Transfusion

By Lord Raa

Disclaim-me-do: Question: When does two plus two not equal four? Answer: When you are referring to a coupe.

Part 1

Gendo frowned at the video review of the last Evangelion battle.

"This will not do."

"Sir?" Ritsuko asked, turning to face the bearded man.

"There was a distinct lack of finesse with both the Second and the Third's actions. Either they need to start treating their task with the respect it deserves or…"

"Or what?" Fuyutsuki asked.

"Or Dr. Akagi and her technical team need to start upgrading all the units on the double."

"We can only go as fast as the supplies come in," Ritsuko replied. "Besides, there are limitations as to how large a calibre weapon we can fire in the city limits."

"Dr. Akagi, it is time for you to understand the true nature of the Evangelion Project," Gendo said as he rose from his seat. "It is not a mere bipedal weapon system like Jet Alone. No, the Evangelions are a far beyond such mundane capabilities."

"Sir?"

"The Evangelions are Super Robots, Dr. Akagi. And that means we require a blood transfusion. Give me a dozen units of Hot Blood, stat!"

"What are you talking about, Ikari?" the grey-haired man demanded. "Super robots are the product of science fiction!"

"Oh, how little you really know, Sensei," Gendo said sadly as he pushed his glasses up his nose. "If only you knew the truth about the Evangelions and what they were capable of. Alas, your lack of belief in me and the project means that changes are necessary here at NERV."

"What?"

"Fuyutsuki, you must step aside for the greater good."

"B-but who will replace me?" Fuyutsuki spluttered in outrage.

"Either Captain Katsuragi or Dr. Akagi, of course. They have seniority amongst the remaining staff," the Commander explained. "Besides, they're so much hotter then you ever were. You are dismissed, old man; please don't make me call upon Section Two to enforce this retirement."

Kozo Fuyutsuki could only blink in surprise at the way his former student had changed. "What's wrong with you, Ikari?"

"Nothing, old man, not a damn thing," Gendo smiled as he called for his guards. "Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki is relieved of his duties effective immediately. Please escort him to his residence. He is not under house arrest, but he should be aware of the fact that we see all, we hear all."

The black suited men nodded and directed the elderly man out of the office.

"So then, Ritsuko-chan," the bearded man said suavely, "You ready to know the true power of the Evangelions?"

"Ok," the bottle-blonde giggled like a love-struck teenaged girl.

"That's my girl! Now, follow me!"

Ritsuko was unsure what was going on in her boss's mind. While she had always been attracted to powerful men, the coldness he normally exuded a major turn off. However, there was something in this change in his attitude was bothering her.

Gendo, on the other hand, looked like a massive weight had been taken off his shoulders.

"Ah, Ritsuko-chan, there's something you need to know before I open this door."

"There is?"

"Yes. You see Yui and I had plans for the Evangelions to take a different direction. But we were limited," the bearded man said sadly.

"By the technology?" Ritsuko asked, realising that they were still on the bleeding edge of most of the world's technological advances.

"That was not as big of a factor as you might think. No, we were suffering from a certain lack of power. In other words, it's time for the mid-season upgrade!"

'He's gone mad!' the scientist thought, though she managed to maintain her poker face.

Up until the point where she saw contents of the hidden room.

"Oh my God!"

"Thanks, but you can just call me 'Gendo-sama'," Gendo smirked when he saw Ritsuko's sour look. "But anyway, you yourself know how much we've managed reverse-engineer from our incomplete samples. However, that is but the tip of the iceberg."

"But this shouldn't be possible!" Ritsuko insisted when she saw some photographic analysis of a failed prototype.

"What? Oh, the flight type equipment. Yes, we theorised that the reason we couldn't get it to work was because of the pilot's limitations. That's when we decided to try something with Unit-01. So far that's been useful, but not as successful as we thought. That is why we'll be taking things to the next level."

"And how will we be doing that?"

Gendo stood up to his full height, deliberately causing the light to give him an unearthly tinge. "We need to change the pilots."

"But Unit-01 won't work with another pilot…"

"Not replace, change. Call Shinji in – it's time for that Hot Blood I mentioned earlier!"

Shinji looked pensive as he returned his phone to his pocket.

"Is something up, Shin-man?" Kensuke asked.

"Dr. Akagi said that I need to go into NERV. Something about a change to the piloting roster…"

"You're hiring new pilots!?" the bespectacled boy bellowed, jumping from his seat. "Please take me with you! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please!"

"It's not up to me," Shinji protested weakly.

"But you gotta give me this chance, Shinji! I need this!" Kensuke begged as he fell to the floor. "I'm on my knees here!"

The pilot looked away and saw the look of disgust on the face of Hikari Horaki. The class rep approached him and whispered something into Shinji's ear.

"It's not up to me, but I suppose that you could come with me to see what Dr. Akagi wants…"

"You're the greatest friend a guy could ever want, Shinji!" Kensuke cheered sycophantically.

It was then that Asuka re-entered the room.

"What's up with the idiot on the floor?" she asked.

"They're making changes to the pilot roster," the aforementioned idiot answered.

"What?" the volatile redhead demanded.

"I thought that they'd tell you at the same time they told Shinji," Kensuke smirked as he rose to his feet. "Oh wait, I guess that means that you're not as important as you thin-"

The otaku didn't get the chance to finish his wise-ass comment thanks to Asuka's right hook knocking to the floor, the punch nearly dislocating his jaw.

"The day NERV lets you pilot my Evangelion is the day I'm dead and buried," Asuka growled. "And before you start babbling about there being other units, just what makes you think that you've got what it takes to pilot one?"

"S-Shinji," Kensuke mumbled. "He didn't have any training…"

The Second Child let out a loud mocking laugh. "You hold Shinji up as a shining example of piloting skills? You're even more pathetic than he is! HAHAHAHAHA!"

"Asuka…" Shinji said disapprovingly.

"What? Oh, right, sorry about beating up your mentally challenged friend like that."

"Ritsuko," Gendo said, making the bottle-blonde's head snap up from the Evangelion data. "You will accompany me to the Eva cages."

"Yes sir," the scientist nodded.

The pair walked in silence, with Ritsuko pondering the changes in her boss.

'Why wasn't he like this earlier? What's brought this change on? And why the hell am I suddenly so turned on by him?'

Upon their arrival the bearded man reached out and placed a hand on Unit-01.

"Yui-chan, I know that you never liked the idea of Shinji piloting, but it seems that unless Sohryu improves over night, we're going to have to bring out the big guns. Unfortunately, that means forcing Shinji to man up. I know that we'd hoped for him to reach sufficient manliness on his own, but I must take much of the blame for things turning out the way they have. I had intended him to rise above his obstacles, but it seems that instead of helping, I hindered.

"No, hindered is too kind of a term – I wilfully sabotaged him. I had not realised how little we had in common. But with your permission, I will set things in motion that will bring forth the true power of Evangelion!"

Ritsuko was taken aback by Gendo's honest approach. But that was nothing compared to her surprise when she heard the allegedly inactive biomechanical construct give a roar of approval.

"J-just what are we dealing with?" she asked no-one in particular.

"Oh, and there's one other thing," Gendo added. "These plans involve using Ritsuko. You know, Naoko's daughter."

A deathly silence descended upon the hangar.

"Of course, when you do return, she'll be ready for whatever you plan for her" the Commander smirked.

Again, Unit-01 gave a roar of approval.

"That's my Yui-chan, always so very understanding. Now, here's what I'm planning with Shinji…"

Asuka dialled NERV on her phone, intent on finding out what was going on and why she hadn't been informed about any potential changes to the piloting situation.

"There's no way they'd leave me out!" she told herself as the call was picked up.

"¬What's up, Asuka?¬" Misato asked.

"What's this I hear about changes to the piloting roster?"

"¬This is the first I've heard about it, Asuka. I'll ask Ritsuko and the Commander for you, but as far as I know, you're still our number one pilot,¬" the Captain said in a placating tone.

"Of course I am, but still, one of Shinji's friends thinks that they're making changes," the redhead added. "That's why he's been called in this afternoon.

"¬Look, I'll get some answers for you, Asuka. If you want to come in with them, feel free. You can find out together if you like.¬"

Back at NERV HQ, Gendo had called in Misato and Ritsuko to an examination room in the medical wing.

"Ritsuko, prepare the necessary equipment for a blood transfusion. I'm going to give Shinji two units of my blood to start the upgrade process. Misato," the bearded man said, "You may be aware that changes are in progress. One of said changes is the retirement of Fuyutsuki."

"What? Why?" asked the purple haired woman. "Who's going to replace him?"

"In order of your questions: I've removed Fuyutsuki from his position as Sub-Commander of NERV; he no longer fits in with the plans for the Evangelion; and finally you are being promoted to Vice-Commander."

"Wait, why is the title changing from Sub-Commander to Vice-Commander?" Ritsuko asked. "I get that there's a name change, but how does the role differ?"

"It's a pun that only really works in the English language, Ritsuko-chan, which also fits in with my planned upgrades. Remember what I said about a need for Hot Blood? Well, Shinji just receiving Hotter Blood isn't going to cut it – he needs to seriously man up," the Commander explained. "Effective immediately, Captain Katsuragi is now Colonel Katsuragi, complete with pay increase and privileges. However, her most pressing order is to help make a man out of Shinji.

"While I don't care what method you use, Pilots Sohryu and Ayanami are not viable options at this time. Though, I would not be adverse to the idea of you taking the 'hands on' approach. And I think you know what I mean, Colonel."

"Ok… so just to be sure that I'm getting this right, you want me to seduce Shinji-kun 'to help make him a man'? And this is important to the upgrades of the Evangelions?" Misato asked. When she received confirmation, she sighed. "Either you're an impostor or I'm having a weird dream. Which is it?"

"Neither," Ritsuko replied as she reached out and pinched her friend on the cheek.

"Ow," the newly promoted office complained. "Fine, so it's not a dream. But just what sort of thing do you think will come about from this plan?"

"Victory!" Gendo beamed. "I know that it's not what you've come to expect from me, but the revised Project E wasn't going as planned. And because of that, I've had to correct things and go back to something more akin to the original concept."

"And that concept requires something changing in Shinji," Ritsuko added. "I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen the proof myself, Misato."

"Fine, so assuming that Shinji mans up, what then?" the purple haired beauty asked. "I mean, yeah, Shinji gets a better sync ratio, but what then?"

"When the conditions are correct, you will see an improved Evangelion, one that makes the power of Unit-01's berserker rages look like the first activation tests," the Commander replied. "But a major component of these conditions is belief. Not just in the equipment, but in oneself and in the command staff.

"We will create a virtuous circle of belief that will improve every facet of Evangelion operations. And it starts today!"

Misato could feel the passion in the Commander's words stir something deep in her soul. It was like nothing she'd ever experienced before and she wanted more of it.

"You can count me in, Sir," she saluted crisply. "I will do what you need of me."

"Excellent, I knew you were the right choice for this task, Colonel," Gendo smiled broadly.

Moments later, Misato's phone rang. "Yes?"

"¬Ma'am, it's the front desk, there's a situation here.¬"

"What's up? Is Shinji there with one of his friends from school?"

"¬Yes, ma'am, that's there's a problem. His friends is insisting that he's taken in for a piloting aptitude test.¬"

"Does he have glasses?" Misato asked, remembering that Shinji had only two friends in school.

"¬Yes, that's the one.¬"

"Hmm, hang on a minute," the Colonel said, placing a hand over the mouthpiece of her phone. "One of Shinji's friends thinks he's a suitable candidate for piloting. What do you want to do?"

"Bring them both here to the medical wing. Ritsuko-chan, you find some reason to reject him. Make one up if you have to," Gendo ordered. "Then we'll begin the transfusion."

If Kensuke had been more excited, he'd have been bouncing off the walls as he was escorted with Shinji to the medical wing of NERV HQ.

"Gonna be a pilot! Gonna be a pilot! Gonna be a pilot!" he repeated happily.

Shinji, however, was beginning to regret caving into the otaku's demands.

Especially since Asuka's death glare was beginning to make him feel uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, Asuka, but it was the only way to stop him from disrupting class."

"Yeah, and disrupting us at NERV is so much better," the redhead replied sarcastically.

"Ah, you've arrived," Ritsuko said with a small smile. "You must be Shinji-kun's friend. What's your name?"

"Kensuke Aida," the bespectacled youth answered.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but the fact that you need corrective lenses means that you can't be a pilot," the bottle-blonde said sadly.

"But airline pilots are allowed to wear glasses and Maximilian Jenius wore glasses and he was one of the best fight pilots ever!" Kensuke protested.

"One;" Ritsuko said, ticking off her fingers as she spoke, "commercial pilots don't experience combat situations and aren't at risk of having their glasses shatter into their eyeballs, and two; Maximilian Jenius was an anime character. Or do you really think that a katana is capable of slicing reinforced concrete pillars in half?"

The otaku deflated for a moment. "But what about contact lenses?"

"Have you ever worn contact lenses?"

"No, but it can't be that hard to put them in."

"It's true that they get easier the more experience you have with them. Do you have astigmatism?" the scientist inquired. "Because if you do, then you should know that contacts won't correct it."

"…"

"Don't too feel bad, Kensuke. At least you won't have to experience being boiled alive in the LCL," Shinji said in attempt to make his friend feel better.

"Yeah, plus plugsuits don't agree with that healthy otaku lifestyle," Asuka sniped. "Lots of snacking and very little exercising doesn't exactly go with tight-fitting clothing."

Kensuke bristled. "Stop making fun of me!"

"I wasn't," Shinji insisted. "I was being serious about being boiled in LCL. You remember when there was that black out?"

"Yeah," the bespectacled youth nodded.

"Well, before that, I faced that Angel and I was hit by its beam and it nearly killed me. Count yourself lucky that you don't have to go through that as part of your job."

"I'm sorry, Aida-kun, but we can't accept you as a pilot," Ritsuko said sadly. "But we appreciate your desire to help us out. I suppose that we could hire you for another role. Unfortunately, it wouldn't as glamorous as Shinji or Asuka's."

"Like what? Like being a computer technician?" Kensuke asked, hope filling his voice.

"More like sanitation technician," the scientist answered with an apologetic shrug. "I'm sorry, but the fact of the matter is you're not currently a suitable candidate for our technical staff here at NERV. Come back when you finish high school and we'll talk."

"But that's like four years from now!"

"Yes, and then you'd receive the benefits of a legally binding employment contract. Something you would be able to sign until you're 18 years old. And we are trying to limit our child workforce as much as possible."

"Oh well, I guess that's that. Smell you later," Asuka said, trying to get rid of Kensuke. "And don't try whining to Shinji – he said he'd try and he has. It's not his fault you're no good to NERV."

"But…"

"I'm sorry, Aida-kun, but as much as I disapprove of Asuka's way of putting it, she's correct," Ritsuko admitted. The sound of a door opening to her left caught her attention.

"Ah, Asuka, there you are. Can you give me five minutes?" Misato asked. "It's about the changes to the piloting roster."

"Yeah," the redhead nodded. 'I'll finally know what's going on around here.'

"Misato, I know it's a little beneath your new station, but could you escort Aida-kun out?" the blonde asked. "Unfortunately, he needs corrective lenses and that rules him out as a pilot candidate."

"Oh, that's a shame," the purple haired woman said. "But, unfortunately, that's how life is some times. But still, Shinji-kun does need friends who he can unwind with, so feel free to visit any time you like."

"You mean it?" Kensuke asked. 'I might not be able to pilot, but being around Misato-san makes up for it…'

"Yes, it's important for people to be able to relax. Well, I'm sure that Shinji-kun will see you soon enough," Misato said. "Remember that we need to talk, Asuka, ok?"

"Yeah, I'll be in the cafeteria."

Ritsuko turned to Shinji. "Shinji-kun, if you'll follow me, I've got something important to tell you."

Shinji gulped nervously as he was ushered into the examination room.

"F-father?"

"Ah, you've arrived at last, Shinji."

To be continued…?