Chapter 32: Fortress of Frosted Glass
Chapter 32:
Fortress of Frosted Glass
THE NORTHERN SHORES of Lake Ashi.
The Glass Egg. A 666-meter structure made of matter…or perhaps a power field. Aside from the eighty-meter opening (already present upon discovery), the thing was absolutely impervious to all forms of damage and was on its way to being repurposed as a shelter.
Rei Trois’ Eva-0.0 passed by the construction equipment, replica of the Lance of Longinus in hand.
<<Control to Unit Zero. Trois, return to the cage.>>
Despite being in close proximity with HQ, Hyuga’s comms sounded distant because of the Glass Egg’s electromagnetic shielding capabilities. Usually, Eva-0.0 would be remotely shut down via telemetry. Trois had anticipated this move and disabled the feature before she carried out her plan.
She’d been forced into the Glass Egg like a rat into a corner, but Eva-0.0 could function indefinitely, thanks to its external S2 engine. HQ knew that Trois would be in trouble were she put under siege conditions.
Fuyutsuki tried talking her out of it. <<Deboard and surrender yourself to the security division immediately. You are guilty of unauthorized operation of an Eva, theft of a highly critical weapon, and destruction of property in the process. Surrender, and we’ll let you off with disciplinary action. But should you continue your insubordination while in an Evangelion, you will be charged with treason.>>
But Trois had made up her mind. “You’re the ones betraying everybody,” she declared through the comm speakers. “Nerv isn’t what it used to be when Commander Ikari was around. We no longer have any contact with secret organizations like Seele. Ikari-kun destroyed that era.”
Misato heard this exchange in the cafeteria. A data terminal sat on the table, and on the other side sat the Kaji-vessel.
“Don’t you think it’s strange, Kaji-kun?”
“I think it’s a bad joke. I thought you people wanted to negotiate with me.”
“I’d like to know why the Rei you brought with you, Quatre, went crazy earlier. Where is she?”
“I don’t know anything about that puppet’s emotions or motivations.”
Rei Quatre had disappeared, along with her mutant Eva. It felt as if the other two Ayanamis had been drawn into her madness. In any case, none of them seemed likely to follow orders now, be it from Misato or Seele. Misato was sure of one thing, however.
We adults betrayed you. That’s what you think, isn’t it, Trois?
Children had the privilege of charging into situations without planning or approval. Adults had responsibilities to bear. Seele/Kaji had immediately responded to Misato’s outreach. He was still suspicious, but he could be of great use. The more she knew about the rules governing this world, the better. Swallowing her personal feelings was worth the information. Humanity knew next to nothing about the current enemy and impending apocalypse.
Misato hit a key on the terminal. “Let’s talk, Trois.”
She’s been stubborn from the beginning. Actually, I’m not sure she knows how to falter.
“I’m open to your requests, if you have any.”
<<Do not use the Longinus replica as a bargaining chip with Seele. Ikari-kun is still fighting out there. We cannot afford to lose the lance.>>
“Don’t you think I know that?!” Fuyutsuki said sourly to a silenced microphone back in the command center. “Yui would’ve been able to see the whole picture, but this temperamental child copy can only see one side!”
His anger subsided the more he remembered Yui. The woman whose DNA ran through Rei’s veins had been the picture of an idealistic child, which was why she’d volunteered to bury herself in the heart of Eva-01.
Seele/Kaji wanted assurance that he would know the whereabouts of the Longinus replica after the game was over.
“Seele thinks the world is going to end soon, and they don’t particularly care how we use it until then or whether it comes back to them after.”
That was the logic of the higher-ups at Nerv Japan. That was how the lance had ended up as a bargaining chip to begin with. A paltry piece of information to trade compared to whatever the Kaji-vessel could tell them.
“And now that’s called into question.”
The lance’s power couldn’t be used continuously after being thrown.
That was a fact.
A fact that Trois insisted on.
“Where is Seele’s mode of transport now? Where is Rei Quatre’s mutant Eva?”
Hyuga looked at the display, at the quantum flow inclinometer set up in a ring around the caldera.
“She warped in the direction of Gora, but there’s been no sign of her since…”
<<Don’t ruin the watermelon patch.>>
Six whispered into Trois’ mind, concealing their reestablished mental mirroring. The watermelon patch had originally belonged to Kaji and had been passed on to Shinji three years ago, after the Battle at Nerv HQ. It had survived many a disaster. Rei Six had moved it to the Glass Egg.
The egg was impervious to everything from earthquakes to radio waves, from wavelengths to particles. No light should have been able to pierce the shell, leaving the inside of the egg pitch-black, and yet, warm sunlight could somehow penetrate its frosted exterior. The temperature within the egg remained constant, without any need of regulation, as if preserving the mystery of the object. It was the perfect greenhouse. Six had used the Eva-0.0 Type-F Allegorica to relocate it to one of the decks and had been tending to it with her Type-N robots.
<<You have to be real careful with those melons.>>
Six anticipated Trois’ answer.
“Hee hee.”
<<I didn’t know you could laugh,>> Quatre said.
Honestly, it came as a surprise to Trois as well.
Before, the mental mirroring compiled the information gathered by multiple Ayanamis to form a single Ayanami Rei. But now…each brought her own perspective to the table. There was noise now.
<<Noise?>>
<<Like a fizzy glass of soda?>>
Trois’ Eva-0.0 stowed the Longinus replica behind her and trained the Powered 8 railgun on the entrance.
<<I repeat, this is Command. Trois, return to the cage immediately.>>
On the other side of the wall, vehicles armed with anti-Angel electromagnetic cannons surrounded the structure. No one had expected a standoff to occur on the shores of Lake Ashi.