I'm using a bastard screenplay format (crudely based on what the ones for NGE are like, just not in Japanese, not anal about formatting, and with way more asides) and going on the assumption that I have an actual budget and no set time restraints to play with. Divergences from the original script are intentional. (At least... they're supposed to be.) Thoughts/suggestions welcome.
Abandon all hope, all ye who enter here:
Episode #24, Part B: BAD END (Provisional Title)
Section 1, Draft 1.21
-Eva-02 Cage-
Eva-02 stands in her coolant-filled cage, still and silent. From the umbilical bridge, Kaworu gazes upon her intently, hands in pockets.
A close-up of the coolant, rippling placidly. Just barely discernible amidst the atmospheric ambience is a woman’s voice (Kyoko’s) — wholly resigned, impossibly distant.
Voice: “…but it’s all right. Because I have nothing.”
Close-up of Kaworu.
Kaworu: “It is time. Let’s go, daughter of Adam… slave of the Lilin.”
Kaworu casually steps off the edge of the bridge towards the Eva’s face. A haze immediately forms around him, and, rather than fall, he hangs in the air, then slowly drifts upward.
Eva-02’s eyes begin to glow, lighting up the four green cameras from behind. The jaws strain briefly, then break open, shards of the restraining bolt flying towards Kaworu — all skimming off an invisible barrier and missing Kaworu completely.
He smiles eerily.
Music start: Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, 4th Mov. - "Presto" (“Ode to Joy”)
-Command Center 2-
Hyuga: “Unauthorized activation of Evangelion Unit 02!”
Misato: “By whom?” (eyes narrow) “That boy?”
Ibuki: “There’s no pilot! The signal terminator plug is still present!”
Misato: “What on Earth…? A berserker?”
Ibuki: “……”
Hyuga: “A.T. Field detected in the cage, as well! Pattern blue! It’s an Angel!!”
Misato: “!!!”
Aoba: “Putting visuals on main screen.”
Everyone on the command tower looks up in anticipation.
-Eva-02 Cage-
Close-up of the back wall. Cross-shaped end first, the signal terminator plug crashes through, as if it had been forcefully ejected.
Kaworu hovers in front of Eva-02. The Eva’s jaws gape open, revealing a purple-pink tongue coated in saliva and disfigured human-like dentition lurking behind the dark olive “teeth”. Her muscles audibly strain against the cage restraints as she leans forward… (View from behind Kaworu, low angle.)
A shadow is cast on Kaworu, and his smile intensifies.
Kaworu: “Our promised day is finally here. One end marks a new beginning.”
A diminutive crunching sound as the massive jaws clamp shut, encasing Kaworu completely. Eyes still aglow, the Eva chews a couple of times, and then, in the manner of a reptile or bird, she throws her head back — casting the morsel into the dark pit of her gullet.
With a contented murmur, she settles back, and the eyes go out.
-Command Center 2-
Everyone watches, utterly stupefied… save for Gendo and Fuyutsuki, who betray no reaction at this moment.
Ibuki: “Eva-02 has deactivated…”
Hyuga: “The Angel’s A.T. Field has disappeared.”
On-screen, Eva-02 is doing nothing.
Ibuki: “No, wait… Eva-02’s core…”
A computer display schematically showing the Eva’s core and the aforementioned “invasion”.
Ibuki (OFF): “It’s being invaded by an unknown element!”
Switch to a display of Eva-02’s “core pulse”, comprised of five separate lines (various shades of red) representing a coordinated cycle. Within the second, we start seeing skips along with pronounced decreases in magnitude. A legend in the corner indicates red for “RESIDENT”, blue for “FOREIGN”.
Ibuki (OFF): “The core pulse… It’s destabilizing!... It’s fading!”
Ibuki quickly turns to the others, looking incredibly upset. We can hear a tone being emitted from her console.
Ibuki: “Eva Unit 02 is—!!”
All five red lines are flat-line (with accompanying tone). A pulse in blue is becoming evident.
Aoba: “A high-energy reaction is being detected inside the core!”
Hyuga: “Blood type is shifting… It’s become pattern blue!!”
Misato: “No…” (Restrained horror.)
-Eva-02 Cage-
Abruptly, Eva-02 rears back, releasing an ear-piercing roar. Then, with one powerful motion, she wrenches her arms out of the side wall restraints and throws her body forward with devastating force, straight through the umbilical bridge and beyond. Odd bits of armor, including the shoulder pylons, remain clinging to the inside of the cage.
Once freed of restrictions in her immediate vicinity, Eva-02 slows down. She starts “looking around”, surveying… (Something about her manner subtly suggests that this is extrasensory.) A low rumble in her throat, she begins to move with slow, deliberate steps.
-Command Center 2-
Fuyutsuki: “Ikari, this can only mean one thing.”
Gendo: “Indeed. Seele have sent the final Angel to us directly.”
-Seele Council Chamber-
The familiar monolithic assembly.
“Tabris and Evangelion Unit 02 have joined. It shouldn’t have been possible, with an already inhabited unit.”
“This goes against our scenario.”
“We were foolish to believe that we could deceive Tabris.”
“Its motives remain clouded, but we cannot take any chances.”
Seele-01 (Kiel): “This is truly Mankind’s final trial. Evangelion Unit 01, we pray that you fulfill your duty.”
-Command Center 2-
Fuyutsuki: “It wasted no time merging with the Eva.” (glances sidewards at Gendo) “One can only guess where it will head next.”
Gendo stands up abruptly and addresses the crew below.
Gendo: “Reclassify Eva-02 as the Seventeenth Angel. Dispatch Eva-01 after it immediately.”
Ibuki: “An Angel?!? But that means…”
Aoba: “Yeah, I know.” (sympathetic) “It’s Eva-03 all over again…”
Hyuga: (sighs) “I guess we weren’t prepared for the Angels taking on human form to get past our defenses — but, at the same time…”
He glances at Misato, and she looks strangely upset — much more so than Ibuki.
Misato: (forcing the words out) “Contact the Third Children and get him to Eva-01’s cage. Hurry!!!”
Ibuki: “Yes, ma’am!”
Fuyutsuki: “Close all partitions in Central Dogma! Have all personnel evacuate immediately!”
Hyuga: “Right!”
-Central Dogma-
Mechanisms in dark chambers activate, and armored shutters close throughout the facility (including the inside of the main shaft). A woman’s voice booms over the Nerv HQ loudspeaker system.
Voice (loudspeakers): “Emergency lockdown in progress. All non-essential personnel in Central Dogma are to evacuate to the surface immediately. Repeat, emergency lockdown. All non-essential personnel in Central Dogma are to evacuate to the surface immediately.”
Misato (OFF): “Status of the Angel?”
Just as a set of armored shutters is almost done closing, something (one of Eva-02’s feet) bursts through it with great force, sending debris everywhere.
-Command Center 2-
Aoba (OFF): “Eva-02… no, the Angel is breaking through the facilities adjacent to the Cage complex.” (bleeds over to…)
-Central Dogma-
Destruction.
Eva-02, eyes glowing and jaws slightly agape, breaks through the infrastructure, from one facility into another, heading towards some unknown destination. Only brute force is employed at this time. We can see people fleeing, people dying in the chaos…
-Command Center 2-
Aoba spins around dramatically.
Aoba: “It’s heading straight here!”
Misato stares back at him in horror, then quickly forces herself back into reality.
Misato: “Evacuate the Command Center! Hurry!”
Hyuga wastes no time making the announcement.
Hyuga: “All personnel evacuate!”
Higher up on the command tower, Gendo and Fuyutsuki finally stir.
Fuyutsuki: “That doesn’t give us much time, does it?”
Hyuga (loudspeakers): “Repeat, all personnel evacuate!”
The operators on the lower decks promptly begin to abandon their positions.
Aoba rises from his own computer console.
Aoba: (grumbling) “We don’t have any spare Command Centers after this… Let’s get the hell out of here!”
The room starts to shake with an increasing intensity. Misato and the operators — Ibuki clinging to her cat cushion — dash out of one of the exits.
Fuyutsuki gets on the lift, but Gendo — although having risen from his desk — is in no hurry to join him.
Fuyutsuki: “Ikari, what are you waiting for?!?”
Gendo stands there with his right hand in his pocket, wearing a smile both relaxed and resigned.
Gendo: “Fuyutsuki-sensei… I leave the rest to the two of you.”
At that moment, something breaks through the back wall of the Command Center — a giant fist. Debris flies across the room and crashes heavily into the main screen. The fist unfurls, and long fingers wrapped in grey reach for the top of the command tower.
A close-up of Gendo’s face, with the giant, rapidly-approaching hand reflected in his glasses. His expression is indiscernible.
-Corridor in Central Dogma-
Misato and the others stand together in a dark corridor, the most obvious hope for escape smothered by a collapsed ceiling. There’s no way to get through.
Hyuga: “In other words, we have to go back…”
Aoba: “…if there’s anything to return to.”
Misato clenches her fists. A moment later, the trembling of the infrastructure — frighteningly close-by — begins again. Only… it’s going back in the direction from which it came.
Misato: “It’s leaving? The hell…?”
She spins around and moves with a purpose.
-Command Center 2-
The automatic door whooshes open. A first glimpse indicates that a large section of the main screen is damaged, but everything on their level of the command tower seems intact, despite some bits of fallen debris. Then she squints her eyes, spotting something on the surface of the screen itself…
A short trail of blood, created by what looks like a body sliding slowly against the wall — as though it had been flicked there, like some kind of bug. A big chunk of the body seems to be missing, including one of the arms. She gasps in realization, nearly in unison with Ibuki’s feeble retching.
Misato: “Commander Ikari?!?”
-Central Dogma, Main Shaft Interior-
A giant explosion blows the inside of the shaft open, and a massive form moves through the gap with a swift, uncanny grace. Four glowing green orbs are clearly discernible through the smoke.
The vast, open shaft. Eva-02 begins to descend. Close-ups of her right hand and exposed teeth flash by — stained with fresh blood.
-Command Center 2-
Aoba and Hyuga immediately resume their positions. It doesn’t take too much keyboard work before Hyuga’s face contorts in frustration.
Hyuga: “Ugh… This is going to be hard without the integrated analysis team.”
Aoba: (dryly) “You don’t suppose they would respond to a call-back?”
Misato: “We’re not completely paralyzed without them, are we?”
Hyuga: “Not completely, but… Well, you know. The rest of the staff isn’t just for show…”
Aoba: “Yeah. I think they do more work than we do.”
Misato clicks her tongue. Both of the operators’ fingers and eyes move at the speed of sound.
Misato: “Do your best.”
Aoba: “We’ll need Lt. Ibuki for that.”
Aoba, eyes still glued to his screen, indicates a direction with a jerk of his head. It’s Ibuki, sitting not far from the exit, back to the wall, face buried in her pink cushion. Misato frowns and walks over to her.
Misato: “Ibuki-kun… This isn’t the time. We need you right now.”
Ibuki simply quivers and shakes her head. Misato knits her brow.
Misato: “You’re an adult with a job to do. Come on!”
Without hesitation, she yanks Ibuki up from under the arm and pulls the woman back to her post. Maya stares at her keyboard indignantly, but Misato lets it go for now.
Misato: “Where’s the Angel now?”
Aoba: “It’s currently descending the main shaft towards Terminal Dogma.”
Misato: “Tch… Those barriers won’t last long, either, will they?”
-Main Shaft-
Close-up of Eva-02’s face. The eye pieces light up, cross-shaped halations emanating forth.
A blinding pillar of energy zooms down through the shaft, breaking through one barrier after another effortlessly, and continuing onward as far as we can see.
-Command Center 2-
Hyuga: “All barriers breached at once! Incredible!!”
Aoba: “This is bad…”
Misato curses under her breath. The second exit opens up behind them, and Fuyutsuki appears, his normally immaculate uniform covered in dust, grime, and the intermittent rip. He looks like he went through a bit of trouble to get back to the Command Center.
Ibuki: (relieved) “Vice-Commander Fuyutsuki… You’re alive…”
Misato: “Vice-Commander… What happened to Commander Ikari?”
Fuyutsuki: “Forget about that. What about Eva-01? Where is the pilot?”
Ibuki: “Um…” (engages her console) “Currently in Cage 7, preparing for synchronization.”
-Cage 7-
Brief establishing shot of Eva-01 in the cage, with all coolant drained. Fade over to Shinji seated in the entry plug interior.
Misato (radio): “Shinji-kun, there isn’t much time. An Angel has infiltrated Nerv Headquarters. We need you to intercept it before it reaches Terminal Dogma.”
Shinji: “Just me? Won’t Kaworu-kun be going in Eva-02?”
Misato (radio): “…… We haven’t been able to locate him. You’re up against this alone. I’m sorry. That’s just how it is…”
Silent, Shinji enters the synchronization process.
-Command Center 2-
Misato takes a brief moment to think to herself (for our benefit, of course).
Misato (MONO): “Was it right of me to lie to him like that? Should I have just told him?” (frowns) “That boy was an Angel all along… I shouldn’t be surprised. Maybe… I just didn’t want it to be true.”
Meanwhile, the operators are jabbering in the background about the status of the evacuation, the Angel, and Eva-01.
-Central Dogma-
Eva-01 on a rapidly descending lift. It comes to an abrupt stop, and the Eva jolts sharply. The safety devices release in swift succession.
Talking throughout:
Misato (radio): “Shinji-kun, you’ll be on limited power for the descent. If the Angel isn’t stopped by the time you reach bottom, there are power outlets in Terminal Dogma.”
-Entry Plug Interior-
Close-up of Shinji, with a determined look on his face.
Shinji: “Right.”
-Central Dogma-
The power supply releases last. Insert of screen showing the switch to internal power.
Eva-01 turns to move down a narrow passage (a la episode 11, albeit slightly more roomy), and the armored shutter at the end opens remotely.
Ibuki (radio): “It’s a long drop to Terminal Dogma, Shinji-kun. Make sure you control your descent with your A.T. Field, especially toward the end.”
Eva-01 throws herself into the unknown.
-Command Center 2-
Aoba: “Target directly below Eva Unit 01.”
-Main Shaft-
The entry plug interior’s screens, oriented downwards, show a rather familiar-looking silhouette rapidly “approaching”.
Shinji: “Is that…?”
Eva-02 looks up. Somehow… she seems to be smiling. She emits a deep hum suggesting pleasure at this development.
Shinji: “That’s the Angel? But this is…”
Shinji’s expression twists into one of mixed anxiety and anger.
Misato (radio): “It’s okay, Shinji-kun. This isn’t the same as last time. There’s no pilot inside.”
Shinji: “?!?”
Misato (radio): “That’s not Eva-02 anymore. It’s been corrupted by an Angel, like Eva-03 was. You can’t hesitate, Shinji-kun. Everything is at stake.”
Shinji: “……”
Eva-01 “boosts” down (A.T. Field blur is visible), becoming level with Eva-02. The latter is certainly not the Eva with whom Shinji is familiar, given her current “berserk” state.
Shinji: “‘No longer Eva-02’…?”
Eva-02’s poise, while generally neutral, relays the sense that something incredibly threatening is lurking beneath, just barely being contained, ready to burst out at any moment. Her mouth hangs open slightly, and thick saliva seeps slowly down the sides. The eyes are still glowing, but they flicker intermittently.
Misato (radio): (tinge of impatience) “Shinji-kun!”
Shinji: “R-right!”
Eva-01’s left pylon opens and releases the progressive knife.
Shinji: “Asuka, I’m sorry!”
Eva-01 brandishes the knife and rather halfheartedly attempts to strike her opponent. Eva-02 simply grabs the other Eva’s wrist and twists the arm into a painful-looking position. Eva-01 reflexively releases the weapon. It drops down the shaft and out of sight.
Shinji: (pain and frustration) “Urgh!”
Then, Eva-02 gets right in Eva-01’s face, and a vaguely familiar — however creepily distorted — voice appears.
Voice: “I’ve been waiting. For both of you.”
Shinji: (freaked out) “What?!”
Misato (radio): “What’s the matter, Shinji-kun?”
Shinji: “……”
Close-up of Eva-02, looking incredibly sinister.
Voice: “You’ve been living in darkness, Lilin child. We both have. It’s time to restore the light. I will show you the truth.”
Then, suddenly, the lights behind the four green cameras go out completely. Rapid zoom-in/blur, and…
Blur over to a rather vague, clearly metaphysical image of the Adam embryo (well-lit) lying somewhere dark and suggestively organic. After a moment, the embryo sinks into its surroundings — kind of spreading itself out as it seamlessly fuses. The dark quickly turns to light, filling the screen with white. (This brief sequence occurs in complete silence. The music resumes immediately after.)
Blur back. Eva-02 cries out sharply, as if in pain — or is it something else?
Close-up of Eva-02’s chest. The bottom of the chest plate creaks with a force pushing up against it from beneath. An intense red glow peeks out through the juncture.
-Command Center 2-
Monitor display showing what looks like a DNA molecule with some unseen force running down its length, making occasional alterations to the base pair sequence. The text in one corner reads, “EVA-02: CHROMOSOME 12 (DETAIL) / GENETIC PATTERN UNDERGOING TRANSFIGURATION”. The screen shifts after a moment to contrast “before” with “after” and indicate points of divergence.
Hyuga: “Eva-02’s genetic pattern is being rewritten! Alterations appear to be minimal, however…”
Aoba: “What the hell is going on?”
-Main Shaft-
Fuyutsuki (OFF): “So, it’s finally reincorporated the fragment.”
Eva-02’s neck muscles begin to bulge and twitch, and her head arches back. The allusion is somewhat erotic, aided by the accompanying low murmurs. (Also evokes Eva-02’s peculiar gesticulations while being probed by Arael.)
Fuyutsuki (OFF): “Now the imperfect copy made by Man becomes little more than raw material for the reconstruction of the original.”
The armor pieces covering the face and jaw start to rattle slightly, as if possessed, and there’s perhaps the anticipation that Eva-02’s helmet will “pop open” as it has in the past… but, instead, these sections violently “flash” out of existence with a weird popping sound. (The implication being that they’ve been “vaporized” in some manner.) The angle of Eva-02’s head at the end of the cut precludes a good look at the now-exposed face.
-Command Center 2-
Ibuki: (disbelief) “…… What are you saying, Vice Commander?”
-Main Shaft-
Shinji simply watches with an appalled fascination. Eva-01’s remaining power, meanwhile, continues to tick down.
The Angel brings her face back down — and, immediately, we know it’s not what we were expecting. For one thing… there are only two eyes. Two piercing, blood-red eyes. (Red iris on white sclera.) The complexion is pale, as well — the same color as Kaworu’s, much paler than what we’ve seen from the Evas. A marking resembling Sachiel’s first face is prominent on the forehead. The eyes, initially dilated (with three auxiliary pupils apparent), visibly contract as they focus upon Eva-01.
Shinji: “An Angel? But…”
Shinji immediately has an ephemeral flashback to his glimpse of Eva-01’s face. (The shots in question have been redrawn so that Eva-01 actually looks like an Eva and not some weird mutant cyborg porpoise thing.)
This flows over to a similarly-posed shot of Eva-01’s (covered) face, the walls of the central shaft rapidly panning past her in the background, which lingers long enough to give the sense that she’s beholding whatever she’s seeing (and to establish a false sense of security). An aura is barely visible on the edge of the screen she’s facing.
Fuyutsuki (OFF): “The first human being on Earth… the First Angel… was destroyed fifteen years ago…”
Same shot, an arm aggressively enters the frame and Eva-01’s head is pushed back into the wall. As this happens, the familiar gold and black material dissolves off — visually suggesting consumption by fire — exposing the pale skin below. The last thing on the arm to dissolve is “EVA-02” (actually incorporated into the animation this time, just for the sake of this morbid touch).
Rapidly followed by a front angle close-up of Eva-01’s face with the Angel’s hand pressed up onto it, fingers splayed and claw-like. The grey “glove” vanishes. The “knuckle dusters”, which are visibly bolted to the skin, shift around briefly — as the armor on the face had — before “popping” into nonexistence. Sparks and pieces of shaft wall fly out from behind Eva-01.
Fuyutsuki (OFF): “…but now, right here, it is being reborn.”
Pan up the Angel’s torso. All of Eva-02’s remaining armor is becoming white-hot and shuddering with instability. One after another, the torso plates — and presumably anything beneath them — burst into nothingness, exposing a slender yet muscular body. (Note: There are no evident genitals, though this isn’t just because of Japanese censorship laws for once.) Finally, the core and pectorals are exposed, followed directly by a close-up of the core, red and radiant.
-Command Center 2-
Misato: “First Angel?!? Adam? But—”
Quick inserts of Kaji showing her “Adam” (Lilith) in episode 15. Misato frowns deeply.
Misato (MONO): “Just what is going on?”
TO BE CONTINUED (when I finish writing the next chunk)
Notes:
- Deciding which of the three operators gets to shout a particular line is (usually) a bitch. I just thought you might like to know.
- I dunno if the armor "flashing" out is the right way to go. There are a few different ways this could be handled. I kind of like the spasming and rattling part, though.
- Should Misato know the truth about “Adam” by now because of Kaji’s magic pill? I wasn’t sure about this, so right now I’m taking the route that she hasn’t finished doing her homework.
-Before anybody says it...