"You what?" Gendo Ikari asked, the black haired older man looking down at his daughter in surprise. They stood there in the holding chamber for Evangelion, the massive organic robot's head barely a few meters away from where Shinji waited. "I'll pilot the EVA for you," Shinji answered, the black haired young woman met his eyes. "but I won't be under your command, yours or NERV." Ritsuko gazed in surprise at the quiet young woman and wondered how things had gone so badly. 'The Commander really has a gift,' the blonde scientist thought to herself bitterly, 'for saying the wrong thing at the worst time.' Shinji had been deathly silent when she had been brought here to the EVA cage, Ritsuko trying her best to fill in some of the gaps for the young lady. She explained NERV's purpose, some of what they knew about the Angels and told her about Evangelion. 'She wasn't thrilled,' Ritsuko thought to herself wryly, 'but I think I was selling her on it. At least, right up until Shinji's father arrived.' "Unacceptable," Gendo answered her coldly, jerking Ritsuko back into the drama that was unfolding right in front of her. "It's not like you have a lot of options," Shinji looked to the side where a crowd of medical personnel were gathered. Rei Ayanami lay on the stretcher, the light blue haired young woman wrapped in bandages and face contorted with pain. Gendo had her wheeled in when Shinji first defied him, the sort of grand gesture he normally wouldn't do, then the Angel's attack rocked the base, sending Rei crashing to the ground. It had been an odd moment when Shinji knelt down there beside her, the two of them bearing a remarkable resemblance to each other. The next attack had brought a section of catwalk down... and the impossible had happened. Unit-01 had torn it's arm free of restraints to shield the two girls, despite no entry plug or data imputs at all. It was a miracle, and something that troubled Ritsuko more than she cared to admit. 'We may think we understand and control Evangelion,' she mused, 'but we don't, not really.' "You need me in there," Shinji waved towards EVA, her eyes flashing with barely controlled anger as she said to her father, "you yourself said that was the only reason you called me here and I need this to do it." "When NERV was being constructed many private contractors were used," Misato spoke up, the black haired officer looking up to meet Gendo's eyes intently, "something like that could be applied to Shinji, as well." 'I don't think Shinji is going to bend in this,' Ritsuko realized as she watched father and daughter engaging in a silent battle of wills. 'Does Shinji hate him that much,' she found herself wondering, 'or is something else going on?' Finally Gendo just nodded, a short, simple movement of his head. "Then prepare for immediate launch," he said as he began to rise on a personal elevator, "we need to stop the Angel as soon as possible." 'Thank god,' Ritsuko puffed out a sigh of relief. "Come with me, we'll get you into the entry plug," she grabbed Shinji even as she looked over to Misato and added, "I'll meet you up in the command center once we're done." "Got it," Misato bolted, still wearing her red jacket and black dress. "Entry plug?" Shinji asked as she hurried behind Ritsuko. "You could think of it as the cockpit of Unit-01," Ritsuko answered as they took a lift upstairs, racing along a catwalk to the long metallic tube held in powerful steel clamps. The top was open, revealing a large chair with two stylized metallic grips on each side. "Hope this isn't too complicated," Shinji clambered inside, settling into the seat. She grasped the two handles, squeezing them nervously, then looked up to Ritsuko with a weak smile, "I hope this isn't too complicated." "You'll be fine," Ritsuko answered, trying to sound more confident than she felt. The top of the plug slid down as Shinji answered, "I hope so." As her face disappeared from sight she looked so lost and alone Ritsuko's heart ached, then she was gone. A few moments later and Ritsuko entered the command center, nodding her greetings to her sometimes assistant Maya Ibuki and Makoto beside her. Misato looked confident, somehow, standing there in her element, a leader ready to go to work. 'Too bad her army is one very scared girl inside a giant robot,' Ritsuko thought. "Penny for your thoughts?" Misato asked her softly as she moved to Ritsuko's side, both of them looking at the image on the viewscreen of Shinji inside the entry plug. "Just hoping we're doing the right thing," Ritsuko answered wryly. "Now filling the Entry Plug with LCL," Maya reported as she hit a switch, almost immediately followed by a cry of alarm from Shinji. "Just breathe normally," Ritsuko quickly said to her, "the LCL with saturate your lungs and transfer oxygen directly to your bloodstream." Shinji puffed out a breath, bubbles flowing out into the fluid as she breathed it in, her face remarkably green. "I think I'm going to be sick," she muttered. "Not inside the entry plug," both Misato and Ritsuko spoke up at the same time. Gendo slid into his place behind them, the raised platform where he could see everything that went on in the control center. "It's time," he said as he watched his daughter intently, "launch Unit-01." Ritsuko paused outside the hospital room to look inside, gazing at the girl who slept soundly in the neat bed. The washed out colors of the room made Shinji look oddly sickly, but other than some bumps and bruises she was all right. 'But it could have so easily gone the other way,' Ritsuko thought. Shinji and Unit-01 had been badly outmatched by the Angel from the start, the young woman only barely learning to move the EVA when the Angel attacked. What followed was a brutal beating, the Angel breaking Unit-01's arm before pounding on it mercilessly. What happened next... was still being debated. The attack on EVA's head, the backlash hitting Shinji hard.... then Unit-01 had attacked. With incredible speed and savagery it had beat the Angel back, tearing right through the protective AT field the Angel erected to kill the attacker. "How is she?" Misato asked, quietly coming up behind her. "Recovering," Ritsuko answered, "the doctors say she'll be fine in a few days." They set off together down the hall as she quietly added, "I feel like such a liar, I told her she'd be fine." Misato put her hand on Ritsuko's arm, "You did everything you could, both from the technical side to talking Shinji through on how to operate the EVA." They passed another room where Rei lay, the blue haired girl sleeping peacefully as she softly added, "I'm thinking of offering Shinji the spare bedroom." Ritsuko raised her eyebrow, "Are you sure that's such a good idea?" "No," Misato shrugged, "but I can't see putting Shinji with her father, either." More quietly she added, "And I don't like the idea of her being out on her own." "You and your strays," Ritsuko said fondly. Misato chuckled, "I've only brought one stray home, and that was a special case." They walked to the elevator, Ritsuko hitting the button and quietly asking, "So when are you going to tell her?" "I'll wait until Shinji agrees to move in," Misato said wryly, "it'll save time and trouble if she decides she doesn't want the room." "I'm... home,:" Shinji said tentatively, stepping inside at Misato's urging. "Good," the familiar voice called from the kitchen, "I'm getting dinner ready." "I forgot to mention," Misato took Shinji's hand and tugged her down the hallway, "you're going to have another roommate here." The apartment around them was messy, but it had the look of a place where at least some effort was being put into keeping it under control. "Dr. Akagi?" Shinji blinked as she saw the familiar blonde standing in the kitchen, peering into a bubbling pot before putting a lid on it. "Welcome home," Ritsuko smiled at her tentatively. "You've already been introduced," Misato moved to take Ritsuko's hand in a surprisingly intimate gesture, "but I'd like you to meet my partner, Ritsuko." "Ah... hi?" Shinji managed weakly. "You didn't tell her about us earlier?" Ritsuko scolded Misato gently. "Things have been a little hectic," Misato protested.
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