Kyoko Soryu's morning/day/evening/night/something has been brightened by an arrival of a guest. An odd guest.
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Chapter 8., part 4.
Silence fell upon the cabin; Yui took a careful look around. "You didn't invite anyone, I assume?" she asked in a whisper after a moment of listening.
"I'm… not sure", Kyoko admitted, her voice at a similar volume. "I mean, I didn't, but… was there a way to close the door?"
"None I know", Yui shook her head. "So… intruder?"
"Or maybe just an uninvited guest", Kyoko countered. "I feel no… malice."
"Hm", Yui pondered. "What's the plan?"
"Greet the guest", Kyoko smiled a careful smile.
"How?" Yui tilted her head.
"Well, as my mother taught me… if you don't know how to behave, behave politely", Kyoko winked and stood up.
***
The door of the cabin opens.
Rei sees figures emerge.
Rei knows those figures. They chase Rei. But they apologize to Rei. They feed Rei. Rei remembers something about flowers Rei likes. One of them wearing flowers Rei likes on her wrist.
The figures move slowly. They smile.
And they have food. Food Rei likes.
Maybe those two don't want to kill Rei?
Rei tilts her head, almost imperceptibly.
Rei is interested in those two.
Rei thinks the proper term for those two is 'ladies'.
***
Kyoko was doing her best to contain her fear. Evangelions did not exactly have the 'lizard brain', making them fearless on the biological level – but her human soul, her human mind, her human reflexes were all there – and the current intrusion put her on a bit of an edge. The sight she saw as she opened the door did not help, either.
The girl looked about as much as she did inside Unit-01's mindscape – except this time, her dress was impeccable, her hands and face clean. And she was standing among the rising mist, her skin pale, her hands slack along her body, her head hung low, her red eyes looking at them without blinking. She was one detail away from looking like a book example of a
ghost.
Still, she was a guest – and while that guest's mental stability and integrity were somewhat questionable, Kyoko knew this was hardly a reason to avoid contact with her; it was actually one more reason to try to
help her. "I made some chocolate, do you want to try it?" she tried, as she fashioned a plate full of sweets in her hands.
The girl's head's tilt increased minimally in reaction to those words.
"You know she will not answer?" Yui chimed in, her voice low. "I don't think she even
can."
"No matter. Asuka barely said a word until she was two, and I always knew what she meant", Kyoko smirked. "Of course, afterwards, she couldn't keep silent…" she chuckled.
"And now, you know
exactly what she means?" Yui asked with amusement and doubt, her voice still a whisper.
"When she thinks it loud enough, yes", Kyoko replied the same way. "I don't dig through Asuka's mind, you know."
"Of course", Yui agreed, not entirely convinced. "She isn't interested", she commented the blue-haired girl's lack of movement.
"She is afraid", Kyoko countered, fashioned a tree stump halfway between them and the uninvited guest, and slowly walked to it. She put the plate with varied chocolates on the stump – and retreated carefully, keeping her front to the girl at all times. "Here you are", she smiled once she was back at the cabin. "Do not be afraid."
***
The lady brings offerings to Rei. She wants Rei to eat.
The lady steps back. She talks about fear. She forbids fear?
No. The lady does not want fear.
The lady is kind. She does not forbid.
Rei steps forward, eyes on the two ladies. One wears flowers, the other brings food.
Rei approaches the plate.
Chocolate tastes good. Maybe the lady does not want to kill Rei. She is friendly.
The plate is empty. The ladies are looking at her.
Something must be done.
Rei turns and runs into the forest.
***
"I don't think this accounts for much of a success", Yui let out a sigh, her voice up from the whisper.
"She's still here", Kyoko countered. "She's still in the forest. I feel her", she elaborated in response to a quizzing look.
"I assume nothing is going to eat her?" Yui quipped.
"Not going into details, I didn't have any success creating anything more complex than plants", Kyoko replied with a sigh. "And even that is… an approximation."
"Well, as long as it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…" Yui shrugged.
"…then it can be a tree?" Kyoko chuckled.
"Somewhat. You know what I mean", Yui retorted with a smile. "What do we do now?"
"We wait for a little while, enjoy the… well, forest air, I don't think I put 'time of the day' logic into this world too well, so it's just perpetual twilight", Kyoko admitted. "I suppose I could use some–"
She interrupted as she noticed some movement at the edge of the forest. The familiar small figure emerged, her steps quick and resolute, something in her hand. She approached the stump, extended her hands with something held in them – and waited. Kyoko squinted, trying to tell what
something was, but the best she could say was
green with something blue.
"Does she want me to approach?" she whispered.
"Well, she's not leaving it on the plate…" Yui remarked. "Maybe you should try to walk there… slowly?"
Kyoko nodded and took a careful first step.
***
Rei feels happy. Rei has a way to repay the lady for the good food.
Rei waits for the large lady to approach. The lady is not that scary. Rei does not hate her, even if the lady has hair that looks a bit red.
Rei watches as the tall lady takes her steps towards her.
The lady speaks. Rei tries to comprehend. Rei knows words. But words are complicated, confusing, weird. Rei prefers emotions, dreams, sensations.
But Rei tries.
***
"Do you want me to take it?" Kyoko asked; she is about two steps away, and can tell that the girl is holding a small wreath made of forest foliage; there are still berries between the twigs. Berries of the kind that was supposed to be red, Kyoko noticed, but those are blue. She decided to disregard that as she focused back on the girl's face. There was, of course, no verbal reply to her question – just a small, upward gesture with the small crown.
"Do you want to put it on me?" she tried again; a small nod was a reply that came after a few long seconds. "All right", Kyoko took a very small step and carefully lowers herself to kneel on one knee. The girl took a step closer – and Kyoko felt the woven crown rest on her head. "Thank you", she smiled to the girl who was already a few steps back, sporting something that could be – charitably – called a small smile.
'She acts like a scary, neglected kid who just wants some attention', Kyoko mused.
'If Ikari is correct, she became part of the Evangelion when she was, well, looking like this… so at the age of what? Six? Seven?' she shook her head, her insides tensing.
'What a fate for a child… we had to develop ways to cope, and her… Maybe she just needs a childhood… of sorts?'
She slowly rose to a stand.
'What do little girls like? Dolls? Flowers?' her thoughts kept running.
'Wait. This is like visiting countryside grandparents to her, right? Or just going outside… And what was the best thing outside?' she asked herself, a grin crawling upon her face.
'Of course!'
Kyoko focused for a moment; while shaping random, generic, repetitive things like the trees of the forest came relatively easy to her, recreating something more complex and precise required proper attention. She could not tell how long it took her – but when she opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was the curiosity in the girl's eyes; considering how little expression she had shown, this could be easily read as fascination.
She turned to inspect her work; seeing something in her mind's eye and in the mindscape was not the same. She smiled seeing a simple, playground-like swing standing prominently next to the cottage. She chuckled as she saw Yui ogling the newest addition with confusion on her face.
"Do you want to give it a try, little one?" Kyoko asked.
The girl's head tilted minimally to the other side as she took a few steps towards the contraption – but she stopped halfway, clearly unsure.
'Could it be… no, it's impossible', Kyoko pondered the unlikely.
'Could it be that she doesn't know what this is?'
She slowly approached the swing, focused for a moment – and created another one on the same beam, one more fitting for her size. Sitting down, she put it in motion. The girl blinked, the tilt of her head deepening.
"Come closer", Kyoko invited her. "Come, sit next to me", she gestured to the empty swing.
The girl took a few careful steps, watching Kyoko's movements as she pushed herself away with her legs and made wider swings with every push – and finally settled on the seat.
Kyoko let the inertia of her swings dissipate as she watched the girl trying to replicate the pushing movement. Her "Want a hand?" was met with a confused look. "Do you want me to help you?", on the other hand, was met with a careful nod. "I'm going to move the swing. Don't worry, I'm not touching you", she reassured the girl as she extended her hand.
The red eyes tracked her movements carefully, but the girl stayed in the seat even as it started to move. Kyoko was aware that under normal circumstances, she would need to be standing behind the swing, or at least use both of her hands – but here, giving the seat a negative weight for a moment or reducing the resistance to zero was a matter of a simple thought.
'I wonder if I will ever be able to adjust to life outside', a stray thought ran through her mind.
'I'll be like those astronauts that drop things and move in a funny way… well, I'll worry about it once it happens, if ever', she concluded as she put the swing with the girl carefully into motion.
***
Rei is moving. This is a new way of moving.
The cold air is touching Rei's face. This feels good.
The lady is helpful. She makes Rei move in this new way.
This movement makes Rei happy.
The lady makes Rei happy.
The lady is nice.
Rei is delighted.
Rei is happy.
***
The rapt expression on the small face told Kyoko that she was doing something right; the girl seemed fascinated by the simple concept of just
swinging back and forth.
'Gott, if she's like that about a simple swing, what was her childhood like?' Kyoko shivered.
'She's like a frightened animal, like someone who was raised in some cave, or a locked attic… What did they do to you, little one? And why?'
"Well, this certainly worked better than my approach", Yui chimed in; Kyoko realised she was standing right next to her. "I have to admit I didn't expect you to be so good with children."
"It's not exactly that", Kyoko mused, her attention returning to the girl with apparent no worry in the world; she gave her another push, strengthening the swing. Her little guest seemed to be able to take an example from her momentum-maintaining leg movements mid-swing – but at the same time, she failed to grasp how to push herself off the ground yet. "I mean… I don't know. She's no ordinary child."
"Well, yes", Yui agreed matter-of-factly. "What now?"
"Well, I don't think we are in any hurry?" Kyoko remarked. "I think I'll teach her how to swing herself… and we can go back to talking."
"You may also attach a string to the swing and make us chairs here", Yui suggested. "Or give yourself telekinetic abilities and keep pushing her."
"Fair point", Kyoko agreed. "But I'd rather not go too far. With the telekinetic powers, I mean, the chairs are a good idea. I still wonder how it'll work once we leave."
"You know it's a bit of an 'if' in it? More than 'once'?" Yui checked.
"Well, it was you who was sure it's possible", Kyoko countered, her eyebrows raised.
"
Reasonably sure", Yui corrected. "But you're right, let's stick to the mundane means."
Kyoko nodded, closed her eyes, and focused for a moment; a few seconds later, the cottage had a small patio with a few comfortably looking chairs and a low table filled with cookies and chocolates. To Kyoko's surprise, the girl paid absolutely no attention to the change.
'I guess the new toy is too much fun?' she chuckled to herself.
"Do you mind if I teach you something?" she addressed the girl – but there was no reaction.
'Right. Simple words', she realized. "If you stop, I will show you something", she tried again.
The girl's head slowly turned towards her, her red eyes curious. She pulled her legs underneath the seat.
"Thank you", Kyoko smiled at her softly. For some reason, the girl's hollow expression no longer worried her; she was
troubled, yes, somewhat
damaged, for sure, but in the end, she was
just a child. And that was something Kyoko had at least some experience with. "Now, look at me", she straightened in her seat as the girl's swing slowly stopped. "If you put your legs like that…" she started her explanation, feeling the intense gaze of the red eyes.
***
The NERV HQ resembled a huge anthill in its ceaseless activity; even when the night came, it became merely subdued, never stopped. It, of course, made sense, considering that the Angels could theoretically come at any time, not to mention the Units required constant watch; the same applied to numerous ongoing experiments and operations.
But right now, the resemblance went further – the NERV HQ actually resembled an anthill someone just ran through. The message that started it all was short: "NERV-02 vanished".
"So, what was the cause?" Major Katsuragi asked, doing her best to act professionally, even if the company she was in was unpleasant to her.
"The Hell we know", Doctor Akagi shrugged. "We got the recordings from the geosynchronous satellite with image and
some telemetry", she activated the screen; an orbital image of the Nevada base with the superimposed countdown started from -10 seconds, concluding with destruction of the satellite a few seconds past zero time. "All we know is that Unit-04 and the entire base is gone, and that includes all personnel, material, and data that was not backed up off-site. Which may mean anything between a day's or a week's worth of information."
"Looking at the schedule, we believe it to be an accident during the experimental installation of the S2 engine that was restored in Germany", Aoba chimed with his report.
Misato Katsuragi kept registering the information, but her mind turned to something else.
'They had a pilot there, they had to. Yet another of the kids, lost pointlessly', she realised, trying to contain her emotions.
'We know what we risk, we accept that… but do they? They're just children!'
"Questions, Major?" the unpleasantly stern voice of Doctor Akagi broke her train of thoughts before it could escalate.
"Yes", Katsuragi nodded. "What about the S2 engine we had?"
"Gone", Akagi shrugged. "Our dreams of operational independence shattered. Sorry, Major", she added, eliciting several odd looks from the rest of the staff.
"That's what we get for trying to push ourselves into using something we don't understand", Katsuragi remarked.
"It's called 'progress', Major, and it has its price", Akagi countered in almost a bark. Still, she knew that her opponent had a point; the whole attempt was likely hurried – and most certainly done based on far too many assumptions.
'We work based on prayers, sometimes literally', she realised with rising dread in the back of her head and in her stomach.
'We make leaps of logic, rely on assumptions, fiddle with things we don't understand. It's just like with the Evas. Is this a warning from above? Is this a wake-up call so that we realise our hubris and revaluate our deeds, confess our sins, perform our penances? Is this–' she stopped as she realised she was driving her nails deep into her own flesh, her hands balled into fists.
'No. That way madness lies. This is no magic, no miracle. It's just young, uncertain science, but it is science', she chastised herself. "Any more questions?" she turned back to Major Katsuragi who was looking at her with visible anger.
"How does it affect us, except the obvious internal safety audit?" the Major asked tersely.
"The audit is mostly on your head, Major, but I'm sure you'll manage", Akagi replied, her voice somewhat sarcastic. "Besides that, we're getting Unit-03. We will be activating it here. Without the S2 module, of course", she raised her hand, seeing several people open their mouths in protest. "The details will be determined later."
"Who will be piloting it?" Katsuragi followed up with the question connected to her duties.
"The details will be determined later", Akagi repeated. "But if you must know, the Commander doesn't want this to disrupt our current operations, so the Marduk Institute is actively looking for the Fourth Child. Only if they fail to meet the deadline, we will use one of the current pilots", she explained.
"Why not the Dummy Plug?" Katsuragi kept inquiring.
"This option is, of course, still on the table", Akagi replied, her voice clearly annoyed. "But let's get the Unit here and run it through the all necessary tests first. Anything else?"
Several headshakes were the only replies.
"Good. Go back to your work. Maya, I'll need your help", Akagi directed.
"Yes, sempai!"
Major Misato Katsuragi left the meeting with a bad taste in her mouth.
'Great. What did they say… "to be a prophet, you just need to be a pessimist"? Not only I see heaps of overtime, but I am going to love explaining all this to my kids…' she let out a heavy sigh.
'But they deserve to know. First things first: tell them I'm going to be late. Then, I deal with the crap…' she decided as she walked the dark corridors of the NERV HQ.
***
Kyoko was watching the blue-haired girl swinging back and forth, far higher than most children dare on their first attempts.
'I guess she didn't live long enough to develop a conscious concept of fear…' she mused as she reached for the teapot to pour her older, more ordinary guest some tea.
"Thank you, Soryu", Yui smiled at her as she took the cup off her hands. "Now… I wanted to ask you for any ideas how we can, well, tame or at least lure out my uninvited guest, but you seem to have this covered just fine", she chuckled.
"Pure luck, Ikari", Kyoko admitted. "I mean… I just thought of what
I would have liked to have in such a place. If I started to think about it more, I'd say 'puzzles and toys', especially in a more civilised place, like your mansion. And it is still valid, once she bores with this", she gestured with her head towards the swings. "Whenever it might be", she smiled.
"Well,
we don't exactly tire physically, so I assume she has the same quality. And I don't think she is going to be bored any time soon", Yui observed with amusement.
"Well, it's not that she has a dinnertime, or bedtime, or anything else like that", Kyoko chuckled, trying not to think how such lack of structure would affect a child-like mind. "So… where were we?"
"Aside from discussing my troubled childhood in a cult-like family, analysing our options for the future, and planning how to achieve world domination?" Yui quipped. "I think we were discussing the differences between Units."
"Right. You were saying…?" Kyoko prompted.
"Well, I was agreeing with what you said earlier. Evangelions… differ", Yui resumed. "Unit-02 seems to be better structured, to have a more… stable brain. My Unit is… well, unique in its own ways", she let out a sigh. "It handles well, it heals fast, I can easily see out of it even if it is inactive in contrast to you being blind in yours… but it also seems to need twice the maintenance compared to yours. On the other hand, it's still quite stable in comparison to Unit-00. That one… seems to be a total mess in many aspects."
"Perhaps she's the reason", Kyoko shot the blue-haired girl a glare.
"Perhaps", Yui agreed. "But it was also, well, a prototype."
"And that is always a heavy price to pay", Kyoko agreed. "More tea, Ikari?"
"With pleasure. What
is this, actually?" Yui inquired.
"A rose-tinted blend I remember my grandmother bringing from some of her odd travels", Kyoko explained. "I always associated it with adventure, with something exciting", she elaborated.
"I like it. I guess I will associate it with you", Yui smiled warmly. "It's a similar association, I must say", she winked as she took a sip.
'Be still, treacherous heart', Kyoko commanded as she suddenly felt the need to take deep breaths.
'I'm no teenager anymore!' she chastised herself as she put the teapot down. She prayed her guest did not notice the blush on her face.
A few meters away, a happy girl kept swinging, unaware of the torrent of emotions and confusion forming just next to her. She was in her own, completely new world of experiences, a world that was, at least for the moment, replacing the delirium inside her, filling her with something she did not know for a very long time – delight.
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And so slowly things change. The working title of this chapter is now "Point of no return" and it might even stick.
The next part comes at some point in April and may finally reach the Bardiel fight itself (I don't know why my fanfics
synchronize; MISIOFY has Bardiel fight at hand as well). If another tea party doesn't get in the way, of course.
