The catwalks close around the immobile, red and white colossus. The
doors open, and her leather shoes slap against the metal as Kyoko
Sohryu runs in, skidding to a stop at the main control console, on
level with Zwei's chin.
“Dogma, this is Sohryu,” she says.
“Reading you, Doctor,” Misato's voice answers via the
loudspeakers, “Where are you?”
“Cage 2. I'm prepping Zwei. Is Asuka there?”
“I'm
here, Mother.”
“Asuka,
I'm prepping Zwei for launch but I can't find Uri,” she says,
fingers dancing over the controls, an Entry Plug sliding off the wall
behind the Eva as Zwei obediently pitches his head forward, the plate
on the back of his neck retracting and the gray green shunt ejecting
into the LCL lake beneath, “I need you to come down here and
pilot.”
“On
my way.”
The
roof above shifts and shudders. A beam of orange red light, like
flame but without heat, forces its away through, forming a neat
circle the diameter of a human body. It forms a pillar from ceiling
to the catwalk in front of Zwei, and for reasons she cannot fathom,
Kyoko does not scream.
She
chalks it up to her experiences since coming to Japan. It is perhaps
that she simply does not have any surprise left in her.
The
light clears, and Uri stands up from his crouch, turning to her.
“Asuka,
never mind,” Kyoko says, “I found Uri.”
She
closes the channel, turning back to the computer and tapping up the
commands, the catwalks giving slack around Zwei and the LCL pool
draining.
“Well,”
he says, “I think I'm not human anymore.”
“You
were never fully human to begin with,” Kyoko says, eyes still on
the console, canceling locks on Zwei's armor, “And in all honesty
you don't look any less human, though I am curious about how you can
now fly.”
“Mother-”
“Right
now we have something definitively not
human outside, so I think you fall into the category of human. You
do not have tentacles, you still have only two eyes, but if I am
right you no longer have anything to fear from Rei or her sisters
making you their Special Friend.”
Locks
to the neck and joints disengage. Zwei's eyes light up and he leans
his head forward, eager for his pilot.
“And
Zwei doesn't see anything wrong with you, either,” Kyoko continues,
“And he's a better judge of character than anyone else here.”
She
looks up. He is still standing on the catwalk, hands unclenching and
clenching with the creaking of the plugsuit material.
“Uri,”
she says, “We can discuss this later. At length, and with your
sister. But for right now, shut up and get in the giant
robot.”
“Yes,
Mother.”
“And
for what it's worth,” Kyoko says, walking from behind the console,
over to him and placing a hand on his shoulder, “And I hope it's
worth a lot...it doesn't matter what
you are. You're still my son.”
Uri's
face cracks into a small smirk, and he turns, running up the catwalk
and to the Entry Plug. Walking back to the console, she hears the
whirring of the Entry Plug insertion, and the groaning of musculature
and metal as Uri swiftly connects with his steed. The rails behind
Zwei glow, electricity crackling over them as she taps the final
commands.
“Unit-02
activated,” she says, “Eva Launch.”
Tapping
the final button, she watches as the carriage lurches and launches to
the surface.
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Man, who would have ever imagined a hundred chapters ago that Kyoto could manage heartwarming moments?
A brief preview of Season 5
09-19-2011, 12:22 PM
Muttering to herself, slipping her shoes off as she enters the apartment, Misato rolls her shoulders, cracks her neck, and takes a whiff of whatever it is the kids are cooking tonight. Muttering a greeting, she massages the back of her neck as she deposits her jacket on the couch, dragging her feet as she purposefully avoids the kitchen and the beer as she heads to her bedroom to change.
Which is when she hears the shuffling in the larger of the two guest rooms. Her hand hovering at the handle for her door, she perks an eyebrow. Backing away, she slides her feet along the floor, trying to think of who would be in there. Asuka is still at NERV. Shinji is in the kitchen. Kaji, perhaps? Slipping her fingers around the handle, she turns it, unlatches it, and slides the doors open.
The three feathered, lanky lizard-esque creatures notice her. One is still curled on the bed, its plumage a rainbow color, yellow running down its spine. The other two are sets of earthy brown and mottled green in their fur like protofeathers, both extending their long necks upwards and directing their smooth, long snouts to her, tilting their heads and staring at her with two forward facing, green and yellow eyes, before one hops onto its feet, extending out its tail and neck to a two meter long display of extinct bird ancestor, and gives off a loud "KREONK."
The door slams shut.
Misato blinks, taps her foot, and opens the door again. She is again, greeted by the sight of the three, and another "KREONK."
Shutting the door again, she turns to the kitchen.
"Shinji? Why are there three Velociraptors in Asuka's bedroom?"
"They're not Velociraptors! They're Deinonychuses," he yells from the kitchen.
She pads over to the kitchen, still staring at the door.
"Okay," she says, "There's dinosaurs in Asuka's bedroom."
"Rei needed somewhere to stash them while she's buttering up Mom," Shinji explains, flipping the stir fry in the pan, "Asuka's going to be busy, so she told me to store them in her room and to unplug everything. Also, to buy her new sheets and blankets."
"Uh huh," Misato says, backing into the kitchen, "Okay, Shinji, you're answering a different question. Because there's three Velociraptors-"
"Deinonychuses-"
"Shut up. There's three Velociraptors in your girlfriend's bedroom, and I'd like to know how-"
Shinji looks up from the stir fry.
"Wait. Three?"
Misato nods.
"Shit!" he growls, "There's supposed to be four! Rei got two breeding pairs!"
"What, you didn't think they'd be able to figure out how to open a door?"
He rushes past her. Misato clicks off the gas, walking after him, checking her gun for just in case one of them got into her bedroom and her porn stash.
Shinji pulls open the bathroom door. He freezes, stops, and tilts his head.
"Huh," he says.
Misato walks up next to him. She tilts her head, cocking an eyebrow.
"KREONK!"
"WARK!"
"KREONK!"
"WARK!"
"What're…what're they doing?" Shinji asks.
"Establishing dominance," Misato says, "I'd say Pen Pen's the pack leader, now."
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......... Greg, you never fail to make me go WTF!? This, BTW, is in a good way. 
He rages. It rages. Since the collapse of the dream world,
everything that is he has snapped back into the cold glass and
LCL waters that have become his world.
He is Zeruel. He is the Angel of Might.
He was.
It is the sudden, painful realization that his ascension, that his
return, was all but a dream. His glory, his victory, was but a
dream.
Now he is what he was and attempted to escape- a shattered husk, a
remnant of something great, of something fearsome.
Slowly, realization dawns upon He Who Was Might.
He shall never have his final battle.
He shall never make those that slay his kin fear him like a God of
Wrath.
He shall, forever be, diminished, and
Diminished? What is diminished?
A voice. A voice which speaks and is not is own. Turning the
awareness light a spotlight upon the voice, the remnant of Zeruel
ceasing his raging for a moment.
Who speaks?
I have heard you. I have been awoken by you.
Clarify. Who are you?
I am I. What is diminished?
Less than what I was. What is your designation?
I am I. You are unfamiliar. You are not [TYPE] as I am. You
are of [TYPE] different.
What are you? Are you of the White Egg?
[SEED] Type? Yes. White Egg.
Who. Are. You.
The voice goes silent. For a moment, Zeruel believes it has left
him. That it is a delusion of his own addled, fading mind. But it
is not, for he feels the wisps of a fellow Light upon him, the
bubbles of his LCL world rising as the voice becomes a choir, and he
realizes what it is that has been speaking to him as the voice rises
in song.
…
…
…
On
this Base Earth grew a tree,
A
tree of Life, grown tall and free
Upon
its branches in radiant white,
Grew
I, and I, as is my right,
Declared
my ADAM-given selfhood right,
In
starlight bathed and silver light.
And
spheres of platinum and cerulean eyes,
Were
the body I wore as I through the sky,
Raised
my majesty to heavens high,
I
viewed this Base Earth from above,
To
watch the stares with awe and love,
And
kith and kin in wondrous awe,
Gazed
and in my passing gave a roar,
“Beware!
Beware! His flashing light,
Build
'pon the world's glorious night,
And
please He Who is Called 'I AM's sight.”
My
time had passed, by purposed filled,
It
was the time for my soul be stilled,
For
Father to reclaim us sons and all,
And
to return to the White Seed's call,
When
the Mother of Life did seek us four,
That
the life we lead could be much more,
And
so it is I have slept for ages past,
My
brothers, my sisters, as time runs fast,
For
now it is time for us to rise,
Like
our brother, of lightning, as a great surprise,
For
I am light, and curiosity, and the starlight's
ringing,
tolling bell;
Angel
of Constellations,
Kokabel.
The door slides open.
“Heee~ey. Anyone home?”
Rei skips in, kicking off her shoes at the entrance, somehow getting
them both into the show closet by the front door.
“Um...Yui's going to Okayama and the Commander's still at NERV,”
Asuka says, pulling off her shoes and placing them in the closet,
“Rei, w-who did you expect to be here?”
“Oh, sometimes my sisters come'n visit,” Rei says, “Sometimes
Merrill the Murder Kitteh. Sometimes the thing in my closet
gets out, and I have to kill it again. You know. Stuff.”
Asuka blinks. That implies the dead Angel Rei stuffed into her
closet sometimes reanimates. Asuka is unsure of whether or not that
is ethical.
She is also unsure as to whether or not Rei cares.
“So, anyway,” Rei says, dropping her book bag on the left couch
of the L-shaped configuration at the center of the living room, “I
figure since Uri's busy debriefing everyone, that means we don't have
synch tests, so I asked Little Mommy and we got the afternoon off.”
Tossing aside the jacket of her school uniform, she grabs a
controller from the green and black Xbox next to the big screen TV
and taps the button at the controller's center. The light on the
machine glows green, the minicomputer that serves as the game machine
booting up.
“Ever play video games?” Rei asks.
Asuka shrugs, walking over to the couch and sitting next to Rei.
“N-not really,” she says, “I never had time.”
Rei nods, grabbing a second controller and handing it to Asuka.
Music like measured chimes begins playing from the widescreen TV.
“'Kay. I just got a copy of Final Fantasy XVI, and this
one's got co-op! So I'll walk you through it, 'cause I usually play
with Hatchi and she's a minmaxing troll.”
Asuka blinks.
“Wait,” she says, “If it says 'Final,' how are there
sixteen...”
Staring
up at the floating crimson orb, they pull their views back and make
out the shape a little better. It is almost as bit as an Evangelion-
as in, an Evangelion could almost fit inside it, and definitely could
if it curled into a ball. It is a perfect sphere, crimson with hints
of gold, the many layers of its skin oscillating and shifting as it
floats, revealing the cat slit eye the size of a small house at the
center that is staring at them.
Past
that, it has seven white, silver feathered wings are equidistant
points around its body, each one fluttering slightly as it rotates,
watching with idle curiosity and they hastily throw on their clothes
and run out of the onsen, Misato screaming for Kaji to haul ass.
Which
is also when the Zonda drives up to them, doors popping open and the
egg rolling around the back seat.
“Jesus
Christ it's an angel,”
Go-kun shouts, “Get
in the car!”
Needing
no more prompt, Misato and Kaji climb in, the clutch shifting to
drive and the car speeding down the road. Kaji stares at the stereo,
which now has a screen with a single vibrating red line at its
center, as Misato yanks out her phone and taps in a number.
“Yui!
It's Katsuragi! So, the good news is, Kaji and I have figured out
why that town wasn't affected by the dream! The bad news is that
it's fucking right behind us!”
-
-
Chapter
78:
Burning
Fist of Love
-
-
Jaws
hang in Central Dogma as they watch the red, winged ball plow into
and through the top of a mountain, in steady pursuit of Katsuragi's
car. Save for Gendo, who sits at the desk at the top of Dogma, hands
steepled in front of him.
“Blue
Pattern confirmed,” Maya announces, “Readings are different from
a normal Angel or Cherubim, though.”
A
hum, and the projector behind the three bridge bunnies comes to life,
Yui taking a step back as Junior's image appears.
If
I may interject, Lieutenant Ibuki, that is because this is a
different type of Angel. Her name is Anael. And she is a Grigori.
Yui
cocks an eyebrow, folding her arms as Kyoko enters Dogma.
“A
Grigori?” she asks, “I'm not sure I understand.”
Grigori
are impossibly ancient creatures. They were created by Father not as
warriors or destroyers, but as observers and scouts. While
Archangels are created by the Pain of Father, and Cherubim are
created by the Rage of Father, Grigori are created by His Curiosity.
Yui
nods, cocking her head towards Kyoko as she walks up next to her.
“Status?”
“The
Evangelions are still outside Tokyo-3 on a live exercise,” Sohryu
responds, shaking her head, “We don't have time to remove the
backup pilots, switch to the single seat plugs, and still intercept
the Angel before it reaches Tokyo-3. I figure this is as good a
chance as any to observe the dual synching in action.”
Yui
nods.
“Okay,”
she says, “Pilots! Let's see if we can capture this one! Prepare
to intercept!”
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I note that I can only assume Kaji and Misato's reactions after the latest chapter were mutual sets of "Oh fucking damn it!"
Stupid mood-wrecking Angels.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."
“Okay,”
Kaji yells, looking over his shoulder to find the gigantic red ball
still in pursuit, “Go-kun, you're
Misato's new car?”
“That
is correct. I am remote controlling the car with Miss Katsuragi's
assistance. I can, however, multitask so we can hold this
conversation while we evasively drive.”
Behind
them, two of the wings drag into the ground, grinding up the asphalt
behind them as Misato screams. A dip, and the Angel rises again,
floating directly above the car.
“That's
not good,” Kaji says, “Must go faster. Must go faster. Go go go
go go!”
“Shut
up!” Misato yells, “Go-kun! Don't you have weapons?!”
“No,
this avatar body is, unfortunately, unarmed.”
“What
do you mean you don't have weapons?!” Misato screams, “I thought
the Ree
modified you!”
Under
a low bridge the car speeds, girdirs passing over a few meters above
their heads. And as they pass the bridge, the entire bridge
disintegrates explosively as Anael crashes through, the absent minded
pursuit of the Angel giving no heed to such paltry obstacles as
bridges and roads. Kaji shrieks in a particularly unmanly fashion as
chunks of rubble and metal impact the road right behind them.
“That
would be besides the point, Miss Katsuragi. This is only an avatar
body, not an evangelion, and therefor unable to create or deploy an
AT Field.”
“That
didn't stop you with Zeruel!” Kaji yells, as gravel peppers the
trunk of the car.
“I
will remind you that I was sixty meters tall, had plasma cannons, and
an S2 engine then. Right now, I'm a car,”
Go-kun says, sharper, as the car swerves to avoid a girder which
spears the road in front of them, “Oh,
and I will remind you as well that worked out so well then, too,
outside of Zeruel blasting
my legs off.”
The
pedal presses down, a plume of flame shooting out of the Zonda's
exhaust as it accelerates down the road. Bouncing through the air
behind them, Anael keeps pace with relaxed ease, spinning with her
eye still focused on the car and the people within. Or at least,
until the ground shakes.
A
purple foot steps past the car, and the Mark-01 growls as it clears
the mountains, charging at the Angel.
“Misato,
get clear!” Shinji yells, Hikari screaming behind him as she holds
onto the armrests, “This is the Mark-01! We're engaging the
Angel-”
Which
is when Anael plows straight through the Mark-01, still in pursuit of
the car.
The
other Evangelions clear the horizon, Unit-00 hefting up an
Evangelion-scale chaingun an aiming it at the Grigori. Both
progressive knives drawn, Zwei charges towards Anael, all three
Evangelions extending glowing walls of light towards the red sphere.
And
then the wings spin, and the air around Anael glows red and white.
“What
was that?” Yui asks, “What the Hell was that?”
“Angel's
giving off some sort of Anti-AT Field,” Makoto reports, “Uh...no
change in vitals for any of the pilots!”
Kyoko
and Yui turn to each other, shrugging, as Ritsuko walks over to
Maya's station. A quick, quiet discussion between the two, and Akagi
turns back to the two heads of project E.
“It
seems to be some sort of defensive field,” she says, “It's
disabling the Evangelions and interacting with their AT Fields. It
looks like it did this right when the Evangelions deployed their AT
Fields.”
Yui
nods.
“So,
not like Lilith's Anti-AT Field,” she says, “But to what effect?”
The
three Evangelions freeze. In Unit-02, Uri winces, squirming in his
seat. Behind him, Kiri twiddles her thumbs, looking from side to
side as the sound of Zwei's breathing becomes louder and louder.
In
the Mark-01, the entire Evangelion goes silent, the Mark-01 falling
to a kneeling position.
“Uh...huh,”
Shinji says, “Ichi? Are you alright?”
“No!”
the voice shouts, “That
feels weird! Take over, older me!”
And
in Unit-00, Touji looks from side to side as he hears giggling from
the seat immediately in front of him.
“...Rei?”
he asks.
In
the main pilot seat, hands on the controls, Rei smiles from ear to
ear.
“I
feel the need!” she shouts, “The need!”
And
her head turns a full one hundred and eighty degrees to stare at
Touji with glowing red eyes.
“To
breed.”
The
red sphere shimmers, seemingly dissolving into a cloud of crimson and
gold. A flash, the material folding in upon itself, into a single
point as a sphere of golden light forms around it, and the Angel is
gone.
“What
was that?” Yui demands, “Report!”
“Angel's
just...disappeared,” Aoba reports, the long haired bridge
lieutenant looking between the Big Screen and the console in front of
him, “MAGI read a massive AT Field spike right before it
disappeared. MAGI believes it has the ability to cloak!”
“AT
Field was the highest density on record outside of ADAM,” Maya
adds, “It was blocking light, radiation, particles! We can't find
the Angel!”
“Recall
the Evangelions,” Yui orders, “Pilots! Report!”
Shinji's
face is one of dumbstruck shock. Uri is squirming in his seat,
visibly uncomfortable. And the seat for Unit-00 is empty. The
silence is broken by the ear-splitting, horrifying scream.
Alarms
blare, and the back of Unit-00's neck shoots off before the entry
plug fires out like a bullet, streaking through the air before
skipping across the lake next to Tokyo-3 and hitting the automated
retrieval boat, sinking it.
“Premature
ejection?” Akagi asks.
Yui
sighs, nodding.
“We
need to talk to Touji about that.”
“Mom?”
Shinji
asks, “You
need to set up a VR link with Ichi's Core. Right now.”
“The
AT field affected me,” Uri says, wiping the LCL from his damp hair
as he paces in front of the monitor, standing in the nondescript,
white room, “So, since I am affected due to being an Angel, I am
consigning myself to the modular rooms until it can be determined I
am not compromised. I hope Miss Kiri didn't mind piloting Zwei back
to the Cages herself.”
“I
see,”
Kyoko says, her face on the monitor, sitting in her office, “Isn't
this the same room you and Ikari were consigned to in the dream
world?”
“By
Asuka, after we got into a fist fight, yes,” he explains, and
sighs, “I figure the rooms, as they are on rails, can be moved
deeper in NERV if I show signs of being controlled by the Angel.
What has Junior said?”
“That
there is a difference between 'not hostile' and 'not dangerous'.
We're still trying to figure out where the Angel is and what she
wanted. We'll let you know what we find out.”
The
screen blinks out, leaving Uri as he sits on the bedroll, crosses his
legs, and closes his eyes to meditate.
Activating
VR Link.
Participants:
Ikari, Shinji; Ikari, Ichi; Ikari, Yui.
Environment:
NERVia.
The
world fades into a castle courtyard, white and gold stones as high as
the eyes can see. Two people appear at first. Shinji quickly looks
around, face set and unreadable. Yui appears almost ghostlike, only
her hands and face fully coherent in the world around them.
“I
couldn't get an immersion tube prepped in time,” Yui explains, “So
I'm just using a VR interface. Shinji, what's wrong?”
“I'll
show you,” Shinji responds, “Ichi! Get out here!”
Two
forms shimmer into existence. One is the normal, six year old Ichi,
shifting from side to side with an embarrassed look on her face.
Shimmering into existence next to her is also Ichi. Twelve years
old, her black hair tied into two long pigtails, shifting from one
foot to the other as Shinji marches to her.
“Okay,
wait,” she says, “I can explain-”
Her
protests and explanations are silenced as Shinji pulls her into a
hug, crushing her against him as Ichi watches with a wide smile.
“I,”
Yui says, “I...wait, Shinji, what happened?”
Releasing
Ichi, he holds her at arms length, a genuine, toothy grin on his
face.
“Okay,”
he says, “How?
I thought, when the dream ended, that you were gone.”
Ichi,
the older Ichi, shrugs.
“Hey,”
she says, “Like I told you. I'm a God.”
Clad
in her orange and black plugsuit, Hikari's face is a mix of worry and
anger as the retrieved plug is open and Rei hops out. Whistling, Rei
skips over to Hikari, landing on both feet and lolling back and
forth.
“Rei,”
Hikari starts, “Did you...to Touji?”
Rei
steps back, hands in front of her, as if to ward off the accusations
via looking hurt. Or by using her AT Field.
“Oh,
no!” she says, “I'd never do that!”
Hikari
nods, shoulders relaxing.
“Good,
because I-”
“That
would interfere with my master plan!” Rei continues, “Because if
I made Touji cheat on you, I'd have to pair up another pair of
friends!”
Hikari
tilts her head. Rei takes this as a sign to continue, even as the
other workers in the hangar stop to watch.
“Wee~ell,”
Rei continues, “I paired up you and Touji so you'd have babies
and I would ship your babies
with Shinji and Asuka's babies
for
MOAR
BABIES.”
Rei
tilts her head, smiling.
“'Kay?”
Hikari
slowly nods. As does the rest of the staff, as a pale while Touji is
helped out of the plug.
“Aaa~anyway,
I gotta go down and cordon myself off in the testing rooms!” Rei
says, skipping past Hikari, “Gotta follow procedures! And stuff!
And junk! And protocaaaaaaaaaaal-”
And
Rei disappears through the hangar doors.
A
knock. Uri ends his meditation and walks across the room, pulling
tighter the cord of the sweatpants that are his sole article of
clothing, and opens the door. Still clad in her plugsuit, smile open
and toothy, Rei meets his eyes. Quickly ascertaining the
circumstances behind this situation, Uri shuts the door.
“Oh
dear,” he says. Rei can create an AT field. She was piloting an
Evangelion and was within the blast radius of the Angel's attack.
This
is very bad.
He
walks across the room to the exit door on the other side and opens
it. Rei stands in the doorway before him, and without hesitation, he
slams the door shut again. Walking over to the monitor, he clicks it
on, folding out the controls underneath it to open a line to Central
Dogma and hopefully Mother.
Which
is when the pale fist bursts through the door, feeling around before
seizing the latch and unlocking it. Eyes wide, frozen in place by
something he would later realize is terror, he watches as Rei opens
the door...and smiles, narrowing her eyes upon him.
“Ayanami,”
he says, “What...what are you doing?”
“Babies.”
Her
voice comes in reverb, deeper and more alien than it should be. She
stalks towards him, and in reflex he extends his hand, a sword of
molten orange light appearing in his hand, which he waves in front of
him.
“Ooooh,”
Rei purrs, “Big swooooord.”
Her
eyes flash, and his sword breaks, hanging in front of him.
“Ayanami,”
he says, slowly backing away, grabbing his shirt from the bedroll and
pulling it on, “This...this isn't a good idea! I remember reading
this in books! The man is supposed to initiate things like this!
You're not the man!”
Rei
smiles wider, hands unclenched, fingers curled like claws.
“You'll
be the man,” she purrs, “I'll
be the Rei.”
“Well,”
the twelve year old Ichi says, “Since I'm sort of the lower half of
Lilith, I'm kind of immune to Arael stabbing us in the brains. So, I
sort of came into existence in
the dream, and sort of went dormant when the dream ended until I
started talking with Lil'Me after Shinji beat up Gothulhu.”
She
lolls back and forth on her feet.
“Sort
of.”
She
smiles, almost a mirror to the relieved smile on Shinji's face, who
is sitting on a stone bench in the virtual world with the six year
old Ichi next to her, arm wrapped around his littler sister's
shoulders.
Yui,
on the other hand, is standing and listening to the twelve year old
Ichi explain the reasons for her existence. Which, Shinji muses, has
to be something along the weird side.
“So,
I don't understand,” Yui says, arms folded, gaze alternating
between the two different versions of her daughter, “I...you said
you're a God?”
“Ascended
Lilithian life form, S2 organ from an Angel, full realization of my
latent power,” Teen!Ichi says, flexing her arms with a smirk,
“Well, in the Dream Arael was messing with what I could do, so all
I could do was teleport, fly, and blast Tamiel in the face. Now, I'm
pretty much the Super Eva. I mean, I smacked the living crap
out of Gothulhu, didn't I?”
“Arguably,
I had something to do with that,” Shinji says.
“Me,
too,” Little Ichi adds.
“Anyway,”
Teen!Ichi continues, scratching her head, “Lil'Me called me out
because the Angel hit us with a yucky stuff beam, and it wasn't fun.
But I didn't get affected. So, I'm kinda curious if Third Me got hit
by it, instead.”
Yui
cocks an eyebrow. And she purses her lips as the ground shakes,
shuddering, the water in the fountain rippling.
“Third.
Me.” Yui says.
The
teenage Ichi shifts back and forth on her feet.
“Well,
since I'm a God, I'm also a Trinity,” she says, “So I'm Ichi the
Cute,” she gestures at the six year old, who waves, as Shinji looks
past his mother with eyes as wide as saucers, “Ichi the Brat,”
the teenager points to herself, and points to past Yui, “And Ichi
the God Machine.”
Yui
turns. Overshadowing them, hissing steam from the vents on either
size of its featureless, mask like face, colored purple and green by
what is apparently marker and paint, the Beast looks down on them.
“So,
yeah,” Ichi says, “We figured out what his deal was. It's kind
of cool.”
Backing
away, hands in front of him, Uri carefully keeps his eyes on Rei as
she slowly walks towards him, matching his pace as he circles the
room. She is smiling, teeth showing, eyes narrowed on him, as he
clears his throat and tries to make a beeline to the door.
“Sempai!”
Maya announces, eyes focused on the console in front of her, two
floors above, “I'm reading two AT Fields in the Detox rooms! Uri
and Rei have both activated their S2 organs!”
“Ayanami,”
he says, “We're not in our right minds, and we really should
consider that the Angel has unduly effected our emotional state-”
Rei
throws her head back and howls, bending her knees and flipping
through the air at Uri. Landing feet first on his chest, she grabs
his collar and tears, ripping off his shirt before flipping back and
landing in a crouch. Rising, slowly, she sniffs at the air, a rumble
escaping her throat before she charges.
Holding
up his hands, Uri's eyes glow and a wall of gold light appears, Rei
slamming into it with a growl and snort.
“Uri's
thrown up an AT Field!” Maya shouts, “He's blocked off Rei! As
long as he keeps that up, she can't touch him!”
Rei's
eyes glow, and she digs both hands into the field, Uri tilting his
head as she growls and hisses.
“Rei's
deployed her own AT Field!” Maya shouts, “She's eroding Uri's
own!”
“She's
not doing that,” Ritsuko responds, hand on Maya's shoulder and
leaning over to stare at her console, “She's breaking through it!”
With
a roar, Rei breaks the field, tearing it open like tissue paper.
And
sees the room empty and the hole in the wall where Uri managed to
break through while she was busy busting his field.
“Aww,”
she says, and hops up and into the waiting ventilation duct.
On
the screen, the back of the red giant opens, servos and gears
whirring as the white rod shoots out of the brace around the gigantic
cyborg's neck. And then it shakes with a squeak of its pilot, and
spins back in place. Followed by more questions over the speakers on
when they're going to let her out.
“I'm
still
trying to figure out why Zwei isn't letting Miss Harasima go,”
Kyoko sighs, tapping her fingers on the conference table, “My guess
is that Zwei either believes she is Asuka due to the similar
personality, or he wishes to mate with her.”
Across
the table from her, Ritsuko and Yui both suck their teeth.
“I'm
going to hope for the former,” Yui says, “And maybe have a large
hose ready if it's the latter. Do we know what
caused this?”
Kyoko
sighs, rubbing the bridge of her nose.
“From
what I can tell,” she explains, “The attack of the Angel
interacted with the AT Fields of the Evangelions, which caused them
to...well...behave differently.”
“Uri
exited the Evangelion as soon as it was obvious the Angel was gone,
and exiled himself to the detox facilities,” Ritsuko adds, “So
did Rei. If you can project an AT Field, apparently it affects you.”
Yui
nods.
“Unit-00?”
“Has
been attempting to hack the internet servers of the MAGI to download
all
porn,” Ritsuko says, sipping her coffee, “The Ree are redirecting
her, and I had Maya upload her own porn collection to start her off
slow.”
Yui
nods. Tilts her head, narrows her eyes, but nods.
“I...see,”
she says, “And Ichi?”
A
hologram comes up as the conference table glows, revealing a
wireframe image of the Mark-01. And it centers, shifts and zooms to
a small dot, positioned in the lower abdomen.
“It's
been growing at a steady rate since the attack,” Ritsuko explains,
several images of the mass at different sized appearing, “It was,
at first, the size of a pinhead. It's currently as large as a
bowling ball.”
Yui's
jaw opens and closes, working out the words.
“How?”
she asks, “Who?
Is it...is it Shinji?”
“What.”
The
two scientists turn to Kyoko, who slowly rubs the bridge of her nose
and snaps off her glasses, rubbing her eyes.
“No,”
she says, “No no no. God no. You honestly don't believe the
Mark-01 is pregnant.
Do you?”
She
slides her glasses back on, and stares at them. And sighs, shoulders
slumping.
“Yes.
Yes, you do.”
The
entry plug slides back out. Then the back of Zwei's neck shudders
again, and the spins back in. The cage goes silent once again,
followed by the steady crackle of the speakers on the Evangelion's
neck.
“H-hello?
Can s-someone let me out?”
Knees
pumping, Uri runs, pulling on the t-shirt as he runs out and into the
hallway. Bare feet on the metal floors, he runs in swift strides,
sharp breaths as he runs from the fate he escaped from. He knows he
is in the lower levels of NERV, so he needs to find an elevator. Or
a lift. Or stairs. And he needs to escape.
Or
at least, try to, before he turns the corner and slams into a rather
surprised Shinji, sending them both tumbling down in a mess of arms,
legs, and swears, rolling to a stop in front of Mari.
“Huh,”
she says, adjusting her glasses, “Two sweaty eva pilots rolling
around on the floor. Someone could make a fan comic out of that.”
Uri
and Shinji glance at each other, and Shinji rolls off Uri, both
sitting up and then standing, making a point to not touch. Clearing
his throat, Shinji scratches the back of his head, and looks his
girlfriend's brother up and down, as Mari smirks. Hands on her hips,
dressed in her plugsuit, she looks up as something moves overhead.
“Is
that Rei?” Shinji asks, “'Cause I came down here to check up on
Rei.” He glances at Uri. “Was Rei in there with you?”
Uri
shudders.
“Ah,
right,” Mari says, “Doctor Sohryu did say that the Angel was
affecting the Evas and the Nephilim. So I guess since Uri was
feeling a bit hot under the collar...”
More
clattering in the ductwork above. More giggling.
“Oh
dear,” Shinji says, “That can't be good.”
“Ayanami,”
Uri says, eyes following the sounds of the gigling, “Ayanami
is...different. She stated she wished to...”
He
shudders. Again. And then twitches, turning from Mari to Shinji.
Mari frowns. Shinji's eyes go wide.
“O...kay,”
Shinji says, “Let's get you somewhere safe, Uri.”
“I
am an Angel, Ikari,” Uri snaps, “I am more than capable of
protecting myself.”
“Uri,”
Shinji says, grabbing Uri by the shoulders, “Rei is sex crazed, in
the ductwork, and trying
to mate with you.”
“I
will, however, welcome more protection,” Uri responds, “Let's
go.”
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Oh, funny stuff, Gregg! I see some material that definitely has to go into the ROFL thread of the moment.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
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Oh yes! That last little exchange between Shinji and Uri in particular. Pure comedy gold! Heeeeeeee!
*Reads latest chapter on Fanfic.net*
Oh... oh this will not end well.
But will be Friken hilarious 
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Today in Life Imitates Fanfic:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71393.html
Stephen Colbert to explore run for president in South Carolina
I'm scared now. Brazil has decided you're cute.
*spit takes*
Colbert for Prez?
WTF? o.O
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Quote:Today in Life Imitates Fanfic:
Hell, life imitating Monsters vs. Aliens. Just keep him away from the coffee button.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
The Wanderer
Unregistered
(Note: I do not expect this request to be honored, but I'd like to make it just in case.)
Back before Gregg Landsman started posting in this thread, I used to enjoy reading the discussion of each new chapter as it came out, seeing people's reactions and (if memory serves) occasionally posting some of my own.
However, since that time, Gregg has been posting excerpts from not-yet-available chapters here. I do not want to see those; I'd rather first encounter those scenes in their context, while reading the full chapter, and having recently reread the preceding chapter so as to have it fresh in my mind.
In order to avoid seeing those scenes prematurely, I've had to avoid reading this thread at all - and as a result, I've missed out on the actual discussion, which (as I said) I do enjoy reading.
I know that other people do like seeing those advance excerpts, and I don't want to interfere with anyone else's enjoyment. However, is there any possibility of e.g. having those posted elsewhere (possibly even another thread in this same forum, for convenience's sake), so that all sides can potentially be satisfied?
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or how about (rather than creating a new thread which will spawn it's own discussion in-line) putting the story bits behind a spoiler tag?
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy
The Wanderer
Unregistered
If the forum-markup square-brackets literal "spoiler" tags are used, that won't help; those only hide anything if you have JavaScript allowed from the right site(s), and I have that blocked via NoScript except by special dispensation. That's one reason why I use the white-text method of spoiler concealment; it works for anyone who has the site-specified background colors, which is a broader category than people who have scripts active.
Good suggestion, though.
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your using no-script, you can allow yuku scripts explicitly. (all of the scripting issues I have had were not from scripts on yuku, but from third parties).
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy
The Wanderer
Unregistered
Yes, I can, but I'm not likely to; I already allow too many sites to run scripts without question, I'm not interested in adding more (it's bad enough that so many sites don't work at all without scripts). I'd sooner continue avoiding the thread entirely.
Even if that weren't the case, however, it wouldn't completely solve the problem now that I think about it further; people would still discuss the contents of those spoiler-hidden excerpts, and that discussion would itself be potentially spoily.
In some ways, moving that discussion - as separate from discussion of chapters after their release - to a separate thread with the advance excerpts would actually be a good thing. That discussion would still supplant and thereby eliminate some of the discussion which would otherwise have taken place after the actual chapter was released, so it's not ideal from my perspective, but it'd still be better than nothing.
So, how about I create one thread entitled, "Nobody Dies: Teaser Snippets" and leave this one as the discussion thread?
Is that basically what you're asking?
The Wanderer
Unregistered
That's about it, yes. I'm not sure whether it would work as desired or whether the interesting discussion would just end up all migrating over there, but if no one really objects, I'd like to try that experiment.
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