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Chaos Element: Book One	By : Ranwolf Category: +M to R > Neon Genesis Evangelion > Crossovers Views: 1210 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own NGE or Gargoyles. I make no money on this fic.

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Chaos Element: Book One

Chapter 3: Training Day

By Ranwolf(@hotmail.com)

Disney/Buena Vista Studios own the concept of Gargoyles. Neon Genesis Evangelion and related characters are the property of Gainax Studios. They are used without the knowledge and/or consent of the rightful owners. The character of Kenshiro Maza is the property of the author.

Author's note: This story will in no way be canon. It will borrow elements from the original anime and manga, as well as the "Rebuild" movies. All of which are different from each other to begin with.

Shiro stepped out of the changing room dressed in a modified green and black Plug-suit. He felt self-conscious about how tightly the suit clung to him. It looked like a scuba outfit but it was made of a thinner, stronger material that felt somewhat like vinyl. Openings had been constructed to accommodate his wings and tail. The feeling of the water tight seal around his throat and the base of his wings and tail would take some time to get used to.

He grinned sheepishly seeing Maya and Dr. Akagi waiting for him. Ritsuko smirked slightly at the gargoyle and approached him. "How does it feel, Maza-kun?" She asked as she walked behind him and checked the seals around his wings. She gently prodded the red rubber-like material with her fingertips. She looked down at the base of his tail. Ritsuko stopped herself from performing a manual inspection there, not wanting to embarrass the young man more than she knew he probably felt. "Not too tight?"

"The tail is fine, feels a little weird, but nothing major." He rotated his shoulders and winced slightly at the way the seals rubbed against the membrane of his wings where they joined his back. "My wings feel like I'm gonna get blisters if I move too much." Shiro folded his wings around his shoulders, and sighed slightly as the sensation of pressure seemed to decrease around the roots.

"Hmm..." Ritsuko thought for a moment, studying the way Shiro's wing-struts shifted. "We may have to replace the material of the seal with something more pliant." She smiled slightly. "That or amputate."

Shiro's head snapped to the side, looking at the older woman.

Maya chuckled to herself at Shiro's expression. "Be a sport, Shiro-kun. It'll probably be cheaper than replacing the seals and you'll fit in better."

"That's not funny," Shiro muttered. He knew the two women were joking, but the very idea... A shiver ran up his spine.

"So... are you ready for your first training session?" Ritsuko asked him. She could see the pre-occupied expression on his face.

"Yeah, no time like the present and all that," Shiro replied.

He followed the both of them down the corridor to a large chamber that looked much like the Eva docking area. A large bridge elevator rested on the far wall with a Entry Plug waiting to be occupied. Shiro could see a number a workers checking and rechecking the equipment.

Below the bridge, looking like something from a horror movie was a trio of massive Evangelion torsos suspended by huge racks and conduits attached at various points along the arms, chest and back. The torsos were unarmored, the grayish-brown skin exposed to the air. At the waist, where the hips would be if it were a complete unit and not a training dummy, were large cables that hung down and looped back into it giving the appearance of intestines.

"Geez..." Shiro gasped at the sight. "Who designed this? Clive Barker?"

Maya giggled a bit, remembering asking a similar question the first time seeing the training system. Though to her, it looked more Giger-esque than Barker. "It may be disturbing to look at Shiro-kun, but it's the best way for the pilots to train short of sending the Evas into the city."

"Heh. I bet." Imagining the looks on peoples' faces seeing the multi-story behemoths strolling down the streets brought a grin to his face. "Would be fun though."

Maya left them at that time to the control room to begin setting the training program as Ritsuko saw to Shiro. As they approached the Plug, a sensation of apprehension suddenly formed in the pit of his stomach. Was he ready to do this? Could he do this? He knew it was only training exercise and he was told he had the right genetic make-up to be a pilot, but still... He looked back to Dr. Akagi, who waited patiently for him to climb into the long control cylinder. His gaze shifted to the large windows leading to the control room. He was pleasantly surprised to see Rei standing besides Maya, a hand pressed against the glass. Even at the distance he could just barely make out the smiles of support on their faces. He couldn't help but return it in kind. A new sense of determination grew within him. Can't let them down…, he thought to himself as he climbed into the Entry Plug.

He sat in the control chair, shifting around until he was comfortable. Ritsuko was leaning into the Entry Plug, her hand braced against the entrance. "Are you all set, Maza-kun?" she asked.

He nodded and pressed a switch that lowered the top half of the chair around his legs, securing him in place. "Any last minute advice, Doc?"

"Just take your time, Maza-kun. Rushing through training isn't going to help you in the long run."

"Yeah, Shinji told me how you basically stuffed him in Eva-One, with no training what-so-ever. Who was the genius that thought of that?"

"Commander Ikari." Ritsuko chuckled at Shiro's reaction. "And for the record, we didn't have much choice. Rei was injured and Asuka was still in Germany at the time." She went over the controls with Shiro one last time before she had the hatch sealed. The plug was dark for a minute or so, lit only by the control panel before him. Soon, the Entry Plug came to life as the 360 degree monitor suddenly came to life around him in a riot of psychedelic colors and patterns before settling into a view of the docking area outside.

The monitor to his left blinked, and a image of Ritsuko in the control room could be seen. He could see Maya seated at a computer station in the background. He spotted Rei a short distance away, keeping herself out the way of the technicians.

"Plug-suit telemetry is green across the board, Sempai." Maya began, reading from her station monitor. "Pulse, respiration and others are within norms."

"Excellent. Begin LCL injection." Ritsuko turned to face the camera and spoke to Shiro. "You've already been brief on how LCL works. Ne, Maza-kun?"

Shiro could already feel the orange fluid pooling around his feet by the time Ritsuko addressed him. He had been told by the other pilots about the stuff, but part of him had thought it was a joke. Breathing fluids was unnatural and he made it a point to repeat his opinion.

The LCL was at his waist.

He struggled against the sense of panic that was building. By the time the LCL reached his neck he was already holding a breath he had been told was unnecessary. He saw the annoyed look on Ritsuko's face and mentally cursed her. He wondered if she ever tried to do this or not.

The LCL level rose disconcertingly above his head.

"Pilot's pulse is increasing." Maya said. She turned away from her station and looked into the camera. "Shiro-kun, stop holding your breath. You'll make yourself sick." Shiro's lungs were beginning to burn. Small bubbles of air escaped. He clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Relax, Shiro-kun," he heard Rei's voice say calmly. He saw her walk closer to the camera. She had a look of calmness about her. She had a confidence in the technology that he didn't feel. "Humans breath fluids for the first nine months of their existence. Your body will remember."

His breath suddenly exploded from his mouth, rushing up to the ceiling of the Plug. He leaned off to the side, wheezing, as his lungs filled with LCL.

"That's right." Ritsuko said calmly. "Just breath. The LCL will supply you with all the oxygen you'll need. You'll get used to it after a minute."

A strange sense of déjà vu filled him as he breathed the thin liquid in and out. It felt oddly familiar to him, but that was impossible. He had never done anything like this before. Then he remembered what Rei said, and thought, perhaps that was it.

"How do you feel, Maza-kun?" Ritsuko asked after a few moments.

"Like a half-drowned cat," he growled. He straightened up, leaning back against his seat. "Fuck, this feels weird." He sucked in a deep breath and then coughed as a few small bubbles dislodged themselves from his lungs. He looked to Rei. "Was it like that the first time for you?"

Rei thought for a moment before answering. "Not quite as dramatically, Shiro-kun."

Shiro nodded, wondering if he looked like a total wuss in front of her. He sighed to himself, a totally new experience being submerged in a liquid he could breathe. He turned his head and noticed a readout on the screen to his left. It was all in Kanji. "Uh..."

Ritsuko made an annoyed expression. "You really must learn to read the language, Maza-kun." She turned to someone off screen. "Set the fundamental control system to English." Shiro saw the characters on his screen shift to English. "Better?" Ritsuko asked.

"Yeah, thanks."

"Good. We have to determine your sync-rate now. It may take a few minutes."

"So... what do you want me to do?" He gripped the forward controls, preparing himself for whatever the test required.

"For now, just concentrate." She walked off camera before Shiro could ask her to elaborate.

Shiro's shoulders sagged. He was looking forward to see what he can do.

"Concentrate, she says. That's a big help." he mumbled to himself.

He looked around the Entry Plug, looking at the readouts on the spherical screen around him. "Wonder if there's a radio in here somewhere."

"You need to empty your mind of stray thoughts, Shiro-kun." Rei said, suddenly. She had taken Ritsuko's place in front of the camera, her hands folded in front of her as she looked into the camera.

"What do you mean?" His search for the radio was abandoned for the moment.

"If you can keep your mind focused, your sync-rate will increase. A higher percentage means your control of Eva will improve."

"Oh." He tried closing his eyes and clearing his mind. He breathed slowly, trying to relax. Unfortunately, he couldn't, his mind kept wandering to various things in his life. School, his friends, that annoying reporter that kept trying to get an interview with him, Toji and Rei. The last brought a brief, yet visible frown on his face.

"Don't think of anything negative, Shiro-kun," Rei said. "It will lower your score."

"The Evas are primarily controlled through the A-10 nerve cluster," Maya explained. "The clips on your head read your impulses and relay them to the Eva. The A-10 is also associated with memories, cognizance, joy and pleasure. So having a positive attitude actually helps."

"What do you guys think of?" Shiro asked Rei, still keeping his eyes closed.

"Ikari-kun thinks of his mother, from before she... left." Rei paused in thought for a moment. "Souryu focuses on having the highest sync-rate." Shiro's left eye popped open and stared at the screen blankly. Rei shrugged, seeing his expression. "It works for her."

"Basically, think happy thoughts, huh?" Shiro closed his eye.

Maya chuckled lightly. "As strange as it sounds. The most powerful weapon on earth runs on fairy dust." The remark got some laughs from some of the techs around the room.

"What do you think about, Rei?" Shiro asked.

The question brought a slight blush to her face. Previously, she had managed to keep her mind clear of everything except the task at hand, and for the most part it worked. Though her score was usually the lowest of the three pilots, they had always been consistent, where Shinji's and Asuka's fluctuated depending on their moods. Recently however, memories of certain moments that had occurred in the last few weeks invaded her thoughts. Times of quiet conversations, or stolen glances. Secret visits and moments of bliss. Her sync-rate had increased seven points from her average. "I think... of the peace I feel after it rains."

It took him several seconds before he understood what she was referring to. A smile formed on the demi-goyle's face.

The day after the car crash, Maya had called Shiro to inform him that she would be unable to pick him up after school as there was a problem with a new piece of equipment for Eva-Zero, and if he would have any problem returning to the Geo-front with Rei.

The two walked together, headed to the nearest NERV transport hub, when Shiro talked Rei into taking a detour into one of the nearby parks. The two spent time together talking, rather Shiro was doing most of the talking and Rei was listening. They spoke of his clan and New York. Rei told him of some of the antics she had witnessed between Shinji, Asuka and Misato.

They sat on a bench near a duck pond. Though there were people around they didn't pay them much attention. Shiro had his wings folded, so he could blend in better. Some people did recognize them from media reports but left them alone. They were too busy making their way out of the park as gray clouds slowly drifted overhead into the city.

"They're more like a family, than an officer and subordinates," Rei said "Sometimes I wish..." Her thought drifted off.

Shiro nodded in understanding. He knew she was isolated from others. She was perceived as cold by most except by the people that knew her best. "You want to be a part of that. Not to be alone so much."

"Hai," she said quietly. "They invite me to dinner sometimes." She allowed herself a small smile at the memories of her last meal with them. Shinji had made the meal with Asuka's assistance. Though not elaborate, the food was quite good. Shinji had much practice over the years being the primary cook for the small surrogate family.

"Well... you got me. That's a start I suppose." A soft smile formed on her face when Shiro took her hand in his. "Maybe we could, I don't know, do something like that? Maybe invite them over or something."

Before she could reply, the clouds unzipped themselves, unloading their contents onto the city. The two ran, searching for cover as the rain came down. They finally found shelter in a nearby area of the park with picnic tables each with their own gazebo-style covers. They shook the water out of their hair as best they could but it was no use. The rain had come down too hard and unexpectedly. Their soaked uniforms clung to them like second skins. They stared at each for a short time, neither saying a word.

Shiro moved closer to Rei. He raised his hand, touching her cheek with a tenderness he wanted to express for a long time. "Do you know how beautiful you look right now?"

Rei closed her eyes, pressing her hand over his, enjoying the warmth she felt. "I... I'm not..." she trailed off.

"You are." He leaned down and gently pressed his lips to hers.

A soft shudder of joy ran up her spine as the kiss seemed to last an eternity. She reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him in, deepening the kiss.

The two of them stayed in their small world, isolated in peace by the rain.

"We're done, Shiro-kun." Ritsuko's voice interrupted the memory of the park. He opened his eyes and saw Dr. Akagi standing next to Rei. "You did fairly well. Your sync-rate is 29.3%."

"Is that good?" he asked. Twenty-nine percent didn't seem very high to him.

"Almost five percent above the minimum we need," Ritsuko replied. "Given time, it should go up as your training progress." She placed her hands in the pockets of her lab coat. "Are you ready to get started Maza-kun? I want to run through a few tutorials before we try any scenarios today."

"Yeah, let's get goin'. I wanna get out of this stuff and into a shower."

Ritsuko smirked. She knew how LCL could be disturbing to those unused to it. Over the years, she and her team had tried to make modification to the fluid, to make it easier to take in but nothing they tried ever really worked as well as pure LCL.

She turned to Maya and gave instructions to begin the simulation. The image of the control room cut out and the spherical monitor shifted to black. After a few moments, a wire-frame image of Tokyo-3 formed. From the bottom up, each building coalesced, each brick, each door, each pane of glass formed. The digital sky overhead was overcast, bolts of lightning streaked from area to area, or down onto one of the skyscrapers scattered around the downtown area.

"Wow..." said Shiro, incredible impressed by the level of detail. "Doc, whoever programmed this deserves a bonus."

"I'm sure the programmers will appreciate the sentiment. For now, we'll just concentrate on basic movements, before moving to combat techniques and weapons. Try to concentrate on walking."

"Right. Walking." Shiro gripped the controls, and concentrated. He imagined the Eva taking a single step forward. The image of the city lurched forward.

"Good, Maza-kun. Try that again."

Shiro concentrated on walking through the city. For the most part he was successful, though he stumbled a few times and took out a parking complex for his trouble. After an hour, Shiro became proficient enough to move on to other aspects of controlling the Evangelion, such as weapon control.

He was instructed to a weapons cache and told to withdraw the automatic pistol. He was surprised to see the weapon was based on the Desert Eagle, a weapon he had seen in numerous movies and TV. shows. A ten-point target appeared about a kilometer away. Rei, having experience with the weapon, gave him instructions on how to use the targeting reticule on the screen before him. He raised the weapon using a two handed grip, he carefully aimed and fired two rounds. The Buick sized rounds slammed into the target, right of center in the eight point circle. When asked, he reminded Ritsuko that his grandmother was a police officer in his world and proper gun use and safety was practically a requirement in his clan.

The next two hours were spent with instruction and drilling with the various weapons. From the bullpup-style assault rifle, which he seemed to have trouble keeping on target on full-automatic, to the experimental Progressive Sword. Shiro did reasonably well with the bladed weapon, but he had cut through the umbilical cord when he first tried going through one of the practice forms Hudson had taught him.

Ritsuko finally called an end to the day's training session. Which was fine by him, his mind was beginning to tire from a long day of training. The LCL fluid slowly drained away. When the LCL level was below his head a sudden urge to retch overcame him as the LCL was forced from his lungs. He cough and sputtered, clearing his lungs. "Gods, stuffs nastier coming up, than going in. Ugh!"

He still had the taste of LCL in his mouth some minutes later when the hatch to the Entry Plug was opened. Maya stuck her head into the Entry Plug, a proud smile on her face. "You did really well, Shiro-kun." She tossed him a bottle of water. He caught it and downed half of it quickly, relieved to get rid of the bitter aftertaste. Shiro climbed out of the Entry Plug, he rolled his neck, which had started to stiffen up.

"Thanks, Maya. But I really need practice with the rifle. That was embarrassing."

Maya giggled a little remembering the shot pattern in the target. "The term 'spray and pray' comes to mind." She laughed again at the sour look he gave her. "Go take a shower, Shiro-kun. The LCL is starting to congeal."

He looked down at himself, and saw she was right. The orange liquid was already becoming thick and was sloshing off onto the umbilical bridge. He grinned to the shorter woman before he headed off to the locker room.

Before he took two steps, Maya reached out and stopped him by his arm. "By the way, Shiro-kun. You've been assigned to new quarters outside the Geo-front."

"Wait. Really?" Shiro was surprised by this revelation. He had thought he would be staying in the base for the foreseeable future. "Where? With you?"

Maya shook her head. "My place is too small. No, you've been assigned an apartment in the same building Rei-chan lives in. Two or three doors down, I think."

"Oh. Okay. Not so bad."

"Don't look so upset," Maya said sarcastically. She leaned in slightly and spoke softly so only he heard. "You really should try to be more discrete with Rei-chan, especially now."

"Wh-what are you talking about?" He felt panic rise up in him, wondering what he should say or do. He and Rei had discussed their new relationship, and agreed to try to keep it a secret until they knew how people might react one way or another.

Maya sighed. "Shiro-kun, I admit I'm not the most sophisticated person in the world, but I'm not blind. I've seen the way you two look at each other when you think no one notices. If I noticed, you can bet someone else has."

Shiro paled slightly at the thought.

Maya saw the panic on her ward's face, and cursed herself. She could only imagine the thoughts running through his head at the moment. "Shiro, no. Whatever you're thinking, stop. I doubt anything as bad as what you're thinking is ever going to happen. All I'm saying is be discreet that's all, alright."

She saw the look on his face and knew he wasn't totally convinced. "I know from what your father said, your world could be rather... trying." Shiro nodded stiffly. "I like to think things here are at least a little better in that regard. So don't sabotage yourself with negativity. Think happy thought." She gave him a reassuring smile, which he returned.

"Alright, I'll try. No guarantees, but I'll try."

"Good. Get going, Rei is waiting for you."

Less than ten minutes later, Shiro exited the locker room. He smiled seeing Rei leaning against the wall, waiting patiently for him. She smiled, and walked over to him. He saw she had a pair of envelopes in her hands.

"These are for you, Shiro-kun." She handed him the envelopes. "Akagi-sensei asked me to give them to you."

"Thanks. What are they?" he asked as he opened them.

"Your identification card and your monthly stipend," she answered. He opened the first envelope and found a white plastic card with his name and picture on it. "Do not lose that, you will need it to enter the Geo-front from now on."

He smiled at her. "Never had a problem before," he said, referring to the blind spots in security.

Rei nodded in agreement at that. "Ikari-san asked me to thank you for finding the weaknesses in security. He also wanted me to tell you not to do that again."

Shiro choked back a reply, not wanting to say aloud what the Commander can do with his thanks. He then opened the second envelope and found a check in it for sixty-thousand yen. His eyes widened at the number. "This can't be right." He was told he would be receiving some money for food, clothing and whatever else he may need. "Sixty-thousand?" For the first time, he heard Rei laugh. "What?"

She quickly composed herself, a smile stayed on her face. "Shiro-kun, that's about six-hundred American dollars. It's just enough for basic needs."

"Oh." He flushed a little in embarrassment. "Well at least I don't have to wear a school uniform all the time." Rei gave him a curious look. "Uh..." He wasn't sure how to explain; obviously Rei didn't see a problem with it. She probably thinks it's just practical, he thought.

"I know I'm considered strange by some," she said softly. "I don't always do or say things that are considered normal. I tend to... not do what others do."

"Everyone's strange in some way. Shinji apologizes for stuff he has no control over and he plays the cello. Asuka's got a big ego. I like music from before I was even born. So wearing a school uniform all the time, you fit right in."

"You think playing the cello is strange?" she asked.

"You don't?"

They continued their conversation for a few minutes before walking off together. Neither of the young couple had noticed they had been discreetly watched by someone.

Gendo Ikari had been heading to a departmental meeting when he spotted Rei and Shiro talking. He had managed to get out of sight as he listened in on their conversation.

To say he was surprised by the apparent familiarity they had with each other was an understatement. He watched Rei, and saw the way she moved, her body language telling him more of her emotional state than any words could. The look of delight she had on her face as she spoke to the gargoyle brought an almost bittersweet joy to Ikari's heart. She looked at Maza the same way Yui would look at him when they had first met. He was torn between allowing the relationship to continue and ordering an end to it. He knew Maza would do everything he could to defy him. It was in the gargoyle's psychological makeup. For the first time, he was uncertain if Rei would obey his order. He saw them turn a corner. Rei paused as if sensing something and spotted him.

Their eyes made contact. He could see the sudden worry on her young face.

Ikari kept his expression neutral as he turned and continued onto his meeting. He had much to think about.

END
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Chaos Element: Book One