Thesis of a Cruel Angel by Sakabelle
Summary:

 photo TOCABanner_zps8afdd4f6.jpg

In the year 1999, Nick Carter was on top of the world.

What he didn't count on was having to save it.

Categories: Fanfiction > Backstreet Boys Characters: Group, Nick
Genres: Angst, Drama, Science Fiction
Warnings: None
Challenges:
Series: None
Chapters: 6 Completed: No Word count: 13763 Read: 7726 Published: 07/31/13 Updated: 08/28/13
Story Notes:
What, I started a new story?! I haven't forgotten about Running Up That Hill, I promise! But I got the momentum going on this one again and it's really heavily outlined so I'm hoping that the new album well keep me chugging along on it. Also straight up, this is inspired by (and a universe crossover with) Neon Genesis Evangelion, but you don't need to know anything about that show to read this, all will be revealed!

Warnings are subject to change, and they will change. You have been warned... about the warnings lol

1. Chapter 1 by Sakabelle

2. Chapter 2 by Sakabelle

3. Chapter 3 by Sakabelle

4. Chapter 4 by Sakabelle

5. Chapter 5 by Sakabelle

6. Chapter 6 by Sakabelle

Chapter 1 by Sakabelle
1


“Boston!” Nick Carter shouted through the microphone. The crowd went wild with anticipation. He raised his hand high in the air. “We, the Backstreet Boys, just want to thank you. We truly have the best fans in the entire world.”

More screaming commenced as the band played the first notes to the last song in the setlist. Everyone in the room, whether hardcore fan or chaperone knew exactly what it was. The moment of recognition when the crowd went wild for the hit single was something that always sent chills down Nick's spine.

He was tired, the show was nearly over and he couldn't wait to run back to his bus for a bite to eat. Still, he couldn't help but grin.

“B-Rok,” Nick said, pointing to his bandmate as a signal to start singing. Of course it was only for show, definitely not necessary. They knew the entire set list by heart and could probably perform in their sleep if needed.

Brian gave Nick a grin, before turning back to the crowd. “You are...” he began, and almost instantly, everyone in the arena began to sing along.

“My fire, the one desire, believe, when I say, that I want it that way...”

Nick licked his lips just before it was his turn to come in. “But we,” he sang. “Are two worlds apart, I can't reach to your heart, when you say...” he trailed off before holding his microphone out for the sold out crowd to continue.

“I want it that way...”

With the first verse out of the way, the band went into full swing, and the boys gave it all they had. The last song of the night was always the toughest to get through. It was the most well known, the most anticipated and the most bittersweet. By the end of the show they were always tired and eager to get off stage, but the crowd reaction kept them going. It always made the song easier to get through.

Nick loved being on stage and loved his career. He loved the song I Want It That Way, and what it had done for the group. Even still, he was fairly certain that if he never had to sing the words “tell me why,” ever again in his life, he'd be fine with it.

The boys gathered back on the top of the stage as AJ held the last note to the song. The band continued to play, and there was an explosion of pyrotechnics as the five superstars were lowered down. As they began to disappear, they all joined hands and took a bow the same way they always did.

The band still played, and the pyrotechnics continued to go off, but the boys were no longer in sight. As soon as the platform touched down, they hit the ground running. It was the same every night – the goal was to get back to the hotel before the fans left the venue.

Nine times out of ten it worked well. They would be on their buses and on the way back to the hotel before any of the fans had left the venue. They would safely make it back to their rooms without so much as a scream or an encounter.

Of course there were sometimes setbacks, but they were few and far between. More often than not, the boys were safe and sound after the show.

“I'm starving,” Nick panted as they ran to the buses. “There better be some food on that bus! I feel like I haven't eaten anything in a week.”

“Nick will you shut up?” Kevin asked in exasperation. “Every night you complain that you're hungry after the show, and every single night there's food waiting for you on the bus.”

Nick just grinned as they went barrelling through the door. He sat down at the small kitchen table and sure enough, as always, there was fast food waiting for them.

The bus started to move as he dug into his food. The other four members of the group joined him. Though they each had their own separate buses for travelling, they usually only used one to get from the venue back to the hotel. It was just easier that way.

While AJ and Nick always ate the food relatively quickly, the others just picked at it, preferring to eat something with a little more substance after they got back at the hotel. Nick of course was fine with this, as he had no problem stealing a few fries from Brian.

“Can you believe this?” Kevin marvelled as they continued on their way back to the hotel. “Our first stadium tour, it seems like only yesterday we were playing in middle schools...”

Nick looked up slightly and raised his eyebrow. Kevin tended to get nostalgic like this every once in a while. Usually he found it best to stay quiet, but there were times he couldn't help but open his big mouth. “Sure, but we were playing arenas before this. We always said we wanted to get to this point you know? Well, here we are.”

“Would it kill you to be humble for once, Nick?” Kevin asked in annoyance.

Nick just shrugged and went back to picking at the unwanted fries on the table.

The rest of the ride to the hotel when on without incident. Once they were back at the hotel it was the same process as always. The bus would pull up around the back, the bodyguards would check to make sure there were no fans waiting around, and quickly, as though they were sheep, the five guys would be herded off the bus and into the hotel.

They walked briskly, surrounded by the guards as they made their way into the hotel. For once, word about where they were staying had seemed to be kept under wraps. There wasn't a teenage girl in sight as they entered the hotel lobby.

Nick was somewhat disappointed. Though he disliked having to walk through a mob, a couple of fans in the lobby didn't usually bother him. Especially when they were hot, he thought to himself with a grin. But much to his dismay, there was no one who had their eyes fixated on him.

No one that Nick noticed anyway. From afar, a woman dressed in a professional business suit watched as he was ushered into the hotel. When they stopped in front of the elevator, she got up from the chair she'd been waiting in and walked over to them.

“Nickolas Gene Carter?” she asked, though it wasn't necessary. She was well aware of who he was.

Before Nick had a chance to answer, their security guard, Marcus held up his hand. “No autographs, ma’am,” he said sternly.

The woman remained professional, though she wanted to laugh. “I'm not here for an autograph, I'm here from NERV,” she said, flashing a badge much like someone from the FBI would.

Nick's eyes widened as he glanced at the other Backstreet Boys. NERV? What could they possibly want with him? They weren't exactly an unknown organization, but what they did and how they operated and never been quite clear to the general public.

“NERV?” Nick croaked, and he heard AJ stifle a giggle from behind him as his voice cracked.

“Yes that's right,” she said, putting her badge away. “I've been sent here to bring Nickolas back to our headquarters in New York. So I'll ask again... is that who you are?”

Nick was too stunned to say anything. NERV was serious business. He didn't think he'd done anything bad enough to get the government involved. Sure, he'd slept with a lot of girls and never called them again. And he'd done a fair bit of underage drinking... and there had been some drugs. But all of that had come with being a part of the music business... and if he was going down, he was taking AJ with him!

Before Nick had a chance to regain his composure, Marcus stepped in. “Yeah, that's him,” he said, his attitude changing completely from when the woman had first approached them. “What do you want with him?”

“That's classified,” she replied, half smiling.

“I haven't done anything bad...” Nick said shakily.

The woman softened. “No... it's nothing like that,” she said. “We just want to talk to you... but unfortunately I do need to take you back to New York with me. There's a car waiting outside that will take us to their airport. If you could pack a bag and meet me back down in here ten minutes, it would be much appreciated.”

Nick looked at Marcus for support, but nothing was said. He couldn't go to New York! He had a show to do the next day!

Marcus just nodded slowly. “Alright. He'll be back down here in ten minutes.”

Nick wore a look of shock on his face. Alright? Alright? Nothing about this was alright! Wasn't Marcus supposed to protect him? Wasn't that what a bodyguard was for?

Marcus sighed as Nick shouted all of these things while haphazardly packing his backpack for his trip. “It's NERV, Nick, what do you want me to do?”

“Tell them that I have a show tomorrow! Tell them that I can't go with them!”

Marcus rolled his eyes at Nick's teenage outburst. In the face of this, he had reverted back to his fifteen year old self. “Relax Nick, you'll be fine.”

“How can you say that?” Nick muttered, zipping up his backpack. “How can you say that it'll be fine? They're NERV! They're a faceless, corporate organization and no one knows what they do! They're just... there! Being evil and stuff.”

“If no one knows what they do, then how would you know that they're evil, hm?” Marcus asked, giving Nick a small grin as they exited the hotel room.

“Just... cause,” Nick shrugged, feeling defeated. They stepped into the elevator, and Nick began to feel nervous all over again. “All corporate organizations are evil, aren't they? And you heard about what's going on in New York, didn't you? They said NERV was behind that.”

Marcus rolled his eyes. “You and your conspiracy theories. Do you think we'd actually let you go if you were in any real danger? If NERV needs you, you've got to go, Nick.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Nick mumbled.

The elevator doors opened, and, just as she said she would be, the woman was still waiting there. “All ready to go?” she asked, looking up at Nick, who just nodded glumly.

“Do you need me to come with him? Whenever he goes out in public, he usually needs some kind of escort,” said Marcus, looking at Nick. Nick smiled gratefully, hoping that a familiar face would be travelling with him.

The woman shook her head. “That won't be necessary. We are aware of Nick's situation and are prepared to deal with it. He'll be in good hands with us.”

Marcus nodded. “Just bring him back in one piece.”

The woman kept the smile plastered on her face as she looked at Nick. “He'll be in good hands.”
Chapter 2 by Sakabelle
2


Nick remained silent for the entirety of the ride from the hotel to the airport. He gazed out the window. Boston had always been a city that he'd enjoyed visiting. Rather than focusing on the fact that he was being taken to NERV, he instead lamented the fact that his time in the city would be cut short. He wasn't quite sure what it was about Boston that he enjoyed so much, perhaps it was simply the close proximity to the ocean that he loved so much.

He closed his eyes and imagined that he was back home on his boat. If he tried hard enough he could almost smell the salty sea air. When he was out on his boat alone there was no room for the uncertainty he was feeling. The was only the vast water, continuing out for miles with endless possibilities.

“Nickolas?”

Nick snapped back to reality as he heard the woman call out his name. This woman who was intent on using his full name, and whose name he had yet to find out! It began to annoy him.

“It's Nick,” he said casually, trying to make it seem like he really didn't care. Even though he very much did – the only person who ever called him Nickolas was his mother. And that was only when he was pissing her off.

“Sorry,” the woman smiled as she stepped out of the car. “Nick,” she corrected herself. “We're here.”

Nick followed her out of the car and looked around the airport. It looked the same as it always had, but he felt differently. Any other time he'd set foot in this airport he'd been with the other guys, surrounded by bodyguards and on their way to a show, a press junket, a photoshoot. He even lamented the fact that he wasn't on his way to a taping of TRL – which was his absolute least favourite obligation as a Backstreet Boy. Basically anything else would have been better that wasn't a secret government organization summoning him for God knows what.

He felt a shiver run down his spine, but tried to ignore it.

“You know, you still haven't told me your name,” Nick said as they began to walk towards airport security with a couple of men who Nick could only assume were NERV appointed goons. He flashed the woman his famous Carter grin when she looked back at him. Top secret mission or not, he still had a way with the ladies.

“That's classified,” she said tucking her short blonde hair behind her ear. She winked at him from behind her glasses and Nick's cheeky grin fell.

“Sorry,” she laughed. “I'm just kidding. I'm Dr. Risa Katzen and I'm the Chief Operations Officer at NERV.”

They continued to walk briskly, stopping once they reached the line. “So, uh, what do you guys do at NERV anyway?” Nick asked somewhat awkwardly, unsure if he would actually get an answer out of her.

Risa pressed her lips together and studied Nick intently.

“Let me guess,” Nick continued when he saw her expression. “That's classified.”

She softened a little. “I'm not at liberty to discuss such things with you right now, Nick. I assure you you'll learn everything you need to know in due time. That's why we're taking you to the headquarters – not everything can be discussed in public.”

“Don't I know it,” Nick muttered, having been in the same type of situation numerous times before. “Why are you taking me there? Is it because someone there's a fan?” he asked, raising his eyebrow and flashing her the same smirk once again.

Risa only blushed slightly as they made their way through the line. “While I can't say for certain that isn't the case,” she said, placing her belongings on the conveyor belt. “Rest assured that isn't the reason for this trip.”

“Uh huh...” Nick wasn't entirely convinced. The whole thing seemed fishy. What if this Risa chick was really just some crazy fan using her job to get closer to him? “But-”

“I'll have to ask you to stop asking questions now, as I said to you before, all will be explained once we get to NERV. But in the meantime, just try to enjoy the trip and not worry so much.”

Nick sighed. Worrying wasn't usually something he did – but everything about this turn of events just seemed so unsettling.

***


It was late when they arrived in New York. The flight hadn't been particularly long, but between performing that night, the sudden change in his schedule, the flight and the sheer wonder of what was going on, Nick felt exhausted. He wanted nothing more than to go back to his hotel room – wherever that was going to be – and sleep.

However, NERV had other plans.

Once their plane touched down they were quickly ushered out of the airport and back into yet another car that was waiting for them. For a normal person it would have seemed very fast paced. However for Nick, this was actually slower than he was used to. They were seemingly rushed, but Nick was so well versed in moving quickly that he found the hustle to be no trouble at all.

It was already quite late, given that he'd performed in a concert that night, flown to New York from Boston on what felt like a whim, but sleep was the last thing on his mind. As the car crawled through the streets of Lower Manhattan, Nick gulped.

He tried to look out the tinted window and focus on the city lights, but it was no use. He didn’t have a clue where they were going or how long it was going to take for them to arrive at their destination. He felt strange sitting in this car that the silence was almost deafening. Any other time he'd been to New York, he'd been surrounded by screams and the constant chatter of his bandmates and crew.

In fact, he was usually the one most responsible for that chatter. The other boys would stop and have their moment of awe, but Nick just liked to talk and talk, going on about silly things until the others told him to shut up. He'd never really been one to be overly deep and awestruck. At least, not when it came to New York. To him, it was just another city that came with a lot more sleepless nights and early mornings because there was always so much press to do.

But with no teenage girls on the streets, and no Kevin beside him telling him to stop talking about how much he hated Carson Daly, Nick was at a loss as to what to do with himself.

He glanced over at Risa, who was sitting beside him. The car wasn't small by any means, and there was a fair amount of space between them. Nick was thankful for that, because he wasn't quite sure he liked the vibe he was getting from her. For someone who worked for such a crazy organization such as NERV, she sure seemed to be uncomfortable. She was sitting in her seat, her hands folded neatly in her lap – but every so often she would fidget.

She kept her gaze fixed firmly out her own window, and she didn't even take notice of Nick watching her.

She eluded him. He opened his mouth with the intent to make some kind of small talk – because he couldn't handle the silence for any longer. But words failed him, and he just snapped his mouth closed again, choosing instead to look out the window.

He actually wished that Kevin was there with him. He'd know what to do and how to make the situation less awkward. Then again, Kevin hadn't even put up a fight when Nick had been pulled away. He hadn't said a word. Nick wasn't sure whether he should have been mad or not. Truly, if there was nothing Marcus could do then there obviously was nothing Kevin could have done, but still, Kevin always liked to argue with their management, and shouldn't he have tried to -

“Nick?”

“Huh?” Nick turned his head around. He hadn't even realized that the car had stopped he'd been so wrapped up in imagining Kevin defending his honour.

“We're here,” Risa said warmly, motioning for Nick to get out of the car.

“Oh,” Nick said dumbly. He unbuckled his seatbelt and ran a hand through his hair before stepping out of the car. He glanced at Risa, who nodded at him to grab his backpack. He sighed, slinging it over his shoulders and awkwardly stuffing his hands into his pockets.

That was when he looked up.

It seemed like a regular office building of sorts. It was on the outskirts of Lower Manhattan, but still very much in the area. For somewhere that seemed to be shrouded in mystery, it sure looked normal.

That actually made Nick even more uncomfortable. He followed Risa and the two goons (as he'd dubbed the large men in suits escorting them) into the building, shuffling his feet just a little. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, but it certainly hadn't been an office building with marble floors and plants near the elevator.

Risa hit the button to call the elevator, and almost immediately the two silver doors opened. Nick gulped again as he stepped into the confined space. They silently rode up to what appeared to be the top floor and Nick was sure it took almost a full minute.

The silence was broken by the harsh ding of the stall. The doors opened and Risa stepped out. The goons followed her and Nick, though he didn't want to, followed as well.

The goons walked off in another direction but Risa stood still, looking at Nick.

Nick glanced around. This didn't exactly look like the office lobby he'd set foot in earlier. The walls were painted black, there were monitors and screens set up, and desks with people in lab coats working and typing furiously.

It was at that point that Nick realized how late it actually was, and how strange the entire situation seemed. Because of his job he was used to working strange hours, but didn't people with normal jobs usually only stay in the office until six o'clock at the latest?

Of course, nothing about this seemed normal to him at all, but still.

“Uh,” Nick said, looking at her. “Isn't it kinda late to be at work?”

Risa shrugged, keeping that warm half-smile plastered on her face. Nick was beginning to grow tired of that, and he wondered how much of her attitude was actually genuine. All of this was really starting to creep him out.

What sort of office had black walls, anyway?

“We have a team working 'round the clock,” Risa said, turning on her heels and beginning to walk briskly down the halls. “We need to have preparations in place at all times.”

“Uh huh,” Nick said, still glancing around. She definitely wasn't wrong – their team seemed to be completely immersed in their work – whatever that was.

“Sorry to keep you awake this late,” Risa said apologetically as she turned to him. They had stopped in front of what looked to be an office. It had a painted black door with no name on it. Just a number and a keypad. “It's just that it was imminent that we get you here as soon as possible.”

“Uh, it's fine,” Nick said, raising his eyebrow. If he hadn't been whisked away he likely still would have been awake anyway. The difference was that he likely would have been out drinking with AJ, instead of standing in some ominous top floor of a skyscraper in New York.

Risa didn't respond to him. Instead she typed some combination of numbers onto the keypad. The door beeped and the light above it flashed green, which Nick guessed signalled that it was unlocked.

He guessed right, because Risa opened the door and led him into the room. It was big, but it wasn't unlike the rest of the area that he'd seen. There were more monitors on the walls, showing New York from every single angle.

Nick glanced around, looking at the monitors much like he had stared out the car window. He wasn't sure exactly what he was looking at, he was just looking. He wasn't even sure what they were monitoring New York for, or how they somehow had all of this footage.

It took a few seconds before Nick noticed the large marble desk at the end of the room. Behind it sat a tall, thin man. His dark brown hair was balding, and he wore tinted coke-bottle glasses.

If Nick wasn't so freaked out he probably would have laughed. The man almost looked like some sort of evil super-villian.

“Welcome Nickolas, we've been expecting you,” the man said, leaning his elbows on the desk and resting his chin on the backs of his hands.

“Uh, yeah,” Nick said slightly sarcastically. “Of course you were, you sent her to get me.” He pointed at Risa, who was now making her way to stand beside the desk.

Nick just stood there awkwardly, because there were no chairs, and no place for him to sit down.

His tone was ignored. “I'm sure you're wondering why we've brought you here,” the man said.

Nick just nodded, his hands still firmly placed in his pockets.

“I'm Dr. Brentson,” he said with a nod. “I'm the head of research here at NERV -”

“And what are you researching?” Nick asked, abruptly cutting him off. He was obviously out of line, and Nick could almost hear Kevin reprimanding him for being so rude. Luckily (or perhaps unluckily) Kevin wasn't there, so Nick continued. “And what the fuck is it that you guys do here anyway?”

Dr. Brentson lowered his eyes at Nick, but he didn't falter. “That's classified.”

“Of course it is,” Nick scoffed. He was well past the point of being annoyed. He'd been dragged out to New York with nary an explanation as to why – and whenever he asked he got the same non-response.

It was actually worse than the music industry. For that, Nick thought that these people deserved some sort of award.

“What I can tell you is that our world isn't exactly how you think it is,” he said, not moving from his position. “We're under what you might call... speculation from above.”

Nick raised his eyebrow. He had no idea what that meant.

“Our existence didn't just come into being, we were created by beings that we've dubbed 'Angels'-”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Nick laughed, throwing his head back. At this point, he was being excessively rude to try and elicit some kind of reaction from either Dr. Brentson or Risa – because both of them had far too even a demeanour for his liking. “I know what angels are.”

“No you don't,” Risa cut in, eyeing Nick. “Not like this.”

Dr. Brentson nodded. “She's right. It's not the same. What you think of as angels are actually quite the opposite. This world is theirs... and they want it back. They're coming one by one to try and take this place back from us. They want us gone.”

Nick's mouth suddenly felt very dry. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be thinking or how to comprehend all of this. Hours ago he'd been on stage doing his thing, and now he was being told about angels that were (ironically) not all that angelic. Nothing about his life seemed normal, and that evening had been surreal on both ends of the spectrum.

“Where do I fit it with all this?” he asked weakly.

It was then that Dr. Brentson stood up and walked around to the front of his desk. He was still feet away from Nick. He gave the blonde a look, and continued to walk across the office. Risa followed him, and nodded her head towards Nick, indicating that he should go along with them.

Nick sighed, trying to keep his composure as he followed them to the other end of the large room.

“You're aware of the things that have been happening in this city, I'm sure,” Dr. Brentson said as they walked out of the office and down a long corridor.

“Sort of,” Nick shrugged. No one was really aware about what was going on in New York – only that this strange organization had appeared and they seemed to be very secretive about whatever operation they had going on.

“Because of the population density here and the fact that America really seems as though it's the centre of the universe, the angels have chosen this as their target. This is where they will strike, and we need to be prepared to defend ourselves. That,” he said, stopping in front of yet another door, with yet another keypad, “is where you come in.”

Nick knitted his eyebrows, looking at the two strangers before him. The whole thing seemed like some sort of movie he'd watch on the Sci-Fi network. Had he not been living it he likely would have thought it was really, really cool.

The fact that all of this was actually happening to him, he had no idea about any of the back-story, and couldn't just turn it off, made it significantly less cool.

“Uh, okay,” Nick said only because he felt he should say something.

“I'm going to have to ask the two of you to avert your eyes,” Dr. Brentson said, looking at the two of them.

For a moment, Nick and Risa made eye-contact while Dr. Brentson presumably punched in some classified password. Risa gave Nick a small smile, but it did little to comfort him.

The door slid open, and Nick's eyes grew wide with what he saw.

Standing before him was what looked to be a robotic humanoid, probably three hundred times his size.

“What is that?” Nick asked, amazed he was actually able to find words.

“That is Evangelion Unit One,” Dr. Brentson said, looking at Nick, and then back up at the figure. “It's what you'll be piloting in order to defend us against the imminent Angel attacks.”
Chapter 3 by Sakabelle
3


The New York skyline was the last thing on Nick's mind as he laid down on his hotel bed that night.

After being shown what had been called an Evangelion and scared out of his wits, NERV had put him up in a hotel room for the night. Of course they hadn't let him leave without signing a non-disclosure agreement.

That signature what the current bane of his existence, because he wanted nothing more than to pick up the phone and tell everyone about what he was now a part of. Moreover, he wanted to try and discuss with someone why exactly he was the one who had been called upon for this mission.

He hadn't yet fully comprehended what he'd been told. All he understood was that apparently, because it was the dawn of the new Millennium, these Angels were targeting to take back the Earth. Somehow this NERV organization knew about it, and in order to fight these not so celestial beings, he was going to have to get into some sort of humanoid suit that was ten times his size and fight it.

It all seemed completely surreal, and before Nick knew it he was dialling Brian's number from the hotel phone.

It wasn't that he and Brian were the best of friends anymore. They weren't – not since Brian had started dating this woman who took up all of his time. Nick still sort of resented him for that, but at the moment he couldn't care less.

All he wanted was to feel as though he was thirteen years old again and talk to his best friend.

He didn't care that it was late. He sat up in bed impatiently, feeling like a child as he hugged his knees to his chest. He cradled the receiver of the phone to his ear as he breathed heavily, trying to calm his own nerves.

“Hello?” came Brian's voice from the other end. He sounded tired, and Nick was sure he'd probably woken him up, but he didn't really care.

“Frick,” Nick said softly, using his friend's old nickname.

“Nick!” Brian said, his voice instantly coming to life. “What're you doing? What happened?”

Nick sighed. There were so many things that he wanted to tell Brian, but couldn't. Although, if things were as dire as Dr. Brentson had told him, then Brian would know about all of them soon enough.

Still, he didn't need to be sued by a crazy organization like NERV.

“I can't tell you,” he muttered, rolling his eyes. Being internationally famous meant that he was quite used to not being able to talk about certain things, but never to Brian or anyone he considered close. Sure, he had to keep details about his job under wraps, but he could deal with that. He didn't really feel any burning need to run off and tell his brother about the release date of their album when the world wasn't supposed to know yet.

But this? This was in another league entirely.

“Uh, okay,” Brian said with confusion, making Nick feel guilty.

“I want to,” he clarified, nodding his head and glancing out the window. New York was still just as boring as it had been all evening. It certainly didn't look as though it was about to become the epicentre of hell. “I just...can't.”

“I get it,” Brian said quickly. He too was familiar with the concept of having to keep information to himself. “All we know is that you got taken to New York because NERV wanted to meet with you.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you still there?”

“No, I'm in a hotel,” Nick sighed, glancing around the walls of the room. It wasn't an overly fancy room, and he was perfectly fine with that. It was the type of hotel room he was used to, actually. That actually made Nick feel strangely comforted – having lived in and out of different hotel rooms for the past four years of his life. “What're you guys doing?”

“We're having an emergency teleconference with JIVE tomorrow,” Brian said, yawning a little. “I don't know what it's about, but it probably has to do with you.”

“Probably,” Nick said, slightly bitterly. It seemed like the group was always doing things without him . Even though of course this time his situation was likely the cause for the meeting he was still annoyed that he wouldn't be able to be there for the meeting, and hadn't even been told about it. “Do you think it's about the tour?”

“I think so, yeah,” Brian said with just a hint of uncertainty. “It's probably on hold. We're staying in Boston tomorrow and not travelling like we were supposed to be. I don't know what's going on.”

“Sorry,” Nick said apologetically. It wasn't as though it was actually his fault, but he still felt as though he should say something. Even when he wasn't trying to, he was still causing some kind of chaos for the group.

If nothing else, he was definitely earning his right to his nickname.

“It's not your fault,” Brian almost laughed, “this time,” he added jokingly.

“Yeah,” Nick muttered. “For once.” He almost wished that it had been all his fault. Because that would mean that he had some semblance of control over the situation – but of course, he didn't. Not in the slightest. “It's fucked up, Brian,” Nick said suddenly, feeling a shiver run down his spine as he truly realized how little control he actually did have. “NERV is so fucked up... at least they seem really fucked up. I can't talk about it... but it's fucked up.”

It seemed to be the only way to accurately describe the situation. “Tell me again Nick, is it fucked up?” Brian asked, trying to lighten the mood a little, just as he always tended to do. Lately that facet of his friend's personality had annoyed him, but right now, it was everything Nick needed to calm himself down.

“Yeah,” Nick said, yawning a little bit. “So fucked up.”

“Get some sleep Nick,” Brian advised. “It sounds like you could use it.”

Brian wasn't wrong. “Yeah, okay. Night, Bri.”

“Sleep tight, Nicky.”

Nick hung up the phone and turned the lamp off in the room. The city lights shone through the windows but Nick didn't bother drawing the curtains. It might have been subconscious, but Nick didn't want to risk not knowing for a second what was going on outside.

***


Not a minute before six in the morning, there was a knock at Nick's hotel room door. Having slept light for most of the night, he was woken up easily. Before he knew it he was in a car escorted by Risa and the same two goons who had been with him the night before, being taken back to the NERV headquarters.

“What now?” Nick asked Risa irritably as they sat in the car and Nick picked at the bagel she'd handed him. “Didn't you tell me enough stuff last night?”

Risa gave him a look. “You're kidding, right?” she asked him, and Nick was taken aback a little by this attitude she seemed to have developed overnight.

“Uh, no. You just told me I had to fight against some angels or shit. I don't see anything weird,” he said waving his hand around as if to signify that everything was normal around them.

“Not now,” Risa said, regaining the calm demeanour she'd had the day before. “But don't you think you might need to learn how to pilot the Evangelion before you do?”

Nick couldn't argue with that, but still he found the need to be difficult. As he usually did when he was tired and generally in a bad mood and in need of a distraction. “Why me?” he asked with annoyance. “Why is it me who has to do this?”

Risa sighed, looking down at her feet. She didn't say anything.

“C'mon,” Nick said, raising his eyebrow and turning on the charm just a little. He liked to think of himself as something of a ladies man – even though he was well aware that the only reason for that was because he was so internationally famous. “You're making me do all this weird shit, and you won't even tell me why you're making me do all this weird shit?”

“It wasn't supposed to be you,” Risa said, averting her gaze from Nick and looking out her window.

Nick had no idea what she meant by that. “What?”

“Evangelion Unit One had another pilot before you,” Risa started, but Nick cut her off.

“And what's with all this 'Unit One' business?” he asked, feeling a little more confident about spilling all the questions that were on his mind. At least he was no longer getting the “It's classified,” response. “Is there a Unit Two? Who pilots that?”

Risa ignored his other questions. “There was another pilot for Unit One,” she said simply, glancing back at him.

“Okay...” Nick said slowly, waiting for her to continue. “And what happened to him?”

“Her,” Risa corrected him. “There was an accident during the training.”

Nick felt the blood drain from his face.

“It wasn't anyone's fault, we've repaired and tested the unit, but she...” Risa said, looking at Nick apologetically.

Nick just nodded, the gravity of the situation stealing the words from his mouth.

“I didn't want to have to tell you,” Risa said, still looking at him, wearing a sympathetic smile on her face. “Rest assured we've taken all the appropriate safety precautions now and -”

“But why me?” Nick asked, his mouth dry.

“The pilots were asked to pick a backup... someone who could be trusted in the case of an accident leaving them unable to perform. It wasn't until after the fact that we realized you weren't someone she actually knew.”

Nick scoffed. “Y'all really dropped the ball on that one.”

“Either way,” Risa said, sitting up straighter and regaining the firmness in her voice. “I have full confidence that you'll be able to complete this mission to the best of your abilities.”

“And if I don't?” Nick asked, staring at her and almost daring her to make eye-contact with him again.

“You will,” Risa said with confidence. “The fate of the world depends on it.”

Nick tried not to let her words get to him, but it was easy to tell they affected him. He sat silently for the rest of the car ride. He didn't utter a word when he walked through the halls of the office building, or when they took the elevator up to the top floor once again.

He kept his lips tightly shut as they stepped into Dr. Brentson's office and only nodded the man a simple greeting as they walked down the long corridor.

It wasn't until they were standing in front of the Evangelion again that Nick spoke.

“You want me to get in that thing?!” he exclaimed, glancing at Brentson and Risa with fear. “Are you fucking nuts? A chick died in there. And you're all acting like this is completely fine and normal? Do you know how much shit you'll be in if I die? My record company will kick you-”

“Nickolas,” Brentson said slowly, eyeing him from overtop of his glasses.

“It's Nick,” Nick said cooly, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Nick,” he corrected himself, but it did little to comfort Nick as he just watched him with annoyance. “I can assure you that so long as you follow our ord...instructions that you'll be just fine.”

“You don't know that,” Nick said, rolling his eyes. “What about that other girl? I'm sure she-”

“She didn't,” Risa cut in slowly. “She didn't. Nick, you have to understand that we are in dire circumstances.”

“Yeah, I know,” he snapped, not really caring to hear their entire speech once again.

“We're going to need your cooperation in this matter, and you're going to need to do what we say in order to save yourself and to keep the rest of the world safe.”

Nick sighed. He still wasn't exactly sure why it had to be him who had this responsibility. He didn't want any of it and just wanted to go back to living on the tour bus doing shows every night. He was beginning to think he'd even rather call in to TRL every day than go through this.

“Fine,” he said through gritted teeth.

Dr. Brentson smiled with satisfaction. “Good. Now then, there's a suit in that changeroom over there that you'll have to put on, and then we'll get you into the unit.”

Nick gave him a look but didn't say anything as he walked over to the changeroom and closed the door.

The only item that was hanging on the wall was what looked to be some kind of pleather outfit with what looked to be outlets on the shoulders and back. Nick picked it up and inspected it. It certainly wasn't the weirdest thing he'd ever worn – that award likely went to one of the many strange photoshoot outfits he'd donned over the years.

Still, that didn't make it any better as he stripped down to his underwear and pulled the suit on. He tried as best he could to zip it up in the back, and for being pleather, it was more loose-fitting than he would have liked. After a couple minutes, he gave up trying to zip it up and sighed, stepping out of the room. “Uh, I can't...” he said, motioning to his back.

“Oh,” Risa said, walking over to assist him. He stood behind him and zipped the suit up with ease. “And this too,” she said. Nick didn't know what she was talking about, but he felt her push into something on the suit and immediately it clung to his body, fitting a lot tighter than before.

“What the hell?” Nick asked, looking at them strangely. This tight-fitting outfit left very little to the imagination, and Nick didn't have a clue as to why he had to wear it.

“It's called a plugsuit, and it’s to help you better communicate with the Evangelion,” Dr. Brentson said. Then he pointed at the wire staircase beside them. “Climb those stairs, there's a platform around the back that will lead you into the pod of the unit.”

Nick looked up at the robot again. He gulped, wondering what it was going to be like to actually sit in it. But apparently he didn't have a choice, so he grudgingly climbed the stairs and just as Dr. Brentson had said, there was a platform at the back that led him him into a pod. He glanced around for a second before stepping into it. As soon as he did the door behind him sealed shut and he felt it move, presumably inside of the unit.

It wasn't a very big area. Just a small seat with an array of controls in front of him. Nick sat down and right away felt overwhelmed. This Evangelion, Unit One, giant robot humanoid... whatever it was was far more complicated than anything he'd ever seen.

“How the hell do you expect me to pilot this?!” he exclaimed, wondering how Risa and Dr. Brentson would be able to hear him.

But somehow they could. Nick looked down and saw the two of them standing next to a small microphone that must have been built into some kind of intercom system in the suit, because Risa's voice came ringing through the walls of it, almost as if it had surround sound. “You will, it's easy.”

“Are you nuts?” Nick muttered, still at a loss as to what to do with the controls.

“Lean back,” Risa instructed. “You're not fully connected.”

Nick did as he was told and right away the plugs on his suit connected and snapped him into the unit. Contrary to what Risa probably thought, this didn't help and only made him feel more confined.

“The unit connects with your energy, that's what the suit's for,” Risa explained. Just think, really think about lifting up your left leg.”

“I can't lift my leg,” Nick said bitterly. “I'm locked in, remember?”

Risa sighed. “I said think about it. Not do it. Just think about it. Almost imagine yourself doing the action.”

Nick sighed, but he did as he was told. He closed his eyes and concentrated his energy into his left leg. He almost felt it tingle because he was concentrating on it so hard without actually moving it or being able to move it.

Then he felt the unit shift from underneath him. The weight of it shifted to one side and Nick panicked, opening his eyes.

“You did it!” he heard Risa say. He looked down at her, and even though he was high up, he could swear that he saw a grin on her face. “Keep doing that. That's how you control the movement of it, just think of the unit as an extension of yourself.”

Nick sighed, closing his eyes again.

“But you have to do it with your eyes open,” Risa said. “Otherwise how will you be able to fight or see anything that's coming at you? Keep your eyes open.”

Nick nodded, keeping his eyes open and facing firmly forward as he concentrated on moving the limbs of the unit. Lifting the legs and moving the arms was easy enough after a little while. He wasn't sure he'd actually be able to move it around, but for now, he was sure he was doing good enough.

“It's not good enough,” he heard Dr. Brentson's booming voice through the speakers.

Or not.

“See those control sticks?” he asked. “That's what you're going to use for weaponry.”

Nick nodded, looking down easily at the two control sticks in front of him. He gripped them, taking a deep breath as he tried to focus his energy on controlling the unit.

As he went through the coaching with Risa and Dr. Brentson, he began to feel a bit better. The hopeless feeling of not being in control, while still present, was less than it had been the night before. So long as he learned how to pilot to unit and listened to them, he would retain some control over his own destiny, at least.

That was the thought that soothed him as he fell back onto his hotel bed that night, after a long day of training. He fell asleep almost instantly, still apprehensive, but with a little bit more of a positive attitude. Maybe this whole mess wouldn't turn out to be so bad after all.

So long as he stayed in control.
Chapter 4 by Sakabelle
4


Nick shifted his weight as he looked around the small room in the NERV headquarters.

As soon as he’d completed his training for the day, he’d expected that he’d be sent back to his hotel room. That much was true - but it was only for a brief moment. Instead of being left to his own devices for the evening, he’d been told to pack his things.

It seemed that NERV didn’t feel staying in a hotel was a suitable accommodation for him. So, they were moving him to his own room in their building. Nick still couldn’t really believe it. At one time, he’d thought that he was kept under high watch at JIVE - but even the tight grip of the record company hadn’t gone this far.

Though Nick suspected if they had the power like NERV did, they likely would have. His mind wandering like that was the only thing that kept him mildly entertained in the boring room. He didn’t have a TV - only a desk and a dresser (which would apparently be filled with more of his clothing when it was shipped over.) a small CD player with a radio was sitting on top of the desk, which Nick appreciated. If he wasn’t going to be able to watch The X Files, at least he’d be able to listen to Journey.

He frowned at the thought of his favourite TV show. So many times he had watched it, and other movies like it, and imagined himself in the title role. As it turned out, being an action hero was a lot more work a lot more terrifying, and a lot more confusing than he’d believed.

All of the information he’d received in the last couple of days had yet to absorb. Nick had never been someone to take things at face value - he always liked to think and over analyze things to the point of frustration.

He’d always counted himself lucky. Lucky to have been put in a group with four guys he (for the most part) got along with really well. Lucky to have been given such talents and opportunities, and most of all lucky to have had success at such a young age.

Despite all of that, his luck looked like it was beginning to run out. Being internationally successful and world famous definitely had its perks, but never in a million years had Nick dreamed one of those perks would be getting selected as a backup on an apocalyptic mission.

As much as he went over the facts in his head, they still didn’t sit right with him. Surely an organization as powerful and intellectual as NERV would have been able to figure out he was just a teen idol, and found someone more competent to do the job.

Simply put, it didn’t make sense.

The dark painted walls of the room did little to comfort Nick. He sighed, opting to find something to take his mind off of its thoughts and worries.

Risa had shown him a couple other things he could do around the building. There was a gym and a swimming pool - evidently NERV liked to keep their staff (or hostages, Nick thought bitterly) contained within the building for as long as they could.

However, the one thing Nick felt he could use the most was some fresh air. The only place to get that was a balcony close to the top floor of the building. Risa had only taken him up there briefly, so it took him a second to remember the way. But eventually he found it, sliding open the large glass doors and stepping outside.

As he stood with his arms draped over the railing, his hair blew around in the wind. He was still alone with his thoughts, but at least he could look down on the society that he used to be a part of.

The society that he was supposed to be protecting, apparently.

“Hi.”

Nick turned around. He’d half expected to see Risa standing there, given she was the only person he’d interacted with during this whole ordeal who had been remotely friendly to him.

But it wasn’t Risa. Standing in the doorway was a girl he’d never seen before. She looked to be around his age - maybe a little younger. She was watching him intently - her blue eyes were fixated on him and her long red hair was becoming slightly messy on account of the wind.

Nick smirked. At least there was one thing he still had going for him. “Hey, baby,” he grinned, flashing that signature smile that made all girls melt.

Except she didn’t. She just rolled her eyes and walked closer to him, joining him beside the railing and leaning against it.

“I can’t believe you’re actually here,” she said, mostly to herself. Her high voice had a hint of sarcasm in it, and she only glanced at Nick for a brief second before looking back at the building.

Nick raised his eyebrow, left sort of speechless by her attitude. He was used to girls acting strange around him, but this was something new. She seemed to be shocked and almost annoyed by his presence.

“What?” he asked dumbly.

She rolled her eyes again. “I said, I can’t believe you’re actually here. But I guess it makes sense - you’d want to protect something you think you own,” she said, looking up at him with her lips tightly pressed together.

Nick furrowed his eyebrows and studied her. The smug look on her face, her arms crossed over her chest. Even the stupid yellow sundress she was wearing annoyed him. Where did a girl like this get off giving him such attitude?

“Who are you anyway?” Nick asked, giving her back the same snark he’d received only moments ago.

She rolled her eyes again and Nick briefly wondered if she had some sort of condition that caused her to have to do that every ten seconds.

“You mean they didn’t tell you?” she asked, looking up at him again. She was almost a foot shorter than him, but twice as irritating.

Nick just waited for her to continue, because obviously they didn’t tell him. He had to pry all the information he’d already received from NERV’s death grip as it was. Of course he hadn’t thought to ask about some bitchy redhead!

She sighed, a scowl still present on her face. “Of course they didn’t tell you, why would they?” she muttered.. “I’m Angie, the pilot of Evangelion Unit Two,” she said, nodding her head as though it was obvious.

Which it wasn’t, but as soon as Nick heard her say those words, things began to make sense. Well, as much sense as he could make out of this situation. Of course there was another pilot - there was no way this was a one-man world saving operation!

“Oh, so you’ve been in one of those Ev...” Nick trailed off, not remembering what the unit was actually called.

“Evangelion,” Angie said sharply. “Obviously.”

“Obviously,” Nick repeated, mocking her sass.

She shrugged, clearly unaffected.

Normally he would have just walked away from a girl like this, but she was the only person he’d talked to since arriving at NERV who seemed keen on sharing her knowledge. Plus, she was really the only person he’d been able to talk to about all of this, given the stupid non-disclosure agreement.

“So... uh...” Nick cleared his throat as he thought of a way to phrase the question that had been on his mind for the past day. “Did you know the girl that used to pilot Unit One?”

Angie glared at him, but Nick didn’t miss her expression softening just a little. “Rachel? Yeah. Dumb as a brick.”

Nick just waited for her to continue.

“She was stupid, going and getting herself killed like that. You’d have thought they’d get someone more competent to replace her.”

“Uh huh,” Nick laughed, annoyed by her. “And what gives you the idea that I’m not competent?”

Angie gave him a look, raising her eyebrow. “I didn’t say you weren’t competent, I said she should have put someone more competent as her understudy and not just someone she wanted to fuck because she liked the way he sings ‘Am I sexual?’ The answer is no, by the way.”

Nick opened his mouth to last out at her, but was distracted by a sudden commotion. Through the glass doors he could see flashing red lights and the piercing sound of a siren could clearly be heard.

“What the fuck?!” Nick exclaimed looking down at Angie for an explanation.

Angie balled her fists together and grinned with what could only be explained as excitement. “That’s the warning sign for an angel attack. Now would be a good time to start proving your competence,” she said, before walking briskly back into the building.
Chapter 5 by Sakabelle
5


“Are you fucking insane?!” Nick shouted from inside his Evangelion unit. He was still inside the NERV headquarters, decked out in his plug suit and seemingly prepared for battle. His blood was boiling he didn’t think he’d ever sweat so much in his life.

Simply put, he was terrified out of his wits.

“I just started training today. Today!” he shouted amidst the sirens and flashing lights.

“Yes Nick, we’re aware,” Dr. Brentson said calmly.

“And you’re going to send me out there when a fucking angel... which no one has explained to me what the fuck they are, by the way, is fucking attacking and expect me to do something about it and not get fucking killed?!”

“That’s the plan.”

His even demeanor was enraging to Nick, but he had nothing left. There wasn’t anything he could do and there was no fight left in him.

Not a good position to be in right before he had to go out and do battle with some kind of greedy celestial being.

“Could you be anymore whiny?” Angie’s smug voice came laughing through Nick’s intercom system. “Lord.”

Nick took a deep breath. How the hell had he managed to get himself into this situation? He swore to himself that once this was all over, he’d never complain about JIVE or management or anyone else again.

“We’re deploying the units now,” he heard Risa’s voice say.

Nick squeezed his eyes shut and prepared him for whatever “deploying the units.” meant. He assumed it was something to do with him and Angie being ejected from the NERV headquarters and being placed to do battle with the angels and -

Nick wasn’t able to think anymore as he felt the unit move. It moved fast and completely without his control. He took a deep breath and tried to focus his energy on moving the unit himself, just as Risa had told him to do.

“I’d advise you don’t do that right now, Nick,” Risa said to him, and Nick opened his eyes. Not that he could see her, the only thing in front of him were the controls to his unit. “We’ve taken over control of your units. You’ll want to save your energy for battle.”

It was hard for him to conserve energy when he felt like fear was draining all of it away from him. Still he nodded his head in agreement, even though he had no idea if Risa could see him or not.

After a few moments of being jostled around, the feelings stopped. Nick glanced around and a screen opened up in front of him. He peered at it, seeing buildings at eye level and a bright light in the sky.

“That’s the view from outside your unit,” he heard Dr. Brentson’s voice say to him. “And that light in the sky is the angel.”

Nick squinted to try and make out any kind of bodily shape, but he couldn’t. It really just looked like a sparkly mess of light ripping through the clear blue sky.

That is, until that mess of light shot something resembling white lightning bolt right at him. He darted out of the way without even realizing that he was in complete control of the until through his mind. “What the fuck?” he shouted.

“That’s what angels do, Nick,” Angie said in her condescending tone. Nick watched as she effortlessly stepped in front of him and shielded another beam of light from striking him. “They attack.”

Nick was too stunned to say anything else. His hands shook as he gripped the controls, but he was at a loss as to what to do or how he could possibly help.

Meanwhile, Angie was in front of him shielding and deflecting light right back at the sky. Her unit moved around easily and fluidly, as if it was an actual being and not just a piece of machinery being controlled by a small girl inside of it.

Nick just sat there while his unit stood there. Robotic arms at his sides, completely rigid. If someone were to push it, it would fall over without a second thought.

Angie? She was in front of him leaping around and sending light back to the sky. “Yes!” she cried, her voice cracking through the intercom in Nick’s unit. “Almost got him, and yes!”

After deflecting yet another beam of light back up to the sky, the other arm of her unit transformed into a gun and sent a blast upwards. The sparkly crack in the sky shimmered, and imploded within itself, before exploding like a firework.

Nick just stared in amazement. In fact, he didn’t even realize he was completely mesmerized until he felt his unit shake.

That could only mean one thing - Risa and Dr. Brentson had taken it over again and he was on his way back to NERV.

Indeed he was right - before he could register what was happening he was no longer outside. He was still sitting in the unit, but the unit was sitting inside the large holding cell at NERV.

His pod was ejected from the unit and the door opened with a zipping of the vacuum seal. Nick kicked his legs over the side and sighed as he pushed himself out of it. He looked to his right and sure enough, there was Angie hopping out of her pod as well.

He took a moment to watch her. She was also wearing one of those tight vinyl suits that clung to all the right places. The way her chest rose and fell with every breath she took served as a nice distraction for Nick.

But the distraction was only fleeting because Angie looked at him. She gave him a cheeky grin as she ran her fingers through her hair. “Certainly gives a new meaning to spending all of your time in flashes of light, doesn’t it?” she laughed. “And what happened to you being capable?” she asked, hands on her hips.

“Enough,” Dr. Brentson said as he and Risa entered the holding cell. “Angie, back to your room.”

“Not even a good work?” she asked as she walked by in a huff. “Hmph.”

She exited the room and the moment she was gone Nick turned his attention back the two adults standing in front of him. Suddenly he felt like he was a child and he’d done something to displease his mother.

He glanced at Risa, hoping she would offer him some of of support, but she only averted her gaze from him. Instead, Dr. Brentson started in on him.

“You were lucky you didn’t get killed,” he said, narrowing his eyes at Nick.

Nick scoffed. That was rich - he hadn’t even known what to do! It wasn’t like he signed up for this voluntarily. It wasn’t like he’d gone out for a drink without a bodyguard. That was (and had been, in the past) a bad decision on his own accord that really could have gotten him killed. But this? None of this, as far as he was concerned, was his fault.

“Give me a break,” Nick said, taking a page out of Angie’s book and rolling his eyes. “I had no idea what the fuck to do out there. You guys give me one little training session and expect me to go out there and kick ass? Even MTV lets us rehearse more than that.”

Dr. Brentson and Risa exchanged a look.

“We don’t have control over when the angels attack, Nick,” Risa said.

“Yeah, whatever,” Nick muttered.

“The world is in real danger. Rest assured you’ll be going back into training after this, because we can’t have another incident happen like that again.”

Nick stood up, shaking his head. “Right, well I’ve got news for you. Your whole operation is bullshit - you can do this without me. You saw Angie out there, she didn’t need me. Girl can handle her own,” he said, walking away from the two of them.

“It would be unwise for you to walk away at this point, Nick,” Dr. Brentson said, raising his voice only slightly so Nick could still hear him.

“Uh huh,” Nick said, but still he stopped in his tracks. He turned around to face them once again. “This isn’t my job, you know. And if it is, it’s a pretty shitty one. Do I even get paid?”

His question was ignored. “Risa, take Nickolas back to his quarters.”

Risa nodded, walking over to Nick and escorting him out of the holding cell. Once the doors closed behind them, Nick turned to her. “It’s fucking bullshit.”

She pursed her lips together and looked up at him, tucking a piece of blonde hair behind her ear. “It can’t be helped.”

“It can be,” Nick pressed, nearly getting down on his knees and begging her. “Why me? Get someone else, some military dude who actually has experience blowing shit real shit up. Let me go back to doing what I do best - singing and entertaining people and taking their minds off of shit like this.”

Risa narrowed her eyes and looked him straight into his. It was a look that nearly made Nick’s blood run cold. “You are the pilot of Evangelion Unit One. In order to control the unit it has to sync up with you and your DNA. There is only one way out.” she said seriously.

Nick gulped. Though all of this mess, death hadn’t truly crossed his mind as a possibility. He’d just assumed that eventually he’d be free to return to his popstar life. Now it was very clear - it was either win the fight against the angels or die trying.

“Do you understand?” Risa asked him, her tone much softer than it had been just moments before.

Nick nodded. “Take me back to my room,” he said, his mouth suddenly very dry.

Risa nodded, wordlessly accompanying back to his room.

As soon as the door shut Nick hit the button on the suit he was still wearing to loosen it from his body. He shrugged it off, placing it in a lump in the corner of his room. Not bothering to put on any clothes, he sat on his bed and picked up his phone without a second thought.

Kevin picked up after only two rings.

“It’s Nick,” he said as soon as Kevin answered.

“How’s it going, little bro?” Normally Kevin’s sympathetic and fatherly tone would have annoyed him. But now he found himself needed that annoyance and sense of normalcy more than ever.

Nick sighed. That was a loaded question, one that he couldn’t answer 100% honestly. Then again, he couldn’t remember a time when he was able to answer a question with exactly what was on his mind. “A’ight,” he said simply.

Kevin chuckled, but it seemed forced to Nick.

“Brian said you guys had a meeting with the label.”

“Yeah, we did. The tour’s on hold indefinitely.”

“Sorry,” Nick said, even though for once all of this trouble wasn’t actually his fault. And ironically, when it was, he rarely apologized.

“It’s not your fault.”

“What did you guys tell the fans?” Nick asked, and almost laughed. He was hardly ever concerned about what the fans thought.

“We told them we were postponing it for everyone’s safety. They know a bit about what’s going on in New York... it’s been on the news. Are you staying safe?”

Nick scoffed. He definitely would be staying safe if he had any sort of choice in the matter. “Yes,” he lied for his and Kevin’s mutual benefit.

“Good,” Kevin replied, but Nick knew that he was fully aware he’d lied. “I’ve gotta get going, Nick. You take care, okay? If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call.”

“Thanks, bye Kevin.”

As nice as the offer was, Nick knew that for once Kevin wouldn’t be able to help or offer any sort of long-winded advice about the situation. This burden was his and his alone.
Chapter 6 by Sakabelle
Author's Notes:
Apologies for my absence! I have started a new job which has taken some getting used to as it's a lot more than I'm used to, and I've also been packing/moving/cleaning these past couple weeks. It doesn't leave a lot of time to write!
6


Nick was awake the next morning before the sun came up.

Not that he’d been able to witness it. He was sitting in Evangelion Unit One, plug suit bonded tightly around him. With the controls at his hands, he stifled a yawn.

“Is there a reason I have to be up this early?” he muttered, but of course he knew the answer to that already. It was the same reason he’d been up late the night before, staring at the brown ceiling, unable to fall asleep.

“We don’t know when the next angel attack is coming,” Risa explained to him. “You have to be prepared at any moment.”

“I don’t see Angie out here,” Nick muttered, looking around at the control board in front of him.

“You let us worry about her,” Risa said to him. “I’m deploying the unit now.”

Nick sighed, closing his eyes as he rumbled from inside the pod. He’d never been much of a fan of flying in an airplane - but that was a walk in the park compared to this.

Seconds later he felt the feet of Unit One hit the ground. He opened his eyes to see the electronic screen appear in front of him once again. Only this time, he didn’t recognize the setting as lower manhattan. Instead, it looked like some kind of military facility.

“Uh, where am I?” Nick asked, panic setting in. At least on an airplane there was a live map!

“You’re in the training grounds just outside the city,” Risa explained to him. “It’s setup so the pilots can actually be tested in battle and get extra training if they need to.”

Nick didn’t have a comeback for that because it actually seemed like a smart idea. Too bad he hadn’t actually been able to take advantage of it before being thrown out into the battlefield.

His mind had wandered off sufficiently, as it tended to do. Only back on tour the only thing he had to worry about was Kevin warning him to pay attention to whatever was happening around him. Not the explosion that had struck the left side of his unit.

“Fuck!” Nick cried, putting his hands on either side of the pod to try and stabilize himself. “What’re you doing?”

Risa’s voice was calm. “You have to be prepared for an attack at any time. Especially when you’re inside the unit.”

Nick glared at the speaker, but there wasn’t much he could do. Short of trying his best to kick ass and destroy whatever threat came his way. Then he could go back to touring and being on stage and his biggest worry being whether or not there was going to be food on the tour bus after the show. Which there always was.

He licked his lips and focused his attention on the screen in front of him. “Come at me, bro.”

There was an explosion right in front of his unit and he stepped back, stumbling a little but regaining his composure. Nick pumped his fist in the air in excitement, but before he had chance to get overly confident, something struck the back of his unit.

“Hey!” Nick shouted, concentrating his energy on turning the unit around. But when he finally did, whatever had struck him was nowhere to be seen.

“You’re going to have to be quicker than that,” Risa said to him seconds before another mine blew up near his unit’s feet. “Avoid the mines,” she instructed him.

Nick took a deep breath and nodded, watching the screen and facing Unit One’s head downward. The ground was displayed in front of him, and almost instantly his view was obstructed by thick smoke.

“You didn’t even give me a chance,” Nick said with annoyance.

“That’s the point.”

Nick pulled his hands off of the two joystick-like controls in front of him to rub his face and eyes. He’d played a lot of video games in his life, but he never thought he’d ever have to harness those skills for anything useful.

“You can dance, right?” Risa said, cutting into Nick’s thoughts. “Use your agility.”

He looked at the speaker and raised his eyebrow. It was a weird comparison, but it was a worth a shot.

One by one, mines blew up around him. Some stuck the feet of his unit, and some didn’t. Nick shook inside the seat of the pod whenever he failed to step out of the way in time. “Fuck,” he muttered to himself every so often. “Fuck, fuck, fuck...”

He gripped the controls and stopped biting his lip. He was in an almost catatonic-type state as he concentrated only on the screen in front of him.

The only thing he could hear was silence. Aside from the land-mines, obviously. There was no muttering of cuss words, no shifting in his seat. Most of all - his unit was struck by anything. For a giant robot that probably weighed thousands of tonnes, Nick was making its movements seem lighter than air.

He was so in the zone that it took him a couple moments before he realized the mines had stopped. He leaned back in his seat and looked at the top of the pod.

“That was fantastic, Nick!” Risa exclaimed, and Nick smiled a little a the speaker. Maybe he wasn’t going to be so bad at this world saving thing after all. “We’re going to transport you back to the holding cell now.”

Nick nodded and closed his eyes. He had acquired a little more confidence, but that didn’t make the transportation process of his unit any more enjoyable. But it didn’t take long, and before Nick knew it, he was back in the holding cell, being ejected from the unit.

“That was really well done,” Risa said, looking down at him from the bridge. “A big improvement from yesterday.”

Nick nodded, a small smile forming on his face. Now that his training for the day was over, he was really just itching to get out of the suit and back into his room.

Not that there was much for him to do, but at least he wouldn’t have tight plastic clinging to his skin.

“You can go back to your room,” Risa said, turning her attention back to the computer in front of her. “There’s also food being served in the cafeteria on the fourth floor.”

Nick’s stomach grumbled at the mere mention of food. For the past few days his meals had been delivered directly to him. While that was nice, he appreciated the idea of actually going to get his food. It made him seem less like a prisoner.

“Thanks,” he said.

Risa nodded her head, but didn’t turn away from whatever she was working on. Nick just shrugged and went back to his room.

It didn’t take him long to change out of his plugsuit and get into regular clothes. As he walked through the halls of NERV, he couldn’t help but feel out of place. Everyone was wearing business attire or lab coats, and he was just walking around in an old t-shirt and jeans.

Not that he cared about his appearance, but it was still strange to him. That, and as he walked through the halls in search of the cafeteria, no one seemed to take much notice of him.

He tried not to let it bother him as he stood in line, taking generous portions of the food that was available. He scanned the room for somewhere to sit. The were plenty of empty tables that he could have picked, but instead his eyes fell on a different one.

One occupied by a solitary redhead who looked to be quite focused on her plate of french fries.

“Hi,” Nick said, setting his tray down and sitting across from her.

Angie looked up at him and raised her eyebrow. She popped a fry into her mouth. “Hi,” she said.

Nick shoved three fries at once into his mouth. He watched Angie as he chewed his food. She was less than chatty, with an annoyed look on her face.

They ate in silence for a few minutes before Nick had to speak up. Angie’s lack of small talk told him that she probably wanted to be alone. But since Nick didn’t know anyone else and was feeling particularly lonely, he’d take his chances sitting with someone he even remotely knew.

Besides, she was the other pilot so they would have something to talk about. Right?

“Did you have to do training today?” he asked her after he’d cleared half his plate. “I was out on this badass battlefield.”

Angie shrugged. “No, thought I did a good enough job saving your ass that I didn’t have to go through extra training.”

Nick rolled his eyes. “I’ve been here for, like, three days.”

“Right,” she said, glaring at him. “And in those three days you’ve been in the Evangelion like, two times and you still have this dickish attitude.”

“Attitude?” Nick challenged her. “I’m not the one sitting here acting like a pompus bitch.”

“Neither am I.”

“Actually,” Nick said, narrowing his eyes at her. “You kinda are.”

Angie just shrugged, biting on the straw of her drink and finishing it until it made a slurping sound.

Nick raised his eyebrow and took a deep breath as he watched her. She just smirked at him a little, clearly aware of the fact that she was irritating him.

“What the fuck is your issue?” he blurted out, because he’d always had trouble keeping his mouth shut. “It’s not like this was my choice. I didn’t show up here and say ‘hey, can you give me an assload of responsibility?’”

“No,” Angie said, standing up sharply and pressing the palms of her hands on the table. “You didn’t, did you? You were just brought here and expected everyone to act like you were The Chosen One. Like you’re somehow special.”

“Uh, yeah,” Nick shrugged, as though it was obvious. “We’re piloting those things that are supposed to save the god damn world.”

“Well, we’re not special, Nick,” she huffed. “Everyone here works really hard and it’s not just you or me or any other person who gets all the credit. Sorry that you come from this world where everyone fucking worships you but here we’re a team and you better start acting like it. Christ.” She glared at him one more time before picking up her tray, tossing her garbage in the bin and walking out of the cafeteria briskly.

Nick just watched her go, half irritated and half stunned. He glanced back down at his tray and half-eaten dinner. Suddenly, it didn’t look so appetizing anymore. Instead he picked it up, emptied it into a garbage bin and shoved his hands in his pockets as he made his way back to his room.

Angie’s words had stung, and though Nick didn’t want to believe she was right, part of him knew that she was. As he walked down the halls, he glanced at everyone he passed by. Not many people took notice of him, but this time he analysed it a little more.

He missed being adored. He missed charming the world with his smile. He missed walking into a room and hearing thousands of girls scream.

He walked back into his room silently, shutting the door gently behind him. He rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a nylon CD case. Music was something that always helped him figure his shit out.

Nothing caught his eye until he got to the end of the large binder. The disc was so familiar to him, but so foreign at the same time. He was sure he’d never actually listened to it before.

He placed the disc into the player and laid down on his bed. The upbeat first track did little to lift his spirits, but he listened to it all the same, mouthing along with the words he knew all too well.

He had a job that was so much more important now, didn’t he? One that came with far less attention and recognition than his more insignificant role.

Nick blinked back tears as the first track ended and the dreaded second track played. A song he’d been so sick of at one point, that it had physically hurt.

Now, all he wanted to do was get back up on stage and do what he did best.
This story archived at http://absolutechaos.net/viewstory.php?sid=11131