What follows is the first scene from the Eva/Nausicaa fic I mentioned the
other day on the FFML. If the title doesn't tell you anything, then let me
warn you here: this story is going to be about the end of the world, the
destruction of industrial civilization as referred to in Nausicaa of the
Valley of Wind. As such, it's going to get dark. Possibly very dark. I hope
that you won't be 'scared off' by that, though.

Comments, C&C, and opinions are welcome and invited; flames will be used for
toasting electronic marshmallows.

        The Seven Days of Fire                  A fanfic by Tim Miller
                                        based on Neon Genesis Evangelion
                                        and Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
        Day One: Ignition

        Even Siberia had changed in the wake of the Second Impact, sixteen 
years earlier. As the Earth's entire climate changed, the arctic tundra of 
Siberia was transformed into a barren, rocky wasteland - not so much of a 
change, except that the winters were much milder. Very few humans were living 
there now, which made it an ideal location for some human activities - 
particularly the ones that could pose a danger to the surrounding area.
        One such activity was taking place now. If the security forces had 
missed any possible observers who didn't know what was going on, such an 
observer would think that two giants, on the scale of Godzilla or Gamera, were

being prepared for a duel. But NERV security had found no unauthorized 
witnesses, for there were none; everyone present knew that the blue and white 
mecha was only there as a precaution, in case the other colossal figure did 
something unexpected.
        From deep within the armored bunker, NERV Commander Ikari Gendou 
looked up at the display screen. "Status?" he inquired, his voice low but 
strong.
        "Telemetry reads green," a nearby technician reported. "All systems 
stable, power core ready for reactor ignition. Evangelion Mark-Two Unit 00 is 
ready for full activation testing."
        Ikari nodded once, his face impassive. Inside, however, his thoughts 
were churning. (SEELE should not have done this,) an inner voice told him. 
(Even the Evas are unpredictable, and they have pilots to control them. Evani 
is an autonomous unit, more powerful but without that element of control that 
we have always had.)
        Had the choice been his, Ikari Gendou might not have been inside an 
armored bunker in the middle of Siberia, waiting to witness the tests of a new

type of Evangelion. But SEELE's authority over NERV was subtantial enough that

even Ikari had little control over some things - and the council's control 
over the rest of the world was virtually absolute. The only things they didn't

control were the Angels, and Nature itself.
        The Evangelion project, under NERV's auspices, was SEELE's answer to 
the first factor. As to the second . . . humanity had been working on that for

centuries, if not millenia.
        Ikari raised his voice slightly. "Rei, are you ready?"
        A quiet voice came back over the intercom. "Yes," replied a young 
girl's voice, relayed from the entry plug of the blue and white colossus 
outside: Evangelion Unit 00, the prototype of its kind - just as the creation 
that was to be tested was the prototype of *its* kind. Evangelion Mark-Two, 
known more briefly as Evangelion-Ni in NERV's Japanese headquarters, or simply

Evani.
        Seated in Eva Unit 00's entry plug, Ayanami Rei watched quietly as her

mecha's counterpart was prepared for activation. She knew, as the commander 
did, that if Evani operated without fault, she and her fellow Eva pilots would

probably find themselves out of a job. Piloting an Evangelion was difficult at

best, even when you were one of the few people who had literally been born to 
the task. The newer Evas, which were less restrictive about their pilots, were

still difficult to control; the prototype and test type had both gone berserk 
on occasion, breaking free of their pilot's control - indeed, of any control 
whatsoever. Rei had been seriously injured during the first activation of Unit

00 when the ejecting entry plug, which served as both cockpit and ejection 
module, had slammed repeatedly into the walls of the testing area before 
landing in the far corner from the berserk Evangelion.
        If Rei felt some anxiety about the new type of Evangelion, she kept it

to herself - but she knew better than anyone what kind of damage could result 
if any Evangelion, piloted or autonomous, went out of control.
        Back in the bunker, Commander Ikari pushed his dark glasses up the 
bridge of his nose. "Proceed with the activation," he ordered.
        Technicians acknowledged the order as they began carrying out their 
tasks. The bionuclear core that powered Evani Unit 00 was slowly warmed up; 
readouts changed as it approached activation temperature. Ikari forced himself

to remain calm despite the knot of anxiety in his stomach - almost the same as

the anxiety that had accompanied every other Evangelion activation, whether 
testing or for combat.
        Outside the bunker, Evani-00's eyes began glowing as its power core 
came fully on-line, and it moved free of the support gantry. It looked around 
its surroundings, taking them in, as the humans in and around the bunker 
looked at the results of their work: more humanoid in appearance than the 
first Evangelions, but still distinctly other-than-human. Unlike the Evas, it 
had no external armor plating - its flesh alone and the powerful AT Field that

would surround it in combat were its only protection from an enemy. It did 
have armor of a sort, in the form of its high-density ceramic skeleton, but 
that would only serve to protect its inner systems.
        Ikari nodded in approval as he watched Evani-00 step away from the 
gantry and look around. "Begin testing sequence."
        "Beginning testing sequence," a technician confirmed as he keyed in an

instruction. Evani promptly turned its head towards the bunker again, looking 
down slightly at it.
        Rei tensed slightly as a familiar tingle went down her spine - the 
same slight chill she felt when looking at an Angel that was about to attack. 
(That's not possible,) she thought. (Evani is under our control . . . 
supposedly.) She moved the control grips slightly, and Eva-00 rose to its full

height, holding its rifle down by its side.
        The control technician blinked, and repeated the command. "Evani-00 is

not responding," he reported as he failed to get a confirmation from the unit.

"Testing sequence has not commenced."
        "Rei, stand by," said Ikari. "Is there any chance that Evani-00 is 
about to go berserk?"
        "I don't know!" the technician responded helplessly. "There's no 
signal at all - "
        Another technician interrupted. "Evani-00 has expanded an AT Field!"
        "Rei, go!" Ikari called out. "Testing crew, prepare to evacuate! Move 
it!" He brought his hand down on the alarm button, and klaxons screamed 
throughout the bunker as technicians began moving to the evacuation vehicles.
        Outside, Rei didn't bother to acknowledge Ikari's order. Instead, she 
obeyed it, expanding her Eva's own AT Field as it raised its rifle and 
charged, opening fire on the Evani.
        When Evangelions fought Angels, their AT Fields tended to cancel each 
other out - that was how it had worked ever since the Third Angel and Eva-01 
had clashed in the First Battle of Tokyo-3. Rei knew that even with AT Fields 
cancelling, she'd be at a disadvantage; Evani-00 incorporated new technologies

based on the Angels that she and the other Eva pilots had battled.
        What Rei didn't expect - what nobody in NERV had anticipated - was 
that an AT Field could be so strong that an Evangelion couldn't counteract it.

Yet that was exactly what happened, her rifle shots slamming into Evani and 
affecting it not at all. Most people would have been afraid; the few 
technicians who noticed this on the monitor panicked. Rei simply didn't feel 
any fear, just as she usually didn't feel any emotions. She did cease fire, 
though, and circled away from the bunker as Evani-00 turned to face her.
        (If Evani wasn't about to go berserk,) Ikari thought as he looked over

his shoulder at the display screens, (it's certainly going to attack now.) He 
faced forward again and hurried after the technicians, having made sure they 
all got out of the control room safely. The first of them had already reached 
the evacuation vehicles and were strapping themselves in, preparing for 
launch.
        Rei opened fire on Evani-00 again, her aim tracking across its body as

she probed for weak spots. Evani didn't show any signs of taking damage, 
except to return fire, a narrow beam springing forth from between its eyes and

crossing the distance to Eva-00's rifle. Rei could actually see where her AT 
Field stopped the beam, and allowed herself a very faint smile. (We're evenly 
matched,) she thought as she stepped away from the beam and raised her rifle 
to fire again, aiming at its head.
        That was when Evani's mouth opened, giant 'teeth' swinging up to 
surround its gaping maw as a menacing glow emanated from within. Rei 
immediately recognized the Evani's main weapon being prepared, and lowered her

rifle again, preparing to take evasive action.
        The glow from inside Evani's mouth erupted into a painfully bright 
flare of energy, its beam blasting out like dragon's fire. Eva-00 dropped into

a crouch; its torso, and the pilot within, were spared from damage. Its head 
wasn't.
        Rei closed her eyes briefly as she felt her Evangelion's head 
disintegrated by the nuclear beam; around her, the walls of the entry plug 
changed from a view of the outside to a mass of visual static. The Eva 
continued functioning, though, thanks to some small miracle.
        Evani turned its attention towards the bunker now, its mouth gaping 
open as it prepared to fire again. Eva-00 took a few faltering steps towards 
Evani as the out-of-control mecha fired again. Bionuclear energy poured down 
on the bunker and the immediately surrounding area, destroying the bunker and 
its contents, along with the evacuation vehicles. All of the NERV personnel 
were dead well before the atomic detonation blossomed, a mushroom cloud 
forming from the charred crater that would be their only grave.
        The shockwave from the explosion pummeled both Eva-00 and the Evani, 
but they both stayed upright. Rei couldn't see, but she could still hear her 
opponent, and she charged, raising her rifle to point right at Evani's mouth.
        She didn't see the Evani's hand close into a fist, or the blazing 
energy that condensed into a fiery shaft clutched in that hand. Eva-00 opened 
fire on its enemy one last time as Evani-00 raised its arm, and brought the 
beam sword down in a graceful, almost leisurely arc.
        Rei died as swiftly as the rest of the testing team had, only feeling 
a brief flash of her Eva's death agony - and none of her own. What was left of

Evangelion Unit-00 collapsed, falling to the ground as Evani's beam sword 
vanished.

				Tim Milller
					trmiller@mail.bcpl.lib.md.us