Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ Stargate: Evangelion ❯ Chapter Two ( Chapter 2 )

"REI! REI!" Shinji screamed, clumsily clambering out of the steaming entry plug of Unit 01. He fell to the ground, a fairly short distance with the Evangelion crouching as low as it was, cradling it's fallen comrade. The boy ran up to the entry plug of Unit Zero, it's surface warped and marred by the heat of the Fifth Angel's energy beam attack. He sought the emergency hatch, and pulled with all his might to open it's locks. He cried out from the heat, letting it go, before steeling himself and pulling again, wincing and gritting his teeth against the pain. A burst of air and LCL from the plug coaxed the stubborn hatch open, and left Shinji falling into the knee-high link-connection-liquid, panting and staring up at the blank-faced Ayanami.

"... Rei? Are you... All right?"

"... I am reasonably well," Rei murmured quietly. Shinji smiling brightly, even as he broke into tears and sobbed. The azure-haired girl stared at him.

"Why are you crying?"

"I'm so happy, you idiot!" Shinji laughed through his sobs, shaking and barely supporting himself with his arms. Rei blinked.

"Do you... Not cry when you are sad?" Shinji just laughed a bit harder, shaking his head in a grimace caught between joy, amusement, and sorrow, all three emotions tugging at the boy's face, vying for supremacy. Rei blinked again.

"... I do not know what I should do in a situation like this," the blue haired girl confessed quietly, perplexed. Shinji looked up at her, his face still a battlefield between humor and agony.

"Then just smile!" Rei paused for a little bit, the only sound in the entry plug that of Shinji's continued sobbing laughs. Then, slowly, like dawn breaking over an artic tundra, her thin lips curled into a bonafide smile, twin wrinkles framing her eyes as the red pupils themselves seem to shine. Shinji stopped his laughing, tears still running down his cheeks, as he stared into Ayanami's beautiful face. His mouth dropped a little, in shock... before his own smile met hers.

All too soon, the moment ended between the two teenaged pilots. Shinji helped the injured Rei hobble their way down the hill, away from the two grim Evas. Captain Misato Katsuragi and the recovery teams closed on them, flashlights waving wildly through the tattered forest. They were soon swept away to the NERV hospital, sent to separate examination then recovery rooms.

But for a little while, they both remembered, it had just been the two of them, together. And that was what they held onto from this night, more than anything else.

---

"We're lost. When are you going to admit it?" Asked an exasperated Jack O'Neill, to General Jack O'Neill. The older O'Neill grimaced as his clone continued whining down the hallway they were moving through.

"I am not lost. When have I been lost before?" The younger Jack gave his guardian a withering look.

"Don't answer that."

"Fine," mumbled his clone. Looking between the two O'Neills, the average person would assume that they were father and son, or at the very least, uncle and nephew. And that was how things were to be, for the fifteen-year old young man and his significantly older "progeny". The cover story was easier than the truth, as was it's intended function.

"See? Knew you'd see it my way."

"Of course I see it your way," Jack muttered, exasperated. He continued poking at the cat-ear shaped devices attached to his head.

"Who designed these things, anyway?"

"A Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, I think. Neural connection enhancers, or something, I think they're called," the general responded. Jack shrugged.

"Is she the same person who selected me as a pilot for... What did you call it again?"

"An Evangelion," O'Neill said, stopping briefly at an intersection, before turning left, his clone following. He smiled in triumph as he came to a door marked "TESTING HANGAR-AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY."

"Bingo. See? Told you I wasn't lost." The clone rolled his eyes in typical teenaged fashion, before sliding his ID card through and heading in, O'Neill behind him.

Jack stopped short on the catwalk wreathing the hangar bay, and goggled at the sight before him. O'Neill, having seen the Evangelion before, merely shrugged and waited.

"... That's it?" Jack's clone looked up and down the gigantic, humanoid fighting machine, it's jagged black, green and silver armor fitted like a jigsaw puzzle to the skin of the behemoth. It's dull, yellow eyes staring straight ahead from behind it's grim mask plating. O'Neill smiled slightly.

"Yup. That's it." Jack gawked.

"... That is the second ugliest thing I have ever seen in my life." O'Neill smirked.

"What was the first?" Jack considered the question.

"... Scratch that. This thing just made it to number one."

"You should see the images of Unit 01. Can you say 'Giant purple people eater?'"

"Who designed this thing?!" Squawked Jack.

"The same woman who designed those cat ears of yours."

"And these are the people who are at the frontlines of the war to save humanity." Deadpanned Jack. O'Neill shrugged.

"Any worse than we used to be?"

"... Okay. Point taken." Jack sighed, rolling his shoulders slightly. "So! Where's the hatch to get into this... Thing."

The older O'Neill grinned.

---

"Carter?" Samantha Carter looked over at the holoscreen in the command center, and smiled slightly at Jack's face through the channel.

"Yes?"

"Considering that you're the one who managed to cut the construction time on this thing by six months... I don't suppose you could figure out a way to make this LCL stop tasting like blood?" Jack grimaced, still fidgeting in his plutsuit that had been sent from NERV less than two days ago. The young pilot was still unable to get used to the super-tight material, even more so when facing the very attractive Colonel Carter and his teenaged hormones in high gear.

"Sorry sir," Carter said apologetically. "NERV's data clearly states that messing with the LCL mix is detrimental to synchronization with the Eva."

"Carter. I'm in a giant tampon filled with blood in a giant, hideous robot," Jack deadpanned. "This is detrimental to my synchronization with life." Nearby, Dr. Rodney McKay was unable to contain a snort of amusement.

"O'Neill was right... Perfect punishment for stowing away on the Prometheus," he noted quietly to Carter, who bowed her head to hide her smile.

"I heard that," Jack cut into the control room, displeased. The screen showed him in the trademark O'Neill pout, which tore a snicker from McKay. Carter took a deep breath.

"Don't worry, sir. Just remember: You're getting to save the world. That's something, right?"

"I could save the world just fine without being in a giant tampon inside a hideous giant robot! I've done it before!" Jack paused. "I mean... You know what I mean."

"I know, sir. I know," Carter soothed. "Now... Hopefully, with this activation test, we'll be able to provide NERV's defenses with a fourth Eva, along with Units 00, 01, and Unit 02, which is on it's way from Germany. Are you ready to begin, sir?"

"Let's just get this over with, please."

"I don't believe it... He's getting to pilot a giant robot." McKay shook his head. "Isn't that, like, every teenaged boy's secret fantasy? Well... Aside from the more obvious ones," the Canadian amended, shrugging sheepishly.

"How's this for a fantasy, McKay? My giant robot's fist meeting you. Splat," Jack grumbled. McKay smirked.

"Too bad it'll stay a fantasy."

"Did you see the recording of the first activation test of Eva Unit 0o, McKay?" Jack asked waspishly. McKay paused.

"... Yes."

"Do you really want to make me emotionally unstable in this thing after seeing that?" The teenager continued. McKay nodded numbly.

"Er... No." He turned to Carter. "Shall we begin the test?"

"Love to," Carter grinned, glad for the teasing. It kept her mind off the worry that had begun to gnaw at her heart in the last few hours before this test. Worry that she may have made a small error that would end in disaster for them all.

"Now, sir? Just relax, and begin the start-up procedure in your head. We're starting systems now."

"Roger." The control room over the gigantic biomech began to buzz with activity. Carter and McKay looked over the readouts as the procedure commenced. Originally, the NERV procedure for activating an Eva took about three times as long as this operation. However, some modifications from Carter and McKay working together managed to produce a far shorter start up time.

"Opening locks 1 through 25... No problem," McKay reported. "Neural connection is reading normally." Dr. Janet Frasier, nearby, was watching over Jack's biometrics, looking for even the smallest flutter.

"Brainwave activity is normal. Heart rate, respiration, blood pressure... No problem." Sam nodded.

"Opening locks 26 through 49... Approaching critical level," Carter announced, the markers on each lock lighting up bright green.

"Brainwave activity increasing... His information processing has jumped by fifty percent," Frasier added.

"Threshold reached..." The green lights wavered slightly at the fiftieth lock. Carter held her breath. Please...

The fifty-first lock lit up, quickly followed by the fifty-second, third, and fourth. Carter exhaled.

"Start-up complete... All systems read green," McKay smiled. "We're good to go." Applause from the other control room operators followed, as below, the Eva's eyes glowed yellow.

"Good work, everyone! Good work," Carter shouted over the cheers, before turning to the radio. "Carter to O'Neill... You okay?"

"... Wow. That was... Quite a rush. Like something out of... Yellow Submarine. Is that normal?" The teenager asked, sounding shocked. Carter grinned.

"Yes sir... It is..." The radio went silent.

"... Weird."

---

Ryouji Kaji was smart. More than that, he was a genius, at least as far as the world he did his business was concerned.

Being a triple agent in the high-stakes game of international espionage, and a live triple agent at that, required brains, courage, and not the least amount of luck. Suffice it to say, Ryouji Kaji was not seen as simply a genius in the dark world he made his living in, he was a superman. Added to this his considerable charms with the opposite sex, attractive and fit physique, and award-winning smile, it was easy to see why he carried himself with such ease and levity. Devil-May-Care might as well have been his callsign in the intelligence community - So few people knew his true identity that they really had no other choice in the matter.

But... Even with his talents, experience, and considerable skill, even men like Ryouji Kaji make mistakes. In the game of international espionage, however, there are no such things as do-overs. No such thing as compassion. And as for mercy... It was less reliable than a dice roll in Vegas.

"Hff!" The Japanese agent slammed against the wall in his hotel room, his back crumpling like paper. A wheezing gasp was his attempt at drawing breath, which was cut off by another slam into his chest. A fist to his face let loose a tooth into the air, another into his side snapped a rib. Kaji slumped to the floor, his eyes dilated widely, his breathing shallow.

The man standing over him carefully wiped his hands off on an ornate hankercheif, dropping it into Kaji's prone lap.He then pulled out a cellphone, and, hitting the speed dial, held the phone up to his ear.

"... Yes. It's done... Yes. I've arranged for the heroin to be found by the bedside... He'll be in the hospital for a few months, at least. Certainly more than enough time... Good. Goodbye." The man closed his cell phone, before leaving the apartment without another word.

Elsewhere, Gendo Ikari put down his phone and nodded to himself, before turning to his computer. He tapped a single key, and knit his fingers in front of his mouth.

"General O'Neill, I presume."

---

"Yes sir... Unit 04 should be ready to join Unit 02 on schedule for the crossing to Japan," General Jack O'Neill reported to the grim-looking man on the screen. Commander Gendo Ikari, supreme commander of NERV, nodded slightly.

"Very good, General. After the attack by the Fifth Angel, reinforcing our position has never been more important. However, I notice that, in your report, you did not install the S2 engine as originally planned." O'Neill shrugged.

"That was Colonel Carter's suggestion, sir. She felt they needed more time to study the thing before they tried to incorporate it into any of our weapons systems." Commander Ikari stared at O'Neill. O'Neill stared back.

"See that the delivery is made on time, along with the Stargate and your team. Ikari out." The screen went dark, as O'Neill leaned back in his chair and sighed.

"Gets to the point fast, doesn't he?" A dry voice noted. O'Neill looked to the door to his temporary office at Area 51, and smiled sardonically at Daniel Jackson.

"Yup." Daniel walked over and sighed as he slid into the chair on the other side of the desk. O'Neill looked at him expectantly.

"So..."

"So?" Daniel asked quizzically. Jack opened his hands and held them slightly apart. Well?

"Oh! Oh, sorry... I've been... Kind of distracted, by the move and all," the archeaologist apologized. O'Neill nodded.

"No problem. So? How'd it go with Narim?" Daniel sighed.

"The Tollan are busy resettling and rebuilding their world after the attack by the Gou'ald... It'll take them years to get back to where they were before, even with the couple of small ships we helped them build while the survivors camped out on Earth. The help they gave us on Unit 04 is basically all that they could spare."

"So, no go?" Jack asked. Daniel shook his head.

"Nope. Let's see... The Free Jaffa are re-establishing their presence throughout the galaxy. Many of the old System Lords, because most of their military strength was at Baal's homeworld, have fled or gone into hiding, since they could no longer resist the Free Jaffa and other resistance groups. The help they gave us on the Evas ensured that we'll have to give over virtually every ship we have as payment." O'Neill rubbed his eyes tiredly, while Daniel grimaced.

"And the Asgard... Well... They're still too busy rebuilding themselves after the Replicators hit them again."

"And let me guess: The Tok'ra aren't going to bother to help us out?" Jack asked. Daniel nodded solemnly. O'Neill rolled his eyes heavenward.

"No surprise there..." Daniel gave Jack a confused look, and bit down on his lower lip slightly.

"Why did Ikari want the Stargate anyway?" The archeaologist asked, a question he'd obviously been holding in for a while. O'Neill shrugged.

"Got me... I suppose he's the kind of guy who wants all his eggs in one basket."

"What is he, some kind of moron?" Daniel asked incredulously. "What possible benefit could having the Stargate at NERV have?"

"I've read his profile. He's a ruthless control freak. And, unfortunately, he has the UN under his thumb. So, in the end, no matter how much we complain, we're not really in a position to do anything about it." Jack shrugged, and smiled slightly.

"Besides... We're not about to let Mini me go to Japan all by himself, are we?"

"Of course not..." Daniel sighed, and rolled his neck lazily.

"I still can't figure out how he snuck aboard the Prometheus. I mean, he'd have to... be..." Daniel trailed off, before coughing. "Nevermind." Jack smirked.

"Yup... He'd have to be me. But of course-"

"He is you. Yes Jack, you used the same joke at last week's staff meeting. Get some new material, please."

"New material? What, are you crazy? This is gold, my friend. Pure gold."

"Don't you mean silver?" Daniel smirked, indicating the general's rapidly graying mop. Jack glowered.

"Oh, you're so going to get it..."

---