Chapter 4: A Distant Reunion

Chapter 4:
A Distant Reunion

 

A TECHNICIAN ARRIVED with a new headset to replace the one Toji had given to Shinji.

“Commanding Officer Suzuhara,” she said, “I’ve reset the system to your communications credentials. You have a transmission from Lieutenant Colonel Clausewitz, the direct commission officer with the Euro Sixth Rapid Response Unit under Hartmann’s command.”

“I was waiting for this,” Toji said cheerfully, but then he hung his head. “Wait, how are we supposed to understand each other?”

The technician was ready with a short cable, which she stretched out between her hands. “Your tablet can auto-translate. Don’t worry, we’ll also be monitoring your conversation from the command center to catch any translation errors in the software.”

“You’ve thought of everything. Thanks.”

Watching from a distance, Misato admired how the organization had adapted to Toji’s leadership style.

Clausewitz… Misato thought. The head of Nerv Germany.

“Misato-san—I mean, Commander Katsuragi,” Toji said, catching himself. “I can’t return command to you until we get back to HQ.”

“Because I’m not supposed to be here. I understand.”

“And, er…” Toji cleared his throat awkwardly. “Could you do me a favor?”

Again, Misato understood. She knew why he’d been so determined to see this mission through himself.

“You have a chance to meet her?” she asked.

Toji stopped fidgeting and stood up straight. “Yes, but on one condition. I must speak with her alone.”

“Then go. I’ll hold down the fort.”

“Thank you.”

Toji hopped out of the mobile command center and scrambled down the red rocky slope.

“Go to her,” Misato said cheerfully as she watched through the window.

At the bottom of the slope, the security team’s SUV was ready and waiting, along with an escort.

 

In this valley, surrounded by red mountains and teeming with soldiers from any number of nations, Nerv Japan’s recovery team went about their duties in a professional and orderly manner. Toji was an inexperienced leader, but rather than falling apart, the Nerv staff had come together, shoring up each other’s weaknesses. Even when given minimal orders, everyone was working hard.

The JSSDF had even lent the use of their giant robot, crew included.

Is Deputy Commander Fuyutsuki calling the shots? No, I don’t think so—if he were, he probably would have left Suzuhara-kun and come himself. Whatever the case, I need to get back in gear.

 

Nerv Japan’s Acting Deputy Commander Suzuhara Toji had put in the request to Euro-II’s control team for a face-to-face meeting with their Eva’s pilot. He figured that if they refused, he’d be no worse off than he already was. But they’d said yes.

Euro-II’s unit seemed to hold a special place within the European forces. They didn’t mix with the other soldiers and instead had claimed a section of the red mountains for themselves. Though the European military was primarily composed of units recruited from member nations on a provisional basis, the Sixth Rapid Response Unit was a standing force reporting directly to the European Joint Forces Command. Though their numbers were small, they held nearly absolute authority over the army, navy, and air force—since their sole purpose was to deploy Heurtebise into battle at a moment’s notice.

Toji’s SUV was waved past the perimeter without being asked to stop, but he knew he was being subjected to any number of electronic scans. Because this was a personal meeting, no grand reception awaited him. The SUV proceeded straight to the feet of the kneeling white giant.

As Toji got out of the car, he immediately noticed the Eva’s positron rifle, currently undergoing maintenance. This was a different model from the Japanese ones. The particle-generating cyclotron wasn’t a torus. Instead, it began in a cone—much like Eva-00 Type-F’s long rifle, the Angel’s Backbone—before continuing into the accelerator’s long barrel, which curved back on itself in a U-shape. This form, combined with the golden color of the weapon’s electromagnetic-field-resistant coating, resulted in an appearance not unlike a brass instrument.

“I guess that is something an angel would carry,” Toji remarked.

A reflection moved across the weapon’s shiny exterior, and a familiar person stepped into view. Toji walked toward her, while his bodyguards remained behind. In his peripheral view, he saw the Euro guards forming a perimeter, but that was only to be expected. After all, they were protecting an Eva pilot.

“So,” Toji said, “they still have you in the old plugsuits.”

As if only just noticing what she was wearing, Hikari quickly moved her hands to cover herself.

“C-can we maybe skip the fashion advice?” she stammered. “And stop staring at me.”

Her arms settled into a crossed position, and her posture drooped.

She’s still herself, Toji thought with relief. After Heurtebise had confronted Super Eva in Hokkaido, Shinji reported that Hikari had been acting strangely—like she was under someone’s control.

“What’s next for you, Hikari? You could come back with me to Japan. I can get the request put through.”

“I want you to take this.”

She handed him an aluminum tube. He opened the lid and retrieved a glass ampoule. White crystals rattled around inside.

“That’s Kodama,” she said. “My sister.”

“What?!” Toji’s mind raced. Hikari’s family had been taken to Europe—her older sister included. The Lance of Longinus had turned people across North Africa, Europe, and Russia into pillars of salt.

Was she caught in the lance’s light?

Toji knew Kodama. She had a cheerful personality. He even called her “Sis.”

“What…?! No…”

No words could express his shock.

Toji wanted to scream, but in front of him was the person hit hardest by the loss, and she was somehow remaining calm. He needed to keep himself in check. He closed his eyes and focused his thoughts on his artificial arm so that his racing heart wouldn’t cause the limb to twitch. Then, slowly, carefully, he returned the ampoule to the aluminum tube and closed the lid tight.

“Take her back to Hakone,” Hikari said.

What?

“No, no, no, hold on. This isn’t the kind of thing you can just hand off to someone else. You should take it. Keep it safe. And…”

He trailed off, at a loss for words.

She gave him a kind smile. “If you take it for me, then I know I’ll be able to come home one day.”

Which means she won’t come back now. Is that what she’s saying?

She’d made up her mind. Now he understood why the Europeans had so easily agreed to this meeting.

Hikari slowly walked toward Heurtebise, and Toji followed after her.

“Nozomi is still in Germany,” she said without stopping.

That was Hikari’s younger sister.

Toji dropped his voice to a whisper. “Are they making you say this? Is that what’s going on? I can find Nozomi, and—”

Hikari shook her head gently. “It’s more complicated than that. I’ve come to understand many things.”

She tapped Euro-II Heurtebise’s foot with her hand. “For now, I’m the only person who can ride inside this Eva.”

That sounded like Europe’s problem. Toji couldn’t understand how she could be so cavalier about the situation when she’d practically been kidnapped.

“You don’t have to bear that responsibility,” he said.

She turned. “Eva-II Heurtebise is Asuka’s mother, too,” she said, as if introducing someone very important.

“What? That’s not…” Possible? But who’s to say what’s possible anymore? Toji searched his recollection of the reports from Eva-02’s construction.

The German Nerv branch had originally built Unit Two, and both Maya and Hyuga had theorized that Euro-II had been built from a discarded production body.

“The Germans told me this morning—Unit Two’s core failed to bind with this one’s body. They say her soul is with Asuka in Unit Two, but traces might still linger in this Eva.” Hikari sighed and flashed a sardonic grin. “I feel like I’m only just learning everything this morning.”

 

Hikari pointed to the red giant. “Look at her.”

“Crimson A1?” Toji asked. This was the provisional code name Nerv Japan had just assigned to the Asuka and Eva combination.

“Don’t call her that.” Hikari was still smiling warmly, but her voice was firm. “You have to keep calling her Asuka or her essence will fade. If you don’t consciously pick her out from the mix, she won’t be able to come back.”

“Are you saying that’s not Soryu?”

“Asuka isn’t that big, silly,” Hikari said with a giggle.

Toji didn’t understand. She seemed to be suggesting that Asuka was still on board the Eva, but he’d already confirmed that that wasn’t the case.

Seeing his confusion, Hikari explained. “She’s not Asuka. When she returned, she was jumbled together with all kinds of different creatures. I don’t know why or how. But amid that mishmash, her mother’s soul tried to protect her by overwriting portions of the Eva with parts that were Asuka.”

Every now and then, a huge boom echoed across the mountains as another giant, deteriorating corpse crumbled in the canyon below.

In the Valley of Human Bodies, the Asuka and Eva combination had shaken loose the ancient organisms’ data, which had poured into the giant rock formations left behind after the final battle of the Evangelions and created an Eva-sized menagerie—a fleeting festival of life that had only lasted a single night. Now these life-forms were returning to dust.

Heavy machinery and CBRN monitoring vehicles were making the rounds through the canyon and collecting samples from the colossal creatures before they crumbled.

Maybe they thought these samples would help them learn more about the Ark. After all, the organisms’ data had been stored in the moonside Ark before flooding into Asuka and Eva-02. But ultimately, these were just oversized corpses.

As the soldiers recovered the remains of their devoured comrades from the organisms’ digestive tracts, they couldn’t help but wonder why these creatures had appeared in such fervor the night before.

Other teams used ground-penetrating radar and seismic surveying equipment to search for the Ark itself. Humanity had turned to religious folklore in hopes of salvation. What they didn’t know was that Armaros had carried the Ark off to a new location. Aida Kensuke—who’d managed to slip out of the valley undetected even after his arm had been turned to salt—hadn’t divulged that information.

The European forces had arrived first, followed by a coalition of North African militaries, and each side kept the other in check. Their frenzied hunt the night before had given way to a more level-headed search, but after the earthquake, their movements had grown hurried again. They were now preparing for a full withdrawal.

Earthquake prediction centers in Europe, West Asia, and North Africa all agreed—another interplate earthquake would soon strike the region.

Heurtebise’s control aircraft, a large VTOL, was parked on the rocky ground behind the white giant. A single, primary turbine had been running for some time—the plane’s auxiliary power unit must not have been able to put out sufficient electricity for maintaining control of the Eva—but now the engine’s noise raised in pitch. The crew was likely preparing to ignite the other turbines. Someone appeared from the control aircraft and called out to Hikari in German.

“He said it’s time to leave,” she explained to Toji.

At that exact moment, Toji’s tablet vibrated in his pocket. He retrieved the device and saw an earthquake warning scrolling across the LCD.

“Are you going to be all right in Europe?” he asked.

“Nerv Germany promised they won’t run Heurtebise using the dummy plug anymore. But they say I still have to be partially hooked in to keep the black scale from taking over my mind.”

“Can you trust them?”

“It’ll be fine. If they try to control me with those drugs again, Heurtebise won’t move.”

Toji nodded. “Because Asuka’s mom will go on strike. It pays to have some leverage over the management, eh?” He still couldn’t make himself accept her decision, but he forced himself to smile for her.

Hikari threw her arms around him.

The European guards tensed and raised their weapons, and Toji’s retinue responded in kind. Toji raised both arms and slowly looked around, announcing with his body language that there wasn’t—and wouldn’t be—any trouble.

Hikari leaned her forehead against his chest and whispered. “My memories finally came back to me this morning, all at once.” She’d removed all emotion from her voice, but Toji could feel her trembling. “Hundreds died in the darkness of last night. Some because of the Eva under my control.”

“I won’t tell you there’s no point in thinking about it, but when an Eva’s involved, that kind of thing just…” Toji suddenly remembered how he’d punched Shinji years ago. What the hell has happened to me?

He’d still never piloted an Eva into battle, but ever since he’d started commanding them, he’d learned to perform that dreadful calculation—victims versus results.

“And before that,” Hikari said, “I tried to take down Shinji.”

“But you were being controlled through the dummy plug, weren’t you?” Toji asked.

“It was still me doing it. That’s why I can’t go back yet. I can’t forgive myself, and I can’t forgive the people who put me in this situation.” She looked up at him, smiling through her worry. “Please, give me time.”

She was asking for space to reconcile her new memories, but if she was going to blame herself for what she’d been through, she’d be better off at home.

“You know, I really think that—” Toji began.

But she cut him off. “I’m sorry I’m being selfish. I understand your perspective, and I hate to make you endure this.”

You’re the one who’s bearing this burden alone! Toji thought.

But she’d spoken with finality. There was no point in arguing—and Toji wasn’t so selfish that he’d try to use force. But his mind buzzed with frustration.

Hikari pressed her lips against his, then released her arms and backed away, her parting smile still betraying worry.

Then she had turned, her yellow plugsuit growing smaller as she walked away.

A suspended scaffold brought an engineer down from Heurtebise’s entry plug. Hikari traded places with him, and the scaffold lifted her back up to the pilot’s seat.

 

“Stubborn girl,” Toji grumbled.

He was walking back to the SUV when suddenly he cried out in surprise.

There was Crimson A1—the Asuka and Eva-02 combination—evidently having grown bored watching the Moroccan army’s heavy machinery. She’d approached without him noticing and was crouching with her chin on her hands as she stared at him.

She was staring as he walked all the way to the SUV.

She was still staring as he and his retinue climbed into the vehicle.

Just before he closed the door, Toji leaned out and waved his arms at her. “Well?!” he shouted angrily. “What is it? If you have somethin’ to say, then say it!”

Asuka-Eva tilted her head—which, even while crouching, was still quite high up. For some reason, the sight melted Toji’s frustration.

“Yeah, yeah. Nothing’s going right. And we’re just getting started.”

Behind him, the white Euro Eva spread its wings, the graviton floaters roared, and the angel lifted into the sky.