Greetings, Misato-san. What brings you here?"
She held up the phone. "Saw the half-sisters cuddling, thought it was adorable, and snapped a few photos." She pocketed it. "How about you, though? Are you doing okay? Feeling alright?"
I thought for a moment. "I believe I am fine, Misato-san. The hugs helped. Immensely."
She grinned. "I'm glad."
There was a groan next to me. Ritsuko, it seemed, had awoken, and was looking around blearily. I stroked her hair. "How are you doing, Ritsuko-san?"
She lifted her hand, examining it. "The shaking seems to have abated, but I'll be jittery around your Evangelion for a while, I suspect." She looked up at me. "But enough about me. What about you?"
I paused. "I..." I took a deep breath. "I will be fine. Mentioning... Mother... takes a lot out of me still. It is not a simple fix solved by a single... a single... breakdown." I swallowed. "I... she cannot hurt me again. Not y-you either. I..."
I found a finger on my lips. "It's okay. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Rits was smiling at me. "I had to live with that woman too. I can sympathize."
I smiled back. "Thank you, Ritsuko-san." We hugged. It was nice.
Misato awwed in the background. "You two are adorable!" Flashes lit up the room.
I withdrew from the hug, giving Rits a look. She indicated towards Misato. I nodded. We both jumped her at the same time.
"What the- Hey!" "Gimme the camera. Gimme the camera!" "It is pointless to resist, Misato-san."
Having Rits back was... nice. Nicer, even, now that we were actually around each other, and not just communicating over the MAGI. Yes, I thought, watching Rits and Misato wrestling over possession of the phone, This is nice.
-----
Going to school, after that battle, was a mistake. It turned out that Kensuke had snuck out of the shelter and filmed the entire thing, posting it on several media websites afterwards. Everyone had seen me utterly demolish Shamshel. "Now, you shall perish" had become something called a "meme". Everyone was quoting it, under the most stupid circumstances. And given that Kensuke knew I was a Pilot...
As soon as I was brought up to speed with the situation - thank you forever, Touji - I rose, turned towards the door, and with all the quiet dignity and grace I could muster, I fled.
I did not get far. I found my way out blocked by Representative Horaki. I swallowed. "Representative Horaki. Greetings. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Representative Horaki had her arms crossed. "And where do you think you're going, Shinji Ikari?"
I glanced behind me. "Fleeing from Kensuke Aida, Representative Horaki. He is overwhelming and a little bit scary."
She smirked. "Is the badass Evangelion Pilot really that afraid of a tiny little geek?"
I sputtered. "Of course! You cannot melee away a social situation. Those are terrifying on a completely different level!"
Representative Horaki smiled. "It's okay, Ikari-kun. Tell you what. Ayanami-san is not in today for some reason. Can you please take those printouts to her? I'll overlook your, ah, fleeing."
I accepted the sheaf of papers. "Pilot Ayanami is terrifying on a completely different level, Representative Horaki. But I will see what I can do."
She smiled knowingly. "Have a safe journey then, Ikari-kun."
I left.
The trip to Pilot Ayanami's address did not take too long. Arguing with Section 2 about the right for Pilots to visit each other took longer, but they caved after I pulled Misato's rank. Now, I was standing in front of Pilot Ayanami's door, knocking.
She did not answer. I pushed the door open. It was not locked. I entered.
The place was a sty. I briefly entertained the thought of Pilot Ayanami learning life skills from Misato.
I explored further. The lack of empty beer cans pointed towards Pilot Ayanami not learning alcoholism from Misato, at the very least. I spied a pair of glasses on the bedside cabinet.
Two or three long strides had me across the room. The glasses looked familiar. I picked them up. Where had I seen them before...?
Gendo Ikari. I dropped the glasses. They clattered on the floor. Why would Pilot Ayanami keep mementos of the Bastard King?
There were footsteps behind me. I turned. Pilot Ayanami was standing right there, wearing a towel and nothing else.
My eyes narrowed. "Pilot Ayanami." My voice was deceptively calm. I picked up the glasses. "Why, in the name of all things sane, would you keep souvenirs of the Bastard King? Was his mere presence not enough?"
She almost snarled. Quick strides crossing the floor, she raised her hand and attempted to slap me. I caught her hand. She tried with the other hand. I caught that one too. Her eyes were narrow.
I pushed her against the wall. "Even now, you defend him. Was a single seemingly selfless act truly enough to ensure your loyalty to a man who does not deserve it?"
She snarled at me. "What would you know of it, Pilot Ikari?"
I leaned in close. "I know he sees you as a tool. I know that his every interaction with you is calculated to ensure your maximum loyalty. And I know, that you know, that you have replacements waiting in the wings."
She looked strangely flushed. I learned in further, to whisper in her ear. "You do not need replacements for a person. You only need them for a tool."
I withdrew, releasing her. "You know," I remarked, withdrawing the sheaf of papers from my bag, "I only came here to deliver your printouts for school. I did not expect to fall into an argument over Gendo Ikari." I put the papers on her desk. "It is as Misato said. Think of yourself for once, okay?"
With that statement, I left.
-----
That evening, the Pribnow Box was filled with an angry tension. It was time for Pilot Ayanami's syncronization test.
The Bastard King was in a nearby observation booth with Rits and Misato. I was standing on Rei's shoulder pylon, ready to pilot at the first sign of trouble. Pilot Ayanami's Entry Plug was slowly being inserted into Yui.
Pilot Ayanami had glared at me before her Plug's hatch had closed. It did not feel like there was anything good coming forth from her. Which was worrying, if I was being honest with myself. Yui already hated me. Pilot Ayanami was angry with me. The Bastard King was being his usual manipulative self.
I was in Yui's direct line of sight.
Pilot Ayanami's Entry Plug sunk into the depths of the Evangelion. Showing more precaution, I climbed into my own Entry Plug and synced with Rei, idly patching into the communications between Observation Deck and Unit-01. Rits seemed to be telling something to Pilot Ayanami. "...at 75%, well done, Rei! How are you doing in there?"
Pilot Ayanami's voice was quiet, but determined. "This Evangelion seems to like me, doctor Akagi. We are not completely one, but we can agree on some points." The communications switched to visual, and she looked me straight in the eye. "Commander Ikari, requesting permission to beat the crap out of the Third Child."
My eyes widened. I could hear the grin in Gendo's voice. "Permission granted, First Child."
Rits and Misato raised their protests immediately, but I was not listening. My focus was on Yui, as she tore through her restraints and bore down towards us.
Rei and I became one once again. We raised our AT-field, as our first act of defense. She tore through it.
We flash-stepped behind her. AT-field might have been useless against a determined monster like Yui, but we were still faster. We gripped the umbilical cord, and pulled it out.
She roared, locks of her jaw tearing, Pilot Ayanami audibly snarling within. In response, we flash-stepped even further backwards, still holding the umbilical cord. We activated the external speakers. "Yui Ikari! Rei Ayanami! CALM DOWN!"
Pilot Ayanami activated her own external speakers. "Who is Yui Ikari?"
We caught Gendo's suddenly panicked gaze from his observation booth, and we laughed savagely. "Hah! Has your commander told you nothing? She is your mother! She is the Evangelion you now pilot!" We paused. "She is also rather ticked off at us. Yet, did we not tell you..."
We appeared behind them. "CALM."
We grabbed them around the waist. "THE FUCK."
And we suplexed them both. "DOWN!"
An alarm went off. Ritsuko's pale face was suddenly on my screen, as I felt myself disentangle from Rei. "Enough playing around, you two! The MAGI just detected a Blue Pattern. An Angel is coming!"
Rei and I looked at each other, mental representation to physical form. We swore. "Ramiel."
And that was Chapter 5! Bit shorter, but full of feels and other things. Also, some explanations of what exactly Zero is.
First thing I did was open a communications window to Misato. "I need a visual. Immediately!"
She caught on. "Coming up!" A familiar blue octahedron filled our screen. Strangely, the reflections felt... wrong. THERE'S TOO MANY OF THEM, supplied Rei. Ramiel was hovering ominously on the screen.
Misato's concerned face occupied a smaller screen. "This is a private channel. Know anything about this one, Zero-chan?"
I scowled. "Ramiel. Long-range, powerful lasers. Ridiculously powerful AT-field. But something feels wrong, Misato. Rei-chan says it has too many reflections. We need to be careful."
She nodded. "Noted. Proceed to the launch platform, just in case."
I nodded, kicking the Evangelion into gear. Pilot Ayanami seemed to follow me. I opened a communications channel to her. "An Angel is coming, Pilot Ayanami. Do not stab me in the back."
Her face was determined. "Noted, Pilot Ikari."
I kept an eye on Ramiel. Misato chimed in. "I'm launching a decoy! I wanna see what it makes of that."
Ramiel responded. Its form slid out of reality, multidimensional folds and cubes appearing and disappearing, until we were left with a sort of a hourglass shape with its Core in the middle. The core flared with a purplish light.
"Decoy destroyed!" Misato sounded aghast. "Along with several skyscrapers! I didn't even see it fire!"
My jaw was hanging loose. Rei felt equally incredulous. IT COULDN'T DO THAT BEFORE.
I nodded slowly. "No kidding. Do you think we could melee that thing?"
I could feel her stare on me. ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME?
I frowned. "Am not. Could we pull that off?"
She didn't even pause. NO.
I sighed. "Right." I addressed Misato instead. "Misato-san, do you have anything that will not end in myself boiled alive in my Entry Plug?"
Ramiel, meanwhile, was back in its octahedral shape, and hovering almost directly above us. Or more likely, directly above Lilith. It was busy shape-shifting a drill.
Misato shook her head. "I got nothing."
Rits opened her own comms. "I might have something. But first we need to find out out its maximum range of detection."
Misato grinned. "Leave that to me!" She started rattling off coordinates, ending each one with "Launch a decoy there!"
Ramiel changed shape once again. This time, it looked like a very dangerous Ferris-wheel with a tiny Ramiel in the center. It began spinning at high speed. The core flashed.
This time, I actually saw the attack. A brilliant purple beam swung around in a circle. Misato's voice rang out. "The decoy almost right underneath the Angel wasn't destroyed! Maybe it can't fire that close?"
"Doubtful," I fired back. Sure enough, another shift. Now it looked like three connecting pyramids. The core flashed. Misato sounded defeated. "Final decoy destroyed."
I frowned. I glanced at Rei. She was staring at the screen with Ramiel on it. IT HAD TO RECONFIGURE ITSELF TO SHOOT NEARBY.
My eyes lit up. "You figured something out?"
She grinned. VERY POSSIBLY.
So she told me. And I relayed it to Misato. And she hatched a plan.
-----
Pilot Ayanami and I were out of our Evangelions, as they were being readied of Operation Stab The Fucker. (Rits had overruled Misato's previous suggestion. I do not know what it had been previously.) Instead, we were sitting on the catwalkns next to them. I sighed audibly.
"Pilot Ayanami. Are you still upset over me calling Gendo Ikari out for what he is?"
She glared. "I am not."
I turned fully to her, raising an eyebrow. "What then? You are clearly still angry with me."
Her face was oddly flushed. "I am."
I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "Will you tell me why?"
She crossed her arms. "Do you not already know?"
I glanced towards her. "I have not synchronized with you, so I cannot read your thoughts."
There was an audible click as Rei's external speakers activated behind me. "That's precisely her problem, you romantically oblivious tool."
I blinked. "What?"
The Evangelion leaned forward. "She wants you to stick your "Entry Plug" into her "Core". In fact, sounds like you already tried and somehow DIDN'T NOTICE."
I blinked. I glanced at Pilot Ayanami. She sported that strange flush again. I tilted my head. "Did I?"
She glared, flushing. On tentative reexamination, I identified it as a blush. "You ambushed me whilst I was nude. You pinned me against a wall. You whispered sensually in my ear. And then you left without even trying to ravish me. Unit-01 was very insistent that it was both highly romantic and exceedingly rude."
I froze as my mind recontextualised the afternoon's events in the light of Pilot Ayanami's statement. I felt my face heat up as I reached my conclusions. Pilot Ayanami looked equally flushed. The Evangelions were still, but loud snickering was spilling forth from Rei's speakers.
"So..." I found my voice first. "You... wanted me to...?"
"I..." She sounded as hesitant as I had. "Would not have... minded... if you had..."
I swallowed. "I mean..." I was twiddling with my thumbs. "When this... attack... is over..."
"We could..." she offered. "...try?"
Heat bloomed across my face once again. "If you... like...?"
Misato stuck her head in from the door. "All right, lovebirds, break it up here! We're going to go stab a fucker, c'mon, into your Evas!"
Pilot Ayanami and I managed a synchronized glare at Misato's grinning face. Behind us, Rei was chortling. "Commander Katsuragi, why'd you do that? They were almost about to kiss!"
It felt as if I was not going to stop blushing at all. "Misato-san. Rei-chan. Please."
Pilot Ayanami was equally red. "Major Katsuragi. Please cease this."
Misato ignored us both, addressing Rei. "Please. If I allowed fraternizing on duty, I'd be snogging Rits non-stop and nobody would get any job done. Now, collect your Pilot and let's move out!"
-----
I was sitting in my Evangelion, still feeling the last vestiges of my blush. "Must you be such a tease, Rei-chan?"
She still sounded giggly. OF COURSE. WHERE ELSE WOULD I GET SUCH AMAZING ENTERTAINMENT? YOU, GETTING CRUSHES, BEING COMPLETELY OBLIVIOUS, AND THE PILOT, GETTING CRUSHES WHILE BEING EQUALLY OBLIVIOUS? YOU COULDN'T GET THIS ON TV, ZERO-CHAN!
I scowled. "Let's just concentrate on the mission, Rei-chan."
I readied the sword in our grip and snarled. "Evangelion, launch!"
We became one, once more, as we rocketed up the launch chute. Night sky glittered above us. We released the explosive bolts.
As the launch platform halted, we soared upwards. Ramiel's menacing form loomed above us.
A laser blast from behind the Angel glanced off its AT-field. Ramiel immediately responded; it melted into a cross-like shape, with cores at each of the four points. It fired a cross-stream laser blast at the source of the attack, into a spot that Pilot Ayanami had hopefully already vacated.
We stabbed our Progressive Sword through Ramiel's AT-field, into the lowest Core.
The Angel SCREAMED, exploding into a mass of dark spikes from that Core. We flash-stepped away, but it was too late; we caught a spike through our left shoulder.
Slowed as we were by the spike in our shoulder, we could only stare in horror as the Angel concaved, unfolding into a massive star shape with its Core in the center. It was glowing an ominous purple.
Another laser blast, courtesy of Pilot Ayanami, probed at the Angel's AT-field. Ramiel turned on a dime, sparing us but shielding its Core with its massive body. We readied our Progressive Sword anyway.
It fired. We flash-stepped under the path of its beam. Pilot Ayanami opened communications with us. "I cannot do this forever, Pilot Ikari. Hurry." She cut herself off.
We grit our teeth. "WELL THEN, ANGEL OF THUNDER! FACE US! FACE YOUR DOOM!"
The Angel shifted shape once more. Three inverted pyramids, converging at the core. Bulk of six, spinning lazily behind it. And three more needle-sharp points, hovering in front of it. All were pointed at us.
The next few moments happened very fast.
Ramiel fired.
We moved faster than ever.
Pilot Ayanami's shot broke through the momentarily weakened AT-field.
Our sword left our hands and pierced the Core.
Ramiel's final shot hit us head-on.
Darkness.
-----
Darkness.
Flashing images. Snippets of conversation.
"useless"
"I care."
Rushing lights.
"why do i keep you around"
"I care."
Phantom sensations.
"youre not supposed to exist"
"I care. I care. I care."
Useless platitudes.
"useless"
"Why don't you care?"
IT IS GONNA HAPPEN AGAIN. IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN. WE ARE POWERLESS. WE ARE USELESS. WE ARE---
Grasping hands.
Choking.
Squeezing.
Merciless.
"useless"
"useless"
"useless"
"USELESS"
Forgotten memories.
"this is your REDEMPTION DAY everyone"
Screams.
SOMEBODY STOP HER
"NO!"
Mocking.
"you cant stop me now"
"you see this button here"
"She's going to kill us all!"
"im gonna PRESS IT"
The images weren't stopping. The screaming wasn't stopping. Nothing was stopping.
rejection
ejection
"What have you done?"
What had I done...?
My eyes snapped open. My breathing was rapid. My heartbeat, erratic. My face, wet. I was crying again. "Unfamiliar ceiling..." I whispered.
It hurt to think. I deserved it. I was a murderer. I deserved all of it. She died and I killed her. She had most certainly burned alive in a horrific explosion. She was not coming back. I had killed her.
It was a nightmare. That was okay. I deserved nightmares. I was a murderer.
"What have I done..." I whispered again.
"You killed the Angel, Pilot Ikari."
Startled, I turned my tear-streaked face towards the voice. Pilot Ayanami was sitting there, by my bedside. She was holding a book. "This is not what you are troubled over," she observed.
"I killed her," I whispered. "I knowingly sent her to her death. I deserve to be troubled over that."
She put her book down. "That is concerning, but ultimately inconsequential. You do not strike me as a heartless murderer, Pilot Ikari. Therefore, you are not."
I sniffled. "It isn't that simple."
Her face held an expression I could not decipher. "Not many things are, Pilot Ikari. We must take them as they come, and persevere."
I looked at the ceiling again, wiping the tears from my eyes. "Where did you gather this wisdom, Pilot Ayanami?"
I felt a weight at the foot of my bed. She had stood up from the chair and sat down on the bed. "I watch people, Pilot Ikari. I observe my surroundings, often surreptitiously. I have seen you act. I have listened you talk." She looked away. "I have watched you sleep. You were having a nightmare. A memory, I suspect. Something you feel guilt over."
She scooted closer. My breath hitched. "If you feel guilt, Pilot Ikari, then you are capable of remorse. If you are capable of remorse, then you are not an unrepentant murderer." She scooted even closer, reaching out a hand to wipe my tears away. "You are a strange person, Pilot Ikari, but you are a kind person."
I looked away. "I am not a person, Pilot Ayanami. I have never been a person. I am-"
I found a slender, pale finger on my lips. I looked at her. Those ruby red eyes were... they looked so understanding. "Being an Evangelion does not make you any less of a person, Pilot Ikari."
My eyes widened. She tilted her head. "I know. I told you. I have observed you closely."
I let out a low, humorless chuckle. "I was wrong about you, Rei Ayanami. So completely wrong." I looked away. "I considered you nothing more than a tool. A cold, unfeeling puppet of Gendo Ikari, dancing to his tune. Someone who was worth nothing more than a title. A job description." I slapped myself on the forehead, chuckling darkly. "Hell, I already apologized to you over that, and STILL I did not learn my lesson. Why do you associate with this unrepentant fool I will never know."
She looked... sad. "I associate with you, Pilot Ikari, because you are worth it."
I snorted. Stars, that sentence had sounded so cheesy... and therefore familiar with its cheesiness. "Misato-san either has been coaching you, or is feeding you lines." I was snickering outright, now. "I am willing to bet Rei-chan is helping out, as well."
I grasped her hand, taking in her shocked expression, and smiled at her. "It is okay, Ayanami-san. This is such a Misato thing to do. She ships us hardcore, you know."
Ayanami blinked at me. It was a blink of utter astonishment. "How did you deduce Katsuragi-san's help?"
I grinned. I was feeling much better now. "That last line had enough cheese to make a fondue, Ayanami-san. Considering that excessive cheese is genetic, and that despite her utter hamminess, Yui Ikari has never had a cheesy bone in her body, it could only mean that either Rits or Misato-san was involved. And since Misato-san is the hardcore Double-Oh shipper here, it could only be her that was involved."
She nodded approvingly. "Impressive, Pilot Ikari."
And that was that.
Chapter Six, as promised!
I'll be taking a break after that as I'll once again work on a backlog. No chapters on Monday, sorry. I'm kind of stuck on Chapter Seven. But I'll see what I can do about the Asuka branch!
...Also. You'll be getting another Surprise tomorrow. Look forward to that one~!
A/N: I promised a Surprise for today, did I not? For those of you that were expecting another Asuka chapter... I admit it would be a nice Surprise. But we still haven't met the last two Allies!
Why don't we do that now?
-----
0.0
-----
Green rushed past her. Rei found that she didn't particularly care. She had greater concerns. "Leliel. I know you're in there. I can feel your presence."
Silence. Minute changes in her mood let her know that Leliel was in too much pain to respond with any sort of clarity. Concerning.
Also concerning was the fact she had a physical form. Last she knew, she had been an errant soul inside her by now certainly former Evangelion. Right now, she was clearly falling through an unknown dimensional tunnel, possessing a physical body.
Irritable.
The tunnel finally cut off, depositing her into freefall. Immediately, she manifested her AT-field, nodding approvingly when it manifested successfully. She used it to slow her descent greatly, and land onto the ground gracefully. She then took stock of her surroundings.
She appeared to be in the courtyard of some sort of castle. A glance over its architecture told her that it did not resemble any previously known Earth culture. A glance over the people she was surrounded by told her that she was in a school, possibly European, but the styles of clothing did not match the modern era. From that, she drew the conclusion that she was not on her Earth anymore.
Many would be surprised over hearing the level of her deductions. Those who knew her well, a depressingly short list of people, would not be so surprised.
Her predecessor's death fresh in her mind, Rei had learned to read people, and learn her environment. Learning the environment had awoken her curiosity in history. Putting any of that into practice however, before her absorption into her Evangelion, had seemed pointless.
Rei, you see, did not care very much.
As such, she looked across a crowd of teenagers older than her, teenagers with pale skin and a ridiculous multitude of hair colors, and found herself desperately wishing for a book.
One of said teenagers, boasting soft pink hair, approached her. "<My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière.>" She was speaking Belgian. Intriguing. A thin stick, possibly a wand, was held in her hand. "<Pentagon of the Five Powers, bless this humble being, and make her my familiar.>"
Rei suddenly found herself being kissed. On the lips, and everything. She was almost surprised. Familiar, she mused. A bonded companion of a Witch, in classical literature. Intriguing. The girl, Louise if she had heard correctly, pulled back, looking slightly flushed. Rei tilted her head. "<Intriguing,>" she spoke.
Louise's eyes widened. "<Y-you talk?>"
Rei found herself rolling her eyes. This is why she kept quiet, honestly. People getting surprised if she opened her mouth. Then again, she supposed, it was a self-perpetuating cycle of sorts...
Louise, meanwhile, had noticed her eyeroll and was flushing. "<It's just, y-you looked completely mute earlier, and->"
Blinking slowly, Rei raised a hand. "<Calm,>" she intoned. "<I do not speak much.>" Indeed, she rather preferred the company of her own thoughts. Although, with Leliel's presence, were they her own thoughts at all? Concerning. She bowed slightly at Louise. "Ayanami Rei." Her words held the intonation of the familiar Japanese. It felt slightly comforting to speak that language, if she was being honest with herself.
"<Ay-naamih?>" And naturally, Louise completely butchered her name. She felt irritated for a moment. "Rei."
"<Ree?>"
Rei rolled her eyes again. "<Good enough,>" she offered.
Louise looked determined. "<No, let me try to pronounce it correctly. Say that again?>"
Rei Reised (She was perfectly capable of humor. That was it, right there. Why was nobody laughing?) an eyebrow. "Rei."
The other girl was the very picture of concentration. "<Reey... no, that wasn't it. Ree...i? No, shorter... Rei?>"
Rei inclined her head. She allowed herself a small smile. "<Correct.>"
At that moment, she suddenly became aware of jeers and catcalls around them. Her new Master cringed.
Now, Rei was used to being a tool. She found she rather liked being one, and remaining without a Purpose, having to decide for herself, felt frightening to her. Was it any wonder she jumped for a new Master who could give her a Purpose again? She didn't think so. She could, however, ask. Just in case.
"<Master Louise. Question.>"
Louise blinked. "<What is it, Familiar?>"
Letting her gaze sweep across the crowd, she asked her question. "<What is my Purpose, Master Louise?>"
She recieved an almost offended noise as an answer. "<Your purpose is to be my Familiar, of course!>"
Rei nodded. "<I see. Familiar: A companion of a magical being. Often a loyal protector and/or a friend.>" She smiled. "<I can do Protector. And I am certain I can be a friend to you, Master Louise.>"
Rei rubbed her thumb against her forefinger, thoughtfully. "<The humans around us make you feel threatened, Master Louise. I believe it is time to do the Protector.>" She snapped her fingers.
Her AT-field flared to life, a familiar octagon of orange light forming under their feet. Rei hugged Louise around the waist. "<The best way to protect you from the spiteful is to remove you from the presence of them. Hold on tight, Master Louise.>" She willed the Light of her Soul to lift them.
The other girl eeped as the pair rose off the ground. "<What is- how are you doing this, Familiar?>"
Rei let her lips quirk into a smile. "<I am flaring the Light of my Soul, forcing my will upon reality and making it my bitch, Master Louise.>"
Louise was letting out soft gasps of amazement. "<I-I have flown before, of course, on my Mother's manticore, but i-it has been such a long time since I've been in the air...>" The girl whirled on Rei, eyes shining. "<Could you teach me how to do that?>"
Rei frowned. "<I am... unsure, Master Louise. As a Nephilim, my mastery over the AT-field far outstrips anything a normal human could do. You, however, do not feel like a normal human either.>" She shrugged. "<As such, I do not know. Now, Master Louise, where do you wish me to take you?>"
Louise, looking somewhat dejected, pointed towards a tower. And Rei obliged.
-----
Louise's dorm room had been surprisingly spacious. Or perhaps not as surprisingly. The girl had the bearing of an aristocrat, Rei noted, and an attitude to match. And yet, underneath it she saw a caring soul in a hard place. Just like Zero-san, she mused. After an awkward scene featuring a pile of hay by her bed and Louise's half-hearted apologies, Rei opted to simply stand by the window while she waited the older girl to fall asleep.
Or rather, stand by the window whilst diving deep into her own mind, looking for Leliel.
She found the Angel curled up into a ball, as always, but Leliel appeared to be in human form, surprisingly enough. She was also in a clear Ayanami form, and weeping. Rei crouched down. "Leliel?"
The Angel lifted its tear-streaked face. "I f-failed..."
Rei tilted hers. "Failed what?"
Leliel was sniffling. "I-I tried t-to s-save everyone... a-and I just m-made it worse..." She sniffled again.
Rei sighed and arranged herself into a cross-legged position, both in her mind and outside it. She pulled Leliel's head onto her lap. "Ssssshhhh. It's okay. And if it isn't, it will be."
Leliel shook her head. "You don't understand! I pulled us into the Dirac Sea, but it was too late! And I'm now cut off from it entirely!"
Rei was stroking Leliel's hair, eyes narrow. "And that means what?"
"It means," explained the teary Angel, "that without me, all our friends will be trapped in a dark and empty void forever! And," she added, looking away, "My abilities have been greatly altered. I can no longer access the Dirac."
Exhaling softly, Rei leaned back. "Then we must soldier on. Remember our friends. And find a way to honor their memories."
Leliel shot up. "Wh- you're giving up? Just like that?"
Rei tilted her head. "You are unable to access the Sea?" Leliel nodded. "And the alteration of your abilities, it is permanent?" Once again, Leliel nodded. Rei closed her eyes. "Then there is nothing we can do."
She sat there for a long time.
And here we go, the second and final sidestory! Featuring Rei II and Leliel, as the combined familiar of Louise. The chapters of this one will be rather shorter than either main branch or the Asuka branch. I simply found the shorter length to be more comfortable with the style of the sidestory.
Also, an update on Chapter Seven of the main branch - it should be ready to post by Tuesday. Thanks for reading!
Unfortunately, I could not have any time alone with Ayanami-san for long. Soon after, Misato and Rits appeared, bearing good news and bad news. The bad news was that Rei-chan had been heavily damaged in Ramiel's final blast, and it would take at least a one and a half weeks to replace her armor and regenerate her flesh. Conversely, the good news was that Ayanami-san had reached her new record, and achieved 1:1 synchronization with Yui. Thus, in case an Angel attacked, we still had a viable Pilot in a viable Evangelion.
Misato was somewhat disappointed that Ayanami-san and I "haven't kissed or anything yet, you two are so adorable together", which left her face pink, and I suspected my own was just as red. Rits then told her off for "embarrassing the Pilots", and then declared she had an announcement.
What she said next shook me to the core.
"I have thought long and hard about this, Zero. And I have come to a conclusion. You have a name that is yours. How would you like to have it officially?"
At first I had been confused. I did not understand the meaning of her statement at all. So I told them I did not understand.
She then clarified she wished to adopt me.
Officially.
Complete with a surname change.
And first name, if I so wished.
I became aware of tears rolling down my cheeks when they started to drip onto the sheets. Next thing I knew, I was hugging Rits, sobbing out heartfelt acceptance.
Many hugs were to be had that morning.
We made it official the very next day. I was officially Zero Akagi again, capable of shouting my name from the rooftops if I so wished. So, naturally, the very first thing I did was tell the Suzuharas.
Sakura had squeed so loud she nearly shattered my eardrums. Touji made as if to clap me on the back, reconsidered, and gave a half-hearted congratulations, before Sakura had rolled her eyes and dragged us all to a three-way hug. It was a nice hug.
I even visited Rei, and told her the good news. Well, I told her semi-melted still form the good news. She did manage a small thumbs up, however. I was happy that she approved.
After the happy celebrations, I told Rits I was going to disappear for a few days, gave her a big hug, took a surreptitious DNA sample, and snuck off to my lab. The new sample was of far greater quality than the previous one, and it let me work with it in peace. My Master Project was coming along nicely. I hoped I could finish it soon, but I had to be careful to do it perfectly. I could not afford mistakes on it.
Thank the Stars for readily available materials to speed up the process.
I hesitated. I had the option to add in an extra function. I did not expect to ever have to use it. But... Better have it and not need it. Rather than need it and not have it. I started building. Just in case.
-----
Finally emerging from my lab, after several fruitful days, I was confronted by Rits and Misato. I did not want to ruin the surprise, so I merely said I was documenting the potential pathways within the air ducts of the GeoFront. Thankfully, they bought it.
Despite my adoption going through, and officially being an Akagi now, I was still living with Misato. It was convenient to not change those arrangements, I suspected, and thus did not object to the situation. her cooking being delicious as ever probably helped, but when I told Rits that, she made some strange expressions. Odd.
Life settled into a comfortable enough routine, I supposed. Misato and I gulped down curry in the mornings and left off to our respective places - Misato to NERV and I to school.
School was "memeful" as ever. Kensuke Aida had again recorded some of my battle with Ramiel, and the new "meme" of the day seemed to be "Face your doom". Threatening to flay him just led him to ask "Is it time for me to face my doom now?" to general merriment. I left him be.
The revelation that I had been adopted, and that I had had a name change to reflect that, did get him to congratulate me, but since it was ruined by him immediately swamping me with questions about Rits, I declared him a lost cause.
Ayanami and I were still "dancing" around each other. So Misato took it into her own hands, and arranged for us a "date".
It was an unmitigated disaster.
The Bastard King had crashed the dwelling, observed the happenings, and proceeded to provide highly embarrassing information.
Rei and I could not meet each other's eyes for a week afterwards. Or maybe that was because immediately after I fled to my lab and did not come out for a week.
I only came out when I caught a recording of a conversation between Gendo and Fuyutsuki, and realized I had acted exactly as the man had predicted.
And with that, Rits caught me lurking into her lab. "Zero-chan. Where the Hell have you been?"
I glared at nothing in particular. "Hiding, Rits-chan. My hormones have betrayed me, and I have been hiding from the consequences."
She raised an eyebrow. "Does this have anything to do with the "date" Ayanami-san refuses to tell me anything about?"
I flopped onto the chair. "Gendo showed up."
Rits stared. "...You're serious."
I nodded. She showed concern. "What happened?"
I covered my face in my hands. "I do not wish to talk about it, Rits-chan. There were slides."
My ears caught soft snickering. I curled up even deeper. "Please do not laugh at me, Rits-chan."
Despite my plea, she sounded amused still. "I'm not laughing at you, Zero-chan. I'm laughing at the Commander."
I lowered my hands, staring at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Rits was sitting on her chair, snickering. "It's ridiculous is what it is. Normal dads scare off the suitors of their daughters with threats of violence, or by listing embarrassing qualities of the extended families." She snorted. "Gendo Ikari apparently scares them off by giving them The Talk."
I scowled. "Oh do not even start, Rits-chan."
-----
A day after I had returned from my weeklong hiding, something Happened. The Command Staff was scuttling around, even Misato was called in, and yet no Angel Alert was called in. As such, I naturally snuck into Rits' lab and asked outright.
"Rits-chan. What has happened? No Blue Patterns have been detected around Tokyo-3, yet the Command Staff is acting like we could be attacked at any moment. Is SEELE making their move?"
Rits shook her head, typing furiously. "No, the Old Men are still machinating. We have instead recieved a distress signal from Bethany Base. The Third Angel is loose."
I withdrew slightly. "I see. Do we have any visuals?"
She shook her head. "Not yet, I'm working on it. The Problem Child is on base, however, and last I heard, there was a Provisional Evangelion involved."
I picked up on the unspoken lines. "But you are worried."
She exhaled sharply. "Provisional Evangelion Unit-05 is a heap of junk. I'm not holding out hope. A-HA!" She gave a triumphant grin. Grainy footage appeared on a screen. It showed a strange, four-legged Evangelion grappling with strange, bony Angel. I frowned.
"Rits-chan, I have not seen this Angel before."
Rits looked back from the footage, blinking. "Wait, you haven't? That's the Third Angel. We found it near where the Bethany Base is. Didn't you have that one?"
I shook my head. "We did not. Sachiel was the Third Angel, not Fourth. This one never existed."
Rits frowned. "Troubling."
On the screen, the Third Angel erupted in lasers, cutting the Evangelion's legs off. I winced. "That had to have hurt." Rits nodded next to me. What happened next had both of our eyes wide.
The Evangelion tore open the restraints of its jaw, screeching. I raised my eyebrows. "Did that pilot just force its Eva into berserk?"
Rits nodded thoughtfully. "Normally, I'd say that was impossible to do deliberately." She smirked. "Then I remembered you existed."
I made a face as I watched what was left of the Eva just shove its arms into the Angel's core. "I could not do that without Rei, and I doubt this Pilot is as in sync with Gogoki as I am with Zerogoki." The entry plug activated its retro-rockets and shot away from the Eva-Angel embrace. The screen flashed white and we lost the feed. "It does not help that I do believe the Pilot just detonated their Eva."
"Or what was left of it," muttered Rits. We exchanged glances. I looked at the empty screen.
"This Child... I am intrigued by them."
-----
Next afternoon, I was in my lab, tinkering, when the MAGI sounded a Pattern Blue. I frowned, bringing up a visual.
The angel was tall and spindly, walking on two incredibly thin legs. A large pendulum was swinging below it. Somehow, it reminded me of a grandfather clock.
I opened communications to Misato. "Misato-chan. Trouble."
She sounded irritated. "Yes, I know, I just got the alert. It's still out in the bay. What can you tell me about it?"
I sighed. "That is the trouble, Misato-chan. I never fought this Angel. I have no idea what its capablilities are."
She cursed. "Fuck! Okay. Fine. Get to your Eva, Zero-chan, we'll work it out from there."
I exhaled. "I cannot, Misato-chan. Rei is still under repairs. We will have to send Ayanami-san."
This time, Misato swore even longer. "Fine! Get to the bridge, I'll meet you there."
I made an affirmative noise. "Acknowledged." With that, I vanished into the air ducts.
I reappeared behind Maya Ibuki. "Greetings, Ibuki-san." She yelped. I ignored it. "What is the status of Shogoki, and what is the Angel doing?"
My inquiry was recieved with a scowl. "Dammit, Zero-san, don't do that!"
I stared impassively. "I took the shortest route available to me, Ibuki-san. Need I ask my question again?"
Maya huffed. "Unit-01 is ready for deployment, and Pilot Ayanami is gonna be there any second." She suddenly looked at me strangely. "And since when were you doing Misato's job?"
I tilted my head. "I arrived before she did, Ibuki-san. Therefore, I will take it upon myself to gather relevant information and present it to her in an efficient manner when she arrives, or asks for it. What is the status of the Angel?"
"Still advancing," answered Lieutenant Hyuga. "It appears to be walking on water now," added Lieutenant Aoba.
I looked. Indeed, the spindly legs of the Angel were touching down on the surface of the ocean. Wait. Had the ocean always been red? I could not tell. The detail was irrelevant anyway.
"Ready," spoke a soft voice from the Pribnow Box communication station. Ayanami had arrived.
Just then, Misato rang in. "I won't be able to make it to HQ! Somebody fill me in!"
I spoke before anyone else could. "The Angel is still advancing. Military ineffective. Pilot Ayanami ready to launch."
She laughed. "Thank god you exist, Zero-chan! Tell her to launch immediately!"
I nodded. "Of course."
"Wait!" That was Maya. "Urgent communications from the UN. They're initiating Task 02!"
I relayed that to Misato, narrowing my eyes. Task 02? If that did not stand for Unit-02, I would eat a garment of clothing. It seemed Asuka was coming.
"Split the screen," I ordered. "Show us the Angel, whatever the UN is going, and Ayanami. Also send the feed to Misato's car." Hyuga followed the order without hesitation. Misato's sigh of relief was heard through the comms.
"You're a lifesaver, Zero-chan."
I did not answer, preferring to stare at the screen instead. The Angel had just speared a number of battleships in a spike of... water? I narrowed my eyes again. "The Angel appears to be capable of offensive hydrokinesis. Be careful, Ayanami-san."
Ayanami opened her communications. "Am I deploying?"
Misato chimed in. "Deploy just in case, but hold back. I wanna see what the UN can do."
Ayanami nodded. "Understood." Shogoki launched.
"We have the UN planes on visual," reported Aoba. I looked at that corner or the screen. Oh look. An enormous plane with red legs sticking out of it. I raised a sardonic eyebrow. "Oh look," I noted. "Niigoki."
The plane split its panels apart, and Unit-02 dropped. Another plane dropped something that looked like a rifle. Maya and I exchanged glances. "Surely the pilot does not expect to kill this Angel with a single airdrop?" She shrugged.
Niigoki grabbed the rifle mid-air, furiously dodging the Angel's attacks. It extended a pair of prongs, revealing it to be a crossbow instead. I found myself nodding approvingly. "Interesting strategy," I noted.
The Evangelion fired a single shot through its neck. Immediately, the Angel fell apart into a cloud of four-pronged objects, letting its pendulum drop. Aoba grinned. "She did it!"
I shook my head. "Too easy. The Angel is pretending." As I said that, the Angel reformed, swinging its pendulum up to meet the falling Evangelion. I allowed myself a small smile of vindication.
Niigoki fired all of its remaining shots at the Angel, before discarding a weapon. The pilot forced their Eva into a roll, before emerging with one heel extended. I stared. "Oh, do not tell me that they are planning what I think they are planning..."
The Evangelion extended a series of spikes from its heel, before striking the Seventh Angel's AT-field. It created an impressive lightshow. I crossed my arms. "Ayanami, prepare yourself to intervene if necessary," I ordered. She responded affirmatively. I glared at the screen.
My eyes widened as Niigoki broke through the Angel's AT-field, and the pendulum, emerging with the true Core embedded on the last spike of its foot. "Oh what the fuck."
Both Core and Angel exploded into a massive cross. Niigoki rolled away from the explosion, activating its thrusters - it had thrusters? why didn't Rei get thrusters? - and landing harmlessly next to Shogoki. Well, almost harmlessly. Given colorful cursing from Misato, I inferred that its landing had thrown Misato's poor car all over the place.
I sunk into the nearest open seat. "I do think I speak for all of us when I call bullshit."
So! Many things happened in this chapter. We met Asuka, we saw Mari do her Thing, and oh yes, Zero got her name back! Rits, you did good. Chapter Eight on Thursday!
We were standing next to the convoy transporting Unit-02, all five of us. Myself, Misato, Rits, Touji, and Kensuke at Touji's request. I was still not very enthused about him. The boy asking for "latest memetic statement" and pointing a camera at my face did not help much, either.
Still, to shut him up, I told him that the latest battle was "bullshit" and asked him to leave me be. Thankfully, he complied.
As Niigoki was transported past us, I spied a familiar silhouette atop it. Good. Asuka still existed. Things had not changed too much.
The pilot expertly climbed down the side of her Eva, hopping to the ground with dignity and grace. It was indeed Asuka, though her hair was more brown than red. I tilted my head.
Asuka? struck a pose. "Greetings, peasants!" So far so good. "I am Captain-" Oh dear. "-Asuka Shikinami-" Wait, Shikinami? "-Langley, Pilot of the first True Evangelion!"
I palmed my face. "Yare yare." I shook my head. "Such arrogance, Pilot Langley." I removed my palm to stare impassively at her furious glare. "What accomplishments do you have to excuse your arrogance?"
Her jaw dropped. "Wh- I just killed that Angel! With a synch of 93%! What more do you want?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Did you open your heart to the Evangelion?"
She blinked. "...no?"
The second eyebrow joined the first. "Impressive. For a rookie on her first battle." I smiled. It did not reach my eyes. "In this case, welcome to the team, Captain Langley."
She was gaping incredulously. A smack of palm on face behind me told me that Misato was not impressed. My smile remained.
I gestured at Touji. "This is Suzuhara Touji-kun. He is not a Pilot, but he is a good man." Touji looked at me strangely. I ignored him. "Behind him is Ayanami Rei-san, Pilot of Evangelion Shogoki. She is on the team, and I expect you to work with her. She achieved a synch score of 100% in the last battle."
Asuka glared at her. "Well met," she growled out.
Ayanami gave me a glance. "Are you upset with her, Zero-san?"
I blinked at her. "Am not, Ayanami-san. I am simply defending the honor of Rei-chan."
She walked forwards, past me, and remained stationary in front of Asuka. "My apologies, Pilot Langley. Zero-san gets highly defensive about Evangelion feelings. I believe you may have upset her."
I stared at her, aghast. "Ayanami-san, what are you doing?"
She ignored me. "That is Zero Akagi, our main Pilot. She is very close with her Evangelion. They frequently do "cool" things together. I think she might be jealous of you."
Touji started snickering, the traitor. I smacked him. "I have seen enough. Come, Touji-kun. Aida. We are leaving." I dragged them away. Touji was still laughing.
-----
Returning to Misato's apartment that afternoon, I was confronted with another unpleasant surprise. Misato was not there. Asuka, however, was, and so were all her things. I scowled at her.
"Pilot Langley. Why are your possessions in my room?"
She grinned, running a hand through her hair. "Didn't you hear, Third? You're getting replaced!"
I reeled back. "W-what?"
The arrogant showoff had the audacity to laugh at me. "You heard me! You've been replaced by the newer, prettier model!" She flicked her hair.
My face felt wet. "I see." I gathered my bag, and left.
I spent the night at Ritsuko's. She had been furious at Misato, but I convinced her not to call for the sole purpose of yelling at her in the middle of the night. We could always do that next day at NERV.
That still did not stop me from crying myself to sleep that night.
Next morning, somewhat refreshed yet still feeling slightly betrayed, I followed Rits to NERV. Misato and Asuka were there already. Misato looked incensed. Was she angry at me for running away? Why? She did not want me anymore... did she?
"Katsuragi-san," I acknowledged her, cautiously. I ignored Asuka for now.
Misato winced. "Look, Zero-" She stopped. "Look. Pilot Shikinami was... misinformed yesterday."
I forced my face to remain blank. "About what, Katsuragi-san?"
She snapped off a quick glare at the other Pilot, who had the grace to look sheepish. "I'm not replacing you, Zero-" She stopped again. "Zero-san. Chan. I..."
I looked at Rits. She was glaring at the floor. I tilted my head. "Rits-chan?"
She exhaled. "God fucking damn it, Misato." She snapped her head up to glare at the pair. "Excuses aren't going to cut it, you two. Misinformed or not, it doesn't change the fact I had to listen to my sister cry herself to sleep because she was convinced you had abandoned her, Major Katsuragi."
Misato cringed. Asuka looked horrified. "Wait, he did what?"
That earned her another glare. "She. Do not misgender her, Pilot Shikinami."
I was withdrawing behind Rits. Murderous intent practically oozed off of her. "So. Do explain yourself, Pilot Shikinami. What possessed you to tell Pilot Akagi she was getting replaced?"
Asuka gulped. "S-she called me an arrogant rookie. Ma'am."
Silence. I peered up at Rits. Her eyes were so narrow they might as well have been closed. "And was that a reason enough to tell our top pilot that the first one who ever called her "she" would abandon her as soon as another pretty face came along?"
"T-technically," I provided, "Touji-kun was the first one. H-he is actually very understanding."
Rits waved her hand. "First adult, then. Not my point. Fact is," she poked Asuka in the chest, "You did a wrong. Do you at least understand that?" Asuka nodded fearfully. Rits looked impassive. "Good. Go tinker, Zero-chan. I still need to chat with Misato."
I nodded. "H-have fun, Rits-chan." I vanished into the nearest air vent.
-----
I leaned back into my chair, sighing. I was in my lab again, working on my Master Project. I glanced at its tank. Still under construction, but the LCL seemed to be working fine. I was confident it would be finished in several more weeks. Now, the only problem left seemed to be the transmission vector. But how to accomplish that? ...Well. There was that one option. But I would have preferred it not come to that. I contemplated them both.
A beep from a nearby computer attracted my attention. Oh hey. Rei's repairs were finished. I could not wait to be inside her again.
...I paused. Note to self, rephrase that sometime soon.
A louder, far more urgent beep came from the computer next to the previous one. The MAGI were trying to get my attention. I opened the viewport to Pribnow Box, as they insisted, and stared. Then I vanished into the air vent.
I dropped onto Rei's shoulder pylon and slid myself down to the shoulder itself. Then I shouted as loud as I could.
"REI-CHAN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? PUT HER DOWN!"
The massive helmet turned to look at me, almost sheepishly. From her clenched hand, a rather panicked Asuka was gaping at me. "Wha- you're not in there? Who the Hell is Piloting that thing?!"
I ignored her for now. "Rei-chan. Put her down."
Asuka of course interpreted that differently. "That's Ayanami in there?"
"Is not," I offered her. I fixed Rei with a glare. "Well? I am waiting."
She almost pouted. "But... She made you cry, Zero-chan!"
I exhaled. "Irrelevant. Drop her."
Rei's hand unclenched. Asuka fell unceremoniously into the LCL. Her arm fell back into place. "She's an arrogant blowhard, Zero-chan! She thinks the whole world was given to her to show off!"
I raised my eyebrow. "Show off? You do recall what happens when we meld into the synchronization, right? We show off almost constantly. What is your real reason?"
Down on the catwalk, Asuka dragged herself out of the LCL, coughing. "What the fuck are you Pilots talking about?"
I exhaled, before jumping into the LCL and emerging smoothly onto the catwalk. "We are talking about synchronization, Pilot Langley. And you are under a misconception." I stressed that word. "That is not Ayanami-san in there. In fact, she does not even have an Entry Plug inside her."
Asuka gaped. "Then what the fuck is moving that thing?"
I blinked. "The Soul." I looked up at Rei. Her eye was still glowing. "Introduce yourself, Rei-chan!"
The Evangelion leaned forward. It felt like she was wearing a savage grin, despite not having any way to express that. "Oh, I am so sorry. I didn't even think to introduce myself properly!" The pair of us were bathed in the red glow of her eye. Asuka eeped. Rei's eye flared. "I am Zerogoki Rei. The Prototype Evangelion. The one you so derided as inferior to a Production Type Model."
I raised my eyebrow. "And here you try to convince me that all our dramatics during battle all come from me."
She glared at me. "Hush you." Rei tilted her head. "But aside from all the unpleasantries earlier, how are you doing?"
Irritated, I exhaled sharply. "The unpleasantries might not be over, if Pilot Langley here is concerned. Have you figured out who she is piloting, yet?"
Asuka looked horrified. "What do you mean, who?"
I glanced at her. "Every Evangelion has a Soul within, Pilot Langley. Zerogoki has Rei. Shogoki has Yui Ikari. I am currently wondering about Niigoki."
Rei huffed audibly. "I didn't get a name out of her. Feels like a Kyoko, though. Colossal bitch if you ask me. You wouldn't be compatible."
I scowled. "I did not ask."
-----
Asuka was pacing in Ritsuko's lab. I was sitting on a chair. Rits herself and Misato were at places unknown.
"So let me get this straight."
I suddenly got a horrible feeling of deja vu.
"The Evangelions are powered by the souls of the Pilots' mothers."
I sighed in relief. No, this was not going where I thought it was going. "In most cases, yes."
She looked at me oddly. "Don't tell me you're an exception, again."
I shook my head. "I am not. Despite Rei-chan acting like a mischievous big sister, she is my mother. Do not inquire about the circumstances."
Asuka frowned. "So, what, is Ayanami the exception?"
I shook my head once again. "Despite not having any genetic markers from the Bastard King, she is the daughter of Yui Ikari. No, I am speaking of whoever piloted and subsequently detonated Provisional Unit 05 against the Third Angel when it escaped." I rolled my chair over to a computer. A few keystrokes brought up the feed Rits and I had been analyzing and reanalyzing over and over again. I brought up a specific segment. "See here? The Pilot is clearly struggling against the Evangelion, and winning." I brought up another segment. "And this here? They're discarding limbs as they go, focusing all their concentration on a single limb." I leaned back in the chair, letting Asuka access the feed herself. I allowed myself a small smile. "I used the same kind of strategy against Sachiel. Yui rejected me from the beginning, but since she was all we had, I forced her into battle anyway."
Asuka withdrew from the feeds. "I think that's Mari."
I turned to her. "Excuse me?"
She was rubbing her chin. "Mari Illustirious Makinami. I've never actually met her face-to-face, but I'm pretty sure that's her."
I looked at the feed. "Mari Makinami. Intriguing."
Asuka scowled at me. "What, do you now have a crush on her or something, Akagi?"
I looked away. "I do not know, Pilot Langley. I have no context on the feelings I feel, nor what they might mean. A week or more ago I was convinced I had feelings for Pilot Ayanami."
She raised her eyebrows. "Had?"
I felt heat flood my cheeks. "The Bastard King showed up. He gave us a lecture." I hid my face behind my hands. "I now know more about human anatomy than I ever wanted to know."
There was a pause. Then I was treated to peals of laughter from Asuka.
I curled up. "You are just as bad as Rits-chan, Pilot Langley."
She snickered at me. "You know what, Akagi, I've decided. You're okay."
I peeked out from between my fingers. She was still grinning, but there was something determined in her expression now. She had extended her hand at me. I stared at it. "What is this?"
She looked at me in the eye. "A peace offering. An offer to start over. What do you say?"
I thought for a moment. "Very well." I grasped her hand. "I am Zero Akagi, Pilot of Evangelion Zerogoki. You may call me Zero."
Asuka smiled. It was a nice smile. "Nice to meet you, Zero! I'm Asuka Shikinami Langley, Pilot of Evangelion Niigoki. Call me Asuka!"
We shook.
So, that happened. And hey, Asuka learned that impulsive actions can have consequences! Zero is kind of too forgiving for her own good, though. Next Chapter Monday, but i'll try to squeeze in a Sidestory branch somewhere between this chapter and the next. Hopefully.
