In the Know
by Drakensis
& Griever
Disclaimer: Characters and setting created and owned by Gainax. Mostly.
The story is our fault though. The break up of the post is mostly the fault
of AOL
It's a matter of prescience
No, not the science fiction kind
It's all about ignorance,
and greed, and miracles for the blind
the media parading, disjointed politics
founded on petrochemical plunder
and we're its hostages
If you stand to reason
you're in the game
the rules might be elusive
but our pieces are the same
and you know if one goes down we all go down as well
the balance is precarious as anyone can tell
this world's going to hell
Don't allow
this mythologic hopeful monster to exact its price
Kyoto now!
We can't do nothing and I think someone else will make it right
You might not think it matters now
But what if you are wrong
You might not think there's any wisdom in a fucked up punk rock song
But the way it is
cannot persist for long
a brutal sun is rising on a sick horizon
It's in the way
we live our lives
exactly like the double-edge of a cold familiar knife
and supremacy weighs heavy on the day
it's never really what you own but what you threw away
and how much did you pay?
In your dreams
You saw a steady state a bounty for eternity
Silent screams
but now the wisdom that sustains us is in full retreat
Don't allow
this mythologic hopeful monster isn't worth the risk
Kyoto now!
We can't have vision for the future if it can't be fixed
Alien
We need a fresh and new religion to run our lives
Hand in hand
the arid torpor of inaction will be our demise
Oh, Kyoto now!
1:1
"Unidentified object in ocean sector!" yelled a technican in NERV's command
centre.
"Confirmed on Visual!" another responded "Routing images to main monitor."
High above the technicans, a lean, dark man sat at the apex of the room, his
glasses lit only by the image on the main display, his gloved hands locked in
front of his chin. "It's been fifteen years, hasn't it," came a voice from
behind him.
He didn't turn around. "Yes… there's no mistake - it's a Shito! The day has
finally arrived…the time of trials that humanity cannot avoid…"
* * *
Tokyo-3, Tokai District, Hakone Old Line Monorail Station.
"This is the emergency broadcast system. Stand by for an important alert!" a
tannoy system bellowed out over the deserted city. "Today at 12:30 pm, a
special state of emergency is being declared for the entire central Kanto
region, with the Tokai District at the epicenter. All residents should
quickly
and calmly evacuate to their designated shelters."
"We repeat - At 12:30 today, special state of emergency is being declared…"
The young man in the station was little more than a boy. Stood by one of the
public telephones, he wore black pants and a white short-sleeved shirt over a
T-shirt. Except for his isolation, he could have been any other ninth-grader.
There was a clang as he dumped the handset back onto the cradle. "Huh. All
the
phones are out, and the monorails aren't running either. Everything's
stopped.
So where do I go from here?" he pondered out loud.
Hefting a small carryall and a satchel in one hand, he wandered out of the
station and down the deserted steps. "This sucks… and naturally it has to
happen when I've got an appointment. Geez…" Dropping his bags he slumped down
on the steps and fished into his pocket, pulling out a pair of wire-framed
sunglasses with round lenses.
"'Shelter', huh?" 'Guess it's finally happened,' he thought. 'I've been
waiting
long enough. Fishing through his pockets he pulled out an envelope addressed
to
the suburb of Tokyo that had been his home for the last ten years. "Misato
Katsuragi? Hmmm." With a slight smile he fished out a photo from the envelope
and looked at the good-looking woman posing next to a blue sportscar of some
description. "Sheesh. I guess I'll know her _chest_ when I see it. Dunno
'bout
the rest of her."
Shrug. Tucking the photo back into the envelope, he stuffed both haphazardly
back into his shirt pocket. Shading his eyes with one hand, he reached for
the
satchel, adjusting the backpack straps. "Nothing for it… nichevo as they say
in
the Motherland… Guess I'm walkin' the rest of the way."
Trailing down the steps as he fumbled the satchel onto his back, juggling the
carryall between his hands, he sighed. "Bummer."
* * *
Halfway to the next station, he stopped to look up at the jets streaking
through the Tokyo sky. "Sheesh, fly a bit lower why don't you…" he muttered.
"Poor suckers."
Fwooomsh!
A missile flashed across the intersection right behind him, sending
loose material flying. "Jeez Loo-eez," the boy yelped. "That's too damn
close."
He broke into a jog way from whatever it was that the missile had been
targeting. At the next intersection, he looked right to see the target over
the
next hill. "Holy Shit!"
It was big and black with bone-like white shoulders and face. And big meant
_big_, at least a forty metres at a minimum. The missiles didn't seem to be
doing all that much.
'Oh crap'. Even given that this was more or less what he'd expected, he froze
for a minute. "This is worse than I thought."
Some sort of VSTOLs emptied rockets at the Angel, with the predictable lack
of
effect. The Angel's energy beam swatted one out of the sky right above the
boy,
finally convincing him to move.
"Yaaah!"
The impact blew him nearly off his feet. Turning his head he saw the fuel
tanks
explode. Too shocked even to scream, he dived away, hoping to avoid the
shrapnel.
ScreeeeechSK-K-K.
'Huh? That wasn't right, was it?' He rolled over to see a slightly familiar
blue car parked between him and the blast. The driver's door kaChunked open
to
reveal Misato in a short dress and designer shades. "Sorry to keep you
waiting,
Shinji!" she yelled. "C'mon - get in!"
Shinji shook his head to clear it. "Right." He dived for her and caught the
frame above the door. With practised ease, he swung up his feet and let
momentum carry him across her and - mostly - into the passenger seat, quite a
feat in the cramped quarters.
Misato looked down at Shinji's head, currently in her lap. He looked back,
through his sunglasses. "This thing move?"
The NERV officer's lips curled upwards as the boy scrambled into a more
conventional seating position. "Oh, yeah." The tires shrieked in protest as
she
flung the car into gear and released the brakes. "Hold on tight! Here we go…"
"Sorry I'm late!" Misato added as Shinji struggled with the seatbelt.
"Nichevo."
"Excuse me?"
"Russian, sorry. Means 'things happen', well, sorta." Shinji gave a fair
approximation of a gallic shrug. Looking back over his shoulders he saw the
giant shrug off a volley of missiles.
Misato seemed curiously unmoved by this turn of events. "The U.N. Army's Gulf
Tank Force has been wiped out! No matter _how_ many rounds they fire, the
missiles don't cause it significant damage." She shot a look at her
passenger.
"_You're_ awfully calm, given the circumstances."
Shinji's lips quirked. "Do you mean about _that_ thing, or seeing my dad?"
She smiled back. "That _thing_ is a 'Shito'."
"'Shito'?" 'Oh hell. The briefing screwed up. It was supposed to be 'Angel'
wasn't it?'
"No time right now to go into the details."
Ahead of them, a rogue missile punched through the corner of a building and
roboteched picturesquely towards them.
"OH NO!"
baBOOOM. The blast picked up the car and the pair felt a moment of nausea as
it
flipped onto its roof, several metres from the impact.
"Ungh…" Misato groaned as she climbed out of the car and helped the rather
more
coherent Shinji to his feet. (Seatbelts help). "Geez - are they shooting
_blind_?! You all right, Shinji?"
"Nothing seems to be broken…" he started.
"Aieeeeee!" Misato was assessing the damage to her car. "_Noooooooo_! The
body's _riddled_ with shrapnel! And I've got _thirty-three _payments left on
her! _GOD DAMN IT!_"
"Um, Misato…" Shinji wiped the lenses of his sunglasses against his shirt.
"Oh no! This dress cost a fortune! These stains will never come out!" Misato
wailed. "Yeeeek! My shades are pulverized!"
"MISATO!"
Misato cast a puzzled look at Shinji. "What?"
"Leggit!" the boy yelled, dragging her after him by one wrist as the Shito
leapt down towards them.
There was an almighty KRANG as a second giant figure plunged out of nowhere
to
bodyblock the Shito into a building, dazing it for a moment.
Shinji looked up at a distinctly familiar figure silouhetted against the
afternoon sun. "Is that…"
"This one's on _our_ side!" reassured Misato.
The EVA reached down and lifted Misato's car, setting it right side up.
Getting
a closer look, Shinji took in the forehead spike, paired yellow eyes and
purple
armour plating. "Bloody hell."
Misato waved off the EVA gratefully, and checked her wristwatch. "Oh hell!
Just
_look_ at the time! We can't just stand around all day!" she told Shinji.
"Get
in the car, _quick_! No time to waste!"
Shinji didn't need to be told twice. "Wassup? Hot date?" he cracked as he
bundled himself into the passenger seat.
"We've gotta get as far away from here as possible!" Misato slammed the car
into gear. "Just pray we make it!"
* * *
Behind the speeding car, EVA-01 realised too late that the Shito had
recovered.
One swing later, the purple defender of humanity got piledriven into -
through
a wall. The giant hunched over as it pulled itself upright - the EVA reacting
to its pilot's reactions to the EVA's own injuries. To an observer it might
have seemed as if the Evangelion was bowing to its unearthly opponent.
The Shito exploited its advantage ruthlessly, throwing the EVA almost a
quarter
mile and doing even more damage to the buildings of Tokyo-3.
* * *
Shinji looked over his shoulder and saw the EVA struggling.
"Don't look now, but I think we've got a problem," he told Misato.
Misato's concentration was centred on getting to a safe distance, but a quick
look in the rear view mirror told her everything she needed to know.
'We _knew_ this was going to happen...! It's just to heavy a burden for Rei
right now...'
* * *
In NERV's command centre, the mood was grim.
"Pilot's heart rate and blood pressure are dropping!" reported a technican.
"A10 neural interface down to five percent!"
"Three minutes and counting until operation N2!" advised a second technican.
"She's hemorhaging through the chest plate seams!"
At the back of the room, the dark man remained hunched over his desk like a
sinister gargoyle. "It can't be helped," he decided flatly. "Commence
Recovery
at maximum speed through route 192!"
* * *
Out in the city, the EVA managed to crawl to a large hatch that covered the
width of an entire street. With a whoosh the hatch sank into the ground,
engulfing the giant war machine in a second. The kaChunk of the portal closed
echoed hollowly as the Shito stood triumphant over the city.
>From far above, two bombers swooped down...
...and then away.
Shinji, who had been keeping a nervous eye on the Shito, gulped. "Um, Misato
-
I think they just used the _big_ bomb..."
"_Tuck your head into your lap and brace yourself for impact!_" she screamed,
making a sincere effort to drive the accelerator through the floor.
For a moment there was only an ominous silence, then the Shito was a
sillouhette against a light that shamed the sun's best efforts.
In a second, the Shito was engulfed, but the explosion continued, a globe of
destruction rearing out of the ground, devestating the city around it.
Misato's car was sent skidding along the freeway by the blast, finally
flipping
over and landing on its roof beyond the main area of devestation. Misato and
Shinji rode it out, the NERV officer catching hold of Shinji and doing her
level best to shield him from harm.
With the car once more at rest, they remained silent trying to come to grips
with their position. In Shinji's case this meant hanging from his seatbelt in
the car, above Misato, who had come to rest on the inside of the windshield.
"Ahhh, Misato? Are you alright?"
The woman eyed her trashed car. "I-I can't take this anymore," she wailed.
* * *
Inside NERV's control centre, there was laughter from the Generals as they
regarded the work. Sat behind Gendo Ikari and his staff they gloated freely.
"Did you see that!?" one demanded. "_That's_ the power of our N2 Mines! Do
you
_know_ what this means!? The _EVAs_ are no longer _necessary_!"
NERV's leaders didn't bother to rebutt their claims.
Technican Makoto Hyuuga spoke from the console his attention was fixed upon.
"Continuing radio-wave interference from the explosion! We're still standing
by
for target destruct confirmation."
"A blast of _that_ force!? Can there be any doubt?"
On the main monitor, a schematic of the new crater spiked as reports fed into
the giant MAGI supercomputers. "We're picking up energy readings from ground
zero!" Hyuuga cried.
"WHAT!?"
"Visuals are back online!"
"Whoa!" gasped one of Hyuuga's fellow technicans, Shigeru Aoba, as the visual
showed the Shito still standing.
One of the Generals slumped into his seat. "Our trump card for _nothing_!"
"We sacrificed a _whole city_...!" one of his companions gasped. "It's a
_monster_... a _Demon_!!"
* * *
"...yes, we understand. ...Absolutely - Good Day."
The general lowered his telephone into its cradle with an audible click.
"Ikari..."
NERV's Director rose from the folding chair he had been waiting on.
"We've just received word from HQ," the general told him. "Effective
immediately, command authority for this operation has been transferred to
you!
Let's see what you're capable of!"
"We'll be _frank_. The U.N. Army admits that our weapons were ineffectual
against the target. _But_ - do you really think you have a better chance?"
Ikari adjusted his glasses, using the gesture to conceal his contemptuous
smile. "Do not be concerned. After all, _this_ is the _purpose_ of _NERV_,"
he
told the Army officers.
* * *
Finally within NERV's base, Misato's battered car moved through metal-walled
tunnels onto a strange, train-like conveye, security doors closing behind
them.
"Special Agency _NERV_?" mouthed Shinji eyeing the booklet Misato had given
him.
"Uh-huh - an unpublicized organisation under the direct control of the U.N.,"
Misato told him. "I work there too, you know, as an international civil
servant. Same as your father."
Shinji smiled slightly. "'The admirable job of defending humanity'?" he
quoted
from the booklet.
"Hey... what's with the sarcasm...?" asked Misato, slightly insulted. This
was
her job the boy was knocking.
"Let's just say I'm a natural sceptic," the boy sighed. "Anyway, I thought my
dad worked for GEHIRN - at least, he did last time I remember."
Misato shrugged as the conveyer started moving, the car locked securely into
place against the speed of movement. "Well GEHIRN became NERV a few years
back,
before I joined," she explained.
Shinji nodded understandingly. 'Figures. GEHIRN was a scientific
organisation,
NERV is more military.' "So... any idea why my father wants me here? Frankly,
I
thought he'd forgotten about me."
Adjusting an earring, Misato turned her attention to him. "Perhaps it would
be
better to ask your father directly, eh?"
Shinji slumped lower in the bucket seat. "Meaning either you don't know or
you
don't want to be the one who tells me. Can't blame you for that I guess."
"You're not comfortable with your father, are you?"
"It seems a lot of effort to drag me here when we'll probably have nothing to
say to each other,"the boy sighed. "I would have thought... oh never mind.
Spilled milk I guess."
Suddenly they were out of the passages the conveyer had run through and the
rails ahead seem suspended upon nothing. Shnji's eyes widened as they shot
between an inverted city cling to the roof of a cave so vast that Shinji
couldn't even begin to estimate its dimensions. Ahead could see the rail
descending to a pyramid on the heavily forested floor of the cavern.
"My God! I heard there was a Geofront _somewhere_ near Tokyo, but..."
"That's right!" Misato told him. "Our secret base of operations - NERV HQ.
The
_keystone_ for the resurrection of the world and the _stronghold_ of
_humanity_!"
* * *
"The U.N. is beating a retreat," Fuyutsuki told Gendo.
"Commander Ikari," asked Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, "What are your intentions?"
Gendo rose to his feet, but did not turn to face them. "We'll just have to
_reinitialise_ Unit 01.
"But that's _impossible_ - there are no pilots left for it!" "Rei is no
longer..."
"There's no need for concern," Gendo cut their protests off. He looked down
at
the monitor that showed Shinji following Misato into NERV's HQ building. "The
_reserve pilot_ has just arrived."
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