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Shiro Tokita has a Weird Visitor (Evangelion Fanfic, Canon Character Protagonist, OG Eva + Rebuilds
- Thread starter Repentant_Dragos
- Start date
Repentant_Dragos
Experienced.
- Joined
- May 12, 2020
- Messages
- 3,417
Chapter Nine
Repentant_Dragos
Experienced.
- Joined
- May 12, 2020
- Messages
- 3,417
Chapter Nine
Note: I made some grammar, spelling, and flow edits.
Ritsuko Akagi noticed the first hole in the 'Happy Family Scenario' that Ken boy was trying to set up, namely, the fact that Shinji Ikari, much as he objected to being an Evangelion Pilot, actually found being one a boost to his self-esteem. Not just that, but bringing his mother back would not magically solve his issues with both parents. If anything, this situation, if not managed properly, would just cause Shinji to spiral downwards.
That made him dangerous, even if he was no longer a pilot.
And now Shiro Tokita was meeting her in the officers' lounge mere hours after he'd been granted an official pass, his opening words were subtle, not giving much away.
"So, it seems Ken's as prone to wishful thinking as the rest of us. Shinji Ikari's happiness will not be easily dictated by other people. Even if they praise him, tell him they like and appreciate him, the fact remains that it'll come off as insincere to the boy. Ken has shown you the videos of the 'Original Timeline' and the 'Rebuild Timeline' of the 'Original Universe', yes?"
Ritsuko silently nodded, acknowledging the objectiveness of his insight, "There wasn't enough time so I just skimmed through it all and followed the Cliff Notes attached to each video… That boy put in extra comments saying that he hid—… He'd hidden what Gendo had done to me."
Bitterness was apparent in her voice, bitterness for the fact that people knew Gendo had seduced her just like he had her mother, that such a shame could have been weaponized against her but it was overlooked. Sighing to collect herself, she continued. "He also implied that I could be happy with Ms. Ibuki… That she had a crush on me… and that all would be better if I returned her feelings. It's… a naïve thought."
Shiro Tokita nodded respectfully, sparing her a moment before he spoke. "Is that what stops you? The fact that Ken does not know how trauma works and is under the delusion that finding a new romantic partner would just magically make everything better? Or is it a… simpler explanation? That you just aren't attracted to the same sex and thus cannot return Ms. Ibuki's feelings?"
"You do realize that we live in a… traditional society, Mr. Tokita?" Ritsuko Akagi automatically defaulted to her bad habits of pushing aside the truth by responding thusly. "Ken might come from a world where he can flirt with girls and other boys whenever he feels like it, but we live in this universe. Our timeline and society are not his."
She'd found out that Shiro was demonstrating insight that hadn't been there in the 'Original Timeline' when the JHCI Executive responded, "You didn't answer my questions; If you don't like Ms. Ibuki 'that way', all you need to do is say so."
Ritsuko conceded, looking away with a sigh. "As we now live in a world where everyone is airing out each other's dirty laundry and personal scandals, I will admit that Ms. Ibuki is attractive, for both men and other women. In a kinder, more tolerant world, I'd have given her a chance. But we don't live so freely, do we?"
Shiro Tokita did not bat an eye; he rarely batted an eye except when facing a complete disaster. Just like in the 'Original Timeline'. Instead, he followed up with something she… didn't expect.
"The answer would be simple then. Let's make a kinder, more tolerant world. Ken, rotten shipper that he is, proved it's actually possible. And let's not forget, NERV is all about saving Humanity, right? So why not make Humanity worthy of salvation 'the hard way'?"
For the first time since this whole mess started, Ritsuko Akagi quietly huffed while failing to hide a smile. "As expected of a man who uses 'HOPE' as a password without any sense of shame or irony. You've grown past that smug, slightly sexist sleazeball who thought he could just 'dethrone' us. Guess your ward really was a positive influence?"
"Despite that arrogance of his… Yes, he might just be…"
She finally saw a smile shift the man's expression as he admitted.
Asuka Langley Sohryu had just received the news.
She took it as badly as can be expected.
NERV had betrayed her in the worst possible way and there was nothing she can do about it, not with her mother being in Evangelion Unit-02 and the Angels still out there, just itching for a fight. But apparently, the Idiot Shinji gets his mother back because letting him pilot would cause the apocalypse!
'What a fucking joke…' She could've spat on the floor.
It hurt more that it was Kaji who had delivered the news—as well as the irrefutable proof in the form of documents and videos—to her.
Loitering in an observation deck facing Unit-02, she was clad in civilian clothing as she hadn't been permitted near the Evangelion yet. For obvious reasons.
Nevertheless, not giving a damn about who heard her, she pounded a balled fist on the bulletproof glass, shouting, "Damn it, damn it, damn it! My entire life has been a lie and you all just stand there! I hate NERV! I hate you all! You all took my mother away from me!"
She wished she could actually punch through the glass. At the very least, destroy something of NERV's to get back at the life they destroyed. But it was all for naught, her anger.
There was no hope of getting her mother. Unlike Idiot Shinji, she wasn't so special; especially when her mother's corporeal body, animated by a small portion of her soul, had hanged itself after trying to kill Asuka herself. Now it was buried six feet under, and all the girl could do was commune with Evangelion-Unit 02 when she was judged stable enough to pilot it in combat.
And she would have to be if she ever wanted a chance to feel what a mother's love was like once more.
'At least she did love me! No one can take that away from me! No one!' Her aching wrist punched the glass once more, damning her hand to an afternoon numbed by a cold pack. 'Not even NERV...'
In her frustrations, she failed to notice Matteo Masuda, Project: LUXMAN's adult pilot, observing her from the entrance of the observation deck. He'd been unable to hide the pity in his eyes and, had she noticed, she would have trashed him then and there.
The man at least had some decency to give the girl privacy in airing her frustrations.
Misato Katsuragi and Ryoji Kaji were in an underground cargo bay in the Geofront, where Ken, following instructions from Parallel Shinji and his wife, Mari Illustrious Makanami(Maria Iscariot , someone who was dead in this universe due to a dubious experiment), was setting up a 'Teleport Beacon' using a modified version of NERV's own tech and the processing power of the MAGI.
The beacon was a small rectangular pillar that glowed with a green version of Angel-Sealing Hex Glyphs. Attached to the floor with some sort of adhesive that was stronger than reinforced concrete, Ken fiddled with it, causing the green glow to grow in intensity. All of a sudden, shipping containers began appearing all over the once-empty area.
So did yet another person, a young man in his mid-twenties. One who shocked both Misato and Kaji with how his face bore a stark resemblance to them, or a fitting mix of both of theirs leaning heavily to Kaji's.
"Parallel Mom, Parallel Dad," said the young man, clad in farmers' overalls and whose hands were stained with soil and bits of grass. "Greetings. The name's is also Ryoji Kaji, and I come with my universe's 'care package'." Casually turning to the other person in the area, he added. "Ken, can you open one of those shipping containers?"
Nodding, Ken approached one of the boxes, pressed his fingerprint on a keypad—His universe can afford those?—causing the metal to open, thus revealing to Misato and Kaji the contents within.
Spears. Kaji Jr. then followed up with an explanation of the armaments they were looking at.
"These are replicas of the Spears of Longinus, Gaius… And, yes, Marius."
That last name was clearly the source of some unpleasantness judging by his tone. It had been explained by one of the videos they'd watched—the one of the final battles of the 'Rebuild Timeline'—something best not brought up for lack of a better time.
"Each replica can create and pierce AT-Fields and even turn the latter into laser beams. In essence, these are techno-organic laser weaponry that can also create energy shields. With these, NERV has additional options against Angels and, when—not if—necessary, human enemies." the younger man's expression shifted slightly as he continued. Looking at Misato and Kaji in the eyes for a few seconds, he then said, "Ken showed you the videos of the JSSDF's assault on NERV in the original timeline, the one this universe most resembles, right? If so, make sure they get a beating for me."
He paused for a moment, seemingly satisfied with the nods they retuned as he then smiled. "Anyway, time for me to go. Be safe, Mom and Dad. You have the truth early. Make sure to use it well and not get shot… Nor allow things to end up in a situation where have you to sacrifice yourselves to save everyone…"
He looked to want to give them a hug but vanished in a brief flash of light, his time already up. Left with dumbfounded expression, neither Misato nor Kaji Sr. misunderstood the young one's sincerity.
As for the boy they were all worried about—Shinji Ikari…
He had run out of NERV HQ, neither bothering to talk to his father or the mother he had missed for the longest time. He didn't even pay heed to the intruder claiming to be his son from a happier world.
The worst-case scenario had happened: the young lad was already in a downwards spiral and he was not going to give everyone else a chance to lift him up, not when they thought they could dictate his life just like a script.
The boy hadn't even bothered to resign from NERV, whose Section Two was now undergoing a set of purges of SEELE spies and thus too preoccupied to wrangle him back like they had last time. Not just that, but even if Section Two was at full strength and capability, something—or someone—was keeping them from finding Shinji, concealing his presence from any pursuers.
Sat on the shore of a lake glittering from moonlight somewhere in the Hakone countryside, Shinji sobbed.
After all the trouble they went into to get him in the robot in the first place, they were now throwing him away and telling him to be happy. That everything he had wanted was now his without him asking for it. That his father was now willing to act like a real father because his mother was back and his plans had changed.
But… no one had ever consulted him about what he wanted. Not one…
No one had the time to ask what he thought… or cared to… Always jerked around, always pushed wherever they wanted him…
Why would they talk to him? Who would even ask him? No one, that's who!
And what would they even ask him…? No… What would they even want to ask him… What would make him happy?
He couldn't even answer that himself.
Many things had changed… but it was the same sad thing for him.
He wanted to lash out. He wanted to vent. He wanted to be seen as more than he was… but… how could he—
The sound of footsteps had Shinji turning around in fury, only to pause as he saw a beauty unlike any other. Starlight and the moon's glow reflecting on pale skin and silver hair. Stood before him was a boy wearing the uniform of his own school, but… he couldn't recall ever seeing such a person before.
He would've noticed… especially if they were this beautiful.
Shinji had never thought of other boys like this. For boys to see their fellows in such a way… that was shameful, improper. But now, emotionally vulnerable as he was, all he could do was admire a picture of art that just so happened to be male like him.
As the silver-haired teen stepped towards him, Shinji Ikari was stunned to silence, as though he was looking at a perfectly illuminated sculpture, an otherworldly beauty, approach him.
And as the beautiful boy spoke, his tone radiating warmth and kindness, Shinji listened.
"You must be Shinji Ikari. Nice to meet you. I am new to this part of the world, you see?" the words were musical, impossibly melodic. "You know, the fact that this lake is so pristine shows that Humanity knows how to respect nature as much as it can pollute it, and appreciate the beauty and wonder of the world it usually exploits for its own survival and comfort."
Poetic as well as deep, Shinji found himself awestruck. But when he spoke, he let slip a hint of suspicion in his voice. "What are you doing here?"
"To see you, of course. Not the image others have of you, not what others think you are and what others think you want. I want to hear it from you, said in your voice." He paused, staring into Shinji's eyes—nay, his soul. An ephemeral beauty requesting an answer. "What do you think will make you happy, Shinji Ikari?"
Shinji knew he shouldn't drop his guard; if anything, he should keep it up against a stranger who knew just the question going through his mind. But then again, why should he? No one else truly cared about him, so why not grasp for straws and hope that this person, this… stranger who seemed to understand, might actually do so?
Compared to everyone else, this one looked to at least be… honest with his intentions of using Shinji.
Nevertheless, the boy held himself back and asked. "Who are you? Who are you working for? What do you want from me?"
The other boy smiled, and the smile was as brilliant as the starry sky above him.
"My name is Kaworu Nagisa, and I am, for the time being, a servant of SEELE, NERV's enemies. And as for what I want from you? That might not be the same as I was asked to do."
"What… what are you talking about?"
'Kaworu Nagisa' paused but then continued his approach, slowly stepping closer into Shinji's comfort zone, slowly closing the gap with his melodic voice gently easing Shinji's doubts and fears.
"You see, it's not that I want something from you, Shinji." He paused, standing intimately close before the boy whose heart was beating a mile a minute. "It's you I want. I was sent to bring you to them."
Note: I made some grammar, spelling, and flow edits.
Ritsuko Akagi noticed the first hole in the 'Happy Family Scenario' that Ken boy was trying to set up, namely, the fact that Shinji Ikari, much as he objected to being an Evangelion Pilot, actually found being one a boost to his self-esteem. Not just that, but bringing his mother back would not magically solve his issues with both parents. If anything, this situation, if not managed properly, would just cause Shinji to spiral downwards.
That made him dangerous, even if he was no longer a pilot.
And now Shiro Tokita was meeting her in the officers' lounge mere hours after he'd been granted an official pass, his opening words were subtle, not giving much away.
"So, it seems Ken's as prone to wishful thinking as the rest of us. Shinji Ikari's happiness will not be easily dictated by other people. Even if they praise him, tell him they like and appreciate him, the fact remains that it'll come off as insincere to the boy. Ken has shown you the videos of the 'Original Timeline' and the 'Rebuild Timeline' of the 'Original Universe', yes?"
Ritsuko silently nodded, acknowledging the objectiveness of his insight, "There wasn't enough time so I just skimmed through it all and followed the Cliff Notes attached to each video… That boy put in extra comments saying that he hid—… He'd hidden what Gendo had done to me."
Bitterness was apparent in her voice, bitterness for the fact that people knew Gendo had seduced her just like he had her mother, that such a shame could have been weaponized against her but it was overlooked. Sighing to collect herself, she continued. "He also implied that I could be happy with Ms. Ibuki… That she had a crush on me… and that all would be better if I returned her feelings. It's… a naïve thought."
Shiro Tokita nodded respectfully, sparing her a moment before he spoke. "Is that what stops you? The fact that Ken does not know how trauma works and is under the delusion that finding a new romantic partner would just magically make everything better? Or is it a… simpler explanation? That you just aren't attracted to the same sex and thus cannot return Ms. Ibuki's feelings?"
"You do realize that we live in a… traditional society, Mr. Tokita?" Ritsuko Akagi automatically defaulted to her bad habits of pushing aside the truth by responding thusly. "Ken might come from a world where he can flirt with girls and other boys whenever he feels like it, but we live in this universe. Our timeline and society are not his."
She'd found out that Shiro was demonstrating insight that hadn't been there in the 'Original Timeline' when the JHCI Executive responded, "You didn't answer my questions; If you don't like Ms. Ibuki 'that way', all you need to do is say so."
Ritsuko conceded, looking away with a sigh. "As we now live in a world where everyone is airing out each other's dirty laundry and personal scandals, I will admit that Ms. Ibuki is attractive, for both men and other women. In a kinder, more tolerant world, I'd have given her a chance. But we don't live so freely, do we?"
Shiro Tokita did not bat an eye; he rarely batted an eye except when facing a complete disaster. Just like in the 'Original Timeline'. Instead, he followed up with something she… didn't expect.
"The answer would be simple then. Let's make a kinder, more tolerant world. Ken, rotten shipper that he is, proved it's actually possible. And let's not forget, NERV is all about saving Humanity, right? So why not make Humanity worthy of salvation 'the hard way'?"
For the first time since this whole mess started, Ritsuko Akagi quietly huffed while failing to hide a smile. "As expected of a man who uses 'HOPE' as a password without any sense of shame or irony. You've grown past that smug, slightly sexist sleazeball who thought he could just 'dethrone' us. Guess your ward really was a positive influence?"
"Despite that arrogance of his… Yes, he might just be…"
She finally saw a smile shift the man's expression as he admitted.
-/-/-/-
Asuka Langley Sohryu had just received the news.
She took it as badly as can be expected.
NERV had betrayed her in the worst possible way and there was nothing she can do about it, not with her mother being in Evangelion Unit-02 and the Angels still out there, just itching for a fight. But apparently, the Idiot Shinji gets his mother back because letting him pilot would cause the apocalypse!
'What a fucking joke…' She could've spat on the floor.
It hurt more that it was Kaji who had delivered the news—as well as the irrefutable proof in the form of documents and videos—to her.
Loitering in an observation deck facing Unit-02, she was clad in civilian clothing as she hadn't been permitted near the Evangelion yet. For obvious reasons.
Nevertheless, not giving a damn about who heard her, she pounded a balled fist on the bulletproof glass, shouting, "Damn it, damn it, damn it! My entire life has been a lie and you all just stand there! I hate NERV! I hate you all! You all took my mother away from me!"
She wished she could actually punch through the glass. At the very least, destroy something of NERV's to get back at the life they destroyed. But it was all for naught, her anger.
There was no hope of getting her mother. Unlike Idiot Shinji, she wasn't so special; especially when her mother's corporeal body, animated by a small portion of her soul, had hanged itself after trying to kill Asuka herself. Now it was buried six feet under, and all the girl could do was commune with Evangelion-Unit 02 when she was judged stable enough to pilot it in combat.
And she would have to be if she ever wanted a chance to feel what a mother's love was like once more.
'At least she did love me! No one can take that away from me! No one!' Her aching wrist punched the glass once more, damning her hand to an afternoon numbed by a cold pack. 'Not even NERV...'
In her frustrations, she failed to notice Matteo Masuda, Project: LUXMAN's adult pilot, observing her from the entrance of the observation deck. He'd been unable to hide the pity in his eyes and, had she noticed, she would have trashed him then and there.
The man at least had some decency to give the girl privacy in airing her frustrations.
-/-/-/-
Misato Katsuragi and Ryoji Kaji were in an underground cargo bay in the Geofront, where Ken, following instructions from Parallel Shinji and his wife, Mari Illustrious Makanami
The beacon was a small rectangular pillar that glowed with a green version of Angel-Sealing Hex Glyphs. Attached to the floor with some sort of adhesive that was stronger than reinforced concrete, Ken fiddled with it, causing the green glow to grow in intensity. All of a sudden, shipping containers began appearing all over the once-empty area.
So did yet another person, a young man in his mid-twenties. One who shocked both Misato and Kaji with how his face bore a stark resemblance to them, or a fitting mix of both of theirs leaning heavily to Kaji's.
"Parallel Mom, Parallel Dad," said the young man, clad in farmers' overalls and whose hands were stained with soil and bits of grass. "Greetings. The name's is also Ryoji Kaji, and I come with my universe's 'care package'." Casually turning to the other person in the area, he added. "Ken, can you open one of those shipping containers?"
Nodding, Ken approached one of the boxes, pressed his fingerprint on a keypad—His universe can afford those?—causing the metal to open, thus revealing to Misato and Kaji the contents within.
Spears. Kaji Jr. then followed up with an explanation of the armaments they were looking at.
"These are replicas of the Spears of Longinus, Gaius… And, yes, Marius."
That last name was clearly the source of some unpleasantness judging by his tone. It had been explained by one of the videos they'd watched—the one of the final battles of the 'Rebuild Timeline'—something best not brought up for lack of a better time.
"Each replica can create and pierce AT-Fields and even turn the latter into laser beams. In essence, these are techno-organic laser weaponry that can also create energy shields. With these, NERV has additional options against Angels and, when—not if—necessary, human enemies." the younger man's expression shifted slightly as he continued. Looking at Misato and Kaji in the eyes for a few seconds, he then said, "Ken showed you the videos of the JSSDF's assault on NERV in the original timeline, the one this universe most resembles, right? If so, make sure they get a beating for me."
He paused for a moment, seemingly satisfied with the nods they retuned as he then smiled. "Anyway, time for me to go. Be safe, Mom and Dad. You have the truth early. Make sure to use it well and not get shot… Nor allow things to end up in a situation where have you to sacrifice yourselves to save everyone…"
He looked to want to give them a hug but vanished in a brief flash of light, his time already up. Left with dumbfounded expression, neither Misato nor Kaji Sr. misunderstood the young one's sincerity.
-/-/-/-
As for the boy they were all worried about—Shinji Ikari…
He had run out of NERV HQ, neither bothering to talk to his father or the mother he had missed for the longest time. He didn't even pay heed to the intruder claiming to be his son from a happier world.
The worst-case scenario had happened: the young lad was already in a downwards spiral and he was not going to give everyone else a chance to lift him up, not when they thought they could dictate his life just like a script.
The boy hadn't even bothered to resign from NERV, whose Section Two was now undergoing a set of purges of SEELE spies and thus too preoccupied to wrangle him back like they had last time. Not just that, but even if Section Two was at full strength and capability, something—or someone—was keeping them from finding Shinji, concealing his presence from any pursuers.
Sat on the shore of a lake glittering from moonlight somewhere in the Hakone countryside, Shinji sobbed.
After all the trouble they went into to get him in the robot in the first place, they were now throwing him away and telling him to be happy. That everything he had wanted was now his without him asking for it. That his father was now willing to act like a real father because his mother was back and his plans had changed.
But… no one had ever consulted him about what he wanted. Not one…
No one had the time to ask what he thought… or cared to… Always jerked around, always pushed wherever they wanted him…
Why would they talk to him? Who would even ask him? No one, that's who!
And what would they even ask him…? No… What would they even want to ask him… What would make him happy?
He couldn't even answer that himself.
Many things had changed… but it was the same sad thing for him.
He wanted to lash out. He wanted to vent. He wanted to be seen as more than he was… but… how could he—
The sound of footsteps had Shinji turning around in fury, only to pause as he saw a beauty unlike any other. Starlight and the moon's glow reflecting on pale skin and silver hair. Stood before him was a boy wearing the uniform of his own school, but… he couldn't recall ever seeing such a person before.
He would've noticed… especially if they were this beautiful.
Shinji had never thought of other boys like this. For boys to see their fellows in such a way… that was shameful, improper. But now, emotionally vulnerable as he was, all he could do was admire a picture of art that just so happened to be male like him.
As the silver-haired teen stepped towards him, Shinji Ikari was stunned to silence, as though he was looking at a perfectly illuminated sculpture, an otherworldly beauty, approach him.
And as the beautiful boy spoke, his tone radiating warmth and kindness, Shinji listened.
"You must be Shinji Ikari. Nice to meet you. I am new to this part of the world, you see?" the words were musical, impossibly melodic. "You know, the fact that this lake is so pristine shows that Humanity knows how to respect nature as much as it can pollute it, and appreciate the beauty and wonder of the world it usually exploits for its own survival and comfort."
Poetic as well as deep, Shinji found himself awestruck. But when he spoke, he let slip a hint of suspicion in his voice. "What are you doing here?"
"To see you, of course. Not the image others have of you, not what others think you are and what others think you want. I want to hear it from you, said in your voice." He paused, staring into Shinji's eyes—nay, his soul. An ephemeral beauty requesting an answer. "What do you think will make you happy, Shinji Ikari?"
Shinji knew he shouldn't drop his guard; if anything, he should keep it up against a stranger who knew just the question going through his mind. But then again, why should he? No one else truly cared about him, so why not grasp for straws and hope that this person, this… stranger who seemed to understand, might actually do so?
Compared to everyone else, this one looked to at least be… honest with his intentions of using Shinji.
Nevertheless, the boy held himself back and asked. "Who are you? Who are you working for? What do you want from me?"
The other boy smiled, and the smile was as brilliant as the starry sky above him.
"My name is Kaworu Nagisa, and I am, for the time being, a servant of SEELE, NERV's enemies. And as for what I want from you? That might not be the same as I was asked to do."
"What… what are you talking about?"
'Kaworu Nagisa' paused but then continued his approach, slowly stepping closer into Shinji's comfort zone, slowly closing the gap with his melodic voice gently easing Shinji's doubts and fears.
"You see, it's not that I want something from you, Shinji." He paused, standing intimately close before the boy whose heart was beating a mile a minute. "It's you I want. I was sent to bring you to them."
Last edited:
Repentant_Dragos
Experienced.
- Joined
- May 12, 2020
- Messages
- 3,417
Chapter Ten
Repentant_Dragos
Experienced.
- Joined
- May 12, 2020
- Messages
- 3,417
Chapter Ten
Shinji had been missing for two days now, and Israfel's attack on Tokyo-3 was imminent. Now that Unit-01 was no longer a factor, Asuka and Rei now had to be the ones to coordinate their Evangelions' moves to destroy Israfel's split halves as they fused back into their original form. As someone who had watched the Original and Rebuild Timelines' records, Ken Illustrious Ikari thought he was ready for the inevitable quarrels that would result.
He was wrong.
"I should have known a doll like you would be useless for this sort of thing!" Asuka was shouting at Rei for what seemed like the umpteenth time, only to receive an emotionless, stilted reply.
"I'm only doing what was commanded of me by Commander Ikari, that is all," Rei said back at an even more infuriated Asuka as her feet left the 'Dance Dance Revolution' pads at the bottom of Misato's apartment.
"Of course, you would!" Asuka screamed at her, "This, even though he threw you away the moment he got his wife back -"
Ken could see it; Rei's right arm was being raised, and her palm opened to slap Asuka - He had to interfere.
"That was my fault!" the boy butted in, drawing attention to himself and for the first time, quailing as Asuka turned her gaze on him, eyes locking on his own.
"So the boy wonder chooses to talk," Asuka's tone was suddenly cold, but echoing with an unspoken threat. "How many lives are you planning to ruin now, you dimension-hopper?"
Ken glared back at Asuka, blurting out, "Your lives came pre-ruined - I merely revealed how so that you can have a chance at fixing it."
The redhead's face scrunched in a further paroxysm of rage, but it was Rei who mumbled, "No one asked you to fix our lives."
Asuka turned to Rei in response, her expression slackening for just a moment before she huffed, "Yes! We didn't ask you to fix our lives! We didn't ask you for your help!...etc."
Then she looked at Ken and said, "So?! Why has the Commander's new golden boy come here? Come here to replace your Idiot father as his godforsaken placeholder?!"
Ken inhaled, then exhaled, before saying, "We received a message from his teacher - The one Grandfather left him behind with, back then - That Parallel Dad had returned to him safely. We then double-checked, and it turned out that he didn't recall sending that message. Considering what SEELE has access to…"
"Hah!" Asuka scoffed, "So you admit you've lost then. Ken Ikari, the time-traveling, universe-jumping, dimension-hopping son, the one brat who seems to know the answer to anything and everything, failed to save his dear father from the dark fate he foresaw." She spat at his feet. "How does it feel to be severely disappointed when the world doesn't work the way you want it to, huh?!"
All right, that's it; Parallel Aunt or not -
As Ken opened his mouth to shout something back, the door opened, and Misato Katsuragi entered the apartment, saying, "I sent someone to check up on whether Shinji is really with his old teacher. He wasn't. However, we did find a letter from one 'Kaworu Nagisa' saying that we're going to get a 'pleasant surprise' once the Israfel fight ends."
She then looked at Ken and spoke, making her uncertainty plain with a frown, "You mentioned this "Nagisa"... He's an Angel of SEELE that is infatuated with your father... Are you absolutely certain it would be enough to make him turn on his own all for Shinji's sake?"
Ken nodded, a cold feeling seeping into the pit of his stomach as he answered, "The reasons for his falling in love with my father are still applicable to this timeline. Nevertheless, I agree that we cannot be sure that he would be on our side even if he does decide that Parallel Dad's happiness matters more than SEELE's goals or the Angels'."
His eyes glinted as he spoke, "You're going to need me for a search and retrieval mission. Not because I am 'as good as the adults' - I'm not - but because Uncle… I mean Kaworu Nagisa, would think twice about killing me, even if only because I am potentially valuable to whatever cause he embraces. Otherwise, he'd slaughter anyone sent against him."
Asuka interrupted, "You really have a high opinion of yourself, don't you? Have you ever considered that maybe Angel Boy has been asked to lure you out?"
Ken decided to concede the point with a, "You're right, but what else can we do?"
Rei opined, "Waiting is an option. We have to defeat Israfel, right? And I don't think that the Third Child would come to harm even if Mr. Nagisa is loyal to SEELE."
All three women would see Ken blink and then concede with a nod, saying, "All right, I respect Aunt - I mean Rei's - borderline oracular pronouncements, so I'll go bother someone else."
Asuka scoffed again, "Why not bother those idiots, Toji or Kensuke? I'm sure they'd love to be bribed with the super-tech you flash around like one of the cool rich kids… Wait, are you rich in your home world?"
Misato interrupted before Ken can confirm his wealth or lack thereof, "That reminds me… Mr. Aida - Kensuke - has asked your boss by private letter if he can pilot a LUXMAN unit."
Ken twitched at that and said, "I see. I'll go talk to Mr. Tokita, then…"
-------
Matteo did not expect to be accosted by a high school student as he walked around the streets of Tokyo-3, accompanied by Alonso, plus a couple of bodyguards who followed them a discreet distance behind.
"Umm… Hello?" the boy exclaimed in a loud tone, "My name is Kensuke Aida and I'm a student at First Municipal High School; you are Matteo Masuda, right? The pilot of the 'LUXMAN' unit which helped out the Evangelions in the 'Pacific Ocean Incident', right?"
Matteo had already guessed what the boy was going to ask, and promptly shut it down with all the grace he can muster, "No child pilots allowed."
Kensuke sighed and said, "How did you know I was going to ask that?"
"Guesswork," was the blunt and curt response; Matteo did not need more kids getting involved in a war, and he elaborated further, "Look, you do realize this is a war, right? And that using child soldiers - Pilots - is a desperate move?"
Matteo had watched the videos Ken had brought; he knew Kensuke had a chance to grow and change, but that was in the Rebuild Timeline, where it took the reduction of the Human population into a few small communities to actually spark said change.
"Please. I don't care if it's in the cockpit or just helping others in maintenance!" Kensuke's voice hitched as he quickly hushed himself to a desperate whisper. "Besides, you're going to need all the help you can get, right? I mean... I heard from my father that NERV is getting even more challenges and interference from the UN for some reason. I want to do what I can too!""
Matteo's face began to twist into a cringe, but Alonso finally made his presence known by patting him on the arm before saying in a mild, sweet tone.
"Asking people for a job on the street is a very rude thing to do, Mr. Aida; would you prefer to discuss this over ramen instead?" Alonso clearly had more patience toward children than he had; that was fine with him.
Then the redhead whispered to him, "Remember, he proved capable of maintaining and repairing Anti-L Systems in the Rebuild Timeline."
Why did that seem like an excuse to just talk? Either way, Matteo wouldn't object to being in a shaded place for a few hours…
------
They had made sure that the booth and the area around it were secure, and now Alonso was paying for him, Kensuke, and even the two bodyguards, distracting the ramen store owner with an extra large order.
Of course, the redhead then proved to be too conciliatory when he said to Kensuke, "Does your father know you want to be a Pilot? While we can't allow that yet, we can apprentice you to a mechanic…"
Okay, time to give his boyfriend a death glare.
"That's a great start!" Kensuke was enthusiastic now, only to be interrupted by the mercenary, who looked him in the eye and spoke:
"But first, we need you to tell us about what you exactly got when you accessed your father's data files just a couple of days ago…"
Oh, right, Kensuke's father works at one of NERV's bases and Kensuke hacks into the files sometimes. Alonso must have caught a data breach, Matteo felt his polite smile twitch but didn't let his feelings be known.
"I-is this place safe?" Kensuke asked as he glanced at the ramen chef, only to find that the latter seemed unusually occupied, even distracted. Then he mumbled, "I know… you're at war. Against other humans."
Well that was more than we expected, Matteo said as his right hand instinctively moved towards his holstered knife, before he quickly withdrew it as he forced himself to relax.
Time seemed to slow down as he felt it; his boyfriend was activating a 'psychic trick' thought to most members of NOAH and its composite organizations, one that required very little amount of actual power; one can even argue that this wasn't actually psychic - Just a form of hypnosis.
Alonso Guttierez was now reminding him and Kensuke that he was a member of the Knights Templar, who in turn was clinging to NOAH to stay relevant in a changing world. What they were going to talk about was not going to get out of the area unless one of them broke the 'trick' by shouting out loud.
"Pray tell, hijo," slipping into Spanish with that last word, the man tried acting a little more friendly. "How much have you found out and who have you told?"
Kensuke gulped. Matteo had to reassure the kid somehow. Ken (Ikari) would object loudly to the slightest prospect of anything they'd do to him even if he wasn't innocent. So the LUXMAN Pilot lightly patted Kensuke's shoulder and tried to reassure him by saying:
"Relax, you're not in danger. If anything, we can use someone as inquisitive as you."
"R-really?" Kensuke stuttered again before saying, "Thank you, sir; I'll tell you everything, then."
His following words revealed that despite attempts to tighten security, Shinji's disappearance had not gone unnoticed, the existence of the miniature Spears of Longinus/Cassius/Marius and their capabilities was well-known around NERV's other bases now, and also that information about Ken Illustrious Ikari's real name and origins were spreading despite attempts to plug up the information leak.
Matteo looked at Alonso as the latter's eyes hardened, then softened once more; the kid was innocent, after all.
Then the LUXMAN Pilot said to Kensuke, "You're too good to be just a mechanic's apprentice - We need an intern to help us plug up more leaks. So, why not join JHCI as one?"
Alonso smiled at that and said, "I could use someone to help me with cybersecurity, yes, especially as the next Angel is coming… Tomorrow."
Matteo nodded and continued, "And after that, even more Angels. A neverending threat that, alongside a potential attempt at cutting off Tokyo-3's power, hell, even assassination attempts aimed at key figures of both NERV and JHCI, we'll never run out of the need for more hands on deck. Still, you're going to need to prepare yourself, kid; it's going to be a bumpy ride."
Kensuke Aida, never expecting his dreams to come true so easily, was starry-eyed and stunned silent for quite a while with the most excited expression he'd ever worn.
"However, we're not your enablers. If you screw up, there will be consequences. Not death. But we both know that for Shinji's sake, you wouldn't screw up on purpose, That or betray us, right?"
The kid's response was an immediate yet sloppy salute. In a clear tone, the boy before them half-yelled, half-affirmed, "Aye aye, sir! Kensuke Aida reporting for duty!"
Later that afternoon, their Ken would run up to them, saying that he and Mr. Tokita had come up with a bargain nigh identical to what he and Alonso had offered Kensuke just earlier.
"Guess great minds think alike, right?" was Alonso's response. "Anyway, here's hoping you, Major Katsuragi and the others got Asuka and Rei to coordinate well enough for tomorrow. We'll need the extra days gained from defeating that Angel early to search for your Parallel Dad…"
Shinji had been missing for two days now, and Israfel's attack on Tokyo-3 was imminent. Now that Unit-01 was no longer a factor, Asuka and Rei now had to be the ones to coordinate their Evangelions' moves to destroy Israfel's split halves as they fused back into their original form. As someone who had watched the Original and Rebuild Timelines' records, Ken Illustrious Ikari thought he was ready for the inevitable quarrels that would result.
He was wrong.
"I should have known a doll like you would be useless for this sort of thing!" Asuka was shouting at Rei for what seemed like the umpteenth time, only to receive an emotionless, stilted reply.
"I'm only doing what was commanded of me by Commander Ikari, that is all," Rei said back at an even more infuriated Asuka as her feet left the 'Dance Dance Revolution' pads at the bottom of Misato's apartment.
"Of course, you would!" Asuka screamed at her, "This, even though he threw you away the moment he got his wife back -"
Ken could see it; Rei's right arm was being raised, and her palm opened to slap Asuka - He had to interfere.
"That was my fault!" the boy butted in, drawing attention to himself and for the first time, quailing as Asuka turned her gaze on him, eyes locking on his own.
"So the boy wonder chooses to talk," Asuka's tone was suddenly cold, but echoing with an unspoken threat. "How many lives are you planning to ruin now, you dimension-hopper?"
Ken glared back at Asuka, blurting out, "Your lives came pre-ruined - I merely revealed how so that you can have a chance at fixing it."
The redhead's face scrunched in a further paroxysm of rage, but it was Rei who mumbled, "No one asked you to fix our lives."
Asuka turned to Rei in response, her expression slackening for just a moment before she huffed, "Yes! We didn't ask you to fix our lives! We didn't ask you for your help!...etc."
Then she looked at Ken and said, "So?! Why has the Commander's new golden boy come here? Come here to replace your Idiot father as his godforsaken placeholder?!"
Ken inhaled, then exhaled, before saying, "We received a message from his teacher - The one Grandfather left him behind with, back then - That Parallel Dad had returned to him safely. We then double-checked, and it turned out that he didn't recall sending that message. Considering what SEELE has access to…"
"Hah!" Asuka scoffed, "So you admit you've lost then. Ken Ikari, the time-traveling, universe-jumping, dimension-hopping son, the one brat who seems to know the answer to anything and everything, failed to save his dear father from the dark fate he foresaw." She spat at his feet. "How does it feel to be severely disappointed when the world doesn't work the way you want it to, huh?!"
All right, that's it; Parallel Aunt or not -
As Ken opened his mouth to shout something back, the door opened, and Misato Katsuragi entered the apartment, saying, "I sent someone to check up on whether Shinji is really with his old teacher. He wasn't. However, we did find a letter from one 'Kaworu Nagisa' saying that we're going to get a 'pleasant surprise' once the Israfel fight ends."
She then looked at Ken and spoke, making her uncertainty plain with a frown, "You mentioned this "Nagisa"... He's an Angel of SEELE that is infatuated with your father... Are you absolutely certain it would be enough to make him turn on his own all for Shinji's sake?"
Ken nodded, a cold feeling seeping into the pit of his stomach as he answered, "The reasons for his falling in love with my father are still applicable to this timeline. Nevertheless, I agree that we cannot be sure that he would be on our side even if he does decide that Parallel Dad's happiness matters more than SEELE's goals or the Angels'."
His eyes glinted as he spoke, "You're going to need me for a search and retrieval mission. Not because I am 'as good as the adults' - I'm not - but because Uncle… I mean Kaworu Nagisa, would think twice about killing me, even if only because I am potentially valuable to whatever cause he embraces. Otherwise, he'd slaughter anyone sent against him."
Asuka interrupted, "You really have a high opinion of yourself, don't you? Have you ever considered that maybe Angel Boy has been asked to lure you out?"
Ken decided to concede the point with a, "You're right, but what else can we do?"
Rei opined, "Waiting is an option. We have to defeat Israfel, right? And I don't think that the Third Child would come to harm even if Mr. Nagisa is loyal to SEELE."
All three women would see Ken blink and then concede with a nod, saying, "All right, I respect Aunt - I mean Rei's - borderline oracular pronouncements, so I'll go bother someone else."
Asuka scoffed again, "Why not bother those idiots, Toji or Kensuke? I'm sure they'd love to be bribed with the super-tech you flash around like one of the cool rich kids… Wait, are you rich in your home world?"
Misato interrupted before Ken can confirm his wealth or lack thereof, "That reminds me… Mr. Aida - Kensuke - has asked your boss by private letter if he can pilot a LUXMAN unit."
Ken twitched at that and said, "I see. I'll go talk to Mr. Tokita, then…"
-------
Matteo did not expect to be accosted by a high school student as he walked around the streets of Tokyo-3, accompanied by Alonso, plus a couple of bodyguards who followed them a discreet distance behind.
"Umm… Hello?" the boy exclaimed in a loud tone, "My name is Kensuke Aida and I'm a student at First Municipal High School; you are Matteo Masuda, right? The pilot of the 'LUXMAN' unit which helped out the Evangelions in the 'Pacific Ocean Incident', right?"
Matteo had already guessed what the boy was going to ask, and promptly shut it down with all the grace he can muster, "No child pilots allowed."
Kensuke sighed and said, "How did you know I was going to ask that?"
"Guesswork," was the blunt and curt response; Matteo did not need more kids getting involved in a war, and he elaborated further, "Look, you do realize this is a war, right? And that using child soldiers - Pilots - is a desperate move?"
Matteo had watched the videos Ken had brought; he knew Kensuke had a chance to grow and change, but that was in the Rebuild Timeline, where it took the reduction of the Human population into a few small communities to actually spark said change.
"Please. I don't care if it's in the cockpit or just helping others in maintenance!" Kensuke's voice hitched as he quickly hushed himself to a desperate whisper. "Besides, you're going to need all the help you can get, right? I mean... I heard from my father that NERV is getting even more challenges and interference from the UN for some reason. I want to do what I can too!""
Matteo's face began to twist into a cringe, but Alonso finally made his presence known by patting him on the arm before saying in a mild, sweet tone.
"Asking people for a job on the street is a very rude thing to do, Mr. Aida; would you prefer to discuss this over ramen instead?" Alonso clearly had more patience toward children than he had; that was fine with him.
Then the redhead whispered to him, "Remember, he proved capable of maintaining and repairing Anti-L Systems in the Rebuild Timeline."
Why did that seem like an excuse to just talk? Either way, Matteo wouldn't object to being in a shaded place for a few hours…
------
They had made sure that the booth and the area around it were secure, and now Alonso was paying for him, Kensuke, and even the two bodyguards, distracting the ramen store owner with an extra large order.
Of course, the redhead then proved to be too conciliatory when he said to Kensuke, "Does your father know you want to be a Pilot? While we can't allow that yet, we can apprentice you to a mechanic…"
Okay, time to give his boyfriend a death glare.
"That's a great start!" Kensuke was enthusiastic now, only to be interrupted by the mercenary, who looked him in the eye and spoke:
"But first, we need you to tell us about what you exactly got when you accessed your father's data files just a couple of days ago…"
Oh, right, Kensuke's father works at one of NERV's bases and Kensuke hacks into the files sometimes. Alonso must have caught a data breach, Matteo felt his polite smile twitch but didn't let his feelings be known.
"I-is this place safe?" Kensuke asked as he glanced at the ramen chef, only to find that the latter seemed unusually occupied, even distracted. Then he mumbled, "I know… you're at war. Against other humans."
Well that was more than we expected, Matteo said as his right hand instinctively moved towards his holstered knife, before he quickly withdrew it as he forced himself to relax.
Time seemed to slow down as he felt it; his boyfriend was activating a 'psychic trick' thought to most members of NOAH and its composite organizations, one that required very little amount of actual power; one can even argue that this wasn't actually psychic - Just a form of hypnosis.
Alonso Guttierez was now reminding him and Kensuke that he was a member of the Knights Templar, who in turn was clinging to NOAH to stay relevant in a changing world. What they were going to talk about was not going to get out of the area unless one of them broke the 'trick' by shouting out loud.
"Pray tell, hijo," slipping into Spanish with that last word, the man tried acting a little more friendly. "How much have you found out and who have you told?"
Kensuke gulped. Matteo had to reassure the kid somehow. Ken (Ikari) would object loudly to the slightest prospect of anything they'd do to him even if he wasn't innocent. So the LUXMAN Pilot lightly patted Kensuke's shoulder and tried to reassure him by saying:
"Relax, you're not in danger. If anything, we can use someone as inquisitive as you."
"R-really?" Kensuke stuttered again before saying, "Thank you, sir; I'll tell you everything, then."
His following words revealed that despite attempts to tighten security, Shinji's disappearance had not gone unnoticed, the existence of the miniature Spears of Longinus/Cassius/Marius and their capabilities was well-known around NERV's other bases now, and also that information about Ken Illustrious Ikari's real name and origins were spreading despite attempts to plug up the information leak.
Matteo looked at Alonso as the latter's eyes hardened, then softened once more; the kid was innocent, after all.
Then the LUXMAN Pilot said to Kensuke, "You're too good to be just a mechanic's apprentice - We need an intern to help us plug up more leaks. So, why not join JHCI as one?"
Alonso smiled at that and said, "I could use someone to help me with cybersecurity, yes, especially as the next Angel is coming… Tomorrow."
Matteo nodded and continued, "And after that, even more Angels. A neverending threat that, alongside a potential attempt at cutting off Tokyo-3's power, hell, even assassination attempts aimed at key figures of both NERV and JHCI, we'll never run out of the need for more hands on deck. Still, you're going to need to prepare yourself, kid; it's going to be a bumpy ride."
Kensuke Aida, never expecting his dreams to come true so easily, was starry-eyed and stunned silent for quite a while with the most excited expression he'd ever worn.
"However, we're not your enablers. If you screw up, there will be consequences. Not death. But we both know that for Shinji's sake, you wouldn't screw up on purpose, That or betray us, right?"
The kid's response was an immediate yet sloppy salute. In a clear tone, the boy before them half-yelled, half-affirmed, "Aye aye, sir! Kensuke Aida reporting for duty!"
Later that afternoon, their Ken would run up to them, saying that he and Mr. Tokita had come up with a bargain nigh identical to what he and Alonso had offered Kensuke just earlier.
"Guess great minds think alike, right?" was Alonso's response. "Anyway, here's hoping you, Major Katsuragi and the others got Asuka and Rei to coordinate well enough for tomorrow. We'll need the extra days gained from defeating that Angel early to search for your Parallel Dad…"
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Chapter Eleven
Repentant_Dragos
Experienced.
- Joined
- May 12, 2020
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Chapter Eleven
Ryoji Kaji knew that Asuka Langley Sorhyu hated him now for bringing her the bad news of the Evangelions' true nature and NERV's secret goals (as much of them as he was permitted to share, anyway). She had screamed at him, shouted that he should get out of her life and that they were through - As if they had anything with each other in the first place…
Nevertheless, from a NERV-assigned observation room in the Geofront, he sternly observed the battle wherein she and Rei, the one Asuka despised for being a 'doll', were fighting against Israfel. The Angel was formidable in that, like a starfish, it was able to split its body into identical copies of itself. But unlike the relatively harmless sea creature, the monstrosity was able to recombine itself or split again depending on the situation.
The location of the battle was where the Original Timeline's pilots had first encountered and lost against the thing: Suruga Bay, south of Tokyo-3. So far, the situation wasn't going as bad, but following so close to the occurrences of that world's showdown with Israfel, this fight necessitated a change in tactics.
Asuka in her Unit-02 insisted on being the one to cleave Israfel first, this time deliberately, while Rei in Unit-00 had its mech-sized progressive knife ready. Matteo in Project: LUXMAN was positioned with the JSSDF artillery units behind the lines, with the LUXMAN's high-end Fusion Reactor able to power a Positron Sniper Rifle on its own without the need for Japan's electric grid.
Asuka's hit connected, sending the Angel's slightly smaller halves separating. Kaji smiled as the music - a necessity in assisting the Evangelion Units to coordinate - began playing through the speakers. In a moment, the violent dance of blows began. Israfel's main gimmick, in addition to being able to split apart, was to launch synchronized blows with its Alpha and Beta halves. Overwhelming it with numbers was not going to work. But where there was a will, there was a way. And humans are nothing if not persistent.
Have a taste of human ingenuity in their most desperate hour, He mused as Asuka and Rei matched Israfel Alpha and Beta blow for blow, meeting each punch with a counter and dancing around its kicks. Much to his surprise, Unit-02 and Unit-00 even managed to land a coordinated knee jab against their respective targets simultaneously. The hit against Alpha and Beta's guts forced the two halves back into one form, an opening the JSSDF forces didn't let go of when they began showering it with a rain of ordnance that would have obliterated a regular battalion to dust.
Israfel was being forced back. Sadly, the two missed their chance at landing a good hit on the merging cores. Once more, it split apart to enact a swift offensive. But the girls were wiser to its movements now. Asuka and Rei, following the coordinating music's tempo, began to dance in unison, advancing against the Alpha and Beta halves while landing blow for blow, punch for punch. Their mechs were a whirlwind of grace and power, tearing away at Israfel's counteroffensive and hammering the Angel back into itself. Like a morbid attempt to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
One, two, and three punches landed in sync, finally forcing Israfel's halves back into themselves. And this time, as the Alpha and Beta Cores were about to merge, the girls whipped out their knives and drove reinforced metal into the orbs, fracturing them before they pushed the half-combined body into the bay. A moment of silence passed. Then, the cores detonated, sending boiling water high into the sky, as tall as mountains filled with fish and melted debris to fall across the countryside.
Good thing the area was evacuated, Kaji thought as success was reported in all open communications - A rare moment where the JSSDF genuinely shared NERV's mood.
Speaking of the JSSDF, their superiors, the Japanese Government, did not like what he had reported to them about, well, everything. They also did not like the proof he showed them of his 'absurd and ridiculous' assertions, if only because of the political implications, which were dire.
"Hm?" He whirled around in response to approaching footsteps. Gaze meeting Shiro Tokita, Kaji spared the man and his mercenary, the Spanish Alonso Guttierez, one known as a modern-day member of the Knights Templar, a stern glance.
"It seems we won, but this victory won't magically fix relations between the JSSDF and NERV." Shiro, the first to break the uneasy silence, stated. "I've just spent the past hour receiving threats from my former associates saying they'll make me pay for my 'treachery'. This, even though none of them cared to lift a finger when Commander Ikari was breathing down my neck - Heh... I should have known they were a cowardly nest of vipers back when I started the Project!"
Kaji almost smiled at hearing the man scoff, "So? What is JHCI doing right now, by the way? You've received two pilots from Vladivostok to pilot the two new LUXMAN Units. NOAH agents, I presume?"
Shiro nodded, "Yes, Gavril Suburov and his sister, Anna Suburova. The latter brought her son, Rafail - Although he prefers to be called Raphael - and the latter claims he wants to see Ken. Their ploy is obvious as can be."
From the way, the JHCI CEO's expression twisted in disgust, it was easy to see what NOAH's ploy was, and Kaji made his opinion known right away.
"Using a fourteen-year-old kid as bait... Many people would find it manipulative. Personally, I think it disgusting…"
More proof that NOAH was not an organization of saints, and will have to be looked into once SEELE was taken care of. But that would be for later. A more pressing question was what Shiro and his bodyguard were doing here.
"You two came to watch Israfel's defeat, yes?" he asked.
"Indeed," Shiro took the change in subject to mind. "However, I thought it best to brief you about things on my end as a trade for news of how the world's been faring... I reckon the peace forged after Second Impact is falling apart and there's been an uptick in minor conflicts and violent incidents all over the world as SEELE panics over how to beat both us and the Angels, leaving behind a power vacuum that even NOAH can not and will not fill because it is ultimately a regional organization. War is soon to be upon us, Ryoji Kaji."
The JHCI Executive sighed in agreement, "Ken at least had the decency to be horrified when I told him about the latest incidents in Africa and Latin America caused by UN neglect. Now, the question for the local instability is how likely is it that the JSSDF strikes us earlier than expected.
"Sooner than later, I'm afraid," Kaji was not going to mince words. "There is a sizable faction in the Marines and Special Forces that says that they can just seize NERV, kill everyone within, then use the Spear Replicas my son - …my Parallel Son gave us for the purpose of warding them off to destroy the Angels themselves."
Shiro sighed, "Amazing how resentment can make people take a mad course of action, isn't it?"
No response was to be had as, immediately, the sirens began blaring again in the observation room. The two turned back to the screen, hoping against hope that they were not due for another unpleasant surprise…
-------
She and the Doll had just succeeded in defeating that damned Angel... On the first try no less! Had Asuka been a humble person, she'd chalked it up to teamwork, but no. She did her best. They can thank her for doing this much.
Then she was interrupted by the 'Doll' in question with the words:
"Something's coming." The 'Doll' cut her off as Unit-00 pointed upwards, to the moon that was visible in the sky.
For the moment that nothing happened, Asuka was tempted to scoff at her. But then, they saw it. A glint of crimson light that grew larger and brighter and-
"Shields up! NOW!" Neither of them wasted a breath to argue as their machines projected powerful AT-Fields in an instant.
Even Matteo in the LUXMAN had the Positron Cannon primed and ready. Guards up and on high alert, they waited for impact from an...
"What the...?" no one cared who said it, but the random speaker on the radio asked what they all thought. "Is that... an Eva?!!"
"Don't shoot!" A familiar voice cried out. The source? The landing Evangelion. "This is Ikari Shinji, returning to Earth from the secret moonbase. We stole an Evangelion and are about to descend. I repeat! Do not shoot! We're friendlies!"
"What the fuck are you on about, Shinji?!" Asuka, tension snapped by the appearance of that idiot, was quick to shout over the comms before anyone else could gather themselves. "And what the hell do you mean by a 'moonbase'?" Such a thing shouldn't have been possible. At least, Asuka thought it shouldn't. The only time she remembered anything being mentioned about Seele and the moon was in the Rebuild Timeline, but that was a Parallel Universe... 'Could it be that...?!'
She didn't dare say it on loudspeaker. The fact that Ikari Shinji of all people managed to steal an Eva aside, the implications of something advantageous to their enemy from another world also being present in this one was... well, it was bad. Very bad.
Major Katsuragi was the second person to snap out of shock and had her first instinct to assess the situation. "Shin-Pilot Ikari, that unit doesn't have a recognizable IFF signal from NERV's databank. What is its designation?"
"That's because Unit-13 does not, nor should, exist." A voice answered Misato's question. but it wasn't Shinji's. "Nagisa Kaworu speaking. Currently, I am co-piloting Eva Unit-13 alongside Shinji. Good day, everyone."
Somewhere in the command room, someone gulped. The air froze for those in the know of what they were seeing.
Unit-13, the cause of the Fourth Impact in the Rebuild Timeline. Piloted by Ikari Shinji, and the Angel named 'Nagisa Kaworu'.
"Give me one good reason not to engage you right here and now, bastard!" The only one to show any form of active intent to act on this information was one very pissed-off redhead as her machine quickly took a ready stance. "And you'd better convince me you're not about to screw us over or, so help me, I will rip you out of the cockpit with my Eva's hands!"
Eva Unit-13's touch-down was a tense one. Not a single person moved.
"Because if you try to hurt me, Asuka Langley Sorhyu, you would mean to hurt Shinji as well." That is until Kaworu's amused hum sounded for everyone to hear and shivers went down everyone's spine. "I have the Third Child in addition to an Eva unit I could use to trigger the Third Impact at any time I wish. Aside from that, I am also an Angel. So go ahead and try. That is if you wish to risk it."
The boy's tone remained calm, but the threat was clear as day. Not that Shinji wanted for it to go this way. "Enough! Asuka, please! Stand down. Kaworu means no harm. If he wanted to kill humanity, he would've already-"
"Shut up, you idiot!"
He did as asked, but Asuka was far too tense to handle this delicate situation. It was then that Kaworu took the initiative once more. "Had I wanted to destroy every single Lilin in existence even after meeting him, we wouldn't be having this exchange. You and the species you call 'Humanity' would already be extinct... But that is not my intent. I advise you stand down."
"That's enough, Unit-02!. Stand down!" Misato, living up to her rank, cowed the girl with the order before turning her attention to the other two. "If you came down directly from the moonbase, have you been pursued?"
The question was answered immediately. Alarms rang out as five bogies made themselves known. The camera's that immediately snapped to identify them showed up on-screen.
"Dammit!" Misato couldn't hold back the curse that spilled out, nor the nervous sweat that followed.
Mass-Produced Evangelion units, confirmation that Ken's videos of his world's 'Original Timeline' were on the mark, were coming down fast, faster than Unit-13 as well.
"Oh, joy," Asuka's snappy sarcasm was for everyone to enjoy before her attention snapped to their marksman on standby. "Oy! You have the Positron Rifle! Shoot them down already!"
"Don't make it sound like it's easy," Matteo mumbled before a beam streaked through the sky, clipping one of the bogey Eva's and sending it crashing into the sea. Unfortunately, it was a costly shot, worth twice Japan's electric grid wattage this time. "There's your First Blood, missy. Now get moving, you two. The JSSDF are already prepping for ground combat!"
Misato took charge, immediately snapping out of it, "Unit-02, Unit-00, your objectives have changed - Secure Pilots Ikari and Nagisa Kaworu. Project: LUXMAN will provide covering fire. Take out the enemy forces pursuing them!"
Ryoji Kaji knew that Asuka Langley Sorhyu hated him now for bringing her the bad news of the Evangelions' true nature and NERV's secret goals (as much of them as he was permitted to share, anyway). She had screamed at him, shouted that he should get out of her life and that they were through - As if they had anything with each other in the first place…
Nevertheless, from a NERV-assigned observation room in the Geofront, he sternly observed the battle wherein she and Rei, the one Asuka despised for being a 'doll', were fighting against Israfel. The Angel was formidable in that, like a starfish, it was able to split its body into identical copies of itself. But unlike the relatively harmless sea creature, the monstrosity was able to recombine itself or split again depending on the situation.
The location of the battle was where the Original Timeline's pilots had first encountered and lost against the thing: Suruga Bay, south of Tokyo-3. So far, the situation wasn't going as bad, but following so close to the occurrences of that world's showdown with Israfel, this fight necessitated a change in tactics.
Asuka in her Unit-02 insisted on being the one to cleave Israfel first, this time deliberately, while Rei in Unit-00 had its mech-sized progressive knife ready. Matteo in Project: LUXMAN was positioned with the JSSDF artillery units behind the lines, with the LUXMAN's high-end Fusion Reactor able to power a Positron Sniper Rifle on its own without the need for Japan's electric grid.
Asuka's hit connected, sending the Angel's slightly smaller halves separating. Kaji smiled as the music - a necessity in assisting the Evangelion Units to coordinate - began playing through the speakers. In a moment, the violent dance of blows began. Israfel's main gimmick, in addition to being able to split apart, was to launch synchronized blows with its Alpha and Beta halves. Overwhelming it with numbers was not going to work. But where there was a will, there was a way. And humans are nothing if not persistent.
Have a taste of human ingenuity in their most desperate hour, He mused as Asuka and Rei matched Israfel Alpha and Beta blow for blow, meeting each punch with a counter and dancing around its kicks. Much to his surprise, Unit-02 and Unit-00 even managed to land a coordinated knee jab against their respective targets simultaneously. The hit against Alpha and Beta's guts forced the two halves back into one form, an opening the JSSDF forces didn't let go of when they began showering it with a rain of ordnance that would have obliterated a regular battalion to dust.
Israfel was being forced back. Sadly, the two missed their chance at landing a good hit on the merging cores. Once more, it split apart to enact a swift offensive. But the girls were wiser to its movements now. Asuka and Rei, following the coordinating music's tempo, began to dance in unison, advancing against the Alpha and Beta halves while landing blow for blow, punch for punch. Their mechs were a whirlwind of grace and power, tearing away at Israfel's counteroffensive and hammering the Angel back into itself. Like a morbid attempt to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
One, two, and three punches landed in sync, finally forcing Israfel's halves back into themselves. And this time, as the Alpha and Beta Cores were about to merge, the girls whipped out their knives and drove reinforced metal into the orbs, fracturing them before they pushed the half-combined body into the bay. A moment of silence passed. Then, the cores detonated, sending boiling water high into the sky, as tall as mountains filled with fish and melted debris to fall across the countryside.
Good thing the area was evacuated, Kaji thought as success was reported in all open communications - A rare moment where the JSSDF genuinely shared NERV's mood.
Speaking of the JSSDF, their superiors, the Japanese Government, did not like what he had reported to them about, well, everything. They also did not like the proof he showed them of his 'absurd and ridiculous' assertions, if only because of the political implications, which were dire.
"Hm?" He whirled around in response to approaching footsteps. Gaze meeting Shiro Tokita, Kaji spared the man and his mercenary, the Spanish Alonso Guttierez, one known as a modern-day member of the Knights Templar, a stern glance.
"It seems we won, but this victory won't magically fix relations between the JSSDF and NERV." Shiro, the first to break the uneasy silence, stated. "I've just spent the past hour receiving threats from my former associates saying they'll make me pay for my 'treachery'. This, even though none of them cared to lift a finger when Commander Ikari was breathing down my neck - Heh... I should have known they were a cowardly nest of vipers back when I started the Project!"
Kaji almost smiled at hearing the man scoff, "So? What is JHCI doing right now, by the way? You've received two pilots from Vladivostok to pilot the two new LUXMAN Units. NOAH agents, I presume?"
Shiro nodded, "Yes, Gavril Suburov and his sister, Anna Suburova. The latter brought her son, Rafail - Although he prefers to be called Raphael - and the latter claims he wants to see Ken. Their ploy is obvious as can be."
From the way, the JHCI CEO's expression twisted in disgust, it was easy to see what NOAH's ploy was, and Kaji made his opinion known right away.
"Using a fourteen-year-old kid as bait... Many people would find it manipulative. Personally, I think it disgusting…"
More proof that NOAH was not an organization of saints, and will have to be looked into once SEELE was taken care of. But that would be for later. A more pressing question was what Shiro and his bodyguard were doing here.
"You two came to watch Israfel's defeat, yes?" he asked.
"Indeed," Shiro took the change in subject to mind. "However, I thought it best to brief you about things on my end as a trade for news of how the world's been faring... I reckon the peace forged after Second Impact is falling apart and there's been an uptick in minor conflicts and violent incidents all over the world as SEELE panics over how to beat both us and the Angels, leaving behind a power vacuum that even NOAH can not and will not fill because it is ultimately a regional organization. War is soon to be upon us, Ryoji Kaji."
The JHCI Executive sighed in agreement, "Ken at least had the decency to be horrified when I told him about the latest incidents in Africa and Latin America caused by UN neglect. Now, the question for the local instability is how likely is it that the JSSDF strikes us earlier than expected.
"Sooner than later, I'm afraid," Kaji was not going to mince words. "There is a sizable faction in the Marines and Special Forces that says that they can just seize NERV, kill everyone within, then use the Spear Replicas my son - …my Parallel Son gave us for the purpose of warding them off to destroy the Angels themselves."
Shiro sighed, "Amazing how resentment can make people take a mad course of action, isn't it?"
No response was to be had as, immediately, the sirens began blaring again in the observation room. The two turned back to the screen, hoping against hope that they were not due for another unpleasant surprise…
-------
She and the Doll had just succeeded in defeating that damned Angel... On the first try no less! Had Asuka been a humble person, she'd chalked it up to teamwork, but no. She did her best. They can thank her for doing this much.
Then she was interrupted by the 'Doll' in question with the words:
"Something's coming." The 'Doll' cut her off as Unit-00 pointed upwards, to the moon that was visible in the sky.
For the moment that nothing happened, Asuka was tempted to scoff at her. But then, they saw it. A glint of crimson light that grew larger and brighter and-
"Shields up! NOW!" Neither of them wasted a breath to argue as their machines projected powerful AT-Fields in an instant.
Even Matteo in the LUXMAN had the Positron Cannon primed and ready. Guards up and on high alert, they waited for impact from an...
"What the...?" no one cared who said it, but the random speaker on the radio asked what they all thought. "Is that... an Eva?!!"
"Don't shoot!" A familiar voice cried out. The source? The landing Evangelion. "This is Ikari Shinji, returning to Earth from the secret moonbase. We stole an Evangelion and are about to descend. I repeat! Do not shoot! We're friendlies!"
"What the fuck are you on about, Shinji?!" Asuka, tension snapped by the appearance of that idiot, was quick to shout over the comms before anyone else could gather themselves. "And what the hell do you mean by a 'moonbase'?" Such a thing shouldn't have been possible. At least, Asuka thought it shouldn't. The only time she remembered anything being mentioned about Seele and the moon was in the Rebuild Timeline, but that was a Parallel Universe... 'Could it be that...?!'
She didn't dare say it on loudspeaker. The fact that Ikari Shinji of all people managed to steal an Eva aside, the implications of something advantageous to their enemy from another world also being present in this one was... well, it was bad. Very bad.
Major Katsuragi was the second person to snap out of shock and had her first instinct to assess the situation. "Shin-Pilot Ikari, that unit doesn't have a recognizable IFF signal from NERV's databank. What is its designation?"
"That's because Unit-13 does not, nor should, exist." A voice answered Misato's question. but it wasn't Shinji's. "Nagisa Kaworu speaking. Currently, I am co-piloting Eva Unit-13 alongside Shinji. Good day, everyone."
Somewhere in the command room, someone gulped. The air froze for those in the know of what they were seeing.
Unit-13, the cause of the Fourth Impact in the Rebuild Timeline. Piloted by Ikari Shinji, and the Angel named 'Nagisa Kaworu'.
"Give me one good reason not to engage you right here and now, bastard!" The only one to show any form of active intent to act on this information was one very pissed-off redhead as her machine quickly took a ready stance. "And you'd better convince me you're not about to screw us over or, so help me, I will rip you out of the cockpit with my Eva's hands!"
Eva Unit-13's touch-down was a tense one. Not a single person moved.
"Because if you try to hurt me, Asuka Langley Sorhyu, you would mean to hurt Shinji as well." That is until Kaworu's amused hum sounded for everyone to hear and shivers went down everyone's spine. "I have the Third Child in addition to an Eva unit I could use to trigger the Third Impact at any time I wish. Aside from that, I am also an Angel. So go ahead and try. That is if you wish to risk it."
The boy's tone remained calm, but the threat was clear as day. Not that Shinji wanted for it to go this way. "Enough! Asuka, please! Stand down. Kaworu means no harm. If he wanted to kill humanity, he would've already-"
"Shut up, you idiot!"
He did as asked, but Asuka was far too tense to handle this delicate situation. It was then that Kaworu took the initiative once more. "Had I wanted to destroy every single Lilin in existence even after meeting him, we wouldn't be having this exchange. You and the species you call 'Humanity' would already be extinct... But that is not my intent. I advise you stand down."
"That's enough, Unit-02!. Stand down!" Misato, living up to her rank, cowed the girl with the order before turning her attention to the other two. "If you came down directly from the moonbase, have you been pursued?"
The question was answered immediately. Alarms rang out as five bogies made themselves known. The camera's that immediately snapped to identify them showed up on-screen.
"Dammit!" Misato couldn't hold back the curse that spilled out, nor the nervous sweat that followed.
Mass-Produced Evangelion units, confirmation that Ken's videos of his world's 'Original Timeline' were on the mark, were coming down fast, faster than Unit-13 as well.
"Oh, joy," Asuka's snappy sarcasm was for everyone to enjoy before her attention snapped to their marksman on standby. "Oy! You have the Positron Rifle! Shoot them down already!"
"Don't make it sound like it's easy," Matteo mumbled before a beam streaked through the sky, clipping one of the bogey Eva's and sending it crashing into the sea. Unfortunately, it was a costly shot, worth twice Japan's electric grid wattage this time. "There's your First Blood, missy. Now get moving, you two. The JSSDF are already prepping for ground combat!"
Misato took charge, immediately snapping out of it, "Unit-02, Unit-00, your objectives have changed - Secure Pilots Ikari and Nagisa Kaworu. Project: LUXMAN will provide covering fire. Take out the enemy forces pursuing them!"
Chapter Twelve
Repentant_Dragos
Experienced.
- Joined
- May 12, 2020
- Messages
- 3,417
Chapter Twelve
Author's Note: Camael is an OC invented by one of my friends; all credit goes to him.
Shiro Tokita felt that despite being Ken's 'equal partner', he had done nothing proactive beyond convincing Ritsuko Akagi to accept Ms. Ibuki's crush and discuss the deteriorating geopolitical situation with Mr. Kaji.
Then again, Commander Ikari was busy enjoying his wife's miraculous return while burning his remaining bridges with SEELE. This situation left him as the highest-positioned person in the ad-hoc alliance between the JHCI, NOAH, and NERV to address the world as it was getting worse.
As he saw the JSSDF forces assigned to help Asuka, Rei, and Matteo against Israfel withdraw at the sight of the Mass Produced Evangelion units, Shiro understood that Ken's attempt to 'fix' things would have to rely on him to do what reasonable adults in power should be doing...
That being to ensure the world didn't fall apart. At least, not until the next generation succeeded them.
Turning to Kaji, Shiro spoke sternly. "The JSSDF wants no part in the fight against SEELE, do they? Another sign that ties between us are hemorrhaging worse than in the 'Original World'."
Kaji nodded to that. "We can't count on them in open war, but with an Angel on our side, we may still have a chance. However, Section 2, even in cooperation with JHCI's Public Relations division, is struggling in the political battlefield."
On the screen which now formed their background, Asuka was tearing apart a Mass Produced Eva while Rei cooperated with Shinji and Kaworu's Unit-13 to hold two more in place. Matteo in Project: LUXMAN took what chance he could to hit both foes with one beam from the Positron Cannon.
"Honestly," Shiro sighed, "We need a way to regain public goodwill in the face of SEELE doing what it does best - Controlling the world order. Now that they're recovering from shock and dismay faster than my partner expected, they should recall that they still have overwhelming resources and control of the information space."
"Maybe an Angel on our side will give them pause…" Kaji opted to play the devil's advocate. "That is, if he is on our side."
"While I see your point, that's a tall order for our end." Shiro took the thought seriously. "Even if he is on our side, the fact he's an Angel works against us. No doubt, it will give our enemies more ammunition to portray us as unhinged rogues calling upon the enemies of humanity for aid... And, to those who don't know what we do, we'll look like the deranged ones… We already are to our would-be allies."
The other man scoffed, albeit not completely out of sarcasm, "Do you think the fight is lost then? That our struggle is hopeless?"
Shiro replied with a scoff. "Not! If the JSSDF are against us, we'll find other allies." The battle in the background came to a close as the last remaining MP-Eva unit made to flee the battlefield, heading straight back to SEELE's moonbase. As the two watched the fight begin to wrap up, the Executive continued, "The United States still has a base in Japanese territory, right?"
Kaji frowned and said, "The Americans are fierce defenders, but only for their interests. They resent the UN's control no matter what benefits they get from it. But... SEELE must have focused on corrupting their upper echelon... At least, that's my suspicion."
Shiro grinned at that. "Then we agree. NOAH has oil, and after they overthrew certain monarchies after the Second Impact, they have a near-absolute monopoly on a huge portion of the resource. We'll use that to force the US President to break with SEELE and back us instead… Especially as elections in their country are near. No politician worth their popularity would want an energy crisis. If that isn't enough... there's always our Fusion Reactor technology."
Alonso interrupted with an otherwise polite cough, "Mr. Tokita, we're going to need optimal security arrangements, then. Also, you might need to learn how to use a Miniature Lance for self-defense if you insist on going yourself…"
------
Gendo and the returned Yui Ikari were meeting their son and their prospective son-in-law after Unit-13 was safely in the Geofront.
Both boys were unrepentant, clearly knowing that they held a more even position than most would assume. Now in their civilian outfits, Shinji Ikari stood beside Kaworu Nagisa as both of them stared him and Yui in the eyes; his wife was smiling faintly, preferring to be an amused spectator in this contest of wills.
His gaze turned to the Angel Boy, taking his measure before he broke the silence with a well-placed sentence, "We will assume that your defection from SEELE is genuine; your stated reasons for defection - A fascination with Lilin culture, an attraction to my son, and freedom from your creators - likewise. Now, tell me every detail of the enemy moonbase; defenses, technology, and any 'trump cards' they can bring against the NERV-JHCI alliance."
The stream of information from Mr. Nagisa's lips as the defector complied were most enlightening. Gendo had not been blind to the increasing traffic from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and Cape Canaveral over the last five years but had not expected SEELE to have committed to a strategy of digging deep into the lunar surface, where several hangars filled with Mass-Produced Evangelions had been readied to accompany Eva-13, which in this universe, had been grown over the last two years in the depths of the moonbase, as a contingency against any betrayal by NERV or sudden raid from NOAH (which had holdings close to the Cosmodrome).
He also revealed the existence of TASK FORCE DRAGNET, a sub-organization meant to capture 'Extracanonical Natives' like Matteo and Alonso and turn them to SEELE's side; the men who had kidnapped Matteo during the early stages of the shift from Jet Alone to Project: LUXMAN were low-ranking members of DRAGNET who had blundered in their eagerness to gain a promotion.
"So SEELE has its own source of new concepts and ideas that are not present in my grandson's world," Gendo summed up the implications, "This means they're not out of tricks."
Yui, his returned wife, then chose to pitch in, asking in a calm, warm tone that he was glad to hear again, "Kaworu, have SEELE considered the prospect of Extracanonical Angels? Angels not predicted by the Dead Sea Scrolls? Or even worse, are they trying to create them when the threat of Extracanonical Native humans became evident?"
Gendo chilled as the defecting Angel nodded, then replied in his deceptively calm tone.
"They have two. One, Raphael, defected to NOAH. The other, Camael, Angel of Strength, is still loyal to them."
Yui mildly tugged at his arm, whispering, "NOAH has sent someone named Rafail Suburov - Who prefers to be called Raphael - to meet our grandson. Do you think - ?"
But Shinji now chose to interrupt, saying, "Camael looks like Rei; exactly like her. She tried to stop me and Kaworu from escaping with Unit-13, but we managed to avoid her. Father… Kaworu told me that Angels and Humans are the same - No, that Humans are actually the Eighteenth Angel. Is that true?"
He nodded and said, "It is. Does that take away your determination to fight?"
Shinji stared him in the eye; it seemed that the past few days had built up his courage. Then his son said, "It doesn't. They - The 'regular' Angels and Camael, are still trying to hurt us, to kill us. But, Father, you and Mother… Don't ask me to kill another pilot, not even when an Angel has taken away their Evangelion."
So he had heard of that incident from the Original Timeline, the tipping point where the boy began to spiral down to despair and even a touch of madness. That, according to his grandson from that world, had nearly destroyed Humanity, albeit in such a way that individual humans can come back with sufficient willpower.
Looking at Yui, who seemed inclined to grant their son's wish, Gendo Ikari decided to make this concession in the name of keeping Unit-13 battle-ready and nodded, before saying, "Done. If that incident does happen in this world, we will find another way… Or have someone else be the executioner."
Matteo Masuda, pilot of Project: LUXMAN, is an adult capable of handling such duties.
It was an indication that Shinji had grown up a little that he accepted this with a nod and only a small swallow of resignation. Now…
Yui looked back at him and said, "Ken must already be meeting with 'NOAH's Boy'. He is many things, but he's not immune to losing his head when confronted with a sufficiently pretty boy or girl…"
------
Now that it was no longer needed to implant Adam into Gendo's hand, something else needed to be done with the First Angel, namely put it in a vault deep in NERV's HQ and use it as a lure for Angels until another way can be found to destroy it. Ken Illustrious Ikari, his objective, knew the location of that vault, but was not trusted with its keys; Gendo and his returned wife had limits to their newfound indulgence.
Good; while he, 'NOAH's Boy', was no longer loyal to SEELE or the larger cause of the Angels, he was still a replica of the latter, created by SEELE and defected to NOAH. The reason why?
Originally Rize from Gundam Build Divers: Rize, now Rafail Suburov/Raphael
The human part of him wanted a family.
Then in addition to that, friends.
Then a wider community can support him and is supported in turn by his own work and abilities.
And as his first steps to achieve that, he walked towards where Ken Illustrious Ikari and Alonso Guttierez were accompanying one Shiro Tokita as they prepared to head for Tokyo-3's Airport to jet towards Washington D.C.
Two professional mercenaries - Alonso's comrades - pointed their miniature lances at him, then turned them away when they saw who he was. The objective of his mission, Ken, was now looking at him awestruck; his looks and his body language had attracted the other boy's interest.
Perfect, he thought as he gave a slight bow, and introduced himself. "My name is Rafail Suburov, of NOAH, and I am the other defector from SEELE. You will need me against interception by the enemy should they threaten the trip."
He stared directly at Ken, and despite his low bangs, the latter could see that he was testing him. Some of the arrogance he heard about seeped into the other boy's tone, as the latter said in response:
"Let me guess, SEELE plans to blow us out of the sky, right? They've killed people before for lower stakes…"
Despite himself, Raphael nodded and said, "They definitely will. So, your Parallel Grandparents found the time to tell you who I am, right?"
"Actually," Ken rubbed the back of his head, "They're busy debriefing Parallel Dad and Parallel Uncle Kaworu. But I can guess - You're an 'Extracanonical Angel', right?"
Raphael couldn't help but smile, the sheer blatancy that the other boy - An actual child - had said those words with, accepting the truth of his nature with all its complications.
It reminded him that physically and mentally, Raphael was around his age; why else would he be chosen to get closer to Ken?
The other boy was moving closer, close enough to extend a hand and say, "Well, if you're coming with us, let's go - The plane is about to go in five minutes and we can't stay a little longer!"
Raphael clasped Ken's hand in his own, suddenly feeling as though he, who sought the society of the Lilin, was being dragged by a maelstrom of confident energy radiated by his peer.
For who else could Ken be, to trigger a massive swing in mindset and mood in such a short time?
------
Camael was filler. A travesty against her fellow Angels and an abomination to Humanity. Nevertheless, as the Angel of Strength, with a very different form of might from the more 'physical' Angels, she served the strongest loyally as long as they kept their place.
And for now, the strongest was SEELE, her creators; the latter was not so stupid as to squander her lingering loyalty to them for giving her life.
A life spent in a Rei Clone stolen from Dr. Akagi and Professor Fuyutsuki's nose; the nature of her vessel was the only thing unsatisfactory about this arrangement. Nevertheless, she would make do.
Now, as the NERV Jet and its escorts flew to America to undermine SEELE's hold on that country, she flew towards another destination; the volcanic crater of Mount Asama, Japan.
There, she would awaken Sandalphon, a natural Angel listed in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
And she'd show those who sought to 'fix' the tragic story slated for this world that they cannot do so without consequences…
Author's Note: Camael is an OC invented by one of my friends; all credit goes to him.
Shiro Tokita felt that despite being Ken's 'equal partner', he had done nothing proactive beyond convincing Ritsuko Akagi to accept Ms. Ibuki's crush and discuss the deteriorating geopolitical situation with Mr. Kaji.
Then again, Commander Ikari was busy enjoying his wife's miraculous return while burning his remaining bridges with SEELE. This situation left him as the highest-positioned person in the ad-hoc alliance between the JHCI, NOAH, and NERV to address the world as it was getting worse.
As he saw the JSSDF forces assigned to help Asuka, Rei, and Matteo against Israfel withdraw at the sight of the Mass Produced Evangelion units, Shiro understood that Ken's attempt to 'fix' things would have to rely on him to do what reasonable adults in power should be doing...
That being to ensure the world didn't fall apart. At least, not until the next generation succeeded them.
Turning to Kaji, Shiro spoke sternly. "The JSSDF wants no part in the fight against SEELE, do they? Another sign that ties between us are hemorrhaging worse than in the 'Original World'."
Kaji nodded to that. "We can't count on them in open war, but with an Angel on our side, we may still have a chance. However, Section 2, even in cooperation with JHCI's Public Relations division, is struggling in the political battlefield."
On the screen which now formed their background, Asuka was tearing apart a Mass Produced Eva while Rei cooperated with Shinji and Kaworu's Unit-13 to hold two more in place. Matteo in Project: LUXMAN took what chance he could to hit both foes with one beam from the Positron Cannon.
"Honestly," Shiro sighed, "We need a way to regain public goodwill in the face of SEELE doing what it does best - Controlling the world order. Now that they're recovering from shock and dismay faster than my partner expected, they should recall that they still have overwhelming resources and control of the information space."
"Maybe an Angel on our side will give them pause…" Kaji opted to play the devil's advocate. "That is, if he is on our side."
"While I see your point, that's a tall order for our end." Shiro took the thought seriously. "Even if he is on our side, the fact he's an Angel works against us. No doubt, it will give our enemies more ammunition to portray us as unhinged rogues calling upon the enemies of humanity for aid... And, to those who don't know what we do, we'll look like the deranged ones… We already are to our would-be allies."
The other man scoffed, albeit not completely out of sarcasm, "Do you think the fight is lost then? That our struggle is hopeless?"
Shiro replied with a scoff. "Not! If the JSSDF are against us, we'll find other allies." The battle in the background came to a close as the last remaining MP-Eva unit made to flee the battlefield, heading straight back to SEELE's moonbase. As the two watched the fight begin to wrap up, the Executive continued, "The United States still has a base in Japanese territory, right?"
Kaji frowned and said, "The Americans are fierce defenders, but only for their interests. They resent the UN's control no matter what benefits they get from it. But... SEELE must have focused on corrupting their upper echelon... At least, that's my suspicion."
Shiro grinned at that. "Then we agree. NOAH has oil, and after they overthrew certain monarchies after the Second Impact, they have a near-absolute monopoly on a huge portion of the resource. We'll use that to force the US President to break with SEELE and back us instead… Especially as elections in their country are near. No politician worth their popularity would want an energy crisis. If that isn't enough... there's always our Fusion Reactor technology."
Alonso interrupted with an otherwise polite cough, "Mr. Tokita, we're going to need optimal security arrangements, then. Also, you might need to learn how to use a Miniature Lance for self-defense if you insist on going yourself…"
------
Gendo and the returned Yui Ikari were meeting their son and their prospective son-in-law after Unit-13 was safely in the Geofront.
Both boys were unrepentant, clearly knowing that they held a more even position than most would assume. Now in their civilian outfits, Shinji Ikari stood beside Kaworu Nagisa as both of them stared him and Yui in the eyes; his wife was smiling faintly, preferring to be an amused spectator in this contest of wills.
His gaze turned to the Angel Boy, taking his measure before he broke the silence with a well-placed sentence, "We will assume that your defection from SEELE is genuine; your stated reasons for defection - A fascination with Lilin culture, an attraction to my son, and freedom from your creators - likewise. Now, tell me every detail of the enemy moonbase; defenses, technology, and any 'trump cards' they can bring against the NERV-JHCI alliance."
The stream of information from Mr. Nagisa's lips as the defector complied were most enlightening. Gendo had not been blind to the increasing traffic from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and Cape Canaveral over the last five years but had not expected SEELE to have committed to a strategy of digging deep into the lunar surface, where several hangars filled with Mass-Produced Evangelions had been readied to accompany Eva-13, which in this universe, had been grown over the last two years in the depths of the moonbase, as a contingency against any betrayal by NERV or sudden raid from NOAH (which had holdings close to the Cosmodrome).
He also revealed the existence of TASK FORCE DRAGNET, a sub-organization meant to capture 'Extracanonical Natives' like Matteo and Alonso and turn them to SEELE's side; the men who had kidnapped Matteo during the early stages of the shift from Jet Alone to Project: LUXMAN were low-ranking members of DRAGNET who had blundered in their eagerness to gain a promotion.
"So SEELE has its own source of new concepts and ideas that are not present in my grandson's world," Gendo summed up the implications, "This means they're not out of tricks."
Yui, his returned wife, then chose to pitch in, asking in a calm, warm tone that he was glad to hear again, "Kaworu, have SEELE considered the prospect of Extracanonical Angels? Angels not predicted by the Dead Sea Scrolls? Or even worse, are they trying to create them when the threat of Extracanonical Native humans became evident?"
Gendo chilled as the defecting Angel nodded, then replied in his deceptively calm tone.
"They have two. One, Raphael, defected to NOAH. The other, Camael, Angel of Strength, is still loyal to them."
Yui mildly tugged at his arm, whispering, "NOAH has sent someone named Rafail Suburov - Who prefers to be called Raphael - to meet our grandson. Do you think - ?"
But Shinji now chose to interrupt, saying, "Camael looks like Rei; exactly like her. She tried to stop me and Kaworu from escaping with Unit-13, but we managed to avoid her. Father… Kaworu told me that Angels and Humans are the same - No, that Humans are actually the Eighteenth Angel. Is that true?"
He nodded and said, "It is. Does that take away your determination to fight?"
Shinji stared him in the eye; it seemed that the past few days had built up his courage. Then his son said, "It doesn't. They - The 'regular' Angels and Camael, are still trying to hurt us, to kill us. But, Father, you and Mother… Don't ask me to kill another pilot, not even when an Angel has taken away their Evangelion."
So he had heard of that incident from the Original Timeline, the tipping point where the boy began to spiral down to despair and even a touch of madness. That, according to his grandson from that world, had nearly destroyed Humanity, albeit in such a way that individual humans can come back with sufficient willpower.
Looking at Yui, who seemed inclined to grant their son's wish, Gendo Ikari decided to make this concession in the name of keeping Unit-13 battle-ready and nodded, before saying, "Done. If that incident does happen in this world, we will find another way… Or have someone else be the executioner."
Matteo Masuda, pilot of Project: LUXMAN, is an adult capable of handling such duties.
It was an indication that Shinji had grown up a little that he accepted this with a nod and only a small swallow of resignation. Now…
Yui looked back at him and said, "Ken must already be meeting with 'NOAH's Boy'. He is many things, but he's not immune to losing his head when confronted with a sufficiently pretty boy or girl…"
------
Now that it was no longer needed to implant Adam into Gendo's hand, something else needed to be done with the First Angel, namely put it in a vault deep in NERV's HQ and use it as a lure for Angels until another way can be found to destroy it. Ken Illustrious Ikari, his objective, knew the location of that vault, but was not trusted with its keys; Gendo and his returned wife had limits to their newfound indulgence.
Good; while he, 'NOAH's Boy', was no longer loyal to SEELE or the larger cause of the Angels, he was still a replica of the latter, created by SEELE and defected to NOAH. The reason why?
Originally Rize from Gundam Build Divers: Rize, now Rafail Suburov/Raphael
Then in addition to that, friends.
Then a wider community can support him and is supported in turn by his own work and abilities.
And as his first steps to achieve that, he walked towards where Ken Illustrious Ikari and Alonso Guttierez were accompanying one Shiro Tokita as they prepared to head for Tokyo-3's Airport to jet towards Washington D.C.
Two professional mercenaries - Alonso's comrades - pointed their miniature lances at him, then turned them away when they saw who he was. The objective of his mission, Ken, was now looking at him awestruck; his looks and his body language had attracted the other boy's interest.
Perfect, he thought as he gave a slight bow, and introduced himself. "My name is Rafail Suburov, of NOAH, and I am the other defector from SEELE. You will need me against interception by the enemy should they threaten the trip."
He stared directly at Ken, and despite his low bangs, the latter could see that he was testing him. Some of the arrogance he heard about seeped into the other boy's tone, as the latter said in response:
"Let me guess, SEELE plans to blow us out of the sky, right? They've killed people before for lower stakes…"
Despite himself, Raphael nodded and said, "They definitely will. So, your Parallel Grandparents found the time to tell you who I am, right?"
"Actually," Ken rubbed the back of his head, "They're busy debriefing Parallel Dad and Parallel Uncle Kaworu. But I can guess - You're an 'Extracanonical Angel', right?"
Raphael couldn't help but smile, the sheer blatancy that the other boy - An actual child - had said those words with, accepting the truth of his nature with all its complications.
It reminded him that physically and mentally, Raphael was around his age; why else would he be chosen to get closer to Ken?
The other boy was moving closer, close enough to extend a hand and say, "Well, if you're coming with us, let's go - The plane is about to go in five minutes and we can't stay a little longer!"
Raphael clasped Ken's hand in his own, suddenly feeling as though he, who sought the society of the Lilin, was being dragged by a maelstrom of confident energy radiated by his peer.
For who else could Ken be, to trigger a massive swing in mindset and mood in such a short time?
------
Camael was filler. A travesty against her fellow Angels and an abomination to Humanity. Nevertheless, as the Angel of Strength, with a very different form of might from the more 'physical' Angels, she served the strongest loyally as long as they kept their place.
And for now, the strongest was SEELE, her creators; the latter was not so stupid as to squander her lingering loyalty to them for giving her life.
A life spent in a Rei Clone stolen from Dr. Akagi and Professor Fuyutsuki's nose; the nature of her vessel was the only thing unsatisfactory about this arrangement. Nevertheless, she would make do.
Now, as the NERV Jet and its escorts flew to America to undermine SEELE's hold on that country, she flew towards another destination; the volcanic crater of Mount Asama, Japan.
There, she would awaken Sandalphon, a natural Angel listed in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
And she'd show those who sought to 'fix' the tragic story slated for this world that they cannot do so without consequences…
Last edited:
ATP
Well worn.
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2020
- Messages
- 6,827
angels who defected to help? it remind me great story Nobody dies,unfortunatelly,it died.
Here:https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5579457/1/NGE-Nobody-Dies
Author tried later to revive story,but failed again.Pity.
Here:https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5579457/1/NGE-Nobody-Dies
Author tried later to revive story,but failed again.Pity.
Repentant_Dragos
Experienced.
- Joined
- May 12, 2020
- Messages
- 3,417
To be fair, Raphael was an artificial Angel created by SEELE...
Chapter Thirteen
Repentant_Dragos
Experienced.
- Joined
- May 12, 2020
- Messages
- 3,417
Chapter Thirteen
Mount Asama had erupted before it was time, and from the flow of lava and ash crawled out Sandalphon, the Eighth Angel, now grown into hastened adulthood and advancing towards Tokyo-3.
Coming towards it were the three Evangelions, Unit-00, Unit-02, and the newly-stolen Unit-13; all three machines were hooked up not to NERV's power grid, but three flying LUXMAN units, mundane mecha built by Japan Heavy Chemical Industries. Now that JHCI had NERV's foot off its neck, it could make machines that weren't just the Jet Alone or the first LUXMAN.
Asuka Langley Sorhyu resented the presence of extras threatening to take her victory. Still, she could appreciate the free electricity the LUXMAN units gave her and how 'Idiot Shinji' finally got a spine as well as a new Evangelion and… A guy.
She didn't know whether to see that last part as a spiteful gesture, considering how she and that idiot did have sort of 'tension' in that Ken brat's world. In multiple timelines, even! Gross.
Either way, Sandalphon was crawling towards them, preceded by a vast cloud of volcanic ash and noxious gases that lowered visibility to almost zero; not that a little smoke was stopping her.
LCL has its perks, doesn't it? Asuka smirked to herself as she thought that. The Angel was hot enough to glow even through the smoke, smoke that would stop being a problem once -
Major Katsuragi's voice called out, "All right; Units-00, 02, and Co-Pilot Nagisa in 13, put up your AT-Fields!"
"All right!" she couldn't help but exclaim as her Evangelion grew brightly, outshining Rei's and only paling a little before Nagisa's because the latter was cheating with his Angel powers, and her AT-Field burst out in a wave, blasting off the raining ash to reveal their foe, a large fishy beast that looked like the one she had killed single-handedly in the Pacific (okay, with some insignificant help from that idiot).
The enemy was pathetically half-swimming, half-crawling through the flow of lava that was pooling around the ground and turning the land into a twisted hellscape. However, Unit-13 was the best suited to carrying heavy loads and had an apartment-sized coolant tank attached to its upper back, hooked up to a hose ready to spray liquid nitrogen, a hose cradled in its second set of arms.
Here's hoping that Ken Brat's tips work, she thought to herself as she pulled out Unit-02's Sonic Glaive, ready to chop off the beast's arm once it swung at her -
It didn't; instead, the long limb darted over her shoulder, stretching to a disproportionate length that she was sure broke some sense of symmetry, and struck at the LUXMAN Unit flying above her, only to find the four-fingered 'hand' at the end of the appendage bouncing off the robot's already-activated Anti-L System.
She heard its pilot - That Matteo guy from earlier - grunt, saying, "Damn it, that's hot!"
Asuka opened her mouth to say, "Guess that means your fancy barriers can't -"
Then she froze up a little and said incredulously, "Wait, you've been struggling in this godforsaken heat in normal cockpits?!"
Okay, she had to respect that, especially as the answer was:
"Yes, Pilot Sorhyu," before the LUXMAN Unit began pumping energy into Unit-02, and Matteo added, "Now go get 'em."
Her sonic glaive was already swinging to cut Sandaphon's distended arm in half as she said, "Gladly! Now let me show you what I've got!"
That Doll was already charging in, hacking at the Angel's other arm just as those two lovebirds were spraying more coolant at the foe, using the principles of thermal expansion to make sure that its superheated shell and the molten rock it bathed in were blowing up, cracking apart, and making it easy prey for her to score a long, gaping gash just below its false eye and its core that was promptly sprayed with more coolant that widened the wound - Idiot Shinji was good for something after all.
But she was going to get the kill, just like last time.
Unit-02 brought up its sonic glaive, then swung it down at the Angel's core, smashing and slashing it to bits at the same time.
The resulting explosion shook the LUXMAN Units, who were forced to land on the ground and hide behind the larger Evangelions. Perfect; unvarnished victory was hers' and hers' alone - The others were only providers of support.
A curtain of black cut off her gloating, as the volcano spat out more burning smoke and sparks that mixed with those from the burning forests around them to darken the air more than all of their combined AT-Fields can push away.
Asuka frowned and blurted out to Matteo, "Not another easy victory f----d up by consequences almost as bad as losing!"
The 28-year-old replied, "That's been our campaign so far," before loudly coughing; apparently, the LUXMAN's filters were overwhelmed.
Asuka realized that the Anti-L Systems did not work on the molten lava the Evangelions stood in, but the weather was not safe either.
"All right, folks," Misato's voice broke in, "Time to evacuate - We've won!"
How? she asked, but it was Co-Pilot Nagisa who answered that thought (hopefully without reading it) by saying:
"Let me take care of this."
And despite her continued skepticism of his loyalties and what he might do with his Angel powers, Asuka had to grudgingly admit that Shinji's new boyfriend was useful for clearing the skies and also moving the lava flow away from where it had been congealing around her Evangelion's feet; let's just say that next time they got into a similar situation, she'd requisition heat-resistant mech-sized boots and have both JHCI and NERV foot the bill.
"That's so awesome, Kaworu!" Idiot Shinji was now saying in a burst of adoration. "So, are we now going home?"
Major Katsuragi answered, "Seems so, but the premature eruption of Mount Asama is going to take days, maybe weeks, to calm down. And if prevailing winds blow the ash and fumes towards Tokyo-3…"
"The LUXMAN Units will be returning to supervise evacuation and firefighting afterward," Matteo involved himself in the conversation. "CEO Tokita gave us a firm but open order to prevent a PR Disaster through any means possible, so we'll be back."
Asuka was incredulous, "With normal air conditioning and smoke filters?! That's ridiculous!"
Then she saw a chance to one-up the other pilots and NERV, saying, "These pieces of junk are going to need my help; permission to accompany them in their 'mercy mission'?"
"Negative, Pilot Sorhyu -" Misato was then interrupted by.
"I think it's a good idea, Major Katsuragi," Shinji chose to involve himself further; proof that making out with an Angel had stiffened his spine. "Now that we have the LUXMAN Units' Fusion Reactors hooked up to us, we can operate out of HQ longer, right?"
"How the outside world sees us has become important," Wait, was That Doll taking her side? Pigs must be flying! "I believe we can spend a few hours of community service now that the Angel is defeated."
And now Kaworu weighed in, saying, "I would like to preserve the lake where I met Shinji Ikari, yes."
After a moment of indecision, Major Katsuragi spoke, "Fine! But if there's an emergency, I expect you back ASAP, okay?!"
And that was that.
------
The President of the United States was the first Asian American to be elected to that position. Disliked by the 'Old Men' of Congress and skeptical of the United Nations, he had nevertheless been forced to give many concessions to the latter to the point where he was publicly derided as a 'loser' by his own citizens.
Shiro Tokita had thought to turn him against SEELE; if he was a member, then he clearly was not a true believer in their cause and resented their exploiting America for their own goals. If he wasn't a member, then he must seek to try and supplant them.
As he met the President, the JHCI Executive expected no surprises and was proven wrong when, after exchanging pleasantries like, "Greetings," and, "Weather's been f-----d up since Second Impact, right?", he dropped a bombshell of his own.
"The price for my betrayal of SEELE is American Leadership of the World. No more, no less."
Then he elaborated, turning his mostly smooth, only slightly wrinkled face towards him, "I know what you came here for, I know what you plan to blackmail me with. But I can do better."
The President continued, "SEELE is a conspiracy that has infiltrated every facet of society that matters. In America, that means the corporations, certain… preachers who unironically think the 'Angels' are real Angels, and Wall Street financiers whose workings are as arcane as, well, the Corpus Hermeticum and even less comprehensible. Oh, and Hollywood; do not forget Hollywood.
"If you want me to go up against such a conspiracy, give America the World. The UN HQ returns to US Territory, America is liberated from its military obligations to it, and mandatory financing of its operations is no longer an option."
He then continued, "If anything, the Russians and Chinese would ask for even worse; that all SEELE assets, including the mystical ones, be transferred over to them so they can conduct the Human Instrumentality Project on terms that benefit only them; aka turn everyone but them into orange tang. I'm merely interested in material power; territory, money, and bullets."
Shiro's response was to sigh, give the US President a pointed look, and say flippantly, "It seems we're giving Fusion Reactor tech to everyone but America, then. And LUXMANs to certain groups in a region of the world not exactly known for their love of the United States."
The President brushed back his slick black hair, before giving a loud guffaw and saying,"Just because I talked about betraying SEELE doesn't mean you can talk about screwing my country over. No, here's what I can do - I'll broker a truce between SEELE and your silly little counter-conspiracy club while the Angel War is on. Then once it's over and we don't risk an apocalypse any more, you and your Dimensional Travel and Artificial Angel will reconsider my offer."
He got up and looked out the window of the Oval Office, and turned his back on them to continue, "After all, are you in a position to be choosy about who you can ally with? This is the reason why you can't just kill me to get someone else more welcoming to your plans, right? I'm the best you're ever going to get."
Shiro confirmed such a statement with, "You're right. We do need each other… Or rather, we would if not for the fact that you admitted wanting to betray SEELE to our faces. Then again, you can probably pass it off as you leading us on by merely pretending to betray your backers and supporters, but there's a problem with that."
And with a gesture, Ken teleported to his side, carrying a miniature Spear of Marius in his right hand and a sheaf of papers and microfilms in his left.
The latter handed over the papers to the President, who looked through them quickly and found them to be records of his extended plans to betray SEELE and the United Nations and SEELE's own knowledge that they knew about said plans all this while and were stringing him along.
A pause, before the President said,"What's this? How did you even get this?! The Reborn Order of Assassins just hands out their secret leverage to the kid?"
Unspoken was 'How many of them did you have to kill until they were intimidated enough to pony up the files?'
Ken was going to say something, but Shiro gestured to the boy to let him be the one to say:
"Actually, it was the Bektashi Order," the JHCI executive then continued, "We also got help from the Servants of Melek Taus and the Brotherhood of the Holy Speculre. Either way, SEELE knew you were a traitor from the start and now we can protect you from the consequences. It can even be on equitable terms…"
There was no other choice but for the President to agree, was there?
Mount Asama had erupted before it was time, and from the flow of lava and ash crawled out Sandalphon, the Eighth Angel, now grown into hastened adulthood and advancing towards Tokyo-3.
Coming towards it were the three Evangelions, Unit-00, Unit-02, and the newly-stolen Unit-13; all three machines were hooked up not to NERV's power grid, but three flying LUXMAN units, mundane mecha built by Japan Heavy Chemical Industries. Now that JHCI had NERV's foot off its neck, it could make machines that weren't just the Jet Alone or the first LUXMAN.
Asuka Langley Sorhyu resented the presence of extras threatening to take her victory. Still, she could appreciate the free electricity the LUXMAN units gave her and how 'Idiot Shinji' finally got a spine as well as a new Evangelion and… A guy.
She didn't know whether to see that last part as a spiteful gesture, considering how she and that idiot did have sort of 'tension' in that Ken brat's world. In multiple timelines, even! Gross.
Either way, Sandalphon was crawling towards them, preceded by a vast cloud of volcanic ash and noxious gases that lowered visibility to almost zero; not that a little smoke was stopping her.
LCL has its perks, doesn't it? Asuka smirked to herself as she thought that. The Angel was hot enough to glow even through the smoke, smoke that would stop being a problem once -
Major Katsuragi's voice called out, "All right; Units-00, 02, and Co-Pilot Nagisa in 13, put up your AT-Fields!"
"All right!" she couldn't help but exclaim as her Evangelion grew brightly, outshining Rei's and only paling a little before Nagisa's because the latter was cheating with his Angel powers, and her AT-Field burst out in a wave, blasting off the raining ash to reveal their foe, a large fishy beast that looked like the one she had killed single-handedly in the Pacific (okay, with some insignificant help from that idiot).
The enemy was pathetically half-swimming, half-crawling through the flow of lava that was pooling around the ground and turning the land into a twisted hellscape. However, Unit-13 was the best suited to carrying heavy loads and had an apartment-sized coolant tank attached to its upper back, hooked up to a hose ready to spray liquid nitrogen, a hose cradled in its second set of arms.
Here's hoping that Ken Brat's tips work, she thought to herself as she pulled out Unit-02's Sonic Glaive, ready to chop off the beast's arm once it swung at her -
It didn't; instead, the long limb darted over her shoulder, stretching to a disproportionate length that she was sure broke some sense of symmetry, and struck at the LUXMAN Unit flying above her, only to find the four-fingered 'hand' at the end of the appendage bouncing off the robot's already-activated Anti-L System.
She heard its pilot - That Matteo guy from earlier - grunt, saying, "Damn it, that's hot!"
Asuka opened her mouth to say, "Guess that means your fancy barriers can't -"
Then she froze up a little and said incredulously, "Wait, you've been struggling in this godforsaken heat in normal cockpits?!"
Okay, she had to respect that, especially as the answer was:
"Yes, Pilot Sorhyu," before the LUXMAN Unit began pumping energy into Unit-02, and Matteo added, "Now go get 'em."
Her sonic glaive was already swinging to cut Sandaphon's distended arm in half as she said, "Gladly! Now let me show you what I've got!"
That Doll was already charging in, hacking at the Angel's other arm just as those two lovebirds were spraying more coolant at the foe, using the principles of thermal expansion to make sure that its superheated shell and the molten rock it bathed in were blowing up, cracking apart, and making it easy prey for her to score a long, gaping gash just below its false eye and its core that was promptly sprayed with more coolant that widened the wound - Idiot Shinji was good for something after all.
But she was going to get the kill, just like last time.
Unit-02 brought up its sonic glaive, then swung it down at the Angel's core, smashing and slashing it to bits at the same time.
The resulting explosion shook the LUXMAN Units, who were forced to land on the ground and hide behind the larger Evangelions. Perfect; unvarnished victory was hers' and hers' alone - The others were only providers of support.
A curtain of black cut off her gloating, as the volcano spat out more burning smoke and sparks that mixed with those from the burning forests around them to darken the air more than all of their combined AT-Fields can push away.
Asuka frowned and blurted out to Matteo, "Not another easy victory f----d up by consequences almost as bad as losing!"
The 28-year-old replied, "That's been our campaign so far," before loudly coughing; apparently, the LUXMAN's filters were overwhelmed.
Asuka realized that the Anti-L Systems did not work on the molten lava the Evangelions stood in, but the weather was not safe either.
"All right, folks," Misato's voice broke in, "Time to evacuate - We've won!"
How? she asked, but it was Co-Pilot Nagisa who answered that thought (hopefully without reading it) by saying:
"Let me take care of this."
And despite her continued skepticism of his loyalties and what he might do with his Angel powers, Asuka had to grudgingly admit that Shinji's new boyfriend was useful for clearing the skies and also moving the lava flow away from where it had been congealing around her Evangelion's feet; let's just say that next time they got into a similar situation, she'd requisition heat-resistant mech-sized boots and have both JHCI and NERV foot the bill.
"That's so awesome, Kaworu!" Idiot Shinji was now saying in a burst of adoration. "So, are we now going home?"
Major Katsuragi answered, "Seems so, but the premature eruption of Mount Asama is going to take days, maybe weeks, to calm down. And if prevailing winds blow the ash and fumes towards Tokyo-3…"
"The LUXMAN Units will be returning to supervise evacuation and firefighting afterward," Matteo involved himself in the conversation. "CEO Tokita gave us a firm but open order to prevent a PR Disaster through any means possible, so we'll be back."
Asuka was incredulous, "With normal air conditioning and smoke filters?! That's ridiculous!"
Then she saw a chance to one-up the other pilots and NERV, saying, "These pieces of junk are going to need my help; permission to accompany them in their 'mercy mission'?"
"Negative, Pilot Sorhyu -" Misato was then interrupted by.
"I think it's a good idea, Major Katsuragi," Shinji chose to involve himself further; proof that making out with an Angel had stiffened his spine. "Now that we have the LUXMAN Units' Fusion Reactors hooked up to us, we can operate out of HQ longer, right?"
"How the outside world sees us has become important," Wait, was That Doll taking her side? Pigs must be flying! "I believe we can spend a few hours of community service now that the Angel is defeated."
And now Kaworu weighed in, saying, "I would like to preserve the lake where I met Shinji Ikari, yes."
After a moment of indecision, Major Katsuragi spoke, "Fine! But if there's an emergency, I expect you back ASAP, okay?!"
And that was that.
------
The President of the United States was the first Asian American to be elected to that position. Disliked by the 'Old Men' of Congress and skeptical of the United Nations, he had nevertheless been forced to give many concessions to the latter to the point where he was publicly derided as a 'loser' by his own citizens.
Shiro Tokita had thought to turn him against SEELE; if he was a member, then he clearly was not a true believer in their cause and resented their exploiting America for their own goals. If he wasn't a member, then he must seek to try and supplant them.
As he met the President, the JHCI Executive expected no surprises and was proven wrong when, after exchanging pleasantries like, "Greetings," and, "Weather's been f-----d up since Second Impact, right?", he dropped a bombshell of his own.
"The price for my betrayal of SEELE is American Leadership of the World. No more, no less."
Then he elaborated, turning his mostly smooth, only slightly wrinkled face towards him, "I know what you came here for, I know what you plan to blackmail me with. But I can do better."
The President continued, "SEELE is a conspiracy that has infiltrated every facet of society that matters. In America, that means the corporations, certain… preachers who unironically think the 'Angels' are real Angels, and Wall Street financiers whose workings are as arcane as, well, the Corpus Hermeticum and even less comprehensible. Oh, and Hollywood; do not forget Hollywood.
"If you want me to go up against such a conspiracy, give America the World. The UN HQ returns to US Territory, America is liberated from its military obligations to it, and mandatory financing of its operations is no longer an option."
He then continued, "If anything, the Russians and Chinese would ask for even worse; that all SEELE assets, including the mystical ones, be transferred over to them so they can conduct the Human Instrumentality Project on terms that benefit only them; aka turn everyone but them into orange tang. I'm merely interested in material power; territory, money, and bullets."
Shiro's response was to sigh, give the US President a pointed look, and say flippantly, "It seems we're giving Fusion Reactor tech to everyone but America, then. And LUXMANs to certain groups in a region of the world not exactly known for their love of the United States."
The President brushed back his slick black hair, before giving a loud guffaw and saying,"Just because I talked about betraying SEELE doesn't mean you can talk about screwing my country over. No, here's what I can do - I'll broker a truce between SEELE and your silly little counter-conspiracy club while the Angel War is on. Then once it's over and we don't risk an apocalypse any more, you and your Dimensional Travel and Artificial Angel will reconsider my offer."
He got up and looked out the window of the Oval Office, and turned his back on them to continue, "After all, are you in a position to be choosy about who you can ally with? This is the reason why you can't just kill me to get someone else more welcoming to your plans, right? I'm the best you're ever going to get."
Shiro confirmed such a statement with, "You're right. We do need each other… Or rather, we would if not for the fact that you admitted wanting to betray SEELE to our faces. Then again, you can probably pass it off as you leading us on by merely pretending to betray your backers and supporters, but there's a problem with that."
And with a gesture, Ken teleported to his side, carrying a miniature Spear of Marius in his right hand and a sheaf of papers and microfilms in his left.
The latter handed over the papers to the President, who looked through them quickly and found them to be records of his extended plans to betray SEELE and the United Nations and SEELE's own knowledge that they knew about said plans all this while and were stringing him along.
A pause, before the President said,"What's this? How did you even get this?! The Reborn Order of Assassins just hands out their secret leverage to the kid?"
Unspoken was 'How many of them did you have to kill until they were intimidated enough to pony up the files?'
Ken was going to say something, but Shiro gestured to the boy to let him be the one to say:
"Actually, it was the Bektashi Order," the JHCI executive then continued, "We also got help from the Servants of Melek Taus and the Brotherhood of the Holy Speculre. Either way, SEELE knew you were a traitor from the start and now we can protect you from the consequences. It can even be on equitable terms…"
There was no other choice but for the President to agree, was there?
Last edited:
Repentant_Dragos
Experienced.
- Joined
- May 12, 2020
- Messages
- 3,417
Kaworu is male.
Chapter Fourteen
Repentant_Dragos
Experienced.
- Joined
- May 12, 2020
- Messages
- 3,417
Chapter Fourteen
Kozo Fuyutsuki could not get used to the return of his old student, nor the circumstances that had brought her back. So he did the obvious thing and asked for a meeting with 'Ken Illustrious Ikari', who now frequently visited from the JHCI HQ at Tokyo-2 (bullet trains were a wonder, weren't they?) as soon as the boy was available.
Ken promptly met him in his office, and Fuyutsuki couldn't help but be surprised; he really did look like the unfortunate Maria Iscariot, the one who died in a soul transfer experiment a long time ago… But succeeded in moving her soul into a clone in Ken's world, where she had married Shinji.
His first remark at seeing the boy before his desk was, "So it is true; you really do look like her…"
Maria Iscariot had been a good student, one who after her heartbreak over Yui choosing Gendo, had thrown herself into her research. Research that turned out to be about moving the soul, which she had tried to use on herself to groom Yui's son in a twisted retelling of 'The Tale of Genji'.
For a brief moment, he stared intently at Ken, half-expecting him to grow a second head or two more arms. This was caught by the boy, who said frankly, but who raised his tone in a way that proved he was still a child:
"Yes, my mother was a dirty creep. She still provided more support to my father in his darkest hour than anyone else, even Uncle Kaworu. And her support worked."
Fuyutsuki was ready with a gentle rejoinder, one that cut even more precisely because the tone was mild and unassuming, "But you don't believe that justified her actions and intentions, don't you?"
And he followed up with, "I watched the videos of the 'Original Timeline' of your universe, plus the 'Rebuild Timeline'. There was every chance that the Human Instrumentality Project in our world would have failed, and Humanity in its current form, which you claim to value, would be saved. And even if there wasn't, anyone else could have stepped in to prevent Third Impact from spreading out of this universe and into yours' if your people couldn't just cut off the latter from such contagion."
Now was the time for his voice to harden a little, as though he was lecturing an errant student, "So tell me, are you trying to justify your existence, as well as the actions that led to it?"
Ken nodded, trying to suppress a shudder - probably anger - and gave an affirmative answer.
"Yes. Others might be fine with it, but I am not. Mother genuinely supported Father and let him grow as a person, that was more than others gave him, but that does not excuse the fact that she sought him as a rebound in the first place and I exist because of those polluted intentions."
The boy then glared at him and said, "My father cried and wept when people and circumstances hurt him; anger was futile. It's the opposite for me; crying and weeping over my mother's disgusting actions is fruitless, but anger - Cold anger - and seeking a measure of vengeance isn't. That's why I was born with her genius, her skill at intrigue, and loyalty to my father and his memory."
He was half-boasting now as he followed up with, "My father is now happy, he's grown, and he's become a more accepting person who can face life as it is, without trying to escape into a fantasy of how it should be. But while I love my mother, I cannot forgive her wants and goals back then. And so I will create a world - Multiple worlds - where my mother has to share Shinji Ikari, becoming only one of his many sources of happiness and not even the most important."
Fuyutsuki smiled faintly; the boy had his emotional vulnerabilities like any other person and was not afraid to show them and dare his opponents to go after them and risk being clawed. How like a cat.
Very well, so be it; he was old and can take a few scratches.
"You brought Yui back; she sides with you and has brought Ikari - Gendo - over to your faction. Ikari himself is conflicted about the possibility of going against you as you resemble Yui - including her more megalomaniac desires - more than Shinji does, at least on the surface," he stated dryly, laying out what he had found out about the boy, in this very conversation, to his face. "You have a claim to the loyalty of most of NERV and JHCI and a personal magnetism that magnifies that claim. Even I am impressed by how you tug at people's heartstrings as a matter of instinct."
He then fixed his eyes on Ken and said, "But you are not Yui. You are not Maria Iscariot. You are not Gendo or Shinji. You are an untested little boy who is lashing out at the world, in your own way, and your exceptional aptitude and the fact that you pursue goals that many people would regard as 'good' does not change the fact that, just like SEELE, you are trying to mold the world to fit your shape and disregarding others' feelings."
Following up with a long, drawn-out sigh, Fuyutsuki said, "It would be good for you to face actual opposition once in your life. Your Grandmother thinks so as well; you may succeed in this world, or the next, or even the one after that, but at the state you're in right now, there will be a point where you fail, and like the child you are, destroy everything in a fit of pique due to finding the taste of defeat strange."
The Vice Commander frowned faintly, then continued, "You know that I am right; you are smart enough to know it."
Ken bowed low enough to hide his eyes, then mumbled, "I don't like losing. I don't like being defeated."
Fuyutsuki spoke bluntly, "And yet you know you'll grow from it. So I won't console you. As it is, even those who had benefited from your success - Shiro Tokita and JHCI - are burdened with the work of dealing with the consequences of your actions. You've been using them as shock absorbers; Ken Illustrious Ikari. If you can't take hits, then appreciate those who are taking hits from you."
-------
The American Government had been pacified, and its might and resources were transferred to the Anti-SEELE Coalition formed by JHCI, NOAH, and NERV.
Yet SEELE controlled the UN Headquarters, which was in Tokyo-2. Tokyo-2 was where Japan Heavy Chemical Industries' HQ stood, a now-unwelcome foothold on their doorstep.
On the eve of Matarael's attack on NERV, the Japanese Prime Minister signed orders nationalizing the Corporation, taking advantage of the fact that while NERV legally owned it now, it was not NERV and did not share the legal protections the latter had as part of the UN. That meant that the Government of Japan could take JHCI away from it at any time, and had been stopped only by lack of knowledge about their foe's sudden new capabilities.
That lack of knowledge had been reduced over the past few weeks, despite NERV and NOAH working together to stanch the bleed of information from them to SEELE, and now the latter can begin its counterattack.
Shiro Tokita had moved several assets, including the blueprints for the Anti-L System and the completed LUXMAN units, and he and his security detail were in Tokyo-3 at present. Kensuke Aida, whom his subordinates had recruited to help prevent more information leaks, was currently busy at Tokyo-3 High School and was preparing for the Angel attack tomorrow.
Therefore the seizure of JHCI's HQ went without a hitch; only the local Police and a small contingent of JSSDF Special Forces were required to take ownership of the building and what sensitive documents were left.
The laboratories and mech-sized factories for building new Anti-L Systems and LUXMAN tech were a slightly more challenging target, but even then, all it took were a dozen VTOLs loaded with troops and the threat of force to take them and the half-completed mechs and intimidate the personnel into continuing their construction - Anyone who gave out that they knew more than JHCI's official version of events were to disappear.
After that was simply firing Shiro Tokita from the now-nationalized JHCI, and giving over control of the Corporation to one of their pawns in the JSSDF, shifting the balance of power between NERV and them decisively.
The weak link in the Counter-Conspiracy had been broken; let NERV have what JHCI assets were in Tokyo-3 as they can no longer replace them.
SEELE's Council had been shaken out of their complacency and had struck back with force and finesse. Their greatest foe, Gendo Ikari, had lost his edge with the return of his wife; they, however, had regained it.
Especially as they now knew what his grandson, from a Parallel Universe, was capable of…
------
The next day, Shiro Tokita was taking advantage of the fact that the Geofront's power was not cut off to send an email to his new ally, the US President, saying that Lockheed Martin now had the blueprints of the Anti-L Systems and the LUXMAN units, in return for him getting a vast number of shares in it. It won't compensate for the loss of his company, but it was a buffer against further bleedout and a platform to counterattack.
Not that SEELE hadn't won this round, especially as he had to focus on defeating Matarael lest the Angel destroy all of Humanity, which in turn was more likely than expected as Camael had already made her appearance, flying above it as the spider-like beast approached Tokyo-3, with the local JSSDF forces having 'deserted' their positions as part of a plan to make NERV's life more difficult.
Three Evangelions and Matteo's LUXMAN unit were already charging out to meet the two foes, while the other two were powering NERV with their Fusion Reactors and Raphael was being held in reserve.
"You're going to die, Imitation Doll!" Asuka Langley Sorhyu screamed out as Unit-02 fired its Pallet Rifle into the air, forcing Camael, who looked like Rei but had the colors of the plug suit she wore inverted (the white parts were black and the black parts were white), to deftly dodge with contemptuous ease before making a slashing gesture with her left hand to unleash a burning white crescent of energy that would have split her in half at the waist if not for Matteo breaking formation to shield her with his LUXMAN's Anti-L Systems.
"Are you okay?!" Shiro overheard him say even as Rei, Shinji, and Kaworu compensated for the break in formation; Rei took up the task of shooting Camael down from the sky and Shinji and Kaworu in Unit-13 took the responsibility of grappling Matarael to the ground, with Kaworu nullifying its AT-Field.
Asuka was back in the fight with Unit-02, shooting in the air alongside Rei to take down the latter's lookalike. She was howling out, "I may not be permitted to turn that Doll into a Swiss cheese, but I am permitted to fill you with holes!"
Camael's response to that was to swat the entire double volley out of the air with a telekinetic shield, not caring that the bullets were falling all over Tokyo-3; or was she relishing that some of them might endanger the shelters?
Then as Matarael's head crawled out of Unit-13's grasp to spit acid at the Evangelion's shoulder, melting off armor plates and flesh, Camael stretched out her arms and hands, releasing two beams each towards Asuka and Rei's Evangelions.
Both of them screamed out, as Shiro heard Ritsuko say over the speakers, "That beam - It's identical to the data Ken shared about Arael!"
Matteo was already pushing himself forward to extend his Anti-L Barrier in front of Asuka and Rei's Evangelion units after hearing that, shouting, "Units 02 and 00, behind me!"
Neither of them protested as they used the smaller Mech and the barrier it projected, once crimson, now clear, as a makeshift barricade, catching their breath… Even as Camael, her attention now free, pried Unit-13 off Matarael, who had been bleeding LCL from prog knife wounds, with telekinesis alone.
Just how strong was she?
Kozo Fuyutsuki could not get used to the return of his old student, nor the circumstances that had brought her back. So he did the obvious thing and asked for a meeting with 'Ken Illustrious Ikari', who now frequently visited from the JHCI HQ at Tokyo-2 (bullet trains were a wonder, weren't they?) as soon as the boy was available.
Ken promptly met him in his office, and Fuyutsuki couldn't help but be surprised; he really did look like the unfortunate Maria Iscariot, the one who died in a soul transfer experiment a long time ago… But succeeded in moving her soul into a clone in Ken's world, where she had married Shinji.
His first remark at seeing the boy before his desk was, "So it is true; you really do look like her…"
Maria Iscariot had been a good student, one who after her heartbreak over Yui choosing Gendo, had thrown herself into her research. Research that turned out to be about moving the soul, which she had tried to use on herself to groom Yui's son in a twisted retelling of 'The Tale of Genji'.
For a brief moment, he stared intently at Ken, half-expecting him to grow a second head or two more arms. This was caught by the boy, who said frankly, but who raised his tone in a way that proved he was still a child:
"Yes, my mother was a dirty creep. She still provided more support to my father in his darkest hour than anyone else, even Uncle Kaworu. And her support worked."
Fuyutsuki was ready with a gentle rejoinder, one that cut even more precisely because the tone was mild and unassuming, "But you don't believe that justified her actions and intentions, don't you?"
And he followed up with, "I watched the videos of the 'Original Timeline' of your universe, plus the 'Rebuild Timeline'. There was every chance that the Human Instrumentality Project in our world would have failed, and Humanity in its current form, which you claim to value, would be saved. And even if there wasn't, anyone else could have stepped in to prevent Third Impact from spreading out of this universe and into yours' if your people couldn't just cut off the latter from such contagion."
Now was the time for his voice to harden a little, as though he was lecturing an errant student, "So tell me, are you trying to justify your existence, as well as the actions that led to it?"
Ken nodded, trying to suppress a shudder - probably anger - and gave an affirmative answer.
"Yes. Others might be fine with it, but I am not. Mother genuinely supported Father and let him grow as a person, that was more than others gave him, but that does not excuse the fact that she sought him as a rebound in the first place and I exist because of those polluted intentions."
The boy then glared at him and said, "My father cried and wept when people and circumstances hurt him; anger was futile. It's the opposite for me; crying and weeping over my mother's disgusting actions is fruitless, but anger - Cold anger - and seeking a measure of vengeance isn't. That's why I was born with her genius, her skill at intrigue, and loyalty to my father and his memory."
He was half-boasting now as he followed up with, "My father is now happy, he's grown, and he's become a more accepting person who can face life as it is, without trying to escape into a fantasy of how it should be. But while I love my mother, I cannot forgive her wants and goals back then. And so I will create a world - Multiple worlds - where my mother has to share Shinji Ikari, becoming only one of his many sources of happiness and not even the most important."
Fuyutsuki smiled faintly; the boy had his emotional vulnerabilities like any other person and was not afraid to show them and dare his opponents to go after them and risk being clawed. How like a cat.
Very well, so be it; he was old and can take a few scratches.
"You brought Yui back; she sides with you and has brought Ikari - Gendo - over to your faction. Ikari himself is conflicted about the possibility of going against you as you resemble Yui - including her more megalomaniac desires - more than Shinji does, at least on the surface," he stated dryly, laying out what he had found out about the boy, in this very conversation, to his face. "You have a claim to the loyalty of most of NERV and JHCI and a personal magnetism that magnifies that claim. Even I am impressed by how you tug at people's heartstrings as a matter of instinct."
He then fixed his eyes on Ken and said, "But you are not Yui. You are not Maria Iscariot. You are not Gendo or Shinji. You are an untested little boy who is lashing out at the world, in your own way, and your exceptional aptitude and the fact that you pursue goals that many people would regard as 'good' does not change the fact that, just like SEELE, you are trying to mold the world to fit your shape and disregarding others' feelings."
Following up with a long, drawn-out sigh, Fuyutsuki said, "It would be good for you to face actual opposition once in your life. Your Grandmother thinks so as well; you may succeed in this world, or the next, or even the one after that, but at the state you're in right now, there will be a point where you fail, and like the child you are, destroy everything in a fit of pique due to finding the taste of defeat strange."
The Vice Commander frowned faintly, then continued, "You know that I am right; you are smart enough to know it."
Ken bowed low enough to hide his eyes, then mumbled, "I don't like losing. I don't like being defeated."
Fuyutsuki spoke bluntly, "And yet you know you'll grow from it. So I won't console you. As it is, even those who had benefited from your success - Shiro Tokita and JHCI - are burdened with the work of dealing with the consequences of your actions. You've been using them as shock absorbers; Ken Illustrious Ikari. If you can't take hits, then appreciate those who are taking hits from you."
-------
The American Government had been pacified, and its might and resources were transferred to the Anti-SEELE Coalition formed by JHCI, NOAH, and NERV.
Yet SEELE controlled the UN Headquarters, which was in Tokyo-2. Tokyo-2 was where Japan Heavy Chemical Industries' HQ stood, a now-unwelcome foothold on their doorstep.
On the eve of Matarael's attack on NERV, the Japanese Prime Minister signed orders nationalizing the Corporation, taking advantage of the fact that while NERV legally owned it now, it was not NERV and did not share the legal protections the latter had as part of the UN. That meant that the Government of Japan could take JHCI away from it at any time, and had been stopped only by lack of knowledge about their foe's sudden new capabilities.
That lack of knowledge had been reduced over the past few weeks, despite NERV and NOAH working together to stanch the bleed of information from them to SEELE, and now the latter can begin its counterattack.
Shiro Tokita had moved several assets, including the blueprints for the Anti-L System and the completed LUXMAN units, and he and his security detail were in Tokyo-3 at present. Kensuke Aida, whom his subordinates had recruited to help prevent more information leaks, was currently busy at Tokyo-3 High School and was preparing for the Angel attack tomorrow.
Therefore the seizure of JHCI's HQ went without a hitch; only the local Police and a small contingent of JSSDF Special Forces were required to take ownership of the building and what sensitive documents were left.
The laboratories and mech-sized factories for building new Anti-L Systems and LUXMAN tech were a slightly more challenging target, but even then, all it took were a dozen VTOLs loaded with troops and the threat of force to take them and the half-completed mechs and intimidate the personnel into continuing their construction - Anyone who gave out that they knew more than JHCI's official version of events were to disappear.
After that was simply firing Shiro Tokita from the now-nationalized JHCI, and giving over control of the Corporation to one of their pawns in the JSSDF, shifting the balance of power between NERV and them decisively.
The weak link in the Counter-Conspiracy had been broken; let NERV have what JHCI assets were in Tokyo-3 as they can no longer replace them.
SEELE's Council had been shaken out of their complacency and had struck back with force and finesse. Their greatest foe, Gendo Ikari, had lost his edge with the return of his wife; they, however, had regained it.
Especially as they now knew what his grandson, from a Parallel Universe, was capable of…
------
The next day, Shiro Tokita was taking advantage of the fact that the Geofront's power was not cut off to send an email to his new ally, the US President, saying that Lockheed Martin now had the blueprints of the Anti-L Systems and the LUXMAN units, in return for him getting a vast number of shares in it. It won't compensate for the loss of his company, but it was a buffer against further bleedout and a platform to counterattack.
Not that SEELE hadn't won this round, especially as he had to focus on defeating Matarael lest the Angel destroy all of Humanity, which in turn was more likely than expected as Camael had already made her appearance, flying above it as the spider-like beast approached Tokyo-3, with the local JSSDF forces having 'deserted' their positions as part of a plan to make NERV's life more difficult.
Three Evangelions and Matteo's LUXMAN unit were already charging out to meet the two foes, while the other two were powering NERV with their Fusion Reactors and Raphael was being held in reserve.
"You're going to die, Imitation Doll!" Asuka Langley Sorhyu screamed out as Unit-02 fired its Pallet Rifle into the air, forcing Camael, who looked like Rei but had the colors of the plug suit she wore inverted (the white parts were black and the black parts were white), to deftly dodge with contemptuous ease before making a slashing gesture with her left hand to unleash a burning white crescent of energy that would have split her in half at the waist if not for Matteo breaking formation to shield her with his LUXMAN's Anti-L Systems.
"Are you okay?!" Shiro overheard him say even as Rei, Shinji, and Kaworu compensated for the break in formation; Rei took up the task of shooting Camael down from the sky and Shinji and Kaworu in Unit-13 took the responsibility of grappling Matarael to the ground, with Kaworu nullifying its AT-Field.
Asuka was back in the fight with Unit-02, shooting in the air alongside Rei to take down the latter's lookalike. She was howling out, "I may not be permitted to turn that Doll into a Swiss cheese, but I am permitted to fill you with holes!"
Camael's response to that was to swat the entire double volley out of the air with a telekinetic shield, not caring that the bullets were falling all over Tokyo-3; or was she relishing that some of them might endanger the shelters?
Then as Matarael's head crawled out of Unit-13's grasp to spit acid at the Evangelion's shoulder, melting off armor plates and flesh, Camael stretched out her arms and hands, releasing two beams each towards Asuka and Rei's Evangelions.
Both of them screamed out, as Shiro heard Ritsuko say over the speakers, "That beam - It's identical to the data Ken shared about Arael!"
Matteo was already pushing himself forward to extend his Anti-L Barrier in front of Asuka and Rei's Evangelion units after hearing that, shouting, "Units 02 and 00, behind me!"
Neither of them protested as they used the smaller Mech and the barrier it projected, once crimson, now clear, as a makeshift barricade, catching their breath… Even as Camael, her attention now free, pried Unit-13 off Matarael, who had been bleeding LCL from prog knife wounds, with telekinesis alone.
Just how strong was she?
ATP
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Adeptus Evangelion? you mean that crossover when Shinji and Asuka lived in their Evas till WH30 ,helped Emprah,go sleep again,and finally finish off Chaos gods ?
Repentant_Dragos
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Well, there are Custom Angels in the fic already...
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The more,the merrier !
Repentant_Dragos
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Glad you think it's glorious, btw. But I personally don't like AdEva, or Dark Heresy, the system it uses, in general.
Yep. Note that I would prefer to make Custom upgrades to the Canon Angels first, but I need to find something that isn't a ripoff of Bluepencil's famous fanfic...
ATP
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There are great crossovers with Lovercraft mythos - Children of Elder gods,and some other.
And,Evangelion Nobody dies where Shinji had good childchood,and his mother never died,but had more daughters - there are 7 of them,all mad in their own way/for example,one wear maid clothes and speak fake french/
Repentant_Dragos
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Chapter Fifteen
Repentant_Dragos
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Chapter Fifteen
Here she is again; does she hate Asuka or something? Shinji thought about Camael as she tossed around Unit-13 like a ragdoll with her telekinesis, before Kaworu activated his own AT-Field and cut off her invisible grip. She looks like Rei and acts like Rei a little, but she is as eager to pick fights as Asuka is.
Then he thought to himself, Best not to let Asuka know I was thinking that; she'd be livid.
Acting in unison with his co-pilot, Shinji resumed the assault on Matarael, the side of Unit-13 he controlled having in its upper and lower arms a sonic axe and a prog knife that was larger than usual. Just like last time, he and Kaworu broke through the Angel's defenses, with the sonic axe barely missing the behemoth's core as it plunged into the flesh of its main body.
From the wound, however, burst forth what seemed to be black polyps, growths of inflamed flesh, which spread forth like barnacles throughout the sonic axe's blade and shaft, forcing Unit-13 to let go as the polyps began breaking down the structure of the weapon and absorbing the materials to regenerate Matarael's wound.
"I see, so that's the upgrade Camael gave the Angel of Rain," he heard Kaworu speak in his typical melodious voice, as more polyps emerged from the rest of the monster's main body, popping off and floating in the wind.
Kaworu put up a larger AT-Field, only to find the floating balls of flesh dissolving it, neutralizing the barrier in the same way a normal Evangelion can negate an Angel's shield.
Now the polyps were breaking through the armor and infecting the flesh beneath and it was painful and gross as Unit-13's arms and chest were covered in a carpet of black growths -
Don't worry, Shinji, Kaworu's voice cut in telepathically as his Co-Pilot's AT-Field suddenly changed to a brilliant white, burning off the attempt at infection, The novelty of this surprise has run out. Now is our turn.
Several units of rocket artillery rose out of the ground a second later; only instead of firing rockets, these fired miniature spears, the very same ones given by Kaji Jr., at Camael as she was lifting up a skyscraper to smash through Matteo's LUXMAN unit and the Anti-L System that held back her 'Arael Beams'.
Camael's reaction was to, "Tsk," then turn towards Unit-02 and Asuka, saying, "Self-absorbed. Arrogant. Yet with a void in one's heart one refuses to acknowledge. You look down on others to feel full for a second then run empty again the very next moment; how contemptible."
Then she flew away and left Matarael to its fate.
Shinji was surprised to hear Asuka, after thirty seconds of incoherent ranting about how Camael had no right to talk to her like she knew better, say to Matteo:
"All right, you Junk Pilot! As thanks for the save, you get to cook that Spider with that Positron Gun you keep boasting about! Better than letting Idiot Shinji and his Angel Boy have the kill…"
A beam of Positrons then pierced Matarel's core through and through, ending the Angel of Rain's brief reign of terror.
Nevertheless, Shinji couldn't help but remark:
"Never thought you'd actually give the kill shot to anyone else, Asuka, even if it was to spite me and Kaworu."
Then he asked more seriously, considering that Camael had used two 'Arael Beams' on her and Rei, "Are you okay?"
"I don't need your concern, Idiot Shinji!" was the angry reply. "Why not ask that Doll instead?!"
Rei piped up, "I'm okay. Matteo in the LUXMAN unit shielded us from the worst."
Shinji couldn't help but smile as he blurted out, "Good. And thanks for the help, Matteo."
"Don't worry about it," the adult Pilot responded, "Glad I can pull my weight. By the way, Ken and Raphael - Well, Rafail - will be joining you guys tomorrow at school. You guys have been studying, right?"
"What?!" he heard Asuka say. "What's he going to mess up now?!"
Shinji glanced at Kaworu's side of their joint cockpit and gave a visible shrug. I guess it's time to prepare for some awkward meetings…
------
Rafail Subrov, aka Raphael, observed the tensions as he and Ken, now in school uniforms (he had changed his hair to black using his Angel powers, by the way) sat on the other side of the room from Shinji, Kaworu, Asuka and Rei.
Despite various developments, it was clear that the Children had not warmed up to Ken and by extension, him, for reasons Ken himself understood. And for all his bluster and his recognition that his actions had trade-offs, Raphael can tell that Ken did not like the borderline enmity Asuka treated him with and the others' wariness of him.
And that enmity spiked a little when Ken and he scored a 100 on their pop quiz without much difficulty.
"What?!" Asuka exclaimed in fury at Ken even though she had a 95, "Don't tell me you're some genius ace as well as an intruding pest! Heck, it's hard to believe you and your 'best friend' got these scores without using super-tech to peek at the answers, all things considering…"
Okay, he was going to have to make peace, for the sake of his boyfriend. But Ken was too prideful, some might say even conceited, to make the first move. And Raphael did not know enough about other adolescents to learn how to build bridges well.
But he knew who could, and so when lunch hour arrived, he excused himself from Ken by saying he had to go to the bathroom… While at the same time filching the latter's smartphone from the latter's belt - The latter would forgive if it was for a good cause, after all.
Once he found himself with some privacy on the top floor, he called the person whose triumph had made all of this possible: Adult Shinji Ikari from the Rebuild Timeline, to ask him how he could engineer a social encounter between his fellow kids that won't end in disaster…
------
Ken saw Raphael come down the stairs, carrying some very familiar-looking boxes and books - Wait, were those?!
"You're forgiven for filching my smartphone; are those what I think they are?" he asked his boyfriend.
Raphael's nod was worth a hundred words, as Ken took the books labeled: Warhammer 40,000: 10th Edition and Codex: Leagues of Votann, then glanced at the rulesets, then gave him a thumbs-up, before saying:
"I think we have a free period in the afternoon, just before classes end. Let's show these off!"
He then looked around for eavesdroppers before giving his boyfriend a light peck on the cheek and saying, "Thank you. And I'll thank Dad too for the gift."
Ken knew why Raphael had asked, but deep inside, felt fear that the other boy's gambit would not work or instead make things worse - Aunt Asuka's ire was hard to mollify, especially with her being a teenager in this universe…
------
Raphael was observing the life signs of the small crowd that had gathered around him and Ken as the two played against each other around a small table which now had little model armies of Leagues of Votann (Space Dwarfs) played by Ken and an army of Sisters of Battle played by him (hey, he liked red and flames).
The two, after making sure that they were playing according to the rules for a 1000-point game, prepared to roll their dice and just on cue -
"Hey, what are you two idiots doing?!" Asuka yelled at them after pushing through the crowd. "And hey, is it that British Game? Third Edition, right? Before Second Impact hit?"
Ken was about to respond, but Raphael lifted up his hand so he could initiate the conversation instead and clarified for the other boy.
"Tenth Edition, actually; I think you know how we got it," Raphael then rose up from his seat and said, "Want to play? The Sisters have a newly competitive Army List this time around."
Asuka took one glance at the Triumph of Saint Katherine model that the boy was using as his HQ Unit in the game, and said, "Sure. Stand behind my back and give me pointers on how the rules have changed where… my opponent came from, can you do that? If so, thanks!"
After the end of the free period and the after-school time reserved for clubs, and just before the bell rang for dismissal, Asuka was gloating about how her Sisters of Battle Army finally destroyed Ken's optimally-built, rule-lawyered, Leagues of Votann force.
"Ha, take that, asshole!" the redhead was saying, "It only took me a couple of tries, but I did it! I won and now I'm going to rub my victory in your face!"
Ken risked ruining everything by acting like, well, Ken, and pointing out, "It took four tries, not two. And I won three of them."
Asuka twitched in rage, let the bell finally ring, then said so loud that she could be heard over the bell's noise, "Then let's continue this in Misato's apartment! This time, you're permitted to come!"
Shinji then went over to Raphael and whispered, "Was this your plan all along?"
The slightest rise and fall of his chin was affirmative enough.
The thumbs-up he got the very next moment was a pleasant surprise.
------
Misato Katsuragi found her apartment host to more children than the room can normally take, as not only were Shinji, Rei, Kaworu, and Asuka inside, but also the unlikely quartet of Toji, Kensuke, Rafail, and Ken (Illustrious Ikari), all who were preparing to play That British Game.
"Make sure to clean up before you leave!" she said as she prepared to leave the kids 'unattended' in order to meet up with Kaji - NERV Section 2 Personnel were already standing guard with miniature spears in hand.
Honestly, despite not wanting to see her apartment overran by too many visitors, Misato was glad that an attempt was being made to dampen tensions in the group. Of course, it was an Angel, albeit a 'counterfeit one' who thought up that bright idea and a Parallel Universe visitor who had inflamed the tensions in the first place, but she appreciated the thought.
What she did not appreciate were rumors that SEELE, the true enemy of Humanity, was rebuilding its web of mystery.
The other branches of NERV were non-committal in their stance on Commander Ikari and his returned wife, with NERV-Germany telling them bluntly, Save us from Sahaquiel and we'll talk.
How insubordinate! she fumed as she went to her car and started it up, driving it to the love hotel she had promised to see Kaji in… And which Ritsuko and Maya, who had apparently taken Ken's advice and gotten together, had 'scouted out' beforehand and made sure was safe.
Honestly, she was glad her best friend had actually found happiness, albeit in an unexpected manner.
Not that the kid who started all this isn't a rotten shipper who is too young to meddle in adults' love lives… she thought as she continued her trip, enjoying the warm night.
A few minutes later, she arrived at the Love Hotel and found the building unnaturally silent - Something was wrong.
She checked the radio; it was jammed just like every other means of communication.
Drawing her gun plus a Miniaturized Spear of Marius wrapped in one of those big golf bags, Misato tip-toed out of the car and entered the building, which seemed to be cleared of all human occupants, even maintenance staff. She knew she had to go to find Kaji, fast.
She entered the room her Ex-Boyfriend had asked her to meet him in, only to find only one person inside, and it wasn't him.
Instead, it was a mirror image of herself, a doppelganger who got her exact appearance right, only she wore what seemed to be a black bodysuit with fuzzy, glowing red lines.
"Hello there," said the clone (?), "My name is Kagami. Kagami Katsuragi. I've been tasked with replacing you. By the way, Mr. Ryoji is safe, but he won't be if you resist..."
------
SELEE's TASK FORCE DRAGNET had initially been organized, under a different name, in order to ward off the threat of 'Native Extracanonicals' who had the potential to alter the prophesied course of events. Later, it was tasked with co-opting these potentially dangerous beings so that new ideas and strategies, for progressing the Human Instrumentality Project can be conceived and implemented.
With NOAH's exponential growth in power and its alliance with the 'Counter-Conspiracy', the members of TASK FORCE DRAGNET had acquired more importance in SEELE as a whole; their creation, Camael, had been the most effective single actor against these rebels and their Multiversal support.
Their leader, Kassa Makonnen of Ethiopia, was now supervising SEELE's efforts to regain lost prestige, lost mystery, and its lost sense of threat. Despite his relatives all choosing NOAH, Kassa had chosen to believe that SEELE and the Human Instrumentality Project were the best options for Humanity to reach its happy ending, twisted as his definition of 'happy ending' might be to others.
He had ordered Camael's creation. He had supervised the theft of DNA samples of people who might be important to NERV in the future. And while it took a lot of persuasion, he had persuaded his superiors to move to The Moon and the safety it represented.
Honestly, he felt like the underdog in this situation; then again, Ethiopians were used to being underdogs…
Originally Thomas Sinclair from Killzone: Shadow Fall, now Kassa Makonnen of TASK FORCE DRAGNET
Here she is again; does she hate Asuka or something? Shinji thought about Camael as she tossed around Unit-13 like a ragdoll with her telekinesis, before Kaworu activated his own AT-Field and cut off her invisible grip. She looks like Rei and acts like Rei a little, but she is as eager to pick fights as Asuka is.
Then he thought to himself, Best not to let Asuka know I was thinking that; she'd be livid.
Acting in unison with his co-pilot, Shinji resumed the assault on Matarael, the side of Unit-13 he controlled having in its upper and lower arms a sonic axe and a prog knife that was larger than usual. Just like last time, he and Kaworu broke through the Angel's defenses, with the sonic axe barely missing the behemoth's core as it plunged into the flesh of its main body.
From the wound, however, burst forth what seemed to be black polyps, growths of inflamed flesh, which spread forth like barnacles throughout the sonic axe's blade and shaft, forcing Unit-13 to let go as the polyps began breaking down the structure of the weapon and absorbing the materials to regenerate Matarael's wound.
"I see, so that's the upgrade Camael gave the Angel of Rain," he heard Kaworu speak in his typical melodious voice, as more polyps emerged from the rest of the monster's main body, popping off and floating in the wind.
Kaworu put up a larger AT-Field, only to find the floating balls of flesh dissolving it, neutralizing the barrier in the same way a normal Evangelion can negate an Angel's shield.
Now the polyps were breaking through the armor and infecting the flesh beneath and it was painful and gross as Unit-13's arms and chest were covered in a carpet of black growths -
Don't worry, Shinji, Kaworu's voice cut in telepathically as his Co-Pilot's AT-Field suddenly changed to a brilliant white, burning off the attempt at infection, The novelty of this surprise has run out. Now is our turn.
Several units of rocket artillery rose out of the ground a second later; only instead of firing rockets, these fired miniature spears, the very same ones given by Kaji Jr., at Camael as she was lifting up a skyscraper to smash through Matteo's LUXMAN unit and the Anti-L System that held back her 'Arael Beams'.
Camael's reaction was to, "Tsk," then turn towards Unit-02 and Asuka, saying, "Self-absorbed. Arrogant. Yet with a void in one's heart one refuses to acknowledge. You look down on others to feel full for a second then run empty again the very next moment; how contemptible."
Then she flew away and left Matarael to its fate.
Shinji was surprised to hear Asuka, after thirty seconds of incoherent ranting about how Camael had no right to talk to her like she knew better, say to Matteo:
"All right, you Junk Pilot! As thanks for the save, you get to cook that Spider with that Positron Gun you keep boasting about! Better than letting Idiot Shinji and his Angel Boy have the kill…"
A beam of Positrons then pierced Matarel's core through and through, ending the Angel of Rain's brief reign of terror.
Nevertheless, Shinji couldn't help but remark:
"Never thought you'd actually give the kill shot to anyone else, Asuka, even if it was to spite me and Kaworu."
Then he asked more seriously, considering that Camael had used two 'Arael Beams' on her and Rei, "Are you okay?"
"I don't need your concern, Idiot Shinji!" was the angry reply. "Why not ask that Doll instead?!"
Rei piped up, "I'm okay. Matteo in the LUXMAN unit shielded us from the worst."
Shinji couldn't help but smile as he blurted out, "Good. And thanks for the help, Matteo."
"Don't worry about it," the adult Pilot responded, "Glad I can pull my weight. By the way, Ken and Raphael - Well, Rafail - will be joining you guys tomorrow at school. You guys have been studying, right?"
"What?!" he heard Asuka say. "What's he going to mess up now?!"
Shinji glanced at Kaworu's side of their joint cockpit and gave a visible shrug. I guess it's time to prepare for some awkward meetings…
------
Rafail Subrov, aka Raphael, observed the tensions as he and Ken, now in school uniforms (he had changed his hair to black using his Angel powers, by the way) sat on the other side of the room from Shinji, Kaworu, Asuka and Rei.
Despite various developments, it was clear that the Children had not warmed up to Ken and by extension, him, for reasons Ken himself understood. And for all his bluster and his recognition that his actions had trade-offs, Raphael can tell that Ken did not like the borderline enmity Asuka treated him with and the others' wariness of him.
And that enmity spiked a little when Ken and he scored a 100 on their pop quiz without much difficulty.
"What?!" Asuka exclaimed in fury at Ken even though she had a 95, "Don't tell me you're some genius ace as well as an intruding pest! Heck, it's hard to believe you and your 'best friend' got these scores without using super-tech to peek at the answers, all things considering…"
Okay, he was going to have to make peace, for the sake of his boyfriend. But Ken was too prideful, some might say even conceited, to make the first move. And Raphael did not know enough about other adolescents to learn how to build bridges well.
But he knew who could, and so when lunch hour arrived, he excused himself from Ken by saying he had to go to the bathroom… While at the same time filching the latter's smartphone from the latter's belt - The latter would forgive if it was for a good cause, after all.
Once he found himself with some privacy on the top floor, he called the person whose triumph had made all of this possible: Adult Shinji Ikari from the Rebuild Timeline, to ask him how he could engineer a social encounter between his fellow kids that won't end in disaster…
------
Ken saw Raphael come down the stairs, carrying some very familiar-looking boxes and books - Wait, were those?!
"You're forgiven for filching my smartphone; are those what I think they are?" he asked his boyfriend.
Raphael's nod was worth a hundred words, as Ken took the books labeled: Warhammer 40,000: 10th Edition and Codex: Leagues of Votann, then glanced at the rulesets, then gave him a thumbs-up, before saying:
"I think we have a free period in the afternoon, just before classes end. Let's show these off!"
He then looked around for eavesdroppers before giving his boyfriend a light peck on the cheek and saying, "Thank you. And I'll thank Dad too for the gift."
Ken knew why Raphael had asked, but deep inside, felt fear that the other boy's gambit would not work or instead make things worse - Aunt Asuka's ire was hard to mollify, especially with her being a teenager in this universe…
------
Raphael was observing the life signs of the small crowd that had gathered around him and Ken as the two played against each other around a small table which now had little model armies of Leagues of Votann (Space Dwarfs) played by Ken and an army of Sisters of Battle played by him (hey, he liked red and flames).
The two, after making sure that they were playing according to the rules for a 1000-point game, prepared to roll their dice and just on cue -
"Hey, what are you two idiots doing?!" Asuka yelled at them after pushing through the crowd. "And hey, is it that British Game? Third Edition, right? Before Second Impact hit?"
Ken was about to respond, but Raphael lifted up his hand so he could initiate the conversation instead and clarified for the other boy.
"Tenth Edition, actually; I think you know how we got it," Raphael then rose up from his seat and said, "Want to play? The Sisters have a newly competitive Army List this time around."
Asuka took one glance at the Triumph of Saint Katherine model that the boy was using as his HQ Unit in the game, and said, "Sure. Stand behind my back and give me pointers on how the rules have changed where… my opponent came from, can you do that? If so, thanks!"
After the end of the free period and the after-school time reserved for clubs, and just before the bell rang for dismissal, Asuka was gloating about how her Sisters of Battle Army finally destroyed Ken's optimally-built, rule-lawyered, Leagues of Votann force.
"Ha, take that, asshole!" the redhead was saying, "It only took me a couple of tries, but I did it! I won and now I'm going to rub my victory in your face!"
Ken risked ruining everything by acting like, well, Ken, and pointing out, "It took four tries, not two. And I won three of them."
Asuka twitched in rage, let the bell finally ring, then said so loud that she could be heard over the bell's noise, "Then let's continue this in Misato's apartment! This time, you're permitted to come!"
Shinji then went over to Raphael and whispered, "Was this your plan all along?"
The slightest rise and fall of his chin was affirmative enough.
The thumbs-up he got the very next moment was a pleasant surprise.
------
Misato Katsuragi found her apartment host to more children than the room can normally take, as not only were Shinji, Rei, Kaworu, and Asuka inside, but also the unlikely quartet of Toji, Kensuke, Rafail, and Ken (Illustrious Ikari), all who were preparing to play That British Game.
"Make sure to clean up before you leave!" she said as she prepared to leave the kids 'unattended' in order to meet up with Kaji - NERV Section 2 Personnel were already standing guard with miniature spears in hand.
Honestly, despite not wanting to see her apartment overran by too many visitors, Misato was glad that an attempt was being made to dampen tensions in the group. Of course, it was an Angel, albeit a 'counterfeit one' who thought up that bright idea and a Parallel Universe visitor who had inflamed the tensions in the first place, but she appreciated the thought.
What she did not appreciate were rumors that SEELE, the true enemy of Humanity, was rebuilding its web of mystery.
The other branches of NERV were non-committal in their stance on Commander Ikari and his returned wife, with NERV-Germany telling them bluntly, Save us from Sahaquiel and we'll talk.
How insubordinate! she fumed as she went to her car and started it up, driving it to the love hotel she had promised to see Kaji in… And which Ritsuko and Maya, who had apparently taken Ken's advice and gotten together, had 'scouted out' beforehand and made sure was safe.
Honestly, she was glad her best friend had actually found happiness, albeit in an unexpected manner.
Not that the kid who started all this isn't a rotten shipper who is too young to meddle in adults' love lives… she thought as she continued her trip, enjoying the warm night.
A few minutes later, she arrived at the Love Hotel and found the building unnaturally silent - Something was wrong.
She checked the radio; it was jammed just like every other means of communication.
Drawing her gun plus a Miniaturized Spear of Marius wrapped in one of those big golf bags, Misato tip-toed out of the car and entered the building, which seemed to be cleared of all human occupants, even maintenance staff. She knew she had to go to find Kaji, fast.
She entered the room her Ex-Boyfriend had asked her to meet him in, only to find only one person inside, and it wasn't him.
Instead, it was a mirror image of herself, a doppelganger who got her exact appearance right, only she wore what seemed to be a black bodysuit with fuzzy, glowing red lines.
"Hello there," said the clone (?), "My name is Kagami. Kagami Katsuragi. I've been tasked with replacing you. By the way, Mr. Ryoji is safe, but he won't be if you resist..."
------
SELEE's TASK FORCE DRAGNET had initially been organized, under a different name, in order to ward off the threat of 'Native Extracanonicals' who had the potential to alter the prophesied course of events. Later, it was tasked with co-opting these potentially dangerous beings so that new ideas and strategies, for progressing the Human Instrumentality Project can be conceived and implemented.
With NOAH's exponential growth in power and its alliance with the 'Counter-Conspiracy', the members of TASK FORCE DRAGNET had acquired more importance in SEELE as a whole; their creation, Camael, had been the most effective single actor against these rebels and their Multiversal support.
Their leader, Kassa Makonnen of Ethiopia, was now supervising SEELE's efforts to regain lost prestige, lost mystery, and its lost sense of threat. Despite his relatives all choosing NOAH, Kassa had chosen to believe that SEELE and the Human Instrumentality Project were the best options for Humanity to reach its happy ending, twisted as his definition of 'happy ending' might be to others.
He had ordered Camael's creation. He had supervised the theft of DNA samples of people who might be important to NERV in the future. And while it took a lot of persuasion, he had persuaded his superiors to move to The Moon and the safety it represented.
Honestly, he felt like the underdog in this situation; then again, Ethiopians were used to being underdogs…
Originally Thomas Sinclair from Killzone: Shadow Fall, now Kassa Makonnen of TASK FORCE DRAGNET
Repentant_Dragos
Experienced.
- Joined
- May 12, 2020
- Messages
- 3,417
Thinking no Ark of the Covenant for now, sadly...
Chapter Sixteen
Repentant_Dragos
Experienced.
- Joined
- May 12, 2020
- Messages
- 3,417
Chapter Sixteen
Camael felt she had at least burnt that redhead, metaphorically if not literally. As she floated to meet with Kassa in SEELE's moonbase, she smiled to herself about how she had exposed Asuka Langley Sorhyu's flaws to her own 'team', a team she had viewed as a captive audience for her own 'greatness' and 'awesomeness', but which now saw her insecurities many times over.
That redhead's strength was real but hollow. Some areas were genuinely strong but others were… Not. Such a mix of strength and weakness was strange, uncomfortable, maybe anathema if she wanted to be poetic.
That reminded her; that Kagami was also weak in some ways, but didn't lie about her strength. She was an adequate liar in other ways, so she would be useful in replacing Misato alongside the other duplicate; Modoki was his name, right?
They had not replaced Ritsuko Akagi and her new girlfriend; the ambush would not have worked without a genuine recommendation from the two.
Either way, she saw Kassa walking towards the Moonbase's shipyards and drydocks, where those vessels were being prepared.
Approaching him before she saluted, she asked, "Did all go well?"
The Ethiopian man nodded and said, "It has; Ryoji Kaji and Misato Katsuragi have been successfully taken and will be brought to the Moonbase shortly. Their doubles do not have their memories, nor do their skills and competencies map out one hundred percent - This was another reason why we did not simply take Dr. Akagi and her new lover; their expertise is not easily faked even with the originals under our… custody."
Camael ventured a reply, "Dr. Akagi will find them out eventually. The clones are merely human, after all."
A seamless reply followed, "Then rescue them when she does. In the meantime, Sahaquiel is approaching, and NERV-Japan is embarking on extensive preparations to kill it and gain NERV-Germany's allegiance.
"However…" Kassa said as they arrived at where SEELE's new trump card awaited them, "Let's just say they are in for a rough surprise…"
-------
Shinji heard Misato (whom he did not know had been replaced) start the briefing with one line that no longer surprised him.
"All right, folks, we're going to space!"
The Major then continued, "The American President has decided to lend us Cape Canaveral - On the condition none of us turn it into collateral damage - And free transport for one Evangelion and one LUXMAN unit. So, we're drawing lots for which pair of each goes to the final frontier!"
What was the purpose of this expedition? To pre-empt the Angel named Sahaquiel before it began blasting parts of itself at various targets on Earth, and if successful, gain NERV-Germany's allegiance.
Either way, the lots were drawn, and to his surprise…
"Wait!" he couldn't help but blurt out once he had looked at the results twice, "Asuka and Matteo again? Didn't they have the last kill and the one before that, too?"
Asuka retorted, "What, you jealous? At least Mr. 'Adult Pilot' knows his place!"
Shinji frowned at that, but couldn't help but snap sarcastically, "I'll get the Angel Leliel, then; Dr. Akagi can have Ireul like she did in the other universe."
Asuka was dumbfounded, then exclaimed, "Wow! Getting a boyfriend must have stiffened your spine, Idiot Shinji. Either way, I'm saving NERV-Germany, so that's that!"
The boy nodded; he couldn't fault what Asuka felt, even though he did not understand such feelings either. Then he said, "Good luck, then."
Asuka gave a short 'hmph', then added, "Thank you, Idiot Shinji. Now make sure you, your boyfriend, and that Ken asshole and his boyfriend keep this place safe, you hear he?! I don't want to come back to nothing but cinders!"
"I'll keep this place safe too," Rei intruded, causing Asuka to give her a death glare, a scowl, but strangely, nothing more as…
"Nope, not letting you ruin my mood," she muttered before the girl walked over to Matteo, who had been sitting in the back row with the Suburovs, and exclaimed, "Oi! Adult Pilot! Let's prep for the trip east - We need to make sure this does not end up like last time with several ships' worth of people dead!"
Matteo nodded as he got up and spoke, "Hopefully we only need one ship this time; after all, we're not transporting an Adam. Either way, we're not having hundreds of men and women on our conscience in this second chance."
"Yep," Asuka said with relish, "And if those SEELE freaks try and stop us, we'll blast them six hundred feet under the waves…"
Shinji then felt Kaworu touch his hand - A tender gesture he was still not used to - then the other boy whispered into his ear, "The Major sounds like she is trying too hard to be professional."
He nodded at that, then remembered prudence as he whispered back, "Let's wait for her to end the meeting first."
Misato - The Major - had noticed them, but unlike how she usually acted, she was giving them a look of… Approval? Was she endorsing Kaworu's public display of affection right now?
Or was something fishy?
------
Gendo and Yui Ikari were surprised to hear that their son (and prospective son-in-law) came to them directly about their suspicions of Misato's behavior, and the former revealed that he had not lost his touch when he said, "We'll ask Ritsuko and the MAGI to verify if something is strange with the Major and Mr. Kaji, preferably without alerting the two. As it is, what was the inciting incident for said suspicions?"
Shinji told him outright, "Misato left to meet Mr. Kaji two nights ago, letting us and the other kids play 'That British Game' in her apartment. But when she returned later in the evening, she looked surprised at how all of us were playing that game; she also treated Pen-Pen more coldly than usual, like a regular dog or cat."
Kaworu nodded and confirmed, "Of course, she covered up those responses a split-second later, so not even I am certain she's been compromised or even replaced outright. That said, she and Mr. Ryoji have acted more professionally to each other than usual, with none of the banter and haphazardly hidden displays of affection."
Gendo had arrived at the most likely conclusion earlier, but he could always use confirmation. Looking at Shinji, he said, "If Misato and Kaji have been replaced by impostors; potentially clones, will you agree to their deaths?"
The response from his son was obvious, carrying naivete that he would have objected to mere months ago, "Of course not! How can you even suggest that -"
He interrupted, "Then work with Ken to find a nonlethal solution, but fair warning: If none can be found, then they will die. Have I made myself clear?"
Shinji's determination was mildly impressive as his son answered, "Don't worry, we'll find one."
And then the boy stormed off pre-emptively, leaving Kaworu behind.
Gendo looked at his wife, his precious, now-returned to him Yui, before asking her, "Yui, what are your thoughts?"
"Shinji has grown, partly thanks to our grandson," she said to him, before continuing, "It is best if we do not let SEELE learn that we've caught on to their game. However, this comes at a bad time for us; Sahaquiel is about to attack various NERV targets, Asuka and her accompanying LUXMAN Pilot, Matteo, are crossing the Pacific again, and JHCI has been nationalized, forcing Mr. Tokita to allow practical mech technology and Anti-L Systems to profiliate."
Yui then followed up with, "Speaking of which, he and Fuyutsuki are having tea right now; I wonder what they might be talking about?"
------
Shiro Tokita told Vice-Commander Fuyutsuki outright as they sipped tea in the English manner around a small table, "We need more assets in space more than we need NERV-Germany's fair-weather allegiance; I've had enough of false friends. That, and allowing SEELE to potentially bombard us from orbit is a risk no one should take."
He was met with a nod of agreement, and a response of, "You've grown bold, yet wise. More intelligent, still keeping that arrogant pride that had screwed your Alternate Universe counterpart over. But will Commander Ikari approve of you committing Counter-Conspiracy assets to Central Asia, of all places?"
Shiro gave a small scowl at that, but had a ready retort, "That's why I'm seeking a second opinion. I usually talk to Mr. Kaji about this, but considering his erratic behavior in the past couple of days…"
The response from the Vice-Commander was, "I understand; others are more fit to feed the mole than you are. Now, to turn to other, just as serious matters."
He found himself facing Fuyutsuki's next question, "Do you still regard yourself as Ken Illustrious Ikari's equal partner?"
Shiro found himself confidently blurting out, "I do. Not even he can be everywhere at once nor can he know everything there is to know. And he and the other kids do not need to know about this operation, which will not just grant us another path to space, but make sure that the Post-SEELE World Order is… Looser, more lenient, than the UN's current stranglehold."
Fuyutsuki ventured, "The boy will probably approve; he's a hawk barely hatched out of his egg, but still a hawk."
Shiro looked back and said, "Which is why we don't need him knowing till well after the fact; we do not need him or Rafail trying to 'help', or give their unsolicited approval…"
He saw Fuyutsuki smile and say, "You are a reluctant arms dealer, I take it. One who only conceived the original Jet Alone to undermine NERV's monopoly on the strongest weapons of war and the resources the UN was using to fund it and not starving children."
Shiro nodded, and shrugged, "My commitments are the same as they always were, just more flexible. Which is why, much as I've grown fond of Ken, his approval until it's guaranteed that the operation has had the minimum of casualties, won or lost, can only be shameful."
------
Some days later, Asuka and Matteo were in space as Sahaquiel appeared, blowing past a dozen N2 mines detonated in its path.
"All right, wannabe, time to use your much-vaunted Anti-L System!" she called out to her partner. Yet surprisingly, she didn't feel spite or malice as she said that, even as Matteo's LUXMAN, which was tethered to her Unit-02 via the latter's umbilical cord, 'tugged' them both with its jet thrusters, activating the Anti-L Barrier as Sahaquiel pushed forward towards the new threat in its sights.
Unlike before, the Anti-L Barrier was clear-colored, not crimson as it was during the LUXMAN's initial deployment, and it was as powerful as the system that had cleared Paris of 'core-ification' in the Rebuild Timeline.
Sahaquiel bounced backward, the lack of friction in space causing it to reel away further than it would have in a non-vacuum environment.
Asuka then flared her own AT-Field, drew an axe with Angel-Sealing Hex Glyphs on it (handed over by Matteo's LUXMAN), then with a roar, charged towards Sahaquiel, planning to rip through its protective barriers to tear through its flesh -
Only for the Angel to fling its extremities first, hurling two of the stem-like growths at the furthest ends of its elongated body at her and Matteo; the latter's Anti-L System was able to push away the Angelic Flesh itself, but the kinetic force almost tore the LUXMAN away from Eva Unit-02's umbilical cord and pushed it back far enough that there was one second in which Asuka was unprotected by the Anti-L Barrier projected by her teammate.
Then, using an attack that it didn't have in the 'Original Timeline', Sahaquiel radiated a laser beam from its main eye and fired it directly at Unit-02.
Asuka screamed.
------
"Was it wise," Kassa asked Camael as they watched SEELE's loyalists activate the NHG Gebet, "To give Sahaquiel that upgrade? He is our enemy…"
"To the strongest," Camael said curtly as she stood beside him. "Didn't we agree that I serve the strongest side? But I said nothing about how I would serve you… Not that you are the type to object to actual ingenuity, right? Besides, that girl will live; she will probably prevail and learn a little real strength."
Kassa scoffed, "If she does, hopefully, it's not enough to get you to defect. I value your company, after all."
It was Camael's turn to scoff, "Don't show weakness on me…"
But he saw the faintest smile on her face anyway.
Camael felt she had at least burnt that redhead, metaphorically if not literally. As she floated to meet with Kassa in SEELE's moonbase, she smiled to herself about how she had exposed Asuka Langley Sorhyu's flaws to her own 'team', a team she had viewed as a captive audience for her own 'greatness' and 'awesomeness', but which now saw her insecurities many times over.
That redhead's strength was real but hollow. Some areas were genuinely strong but others were… Not. Such a mix of strength and weakness was strange, uncomfortable, maybe anathema if she wanted to be poetic.
That reminded her; that Kagami was also weak in some ways, but didn't lie about her strength. She was an adequate liar in other ways, so she would be useful in replacing Misato alongside the other duplicate; Modoki was his name, right?
They had not replaced Ritsuko Akagi and her new girlfriend; the ambush would not have worked without a genuine recommendation from the two.
Either way, she saw Kassa walking towards the Moonbase's shipyards and drydocks, where those vessels were being prepared.
Approaching him before she saluted, she asked, "Did all go well?"
The Ethiopian man nodded and said, "It has; Ryoji Kaji and Misato Katsuragi have been successfully taken and will be brought to the Moonbase shortly. Their doubles do not have their memories, nor do their skills and competencies map out one hundred percent - This was another reason why we did not simply take Dr. Akagi and her new lover; their expertise is not easily faked even with the originals under our… custody."
Camael ventured a reply, "Dr. Akagi will find them out eventually. The clones are merely human, after all."
A seamless reply followed, "Then rescue them when she does. In the meantime, Sahaquiel is approaching, and NERV-Japan is embarking on extensive preparations to kill it and gain NERV-Germany's allegiance.
"However…" Kassa said as they arrived at where SEELE's new trump card awaited them, "Let's just say they are in for a rough surprise…"
-------
Shinji heard Misato (whom he did not know had been replaced) start the briefing with one line that no longer surprised him.
"All right, folks, we're going to space!"
The Major then continued, "The American President has decided to lend us Cape Canaveral - On the condition none of us turn it into collateral damage - And free transport for one Evangelion and one LUXMAN unit. So, we're drawing lots for which pair of each goes to the final frontier!"
What was the purpose of this expedition? To pre-empt the Angel named Sahaquiel before it began blasting parts of itself at various targets on Earth, and if successful, gain NERV-Germany's allegiance.
Either way, the lots were drawn, and to his surprise…
"Wait!" he couldn't help but blurt out once he had looked at the results twice, "Asuka and Matteo again? Didn't they have the last kill and the one before that, too?"
Asuka retorted, "What, you jealous? At least Mr. 'Adult Pilot' knows his place!"
Shinji frowned at that, but couldn't help but snap sarcastically, "I'll get the Angel Leliel, then; Dr. Akagi can have Ireul like she did in the other universe."
Asuka was dumbfounded, then exclaimed, "Wow! Getting a boyfriend must have stiffened your spine, Idiot Shinji. Either way, I'm saving NERV-Germany, so that's that!"
The boy nodded; he couldn't fault what Asuka felt, even though he did not understand such feelings either. Then he said, "Good luck, then."
Asuka gave a short 'hmph', then added, "Thank you, Idiot Shinji. Now make sure you, your boyfriend, and that Ken asshole and his boyfriend keep this place safe, you hear he?! I don't want to come back to nothing but cinders!"
"I'll keep this place safe too," Rei intruded, causing Asuka to give her a death glare, a scowl, but strangely, nothing more as…
"Nope, not letting you ruin my mood," she muttered before the girl walked over to Matteo, who had been sitting in the back row with the Suburovs, and exclaimed, "Oi! Adult Pilot! Let's prep for the trip east - We need to make sure this does not end up like last time with several ships' worth of people dead!"
Matteo nodded as he got up and spoke, "Hopefully we only need one ship this time; after all, we're not transporting an Adam. Either way, we're not having hundreds of men and women on our conscience in this second chance."
"Yep," Asuka said with relish, "And if those SEELE freaks try and stop us, we'll blast them six hundred feet under the waves…"
Shinji then felt Kaworu touch his hand - A tender gesture he was still not used to - then the other boy whispered into his ear, "The Major sounds like she is trying too hard to be professional."
He nodded at that, then remembered prudence as he whispered back, "Let's wait for her to end the meeting first."
Misato - The Major - had noticed them, but unlike how she usually acted, she was giving them a look of… Approval? Was she endorsing Kaworu's public display of affection right now?
Or was something fishy?
------
Gendo and Yui Ikari were surprised to hear that their son (and prospective son-in-law) came to them directly about their suspicions of Misato's behavior, and the former revealed that he had not lost his touch when he said, "We'll ask Ritsuko and the MAGI to verify if something is strange with the Major and Mr. Kaji, preferably without alerting the two. As it is, what was the inciting incident for said suspicions?"
Shinji told him outright, "Misato left to meet Mr. Kaji two nights ago, letting us and the other kids play 'That British Game' in her apartment. But when she returned later in the evening, she looked surprised at how all of us were playing that game; she also treated Pen-Pen more coldly than usual, like a regular dog or cat."
Kaworu nodded and confirmed, "Of course, she covered up those responses a split-second later, so not even I am certain she's been compromised or even replaced outright. That said, she and Mr. Ryoji have acted more professionally to each other than usual, with none of the banter and haphazardly hidden displays of affection."
Gendo had arrived at the most likely conclusion earlier, but he could always use confirmation. Looking at Shinji, he said, "If Misato and Kaji have been replaced by impostors; potentially clones, will you agree to their deaths?"
The response from his son was obvious, carrying naivete that he would have objected to mere months ago, "Of course not! How can you even suggest that -"
He interrupted, "Then work with Ken to find a nonlethal solution, but fair warning: If none can be found, then they will die. Have I made myself clear?"
Shinji's determination was mildly impressive as his son answered, "Don't worry, we'll find one."
And then the boy stormed off pre-emptively, leaving Kaworu behind.
Gendo looked at his wife, his precious, now-returned to him Yui, before asking her, "Yui, what are your thoughts?"
"Shinji has grown, partly thanks to our grandson," she said to him, before continuing, "It is best if we do not let SEELE learn that we've caught on to their game. However, this comes at a bad time for us; Sahaquiel is about to attack various NERV targets, Asuka and her accompanying LUXMAN Pilot, Matteo, are crossing the Pacific again, and JHCI has been nationalized, forcing Mr. Tokita to allow practical mech technology and Anti-L Systems to profiliate."
Yui then followed up with, "Speaking of which, he and Fuyutsuki are having tea right now; I wonder what they might be talking about?"
------
Shiro Tokita told Vice-Commander Fuyutsuki outright as they sipped tea in the English manner around a small table, "We need more assets in space more than we need NERV-Germany's fair-weather allegiance; I've had enough of false friends. That, and allowing SEELE to potentially bombard us from orbit is a risk no one should take."
He was met with a nod of agreement, and a response of, "You've grown bold, yet wise. More intelligent, still keeping that arrogant pride that had screwed your Alternate Universe counterpart over. But will Commander Ikari approve of you committing Counter-Conspiracy assets to Central Asia, of all places?"
Shiro gave a small scowl at that, but had a ready retort, "That's why I'm seeking a second opinion. I usually talk to Mr. Kaji about this, but considering his erratic behavior in the past couple of days…"
The response from the Vice-Commander was, "I understand; others are more fit to feed the mole than you are. Now, to turn to other, just as serious matters."
He found himself facing Fuyutsuki's next question, "Do you still regard yourself as Ken Illustrious Ikari's equal partner?"
Shiro found himself confidently blurting out, "I do. Not even he can be everywhere at once nor can he know everything there is to know. And he and the other kids do not need to know about this operation, which will not just grant us another path to space, but make sure that the Post-SEELE World Order is… Looser, more lenient, than the UN's current stranglehold."
Fuyutsuki ventured, "The boy will probably approve; he's a hawk barely hatched out of his egg, but still a hawk."
Shiro looked back and said, "Which is why we don't need him knowing till well after the fact; we do not need him or Rafail trying to 'help', or give their unsolicited approval…"
He saw Fuyutsuki smile and say, "You are a reluctant arms dealer, I take it. One who only conceived the original Jet Alone to undermine NERV's monopoly on the strongest weapons of war and the resources the UN was using to fund it and not starving children."
Shiro nodded, and shrugged, "My commitments are the same as they always were, just more flexible. Which is why, much as I've grown fond of Ken, his approval until it's guaranteed that the operation has had the minimum of casualties, won or lost, can only be shameful."
------
Some days later, Asuka and Matteo were in space as Sahaquiel appeared, blowing past a dozen N2 mines detonated in its path.
"All right, wannabe, time to use your much-vaunted Anti-L System!" she called out to her partner. Yet surprisingly, she didn't feel spite or malice as she said that, even as Matteo's LUXMAN, which was tethered to her Unit-02 via the latter's umbilical cord, 'tugged' them both with its jet thrusters, activating the Anti-L Barrier as Sahaquiel pushed forward towards the new threat in its sights.
Unlike before, the Anti-L Barrier was clear-colored, not crimson as it was during the LUXMAN's initial deployment, and it was as powerful as the system that had cleared Paris of 'core-ification' in the Rebuild Timeline.
Sahaquiel bounced backward, the lack of friction in space causing it to reel away further than it would have in a non-vacuum environment.
Asuka then flared her own AT-Field, drew an axe with Angel-Sealing Hex Glyphs on it (handed over by Matteo's LUXMAN), then with a roar, charged towards Sahaquiel, planning to rip through its protective barriers to tear through its flesh -
Only for the Angel to fling its extremities first, hurling two of the stem-like growths at the furthest ends of its elongated body at her and Matteo; the latter's Anti-L System was able to push away the Angelic Flesh itself, but the kinetic force almost tore the LUXMAN away from Eva Unit-02's umbilical cord and pushed it back far enough that there was one second in which Asuka was unprotected by the Anti-L Barrier projected by her teammate.
Then, using an attack that it didn't have in the 'Original Timeline', Sahaquiel radiated a laser beam from its main eye and fired it directly at Unit-02.
Asuka screamed.
------
"Was it wise," Kassa asked Camael as they watched SEELE's loyalists activate the NHG Gebet, "To give Sahaquiel that upgrade? He is our enemy…"
"To the strongest," Camael said curtly as she stood beside him. "Didn't we agree that I serve the strongest side? But I said nothing about how I would serve you… Not that you are the type to object to actual ingenuity, right? Besides, that girl will live; she will probably prevail and learn a little real strength."
Kassa scoffed, "If she does, hopefully, it's not enough to get you to defect. I value your company, after all."
It was Camael's turn to scoff, "Don't show weakness on me…"
But he saw the faintest smile on her face anyway.
Repentant_Dragos
Experienced.
- Joined
- May 12, 2020
- Messages
- 3,417
This is in QQ SFW for a reason, you know?
And the NSFW version was only for Adult/Adult scenes.
End of the Fic
Repentant_Dragos
Experienced.
- Joined
- May 12, 2020
- Messages
- 3,417
End of the Fic
Author's Note: Well, it's been a long journey, and I had a lot of good times writing out this fic. But alas, all good things have to come to an end, and this fic likewise; I've run out of inspiration on how to continue plus the existing story has run into a rut. However, so as not to leave you guys hanging, I'll give you my plans for how this little yarn was going to go.
Sahaquiel Fight: Resolution
Shiro Tokita's authorized operation to take the Baikonur Cosmodrome from SEELE would have succeeded, and a rocket would be sent to orbit bearing a 'care package' for Asuka, namely a full-sized replica of the Spear of Cassius, which she would use to turn the tables on Sahaquiel, as well as SEELE's space force when they try to interfere. However, the latter will still be mostly intact, as Asuka, for once, decides that discretion is the better part of valor and decides to return to Earth's surface with a successful job.
Clones and Ireul Arc: Resolution
The Misato and Kaji clones will be used to feed misinformation to SEELE about how they expect Ireul to appear as in canon with minimal upgrades from Camael, when in fact, they know that Ireul will be used to create a zombie plague that would turn Tokyo-3's population to the living dead. They manage to arrest the Clones a few hours before Ireul strikes, but then the JSSDF throws a curveball by invading NERV HQ right then, allowing Ireul to infect the JSSDF force.
Realizing that this was a threat to both of them, SEELE proposes a truce with NERV as their current chief agent, Kassa, actually cares for his people and wants the Clones returned to him safely (He would also give back Misato and Kaji). Ireul is then defeated and destroyed.
Endgame: The Battle
Kassa finds an Extracanonical Artifact known as 'The Backdoor' that allows him and Camael to access the Golgotha Object from the Final Rebuild Movie; Ken explains the purpose of said Object as:
"The Anti-Universe that the Golgotha Object is placed in is equivalent to The Warp from Warhammer Fantasy and 40,000, and the Golgotha Object itself is equivalent to some sort of 'Cosmic IUD' that prevents a Chaos God from forming. However, this function can be reversed to jump-start the creation of one such entity and cause a 'Multiversal Impact' that can merge the souls of all versions of Humanity in the Multiverse into one entity - Greater Instrumentality."
The Backdoor will take 48 Hours to activate, so NERV has enough time to attack SEELE's moonbase; they fail, but it turns out that Rebuild!Shinji is waiting on the other side not just with his own Backdoor, but an army of various other Shinjis from the Multiverse. Turns out he had been preparing for this just after he allowed Ken to go off to the Alternate Universe.
Endgame: Shiro Tokita's Resolution
As the battle rages in the Anti-Universe itself, Shiro Tokita realizes that something is terribly wrong, drawing his conclusions from Ken's Warhammer 40k analogy. If the Golgotha Object is an equivalent of an IUD that prevents a Chaos God-equivalent from being born and allows the process of creating such to be controlled… What will happen if it is destroyed?
So Shiro, taking a Custom LUXMAN model as there is literally no one else, flies through the portal made by The Backdoor into the Anti-Universe, where he confronts the aspects of his own personality.
The part of him puffed up with pride at being the object of Ken's gifts.
The part of him secretly jealous of everyone else, including his own subordinates, Matteo and Alonso.
The part of him that had been a petty sexist pig.
But also the part of him genuinely concerned about starving civilians elsewhere.
But also the part of him who genuinely believed in hope for the future.
Looking himself in the eye, he says, "Everyone can change, Let me through."
And he finds himself confronting Kassa, even as the latter resolves to destroy the Golgotha Object in the face of Camael betraying him to side with 'The Strongest', aka Rebuild Shinji and the Army of Shinjis.
"Kassa Makonnen, of Ethiopia, have you forgotten why you wanted Instrumentality?" Shiro Tokita will ask.
Kassa's Family was still alive but did not understand him. They valued their native cultures above some concept of 'Humanity', despite their cultures being 'repressive' and 'irrational'. Instrumentality was so that they could understand that, and they could understand him, so they could see each other's 'common humanity' and 'help each other'.
Shiro responds with, "There's no 'each other' in Instrumentality. Just one is made from everyone. And besides, have you ever tried to understand your family? Have you ever understood Camael? Have you ever accepted a decision someone else made when it went against your interests?
"Sometimes, mundane understanding is worth more because it is earned; I learned that from everyone around me. But if sweet words won't convince you, this will: You're being manipulated into destroying the Object."
Camael then interrupts by saying, "He is right."
Then the real final enemy, He Who Is Not, a potential being formed in a possible timeline where the Golgotha Object is destroyed, attacks. HWIN attacks Shiro Tokita directly, but is stopped and sent back to his timeline by Kassa, Camael, and Rebuild Shinji working together.
The Final Battle ends.
Epilogue
The world rebuilds. Gendo and the returned Yui hold Ken to his promise. Ken and Raphael in turn prepare to depart for another Universe to pursue said promise. Shiro Tokita gets JHCI back and makes it a cornerstone of a restored International Order.
But all of them remember this: HWIN can still exist. All it will take is for a lapse in vigilance, and he can still form, then undo Reality as we know it…
Author's Note: Well, it's been a long journey, and I had a lot of good times writing out this fic. But alas, all good things have to come to an end, and this fic likewise; I've run out of inspiration on how to continue plus the existing story has run into a rut. However, so as not to leave you guys hanging, I'll give you my plans for how this little yarn was going to go.
Sahaquiel Fight: Resolution
Shiro Tokita's authorized operation to take the Baikonur Cosmodrome from SEELE would have succeeded, and a rocket would be sent to orbit bearing a 'care package' for Asuka, namely a full-sized replica of the Spear of Cassius, which she would use to turn the tables on Sahaquiel, as well as SEELE's space force when they try to interfere. However, the latter will still be mostly intact, as Asuka, for once, decides that discretion is the better part of valor and decides to return to Earth's surface with a successful job.
Clones and Ireul Arc: Resolution
The Misato and Kaji clones will be used to feed misinformation to SEELE about how they expect Ireul to appear as in canon with minimal upgrades from Camael, when in fact, they know that Ireul will be used to create a zombie plague that would turn Tokyo-3's population to the living dead. They manage to arrest the Clones a few hours before Ireul strikes, but then the JSSDF throws a curveball by invading NERV HQ right then, allowing Ireul to infect the JSSDF force.
Realizing that this was a threat to both of them, SEELE proposes a truce with NERV as their current chief agent, Kassa, actually cares for his people and wants the Clones returned to him safely (He would also give back Misato and Kaji). Ireul is then defeated and destroyed.
Endgame: The Battle
Kassa finds an Extracanonical Artifact known as 'The Backdoor' that allows him and Camael to access the Golgotha Object from the Final Rebuild Movie; Ken explains the purpose of said Object as:
"The Anti-Universe that the Golgotha Object is placed in is equivalent to The Warp from Warhammer Fantasy and 40,000, and the Golgotha Object itself is equivalent to some sort of 'Cosmic IUD' that prevents a Chaos God from forming. However, this function can be reversed to jump-start the creation of one such entity and cause a 'Multiversal Impact' that can merge the souls of all versions of Humanity in the Multiverse into one entity - Greater Instrumentality."
The Backdoor will take 48 Hours to activate, so NERV has enough time to attack SEELE's moonbase; they fail, but it turns out that Rebuild!Shinji is waiting on the other side not just with his own Backdoor, but an army of various other Shinjis from the Multiverse. Turns out he had been preparing for this just after he allowed Ken to go off to the Alternate Universe.
Endgame: Shiro Tokita's Resolution
As the battle rages in the Anti-Universe itself, Shiro Tokita realizes that something is terribly wrong, drawing his conclusions from Ken's Warhammer 40k analogy. If the Golgotha Object is an equivalent of an IUD that prevents a Chaos God-equivalent from being born and allows the process of creating such to be controlled… What will happen if it is destroyed?
So Shiro, taking a Custom LUXMAN model as there is literally no one else, flies through the portal made by The Backdoor into the Anti-Universe, where he confronts the aspects of his own personality.
The part of him puffed up with pride at being the object of Ken's gifts.
The part of him secretly jealous of everyone else, including his own subordinates, Matteo and Alonso.
The part of him that had been a petty sexist pig.
But also the part of him genuinely concerned about starving civilians elsewhere.
But also the part of him who genuinely believed in hope for the future.
Looking himself in the eye, he says, "Everyone can change, Let me through."
And he finds himself confronting Kassa, even as the latter resolves to destroy the Golgotha Object in the face of Camael betraying him to side with 'The Strongest', aka Rebuild Shinji and the Army of Shinjis.
"Kassa Makonnen, of Ethiopia, have you forgotten why you wanted Instrumentality?" Shiro Tokita will ask.
Kassa's Family was still alive but did not understand him. They valued their native cultures above some concept of 'Humanity', despite their cultures being 'repressive' and 'irrational'. Instrumentality was so that they could understand that, and they could understand him, so they could see each other's 'common humanity' and 'help each other'.
Shiro responds with, "There's no 'each other' in Instrumentality. Just one is made from everyone. And besides, have you ever tried to understand your family? Have you ever understood Camael? Have you ever accepted a decision someone else made when it went against your interests?
"Sometimes, mundane understanding is worth more because it is earned; I learned that from everyone around me. But if sweet words won't convince you, this will: You're being manipulated into destroying the Object."
Camael then interrupts by saying, "He is right."
Then the real final enemy, He Who Is Not, a potential being formed in a possible timeline where the Golgotha Object is destroyed, attacks. HWIN attacks Shiro Tokita directly, but is stopped and sent back to his timeline by Kassa, Camael, and Rebuild Shinji working together.
The Final Battle ends.
Epilogue
The world rebuilds. Gendo and the returned Yui hold Ken to his promise. Ken and Raphael in turn prepare to depart for another Universe to pursue said promise. Shiro Tokita gets JHCI back and makes it a cornerstone of a restored International Order.
But all of them remember this: HWIN can still exist. All it will take is for a lapse in vigilance, and he can still form, then undo Reality as we know it…