Neon Psychosis Evangelion Discussion

[TEAM_DERRICK]

Cool.

[Mizagium]

I'm also very excited now to get to the Bardiel episode

[TEAM_DERRICK]

Great to hear it.
Also, I've been listening to Foo Fighters for a while and I think that their song "Everlong" could actually make a good theme song for the series.

Acoustic version or original; they're both great.

[Mizagium]

now taking suggestions for the NPE theme song.

Entrants so far:
Everlong by Foo Fighters

[Mizagium]

Here's the first section - 3 pages - of the next chapter. I guess.

-

The team was awake and on the street by eight in the morning, yawing and blinking sleep from their eyes as they hurried to Kretzer’s hotel. Arthur, apparently, was at least a decent computer hacker, and had brought live feeds up from several street cameras onto his laptop. He had been watching them since around six in the morning to make sure Kretzer didn’t give them the slip. So far, it appeared that they were ahead of him.

Cobb hadn’t brought the PASIV with him this time, electing to leave it behind with Yusuf in the room. He looked strangely naked without the silver case in his hand, at least to Ariadne. As if feeling the emptiness, Cobb stuffed his hands into his pockets self-consciously as they walked. Not that he seemed out of place; Arthur and Eames walked very stiffly and mechanically. They didn’t even bother to argue. Even Ariadne found herself focusing only on the mission ahead; she barely took in her surroundings at all. Normally, she would be gazing up at the skyline, studying the architecture of the buildings.

The tension is so thick – Ariadne stopped herself before she completed that clichéd line, however true it might have been. In an effort to relieve the tension, she asked, “So, what? Are we just going to jump him as soon as he leaves?”

“Something like that,” Cobb replied.

“There he is!” Eames thumped Cobb on the chest to make him look. Across the street, Kretzer exited the hotel and started off down the street. Cobb and Arthur crossed quickly while Eames indicated Ariadne to follow him. “We can’t very well kidnap a mad in broad daylight now cane we?”

It was rhetorical, but Ariadne chose to answer anyway. “Judging from what I’ve seen, Proclus Global has enough clout to get away with just about anything.

He snorted. “You think that’s bad, you should see some of the stuff Fischer Morrow gets away with. It’s no wonder they’ve held onto their energy monopoly as long as they have. Ruthless bastards, they are, but – aye – they do get the job done. Compared to them, Saito’s just a flea on a dog’s arse.”

A company more powerful than Saito’s? The very thought raised goose bumps on her arms, despite the warm morning. She already thought Saito got away with far too much, but to know that there were others with even more immunity – the more she learned about how the world really worked, the more she didn’t like it one bit.

Kretzer’s capture happened to quickly and cleanly that she almost missed it. After about an hour of tailing the man, Eames got a call from Arthur. When he hung up, he and Ariadne quickly crossed the street, dodging honking vehicles with swearing drivers. They had gotten ahead of Kretzer in the last twenty minutes in order to head him off if he started to run. He had done just that, but not ahead; Kretzer had turned down a side alley, which was quite possibly the worst decision ever.

When Eames and Ariadne caught up, Cobb and Arthur had already drawn their guns. Eames barely had time to reach for his before they fired off four shots, two each. Kretzer went down on his face in mid run. At first, Ariadne was horrified, but then she saw the dart protruding from his neck. A tranquilizer. She hadn’t known they carried tranquilizers.

“No problem, see?” Arthur nudged the unconscious man with his foot, checking for a weapon in a very police-like fashion.

“Yeah, but now we’ve got to get him back to the room,” Ariadne pointed out in a very Eames-like fashion.

“Again, not a problem. Hail a cab, would you, Eames?”

The Englishman gave theatrical bow. “As you wish.”

“Help us get him up, Ariadne.” Cobb and Arthur holstered their weapons and the three of them bent down to lift the Russian up. He was surprisingly light; they barely needed her to hoist Kretzer onto their shoulders. Suspended between them, it appeared as if Arthur and Cobb were supporting a drunken or injured friend. “Let’s go see if Eames did his job, eh?”

Eames had indeed done his job. They found him sitting in the driver’s seat of a yellow taxicab, waving at them as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Where the driver?” Ariadne demanded.

Eames scratched his bearded chin. “Couple blocks that way.” He didn’t point to indicate direction. “Poor bloke jumped out before I could even aim my gun at him properly.”

Before she could say anything further, Cobb opened the back door and slid in. “Front seat, Ariadne.” He and Arthur set Kretzer up between them as if he was just another passenger. The result was actually somewhat comical as they struggled to keep him upright as Eames raced along without even the slightest regard for speed limits, other vehicles, or safety in general.

“You know,” she said, bracing herself against the door as Eames swerved to avoid sideswiping a bus. “I think I prefer it when Cobb drives.”

“I swear to God I’ll crash this car,” he threatened without malice.

Threats aside, they made it back to the hotel with Kretzer still unconscious. The clerks at the desk failed to be alarmed at the sight. Whether this was because of the bribe or because they were accustomed to this sort of thing, Ariadne couldn’t guess. Without any sort of command, one receptionist calmly crossed to the doors and locked them. He gave Cobb the same nod he had given Ariadne earlier. They let Kretzer slump against the wall of the elevator as they rode it up to the third floor.

“Are we sure about this?” For once it wasn’t Ariadne voicing concern. Eames watched the light blink from F1 to F2. “Are we really Extracting from an Extractor? And as skilled a one as Kretzer?”

“Getting cold feet, Eames?” Arthur didn’t smile, indicating he meant it as a serious question.

“No, that’s the wrong phrase.” But he didn’t elaborate as the light blinked from F2 to F3 and the door slid open. Eames took Cobb’s place with Kretzer while he ran ahead to open his room. Ariadne trailed behind. She knew exactly what Eames was thinking: something was very wrong about the entire situation.

They flopped Kretzer into one of the chairs that Yusuf had arranged around the table on which the PASIV was resting. “Did everything go fine?” he asked, drawing four spools of tubing and attaching hypodermic needles to them.

“No problems,” Cob assured him. “Only took one dart to bring him down.”

Yusuf raised an eyebrow. “Only one? Hm.” Casually, but quickly, he drew a syringe out of his lab-coat pocket and jabbed it into Kretzer’s neck. He depressed the plunger halfway before removing it. “That should keep his mind sluggish enough for you guys to work with.”

“Much obliged, Yusuf,” Arthur thanked him as he settled into a chair and rolled up his sleeve. Cobb took the other seat while Eames lay on the bed.

“I’m coming, too,” Ariadne declared, snatching a fifth spool.

“No way,” Cobb responded immediately. “You’re only supposed to be our Architect. Going into Kretzer’s dreams is going to be very dangerous and you don’t have the proper mental training – “

“I’ve been on missions with you all before.”

“Not like this, Ariadne.”

“Look, Cobb, something’s wrong with this entire mission, but more specifically, with Kretzer. I’m not sure what it is, but it’s bad. It might mess with the labyrinth I designed, and even Arthur can’t fix it on the fly without alerting the subject’s preconscious. I can. You need backup for this one, Cobb.”

“No. Stay up here with Yusuf and keep watch. That’s final.” He nodded to Yusuf who pressed the injection trigger, sending Somnacin shooting through the tubes and into the veins of Kretzer, Cobb, Arthur, and Eames. Ariadne watched with something approaching concern as the three men slipped into sleep.

“For the record, I think they made a mistake not taking you,” Yusuf consoled. It didn’t help. Much.

-

I chose not to have Ariadne accompany them because a) It will create some tension b) I honestly couldn't think of a way to have her be a part of the Extraction c) because of reason b, things will be more difficult on the Extraction team.

Pushing through this actually defeated my apathy, so the next section (the actual Extraction mission) should come out more smoothly.

EDIT: D) It shows that Cobb actually cares about his team, in contrast to Gendo, who just throws his son into the fray. And Ariadne has more experience than Shinji did.

Ugh, I should stop analyzing my own work before I give myself a headache again...no...too late.

[TEAM_DERRICK]

I love it. And I like how Cobb is sort of becoming Gendo's foil even though they both want the same thing.

It works.

[Mizagium]

Depending on the situation, they're going to agree or conflict. The further along it goes, the more they disagree.

[TEAM_DERRICK]

makes sense.

[Mizagium]

huh. miles was a professor in France in the movie...why did I move him to London?

[TEAM_DERRICK]

Cause they need help with the massive flooding and all.
France isn't an Island, so yeah.
That's my handwave.

[Mizagium]

Fair enough. It's not really important until later - since this is a dream sequence anyway. I just noticed it as I was writing. Me: "London...wait a sec *checks internet* FUCK...oh well. AUs are AUs for a reason"

[TEAM_DERRICK]

Right makes Write.

[Mizagium]

I've got to incorporate a night terror sequence into this somehow

[TEAM_DERRICK]

Maybe Shinji gets some sort of mental thought bomb from Sachiel?

[Mizagium]

Ok, so I'm making a reference to the fact that the scene where Cobb meets Miles was supposed to take place in a French college, but was filmed in the University College London, but I'm not sure if anyone will get it. Is it still an in-joke if I'm the only one who gets it?

[TEAM_DERRICK]

That only makes it better.

[Mizagium]

...I can't believe I'm researching the UCL campus layout right now for this...

[TEAM_DERRICK]

I love you.

[Mizagium]

[TEAM_DERRICK]

:3