From: Chris Davies Prelude: September 13, 2000 Katsuragi Expedition Base Camp, Antarctica Katsuragi Kenji-hakase stumbled as he carried his semi-conscious child through the ruins of the camp, but was caught before he dropped to his knees by the young man who walked with him. Kenji didn't bother wasting time thanking him. "I wish ..." he heard the young man mutter in English as they both headed towards the safest place in Antarctica. "What?" Kenji asked in Japanese, his voice barely a rasp. "I wish that I'd kept my camera with me," the Canadian answered in the same language, flashing a strange, sad smile as he did. "I've got a feeling whatever just happened would get me a Pulitzer ..." For only a moment, Kenji paused as the wind whipped past him. The young man was making a joke, while he shuddered in the cold -- there had been no time to get him into a parka -- and waited for death. Kenji started walking again. Shaking fingers tapped out a code on the side of the cyllinder. With a hiss of escaping gas, the lid slid open. He set his daughter down in the cushioned pod. He did not meet her eyes as she regained consciousness, and murmured "Poppa?" Nor did he meet the young man's eyes as the Canadian began to speak again. "Actually, that was a lie. I wish ... I really wish you'd tell me what this was all about. I mean, I'm gonna die, so --" "I'm very sorry, Mr. Davies," Kenji answered quietly. He heard a sigh escape from the other's lips. "I'm afraid you're going to have to live." And with a devil's strength he turned, slamming his fist into the Canadian's jaw. Kenji caught him before he collapsed completely, then slung him into the capsule, pressing the codebar on its side once more, cutting himself off from the sight of his daughter's eyes. Katsuragi Kenji-hakase was very tired. He slumped beside the capsule containing the hope of humanity, and waited, gazing at the ruin he had made of his life. A second later, it began in earnest. His final thought was * * * Katsuragi Misato couldn't reach the buttons on the side of the capsule her father had put her into. The big gaijin who had made her laugh despite herself last night, the one she'd just seen her father hit, was blocking her way. There was a low boom. And then a scream. She cried. But Misato was unable to open the capsule so that she could gaze fuzzily at the sight of two firey wings stretching up from the barren sea where Antarctica had been. She would see photographs from sattelites, later, but they would never affect her in the same way that the naked eye image of the thing that had destroyed her world might have. It would make a difference, in years to come. * * * Christopher Davies, amateur film maker on a Greenpeace gig, was unconscious. He dreamt of many things as he slept through the second greatest disaster in human history. He saw his family, his friends, and those he'd claimed as enemies. But his mind kept returning, for some reason, to the image of the man he'd seen leaving the Base Camp when he'd arrived, yesterday. The man with the thick glasses. The man who had been smiling as he got into the motorboat. It would make quite a difference, in years to come. Shin Seiki Evangelion: Scenario no Kawari An Evangelion Author-Insertion by Chris Davies Episode 1: Pilot July 3, 2015 Tokyo-3, NERV Headquarters, Officer's Lounge "-- and in foreign news, NorthAm President Kevin Karvonen --" "Change the channel or shut it off." Aoba Shigeru blinked and turned in the chair he'd pulled away from the table to watch television, and looked at the Major, who was sitting at the lounge's coffee table. "Sir? You don't want to hear about news from your old homeland?" He wondered why Hyuuga Makoto was making waving motions at him while the Major was obliviously reading the paper. "Aoba. The political monstrosity which that idiot heads is *NOT* my homeland. I lost my homeland almost fifteen years ago, when another idiot decided that with the east and west coasts gone, the United States needed lebensraum," the Major replied calmly. "I'd really rather not discuss my opinions of the United States of North America, but if you'd like --" Makoto had scrawled the words "Do what he says," on a paper towel and held it up to his face, making tears come from his eyes without apparent effort. "Uh, no!" Shigeru interrupted. "No, sir, that won't be necessary, um -- where's the remote?" "Here," the Major said off-handedly, and pointed it at the TV without turning his face from the newspaper. Shin-CNN dissolved and was replaced by the bright images of Pokemon W. Shigeru stared at the Major for a second. "But ... sir, if you had the remote, why didn't you just --" The Major lowered his paper, and frowned at Shigeru. "Change the channel while you were watching the news? That'd be a bloody impolite thing to do, now wouldn't it?" asked Major C. Richard Davies, NERV Japan Internal Security Division Head. The fact that even when seated the Major towered over him by at least ten centimetres was rather unnerving to Aoba, so he turned and watched the grim, moody adventures of a pair of oddly bishonen would-be Pokemon trainers and their annoying female companion. Davies shrugged and went back to reading the news. As he saw it, it was hardly his fault that he had that effect on people. Well, most people. "Good morning, Major," Ibuki Maya said cheerfully as she walked into the cafeteria. He favored her with one of his rare smiles. "Good morning, Ibuki. How goes the struggle against technical obsolesence?" "Pretty well," she replied, grinning. She was about to continue when she saw that the electric kettle was plugged in. She paused, did a brief mental calculation, and said, "Kettle's boiling," just as it began to whistle. Davies stared at her for a moment, then got up to unplug the kettle. "I'm not going to ask how you did that, so you might as well tell me," he informed her as he poured the boiling water into a white ceramic cup, and added the bag of tea. "It's just a trick," Maya replied, shrugging. "Just a trick," Davies repeated, making the offer of a cup for her as he did. She shook her head politely. "Sure. Just observe the evaporation, figure in the volume and the operating temperature, and you've got it. Simple, really." "I'll take your word for it," he replied deadpannedly, and added a sugar cube. "What I don't understand, sir, is why you don't drink coffee like the rest of us." Davies shrugged. "Because, Ibuki, any machine can make coffee. But making the perfect cup of tea is an *art*." He sipped at the cup, and flinched. "Ah well. Better luck next time." He headed back to the table. "You were saying something about the computers?" "Oh, yes! Sempai and I were working on some old military codes to test the Magi's code-breaking utility, and it went great. It took a few hours, but all the while the computers ran at the same nice, even tone ... we didn't say anything, we just sat there and listened to it ... together ... it was wonderful." There were almost stars in her eyes. Davies decided to pretend he couldn't hear Shigeru's faint sigh of disappointment. "That's good to hear. So, when are you going to ask her out?" Ibuki let out a little gasp. "Sir! I -- I couldn't do that! It would violate Regulation --" "That's to prevent a superior officer from asking a junior officer out, Ibuki," he explained calmly. "Technically, Dr. Akagi can't ask you out, but you are more than free to ask her out." She blinked. "Really?" Davies let out a sad sigh. "Maya-san, not only do I know the NERV Officer's Manual backwards and forewards, I helped write the bloody thing. Believe me, I made very sure that it can't be considered sexual harrassment for a junior officer to permit fraternization with a senior officer -- largely because I was hoping we'd get a pair of cute, slightly destructive security operatives whom I could nickname the Dirty --" "Excuse me?" "Never mind. Before your time. Anyway, if you believe that she wouldn't be adverse to a tete-a-tete, and you find her attractive, I suggest that you go for it. What do you have to lose?" She considered the question for a few second. "Sempai's respect," she said slowly. "But if she laughs, I'll know for sure that I was wrong about her, won't I?" Ibuki nodded, sharply. "I'll do it." A brief pause. "Eventually." Ibuki smiled then. "In the meanwhile, I'd better get back to work. Have a nice day, sir. Bye, guys!" She headed out of the lounge. Davies waited a discrete minute and a half before smoothly asking, "Is something you'd like to say, Ao--" "Why, sir?" the lieutenant pleaded, tears flowing freely. "Why do you encourage her in her perverse behavior? Why must you cause my heart to suffer so?" Davies sighed again. "Aoba, you must accept reality. I'm given to understand that she's actually attracted to both genders, but right now, she's fixated on Dr. Akagi. So, we should encourage her. Yes, some lessons are harder than others, but the sooner that they wind up together, the sooner that Maya realizes what a miserable, worthless, pitiful excuse for a human being Ritsuko actually is." He paused as all the blood drained out of Makoto's face while the younger man stared over the top of Davies' head. "She's standing right behind me, isn't she?" he asked in a vaguely bemused tone. Makoto nodded once reflexively, then froze. Davies turned and smiled up at the stoney-faced suicide blonde scientist. "Good morning, Dr. Akagi, I didn't hear you enter." "Obviously," she replied, her voice only a little warmer than whatever bizarre substance was used to cool the Magi. "Mr. Davies, I do not find this sort of behaviour appropriate or welcome. It is to be remembered that --" Davies let his voice overlap hers, and when she stopped midway through the first sentence, continued without her. "-- `you are technically a guest of the Japanese government, and should you fail to behave appropriately you could be deported to the United States,' etcetera, etcetera." He smiled. "The problem with that theory being that my guest status was sort of *imposed* on me, fourteen years back, and I've been trying every few months to change that status by applying for a transfer over to NERV America. Rejection after rejection for that sort of thing leads one to believe that someone wants to keep me in these parts. Okay. If that's the way they want to play it, Barkus is willing." His tone changed -- there seemed to be a note of genuine curiousity in his voice. "Exactly what offended you about my --" She scowled. "I do not appreciate being insulted, Mr. Davies, nor do I appreciate being referred to as a `worthless excuse for a human being.' Furthermore, I scarcely think referring to me in such terms in front of subordinates is appropriate." "Oh. Well, all I can say is that I didn't mean anything I said seriously --" "-- and that I'm sure that Aoba and Hyuuga were upset that I was speaking of a superior officer in that manner. Weren't you?" he said, shooting quick looks at each of them. They raced to agree. "If you feel the need to request a formal apology, I'll have one on your --" "Davies," she interrupted. "One day you are going to go too far ... and whatever it is that you know won't save you then. Are you clear on this?" He studied her face. If she felt anything beyond vague intellectual curiousity as to how long it was going to take, it wasn't apparent there. He couldn't place what it was that bothered him so much about Akagi Ritsuko. When they'd first been introduced, she'd been just as politely distant as almost all the other Nihonjin whose paths he'd crossed during his first few days as NERV's "police chief", and she hadn't done anything to either insult him or make him feel particularly welcome. Nor had much changed over the years. She had her work; he had his. The twain rarely met, except when Security was asked to supervise the transfer of certain components to and from the Magi or other areas of the complex under her supervision. At least, nothing had changed superficially. But every time that they had met, he had increasingly gotten a greater ... for lack of a better term, *scent* of something foul coming off of her. The Odor of the Ungodly, to borrow from Leslie Charteris. Davies became aware that he'd been staring at her for a full ten seconds. He shook his head just a nudge to clear it, and drew in a deep breath. "You may be right," he allowed. "If so, I guess I'll just have to get myself out without using that specific bit of what I know. Won't that be entertaining to watch?" Ritsuko shook her head just slightly. "Not really, no. I've never seen the attraction of the sport hunting that was common in the twentieth century either. It hardly seemed like an even contest." With that, she turned on her heel, and strode out of the lounge. Davies turned back to look at Makoto, who was staring at him in shock. "Something on your mind?" he asked. "How in the hell do you *do* that?" Makoto demanded. "Sir!" he added belatedly. Davies paused as he reached for his paper. "Do what?" Shigeru slowly came up to the table, shaking his head. "Permission to speak freely, sir?" "Go right ahead." "Sir, you routinely commit acts or say things that would probably get either of us court-martialed, and walk away with a promise of a formal apology, if that! Why? Why is this permitted?" Davies considered. Should he tell them? Well, part of it wouldn't hurt. "There's two reasons. The first has two do with my position in NERV relative to Dr. Akagi's position -- roughly equal. She has slightly more autonomy, I have more authority. So, in order to make a complaint about something I'd done, she'd have to submit it to Sub- commander Fuyutsuki -- who, depending on how assertive he felt that day, would either ask me to make a formal apology, or kick it upstairs to the Commander -- who would ignore it, being above such matters. So she can't do anything to me through channels." He picked up the paper and scanned over it. "That makes sense ... so what about the other reason?" Makoto asked eagerly. "Oh. That ..." They leaned in closely. "... is my secret." They leaned back with disgusted expressions on their faces. "Secrets," muttered Makoto. "Why does it have to be secrets?" "I take it that the two of you have run into more than your fair share of them," Davies noted as he read an editorial talking about how wonderful life was in Tokyo-3, the city of the future, and how anyone who didn't like it should go elsewhere, fast. "First day on the job," Shigeru began wearily. "I'm escorted into that big command center and shown my terminal. They show me how to run practically everything -- very intensive training. Whenever I have a question about the equipment that I'm using, the answer is always the same: 'You're not cleared for that.'" "When they start saying 'Fnord', then you should start worrying," Davies advised him. "What?" "Never mind." "All I know is that there is no way that I'm staying on here after my term is up in six months," Makoto asserted. "They paid for my education. Fine. Thank you, NERV. I paid you back with two years of my life that I can never get back and enough stress to give me the beginnings of an ulcer." "What about you, Sir?" Shigeru asked suddenly. "I mean, you've obviously been here longer than either of us have, but what are you planning on doing after you get --" "Doesn't work that way for me, Aoba," Davies interrupted with a rueful smile. "I'm in for the duration." Shigeru blinked. "The duration? The duration of what? We aren't in the middle of any hostilities." "I believe that the way they worded it on my contract was, 'the duration that, in the opinion of NERV's commanders, your services are needed for the defense of the human race.'" "That's crazy, sir. There's no way that a contract like that would stand up ... why did you sign it?" Davies shrugged. "The alternative was murder." "So you're never getting out," Shigeru commented, shaking his head. "Oh, theoretically I could. All I'd have to do is get so good at my job that everywhere I go becomes essentially self-policing, and my position becomes obsolete. Then they'd have no choice but to fire me." "But that would take a hellish lot of effort, and it's not so hard working here." He noted their disbelieving looks, and smiled again. "Ah, come on, you two. You're soldiers in the defense of mankind against a potential threat that may never materialize in our lifetime! What's not to like?" That was when the alarms began to sound. "You really have it in for me, *don't* you?" Davies quietly asked someone as he jumped to his feet and raced out of the lounge, followed closely by the two deuce lieutenants. The thoughts whirled through his mind as he raced down the corridor to the Command Center. Maya was already at her station, her face tight and drawn. Wordlessly, Shigeru and Makoto slid into their own stations. Davies hung back, staring up at the seemingly normal sattellite picture of the eastern Pacific that hung on the large monitor. The only anomaly was the large dot moving towards Japan, much faster than any man-made aquatic artifact could move. "Confirmed," Maya said. "We have a confirmation of blue pattern." Davies thought, and, as he occasionally did, regretted living this long. A flashing light on Shigeru's board grabbed his attention. "Automatic alert just went to the UN Command Center at Geneva, sir." "We should probably be expecting guests, then," a weary voice issued from above. Davies looked up at the raised command platform to see Sub- commander Kozou Fuyutsuki leaning on the railing and staring down at them. His face was just as drawn as that of any of the bridge crew. The Commander himself did not appear to be in evidence. Davies thought, and then suppressed the thought. Now was *not* the time. "Affirmative," Shigeru replied. "We've just received a coded transmission ... they're issuing orders to the Strategic Self Defense Force, and sending ... Generals Hirata and Koizumi, along with General Reynolds of the United States Army as an official UN representative." Davies' head jerked up at the mention of Reynolds' name. "We're to comply with their leadership until they determine that the situation demands the use of the ... of Project E," Shigeru concluded. "Well ... not surprising. Insulting, but not surprising." Fuyutsuki turned to look down at Davies. "Major Davies, you're to escort these dignitaries from their point of arrival with all due speed." Davies blinked. "But, sir ... isn't that Captain Katsuragi's responsibility?" "It would be," Fuyutsuki noted sourly, "if she hadn't been given orders to escort the Third Child here from the train station. Unfortunate timing." He paused, and seemed to be examining Davies' face. Clearly he didn't like what he found there, as he frowned. "Major, I am aware of your shared history with General Reynolds --" "-- but I expect you to behave with full professional conduct towards him. We *cannot* afford to insult the United Nations at this time. Is that understood?" The terrible thing was that Davies *wanted* to respect Fuyutsuki. When Misato had been studying for her an exam on biology, she'd drafted him into quizzing her on a book the man had written in 1998. He'd found himself interested despite the fact the subject matter of the book, advanced theories on genetic engineering, was far beyond him. Fuyutsuki Kozou had had a knack for making the incomprehensible seem simple, and the same persuasive writing style that Davies had seen in the works of Carl Sagan. He would have liked to like the subcommander. He didn't. "Understood, sir," Davies replied crisply. "I'll get right on it. What's their ETA?" he snapped at Shigeru. "Ten minutes, Sir." "Right." He flashed a salute in Fuyutsuki's general direction, and headed for the door. * * * Elsewhere ... "Today at 12:30, a state of special emergency has been declared within Kanto and Chubu districts, around Tokai district," announced the pleasant, calm male voice on the radio. "Please take refuge in the designated shelters. Repeat... Today--" "How could I have missed him, now, of all times? What the hell am I going to do?" There was a long sigh, and then, in faintly accented English, "Jesus, Joseph and Mary ... why me?" * * * The helicopter landed on the rooftop, and the side door opened as the rotors began to slow. The three generals stepped out with some assistance, and headed quickly over to where the tall caucasian man in the beige uniform was standing. "I am Major C. Richard Davies of NERV, Internal Security Division," the man said over the slowing noise of the propeller. "Under the circumstances, sirs, I think it would be advisable to skip any further introductions. This way please." He gestured towards the doors on the roof. The two Nihonjin both seemed serious, but the American looked more annoyed than anything else. "So which way to this base of yours, son?" Reynolds asked in a broad Southern accent. Davies endured the insult. "NERV Headquarters is located inside the Tokyo 3 Geofront, sir. We'll be taking this high speed elevator there." The doors slid open, and they stepped in. Reynolds was staring at him with an odd expression. "Your accent's kinda strange, son. What part of the States're you from?" Davies pressed the button to close the doors, and turned to smile at the General who had ordered the massacre of his alma mater. "Edmonton, Alberta," he said politely. The elevator dropped. "Time is of the essence, sirs," Davies said politely, speaking to be heard over the panicked screams as they went into freefall. For all of ten seconds. Then the aerobrakes cut in, gradually slowing the descent of the car while ensuring that none of passengers slammed into the floor. "Very sorry, sirs, I would have warned you about the freefall elements of the trip, but we *are* in a hurry." The elevator reached the bottom of the shaft, and began to run along a horizontal track. "That ... that will be the only incident of freefall, I hope," General Koizumi asked, trembling. Davies almost felt sorry for the guy. It wasn't his fault that he had to work with Reynolds. "Yessir. Well, unless something goes wrong." "Something ... goes ... wrong?" Reynolds gasped as the elevator's course began to tilt. "Yessir. For example, if the car falls off its tracks ... oh, now, we'll probably plunge to our deaths," Davies said as the car emerged on the wall of the geofront, revealing the panoramic expanse of the subterranean city, "But that isn't very likely," he added quickly. "I think." He'd never actually *seen* the blood run out of someone's face before this. It made the ride down the side of the wall that much more amusing. All good things must come to an end, however, and the elevator car eventually arrived in NERV headquarters. Davies escorted the three Generals to the command center, noting as he did that Reynolds never took his eyes off of him. Davies thought. The door to the bridge whooshed open -- Ikari Gendou, Commander in Chief of NERV, was standing on the bridge, his hands resting on the back of a chair as he faced out towards the monitors. He turned to look at the doorway a few seconds after it opened, noted the presence of the three Generals, quietly said, "Welcome," and turned back to the monitors, which had focused down on a display of the Japanese coastline. It was the closest that Davies had been to the man he viewed as the incarnation of evil on Earth in nearly fifteen years. The temptation to draw and begin firing the service pistol at his side almost overwhelmed him. Only the simple fact that, damn his bones, the *thing* that walked like a man before him was *vital* to the continued existence of human life on Earth kept him from doing just that. "Welcome, HELL!" General Reynolds shouted. "*Mister* Ikari, I want this man up on charges, NOW!" Ikari turned and, adjusting his glasses with one hand, regarded Reynolds with all the interest a biology student might show towards a common bug. "Excuse me?" he asked mildly. "This man! This ... this *loose* *cannon* tried to kill me!" Fuyutsuki stepped out of the shadow of the tower, his face drawn and weary. "Major Davies ... explain your actions." "Sir, in accordance with your orders that the UN representatives be brought to NERV headquarters with all due speed, and in light of the situation, I utilized the emergency rapid descent elevators. As these elevators have been tested repeatedly without danger to their occupants, at no point were any of our lives in danger." "And what if one of us had had a heart attack on the way down? Huh? What then, you damn stupid Canuck?" Reynolds snarled. It had been ages since anyone had called Davies a Canuck. He basked in the term for exactly a second, before replying, "If that had occurred, General Reynolds, I would have wondered how you managed to pass the physical required of all officers of the United States Armed Forces who might be assigned to a combat zone, which would surely have detected any danger of a heart attack brought on by stress." "Likewise, the Japanese Strategic Self Defense Force requires an examination of its combat duty officers, such as Generals Hirata and Koizumi." The latter two were both glowering at him, but neither with anywhere nearly the intensity of hatred that was in Reynolds' gaze. "I believe that my colleague would have appreciated a warning," Hirata said quietly. "I stated that time was short, General Hirata. That was all the warning that I could fit into the time afforded." "Major Davies," Ikari said quietly. "Under the circumstances, I do not believe that it would be appropriate to levy any punishment against you ... however, it *would* be appropriate to ask you to apologize to General Reynolds for not explaining the situation further --" "-- as you stated, we are short of time. Return to your battle station. Dismissed." And then, quickly and almost imperceptibly, Ikari smiled at Davies. The realization struck him like a blow to the gut. "Yessir," Davies said through teeth which did not *quite* clench. He snapped a salute, turned on his heel, and marched out the doors to the hallway. He hadn't gone more than five steps before he heard the doors behind him swoosh open and then close again. "Davies," he heard Ritsuko say. He didn't look back, didn't slow down. "Davies, I'm giving you one last warning. You go too *far* --" "Shut your anus, you piece of dog shit," Davies said in Quebecoise gutter French. "Excuse me?" "Old French saying. It means, I'm aware of that. Excuse me, Doctor." He ducked into the men's washroom, quietly praying that she wouldn't have the gall to follow him. Manipulating the soap dispenser, he filled his hands with soap, and began to wash them with an almost manic intensity. Finally, just before he rubbed them raw, Davies came back to himself, and shoved his hands under the almost scalding water to get the soap off. He breathed deeply for a few seconds, before lifting his head to look at himself in the mirror. The long scar on his left cheek had faded over the decade and a half since it had been given him, but it was still clear, and the major reason that he kept his beard trimmed to his chin. It was not, had never been a handsome face ... but at least he'd able to look at himself without hating the sight he saw before. Unconsciously, he reached up with one hand to push his glasses up the side of his nose. And then Davies realized what he was doing. His fist arced towards the mirror. * * * Within a few minutes, the attack had commenced ... and it was already clear that it was going remarkably poorly. "Target is intact, and maintaining course towards Tokyo-3," Makoto reported tersely. "The air forces are reporting no effect from their firepower," Maya confirmed. All three of the deuces were currently patched into the UN's communications net via Shigeru's board, reporting on the battle for the benefit of the three generals. The generals had taken up a position on the top of the Command Tower, the location that Shigeru had once grinningly termed "The Throne". It didn't seem as funny, now that there were actually people gazing down at his back from up there. It didn't help that the Commander was sitting right behind him, in a folding chair that someone had dragged up from storage. His hands were steepled in front of his face, and his elbows rested on his knees. He was watching the SSDF get its tuckus kicked by the ... thing on the screen without any real expression. Shigeru reminded himself. <*Steady.* You can do this, too.> "Tell them to throw everything we've got at it!" Reynolds shouted from above. "Have 'em send in all divisions at Atsugi and Iruma Bases!" "Hold nothing back! We *have* to destroy that thing." General Koizumi confirmed. Shigeru wanted to reply. He calmly relayed the message. Maybe a borderline psychotic Kanadajin could get away with mocking UN personnel, but Shigeru held no illusions about his own comparative impotency. He looked up at the screen to see the impossible sight of the creature *catching*, with one hand, the nose cone of a cruise missile -- and then the claws of that mighty hand shredding the missile casing, and then the image being obliterated by the resultant explosion. The creature continued to move. "What?" Koizumi snapped. "That was a direct hit -- the explosion should have --" "Tank battallions wiped out," Reynolds commented tersely. "Guided missiles and cannon shells have shown *no* impact --" "In other words, conventional arms have been shown to be useless, I have your point, General Reynolds," Hirata replied. Shigeru wondered. He had a dreadful feeling in the pit of his stomach that he knew *exactly* what they were planning. Behind him, he could hear the Commander and Fuyutsuki discussing the situation in rather calmer tones. "... AT Field, as we thought?" Fuyutsuki said as Makoto began to listen in. "Correct," the Commander replied. "Conventional weapons will have no effect on the Shito. Everything is going according to schedule ..." "Communications officer!" Reynolds suddenly yelled. "I want a maximum security line to whoever's in charge of the Infantry right now." * * * Captain Katsuragi, or Misato as she preferred to be called, watched through her binoculars as the SSDF air cavalry suddenly veered away from the lumbering form of the Shito. "Wait a minute ..." she muttered. "Why are they --" Realization raced up her spine at frightening speed. "Oh, God, they're going to use an N2 mine! Get down!" she shouted at the young boy seated beside her in the car as she flung her own body down. And an instant later the world turned white. * * * The exact workings of the N2 mine were heavily classified, and only understood by a very few of the research scientists who had access to that particular classification. The weapon was not a fission weapon, nor a fission-fusion weapon, nor even a fission-fusion-fission weapon. It worked on entirely different principles than any explosive which had been used since the first crude nuclear weapons. Not that such details mattered, in the end. An N2 mine blew up real good, satisfying all the incendiary fantasies of the SSDF command. "Youshi!" exclaimed Koizumi. Reynolds stared down at Ikari's back and grinned savagely. "*So* sorry that we've left nothing for you to do," he sneered. Maya briefly closed her eyes, and thought more unkind things about military personnel. "Shock wave inbound," she announced, and heard, rather than saw, the monitor shut down. she wondered. "Condition of target?" she heard Hirata ask suddenly. "Undetermined due to radio wave interference," Maya replied. The unusual subatomic particles released by an N2 blast interacted with the electromagnetic spectrum in extremely eccentric ways -- observers had even reported hallucinations of "grim reaper" type figures in the wake, due to oddities in the visible spectrum. It generally cleared up after a few minutes, however. "With such an explosion, the thing was certainly destroyed," Koizumi stated forcefully. Maya thought idly. "Sensors are back on line," Makoto noted. And one of the sensors was stating that -- "Sir, we are reading a strong reaction at ground zero of the explosion!" "What the hell?!" Reynolds demanded. "Visual image restored," Makoto replied to the Amerakajin quietly. She didn't want to look up. The collective gasp of shock that issued from the SSDF crowd only cemented her resolution to not look up. "No ... no ... it's an N2, it's supposed to destroy anything, it can't be ..." Reynolds murmured. Maya looked up at the screen. Regeneration had begun. Maya looked right down again, and fought the urge to be physically ill. "It ... it's a monster ..." Koizumi muttered. * * * The phone rang. "Speaker mode," requested a quiet voice. A click ensued. "Hello, Security?" a female voice came through the link. "This is Captain Katsuragi. I've secured the pilot, and am returning to base." "Glad to hear it, Captain. Is the pilot in good condition, considering the situation?" "Yes! Don't worry. His protection is my highest priority," Misato's voice assured. "Please get a train car ready for us -- a linear one, please." "Will do. I presume that the boy has received full security clearance?" "Yes. And if ... well, it was my idea to go pick him up, so I'll take full responsibility for anything he's seen." "All right." There was a brief pause. "Major Davies?" Misato's voice asked with a note of concern. "Are you alright?" "Just fine, Captain. Just a bit of stress." "All right. Bye!" The phone clicked dead. Davies continued to pick fragments of mirror out of his knuckles. * * * "We have been instructed to turn over command of this operation to you ... Mr. Ikari," Hirata said, never giving any indication of how much the statement must have pained him. "We will be ... withdrawing to observe your handling of the situation." Makoto thought snidely. He risked a look over his shoulder to see how the Commander was responding. Typical. He wasn't doing anything. "Mr. Ikari ..." General Reynolds spoke slowly and grudgingly. "Considering that we have exhausted the potential of the most advanced weaponry we have available ... I am forced to admit that the United Nations --" Makoto annotated. "-- has no effective means of dealing with the target. But you are confident of its defeat." "Of course," the Commander said in his typical quiet tone. "That *is* why NERV was created, after all." "We shall see, Mr. Ikari," Hirata concluded. "We shall see." As one, the military men rose, and stepped away and out of sight. It almost seemed to Makoto that the Commander took a deep breath when they vanished. "Target shows no change," Maya reported. "Well, the U.N. troops will be withdrawing shortly, Ikari. What are you going to do?" Makoto heard Fuyutsuki mutter. "Activate Unit-01, of course." "But ... we don't have a ... pilot." "The spare is on its way." Makoto blinked. Damned odd way to be referring to the pilot ... * * * "That's very strange," Misato muttered to herself as she consulted her annotated NERV headquarters map. "I was *sure* this was the right way." "Captain Katsuragi ... I think we're going around in circles," came the soft, ever-so-slightly obsequious voice behind her in the hallway. Misato drew in a deep breath, and restrained herself from yelling at the child. They were *not* going around in circles. Or if they were, it was a slowly descending spiral, and the posters on the walls were just repeated. Really. "All right ... I admit that I'm still not very familiar with this particular area of headquarters," she allowed. "So ... let's use the most important invention of all time." She pulled out the cell phone, and dialled a certain sequence. A moment of ringing, and it was picked up. "NERV Japan, Internal Security Division, Office of Major Davies, speaking." "Major Davies? This is Captain Katsuragi ... I appear to have stumbled into one of the less used areas of headquarters. Could you please give me directions to --" "Hang on, hang on," Davies' voice came back wearily. She listened to him breathing for a few moments as he started tracking the call's location. A faint pinging noise could be heard after a moment, but his voice was still silent. "Misato ... I'll personally come and escort you out of there," Davies finally sighed. "Oh, that isn't necessary," she assured him quickly, nervously. "Don't take the trouble --" A door shushed open behind them. "No trouble," Davies said through the phone and aloud. "No trouble at all." Misato flushed for a second, then turned around prepared to stick her tongue out of her mouth in the universal expression for "I'm just a cute silly girl" and laugh off her mistake -- and then saw the bandages around Davies' hand. "What happened to your hand, Chris?" she snapped out the question before thinking things all the way through. In response, he blinked, glanced down at his hand, and moved it behind his back. "Nothing of importance," he replied quickly. "It got banged up when the shockwave from the N2 mine hit." But she could tell from his face that he would stick to the story. And he *seemed* mostly all right -- He turned to look at her `passenger'. "And this must be the young man you went to pick up," Davies commented. Shinji was staring at the tall, bearded Kanadajin with a bit of surprise. In return, Davies gave the boy a look of mild interest. "Um, Shinji-kun, this is Major Ch-- uh, C. Richard Davies, of NERV's Internal Security Division," Misato introduced. "Major Davies, this is Ikari Shinji, the `Third Child' of the Marduk Report." Belatedly remembering his manners, Shinji bowed. "Ah, nice to meet you ..." Davies gravely returned the bow. "Likewise." "I ... I was just a bit surprised to see that there were Amerikajin working in NERV's Japan facilities," Shinji stammered. Misato closed her eyes and waited for the explosion to pass. "Well, yes, there are a few, but I'm not one of them. I am Kanadajin, Ikari-san," Davies' voice echoed in the darkness. Misato warily opened her eyes again. "He's a bit like his father," she said weakly. "Neither of them are really good socially, are they?" She wasn't looking at Davies as she said it, and so didn't see the flash of barely controlled rage cover his face. Shinji did, though. * * * "I'll leave the rest to you," Gendou noted as he activated the lift and descended out of sight. Fuyutsuki nodded, and smiled faintly when the Commander vanished into the floor. "And so they meet again, after three years ..." "Subcommander, sensors indicate that the target has begun to move again!" Any trace of a smile dropped off the elderly professor's face. "All right then," he muttered. He turned to look down on the trio of lieutenants. "Go to red alert," Fuyutsuki barked. "All hands to battle stations." he asked himself, privately. * * * The siren began to flare as they stood in the corridor. Davies' head snapped up and stared at the flashing lights. "Right," he snapped. "Enough lollygagging, where's the kid supposed to go?" "Bay One," came a tight, female voice from behind Shinji. He turned to see a Nihonjin woman with dyed blonde hair approaching at a fast walk. He blinked as he realized that she was wearing a wetsuit under her lab coat. "Where the hell have you *been*," the woman growled at Misato. "Ah, well, I --" "I've been distracting her and the kid with dirty jokes," Davies said soberly. "My apologies, Dr. Akagi." "DA--" the woman almost exploded, then reigned in her temper. "I have no time for this. Come on, let's go --" "All right," Misato agreed, looking nervously back at the Kanadajin. "I'll be at my crash position up here," he said quietly. "Get going." She nodded, and quickly started down after Dr. Akagi, if that was what her name was, who hadn't waited to see if they'd come with her. Shinji quickly bowed and headed after Misato. "Hey, kid," Shinji looked back. Davies was looking at him with an unreadable expression. "Yes, sir?" "Take care of yourself, okay?" "... right" Shinji replied uncertainly. Davies nodded, and headed into his office. Shinji drew a deep breath ... and headed towards his destiny. To Be Continued Author's Note Now I bet you're wondering a few things. Why not show the battle? Well, for one thing, Davies won't be observing it. Likewise, while he probably does have internal security cameras in the bay where EVA-01 is being stored, he doesn't have any real reason to spy there ... yet. Expect flashbacks next time. Why "Shito" and not "Angel" as Gainax intended? Well, if a certain someone can consistently mispell the Japanese word for "daughter" throughout his work and not get called on it, I can certainly use the original term for the kaiju that rampage through the first 23 episodes of Evangelion. Also, "disciple" is less ... shall we say, less contextual. There have been many kinds of disciples, after all. If I get any flames about the "US invades Canada with atrocities rampant" thing, I will respond with two words: Bite me. We don't hear enough about the war that flourished between the Second Impact (13 Sep 2000) and the Valentine's Treaty (14 Feb 2001) to say with certainty what happened, so you'll forgive me if I indulge my more paranoid fantasies. I believe that one of our prime ministers once said that living next to America is like sleeping beside an elephant; no matter how pleasant the elephant, one is aware that when it wakes up, it will probably be in a very bad mood. Yes, the U.S. president is *that* Karvonen -- i.e., Kevin "K.J." Karvonen, annoying anime purist idiot and r.a.a.m. resident kook. If he won't be old enough to run for President in 2012, they changed the rules. Or possibly he's filling out a predecessor's term. I would find that very likely, hint hint. The two Nihonjin generals are named after Japanese actors who made their careers in the kaiju genre -- both were in "Gojira" and "Mothra", as well as several other films. General Reynolds was named after Burt Reynolds. "Neon Genesis Evangelion" was created by GAINAX and brought to North America by ADVision and Viz Communications. This story, while incorporating elements of motion pictures held under copyright by others, is copyright 1998 of Chris Davies. Nobody Sue Me Okay? ------------------------------ From: Chris Davies Subject: [Eva][FanFic] Scenario no Kawari, Episode 2 Shin Seiki Evangelion: Scenario no Kawari An Evangelion Author-Insertion by Chris Davies Episode 2: July 5, 2015 Tokyo-3, Downtown District (Exact Location Classified) During what he referred to as his post-secondary education in the months after Second Impact, Mr. Davies (he had not yet been assigned a rank, at that point) had had the privelege of touring several battlefields. Only in the Eastern hemisphere, of course; his `benefactors' were far too wise to permit him anywhere near North America. Everywhere, on the battlefields after the Valentine's Treaty was signed, he had seen quiet and methodical workers in the same orange jumpsuit that he wore today. Then, he had either believed them to be administrative workers in the reconstruction effort, or ignored them completely. Now, he knew better. The old saying, "History is written by the winners", had fallen by the wayside long before. The history-shapers of today were those who took control of the situation after the fighting was over, whether they had fought or not. And so many odd questions -- such as "Why was this battle fought in the first place" -- could be answered to the history-shapers' satisfaction if evidence was correctly arranged. But men in black were far too obvious. Better to put them in orange. In his more paranoid moments, Davies wondered how many of the battles of the Global Conflict had been fought solely so that people would become accustomed to the sight of orange-garbed workers on battlefields like this one in Tokyo-3. EVA had fought shito, and man's technological wizardry had triumphed over the unnatural thing from beyond. Woo. Not without cost, no, but no victory ever was. Davies watched as the Evangelion unit's head was delicately hoisted up from the ground and moved towards a waiting transport. He shook his head and walked towards the command tent. As he approached, he dimly heard Ritsuko saying that if nothing else, recent events made the PR division very happy to have something to do. Which was, Davies admitted, true. His subordinate in charge of that division had positively beamed when Davies told him to present the official explanation to the press -- that "An entity of unknown origin, which may be of extraterrestrial nature, was defeated by a special UN force shortly after its discovery. More details wiil be revealed as the situation becomes clear." Truth, but not the whole truth, and lots of lies. As he entered the tent, Ritsuko replied to some comment of Misato that Davies hadn't heard clearly. "Not really. I think we're all afraid." "Reports from the shelters just came in," he said aloud without announcing his arrival. "They're reporting zero fatalities, and a very low number of casualties ... almost no *serious* injuries. Statistically speaking, it wasn't a bad day for a city." "Then I guess we should be proud of a job well done," Misato said, turning to give him a brief smile. He couldn't help but notice a certain uneasiness in her expression, but set aside his speculations about it for the moment. "What about the clean up?" Ritsuko asked crisply. Davies stole a quick look at the reports he carried. "Progressing ahead of schedule. Of course, it helps that the damn thing didn't leave enough remains to require as much work as `our girl' will, but ... anyway, we're maintaining maximum security around the perimeter, but the job will be done within an hour or so. Meanwhile, I have to scuttle." "How come?" Misato inquired with a blink. He sighed. "The UN liaison quit earlier this morning, and his replacement is already here. I've got to check his security clearances, and for a position that high, that means a personal interview. Some American psychological warfare guy. Mui, I think his name is." Davies sighed again. "It's gonna be a fun afternoon." Misato flinched sympathetically. She knew full well of his strong dislike for the American government's psych-warfare division. He'd angrily torn up his rare first edition Chtorr novels when it had been declassified, screaming "You had to go and give them ideas, didn't you?" at David Gerrold's shade. Ritsuko checked her watch. "Hm. What time is your meeting with the new liaison?" "Three. Why?" She glanced up at him from behind her glasses, raising her eyebrows. "It's ten of three now." Davies stared at her, then lifted his watch to his face. Several seconds of frenzied tapping later, he let out a blue streak. "Takes a licking and keeps on ticking my fat white ass!" he concluded and dashed out of the tent. "You're welcome," Ritsuko stated and went back to examining the reports. Misato impulsively checked her watch. It read 2:35. She turned to glare at Ritsuko. "Now *that* was cruel." Ritsuko shrugged. "If the man can't be bothered to keep his watch battery charged, it's hardly my fault, now is it?" "You *know* what I mean. I'll never understand why the two of you insist on squabbling like this! I mean, it's like you're junior high school kids with crushes on each other or something!" "Thank you *so* much for that image, Misato. I'll treasure it always," Ritsuko replied, visibly green around the gills. Misato shook her head and stared up at the tent's ceiling. * * * Davies realized that he'd been tricked shortly after he reached "his" company car and the dashboard clock didn't match the time she'd given him. He let out a long sigh and muttered "bitch" all the way back to NERV headquarters. As the train took his car down into the geofront, he reluctantly admitted to himself that he did owe Akagi some small gratitude. Given the option, he would probably have delayed going to the interview until it nearly was too late, and then had to rush into it. Now, however, he had time to think ... and under these circumstances he needed all the time he could get. Unfortunately, his thoughts for the entire ride were rather repetitive. The train delivered the car into its port, and Davies stepped out and headed for his office. Within, he discovered that his message machine was blinking, indicating that a message was being delivered at that very moment. He pressed the button, causing the sender to materialize in a 1/10 scale hologram above it. The hologram of his secretary Ms. Nakatama blinked as she percieved a similar image appear on her end. "Very sorry, sir," she apologized. "I didn't realize that you'd arrived yet." "Haven't checked in yet," he replied. "What's the story?" "Captain Mui has arrived and is waiting in Conference Room B-23," she replied. "Early, isn't he?" "Only a few minutes." Davies considered. "Give me a visual of B-23." Nakatoma bowed, and an image of the room replaced her hologram. A male figure in a slightly rumpled looking U.S. Army uniform was seated on the couch, leafing through one of the courtesy magazines placed on the table before him. Davies took a moment to study his opponent. Chinese in ancestry, and perhaps a few years older than Davies himself, Mui wore glasses and a slightly bored expression. His hair was ... well, one could charitably call it disorganized. He blinked. There was something oddly familiar about the man. Davies chased the memory for a moment, then gave up. With the places he'd been, he might have met one of his older brothers, and/or seen him carried off the field in a half-open body bag. It made no difference. "Well, let's go," he muttered to himself and pulled the file on Mui, Pearson, Captain, U.S. Armed Forces from his desk. It was relatively thin, with most of the information coming from official sources. He skimmed over it as he walked through the hallway to the conference room. The only surprises within were the revelation that Mui was married with children -- -- and that he'd quite recently been busted down from Major by none other than General Reynolds. The implication was obvious. They were obviously trying to suggest that Mui had had disagreements with his superiors, making him amenable to subversion ... when in fact the entire situation had probably been set up to make it appear that way so that he could subvert NERV from within. Smiling grimly, Davies went into the conference room. Mui, if that was in fact his real name, looked up from the magazine as the door slid open. He came to his feet with a bit of awkwardness -- -- and offered a salute. "Captain Pearson Mui, reporting as requested. You *are* Major Davies, I believe?" Davies bowed respectfully, and replied in Japanese only a bit more polished than Mui's own. "Correct. Welcome to NERV Japan, Captain Mui. I hope I haven't kept you waiting." "Not at all. I suppose that recent events have all of your personnell working overtime." "Indeed," he replied, quietly cursing himself for even giving *that* little away. "Well, have a seat and we'll get down to the business at hand." Mui noted the slight flinch on Davies' features, and let out a short sigh. "Before we do that, I think we should get a few things straightened out." "Oh?" Davies asked, his eyes narrowing. "When General Reynolds got back to headquarters yesterday, he made enough noise about what happened to him here that even a deaf man would've known about the `psycho Canadian at NERV', to use one of the more printable expressions he used. Now, I was very carefully briefed before being given this assignment, and told in no uncertain terms to avoid pissing any of NERV's staff off." Mui smiled then, an odd twin to Davies' own vicious smile. "But I've never been very good at obeying orders, anyway. So let's get right to the point. I *am* an American. I am *not* especially proud of some of the things my government has done since Second Impact, but I wasn't too proud of it before then either. Moreover, when the troops rolled across the International Friendship Bridge, I wasn't there. I was miles away, mourning for friends and family and trying to put my life back together. I wasn't a soldier in any of the armies that took Quebec or Edmonton or even Ottawa. I was drafted much later. So, if you have a problem with me, fine. But it had damn well better be a problem with *me*, not a problem with me because I'm an American. Got it?" Davies stared at Mui for a very long moment, his lips in a line. Mui met his gaze with just as set an expression. "Almost worked," Davies said at last. "You almost had me going there for a bit. But even I know that the U.S. Army didn't draft anybody in its Psychological Operations unit, propaganda to the contrary." "Excuse me?" "I don't know where you were being trained when the recruited you -- was one of the prisons or one of the `clinics'? -- but they should certainly be proud of their work. But it doesn't matter, because --" "Hold it. Whoa whoa whoa." Mui was waving his hands around with a slightly disturbed facial expression. "Psychological Operations? What's that all about?" Davies let out a disgusted sigh. "It's about conducting intelligence operations against targets by manipulating the enemy into doing what you want them to do, among other tactics. I'm sure that you know more about it than --" "Major Davies, I think you've made a bit of a mistake somewhere along the line," Mui interrupted, looking *very* upset. "I'm not *in* Psychological Operations. Never have been, never will be." Davies frowned. "What are you talking about?" "You've got my service record there? Go take another look at it, okay?" Shaking his head for going along with this, Davies lifted the folder up to reading level while keeping another eye on Mui. "Medicine?" he whispered aloud, turning both eyes to the record. He scanned further down. `Customary requirement of Ph.D. waived due to state of national emergency.' "You're ... a psychologist?" he asked aloud. "Pretty good one, if my professors were to be believed," Mui confirmed. Davies stared at the file for a few more seconds. Then he slowly reached up and pulled his glasses off of his face and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "How long before you go off duty, Captain Mui?" "Right after this interview. Of course, then I have to see about getting my wife and kids settled into our new appartment --" "Lucky person," Davies interrupted, still rubbing. "I have a few more hours to go before I can do something about this headache." He let out a long sigh and replaced his glasses. "Captain Mui, I owe you an apology." "Well, considering what I think of the PsychOps unit ... yeah, you do," Mui replied, nodding. "And you have it. But I would swear before a jury that I saw `Operations' instead of `Treatment' on your MOS. I don't pretend to understand how that's possible, but --" "I encounter it all the time," Mui admitted. "A trooper will insist that he saw some man running at him with a rifle, but they didn't find any rifle on the body of the woman he shot. Reconstructive history, we call it. It's a common way of coping with unpleasant truths." "Ouch," Davies said softly. "Well, I can't say that I was thrilled to have to do one of these interviews, but I don't think I was *dreading* it enough to do something like that, even subconsciously." He shook his head as he walked over to a chair opposite Mui, and sat down heavily. Mui shrugged expressively. "I can't say that I was actually looking forward to the interview either. I'm not completely sure what a liasion officer is supposed to do, let alone why I'm qualified to be one." "Well, if your predecessor is any example, you basically sit around most of the time and, to quote the manual, `facillitate open lines of communication between NERV and the United Nations Permanent Peacekeeping Forces.' Theoretically, that means that if we want to contact the UN Forces, or they want to contact us, we go through you." Davies coughed. "Of course, that's not how it happened yesterday. I'm not entirely sure --" "Ah, *this* I know about," Mui interjected. "Apparently, when the shito appeared, the brass tried to contact Captain Carson, but he was indisposed. With a member of his staff." "I hope she was pretty," Davies muttered, smiling faintly. "I'm given to understand that he was reasonably attractive. In any event, the fiasco slowed down communications enough to get the brass upset, and apparently General Reynolds made the association between being upset with that situation and being upset with me, and volunteered me for the job. And here we are." Davies chuckled a bit. "Right. Well, as I said, it's *been* a fairly quiet, thankless job up until now. Of course, now that the shito are here, it may just be a rather noisy, thankless job." "Understandable. Well, do I pass inspection?" "As of right now, yes," Davies confirmed. "I'm going to have to run a more thorough background check, just in case we missed anything, but that should probably only take a day. We can have you installed in your offices tomorrow at ... 1500 hours. That should give you a fair amount of time with your wife and children." "Thank you, Major Davies," Mui said with a genuine smile. On the other hand, Davies frowned after his own words. "Are you really certain that you want to bring your family here? It's a fortress for humanity, but I don't know if --" Mui's expression could only be called solemn and intense. "I won't go anywhere without my family, Major. And Karen would never go for it, even if I did." Davies nodded comprehension. "All right. Well, then I'll probably see you again at 1500 tomorrow." He stood up and extended a hand. "Again, welcome to NERV, and genuine apologies for the confusion." They shook hands, and Davies headed out of the conference room. At a slightly increased pace, he headed for his office. Seating himself at his desk, he began to fill out the forms ordering Captain Pearson Mui's background check. Midway through, he shook his head. "Nope," he muttered. "Not gonna make it to quitting time." He jerked open one of drawers at his side and pulled out the bottle within. He held it in his hands for a long moment, then shrugged and tapped out a pair of asprins. he thought as they went down. * * * "Alone?" Misato asked, clearly startled. "That's correct," Davies replied, indicating a section of the video map of Tokyo-3, which made up the floor of the large room where they stood. "We've arranged quarters for him in Block 6, Street 24." He gestured with a remote control, and it focused in on the area in question. It looked ... well, to be honest, it looked like pretty much any other residential area of the Geo-Front. He couldn't think of anything in particular to recommend it to the boy, and so settled for just asking, "Does it suit you?" "Yes," Shinji replied, in his quiet voice. Misato turned to look at the boy with a faintly disturbed expression. "Are you sure about this, Shinji-kun?" He shrugged, vaguely -- only a slight motion of his shoulders. "I like being by myself. Any place will do, really." Misato stared at him for a few moments, then slowly turned to look at Davies. "Major Davies, could I speak with you for a moment? Privately?" "Of course, Captain Katsuragi," he replied smoothly. "Let's just step outside for a moment." They left Shinji to stare at the the map of the city, and headed out into the corridor. Misato began to speak before the door to the map chamber closed completely. "I strongly disaprove of the idea of leaving that boy alone in an apartment for who knows how long," she said, getting the basics out of the way in a hurry. "In my opinion, it is dangerous to his mental health and morale, both of which are fairly precarious." Davies let out a long sigh. "All right, what do you propose as an alternative?" She bit her lower lip for a moment, which told him the essence of her idea before she expressed it. "Let him move in with me." "No," he said firmly. "Absolutely not. No way, nuh-uh, no how. Setting aside the fact that I've *seen* your housekeeping, you don't have any experience in childcare --" "Which puts me on an even keel with someone else in this conversation," she interrupted with a sickeningly sweet expression. "This situation and that one are not the same," Davies rallied. "You were still practically catatonic most of the time, and I agreed to get help from qualified professionals." "And did you?" "Is it my fault that everyone I talked to was an idiot and kept suggesting that you should be put in a sanitorium?" He glared. "You are *not* going to win this argument by getting me all sentimental about our past. There's no reason for him to be living with you. If you want to keep an eye on him, you can easily do it while he's living there." She frowned. "Come on, Chris, have you ever been in that part of town? It's no place for kids!" He looked down at his clipboard. "It's only three streets away from the place that Ayanami ... lives ..." He slowed as he considered the implications of that. The only logical conclusion disturbed him, as he liked to think that there were lines that even Satan himself wouldn't cross. "Exactly," Misato pressed her advantage, blind to his deduction. "She doesn't *care* where she lives, and wouldn't respond to suggestions that she might want to live somewhere nicer. Hell, her hospital room is probably cleaner --" "If less private," Davies muttered. She blinked at his non-sequiter. "Uh, right." Her voice took on a pleading note. "And I could use the company, too. You don't visit me as often as you could ... 'niichan." He flinched. "Oh, that's low." "Whatever it takes. That's what you taught me, remember?" she whispered just loud enough for him to hear. Davies stared down at his clipboard for a long moment. Finally, a great sigh came forth from his mouth. "Okay. I'll handle the paperwork." she silently exulted, fighting to keep a grin from her face. "On one ... no, two conditions. First, if I ever find out that you used the janken cheat I taught you to saddle that kid with most of the chores --" She laughed out loud. "Oh come on, that'll never happen." "Uh-huh. Second ..." And now Davies looked at her with a serious expression. "Tell me why you're *really* doing this." Misato blinked. "I'm just worried about him. That's all there is to --" She trailed off. That look in his eyes hadn't been seen since the last time she'd tried lying to him about her drinking. Not angry, not even disappointed, just ... the only word that really fit was "secure". He *knew* that there was more going on than she'd admittted, and would wait until the end of time to hear it. "I want to give something back," she heard herself say. Davies' eyebrows furrowed. "Give something back?" he repeated. And then realization visibly struck him. "You want to be his big sister." She nodded. "He seems so ... alone. He's worse than Ayanami, she at least seems happy when she's with the Commander --" he didn't say. "-- and you should see the way they looked at each other when they were --" "That just proves that the young man has a clearer understanding of the Commander than most people on this base," he interrupted. "Look, Misato, go ahead and try to help the kid. But just keep one thing in mind. You got better because you wanted to get better, not because of anything I did. If he doesn't get better ..." he trailed off, leaving the implication clear. She nodded quickly, and turned to head into the room -- quickly, so he wouldn't see the tears in her eyes. To Be Continued Author's Note Thanks to Mercutio for the necessary impetus to drive this chapter to its conclusion, and to Pearson Mui for giving me permission to include him as the first (but not the last!) of the other "real people" who'll show up in this story as it progresses. No, this won't be a one-shot appearance, Pearson has some very interesting ideas for how *he* can mess things up in Tokyo-3 that I look forward to describing. Next time will focus on the debriefing of Touga and Kensuke, so we will *finally* get to see an EVA fight -- but not from the perspective that you might expect. "Neon Genesis Evangelion" was created by GAINAX and brought to North America by ADVision, Viz Communications, and Manga Entertainment. This story, while incorporating elements of motion pictures held under copyright by others, is copyright 1999 of Chris Davies. Nobody Sue Me Okay? Chris Davies, Advocate for Darkness, Part-Time Champion of Light. "I know you're out there. I can feel you now. I know that you're afraid... afraid of us. You're afraid of change. I don't know the future. I didn't come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came to tell how it's going to begin. I'm going to hang up this phone, and then show these people what you don't want them to see. I'm going to show them a world without you." -- Neo, "The Matrix" Fanfics: http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/banks/277/index.html Fanfic Revolution: http://come.to/hauthor/