“He-llooo!”
Shinji winced before freezing in place. ‘Maybe if I don’t move, she’ll ignore me...’
“Guten morgen, Third Child!”
*Sigh* ‘Well, it was worth a shot.’ He plastered a reasonably convincing smile on his face. “Guten Morgen, Asuka”
The Second Child pouted. “Why so gloomy? I’m the most popular girl in school, and you have the honour of being associated with me!” She snorted and flicked his forehead. “You should appreciate your good fortune!” She blinked and looked around. “Say, the First Child is here too, isn’t she?”
“Rei? She’s down near the tennis courts.” Shinji turned and pointed at a familiar mop of pale blue hair.
Asuka followed his gaze and spotted her next victim. “Thanks Third.” With that she bounced away, followed closely by a mob of other students. A few of the girls lingered behind a little, eyeing up the Third Child before scampering away to catch up with the rest of the crowd.
Shinji shook his head in exasperation before completing the final short leg of his journey; meeting up with Kensuke and Touji near the escalators. The other two Stooges were leaning over the edge of the walkway, fixedly watching Asuka’s perky posterior. “You know that if she finds out about those photos you’ve been selling she’ll personally castrate you with her Eva.”
Touji chuckled and turned away from the hypnotic Teutonic rear. “Only if she finds out, Shinji. Only if she finds out.”
Kensuke was still leaning over the railing, and was now zooming in for a closer look. “…speaking of photos, have you given any thought to-”
“No.”
“Do you mean ‘no’ as in you haven’t given it any thought, or ‘no’ as in-”
“No, I’m not letting you take and sell photos of me.”
Kensuke groaned and turned to face his white-haired friend, flicking the camera off. “Come on Shin-Man! Do you have any idea how many girls have come up to us asking for photos of you? It’s staggering!”
Touji nodded sagely. “Yeah man, you’re a regular chick magnet these days. Muscles, tan, long white hair, red eyes. You’re like a teenage Dark Schneider!”
“For the last time, no! And if I find you selling photos of me, I’ll shove that video camera up your ass and make a two hour motion picture entitled ‘Shinji kicking the crap out of Kensuke’.”
The freckled teen shivered at the threat, then eyed Shinji thoughtfully. “Hey, on a vaguely related topic, if I became an Eva pilot, would my body mutate like yours and Rei’s did? That’d be awesome!”
Shinji shook his head. “Nah. Unit 00 and Unit 01 were the prototype and test type, built before NERV fully understood what they were doing. Rei and I were altered by our exposure to our Evas, but it looks like Asuka and any later Children will be fine.”
Kensuke slumped in disappointment. “Damn.”
“Anyway, Evangelions aren’t something you can mess around with; more than one of the first pilots were destroyed in the Entry Plug.”
The freckled military Otaku nodded sedately. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Like a great man once said; ‘With great power comes great responsibility’.”
Shinji chuckled. “More than a few people at NERV would do well to take that saying to heart.”
The trio stood silently, each immersed in their own thoughts, until Touji spoke up. “Hey, do you think I’ve got a chance?” The other two glanced at the jock, making him elaborate a little. “With Sohryu, I mean.”
The Avatar snorted. “Not a chance in Hell.”
Touji frowned and held up his fist, growling threateningly. “And why not!?”
Shinji held up his hands in a placating manner. “Hey, it’s not like there’s a problem with you! It’s just that the Second Child already has a massive crush on a guy, and even if the two of you did go out she’d probably spend most of her time comparing everything about you to the other guy.”
Touji’s frown faded but remained as he lowered his hand. “So who is this other guy anyway?”
“Kaji Ryoji. He works for NERV, and from what Misato tells me he’s a real Casanova-type. He’s also twice Asuka’s age.”
Touji and Kensuke both grimaced in disgust. “She’s going after an Old Man!? That’s sick!”
Shinji arched an eyebrow. “If Asuka going after an older man is sick, then the two of you mooning after Misato is…?”
The lecherous duo coughed into their hands and looked at anything other than Shinji. “Now Shinji, you know damn well that they’re are two completely different situations.”
The Third Child would have continued tormenting the pair, but a quiet voice cut in. “Pilot Ikari?”
Shinji turned to find a familiar Angel/human hybrid. “Hi Rei! I see you gave the ‘Red Terror’ the slip.”
Rei glanced down to her former seat, where Asuka was now chatting animatedly with the crowd. The bluehead almost looked annoyed. “…Indeed. We should head to NERV Headquarters; there is another on the way.”
Before Shinji could answer, the emergency sirens went off. The P.A. systems blared, urging everybody to evacuate to their designated shelters. Kensuke and Touji wished the pair good luck before running off. ‘What did HB use to say in situations like this? Ah yes…’ He grinned and nudged Rei. “Hey hey hey, they’re playin’ our song. C’mon Blue, lets go bag us an Angel.”
As he walked off, Rei frowned. ‘Blue?’
Slightly Earlier…
Ritsuko Akagi was intrigued. After thorough examination of the data accumulated in the last battle, she was able to conclude that the anomalous readings picked up by the ‘Over the Rainbow’ were the result of a second mind working in sync with the Second Child, providing a substantial chunk of willpower that allowed Unit 02 to complete its part in the mission. For a while the blonde genius had toyed with the possibility that it had been either the First or Third Children’s mind, but extensive number crunching by the Magi had ended in a unanimous conclusion; neither of the two red-eyed teens had been involved.
‘Speaking of the Third Child…’ “Maya, could you head down to the Medical Centre and get two of the Third Child’s blood samples, one from yesterday, one from the previous physical?”
The short-haired Bridge Bunny hopped from her seat and headed for the door. “Hai Sempai, I’ll be back as soon as I can…”
Once the eager-to-please technician had scampered from the room, Ritsuko minimised the data she had been perusing and continued her game of solitaire. She had already compared the latest blood samples with older samples, finding nothing amiss, but some instinct, some intuition kept telling her she was missing something. Plus, it got Maya out of the room for a little while. ‘It wouldn’t do to slack off in front of a subordinate…’
A slender pair of arms draped over her shoulders as someone’s chin rested on her head. ‘Maya!?’ She frowned as she estimated the size of the breasts pressed into her neck and shoulders. ‘No, Maya’s bust isn’t that large, and she isn’t this brazen.’ “Misato, what are you doing?”
“I’m allowed to visit a friend during the work day, particularly if said friend is analysing the medical data taken from my ward…by the way, you should put the black eight on the red nine.”
Ritsuko frowned and reset the game. “You know how much I hate it when people ‘help’ during games.”
The purple-haired Captain giggled and answered in a sing-song voice. “I know!” She got serious surprisingly quickly. “But this way you’re not distracted by a half-finished game. Now, what have you found out?”
The blonde smirked. “That Shinji is now one very impressive 14 year old. Seriously; when he turns 18 there are going to be plenty of women around here who will help him ‘celebrate’.” She sighed as Misato’s arms tensed, and answered before the Operations Planning Manager could lose her temper. “But beyond that, there is literally nothing I can tell you. We performed every relevant test short of an autopsy and fed the results to the Magi, with absolutely no result. As far as the Magi are concerned, Shinji’s changes are perfectly natural.”
“…could the Magi be ‘lying’?”
Ritsuko ‘hmmed’ in thought. “It’s a possibility, if an immensely unlikely one. I’m afraid that all we can do is wait for Shinji to come clean, and prey that he doesn’t kill us in the meantime.”
“I don’t think it’ll come to that. Shinji is still Shinji, but it’s as if almost every major personality flaw and physical shortcoming has been corrected. He’s like a Shinji Mk-2.”
“Now there’s a backside I remember fondly.”
The sudden appearance of a male voice in the room made both women start, and Misato scowled as she recognised the dreaded individual. “Unit 02 and the Second Child have been safely delivered, so why the hell are you still in this time zone?”
The spy sipped his coffee before answering with a wide smile. “I received orders this morning that I’ll be staying around, so I guess that means we can hang out again, just like we used to.”
“Who’d want to ‘hang out’ with you?!”
Doctor Akagi chuckled at the by-play as she started her game. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it Kaji?”
The scruffy playboy nodded. “It’s been a while alright. Hmm, you should put the Queen of Clubs on the King of Hearts.”
Ritsuko’s eye twitched, and in seconds the game was once again reset. “If I have to tell one more person not to help me…”
*WHOOOOP!…WHOOOOP!…WHOOOOP!…*
A number of previously blank screens turned into red signs marked ‘EMERGENCY: LEVEL 1’.
“An enemy attack!?”
Ritsuko shut down her work and game before tapping into a live feed from Central Dogma…
=…ust received a report from the Battlecruiser Haruna; they’ve detected a huge submerged object off the Ki’I peninsula. They’re sending data…=
Hyuuga’s voice was heard. =Got it. The data has been analysed. The wavelength pattern confirms it; it’s an Angel.=
=All personnel go to first stage alert!=
Inside a Mobile Command Centre Misato held a headset to her ear as she briefed her two airborne pilots on the situation. “The recent battles have severely damaged Tokyo 3’s intercept system; only 26% of our defence capabilities have been restored. In addition, our operational capability for actual combat is virtually nil. Therefore, you’ll have to intercept the target at the waters edge, right before it makes land. Units 01 and 02 will mount a coordinated attack in a series of waves. In other words, close in and take turns!”
=Roger!=
=Roger! This sucks! My first battle in Japan and she won’t let me handle it solo! Why do I have to bring you?=
Before Misato could answer a small ‘window’ with Shinji’s face popped up in Asuka’s display. =We outnumber the enemy, and we should take every opportunity to capitalise on our numerical superiority. It’s common sense, really.=
=Well let me tell you something first, Third Child; don’t get in my way!=
Shinji arched an eyebrow. =Since I’m going to be equipped with a palette rifle, I think it would be more prudent if you were to stay out of my way.= With that, Shinji closed the communications window.
=Jerk!=
Misato rubbed her temples as she felt the onset of a headache. One of the operators called out from the rear of the vehicle. “Ma’am? The Evas will reach the drop point in ten seconds.”
“Tell the crews to get ready to insert the power cables.”
“…Evas have been released.”
On the view screens Misato could see the two pilots focus on landing the two falling Titans without damaging something. Once they hit the ground she spoke up. “Unit 01, Unit 02, status report.”
=…Unit 01 reporting. Everything’s ok from my end.=
=Unit 02 here. No problems with my Eva, but my backup could use a new brain.=
=Bite me, Red.=
“Knock it off you two. Are the power cables inserted?”
=Yes.=
=Yeah.=
“Then arm yourselves and get ready.” The Captain watched on various view screens as the two Evas armed themselves; Shinji tested the weight of the rifle and checked it over with the eye of a seasoned professional, while Asuka took a few practice swings with the spear. Without warning a huge plume of water erupted from the ocean, and when the liquid succumbed to the pull of gravity the enemy was revealed. As tall as an Eva but more than twice as wide, the grey creature stretched its relatively slender arms up towards the Heavens and waited. “Begin the attack!”
Unit 02 immediately rushed forward. =I’ll handle this Angel! Cover my back Shinji!=
=Got it. Neutralise it’s AT Field as soon as you get in range.= The purple mecha dropped to one knee and raised the rifle, firing three-round bursts. Each shot streaked with unerring accuracy towards the enemy’s core, only to explode uselessly against the orange barrier.
=CHARGE!= Shinji held his fire as the four-eyed giant jumped from one half-submerged building to another. Once she got close enough Asuka leapt into the air, screaming as she hauled the spear back, then slashed it down, putting her Eva’s enormous weight into the strike. The spear blade cleaved through the stationary Angel’s body, bisecting it neatly. After a second where the two halves peeled apart Asuka snorted with contempt. =Ha! What did you think of that!?= She turned to grin smugly at Unit 01. =A fight should be clean and elegant, without waste.=
Shinji frowned. He was too far away to sense the Angel, so he couldn’t confirm its death that way. ‘It couldn’t be that easy, could it?’ He opened a new window in the display and zoomed in, increasing the magnification until all he could see was the pink inner flesh of the enemy. Flesh that was twitching and splitting… =Asuka! Get back NOW!=
=What!?=
With a roar and the hideous squelching of tearing flesh, the two halves shed their ‘skin’ to reveal two new Angels; each a gold or a silver miniature of the original. Misato tensed up so much that the headset in her hand was crushed. “That’s fucking cheating!”
In a darkened room various NERV personnel were being debriefed, and at the front of the room sat the two pilots. Asuka, still in her plugsuit, was towelling her hair dry and grumbling to herself. Shinji had released the seals on his plugsuit and peeled down the top before tying the arms around his waist, turning the blue, black, and white suit into a pair of baggy pants, and coincidently offering everyone an unobstructed view of his new physique.
After clearing her throat, Maya began the show. “Today, at 10:58 and 15 seconds AM, Unit 02 was attacked by Targets Alpha and Beta. Being slammed into the ground caused severe damage to the cranial armour and rendered the Second Child unconscious for the remainder of the battle.
*CLICK!*
A slide clicked into place, the projection showing the insensate Unit 02, buried head first up to its waist in the bay. Asuka shot a filthy glare at the young Bridge Bunny.
“Unit 01 closed with the targets, but soon discovered that the Angels were covering each other with their AT Fields, making it extremely difficult to get a clear shot…”
*CLICK!*
The next slide showed Unit 01 emptying the remainder of a clip of ammunition into the gold Angel’s core, an attack that would have been lethal if what was apparently the silver Angel’s AT Field hadn’t been in the way.
“Eventually, it was discovered that the Angels’ AT Fields only protected a relatively small area, only slightly larger than the Angels themselves, and with fast manoeuvring it was possible to land the occasional blow.”
*CLICK!*
By the time the picture in this slide was taken, Unit 01 had taken several hits, as evidenced by the number of gashes in its armour. Still, the battle wasn’t entirely one-sided; the Angel’s were sporting a number of bullet wounds in their limbs and (rarely) torsos.
“Less than a minute after Unit 01 had depleted its ammunition, a number of aircraft entered the engagement zone and dropped what was later revealed to be a weapons crate. After retrieving the weapon within, Unit 01 kicked the Angel’s as…um, fought back with renewed vigour.”
*CLICK!*
This new slide was particularly dramatic. An Angel’s leg could barely be seen in the foreground, and in the background Unit 01 had its weapon raised, a blast of golden-orange energy erupting from the rifle. And what a rifle it was; huge and solidly constructed even for an Eva’s weapon, the weapon was half as long as an Eva was tall, and the barrel was almost large enough that an Eva could have squeezed its hand in (if the pilot were feeling particularly stupid).
Shinji grinned. “I think I’ll call it the ‘Prime Rifle’.”
“…Anyway, at 11:06 and 32 seconds AM, the targets had sustained enough damage that they could no longer fight effectively while separated. Managing to merge with each other, the Angel lasted approximately 27 seconds before being destroyed, though it goes without saying that this time would have been significantly shorter if the Third Child had just killed it, instead of blowing all of its limbs off, then killing it.”
*CLICK!*
The final slide showed a battered Unit 01 holding up a limbless 17th Angel with one hand while blasting the creature’s core out through its back with a point-blank shot from the Prime Rifle.
“Once the Angels remains were placed on shore Unit 01 retrieved Unit 02 and placed the…‘Prime Rifle’ back in the crate, which was almost immediately retrieved by the as yet unknown aircraft.” The projector shut down and the lights came back on.
Asuka stood up and prepared to curse her fellow Pilot, but she held her tongue as Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki stood. “A job well done, all of you.” The good Commander spotted Asuka’s sour expression, and of everyone in the room the former Professor knew how to handle a student who had hadn’t quite achieved the result they were aiming for. “Second Child, you were not at fault; you were caught off guard, and I doubt anybody could have done better in that situation. However, I hope you have learned a lesson from all of this…”
Asuka sighed and nodded. “Yes sir. The Angel isn’t ‘dead’ until its core has been torn out and shattered under my Eva’s heel.”
The elderly man chuckled and nodded before turning to the First Child. “Am I correct in assuming that the timely delivery of that interesting weapon was not entirely unexpected?”
Shinji shrugged neutrally. “I may have had a backup plan in place in case something went wrong.”
“Well, in future I’m sure we’d all appreciate it if you gave us a little warning. My old heart can’t take too many surprises these days…”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
Fuyutsuki nodded. “Alright then. Captain Katsuragi, Doctor Akagi, I’ll leave the rest of this operation in your capable hands.” Misato stood and saluted smartly while her blonde friend waved absently from where she was tapping away at a computer.
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(Posted Wed, 20 Apr 2005 20:35)
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