EVA and everything related to EVA is copyrighted by Gainax/Project EVA
1995-2004. This story is owned by me and my flying octopi. Nothing legal about my
ownership, besides my name on it. Intellectual property.
****************************************************************************
"Do you require something?"
Ayanami Rei sat in room 303, looking down at the body of Soryu Asuka
Langley. The German was blindly staring at her counterpart, as if in a
trance. "Soryu?"
Rei's quiet voice barely managed to penetrate Asuka thoughts. "Huh?"
"Do you require something?" the other girl asked again patiently.
"Uh, no, I don't think so. I was just thinking about something..."
The red eyes blinked once, then began to wander around the room again. "And
you can call me Asuka, alright?"
"Yes." Asuka waited for more of a response, but mentally shrugged
when none came.
"She sure is strange," Asuka thought. "But then again, I'm probably
strange to her."
Some quiet minutes passed. Random thoughts passed through the girls'
minds, but they weren't very similar. "Why are you here, anyway?"
"What do you mean?"
"Why are you in my hospital room? Why are you here?" Silence
followed as Rei processed the questions.
"I thought, perhaps, that you would like some company."
"You *thought*?!" Rei stared at Asuka, confused. "You mean, no one
told you to come here? You just, poof, decided to come and give me some
company? No one ordered you to come here?"
"... I was not aware of such an order." Asuka smiled confidently.
"OK, maybe you aren't so bad, after all." Rei's confusion only grew,
but she decided against pursuing the conversation further. "Are you sure
Shinji didn't ask you to come or something like that?"
"No, I have not seen pilot Ikari for quite some time."
SUBCAPTION A:
THIRD JUDGMENT:
-< 6 >-
"You selected the Sixth," Fuyutsuki deadpanned.
"Actually, it was quite easy. She stood out from many other possible
pilots. She fits most of the requirements-"
"I heard her father made quite a splash trying to stop us. The UN
had to intervene, especially since she wasn't one of the candidates we
had gathered in Tokyo-3."
"Being rich in a political past has its advantages. As well as being
rich in the way of money," Ikari said dryly.
"Oh yes, her father was one of the original investors in Gerhirn,
isn't that correct? I remember that man now. A pompous, arrogant man, if I
recall."
"Yes."
"Sounds as if you've seen him recently."
"Yes, I attended the UN meeting he appeared at. We exchanged...
pleasantries. Also, I was made aware of another fact at the meeting. The Sixth
has already begun training at the Matsushiro base."
"Impossible. The EVA series has already been completed moved out-"
"Unit 14." Fuyutsuki's eyes widened, if only for a second.
"What? I thought you had canceled that project-"
"I did. Nevertheless, with our current situation I ordered it
finished. Through these actions, we can still afford to let the Second
recover at a more natural pace, as well as continue the regeneration of Unit
03."
"What of Unit 00? The bio-parts salvaged are enough to coax a total
regeneration," the professor offered.
"Yes, that is true. But by any means, that would put us in a
position where we are lacking a pilot instead of an EVA."
"It could be used as a backup," the professor opted.
"Impossible. Synchronizing with two separate EVAs can only lead to
mental contamination. We must wisely use the assets we have."
"And the time you've bought is one of these assets?"
"Correct."
"But how can we prepare for an enemy with as much force as SEELE?
We don't have enough tiles at this time."
"I am in the process of winning more."
"I recommend against bringing another new Children here, if
that's what you're referring to, Ikari."
"No."
"Then what?"
"You are aware that Unit 03 is not the only one of Akagi's little
children. Her other projects are also rapidly becoming available to us."
"Such as? I had no idea she had progressed so far as to be used in a
battle situation."
"Massive strides forward have been taken to counteract the downfalls
experienced earlier. The losses of Units 03 and 04 were tremendous losses
of time and money on our part. Those EVAs turned out to be SEELE's pawns."
"Just as all of us once were."
---
Three days later...
---
"Here's the dossier on the Sixth." Ritsuko handed the thin, unmarked
manilla folder to Misato. They both sat in Misato's car, which was parked
on one of the newly created parking lots that dotted Tokyo-3.
Misato unclipped the folder and pulled out the top document.
"Terakawa Izumi. I thought you said it was a boy?"
"Commander Ikari told me it was a boy. But you know him, he lies for
absolutely no reason..." Misato looked over the rest of the top file.
Name: Terakawa Izumi
Age: 15
Birthdate: 2000.11.20
Mother: deceased
Father: Terakawa Eiji
"Only basic data," Misato complained.
"Did you notice her father's name?"
"Yea. So?"
"Sound familiar?" Misato shook her head. "He was one of the few
private investors of Project-E."
"So he funded part of the original experimentation."
"Yes, and he is still funding the secondary testing at Matsushiro."
"You're implying that they rebuilt it, too?" Misato said quietly.
Bad memories of that place suddenly surfaced.
"Yes, and Terakawa funded most of that as well." Misato flipped
through more of the papers, pulling out one or two when they seemed
interesting.
"Says here that she's already a designated pilot for... Unit 14?!
Ritsuko, what does that mean, huh? They built one without our knowledge?"
Akagi sighed, but shook her head.
"No, Ikari ordered its construction, and it was finished several
days ago. Her father immediately placed her as its pilot and began basic
training. Of course, NERV isn't officially supervising the training, and
Unit 14 is the only EVA that I didn't have some part in designing besides
the original one. Her father made a very big deal about Ikari choosing her
as the Sixth."
"So he wanted her to be a pilot, but not a pilot for NERV, huh?"
"I guess so. It's amazing what people will do to further themselves
in the minds of others. Oh, and her father even went as far as to request
the UN to personally step in and stop the acquisition."
"That's outrageous. Just because someone has money doesn't mean they
can resist NERV taking their child to save the world... Well, maybe I can
understand that, but going to the UN? That's out of his league. I mean,
we're supposed to be saving the world, for God's sake."
"Well, they thought the same thing. They denied his request, but
they did give the girl her own special guardian, from outside NERV."
"They gave her a guardian from the UN?" Misato deadpanned. Akagi
nodded and sighed. "We can't allow someone like that to come inside NERV
headquarters! That entire area is off-limits! The entire Geofront can't be
accessed by anyone who doesn't work for NERV! We can't break such rules;
it's unacceptable. I reject that idea in total."
"It isn't our decision to make. To make it simple, since Terakawa
couldn't keep his daughter from NERV, he won't let us have Unit 14 unless
the UN guardian is let into headquarters. Ikari agreed to it already."
Misato shoved herself further down into her seat and crossed her arms.
"Seems like the only reason Ikari keeps me around is to watch his
kid," Misato grumbled. "The UN guardian is probably just a spy for SEELE,
anyways."
"Have you told Shinji yet? About there being another Children?"
"No."
"Really? That's surprising. I expected more from you, Major." Misato
stared out the car's windshield. The sun was setting just over the mountains.
"I haven't seen him lately."
"Shouldn't you tell him, though? You are his guardian, after all."
"... I guess. I was going to anyway, when I got home, but I'll just
call him now to make you happy. We can go back to the bar then."
---
---
"Misato's still gone," Shinji said quietly, venturing out of his
room again. As much as he was still afraid of confronting Misato, he wanted
to see his guardian again, the way he used to.
Shinji began preparing a small meal for himself, but a tinny ringing
soon filled the apartment. The Third Children immediately recognized the
noise. "My phone? I thought I'd let the battery run down..." He went into
the room and retrieved the cell phone. "Hello?" he said gingerly, not sure
who was on the other end. "This is Shinji."
"Hi. It's me."
"Misato-san... What is it?"
"I have some information to pass on to you. They are bringing the
Sixth Children to NERV." Shinji frowned in the darkness of his room.
"The Sixth? But... why would my father do that?"
"I have no idea! You expect me to know your father's motives?"
"... No."
"OK, then we agree. Also, I'd like it if you'd tell Asuka." Shinji
looked around the room in confusion.
"Uh, sorry if this sound stupid, but what do you mean by that?"
"*Tell*Asuka*. How difficult can that be to understand?"
"Um, alright... if that's what you want... I don't think she can
hear us right now, though..."
"Whaaat are you talking about?" Shinji was beginning to wonder if
Misato'd totally lost it.
"She's... in a coma. I thought you knew that, Misato..."
"Oh, duh! Sorry, Shinji-kun, I guess I have another little piece of
info for you." Shinji waited patiently, waiting for Misato to clear up her
forgetfullness.
CAPTION B:
NEON GENESIS
EVANGELION:
DAY OF JUDGMENT
EPISODE 27
Symbiosis
"Shinji! You're finally here," Asuka exclaimed, a wide grin crossing
her face. The Third had just burst into her hospital room, and had then
proceeded to stare in awe at the girl. "Don't do that, pervert!"
"Asuka... You're alright... I... I mean... Hi." For the first time in weeks,
Shinji smiled.
"Idiot, of course I'm alright. Besides the fact that I hate being
here, everything's fine with me. But what took you so long?"
"Well, I-"
"I mean, I expected you to be the first one here, but no! First
Misato came to check on me, then Ritsuko gave me some tests to make
sure my brainwaves hadn't changed, and then *Wondergirl* even came and sat
there like a rock for a while. But the whole time I just kept thinking,
'That bumbling stooge Ikari's gonna burst in here any minute.' But no, you
never came." Asuka looked angrily towards Shinji, her arms folded across her
chest. Shinji wasn't sure whether to be sorry he didn't come, or to be happy
Asuka was her old self again.
"I... That is, Misato only just told me a little while ago. I came
down here as soon as I heard," Shinji explained.
"What, were you locked in your room the whole time?" Shinji
shrugged, embarassed at how true that statment was.
"Kind of." He didn't mention that he'd locked himself in his room.
"Well, don't think that makes it all better. It's bad enough sitting
here with the First, but it's even worse when I'm alone. This place isn't
very friendly to a woman who just got out of a coma."
"I know. I don't really like hospitals..." The anger had deserted the
redhead's face, and she too began to smile back at Shinji.
"It's good to see you again, Shinji."
"Yea, it's nice to see you, too. Oh, I just remembered."
"Remembered what?"
"Misato called me. She had a message to relay to you..."
"Spit it out! I'm so far behind on the times it's not even funny!"
"They, uh... My father... NERV.... found the Sixth."
"Unit 06? So what? Isn't that one part of the mass-production
series?"
"No, I meant... I meant to say... They found the Sixth Children."
---
One month later...
---
Misato and Ritsuko stood before their commanding officers in their
office, giving the daily reports.
"At the special NERV F-type equipment docking area 459, which is
outside Tokyo-3, Unit 14 was transported to NERV HQ at 0:900 according to
schedule. It's pilot also arrived on schedule from Matsushiro at 14:00. She
was brought aboard a NERV escort car and also moved to the Geofront for
preliminary testing as of 15:45 today," Misato read. Ritsuko then took over.
"Second Children had recovered enough that she was able to be
placed on active duty again, and resumed testing in EVA Unit 02 today. Even
though the personal data patterns were slightly changed and modified to more
easily synch with her new brain waves, her synchro-rate still refused to rise
beyond 30%." Neither of them mentioned how angry Asuka was when she
heard her results.
"Third Children also returned to Unit 01 for the usual rounds of tests,
surpassing 75% as usual, peaking at 82.6"
"His mood was increasingly better than it has been in past weeks. I
believe that it has something to do with the reconstruction. Many of Shinji's
classmates are moving back into the city, and his school is scheduled to
reopen soon," Misato finished.
"Very well. That is all."
---
---
Suzuhara Touji, after several complications, had received his
biomechanical arm and leg, which were attached soon after. He was spending a
large quantity of his time trying to learn to use his new appendages, which
were built using the same technologies used to create EVA's interface.
Misato, knowing that Shinji still harbored intense feelings of
responsibility for the horrible things done to one of his friends, had
invited the boy over on a particularly warm afternoon. Misato had decided
not to inform Shinji ahead of time...
"Gee, thanks for the ride, Misato-san. You're--! I mean, it's
hot..." Suzuhara stated as they reached the door labelled 'Katsuragi'.
"It's no problem. I'm just thankful that my car's air conditioning
is as good as its acceleration," Misato said, smiling at the young boy. She
slid her card through the acceptor and entered the passcode.
The door opened, and the pair stepped inside. "I'm home!" Misato
said in a strangely happy voice.
"Welcome home." The voice of Shinji from further inside the
apartment seemed to affect Touji somehow. "I didn't know you worked today."
As his voice became continually closer, Touji's confidence shrunk smaller.
He almost thought about just running out, but the door slid closed behind
him. Plus Misato-san would think he was a coward.
As Shinji finally came into Touji's view, Suzuhara froze. As did
Shinji when he noticed Touji standing beside Misato. The two stood there in
Misato's apartment, staring at each other for several agonizingly long
seconds before anything happened.
"Hey, Shinji. What's up?" Touji asked quietly. He knew Shinji'd feel
sorely about what happened. Shinji was the kind of person who took on too
much responsibility for his actions- whether they were truly his or not.
"Hi, Touji," Shinji whispered. Touji watched as Shinji's eyes moved
to the biomechanical arm and leg, then to Misato, then back to Touji. "Uh,
please come in."
"Yea, Suzuhara, please make yourself at home," Misato said in a tone
far more confident than either of the boys'. The Major led the boys into the
living room, and all three sat down. However, as soon as Touji and Shinji
were seated (Misato noticed that Shinji had purposely not sat too near to
his friend), Misato stood again. "Well, I have to go get some groceries. I'm
sure you two can find something to talk about," she said quickly before
rushing out.
Both young men watched Misato leave. Shinji watched in disbelief,
figuring out that Misato had brought Touji here so he could clear things up
with his friend. Touji watched Misato because... Well, you know.
"It was nice seeing Misato again," Touji said dreamily. "And its
good to see you again, too, Shinji. How's it been going?"
"I'm good. How's your sister?"
"She's almost totally done with that place. Thanks for asking."
More deathly silence followed. "So, I heard Asuka was out of her coma."
"Yep. She should be coming home pretty soon, too." Touji smiled a
little, but he was still very nervous.
"I know it sounds odd, but I'm almost glad. Without that demon
yelling all the time, school would be kinda boring."
"Yea..." Shinji nervously looked around the room, trying to find
some way to make his point. "... Do they hurt?"
"Huh?"
"Your... arm and leg."
"No. I never really felt too much pain."
"That's good... I... I mean to say..." Touji finally looked Shinji straight
in the eyes at the same moment Shinji did the same.
"I don't hold any of it against you, ya know. Misato told me that
you weren't controlling the EVA when it attacked Unit 03. I don't blame you
at all," Touji explained. It was one of the few times Shinji had seen the
boy truly serious.
"I know, but... I could have-"
"Misato also told me that there was no possible way for you to stop
it. I know that EVA-03 was infected with an Angel, so I'm glad that it was
defeated before it hurt anyone else." Shinji forced his eyes away from his
friend's gaze.
"But... I still feel like... I could have done something. I mean,
you lost an arm and a leg, and for what? So an Angel could be defeated?
The EVA didn't have to break the entry plug. If anything, I should have at
least stopped that one movement..." Touji just waved his hand in the air.
"Forget about it. My father yelled at Doctor Akagi for several
weeks in a row for programming the dummyplug that way. But, at least NERV
gave us quite a nice little compensation package, as well as helping my
sister recover at no cost. And with the money I'm receiving from getting
a new arm and leg, I can say that my family's set for quite a while."
"...Maybe money can buy happiness..."
"No, no way! That's why I'm not out buying expensive shoes or
something right now. That's why my father and grandfather haven't quite
their jobs. We don't want to force ourselves to believe that having more
than enough money can make our lives better. Sure, I mean we can pinch a few
less pennies, but I don't want too much to change," Touji explained.
"I... I'm glad you don't hold a grudge, Touji."
"Oh, I hold a grudge, alright," the other boy suddenly growled.
Shinji's eyes widened, but Suzuhara just smiled. "I hold a huge grudge
against that dummyplug system!"
As Shinji realized what his friend meant, a small smile broke onto
his face. "I mean, I guess holding a grudge against a machine is kinda
stupid, but I'm thick-headed enough that it makes sense."
For the first time in days, Ikari Shinji began to laugh. "Yep. I
don't hold a single thing against you, Ikari, except that you never came to
visit me! But I guessed that you'd feel that way, so I didn't mind too
much."
"Hey, do you know if Kensuke's moving back?"
"Of course! Even if his parent's weren't planning on it, so you
think he'd be able to stay so far from the military wonders of EVA?"
---
---
Inside NERV HQ, Fuyutsuki and Ikari stood on the unbilican bridge
of the EVA Unit 14, newly moved to the third cage. "It's not a terribly
original design," Fuyutsuki commented, looking at the new EVA.
"Terakawa's scientists must have gotten the design from Units 00 and
01." The deep blue EVA stood neck-deep in pink stasis fluid, held tightly
by the restraints of the cage.
"What of the Sixth?" Fuyutsuki asked, his deep voice echoing around
the huge room.
"She arrived shortly after this EVA. I believe Doctor Akagi is
giving her the preliminary tests for piloting. Lieutenants Hyuga and Aoba
are going to begin analyzing this Unit in three hours."
"... And her guardian?" the professor asked in a lower tone.
"I have only received small amounts of data. Her name is Kaima Maru,
and she is a member of the UN group called 'Linear Operations'."
"Really? I never heard of that organization." Ikari made no response.
"Have you?"
"Yes." Fuyutsuki could see that Ikari was hiding something, but now
was neither the time nor the place to pry.
"What is the possibility that she's simply another SEELE spy?"
"MAGI say it's impossible to tell with the given information, and
I cannot make a better judgment. Given our current situation, though, it is
not out of the question to believe it."
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To be continued...