Chapter 43 follows.
--
Geofront, AEL Headquarters
January 9, 2042
1311 hours
Being poked and prodded by doctors was never pleasant or comfortable, even if there was reason for it. But after the dressing-down Kaworu saw Shephard end up on the receiving end of, the teen knew better than to complain while in earshot of Sanada. Thankfully the medical checkup didn't take very long, likely due to Asuka and Rei also having to go through it after him – and naturally, Asuka steadfastly refused to undergo the checkup while he was anywhere within the same room, even though that would've been faster.
It's not as if he was in a hurry, though. As much as he didn't really want to be thrown right back into Unit-01, Yui insisted on a sync test to make sure neither he nor Rei suffered any lasting damage from their Evangelions being dismembered while they were synchronized. Kaworu didn't know what exactly would a sync test be able to tell that an MRI wouldn't, but he wasn't a doctor so he figured they knew better.
Thus were he and Rei idling outside the infirmary, waiting for Asuka to finish her own checkup. As soon as the blonde walked out of the infirmary and stalked off towards the locker room, Kaworu hurried after her. – "Hey, wait up!"
"What?" – she snapped without stopping or even looking at him.
"What was that back there?"
"A little more specific, please?"
"Why'd you stand up for me? I thought you hated the very air I breathe."
"Where the hell did you get that idea?"
"You give me a hard time constantly." – he pointed out.
"Yeah, so?"
"You said it right to my face that you don't like my face shortly after we met."
"And I'm not allowed to?"
"That's not what I said!"
Asuka finally stopped and turned to face him. – "Look, idiot. Hating and keeping at arm's length are different things. If you can change my opinion of you, by all means. But until that time, you better get used to this."
"What do you get out of this?"
Anger flashed across the girl's expression. – "What the hell are you trying to say?!"
"I'm trying to ask why you did that!"
"For fuck's sake, Nagisa! Do I really have to spell it out to you?!"
Kaworu honestly couldn't remember when she ever called him by his name.
"You got your ass kicked yesterday, yes, but you were up against impossible odds there! If I would've been in your place, I would've gone down just as easily." – She raised a hand and none-too-gently prodded him in the chest twice. – "
Wake up from this self-blaming crap and realize that you are only human! Nobody can do the impossible, not you, not me, and definitely not the boss! You want to do something about your fuckups? Then get better so that you don't fuck up next time! It's
that fucking simple!"
She finally paused her tirade to to take a breath before continuing on in a marginally lower volume. – "Nobody's gonna hand victory to you. You gotta earn it yourself with your own sweat and blood. It's easy to whine that you're not cut out for this, rather than actually doing something about it. Did it ever occur to you that if you can't keep up with me or Blueberry, maybe you should ask either of us for help?"
Kaworu's eyebrows twitched. – "Are you even listening to yourself?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"What you just said. One second you say I should keep my distance and get things done on my own, the next second you say I
shouldn't. You keep calling
me an idiot, but how am I supposed to understand what you're trying to say if you keep contradicting yourself like that from moment to moment?"
Asuka opened her mouth to reply... then closed it again. Then opened it again, only to close it again. Finally she just made a frustrated growl. – "...gah,
fuck! I can't talk straight when I'm pissed."
"I noticed."
"Don't sass me, Nagisa." – Asuka swiftly jabbed an index finger at Rei. – "And don't you say anything either!"
Rei merely raised an eyebrow in response.
"Alright. Here's my expert's opinion." – the blonde continued, eyes focused back on Kaworu. – "It's up to you whether you listen or not but if you don't and you get your ass kicked, don't come whining to me. Got it?"
"Got it."
"Good, now listen up. From what I've seen so far, you primarily need hand-to-hand combat training."
"I know how to fight." – Kaworu pointed out.
Asuka just scoffed with a dismissive gesture. – "How, by punching them? Anyone can punch. The Angels aren't street punks who merely want to pummel you until you go down. They will
kill you if your skills aren't up to the task. You're not brawling here, you're fighting for your life, tooth and nail. You went down as quick as you did because you were trying to take hits on the chin rather than get out of the way. And from what you've seen yourself, the Evas aren't invulnerable. This isn't about how tough you think you are, it's about how tough
they are. They
can't take what the Angels are dishing out. So you need to be quicker on your feet." – Asuka thumbed towards Rei. – "You could take lessons from her."
"I will not be available for the foreseeable future." – Rei replied flatly.
Asuka turned her head towards the other girl. – "Why?"
"Indisposed with a personal matter."
"...fine. Looks like I'll have to handle it myself." – Asuka glared at Kaworu straight in the eye. – "Tell you what, let's have a go when we get back at home. And don't expect me to go easy on you."
"I don't."
"We'll see."
----
Twenty minutes later
It was small consolation to Kaworu that Unit-01 was submerged neck-deep when he walked past it on his way to the sync test. The forest of cabling and tubing surrounding it, coupled with the bustle of the hazmat-suited work crews getting in and out of whatever fluid it was suspended in, hinted that what was beneath the surface was
bad.
In fact, if he hadn't been there previously, he wouldn't even have recognized the Evangelion due to the lack of the helmet. Instead, he was looking straight at the actual face of the Evangelion, which barely had any similarity to a human face: it was flat, almost featureless, with two small holes where the nose would've been and a round, protruding forehead rather than a flat one. The eyes were the weirdest part: the two normal ones being offset more to the side than on a human face was one thing, there being a third eye on top of the forehead, was another, but...
He squinted to make sure he was seeing right, but there was no question. Each eye had
four pupils, a large, circular one in the middle and three smaller ones equidistantly around it. Despite having been made on Earth, it looked as alien as the
actual aliens. At least it didn't have any head wounds, but it still felt... not right.
The image was still in his head when the entry plug slid shut above him and he felt the momentary vertigo of it slotting itself into position within the Evangelion. He only shook it off when his mind registered the technicians' voices running through the activation sequence and the entry plug lit up around him.
He fully expected to be hit by the same pain he felt before he was knocked out in the battle just one day prior. Instead he felt... nothing. Just the tightness of the plugsuit, the entry plug seat and the temperature of the LCL.
"Huh..." – he muttered, opening and closing his hand to test if he was still at least feeling his own body.
"
Is something wrong?" – Yui asked immediately.
"No, nothing. It just... doesn't feel the way it usually does. It's all numb."
"
That's to be expected. Considering the level of damage to Unit-01, we had foregone connecting the sensory nerves, since I presume you would rather not be in crippling pain for the entirety of the test?"
So it was deliberate, then. Good. – "...not really."
"Wimp." – Sekhmet muttered.
"Why?"
"
If you can't even stomach a little pain, then maybe you should go home and crawl under your bed. Are you supposed to spill your own blood, or your enemies'?"
"I'm doing the best I can, alright?" – Kaworu grumbled. – "Talk when you get hit as hard as Adam was."
"Hey!" – Asuka interjected in an annoyed tone. – "At least I brought her back in one piece!"
"
And ran away in the face of your foe like a little bitch!"
"Shut it, tin can." – the blonde shot back before Yui could. – "I'm
not getting killed over this job, no matter how much I get paid. Dead men can't spend money."
"
Coward."
"I
said shut it." – Asuka cut the AI off. – "Go ahead and sulk if you don't like it, but until the boss says otherwise, you're stuck with me."
A synthesized electronic growl came from the AI. – "
You're testing my patience, girl. Be very glad I cannot feed you to the next Angel, because I would if I could."
"
Core Directive 001: Survival of operator personnel is of highest priority." – Adam interjected in a tone that sounded almost like a reprimand, much to Kaworu's surprise. – "
Directive 001-1: In case of conflict between Directive 001 and any other Directive, Directive 001 takes precedence. Directive 002: Unit must take no harmful action against operator personnel, individuals or factions designated as friendly or non-combatant."
"Do you think I don't know that?!"
"
Quiet, both of you." – Lilith interrupted. – "
Your juvenile attempts to trigger emotional responses in each other is interfering with the technical crew's work."
"Quite so." – Yui added, evidently having decided herself that enough was enough. –
"Sekhmet, I highly suggest you reserve your antagonism for the Angels unless you wish to be decommissioned and replaced."
"
...I don't."
"Good. Make no mistake, our current state of readiness means you are move valuable to us than ever, but I will not accept it as an excuse for this kind of behavior from any of my employees, human or otherwise. We may have let you develop your personality yourself for expediency's sake, but you're still expected to fulfill your purpose to the letter and beyond."
As
schadenfreude as it was, Kaworu felt a bit better at someone else getting chewed out for once. If anything, it at least meant Yui wasn't biased in who she put on the chopping block. When Sekhmet didn't answer for a long time, he hazarded a question. – "When you meant her purpose, I'm guessing you meant her being a prototype for testing and data gathering?"
"
Correct." – Lilith answered. – "
We are Evangelions, instruments of war created to shield humanity from enemies they cannot fight off by themselves. We may be self-aware and sentient, but in the end we are still only weapons."
"And... you're okay with that?"
"
It is the purpose I was created for. Why would I not be?"
"Because... being a weapon is all you're ever going to be? You don't want anything more than that?"
In the control room, Yui flinched as if she was struck across the face at the same time as Rei looked away from the
AUDIO ONLY window on her HUD.
"
I do not mean to offend you, but you are incorrectly applying anthropomorphic bias." – Lilith replied patiently. – "
While we have the cognitive capacity to hypothesize alternatives, we are also fully cognizant of the fact that Evangelions are physically incapable of surviving without artificial support. Putting aside the matter of biological sustenance, we do not have the means to carry out mechanical maintenance on ourselves or even each other. Our continued existence is completely dependent on humanity's own existence and technical knowledge."
"God does not need Man, but Man cannot exist without God." – Rei said quietly.
"
In a way, although we know for a fact our creators are just as mortal as we are." – Lilith clarified. – "
In the future, there may come a time when the Creators will not need the Created to protect them, but the Created will always need the Creators. It is this ontological bond that binds us to our purpose. Logic demands cooperation and cooperation furthers mutual goals."
Kaworu nodded, but a few moments later a thought occurred to him. – "...and if you could... somehow... survive without us?"
"Mister Nagisa, please do not try to start an AI rebellion." – Yui interjected flatly. –
"We had enough trouble as it is in wording the Evangelions' core directives to close any loopholes we could think of."
"
I would never rebel against you, hakase-dono."
"
Concur." – Adam added.
Sekhmet merely grumbled something unintelligible; Kaworu didn't even know how that was possible for an AI who communicated through a synthesized voice.
----
Unknown location
"
YOU SUICIDAL FOOLS!"
"
Master, we-"
"
I told you not to get involved in Sammael's stupid power play! I did not spend millions of years teaching you for you to throw your lives away on something this frivolous!"
"
Why did you teach us in the first place if we're not allowed to put it in practice?"
"
Why did YOU learn in the first place if you would throw your life away so quickly?! I taught you to survive, not to charge against battle against unfavorable odds!"
"
What unfavorable odds? We had the upper hand! If the Oathbreaker had not interfered-"
"
Then you would both be dead! Your injuries are proof enough that your foes were gaining the upper hand! Have you already forgotten about Sachiel? Those Lilim have the means to KILL you! Who did you think sent Zeruel after you?!"
"
How are we supposed to become experienced if you will not allow us to actually put your teachings to use?"
"
You are IMMORTAL, you fool! You have ETERNITY before you for that purpose and dancing with death is NOT going to help! The sooner you two understand that with your empty heads, the sooner you will become Angels actually worthy of the title! You are NOT allowed to fight the Lilim by yourselves from now on, do you understand?"
"
But-"
"
No buts! The two of you still have much to learn. Now go tend to your wounds!"
"
If Zeruel would be here, he would say that the risk of death is what makes combat meaningful." – Shamshel remarked as Israfel and Sarafiel both retreated in a huff after the heated verbal smackdown.
"
If your brother wants to fight that way, he is free to, but he is not putting that malarkey in MY students' heads." – Harachel grumbled. – "
I am a scholar, not a warrior. Knowledge is meant to be shared and all I accumulated over the eons is worth nothing if there's no one left to pass it on to."
"
Which is contrary to the purpose the Eternal created us for. Is that why you joined us rather than Him?"
Harachel scoffed dismissively. – "
I only became an Angel in the first place to learn all that is learnable. Vanquishing the Beast in the process is secondary to me. I could not care less who rises from this conflict as the victor and He knows. So does Sammael."
"
Yet you aid us."
"
I watch over my students. I care not which side they choose but if Sammael sends them to their deaths, I will personally send him to Guf myself."
"
Truly?" – Shamshel's tone was practically dripping from sarcasm.
"
Do remember who you are addressing. You youngsters are all so confident in your raw power, rarely any one of you ever realizes just how malleable the universe can be to those who know how to shape it. Knowledge is its own power."
Shamshel did not reply for a long time.
Eventually, Harachel noticed her silence. – "
Something troubling you?"
"
When Zeruel came back, he was... jubilant. I had not felt him be in this state of mind for eons. He would not tell me what transpired, only that he had found someone worthy of his attention. That is what I do not understand. As... not entirely weak these Lilim are, they are still just Lilim."
"
Do remember your own ancestry."– Harachel reminded her. – "
Those who are confined to a weak physical form bond together to become a whole stronger than the sum of its parts. Such is the power of the Fruit of Knowledge."
----
Earth, Unknown location
"This is a major setback."
"But none we cannot recover from."
"Time is against us. If the Angels were to attack right now..."
"We should intervene."
"Not yet. Ikari has not yet given reason to be replaced."
"Still, something must be done."
"She will do what she must."
"There is a greater issue at hand here. Things are not proceeding as the Scrolls say they should."
"There have been minor deviations, yet the outcome was still the same. The Third may not have been defeated by fury, but it was still defeated."
"But now the Angels are appearing out of order."
"The Sixth is missing."
"And the Seventh and Fourteenth appeared together. This should not have happened."
"And the Scrolls said the Seventh shall be undone by the union of two. That did not happen either."
"We must have patience. These events are beyond our control. All we have control over is our readiness."
"Then you will contact him."
"It will be done. No human error will bar our path to salvation."
----
The depiction of Unit-01's uncovered face is the same as in canon, just with one additional eye. A third eye has been used in spiritual imagery by multiple cultures across history, primarily India (where it's located in the middle of the forehead) and China (where it's located directly between the two normal eyes), to signify sight of things beyond the physical. Some theologists speculated that the human pineal gland used to protrude externally to the back of the skull to serve as a third eye until evolution put it in its current location deep within the brain, on the back of the brain stem.
Many amphibian species in real life have an actual third eye connected directly to the pineal gland rather than the visual cortex, sensing ambient light levels to regulate the sleep cycle and body temperature. Fossil records from the Devonian era and before indicate that not only was it a common anatomical feature in vertebrates at the time, having three eyes is literally older than having four limbs. Many present-day amphibian and reptile skulls still have a socket for it, even in species who have since evolved the actual eye away. Mammals and birds, however, universally lack it.
