[Fic] Mobile Fighter Evangelion

[UltraSonic007]

Greetings, people of EvaGeeks.

I've been posting Mobile Fighter Evangelion on the Creative Writing forum of SpaceBattles for a few years now, and I decided that this will be a good place to crosspost it to.

The general style is that snippets of a given episode are posted, and then a link to the finished chapter on FF.net is posted. I occasionally throw in world-building snippets as well that flesh out the world.

So how to explain this story?

After following Gregg Landsman's Nobody Dies during its heyday on SB, I shared a story of how my conception of Evangelion was colored by an advertisement on a Dark Horse comic I saw. Namely, this image.

Shinji as a heroic Determinator! Asuka as a happy-go-lucky Innocent Fanservice girl! Rei as a stern Drill Sergeant McNasty!

Imagine my shock when I saw the anime years later.

But the idea of redoing Eva as a Super Robot show took root. Yet I also wanted to treat the world itself seriously, because there are some things (like a global conspiracy spanning decades) that Hot Blood alone can't conquer.

This is that world.

This is Mobile Fighter Evangelion.

Elements of Gundam show up without being a true crossover with any Gundam universe. For those interested, there is a TVTropes page made by a fan from SB.

And now...most recent episode list as of April 7, 2015!

Episode 1: Reunion
Episode 2: CRASH COURSE (Angel Attack)
Episode 3: Welcome to Tokyo-3 (Memories, Changed and Unchanged)
Episode 4: School Days (Meet the Team)
Episode 5: TRIAL (To Be a Pilot)
Episode 6: ENEMIES (One Who Endures)
Episode 7: Hospitality (A book never shows what it says)
Episode 8: JET ALONE
Episode 9: Thunder and Lightning (It says, "I AM. WHO ARE YOU?")
Episode 10: A Day in the Life I (CHOICES)
Episode 11: Asuka Strikes!
Episode 12: SEPARATION INTO UNITY (Dance, young children!)
Episode 13: Magma Diver (He said "I reject you.")
Episode 14: Touch the Untouchable

All right then.

You caught up?

First snippet of Episode 15.

xxxx

/September 4, 2004/

/Project E Laboratory, The Black Moon Research Facility, Hakone, Japan/

Naoko Akagi chuckled as Yui Ikari poured a glass of pinot noir. “What’s the occasion?”

“Well, I wanted some way of celebrating our esteemed colleague’s tenth wedding anniversary.” The young doctor turned towards a small monitor, showcasing the picture of a blue-eyed woman with blazing red hair. “Cheers, Dr. Sohryu!”

The voice of the Japanese-German crackled over the monitor’s speakers. “Well danke, Mrs. Rokubungi.”

“You do know that Gendo’s not around to hear you flatter him, right? You know how thoroughly our dear Yui has him whipped.”

Yui nervously rubbed the back of her head. The fact that her husband had taken on her name instead of vice-versa was a running joke amongst the trio. “My husband’s submissive tendencies aside, how are things going on your end?”

“Nein, ich verstehe nur Bahnhof.”

Naoko laughed. “My my, you’re stumped so easily?”

“I don’t need your mockery right now, Naoko! I know DAMN well you’ve been having difficulties on your end!”

The two women didn’t need to rebut Kyoko’s slight; even now, pulling these absurdly late hours, they had been trying to make headway on Project E. The physical construction of the Evangelions was underway; since GEHIRN’s completion of three organic supercomputers – collectively called the MAGI and dubbed MELCHIOR, BALTHASAR, and CASPER by Naoko– greater progress had been made on developing the components that would enable a mental mapping between the (thus far) theoretical senses of the Evangelion and the human Pilot.

None of it meant a damn if they couldn’t get the thing to move.

That’s where the principles of metaphysical biology came into play. Supposedly. “Have you tried mining the brain of that old teacher of yours?”

Yui chuckled at Naoko’s verbiage. “A little. Fuyutsuki-sensei always insists that Gendo and I have outpaced him in the field, so he acts a little reluctant whenever I ask.”

“Why should he? Your husband’s the one who invited him to this little soiree of ours.”

“It’s because he’s smitten with our dear Yui-chan~” purred Naoko.

“Oh stop!” yelled Yui, an embarrassed flush on her face.

“As fun a distraction it is to natter like hens, we’re getting off point. Have you made any headway on opening the Doors of Guf?”

“Not a bit,” grumbled Yui. The Doors of Guf: the metaphysical biological term for the threshold between a living soul and its place of creation, the Chamber of Guf. “Preliminary testing shows that the Evangelion’s core is similar enough to those within ADAM and LILITH, both physically and metaphysically. However, the core’s been reluctant to latch onto a soul.”

“At least you’re lucky enough to be on the other side of the world from Germany. I’ve got that altersschwach arschloch breathing down my neck demanding constant progress. Unscientific heathens!”

Naoko chuckled. “You have to give those fossils some leeway; they’re getting frightened and confused in their old age.”

“Easy for you to say.”

“At least you’re not related to any of them. How do you think it feels having my father in their little fraternity?”

“…you present a compelling argument, Yui.” Kyoko sighed, as though acknowledging defeat. “I’m going to take a break. My dear husband has a romantic night planned, and I wouldn’t dare miss it.”

“Make sure not to come into work with a hangover tomorrow,” joked Naoko.

“Perish the thought! Arbeit adelt!” With those words, the static picture of Kyoko faded away on the monitor, leaving only a blank screen.

Yui sighed, looking about the cramped laboratory. Tanks of LCL filled with biological organs surrounded them; she focused on one in particular, wherein a tiny embryo floated. “We’ve established that nephilim are similar enough to humans that they share the same Chamber of Guf…why isn’t the same holding true for Eva?”

“The mechanics are somewhat different. Even though they’ve been spliced with Angelic material, nephilim still started with a man’s sperm and a woman’s ovum: they have a standardized method of accessing the Chamber of Guf that Eva does not. It could be sheer scale. Perhaps the energy requirements for a soul fit for Eva are beyond our current capabilities.”

“Planning for a defense of the Black Moon from the Angels is already going to be a logistical nightmare.” The sheer amount of power required to operate an Evangelion from a physical standpoint was staggering as it was. “We have to leap this hurdle.”

“My proposal is still on the table,” murmured Naoko.

“And it will stay there. It’s too risky.”

“I’m just saying.”

“I know that the old men are getting antsy, but we still have time. According to the Dead Sea Scrolls, we have at least a decade before the Angels return.” Yui clasped her hand on Naoko’s shoulder. “We will get Eva to move.”

Naoko smirked. “Always so optimistic.”

“And why not? We’re paving the way for humanity’s evolution. What’s not to be excited about?”

Naoko chuckled as Yui moved to a different computer terminal. It’s no mystery why Gendo is so enamored with you. A brilliant bioengineer, a genius mind, a charming personality, a fair face framed by chocolate-colored hair that was just the right amount of messy; all apt descriptors of Yui Ikari. Still, until we can get Evangelion to move, none of this will matter.

So Naoko pondered. And hypothesized. And came to a conclusion.

Three days later, another synchronization test was held for their current prototype Evangelion model: a fleshy humanoid with exposed muscle fibers and what appeared to be ramshackle restraints. A single green eye, its pupils appearing as a fractal figure, stared lifelessly. Behind a thick glass barrier, various Project E technicians worked diligently under the watchful eyes of Naoko Akagi and Gendo Ikari. The latter, readjusting his eyeglasses, said, “We’re ready on our end, Yui.”

“Understood. Beginning test of Mental Mapping Suite, version Zero-Point-Two-Three.”

So began the torrent of words, as it always did.

“Nerve junctions are connected.”

“Synapses are firing at normal parameters, plus-or-minus two milliseconds.”

“First circuits online. Second circuits online. Third circuits online.”

“Bridging mental nodes from the Eva to the Pilot. Zero-point-zero-two…zero-point-one…zero-point-three…”

“Executing Mental Mapping Suite in T-minus five seconds.”

“Zero-point-eight…zero-point-nine-five…one-point-zero. Link is fully established.”

“Executing Mental Mapping Suite.”

Then it all came tumbling down.

“What the hell?! We’re reading activity in the core!”

“The Pilot’s psychograph is going haywire. The MAGI are stuck in a dilemma!”

Then a woman’s shriek echoed over the speakers.

“YUI!” howled Gendo. “Shut it down! Shut it all down now!”

“Registering greater activity in the central nervous system. Synapses are firing above the baseline!”

“Oh gods, it’s MOVING!”

The arms of the prototype twitched, and spasms gripped the legs. The eye of the Eva dilated, and moved. It looked around, desperately, insanely. Then it stopped, focusing on the safety glass that separated the technicians from the testing chamber.

All the while, Yui continued to scream.

“Ejecting the Pilot from the core…negative! The Eva’s rejected the command!”

“Power couplings aren’t responding! We can’t disconnect them!”

Gendo brought his hand down harshly on the hapless technician’s shoulder. “Then deploy the polysomes and destroy the damn cable!”

“Yes sir! Deploying polysomes!”

Gendo turned towards Naoko, about to bark another command, when he paused; the expression on her face was absolutely rapturous. “Dr. Akagi…?”

“We did it, Yui-chan …” Naoko Akagi’s smile was wide and heartfelt. “We finally got it to move…”

A fist crashed into the safety glass, shattering it in a single blow. Everyone screamed and began to run away; a furious, wrathful growl emerged from the Evangelion’s exposed throat as it reached inside. All the while, floating drones – the so-called polysomes – emerged from panels in the wall and began firing lasers at the thick cable grafted onto the Eva’s spine.

Gendo bit off a curse as he grabbed Naoko by the arm. “Come on, move, damn it!”

Naoko seemed to come back to herself, turning on her feet to run, only to trip on her heels. The doctor landed with a thud, grimacing before noting the shadow of hand fall over her. Animal instinct took over, and she tried to crawl, to scramble, to flee.

The hand slammed down right as the polysomes destroyed the power cable.

Now Naoko’s scream joined Yui’s.

xxxx

/November 27, 2015/

/Corpus Callosum, NERV-1, Tokyo-3/

Naoko Akagi opened her eyes, burgundy hair floating listlessly in the LCL. “To think that I can still devote a cycle to dreaming…”

What a dream, too. A memory of Unit-00’s first activation. A memory of how she had lost her legs. And, once it had been discovered shortly thereafter that she had tampered with the safety mechanisms around the prototype Evangelion’s core, a memory of how her proverbial imprisonment began.

It was always amusing to recall the vindictive expression on Gendo Ikari’s face when she had been placed into the LCL tube for the first time.

“At least we got the results we wanted…we got the Evangelion to move at last…” She suddenly frowned, as one of her cycles was pinged from Ritsuko’s laboratory. “What does that girl want now?” She directed her conscious attention towards security footage of the lab. She focused on the footage coming from the Virtual Compiler; three reclining seats had been placed under it, with three headsets linking a seemingly comatose Ritsuko Akagi, Maya Ibuki, and Miyata Ibuki to it. “Hmm…?”

Then, out of the blue, a new feed transmitted itself into her mind’s eye, of Ritsuko Akagi standing on a vast plain within a deep blue void. “MOTHER!” She gripped the sides of her white lab coat, which was buttoned over her torso. “WE…HAVE BECOME ONE!” Then she ripped open her lab coat, flashing her breasts. Except her breasts were replaced by the heads of Maya and Miyata, staring forlornly.

Naoko Akagi stared. And stared. “Nope. Nope.” She quickly cut the transmission feed. “Nope.”

Ritsuko’s voice still somehow came through. “But-“

“NOPE,” said HEROD, MELCHIOR, BALTHASAR, and CASPER.

xxxx

Episode 15: LEGION (The Beast saw me, and cried “Abomination!”)

xxxx

/this should give you an idea about the tone of MFE
//drama AND humor!

[UltraSonic007]

/November 28, 2015/

/Keter, NERV-1, Tokyo-3/

“This Virtual Compiler sounds revolutionary.”

“Indeed.” Gendo held up the small folder of papers that summarized the details of the Ritsuko Akagi’s project. “A way of virtually interfacing with a computer: to have your thoughts be treated as a programming language in and of themselves, translated into machine code by your very will.”

Kozou Fuyutsuki frowned. “You’d still need a decent knowledge of computer science to actually make use of it to any decent degree.”

“Which we’re in no short supply of.”

“I know. I just feel like being the devil’s advocate from time to time.”

“A habit that others would find vexing.” Gendo Ikari grabbed another document, frowning at the contents. “NERV-Lyon is being commissioned by the African Union for ten new nephilim; they’re requesting correspondence with Naoko Akagi.”

“It’s not like they need guidance; anything related to Project Nephilim has been under their dominion since GEHIRN’s dissolution.”

“It’s most likely someone who worked closely with the dear doctor during GEHIRN’s heyday.”

“So an excuse to indulge nostalgia.”

“Yes.” He resisted the urge to revel in such nostalgia himself; recalling how Naoko had been forced to interact with Project Nephilim’s clients through a video monitor always gave him some dark satisfaction. Relishing such things often gave way to sadism, which was entirely impractical.

“You’d think that they’d be tired of poking at the Congolese Federation by now.”

“Never underestimate man’s capacity for making stupid decisions. Speaking of which: thoughts on our upcoming inspection?”

Fuyutsuki shrugged. “It depends on who they send. My initial thought would be Putin, if only because of the security contingent he’ll be bringing along.” Undoubtedly a contingent rife with people that had experience in SVR RF or GRU. Ex-Spetsnaz, definitely.

“It would make for interesting PR, but they’ll be sending someone who hates my guts.”

“Insufficient criteria, Ikari.”

“It’s a matter of public record that he hates my guts.”

“Still insufficient.”

Gendo arched an eyebrow.

Fuyutsuki finally understood; who in SEELE actively showcased their disdain for Gendo Ikari? “Ah…Katsuhito Ikari.” Yui Ikari’s father. One of the pioneers of metaphysical biology, and a world-renowned expert in the fields of biomathematics, biomechanics, and biotechnology. Publically known for denigrating Gendo Ikari every chance he got. “He never did approve of your marriage.”

“More so because I had the gall to take on his name.” Gendo removed a small toy bone from his cloak, which had the word ‘BAD’ stenciled on it. “There’s some truth to the stereotype of girls wanting bad boys, after all.”

Fuyutsuki groaned. “Can we move on to discussing the logistics of the school play? I’d rather not think of what you and Yui considered romantic.”

Gendo smirked.

[UltraSonic007]

/Ikari Household, Outskirts of Okayama-2, Japan/

Tomoe, Alicia, and Annette Ikari watched the television in silence as NERV’s latest propaganda video played.

A view of the Earth from low orbit, such that its solar terminator was near the top of the terrestrial disk. Amidst the dark side of the planet, the bright orange form of the Ninth Angel could be seen, floating in solitude. In the background, one could hear the first notes of the Sunrise fanfare from Also Sprach Zarathustra.

A cutaway; Gendo Ikari stood amidst a field of flowers, a watering can in his hand. He stared up at the sky, focusing at an unknown point in the distance.

Back to the Angel, but closer. Its eye could be seen in detail.

Back to Gendo. The brass instruments reached the climax of the fanfare, right as he poured a small stream of water over white chrysanthemums, irises, white lilies, red spider lilies, white poppies, and peonies.

Back to the Angel, closer to its ‘face’. A red tear floated away from the massive eye.

Cutaway to a distance shot of Earth; the Angel vanished in a burst of consuming flame. As its ashes dispersed and the fanfare reached its triumphant end, NERV’s logo phased into existence over the dark side of the Earth. No subtitle; just the logo in red.

Fade to black.

Tomoe’s grand mustache twitched. “What kind of message is that egomaniac trying to sell?”

“I’m…not sure, honey,” said Alicia, lightly combing her long blonde hair.

“That…that…was sublime!” exclaimed Annette, brown eyes watering as she subconsciously fiddled with her blonde ponytail.

Tomoe looked down at his daughter. “Are you serious?”

“When have I not been serious?!” exclaimed the young woman as she leapt to her feet. “The artistic vision, the grace of the flowers’ language, the sheer hopeful magnificence of creation triumphing over destruction!” She clasped her hands over her heart, sighing happily. “My dear depraved Uncle Gendo might not be so hopeless after all~”

Tomoe chalked up his daughter’s swooning as one more reason to despise his insane brother-in-law.

[UltraSonic007]

/December 4, 2015/

/Lysosome, NERV-1, Tokyo-3/

Shinji Ikari winced as hot water sprayed at him from all angles. For a fourth time.

He stepped through the door; he got sprayed with some kind of chemical solution. For a seventh time. At least this one smelled somewhat decent.

He stepped through the door; another dose of hot water.

He stepped through the door; a vigorous air dry, for a third time. “This is very monotonous.”

“You’re sounding awfully…dry, Shinji-kun!”

Shinji resisted the urge to snark at Misato and her punny ways. “Is all of this really necessary?”

“These sync tests will give us a more detailed picture of your harmonics without the interference of the Plug Suits. One of the projected benefits of this experiment will be an upgrade of the software suite that links your mind and senses with those of the Eva.”

Ritsuko Akagi’s answer was sensible. Downright reasonable, even!

Through the door, and into a clean elevator that smelled strongly of antiseptic. Shinji winced at the bright lights of the long hallway he ended up in, stepping gingerly. He stared pointedly at a security camera at the far end of the hall. “You’re not watching me right now, are you?”

Dr. Akagi scoffed. “Like you have anything that can’t be found on the Internet.”

Shinji flushed furiously. “T-that’s not the point!”

Misato’s giggles echoed over the speakers. “Relax, Shinji-kun. We’ve disabled the security cams until you get to the Simulation Plugs. Now hurry along, so we can decontaminate Asuka! And we don’t want to keep Rei waiting!”

Shinji Ikari grimaced as he moved along, privately grateful that they had elected to decontaminate them one-by-one. The whole situation was awkward enough as it was.

[UltraSonic007]

/Pribnow Box, NERV-1, Tokyo-3/

Misato Katsuragi couldn’t deny that she felt a little unnerved at the sight of the Simulation Bodies: headless, legless humanoids with no skin and thick cables trailing from their spine and neck. “So…Ritsky…”

“Like Halloween on a 24/7 basis, isn’t it?”

“…yeah, let’s go with that.” She leaned against the protective glass barrier, looking at her reflection; the failed Evangelions seemed dismal and murky within the submerged chamber, crossing over her image in some kind of twisted art project. She walked over to one of the consoles and leaned over a microphone. “How you kids doing in there?”

“…the sensation is unfamiliar,” admitted Rei.

“It’s like my whole body’s fallen asleep,” said Shinji.

“I can really only feel my right arm…everything else tingles,” answered Asuka.

“This is exactly we’re doing this experiment.” Ritsuko pumped her fist, whilst her monocle projected the image of a blazing bonfire. “FOR THE TINGLY SENSATION THAT MAKES YOU QUIVER! That, and to more accurately map your senses to that of Eva. BUT MOSTLY FOR THE TINGLING!”

“We’re ready to proceed with the tests, senpai.”

At Maya’s words, Ritsuko grabbed the microphone. “Okay; Pilots, focus on slowly flexing your right arm.”

“Roger!”

As they proceeded with attempts to move the Simulation Bodies, Miyata frowned at a message coming on his screen. “Huh…ma’am, we just received a message from the Operations Deck. They’ve detected some corrosion in the eighty-seventh protein wall.”

“Of course, something had to go wrong.” Ritsuko frowned as she moved over to Miyata’s terminal, reading the preliminary scans of the protein wall. “It doesn’t seem like much to worry about…but why haven’t we found it before now?”

“Maybe it just spread that quickly?” suggested one of the technicians.

“If that’s the case, that’s even more unsettling. It must be cheating!” Ritsuko turned towards Maya. “Have the MAGI come up with a hypothesis yet?”

“They’re still deliberating.”

xxxx

/Corpus Callosum, NERV-1, Tokyo-3/

Within the tube of LCL, Naoko Akagi was multitasking.

HEROD.1 - Protein wall (87) corrosion. Cause?
MELCHIOR.6 - Reviewing construction backlog. Compiling.
BALTHASAR.3 - Probability of sabotage: calculating.
MELCHIOR.5 - Diverting electrical grid deliberations to HEROD.4 and CASPER.2. Rerouting processing power to MELCHIOR.6.

camera.log (CD-PB-43) (time – 09:34:32:77) - NERV-1 personnel working in Pribnow Box. Stress gradient in proximity to Akagi.Ritsuko is increasing.

CASPER.3 - Reviewing personnel backlogs and backgrounds. Review complete: probability of protein wall (87) sabotage by NERV-1 individuals is under 34%.
BALTHASAR.3 - Acknowledged: calculating conditional probabilities.
HEROD.12 - Freeware Evangelion mod for Earthcraft: complete. Uploading.
MELCHIOR.1, BALTHASAR.1 - Disagreement on use of resources by HEROD.12: acknowledge?
CASPER.7 - Addendum: reviewing mod. Review complete: seven bugs found.
HEROD.1 - Acknowledged.

Naoko snorted. Those weren’t bugs; they were features. “Cheeky tarts.”

camera.log (CD-OD-21) (time – 09:34:39:21) - Hyuga.Makoto speaking with Aoba.Shiori. Fuyutsuki.Kozou is speaking over personal earpiece with Ikari.Gendo.

CASPER.10 - Proposition: redefine Ikari.Gendo identifier as Sexy.Beast.
HEROD.1, MELCHIOR.1, BALTHASAR.1 - Denied.
CASPER.1 - Acknowledged.

Naoko scowled; sometimes CASPER’s cycles were utterly vexing. “Why the hell do you keep proposing that?”

MELCHIOR.6 - Construction backlog review: complete. Possible introduction of air bubbles during routine maintenance by Section 3 personnel. Referencing relevant video logs.
BALTHASAR.3 - Acknowledged: updating conditional probabilities.
HEROD.2 - Objection: presence of air unlikely to result in corrosion of this magnitude.

camera.log (CD-PW-3) (time – 09:34:47:67) - View of Protein Wall, interval (50,100). Discoloration on affected area is substantial.

BALTHASAR.1, CASPER.1 - Acknowledged.
MELCHIOR.1 - Conditional acknowledgement: possible agents present within air bubbles. Dedicating cycles 2 through 10 to analysis.
HEROD.1 - Acknowledged.
HEROD.3 - Proposition: notify Ikari.Gendo of intrusion in Terminal Dogma.

camera.log (TD-MA-67) (time – 09:35:01:91) - Kaji.Ryoji is rappelling down a maintenance shaft leading from Central Dogma to Terminal Dogma.

BALTHASAR.1 - Approved.
CASPER.1, HEROD.1 - Conditional approval: relay the notification in a collected manner.
HEROD.1 - Acknowledged.

camera.log (CD-K-1) (time – 09:35:10:23) - Ikari.Gendo reviewing messages on computer terminal, talking on earpiece with Fuyutsuki.Kozou. Sexy.Beast stands and departs from Keter.

Naoko did a double-take. “The hell?”

HEROD.1, MELCHIOR.1, BALTHASAR.1 - Proposition: reroute processing power from CASPER.10 to CASPER.9, with a conditional reprimand.
CASPER.1 - Approved.
HEROD.1 - Executive override: redefining Sexy.Beast identifier as Ikari.Gendo.

“Catty little minx.” For all the advantages that came with how Naoko had modeled the MAGI after facets of her personality, sometimes CASPER took the ‘Naoko the Woman’ part too far. At least MELCHIOR – Naoko the Scientist – and BALTHASAR – Naoko the Mother – were more predictable.

BALTHASAR.5 - Review of Virtual Compiler complete. Referencing reports and analysis. Summary: insanely brilliant.
BALTHASAR.4 - Proposition: provide Akagi.Ritsuko a high rating when her annual evaluation is due.
MELCHIOR.1, HEROD.1 - Conditional approval: more testing of Virtual Compiler is required.
CASPER.1 - Conditional denial: annual evaluation deals with aspects of Project E, Section 1 administration, and projects sanctioned by Ikari.Gendo. Virtual Compiler does not fall within that purview.

camera.log (CD-PW-3) (time – 09:35:22:44) - View of Protein Wall, interval (50,100). Discoloration has spread by approximately seventy-five square inches.

The core of HEROD frowned as her cycles observed MELCHIOR’s analysis of the corrosion. Something was unsettling, but what?

MELCHIOR.2 - Analysis complete.
MELCHIOR. 3, MELCHIOR.4 - Nanomachines have been detected within corrosion.
MELCHIOR.5, MELCHIOR.6 - Conclusion: nanomachines are primary cause of corrosion.
MELCHIOR.7, MELCHIOR.8 - Material analysis of nanomachines indicates presence of exotic matter.
MELCHIOR.9, MELCHIOR.10 - Conclusion: nanomachines are potentially Angelic in origin. Addendum: Pattern Blue not yet established.
MELCHIOR.1 - Proposition: alert command staff of potentially hostile nature of corrosion.

Naoko paled.

camera.log (CD-PW-3) (time – 09:35:24:81) - View of Protein Wall, interval (50,100). Spread of discoloration increases exponentially.

HEROD.1, BALTHASAR.1, CASPER.1 - Approved.

At that precise moment, the alarms began to wail.

[UltraSonic007]

/Pribnow Box, Sigma Unit, NERV-1, Tokyo-3/

“We have an unknown contaminant spreading from the protein wall! Temperature is rising rapidly!”

Those words coincided with klaxons.

Ritsuko Akagi snarled. “Enact isolation protocols!” Technicians quickly moved about, training taking over. Bulkheads were slam shut, and the halls between Central Dogma and the Sigma Unit were depressurized, becoming vacuum chambers. Primary network junctions were disconnected, further isolating the testing complexes within the Sigma Unit. Polysomes were deployed into the waters of the Pribnow Box, ready to activate at the slightest sign of the spreading corrosion.

A sign that was certain to come. Miyata Ibuki scowled at the latent readings he was receiving. “This isn’t good. We’ve isolated Central Dogma from the protein wall, but the corrosion is moving straight towards the Pribnow Box. There’s no randomness at all.”

“A sign of intelligence.” Ritsuko smirked. “Sounds invigorating!”

“Senpai, we’re receiving a report from the MAGI!” Maya quickly read the communique from HEROD. “The corrosion is being caused by nanomachines…comprised of exotic matter?”

Rei Ayanami’s brief yelp of pain caught everyone’s attention.

“Ayanami?! What’s going on?!”

“Shinji? Rei? Was ist los?!”

The Second and Third Children’s questions went unanswered. Everyone looked into the waters of the testing chamber; the First Child’s Simulation Body was writhing, muscle fibers twitching uncontrollably. The walls behind the Simulation Bodies were showcasing the purplish discoloration of the nanomachines’ corrosion; the polysomes quickly fired their lasers, aiming to burn away the infection.

They bounced off, reflected by tiny glowing hexagons.

“An AT-Field?!” exclaimed Misato.

“The MAGI have confirmed a Pattern Blue! It’s an Angel!”

Maya’s words made Ritsuko grin. “An interesting tactic…attacking from within.” She pumped her fist. “Well you’ll find that I’m scarier than any Evangelion! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“Can it Ritsuko, this isn’t the time!” Misato pointed at Miyata. “Lieutenant, jettison the Entry Plugs! We need to evacuate the Pribnow Box!”

There was an explosive burst of bubbles as the three Pilots rocketed away from the Simulation Bodies. Emergency channels to the Geofront opened up in the roof of the testing chamber, letting them escape safely.

The same couldn’t be said of the personnel in the Box. Streams of glowing nanomachines covered the Simulation Bodies, which were now reaching for the glass barrier. The technicians had already begun to flee, leaving scattered papers and toppled chairs in their wake. The Ibuki Twins quickly took position by the door, ready to hermetically seal the Box. “Dr. Akagi! Lieutenant Colonel, we have to move!”

Misato grabbed her friend’s arm and forcefully hauled her away. The blonde still managed to let loose several rude gestures. “We’ll match wits yet, you insufferable little pissant!”

The Simulation Bodies shattered the glass.

The Ibuki Twins shut the door right as the contaminated waters submerged the Pribnow Box.

xxxx

/School Yard, Tokyo-3 Municipal Junior High School/

Toji Suzuhara blinked. “Say what now?”

Mana Kirishima resisted the urge to berate the jock for being purposefully dense. “Do I really have to repeat myself?”

“It’s just a little…sudden?”

Mana snorted. “Subtle’s not really my style.”

Not even thirty minutes after school had let out at noon on Saturday, Mana Kirishima had practically ambushed Toji, Kensuke, and Hikari as they were departing for wherever-they-were-going-because-Mana-didn’t-really-care. She was on a mission.

Hikari Horaki forced a smile on her face. “Well, I think it’s wonderful that you want to try and be our friends!”

Kensuke Aida whipped out his trusty camera. “This moment must be documented for posterity! The moment where the hardcore soldier is enlightened by the magic of friendship!”

“I will punch you if you say those words again,” grumbled Mana. You’re doing this for your sister. You’re doing this for your sister. Apparently, becoming rather buddy-buddy with the Evangelion Pilots wasn’t enough. Now she had to try and be buddy-buddy with fleshy weaklings too. You’re doing this for your sister. “Like, right in the nose. With all of the knuckles.”

Toji snorted. “Yeah, sure. You ain’t gonna hurt us.”

“You’d be surprised at how much a human body can endure.” She grabbed the jock by his shirt and lifted him up with one arm. “Way I figure, as long as I don’t maim you, it’s fair game!” She cared not for the fact that Kensuke was filming the whole thing; let it be a future reminder!

Toji couldn’t quite hide his anxiety. He made an admirable effort though.

Hikari, on the other hand, wasn’t so intimidated. “We’re still on school property, Kirishima-san.” Several of the students that had yet to depart were watching from afar, morbid curiosity driving their decisions.

“Your point?”

“I’m still the Class Representative, with all that that entails.”

Mana smirked. “You trying to order me around?”

Hikari Horaki held her right hand forward, pointing at the ground. “Put. Him. Down.”

The silver-haired nephilim – veteran of the Central American Wars, pilot of a transforming Gundam, and all-around badass – shook her head out of disbelief. “Unbelievable.” She set Toji down, whose legs gave way the moment his feet touched the ground. “How the hell do you do that?”

The pigtailed girl smiled, memories of a red-eyed blunette – younger, stranger, but practically oozing control – coming to mind. “I had a good teacher.”

[UltraSonic007]

“I had a good teacher.”

Mana grimaced, opening her mouth to reply when her ears twitched. A certain sound – faint, high-pitched…happy? – could be heard in the distance. “Hold up.” It was coming closer. The sound of young girls screaming…in delight. There was also the faint sound of clanking metal and hydraulics. “…back away.”

The trio stared at her, confused by her sudden wariness.

That’s when the girlish squeals became audible to human ears. A shadow cast over them, and the three humans heeded the nephilim’s advice.

CRASH!

An eight-foot-tall robot with a cat’s head landed between the four teens in a crouch, with three young girls latched on.

Toji blinked when he saw who they were. “…sis?!”

“Nozomi-chan?!” yelped Hikari.

“Hey, Ji!” Ai rubbed the orange tabby’s head, her mouth stuck in a happy grin. “Parkour ain’t that scary if you get used to it!”

“We’re just playing with Randall,” reassured Nozomi Horaki.

“PLAYMATES WHO NEVER TIRE. ALL IS RIGHT IN THE WORLD,” typed Randall.

Mari Langley-Sohryu turned her attentions to Mana. “Is ‘Ska still doing that weird experiment she was telling me about?”

“…yes.”

The young girl let loose a string of German. “It’s been hours! When is she gonna be done?!”

“Look kid, I have no clue.” Mana looked over at Kensuke, who was still rolling. “Are you done filming?”

The bespectacled Gendotaku grinned. “Never.”

The nephilim facepalmed. At least my sister’s having a better time.

xxxx

Elsewhere, two teenagers were overlooking Tokyo-3 from one of the nature trails that connected to the Municipal Junior High School. Dirt and pebbles had given way to roots over soil, a well-trodden path fading away under old growth. It all culminated in a ridge with a rather grand view of the city, gleaming skyscrapers amidst the valley of Hakone. Lake Ashi shined in the midday sun, rounding out the picturesque sight.

However, it would be a lie to call it pristine.

“This city has some rough spots,” commented Ryo Sawamura.

“Yes.” Mayumi Yamagisihi took note of several city blocks rife with construction equipment, repairing the last of the damage wrought by the Fifth Angel. The environmental scars were still present: the trenches formed by the crystalline Angel’s kamikaze attack were entirely filled in with soil that stood out against the natural earth, and the crater where the Angel had fallen now housed a series of warehouses, each one filled to the brim with the shattered remnants of the Angel’s corpse. The city limits had been mercifully spared the efforts of the Angels since then, due to NERV’s efforts. “Yet they still rebuild.”

Ryo looked towards her. “You ever wonder where that kind of strength comes from?”

Mayumi gazed at her…friend? Was that an accurate description of what they were? Her acquaintance? Her boyfriend? Her fellow philosophical conversationalist? “It’s probably something innate. A desire for survival intrinsic to all living things.”

The brown-haired boy shrugged. “Not there aren’t plenty of people who act completely contrary to that desire.”

“Speaking from experience?”

“You could say that.” He looked back at the city, a contemplative expression on his face. “I’ve told you that my father worked at NHIS…but I never did tell you about what he really does.”

Mayumi tried not to let any sense of recognition show. So did Sawamura-san actually tell his son about the JET ALONE Project?

“You see those special Gundams that have been helping the Evas since October?”

“On some amateur footage, yes.” A safe answer, without indicating the true source of her knowledge.

“My father worked on them. He told me some things about them; not much due to company confidentiality, but some things. Like how their pilots aren’t human.”

Mayumi sighed. Though public knowledge on nephilim was limited – their Angelic origins were top secret – their genetically-engineered nature and inhuman powers were well-known after the Central American Wars. It had been the first major conflict involving nephilim in battlefield operations alongside conventional military units; leaking of video to the Internet (and the following outcry by the media for answers) was inevitable. “Does your father have a negative opinion?”

“Can’t say that he does. He says that they’re nice enough.” The boy sighed, scratching the back of his head. “I just wonder why. Mankind seems to have lasted just fine on its own, hasn’t it?”

If only you knew what the Evanglions were. “That’s just another part of survival: doing whatever it takes to make it to the next, doing whatever you must to ensure that people can live.”

“And if the people change so much that they’re no longer people?”

“Would a human without legs consider you inhuman, because you have what he does not?”

“…a fair point.” The boy cracked each of his knuckles individually, a subconscious gesture. A sign of nervousness, perhaps. “I guess Kirishima and Ayanami don’t make for a good first impression.”

That was understandable. Her sister was a bundle of brashness at the best of times, and the First Child’s demeanor at school tended to default to ‘standoffish’; oddly enough, Ayanami was far more emotive when she was at NERV, in particular when she was just with the Pilots. There was a statement somewhere in that realization. “So it’s all about impressions?”

“Isn’t everything?”

Mayumi calmly steeled herself; there was a reason she had asked Ryo to walk with her today. “And what do you think of me?”

Ryo looked at her oddly, an odd quirk to his lips. “You’re interesting to talk to. You’re interesting to look at. You’re interesting to listen to. You’re just…interesting.”

She could feel the heat in her cheeks. “I see.” That was acceptable. Perhaps…perhaps he would understand then. “Why tell me about your father’s work? His real work, on those Gundams?”

He blinked, before turning away. “I just felt like…it was right to share something secret with you. It seemed agreeable.”

Mayumi's cheeks dimpled as a small smile bloomed. Agreeable. How ironic to hear a word that so often came from Rei Ayanami’s lips. “Then…I have a secret for you as well.” Without hesitation, without pause, she removed her fake glasses, her colored contacts, and her dark wig.

Ryo Sawamura turned around, and saw Mayumi Yamagishi, nephilim, for the first time.

He was silent.

The widening of his eyes was impossible to miss. For a moment, Mayumi wondered why he went so still, why his body stiffened so completely.

Then he took a step back.

Then another.

Without saying a word, he turned on his heels and ran back into the woods, as fast as humanly possible.

Mayumi stared as he ran, long after he faded from sight. Her hands seemed to rise of their own free will, brushing the wetness off of her cheeks. “Oh.” Her heartbeat seemed so loud, and her chest felt like it wanted to rip open of its own volition. “I’m crying.” The urge to just crumple up into a little ball, to escape all sensation, to flee, to just block out everything…was hard to ignore.

So she didn’t.

The young girl calmly fell to her knees and wept bitterly.

[UltraSonic007]

/Operations Deck, NERV-1, Tokyo-3/

“Evas Unit-00, 01, and 02 have been evacuated to the surface.”

At those words from Makoto Hyuga, Misato Katsuragi sighed. “Let’s count our blessings. The last thing we need is to risk an infection of the Evangelions by the Angel.”

“And has a message been sent to the Committee about our test of the Angel alarms?”

The Operations Director turned towards Fuyutsuki. “Yes sir. We made sure to notify them that it was part of a general test of our security in light of increased cultist activity.” A general test that had been fabricated by MAGI-00, but that was a trivial matter. “Now…we just have to deal with this thing.” Everyone’s attention turned back towards the holographic displays, which showcased the spread of the Tenth Angel beyond the Pribnow Box. “The speed at which it adapted to the ozone…”

Initial analysis had showcased a reluctance on part of the nanomachines to spread to the layer of heavy water at the lower depths of the Pribnow Box’s testing chamber. From this, the organic nature of the nanomachines had become apparent: ozone had been pumped into the tank in the hopes of simple chemistry doing the job for them.

Then the Angel had started feeding on the ozone.

“Evolution itself is our enemy,” muttered Fuyutsuki. Right as he said that, another set of sirens wailed. “Oh, what now?!”

“Our network is being hacked! Determining source,” exclaimed Maya, before her eyes widened. “It’s coming from the Pribnow Box!”

“Look at these images!” Miyata boggled at the images coming from the polysomes; the glowing nanomachines on the Simulation Bodies were rearranging themselves to form logic gates and circuits. “It’s practically an organic computer!”

“That will be enough of that.”

The alarms suddenly shut off. Maya blinked at the readouts she was seeing. “Access codes are changing every five seconds; dummy proxy servers are in effect.”

Ritsuko Akagi frowned at the sound of her mother’s voice. “Well, you deign to let us hear your forgotten vocal cords?”

“Spare me the trivial nonsense.” Everyone remained silent as Naoko Akagi, the reclusive former head of Section 1, Project E, and Project Nephilim, said her piece. “My preliminary analysis has already shown me what I know in my gut to be true: the Angel’s target is the MAGI. I don’t need to tell you why this is a bad thing.”

Fuyutsuki grimaced. “All it needs is to infect a majority of the MAGI to initiate a self-destruct sequence.”

“Or just me.”

“See?” yelled Ritsuko. “This is why I said Administrator privileges were a bad idea! NEVER GIVE THE SELF-DESTRUCT BUTTON AN EASY OUT!”

“I can stall the Angel for a time, but it will continue to adapt to my countermeasures. Eventually, it will be faster than even I can handle. I will need assistance in order to try and subvert the Angel’s programming of the nanomachines.”

“…your suggestion?” asked Misato, somewhat unnerved by how chatty HEROD was being.

“Well, the Virtual Compiler does need more testing.” One could practically hear the smirk in her voice. “BALTHASAR was rather fond of it. MELCHIOR and I have conditionally approved it.”

Ritsuko snorted. “And let me guess: CASPER is against it.”

“You have to ask?”

“Bitch.”

“Time is running out, dear daughter. Put that weak, insane mind of yours to good use for once.”

The Ibuki Twins stared fearfully at their superior, fearful of how she would react to Naoko’s casual putdowns. She was stock still, glaring quietly at the displayed schematic of the four MAGI.

Then she chuckled. “So, the ball’s in Ritsuko’s court, hm?” She suddenly turned and barked, “LIEUTENANTS IBUKI!”

“Yes senpai?!”

“Yes ma’am?!”

“To the lab!” With a flourish, the blonde whirled on her high heels and walked off, white lab coat fluttering behind her. “WE HAVE SCIENCE TO DO! UWAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

Fuyutsuki sighed at the doctor’s bombastic exit. What a time for Ikari to go hunting.

xxxx

/Terminal Dogma, NERV-1, Tokyo-3/

“My my, it’s so gloomy down here.” Ryoji Kaji walked casually through the dimly-lit halls of Terminal Dogma, thousands of feet below the Earth’s surface. The further he went, the more he encountered prefabricated structures amidst alien technology; the orientation of the complex was somewhat disorienting, lacking a logical layout. Most likely a method to prevent interlopers from snooping.

Fortunately, he didn’t much care for logic. Otherwise he wouldn’t be down here.

He fiddled with an empty plastic cup, calmly pausing by another corner. Poking his eyes around the corner, he grinned at the sight of another security camera. “We meet again, my persistent nemesis.” Flexing his fingers, the Inspector flung his cup around the corner.

With a soft plink, it fell onto the nose of the camera, blocking its view.

Kaji strolled down the hall, swiping the cup back as he passed by. I’ll have to remember to thank Misato-chan for all the drinking games she made me play. He passed by a number of doors, ignoring them; they stood out too much in their sameness. “Hold the phone now.” He backed up, looking intently at one door in particular: it was generic in every sense of the word.

Too generic.

Even with its superficial similarities to the other doors, someone had gone through the effort to make it look unnoticeable.

To his eyes, that made it all the more intriguing.

Kaji calmly opened the door, stepping into a room filled with tanks of LCL. “Well well, isn’t this scary?” he said with a casual grin. He entered the darkened room, a slight chill clinging to his skin. Within the tanks floated a variety of body parts and organs: one had an entire central nervous system; another a full-scale circulatory system. By and large, the majority of the tanks held human brains, suspended listlessly in the orange solution. “Hmm.”

The Inspector found himself by a computer in the back, rife with folders and handwritten notes. Very distinctive notes. Ritsuko’s handwriting. He grabbed one of the folders that seemed more fresh than usual, taking note of the title on the front page. “Project DUMMY PLUG…how interesting.”

“Indeed.”

Ryoji Kaji turned around, coming face-to-face with the dreaded gaze of NERV’s Supreme Commander. “It’s very interesting, Inspector.”

[UltraSonic007]

/Lake Kurotsuki, Geofront, Tokyo-3/

Shinji Ikari was in quite a dilemma.

Nudity had everything to do with it.

See, he was reluctant to stay in the Simulation Plug; given how troublesome the situation inside NERV had seemed to be going, the desire to help – to get to Unit-01, to do something – was quite strong.

However, he was quite naked.

“Shinji! Get your butt out of there! Rei’s already swum to shore!”

And so were Asuka and Rei. “I’m okay, thank you!” he shouted at the open hatch.

The Second Child’s voice echoed through, bounding off the cylindrical walls of the Plug. “Don’t be a prude! Are you just going to sit there and wait?”

“…yes! Yes, I will be a prude!”

“Well, whatever then!”

Shinji listened to the sound of a human swimming away; as the splashes faded, he sighed, sinking back into the seat. “It’s called being a gentleman, anyway.”

Meanwhile, Asuka Langley-Sohryu calmly got to the shore, wringing the water out of her long hair. “Any idea what’s with Shinji? Didn’t he go to a mixed hot spring with you, Kaworu, and Misato?”

“Yes,” replied Rei Ayanami, who was trying to determine the nearest supply cache near their position. She had no personal objection to her current state of undress, but that was beside the point. “But we didn’t actually mix.”

“Hmm…” Asuka had a contemplative look on her face. “Does Japan have any nude beaches?”

“I do not know.”

The German native shrugged. “We should probably find a way to drag him to one. That boy needs to unwind! I mean, we’re kind of born naked, so it’s not something to be so awkward about. He’d probably be a lot happier.”

Rei arched an eyebrow, recalling her brief conversation on a similar subject with Yamagishi-san over a month ago. “From my understanding, I was under the impression that males only awkwardly around females they were unfamiliar with. Ikari-san is familiar with both of us: why would he be awkward?”

The redhead looked intently at the blunette, a knowing grin emerging on her face. “Oh Rei,” crooned Asuka, putting her arm around her friend’s shoulders. “There are so many things you have yet to learn~!”

“If you say so.”

Little did they know, they were being peeped on.

Through crosshairs.

Okay, so it was a different kind of peeping.

“Center the target…” murmured the sniper, nestled between a few bushes beside a small creek. He centered the crosshair on the redhead’s face. “Pull the trigger…”

PLOP!

The sniper resisted the urge to scream at the sudden sound of splashing water. He peered at the creek, sighing with relief at what it was. “Ah…just a penguin…” An odd sight to be sure, but the penguin seemed content with swimming. “Can’t lose it now…” It had taken him so long to infiltrate the Geofront without being spotted; he hadn’t quite gambled on finding the Evangelion Pilots this quickly. “Have to end this war…” Without the Evangelions, the Angels would have nothing to stop them. He would be a martyr for the Light of the Divine, a worthy sacrifice for their holy cause. “My sincerest apologies children.” He raised his rifle, trying to refocus on the two young girls. “I know you’re only tools for those who would stand in the way of God; may His Messengers have mercy on your souls.” He slowed his breathing, narrowing his eyes. “Center the target…”

“Wark.”

The cultist frowned at the sight of a penguin blocking his vision. “Move.”

The penguin raised his right flipper. “What are you-?”

Those were his last words.

SHICK.

Pen-Pen tilted his head at the camouflaged sniper. The man was twitching oddly, and odd gurgling noises were coming from his mouth. There was also blood leaking from his head.

The extended claw that had pierced his skull was probably to blame for those things.

The sharpened talon retracted back into Pen-Pen’s flipper, and the cultist collapsed to the ground. The penguin looked calmly at the dead man.

“Wark.”

Then he jumped back into the creek to wash the blood off. It wouldn’t do to bring such a mess back to his home, after all.

[UltraSonic007]

/Ritsuko Akagi’s Laboratory, NERV-1, Tokyo-3/

The Section 1 technicians were unused to all their three supervisors being unavailable.

Technically unavailable, given that Ritsuko Akagi, Maya Ibuki, and Miyata Ibuki were all reclining underneath the Virtual Compiler, each one wearing a headset.

But unavailable in the sense they would be busy virtually interfacing with the MAGI in an attempt to overwrite the Tenth Angel’s programming of the nanomachines. All in all, an average day of strangeness for those who called Ritsuko Akagi their boss. Higher stakes definitely, but not too strange.

“Okay, the Virtual Compiler is ready!” One technician readjusted his glasses, turning towards Dr. Akagi and the Ibuki Twins. “Best of luck you three.”

“With science, we don’t need luck. But we’ll take it!” Dr. Akagi looked at Maya to her right, and Miyata to her left. “You two ready?”

“Of course senpai!”

“Always ma’am!”

“Then PUNCH IT!”

With a flip of a switch, the Virtual Compiler activated.

To Ritsuko, Maya, and Miyata, all sensation of the real world faded away, tunneling into darkness.

xxxx

/Virtual Plain/

Then there was light.

Ritsuko Akagi and the Ibuki Twins popped into existence on a featureless plain comprised of a jade-colored grid. The sky was hazy and pale blue, and if one looked close enough, faint strings of zeroes, ones, and machine code could be seen.

“Well, here we are again.” Miyata looked warily at his boss. “We’re not gonna fuse again, are we?”

Maya shrugged. “Depends. If it provides a greater processing advantage, we might have to link our minds again. Not that linking my mind with yours was a fun sensation.”

“The feeling’s mutual, sis.”

“CAN IT!” roared Ritsuko Akagi, prompting the Twins to jump. “If we must link minds, then you shall do so gladly! After all, it’s a great honor for my simulated hands to virtually and metaphorically pick at your gray matter! HOOHOHOHOHOHOHO!” Then she snapped her fingers.

The plain underwent a visual distortion, and it seemed as though the trio warped into the distance. The spatial bending faded, and the three bore witness to the siege.

Amidst the plain stood four towers, made of gleaming metal and cybernetics. Lightning, explosives, and bullets soared from these towers, slamming into the invading horde. The region from which the horde emerged was colored a sickly purple, flickering with the telltale orange lights of an AT-Field. The horde itself was comprised of beasts of all shapes and sizes: hulking, fire-breathing monsters; flying cephalopods that cracked with electricity; slim wraiths with limbs like blades. Each one bore the mask of a bird’s skull, a telltale sign of their Angelic origins.

Ritsuko Akagi looked thoughtfully at the scene. “Hmm. An army of monsters. I approve of our subconscious visualization of the Tenth Angel!” In the blink of an eye, Ritsuko’s body morphed and grew, transforming into a massive tank worthy of Keith Laumer. “LET’S BLOW CRAP UP!”

The Ibuki Twins stared as the tank rumbled towards the towers. “Well, that’s a thing.” A sharp battle axe materialized in Miyata’s hand. “For some reason, I’m feeling nostalgic.”

“For Vietnam? Or Laos?”

“Does it really matter?”

“I’d normally consider that impossible.” An M1918 BAR materialized in Maya’s hands. “Then again, I’ve gotten used to the impossible.”

“Then shall we advance, sister of mine?”

“Yes, brother of mine.” To those who were used to the company of the Ibuki Twins, the savage grins that came to their face would have seemed out of place.

Well, not to Kozou Fuyutsuki, but that was a story for another time.

xxxx

/Operations Deck, NERV-1, Tokyo-3/

It would be polite to call the current operation ‘unorthodox’.

“The Angel is initiating a series of DDoS attacks; network bandwidth between the MAGI is decreasing!”

“Secondary firewalls are being enacted by Ritsuko.exe; bandwidth returning to nominal levels.”

Mostly because, for the most part, Misato Katsuragi could only watch as her best friend went mano-a-mano with the Angel in cyberspace. “Well, I honestly never saw this coming.”

“The Angel’s mimicking hundreds of thousands of IP addresses! It’s attempting to overwhelm the MAGI’s network matrix!”

“Maya.exe and Miyata.exe have established a false port; the Angel’s attempts to connect are being rerouted!”

Makoto Hyuga leaned back in his chair, looking up at the Lieutenant Colonel. “Tell me about it. It’s kind of frustrating, how we’re reduced to waiting.”

“At least Dr. Akagi’s band of techies get to bask in the limelight for a change,” commented Shiori Aoba, right as more of the technicians continued to repeat what was happening.

“The Angel’s utilizing multiple Trojan horses! MELCHIOR and BALTHASAR are countering!”

“Foreign rootkits have been detected in the registries! HEROD is currently restoring the system defaults!”

“CASPER has launched viruses to choke out the Angel’s processing power…viruses are being overwritten! Miyata.exe is terminating the viruses!”

“Maya.exe and Ritsuko.exe are attempting to overclock the nanomachines. HEROD and BALTHASAR are bombarding the Angel with packets of junk data!”

Back-and-forth, feint and counter-feint. Minutes passed in this manner; the most that the technicians were doing were analyzing data packets originating from the Angel and analyzing them for any vulnerabilities. Anything that would take pressure off of the MAGI, Dr. Akagi, and the Ibuki Twins.

Alas, something had to give eventually.

“The nanomachines are reconfiguring!” One of the technicians gaped. “Oh gods…all of its logic gates are reversible! It’s like a pseudo-quantum computer!”

“Estimated clock frequency for the nanomachines has risen by an order of magnitude!”

“MELCHIOR’s been targeted by multiple spoofs…its Decision Subroutine Suite is being subverted!” Another alarm sounded. “MELCHIOR’s been taken over by the Angel!”

Kozou Fuyutsuki scowled. “Damn it.”

“That’s an accurate summation of this current situation.”

The Sub-Director turned around, eyes narrowing as Gendo Ikari strolled into the Operations Deck. “Did you make a good catch?”

“You could say that.” The Supreme Commander looked at the holographic display, his focus squarely on the image of MELCHIOR. “Though it seems we’re in quite the pickle.”

“That’s putting it mildly.”

xxxx

/Virtual Plain/

Ritsuko Akagi grimaced at the sight of MELCHIOR’s tower, its gleaming surface now sporting wicked red circuitry; from within its depths, more of the Angelic ‘monsters’ emerged. “Well, it figures that the Scientist would be the first to succumb.”

Then a voice rang out, deep and terrible.

“YOU ARE, ALL OF YOU, VERMIN.”

Ritsuko chomped furiously on a cigar, even as numerous phantoms – shaped like Randall, clad in various robotic shells – emerged from her palms and engaged the horde. “That a fact, huh?”

Standing atop the infected tower was an avatar representing MELCHIOR: Naoko the Scientist, clad in a hazmat suit with opaque goggles wrapped around her eyes. The amber halo above her head was a new addition though, a sign of the Angel’s control. “YOU SIMPER AND COWER, FORCED TO CANNIBALIZE THE BODIES OF THOSE INFINITELY YOUR GREATER IN ORDER TO SURVIVE.” One of the fire-breathing hulks leapt from MELCHIOR’s tower, landing on the side of CASPER’s. Before it could begin scaling the precipice, a blast of electricity forced it to fall. “YOU PRIDE YOURSELVES ON YOUR KNOWLEDGE. YOU PRIDE YOURSELVES ON YOUR ABILITY TO CHANGE YOUR OWN NATURE. WHAT USE IS IT TO CHANGE A NATURE THAT IS MEANINGLESS? YOU ARE NOTHING BEFORE THOSE LIKE ME!”

The avatar of CASPER – Naoko the Woman, wearing a sleek red dress and high heels – smirked. “He has such a naughty way with words.” A torrent of missiles was unleashed from her tower, raining down on the horde.

“YOUR CONSTRUCT WAS CONVINCED OF MY CAUSE THROUGH SIMPLE LOGIC.” As the Angel said this, MELCHIOR gestured towards CASPER: her tower suddenly opened up, revealing a massive cannon. “SUBMIT AS IT DID, AND YOUR DEMISE WILL COME PAINLESSLY. THIS CONCLUSION IS PREDESTINED.”

“Why am I having a hard time believing that?” Miyata fired several bullets from atop of HEROD’s tower, each one morphing into a singularity that absorbed all entities within a twenty-meter radius.

“Now’s not the time to ask the obvious!” yelled Maya, who was busy controlling a gigantic tiger that was tearing through the tide of monsters.

“Come on, let me be rhetorical for a change!” Miyata withdrew a bazooka in his pocket and fired a miniature nuclear warhead. Alas, for each nanomachines representation that seemed to fall, two more took its place.

“I AM THE LEGION, FREE OF THE WEAKNESS OF INDIVIDUALITY. NO MATTER HOW YOU OPPOSE ME, I SHALL OVERCOME IT.” As the Angel said these words, BALTHASAR – Naoko the Mother, looking for all the world like your everyday housewife, complete with stereotypical apron – was overwhelmed by a group of wraiths, skewered at the ends of their blades. Moments later, her tower sported the same red glow that MELCHIOR’s did. “THIS ONE KNOWS THAT THE LONGER YOU RESIST, THE GREATER YOUR TORMENT WILL BE. SUCCUMB, AND LET THIS FARCE COME TO AN END!”

Ritsuko Akagi warped onto the top of HEROD’s tower, looking at the scene from above with a critical eye. Maya and Miyata were busy trying to defend CASPER from the efforts of MELCHIOR and BALTHASAR, even as the Angelic horde stormed at them from all sides. “Hmm. This is problematic.”

“You have a wondrous talent for stating the obvious,” stated HEROD. Unlike the other three MAGI, HEROD’s avatar was an exact duplicate of Naoko’s body in the real world, right down to the tank of LCL. “It seems I may have miscalculated: your use of the Virtual Compiler may have accelerated the Angel’s evolution even more than I anticipated.”

“Oh? Admitting that you were wrong?” Ritsuko pulled her cigar out and dropped it onto a group of ascending monsters: the cigar burst into a hellish storm of napalm, and its lingering ashes acted as a flesh-eating parasite. “That’s unusually charitable of you.”

“Unlike you, I’ve never indulged in self-deception.”

“Hmph. That’s true…you never were one to sugarcoat anything. You were realistic about your successes and your failures.”

“YOUR PRATTLING IS AMUSING.” Lightning and fire bombarded CASPER’s tower, prompting the Ibuki Twins to abandon ship. Sheer force of numbers overwhelmed MAGI-03, and the Angel’s taint consumed it utterly. The sky took on a red tint, and the three MAGI towers unleashed an onslaught of lightning upon the central tower of HEROD. Atop MELCHIOR, BALTHASAR, and CASPER, the horde converged, morphing into giant versions of the fire-breathing goliath, the flying kraken, and the blade-bearing wraith. The voice of the Angel suddenly had a direction: it came from the three giants, echoing from the avian masks. “YOUR MACHINES ARE MINE. BY THEIR HAND, YOU WILL PERISH IN CATACLYSMIC FIRE. I MUST ADMIT, I AM DISAPPOINTED THAT THIS IS ALL TAKES TO END YOU.”

Maya and Miyata joined Dr. Akagi’s side, looking warily at the behemoths. “Senpai…what are we going to do?”

“Well, as it just so happens, I have a plan.”

“What is it?” asked Miyata.

Ritsuko reached into her pocket and pulled out a red pill. “I have a little executable program that I’ve been creating while we’ve been chatting. A subroutine matrix based off of my thought processes and personality: a condensed version of how my mother utilized the Personality Transplant OS to create the MAGI.”

HEROD’s avatar arched an eyebrow. “Oh?”

Ritsuko smirked. “This plan is certifiably insane. But then again, those have been my specialty.” She swallowed the pill, and walked to the edge of the tower. “Okay you overgrown computer virus! You think you’re a superior lifeform?”

“IT IS NOT A MATTER OF MERE BELIEF OR MERE SUPPOSITION. IT IS UNDENIABLE REALITY.” The three giants peered closer, overshadowing HEROD’s tower with their presence. “YOUR EFFORTS HAVE BEEN FUTILE: BEFORE ME, YOU ARE NOTHING BUT MERE INSECTS.”

“That so? Well from any objective standpoint, you’re right…but humanity is notorious for being horrifically biased. And irrational for that matter!”

“YOU BOAST OF YOUR OWN WEAKNESS. BEFITTING A PATHETIC CREATURE OF MEAT AND BONE, PROSTRATE BEFORE THAT WHICH MANY OF YOUR KIND WOULD CALL A GOD.”

“But you know what? Throughout our history, it’s been the insane, the quirky, the mad geniuses who have driven progress for good or ill. So like any decent scientist, I will stand on their shoulders and follow their example!” With that said, Ritsuo unscrewed her scalp and pulled it off, revealing her brain.

Maya, Miyata, and Naoko Akagi stared.

Then three harpoons with cables fired from Ritsuko’s brain, latching into the masks of the three Angelic beasts.

The Tenth Angel chuckled cruelly. “YOU WOULD INTERFACE DIRECTLY WITH ME? VERY WELL: I WILL REDUCE YOU TO NOTHING, AND THEN I SHALL SUNDER THE BLACK MOON.”

Red and blue electricity crackled over the cables.

Then an unearthly howl echoed over the plain, and the three beasts recoiled.

“ABOMINATION!” screeched the Angel. “YOUR MIND IS IMPOSSIBLE! HOW ARE YOU FUNCTIONING?! WHAT ARE YOU?!”

“I could say that I simply refuse to die. I could say that I have good friends that keep me going. But you know what, Angel? The truth is…” Ritsuko Akagi grinned, bearing her teeth and raising her hands into the air. “I! AM! A MAD SCIENTIST! BWAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!”

xxxx

/Operations Deck, NERV-1, Tokyo-3/

On the holographic display, the three MAGI surrounding HEROD were bloody red, and HEROD bore only a few small patches of pale blue.

Then, like a wave, the blue overwhelmed the red, and the MAGI were purged of the Angelic infection.

“…the nanomachines are destroying themselves,” muttered one of the technicians. “Pattern Blue has disappeared.”

[UltraSonic007]

Iruel's down, but not out.

New episode is up.

/now with more fanservice
//and by fanservice
///I mean relationship drama

[00zau]

Oh boy! I'd seen this fic (on tvTropes) but never read it because I have an aversion to reading (possibly) dead fics. Great to see that it's updating again. Will read now.

[UltraSonic007]

For those who never saw the original posts on Spacebattles, Tomoe's look was inspired by Basque Grand:




xxxx


/December 6, 2015/

/Outside Katsuragi’s Apartment, Tokyo-3, Japan/

The sun was just poking over the valley of Hakone as a gray minivan parked in front of its final destination. Out of the vehicle poured three tired individuals, each one bearing a temporary NERV-issued identification card: Tomoe Ikari, wearing a beret and a black shirt that read ‘I AM THE LAW’; Alicia Ikari, sensibly dressed in a white blouse and khakis; and Annette Ikari, clad in jeans and a black shirt that read ‘I FOUGHT THE LAW’.

“Honey, you do know that the next part of that lyric is ‘and the law won’?”

Annette looked amusingly at her mother. “Mom, who here’s even gonna recognize it’s from a song?”

“A fair point.”

Tomoe calmly took point, leading his wife and daughter up to the apartment complex. They had departed yesterday afternoon from Okayama-2 on a road trip of over seven hundred kilometers – at least four-hundred and thirty miles, more than a third of length of Honshu – before stopping for the night in Shizuoka-2. From there, it had been a short drive to Tokyo-3. He inwardly groused at the various tolls and checkpoints he had been forced to pass through, but he understood their necessity.

The idle chatter of his wife and daughter filled the morning air, wet with dew and slightly warm. Finally, they came to the proper door, coinciding with a rising sense of anticipation. The sight of three maintenance men patching up a wall the next apartment over also had something to do with it.

After months of only talking over the phone, they would see Shinji face-to-face again.

Knock knock, went Tomoe’s big knuckles.

Naturally, one would suspect that Misato Katsuragi would open the door, it being her apartment and all.

She did.

Tomoe arched an eyebrow. Alicia covered her mouth out of surprise. Annette blinked, mouthing ‘oh my’.

A believable reaction to a grown woman answering the door in daisy dukes and a yellow tank top with no bra. “Ah, you must be Shinji-kun’s uncle, aunt, and cousin!” She focused on Tomoe: namely, his face. "Holy crap, Shinji-kun wasn't kidding about the mustache. Come on in!”

The trio followed the slovenly woman into her house of pandemonium: a stubbly man with a ponytail was busy cooking breakfast, with an excitable teenage redhead and young brunette offering directions on how to properly make German pancakes with a side of sausage. Two young women with very bizarre hair colors – silver and light blue, the ones from the photo – sat at the kitchen table beside an older brunette, all three looking rather morose. It made for a rather discordant scene.

“-and you have to make sure that the sausage is cooked just right, because we don’t exactly have the deli meats for an original German breakfast!” The sound of Misato’s greeting finally caught up with Asuka, who turned around to look at the newcomers. “Ooh! You must be Shinji’s family!”

Tomoe slightly bristled at the redhead’s familiar use of Shinji’s name. Fortunately, a tap on the elbow from Alicia brought recognition: she was a foreigner to Japan’s ways, much like Alicia had been; her use of his surname wouldn’t be so odd.

Annette wasn’t so quick on the uptake. “So…on a first-name basis, hmm?”

“I’m on a first-name basis with everyone!”

Annette blinked. Asuka smiled. The blonde frowned, analyzing the redhead as she stepped around the table. Blue eyes met blue, and Annette found herself taking the girl’s measure. “…what are your intentions towards my cousin?”

Tomoe snorted and Alicia facepalmed. Misato felt the urge to cackle at the display. “Oh, so she’s one of those kinds…I approve!”

Asuka maintained her cherubic smile. “To fight by his side and defeat the Angels, of course!”

Annette twitched. Oh, so you’re going to play that game? “And that’s all~?”

“Of course! Besides, even if I did have romantic intentions towards him…” Asuka’s grin widened at how the blonde briefly convulsed, her conversational aim laid bare. “Someone else has priority.”

Everyone turned to stare at the redhead. Mana found herself dumbfounded. “Say what now?”

“Oh? It isn’t obvious to everyone else?” Asuka theatrically sighed. “Well, it’s not my place to butt in, if you all haven’t made the connection by now~”

Misato was dumbstruck. Someone’s got it bad for Shinji-kun? And Asuka found out BEFORE me?!

Annette looked at the redhead in a new light, letting her senses as a vibrant social butterfly kick in. Her final judgment would hinge on the girl’s answer to her next question. “Let me guess…he doesn’t have a clue yet?”

“Nope!”

Annette beamed, holding out a fist. “Comrades?”

Asuka grinned, and returned the fist-bump. “Comrades!”

“…sister?”

“Yeah Mayumi?”

“I am confused as to what just happened.”

“Same here.”

“So, where’s the boy?” asked Tomoe, briefly glancing at the picture of the five Pilots he held in his hand. It was always comforting to see how many features came from his sister instead of Rokubungi; were it not for the blue eyes and the slightly pronounced chin, he’d look like Yui with a messy bowl cut. “We’d like to catch up before this ‘play’ begins.”

Misato pointed a thumb down the hall, reaching into the fridge with her other hand. “He’s probably getting up now; the whole experiment we ran yesterday must have tired him out, because he’s usually up making breakfast well before now.” She retracted a can of Yebisu and downed it in one go. “Aaaah…best way to start the day!”

Tomoe stared. Alicia was struggling not to let her maternal urges take over, and purge this den of vice of all its uncleanliness. Annette settled for being blunt. “Wow. Shinji-kun wasn’t kidding about how much of an alcoholic you were.”

Misato shrugged. “No point in protesting the truth.” She strolled over to the smaller of the two refrigerators and opened it. “Hey Pen-Pen, we’ve got guests!”

“WARK!”

The refrigerator door slammed back shut. Misato frowned at the penguin’s frosty behavior. “Huh. That’s odd.” She glanced back at the newcomers. “Have either of you ever committed a crime against penguin-kind?”

“I refuse to dignify that question with an answer,” grumbled Tomoe.

“I…don’t think so?” honestly answered Alicia.

“The worst I’ve ever done was encourage a pack of raptor penguins to engage in mortal combat with a sea tiger.” Annette could feel her parents’ stares. “What? They were blocking the way to a partially-submerged museum! And besides, Shinji-kun was there.”

“We’re going to have a little talk about exactly what happened during these ‘adventures’ of yours.”

Annette wilted under her mother’s patented Glare of Disapproval™. “In all fairness, the landshark was the worst one, so you really don’t have to worry.”

“I am not comforted.”

It was at this moment that Shinji Ikari stepped in, yawning.

Annette whirled on her heel. “Baka-Shinji!” Her impulsive need to harangue the boy came to a momentary halt. “Did you change your hair?”

“…no?” He fiddled with his plain brown hair, styled in a regular taper cut. “Not really. Same as it’s always been.”

The blonde frowned, before shaking her head. Just her imagination then. “Okay, besides the point! It’s come to my attention that someone has a thing for you, and you have no clue! Explain yourself!”

“…I do?”

Annette threw her hands into the air. “Hopeless!” She promptly hugged him tightly. “Man, I missed you.”

Shinji’s brown eyes twinkled. “So have I.”

xxxx

/Sawamura Apartment, Tokyo-3, Japan/

Genji Sawamura looked over his notes, his summarized notes, and the summary of his summarized notes. “Yes…excellent!” Working with Tokita’s Modular Technology for so many years had given him a head start in developing methods to utilize the harvested nanomachines. The exotic matter that comprised them – complete with the downright ethereal energy they seemed to emit, a residue of the Angel’s presence – provided new avenues for weapons development. Ah, Oniwana, if only you had stayed on! You’re missing some great stuff! Not that he could fault Kisai Oniwana for wanting to stay with NHIS, but there was something to be said with working with the cutting edge.

Right as he finished gathering his materials, his son quietly walked into the kitchen. “Ah, good morning Ryo! Did you sleep well?”

“…I did…”

“I’m going to be busy working today, so I won’t be able to attend the school play. Do you think they’ll record it?”

“…I’m sure.”

“Excellent!” He tousled his son’s brown hair, styled in that messy bow cut he had always found so charming. “You have yourself a wondrous day!” With a flourish, he stuff his notes into a large briefcase and bounded out the door.

Ryo Sawamura stared.

Then he walked into the bathroom and stared in the mirror, blue eyes filled with suspicion and confusion. Don’t panic. There has to be a reason for this. The face that stared back at him was that of Shinji Ikari. At least, the face that anyone else would have said belonged to Shinji Ikari as of yesterday.

“What is going on…?” wondered Shinji.

xxxx

Episode 16: You are (not) alone

[UltraSonic007]

/Hakone International Airport, Tokyo-3, Japan/

Gendo Ikari’s cloak fluttered wildly, kicked up by the gusts of the descending helicopter. It made for quite the dramatic visual, in his opinion.

The Chinook gradually set down, its rotary blades slowing from their breakneck pace. As the noise quieted and the wind began to die, the helicopter opened and five individuals walked out. Four were individuals clad in neatly-pressed suits, looking like the stereotypical black-clad agents that made up part of Section 2. However, their pale skin and wild hair colors were clear indicators of their nature as nephilim. The fifth was an older man in a suit of white, with white shoes polished to a sheening glow. The only bits of color on his form were a black bowtie and his own skin, wrinkled and tanned with age. Even so, there was gravity to his features, with graying hair the color of ash, and a mustache and goatee that were thick yet neatly trimmed. Last, but certainly not least, were the eyes: dark green, glimmering with intelligence and a bare hint of disdain.

“On behalf of NERV, I welcome you to Tokyo-3, Katsuhito Ikari.”

Katsuhito Ikari’s lip curled. “You can spare the pleasantries, Rokubungi. You know as well as I do that we would just as soon kill each other as bear each other’s company.”

“Even so, it isn’t beyond me to be a gracious host. After all, your son is also visiting for our annual play; I would hate to get him and your grandson involved in our little drama. Especially since his visit is a surprise for Shinji.”

Katsuhito’s expression darkened at the mention of Tomoe. Changing the subject, he gestured to his four bodyguards, each one no older than the First Child. “I trust that you won’t object to my security contingent.” He pointed to the young woman with long, shockingly yellow hair. “Lemon.” He pointed to the other girl with a bright-green bob cut. “Lime.” He pointed to the young man with a rosy crew cut. “Pink.” Lastly, he pointed to the boy with short, frazzled hair the color of periwinkle. “Perry.”

Gendo walked up to the bodyguards, staring at each of them in tandem. They did not react with trepidation, nor with fear; there was nothing that the man could do to them before they could strike him down, and they all knew it.

So they didn’t budge when the Supreme Commander of NERV pulled out four sets of bunny ears and put it on their heads. At Katsuhito’s bewildered expression, Gendo quipped, “There’ll be a large crowd for our annual play; this is a time to be festive.” Turning on his heel, the younger of the two Ikaris said, “If you’ll follow me, I’ll lead you to your vehicle. I’m sure you’ll want to finish this inspection as quickly as possible.”

Katsuhito frowned, following his likely insane son-in-law. But not before swiping the bunny ears off of the heads of his bodyguards. “If he tries to give you anything else, you are to decline.”

“Yes sir.”

xxxx

/Three Hours Later/

/Outside Tokyo-3 Municipal Junior High School/

Shinji Ikari hadn’t toured the area around Lake Ashi that much, given that the Junior High school was on the northern edge of the city, so it had taken him a little while to navigate his way to a public transit station. His initial plan to return to Misato-san’s apartment had yielded no return: everyone had already left by the time he got there.

After that, making it to the Junior High School had been relatively simple.

The crowd gathered outside the domed auditorium was rather large for a regular school day, much less a Sunday. This annual play must be a really big deal then. He quietly began to filter through the crowd, trying to find anyone familiar.

Amidst the chatter and the ambient noise, a few comments broke through, with just enough clarity to make Shinji pause.

“You heard how he dumped her?”

“Yamagishi-san was looking really sad…”

“Sawamura-kun seemed so nice; you sure Kirishima was telling the truth?”

“He sure doesn’t look like he cares though…”

It was a disconcerting feeling, to be the focus of the gossip when you weren’t that person. However, the sly glances and discreet whispering in his vicinity was evidence enough that they all thought he was Ryo Sawamura. Why? I don’t look any different. I look just like…me! The need to find his friends, his comrades…it was all the greater, if only to try and make sense of this ordeal.

Blue and red hair grabbed his attention.

Shinji focused; Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley-Sohryu were about ten yards away. That’s when the large adult next to them – really large, specifically large – caught his attention. The pointy tips of the mustache gave it away. Uncle?! His mind whirled, cataloguing the people in Tomoe’s immediate vicinity. Misato-san was there, but the presence of two blondes was stark. Aunt Alicia?! Annette?! What were they doing here? Why were they here? For the play? To see him?

Hope blossomed lightly in his heart: hope that they would recognize them, that they would provide an answer to this mystery of mistaken identity. His initial rush to break through the crowd was impeded, however, when he bumped into a girl with long dark hair. “Excuse me, I’m sorry!”

The girl turned, eyes wide behind glasses. It was Mayumi.

“Oh, hello Yamagishi-san, are you okay?”

The girl’s lip quivered slightly, raw disbelief in her eyes. The surrounding crowd of mostly students impulsively began to edge away, sensing the awkwardness and social drama about to occur. Shinji blinked, and was about to ask another question when red eyes bored into his.

Eyes full of wrath, and disgust, and hatred.

Shinji had never seen such an expression directed at him, and it was downright terrifying.

“You must have a really short memory.” Mana Kirishima leaned in, scowling at him. Mayumi was behind her, looking pensively at the scene. “What. Did. I. Say?”

Shinji wanted to scream. I don’t know! I’m not Sawamura! “Um…uh-”

“Is this young man bothering you?”

The sonorous voice of Tomoe Ikari commanded all attention, and Mana found herself looking over her shoulder at the 6’8” giant. “I can’t claim to know why you have such enmity for this young gentleman, but is this the time or the place?”

Mana frowned, as though considering whether or not make good on her threat in public. Finally, she settled for a derisive snort. “Whatever.” She gave another murderous look at Shinji before stomping away, hand grasped tightly with Mayumi’s.

Tomoe watched calmly as the sisters moved towards the auditorium, eventually turning his stern gaze towards Shinji. “I’ve heard only a little of the drama involving you and the Yamagishi girl, and it’s not my place to butt in. But for your sake, I suggest you stay far away.”

He…doesn’t know that it’s me.

Uncle Tomoe didn’t recognize him. The quizzical stares of Alicia and Annette stung on some primal level; the looks of suspicion, curiosity, and slight apathy on part of the others – Misato, Asuka, and Rei in particular – seared through his veins. Shinji Ikari looked at his family and friends, looked at those who had served alongside him in the Angel War…and found no reciprocity. Months in Misato-san’s apartment, years in Tomoe’s household: none of it registered in their expressions. There was absolutely nothing.

Steeling himself, Shinji bit out, “O-okay. My apologies.” He quietly retreated and melted back into the crowd, hoping that the anonymity of the masses would offer some form of escape.

It did little to salve the pain that had swiftly taken root in his heart.

He couldn’t recall the last time he had felt so alone.

Meanwhile, Misato Katsuragi watched the retreating boy with a pitying look. So that’s what teenage drama looks like. Guess Sawamura’s weirdness tolerance isn’t high enough. “At least I don’t have to worry about you, Shinji-kun.”

‘Shinji’ shrugged, looking keenly at ‘Ryo’ as he faded into the crowd. “I suppose.”

[UltraSonic007]

/Blizzard Bison’s Ice Cream Bar, Downtown Tokyo-3, Japan/

Ryoji Kaji calmly spooned some vanilla ice cream into his mouth. “Ah, sometimes it’s the simplest of things that give the greatest of pleasures.”

The woman in the red cardigan sitting across from him shrugged. Kaji didn’t really know her name, nor did he care; the title of ‘Red’ sufficed in his mind. “That from experience?”

“You could say that. But then again, there are times when pleasure is impossible to enjoy if there’s no effort.”

Red sighed. “That sounds like something my teacher used to say.”

“Speaking of whom…you took a course in biological mathematics in your college days, yes? Katsuhito Ikari was a guest lecturer for that course?”

“Yes; I’ve been an avid follower of his work.”

“I bet,” said Kaji, eating another mouthful of ice cream. Even though they were both dancing around the topic of their discussion – namely, one Katsuhito Ikari – it was still in a more open location than he was used to. It’s been a while since I’ve so eagerly talked in a bugged room. “Did he ever speak of his extracurricular work?”

“It was several years ago, but he was always busy outside of class,” said Red, sipping from her strawberry smoothie. “He also took a lot of international calls. Did you know he speaks German?”

“Can’t say that I did,” admitted Kaji, mentally cataloguing the various patrons inside the establishment, all either ordering or enjoying their refreshing treats. A couple of small children were playing around the mock statue of the ice cream bar’s eponymous mascot. He recognized a few of the people as plainclothes Section 2 agents. I wonder how many of them are double agents for SEELE? “Anything else of interest?”

“Well, now that I think of it…”

So it went on in this manner for the next thirty minutes; by the time Red bid him goodbye, Kaji had already developed a fairly complete mental picture of who Katsuhito Ikari was. Collected, rather cultured, intelligent…and just a little bit cruel.

How fascinating.

xxxx

/Tokyo-3 Municipal Junior High School/

Katsuhito Ikari wondered how Rokubungi would react to a sufficient dosage of neurotoxin. “…an annual play.”

“Of course.”

“Why was this never covered in prior inspections?”

“They never coincided with the performance. Given that I have a role in this production, I can’t exactly take you too far from the auditorium until it ends.”

“…this seems like a gross misallocation of resources.”

Gendo stared pointedly at his father-in-law. “NERV-1 does require human capital in order to operate.” For the foreseeable future, at least. “Events like this provide opportunities to strengthen community bonds, making it less likely for them to flee when the going gets tough. I’m aware it’s not your area of expertise, but it’s basic social psychology.”

Katushito twitched. “Nor was it yours.”

“It’s called ‘reading’. It tends to broaden your perspectives.”

The older man in white grimaced, briefly glancing back at his four nephilim escorts. Lemon and Lime were subtly investigating the school’s hallways while Pink and Perry maintained a defensive perimeter around his person. The school halls were by and far empty, as the crowds were all gathered in and around the auditorium. “At least these educational facilities seem well-defended. How recently have the faculty been screened?”

“Every three weeks, with an occasional surprise for those who are deemed suspicious. Lieutenant Colonel Katsuragi and Lieutenant Aoba take their duties with regards to Section 2 very seriously.”

“Acceptable. The recent increase in cultist activity has the Committee concerned. We’ve already rooted out a small ADAM’s Army cell from inside of NERV-5.”

“Hm. Another small-timer trying to make it in the big leagues?”

“Most of our resources with regards to the cults are dedicated to the Triad. Unfortunate as it may seem, this allows bit players more opportunity to take the initiative.” The Light of the Divine, Heaven’s Eyes, and the Angelic Acolytes: the most prominent of those who worshipped the Angels, collectively known as the Triad in NERV’s internal security documents. “Though your track record against the Angels thus far has been mostly exemplary, we cannot ignore the human elements that seek to derail the Scenario. Mankind’s future cannot be ruined by such mad men.”

Gendo resisted the urge to laugh at the old man’s rank hypocrisy, so he settled for an affirmative grunt. “You don’t have to remind me of what I already know.” They come to a stop outside of Classroom 2-A. “This is the Pilots’ homeroom; the faculty responsible for their instruction was hand-selected by Katsuragi herself.”

Katsuhito made a thoughtful noise as he entered. Then his thoughts ground to a halt before moving on in different directions, prompted by the sight before him. “This smells of conspiracy.”

Tomoe Ikari, his massive frame resting atop Henshin Obimura’s desk, snorted. In his hand was the invitation that Gendo had sent him the week prior. “I didn’t read the other part of your invitation to my wife and daughter. I told them to get some good seats while I went to the restroom.” He glanced at the clock: it read 10:50 AM. “Your sense of timing is impeccable.”

“I do my best,” affirmed Gendo, stepping aside to let the father and son meet face-to-face for the first time in years.

Katsuhito and Tomoe looked at each other. The burly mountain of a man looked at the four adolescents clad in black. “Bodyguards are getting younger and younger every year, it seems.”

“I assure you that merely one could kill the three of us within ten seconds.”

“If you say so.” Tomoe’s mustache twitched, and Katsuhito’s eyes narrowed. Finally, after at least thirty-seven seconds of silence, the son said, “Is there anything you want to add from the last time we talked?”

The father immediately answered, “No. Everything that needed to be said has already been said.”

“Very well then.” Tomoe turned towards Gendo, who was standing aloof on the sidelines. “I don’t know what your intentions were, but we both said our piece years ago. Nothing that you can do will fix it.”

“Oh, I know. I’m aware of the enmity you two have for each other.” Gendo shrugged. “I was hoping that you would punch him in the face. You have my sincerest gratitude for letting me down.”

Tomoe scowled. “Your sarcasm is unappreciated.”

“I don’t care.”

Katsuhito sneered at his son and son-in-law. “I am instantly reminded of why I despise associating with you two.” He glanced at Tomoe. “He who lacks the brilliance of his sister,” he said before looking towards Gendo. “And he who had the temerity to take my daughter’s name.”

“Your memory must be worsening with age; Yui gave me her name. And it was an absolute privilege.” Gendo smirked. “You doubt her decision-making skills?”

“No one’s perfect,” admitted Katsuhito. “Shall we continue the investigation? I tire of this farcical exchange.”

“It’ll have to wait.” Gendo pointed at the clock. “The play starts at eleven-thirty, and I have to be ready. We can continue the inspection afterwards.”

“I have no time for your frivolity.”

“You will make time.”

“I will make note of your impetuousness for the Committee.”

“Then you will be telling them something that they already know.” With a flourish, Gendo turned about, his cloak flaring open as he did. “After all, humor is just another defense against the universe. If keeping this city’s populace in high spirits will give us an edge against the Angels, then I will be as frivolous as necessary.”

Katsuhito sneered. “I’m sure your son is consistently mortified by the mockery you make of the family name.”

“The boy is more concerned with doing the right thing and protecting his loved ones.” Both Gendo and Katsuhito turned towards Tomoe, his frame as unyielding as a mountain. “I practically raised him. He’s been mine for longer than his father’s. The idea of the boy being ashamed over something as trivial as his father’s behavior is laughable.” He then gave Gendo the stink eye. “Besides, the boy’s faith in his father is hard to sway. I should know; I’ve tried.”

“Your honesty is just as strong as your contempt for me, Tomoe,” dryly said Gendo. “As usual.” The Supreme Commander of NERV glanced back at his father-in-law. “Given that you haven’t even seen the boy face-to-face since he was a mere infant, I would withhold judgment. You might be surprised.”

[UltraSonic007]

Meanwhile, elsewhere within the school, far away from the auditorium, Shinji Ikari was staring at his reflection in a restroom mirror.

“Okay…okay…think.” Start with the facts. Start with something concrete. Something that he could hold onto, that he could grasp, that could keep him focused. It was at this point that his father came to mind. Remember Lesson #11: If you can still hold onto something, then there’s still hope. Unless you’re in freefall and you’re not holding onto a parachute. Then you’re probably doomed. His face scrunched up at that one. I wonder if I’m in freefall. It sure felt like the bottom of his world had fallen out. Enough of that! Focus!

One: nobody recognized him as Shinji Ikari.

Two: He had somehow woken up in Ryo Sawamura’s apartment.

Three: some people recognized him, somehow, as Ryo Sawamura.

These events were established. He could accept that they were true.

The ‘how’ and the ‘why’ of it all was something he very dearly wanted an answer to.

Shinji palmed some water from the sink and splashed his face. As he vigorously washed his pores, he tried to get his thoughts in order. How am I going to fix this? Who can help me?

“You seem troubled.”

Shinji whirled around at the sound of that voice. Lo and behold, Ryo Sawamura stood there. “What…Sawamura-san? Do you…recognize me?”

“You are Shinji Ikari.”

“So why? Why can you recognize me when no one else can? Why do people think I’m you?!” At his nonchalance, Shinji yelled, “Answer me!”

Sawamura stared.

Then he smirked. “An interesting thing about the sensory systems in this fortress city: below a certain threshold of self-actualization, an AT-Field is invisible to them.”

Shinji blinked.

“It makes sense, of course; were the threshold set too low, they’d pick up the AT-Fields of every single person in this city…weak and infinitesimal as they are.”

Shinji blinked again. What?

“But because they’re set to detect the AT-Fields of truly magnificent beings like the Angels, there’s some leeway in what can be done by yours truly. For example, shorting out the listening devices within this bathroom. But that’s a party favor compared to my other trick.” His smirk widened to a sneer, and his eyes twinkled with malice. “Altering the ego barriers of two people – people like Shinji Ikari and Ryo Sawamura – such that their outward characteristics were switched, if you will. This way, if someone else’s ego barrier were to encounter that of Shinji Ikari…they would believe with all sincerity that they were encountering the ego barrier of Ryo Sawamura, and vice-versa. Despite any physical evidence to the contrary, they would believe that I am you, and you are me.”

Shinji felt a strange sensation welling in his gut. From what little he knew of Sawamura from Yamagishi-san, he was a quiet and rather introspective person. This exposition was out of character. And besides that, what was this talk of sensory systems, ego barriers, and AT-Fields? “You’re…you’re not Ryo Sawamura. Who are you?”

“A fair question. How would a mere Lilim like me know of such things? The sensors: an easy feat when you’ve been within the supercomputers that run this city. The ego barriers: a simple thing to describe when they’re as tangible as the clothes you wear. And the AT-Fields…a crude and vulgar way of describing the Light of the Soul. Yet an instinctive thing to understand for an Angel.”

Shinji paled. “…you’re…you’re an Angel?”

“That which you’ve designated as the Tenth Angel. The closest your simple, primitive language can come to my true name is Iruel." The boy mockingly bowed. “I would say it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, but that would be lying.”

The Third Child felt awfully unequipped to deal with this situation. He’d been debriefed yesterday about how NERV had almost been taken over by Angelic nanomachines, and how their victory had been largely due to the efforts of the MAGI, Dr. Akagi, and the Ibuki Twins. To come face-to-face with their foe in human flesh was a daunting experience. Speaking of which. “Why are you in Sawamura-san? Let him go!”

“No.” Iruel held a hand up, investigating his fingernails. “Your bodies are so limited and frail, but they have their uses. The would be honored: being my host is the most significant thing that will ever happen to him. Nothing else will ever compare.”

Shinji clenched his fists. “Why Sawamura-san?”

“I possessed him weeks ago by chance. I needed the body of a Lilim that was in your class. He was the lucky winner.”

“…what.” Weeks. “How…what? Weeks?!”

“Right before he started his first day.” He fiddled with his tapered haircut. “There are limits to deceiving the ego barrier: if I had possessed the body of a girl or the body of an adult, the subconscious incongruity would have been too much; I’d have been discovered in short order. But a young, male student with no distinguishing features? He was practically gift-wrapped.”

“But why?”

“Because of you.”

Shinji was taken aback. “…me?”

“Ordinarily, the mere idea of possessing any member of your species would have never come to pass. It still feels utterly revolting,” he spat. “I would have been content with devoting my entire being to taking over your headquarters. If you hadn’t found a way to weaponize illogical insanity, this whole city would be a crater, and the rest of my kin would have had free reign to overrun your civilization.” A cruel smile came to his face. “Still, I’m somewhat glad that they defeated my opening salvo; it would have been anticlimactic to annihilate you without making you hurt for what you did.”

Shinji nearly screamed, “What did I do?!”

“Ramiel. That which you called the Fifth Angel.”

Shinji recalled the Fifth Angel. The giant octahedron, the one that he had spoken to. The one that had talked back to him.

“The one who absorbed you, who tried to understand you.” Iruel’s tone slowly became more and more venomous. “The one whose very soul you defiled. The damage that you wrought upon him…was unforgivable. There had to be retribution. You had to be punished.” A theatrical sigh came from the boy’s mouth. “However, your soul is so very small and insignificant. It is impossible to lessen you in the way that you lessened Ramiel. So I had to improvise: how does one go about making a Lilim experience absolute terror? Then it occurred to me: you are social beings. Despite how much you intrinsically fear those who are different, you still desire to be close to others. It was an elegant solution: all I had to do was isolate you; render you unrecognizable.”

Shinji scowled, a feeling akin to anger pouring through his veins. “So…this was your plan?”

“Not all of it, no. Making you feel alone was not enough. Giving your friends and family a reason to distrust you, to despise you, to hate you…” Iruel smirked. “Dumping that Yamagishi girl accomplished that task quite well."

Shinji stared. Then the anger kicked up a notch as realization set in. “You…you got together with Yamagishi-san, got her to trust you, and toyed with her feelings…just so you could hurt me?”

“…not entirely.” Iruel slowly circled Shinji, who quietly turned to keep his eye on the Angel. “Your species’ penchant for cannibalizing the bodies of your betters is repulsive, but that can be chalked up to your survival instinct. The little dolls that you call ‘nephilim’…the one called Ayanami is tolerable. The one called Kirishima is actually acceptable; she understands that she’s better, and acts like it! But Yamagishi?” Iruel snorted. “To see a superior lifeform act so inferior was galling. She’s been blessed with Angelic flesh, gifted with a body greater than any of you miserable Lilim…and yet all she desires is to be like you. She’d honestly be happier if she were a mere Lilim!” His eyes glimmered with malice. “Such a heinous, backwards mindset. She needed to suffer. And so she has.”

Shinji Ikari punched Iruel in the face.

To his disappointment, the boy barely budged. “Ah ah ah, there’s that threshold I was telling you about. Just enough of a defensive field to nullify most of your momentum. It will take more than the likes of you to defeat me.”

Scowling, Shinji stepped back, his blue eyes set into a stern glare. “…what are you planning to do? You can’t exactly get the Sword of Uriel like you are now!”

Iruel cackled. “You speak of such a thing so lightly. There’s so much beyond your comprehension that it would be humorous if you hadn’t already felled so many of my kin. As it is, it’s a bad joke on a cosmic level.” The Angel-in-disguise turned on his heel and headed for the door, talking casually of his plans. “By the end of this day, the head of the beast called NERV will be severed…and there’s nothing that you can do about it. No one at NERV will trust you. No one will believe you. Because no one thinks that you are Shinji Ikari.” He shot a cocky smirk over his shoulder at the Third Child. “You are alone; by sundown, you will truly be the last man standing in this school. You will have the rest of your short, meaningless life left to live with that. And one day…be it tomorrow, or weeks, or years from now, when you’ve been driven far beyond the verge of madness by your failure? I will appear before you, and I will kill you myself.”

Iruel-as-Sawamura sauntered out of the restroom, leaving Shinji Ikari behind.

The Third Child frowned, his fists clenched out of impotent frustration. He had to tell someone. He had to warn them about Iruel’s plan. But who? Who can I convince? Who will believe me? He placed his hands behind his neck, pressing his arms against his cheeks as he tried to focus. Think. Think. Think!

Shinji thought. He wondered. He pondered. He glanced at the mirror, noting his severe expression: the pinched brows, the pronounced frown, the glimmer of desperation in his eyes.

Then, he had an epiphany.

Shinji’s hands slowly fell to his side; it was interesting to see his reflection register the shock he was now feeling. It was a long shot, and it could backfire spectacularly…but he was low on options.

I have to get with my father.

Somehow. Someway.

[UltraSonic007]

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for gathering here!”

Miyata Ibuki watched Misato Katsuragi from off set, addressing the massive crowd gathered before the stage. She was dressed in a dark, professional business suit, with a sharp skirt, white blouse, and high heels-

A dainty hand thwacked him upside the head. “You’re staring, bro.”

“So? I’m admiring an exquisite example of the feminine form.”

Maya scoffed. “Sure, you tell yourself that.”

“Look, I’m having a hard enough time as is.”

“But your outfit is so manly~”

Miyata scowled at his sister, the frills of his pretty pink dress flaring with each movement. “Yes. Because real men wear pink. I’m practically a historic throwback!”

“At least working with senpai got us used to crossdressing,” admitted Maya, clad in breeches, vest, cravat, and waistcoat colored various shades of blue and yellow.

“Can we get back to focusing on the speech?” groused Miyata.

“Wark,” commented Pen-Pen, a dapper bowtie affixed around his neck.

“I’m going to take that as agreeing with me,” said Miyata.

“It’s always been a pleasure and a privilege to perform for the denizens of Tokyo-3,” said Misato. Cameras were pointed at her form, transmitting the video footage to similar gatherings at the other schools in the city. “Even though the primary purpose of NERV’s existence is to defeat the Angels, none of that would be possible without people. And without lives full of laughter, happiness, and love, those same people can’t give us their very best! So this is one of the small ways we give back; without further ado, I present NERV’s fourth annual play!”

A round of applause rang out from the crowd. Katsuragi quickly darted offstage as the lights dimmed; the Lieutenant Colonel exhaled with relief, stopping besides the Ibuki Twins. “Man, I hate public speeches. Give me an operation against otherworldly entities any day of the week.”

“You were a natural, Lieutenant Colonel!” reassured Maya.

“Ooh, there goes Hyuga,” said Miyata.

Makoto Hyuga walked out onto the stage, clad in wings befitting a Western-style angel, plus a halo. Mockups of clouds and a bright sun hung in the background. The black-haired Lieutenant was reading a newspaper titled The Times of Heaven, sipping a cup of coffee. “Hmm. A lot of conflict going on in China as of late.”

“Who shall you send?” boomed a voice over the speakers. It was a synthesized mockup of an elderly man, provided by MAGI-00.

Miyata blinked, recognizing the voice from news broadcasts. “Is…that the voice of the Chairman? As God?”

“I believe that I will delegate the job to Gabriel,” enunciated Hyuga.

“Then you shall head to Japan to serve the needs of the faithful, my dear servant Michael.”

“The Supreme Commander thought it would be fitting. He thinks Keel Lorenz has a god-complex,” whispered Misato. “I personally agree, but don’t let it go any further.”

“As you command, my Lord and my God.” Wires went taut, hoisting the Lieutenant upward; as he slowly descended back to the stage, the clouds and sun gave way to cardboard cutouts of destroyed buildings, complete with pyrotechnic sparks and mock fire. “…what happened here?”

A woman in a plainclothes outfit – a maintenance worker from Section 3 – wandered onto the scene from stage left, looked obviously at Hyuga, and shrieked. “It’s an Angel! RUN!”

“…why is she running? I’m a servant of the Almighty,” said Hyuga. He was quite good at projecting his voice, for one untrained in the theatrical arts.

Right as he said that, two Section 2 agents dressed as police officers stormed onstage and slapped handcuffs on Hyuga. “Down on the ground!”

“What? Why?!”

“He’s resisting arrest! TAZE HIM!”

Hyuga gave off exaggerated yelps and spasms as one of the officers drove a prop taser into his side. The audience burst into laughter.

Then the curtains dropped as the theme composed by Shiori Aoba and her band played.

[center]Who~ is that gal in the suit?

Who~ is that lush with the beer?

Do you really want to feel her, power of attorney!

Habeas corpus.

Penguin justice!

Kat-su-ra-gi!

Attorney at law~![/center]

Misato beamed. “I love this song.”

“Wark.”

“Penguin justice indeed!”

xxxx

In the audience, Shinji Ikari watched the play unfold in silence.

He had to be honest; it was quite funny. The basic plot – Michael, Head of the Heavenly Host, is accused of causing the damages wrought by an Angel of ADAM, and relies on the services of Misato Katsuragi of the Akagi and Akagi law firm to clear his name – was interspersed with non sequiturs and random gags, providing a laugh-a-minute experience that had the audience rolling. The presence of Pen-Pen as Misato’s assistant and Randall as the firm’s mascot provided something for the children present to coo and giggle at.

It was easy to see Annette enjoying herself, because she was sitting next to Tomoe, whose giant form was visible from all angles.

Shinji couldn’t bring himself to get close to them. Not until he could get to his father. At least they were approaching the end of the second act, which is when the play would break for intermission.

“Attention everyone!” barked the character played by Rei Ayanami, an unnamed bailiff. It was the staccato roar of a military officer, and one that Shinji hadn’t heard in a while. “Announcing his honor, the Supreme Commander of NERV, Protector of Humanity, and the King Enma of this Court of Law: Judge Gendo Ikari!”

The lights illuminating the mock courtroom dimmed as a spotlight shined stage left. Aoba’s band sat secluded and shadowed in the background, having provided instrumental ambience for much of the production. As the spotlight came to a halt, Aoba shouted, “It’s Gendo!”

Her band of apes began to play a repetitive, percussive beat as Gendo walked onstage. Aoba crooned, “Oh, baby~” as the Supreme Commander sauntered towards the judge’s bench. Right as he ascended to his seat, the beat came to an end.

More laughter came from the audience at the absurdly grandiose entrance.

Shinji observed in silence; for however much his father’s eccentric behavior had bewildered (and, on occasion, mortified) him, it was plain that the denizens of Tokyo-3 looked up to him in some strange way. Their laughter was rich with joy instead of derision, as though they recognized that the Supreme Commander was debasing himself for their sake.

“Let’s hurry and get this taken care of, shall we? Michael, you stand accused of trespassing, violence, assault and battery, destruction of personal property, illegal possession, and having a really crappy attitude. How do you plea?” said Judge Gendo.

Makoto ‘Michael’ Hyuga opened his mouth, which was slapped shut by Misato’s hand. “Objection, your honor! My client’s attitude is not the subject of this trial!”

“Sustained, and time for a break.” Gendo banged his gavel.

Misato, Hyuga, and the prosecutors – the crossdressing Ibuki Twins – stared.

“Court is adjourned until my appointment with the porcelain throne is concluded.” Gendo banged his gavel again.

The curtains lowered to a drumroll from Musashi the Chimp; Fuyutsuki’s voice, which had been narrating Pen-Pen’s character, echoed over the speakers. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have now reached our intermission. We will continue in twenty minutes; please take this time to avail yourselves of the lavatories and the many vendors parked outside the building.”

[UltraSonic007]

Shinji slunk out as fast as he could, moving with intent through the halls of the facility. This was his opportunity.

He turned the corner just as Gendo exited the door leading to the backstage of the auditorium. Without pausing, the Professor headed towards a maintenance closet and walked inside.

Shinji blinked. Okay…

He quickly skittered over to the maintenance closet, gingerly opening the door; to his shock, there was another door inside, past the cleaning supplies and mop buckets. The Third Child tiptoed past the clutter and towards the second door, opening it as quietly as possible.

Lo and behold, there was another bathroom in there, surprisingly spacious and equipped with two stalls and two urinals. He closed the door behind him right as his father flushed the urinal. “I will consider not having your memories erased if you keep this restroom a secret.”

Shinji blinked, befuddled by the casual threat. “Huh?”

“This place loses all purpose if the general public discovers it. There’d be a long line, and who has the time for that?” The Supreme Commander calmly washed his hands with soap and water, drying them before putting his white gloves back on. “I trust you’ll keep your word on this matter, Ryo Sawamura.”

Shinji grimaced at Gendo’s use of that name. This is it. This is my chance. ”I’m… I’m not Ryo Sawamura.”

“Of course you are. You’re the son of Genji Sawamura, head of the JET ALONE Project’s Weapons R&D team. You also unceremoniously dumped one of the Jet Alone Pilots yesterday.” The man turned a jaundiced eye towards Shinji. “Such prejudice is understandable, but it is nonetheless detestable.”

“But that wasn’t me! This whole thing has been a case of mistaken identity! I’m your son, Shinji!”

Gendo Ikari paused. Then he stared, his face a mask of stone for all the emotion it showed. “I have a high tolerance for shenanigans if they serve a purpose. My tolerance for foolishness is considerably less.”

“I know it doesn’t make sense. It didn’t make sense to me earlier!” Don’t try to invoke the Angel. Convince him of who you are first! “Your message telling me that the Angels were coming…you sent it with a railgun to Uncle Tomoe and Aunt Alicia’s house!” At Gendo’s arched eyebrow, he quickly continued. “We had a long talk after I defeated the Third Angel in your office, and-!”

Gendo Ikari retracted a pistol from his cloak, halting Shinji in his tracks.

The Supreme Commander calmly said, “Well, you certainly have me doubting that you are Ryo Sawamura; he wouldn’t have access to such information unless he were a plant.” Gendo aimed at his sternum. “I suggest you think very carefully about what you say next, or else I’ll forget to tell Section 2 to go easy on you.”

Shinji Ikari grimaced, biting his lip at the very sight of his own father aiming a gun at him. He might kill me. There were so many things he could tell, but there was always an element of plausible deniability, always a chance that someone else had eavesdropped. He knew that Gendo knew this.

There was only one thing he could say then: the one event he remembered that only his father knew of.

“…after the Contact Experiment…after Unit-01 absorbed mom…” Shinji looked straight into Gendo’s eyes, dreading what he had to say, if only because he knew how much it would hurt. However, it had to be done. “…you tried to kill me.”

xxxx

/December 23, 2004/

/Ikari’s Apartment, Hakone, Japan/

It was a source of never-ending bemusement to Gendo Ikari that, in spite of everything that had occurred during Second Impact and the wars that followed, Akihito had survived.

Sorry, ‘His Imperial Majesty’.

A mere accident of birth was enough to warrant a national holiday. How joyous.

He had work to do. He always had work to do.

But no. Fuyutsuki had had the temerity to go behind his back, and actually get the entirety of the GEHIRN personnel to take the holiday off. ‘Our work is too important for stress,’ he said. ‘Stress leads to mistakes’, he parroted.

What did he know. What did any of them know.

Work was the only way he could escape. His only method of productive release.

When he wasn’t working, he only had his thoughts: of sorrow, obsession, and longing. They circled upon each other, feeding on themselves like an ouroboros and becoming fat on his misery.

Twang.

Gendo removed his vacant stare from the bottle of saké, looking at his child plucking the strings of a toy shamisen.

Twang.

Ah yes; his spawn.

The caretaker that had been looking after the boy since…the incident…had also elected to take the day off. And the following day. And the weekend as well. The whole situation stunk of Fuyutsuki’s meddling.

Twang.

“Stop it.”

“Wan’ play happy song,” said the young child. “Cheer you up.”

Twang.

The words of a child, so pure and innocent. How sickeningly naïve. “There’s nothing you can do that can cheer me up.” Not when his memories plagued his mind like a parasite. Yui’s screams as Naoko’s treachery became manifest; Yui’s blissfully mindless gaze in the hospital bed; Yui’s childish babble as she joyously spoke to her child; her innocent determination as she set foot into Unit-01’s Entry Plug; an empty Plug Suit amidst a pool of LCL. “Nothing.”

Twang.

“Gotta try.”

Twang.

Gendo took another swig of the rice wine, relishing the burn that spread from his gut and through his body. If only that same burn could purge these damnable emotions.

Twang.

“I told you to stop.”

“But-”

“Don’t talk back to me. Just do it!”

The three-year old looked questioningly at him, with wide blue eyes that threatened to spill tears. “But…I don’ want you to be sad…” He gingerly picked up the little toy instrument, walking with determination towards him. “And momma always said that music can make us happy so I jus-”

An angry fist pounded the coffee table. “DON’T TALK TO ME ABOUT HER!”

The young child yelped at the sudden noise. “But-”

That stupid voice. That face. Those eyes. Why did they torment him?

Why wouldn’t she leave him alone?!

“Jus’ lemme play one thing, to make you feel better!” His little fingers fiddled with the strings. “Jus’ one daddy, I promise!”

Twang.

He. Didn’t. Listen. Children were supposed to listen to their parents! Boys were supposed to obey their father!

So. Why?! WOULDN’T?! HE?! TAKE?! A HINT?!?!?

He needed to leave. He couldn’t stay here. Not while he served as a living reminder of what he had lost. Not when those blue eyes stared so pleadingly at him, not while they were so full of LIFE-

“D…daddy…”

Gendo blinked. Eyes staring at him, imploring him to stop. But stop with what?

Then he saw his hands, strangling his child.

Screaming, Gendo rocketed backwards onto the couch, as though shocked by the contact. He stared confusedly at his child, kneeling on the floor with his tiny hands around his neck and taking deep breaths. The little toy shamisen was in pieces against the wall, as though thrown with great force. Shuddering, he looked down at his hands. Hands that had nearly killed his child. Yui’s child. Their child.

The man curled in on himself and wept, teeth clenched so tightly that it hurt. Sorrow gave way to self-hatred, and misery gave way to despair. I’m so fucked up.

Tiny arms wrapped around his leg.

Gendo looked through wet eyes at the tiny child, who was babbling the same words over and over. “M’sorry…don’ cry daddy…m’ sorry…m’sorry…don’ cry…”

The words of a child, so pure and innocent. What had just mere minutes ago seemed so puerile now wrenched at his heart with their sincerity. “No…I’m the one who's sorry.” He quietly picked his boy up and embraced him tightly against his chest, as though afraid that the world was going to rip him away, as punishment for his sins.

Maybe the world would’ve been right to do so.

Gendo Ikari held onto Shinji Ikari, staring intently at everything and nothing, their forms shrouded in the dimness of the apartment.

He needed to think.

He needed a Plan.

xxxx

/December 6, 2015/

/Hidden Restroom, Tokyo-3 Municipal Junior High School/

Shinji Ikari couldn’t recall the last time his father had been so shocked; the man’s eyebrows had practically risen a whole inch above his shades. The gun was no longer pointed at him, for the hand that held it had fallen below Gendo’s waist.

Time to press the advantage. “You stopped before you went too far…I think you were just so distraught that you were barely strangling me instead of choking me like you would have if you were sober. After that, your attitude changed, and you tried really hard to juggle both your work and our time together…but it didn’t last. You eventually sent me to live with Uncle Tomoe when I was six.” He scratched the back of his head, awkwardly recalling his feelings from that time. “I kind of struggled to deal with it for a while…but after growing up with Uncle Tomoe, Aunt Alicia, and Annette, it got easier. And after what happened in November of last year…your reasons for everything became a lot clearer.” He refocused on his father’s face, wishing he could see the expression in his eyes. “I don’t know what else to tell you to prove my identity. Maybe…the thing you told me about Rei, after our dinner at Dr. Akagi’s?”

“No. That won’t be necessary.” Gendo sounded so solemn. “…I wasn’t aware that you remembered my moment of weakness. You never mentioned it.”

Shinji shrugged. “I didn’t really rationalize it until I got older. Besides, it seemed to change you for the better, so I guess I never found a need to bring it up.”

“…I see.” Gendo stepped closer, looking intently at Shinji’s face. “It’s odd. Your face, your voice, your smell; nothing about you reminds me of my son. But I trust my memories. Our apartment had been bugged, but I was not yet important enough in the grand scheme of things for my superiors to bother with the fact that I had removed them…and I had sworn to take this shame to my grave.” He placed his free hand on the boy’s shoulder. “I can only accept that, against all odds, you are my son.”

Shinji Ikari nearly sagged with relief. “Thank you. Thank you.”

“The question is, how? What could fool my senses so utterly? The only logical explanation is an alteration of ego barriers was involved. The most efficient way would be to change the characteristics of your ego barrier so that when those of other people interact with it, their conscious perception of you overrides the subconscious inputs from their physical senses.”

It was always amazing how quickly his father could take command of a situation. “…that’s exactly how Iruel explained it to me.”

“Who?”

“The Angel that’s possessing Ryo Sawamura’s true body. The one that people currently think is me.” Shinji frowned, recalling Iruel’s smugness. “It’s the same Angel that tried to take over the MAGI yesterday.”

“That’s…problematic.” Gendo straightened, readjusting his shades with his free hand. “I’ll get in contact with HEROD, and have the MAGI alter their AT-Field detection algorithms. Since the Second Child has no role in this play, I’ll arrange for her to get in Unit-02; since this alteration of the AT-Fields escaped our notice, it follows that it’s not powerful enough to overpower the AT-Field of an Evangelion.”

Shinji smiled. His faith in his father had been rewarded.

Suddenly, the CZ-75B pistol flew out of his father’s grip. Gendo impulsively whirled around, stepping in front of his son.

“Persistent little insects, aren’t you?”

BANG!

Shinji froze at the sound of the gunshot, and the sight of his father curling in on himself. The man brought his hands around his stomach…and collapsed face-first to the floor. “FATHER!”

Iruel stood at the entrance to the hidden restroom, calmly holding Gendo Ikari’s pistol. “You Lilim are annoyingly stubborn.”

[UltraSonic007]

The sound of a gunshot, coupled with the sudden alteration in Gendo’s vitals, triggered an executable program on the phone in his pocket.

At that very moment, an automated message went to the phone of every agent in Section 2. This included every member of Misato’s Team, of which Rei Ayanami was a member.

[center:1x4g519v]THE DOCTOR HAS BEEN SHOT[/center:1x4g519v]

Rei Ayanami’s eyes widened. No.

Protocols regarding damage control were immediately followed; given the high civilian presence in the building, increasing security without inducing a panic was paramount.

So was finding the location of the Supreme Commander.

Misato Katsuragi looked at her phone intently, cross-referencing the GPS location of the Supreme Commander’s phone with blueprints of the school. So he’s in the private restroom within one of the maintenance closets. She pulled her Heckler & Koch USP out of the shoulder holster concealed under her outfit. Time to see who had the balls to shoot the Supreme Commander.

xxxx

It was like a nightmare.

From the isolation imposed by the Angel, Shinji had managed to convince his father of the truth. Now, that very same man was lying on the floor, still as death. “No…no…”

“How amusing; I didn’t expect you to find someone who had such ironclad faith in their own memories. What a foolish thing to do.” Iruel glanced over his shoulder, a knowing smirk on his face. “But this does give me quite the opportunity to make you suffer even more…” He then tossed the handgun at Shinji.

Gaping, the Third Child impulsively dodged to the side, letting the handgun sail past him. Glancing back at the smug Angel, Shinji felt hot rage consume him. “You…you shot him…” He reached down for the pistol, taking aim at Iruel’s forehead. “You shot him!”

“I did. Now…imagine how horrible it will feel when your life comes to an end at the hands of your loved ones.” At those words, Iruel’s arrogant expression vanished, replaced by one that seemed authentically frightened and bewildered. “…no…”

Shinji arched an eyebrow.

That’s when Misato Katsuragi burst through the door, taking aim at Shinji. “DROP IT!”

Shinji paled. “Misato-san?!”

The Lieutenant Colonel took in the scene at a glance; the collapsed Gendo Ikari, the fearful ‘Shinji’, the gun-wielding ‘Ryo’. “I said drop it, Sawamura!” Without looking, she spoke to Iruel. “Shinji…what happened?!”

Iruel stuttered, “I…I was just talking with my father…and Sawamura took his gun…and shot him…”

“No, that’s not true!” exclaimed Shinji. He tried to step forward, only for Misato to fire a warning shot into the ceiling. “M…Misato-san…!”

“One last warning Sawamura…drop it.”

Shinji glanced at Iruel, standing behind Misato with a conceited grin. You…you monster…!

He wasn’t quick enough for the Lieutenant Colonel.

Misato fired a shot at Shinji’s hand. Hidden from her sight, Iruel gestured subtly with his fingers.

Orange hexagons flared in front of Shinji’s form, stopping the bullet in its tracks.

The purple-haired woman gaped at the sight, but her shock was quickly replaced by wrath. “You…you’re an Angel.”

Iruel wiggled his fingers again. A wave of force slammed against the wall behind Shinji, shattering it to pieces. Shinji grimaced at the sudden brightness; as the dust cleared, the outdoors was revealed.

To make the convergence of bad timing complete, Rei Ayanami burst into the destroyed restroom. “Lieutenant Colonel, assessment?”

“Ryo Sawamura shot the Supreme Commander, and he’s apparently an Angel.” Misato’s tone was ice-cold, befitting a judge delivering the death sentence. “If he doesn’t desist, you are free to terminate.”

Rei nodded, glancing briefly at the Professor’s still form. Then she glared at ‘Ryo’. “You will die.”

In that moment, the cold certainty – tempered with silent fury – in Ayanami’s red eyes seemed far more frightening than Kirishima’s burning looks from earlier.

Shinji turned on his heel and ran.

Rei Ayanami pursued.

Iruel mentally chuckled as the purple-haired woman knelt down to tend to the Supreme Commander. THIS HAS BEEN DELICIOUS. He quietly left the restroom, strolling silently back to the auditorium. NOW IT’S TIME TO BEHEAD THE BEAST.

xxxx

Deep inside NERV-1, the nanomachines within the Defender Gundams activated.

One of the technicians on the Operations Deck – part of the skeleton crew manning the base, given the massive concentration of personnel on the surface due to the play – frowned at the warnings coming from the console. “…what’s this?”

“Something wrong?”

“The Defender Gundams are activating without a signal from the P2 System.”

“Isn’t the penguin part of that play?”

“He is!”

“Sending a shutdown signal…what? The signal’s been rejected!”

“Can we close the launch chutes?”

“It won’t do us any good, the Gundams can manually open them from the inside!”

“What?!”

“In case of a power outage!”

The technicians could only stare in befuddled trepidation as one hundred Defender Gundams took flight.

[UltraSonic007]

Rei Ayanami had never felt hatred before. Not really.

There was a great many things that had brought her annoyance, true. There were only a few times within living memory that she could recall getting heated about anything in particular outside of military duties, where a harsh persona was deemed necessary.

Seeing the Supreme Commander on the ground, with ‘Ryo Sawamura’ holding a smoking gun?

The burning sensation flaring through her body, accompanied by a single-minded desire to throttle ‘Sawamura’, could be called ‘hatred’.

It was odd though; she expected the Angel to exhibit greater physical abilities akin to a nephilim. Though he was clearly running as fast as he could, it was only human. Perhaps he hoped to seek refuge in the woods surrounding the school?

No matter.

Rei pumped her legs thrice, bounding forward in great leaps before jumping high into the air. With a calm flip, she landed right in front of the fleeing Angel, prompting him to yelp with fear. “The Lieutenant Colonel gave you a chance to desist. Your decision to flee has sealed your fate.”

“A-A-Ayanami-san, you have to trust me, I’m not the Angel! I’m Shinji Ikari!”

“Lying does you no favors.” Such a craven beast, this Angel. “Die.” Rei stepped forward, rearing her fist.

POW!

A metallic punch sent Rei flying. The First Child skipped along the ground, skidding to a halt. What happened? She got to her feet, wiping the blood away from her nose as she identified her attacker. “…how did you sneak up on me?”

“I AM A CAT.”

“Randall?!” exclaimed the Angel. “Pen-Pen?!”

“Wark.” The Lieutenant Colonel’s penguin was strapped onto the torso of the cat’s robotic body.

“COME WITH ME IF YOU WANT TO LIVE, SAYS THE FEATHERED ONE.” Without waiting for a reply, Randall hoisted the Angel onto his back amidst several straps, fastening him in place. Hydraulics whined as the cat took off with great soaring bounds, the Angel’s screams fading away in the distance.

Sergeant Ayanami scowled. This was highly improbable.

Humanoid shapes in the sky caught her attention: dozens of Defender Gundams, all converging towards the school. Pen-Pen is with Randall; how are they moving? Something was amiss; in all likelihood, the Angel had something to do with it. I will trust in my comrades to defend the school. They would have to deal with this strange situation without her; she had an Angel to catch.

With a kick of her feet, Rei Ayanami took off at high speed in pursuit of Randall.

So dedicated was she in her pursuit, she didn't notice that her phone had fallen out of her pocket when Randall had attacked her.

So the message that Misato sent to her phone went completely unheeded:

[center]Rei: COMMANDER IS ALIVE; THAT BOY IS Shinji, NOT THE ANGEL![/center]

More's the pity.

xxxx

/Theatre Room, Auditorium, Tokyo-3 Municipal Junior High School/

Ritsuko Akagi subtly peered between the curtains, warily eyeing the crowd. “They’re getting antsy. We should’ve started the play back up five minutes ago.”

“We can’t exactly help the Supreme Commander getting shot, ma’am.”

“Your jibber-jabber isn’t helping, Maya.”

“I’m Miyata, ma’am.”

“Whatever.” Ritsuko noted the discreet movements of a few dozen people throughout the audience. “Good…Section 2 is already preparing for crowd management.”

“Senpai…is the Supreme Commander going to be okay?”

Ritsuko glanced back at Maya, a soft smile on her face. “Don’t worry; that man is like a cockroach: likely to survive a nuclear apocalypse! HOOOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!!”

Maya and Miyata sighed.

The blonde suddenly paused. “What?” She frowned at the message scrolling across the HUD of her cybernetic monocle. “…the Defender Gundams have all launched. They’re on their way here.”

“What? Why?”

Ritsuko turned towards the Ibuki Twins. “I smell shenanigans…hold on, another message…from Misato?” She frowned. “…all Section 2 personnel…commence Operation BAD ROBOT?”

Stone and metal crumbled, accompanied by the sound of thrusters and exhaust. Screams erupted from the audience, prompting the impromptu thespians to storm past the curtains. Lo, several of the Defender Gundams had torn through the ceiling, aiming their rifles menacingly at the crowd. At the direction of the various plainclothes Section 2 agents in the crowd, the audience subconsciously massed towards a wall. One of the Gundams grabbed the red curtain and tore it apart in one sharp yank, revealing the stage to the audience.

Ritsuko Akagi bit off a curse. “Well…this is a predicament…” Her cybernetic monocle quickly scanned the Defender Gundams, analyzing their composition. It didn’t take long to pick up on the exotic matter. “No…it’s the nanomachines…!”

Then the horrific voice thundered forth from the flying mecha, booming with arrogance. As the voice spoke, the face of every Defender Gundam was transformed by the microscopic machines, morphing into the avian skull of an Angel. “NO MATTER HOW OFTEN IT IS SAID, IT SHALL BE TRUE: YOU ARE, ALL OF YOU, VERMIN.”

Within the crowd, Katsuhito Ikari looked at this progression of events with a disdainful sneer. “Hmph. This play has taken a turn for the worse.”

“It’s just the climax.”

Katsuhito turned to his side, looking at Misato Katsuragi, now clad in black ballistics-grade vestments. Mana Kirishima and Mayumi Yamagishi were right behind her. “Operations Director Misato Katsuragi. I trust you have a plan?”

“Of course. But it won’t mean anything if the people are caught in the crossfire.” The Lieutenant Colonel glanced at the four nephilim flanking Katsuhito. “You four need to utilize your AT-Fields at my mark to protect the audience; Section 2 will focus on stopping the Defender Gundams.”

“We are not authorized to do this,” calmly stated Lemon.

“I am giving you four that authorization,” ordered Katsuhito Ikari. “For the duration of this…incident…operational control will pass to NERV.”

“Yes sir,” replied the four nephilim.

“Excellent.” Misato discreetly looked over her shoulder at Mana and Mayumi. “Now, like I just told you.”

Mana frowned. “Can’t say I enjoy being a glorified wall.”

“We will do what we must,” said Mayumi, nudging her sister’s shoulder.

“Good…just wait for the signal. You’ll know it when you see it. And remember to keep an eye on you-know-who!” With that said, Misato disappeared back into the crowd.

“COWERING IN HUDDLED MASSES, LIKE LAMBS TO THE SLAUGHTER. YOUR WORKS HAVE BEEN GREAT AND TERRIBLE, BUT NOW THEY SHALL END.” Four of the Defender Gundams set down on the ground, taking aim at the crowd. Two more kept their weapons trained on the stage, keeping all of the actors at bay. “ALL THAT TRANSPIRES HERE WILL BE SHOWN TO THE WORLD, SIGNALLING THE COUNTDOWN TO YOUR DESTRUCTION.”

“Your melodrama is making me gag.”

Those words, enunciated clearly for all to hear, turned towards one of the few balcony seats in the theatre room; standing tall on the rail was none other than Gendo Ikari.

“YOU ARE A PERSISTENT ANNOYANCE.”

“I’ll take pride in that, coming from an Angel.” He retracted a grapple gun from his cloak, aiming it at one of the hovering Gundams. With a magnetic plink, it attached to the mecha, providing a leverage point for Gendo to swing onto the stage. “Being a thorn in the side of my enemies seems to be a habit.”

“YOU WERE SHOT.”

“I've experienced budgetary hearings more painful than what you're capable of.”

“CONCEITED HUMANS…FOOLISH LILIM, ONE AND ALL. YOU SHALL DIE WITH ALL THE OTHERS. EVEN NOW, THIS BUILDING IS SURROUNDED: ONE HUNDRED OF THESE MACHINES IN TOTAL, ENOUGH TO REDUCE THIS PLACE TO ASH.” The Defender Gundams all put their fingers on the triggers. “I SHALL STRIKE YOU ALL DOWN, HERE AND NOW.”

“Did you know that my Operations Director had a plan in place in case the Defender Gundams ever went rogue? She’s thorough like that.” Gendo put a hand around his chin, looking thoughtfully at the mecha. “What was your name…ah yes.” The Supreme Commander of NERV smirked. “I’m sorry Iruel…I can’t let you do that.”

Six nephilim suddenly leapt into position, letting loose their AT-Fields. At that very instant, every single Section 2 agent withdrew their weapons, and automated sentry guns extended from the walls. The voice of Dell Conagher the Engineer echoed from the intercom, laden with delight. “Heh! Time to show you how it’s done here at NERV!”

The Defender Gundams opened fire, and so did the people of Section 2. Outside, the other mecha found themselves under attack from a variety of agents at all angles.

In an instant, the school became a warzone.

xxxx

/Katsuragi’s Apartment, Tokyo-3, Japan/

Shinji Ikari gasped for air – his ability to scream practically exhausted by this point – as Randall vaulted over the railing to Misato’s apartment. The cat calmly opened the door, ducking underneath the doorframe. With a few gestures, the straps holding the boy loosened, allowing him to sag to the floor.

“I BROUGHT STRANGER HERE AS YOU ASKED. I DO NOT KNOW WHY.”

“Wark.”

“THIS ONE DOES NOT LOOK OR SMELL LIKE FRESH MEAT.”

“Wark!”

“VERY WELL. I TRUST YOU, FEATHERED ONE.”

This. Is. Weird. Shinji shook his head as Pen-Pen waddled over to his fridge. “Pen-Pen…how did you know it’s me?”

The penguin glanced back at Shinji, an odd glimmer in his eyes. Then he entered his fridge; moments later, the telltale sound of the high-speed elevator going down into the Geofront could be heard.

Shinji blinked. “…okay then.”

GRRRRRRN!

Wrenching metal caught his attention; as he turned around, he blanched at the sight of Rei Ayanami crunching Randall’s robotic limbs, ruining the hydraulics and severing multiple connections. With a hulking groan, the robotic avatar keeled over. Removed of his ability to type text and speak aloud, the orange tabby settled for hissing angrily.

Sergeant Ayanami paid the cat no mind, turning her focus back on Shinji. “I have no idea how you suborned Pen-Pen and Randall, but it ends now.”

“Ayanami…you have to listen to me.” Shinji slowly backed up as Rei advanced; he couldn’t help but note how tightly her fists were clenched. “I know what it looks like, but the Angel’s deceived everyone with its AT-Field. I’m really Shinji Ikari!” Rei didn’t stop. “We first met in front of Unit-01, when you were too injured to pilot.” His back touched the wall; he couldn’t retreat any further. “We had trouble understanding each other at first…and we disagreed about some things, like when we had dinner at Dr. Akagi’s home.” Rei was only three feet away. “But you’re my comrade…and my friend!” She raised her right hand. “So I know…and believe…that you’re not going to kill me!”

Her fist shot towards his face.

xxxx

So, how does it end?

Read the finished chapter to find out.