Neon Genesis Evangelion:
The Bond
By Rob Barba
Series initiated by James Lee
Neon Genesis Evangelion is copyright Gainax and ADV
Part One:
Harmonics
Dear Diary,
I remember when my mother and my father used to talk about how close they were, as two hearts that beat in unity; especially puzzling were Mother's comments that she and Father always needed each other in their lives before they ever loved each other, that they were intimate far before they were even friends, much less lovers.
Being the one of the few children in Tokyo 4, I had always thought was the way of parents, of the way of humans, with the possible exception of my father's half-sister, Aunt Rei. And when my parents eventually left, for a reason that I was never told, I felt that it was all their fault, that though they needed each other, they never needed me--after all, I was but an only child; if they wanted a family, wouldn't I have a brother or sister?
Now, sitting here, in the grassy slopes overlooking the shoreline of New Yokosuka, I think about how much they went through. I turned 16 a week ago, and I've lived with my Aunt Rei since I was 10. The only family I've ever known besides my parents is Aunt Rei, who General Katsuragi jokes about being a clone of my grandmother, who I was named after. I never really knew my parents, though I spent ten years with them until they left. Only Aunt Rei knows why they left one rainy day so long ago, but she's never told me. There is so much that no one will tell me about: my parents, my grandparents--especially Ikari Gendo and why he is so vilified now--or why the remnants of my parents' EVA unit is so comforting to me though it looks like a monster.
I thought I never would know. Then, on my birthday, I received a book from Aunt Rei. Smiling (and her smiles always seem so forced, though I know they're full of love), she said that this book would explain everything to me. She told me that Mother wanted me to have it when Aunt Rei thought I was old enough. Aunt Rei then hugged me (another action of hers that always seems mechanical), and told me that she was proud of how I've grown and that she loves me, and that Mother and Father would be proud of me.
The book is my mother's own diary and a cursory flip through it reveals that she wrote in it up until the day she and Father left me.
I'm nervous about reading it, but it's something I must do, something that will tell me who I am, if only that.
I'll write later and tell you my feelings.
Mata ne,
Ikari Yui Langley
<(*)>
Years, a lifetime, and a reality ago...
Under the water, in the ocean sector known as the Kanagawa Trench, the battle between EVA Unit 02 and the oceanic angel continued, unabated. Above them, a combined American, Australian, Japanese, and Russian fleet under UN command poised above what was once the Ishikawacho district of Yokohama, wondering what was the fate of the Evangelion unit. The fleet had already lost five American BOORDA-class destroyers and the recently re-commissioned NEW JERSEY; eight Japanese SHIRANE-class destroyers and the four SHIROGAMI attack subs; the main Australian ship, a FREEMANTLE-class cruiser; and from the Russian contingent, a pair of SEYMONOV heavy cruisers, and about six KRIVAK-class frigates.
In the CIC of the carrier USS RONALD REAGAN, ADM Benjamin Shearen, the Commander of the US Seventh Fleet and the admiral in charge of this fiasco, turned to the other principals in this situation, but there were three that were of the utmost importance: LtGen Sandborn "Sandman" Gregory, the USAF general in charge of air support; RADM Bridget Austin, COMCARGRU-5 and commander of the combined surface forces; and CPT Katsuragi Misato, the OPS Officer of NERV's Branch-1.
"Damn it to hell, Captain Katsuragi," Austin snarled at her. "My forces are getting annihilated out there, and all you're saying is 'Trust the EVA?' I would rather trust the guns on the IOWA and the KUZENOV--at least those I can see working!"
Gregory took that as a signal. A commanding look on his face, he turned to the COMMS officer and shouted, "Get me CINCUNC at New Yokota. I want the USAF 313th Fighter Group armed and ready to cover JASDF's 45th Bomber Squadron and VFA-286. I want all of them armed with Mk 62 ASROCs and I want them to scrub everything below us."
Austin, already itchy, followed his lead. "Patch to all surface forces: I want them armed with either NATO-equivalent AVRAAMs or Mk 62 Block 2 ASROCs. Japanese and US ships are to commence full AEGIS integration; have the KUNEZOV and the ANATOLY-class destroyers see if they can find a way to link up with our systems. The Aussies will have to settle for a verbal command. Fire on General Gregory's command."
Misato blanched. "General, Admiral, what are you--"
Gregory glared back at her. "You're out of line, Captain. Your little escapades with your toy have cost us about 30% of our forces, and if you think that we're going to allow us all to be blown to Kingdom Come just because of your overgrown Tin Man down there, you're sorely mistaken."
"But what about my pilots?" Misato shrieked back. "Those are kids out there, sir!"
"What the hell are you dong sending kids out there to die, Captain?" Gregory shot back. "Furthermore, what about our men--in case you hadn't noticed, there about 5000 sailors who aren't coming back from this operation! And if it makes you feel better, the 62B2s have the latest smart guidance available. They'll leave your precious EVA out of the attack grid." He however did not mention that those ASROCs made only a small part of the arsenal about to be hefted at the Angel.
Frustrated, Misato turned to Shearen. "Admiral, can't you--?"
Shearen turned at looked at Misato, then at the other two flag officers before him. He turned away from them to stare at a display screen, and murmured, "The only thing between us and that angel right now is a pair of kids and a robot. It's insane, but I saw kids dying when I was one back in the Gulf War, and I'm not one for it now." Not taking his eyes off the screen, he added, "Sandman, Bridget, get your plans in gear. Captain Katsuragi, your pilots have until all units are in position to stop that thing. That gives you about 30 minutes."
Misato held back a sigh of relief as she droned, "Yes, sir."
<(*)>
Meanwhile, fathoms below, a red Evangelion unit and the aquatic angel continued their danse macabre, a ballet of conflict which only one would walk away from. At the next pass, however, fate made a dark roll, and the Evangelion was rendered incapacitated, left as so much carrion for the oncoming shark.
In the cockpit, everything was a riot of klaxons and flashing lights as the Second Child desperately tried to get her Unit active once more. "Hey, what's going on!? Why doesn't it move!?" yelled Asuka as she yanked on the controls, trying to send momentum signals by any means. However, EVA Unit 02 floated helplessly in the deep blue water, slowly sinking towards the bottom depths, on a collision course with the seafloor that at one time was a thriving global megapolis. She tugged harder on the control sticks, but to no avail; all she got for her efforts were a visual display of error codes in Japanese and German. She answered them with a scathing retort of her own. "Why doesn't this thing move?!?!"
"It's type B equipment," said Shinji in his usual blas� tones, his mind between a sickening fear and a jaded emotion of fatalism.
"Well, do something!" she snapped in response.
He looked at her with a glance that spoke his mind, uttered on his lips a few seconds later: "Umm, what am I supposed to do?"
"Well, you're the famous Third Child!" Asuka replied in heated tones. "Think of something, already!" She then caught sight of the sixth angel coming towards them, its form racing towards them, a sight both awe-strikingly graceful and frighteningly horrific. Asuka yelped in fear as the angel opened its mouth, revealing a plethora of sharp, nasty looking teeth. A second later those fears were justified as the otherworldly creature clamped down on the EVA and buried its teeth deep into Unit 02.
Both Asuka and Shinji screamed in pain at the feeling of the Angel's teeth biting down onto Unit 02. There was an explosion of sensations, followed by a feeling of being shredded molecule by molecule, being split at the nuclear level. When the pain of that sensation had reached its zenith, the rollercoaster commenced again as the nervous system began to be slammed back together, as though it were no more than a ball of clay being ripped apart and combined with another block of mud. It seemed to happen over and over again, both Shinji and Asuka screaming in incomprehensible pain, both voices mingling like a duet of the damned. Then, as though their performance was complete, there was a narcotic, restful darkness.
Inside the Angel's mouth, the eyes of EVA Unit 02 flared with an unholy light. That's when all hell broke loose.
<(*)>
"Asuka! Shinji! Come in! What's going on!?" yelled Misato into the audio pickup of the headset she was wearing. She'd just raced from the CIC room to the REAGAN's Bridge, located on the 03 level of the island superstructure. Still winded from running all those sets of ladderways, her mind was in absolute disarray and gripped in panic, and even now it still had its temporary imprint on her in her panicked tone of voice. Turning to one of her aides, she yelled to him, "Switch frequencies, damnit!"
Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see the pair that had accompanied the EVA team to this convoy: Shinji's two school buddies, civilians, whose lives were now as threatened as hers. Suzuhara Toji had that tough-guy attitude he always bore and Kensuke Aida that apparent joie d' vivre when it came to military equipment; now both were placed under the gun, in a situation that no one should have to be in, much less children. She was trying very hard to forget that Agent Ryoji was here as well.
Besides, she had more important things on her mind. They had just lost contact with Unit 02. Those attack aircraft were inbound less than 10 minutes and there was no more time to be prepared for anything. Those missiles would do absolutely no damage to the Angel. However, they would completely destroy the EVA unit...and the two pilots within. She didn't know Asuka that well, but Shinji was getting to be important to her, like a little brother. Especially when that little brother had Commander Ikari as his father. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Shinji's two friends with stunned looks on their faces. Nothing they expected could have prepared them for this. Hell, she wasn't sure if even she was prepared.
One minute passed.
Two.
Three. A voice in the background called out, "Combined Strike Wing ETA ten minutes and closing. All AEGIS units linked up; Russian and Australian forces awaiting verbal signal." The helmsman hissed in an intake of air before the world went still, save for the soft beep of the radar repeater as it tracked the inbound bearers of death.
Then there was a blast of water. And in that flow of dihydrogen monoxide, the lives of two people would never be the same again.
In a gigantic funnel of ocean spray, Misato could then see the Angel burst out of the water, looking as though it were ready to attack. However, as it settled on the surface, it began to quiver and shake, as though something was wrong with it. Something terribly, horribly wrong.
"Where's Unit 02?" she demanded, snaring a pair of binoculars and staring at the creature as it sat in the water, shaking as though it caught a fever.
"I don't have a visual, Captain, but I'm getting confirmed power readings," the Boatswain's Mate of the Watch replied, as he peered into a sensor display. The BMOW continued to stare as the chaos around him unfolded, and as the display readings suddenly got really funky, he called out, "Um, Captain Katsuragi?"
"What?" she snapped in frustration and nerves. The combat wing was now within six minutes of the attack window, and there was no sign of Unit 02. She bit back the lump of fear that threatened to leap out of her throat.
The BMOW gave her a helpless look before saying, "I-I don't know what a lot of these things mean, ma'am. Your sensor systems are a little different than ours, so not everything's the same. Does 'SYNC: 200%' mean anything important?"
Misato's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets. "Im-impossible!"
But not as nearly impossible as what happened next.
Without warning, blood and bits of Angel went flying everywhere as Unit 02 burst from within it, exploding free from its bloody womb not unlike an image from a movie a few decades back. Blood and ichor spurted everywhere in ribbons, a grisly fountain in a horrific garden of gore. Roaring like a very demon that had crawled its way free from the netherworld, Unit 02 began tearing the angel apart, clawing and biting it, as savage as any beast, as vicious as any raptor.
"What the hell are those two doing!?" Misato shouted rhetorically.
The BMOW at the sensor picked up on that and replied, "Lifesigns are reading dull but stable, Captain. If I'm reading this right...." His voice trailed off as clarity set in. His next words were said in complete shock: "Your pilots are unconscious, Captain Katsuragi. According to the readings, Lieutenants Ikari and Sohryu are out cold."
"That's impossible! These EVAs don't move around by themselves," she shouted, still looking as Unit 02 maimed the creature it was meant to destroy. "It's not like they're alive, or--" Her face then paled as she realized that the EVA wasn't *biting* the angel. It was...
"It-It's *eating* the Angel?" said a sickened Toji. The look on Kensuke's face would have been described as pure repulsion. The bridge crew was stunned. Unit 02 was hunched over the remnants of the sixth Angel, gnawing on its corpse as though it were a lion that was feeding on prey it had been chasing around the savanna. It looked up at the sky and bellowed an inhuman, metallic scream that split the air. It then turned and faced the REAGAN and her battle group with those sinister, glowing eyes; optical sensors that spoke of more than visual feeds, of more than a simple biomechanical unit designed to combat unknown creatures from the beyond.
Time stood still. Then, it seemed to turn to feed again, but instead apparently powered down. Overhead, the Combined Strike Wing flew by as it aborted its attack run.
An hour passed as the fate of Unit 02 was decided. The rest of the fleet command had been notified of the event in addition to NERV, and all that had been entailed. At the moment, the senior command group was standing on the flight deck, staring at the immobile EVA, still on its haunches on the floating carcass of the Angel, appearing like a giant statue of a surfer.
"Okay," Austin said, her tone clearly showing contempt for Misato, "the destroyers SCHNEBLEN, AGUILAR, and OUELLET will tow the remains of the Angel back to New Yokosuka and turn it over to NERV research. The RAN and Russian ships will act as picket for the force until we reach port, after which they will be returned to national control. And as for the EVA Unit--"
"Reel it back in," said Misato, interrupting Austin's speech.
"Are you crazy!?" Shearen said. "If you think I'm carrying that...*thing*...aboard any of my ships, you're out of your mind, Katsuragi!" He turned to Austin. "Signal all ships to report to New Yoko or New Sasebo, and await further orders. Under no circumstances are they to approach that--whatever the hell that thing is out there. For all I care, it can swim to New Yoko." The repulsion and disgust on his face was clear.
"Damnit, do it! I want the pilots out of there!" Misato said, her voice a terse, barely audible growl. "Do it or I'll contact CINCPACFLT at Joshua Tree and force you to do it."
Austin was having no more of this. Signaling to the pair of Marine sentries on guard, she hissed, "Place Captain Katsuragi under arrest and escort her to Conference Room 2, where she is to remain until she is handed over to NERV authorities."
Misato, however, made a play of her own. As the sergeants approached, she turned to her aide and shouted, "Get a hold of our liaison over at Joshua Tree and get these idiots to comply!"
Austin turned and shouted, "Belay that order, soldier!"
"He's not under *your* command, Admiral Austin," Misato seethed. "He's NERV personnel. He's under *my* authority." And with that, the two women entered a very palpable and heated Mexican standoff. Both women stared each other down, waiting for one, the other, or perhaps both to make the next move.
Finally, Kaji spoke up, breaking the silence. "Admirals, Captain Katsuragi, I believe we've come to an impasse. However, this situation leaves me in the uncomfortable position of being able to break the stalemate. And since I believe that Captain Katsuragi is right, I've no choice in what I must do, indeed, as have any of us." Turning to the NERV Comms operator, he drawled, "Do not contact Joshua Tree. Get me CINCUNMILCOM at the New Pentagon in Washington-2." He then turned to Admiral Shearen. "Your move, Admiral."
Reluctantly the Admiral agreed to reel Unit 02 back onto the aircraft carrier. About half an hour later, the still unconscious pilots were removed from the entry plug.
<(*)>
Shinji and Asuka lay on bunks in the REAGAN's sickbay, unmoving, still as a pair of effigies on coffins. As if in synchronicity, both their eyes opened, and they sat up, a fluid and perfectly timed motion. Initially, the pair looked around their new surroundings with a sense of disorientation, then finally looked at each other. They stared at each other silently, a form of communion between the two. Then, Asuka hopped off the mattress and hugged Shinji.
"I-I'm sorry...I'm sorry."
Shinji stroked her hair fondly, instinctively knowing it would calm her. "It's okay. You didn't know that would happen."
"I thought you would be angry at me," she reasoned.
His response was a simple, "You know better than that."
She looked at him, then smiled warmly. "Yes, yes I do."
"Am I interrupting something here?" The pair turned, to face Misato and Shinji's two friends, standing in the doorway. Misato had a puzzled look on her face, but the best looks went to the stunned gazes on Toji and Kensuke's. Who would have thought Shinji to be a stud all of a sudden?
The two pilots let go of each other and looked at Misato. At the same time they replied, "No ma'am."
Misato blinked, a little surprised at their answer. She had at least expected Asuka, between her reputation and the earlier events prior to the Angel's attack, to blow her top. "Umm, are you guys okay?"
"Yes, ma'am," answered Asuka and Shinji, at the same time. Again. In unison.
"Umm, right," Misato said, trying to figure out just what the hell the two were up to. "Well, get your stuff together; we're nearly tied alongside the pier. We'll be leaving for Tokyo-3 in an hour."
"Of course, Misato," Shinji replied, moving forward, and heading for the door with Asuka not much farther behind.
((Why is she following him like that?)) Misato wondered. As Shinji approached, she said in a teasing voice, "Oh, and Shinji, I want all the details about what you and Asuka were doing just now."
He looked at her with an annoyed expression. "Give it a rest, Misato, or else I'll give Kaji your address and phone number." Nothing further to add, he moved on. Asuka simply gave her a "Sorry...." glance before following Shinji.
"Hey! Wait one minute!" Misato shouted to his back as the teen left the sickbay. ((Since when did he get so cocky?))
Toji was next to comment. Turning to Shinji, he said, "Studly, man. Didn't know you had it in you!" His question was met with a scathing retort from Shinji--in German. He was furthermore stunned when Asuka turned to him and calmly said, "Can't you be just a little bit nicer?" Both then continued down the passageway, as though nothing else happened.
All three of them stared in stunned silence, but finally it was Kensuke who voiced their thoughts best: "Could someone rewind the day? I seemed to miss something during the commercial break."
Next:
Part Two:
Convergence
JAMES' NOTES:
So what do we have. We have an Asuka who's calm and nicer. We have a Shinji with more backbone. Both linked to each other.
Well until next time.
ROB'S NOTES:
The above may well have been all that you would have seen of this series. However, I did like the interplay in it, and despite its origin as a part of The Bet (a series that is pure anathema to me), I decided to continue it, flesh it out, and move on with it. The result may be a little different than what James intended (okay, a *lot*, but I'm not tipping my hand just yet ^_^), but I'm hoping that you'll enjoy it.
