| Neon Genesis Evangelion Book 1 Stage 2: Reunion Stage 2 opens with the introduction Ritsuko Akagi, the Supervisor of Project E. Sent to find where Captain Katsuragi has disappeared off to, Ritsuko find Misato and Shinji wandering lost through the maze-like corridors of Nerv, and hints to Shinji that Gendo has something to show him. It is Gendo's first encounter with Shinji in three years, and as the first Angel quickly closes in on Tokyo-3, it is quickly becoming clear that Gendo intends to send Shinji out into battle in the place of the severly wounded Rei Ayanami. Ritsuko divulges a small yet critical clue about the angels- neither 'powered or manipulated by remote control, the Angel is a form of giant, intellegent life. All of its actions are determined by its programming...just like the Eva." Misato, Ritsuko and Shinji arrive at the storage tank of Eva Unit 01, and Gendo appears, telling Shinji that he must ride in the Eva and battle the Angel. When Misato objects, Gendo states that he is only expecting Shinji to sit in the Unit; he has no worries that Shinji will be unable to Synchronize with the Eva, though it took Rei seven month to accomplish this task. When Shinji questions his father's logic, condemns him for abandoning him only to later order him to his death, Gendo coolly states he has no need for cowards on a battlefield where the future of humanity is at stake. He sends for Rei, his only other available pilot. When asked whether that was a good decision, Gendo simply says that "She's not dead." Gasping for breath and covered in bandages, Rei is rolled in on a stretcher, so bad are her injuries. Yet she tries to rise again to fight, much to the horror of an ashamed Shinji. Stage 2 ends as the ceiling begin to cave in on them- the angel has found Nerv. |
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