1:2

Shinji looked around, genuinely impressed by the sheer scale of NERV's HQ. He 

could hardly blame Misato for getting them lost - even if she did seem 
reluctant to admit the fact. He was a bit nervous about some of the moving 
walkways though. They didn't have safety rails and from some of them it was a 

long way down if you fell off.

"Misato...?"

"What is it?" she asked, focusing on an electronic notepad.

"Oh never mind," he muttered as he saw an of the elevator closing on their 
floor. He paused by the door. Either this would be Ritsuko Akagi, here to 
find 
them, or it would be someone he could ask for directions. Misato was nice 
(and 
cute) and he didn't want to hurt her feelings, but his feet hurt and his 
patience was wearing thin.

'That's funny,' mused Misato, oblivious to the fact she'd lost Shinji. 'I was 

_positive_ this was the right direction.'

There was a ding as the elevator reached their floor and the door opened to 
reveal an attracive blonde in a lab coat and high heels. From his 
perspective, 
Shinji couldn't see much else for as she stepped out, she turned to face 
Misato. "Where are you going? You're late Captain Katsuragi!"

"Oh... Ritsuko..." mumbled the embarassed NERV officer.

"So late that I was sent to find you! We have neither the personnel nor the 
time for such nonsense!"

"S-sorry!" Misato scratched the back of her head nervously. "I got lost - 
still 
don't have the layout of this place down yet!"

"And you don't seem to have the Third Child either. Don't tell me you lost 
him," Ritsuko told her.

Shinji cleared his throat politely and Ritsuko spun surprised, almost swiping 

him with her elbow. He stepped backwards politely as he realised that her 
turn 
had left his face about two inches from her chest. "Oops. Sorry 'bout that."

Ritsuko gathered her composure. "So you're one of the Third Children?"

Shinji shrugged. "Dunno 'bout that. Name's Shinji Ikari, if that means 
anything 
to you."

Ritsuko smiled welcomingly. "I'm Ritsuko Akagi from the first engineering 
division - the supervisor of Project E. Pleased to meet you." She turned to 
the 
lift again. "Come along Shinji. There's something I want to show you before 
you 
see your father."

Shinji kept his face straight, with a slight effort. 'I have such a dirty 
mind,' he thought ruefully. "Oh I just bet you have..." the boy agreed 
outloud. 
"Giant robots and geo-fronts, what fun..." he muttered under his breath.

* * *

In the NERVcentre, the Director and his deputy were stood with the techs now, 

eyeing the main monitor.

"Commander!" cama a warning. "The Shito is advancing! It's broken through the 

mine final perimeter."

Gendo glared at the Shito, but said nothing.

"It's adjusted its progression vector by five degrees and is still 
approaching! 
The predicted target destination is our own city... Tokyo-3!"

Gendo's arm swept out, commandingly. "All right, first wave personnel - to 
battle stations!"

"YES SIR!" chorused the three techs on the platform with him.

"Fuyutsuki... It's in _your_ hands now," Gendo ordered as he turned away.

"Yes sir," the older man responded.

NERV's director barely acknowledged the response as he boarded a one person 
lift leading to the ground floor of the room.

Behind him, the retired professor brooded for a moment.

'His first encounter with his son in three years...'

* * *

"First Wave personnel to battle stations!" echoed the tannoy as Ritsuko led 
Misato and Shinji onto a small hydrofoil launch, taking the controls (which 
seemed strangely like those of a motorcycle). "Repeat, First Wave Personnel 
to 
Battle Stations! Prepare to initialise anti-ground attack Unit-01!"

"Wait - what do they mean?" demanded Misato as the hydrofoil pulled away into 

the canal-like waters that filled the cavernous chambers in this part of 
NERV's 
HQ. Shinji was eyeing the 'water' nervously. He was hardly surprised by the 
pinkish colouring, but it unnerved him nonetheless.

"Unit-01 is currently cooling down while in Defensive Formation B - it can be 

reinitialised at any time!" Ritsuko told her colleague, without turning.

"_That's_ not what I'm worried about - it's Rei! If Rei can't go on, what 
will 
they do for a pilot!?"

Ritsuko's only reponse was to cast a look over her shoulder at Misato... and 
uncoincidentally, at Shinji.

Misato's head followed the scientists gaze, then snapped forwards. "What the 
hell is the Commander _thinking_!?" She calmed herself, ranting at Ritsuko 
wouldn't gain her anything. "So, then the N2 mines didn't work against the 
Shito?"

"No... it only suffered minor surface damage - and it's still advancing." 
Ritsuko answered. "It seems it possesses an _A.T. Field._ In addition the 
Shito 
has Artifical Intelligence capacity! According to the MAGI system's analysis, 

it's not powered or manipulated by remote control. The Shito is a form of 
giant 
intelligent life. All its actions are determined by its programming."

Shinji spared a single glance upwards at where a bulkhead had been breached 
by 
a tremendous hand . EVA-00, he supposed. It was unlikely that any of the 
failed 
Units would be in so obvious a location. Besides, up ahead he could see a 
single purple shoulder retained by a wall. It seemed that they had almost 
reached their destination.

"You mean..." Misto asked, Ritsuko's last statement percolating through her 
mind.

"Right! Just like the EVA..."

The boy behind the two women opened his mouth for the first time since they 
had 
boarded the hydrofoil. "This EVA... it's the robot I saw earlier? The one 
fighting the Shito?"

Ritsuko didn't spare him a glance, maneuvering the hydrofoil against a small 
quay built into the wall ahead of them. "I'll explain when we get there," she 

said.

Climbing the steps to a large door, they had to wait for Ritsuko to key a 
security code before they could enter. "It's dark, so watch your step," she 
told the boy as he stepped inside, his nerves suddenly wound tight. Behind 
him, 
she reached for a panel by the door.

Even though he was expecting it, Shinji had to cover his eyes against the 
sudden bright lights. Fumbling with his other hand, he slipped on his 
sunglasses with a sense of relief. "Nice presentation," he observed dryly. 
"Can 
I keep my eyesight next time?"

They were stood on a floating gantry right in front of EVA-01's face. Shinji 
began to reappraise its size. This sucker was very, very big. "Shame about 
the 
paint job, but for that size you musta had to economise," he finally 
wisecracked.

"Strictly speaking, she's _not_ a robot," explained Ritsuko, oblivious to 
anything after the first couple of words. "She's a man-made, all purpose 
battle 
weapon!"

'Bullshit,' thought Shinji. 'I know a giant robot when I see one. Stupid 
scientists never read dictionaries.'

"Artifical Human Evangelion!" the blonde scientist exclaimed. "It's the _last 

chance_ for humanity. This is the first unit."

Shinji looked at the robot and then the scientist. 'Right. Whatever.' "I take 

it this has something to do with how why father sent for me?"

"That's correct,"came a voice from above. Shinji looked up to see Gendo Ikari 

stood high above the EVA, at the mouth of an opening in the chamber wall. 
"It's 
been a while," the man said, his dark figure staring unreadably down at the 
boy.

There was a long moment as Shiinji gathered himself, staring fixedly at the 
face of EVA-01 before raising his face once more. "You called me here for a 
purpose," he said finally.

Gendo nodded once, his face intense. "Shinji, listen carefully to what I am 
about to tell you. You're going to ride in her. You're going to battle the 
_Shito_."

Shinji looked up at his... at Gendo. There was an eeriely familiar expression 

on the boys face, Gendo realised. One he often saw in a mirror. "What are the 

chances of success?" the younger Ikari asked bluntly.

Before Gendo could answer, Misato seemed to explode. "Wait a moment, 
Comander! 
It took even _Rei_ seven months to synchronise with the EVA - remember!? A 
boy 
who just arrived _today_!? It's _impossible_!"

Gendo's face returned to its usual, stern formation. "He only needs to sit in 

her. I'm not expecting more at this point."

"But -"

Ritsuko interrupted the Captain's protests. "Captain Katsuragi! Our 
overriding 
priority is to halt and repel the Shito! In order to accomplish that, it is 
imperative that we load _someone_, no matter who, into the unit - someone who 

_may_ have the ability to synchronise to some extent with the EVA!" She 
paused. 
"Or do you have any _alternatives_ you'd like to share!?"

Misato's anger seeped away as the words penetrated. Shinji looked at her and 
stepped over to her. "It's alright, Misato. I understand." He cast a gauging 
eye up at his father and then gently touched her sleeve, "Well... I 
understand 
enough anyway." Looking her in the eye he saw the emotion there and squeezed 
her arm gently. "Thank you for caring."

Ritsuko tried to draw him away. "Now... Shinji, come this way!"

The boy resisted after the first step, his eyes returning to Gendo. "I'd like 

my answer first."

"_Just accept this explanation_. You're the best candidate we have. No - 
you're 
the _only_ candidate we have."

"That bad then," the boy mused. "Very well." He took another step, following 
Ritsuko, towards the hatch before looking up again. "And if I don't, what did 

you call it... synchronise...?"

"If you fail, all of _humanity_ will perish. The very existence of the human 
race rests on _your_ shoulders!" grated Gendo impatiently.

'That's not what I asked,' thought Shinji as he squared his shoulders and 
followed the scientist.




             .---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
             | Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com |
             | Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
             |     Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject     |
             `---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'