At NERV HQ, Shinji Ikari was quietly undergoing another scan with Dr. Ritsuko Akagi — something about 'determining baseline changes' and 'testing for Overdrive residuals' and 'comparing cognitive profiles now that he switched Personas' and whatnot — when he spoke his mind. "Dr. Akagi?" he asked, voice somewhat muffled by The Tube™.
"What is it?"
"...HEROD asked me another question this morning."
"I'd gotten pinged about that subroutine sending your phone another packet, but I hadn't had time to read the submission yet." After grumbling under her breath about PILATE, she asked, "What was the question?"
"What's the most important kind of love: platonic, familial, filial, or romantic?" He waited for her to respond. "...Dr. Akagi?"
"Sorry, I blanked out for a second. Did you imply that the MAGI asked you about
love?"
"...is that a problem?"
A somewhat deranged giggle slipped past the woman's lips, even as her expression simultaneously darkened from sheer disbelief. "Well, isn't
that amusing..."
"...Dr. Akagi?"
Despite repeated queries on his part, she did not answer; so Shinji settled for silence until his time in the scanner was over. There were apparently no abnormalities of note as far as his cognition and spiriology went...but that didn't stop him from wondering just
how the relationship between Ritsuko and her mother (even if all that was left of her mother was technically a triad of supercomputers) had gotten so bad. (Was it possible for anyone to have a parental relationship as strained as the one between him and his father...?)
The Beast chuckled in the dark.
Before he could ponder the subject any longer, he received a text.
K. Aida: Call me when you're available, okay?
As Shinji stepped out of NERV HQ's main lobby on the ground level, he promptly fulfilled Aida's request. "Kensuke?"
"
Finally free from the Doc, eh?"
"I guess...is something wrong?"
"
Nah, just wanted to find a spot to talk, and hash things out. Mind meeting me somewhere? If my calculations are right, I should make it there in less than thirty minutes."
"Where at?"
"
In the Metaverse...at the place where I faced my Shadow."
Shinji's eyes boggled.
Eh?!?
xxxx
/The Metaverse/
/Mount Hiru/
Approximately thirty kilometers north-northeast of Tokyo-3 was a familiar peak, capped with ashen snow: with the Rising Sun to the west and the void-stricken corpse of Old Tokyo to the east, the location evoked memories in Shinji that were quite young, but
felt very old.
It's been over two months since I last set foot here...it's felt much longer than that, he mused, idly watching as Hamlet warily patrolled the peak.
Still, fast-travel advantages of Evangelion aside, Shinji was honestly surprised when he saw Kensuke arrive with Ozymandias; both were held aloft by Koppa Tengu Archetypes, which seemed to have a familiar aura about them. When the mythical birdmen set them down, Shinji couldn't help but noticed the massive grin on Aida's face. "Success!"
"What was a success?"
"Through the power of
Marin Karin, Ozymandias and I arranged for quicker travel!" exclaimed Kensuke with glee. Turning towards the two Koppa Tengu, he said, "You two can take back off now. Whenever the Charm wears off, you'll just think the tiredness is because you did a nice, therapeutic workout. We cool?"
"
Cool," chorused the two bird-men as they soared into the sky, leaving them behind.
"...it would've been quicker if you let me bring you here," remarked Shinji.
"Yeah, but it would've defeated the point." The bespectacled teen stepped forwards the spot where his Shadow's Realm had once been; the expression on his face was one akin to marvel. "I might as well have been an entirely different person, back then...June the 14th. Hard to think it was just two-and-a-half months ago when I faced my Shadow, and awoke to Ozymandias."
"I was thinking the same thing," agreed Shinji, stepping closer to Kensuke's side. As the two looked at the distant ruin of Tokyo-1, the Third Child asked, "What did you want to see me for?"
"...had a big speech lined up in my head," said Kensuke, his face scrunching up with irritation. "That's irritating. Was going to talk about the mental health guy that my father made me see, at HQ. It was...interesting."
"How so?"
Kensuke shrugged, looking rather...light on his feet. He even
sounded lighthearted. "The questions didn't seem
too probing, but maybe it's because they thought I was handling things well. Or well enough. Found out his daughter and one of his friends were both A.T. Agents, so he has experience with the kind of dilemmas I felt when it came to Mom...after hanging with all of you for so long, I'd forgotten what it felt like to talk about her with someone who's practically a blank slate. But his experience with it...it really helped."
Shinji couldn't help but smile at the relief in his friend's voice. "Wow...it seems like therapy solved all your problems..."
"PFFT,
heck no. A friendly chat with a shrink isn't gonna do anything about our problems with fighting Angels or dealing with a threat that spans literal timelines," he joked.
"...oh. Right."
That seems fairly obvious in hindsight. "Then why...?"
"Why do I look so peppy?" guessed Kensuke. "I guess...me sharing stories of Mom, the therapist swapping with stories of his daughter and his friend...it reminded me of simpler times. Happier times. But...life isn't always gonna be simple, or happy."
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuI1M5ffRHM
Shinji wondered where Kensuke was going with this. "And then...?"
Kensuke held up his hand, revealing that he had been holding an old journal of sorts. "I...got into the habit of writing into this, after Mom passed. Just...to try and keep my head in order." Flipping through old pages, many of which were lined with old sketches and doodles, he added, "never told Toji about it, 'cause he'd just call it a 'diary' and give me grief."
"...aren't a diary and a journal the same thing?"
"You'd
think, but culture dictates otherwise!" he said with grandiose gestures. "All kidding aside...I was so obsessed with how heroic my mom was...that I wanted to
be like her. Even if I knew, deep down, that I couldn't." Briefly gazing at Ozymandias, the boy said, "I...I was learning to accept that I could be heroic as a bit character. As a support. It fit my strengths." In his other hand, he raised the crossbow that Shinji had forged in the Velvet Room not so long ago: the Naptime Bolter. "But over the summer vacation...I learned the hard way that just because I accepted my limits, it didn't mean I had to stay bound by them. I could still
grow. I could still change."
The boy seemed to be on a roll now, so Shinji was quite content to let him ramble. "And?"
"...and I think it really hit me, when I was going through all of the mementos my dad had kept...it became so much easier to remember Mom in all her pros and cons. 'Cause she wasn't perfect! She...wasn't the
greatest cook...and when she got too excited, she'd start rambling to the point it sounded like she slurred...and I think she was a
real big showoff, which probably explains why she didn't have a dedicated team of her own...but even with all that..." With a brief sniffle, Kensuke removed his glasses, running an arm across his eyes to remove the unshed tears. "...she
loved what she did. I think...I think that's what hit me, more than anything else, when I was growing up..." Stepping back, Kensuke held his arms out, as if inviting Shinji to observe. "...and, well...
now look at me."
"...do you love what you do, Kensuke? Being a part of...
all of this?" 'All' was carrying quite a lot of weight in that sentence.
Kensuke pondered the question, his eyes turning towards the red-and-black sky of the Metaverse, high above. "...it's been...kind of harrowing. And dangerous. But...compared to where I was at the beginning of June...where
else would I rather be?" Looking back down, Kensuke — with a friendly smile — said, "And a lot of it's thanks to you, you know that, right?"
Shinji dumbly pointed at himself. "Me?"
"Well,
you certainly aren't the same person who stepped into Tokyo-3 way back when; even though there's some parts of this life of ours you
really don't like, you've...well, you've stuck with it. And you've managed to become a pretty cool guy. If
you can manage that, despite everything that's been thrown your way...then what excuse do I have, to not try and do the same?"
(Inwardly, something began to tug, and pull.) "Kensuke...you don't have to measure yourself against me."
"Eh, I'm not being
that literal. It's just...well, it may not be the path I anticipated, but I still want to try and be a hero. To be the kind of example that Mom was for me...even if it's not in the same way. But I won't rest on my laurels, either! I'm not going to stop...because life's about moving forward...well, so long as I'm not moving towards a cliff, but you get my meaning!" Sighing explosively, the boy scratched at the back of his head nervously. "...I think I may have said everything I wanted to say. Maybe. It was a lot messier than how I was reciting it in my head."
Such heartfelt words, delivered with self-deprecating humor; it was so
Kensuke that Shinji couldn't help but chuckle. Just a bit. "Well...I hope that I continue to count on you, Kensuke."
"At this point you don't even need to ask." Kensuke reached out with his hand: an open invitation. "Until the end of the road, wherever it leads...I've got your back."
(New power was about to be born.) "...and I'll have yours," acknowledged Shinji, taking Kensuke's palm with a firm handshake.
xxxx
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwLbyPepUIA
And all the while, on a subconscious level, in words he had no way of knowing...a familiar voice spoke, within the depths of his being:
I am thou, thou art I...
Thy bond hast given birth to a new covenant.
Parting the seas of depravity,
thou hast entered a land flowing with milk and honey.
With the fullness of the Magician Arcana,
defend your Promised Land,
with all of thy heart, mind, soul, and body...
Within his mind's eye, a humanoid titan with a burning sword gazed from beyond the ether. "
If thou can summon me...the power of Surt will be yours to wield..."
xxxx
Before Shinji could say another word, there was a flicker of light in his field of vision. Both he and Kensuke gazed towards Ozymandias, who was...glowing. "Kensuke...?"
His friend was at a loss for words. "Uh...?"
As Hamlet warily stepped away, the masked pharaoh stared at his Other Self with...gladness. "
Thou hast finally acknowledged thy limits for what they are: stepping stones. Whether they are too high for thou to cross...is something only thou can decide." Blue fire overtook Ozymandias's form, as he swelled to a height similar to that of Hamlet or Gilgamesh.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRsoqlhv-HU&t=128s
"
Yet the adventure of life is always open to you," he said, speaking in a tone that was simultaneously more casual yet more confident, "
and yearning for the edge of the horizon, you have resolved to brave those perils, even if it be at the mercy of Fortune and Fate!" As the flames died down, they unveiled a lithe and wiry man with sunkissed skin, clad in pale blue trousers that bore old stains of seawater; his boots were made of hard and durable leather, and the golden vest upon his bare chest was tied down by a crimson sash wrapped around his waist several times over. A similarly covered turban covered his head, giving him a slight measure of austerity in appearance; however, it was countered by the tiny, face-fitting mask of gold and silver that barely covered the eyes, which gleamed a brilliant yellow as ever. Such was the minimalism of the eye mask that his facial expression — a joyous grin full of swagger, framed by dark facial hair fashioned into a slim mustache and goatee — was on full display. Resting the dull side of a scimitar on his bare shoulder, the Awakened Persona spoke with clarity and conviction. "
The same adventure may not be available to everyone...but anyone can find an adventure with their name on it. I, Sinbad, shall remind you of this truth...always..." Dispersing into azure flames, Kensuke's new Persona burst apart, rejoining with his Other Self.
Shinji's eyes were wide. "What the...?" As those flames died down, his eyes widened once more. "Kensuke...your clothes...!"
Looking down at himself, Kensuke was clearly shocked; gone was the outfit that had looked like a pale imitation of an A.T. Agent's, with parts that were ill-fit and not up to par; now, it fit his form well, as though it had been tailor-made to fit his frame. Even the half-cloak that was one of the distinctive characteristics of an A.T. Agent now hung from his shoulders. The sole differences were twofold: the blue bandana with a simple yet intricate pattern wrapped around his head, keeping his hair bound and away from his eyes...and the breastplate, which once bore the famous sigil of the Anti-Terror Task Force, now bore the kanji for 'Aida' in its place. "...oh.
Oh..."
"Do you know what just happened?" warily asked Shinji.
"...I think I just had an epiphany." It was a sign of his growth, or perhaps the nature of said epiphany, that Kensuke didn't freak out; he simply grinned, whispering, "
Sweet."
xxxx
/Magician
//now at
Max Rank
///Kensuke's also unlocked his Awakened Persona:
Sinbad the Sailor!
////and Shinji likewise unlocked the Ultimate Persona of the Magician Arcana
