EVA Ambivilence
Evangelion Fan Fiction by .Richard Flynn.

Chapter 3.

"C'mon Shinji she's not here, no use trying." Said Touji impatiently.
"But she's gotta get these school bulletins." Shinji answered.
"You've been knocking at her door for about half an hour. My guess is that she's not here. It doesn't take an Einstein to figure that out."
Shinji and Touji had been hurriedly sent to deliver school bulletins to Rei. However desolate the area may have been, it seemed apparent that Rei had not been at her residence for some time. Shinji understood Rei's commitments to NERV quite well, but she had never been away for so long.
"Where could she possibly be I wonder," Touji exclaimed sarcastically.
"Wasn't it you who asked me that yesterday?"
"How should I know?"
"Well Touji I spose there's now point hanging around here. Maybe I'll find her down at NERV."
Touji kneeled down and began tying his shoes as he prepared to leave, taking one last glance to make sure she wasn't there. "Misato wouldn't mind if I stay over for a while... would she?"
"Well, she's quite busy but I don't really see why not."
"Great! Man, I wish I had Misato for a girlfriend, what a babe!" And he began making kissing noises with his mouth.
"Heh."
And the two began walking back down the long boardwalk to the seriously damaged streets down below.
"Don't know how Rei could possibly live here," Touji remarked. "I mean it's just so creped."
"I guess that's just her."
"You know Shinji, you never really answered my question before. Where do you really think that Rei is anyway?"
"To be honest... I just don't know. I've looked about everywhere for her. It's like she's just disappeared."

However, Shinji was quite far from the truth. Rei still laid in her glass cryo tube in the depths of NERV. The whole area blanketed in an eerie darkness, with a deafening silence. Suddenly the darkness was broken by torch lights. In the retreating shadow were three figures, busily rummaging through the dust and debris that was an experiments lab.

"Shit," began one of them.
"Looks like a bomb went off in here!"
"Yeah I know." Said another.
"Cut the chat you two, you know our orders, recover anything you can."
As they combed the area, their torch lights landed on Rei's tube. One of them walked over and inspected the grizzly sight. Blood poured down the side of the shattered glass, and he held his nose while he inspected its contents. He shone his torch over Rei's face, which had been horribly slashed numerous times with some kind of sharp item. 'How horrible' he thought to himself. All of a sudden her eyes burst open. And she began convulsing violently.
"FUCK! We've got a live one here."
The other two dropped what they were doing and rushed over.
"Get her out of there," said one.
"We've gotta get her to the hospital." He draped her over his shoulder and carried her out.
"Gotta hurry, doesn't look like she'll last much longer." The third rummaged around for a little longer until finally leaving.

On entry to the hospital, the staff wielded themselves into a sudden state of panic, as Rei's almost lifeless body was wheeled in on a stretcher. Ritsuko watched on as she was dumped onto the operating table. She listened intently as the doctors chatted to each other while they performed life saving surgery.
"Umm, mam." Said Maya as she entered the room.
"Oh hi. I see you heard about this."
"Yeah, I came as soon as I heard. What do you think happened. I mean, the chances of escaping that room alive were nearly nil. As I recall the locks on her cryo tube weren't even released."
"Hmm, interesting isn't it."
"Huh, what is?" "I don't understand how the heat level inside the test room could rise so dramatically. What was causing the heat anyway. And another thing. She came in here slashed up and down her body. To the untrained eye it would look like they've had an autopsy."
Both stood there puzzled for about an hour until a doctor came from the operating theatre.
"I'll put it to you simply. She's been unconscious for about a day or so and her pulse is barely above the critical line. You see she's lost a lot of blood. It's a miracle anyone could have survived so long."
"When do you think she'll have recovered?" Ritsuko asked. The doctor looked at her annoyed.
"I wouldn't think of that for a number of weeks yet. She needs plenty of rest. She's been through a great deal and although she'll be fine, it will take some time for her to gather her strength back. Best if you let her be for now. We're both doctors, you should know that a good night's rest can do someone a world of good."
"I understand." The two women left and headed for the car park.
"Mam, forgive me for being observant, but you seem quite suspicious. Do you have any idea as to what happened?"
"I'm not really sure, but, just to be on the safe side, I want you to keep an eye on the sixth child. Who knows, maybe we got another Angel on our hands heh!"

The rain came down suddenly on Shinji and Touji as they got home. Since Kensuke had other things to do, he managed to avoid the rain. Shinji removed his wet shoes as he hurried for a towel with which to dry off. He offered one to Touji as he dried his hair.
"Thanks for the towel Shinji, that rain storm came out of nowhere. Speaking of which, where's Misato?"
"She had to work late tonight. Since she's higher up in her job, she's expected to do more."
"I see." Just then the phone rang and Touji promptly answered it.
"Hello?" he began. Shinji watched him carefully as he finished drying off his hair. "Shinji it's for you." Said Touji, and he handed the phone to Shinji.
"Umm... hello?" and he listened carefully while someone on the other end gave him details.
"Yes, I understand, thankyou." And he promptly hung up the phone.
"Rei's had an accident, I'm not sure what but I'm going down to the hospital later to see her. Asuka has already been notified so I won't have to worry about that."
"An accident?! Did they say whether or not she's okay?"
"Oh, she's fine and all, or at least so they say. But I'm going down to take a look for myself. No kidding, I am worried."
"I don't blame ya." Touji blared at Shinji who was still holding the phone.
"At least we know where she is now. But I wouldn't bother with Asuka though." And Shinji looked at him with question.
"Haven't you seen?! Asuka and that Matsushito guy have been close knit. It's almost impossible to separate them!"
"There's something I just don't like about that guy."
"You mean he's taking away your precious Asuka! Sounds like a bit of jealousy."
"Umm... no that isn't what I meant!"
"Don't worry Shinji. I know that you've been head over ass for her ever since you two met. Scout's honor, I won't tell a soul. Except maybe Kensuke, oh wait, no he already knows! Hey, you listening? Shinji. SHINJI!" but it was no use. Shinji's eyes were fixed on the horizon, towards NERV, where without warning, a there was a large explosion, followed by a glowing figure of light, bursting out from the geo-front and ascending upwards, leaving in its wake, a path of total destruction and an eerie shrieking sound, of which would prove to haunt Shinji for quite some time later . Both watched as it flew upwards into the atmosphere, until finally disappearing from view. Neither of them breathed as they contemplated what had happened. There was a long silence as the flames surrounding NERV slowly subsided.

"Shit!" shouted Touji in surprise. "What the hell was that?!"
" No idea!" answered Shinji. "Looks like I'll have to visit Rei another time, I've gotta go to NERV, don't wait up, I'll be a fair while."
"But Shinji... wait. What do I tell Misato?!" but Shinji was far down the road and unable to hear.

Shinji hastily swiped his pass-card through the gate as he entered headquarters. To his surprise, the machine didn't except his card. Instead a blank screen showed itself to him. He continued to swipe the card back and forth furiously in his desperate attempt to gain access.
"Damm you, don't do this to me now you bastard. Fucken open!" but still nothing happened, and Shinji became ever more irritated. But suddenly he heard something. A wrenching sound and creaks until finally a crow bar became visible under the huge steel doors. With a sudden push, it opened. There stood Ritsuko, of whom was carrying a flashlight. Several large men followed her, holding toolboxes and other heavy equipment.
"Lucky we found you!" she exclaimed.
"We've been having power blackouts all over the place. Happened not too long ago either. Commander Ikari sent out for you about half an hour ago, but you were nowhere to be found. Now we got an emergency on our hands, it's imperative that we have the pilots on hand at all times." Shinji stood there with a blank look on his face.
"What about Asuka, where's she?"
"Look, don't worry about her, she's already here. She came in about two hours ago with Matsushito." And at that word, Shinji's eyes narrowed. No doubt jealousy was beginning to stir.
"And by the looks of things, you two don't seem to get along."
"Yeah, well I have my suspicions." Answered Shinji.
"Don't we all..." Ritsuko muttered under her breath.
"What was that?!"
"Oh nothing!" She then turned and headed back into NERV, with Shinji in close pursuit.
"So, what happened here?" Shinji asked.
"We don't know as of yet. Our main objective right now is to get NERV back online. You remember Matarael. It attacked us at our most vulnerable point. We were having a power blackout much like the one we're having now. You see, NERV functions on power circuits. The main power generator has three back up circuits. It was impossible for all three of them to fail at once. We found that the circuits were sabotaged. The culprit was found of course, and prosecuted. Now the circuits are heavily protected. Problem is, that something has been blocking the power supply to random areas of headquarters. We're trying to find out what that something is."
"So what does the commander need me for?"
"I don't know to be honest. But he wouldn't send for you if he hadn't had a reason."
'Yeah, that's exactly why he sends for me!' thought Shinji to himself. He entered the control room and stood there silently for a moment as Ritsuko had a quick word with Gendo over private matters.
"Good work doctor, you may return to your work." Gendo complemented. He then walked over to Shinji who was suddenly feeling like he was shrinking as his father looked down harshly on him. Shinji thought for a bit, pondering whether or not to tell him what he had just witnessed, but reluctantly he held back.
"The new pilot is going to begin battle trials west of Mount Tuckanosou in Unit-00. I want you to escort him and help him. You'll be permitted to use Unit-01 in this matter."
Unit-00! According to Shinji's memory, Unit-00 was annihilated.
"Unit-00? Umm... sir?"
"You mean you haven't heard?!"
Gee! That would really be a surprise. Nobody told him anything anymore. It was almost as if he'd been cursed.
"After Unit-00's... incident, it was regenerated from the few parts we'd recovered. However it no longer seems to accept Rei as the pilot. Fortunately, Matsushito was a perfect synchronization match with it, so from now on, he will be the pilot of Unit-00, understood!"
"Err, yes sir." He answered fearfully. Just then Matsushito and Asuka walked through the door, accompanied by NERV security. Shinji stood there spellbound for a moment as he tried to figure out what to do next, when his father slammed him over the back of the head.
"You have your instructions. Carry them out!"
"Yes sir." And at that point Gendo walked out with the guards in close succession. 'Cold Bastard!' Shinji thought to himself. And he turned to a bored looking Matsushito.
"Well Shinji," he started. "Shall we begin?"
Reluctantly, Shinji accepted.

They arrived at the coordinates near noon. It was bright and the only shadow cast out on the land was that of Mount Tuckanosou. Its green trees glinting in the sunlight. Shinji covered his eyes slightly as he surveyed the area. Power generators, control cars, electricity regulators and all other manner of technical devices had been laid down in preparation for the test. Naturally, Units-00 and 01 had already been shipped to the site. Ritsuko drove off to the main control car while she left Shinji and Matsushito to change into their plugsuits. Matt threw down his gear onto the floor of the makeshift change room and pulled out his folded green plugsuit. He smoothed out the wrinkles in it before carefully slipping into it. He made a brief look towards Shinji, who had already put his own on.
"So, what are we going to be doing?" Matsushito asked inquisitively. "Misato said something about training after that last accident I had."
"Yeah, that accident. Exactly what did happen?"
"Well, all I heard over the radio was that there was something wrong in my nerve connections or something. After that I just passed out. Or, at least I think that's what happened." Slowly he began to trail off and Shinji started to ignore him. He pointed his nose up as the loudspeaker sounded.
"Would the pilots report to the plug loading bay at once." Said the announcer. They both did as told and were quickly loaded into their entry plugs. Matsushito sat there mesmerized as the cockpit holographic display started up.
"Matt, during the training I'm going to be given orders by my superiors. I'll then tell you exactly what you'll have to do, so be prepared to follow my instructions okay."
But Matsushito was only half listening, instead he was too busy flicking the various knobs and switches around in the cockpit. "What was that? Do what you say? I spose so. Say... which one of these buttons turns on the video displays anyway?" Shinji hit his head in dismay in the realization that Matt hadn't even bothered to read his pilot's manual.
"Stop the fooling around Matt, you'll learn everything you need to if you follow my instructions."
Meanwhile in the main control van, Ritsuko and Maya surveyed the statistics surrounding the activation of the two Evas.
"Harmonics are normal in both Evas mam, there are no disturbances. Shall we proceed to phase two activation?" asked Maya as she kept her eyes glued to the computer screen.
"Yes you may begin phase two." Answered Ritsuko. "Remember what commander Fuyuzuki said. 'This boy has to be combat ready very soon. Don't know why, but orders are orders. So, lets proceed. You two comfortable in there? I'm asking this because you'll be in there a fair while."
Both answered yes to the question while they braced themselves for the long operation. Just then, both Evas fully activated and Unit-01 lurched forward out of its position.
"Matt, you still with me in there?" asked Shinji.
"Yeah, but what do I do to move this thing?"
"Understand this, there is no what or how to do something, remember."
"Oh yeah, you've gotta think eh. Okay then I'll try." And with great difficulty, the large metal armor of Unit-00 began to grind as he started walking.
"My god, this is just so incredible." Said Matsushito enthusiastically. And he continued to make his way towards Shinji. Not very well, but at least he hadn't fallen over yet. That was a plus. Maya continued to monitor the activation statistics as the Eva's began training cycle. Suddenly a red light flashed on her screen.
'Major heat increase detected' it said. Her thoughts instantly went back to the incident in the test lab with Rei and the sudden heat increase that the Magi detected there.
"Ritsuko," she shouted. "We have a reading of a heat increase in Unit-00's entry plug."
"No, that can't be, it's impossible."
"No mam, I'm certain. The heat is quickly magnifying itself. Entry plug temperature will reach 100 degrees critical in a few minutes!"
Quickly Ritsuko watched Unit-00's video monitor and saw Matsushito clutching his chest, which was beginning to glow incredibly. Shinji sat confused in his cockpit as he curiously watched Unit-00 writhe in the form of excruciating pain.
"Umm... Matt, you alright in there." He asked. However all he got over the receiver were sounds similar to choking. But then.
"Arghh... my heart... I'm burning up. Please h... help me. Please help m... ARGHHHHH."
Just then Unit-00's intercom switched off. And it began clutching its chest and convulsing horribly. Shinji stood back slightly as Unit-00 began to stagger towards him. Just then it roared a deafening sound, and with arm blades outstretched, it thrusted itself forwards and began violently attacking Unit-01. Shinji was caught completely off guard as it smashed its blades into his shoulders. He screamed loudly as he fell back hard. Over him, Unit-00 stood solemnly. Shinji's heartbeat rose and sweat began pouring off his face. He didn't know whether or not to attack. But, one thing was for sure now. He once again had a very short time to choose between the prospects of brutally killing one of his own, or facing a sudden, excruciatingly painful death.

.Back.