Chapter 11: First Meeting
The heavy alloy gate slammed shut behind him, completely cutting off the outside light and sound.
The entire Unit-01 hangar instantly plunged into suffocating darkness, with only the faint indicator lights of distant instruments flickering like will-o'-the-wisps.
Shinji stood on the cold metal platform, showing no panic as an ordinary person might. Instead, he seemed to sense something, turning precisely in one direction as if guided by invisible threads in the darkness.
"Buzz—"
Blinding white searchlights suddenly flared up, shining like stage spotlights directly ahead!
A massive, purple, armor-plated head with an inhuman, oppressive presence abruptly dominated Shinji's entire field of vision!
Its illuminated eyes resembled seals restraining a slumbering demon, the cold face armor reflecting grim light under the intense illumination. Unit-01—the ferocious visage of humanity's ultimate weapon—was fully revealed before the boy.
Yet, the expected scream of terror never came.
Shinji merely tilted his head up slightly, gazing calmly—almost appraisingly—at the colossal purple deity before him. His eyes held no fear, no curiosity, only something profoundly unfathomable... understanding? And a trace of indescribable sorrow.
This extraordinary composure surprised both Misato and Ritsuko standing behind him.
Misato couldn't help muttering softly: "This kid... is really brave..."
Ritsuko adjusted her glasses, her gaze behind the lenses thoughtful.
Ritsuko stepped forward, her voice echoing through the spacious hangar with a scientist's pride in presenting her greatest creation: "Shinji-kun, this is humanity's ultimate general-purpose humanoid decisive battle weapon—the artificial human Evangelion, Unit-01."
She slightly raised her chin, pride evident in her tone. "It was constructed under utmost secrecy at tremendous cost. Humanity's final trump card against the Angels, our last bastion to protect civilization."
Shinji's gaze remained fixed on Unit-01's cold head, as if he hadn't heard Ritsuko's introduction.
After several seconds of silence, he spoke in a low yet clear voice, slowly, as if talking to himself or questioning the void:
"So this is... your work, right..."
Both Ritsuko and Misato stiffened slightly, unsure who he was addressing.
At that moment, Shinji suddenly looked up, his gaze shooting like an arrow toward a control room above the hangar, separated by thick one-way glass!
Lights promptly illuminated the control room, clearly revealing a tall, cold figure.
Gendo Ikari stood with his hands behind his back, expressionless behind the glass, looking down from above.
His voice came through the speakers, cold and devoid of warmth:
"Correct."
He paused, then added:
"Long time no see."
"Heh..."
Shinji let out a short, deeply sarcastic laugh.
His eyes moved slowly between the massive purple Unit-01 below and his indifferent father above, finally settling on Gendo.
An absurd and sorrowful thought rose in his heart:
Father (Gendo Ikari), Mother (Yui Ikari's soul/presence integrated into Unit-01), Son (himself).
This twisted "family of three" had actually "reunited" in such a manner, within this cold steel tomb.
The sneer on Shinji's face deepened. Raising his voice with unconcealed sarcasm and long-suppressed fury, he shouted at Gendo above:
"Why did you call me here?! Surely it isn't because you've suddenly been overcome with paternal affection and want to reconnect with the son you abandoned ten years ago?!"
This sharp, hate-filled question cut through the heavy air in the hangar like a knife.
Misato felt her scalp tingle and instinctively covered her mouth.
She finally understood firsthand just how severely fractured the relationship between this father and son truly was!
Ritsuko also frowned slightly, her gaze toward Shinji carrying a trace of surprise—she had never seen anyone, especially Gendo Ikari's own son, dare to speak to that man in such a tone.
Yet Gendo showed no emotional reaction to his son's nearly "defiant" attitude.
Only the corners of his mouth curled into an extremely faint, icy smile as he uttered two decisive, unquestionable words:
"Launch!"
"Launch?!"
Misato was shocked, jerking her head up to look at the control room. "But Unit-00 is still frozen! Don't tell me…"
Her eyes instantly shifted to the silently standing Unit-01 as a terrifying thought emerged. "You can't mean to use Unit-01?!"
"There's no other way," Ritsuko's voice came from beside her, calmly stating the harsh reality.
Misato still couldn't accept it: "But! Rei's physical condition is not in a state for this right now! That means there's no pilot available!"
She had instinctively assumed Rei Ayanami was the only option.
Ritsuko's calm gaze turned to the boy standing before Unit-01 as she clearly announced:
"The pilot has arrived."
These words struck Misato's ears like thunder! She whirled around, looking at Ritsuko in disbelief: "You... you can't be serious?!"
She remembered just moments ago complaining to Ritsuko about Unit-01's pitiful, nearly zero activation success rate!
Ignoring Misato's shock, Ritsuko turned to Shinji and spoke in a businesslike yet final judgmental tone:
"Shinji Ikari, you will pilot Unit-01."
"This is insane!"
Misato finally couldn't contain herself, rushing up to Ritsuko with her voice rising in agitation.
"Rei Ayanami's Synchronization Test with Unit-00 took seven full months to achieve basic stability! Shinji just arrived here today! He doesn't even know what an Evangelion is! How could he possibly manage this?!"
She couldn't accept sending an unprepared boy to bear such enormous risk.
Ritsuko expressionlessly cut off Misato's objections, her voice calm to the point of being cruel:
"He just needs to get in."
"What we're asking him to do isn't difficult."
"But..." Misato tried to argue further.
"Repelling the Angel is our top priority now!"
Ritsuko's voice suddenly turned severe, carrying unquestionable finality.
"We cannot give up as long as there's even a glimmer of hope! There is no other way! As the operations commander, you should understand this better than anyone, Captain Katsuragi!"
The cold reality poured over Misato like ice water, instantly rendering her speechless.
She gazed into Ritsuko's emotionless eyes, then looked up at Gendo Ikari's cold profile looming above. A profound sense of helplessness seized her.
Indeed, what other option was there besides having Shinji attempt to pilot? Her lips parted briefly before she finally lowered her head in defeat, her voice parched:
"...Indeed."
***
T/N: There was a small mistake I made while translating in Chapters 5 and 8. I had translated his past life name without mentioning the name "Aeon." It's in the last part of Chapter 5 and in the middle part of Chapter 8. If you are interested you can go and check that out.
Happy Reading :)