Genesis Evangelion - The Case of Ro Sohryu:
Episode 01:
Part 1: Redheaded sister
The room was sheer blackness. It was black as black could be and no other colour. But the darkness of the room had to have a contrast, and so a large circular light on the floor shone upward.
Slowly, one by one. Large, black monoliths appeared. Each with its own red insignia that glowed brightly.
The council of SEELE had met before to discuss issues. Today would not be the last one.
"The Angels." The first monolith, marked SEELE 01, spoke with a loud booming voice.
In the centre of the room. Hovering above the white circular light. Holograms appeared of the footage recorded by NERV of the Angels that had so far attacked. They were shown with their individual ranks as NERV classified them by. The Third Angel, recently destroyed by Mari in the Provisional Evangelion Unit-05. The Fourth Angel that Shinji Ikari had first encountered in his first foray with Unit-01 followed by his fight with the Fifth Angel. The Sixth Angel, destroyed by the Positron Sniper Rifle. Finally the Seventh Angel, destroyed by the newly arrived Unit-02.
"Humanity's greatest threat." Boomed SEELE 02.
"With the Japanese NERV branch taking the brunt of the attacks." Noted the third.
SEELE 04 spoke next, the display showing various NERV bases around the world. "Yes, the other branches are currently developing and testing other Apocrypha, the Human Instrumentality Project can proceed without interruption."
"However, more pawns may be needed to ensure the correct course, as depicted in the Dead Sea Scrolls." SEELE 05 pointed out.
In the middle of the black monoliths a hologram of a brown-haired boy appeared, his iris' the colour of blood red. The hologram rotated slowly, stats for the boy appeared slowly next to his head.
Name: Ro Sohryu
Age: 14
NERV Branch: Euro
Occupation: Evangelion Pilot
Rank: Sergeant
Current location: Germany
Unit: 06
"Are you sure this boy can handle instruction?" Spoke the sixth monolith, a question of doubt in his voice.
SEELE 01 spoke in defence. "He'll receive instruction. There are other more notable pawns we can use as cat's paws to place him in the right direction."
SEELE 06 was not convinced. "He does not always answer to authority however."
"Nevertheless, he brings about the correct set of results required of him, regardless of the method." SEELE 01 stated.
"Then it is decided. Unit-06 will be transferred to Japan." SEELE 07 finally spoke. Making a decisive stance.
"The Vatican treaty?" SEELE 03 questioned.
"Zodiac will provide an excellent obstacle to create the loopholes needed for Unit-06 to be delivered." Spoke the final monolith.
With that sentence done and the council meeting finished. The circular light went out, followed soon by the red insignias on the monoliths.
The council of SEELE had been convened.
The large horn of an aircraft carrier blared out as the large vessel sailed through the large lake, approaching the red sea. The sound of seagulls dominant as they flew and glided through the air above the large white tarp that could be seen on the flight deck as it slowly sailed out. The tarp covered nearly all of the flight deck and had a large red symbol that read as:
IPEA
International
Project
Eva
Agency
The view of the red river could be seen high in the sky from one of the many tall office buildings that lined the river bank. The light that poured into the office was staggering compared to the rest of the room, which was kept in the dark. A female figure stood at the large window, clad in a dark business suit with red hair flowing to her shoulders, her hands locked together behind her, looking down at the aircraft carrier as it slowly moved through the red water. On the desk close by to her was a floating holographic display, the most prominent window showing an audio phone call from Kaji Ryoji. The visual wave of Kaji's voice moved as he spoke.
"I take it you've heard about the little incident over at Bethany Base."
The woman gave a small smile. "Of course, Mari was direct and blunt as she always has been. How were her injuries?"
"Minor mostly, nothing more than a scratch or two. It'll take time to get a new Unit-05 operational however."
"That Unit won't be NERV's concern anymore. I've received instructions that Unit-06 has been approved for immediate deployment to Japan." The woman spoke with a slightly stern tone.
"Felia, you cannot be serious about this. Zodiac would never allow that specific Unit to enter Japanese waters, let alone have it reach the mainland." Spoke Kaji, finally speaking the name of the woman in the office.
Felia turned to face the phone call, putting her hands on the desk, not taking a seat. "That's where your wrong Ryoji, he will break through. My brother always does."
"I hope your right about this. That Unit has been a political hot potato for Euro hasn't it?"
Felia stared at the audio wave as it moved. "It'll function as needed. I gave the all clear to my brother personally. Keep an eye on him Ryoji, he's fond of violence."
"I'll be sure to be on the lookout."
On the other end of the line, Kaji hung the phone up shortly thereafter, he leaned back into his seat, looking out of the train car as it pulled into the Geofront again, washing the inside of the train with a thick orange haze.
"And so another Sohryu joins the war."
The loud clack of the metal parts sounded as the two-seater chairlift was carried along the track, Misato was sat on the right side, Ritsuko on the left. The blonde women flipped through her papers as Misato cradled a can of coffee in her hands.
"So I've heard that we're going to be getting a new Unit along with the new spare parts we requested."
Misato was surprised by Ritsuko's words, she turned to look at her. "Already? But we just got Unit-02 in. What are the UN playing at? They are never this nice."
Ritsuko kept her gaze on her papers, looking through technical specs of something. "Actually it was IPEA's call for it. The Unit in question has a few issues on technical ownership of various parts the model uses. So they are tossing it to us for safe keeping. Courtesy of NERV Euro in Germany."
"Same station as where Asuka was." Misato noted.
The tunnel that the chairlift had been travelling down finally ended, the workmen at the end of the tunnel were busy still constructing it as the red hue of Unit-02 came into view. A small crew could be seen attending to the left shoulder, performing minor repairs to it. A couple of two-man crews could also been seen giving the Unit a wax and polish on its armour. Keeping the shine under the bright lights.
"And related. The pilot is her brother."
This surprised Misato more, she leaned in to see what Ritsuko was looking at. "Ro? I thought he had been sent away for an advanced training scheme of sorts."
"He was. He got back to Euro just in time to see Asuka sail off."
Misato leaned back into her seat. "Damn. Must've been hard for him. Getting back to see your sister sail off like that."
"He was our initial choice instead of Asuka, but her and her Unit was available and it was a matter of convenience for us to take her in."
Misato took a sip of her coffee. "I don't think it's fair on Asuka to suddenly put her Unit into stasis so soon after arriving, she's only just beginning to settle down."
"I second that. With the company politics fighting over ownership of the new Unit. Its best we put Ro's Eva into stasis until its needed." Ritsuko said in agreement.
"And the new spare parts?" Misato asked.
Ritsuko flipped a couple of pages to the section concerning the shipment. "Flying in over the next few days. We can tune up Unit-01 and finally start the prep for upgrading Unit-00 into more than just a prototype."
"So how much did it cost us to sweeten the deal this time?" Misato asked.
"Nothing actually. The parts were given to us by Felia Sohryu."
This made Misato blink. "Felia? There's a name I haven't heard in a while. Wonder how she is?"
"She's recently taken charge of IPEA and NERV operations in Germany." Ritsuko said, handing a newspaper to Misato. It was a German newspaper dated a couple of days ago.
Misato took the newspaper into her hand, looking at the picture of Felia on the front page, all dressed in her business suit. "Wow, she's really moved up in the world."
The center of NERV had the usual huddle and bustle, except for the three NERV technicians, who were all on their phones, busy with a pressing matter. The Commander and Vice-Commander were not in today. Things had been relatively slow since the last Angel attack.
The annoyance on Makoto's face was eventually broken by Misato and Ritsuko coming up behind him.
"Makoto, how's the transfer of Unit-06 going?" Misato asked.
Makoto moved the phone to one side, covering the mouth piece as he turned to speak with Misato.
"There's a problem with the transfer order Colonel, apparently the German naval fleet is being blockaded by a group called Zodiac." He replied.
"Zodiac? The anti-bioterrorism organisation? What's their hand in this?" She asked.
"Apparently they are citing that the fleet is carrying a bio-weapon on board."
Misato crossed her arms, an annoyed expression took over her face. "And if they get their hands on the Eva we won't be able to touch it. Dammit, this is daylight robbery.
Makoto, tell Zodiac that the fleet and its contents are NERV property and under our jurisdiction."
"Already tried that ma'am, but they say the fleet is in International waters."
Misato gave a silent curse, looking up at the screen showing a top down view of the situation. Shigeru turned sharply in his chair.
"Colonel , the MAGI are detecting a connection with Unit-06! Its online!"
"What? How is that possible?" Misato exclaimed.
"Zodiac have just opened fire on the aircraft carrier carrying Unit-06!" Makoto yelled.
White hot shells thumped from the barrels and flew through the air by the dozen, aiming for the central aircraft carrier that had the massive white tarp on its flight deck. The other naval vessels slowly turned around, heading back, the rear side of the aircraft carrier had a flurry of activity as men were busy working away on evacuating the vessel. As the shells closed in, they stopped short in mid-air, warhead's caved in as they hit something in the air. The familiar shape of an AT-Field appeared around the front of the vessel. Protecting it from incoming fire. The shells soon exploded on impact, thick smoke bellowed around the explosions.
Slowly the white tarp moved, rising up, a large hand emerged from the side of the white tarp, reaching to the middle and ripping a hole in the center.
As the shape rose, the tarp conformed to its shape, obviously humanoid in statue. The hole gave it sight over the Zodiac ships as the smoke cleared. The white tarp acting as a cloak for the figure.
The cloaked figure took a couple of steps, the aircraft carrier leaning forward from the extra weight. It hunched over before launching up high into the air and then down onto one of the larger Zodiac ships.
The ship took the weight of the drop, the feet crunching through the hot barrels on the deck, the ship rocked heavily at the subsequent launch as the figure jumped again to another ship. Rocking boats and nearly capsizing them as the figure launched itself from ship to ship on a path towards the shore. The remaining vessels wasted no time in firing more white hot shells, which seared through the cloak. Tearing charred holes into it as the figure flew past.
The figure landed on medium sized vessel that had been anchored close to the shore, although it was still some distance. The figured turned back for a second, looking at the vessels.
All of the barrels were now aiming straight for the figure.
The figure leaped from the vessel, capsizing it, before diving into the red water, shells tore through the vessel as if it was wet tissue and soon the vessel exploded into a massive fireball as the shells impacted and the remaining wreckage began to sink into the red water. As the smoke cleared, the white tarp could be seen floating on the red water. The ships adjusted their fire to the tarp. Tearing it to pieces and sending red water flying.
A few seconds past as the spotters checked to see if they had hit their target.
Closer to the shore, the figure soon emerged and ran towards the shore, it's appearance not unlike a samurai in full armour. The armour glistened in the sun.
As it ran, the massive shoulder and leg armour pieces, coupled with the helmet and sheathed katana started to take a couple of glancing shots, scraping the perfect shine of the material as it headed for the wrecked buildings nearby, passing by a massive white outline of a humanoid figure on the red water.
The samurai figure kept running despite the red water putting up resistance, slowing it down. On the shoulders was a glowing neon sign saying:
UNIT
06
And that was all that was seen as Unit-06 began to dart between the buildings, hidden mostly from view, avoiding the incoming shells coming from overhead, which were soon mixed with shells that exploded overhead, which were meant to suppress a target from moving rather than actually hit anything.
The shells soon kicked up a large dust cloud as one of the buildings was hit in the mid-section, one of the levels exploded into millions of pieces, the supports crumbling and a causing both halves of the building to fall into the water.
Out of the smoke tumbled Unit-06, heading straight for a large mountainous ridge that served to protect Tokyo-3 from the red sea water.
As Unit-06 closed in on the ridge, several dark shapes emerged from the ridge, standing up and pointing objects that shined in the sunlight, weapons that were pointed towards Unit-06, which skidded to a halt for a second upon seeing them and changed direction 90 degrees to the right, diving into cover as more shells from behind and bullets from in front flew towards where Unit-06 had skidded to a halt a couple of seconds earlier.
As the dust settled from the exploded shells, a couple of the shapes jumped down to where the Unit once was, they were half the size of Unit-06, obviously metallic with a visible cockpit, almost like a helicopter cockpit without the rotors and having metallic arms and legs attached to the sides and underside, giving chase to the more organic Unit.
Unit-06 kept running, even though it appeared that there was a dead end up ahead. The building that was blocking its path was taking up most of the space, but it was slanted at one angle, making just enough room for the Unit to squeeze past if absolutely required. The Eva Unit quickly unsheathed its katana, the blade shining from the daylight pouring down on it and quickly and effortlessly sliced through the building at an angle, making the upper section lean towards the metallic pursuers, darkening their skies as the building toppled towards them.
As it fell with a mighty crash, a large plume of smoke was sent up, blocking the sight line of the other metallic mechs, the Eva Unit put one foot onto the remaining lower section, quickly stepping up onto another slanted building and then onto another, clambering for the ridge and jumped clear of the ridge, the last building toppling over as the momentum of the Eva jumping pushed it back.
The Unit flew through the air, legs brought forward, head down, watching the landing area come up quick as it landed and skidded close to the railway that ran on the outskirts of Tokyo-3.
The Unit put one hand on the underside of the railway to stabilise itself and looked towards the other metallic mechs that lined the ridge, which were scrambling to turn around and aim towards Unit-06.
The Unit slowly crouched, sheathing its katana and made its way under the railway arch. Taking immediate cover under the tracks.
As the mechs managed to turn around finally, the sound of rockets filled the air and the cliffs beneath the mechs exploded, resulting in the hasty scramble to hold on, all of which managed to hang on barely.
Unit 06 looked out on the other side of the tracks, seeing several military VTOL's in formation, moving to cover its position.
The loud whine of a sound system being turned on came from the VTOLs. Misato's voice spoke to the mechs.
"This is Lieutenant Colonel Misato Katsuragi of NERV. You are firing upon NERV property and are within Japanese borders. You are ordered to drop your weapons and leave immediately!"
Amongst the mechs was one that had blue stripping on its right shoulder, obviously the leader as the mechanical head turned to the other mechs before making the first slow move, holstering its weapon and moving away from the VTOLs. The other mechs slowly followed suit. Begrudgingly giving up the chase on Unit-06.
"Mind if I join you?" Ritsuko asked.
"Go ahead." Misato said with a sigh.
Ritsuko stepped into the elevator, standing by Misato's side. She was carrying several folders under her right arm. The elevator doors closed and the floor ticker by the elevator door slowly clicked away as the small confined space travelled to the intended destination.
"Section 2 are already debriefing the pilot as we speak. They've sent some paperwork to your desk to mull over in the mean time." Ritsuko said as she handed Misato a folder.
"Why are Section 2 interested in him?" Misato said as she took the folder.
"To date, no single pilot is capable of starting up an Evangelion without help. It's why we have the MAGI and technicians. So if the pilot did have help, this could complicate things." Was the response Ritsuko gave.
"Quite a bundle of mess we've inherited." Misato said.
"Regardless of the results Misato. We've gained another Unit. Its currently being stored in a safe location."
"So, only a small amount of paperwork?" Misato asked, looking at Ristuko.
"Well..."
Misato's eyes slowly went from left to right, seeing the huge stacks of paperwork before her. There was a good four to five stacks of paperwork that covered a large area of her office desk. All of which were about a metre in height, give or take a few folders. Some were even marked as "Military", which had been arranged into two tall stacks by themselves, they towered over the other piles. Misato sighed and looked at the paperwork in defeat.
"Uughhh this is why I hate politics. It's so messy." Misato said with a defeated look.
Ritsuko stood beside Misato before the paperwork. "I said before that Unit-06 was a political hot potato. You have a pile from the IPEA, the requisition orders more specifically, then there is Zodiac's protests about the Unit, Zodiac's protests on being kicked out of Japan and finally the Japanese military for the VTOLs you "borrowed" to scare off Zodiac."
Ritsuko put a hand on Misato's shoulder and gave her a steaming cup of coffee.
"I suggest you get started." Ritsuko said with a slight smile.
Misato took the cup into her hands and sat down at the desk, looking at the pile of paperwork before her. As Ritsuko left the room, Misato's forehead quickly slammed into the desk with a groan of defeat escaping her lips.
The humid evening air had started to settle in before Misato had the chance to call Shinji. He'd been busy doing the dishes and other chores, wearing a small apron as he stood before the phone.
"Sorry I can't be there until later tonight. Are you gonna be alright?" Misato asked.
"Yeah it's alright Misato. I've already fed Pen-Pen and Asuka is in the shower." Shinji replied. This had not been the first time Misato had been late at work. He was kinda getting used to it.
"Just be sure not to peek this time ok?"
"M-Misato!" Shinji exclaimed.
Misato giggled on the phone, it was so easy to tease Shinji about the earlier ruckus that happened when Asuka last came out of the shower.
"I'll see you later Shinji." Misato said as she calmed down her giggling.
"See you later Misato."
As Shinji put the phone down, the phone rang once again. Shinji looked surprised and picked it up, answering the call.
"Asuka! Phone!" Shinji shouted down the corridor.
The curtain leading to the bathroom flung open as Asuka stepped out quickly, heading for the corridor out of the kitchen, but stopped short upon seeing Shinji at the phone and pressed herself against the nearby wall, peeking from around the corner.
"Pass the phone out here!" She shouted.
"Why?" He asked.
"You really think I'm that stupid to let you see me naked again? As if! Pervert!" Asuka shouted from around the corner.
A hand soon outstretched from the corridor. Shinji had obviously learned his painful lesson from last time.
"Here." He said.
Asuka snatched the phone with her right hand and covered her breasts with her right forearm, shooing Shinji away with her left hand before bringing the phone to her ear. Answering in German. "Hallo?"
A ring of the doorbell rang out throughout the apartment. Asuka ignored it to concentrate on the conversation.
"I got it!" Shinji shouted.
Asuka ignored the idiot, who's feet made a gentle padded sound as he headed for the door, Asuka kept the conversation going on the phone, speaking in German.
Shinji opened the door to see Ro Sohryu standing there with a long red and black sports bag hanging from his shoulder, while being on the phone to Asuka at the same time. He was wearing a dark jacket and torn jeans that showed bits and pieces of his entry plug suit. Ro quickly put his finger to Shinji's lips to shut him up and pushed him to the side, getting out of his shoes quickly and walking in quickly. He began to speak in German on the phone, his eyes perking up as he noticed that Asuka's German replies came from the kitchen and quickly noticed the steam coming out. He began to head for the kitchen, turning the conversation back to Japanese.
"Hey sis, how are the showers here?" He asked.
"Too hot if you ask me." She replied.
Ro chuckled as he slowly walked down the corridor. "Ah come on, we know you can't stand hot water."
"They just need better plumbing." She said.
"Well you better cover up quick Sis."
"Why's that?" She asked.
Ro threw the sports bag around the corner, making Asuka catch it.
Ro appeared from around the corner, ending the phone call and adverting his eyes initially from his sister's still naked body.
"Well so that I can at least not get my ass kicked on getting here." Ro said. He opened the fridge and quickly noticed the large amount of beer in the fridge.
"Misato certainly hasn't changed these past few years it seems." He said as he sighed and closed the fridge. Finally he turned his attention to his sister, who was all too aware of her situation, clutching at the sports bag to cover herself up.
"Just like old times. Right? You better put something on or you'll catch a cold." He pointed out to her.
Asuka fumed and clutched at the bag more tightly, slowly walking sideways like a crab into the bathroom, her face steaming red in embarrassment.
It was at this point that Shinji finally decided to make his entrance into the kitchen he had called home. Still wearing his apron from the chores he'd been doing.
"And just who are you?" Shinji said with a shocked expression.
As Shinji asked what was to him, an intruder into his personal space, Ro found the small fridge with the more normal cans of drink, taking out a can of fizzy orange and loudly opened it.
"Ro Sohryu. Recently transferred from Germany. Fellow Evangelion pilot like you."
Ro took a couple of sips of the drink, tasting the orange flavour mixed with the high sugar content of the fizzy drink. He let out a sigh as the can moved from his lips.
"Though to be honest, I wasn't expecting the Third Child to be wearing an apron." Ro said with a bemused look.
"This is just for chores!" Shinji said defensively.
Ro raised his head a little, looking Shinji up and down. "Right. Chores. Looks more like a house broken guy to me."
"And you don't?" Shinji asked.
Ro looked at Shinji as the can came up to his lips again. Tasting the cold orange flavour on his lips. "I'm not afraid to get a little dirty."
The door hissed open, Misato hardly paid it any notice, the sound of the heels behind her were dulled by her focus on the paperwork.
The sound of a full coffee cup caught her attention though. She raised her tired head slowly.
Before her stood Felia Annata Sohryu, dressed smartly in a charcoal grey stripped suit, her fingers evenly spaced on the rim of the coffee cup. She looked down at Misato and smiled.
"Need some help?"
The door opened and Misato and Felia stepped in. Misato took her shoes off and Felia soon followed. Not wanting to cause offense.
"I'm home." Misato said, though to no-one in particular.
Felia sniffed the air, giving a slight smile.
"Yep, this is definitely your home. I can smell the beer."
Misato gave a small chuckle, she looked tired from all of the work she'd done as well as the journey.
"Would you care for some?" Misato offered.
"No thank you. Coffee will do for me." Felia said with a wave of her hand.
Asuka rushed from the kitchen, now casually dressed, Ro and Shinji slowly walked behind. Asuka gave Felia a hug, wrapping arms around her big sister's waist.
The group all greeted each other. Misato was a little reserved about greeting Ro, claiming fatigue. She introduced Felia to Shinji, both shook hands in greeting. Misato walked off in the mean time, heading for her room, dumping her work bag and jacket and collapsing onto the bed while the conversation continued outside, moving to the kitchen.
"You're still in your plug suit?" Felia asked as she met Ro.
Ro looked down, having taken off the jacket, he'd still left the ripped pair of jeans on, not changing out of his entry plug suit.
Ro shrugged his shoulder "I don't have much for a change of clothes, I left most of them on the ship. Zodiac didn't exactly want to wait for house moving."
"Then be glad that I stopped by then and picked these up. The crew was holding onto your things for you." Felia said as she sat down a bag bulging with clothes, but what caught Ro's eyes was the suitcase Felia had sat down on the table.
Ro's eyes widened and a large smile came across his face. He grabbed the suitcase and hugged it tightly.
"Oh Ripper! I missed you so much! You're my number one Christmas item and I'm never gonna leave you again!"
He kissed the suitcase. Lifting it up and holding onto it tightly.
"Ummmm Ripper?" Shinji asked.
"It's a present I got from a couple of teachers on the advanced course." Ro said with a smile.
Misato emerged an hour or two later from her room, changing into a set of casual clothes, she stretched and yawned, making her way to the kitchen. Felia had taken to sleeping on the couch, sitting up with her head propped up by her arm leaning on the arm of the couch.
In the kitchen sat Shinji and Ro, chatting away about things. Shinji had never known about the advance training course that Ro had taken and was learning about it. Misato took a beer from the fridge and sat down in one of the free chairs. Ro soon excused himself to the bathroom, citing a change of clothes as he realised it was getting late. But before Ro could get to the door, Shinji spoke up. "Be careful though, I think the bathroom is in use!"
Ro looked back with an eyebrow raised, right hand reaching forward for the handle.
"In use? But the only ones here are Asuka, Felia and Misa-"
Suddenly the door slammed open, knocking Ro back into the wall, the frame slamming onto his nose, he slumped down onto the floor.
A small, black shape waddled out of the bathroom, Ro held his nose as he looked up and came face to face with Pen-Pen. The bird squawked at him. Ro's face contorted into rage.
The curtain to the bathroom flew open as Pen-Pen waddled out at high speed, squawking loudly in fear with Ro close behind, carrying a plastic stool above his head, cursing and swearing in a mixture of German and Japanese as he chased the waddling penguin around the table several times. Misato's eyes followed him around, not moving a muscle.
"You get back here you kleines Stück Scheiße! I'll teach you to smack doors in people's faces! I'm gonna skin you and use you as Hausschuhe!" Ro yelled.
With that last remark, Misato turned her chair and stuck her foot out, sending Ro flying, he landed face first into the plastic seat, his face bouncing up and then landing hard on the floor, skidding to a halt. Pen-Pen waddled around the table one more time and came up behind Ro, jumping onto his back and then sitting on his head.
"Now now Ro, Pen-Pen is just as much a roommate as anyone else. So he is not leaving."
Ro slowly lifted his head, Pen-Pen still sat on top of his head, squawking and flapping away.
"I hate this bird." Ro grumbled.
Genesis Evangelion - The Case of Ro Sohryu:
Episode 01:
Part 2: A demonstration for those who fight.
The blinding sunlight of the new day was only matched by the calls of the cicadas. The clunk of metal was lost on the empty street as Felia stood up, cradling a can in her hand and opening it, taking a couple of gulps, as if desperate for the taste like she'd been travelling through the desert.
Her eyes were shielded from the blinding heat, but her skin felt the sizzling rays. The world, Japan in particular, had gotten used to a winterless year.
She walked towards the shade where Ro was, he was talking with the manager, an old man in his late eighties, the key finally switching hands and she joined Ro's side as he walked to the elevator.
"That took a while." She said.
Ro didn't immediately answer her, his eyes forward as he waited for the elevator doors to open, stepping in and promptly pushing the button for their floor, waiting for the doors to close on them before he spoke.
"Senile more likely, could hardly remember anything." Ro said with an annoyed tone.
The lift jolted as it reached their floor, the doors creaked and groaned as they opened, which did not put much confidence into Ro.
Ro pointed with his thumb. "Who recommended this?"
"NERV. They want me living low key." Felia replied.
Felia took the first step onto the floor, above and bow there were whole families that lived in one apartment, clothes hung over the railing.
"There are better ways to live low key." Ro said as he stepped out of the elevator and walked in front of her.
"A bunk bed in a warehouse is not low key." Felia said as a bite back at him.
Ro suddenly stopped the both of them, his body frozen.
Felia's short protest was ignored by Ro as he checked the number on the key, comparing it to the door number and began to shush Felia.
"Someone's broken in." He said to her. This made her freeze for a second as she realized what he said.
Ro crouched by the open door, leaning his head to one side to listen to the noises. Someone was definitely grunting in there.
He unzipped the red and black sports bag slowly, trying to limit the sound it made, he pulled out the long rectangular suitcase, opening it up to reveal a gun, which had 2 words sprayed in white on the side. The first was "AA12". The second was "RIPPER" with the quotation marks included. The name Ro had mentioned last night. Ro snapped in a rectangular clip magazine on the underside, which read "12" on the side, most likely indicating its ammo capacity. After putting the magazine in, he pulled the slider back and locked it into position with a click.
Ro slowly pushed the door open with his right hand, raising the AA12 in his left as he peered in slowly.
Inside of the apartment was a drawer that was at the foot of Felia's bed. Standing in front of that was a large obese male. Wearing a blue chequered shirt with the sleeves rolled up and wearing a cap backwards. Panting and grunting, obviously too focused on whatever it was that he was working on, his back facing the doorway. Ro slowly stood up and swapped the AA12 into his right hand. Finger on the trigger.
He crept forward slowly and silently, his gaze turning to the shower on the left. Not seeing anyone in there. He slowly continued to creep into the main room. The light shone through one of the windows and covered part of the weapon. His brow came down as he slowly moved towards the guy. AA12 raised and gently snuck up on him and put the barrel against the back of the guy's head.
"Don't... Move." Ro said sternly.
The large obese man actually made a squeak as he realised he'd been caught with his pants down. His body frozen in fear.
"Hands up. Slowly." Ro ordered.
The panting man slowly complied. His hands slowly raised, with tissues stuck to them. He slowly turned around.
He was wearing glasses. His large rotund head surrounded his small face and his belly was stretching out so much that the sweaty t-shirt he wore underneath the blue chequered shirt couldn't cover it all.
Ro stood back in disgust. That and the guy's pants were undone, his underwear clearly visible.
Ro motioned with his gun as he started to speak. "Who are you?"
"B-B-Bennett." The man responded.
Ro poked the man's nose with the barrel. "And just what exactly are you doing here? How did you even get in here?"
The man's arms dropped. "Oh come on. Don't tell me you don't know that Felia Annata Sohryu is finally in the country. And there are plenty of newspapers that are willing to pay for information on her."
"Let me guess. Spy cams?" Ro asked, his gun lowered a little bit.
"The best!" Bennett exclaimed.
The guy turned around, excited at showing Ro the perfectly crafted spycam sitting on the desk, his large chubby fingers just above it as if to show it off.
BOOM!
The spycam shattered into thousands of different pieces which scattered into thousands of different directions. Bennett's expression was one of instant shock. He turned with anger in his face, but soon came face to face to the smoking barrel of Ro's AA12.
"Listen, Bennett? Is it? I don't care much for your crap. You trying to get dirt on my SISTER is bad enough. Now you have exactly ten seconds to zip up your flies and start running. Because if you're in my line of sight when I get to ten, I won't stop shooting at you until you stop twitching on the floor.
NOW!
ONE!"
With that countdown, Bennett immediately grabbed for the front of his pants and ran out of the room, heading for the nearest elevator, with Ro close behind, counting down with the AA12 raised.
Bennett panicked as he saw the elevator was slow in coming up the elevator shaft. He looked back at Ro and dashed for the stairs, tripping and falling down the stairs. Or more rather, rolled down the stairs from his large obese shape followed with the occasional cry of pain.
Ro lowered his gun after the cries of pain began to get quieter, he slowly walked back to Felia, picking up his open bag.
"Friend of yours?" She asked him.
"Another one of your "fans". I'll have to get Section 2 called in to sweep this apartment for bugs. Until then, I guess we go someplace else for the time being." Ro said as he put his AA12 into the bag and zipped it up, hanging the strap over his shoulder
"Pardon me Ro, but where exactly ARE we gonna stay?" She asked as she followed him.
"Best place to go to. Gotenba base. They have bunk beds there and its out of the public reach. Plus you can supervise. So let's go."
"A break in? Already? I thought the place was secure?" Fuyutsuki asked. He had been reading his morning paper in Gendo's large expansive office when Gendo broke the news.
Gendo was calm as he looked out onto the Geofront. "Indeed. We'll need to re-evaluate the measures of our security. If someone were to manage to access our more sensitive information through a similar method, NERV and SEELE would have to devote resources to plug up the dam."
"Are the MAGI secure?" Fuyutsuki asked.
"Doctor Akagi assures me the MAGI are secure, but she is implementing a couple of security measures just in case."
"Code 666?" Fuyutsuki asked.
"It will be implemented as standard on all of the systems from now on. But officially, it's just another security patch. Felia Sohryu will be assisting with the implementation of the algorithms from the other NERV bases."
"Felia? Are you sure about this? I wouldn't risk going out if the apartment was any indication." Ro said with a concerned look on his face.
"Don't worry about me Ro. I can take care of myself. You just keep an eye out for any Angels. The staff here know the drill." Felia said as she drank the last of her drink.
Ro sighed and put his hands to his hips. Visually showing his displeasure at how things had been handled so far. "Alright, give me a call if there is any trouble."
Felia gave a small smile. Putting a hand on Ro's shoulder to reassure him.
"Will do."
And with that, she stepped out and the door closed behind her. Leaving Ro alone in the control room by himself. He sat into one of the chairs, leaned back into his seat, his neck craned backwards so that he could only see the ceiling, followed by a loud sigh.
"Yep... Ro Sohryu. Evangelion pilot. Saviour of ALL humanity. Stuck behind a desk."
Felia put her brunch and briefcase down, setting her laptop up besides her food, the sunlight beamed in brightly behind her. She put the straw of her Frappuccino to her lips. The Japanese, she had to admit, had a good way of working, even with all of the escalators that ferried people up and down around her, the transit hub was a nice place to settle down for a few minutes. Something to eat and do some work. It was simply... convenient.
"Well, this is a lovely sight indeed."
Felia's shoulders raised an inch along with an annoyed expression on her face. She quickly regained composure to stop herself from spilling her Frappuccino.
"Hello Ryoji." She said coldly.
The tone was not exactly welcoming, but Kaji Ryoji, whether ignoring the signs through ignorance or simply plain man-ego, continued to sit next to Felia, his left arm resting on the back of her chair.
This annoyed Felia more who put the straw again to her lips, trying to not be any more visibly irritated.
He was in her personal space and she did not appreciate it one bit.
"So why are you here Felia? You're not one to be in the field as I recall. That is more Misato's department." Kaji asked in his usual suave way.
"The IPEA and NERV have special interests in Unit-02 and Unit-06. It's only natural that I oversee things." Felia answered in a more professional tone.
"That sounds like a professional answer, but what about personally?" Kaji asked, he had clocked onto that professional tone of her's.
"Asuka and Ro are both good pilots, they know how to handle themselves."
"If you want my personal opinion? I think your just using business to cover for the fact that you worry about them."
Felia looked at Kaji, who just sat there, grinning.
"I not going to dignify that with a response." She said.
"I'm hurt. Ow." Kaji said this as he leaned back, pretending to be insulted and hurt by Felia's words.
"Shouldn't you be off wooing other women? Like Misato?" Felia asked, nodding into Misato's direction, who had settled down with her meal, performing the traditional praise for her meal. Kaji smiled at the notion.
"Your right, I should. Old flames are easier to tickle." He said as he stood up.
With that remark, Kaji left Felia alone. She soon lifted the laptop screen up, booting it up and burying herself into her work.
Her phone rang and she immediately picked it up, still typing with the other hand. Her Frappuccino sat half empty.
"Hello? How's things? Mmmmmm. Wish I could help, but you're a big girl now, you'll have to figure something out. I'm not worried so long as it doesn't cause trouble. Ok, talk to you soon. Bye."
Felia put the phone down and looked up at where Kaji and Misato sat, the latter of whom could be seen blushing with Kaji putting on that smooth smile of his.
Men.
The next couple of days had been quiet for the most part, things had settled down in a calm routine as the city bustled with life, everyday normal people going to and from work, shifts changing. Shinji's day of travelling, meeting with his classmates, how Rei and Asuka adapted to class, it seemed like life was normal, seeming to be another lifetime far from the days of fighting Angels, life slowing everything down to an easy walk.
"So Ro decided against this field trip with Kaji?" Misato asked, lowering her drink.
Shinji nodded in acknowledgment, Misato sat at the table before him, packaged food and folders of her work piled up together in equal measure, she didn't keep her work secret whilst at home. Unless there was a guest present. Asuka's handheld device could be heard going off with electronic beeps, explosions and other sounds coming from the other room. Shinji packed another container into his bag, filling up with extra food and other things for the trip.
"Mr Kaji said I could bring anyone I wanted. But when I asked Ro, he "politely" refused." Shinji said with a slight chuckle. Remembering his response.
Misato sat her drink down, the amount of alcohol had lessened in the past couple of days, but she still drank a fair bit regardless.
"Of course he did. I'll sit this trip out as well thanks."
Asuka's voice piped up from the other room, going over her handheld. She hadn't even entered the kitchen to reply.
"Cool, then I'll just hang out with you for the day!"
Shinji and Misato looked towards where the voice was, Shinji stopped packing his bag, wondering what to do with the lunch he'd made for Asuka as well as anyone else.
Misato leaned her head back "No ma'am! Your still harmonising! Your sticking with Shinji today."
Asuka popped out from the living room, clutching her handheld game system, buzzing with an electronic game over tone.
"Is that another order?" She said with an annoyed look.
The air was a mixture of smells. The fresh clean air, the smell of oil and fish along with the iron smell of blood, the red sea outside clashed with the smell of clean ocean coming from the facility.
Overhead hung the small dark shapes of seagulls, their calls radiating out to anything within earshot. The wind that blew was a gentle breeze, typical of what was expected from the coast. The group of kids: Asuka, Shinji, Rei, Toji and Kensuke had met up at the nearby train station. Shinji had been holding onto Pen-Pen throughout the entire trip. Asuka's refusal of even touching the bird was somewhat understandable.
Kaji had gone ahead of them, organising with the staff for the trip, he stood at the checkpoint with the staff members, already dressed in a set of decontaminated overalls.
Ahead of the group was large metal door that had a clear sign posted above that read as:
International Environmental Agency
Japan Marine Ecosystem Preservation Research Organization.
The sign itself had clear signs of old age, despite the amount of times it had been cleaned and polished over the years. But the door below showed little signs of ageing itself, possibly from being a more newer addition. Kaji could be seen taking over the speaker to talk to the kids.
"Alright everyone. It gets a little complicated from here."
As the doors finally opened to the group, they looked up to expect another lot of decontamination as they had already gone through six stages of being photographed, scolding hot water, dunked in water, freezing cold water, dunked again, withstood the inside of the world's biggest hair dryer and finally came to the last door.
But instead they found before them the containers that carried all kinds of sea life. Their eyes widened as they stared at the animals floating in the clean water, turtles, fish, jellyfish. Shinji, Toji, Kensuke and Pen-Pen all rushed out of the doors, leaving Asuka and Rei to slowly walk out.
The boys pressed their faces to the glass, smiling and laughing loudly in amazement. Seeing the water blue and full of life. Even Pen-Pen joined in by approaching the penguin enclosure. Trying to put forward his dominance as the most intelligent bird in the world. Standing proud before the other penguins as they flapped their wings.
Everyone was happy.
Ro sat in his chair, slowly sucking on his udon noodles with deep-fried tofu, the take-out bag close by labelled it as Kitsune-Udon, the entire loading bay was quiet, the control room deafening with the silence. He was the only occupant, watching over his Eva as it drifted and floated in the LCL, the red spherical core held above the chest, he was under an embargo after all.
"Sure is boring around here." Ro said to himself. The silence was the only thing that greeted his words.
Ahead of him, in the center of all the readouts and stats on his Eva, was an aerial map of Tokyo-3, everything was just too quiet.
Suddenly, his phone buzzed, he looked at it in confusion, noodles in his mouth, he finished what was in his mouth and sat his noodles down on the table before him.
"Who the hell could be calling me at a time like this?" He asked himself.
He picked the phone up, checking the number, it was withheld, normally he wouldn't bother, but the timing peaked his curiosity. He shrugged his shoulders as he flipped the phone open, putting it to his ear.
"Hello?" Ro said as he answered the call.
"Hi, just wanted to let you know that there's a BIG fish on the way and it's got lasers, so bring a shield."
The call ended abruptly with the person hanging up, the voice was definitely female, but not one he recognised.
"The hell?" Ro said with a puzzled look on his face.
The klaxons went off, red light and blaring warning sounds went on full blast, the aerial map showed a ping at the top of the screen, an object was coming in from the sea, Ro's eyes grew in size as he stared at the object. It certainly wasn't a ship, it was too big.
It was an Angel.
And it was heading straight for the water treatment plant that Asuka and the others were at.
"Scheiße!"
Ro ran from his chair, knocking it over as he ran for the Eva cage.
Mari closed the phone, smiling as she looked out the window, seeing the Angel on the warpath towards the Water Treatment Plant.
"That was quite fun, I'm interested in seeing what you can do. Ro Sohryu."
She pushed her glasses up a bit, readjusting them, the sunlight beaming off the lens of her glasses.
"We're about to reach the PNR. Last chance to abort." The pilot said to her from the cockpit.
"And miss the show? I think not. Carry on course. I'll infiltrate as planned." Mari said with a smile.
Misato lay in the bath tub, the beer having calmed her nerves, the hot water relaxing her down and undoing the knots in her muscles.
Suddenly her work phone rang, the unique ringtone compared to the house phone made sure that she promptly picked it up and answered it immediately.
"Lieutenant Colonel Katsuragi." She responded.
The response didn't bring good news as Misato soon stood up, splashing water everywhere.
"What? I'll be ready shortly. Scramble the Eva's for launch, I'll take care of contacting the remaining pilots."
The meal had descended in an chaotic mix as Asuka and Toji argued as Pen-Pen flapped about trying to get an extra meal. As the argument continued, Kaji felt his mobile buzz in his pocket, he brought it out to check the caller ID, it was Misato. But it was the emergency ID they'd agreed if the pilots were needed.
He flipped the phone open, bringing it to his ear.
"Hello?"
Whatever Misato was saying on the phone was lost to everyone in the room, lost in their own little worlds. Kaji's face stayed cool and calm, his responses were calm. The phone call ended and he stood up, towering over everyone.
"Alright everyone, it's time to go." Kaji said in his usual laid back tone.
"But we just sat down Mr Kaji." Shinji said with a puzzled look.
"I know. But you three need to get to your Evas."
NERV center was abuzz with activity, klaxons sounded as status screens came up.
"Unauthorized Evangelion activation! Repeat! Unauthorized Evangelion activation!" The automated systems blurted out loudly amongst the klaxons, the walls of NERV's command center lit up with Alert symbols.
"Gotenba base is reporting that Unit-06 has been activated and launched, satellite imagery shows the Unit is heading on a direct course for the Water Treatment Plant at Lake Ashino!" Makoto said, the holographic projection of Tokyo-3 was brought up, showing Unit-06 and the projected route it was taking.
"No connections can be established with the pilot! All we're getting is the data feed from the Entry plug." Maya shouted, the status of Ro inside of the Entry plug came up on the right hand side of the command center.
"The MAGI have received a requisition order for armaments from Unit-06. Holding off on the order." Shigeru piped in.
"See if you can access Unit-06's systems and shut it down remotely." Fuyutsuki ordered.
The klaxons went off with a new alert, the top of the main screen showed a blip in the water.
"Unknown object detected on a trajectory with the Water Treatment Plant at Lake Ashino!" Makoto shouted as he worked on the keyboard.
"Analysis is in! We have confirmed blue. It's an Angel!" Maya exclaimed to the Vice Commander.
Gendo slowly came up the lift to his lookout, Fuyutsuki stood up and turned to face Gendo.
"Fuyutsuki. Allow Unit-06 to acquire its requisition order and contact the rest of the pilots. We need a status update." Gendo ordered calmly as he took his seat.
Unit-06 was already in motion, charging down the center of Tokyo-3. The time it had taken him to get there from Gotenba base had allowed most of the citizens to clear his path. Ro was pushing his Eva forward as much as he could within the city. Buildings slowly got into the combat mode as the evacuation took place. Giving Ro sight to the Treatment Plant. Ahead of him rose two buildings from the ground, the shutters on the side slide up, metal holders sliding out, producing the shield and katana that Ro had ordered.
"Finally!" Ro exclaimed.
The Eva put its right hand out, grabbing the shield, still in stride, the Eva put its left hand out, grabbing the katana within its sheath, ripping both objects from their holders, not caring about the damage caused, he didn't have time to take the safety route. Ro held onto both tightly and did his best to maintain the high speed of his run.
Misato shifted the car into the highest gear it would allow, the engine became louder as it speed up the wheels, in the passenger seat beside her were the plug suits for Shinji, Rei and Asuka, the Sat Nav showing her route as she followed the train tracks on the outskirts of the city.
"Yes that's right. I'm on route to the pilots, launch all of the remaining Evas along the train tracks. It's the most direct route to the Water Treatment Plant." She ordered.
The train tracks above her hummed as the electricity charged the tracks and three objects were launched at high speed down the track. Her car was having trouble keeping up with them, despite her foot firmly planted on the gas pedal.
With a bit of luck, she'd arrive just as the pilots were getting ready for the three Eva units that had been sent hurtling down the tracks.
Ro noticed the three Eva Units flying along the train track some distance away. Each Unit was carried by a specialized transport that carried the Units along the rail tracks at high speed. Unit-01 was the first in line, followed by Unit-00 and then Unit-02.
He turned his attention forward, noticing the spark of light on the horizon before the energy beam surged forward and flew through the air.
Ro ducked and rolled his Eva, the beam curved over him, hitting buildings and slicing to the right, going through the train tracks in front of Unit-01.
The automatic breaks for the Eva Transports kicked in, but it wasn't enough as Unit-01 and 00 were sent flying into the ground below, sending up large volumes of dirt from the first and second impacts. Unit-02 stopped, hanging half off the track, teetering on the edge.
Ro stood the Eva up at the end of the roll, quickly getting back to top running speed, checking his right side.
He was on his own.
Misato screamed as the rubble from the train tracks came down in front of her, swerving the car to the right, it skidded and stopped short of the impact crater. She held the wheel tightly and took a breath before she looked out of the window, seeing Unit-00's head laying on one side as well as the transports themselves were wrecked through the large plumes of smoke. She looked out to the city and saw Unit-06 carry on its path to the Treatment Plant. She grabbed the gear stick and put the car into gear, driving off to the Treatment Plant as well.
The group trailed behind Asuka as she rushed up the stairs that hung on the side of the plant, the smell of the red sea below was almost overwhelming. Forced to suck in the air as they gasped for breath as they rushed as well.
Toji and Kensuke were hugging onto the railing, sucking in air as they were the least fit of the group. Ahead of Shinji was Kaji, going up two or three steps at a time. Shinji panted as he carried Pen-Pen in his arms. Who was squawking loudly with every step. Rei panted silently behind him.
As expected, Asuka was the first up the stairs, looking out to the red sea, seeing the shape in the distance. It shone brightly and suddenly she felt a large amount of air pushing on her.
Asuka put her arm up, shielding her eyes from the light and wind, only to see a dark shape with a shield pressing against the light the next second. She struggled to stand, but it became easier as the light and wind died down eventually, but the feeling of heat was apprehensive. She slowly looked up, seeing Unit-06 was holding a partially melted shield, the heat from the shield made the air hazy, the head of the Unit turned towards her as her brother spoke on the Eva's loudspeaker.
"What are you waiting for Sis?! Get going! I got this!"
Asuka's lowered hand was grabbed and pulled sharply, turning around, seeing Kaji dragging her away.
Ro kept his gaze on his sister for a couple of seconds before turning back to the approaching Angel, throwing the melted shield away to the side, letting it crash to the ground below. Crushing a couple of security outposts.
Ahead of him he saw the Angel dive into the way, he grabbed the long handle of the katana and pulled the long blade out of the sheath, the sharp side began to hum as he dropped the sheath.
A massive red wave of water rose as the Angel launched out of the water, the jaws opened up as it roared, exposing the shining core inside.
Kill spot.
Ro didn't hesitate, he clenched his teeth, both left and right hands gripping the handle as he thrust forward, the jaws enveloped around the Eva as the katana blade struck into the core, sparks flying for a few seconds before dying down, the core rumbled and soon expanded, bulging out before exploding all over the Eva's hands in a bloody mess.
A few second passed before the Angel slumped down, half out of the water, the tail end submerged in the red sea water.
The blade of the katana rose from between two of the three jaws the Angel had, struggling with the bone for a few seconds before effortlessly slicing through the meat of the jaw, which was pushed up from the inside and folded over, landing with a relatively soft thud, teeth pointed upward as it was pushed off, the Evangelion Unit-06 stepped out slowly, the neon green eyes glowing brightly, the whole Unit was covered in the Angel's blood. And the remains of the destroyed core was exposed to the air.
Ro leaned back in his entry plug, breathing a sigh of relief. Hearing the com chatter of NERV personnel working away. He lifted his head up, looking up at the sky. His vision blurred from the streaks of blood running down the screens. But despite the blood on the screen, he still noticed something and his eyes focused on a little black shape slowly flying above in the evening sky. He leaned forward a little, pulling up an semi-transparent magnifier screen with a gesture of his fingers, upon closer inspection, he could see it was one of the VTOL aircraft of the Japanese military. He frowned for a second before shaking his head and muttering to himself.
"Nah, that couldn't be it."
Asuka and Shinji leaned against a nearby fence, Asuka playing away on her handheld game system, Shinji with a blank expression on his face as the two adults argued in front of them. Their guardian for the day and their legal guardian. Both of whom had been at it since Misato's hasty arrival, who had wasted no time in making sure that she was not happy about the whole situation.
The argument between Misato and Kaji was soon short lived as they were slowly overshadowed by Ro's Eva standing there, putting the katana back into its sheath. His voice coming over the external sound system for the Eva.
"So... About that back-up?" Ro asked.
"You were an idiot!" Felia shouted.
The can clattered as it fell to the bottom tray, Ro picked it up and opened it, still clad in his plug suit.
"Hey! What else was I suppose to do? That Angel was headed straight for Asuka." Ro pointed out. He raised the can to his lips and gulped the contents loudly.
Felia took a step closer as Ro drank. "NERV has its systems in place for a reason. You can't just be charging off regardless."
Ro's hand holding the can flew to one side, an annoyed expression prominent on his face, obviously not caring if some of his drink spilled onto the floor.
"Reality check! That Angel took out the Evas and if I had've launched after that incident, Asuka would've been fish food! So take a hint and buy a clue! My plan worked!"
Felia stood closer to Ro as he gulped more of his can down.
"This time. It only worked this time. Next time... I'll throw the cut-off switch myself." Felia said sternly, pointing a finger right at Ro.
Ro gulped down the last of the drink. He looked at Felia with indifference now, not caring about anything.
"Whatever. I have to get changed out of this plug suit. See you later."
Ro threw the can haphazardly towards the open bin, not caring if it hit and went in or missed and bounced off. He walked off from the vending machines into the corridor and slammed his fist onto the elevator call button, taking a breath or two to calm down.
After a couple of moments, the doors opened up in front of him. But a tall, dark shape stood before him. Looking down at him behind those amber glasses.
"Scheiße." Ro cursed under his breath.
"Ro Sohryu. My office. Now." Gendo ordered.
Ro sighed and dropped his head, hands on his hips. He slowly walked into the elevator, the doors closed in behind him slowly.
The elevator ride was long, very long. The floor ticker clicked the levels away like the impending doom of execution. Ro crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. Occasionally looking at Gendo, who stood perfectly still, his hands behind his back. Patiently waiting for his floor.
The elevator sounded a DING as it reached its intended destination. The doors opened up to reveal Gendo's office. It was wide, expansive. The windows covered three of the four walls, the elevator on the forth. Ro could see the faint markings of a symbol on the floor, with a starry sky for a ceiling.
Classy.
"Ro Sohryu, a recommendation."
As Gendo said this, he broke Ro's observation of the room. Gendo walked towards his desk in the large room, hands still behind his back. Ro slowly walked behind him, looking at the pattern on the floor and the ceiling in more detail as well as the view outside.
"Regardless of any action that you may have taken today and how justified it is. It is still against the Vatican Treaty to deploy a fourth Unit when three Evangelions are already operational within a country. NERV does not care about the IPEA's jurisdiction or ethics or emergency procedures within Japan's borders."
Gendo slowly sat at his desk, putting his hands together in front of his face, looking at Ro from behind those amber glasses. Shining brightly as the light from the Geofront hit the lenses.
"So regardless of any technicality that you may or may not bring up. I do not want any more unauthorized launches, no matter how justified the situation. If you wish to launch your Eva, you bring it to the most senior officer available. Is that understood?"
Ro stayed silent for a couple of moments, before narrowing his eyes a little, a stern expression had slowly taken over his face.
"Crystal."
"You may go." Gendo said.
Ro turned and slowly walked back to the elevator, his warning had been given.
"Just one more thing." Gendo said.
Ro stopped in his tracks and silently looked back at Gendo.
"You picked up a short, yet scrambled transmission shortly before the Angel appeared. Do you know anything about it?" Gendo asked. His expression remained still, almost unreadable.
Of course, the mysterious phone call that had warned Ro of the Angel's approach. This wasn't just a slap on the wrist. It wouldn't have been so easy.
Ro shrugged his shoulders in response. "Maybe I just have a little Angel looking over me. But no, I don't know who it was or why they'd help me. Are we done?"
There was a long pause, Gendo was making Ro wait before finally replying. "Yes."
Ro turned back to the elevator, the walk back was slow and silent, his footsteps the only thing to remind him of any sense of sound. It was like sensory deprivation of the ears. The button clacked loudly as he pushed it, the hissing of the doors opening offered a brightly lit confined space that he eagerly stepped into, pushing the elevator button for his floor. He stared at Gendo, still seated at his desk as the doors closed.
End
