2
Against all odds
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"Balanced self-esteem makes individuals glow from within when they are faced with challenges or pitted against overwhelming odds."
-Dr Prem Jagyasi
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Wednesday, September 2nd, 2015
Tokyo Three
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The holographic images of the committee stared remorselessly at him, and as ever Gendo Ikari the lord and master of Nerv stared back implacably. The interrogation such as it was had been drawn out, the old men of SEELE demanding to know how security had been breached. Gendo had played dumb with them, claiming he had no idea how a disillusioned ex-employee had managed to do so much damage. He had heavily implied, however, that the man could not have been working alone, and that only someone on the inside could have aided in this horrific act. That would set the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons, already he had seen shifty glances pass between the committee members. Not however from Keel Lorenz, the elderly German had seemed highly irritable from the get-go. To Lorenz immediate right was Alexander Graves, the Englishman's expression impossible to read. Steely Brown eyes bored into Gendo's own, the older man almost seeming to dare him to blink. With his greying beard and noble bearing, Graves might not have been out of place on a film set, perhaps one about King Arthur. He was also the man Gendo suspected of being behind the attack, it had been due to his own careful preparations, that such an attack had been foiled.
As to why Graves might have wanted him dead. Gendo was not entirely certain, he was aware however that not everyone on the committee trusted him, but to actively try and kill him? No, Gendo suspected something more was going on here than met the eye. Graves was one of the highest members of SEELE, a man Gendo had long suspected, had to ask permission from Lorenz just to use the bathroom. Yet appearances could be deceptive, and within SEELE deception was an art form. Gendo returned his gaze to Lorenz, the German man may well have been trying to outstare him. However, with his cybernetic visor in place, it was impossible to tell. 'Have to get myself one when my own eyes fail me' He found himself idly musing, until then his own dark glasses would have to suffice as a barrier. Gendo found it so much easier to remain aloof, especially if the person he was addressing could not see his eyes. Something that had proven useful in dealing with his son, he felt his eyes narrow in irritation as he recalled the boy. The sacrifice had been a difficult one but was also something he would do all over again if need be. In the end, the message to Graves was very clear, if he gunned for Gendo again, others would simply fall in his stead.
"As you are no doubt aware Ikari, your son has become an overnight person of interest." Lorenz addressed him directly, Gendo inclined his head slightly. That had been an unforeseen side effect, the media had pieced together where Shinji had attended school. They had then gone there pressing questions, specifically to teenagers who hadn't known what had occurred. Gendo had been monitoring the news networks, snorting in amusement at the religious types who were praying for the boy. 'Prayer never brought Yui back' He mentally derided, he had however been as surprised as any at his son's survival. The boy was an unwanted and painful reminder of the past and had it not been for Rei being injured by unit zero, Shinji would have stayed away. However, life had shown itself to have other plans, and he had been forced to summon his progeny. With the situation slowly settling down, and Rei being back on her feet, it had seemed opportune to rid himself of the boy finally. Now however he had a much larger problem, Shinji had survived, and the world was taking notice. Assuming that Shinji ever awoke from his coma, he would find himself to be Nerv's newest celebrity. "We are aware of the situation and are taking the required steps." He returned.
Lorenz let out a snort of derision, and even Graves curled his lips at this response, and again Gendo had the odd sense of the man playing a role. "It will be impossible to keep him out of the public eye now; we already have bleeding heart liberals wanting access." This from the prime minister of France, Annette Bastian a still attractive forty-year-old woman. She had the air of one trying to please her master, and indeed there were rumors about her and Lorenz. A tiny shudder passed through him, given just how old Keel was rumored to be, that thought was a deeply disturbing one. "This event added the recent difficulties we have had in America. This is something we could do without!" Gendo managed to avoid frowning, difficulties was a code word for an alarming problem. "It will be handled I assure you." Gendo reiterated once more, Graves sat back his hand running through his beard as he did so. "See to it that it is." The man rumbled, and behind his own hands, Gendo smirked. "The rest of this meeting does not concern you." Lorenz intoned, and as was standard his connection was cut. The gridded holograph room returned, and he rose to his feet, with one last glance at the table returned to his office. Fuyutsuki was stood as ever by the vast windows, outside the Geofront stretched out before him. "The old men are in a strop over the attack," Gendo said casually, and his right hand looked up at him expression carefully neutral.
"Bastian mentioned they were having difficulties in America. I need to see what if anything can be dug up on that." Kozo merely tilted his head to one side, "could be some sort of terrorist activity, SEELE has plenty of enemies." Gendo hummed as he took his seat stretching the kinks in his neck out, the door at the far end of his cavernous office opened, and he spotted Akagi. The woman crossed the distance between them, she had a clipboard to hand and a concerned frown on her face. "Doctor?" He enquired, and Ritsuko seemed to re-read her own notes as if confirming something to herself. "I've noticed something odd with the third child's blood samples." She opened, and behind him Fuyutsuki shifted where he stood, his interest clearly drawn. Gendo leaned forward SEELE matters pushed to one side, his chief scientist would not have brought this to him if it wasn't important. "His blood platelets are regenerating at an astonishing rate, like nothing I've ever seen before." Gendo blinked, it was hard to surprise a man like him. He was a Master of Strategic Planning, every move carefully considered before it was ever made. "elaborate." He instructed her, and Ritsuko dropped in front of him the information she had gathered.
"He's healing at an accelerated rate like the angels have been noted to do." Beside him, Fuyutsuki picked up the notes frowning, and Gendo sat back tapping his fingers to his lips. Could it be? Years ago, before he had met Yui, her younger brother had died of a hereditary heart condition, something that had affected his wife profusely. When Shinji had been born, Yui had checked the boy for the condition, had been distraught to find the child carried the defective gene. Shinji was to share his young uncle's fate, but Yui had refused to accept this and had found a way to cure the boy. Advanced genetic therapy had been employed; he had assisted her in her endeavor so much did he love her. They had used Adam's DNA as a start point, the angels being born with the gift of life. Merging it with DNA directly from Lilith, the pair had succeeded in curing the boy of the disorder. Gendo had struggled with his feelings for the boy, feeling that Yui spent more time doting on the child than her husband. Only now it seemed was his son doing anything of note, but might his ill-begotten whelp become a problem now? Frowning he contemplated how this might affect the scenario, as long as the boy was kept on a short leash and kept preoccupied it should be manageable.
"I want the situation monitored doctor, keep me informed." The faux blonde blinked in surprise, then nodded and picked up her paperwork leaving his office. Fuyutsuki shifted next to him, and Gendo turned to eye the older man. Kozo was already eager to investigate the attack, despite Gendo warning him to drop it. Kozo had always been close to Yui, the elder professor one of the few she had ever confided in with regards to Shinji's treatment. Then, of course, was the fact the man had discovered SEELE's involvement in the second impact, had threatened to expose everything. Yui had persuaded him that it was too dangerous, that SEELE would simply eliminate him and bury the truth.
Fuyutsuki was simply far too good at ferreting out information for his own good, Gendo gestured to the man he could go, and watched him as he exited. No sooner had the door closed then her hands slid across his shoulders, and he leaned back eyes closed. "Unexpected, but I think things will work out." Yui's voice filled his ears, "we did what needed doing." He replied, and she made a gentle humming sound. "He'll grow stronger from this, maybe finally be a son to make you proud," Yui spoke, her voice like honey and her words like silk. Yes, maybe finally the boy might prove his worth, she was as ever right in all things. He turned to tell her this, but already she was gone like a ghost of a memory, and he felt bereft again. Shaking his head, he refocused himself, that had been happening more and more frequently. Losing himself in memories of the past, odd though he never recalled a conversation of that nature with Yui. He opened his computer terminal and set about his next task, assigning a new security detail to the third child. It wouldn't do for the world's newest little celebrity to suffer an accident, and so the woman who had ultimately saved his life would get the job. Sato had been one of his own personal guards, however, he did not recall assigning her to the children's detail. It was time to perform his role as puppet master and jerk a few strings here and there.
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The sun hit Mari full in the face as she stepped outside the terminal, her glasses automatically tinting to cancel out the glare. For her part, Mari was just glad to be back on the ground, the flight had been long and dreary. The inflight movie had been an old power ranger's movie, something that had been entertaining for the first half hour or so. Mari had been amused at the over the top Kung-Fu, though the effects had been less than convincing. That being the case she had chosen to sleep the rest of the flight, though she had been tempted to pester the flight attendants. Several rows up a small child had been squalling, someone else had been violently sick as well. Mari lugged a transport bag over one shoulder while pulling her case behind her. She had let her hair down during the flight and fully intended to wrestle the brown locks back into submission. Releasing the handle of her case she adjusted her red rim glasses and allowed her gaze to sweep the taxi rank. There she spotted her contact, Misato Katsuragi was it seemed in an argument with a taxi driver. "And I'm telling you Nerv!" the woman yelled brandishing her ID card, Mari snickered as the driver finally got the message. The man retreated but Mari could hear him muttering.
The woman turned to see Mari approaching, and waved at her as she bounced down the steps. It was the smile on her face however that gave Mari pause, it didn't quite reach her eyes, and Mari could see she was troubled. The death of the Third child must have been difficult to deal with, especially for his commanding officer. "Good flight in?" The woman inquired conversationally, "boring flight in." Mari replied shaking her head as she handed off her bag to Misato. Mari waited as her bag and case were placed on the back seat of the car, a blue Renault Alpine.
"Wow vintage car," Mari said smirking, and the woman let out a chuckle of her own before sliding the passenger seat back into the upright position. "Yep, and lucky its survived as long as it has." Mari hopped in, noting the penguin-shaped air freshener hanging from the rear-view mirror. "Animal lover?" Mari asked as Misato dropped into her seat, the car roaring to life as Mari fasten her seat belt. "Oh yeah, big fan of penguins me." Came the reply, and Mari didn't miss the slight smirk as the car suddenly shot backward. Mari adjusted her glasses as she was introduced to Misato's version of driving, the car seemed to be perpetually on the edge of disaster, yet somehow the older woman-maintained control of the car. 'Welcome to Japan' Mari mentally laughed, "Sorry, I'm in a hurry. Don't like being away from him for too long." Misato explained, and Mari frowned trying to piece together who he was. Then the realization hit her, and she understood the information she had been given before setting off, had been wrong, way wrong. "Wait, the third survived? I was told he didn't make it!" Misato turned eyes meeting hers as they pulled into the apartment car park, those eyes told a tale of pain and near loss. It seemed there was a lot of confusion here in Nerv, arriving at their destination Mari got out and wrestled her luggage off the back seat.
Standing up straight she adjusted her pink tracksuit bottoms, quite looking forward to changing into something a little less sweaty. The clothing was a good choice for flying in, but impractical for anything other than jogging and exercising. Mari didn't press any further about the third, it was clear to her it was still a sore subject for her new flatmate. The apartment door yielded to Misato's key card, and Mari received the first shock of the day. There standing waiting was an honest to god penguin, it looked at Mari then glowered at Misato. The older woman stooped down and gently hugged the creature, who let out a plaintive sounding squawk noise. "I know Pen, but Nerv won't let animals into the base." Mari then watched in amusement as Misato pulled out her mobile phone, and after a brief search pointed the screen at the bird. The penguin cocked its head examining the screen, and then seemingly satisfied turned and waddled back inside. Mari flicked her gaze from owner to penguin, "Umm what was that all about?" and Misato turned and showed her the picture. It was a boy, or at least that was what Mari assumed it was. Wrapped so heavily in bandages it was hard to tell, it was also clearly the third child Shinji Ikari, a boy she had been informed had passed away.
Misato picked up Mari's bag and guided her inside the apartment, and Mari listened as her new guardian addressed recent events. Mari nodded as she was brought up to speed on what had occurred. Her own last fifteen hours had been interesting, recalling the mad rush to get her things packed up. There had still been some stuff she had been forced to leave behind, family photos and such like. Then she had been placed onto the first available flight to Japan, all the while believing the third child to be deceased. Like so many others Mari had been unable to grasp the why, struggled to understand why someone would do this. Harming a pilot was tantamount to slitting your own throat, Mari stepped inside the room Misato guided her to and deposited her bags. The bedroom was spacey enough however she noted the lack of locks on the doors. "How on earth did you keep him out?" Mari asked jokingly, and Misato snorted in amusement. "Shinji's not that kind of boy, too shy by far to try anything like that." Mari shrugged and opened her wardrobe, turning she spotted Misato and frowned. The older woman was clearly uneasy, and very obviously wanted to get back to the boy's side. "Hey, don't worry about me, I can take the train down. Do some exploring while I'm at it." Mari said with a reassuring smile.
"You're sure? Though section two should keep a close eye on you." Mari nodded and tugged at her tracksuit top, "I need a shower and a change of clothing anyway." and when Misato still seemed conflicted, she added. "Go scoot, I'll be fine. I have a very good sense of direction and know how to protect myself." Misato bowed formally before adding, "I'll get Rei to meet you at the station, just text when you're setting off, Oh and your cards on the table." Misato proceeded to move with astonishing swiftness, and Mari shook her head in amusement. The apartment door opened and closed, and Mari stripped off heading for the shower. She passed the penguin who almost fell over at the sight of her, "eyes front mister!" she playfully growled. The bird waddled awkwardly away, and Mari swore it was blushing. The shower was refreshing, and she found it restored her flagging energy reserves. It might be daytime here, but Mari's internal clock was screaming blue murder that she should be asleep. She stepped out and grabbed a towel to dry off, and as she did so chose to do a little exploring. Finding herself outside a door with a piece of heart shaped paper attached, on the paper it read. "Shinji's lovely suite." Mari felt a flicker of guilt, going in the room might upset Misato.
She slid the door open and peered inside, the room was immaculate to behold, though Mari spotted a thin layer of dust starting to gather on the desk. It was sparsely furnished, and Mari suspected that was not a choice on Misato's part, but rather a quirk of the third child. Mari slid the door closed again and passing the television flicked it on. A brief search and she found a news channel, this one broadcasting European news. Mari listened to it as she dried off and dressed, the news anchor was on the topic of the attack. Various people were being interviewed including the public, apparently, the news was slowly filtering in of the boy's survival. Mari shook her head at some of the comments, one, in particular, being daring enough to suggest it was an act of god that had stricken the boy. Fortunately, that sort of view was few and far between, with most wishing the boy a speedy recovery. Mari moved back to the bedroom and fished out her school uniform and slipped it on, it was not the standard Japanese uniform here rather being a catholic uniform, but Mari planned to stand out from the crowd. Her phone buzzed and she picked up, "Uncle!" She exclaimed joyfully; she hadn't had the chance to talk to the man before leaving. He had been out on assignment for the PMC he worked for, "Yeah I'm fine, just really jet lagged is all."
Mari flopped backward onto her bed as she listened to him speak, the one person in her life who had shaped the way she was, taking Mari in when her own father couldn't be bothered. Mari lay on the bed staring up at the ceiling feet kicking gently, her uncle promising to visit her if time permitted. "I know they have you busy it's fine, just stay in touch ok?" Mari snorted as the man told her not to step on anyone's house, "Ha, no promises. Some people on television deserve a stomping!" They chatted idly for a few more minutes, her uncle sounding as tired as she felt. "The third? No, he's alive Misato told me. Ok, love you too, bye-bye." Mari reluctantly hung up, then lay resuming her staring contest with the ceiling. She so wanted to just lay here and go to sleep but was also expected to report to Nerv today. Grunting Mari slid to her feet and set about the task of taming her hair, soon it was back as she preferred it, twin tails swept over her shoulders. Fishing in her bag she found her neural band and slid it in place, she preferred the one from Bethany to Nerv's standard issue. Grabbing her security card and apartment key card, Mari text Misato to let her know she was setting off. As she descended to the ground floor, she contemplated the third and hoped she would have a chance to see him today.
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Wednesday, September 2nd, 2015
Seoul
South Korea
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Elias stepped back into the hotel room he and Mitchel were staying at, they had one last interconnecting flight to catch back to England. The Brit was sat on the end of his bed phone in hand, the shaven-headed man's expression was far away. Elias shrugged and flipped on the small television, hunting for an English news channel. "Needn't bother, kids alive apparently." His companion spoke suddenly, and Elias turned to regard the other man. It was true the pair had been scanning news channels since yesterday, trying to find out if their unintended victim had survived. "You know this, how?" Mitchel turned and dug into his pockets and handed him a photograph. It was of Mitchel and a girl of mixed heritage; the girl was grinning, and Elias raised an eyebrow. "Didn't know you had a daughter." He smirked as he handed the photo back, the abrasive Brit had not struck him as the family type. "Niece, my brother wasn't interested in her, so I raised her when her mum passed away." "well, best as I could anyway." Elias was surprised at this revelation, the rough and tough Englishman with his cockney accent, had never spoken about his family. "Now thanks to us, she's been sent to the bloody frontline." The bitterness in the man's tone was hard to miss.
"God's I'd have married her mum if things hadn't gone south, Amaya was something special." The man had that distant look in his eyes again, and Elias wondered what precisely had gone on with the man's little family. For his part, Elias had no children of his own. He had dedicated himself to a very simple cause, revenge. "She was selected for the Eva program?" he asked, and Mitchel nodded expression turning sour. "That was when I lost her, and Mari was all I had left of Amaya." The man snorted in a self-deprecating way, "She was sent to her father, but it didn't last long, she ran away." Elias pieced the rest together himself, Blaine had taken his niece in and raised her like a daughter. Of course, once he was on the road with the PMC it must have gotten difficult, "Three years ago, she was taken to Bethany, freed me up to fight the good fight." Mitchel shook his head; it was clear he would give up everything to see the girl safe again. "Now she's fighting because someone set up the third." Elias pointed out and watched as the Brit redirected his anger. Mitchel was blaming himself for what had happened, and for his niece being selected as the replacement. Elias needed the man to refocus, needed him to realize who was truly to blame. "I ever get my hands on that bearded git, I'm gonna flay him alive." Elias nodded and relaxed, that was more like it.
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Wednesday, September 2nd, 2015
Nerv central headquarters
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Ritsuko stood carefully observing the recovery pod, Shinji was floating inside the LCL flooded chamber, and already he was presenting her with a problem. "The arm is already fifty percent restored after twenty-four hours." She noted, next to her Gendo let out a grunt and approached the glass. "Has Katsuragi noted anything?" He asked, and Ritsuko watched in surprise as the man lifted a hand. The commander touched the side of the glass, and she watched as he made an almost loving stroke. Ritsuko knew better, however, the man cared not a jot for the boy inside, but rather what he potentially represented. "I've managed to keep his arm hidden, but sooner or later she will notice it." Gendo didn't speak, he simply stood there touching the large glass tube. "The eye operation is scheduled for tomorrow, I could falsify the data, include an advanced prosthetic procedure?" Finally, the man turned to look at her, dark glasses hiding his eyes from sight as ever. "Do we have anything so advanced?" The question was borderline rhetorical, and from the way he returned to studying his son, he already knew the answer. "No, but Katsuragi doesn't know that." Gendo let out a snort and shook his head, "And when the boy wakes up? As foolish as he is, even he won't buy that."
Ritsuko felt something she had been feeling a lot of lately, irritation with her lover. Shinji's perceived lack of intelligence stemmed from his situation and a lack of exposure to cultural norms. Gendo should know this since he was the one who had made sure the boy was isolated so. For her part Ritsuko suspected the boy's body was not just repairing itself, it was flat out upgrading itself. If Shinji got an IQ boost in amongst his upgrades, then Gendo Ikari might just find himself with a problem. The man loved playing the part of the puppet master, or perhaps more accurately the chess master. What she pondered would ever happen if he met his match? Ritsuko shrugged and approached her worktable, knowing that Misato would be pacing the boy's room already. She would need more blood to work on, however, she didn't want to take them while the commander was present. They were barely twenty-four hours removed, and already the boy's wounds had mostly healed themselves. The speed of his recovery was remarkable, worthy of further exploration in and of itself. Ritsuko tapped her pen against her lips, an idea blossoming in her mind. Gendo finally turned and exited the room, and Ritsuko let out a breath of relief, for the last few weeks the man had started to make her nervous. 'especially when he stopped sending for you' her brain chose to pipe up.
There was something off with him, yet Ritsuko couldn't quite put her finger on it, sort of an aloof distance and coldness. Gendo Ikari had always been somewhat aloof but he seemed even more so right now. She paused as the chamber let out a beep indicating its cycle had finished, and she set about the task of extracting the boy onto a gurney. His flesh was all but unblemished by any mark now, and she set about wrapping him back up in his bandages. The tank was normally only used to help Rei heal up however it had been repurposed at Ikari's orders. Ironic that it had taken this event for him to take an interest, even if it was only the mutation, that he was interested in. She administered a fresh intravenous and gave Shinji the medicine that would keep him under. Her phone beeped and she snorted in amusement, Misato was getting impatient now to have him back. The blood would have to wait until later then, and once she had dressed the boy and slid a blanket over him to hide the arm, she set off. Ritsuko frowned at the silhouette under the blanket, Misato was a smart woman and would notice it. Despite her earlier assertions to Gendo, her lie about an advanced prosthetic would not fly with Katsuragi. As she pushed the gurney into the room Misato rose to meet her, and Ritsuko made a choice.
"We need to talk, help me with him." Together they shifted Shinji back onto his bed, and Ritsuko then closed the door as Misato was fussing with the blanket. "Wait! What the hell?!" Ritsuko let out a breath, just as she had suspected Misato had noticed. The faux blonde opened her PDA and entering her security codes disabled the listening devices in the room. The camera would have to remain on, otherwise, she risked alerting security. "Sit down Misato and moderate your body language, I don't have much time." She instructed the worried captain, Misato slid into her seat and Ritsuko covered the boy's arm up again. "Yes, Shinji is re-growing his limb, it's a mutation in his DNA brought on by the attack," Ritsuko said shortly, better to keep the science stuff simple for her friend. "Not only that, but I believe his body is… enhancing itself, a defense mechanism against any future attempts." Misato's gaze flicked from her friend to the boy, her tongue flicking over her lips as she tried to process this information. "Will he be the same person when he wakes?" Misato asked voice laced with concern, Ritsuko pursed her lips as she considered the question. "I see no reason for a total personality shift, but he won't be unmarked by this. Tell no-one Misato, his life could end up in danger if this gets out." Misato nodded seemingly lost in thought her hand stroking the boy's face and reactivating the listening devices Ritsuko turned to the door. "I'll leave you two alone then."
