The Ikari Revelation Project
AnantaAtman
I wandered, I watched, I judged
- Pronouns
- She/Her
SKILLS
[X][EVA] AT BOOST
- PREREQ: AT CORE
- Cost: 1 EVA
- After leaving the Eva for the first time, you swear that your hand sparked when it touched the doorknob? What is this?
[X][EVA] AT BOOST
- PREREQ: AT CORE
- Cost: 1 EVA
- After leaving the Eva for the first time, you swear that your hand sparked when it touched the doorknob? What is this?
- Pronouns
- They/Them/Their
Voting has been closed for a little while, but AT Core was a part of the winning plan.
End of Episode 1
Lunaryon
Dual Aurora Wave
- Pronouns
- She/Her
"I am well aware of the difficulties at play, Captain." Your father says, not quite growling, but you can tell he is frustrated all the same. "I would prefer to have more time, but for the time being so long as my daughter is capable of synchronizing with Unit 01 even a little, then the Dummy Plug system should be able to fend off this attack. If the angel retreats, we will have time to train, and time for Rei to recover."
Misato is quiet, staring up at Gendo in clear horror. "R-Ritsuko, you know that this is a terrible idea, right?"
"I do." Ritsuko's words are quiet, but her eyes are sharper than flint all the same. "But what other option do we have? The only other pilot we have is Rei."
Misato flinches at Ritsuko's words. You still aren't entirely sure who Rei is, but she seems to be the only other pilot, and from what they've said she's in no condition to do anything at the moment.
Which means that you are the only one that can do this.
And leaves you wondering if she's been injured since before your father called for you.
Because while there is a part of you that wants to refuse getting in that massive machine, you also know what kind of man your father is. If you refuse him here, then it wouldn't matter that this Rei girl is injured or anything else, he'd still call on her to pilot Unit 01.
So even if all of this terrifies you, you can't sit back and do nothing. But there is something more to all of this.
Staring at the towering mechanical head in front of you - this 'artificial human' - The Eva is a marvel of engineering on a scale that you struggle to wrap your head around. You're small enough that if the Eva had an actual jaw beneath the armor plating, it would be able to swallow you whole with ease, you wouldn't even be a real snack. That means that the rest of the machine has to be at least fifty meters tall, honestly it's likely more than that.
And while you can't say for certain, having only seen the angel from a terrifying distance, you'd bet that the Angel is of a similar size. An Anti-Angel Suppression Weapon has to be able to meet the thing that it is suppressing on equal footing after all.
But that towering monster was able to face down a weapon that wiped an entire town off the map and still kept moving. That is the most terrifying thing that you've ever heard of, and your father has given you only two choices.
You can sit back and do nothing, forcing another person to carry this burden and this terror, or you can get in the rob-
"Feh. It seems that I was wrong, expecting too much of her." Your father grumbles quietly. Enough so that you don't think that you were supposed to have heard that. "Fuyutsuki, contact the Medical Bay and inform-" Your father is dismissing you once again, even if he is showing you a little more respect for you and your choices.
"Once the Angel is repelled, Father, I want answers." You say as your glare snaps up to your father, locking eyes with him. If you were to be entirely honest, what you want more than anything is to demand answers before you make any kind of choice. Making an uninformed decision is a mistake, but with the Angel lumbering closer and closer with every passing moment there isn't a chance in the world that your father would answer anything. Even trying to ask right now would be wasted effort.
"We shall see, once you return." Your father says… And the worst part of all of this is that even with the bright light behind his head that covers much of his face in shadows, you can still see the smirk he wears.
Damn it! Did he actually mean for you to overhear him dismissing you and starting to call for Rei? Was he actually even calling on that injured girl, or was it all just part of his plan to manipulate you? Is all of this just you playing right into his hands?
You don't have the answers for that, and worse you don't that it doesn't even matter in the end. You have questions, and the only way for you to get the answers is to do this.
You want to know how such massive machines were built, and you want to know why. Here and now, as the Angel bears down on Tokyo you recognize what good fortune it is that the Evas are here, but nothing like this has ever happened before. So how did NERV know to build them?
But there is one other question that you have, one that NERV is not likely to know the answer to. The most important of all of your questions.
What is it that the Angel wants?
Why is it coming here?
What makes it do the things that it does?
Then, something clicks in the back of your head, a realization that leaves you feeling almost a little giddy. You aren't going to be able to get any answers from your father, or anyone else for that matter, while the angel is bearing down on the Geofront.
But there is someone, or rather something that can answer those last three questions better than NERV ever could.
That is the Angel itself.
The Angel that you are going to be approaching in a weapon of a similar size and scope to the Angel itself.
…The Angel that isn't from Earth. Which means that it is an alien.
You barely notice the way that Miss Misato seems to slump down when you agree to your father's insane plan, or the way that Miss Ritsuko nods, looking up at your father.
You are going to have the chance to meet with an Alien.
This is the thing that you've wanted for so, so long.
"Ritsuko, begin preparing the newest Child for launch." Your father's words intrude into your thoughts, and you blink as you realize that you can hear the capitalization on that word. 'Child'. Ritsuko referred to you as one of the Third Children. But before you even have a chance to try and ask what that might mean, you look to the window over the Eva's head, and your father is gone.
Of course he is.
"Come along Shinji." Ritsuko calls as she starts to head over towards a door to one side of the massive room. "There are things that you need to know about operating the Evangelion."
With one last glare up towards the now empty window, you turn to follow after the doctor. Before you have a chance to take a step, a heavy series of THUNKS echo out through the room, and with a shudder the ground starts to rise. The entire room is moving as you hear the roar of rushing water, and the bloody liquids surrounding Unit 01's neck starts to drain.
The entire room is lifting up as the water pours out through holes lower down along the walls. Stumbling, you barely manage to keep to your feet before chasing after Miss Ritsuko.
"You mentioned the Third Children when you first met me." You start as you match Miss Ritsuko's steps, Miss Misato hurrying to catch up behind you. "What did you mean by that?"
"There are five ranks of Children, according to the GoE project." Miss Ritsuko starts to explain. "Ranging from the Fourth Children, like myself and your father, who have less than zero aptitude and capability to pilot the Evangelions. If we were to attempt to pilot any of the units, it would not just simply refuse to function, but the Evangelion would actively reject our presence in the Entry Plug. It is likely that we would not survive such a rejection."
That… Only raises further questions that you aren't entirely sure how to put into words.
"Following that are individuals like yourself, and Misato here." Ritsuko says, a small smirk crossing her face when Misato nearly stumbles at those words.
"W-wait. What? I'm one of the Third Children as well?" Miss Misato asks, blinking in surprise.
"Something like two point five percent of the population are, yes." Ritsuko confirms. "The Third Children are those who have the potential to synchronize with any Evangelion through the proper training and with the correct mindset."
"Wait, does that mean that I would be able to replac-" Miss Misato starts to ask, before Ritsuko shakes her head.
"No. Well, technically, yes. However if you were to be piloting one of the Units that we have here, you would not be able to act as field commander. Your position, unless something changes, is here in the HQ. Not on the field."
"But if Shinji is just going to be relying on the Dummy Plug system anyways-" Misato tries to argue, only for Ritsuko to shake her head again.
"Given the conversation that you just saw, it is clear to me that the Commander wants Shinji to be promoted to be one of the First Children. Not let me finish my explanation." Ritsuko says, sounding a little frustrated, but this is all very interesting. The idea that Misato might be able to pilot one of the Evas never even crossed your mind, and more than that it seems that it didn't cross Miss Misato's either.
More than that, she's the field commander? Which if that means what you are starting to think it means, based on the descriptions of the other Children ranks, that you are likely to be working with Miss Misato more in the future.
"After that comes the Second Children, such as Hitomi Amagi who is stationed at NERV Alaska, Kotone Suzunami stationed at NERV Australia, and Rei Ayanami who is stationed here at NERV Central. You'll meet Rei sometime soon, and you should have a chance to contact the other Second Children in the coming days. The Second Children are designated back-up pilots, who have been trained to pilot the Evangelions but primarily work as support for the First Children."
Miss Misato is quiet for a moment, before nodding to herself. "If that is the case, then I should speak with the Commander about getting the proper training myself. If any of the Angels manage to penetrate through the Geofront, then having an additional Second Child might be worth having."
"You yourself noted that it took Rei months of training to activate her own unit. Do you really have time to be trying to achieve that, in addition to all your other work?" Ritsuko says, but there is a hint of a smile on her face despite that.
Glancing between the two, you go over the information that they've told you so far. "Which means that there are also the First Children, which is the rank that my father seems to be angling for me to reach, and then a… what? Zeroth Children?"
Misato chuckles, waving a hand as she shakes her head. "The Type Zero Children are only theoretical. There isn't any evidence that they can exist."
"There is some evidence,"Miss Ritsuko argues, but her tone seems to almost agree with her friend. "Depending on what you count as evidence, but you aren't wrong that there aren't any Type Zero candidates. The best way to describe them would require describing the First Children anyways. I've already implied that the First Children are the primary pilots of the Evas. Your father clearly wants you to become the First Child of our unit, the same as Asuka Sohryu of NERV Germany, Antal Ipatiev of NERV Russia, or Diego Acosta of NERV Central America. Of course, given the situation, you are likely to only receive a promotion to Second Child for the time being."
Miss Ritsuko pauses, for a moment, checking her pockets as she comes to a stop before one door. After a moment, she pulls out a black card, tapping it against a scanner next to the door. "The biggest difference between the Second Children and the First Children is skill. A Second Child is capable of interfacing with an Evangelion unit with a Synchronization rating of at least fifty percent more than two thirds of the time. However, a First Child must be capable of a Synch rating of sixty percent in at least eighty percent of their testing. Theoretically, a Type Zero Child would be capable of reaching one hundred percent Sync, one hundred percent of the time."
…Your father also mentioned Synching with the Eva.
"What do you mean by Syncing?" You ask, trying to get an idea for what it is that you are getting yourself involved with.
"Due to the sheer size of the Evas," Misato starts to say, "It simply wouldn't be possible to perfectly control the machine using any kind of ordinary interface. Controlling each limb alone would be an utter mess. Joysticks don't have the ability to handle things like twisting, and what would you do to bring your hands up to box?" Misato asks, dropping down into a half crouch and bringing her hands up to show what she means.
You can't even imagine how in the world something like that would be done with any kind of controller. Joysticks are limited to just the x and y axis, so the up and down would be real hard to handle. Twin sticks on a console controller have more buttons, but that just isn't intuitive either. You… You aren't sure how you'd control the Eva then.
Ritsuko chuckles, "That is why the Evangelions are controlled through thought, much the same as you control your own body. I had to work long and hard to create the systems that allow for this." Ritsuko says, and then she blinks. Pausing for a moment before huffing. "Which just reminds me. Unfortunately, we don't have enough time, so you are going to be working at something of a disadvantage right now."
That doesn't sound good.
"Thankfully, that shouldn't be too much of a problem, given the fact that we are going to be relying on the Dummy Plug system, but it is still an issue if we cannot get you to interface at all." Ritsuko continues to explain. "Had you managed to arrive before the Angel did, we would have time to create a Plugsuit for you, which would help overlay your own neural outputs onto Unit 01, making it far easier to Sync up with it. And frustratingly, the new third generation interface headsets aren't supposed to arrive until tomorrow. We do have a few of the older generation headsets for the time being, but they do not give as good a connection as the older ones."
Miss Misato huffs, but after a moment she shrugs. "It is what it is, though, right?"
And honestly, you are still trying to wrap your head around the idea of controlling the machine with your thoughts, let alone without all the benefits that you could possibly have… So you don't say anything.
Ritsuka just rolls her eyes, "And this is why I think you trying to become a Second Child is a waste of time."
"Hey!"
That is enough to draw something of a giggle out of you, and almost immediately, both women seem to relax a little.
After that, Ritsuko goes further into the core details of how you are going to control the Evangelion with your thoughts, while Misato hurries into another room, coming back with a hair band that has a pair of triangular machines set into them.
Once Ritsuko explains the most important parts of how to pilot the Eva - Or, at the very least, what all it will take for you to successfully interface with the machine enough so that the Eva comes online, and the dummy plug system can be initiated, the two lead you into another room, where a massive pod that looks almost like a pill rests. The top end of the pill pulls back and away from the bottom, splitting open to reveal a long, thin seat.
All together the seat barely looks like it has enough room for a person in there, with your legs sticking down into the lower half of the mechanism, and your head practically sticking into a metal hood. Thank god that you aren't claustrophobic, or this would be an entirely new problem.
Ritsuko explains how to get into the seat as Misato helps you down. Together, the two of them are more than enough to get yourself in place, and then you are left in the dark, dull red light of the interior as they seal the Entry plug back up.
For a moment, you are left wondering if you might actually get eaten by the Eva, since the whole thing does look like a pill, but that's silly.
You are getting ready to ride in a machine, not a living creature.
As you start to worry about that, you feel a shudder as the entire Entry plug jolts forwards, and then starts to lift upwards. Again, those stupid thoughts pop up, but you can hear chatter over the radio built into your seat that calms you down.
"Shut down signal plug status: Spinal Extraction complete." A new voice that you've never heard before says. It's a girl's voice, calm and ready like she's done this a thousand times before. "Dummy Plug secondary systems green. Preparing for Entry Plug Spinal Insertion."
Again, you find yourself really wishing that they wouldn't use the terms that they are using. Spinal again makes this sound more like a creature than a machine, and that is just a little weird. Of course, ships and books and plenty of other things have spines, but those things don't have faces.
"Final conduit connection ready." Another new voice. This one a guy calls out. "Plug insertion complete. Entry locked, and initializing Level One connection."
And then comes a series of words that actually worries you.
Something that you were very much not warned about.
"Flooding Entry Plug."
By the time that you parse the words, there is already an off red liquid that has risen up past your knees, and pushing higher still. The liquid is warm, and what air you have left you can smell the slightly coppery tinge to it. Without any idea of what is happening, you do what comes naturally - You take a deep breath, screwing your eyes shut and hoping that whatever is happening ends soon.
Before you drown.
The liquid rises higher, covering your face and filling the whole of the plug. But despite the fact that you are completely submerged, you manage to hear Miss Ritsuko's words loud and clear.
"Relax Shinji, and allow the LCL to completely fill your lungs. It's hyperoxygenated, and it will feed oxygen directly into your bloodstream. It's a bit weird, but you'll get used to it in no time."
You hesitate for a moment, because if Ritsuko is lying, then you are about to kill yourself…
But Miss Ritsuko and Miss Misato have been nothing but straightforward with you so far, and with your lungs already aching, you let the air go free. The bubbles rise up around your face as you try and take a breath in. It feels all sorts of wrong to have water go down into your lungs, but it doesn't hurt the way that you thought it would. Instead, your chest just feels heavy.
"Oh… That feels real weird." You mutter, before blinking as you realize both that your eyes aren't getting dry anymore, but more importantly you can hear yourself speak. You take a few more breaths, both making sure that you aren't drowning, but also to try and get a feel for the difference.
The… LCL takes just as coppery as it smells, but if you are going to be honest, that isn't the worst flavor that you've ever tasted. Raising a hand up, you swipe your hand back and forth, trying to get a feel for the resistance that the liquid has. It is definitely thinner and easier to move through than water, but it is thicker than air too. And it makes everything orange.
"Energy Umbilical attached." More new voices. Probably different technicians working on setting the Eva up so that you can head to the surface.
"Feeding power to all circuits."
"Initiating Level 2 Contact."
All at once, the LCL glimmers and sparkles as it somehow shifts, becoming completely clear. You can still feel the wet on your body, and the way that you have to fight to move through it, but you can't see it at all anymore. Which might just be a trick of the brighter lights that are working now.
"System A10 connection status: Green! Setting Linguistic defaults for cognitive connection. Initial contact returns are green across the board. Activating Bilateral Mental Circuit!" As the words chatter on in your ear, the view in front of you changes, the walls of the entry plug flashing with light and color before eventually settling such that you can see a massive hanger.
View: https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxWH5YXIGPHspexG9SPFWcLDXxaTN-EBYx?si=PsIzs7EKVuGjoDBZ
There is no video of this on it's own. Just the first 17 seconds.
"Synchronization rating at ten percent, twenty, forty? Sync rating continuing to climb!" You hear the words from the other side of the communicator, "Sync rating at fifty-eight percent, fifty-nine. Sixty percent rating."
You hear a gasp before Ritsuko mutters out, just barely loud enough for you to hear. "That's amazing!"
"Sixty-one, sixty-two percent and stabilizing. Didn't you say that he's not wearing a Plugsuit?" The voice asks, incredulously.
Then another voice chimes in, "Harmonic readings are all green. Feedback is negligible."
Finally, after all the repeated voices chiming in from where you can't see, a glimmering holographic window seems to pop out of nowhere, with only the faintest realization that it has to be on the side of the plug making it make any sense to you. Misato is there, arms crossed and a worried frown on her face.
"Shinji, everything is ready. Just sit back and let the dummy system do its job once you are finished launching. You can do this."
"Yes ma'am." You call back, before Misato cracks a slight smile.
"You only call me Ma'am while we're on the clock, you hear me. I don't want to be looking about for my mother once you're back, safe and sound. So this is your only order as your superior officer. Shinji. Come back alive."
And just like that, the floor that you are on starts to rise again, this time much faster, even as more chatter talks about releasing restraints and removing locks.
"Of course, Ma'am. I'm not dying yet."
With one last nod, Misato turns back and you realize that there is someone behind her in the shadows, sitting higher up than all the other members of the strange command center that she is in.
"All systems green, director. Do we have a go?"
"Absolutely, Captain." Your father says, and once more you lock eyes with him, even if only for a moment before the world rockets down and you are forced to brace yourself as Eva Unit 01 seems to almost fly up along the launch tube.
All at once, the bright lights of the launch tube disappear as you are thrust into the dark of night. The city surrounds you, but all of that pales in comparison to the figure that turns to face you, just a few dozen blocks away.
The creature's eyes glimmer in the dark. Right.
You've done your part, all you have to do now is wait for the Dummy system to-
Red lights blare as error messages flash up across all sides of your screen and a warbling alarm starts to go off. The sound is deafeningly loud, and with a screen you bring your hands up to your ears, trying to stop the noise, even as you feel everything shudder a second time. Eyes screwed tight you barely manage to hold on for the long moment before the sound fades and the messages start to disappear. All of it was too fast, too bright, too loud. You don't know what the messages said.
But you manage to get the general idea, as you hear the panicked confusion from the command center.
The Dummy System refused to initialize.
The machine that was supposed to take over and handle all of this for you isn't working.
Now you are on your own, in a towering machine against an alien intelligence the likes of which you've never seen before.
For all that you are terrified, at the same time you remember the one order that you've been given.
You aren't going to die here.
You refuse.
You are going to live!
Next time!
A Towering Titan vs the Apostle that bears the name of an Angel
Absolute Terror? Delusions?
Sachiel vs Unit 01, FIGHT!
Misato is quiet, staring up at Gendo in clear horror. "R-Ritsuko, you know that this is a terrible idea, right?"
"I do." Ritsuko's words are quiet, but her eyes are sharper than flint all the same. "But what other option do we have? The only other pilot we have is Rei."
[X] Wait… This means-
[X][EVA] Plan: AT Field Specialist
- [x]Piloting: SYNC RATE Bonus 3
- [x] Core: AT CORE
- [x] Skills
--[x] Twitch Muscles 1
--[x] AT Edge
--[x] AT BOOST
[X][EVA] Plan: AT Field Specialist
- [x]Piloting: SYNC RATE Bonus 3
- [x] Core: AT CORE
- [x] Skills
--[x] Twitch Muscles 1
--[x] AT Edge
--[x] AT BOOST
Misato flinches at Ritsuko's words. You still aren't entirely sure who Rei is, but she seems to be the only other pilot, and from what they've said she's in no condition to do anything at the moment.
Which means that you are the only one that can do this.
And leaves you wondering if she's been injured since before your father called for you.
Because while there is a part of you that wants to refuse getting in that massive machine, you also know what kind of man your father is. If you refuse him here, then it wouldn't matter that this Rei girl is injured or anything else, he'd still call on her to pilot Unit 01.
So even if all of this terrifies you, you can't sit back and do nothing. But there is something more to all of this.
Staring at the towering mechanical head in front of you - this 'artificial human' - The Eva is a marvel of engineering on a scale that you struggle to wrap your head around. You're small enough that if the Eva had an actual jaw beneath the armor plating, it would be able to swallow you whole with ease, you wouldn't even be a real snack. That means that the rest of the machine has to be at least fifty meters tall, honestly it's likely more than that.
And while you can't say for certain, having only seen the angel from a terrifying distance, you'd bet that the Angel is of a similar size. An Anti-Angel Suppression Weapon has to be able to meet the thing that it is suppressing on equal footing after all.
But that towering monster was able to face down a weapon that wiped an entire town off the map and still kept moving. That is the most terrifying thing that you've ever heard of, and your father has given you only two choices.
You can sit back and do nothing, forcing another person to carry this burden and this terror, or you can get in the rob-
"Feh. It seems that I was wrong, expecting too much of her." Your father grumbles quietly. Enough so that you don't think that you were supposed to have heard that. "Fuyutsuki, contact the Medical Bay and inform-" Your father is dismissing you once again, even if he is showing you a little more respect for you and your choices.
"Once the Angel is repelled, Father, I want answers." You say as your glare snaps up to your father, locking eyes with him. If you were to be entirely honest, what you want more than anything is to demand answers before you make any kind of choice. Making an uninformed decision is a mistake, but with the Angel lumbering closer and closer with every passing moment there isn't a chance in the world that your father would answer anything. Even trying to ask right now would be wasted effort.
"We shall see, once you return." Your father says… And the worst part of all of this is that even with the bright light behind his head that covers much of his face in shadows, you can still see the smirk he wears.
Damn it! Did he actually mean for you to overhear him dismissing you and starting to call for Rei? Was he actually even calling on that injured girl, or was it all just part of his plan to manipulate you? Is all of this just you playing right into his hands?
You don't have the answers for that, and worse you don't that it doesn't even matter in the end. You have questions, and the only way for you to get the answers is to do this.
You want to know how such massive machines were built, and you want to know why. Here and now, as the Angel bears down on Tokyo you recognize what good fortune it is that the Evas are here, but nothing like this has ever happened before. So how did NERV know to build them?
But there is one other question that you have, one that NERV is not likely to know the answer to. The most important of all of your questions.
What is it that the Angel wants?
Why is it coming here?
What makes it do the things that it does?
Then, something clicks in the back of your head, a realization that leaves you feeling almost a little giddy. You aren't going to be able to get any answers from your father, or anyone else for that matter, while the angel is bearing down on the Geofront.
But there is someone, or rather something that can answer those last three questions better than NERV ever could.
That is the Angel itself.
The Angel that you are going to be approaching in a weapon of a similar size and scope to the Angel itself.
…The Angel that isn't from Earth. Which means that it is an alien.
You barely notice the way that Miss Misato seems to slump down when you agree to your father's insane plan, or the way that Miss Ritsuko nods, looking up at your father.
You are going to have the chance to meet with an Alien.
This is the thing that you've wanted for so, so long.
"Ritsuko, begin preparing the newest Child for launch." Your father's words intrude into your thoughts, and you blink as you realize that you can hear the capitalization on that word. 'Child'. Ritsuko referred to you as one of the Third Children. But before you even have a chance to try and ask what that might mean, you look to the window over the Eva's head, and your father is gone.
Of course he is.
"Come along Shinji." Ritsuko calls as she starts to head over towards a door to one side of the massive room. "There are things that you need to know about operating the Evangelion."
With one last glare up towards the now empty window, you turn to follow after the doctor. Before you have a chance to take a step, a heavy series of THUNKS echo out through the room, and with a shudder the ground starts to rise. The entire room is moving as you hear the roar of rushing water, and the bloody liquids surrounding Unit 01's neck starts to drain.
The entire room is lifting up as the water pours out through holes lower down along the walls. Stumbling, you barely manage to keep to your feet before chasing after Miss Ritsuko.
"You mentioned the Third Children when you first met me." You start as you match Miss Ritsuko's steps, Miss Misato hurrying to catch up behind you. "What did you mean by that?"
"There are five ranks of Children, according to the GoE project." Miss Ritsuko starts to explain. "Ranging from the Fourth Children, like myself and your father, who have less than zero aptitude and capability to pilot the Evangelions. If we were to attempt to pilot any of the units, it would not just simply refuse to function, but the Evangelion would actively reject our presence in the Entry Plug. It is likely that we would not survive such a rejection."
That… Only raises further questions that you aren't entirely sure how to put into words.
"Following that are individuals like yourself, and Misato here." Ritsuko says, a small smirk crossing her face when Misato nearly stumbles at those words.
"W-wait. What? I'm one of the Third Children as well?" Miss Misato asks, blinking in surprise.
"Something like two point five percent of the population are, yes." Ritsuko confirms. "The Third Children are those who have the potential to synchronize with any Evangelion through the proper training and with the correct mindset."
"Wait, does that mean that I would be able to replac-" Miss Misato starts to ask, before Ritsuko shakes her head.
"No. Well, technically, yes. However if you were to be piloting one of the Units that we have here, you would not be able to act as field commander. Your position, unless something changes, is here in the HQ. Not on the field."
"But if Shinji is just going to be relying on the Dummy Plug system anyways-" Misato tries to argue, only for Ritsuko to shake her head again.
"Given the conversation that you just saw, it is clear to me that the Commander wants Shinji to be promoted to be one of the First Children. Not let me finish my explanation." Ritsuko says, sounding a little frustrated, but this is all very interesting. The idea that Misato might be able to pilot one of the Evas never even crossed your mind, and more than that it seems that it didn't cross Miss Misato's either.
More than that, she's the field commander? Which if that means what you are starting to think it means, based on the descriptions of the other Children ranks, that you are likely to be working with Miss Misato more in the future.
"After that comes the Second Children, such as Hitomi Amagi who is stationed at NERV Alaska, Kotone Suzunami stationed at NERV Australia, and Rei Ayanami who is stationed here at NERV Central. You'll meet Rei sometime soon, and you should have a chance to contact the other Second Children in the coming days. The Second Children are designated back-up pilots, who have been trained to pilot the Evangelions but primarily work as support for the First Children."
Miss Misato is quiet for a moment, before nodding to herself. "If that is the case, then I should speak with the Commander about getting the proper training myself. If any of the Angels manage to penetrate through the Geofront, then having an additional Second Child might be worth having."
"You yourself noted that it took Rei months of training to activate her own unit. Do you really have time to be trying to achieve that, in addition to all your other work?" Ritsuko says, but there is a hint of a smile on her face despite that.
Glancing between the two, you go over the information that they've told you so far. "Which means that there are also the First Children, which is the rank that my father seems to be angling for me to reach, and then a… what? Zeroth Children?"
Misato chuckles, waving a hand as she shakes her head. "The Type Zero Children are only theoretical. There isn't any evidence that they can exist."
"There is some evidence,"Miss Ritsuko argues, but her tone seems to almost agree with her friend. "Depending on what you count as evidence, but you aren't wrong that there aren't any Type Zero candidates. The best way to describe them would require describing the First Children anyways. I've already implied that the First Children are the primary pilots of the Evas. Your father clearly wants you to become the First Child of our unit, the same as Asuka Sohryu of NERV Germany, Antal Ipatiev of NERV Russia, or Diego Acosta of NERV Central America. Of course, given the situation, you are likely to only receive a promotion to Second Child for the time being."
Miss Ritsuko pauses, for a moment, checking her pockets as she comes to a stop before one door. After a moment, she pulls out a black card, tapping it against a scanner next to the door. "The biggest difference between the Second Children and the First Children is skill. A Second Child is capable of interfacing with an Evangelion unit with a Synchronization rating of at least fifty percent more than two thirds of the time. However, a First Child must be capable of a Synch rating of sixty percent in at least eighty percent of their testing. Theoretically, a Type Zero Child would be capable of reaching one hundred percent Sync, one hundred percent of the time."
…Your father also mentioned Synching with the Eva.
"What do you mean by Syncing?" You ask, trying to get an idea for what it is that you are getting yourself involved with.
"Due to the sheer size of the Evas," Misato starts to say, "It simply wouldn't be possible to perfectly control the machine using any kind of ordinary interface. Controlling each limb alone would be an utter mess. Joysticks don't have the ability to handle things like twisting, and what would you do to bring your hands up to box?" Misato asks, dropping down into a half crouch and bringing her hands up to show what she means.
You can't even imagine how in the world something like that would be done with any kind of controller. Joysticks are limited to just the x and y axis, so the up and down would be real hard to handle. Twin sticks on a console controller have more buttons, but that just isn't intuitive either. You… You aren't sure how you'd control the Eva then.
Ritsuko chuckles, "That is why the Evangelions are controlled through thought, much the same as you control your own body. I had to work long and hard to create the systems that allow for this." Ritsuko says, and then she blinks. Pausing for a moment before huffing. "Which just reminds me. Unfortunately, we don't have enough time, so you are going to be working at something of a disadvantage right now."
That doesn't sound good.
"Thankfully, that shouldn't be too much of a problem, given the fact that we are going to be relying on the Dummy Plug system, but it is still an issue if we cannot get you to interface at all." Ritsuko continues to explain. "Had you managed to arrive before the Angel did, we would have time to create a Plugsuit for you, which would help overlay your own neural outputs onto Unit 01, making it far easier to Sync up with it. And frustratingly, the new third generation interface headsets aren't supposed to arrive until tomorrow. We do have a few of the older generation headsets for the time being, but they do not give as good a connection as the older ones."
Miss Misato huffs, but after a moment she shrugs. "It is what it is, though, right?"
And honestly, you are still trying to wrap your head around the idea of controlling the machine with your thoughts, let alone without all the benefits that you could possibly have… So you don't say anything.
Ritsuka just rolls her eyes, "And this is why I think you trying to become a Second Child is a waste of time."
"Hey!"
That is enough to draw something of a giggle out of you, and almost immediately, both women seem to relax a little.
After that, Ritsuko goes further into the core details of how you are going to control the Evangelion with your thoughts, while Misato hurries into another room, coming back with a hair band that has a pair of triangular machines set into them.
All together the seat barely looks like it has enough room for a person in there, with your legs sticking down into the lower half of the mechanism, and your head practically sticking into a metal hood. Thank god that you aren't claustrophobic, or this would be an entirely new problem.
Ritsuko explains how to get into the seat as Misato helps you down. Together, the two of them are more than enough to get yourself in place, and then you are left in the dark, dull red light of the interior as they seal the Entry plug back up.
For a moment, you are left wondering if you might actually get eaten by the Eva, since the whole thing does look like a pill, but that's silly.
You are getting ready to ride in a machine, not a living creature.
As you start to worry about that, you feel a shudder as the entire Entry plug jolts forwards, and then starts to lift upwards. Again, those stupid thoughts pop up, but you can hear chatter over the radio built into your seat that calms you down.
"Shut down signal plug status: Spinal Extraction complete." A new voice that you've never heard before says. It's a girl's voice, calm and ready like she's done this a thousand times before. "Dummy Plug secondary systems green. Preparing for Entry Plug Spinal Insertion."
Again, you find yourself really wishing that they wouldn't use the terms that they are using. Spinal again makes this sound more like a creature than a machine, and that is just a little weird. Of course, ships and books and plenty of other things have spines, but those things don't have faces.
"Final conduit connection ready." Another new voice. This one a guy calls out. "Plug insertion complete. Entry locked, and initializing Level One connection."
And then comes a series of words that actually worries you.
Something that you were very much not warned about.
"Flooding Entry Plug."
By the time that you parse the words, there is already an off red liquid that has risen up past your knees, and pushing higher still. The liquid is warm, and what air you have left you can smell the slightly coppery tinge to it. Without any idea of what is happening, you do what comes naturally - You take a deep breath, screwing your eyes shut and hoping that whatever is happening ends soon.
Before you drown.
The liquid rises higher, covering your face and filling the whole of the plug. But despite the fact that you are completely submerged, you manage to hear Miss Ritsuko's words loud and clear.
"Relax Shinji, and allow the LCL to completely fill your lungs. It's hyperoxygenated, and it will feed oxygen directly into your bloodstream. It's a bit weird, but you'll get used to it in no time."
You hesitate for a moment, because if Ritsuko is lying, then you are about to kill yourself…
But Miss Ritsuko and Miss Misato have been nothing but straightforward with you so far, and with your lungs already aching, you let the air go free. The bubbles rise up around your face as you try and take a breath in. It feels all sorts of wrong to have water go down into your lungs, but it doesn't hurt the way that you thought it would. Instead, your chest just feels heavy.
"Oh… That feels real weird." You mutter, before blinking as you realize both that your eyes aren't getting dry anymore, but more importantly you can hear yourself speak. You take a few more breaths, both making sure that you aren't drowning, but also to try and get a feel for the difference.
The… LCL takes just as coppery as it smells, but if you are going to be honest, that isn't the worst flavor that you've ever tasted. Raising a hand up, you swipe your hand back and forth, trying to get a feel for the resistance that the liquid has. It is definitely thinner and easier to move through than water, but it is thicker than air too. And it makes everything orange.
"Energy Umbilical attached." More new voices. Probably different technicians working on setting the Eva up so that you can head to the surface.
"Feeding power to all circuits."
"Initiating Level 2 Contact."
All at once, the LCL glimmers and sparkles as it somehow shifts, becoming completely clear. You can still feel the wet on your body, and the way that you have to fight to move through it, but you can't see it at all anymore. Which might just be a trick of the brighter lights that are working now.
"System A10 connection status: Green! Setting Linguistic defaults for cognitive connection. Initial contact returns are green across the board. Activating Bilateral Mental Circuit!" As the words chatter on in your ear, the view in front of you changes, the walls of the entry plug flashing with light and color before eventually settling such that you can see a massive hanger.
View: https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxWH5YXIGPHspexG9SPFWcLDXxaTN-EBYx?si=PsIzs7EKVuGjoDBZ
There is no video of this on it's own. Just the first 17 seconds.
"Synchronization rating at ten percent, twenty, forty? Sync rating continuing to climb!" You hear the words from the other side of the communicator, "Sync rating at fifty-eight percent, fifty-nine. Sixty percent rating."
You hear a gasp before Ritsuko mutters out, just barely loud enough for you to hear. "That's amazing!"
"Sixty-one, sixty-two percent and stabilizing. Didn't you say that he's not wearing a Plugsuit?" The voice asks, incredulously.
Then another voice chimes in, "Harmonic readings are all green. Feedback is negligible."
Finally, after all the repeated voices chiming in from where you can't see, a glimmering holographic window seems to pop out of nowhere, with only the faintest realization that it has to be on the side of the plug making it make any sense to you. Misato is there, arms crossed and a worried frown on her face.
"Shinji, everything is ready. Just sit back and let the dummy system do its job once you are finished launching. You can do this."
"Yes ma'am." You call back, before Misato cracks a slight smile.
"You only call me Ma'am while we're on the clock, you hear me. I don't want to be looking about for my mother once you're back, safe and sound. So this is your only order as your superior officer. Shinji. Come back alive."
And just like that, the floor that you are on starts to rise again, this time much faster, even as more chatter talks about releasing restraints and removing locks.
"Of course, Ma'am. I'm not dying yet."
With one last nod, Misato turns back and you realize that there is someone behind her in the shadows, sitting higher up than all the other members of the strange command center that she is in.
"All systems green, director. Do we have a go?"
"Absolutely, Captain." Your father says, and once more you lock eyes with him, even if only for a moment before the world rockets down and you are forced to brace yourself as Eva Unit 01 seems to almost fly up along the launch tube.
All at once, the bright lights of the launch tube disappear as you are thrust into the dark of night. The city surrounds you, but all of that pales in comparison to the figure that turns to face you, just a few dozen blocks away.
The creature's eyes glimmer in the dark. Right.
You've done your part, all you have to do now is wait for the Dummy system to-
Red lights blare as error messages flash up across all sides of your screen and a warbling alarm starts to go off. The sound is deafeningly loud, and with a screen you bring your hands up to your ears, trying to stop the noise, even as you feel everything shudder a second time. Eyes screwed tight you barely manage to hold on for the long moment before the sound fades and the messages start to disappear. All of it was too fast, too bright, too loud. You don't know what the messages said.
But you manage to get the general idea, as you hear the panicked confusion from the command center.
The Dummy System refused to initialize.
The machine that was supposed to take over and handle all of this for you isn't working.
Now you are on your own, in a towering machine against an alien intelligence the likes of which you've never seen before.
For all that you are terrified, at the same time you remember the one order that you've been given.
You aren't going to die here.
You refuse.
You are going to live!
Next time!
A Towering Titan vs the Apostle that bears the name of an Angel
Absolute Terror? Delusions?
Sachiel vs Unit 01, FIGHT!
Avangelion
Princess Astra
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Here we go Shinji, let's see what we can do while fighting for our lives XD
SaberFail
All Ideas. No Skills. a bit hungry
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Who's gonna tell her?
make her our co-pilot, we gon Gurren Lagaan this bitch!
Be ready to feel that often Shinji
BEHOLD!! a PROTAGONIST!!!
FictionPack
Monochromatic Ursine
- Location
- Tennessee
- Pronouns
- He/Him
First Child Rank achieved! ^-^
Also this person wasn't paying attention to the pronoun game.
And we should have a decent first showing in this fight because we passed the DC!
Avangelion
Princess Astra
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Oh- right
We- failed the attack roll, but passed the dodge roll, basically?
That what those rolls were before?
I see you already took a side. Personal preference or narrative reason?
FictionPack
Monochromatic Ursine
- Location
- Tennessee
- Pronouns
- He/Him
We passed both Striker and Dodge rolls.
a 1d10 + 13 Roll for Striker DC of 11
(uses Hit stat)
Rolled 2, 2+13=15 PASS
and a 1d10 + 10 for DODDDGGGEEE DC of 16
(uses Dodge stat)
Rolled 7, 7+10=17 PASS
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berani00
Hopeless Optimist
- Location
- The post-nuclear wasteland of Melbourne, Australia
- Pronouns
- He/She/They
I'm kinda convinced the good rolls we've gotten for this might have something to do with the EVA having an AT Newtype Core to work with. Let's see how far we can push against Sachiel with this.
- Location
- England
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Was that a in universe mistake or a mistype?
Lunaryon
Dual Aurora Wave
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Perhaps 'mistake' is a bit too harsh of a word, as multiple of these people have been working from the same paperwork that Misato was given, and they haven't had a chance to meet you at all yet. But yes, it is something that is happening in universe, and not just a typo
Draxsis
SANLOST
- Location
- United states
So either this is a typo, someone on the command crew hasn't gotten the message yet (which given the crisis situation is perfectly understandable) or we have someone who's deliberately being an a-hole. Shinji is a young lady now no matter what gender she was originally born as.
Edit: I see I'm not the only one who noticed. Still the point stands.
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FictionPack
Monochromatic Ursine
- Location
- Tennessee
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Can't wait to see the fight reactions.
Child with no training whatsoever gets First Child synchronization and manages to both hit the enemy and not be hit in turn and win.
Like it or not that's aprotagonist prodigy right there.
Child with no training whatsoever gets First Child synchronization and manages to both hit the enemy and not be hit in turn and win.
Like it or not that's a
GoukaRyuu
Shadow Cabal Made Man
- Location
- New Jersey
I just took it as only like three people in NERV have actually met Shinji at all and she's been there for less than an hour really. Hard for that info to make it throughout HQ given the time restraints and the crisis happening.
FictionPack
Monochromatic Ursine
- Location
- Tennessee
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Lunaryon
Dual Aurora Wave
- Pronouns
- She/Her
So that is one part me forgetting to update Shinji's sheet, and then using the incorrect Shinji sheet to update the Unit 01 sheet.
That -5 would have come from the 0 Morale that Shinji's sheet incorrectly had. So now both of those sheets are fixed.
Which leads to the actual reason why you have the 62 instead of the 65, which is the lack of a proper plugsuit.
It is essentially a small debuff that is only going to be an issue during this battle, and not any future ones.
That -5 would have come from the 0 Morale that Shinji's sheet incorrectly had. So now both of those sheets are fixed.
Which leads to the actual reason why you have the 62 instead of the 65, which is the lack of a proper plugsuit.
It is essentially a small debuff that is only going to be an issue during this battle, and not any future ones.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
For me, yeah pretty much. "Nth Child" is a category, and increasing numbers represent decreasing suitability for operating an Eva, with "First" meaning "we would actually want you to do this," "Second" meaning "ehhh, fine you can go," "Third" meaning "this is better than literally nothing," and "Fourth" meaning "lolnope."
Right?
The numbers and stuff are just details.
Honestly, I'd be kind of unpleasantly surprised if sync rates didn't fluctuate at least a little by sheer chance, anyway. See also the reference to "must reach 60% eighty percent of the time," with the clear implication that you could score 62 one day and 59 the next and it probably mostly depends on your mood.
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RadiantPhoenix
Trudging up the Hill
- Location
- USA, Earth
- Pronouns
- She/Her
As opposed to the old system, where it was an index number.
Rei is first because she was the first pilot, Asuka is second because she became a pilot after Rei, then came Shinji, and then...
Rei is first because she was the first pilot, Asuka is second because she became a pilot after Rei, then came Shinji, and then...
- Location
- Following The Apocalypse
Alright, you're a space nerd, you have definitely watched sci-fi. You've got a giant robot, a mind machine interface with said giant robot, and a target. You know what to do.
Look out into that uncaring void and declair that "We are Humanity, and we will not go quietly!"
Look out into that uncaring void and declair that "We are Humanity, and we will not go quietly!"
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