Chapter 28:
Shifting Blue

 

REI TROIS was still floating in low orbit, shooting down her twentieth piece of debris with her gamma-ray laser cannon. She was exhausting her energy reserves and also her time.

She looked down her sights to her next destination, the landmass known as Yomotsu Hirasaka. Its contours glowed in the backlight.

Rei Six was somewhere on that floating island. The sisters had never needed to talk with each other, owing to their mental link, but Trois felt she could really use a conversation right about now.

The Second Child—Asuka—was there also. She’d melted into her Eva, and yet had remained on this plane of existence. And because she was there, the giant possessing Shinji’s heart must be there with her.

The heart was Shinji’s last proof of existence after he’d crumbled into a pillar of salt with Super Eva.

I want to go there.

The conclusion was difficult for her to accept. For as long as she could remember, she’d never experienced a strong desire for anything—certainly nothing to disrupt the completion of a mission.

It was a pitiful fact for someone who’d never known freedom. The mission was the reason for her creation. She’d never thought of it as a thing she depended on, or a thing that held her back, but simply as her purpose in life. Yet her current mission no longer seemed to be the most important thing. Now she faced the terrible question: What was the reason for her existence?

BEEP!

Her external sensors triggered an alarm, pulling Trois out of the labyrinth of her mind. The quantum flow inclinometer warned her of the rapid approach of an unidentified object, which the radar sweeps had missed. The object’s code showed on her display. Another Q.R. Signum. She felt her skin crawl as drew came closer.

Aah…

She felt ill and immediately realized what was happening. A presence that wasn’t hers started to dilate the pupils of Trois’ red eyes.

The alarm kept ringing. Hakone command made it through comms. Hyuga was telling her to intercept the object. But it all seemed distant. It was as if she were in the middle of a dense fog, thick enough to block out sound.

Trois pointed her long-distance antenna toward Yomotsu Hirasaka and said in a rush, “Trois in Unit Zero to Six in Unit Zero Type-F Allegorica. Caution. Black giant’s mind closing in. Don’t get caught in it.”

Eva-0.0’s A.I. had correctly assessed the Q.R. Signum as a dangerous object and altered the FCS to make it its top-priority target. Learning from its last encounter, it took aim at the empty void in anticipation of the flight path.

<<Affir—>> Rei Six’s voice crackled from a hundred thousand kilometers away. <<Noooo!>> She was likely in the middle of a high-speed pursuit, which prevented her antennas from staying in place.

<<This isn’t the time…consciousness…hijacked!>> She was definitely fighting for her life. But she continued her conversation with Trois, despite the fragmented information.

<<You’re planning something.>>

“Yes… Please handle it.”

<<Can do! You know, this talking stuff isn’t so bad… Whoa!>>

And with that, Trois lost Six’s signal. The youngest sister was probably all right. She’d likely had to make a sharp maneuver or duck into the shadow of a rock somewhere.

Trois set her gamma-ray laser to full charge. A single blast would be powerful enough to vaporize anything.

The data of the flying object had reached Hakone. Her objective remained the same: Shoot it down.

She was one second away from pulling the trigger. The object was on a collision course with her Eva, but the impact warning never came. Instead, the alarms for a system error started blaring in her entry plug.

Trois entered her emergency authorization code. She tapped the screen one last time. All actions were now barred from Eva-0.0, rendering it effectively defenseless.

The S2 Engine mounted on her back increased its output, releasing its energy through the blow-off valve. She took a deep breath in the LCL as the pistons outside her hissed and braced against her seat.

She knew what was coming next.

Violent turbulence rattled Eva-0.0, its source the neural feedback link in its left arm. Trois’ left arm was thrown about, and she felt like it was tearing open.

Then she felt the black wavelengths take over her mind.

 

Hakone command watched as the black scale of Armaros rammed into Eva-0.0 in orbit. The screens that displayed its telemetry values showed that they were all over the place.

“Failed to intercept Q.R. Signum!”

The unexpected turn of events turned the command center into a beehive.

“Trois has ceased interceptive measures!”

“Why the hell would she do that?!”

Tempers flared in the command center until a voice caught their attention.

<<Kzzt… Aa… Aaah!>>

Trois croaked through the choppy transmission. The pain was so intense that she couldn’t scream.

“Damage confirmed!”

“Q.R. Signum lodged between two bones in the forearm. Both pseudo-skeletons are broken, but the Signum is altering the surrounding tissue! Quantum teleportation is disrupting the neural network of the affected area. She’s blacking out. We can’t get a reading!”

“Trois, answer me!”

“Mental contamination imminent! Eject the plug! Get out of the Eva!”

Fuyutsuki barked into the receiver, but he was getting nothing but noise. Eva-0.0’s satellite had broken down, knocking out the conversation they’d had with Europe.

“No response from the emergency ejection system!”

“We’ve lost contact with Europe.”

“Forget Europe!”

“Has the Q.R. Signum taken over all basic functions?!”

Did the laser misfire because the Angel’s Backbone could no longer receive orders from the plug? In the worst case, Trois could end up like Ayanami Rei Quatre, both her mind and Eva mutated.

Fortunately, they could still observe Eva-0.0 by telescope, and Trois’ telemetry readings were still transmitted to Hakone via infrared lasers. Mental contamination might knock out its transmission systems, but she was fine for the moment.

“Trois, did you actually…?” Hyuga guessed that she’d cut the power herself, but he didn’t continue.

Trois was trembling on the other side of the monitor. <<The end… Gathering of the peoples…>>

“She’s back! How is she doing?”

“Barely awake.”

The buzzing beehive of the command center froze. They tuned their ears to listen to Ayanami Rei Trois’ feverish mutterings. She was now a mouthpiece for Armaros, possessor of the black scale.

<<Behold those who have gathered before the end.>>

<<The ring…is complete.>>

<<The bridge… The great bridge will span and cover the skies.>>

<<The pillar…will bind the seven seas!>>

<<The staircase…will affix the seven continents!>>

“Well then,” Misato said, “that doesn’t sound like the usual eviction warning.”

“That phase is over,” answered Fuyutsuki. “He’s likely going to use force now.”

 

Trois struggled to stay conscious as the Q.R. Signum continued to infect Eva-0.0’s plug.

“Blessed are those who board the Ark—”

“…”

That was the last of it, it seemed.

Trois felt lightheaded and exhaled in the LCL. Sharp pain shot through her lungs.

<<Hakone command to Unit Zero. Trois, if you can hear us, please respond.>>

She couldn’t understand what they were saying. Her body felt like it was burning from a high fever.

Eva-0.0 looked down upon the Earth, helplessly tumbling in low orbit. Trois thought she’d closed her eyes, but realized with a start that they were wide open when light began to filter in around her. The virtual display in her plug shifted from visions of the Earth, the stars, the sun, then back again, and she realized that her Eva was spinning.

The painful feedback from the Q.R. Signum remained in her left arm. I feel sick… But how’s my unit? A chill ran down her spine when she went to check.

“I feel something staring down the back of my neck. A pitch-black darkness…”

This was the sensation all Eva pilots felt when contaminated by the Q.R. Signum. Even Shinji had talked about it. She turned around. The error messages that had decorated the displays behind her had gone dark.

The same thing happened in Super Eva. But Ikari-kun was with me then.

Something startled her from her thoughts. Fear. But of what, she did not know. The Q.R. Signum had threatened to consume her when she was in Super Eva. The black ends of her hair were proof. But although it had hurt, she wasn’t afraid.

So why am I scared now? When did I become so weak?

<<Hakone command to Unit Zero. Trois, can you hear us? Please respond.>>

Her left arm wanted to scratch something. Her hand curved into a claw, and she had to consciously uncurl it.

Calm down… I’ve felt the Q.R. Signum’s contamination through Quatre before.

“Urk… Aah…”

There was that time with Super Eva, too.

Besides…I’m doing this of my own will.

 

<<Nerv Japan via Unit Zero to Euro Sixth Rapid Response Unit… Transmission to Hakone command was lost due to electromagnetic interference and equipment damage.>>

Hakone could only stare at their monitors in shock.

“Rei Trois…has made contact with Europe!”

“Trois…? Trois, what are you doing?!” Misato jumped out of her chair and shouted into her receiver. “You don’t have to worry about that, we’ll take care of it—”

She lowered her gaze from the main display to the middle deck. Hyuga was shaking his head. “There’s a lot of interference, but not enough to affect encoding levels. Certainly not enough to lose comms…”

I knew it! So what is she doing?

Misato racked her brain trying to figure out Trois’ plan. Trois’ pained groans continued through the speaker. <<I’ve received a message from Hakone…acknowledging their cooperation with General Hartmann of the Euro Sixth Army. I, First Child Ayanami Rei Trois…am to escort Euro Eva, Heurtebise, to the detached lunar landmass, Japanese designation Yomotsu Hirasaka.>>

The bees of the command center started to buzz again.

“That girl!”

 

“Furthermore,” Trois continued, struggling through the pain, “regarding Super Eva’s Q.R. Signum… I am in possession of it.”

Eva-0.0 usually saw the world through the lens of its gun camera. Now, Trois opened the masked eye on its head to look at its left arm. The Q.R. Signum was lodged inside, threatening to take control. Eva-0.0’s right arm gripped it tightly to contain it.

“And please…send Eva Euro-II…Assistant Class Representative Horaki…immediately.”

 

Six was holding her hands to her ears, screaming, “I! Caaaan’t! Heeaaar! Yooooou!”

Fortunately, nothing got through to her this time around. She lowered her sync rate as low as it could go and shut her eyes and ears to let the black giant’s message pass over her.