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Divided By Zero [Evangelion Peggy Sue]

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6.0
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    6.0
    -----​

    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~!
     
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    • Gamerlord said:
    It's not funny. You've completely failed to show any hint that the two of them might be attracted to each other until now when they're suddenly attracted.
    Click to expand...
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    Bailey Matutine said:
    Sometimes it be like that. Shinji Ikari just happens to be a useless lesbian in this fic.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Gamerlord said:
    badly implemented author-fiat relationship =/= useless lesbian
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Zero suddenly has a bunch of human hormones she has no idea what to do with. Attractions come and go.

    Note that nowhere have I said that any relationship the two might or might not end up having would last.
     
    Not all relationships are built up over long periods of time. Zero is completely new to being a human, and could easily mistake any of a million emotions for love, up to and including lust. Rei is also a very inoffensive character, which see helps. I personally thought it was a fun little bit, and came reasonably put of nowhere. It's a flawed narrator - they weren't paying attention to any of the tells, they were busy trying to figure out how to human.
     
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    Sidestory: Familiar (00)
  • Apocrypha
    • 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!
     
  • Apocrypha
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    7.0
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    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!
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Alex Prior said:
    Of course it has. A For instance, a prominent japanese word for Zero is Rei.

    Anno, however, felt that keeping Unit-00 as Reigoki would have been a bit too on the nose, and so it's Zerogoki.
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    You know, in retrospect, this should have made it obvious that it was Rei I in there instead of Naoko, but oh well.
     
    Last edited:
    Alex Prior said:
    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.
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    This part seems like it wants to be a scene. Glossing over it like that broke the immersion for me. If you're going to include it, why do it like that? The entire first half of the chapter felt kind of like this, actually, which is a shame since it really is quite amusing overall.
     
    This fic is bizarre, but I'm liking it so far. Still rather confused though.

    Also, if Zero's nightmare wasn't a reference to September, I'll eat my hat. I'd almost forgotten that song.
     
    Halbeard said:
    This part seems like it wants to be a scene. Glossing over it like that broke the immersion for me. If you're going to include it, why do it like that? The entire first half of the chapter felt kind of like this, actually, which is a shame since it really is quite amusing overall.
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    I wanted to make it into a scene, but it didn't want to be written. Took five rewrites and a ton of just staring blankly at the screen before i said fuck it and put it in like that.
     
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