01
Back in the game
"There was a woman I loved. She was my life, my heart. And she died."
/
The sun hung lazily in the sky, above the fortress city of Tokyo three which was enjoying a moment of relative calm. For once no giant alien menace waited to attack, yet despite this the air hung heavy with a sense of threat, a threat that a very sleepy Shinji Ikari was quite oblivious to. He sat at his desk in his class at his school and strove valiantly to try to stay awake. It was not the heat that caused his drowsiness, for the school was well equipped with air conditioning. It was not a lack of sleep on his part either, since despite the occasional nightmare he had slept soundly the night prior. Rather it was the singular droning sound coming from his teacher Mr Tokinawa, the man had a voice that could put an insomniac into a coma. The elderly man sat newspaper raised up as he spoke, and as he droned the class slowly descended into sleep. Fourteen-year-old Shinji was despite most people's assertions, a fairly intelligent person. His low grades were more a result of apathy on his part, a strong belief that nobody would care, one way or the other. Nobody would care if he passed or failed, and nobody would care if he were run over and killed. It would be a fairly safe bet to assume, that the young man had a few issues. Then again, if your mother had died and your father then immediately abandoned you, wouldn't you?
So, Shinji had exceptionally low self-esteem, he had been psychologically examined by Nerv's medical staff, and the subsequent report had been conveniently "misplaced". Shinji was a part of a secretive military organisation, one that required only one thing from him, to pilot a giant mechanoid. For as long as he piloted nobody really cared, no one cared if he suffered in silence, this was something he had convinced himself of. Piloting the biomechanoid Evangelion unit one was his job, all be it an unpaid one. The UN was disapproving as it was regarding child soldiers, if they knew the Eva pilots were not paid? Well let's just say one commander Gendo Ikari would be facing jail time. Fortunately for Nerv, the pilots were oblivious to this deficit. Shinji would sally forth each time an alert sounded, his armoured purple titan clashing in spectacular battles. Battles that almost inevitably ended with him hospitalised, Shinji didn't question this since he was mostly a glutton for punishment. Unlike the pilot of unit two, the fiery and often unpredictable German red head, Asuka Langley Soryu. Asuka was a new addition to their combat group, and was in Shinji's humble estimation "a pain in the ass". Already she had nearly sunk the entire pacific fleet and had more recently disregarded combat procedure.
In what could only be described as a case of "hey look at me!", Asuka had charged the most recent alien attacker single handed. At first her attack had been a roaring success, the girl's sonic glaive neatly bisecting the target up the middle. Shinji had known better of course, for since when did an attacker ever die so neatly and easily? So, it proved, as the two separate halves came alive, and had formed too smaller but no less capable threats. The two angels had then roundly thrashed both Shinji and Asuka, leaving their Eva's in humiliating heaps. Asuka had blamed Shinji for everything, up to but not excluding the rain shower that had passed through that subsequent night. Shinji had simply weathered this verbal onslaught, it was what he did when faced with adversity. The pair had been forced to cohabit, to learn a ridiculous dance routine to get them in sync with one another. The boy grunted as his head almost came to rest on his desk, he blinked his eyes and forced himself to stay awake. His mind wandering back to that almost kiss, when the red head had been so close to him. He had been leaning in, Asuka seemingly asleep, the one thing that had stopped his advance, was when the girl had started to cry in her sleep. Nightmares it seemed, were a problem even the mighty Asuka faced.
They had succeeded in their plan of attack, a graceful balletic assault that had confounded their foe, and had brought an end to the latest threat to mankind. He flinched as a piece of rubber bounced off his skull, turning to see the German girl. Asuka pulled a face at him then gestured to the door, Shinji blinked in surprise at what she was intimating. In all his short years, Shinji Ikari had never played truant from school. Well that wasn't strictly true, rather he had never walked out of school as Asuka was so brazenly suggesting. Shinji shook his head in the negative, they were both in enough trouble with Misato as it was. Captain Misato Katsuragi was their guardian, and it was under the twenty-nine-year-olds roof that they lived. Misato was also the chief of combat operations at Nerv, and was often the one to come up with new plans of attack. The woman had been far from impressed at both Asuka and Shinji's grades, and had made it clear they needed to do better. Asuka began flapping her arms at him, the gesture all too easy to comprehend "chicken". Shinji scowled and flicked his gaze to the teacher, who had as yet not turned a single page of his paper so far. Shinji calculated the exact angle of the man's head, and realised he wouldn't see the door, or his class.
Shinji checked the rest of the class, and aside from the pilot of unit zero Rei Ayanami, who was as ever staring out of the window blankly, no one else was awake. Shinji rose as silent as a ghost as he deftly picked up his bookbag, when he felt it necessary he could move unheard, and his feet uttered not so much as a telling squeak as he crossed the room. Shinji reached the door and ducked out of sight, waiting to see if this was just another prank from Asuka. He winced as he picked up her footfalls, while quiet they were far from silent. Sure enough he heard the teachers voice call out, and Asuka was forced to come up with an excuse. Shinji however had a much bigger problem, for he was already outside the room now. His heart pounded and he turned, once again moving silently as he darted down the corridor. A part of him knew he should go back in, apologise to the teacher and take his punishment, likely cleaning the class for a week. However Shinji was partially caught in the thrill of it, he didn't look back to see if Asuka would follow. A part of him suspected she wouldn't have the courage, especially after being caught early on. He descended the stairs and checked the lower landing, a strange giddiness coming over him. Shinji moved along the lower hall, every sense on heightened alert as he did so.
Even as he reached the front doors he expected to be stopped, and he peered outside into the school parking area, and frowned. There was almost always a section two van parked outside, the men in black there to keep watch over the pilots. 'Probably don't want us running away' Shinji had mused to himself more than once, yet the van was nowhere to be seen. Cocking his head to one side Shinji paused, then recalling Asuka's earlier antics and the fact he couldn't really go back, Shinji pushed the door open and stepped outside. It was as expected hotter than hades outside, a sad result of second impacts effect on the worlds eco systems. The seasons had vanished after the near end of the world, summer was the order of the day, every day. Shinji exited the school gate and looked up and down the road, half expecting to see the section two van parked further up, there was no sign of it. Shinji shrugged and decided he would go to the arcades, the others would find him after school. Then he would likely have to make up some story of daring do, then once he got home, he would face the wrath of Misato. Shinji sighed, hoping beyond hope that this little excursion would prove to be worth all the trouble, and vowing to ignore Asuka and her taunts from now on out.
The city was relatively quiet at this time in the afternoon, for a city this size very few cars were out on the road. Shinji wiped the sweat from his brow, more and more people had been moving away from the city, given the constant threat of alien attack Shinji didn't blame them. He paused at a shop window taking in his own appearance, brown hair framed a slightly elvish face. He might be considered an attractive boy in some circles, Shinji didn't think he was much of anything. The only thing about him that truly stood out were his eyes, bright baby blue eyes stared back at him. These were what made Shinji unique, for in Japan blue eyes were very uncommon. It was as he looked at his reflection that the migraine struck, sudden, painful and very much unwelcome. Emotions welled up from some dark place within his mind, fear and betrayal as ever were the foremost of these emotions. He rested his forehead against the window waiting for the attack to pass, and it did as was always the case. He'd had them for as long as he could remember, but every time he tried to recall when they'd started, he found it was like trying to summon an image through fog. The pain having receded he resumed his ramble down the street occasionally glancing into store windows, at least the ones that hadn't closed. Shinji became aware of the sound of a vehicle behind him and feeling his shoulders droop, turned to spot a black Nerv van approaching. The vehicle pulled up next to him and he stopped, bracing himself for the men in black. The side door opened, and Shinji had only two seconds to register that these people were not from section two.
A hood was slipped over his head and he was plunged into darkness, the men were dressed in grey combat fatigues with black harnesses. Shinji recalled seeing weapons and grenades on straps, every one of them wore a balaclava mask, and it finally registered he was being kidnapped. Odd that his brain had taken so long to reach that conclusion, Shinji yelled out in alarm hoping a passer by might hear him, and something hard impacted the back of his head. Shinji's world exploded into white pain, everything becoming muffled. "careful you moron, we need him alive!" The speakers voice seemed far away from Shinji, he felt his wrists being bound and lay motionless. The van took off but then stopped again, the door opened, then the door closed again, and they were on the move once more. Fear gripped Shinji, gripped him perhaps harder than it ever had and that was saying something. He could feel something warm and sticky sliding down across his head, a throbbing pain where he had been struck. Shinji felt ill and found it hard to focus his thoughts. Once again, the van stopped and this time they hauled Shinji out, having to carry him as he struggled to walk. What tiny light there had been vanished, meaning he was indoors again somewhere.
He was allowed to drop to the floor his head striking the concrete, fresh pain blossomed, and he knew he had another cut. Shinji stayed silent, blood weeping from his forehead wound and he heard footsteps approaching him. He was hauled upright and gasped as the hood was removed, a light was shone in his eyes and he flinched, it was too bright and made his head hurt even more. "Reckon this is him then." The speaker had a British accent, the light vanished at last and he found himself looking at a face he would never forget. His face was unshaven giving the man the appearance of being dirty, a scar ran across the right side of his face. The hair was close shaven, but it was the right eye that caught Shinji's attention, the iris a milky white colour. The man tilted his head to one side then slowly nodded, seemingly unconcerned with Shinji's physical wellbeing. "Right, well the cheese is in the trap. Let's get a few pictures, make sure he makes the global news." Shinji had no idea who this guy was, and felt humiliation burn as they started snapping pictures using a camera phone. Once they were done the hood was replaced, and he was dragged unceremoniously into a cage. Shinji lay there trussed up and frightened, hoping beyond hope that Misato would find him, and promising never to play truant again.
/
Washington DC had like all cities across the globe, suffered damage from second impact, flooding and earthquakes amongst other things. As the capital of America its restoration had taken priority, the citizens rallying to the cause with gusto. Repair crews had been brought in, and while it had taken nearly a decade of industrious innovation and demanding work, the city and its essential government functions had indeed been restored back to its former glory. All of this was historical fact for those who lived here, and something they took understandable pride in. Kate Kaplan didn't really care about any of that right now, the near seventy-year-old was irritated, and a little worried. She stepped out of the car and gave a small nod to its driver, Dembe Zuma Raymond's right hand man had agreed to help her locate her quarry, especially since time was of the essence. The irony that the safety of the world at large, now depended on whether a criminal mastermind would help. She adjusted her glasses as she approached the seedy looking hotel, suddenly feeling her age all too well. Guilt gnawed at her as she took the elevator, the thing rattling alarmingly as it ascended. Guilt, but not because she had done what she felt she had to do, what she had promised to do thirty years ago.
Guilt because of the emotional harm it had brought to her employer and friend, he had been a shadow of his former self ever since Elizabeth had "died". She wasn't dead, rather they had staged an elaborate sequence, one that had persuaded him she was dead. Now Elizabeth Keen and her husband Tom were away from her employer, along with their baby daughter in Cuba. He had believed he could protect them, yet all that had seemed to come was peril and threat. She regretted what had needed to be done, but if she had to choose all over again, Kate would do the same once more. She had made a promise to the memory of Elizabeth's mother Katarina, that her daughter would be safe. She ran one hand through her dark hair, streaked as it was with silver. One of these days she would have to retire, after all she couldn't keep this going forever. She moved down the dimly lit hallway, the sound of a television loudly blaring from one of the doors. The dark red wallpaper was peeling off the walls, the place in a state of disrepair, likely why he had chosen it. She knew that the young computer expert had tried to get him to assist, to help find Elizabeth's most recent attackers. Agent Mojtabai had met with no success, which meant Kate had an uphill struggle ahead of her. She paused before the door, its number 112 all but hanging off the wood.
Kate knocked and waited patiently, she heard footsteps and knew he was peering at her through the spyhole. The door opened, and she beheld her employer, Raymond Reddington his blue eyes bloodshot wearing an old shirt, he blinked once then again. "Kate." The man grunted and gestured her inside, she stepped over the threshold and grimaced. "Sorry about the mess, I wasn't expecting visitors." Clothing was strewn around the room, along with more than a few empty bottles of tequila. He cleared a space on the couch and she gingerly sat down, "what can I do for you Kate?" His voice sounded rough, the most powerful criminal on the planet looked and sounded broken, and once again that stab of guilt hit her square. Here he was trying to destroy himself, all because he believed he had nothing left in the world. "Anslo Garrick is alive Raymond." She dropped the first bombshell, he blinked sitting back eyes narrowed. "That's not possible, I made sure of it." She detected a hint of annoyance in his voice, "he's kidnapped one of Nerv's pilots in Japan, he's demanding you in exchange for the boy." Raymond remained motionless, "well, that will be enough to set every two-bit bounty hunter after me." Kate felt her lips tug in a frown, the next piece of news was the one that made the least sense to her. "So far, Nerv has not issued a reward for the boy's safe return."
Raymond rose to his feet moving over to open another bottle, "The pilots are supposed to be rare, incredibly valuable if my memory serves." Kate nodded, "this one is the commander's son as well." Which made the lack of response even more puzzling, Raymond was tapping his fingers against his lips, clearly lost in thought. Kate waited, waited for him to take the bait, waited for him to get out of this damned hotel and do something. Waited for him to stop trying to drink himself to death, anything that might just revive him. "It wouldn't do any good Kate, if Anslo is involved the boy's probably already dead." Kaplan blinked in surprise, she had heard of how he had rebuffed Aram, but she had not expected him to respond to her like this. "The boy's life is in danger Raymond." She pressed, he looked at her with an expression she could never recall seeing before, he really was broken. The damage Elizabeth Keen's "death" had inflicted, was far worse than she had realised. Kate knew better now, then to try and wrestle him around, when Raymond Reddington made up his mind, he couldn't be moved. She rose to her feet eyeing him reproachfully, "if you won't go, then I will." The words startled even her, yet she knew someone had to act, she had to act. The fate of the world might hang in the balance, if the boy died then they might all follow him shortly after.
She reached the door and he spoke again, "does this pilot have a name?" She paused turning once more to look at him. She missed the look in his eyes, the look of a man who had suddenly recalled something important. "Ikari, Shinji Ikari." She exited without looking back, frustration bubbling just below the surface. Baz wouldn't come with her no matter how noble the cause, Reddington's chief of security and general mercenary for hire was too loyal. Exiting the hotel, she made a beeline for the car, Dembe looking up expectantly as she got in the passenger side. "He isn't coming?" The question was filled with disappointment, and Kate blew out a sigh as she tried to think. "I'm going to Japan, maybe I can make an arrangement, persuade Anslo." Dembe shook his head in the negative, "the man killed Luli and held a gun to my head, he values life as nothing." Kate groaned in frustration, partly because of the danger Garrick was placing them all in, and partly because she had hoped this would galvanise Raymond. A thought suddenly occurred to her, "drive me to the post office dearie, if Raymond wont help, perhaps Cooper will." Dembe nodded and Kate could do nothing but wait, "I will come with you." She looked up in surprise at Dembe's words, after all the young man owed his allegiance to Raymond first and foremost. "Thank you, I have a feeling I'm going to need all the help I can get."
/
Assistant director for counter terrorism Harold Cooper listened intently, Reddington's cleaner laying out what she had hoped to achieve. Having failed to get Reddington interested she had instead come to him. He tapped a pen on his chin as he considered the offer on the table, without Raymond Reddington the task force would be decommissioned. They were a good group of people, not without their flaws but they had worked well since this whole saga had begun. The day Raymond Reddington, one of the FBI's most wanted criminals had strolled in and surrendered himself, had set in motion a chain of events turning their lives upside down. Of all of them though, it had been the late Elizabeth Keen whose life had been most thrown into turmoil. Now Harold looked into the eyes of a woman in need, someone who wanted to make a difference. She was suggesting going over to Japan, and making an attempt to rescue the third child. Her reason was all to easy to understand, after all they had all heard the rumours and stories coming out of that country. Nerv might try to hide the truth, but satellite images did not lie. Harold recalled almost laughing at the absurdity, giant monsters attacking the city of Tokyo three, while giant robots defended it.
It was no laughing matter however, the world had barely recovered from second impact, a third impact scenario would truly be the end of them all. Anslo Garrick was committing a crime that endangered them all, and Kate Kaplan of all people was willing to lead the charge, Reddington's cleaner was willing to do what Raymond himself would it seemed not. Dembe's presence came as something of a surprise, Reddington's shadow normally never far from his side. The former freedom fighter from South Sudan, had a long history with the concierge of crime. So, in desperation the mission was on his desk, and while he suspected he could get clearance for it, Harold sensed that time was of the essence. He tapped the intercom on his desk, "Navabi, Ressler, Mojtabai I want you three in my office now." And now waited as his agents gathered to him. Harold gestured to Kaplan who laid out what was at stake, and told them what she hoped could be achieved. "Volunteers only, I won't hold it against anyone who doesn't want to go." He watched as each of them carefully considered what was before them, an unsanctioned rescue mission. If they were caught in Tokyo three, there was every chance they'd be arrested. Donald Ressler stepped forward, blue eyes sharp and attentive. "I'm in."
The others nodded firmly in the positive, Kate visibly sagged with relief and Harold made a choice there and then. "I'll be going as well, time I got out of the office." He didn't miss the tiny upcurve in Ressler's lips, the team was about to make itself useful once again. "Aram pack what you need, Navabi, Ressler grab what armaments we'll be taking with us." He paused taking in a deep breath, "without proper authorisation we could find ourselves arrested, even if we succeed." They nodded, and he saw a sense of purpose and determination in their eyes. Good people, they were going to attempt what Nerv itself seemed unwilling to do. As they set off to gather what was required Harold frowned, if Shinji Ikari really was a pilot and as important as that position indicated, why was Nerv seemingly sitting on it'd hands? "Something doesn't add up here." He finally spoke, and Kaplan slowly began to nod. Like Harold the woman was likely wondering the same thing, he looked at Dembe noting the man was looking out the office window. Harold rose wondering what had gotten his attention, and looking down pursed his lips. Raymond Reddington was strolling out of the elevator, fedora firmly in place on his head, expression focused.
Harold led the way downstairs stopping before the concierge of crime, blue eyes met his own then regarded Dembe and Kaplan. "It seems a rescue mission is in the offing?" Harold nodded, Reddington's lips upturned ever so slightly. "Kate, hope you don't mind if I tag along?" Harold turned, Kaplan was smiling broadly at the man. "Of course not, dearie." Harold faced Reddington once again, "what made you change your mind?" the man took in a deep breath before answering. "A promise I made fifteen years ago, to a very dear woman." Harold felt a nagging suspicion come over him, "Garrick thinks you have some connection with the boy." Reddington nodded, "Anslo thinks there's a connection between me and the black plague, however… on this occasion he is correct." Harold made a mental note of this latest information, whatever this connection happened to be, Reddington would likely play his cards close to his chest, he always did. The team gathered, Aram shooting Reddington a reproachful look that said, "you wouldn't help me out." The young man however knew better than to voice his opinion, "we'll use my jet, if Nerv makes a fuss you can claim you were chasing me." Then turning to glance at Ressler added, "Donald always did like a good chase."
Ressler let out a grunt of acknowledgement and several cases were gathered to transport, Reddington ran a tongue across his lower lips clearly thinking on his feet. "Kate, you remember that delightful young man, the one we hired in Berlin?" Kaplan nodded, already raising her phone to contact the person in question. "Someone we should be concerned about?" Harold asked, Reddington shook his head wincing slightly as he did so. "Contrary to popular belief, tequila is not good for a man." Then seemingly realising a response was expected, "Ryoji Kaji, he does enjoy a good game of espionage. Heard rumours he was in Japan already." Harold had heard about the man in question, Kaji was known as someone who hunted down the truth doggedly. "If I'm right and I usually am, he'll be our man inside Nerv." Harold chose not to object as they entered the elevator back to the surface, loading the munitions and computer equipment into a large van. He called his wife telling her he was going to be out of town on a business trip, then helped pack the stuff they were taking with them. The trip to the airfield was made in relative silence, each member of the team lost in thought. Harold thought back to Reddington's words, 'he made a promise fifteen years ago, a promise to who?' Someone had bound the man to an oath, one that had drawn him back into the game.
AN: While struggling with my follow up to fate this little idea popped into my head, and while there are inevitable similarities with fate, (to the point I considered using this as a reboot) I have high hoped for this one from a narrative point of view, combining my two favourite shows together. This is the first chapter released as a taster, it give readers a look at what I am aiming for.