Kaiju Slaying For Death And Profit Ch 20
Good day everyone! Hope you had a good Christmas.
I'mma start the poll for which of the three stories gets updated tomorrow. Which is also when I'll modify the tiers to show each individual Tier's voting power.
Fair warning, I will combine the voting of both Patreon and Subscribestar to decide which story gets updated. So if a story on Patreon wins by a very slight margin, the Subscribestar votes might tip that over to a loss. If so, I will be sure to explain that so everyone knows what happened.
More info on that on the poll post tomorrow.
ANYWAYS!
Here is chapter 20, hope you guys enjoy it. Lemme know with a comment if you do.
Or if you don't. It's okay to be a bad person.
I kid! I KID! COME BACK!
Joking aside, if you don't like something, please do let me know, I promise I won't take it personally and only cry in the corner a reasonable amount.
I will set up an alarm so I remember to do the poll post tomorrow.
Here is chapter!
=][=
Misato stood next to Ritsuko, both of them staring into the malevolent gaze of Unit 01 as it was rinsed of the Angel’s blood. The roar of the hoses drowning out the shouting of the technicians and mechanics as they worked.
“I’ve never felt more afraid of an Eva than I did today.” Ritsuko said as the water hoses went from a roar to a drizzle. She scowled at the biological robot. “I wonder…does it hate us? Its creators and jailers? If it could speak…but of course, it can speak, can’t it?”
Misato glanced at her friend before returning her gaze to Unit 01. “Back there, when it was roaring, screaming ‘Death,’ you were terrified. Why?”
Ritsuko’s shoulders shook with a mirthless laugh. “Adenosine Triphosphate, you know what that is, right?”
Misato scowled. “The molecule made by mitochondria? What of it?”
“All living things use Adenosine Triphosphate.” Ritsuko said wistfully. “From the smallest mouse to the greatest whale. In all likelihood, it is the one biological process we share with our earliest single-cell organism ancestors.”
“What does-”
“The Evas would too, the earliest prototypes did.” Ritsuko continued, making Misato stand back, her eyes widening. “But the Square Cube Law is a terrible thing. If you were twice as big as you are, Misato, you would be eight times heavier and would require an exponentially higher amount of energy purely to survive. Assuming your metabolic rate doesn’t change, of course. The metabolic rate required by an Evangelion means it requires a staggering amount of energy, the first prototypes all starved to death.
“That was the issue we kept slamming our heads against at the start, Misato.” Ritsuko glared at the Eva. “When we were still trying to power the Evas through biological processes. We needed a lot of mass for fuel so it could burn it purely to exist, but in order to move that mass, we needed more mass for fuel, and we need more fuel to move that mass, and then more mass to move that fuel. One of the Evangelions literally ended up morbidly obese.” She scoffed a laugh. “A morbidly obese Evangelion, if you can imagine that. It starved to death in a few hours, utterly incapable of movement. Energy, Misato, is the greatest of all limitations. The Evangelions require a truly staggering amount of energy. That’s why we have high voltage umbilical cords scattered throughout the city. That’s why, even though each of them has the latest in battery technology, every single one of which costs more than the GDP of some countries, they can only have five minutes of light activity, or one minute of moderate to high activity…If they ran out of power and we do not retrieve them inside of a few hours? Parts of the Eva would die and begin to decompose. Though they have truly staggering regenerative properties, so we can salvage most of it even in such a scenario.”
Misato took all of that in and shook her head. “But...But what does this have to do with…”
Ritsuko tore her gaze away from Unit 01. “Evangelion Unit 01 was out of power. It remained unplugged for nine minutes longer than it would have taken for it to fully drain its battery had it been unplugged while in emergency standby. It is a mathematical impossibility for it to have had any energy whatsoever by the time Operation Hammer Fall began.”
Misato blinked. “But…But the Eva.”
“Evangelion Unit 01 used its AT field to neutralize the inverted AT field of the Angel, tore its way out of the Angel, and crushed an intact S2 Core, all without power.” Ritsuko’s eyes were drawn inexorably back to the Evangelion. “Unit 01 violated the laws of thermodynamics, and it did this, shouting ‘death’ while bathing in the blood of its enemy. Forgive me, if I cannot help but wonder if this was a message…or a warning.”
Misato looked at the Evangelion, before turning to study her friend’s face. “Ritsuko…What are the Evas?”
Ritsuko worked her jaw. “They are our greatest nemesis, mutilated to serve as our brain-damaged puppets. The greatest and only viable hope for the continuation of Mankind, and our most reviling shame.”
With those words, Ritsuko turned, and walked away.
Misato spent a while longer looking at the Evangelion before asking. “Do you hate us?”
Yesterday, she would have scoffed at anyone asking an Eva’s opinion on any matter.
Now?
Now she could only hope the Eva wasn’t too angry at her specifically.
=][=
Shinji stood at ease in the center of the lightless room, his form cast into sharp relief by a singular light cast upon him.
His smirk said he didn’t have a single care in the world, but his posture was rigid and uncomfortable. Gendo would take it as a sign of his bravado, were it not for the latest medical report.
His progeny ‘felt’ like an Evangelion. Ever since he was extracted from the plug, his movement were slow, overstated, and ponderous.
They’d not been able to accurately record how far he’d synchronized with the Evangelion, the mobile equipment not as sensitive as that available in the main HQ, but the gauge had maxed out at two-hundred-and-ninety-five, clearly trying to go even higher, even if the equipment would not allow it.
The working theory was that he reached at least three-hundred percent synchronization. The ‘danger zone’ where a pilot might melt into the Evangelion. The working theory was that something about reaching such a high synchronization was both what had allowed the Eva to generate power, and what had damaged his kinesthetic senses.
Whether the injury was permanent, only time would tell.
[Ikari Shinji, Pilot of Unit 01.] One of the members of SEELE said through the voice modulator they all used, opening the inquiry.
Shinji put his hands in his pocket and nonchalantly said. “‘Sup?”
[Did you leave anything out of your official report?] Asked another.
“I didn’t jot down an itemized list of all the songs I sang to pass the time.” Shinji said, taking a hand out of his pocket and digging into his ear with his pinky finger. “I’m also relatively certain there were a severe number of expletives that were uttered in three different languages throughout my stay in the Angel’s warm, moist and pulsating insides. Relatively certain you lot don’t need those either.”
[You will curb your vulgar tongue in the presence of this august body.]
Shinji snorted. “August, right, sure. That’s why you have this whole production going on using petty intimidation tactics, and don’t even have the guts to be present physically or even show your face through a screen.”
[You are treading dangerous waters, Pilot.]
Shinji gave a more exaggerated snort. “Bitch I’m the one killing the Angels. Fire me or bench me, but I refuse to sit here and yap like a good little lapdog. So get to your damn questions already, I’ve got sleeping to do.”
[Your lack of respect will be noted on your permanent record.]
Shinji’s disdainful look was surprisingly effective in communicating how little he thought of that chastisement.
[In your opinion, is it plausible the Angels were attempting to establish communication with Mankind in this past incident?]
Shinji snorted. “It was trying to instinctively use Psych 101 to get under my skin. It’s nothing, a freak occurrence. Or perhaps an evolution, a sign that the Angels will try more subversive avenues of attack as direct confrontation hasn’t been working out for them.”
[So you do not believe this is a prelude to opening negotiations?]
Shinji shrugged. “Hell if I know. Far as I’m aware, none of the Angels have worked together.”
[We are each a nation…]
[They may be acting alone but form a loose coalition.]
[That’s assuming his memories of the incident are accurate, the Eva’s AC recorder was offline, we cannot confirm his story.]
Shinji shrugged again, picking at his other ear.
There was a long pause before one SEELE member proposed something preposterous.
[Could it be that the Angel became interested in human emotion? The human psyche? Could it have been trying to understand the human heart?]
Shinji barked a mocking laugh. “They’re sentient, but alien. The closest approximation to human emotion they feel is fear. But even that is questionable whether it is like ours or wholly alien.”
[And how would you know this?]
Shinji’s bloodthirsty grin was all teeth and sent an uncomfortable shiver down Gendo’s spine. “Get a high enough synchronization with an Eva, and you get to share in its senses. Angel fear-sweat is…” His grin gained a savage edge. “Divine.”
There was another length of uncomfortable silence before the interrogation continued, but nothing else of import was touched on while in Shinji’s presence.
[The Pilot is dismissed.] SEELE said eventually. Shinji shrugged and walked ponderously away with exaggerated steps.
The instant Shinji was gone, a light shone on Gendo, bathing him in the same malevolent illumination as his son.
Tellingly, the highest echelons of SEELE did not project their likenesses onto the meeting room.
[The Angels thus far have acted independently of one another. But the fact that this one attempted such an indirect mode of attack…it learned from the mistakes of its predecessors.]
[Not only that, but it tried to incorporate an Evangelion within itself, this possibility was not predicted in the Dead Sea Scrolls.]
Gendo chose to step in at that point, it would not do for the members of SEELE to talk themselves into a direction that would make things more difficult for him.
“The Angels are becoming more clever.” He said, pushing up his glasses. “More cunning. Attacks from now on may well be more insidious. In the worst case, we might see them acting together, instead of alone.” He leaned forward, staring hard at the spot he knew the camera they were using to study him to be at. “Our time is running short.” He flipped open a folder. “As such, I have a number of proposals on preparations to handle the coming Angels. First on the docket, while the prototype dummy plug shows all signs of working properly, with the…theft of the stockpile of the dummy plug biological components, it is no longer a viable option in the timeframe we are forced to work in, as such, to deal with the oncoming threats, we require more expendable troops.”
Gendo took a deep breath before continuing. “Difficult as he is to work with, Pilot 01 has shown he is effective at destroying the enemy, but the number of injuries he is suffering is beginning to pile up. If this is not dealt with or mitigated, we may not have our most effective tool at the most vital moment, as such it is imperative that—”
=][=
Rei floated in LCL, the protean liquid filling her lungs and seeping into her pores. It was warm, welcoming and weirdly nostalgic.
“The UN has been entrusted with the transportation of the Eva. They should arrive this weekend. Take care of the rest once the delivery is complete.”
Rei concentrated on her breathing, on not letting her sudden anger affect the procedure.
She was being kept from her Shinji when he needed her most. And the owner of that voice was the cause.
“Yes sir.” The doctor answered, her desire for Director Ikari muted compared to what it used to be. “Our adjustments and the activation trial will take place at Matsushiro.”
“Decide the Fourth and Fifth Children quickly. Efficacy is less important than expediency in this occasion. They only need to be resilient enough for Pilots 01and 02 to learn from whatever mistakes they can force upon the enemy and act upon them.”
Rei stamped down on her annoyance as the two continued their conversation.
Before her Shinji, Rei would not have thought twice at the callus disregard for the wellbeing of two Pilots. Now that she knew what it was like not to be expendable, for her health and safety to be monumental to the continued happiness of another, and through him, her own happiness…
She could not reach that level of callousness, not anymore.
Even so, she did not allow that to cloud the procedure. What was being recorded would be important for her Shinji, in time.
“Rei, you can finish now.” Ikari Gendo said, his voice holding a speck of warmth.
Rei opened her eyes and saw him through the haze of LCL, she forced herself to imagine her Shinji standing there so she could smile for him, swallowing the feeling of poison to avoid any chance of his suspicion. “Yes, sir.”
He smiled back. Rei no longer liked that smile. It was a pale imitation of the welcoming, happy smile she had come to love. It felt wrong, to do for the father what was reserved for her Shinji. “Let’s have a meal, just you and I.”
“Yes, sir.” Rei said, injecting warmth into her tone.
She was not his doll. But he could not be allowed to know that.
Not until the right time came.
=][=
“Has Shinji recovered fully yet?” Misato asked, leaning back on the chair at Ritsuko’s office.
“If you are asking ‘is he fully able to pilot an Evangelion?’ then the answer is yes, his synchronization rate remains at a rock-solid ninety-six percent according to our tests.” Ritsuko answered without looking up from what she was typing. “If the question you’re asking is ‘has he recovered his sense of synesthetic balance and is no longer walking weird?’ the answer is no, though after three days, he has begun to compensate and acclimate to what may very well be his new normal.”
Misato sighed. “Asuka won’t be happy to hear that.”
Ritsuko looked away from her screen and glanced at Misato over the rim of her glasses. “Oh? Is the Second Children feeling guilty over getting Shinji almost eaten by an Angel?”
Misato grimaced. “Do you have to put it that way?”
“Is there any other way to put it?”
“Well…no, but she does feel pretty awful about that.”
Ritsuko went back to her screen. “Wouldn’t know it by the way she acts around here.”
Misato sighed. “You’d have a point if she had spoken at all with the First or Third in the last three days. She seems almost afraid of the very prospect.”
Ritsuko hummed then said. “Well, can’t blame the First. There’s some important testing that’s been happening that requires her presence.”
“Yeah, I hear you. But Asuka is really broken up about it. She’s been crying herself to sleep ever since the Angel, but every time I try to console her she starts screaming. I’m honestly at a loss.”
Ritsuko hummed. “By the way, why are you in my office?”
“I’m hiding from Kaji.”
Ritsuko stopped what she was doing and glared.
Misato threw her hands up. “Okay, okay! I’m also hearing some rumblings from the American branch along with some interesting rumors, wanted to see if you knew anything about that.”
Ritsuko went back to her work. “I do, in fact. Don’t tell anyone, but the Fourth and Fifth Children have been found.”
Misato froze momentarily, then reminded herself to ask the question she ‘should’ ask. “I haven’t heard anything from the Marduk institute.” Not difficult that, the Marduk institute did not exist. “When were the Children found?”
“They were found yesterday.” Ritsuko lied offhandedly. “Official documentation will arrive tomorrow.”
Misato narrowed her eyes at her long-time friend. Just what was NERV up to? “So, it’s true that America is sending Units 03 and 04 here?”
“Yes. And Unit 04 is equipped with the prototype Super Solenoid Drive. So if Unit 04 performs well in the coming tests and trials, our energy woes with the Evas might well be solved…after we construct more S2 Drives and retrofit them into Evangelion Units 01 and 02, I mean.”
“Wouldn’t that be nice.” Misato muttered; it seemed too good to be true. She levered herself to her feet and glanced at the screen over Ritsuko’s shoulder. “So, who are the ‘lucky’ kids?”
Ritsuko’s answer was to bring the two profiles up on her screen. When Misato saw who it was, she grimaced.
“Oh…oh that’s not going to end well.”
=][=
“All rise! Attention! Bow!”
Aida Kensuke rose in lockstep with the class and bowed at the teacher as the class broke for lunch.
Well, the class minus Ikari, he remained seated and was not called out for his lack of respect.
Then again…he was Ikari Shinji, the Pilot killing all the monsters, the one who single-handedly would stave off The Big 3.0.
The one who had gotten himself so hurt on the last fight, that it had permanently affected his sense of balance.
Ikari stood ponderously, nearly tipping over to the side, his glare at the world around him made everyone stand back and offer no help. No…glare was the wrong word; his gaze had a…determination. A sense of unwillingness to let whatever ailed him keep him down, which is why nobody offered to help him, even if he could clearly have used someone to lean on as he lumbered his way slowly and deliberately out the door, taking his time with each ponderous, stomping step.
The moment he was out the door, the whole class started whispering. The one kid that thought he was just being a chunnibyou was told to shut up by the class’ former(?) delinquent that funnily enough wasn’t Toji.
The argument began to get heated, so Kensuke decided to step in.
“It’s brain damage.” He said suddenly, making the argument stop on its tracks. “My dad works at the big robot agency…Shinji is walking all weird because part of his brain got damaged when he killed the last monster.”
The whole class went quiet, most of the girls and some of the boys turning white as a sheet.
It was one thing to sit next to the guy, it was a lot like sitting next to a celebrity every day. You just…got used to it. But suddenly knowing that he was permanently hurt on the last fight you only heard rumors of?
That made the whole thing suddenly real.
Kensuke looked at the missing seats in class. Ayanami had been gone since the last monster attacked. Soryu was absent, a change of pace as before he came today, Ikari had been absent due to the treatment he required after he fought the monster. He’d seen the pictures of…of all that blood.
Whoever they hired to clean the city after monster fights deserved a raise, because the general populace only knew they’d needed to evacuate and a number of buildings had to be torn down and scheduled to be rebuilt, and several roads would be inaccessible while repairs were done.
Nobody outside of NERV had seen the monstrous robot tear its way out of a monster, or scream while literally bathing in the blood of its enemy.
A big part of him still thought that was the coolest thing ever, but…but looking at Ikari, at his steadily worsening condition, at his piling injuries…
Maybe…maybe being an Evangelion Pilot wasn’t all it was cranked up to be.
The door opened, and the Class Rep walked in, she looked pale. Then again, with the conversation being about whether or not Ikari would be able to kill all the monsters? He couldn’t blame her.
She walked up to his desk. “H-Hey Aida…you uhh…they need you at the Principal’s office.”
Kensuke blinked. “Uhh…why? What did I do?”
“I can’t say.” The Class rep said. “You just need to head over quickly, otherwise you won’t have time for lunch.”
Kensuke did as ordered and made his way to the principal’s office. Stepping inside he said. “Aida Kensuke, present as requested!”
Inside, he did not see the principal as he’d expected. But a beautiful blonde woman in a lab coat. She turned to look at him with cold brown eyes, sitting behind the principal’s desk like it belonged to her.
“So, you’re Aida Kensuke, huh?” She motioned at a chair across from her. “Take a seat, this might take a little while.”
=][=
The school day finally, thankfully, goddamn fucking ended.
My chest felt tight as I forced myself to breathe, I could feel my thoracic cage expanding and retracting, pressing against a rigid obstruction that wasn’t there, one that would keep me contained, but also served to protect me.
I could feel the fragility of the desk I was leaning against; I knew it should fold like putty underneath the tons of steel and flesh of my form.
Not for the first time, I looked at the full-heal offered by Body Defense.
My synchronization with Evangelion Unit 01 had left me psychically linked at all times with it, or perhaps, with the part of my soul that it had consumed.
It was difficult to tell, as I didn’t have any Psychic abilities…though I could purchase some. My capture of Zebra Sphere Angel (whose name was apparently Leliel, the more you know) had catapulted me to ninety-three Credits. Though I’d been a little preoccupied to do anything much with them.
As full heal would reset me to a healthy state, in all likelihood severing the psychic bond I had with whatever piece of myself resided within Unit 01.
And that’s why I didn’t want to do it. If I could reach a deep enough level of synchronization, I might be able to retrieve that soul fragment…a soul fragment that consisted of roughly seventy-five percent of my original soul.
This was also why I was reticent to graft anything else to my soul, the more powers or Templates I had, the more my soul would be mutilated to fit them, the greater the difference between my soul and the part of me trapped in the Evangelion, the greater the possibility of rejection.
I levered myself to my feet, keeping careful control of my core muscles, moving slowly so as not to overcorrect for the phantom weight I felt behind every single one of my actions, feeling like the world was made of cardboard yet knowing it wasn’t. I stepped outside and began making my way home.
As I walked, I looked at the full heal again, and once again vanished it from my AR display.
Patience, all I needed was a little patience.
“Hey Shinji…can I…can we talk?”
I turned, nearly losing my balance when the movement did not have to fight the weight I expected. I forced myself to go back to slow, deliberate movements. “Yeah? What’s up?”
Class Rep swallowed. “Erm…in private? Please?”
I shrugged. “Sure. Lead the way.”
She went to the roof, then rather than tell me what she wanted, Class Rep girl whose name I know I know just paced around.
I looked through my AR display while she got her thoughts in order, I really need to find some way to label these people. At least she had the excuse that the school didn’t require nametags, the way NERV bloody well should.
While fiddling around with my HUD, I found a labeler, blinking, I brought that up and…saw I could label the girl in front of me.
As a test, I labeled her ‘Class Rep’ and when I looked at her, she had a little tag floating over her head, concentrating on that little tag informed me she was ‘Class Rep.’
…
Since when have I had this!?
Why isn’t this covered in the HUD use seminar!?
Fifteen YEARS I could have made things easier on myself with this feature!
“Does it hurt? Being a Pilot?”
I blinked and buried the utterly justified RAGE so I could give Class Rep my full attention. I’d find something that deserved destruction later, what may well be Rei’s only friend needed my help now.
I scowled. “Uhh…I guess that depends? Though I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to talk about that. It doesn’t matter though, you don’t have to worry about it. Just leave the Angel slaying to me, I’m a big tough dude, I’ll take care of it.”
Class Rep gave me a watery smile as tears began to flow down her cheeks, she started trembling from head to foot. “Umm…that’s very nice of you to say, Shinji, but umm…I’m…I’m a Pilot now…so I kind of need some advice on that…Shinji-senpai.”
I opened my mouth. Closed it. Opened it a second time. Closed it. Opened it again…and closed it with a ‘click.’
“…Pardon?”
“Y-Yeah…a nice blonde lady came by and explained things…” Ritsuko you frigid bitch I’ll—! “NERV needs more Pilots for the coming Angel battles and umm…it…it was found that I have a high aptitude for it…so…” She swallowed thickly, her teeth starting to chatter. “So…how could I say no? Th-The w-w-world is…a-and Th-Third I-Impact. H-How could I s-say no…b-but every t-time you f-f-fight, them, you c-come back h-hurt, a-and c-covered in b-bandages…a-and I always g-gave you a h-hard time…and I th-thought it wasn’t fair that y-you were above the rules…b-but I’m so afraid…w-what do I do?”
I lumbered my way to the tiny crying girl, grabbed her shoulders, and pulled her to my chest, where she proceeded to latch on like a limpet and began crying even harder. “Y-You’ve b-been dealing with this f-for months, a-and it’s not even been a day and I’m already like this! I’m sorry I’m such a coward. I’m sorry!”
“There there.” I said, rubbing her back. “Get it aaaaaall out. It’ll be fine.”
“A-And th-the monsters.”
“Yep…yeeeeep. Just let it all out. Hug it out.”
“I-I don’t know what to do.” She whimpered. “I don’t want to do this, b-but if I don’t, th-then Third Impact…everything I’ve been told about the Second Impact…I don’t want my little sister to go through that. But, but how could I be any use if I’m such a coward?”
“Don’t you worry about that. Senpai will take care of it.”
I needed to have a talk with Ritsuko, see what the hell she thought she was doing. But for now, crying girl to deal with.
…
Why wasn’t this covered in the Seminars at Basic!?
Log in
