//"As of 12:30 PM today, a special state of emergency has been
declared for the Kanto and Chubu regions surrounding the Tokai
district. All residents must evacuate to their designated shelters
immediately. Repeating: as of 12:30 PM today, the Kanto and Chubu
regions surrounding the Tokai district have been declared to be under
a state of special emergency. All residents must evacuate to their
designated shelters immediately..."//
Set in the broad expanse of a valley was the city of Tokyo-3, sprawled
out magnificently -- if rather silently -- in the afternoon sunlight
as orders of evacuation was announced across the city. No particular
reason for such a state of emergency to be declared was readily
apparent, yet the orders were well-heeded; everyone had hastened to
the shelters, and those few who had paused to question directives were
either ignored, forcefully hustled along by security personnel, or, as
had been mostly the case, both. The streets were abandoned, shops
closed, the train service halted. Cars were left at the sides of
streets, doors wide open, keys still in the ignition. They stayed that
way, for nobody came to see to them. No sounds of urban bustle arose
from the network of streets, and the unnatural silence was punctuated
only by the occasional trill of birdsong.
Any person who did not possess necessary clearance would have found it
near-impossible to not be at the shelters. Few, if any, violated the
city-wide, military-imposed curfew that day; even less did so
willingly.
"Shoot," Misato complained. "Why do I have to lose him now?"
Katsuragi Misato, however, was one of the disposed few. And under any
other set of circumstances, the sight of a blue sports car being
driven through the streets of the city would have been a perfectly
ordinary one.
The 'him' in question appeared to be a teenage boy, a photograph of
whom was lying on the passenger seat, clipped in place to a file, and
looking almost sixteen years of age despite being two years younger.
He was obviously not used to posing for the camera -- he looked tense,
his sharp face rigid and unsmiling. Lurking behind several rogue
strands of jet-black, spiked hair, however, were a pair of soft brown
eyes that almost grinned mischievously at her from the photo. Misato
had concluded that he looked like his mother. Not that she had ever
met the woman herself, but there was something in his eyes that made
him decidedly un-Commander Ikari-ish.
It had seemed like a good idea at first. After all, picking up the boy
and chauffeuring him back to NERV headquarters didn't sound at all
problematic, and she had, for some reason, been intrigued at the
opportunity of meeting the Commander's son. The Commander looked
nothing like a man who would've bothered with such trivialities like
family; far from it, in fact, and the news that he had a son had
fascinated her.
Misato clicked her tongue in mild annoyance. There wasn't a soul on
the streets. He wasn't here. He was late. And Misato didn't like to be
kept waiting by men, even if it was just a boy. Besides, every moment
spent lingering around the city put both her and her charge into that
much more danger; his flight had been hastily arranged at best, even
more so when NERV's schedule had been forcibly rewritten when the
wildcard had shown up sooner than expected.
Or perhaps Section 2 had whisked him away straight to NERV
headquarters itself when they had found him on the streets, she mused.
Given Section 2's typical level of efficiency, it was a definite
possibility. Alone in her car, Misato had to concede to herself that
she had just been nosy. As usual. But only a little, a part of her
argued. The photo of the boy had caught her attention since she first
looked at it, and wouldn't let go.
Misato sighed as she circled the block for the fifth time now, hoping
that he would be there this time. There was no one. Of course he
wasn't there, Misato thought to herself. He hadn't been there since
the past half of an hour. Why would he be there now?
A quick glance at her wristwatch told her she had already spent a good
portion of an hour, and was now severely behind schedule. If the
reports were correct, the UN forces were in full retreat, and the
attack was going to be any minute now. Every second wasted was going
to put her that much deeper in shit. Where is he?
I'm so screwed, thought Misato. The Commander's going to have my head
for this...
Her cellphone rang. She picked it up. "Katsuragi Misato, NERV
Operations Director." This'd better be important.
"Misato," a female voice spoke. "Have you found him yet?"
Ritsuko. Akagi Ritsuko, NERV Project-E Director. Her best friend since
college. "No," Misato replied, driving one-handed as she talked.
"There's nobody here at all, dammit. Are you sure this is the right
place?"
Ritsuko ignored her. "The operation's been called off, Misato. Your
new orders are to return to base and coordinate our defenses against
the Angel."
"What?!" Misato almost screeched, swerving to crush a can lying by the
road. "Who gave the order?"
"Commander Ikari."
Misato frowned. "Why?"
"We have ten minutes before the Angel reaches Tokyo-3 if it maintains
its current course," Ritsuko said. The sounds of technicians yelling
orders at subordinates could be heard in the background. "Backup UN
forces are going to intercept the Angel. You have 90 seconds at most
to clear that area."
"The Commander?" Misato uttered in disbelief. Wildly the sports car
rounded a corner at sixty miles per hour. Perhaps she could still make
one last lap around the area. Misato wasn't really a religious person,
but she prayed anyway, hoping that the kid was around somewhere. "This
is his son he's talking about, for Christ's sake!"
"He's not there, Misato," said Ritsuko. "I just ordered Shigeru to
make a check of the flight he was supposed to arrive on. He's not on
the passenger list."
Misato cursed. "NOW you tell me?"
Even in her car, Misato could feel the ground tremble. Sirens went off
all over Tokyo-3, and as Misato coasted the next hilltop, a group of
fighter aerodynes roared overhead in apparent retreat. Misato didn't
need to look to know what it was; she had seen it enough times from
satellite imaging scans. "I have the Angel in sight," Misato yelled
into her phone, striving to make herself head above the thunderous din
of the aerodynes' rotors. "I'm returning to base now!"
Someone in the background shouted something at Ritsuko. "Dammit!"
Misato heard her swear. "Misato! Get the hell out of there! They're
going to drop an N2 mine on the Angel!"
"They're going to drop WHAT?" Misato screamed back, practically
standing on the accelerator pedal. The massive, hulking form of the
Angel loomed in her rearview mirror, diminuted by distance, and Misato
could hear the UN aerodynes above her quickly beating a hasty retreat.
"Oh shit..."
Then the N2 mine exploded.
~*~
"The N2 mine deployed by UN forces succeeded in burning off 18 percent
of the Angel's mass," reported Ibuki Maya, handing over a clipfile to
Ritsuko. A girl in her early twenties, with short, black hair and an
ever-present smile on her face, she was one of the most highly
qualified technician NERV had to offer. "The blast also stunned the
creature for six hours, but within that time the Angel appears to have
repaired much of the damage inflicted upon it by some kind of bio-
regeneration. It also appears that it has enhanced its own scientific
functions and weapons via super-fast evolution, which we believe was
triggered by attempting to stop it with the N2 mine."
"The target has begun movement five minutes ago," Misato continued.
The Operations Director had to walk all the way back to NERV
headquarters after the N2 blast had wrecked her car. She didn't look
happy. "The majority of the UN forces have retreated after the N2 mine
failed to destroy the target. A small automated tank battalion remains
at the outskirts of Tokyo-3, but they won't last long against the
Angel once it arrives."
"And when will that be?" asked Vice-Commander Fuyutsuki.
Misato turned towards the giant map displayed on a wall-mounted
screen. "Approximately fifteen minutes."
"Conventional weaponry have proved ineffective against the target,"
Ritsuko said. "As expected, the target was able to generate an AT
Field around itself that rendered it immune to normal missiles and
artillery. This should prove to be our main concern when we engage the
target."
"Well, we could try another N2 mine," Maya suggested. "It's not within
city limits yet, so the risk of collateral damage should be reasonably
small."
"I'd suggest against that," Ritsuko frowned. "We all saw how it
adapted after being hit by the N2 blast. There's no telling how
further it would evolve itself if we tried that a second time."
"I see."
"What's Unit02's status?" Gendou asked.
"It's in cryogenic freeze right now," said Ritsuko. "But it can be set
up and activated in 300 seconds if necessary."
"Good. See to it."
Fuyutsuki frowned in evident distaste. "Are you sure that is
necessary, Ikari?"
"The EVA series was created for the very sole purpose of defeating the
Angels," Gendou replied impassively. "No other weapon will work for us
now. To not use every means we have at our disposal is nothing short
of foolishness."
A warning red dot beeped on the map suddenly. "The target is entering
visual range," Makoto reported from the command bridge. A young man in
his mid-twenties, with clear glasses and neat, smoothed back hair,
Makoto was NERV's backup Operations Director, filling in for Misato
whenever she was absent. "It will reach city outskirts in two
minutes."
"Right," nodded Misato grimly. "Assume battle stations, Level One."
"Roger," affirmed Makoto. "Level One alert status engaged. Preparing
ground-unit interception. Current overall combat efficiency is 75
percent."
"It will be enough to stall the Angel." Gendou pushed his glasses up
the bridge of his nose. "Fuyutsuki-sensei."
"Yes?"
"Wake up Rei, and prep her to pilot Unit02. Dr Akagi, I want the EVA
unit ready as soon as Rei is."
"So that's that," Misato said. "Let's get to it, then."
~*~
"Rei."
Ayanami Rei opened her eyes, staring emptily at the ceiling above her
bed.
"Yes?"
"The spare is unavailable," Commander Ikari's voice continued from the
wall-mounted intercom near her pillow. "You will do it instead."
Rei paused, a small amount of mild surprise registering itself in her
mind at the order. The girl took a few short seconds to gauge the
capabilities of her battered body at that moment, only to stop short
as she acknowledged it as inconsequential. "Yes."
"Good. Unit02 has already been removed from cryo-stasis storage. Dr
Akagi is waiting."
Rei's impassive expression quickly returned.
"I understand."
neon genesis evangelion: endgame
part of the "biggest dreamer" storyline
chapter 1: welcome to tokyo-3
"So," Ikari Shinji declared to nobody in particular. "This is
Tokyo-3."
Quiet, he decided. Definitely too quiet.
Where the hell was everybody?
"Warp jump has been successful," announced a female voice.
"Dimensional quantum signature verified. We're now in the Evangelion
sector, timeline is the first episode of the series."
"Evangelion," repeated Shinji. The boy leaned against a telephone
booth, a hand pressed on his head as he willed the pounding headache
away. The falling sensation he had experienced during his warp jump
might have been a metaphysical illusion, but the after-effects were
startlingly real.
A young girl phased into view next to Shinji. "What's wrong?" she
asked, concern in her voice. "You don't look too good."
"I don't feel too good," Shinji groaned. "Man, I hate warp jumps. They
always give you this... god damn headache."
The head of a small, white-furred snow ermine poked out from Shinji's
shirt pocket. The creature scampered up quickly and onto Shinji's
shoulder, and the boy scratched it gently behind the ears. "Ermines
appear to suffer no such side-effects," observed the girl.
"I know," said Shinji. "I'll be fine, really. Just... leave me alone
for a few minutes."
"Rest," she advised. "I'm going to access the Fanfiction.net database
network for any useful information."
"Queue an e-mail for Celia while you're at it," Shinji ordered. "Tell
her we're already within the Eva sector, and that we'll begin looking
for EVA-01 as soon as possible."
"Assuming there's still an EVA-01," the girl frowned.
"The Eva sector hasn't collapsed yet," Shinji mumbled in reply. "It
and its pilot must still be around somewhere."
The second, female voice belonged to what appeared to be a
rectangular, slim wristwatch-like object with black finish, strapped
firmly to Shinji's left wrist via a thick Velcro strap. It was his
PErsonal Terminal, or PET for short, a small, powerful personal
computer and cybernetic companion. To Shinji, it was far more than a
handy accessory; his PET was crucial for powering his warp jumps and
launching his quantum signature in the anime dimensions, among other
things. And through a quirk of fate, the PET's generic NetNavi
functions had evolved a personality of its own after being caught in
the ensuing blast when the Paekxis Pragma power core had exploded. So
rapidly had her behavioral patterns developed that it began pestering
Shinji for a name; Shinji called her Misao now.
Misao was standing next to him now in visual mode, rapidly working her
way through a series of holographic visual screens that she called up
in mid-air by her very fingertips, summoning and banishing them at
will as she quickly perused whatever data they had to offer. Shinji
never got tired of watching her doing that. For reasons unknown,
Misao's preferred holographic form was that of a young girl in her
late teens, dressed comfortably in a pale spaghetti strap and short
denim pants, with both her eyes and shoulder-length hair ice-blue in
color. Her figure was skinny at best, but Shinji had seen her in
action enough times to know better.
The headache was still there, but it had receded considerably. Shinji
made a mental note to bring along industrial-strengh aspirin the next
time he went dimension-hopping. Misao looked at him. "Hisame appears
to be fine," she announced. "No traces of quantum signature corruption
detected."
Shinji stared at the ermine perched on his shoulder. The ermine stared
at him. "How come Hisame never gets paradigm shifts?" he asked. "And
why can he warp jump without a UNIVER quantum signature?"
"Paradigm shifts only occur if you have a UNIVER quantum signature
that matches the Avatar database list in Fanfiction.net's computer
network," Misao explained. "Hisame relies on your signature to warp
jump along with you, as do I. That's why we don't experience shifts;
the system detects our signatures as yours when we traverse the Fourth
Wall."
"This sucks," muttered Shinji.
Misao ignored him. "Have you watched this anime before?"
Shinji frowned. "No. But I am well-versed in the more technical
aspects of the Evangelions; I did a bit of research on it for a semi-
crossover fanfic I was writing a few months before I became an
Avatar."
"Good," Misao said, apparently satisfied. "I've downloaded the general
episode guides and basic character profiles from Fanfiction.net onto
my hard drive, you'll find them in the temporary system folder.
Incidentally, I've also detected the presence of a highly advanced
computer network around this city, but it's too well-protected for me
to hack into for the time being."
Shinji snapped his PET open with a flick of a wrist, revealing a small
touchpad keyboard and display screen. A holographic scanning display
projected from it, showing a bird's eye aerial map of Tokyo-3. "Forget
the network. It's probably maintained by NERV, and we don't need a
confrontation with the MAGI supercomputers right now. Where's everyone
disappeared to?"
Sprawled out before him was the metropolis of Tokyo-3, the place where
things happened in the Evangelion universe. Shinji knew that much, if
very little besides -- he had never watched the anime before, and what
little he knew consisted almost entirely of what he had been able to
gather from various fansites and fanfiction. Shinji wasn't worried,
however. Months of journeying through the numerous sub-sections of the
anime dimensions had imparted to him the belief that, for better or
for worse, he was perfectly capable of dealing with anything that
anime could throw at him.
Almost anything, anyway.
"I detect no signs of human activity in this city," Misao said, "but
it doesn't look neglected at all, and all vital systems still appear
to be fully functional. My estimate that this city has been abandoned
for no more than 24 hours so far."
"This makes no sense," Shinji wondered aloud. "If they've deserted the
city, why did they keep everything running?"
"Kyuu," Hisame cried.
Shinji paused. "Right," he sighed. "It's getting dark. Maybe we should
just find a place to spend the night first, then figure out just
exactly what's wrong with this place tomorrow morning."
Hisame gave another cry, this time sharper than the last. Shinji gave
a start as he realized that something was agitating the ermine. Then
he heard it too; the unmistakable wail of sirens, which quickly set
off a chain reaction as warning klaxons all over the city began
howling, the sound filling the desolate, abandoned metropolis like the
baying of a pack of wolves.
"Well," Shinji muttered sardonically. "Playtime already?"
The ground began rumbling as buildings started to sink into the
ground, making it hard for Shinji to keep his balance. He could almost
have sworn that the city was transforming itself. Skyscrapers
vanished, retracting into the ground as armor plates sprang into sight
everywhere. Rooftops, hill vales and overhanging cable cars alike
suddenly swiveled around, revealing ammunition and missile turrets
previously concealed from sight. Shinji frowned. The city was getting
itself ready, bracing itself for something. He wished he knew what it
was.
"Robots!" Misao hissed, pointing upwards at the far distance.
Shinji spun around. Silhouetted against powerful spotlight beams, the
gigantic, humanoid form of the mecha was unmistakable for anything
else. Shinji gasped as he saw the machine. Its face was almost
insectoid, two pairs of green eyes glowing in the darkness of night.
Burnished red armor shimmered like liquid fire as it reflected the
rapidly fading dusk sunlight, its graceful design exuding a terrifying
aura of elegance, power... and primal hunger.
"It's an Evangelion," he gaped in awe. "EVA-02!"
Misao was far less enthuastic. "I don't like this." Her eyes narrowed.
"If NERV sent out an Evangelion, that'd mean..."
"Kyuu," Hisame gave a frantic cry.
Shinji whirled around as a giant shadow loomed over him. He looked up.
And up. And up.
"... I think an Angel's coming," Misao mumbled uncomfortably.
~*~
If Rei Ayanami had known of emotions, she would've been glad to find
herself inside EVA-02. The EVA was the extension of the pilot's body,
and since EVA-02 was undamaged, Rei felt no pain... for the time
being. And while that didn't necessarily mean all was well -- any
damage to EVA-02, however slight, would be felt with full force upon
her already severely wounded body -- she would, at least, be capable
of performing her duties relatively unhindered by the injuries of her
physical body.
On the far side of the city stood the Angel. A tingle of trepidation
raced down her spine as she gazed at its otherworldly, hunchbacked
form, framed against the backdrop of the city. It didn't show, but Rei
had often wondered about the true nature of the Angels; the enemies of
Humanity she had never seen, but had been trained to fight against
ever since as long as she could remember. White, bony ridges plated
its shoulders and upper torso, at the centre of which was a reddish
orb. It had two faces, one mounted above the other; the one above
seemed to be cracked and bleeding dark ichor, which Rei knew was the
result of the N2 mine.
Rei took a deep breath, inhaling LCL.
"Target sighted," she reported quietly.
"Right," said Misato. "According to our reports, the red core is its
weak point. Get close enough to neutralize its AT Field, and attack
the core to destroy it."
Rei's grip tightened on her palette rifle. "Yes."
~*~
[MODEL TYPE: PRODUCTION MODEL EVA-02]
[CLASS: ANTI-ANGEL COMBAT EVANGELION]
[DESIGNATED PILOT: SOHRYUU ASUKA LANGLEY]
[ SECOND EVA PILOT QUALIFIER]
"Metasearch 'Production Model'," Shinji ordered.
"Metasearch complete," Misao reported. "EVA-02 is the first Evangelion
production model to be constructed, and therefore deemed as a template
for all future EVA units. EVA-02 introduces improved stability with
the core, reducing the possibility of berserker rampages, as well as
superior compatibility with existing weapons designs, but still
utilizes the standard power umbilical cord as its power source."
"What kind of production model is that?" Shinji exclaimed. "I mean,
even EVA-01 had a functional S2 engine!"
"According to the database, EVA-04 was the first experimental S2 test
type model," Misao replied. "I have no idea why this..."
The rest of her words were drowned out in a thunderous roar as the EVA
swung its rifle upwards, took aim, and opened fire. The noise
threatened to shatter his eardrums. Salvos of explosive rounds roared
towards the advancing Angel, only to bounce off with fiery sparks as
they encountered resistance in the form of a yellowish semi-
translucent barrier of energy. The Angel pressed forward, undeterred
and unaffected by the EVA's attack, then, with a unearthly roar, threw
itself bodily on EVA-02.
"Dammit," Shinji swore. The Angel just had to attack now, of all the
time it had at its leisure. "Character profile page, Sohryuu Asuka
Langley!"
"Affirmative."
His PET's screen flashed, displaying the requested list of characters.
Shinji had scrolled down no more than two pages before he stopped dead
in his tracks, staring at the screen. What he saw didn't please him.
"... Misao?" he asked hesitantly. "Something's screwed up here."
"What?" Misao asked, peering over his shoulder. "Third Child: Ikari
Shinji..." her voice trailed off. "Male, 14. Third Evangelion Pilot
Qualifier. Designated pilot of EVA-01."
A rather uncomfortable pause ensued.
"Well," summed up Misao. "This isn't good."
"You... you didn't misjudge my paradigm shift, did you?" Shinji asked
nervously, fighting back a brief spike of panicked confusion. He
didn't normally panic easily. This, however, was distinctly
unsettling.
"All systems are functioning within their expected parameters," Misao
frowned. "I can detect no abnormalities within the Fourth Wall
subsystems."
"... no misjudge?"
"No misjudge," Misao affirmed. "Your paradigm shift identifies you as
Ikari Shinji, Avatar-class Entity, Fanfiction.net user ID 203066."
"Look at this guy!" Shinji hissed, stabbing a finger at the thumbnail
graphic, which depicted a brown-haired boy clad in a simple white
buttoned T-shirt. "HE'S Ikari Shinji! He's supposed to be the main
character!" He paused. "Wait a minute. Why hasn't this sector crashed
yet?"
Misao looked uncomfortable. "This would indicate that the other Ikari
Shinji is no longer within the boundaries of this sector."
"But how..." Shinji started. This was wrong. It was impossible; there
was no way it could have possibly happened...
Then his eyes widened.
"Seth! An Author change! I should've known!"
"That is one plausible explanation," Misao agreed unhappily. "If he's
already erased the real Ikari Shinji from this sector, then that means
he must be one of the last two Incarnates."
He already had the distinct impression that things weren't quite all
right in the Evangelion universe since he had squared off against a
berserk, dummy plug-operated EVA-01 in the Vandread dimension, and the
latest turn of events only served to verify his misgivings. "But
that's impossible," Shinji argued. "If Seth went as far as to erase
the main character of the show, this sector should have suffered a
temporal dimensional collapse already!"
"It hasn't," Misao stated simply. "Because you're Ikari Shinji now."
"But I don't--" Shinji started.
Then the full enormity of the situation hit him.
"Lord," he whimpered. "Why me?"
Behind him, the red EVA was blasted by a cross-shaped energy
projectile, sending the machine toppling off its balance and towards
him. It took Shinji a full minute to snap to his senses. It would have
took him another to realize the danger he was in, had Hisame not gave
him a sharp nip on the ear. Shinji yelped in terror, breaking into a
run as the EVA barreled towards him, crushing a path through the
city's streets.
He had almost cleared the EVA's path when a piece of concrete clipped
him on the back of his head. Had Shinji been an ordinary human, the
blow would have killed him outright. Instead, it stunned him, and in
the haze of pain and confusion, Shinji tripped.
"AARGH!"
Something struck him squarely between the shoulder blades, and
Shinji's vision exploded in a starburst of colors. A deluge of
concrete and rubble roared down onto him, and Shinji suddenly realized
that he had run straight into a collapsing building. Pieces of
concrete and mortar rained on him, and within minutes the Avatar was
trapped in a virtual tomb of rubble.
Dammit. "Hisame!"
A muffled titter cried out from his backpack. Shinji heaved a sigh of
relief. He wriggled a hand free, pressing his index finger against the
nearest piece of rock, then focused.
"Voltekker!"
The pile of rubble and debris flew outward as if it had been dynamited
apart. Coughing, Shinji crawled out of the grit, blinking and rubbing
his eyes as he tried to clear them of dust. It was a rather unpleasant
sensation, but that discomfort was quickly forgotten as he found
himself in the presence of the EVA -- the bioroid was sprawled on the
ground, back-first, and Shinji couldn't help but take an involuntary
step backward as its green eyes, almost as large as his own height,
stared unblinkingly at him.
"I think the pilot has seen us," Misao remarked.
Inside the entry plug of EVA-02, Rei brought up a comm-link to NERV HQ
with a mental command. "This is Unit02," the girl reported
impassively. "I have reason to believe that I have located the Third
Child."
~*~
"Magnify visual feed!" Misato ordered.
"Visual feed magnified," affirmed Makoto. "Facial records identify him
as the Third Child with 99.98 percent positive probability."
Misato stared at the boy. It was him; the same hair, the same glasses,
the same eyes as he stared back at the EVA unit in terrified awe.
There was, if nothing else, no mistaking the intriguing aura in his
soft brown eyes. "How did he get there?" Ritsuko wondered aloud.
"Hmm." Fuyutsuki appeared almost amused. "Your son certainly knows how
to make an entrance, Ikari. Let's hope he doesn't kill himself in the
process."
"Agreed," Gendou adjusted his glasses. "Time is short enough as it is.
We can scarce afford wasting any more to look for another spare pilot,
assuming there are more to be found."
"The Angel has started moving," a technician reported. "It's advancing
towards Unit02!"
"What shall I do with the boy?" asked Rei.
~*~
The liquid felt like blood...
... smelled like blood...
... and tasted like blood.
Well, at least it doesn't LOOK like blood.
Which meant it wasn't blood. Shinji sincerely hoped so, for he was, at
the moment, fully submerged inside the liquid. Even worse, he was
breathing the liquid, feeling it inside his lungs. It was thicker and
reeked of the sharp tang of blood, but otherwise seemed pretty much
like ordinary, everyday air. At least Hisame didn't appear to be
taking to the liquid any worse than he was, which was a relief. He
wasn't worried about Misao; the PET was quite waterproof, among other
things.
He had stared at the EVA in the eye for several seconds, frozen like a
deer caught in the headlights. Then the Avatar gathered his scattered
wits and bolted. He didn't get far, though; the back of EVA-02 snapped
open, ejecting a large white cylinder halfway outwards, and a giant
hand had picked him up by the scruff of his neck, completely
disregarding his vigorous protests, dropping him unceremoniously into
an open hatch on the cylinder.
It was dark inside, and filled to the brim with breathable orange goo.
Shinji mumbled unintelligibly, pounding frantically against the wall
of the entry plug. If he had dared to open his mouth, a few choice
expletives would have been uttered at that moment.
"You will experience initial discomfort in LCL," a voice spoke. It was
female; probably the Sohryuu girl, Shinji guessed. "Do not fight it.
It will go away after a while."
He couldn't see her, but something about her tone of voice struck him.
It sounded human, yet so cold and emotionless. Then the inside of the
cockpit lit up as the Evangelion reactivated, and suddenly the walls
of the entry plug faded away, replaced by a full 360-degree lookaround
of his surroundings. The Avatar had to stifle back a gasp of shock as
the floor vanished from below his feet, and he found himself floating
sixty metres off the ground.
Calm down, he reassured himself. Get a grip on yourself, boy. It's
just a visual simulation.
Hisame let out a burp, and a trail of bubbles floated upwards. Shinji
was glad he wasn't altophobic. Looking straight ahead, he could see
the Angel, but his attention was riveted on something else -- it was a
girl, a few years younger than his own age (if his guess was correct,
that was), sitting in a padded seat in front with the back facing him.
Blue hair. Red eyes.
Definitely not the Sohryuu girl.
"You're the First Child!" Shinji blurted before he could stop himself,
recognizing her from the character profile page. "Ayanami Rei!"
An instant later, he wished he hadn't; the stench of the orange goo in
his mouth was already more than enough to see to that, if nothing
else. She was looking rather the worse for wear; a loop of gauze wound
around her head held a pad in place against her eye, her right forearm
was encased within a cast, and, wrapped around her neck, Shinji could
see a a swathe of blood-stained bandages which disappeared into her
white plugsuit. EVA-02 belonged to the Sohryuu girl, and he hadn't
expected to find Ayanami piloting it instead, but questions died
unasked on his lips as he wondered who was the bastard who had sent
her out in this condition; she was in no condition to even be out of
bed, much less fight.
A small rectangular box popped up in front of Rei on her lower left. A
communications link, Shinji surmised. His deduction was proven correct
as the video image of the woman, with shoulder-length purple hair and
a red jacket on her shoulders, spoke. "How's the boy doing?"
Rei took the liberty of answering for him. "He is displaying no
adverse reactions to LCL."
"Um, I feel sick," Shinji said weakly. "Really sick. Does that count?"
"Not unless you throw up inside the entry plug," said another voice.
He peered over Rei's shoulder; it was a blonde, lab-coated woman this
time. "Try to empty your mind," she instructed, turning to address
him. "The EVA is detecting you as a foreign object, and your thoughts
will be interpreted as static on the pilot's nerve connections."
Shinji tried to push images of him drowning in both orange gunk AND
the contents of his own stomach out of his mind. "I'll try," he
laughed nervously.
The Angel charged.
---
Chen Yong
Keeper of Megumi's School Uniform
http://www.fanfiction.net/~shadowD
teknosaber@bigfoot.com
"I often know the answers to questions before I ask them. The purpose is
sometimes simply to see how people answer them, rather than learn the
answer." -- Abdul Kanephren in 'Children of an Elder God'
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