Heroes of Evangelion
An Iron Will
I O I
Shinji looked out at the world he knew, the one his recent mind could recall. I was an amber void, devoid of detail, smelling of blood and tasting of the same. His heartbeat, the working of his lungs were the only things that broke that monotony. He tried, a long while ago it seemed, to count the time that passed in breaths, but without some way to tally them, his mind failed eventually.
A lifetime ago, it felt like, he'd been here. Friendly faces outside, worrying over him.
"Mana," the words bubbled out of his lips, the LCL unable to absorb carbon dioxide as efficiently as oxygen. His body was locked into this place, something keeping him from moving, from feeling and sometimes it seemed, sleeping.
His concept of time was broken beyond understanding, but he had the urge to think of each solidly lucid period as a day. His nights were the incoherent madness of his waking dreams, all played out on an amber screen.
Today, then, was to be a different day. A shock went through him, as something changed in his world, the void seeming to shutter and shift before him. It was clearing, it seemed. What he'd taken for a depthless orange void was really just LCL, fogged evenly with something suspended in it, giving it the illusion of distance.
As the LCL cleaned and cleared in a fast swirl of vertigo, he saw them. Faces outside of the glass, looking in at him. He knew them, all of them, and his aching, sensation deprived mind screamed as those memories flashed forward, breaking the torpid shell his psyche had made to protect him.
He tried to reach forward, willing his hand to move. Surprisingly it did, as before it wouldn't heed him. Slowly, he dragged his arm through the dense fluid, stretching his fingers out till tendons screamed at him.
She laid her hand on the glass, where his fingers barely brushed. "Mana," he whispered again, the bubbles from his words carrying them off, up and away from him.
On the other side of the glass wall, she mouthed a word, and it took him a long time to understand but when he did, it almost immediately settled him into a content slumber.
"Soon," she said, tears quietly running down her cheeks. "Soon."
I O I
Content Shinji was, but his dreams, driven by a mind long separated from the reality that had occurred, would not be still. Dreams of what brought him to be suspended inside a NP tank, and all those faces outside, to him.
I O I
She worked hard. It was something natural to her, and in this, she was comfortable. Few things broke through her shell these days, so long after the nightmare that was Tokyo-3, but failure, utter and indiscriminate did so admirably. "God damn it!"
Her patient – Shinji, a small nagging voice insisted over her training to impartiality, was recovering as well as could be expected. Rocket impacts had nearly destroyed his armored convoy, and lucky for him, shielded his body from the bulk of shrapnel and debris. The initial worry she had, at his slow recovery, was that perhaps she'd missed something. More intensive scans, those she could do with limited equipment, told another story. "Shinji... what happened to you?" A damp towel, cooler than the air was laid along his forehead. "What's happened to both of us..."
Last week, she would have laughed, had someone told her today would be as it had happened. Comfortably studying at the new Genome and Evolutionary Archive, Hikari was well on her way to finding herself accepted as a researcher at Nerv. She'd entertained the idea of staying in Germany to work, but... certain things had dissuaded her.
Though she'd never truly been close to her sister Kodama, she still valued her family. With Nozomi soon starting college as well, she knew that her father would be lonely, and knew she had to go back for him. Of all the Horaki sisters, Hikari was the most sensitive to the emotions of others. Kodama was brilliant, a medical genius, where she was simply capable. It rankled her a bit, but it was more her competitive side talking. Hikari was truly happy for her sister's successes.
One week ago, and it had all went to hell. An advertisement. Cursing her curiosity again, she worried at the stitches she'd worked on, replacing coarser, heavy lacing with finer ones, trying to minimize the scarring. The article had mentioned how the local college was closely aligned with the PMC registry through the German military, and as such, acknowledged time spent as a field nurse as credit in practical studies.
She'd felt it a decent opportunity. The local PMC's were UN organized and sanctioned, not the rough mercenaries she'd feared. A little research left her confidant that the situation would be little more than a month studying her books, dispensing band-aids for marching callouses.
How wrong she was, stunned her. The worst of it was that it was her own error that saw her in this place. "What do you think, Shinji? Up for listening to a story?
"It was a dark... well, just dark really," laughing quietly, she rinsed a cloth, the water staining red in the rusty field sink. "And yours truly had a bit too much to drink at a party thrown by a friend of yours.
"Turns out, you really shouldn't sign contract forms when under the influence," she muttered, shaking her head slowly. "I woke up at the UN hospice, apparently just having thought to lay down, after my massive mistake. The irony of it it... the PMC I signed on with wasn't even on the list for credit." Oh she'd tried to explain that to Braun. He'd simply showed her the pit behind the bivouac and grinned that predator's smile at her. She shuddered, at the memory. "I've seen war and death, thanks to the Angels. But it always us, versus them. I hate this. All the people that get hurt..."
Hikari slumped, her hand resting along her temple, rubbing gently. "Stuck here a month. Had two weeks left when suddenly they mobilized. I've never been in a war camp before, it's... scary. So many people, all so heavily armed. All killers. I'm so afraid here," her breath catching, she turned away, as if Shinji watched her. She wouldn't cry. Not for this. Not over them. "They're as bad as I thought, but... it's my fault I'm here. I have to endure.
"Then they bring me you, and I make the massive mistake of letting them know that I knew you, back in the Wars." Shaking her head slowly, the young woman heaved a sigh. "And now they know. I didn't think they did, with how they treated you. Just some Nerv exec, right? It may have been better had that stayed true. No... I told them. Let them know who you were, and now..." her breath hitched a bit, and she controlled herself with a few moments of effort. "Maybe it would be better if we didn't walk out of here," the finished, her voice cast as if she knew someone was listening.
Unfortunately for her, someone was. "Isn't that a conflict to your oath as a healer, Miss Horaki?"
The sudden noise had her jumping up, and it nearly upset the tray of tools and material on the table where she worked. Her fear was evident, but she still looked up to the PMC commander with open hostility when she spoke, "Announce yourself in a medical ward! Surprising me in a delicate operation could be deadly," her energy waning, in the face of his immovable expression, she sat heavily.
Shaking his head slowly, commander Braun looked over his captive... captives, he amended, knowing well the girl had no illusions at this point. The boy looked worse than yesterday, and this bent a frown onto his features. "I find myself currently more concerned with you becoming an angel of death, than making a misstroke in surgery," the accusatory tone had her flushing angrily, but he knew it was the truth. She was a veteran of the Angel Wars, if not a combatant then one of the few survivors. Worse, she was of that annoyingly moral type, that if bent too far, would snap rigid into the mold of heroes. He'd seen it too often, on the battlefield, and the peculiar combination here was beginning to concern him.
The girl, already with a penchant for saving lives. Both of these youths lived through a war that had caused more collateral destruction than he could imagine. She obviously had some emotional connection to him, which was compounded by his condition. That in itself could prove bothersome, as a dying hero is likely the most dangerous thing on earth. "Perhaps I should limit your... schedule. I feel you are becoming stressed, Miss Horaki."
Reactions, first gut ones, told him much about the people he was around. Atrocity, knowledge and psychological warfare had given him a specific talent for striking blows upon the mind that would ring through a person's personality, showing him the true tone of their soul. The terror and anxiety at the idea of being separated from her hero, was clear enough for him to see.
"Y-you can't! He'll die!" Backing up so she stood between Shinji and the room, Hikari cast about as if to defend him, and herself.
Claus held up a stilling hand, "Easy. You merely concern me, with your wild mood swings. That cannot be healthy, for your patients, agreed?" When she made no sign of relaxing, he tried another tactic. "Do you remember the fate of the last doctor, to refuse one of my orders?" A visible shudder ran through her, and her legs seemed to weaken beneath her. "Good. Keep that image in mind, before you do something foolish." Rising, he noticed her instinctive shuffle away. Schooling his expression, he smiled brightly, "You would never make it a mile, in these wilds. You are my creature, until I release you. Don't forget this." Turning, he left her to contemplate those words, and her role in this game.
When the door closed, she let her legs give out and slumped to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. "Why, why is this happening? I worked so hard, I was a good girl! I was a good girl..." She was so wrapped up in her grief and fear, she nearly missed the light touch of a hand on her shoulder, except for the familiar squeeze it gave her, almost too weak to feel.
"You... are good..." his words snapped her attention to the man on the table, and she gasped, as she looked back into Shinji's eyes.
Jumping back to her feet, her worry and fear for the moment forgotten, Hikari leaned over him, her face a portrait of relief, "Shinji, my god when did you wake up?"
He simply shook his head, and smiled apologetically, his mouth working silently. With a slight shock she realized he likely was at his limit with those words, and tried to help him with some water, her hands shaking like autumn leaves. A few minutes of letting him clumsily drink, and she allowed herself to relax into the chair beside his makeshift cot. The fact of awareness brought to mind her earlier story, and she blushed crimson in the low light, "How much did you hear?"
Straining slightly, Shinji coughed and motioned for Hikari to stay, that he was alright. "Sorry. But... enough. Who's party was it?" His voice was weak, but Shinji didn't mind so much. It was better here, awake and seeing someone familiar than that awful nightmare dreamscape he'd been in before.
Chuckling slightly, Hikari looked away, still intensely uncomfortable about the topic despite it being years in the past. "Oh, Asuka's birthday, actually. She liked the earrings you sent by the way." From the corner of her vision, Hikari could see his expression fall, his posture weakening. It wasn't so much that she didn't like Asuka... she just didn't like what the woman did. It seemed every action was meant as a threat or boast, another move on a chessboard only she could see. Then there was the way she spoke about Shinji, how she had treated him back when they were still in school. Sure, she was a child – Hikari had her own childish moments. But...
Laying back, Shinji considered what Hikari had said, his mind cast back to the previous month. "I... hah. Tell you a secret." This pulled Hikari from her introspection, and she blinked curiously at the man, as he smiled, eyes closed. She made a small noise for him to continue, and Shinji laughed mirthlessly for a moment. "I didn't send her those."
"What?" She was slightly shocked at that admission, but the implications were too intriguing to just ignore. "Who sent it then?"
"Mana. She reminded me that her birthday was the next day, and... well, after our last round of arguing, I had no interest in it." Smiling sadly, he considered the room, his eyes finally clearing enough for him to see it well. "Sad, isn't it."
Shaking her head quickly, Hikari replaced the cloth on his forehead, the best she could do to help him be comfortable other than another does of heavy drugs. "No, not at all. 'Dama has me buying gifts for her all the time."
"Kodama?" At her nod, he chuckled weakly. "She's a very bright woman." When Hikari tensed, he blinked up at her, eyes widening slightly as he realized why, "Oh, I'm sorry -"
"Don't be. She's always been the prodigal of our family," She reassured him, but still it stung. It seemed she would always be that middle girl, even to Shinji. A small part of her wanted to laugh at that, given their circumstances. He was probably just trying to be nice, complement your family, a scolding voice inside her accused, as she fought off the fit of jealousy her sister's successes always seemed to rouse in her. It was a show of how thin her nerves were worn, that she showed it here, now. "How do you know her?"
"She's... well." Grunting in pain, he forced himself up to a sitting position, much to her horror.
Her hands were cold on his skin, he noted, as she tried to gently force him back onto the cot. "Lay down! You can't be moving so much with your stitches."
"It's OK." Shaking his head, he met her eyes, and Hikari swallowed slowly. Reluctantly her hands dropped and she settled back to her chair with an almost imperceptible nod. "Kodama... is one of my technicians in Japan. I work with her, more or less daily."
She felt like smacking her forehead in annoyance. Of course he worked with her – there was only one Nerv facility in Japan. "I'm sorry, this place..." He waved off her apology and leaned back on the wall, satisfied and panting slightly. "Why are you here, Shinji?"
"I was under the assumption I got blown up."
Hikari blinked at him, then laughed, shaking her head slowly, "Always the stooge."
"Always," he replied, but his expression sobered almost immediately. "I... had something I wanted to tell Asuka. I wanted to do it in person, despite our differences."
Tell her that you're dying, tell her... whatever it is that would put you at ease, she added silently. Of all their schoolmates, those that spend time with the pilots, she'd been the most personally involved yet separate. She'd seen Ayanami, so long injured almost as soon as she began school, go from a distant, cold young woman to a simply quiet and enigmatic person. Watched as she slowly opened up to Shinji, and he in turn to her. They were good for each other, she remembered. There was a distinct possibility in her mind at least, that they'd have become a couple. As far as Shinji, she'd watched as he was one day the target for Touji's rage, then almost overnight his closest friend. Seen as he alternately opened up to Rei, and shielded himself even further from Asuka, despite how hard he worked to defend her as well. Asuka was her own bundle of issues... one Hikari was preternaturally aware of. Of all the pilots, she was most familiar and confused by the German girl.
She supposed the thing that bothered her most about the young woman was that she refused to talk with Hikari about the truth of her issues. Oh she'd rant on and on about the various faults in everything around her – from her guardian Misato to her roommate, to Nerv and the school, yet never did she really talk about what really was on her mind. It was always that smokescreen. Hikari had moments of not knowing whether to be insulted that Asuka thought so little of her that she'd believe those were all there was, to comforted that girl would even open up to her at all. After all... she was the pilot's only real friend, as far as those went.
As for Shinji... she wagered he knew about his failing health. It was something he'd do, find Asuka and clear the air, once and for all, before he... died.
"I don't know if she'd really deal with it well," was her only reply, her mind playing over their collected past as she considered the impact on not only Shinji but Asuka of such news.
To her surprise, he laughed at this. "You're right, you know. Without me there to compete with," shaking his head, he went silent.
An uncomfortable silence stretched out between them, as Hikari worked silently to clean his wounds, washing and rinsing old blood away as she worked. It was that silence that let them hear the sound of footsteps. "Someone..."
"Go stand by the tools Hikari." She started at the sudden coldness in his tone, and did so, her anxiety obvious.
Brandon Scott swept into the room, his two attendants leveling their guns at the other occupants while the young man grinned at them. "Well, looks like our little hero is awake." Stepping over quickly, he snapped out a hand and pulled Shinji's chin up hard, causing the former pilot to wince.
"Stop it, he's-" the clack of rounds being chambered and safeties unlocked stilled her, as Hikari's words died in her throat. She could see him motioning her down from the corner of her eye, as well as that horrid grin on Scott's face.
Shinji straitened his back, turning his face from the other man's grasp. "A ransom at this point is pretty useless, you know," Shinji muttered, refusing to so much as sigh in front of his captor, now that he was awake. Oddly, having Hikari there gave him some steadiness in dealing with the unknown man. "All the relevant parties-"
"Know you're dying? Yes, I figured." Glaring down at the pilot, Scott laughed once, mirthlessly. "So much I've heard. All so... disappointing, really." Turning, the man motioned to the troops and they closed in on the room's occupants. "No matter. Move them, we're leaving."
The troops moved forward, and the first was at Shinji's side before those words sank in to her shocked mind. "What? What do you mean move? He's barely alive, are you stupid?"
Scott moved with surprising speed, Shinji noted, doing his best to stand as the soldier helped him. He watched as the man simply snapped to where Hikari was, and then the pistol was at her temple. "Leave her alone or I'll conveniently fall and kill myself on a shoelace or something. I assume all this trouble was to get me alive, or I'd be dead by now."
"Holding yourself hostage? What makes you think I can't drug you and just have you moved?" Scott didn't move the gun though, and Hikari was not handling it well. Her knees shook, and her vision was a mess, as she hiccuped back tears that she couldn't afford.
The former pilot managed a small smile. "Because, I would be, if you could. Leave her alone. I'll cooperate. She's a lousy nurse anyway."
You never were a good liar, Shinji, she thought as the man pressed the muzzle of the firearm against her skull once, hard, before moving away. Reaching up to rub at the sore place the pistol had left on her scalp, she was lifted painfully to her feet by the other soldier, startling a yelp from her. Stumbling after the pilot, she looked at the men and shivered, "What do you plan to do?"
The American shot her a contemptuous glare, before motioning down the hallway. "Get them moving, we need to be away. Now."
Shinji slowed, shaking his head, "You don't need her." Again he was surprised, as Scott's pistol butt connected with his lower jaw, the sound of cracking bone loud in the room. Hikari made to move to his side, but one of the troops jabbed her in the ribs with the rifle he carried, motioning to the door. The other hauled the wavering man along, as Scott moved quickly out to the waiting sun.
More orders were given, as they were shuffled about to a troop carrier. Shinji was laid out on the back, a guard at the rear door as they moved on, making more arrangements. Shortly, the convoy was mobile, and the noise loud enough to make the loosened teeth in Shinji's mouth rattle painfully in his skull.
"Hikari?" Leaning close, the young woman made a show of inspecting his wounds, nodding as he raised a brow, acknowledging she heard him. He waited a moment, but the jarring ride didn't make it easy to collect his thoughts, around the pain. "You know... these men. You're a hostage too."
"I know."
"These people... they don't take hostages."
She looked away, nodding. "Yeah."
She felt his hand on hers, something cold and hard in it. Looking down she saw a vial, taken from the room, a simple thing... but effective in large doses. "When the time comes, can you do it? Be what he said?"
It took her a moment to catch his meaning, but when it came she looked away, toward the guard and the rapidly retreating forms of the PMC camp behind them. Could she, if what he feared came to pass? She knew... if they were escaping the harsh commander of Liber Noctis, this could only mean that things were going to get worse. How far down the rabbit hole were they? Worse... torture and death, slow and painful, a voice told her, and she shivered. But despite it all... could she be what he wanted?
"Please, not after everything else. They want something, and it's almost a guarantee that whatever it is, will hurt people I care about. Will hurt you too." Closing his eyes, he laid back and let loose a deep breath. "Don't let me die knowing that's what I left behind."
Hikari nodded, her eyes stinging. She knew, deep down, that when Shinji died, the only thing waiting for her was a short interrogation on anything he may have said, then a bullet in her skull, if she was lucky. Steeling her resolve she looked at the vial again, tucking it into the folds of her clothing. Idly she realized there was enough inside for two... it made her lightheaded to think about, but with the options they had... Steeling herself, she closed her eyes an shook.
When the time came, she was be his final angel. An angel of death.
I O I
Claus watched as the massive war machine, lithe and deadly, sat down what looked like a cargo container and set about the business of arming and aiming very dangerous things at his men. Raising a brow, the man stepped forward, his palm resting on the pistol holstered on his hip. "Japanese gunship, you're trespassing on licensed personal military company grounds. We have every right to blast you into scrap. Identify yourself or vacate."
"Ballsy, considering nothing I've scanned in this place could so much as scratch the paint," Mana's voice, altered and emphasized, did it's own blasting over the assembled troops from the Raiden's external speakers. "Your troop ID's say you're Liber Noctis. Good reputation." Claus nodded his head but didn't relax. In fact if Mana wasn't mistaken, he'd gripped the pistol on his side tighter. "As for your identity request, my business is sanctioned by the JSDF for the retrieval of a Japanese national, and is irrelevant."
"Then such a claim cannot be verified, of course," waving, the man replied. Composing himself, Claus regarded the mech with a sneer, "A military search and rescue? What, did the JSDF loose a general? Perhaps he came for the beer?" Turning to his troops, he laughed, as more stopped thinking about the machine's weapons, and focused on their roles. Massive firepower had the effect of breaking down order, when it suddenly appeared, but the banter was giving him time to reestablish his command. Another reason he'd not stepped forward in a posture of surrender – aggression showed he was still lord and master of this place.
Mana understood his gesture, the sarcasm behind it. She also had biometrics, and every search schema the Raiden could spare CPU time on, focused on the surrounding men and their leader. She needed an angle, and badly. "Regardless that is my mission, and orders are orders, and collateral damage isn't a concern." Mana smiled as she saw the man stiffen, his posture going rigid. Not a senseless killer then... noble warrior? Or just enlightened mercenary. "So, as a local PMC, I figure you're pretty in the know about local news."
"Gossip? How droll... but yes. One could say we keep abreast of our immediate zone of operations."
"Good," Mana wished the machine could emulate her smile sometimes. "Then you should know about a Nerv motorcade that was passing through here recently."
Claus snorted, knowing full well the scraps of an armored Nerv vehicle were likely sighted just outside the camp, it's shell being cannibalized for material. "Information costs money."
One of the Raiden's Vulcan cannons spun to life, the barrel whirring like a nest of angry bees. "So do bullets. How many would it take to even up the cost?"
Tactless. Sighing, the man gestured to his lieutenant. "Where's the American?"
"Slipped though the perimeter, sir."
Damn it. "Well, it seems we're now on the similar mission, Miss Gunship," looking about the camp, he took a count of his current troops. He had too many out on maneuvers today, to make it an even match, if taking on Scott was the order to keep peace. "I believe your errant general has been removed from my care. You're free to step out of that machine and check this, of course."
"How about I step on some of your hard-cover and see what's underneath instead?" Emphasizing her point, the mech picked up a foot and slammed it into the ground, the flanged open toes snapping shut into a spearlike point. "What was the American here for?"
"He was a contractor," Claus announced with a shrug. "Little more, little less. One I may add, that is moving quickly and further away as we speak."
The Raiden told her as much. "I can catch a ground convoy," she replied, leaning the machine down to emphasize her words. "But what I wonder is, why are you interested in him?"
Gesturing to the insignia on his uniform, Claus merely shrugged. "Liber Noctis is a by the books unit. We take contracts after researching, or by referral only. This man had good credentials, and was paying a massive premium. Time was short, and I took the job." Smiling suddenly, the man gestured the lieutenant over and motioned for his datapad. "Single targets like this are almost always vengeance hits, minor political assassinations, or pointless hundreds of other meaningless possibilities. It was only after we recovered the wreckage that the target was confirmed. Here," holding out the pad toward the Raiden, he let it's feed do the rest.
Mana bristled at his offhand description of tactics and justifications. Despite it, he was right – PMC's had a strange legality of their own in these things. Although the chiefs and anyone in the know about a non-legal action could be charged, the system seemed almost aligned against responsibility. Contractors were the ultimate target of any action there, and often that failed, as there were simply too many layers of red tape, or contract details went mysteriously missing. PMC's that turned on their employers didn't get many new contracts.
Raiden's systems identified the man on the pad as Brandon Scott, an American national with ties to the original Project E, as well as a PMC commander himself. "Why are you handing over contract information so readily? Isn't this bad form for a mercenary organization?"
"Simply, I dislike the man," was Claus's terse reply.
Filing that tidbit of information as she looked over the data, Mana considered her options. Scour the camp, looking for sign and trace of Shinji and possibly the man himself, or follow the convoy, banking on this man's word. Her own exceptionally thin legality in this matter was also nagging at her. "Doesn't help we have no grounds legally to search a PMC camp," she added to herself. She'd banked on raw threat to get her way, but this man annoyingly enough, wasn't being bullied. "I think I'll check out this errand friend of yours."
Smiling Claus sketched a bow, before turning to his men. "I thought you might. Try not to knock anything over on the way out."
"Just, you know, as an aside, that contract just tied you as a willing party in the attack of a foreign national on German soil, with intent to ransom. Perhaps you could be a bit more helpful, in assisting me with this."
Braun's steps halted, and he clenched his teeth, cursing the damned American again for getting him so embroiled in this nonsense. "And what, Miss Gunship, would you have me do?"
Heaving a sigh, Mana keyed the ships systems to resume her search. "Two things, nothing too difficult. One, prepare a medical depot for me, as we may not be able to transport my missing general, as you say." The repulsors fired, and the Raiden was airborne, snatching up Maya's cradle in it's grasp. "Second, is forget I was here, when this is over."
As the machine's engines roared, Claus nodded smartly, "Gladly." It helped, he added to himself, that the medical tent was already well used to Mr. Ikari's habitation, and that any report of this machine was likely to be so quickly politicked away that he'd likely not even have a copy of the report himself, the day following.
Mana distantly noted the man's gesture, and set the Raiden's systems to track and catch the convoy, as it made it's way toward more populated zones. What confused her about this was the direction itself. "Why are they heading toward Nerv?"
I O I
Shortly after their clandestine conversation, the convoy came to a halt, making Hikari wonder how soon her resolve would be tested. Cutting into her worry, Shinji mumbled from his position on the floor, "The worst part of this trip, all this time in Germany, and I haven't had a good drink in days." God his jaw ached.
"Shh," not that his mumbling was bothering her, but something was being said outside, and it was hard enough to hear with just the engine idling. "Something's going on."
"Hopefully happy hour," Shinji groused, wincing as his injuries shifted. "OK, ow."
Shortly, the back of the troop transport opened, and the man from earlier made his way inside, "Well, we seem to be comfortable." Sitting on the other side of the injured man, he kicked up his boots, stretching comfortably onto the bench. "Don't mind me, I'm just here to make sure Braun's little note in your files don't cause me any undue annoyance."
Hikari swallowed, her hand straying to the pocket and it's dangerous cargo, "What about our files?"
The man smiled over at her, the expression never reaching his eyes. "Just a small worry he had about you two being bad influences on one another." He noted the quick dart of her eyes to the man laying on the ground, his face drawn in pain. "I would have been here earlier, but I had to make a call," reaching up, he banged heavily on the wall, and the carrier lurched into motion again. Silence, broken only by the occasional bump and rumble of the carrier, ruled for many long minutes. Looking down at the phone he carried, Scott noted the distance they had yet to travel to his destination. "So, Shinji Ikari. Hero of the Angel War. What brings you to Germany?"
Looking over to the man, Shinji tried to rally the strength for a witty comment but failed. "Heard it was lovely this time of year," he said weakly, earning him a swift boot in the ribs from the man.
"Hey!" Hikari moved to go to the young man's side but the pistol leveled at her face told her to stay where she was.
"Tch. Temper." Grinning down at the man curling around his bruised ribs, Scott shuffled so his foot settled more comfortably on the floor by Shinji, a clear warning. "So, lets try again."
Gasping down at his folded arms, the former pilot nodded weakly. "Yeah, Germany. Got a branch here. Came to see how things are going, network. You know, executive bullshittery." Groaning, he uncurled and ignored the screaming in his broken ribs, unset from the man's kick. Given the situation, he was almost sure to receive more of the same.
"Hmm. Probably not a lie... but I won't be satisfied with that," regarding the prone pilot, Scott considered the man's face, drawn with the pain of his injuries and his own internal war to keep from showing the same. "I hear that Germany's Nerv is home to a close friend of yours. Soryu, wasn't it?" Chuckling at Shinji's dark look, the man continued, "well, whatever the reason, I'm glad I had a chance to meet the famous Third Child."
"Somehow, I doubt my public relations team would see this as a successful appearance," expecting the kick this time, Shinji wasn't prepared when it struck his temple, knocking him unconscious. Nearly sobbing, Hikari knelt down to make sure that the pilot's already horrible condition hadn't been worsened.
He was fine, just knocked out, it seemed. Glancing up at the PMC commander, she glared daggers at the man and tried to help Shinji get comfortable. "Why are you doing this? Really?"
"Information is power, Miss Horaki. Why should I tell you?" Despite his snake's grin and tone of derision in his voice to her question, he continued shortly, "Nerv leads the world in research and data management, yet they're all just dogs for the new UN." Regarding her, the man sat back, but kept his pistol across his hip. "Contrary to your probable beliefs, I don't wish ill on the Director, here."
"Could have fooled me," Hikari snapped, her eyes on the fast-bruising color that spread across Shinji's ribs again.
Scott shrugged fractionally, "Regardless, I'm just performing a service for another. Braun didn't know what he had, with the pilot, and I didn't feel the urge to correct the issue." Taking a deep breath, the man looked over the small datapad on his phone, smiling. "Tell me, Miss Horaki, who owns Nerv?"
Confused, the girl immediately looked to Shinji, but the man's immediate laughter dragged her eyes back to his face. "No. Not him. In name, yes, but the UN's watchdogs keep Nerv under tight control. In truth, the UN owns them, but because of this man, Nerv will never see it's potential."
"I don't understand," Hikari also didn't care, but she needed the man talking. If he was talking, he wasn't hurting them or threatening them.
"If the man here falls, then Nerv reverts from a private company, to a sub-body under the control of the UN. Which means, that Nerv will once again have the potential to do what it did best," he couldn't help but laugh when the woman's face went deathly pale. "Yes! Evangelions. Not the great monsters of myth, but new, exciting technology. All these advances, all this progress in medicine and meta-biology, and yet none of it military? How naïve the world can be.
"Nerv may not be making the weapons in their factories, but they are getting made. And I have here, the key to making that war machine so much more efficient. Imagine, the greatest minds on earth, the most advanced factories and development systems, all working for one goal: war." As he spoke, Hikari noted the trucks slowing, and the occasional bit of scenery behind them growing more and more sparse. She looked about frantically as the sudden darkness inside the truck swelled up and stole her vision. "Almost there," the man crooned, somewhere in the darkness.
Hikari didn't care for world military politics. The advent of the PMC explosion was almost lost to her, were it not for the mistake that landed her with Liber Noctis. What she didn't understand of the man's rambling was his own stake in this, as a small unit commander wasn't what she'd consider a heavy player in the global power market. Hikari didn't understand his need to see Nerv back in the weapons development arena. So long ago, and for a very specific purpose, such things had been the norm, but Nerv was never, had never made weapons specifically for the use against other people. She did gather, however, that Shinji's death would open up that floodgate, and had no desire to see the kind of madness that the minds responsible for Eva, focused on killing each other could accomplish. Which meant... "I'm sorry Shinji, I can't... I can't let him do this. I want to keep you from suffering, but... you have to live. A while longer," she told herself this, wishing she could tell the pilot, but would let it go, something for another day. Still, some things didn't add up, "Hasn't almost all of Nerv been refitted to be only research though? What good would it do?"
"Nerv's bases span the globe. They reach each major continent, each primary land mass. If it were to become the basis for development and mobilization, under one government control, then what need of a league of nations, when the seat of power is already firmly established." Chucking, the man stood unsteadily as the truck pulled to a halt. "And not everything is what it appears. We've arrived. See to your patient."
I O I
"God... damn it." Mana tried to relocate the trail, on either visual or infrared but all she found was a dead-ending trail that lead into a mountain face, that looked like a recent fall of scree from some development further up the slope. "Maya!"
"You don't have to scream, Kirishima." Sighing up at the camera, the brown haired tech pulled up her data terminal and waited for the connection to the Raiden to open. "What's the problem?"
Routing her sensor data to Maya, she scanned the area again, thinking there was simply an error in her systems. "Trail went cold. Cold and strange. I have tread marks, IR and chemical trail leading to a damn rock face."
"Tried knocking?" the tech replied, before holding onto the hammock as the cargo bay rocked wildly. "Hey! Stop it!"
"Yeah... some of us are trying to sleep," Kodama glanced up, yawning hugely as Maya stared at her dumbly. "What? It's not like this is terribly interesting, you know."
Her hands lighting over the data, Maya frowned. "I thought you were just being your usual dense self-"
"I swear I'll shake this thing like a British nanny if you say another word that isn't relevant..."
Coughing, Maya looked up at the camera and grinned, "Right. As I was saying, the sensors are right. Either there's a trick to it, or it's simpler than it looks."
"Suggestions?"
"Kick it?"
Mana blinked a moment, then shrugged. "Knew I brought you with for a reason," and did exactly that, swinging the Raiden's closed foot at the blank face before her. Mildly surprised at the utter lack of resistance or contact, she set the mech to hover in place. "So, that's not what I was expecting."
Maya agreed, but not with Mana's annoyance. "Why is there a dynamic image projector in such a place? How is there... " her voice died off as the woman went about checking on a hunch, something that nagged at her since she looked at the supplied map on her datapad. "Mana... Nerv is only across this mountain range. In fact the property listing in this zone is under personnel housing. I don't like this."
"Oh I'm liking it fine," the woman snarled over the comm, and Maya quickly settled her pad into the hammock, fearing for it's life. A lurch confirmed her fears as the Raiden jumped up into the air, gaining altitude to survey the surrounding area. "Maya, I see Nerv-3 over in the next valley, and Berlin beyond, any chance of closing in without a military alert getting us shot at?"
"Slim to none."
Shrugging, Mana opened up her comms and had the Raiden transmit her message directly to Nerv, "This is Mana Kirishima, pilot of gunship Raiden of the JSDF, requesting landing and berth. Repeat, this is..." A similar message was sent to the Berlin airspace, which she assumed would be quite the incident once she got home. She wasn't worried, as in the end, the only person who could fire her, was potentially inside that mysterious mountain. Plus, she had her insurance, recently printed from the Raiden's systems, resting in the greatcoat she'd brought along.
Five minutes later, she was setting down Maya's impromptu home, and docking the Raiden onto a heliport pad outside of Nerv-3 Germany. Docking was perhaps the wrong term, as the mech's internal systems didn't need replenishing, and she left the machine 'idling', it's primary power and interface systems still hot. As she set the machine's head down, opening the cockpit, Maya and Kodama stepped out of the bay, stretching and trying to stamp blood back into their limbs. Against Maya's suggestion, Mana kept on the interface suit, her gut telling her to keep the Raiden on a short leash, if the tunnel below that mountainside really did lead inside Nerv-3. As such, while the other two techs looked their usual, if someone wrinkled selves, Mana was walking around in a skin-tight, layered bodysuit, covered by a remarkably out of place overcoat, with her helm and the spinal phase-2 connection complex still hugging her spine like a second set of vertebrae. Snapping up the lexan face guard, the portion that covered her eyes snapped back to the sides, and she blinked at the odd angle of the sun, in this much greener place.
"We certainly make a rather..." Maya stalled as the JSDF liaison clipped a pistol to her hip, and a few spare clips into her thigh-side pockets. "Mana?"
"You want one? I have a spare." When the tech's eyes widened, her head shaking hard, Mana shrugged.
"Yes, please. Have a spare clip?" The firearm was tossed to Kodama, as Maya boggled, the spare clip following shortly. Both were caught deftly, and tucked into the woman's clothes without hesitation. "Thanks, USP?"
Nodding, Mana settled herself and with a mental keying, set the Raiden to self-zone security. Anyone not her, Maya or Kodama would get a nasty surprise, if they came too close to the machine. "Heckler and Koch USP Tactical in .45 ACP." When she looked to the still boggling Maya, she simply shrugged, "When in Rome."
Maya was looking between the two women like they'd just sprouted wings and AT fields. "'Dama? These are our allies, our peers. I can understand Mana – she's military, and allowed at her rank, but why did you want a gun?"
Smiling, the woman sorted through her medical bag, slinging the backpack over her shoulder to conceal the bulge at her back. "We just had a run in with a PMC that admitted to taking hostile and fatal action against a Nerv convoy. Drivers and bodyguards, or need I remind you there was no mention of survivors?" When Maya paled, the woman nodded once, continuing, "Additionally, the people holding Shinji now, provided that man wasn't lying, are also trained soldiers. I would rather have, than not have, at this point.
"And as for Nerv... well I never liked the way Asuka ran things up here." Smiling demurely, the medical tech stood beside Maya, and motioned along the corridor, where the flashing lights over the door further along indicated the main facility entrance.
Staying close to one another, the three women walked toward the doorway, only to be met there by a very excited, very mobile redhead. "Maya! You finally came!" Asuka ran the rest of the way to meet them, her personal guards looking wary and uncomfortable as they jogged forward, the black suits and Nerv armbands identifying them as internal security. Holding the former bridge bunny at arm's length, the smiling ex-pilot looked her over, "Wow, you've barely changed. How are things back in T-3?"
Laughing nervously, the tech spared her companions a glance before replying, "Not so great, really. Have you heard the news?"
"About Shinji?" Her expression visibly falling, the woman nodded once. "Yeah, but we've not heard or seen anything of him. Is that why you're here?" It seemed then that she woman finally noted Maya's other companions, and the curious blue eyes hardened when they swept over Mana. "Ah. Kirishima."
"Soryu," the JSDF liaison sketched a slight bow before returning to a loose, attentive stance, not bothering to spare the woman any more than a cursory glance. She wanted to drop the visor and have the Raiden keep a biometric on the woman, but figured the act would be futile. If trends continued from when they were younger, she held the truth as variable as a lawyer.
Kodama introduced herself, and the atmosphere warmed, as Asuka had recently been in contact with Kodama's middle sister Hikari, but not for the last few weeks since her birthday party.
She'd never gotten along with Asuka. Partly due to the young woman's own nature picking up on Mana's real intent, unlike the others. She'd tried so hard, right from the start to prove or convince the others she was a spy.
The other half of her issue with the pilot was flat out personality incompatibility. Almost everything about the young woman screamed "spoiled brat", which to Mana was utterly anathema. Growing up in a military environment made her very appreciative of the few luxuries she had, so the redhead's mentality grated on her mightily. It was more than just personality though.
Mana's sense of people was fairly acute, something that had been long ingrained into her as a young operative in the military stable. The fact she was singled out to do intelligence work only reinforced and emphasized that, as those operatives needed additional training on information gathering. Turning those instincts toward Asuka usually ended with Mana suffering a narcissism and self-destruction overdose headache.
Admittedly, once her future beyond piloting had become a real point of concern, things had changed quickly. Asuka started using her intelligence and the knowledge she'd gained from her college studies, and applied them to work in Nerv's divisions. It was by her own merit, not her name or status, that she rose in the ranks where she was. Likely there was little way to truly distance herself from those ideas, but that just made her work harder. Mana respected that, and was happy for the person that Asuka had grown into.
Still didn't change the fact the redhead was a vindictive, soulless harpy.
Asuka and Kodama were still chatting, the redhead's attention turning to Maya for a few moments, as they walked. Mana spent no effort pretending to include herself in conversation, content at the moment to listen, and observe.
It was ironic, she thought after a moment of listening to the three women bantering back and forth. Here she was, Shinji's right hand, his executive assistant and most trusted advisor, standing back and letting the conversation run along without her.
"... and then Hikari threw up all over the guy, and he ran screaming out of the room!"
Perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing.
"You're with the JSDF, right? A military escort?" Surprising her, one of Asuka's security force voiced the question, having dropped back to her side as they walked down the corridors of Nerv-3. The man was tall, built strongly beneath the suit like his counterpart, and if she wasn't mistaken, had a firearm tucked under his arm. If not for the red armband with the black Nerv-3 logo, she'd have taken him for the security back in Tokyo-3.
Mana decided along time ago that trust was an asset, and one that many used against their allies and enemies alike. She had used it against the pilots and Nerv so long ago, to get close enough to learn more of the Evangelions and how the pilots functioned inside them, for her own team's use. Although it seemed like a bleak outlook, in truth she trusted many people. Asuka and Nerv-3, though, were not on that list.
She's long ago decided to discard the pretense of approaching this as Shinji's concerned assistant, particularly with the backup in her pocket. "I'm Director Ikari's executive liaison to the JSDF, personal assistant and acting sub-Commander," that seemed to cause a stir up ahead, as the other women stalled, Asuka looking to have been mid step. Mana suppressed a small smile. "I am also his fiancée. Mana Kirishima, pleased to meet you," extending her hand, the man seemed to hesitate a moment, unsure whether protocol dictated he shake it, or casually ignore the gesture, after having started the conversation.
As she'd expected, the introduction pulled Asuka's attention, "Sub-Commander? I thought that Nerv wasn't following the old structural lines anymore, with Shinji deciding on a less military title, Director." Smirking the woman conspicuously straitened her uniform, the small badges declaring her both a Major in the German state military, as well as Director in chief of Nerv-3.
"It wouldn't be the first time you were wrong," Mana offhandedly replied, pointedly ignoring the venomous look the redhead shot her at the comment. "Mr. Ikari takes whatever title he feels comfortable with. Director was more... appropriate than Conductor, after all. His musical hangups are amusing, really," she added as an aside, smiling. "That the other branches followed his lead, well." Shrugging, she continued down the corridor a few paces, outdistancing the others easily. "That just shows how much ahead of the pack he is. Coming?"
Kodama and Maya were shocked at how openly hostile the two women were to one another. Kodama knew, in fact, that on at least two separate occasions Mana had been the one to choose the gifts Asuka received from Shinji. That the same person she saw with him picking out jewelry could be this woman confused her. She and Maya strode to catch up, as their host stomped along, her guards to either side.
Shortly they were ushered into Asuka's offices, which unsurprising to Mana, were larger and more cathedralesque compared to Shinji's own humble space. Settling herself down behind the large desk at the room's head, the woman leaned back in her chair, motioning for her guards to wait outside the door. It was, in Mana's opinion, at once very regal and very unnecessary. She'd despaired to know they'd be speaking with Asuka in her offices, rather than moving through Nerv-3 looking to see if that tunnel access was indeed linked to the base. It was a waste of time, and as the minutes passed, she knew her patience was going to be tested sorely.
Spinning her chair to face them, Asuka smiled, back in her element, "Would you like something to drink?" At a nod from Maya and Kodama, she buzzed her own assistant, who seemed on appearance more a maid than a secretary. "I'd heard that Nerv was sending someone to help with the search, but didn't expect the JSDF to be involved. Isn't that a contradiction in interests, Mana?"
Having declined refreshments, Mana simply sat in the chair across from Asuka at her desk, hands in her lap. "You mean of course the legal binding that prohibits Nerv from military research and manufacture?" At the redheads terse nod, Mana continued, "That is still observed. However, the JSDF considers Shinji a national of considerable influence, and any party hoping to capitalize on his position will see themselves quickly at the end of a very unpleasant situation. After all, he is, despite being the head of Nerv, the hero of the Angel War." And yes, she added for her own benefit, it is a conflict of interests. It just so happens the JSDF still use Nerv for some projects, under the table, and that Nerv going to the UN too soon would be quite detrimental to their own ideas.
The sound of cracking glass was loud in the following silence, as Asuka's face reddened in anger at the off and way her own role in the War was downplayed. "He wasn't the only one there-"
"I'm not here to discuss the past," interrupting the redhead's building tirade, Mana pulled a folio from her coat, and laid it down on the desk in front of the fuming Director of Nerv-3. "This, is an order, sanctioned by the JSDF to release any and all information regarding Shinji's whereabouts."
Asuka dropped her cracked glass into a wastebasket, not bothering to look at the forms. "The JSDF has no authority here."
"But the UN does. And you'll find that the UN are the undersigned of the order, authorizing the JSDF to act as, and assign investigators into his abduction." Pretense at pleasantries gone, Mana stood and looked down at the redhead as she tore into the folio, her eyes raking over the forms there. "I am also authorized to relieve any persons, including yourself, of duty if they impede the investigation."
Taking a breath, Asuka let the folio fall and leaned back, her knuckles white as her hands rested on it's armrests. Despite her apparent calm, her eyes spoke volumes of murder, visited on the auburn haired woman before her. "So. I still think it odd, that the UN would be so interested in this. Wouldn't they be more than willing to see Nerv go out of private hands?"
Mana nodded once, her visor catching the gaudy lighting, "Indeed they would. But do you honestly think something so obvious as an abduction or assassination of someone like Shinji would somehow not be thrown back into the UN's face?" Snorting, the woman shook her head, "Can you imagine the uproar that would occur is there were connections between the UN and that? Killing a world hero?"
Drawing in a breath, Maya took a moment to try and catch up with what was going on, in the office. So far, Asuka had welcomed them, but denied knowing anything about Shinji, but here she was seeing the woman hedge and dodge even slightly related questions. Then Mana pulled out a bombshell in that UN decree, and her status as special investigator. Then the two going on about the UN's interest in Nerv, though not news, opened her eyes on how precisely precarious the position Shinji held was.
So many tangles, she thought quietly, her mind trying to undo the web of politics that was becoming apparent here.
"So, Director Soryu," if Mana had noticed the flinch that Maya showed at her tone, she didn't show it, "You said that there wasn't any communication between Director Ikari's convoy and Nerv-3?"
"That would be what the report says," Asuka replied, gesturing to the same forms they'd all seen back in Tokyo-3. "German airspace reported his flight landing, his motorcade departing. A checkpoint station outside of Nerv-3 reported his vehicle crossing. Beyond that, we received no word."
"I see." Crossing to the other side of the room, she pulled out a printed photo of the man that Braun had identified as the one holding Shinji captive, laying it on the Director's desk. "Seen him before?"
Her eyes narrowing, Asuka nodded, "Yeah, he was a guest in the facility some time back, one of the people here had given him access for a visit. So what?"
That set Maya and Kodama on edge, as the pieces seemed to be falling into place. Kodama didn't want to think about the possibility that Asuka could be working against Shinji, but it was just too easy. They'd been rivals too long, and such a thing just seemed par for the course with the former pilots.
Mana was thinking the same thing, only... something wasn't adding up. "You're also a Major, as your badge there says," pointing to Asuka's chest the redhead nodded. "Majors have duty over field offices that manage, among other things, PMC commissions and deployment, barracks and licensing, correct?"
Looking away, Asuka shrugged, "I do that, yes. It's not something the military insists on me working on," When Mana raised a brow, the former pilot threw her hands up and glowered. "I'm a figurehead, OK? It's an honorary rank. They don't make me do anything."
"But, by your rank, you'd have access to records, licenses and internal commissions for those units." When Asuka nodded, Mana tapped the photo again, "this man is supposedly holding Shinji, and he's an American PMC commander. Just so you know."
Asuka looked up sharply, as the implication in Mana's words became clear. "I hope you're no insinuating that I had anything to do with Shinji's disappearance, Mana. That's one hell of a claim to put down without proof."
Mana decided to change course, with her next question, "Nerv-3 just received a fund increase, to augment their carbon research, in hopes of securing an internal source for microcarbon technology, isn't that correct?"
Still ruffled from the earlier questions, Asuka nodded, shrugging, "Yes, five percent. Shinji authorized it himself."
"Where are your budget records?" Her tone didn't make it a question, so much as a command.
Asuka stood, her blue eyes glittering angrily in the room's light, "Don't come into my facility and order me around," she grated, voice cast dangerously.
In answer, Mana simply tapped the UN order still laying on the woman's desk. "You can either give it to me, or I will relieve you, have you thrown in jail for obstructing a UN investigation, and take it myself."
"Mana!" Maya's voice cut over the quiet malice the two were spreading over the room, and the JSDF liaison spared her a glance, "what's this got to do with anything?"
Again, Mana tapped the orders, and Asuka slammed her hand down onto a buzzer, calling in German for someone angrily. Shortly, a pudgy, bespectacled man entered, introducing himself as Maxwell von Kessler, Nerv-3's financial head. "The Director said you had some questions, yes? Regarding the current budget, hmm?" His odd method of speech annoyed Mana, and something about him was both familiar and unsettling, but discarding those thoughts, she motioned for him to continue. "Yes, let me access the system then."
Data scrolled over the small screen that faced them, as behind it Asuka sat with her hands laced before her, angry and silent. Shortly, the results appeared, and Mana looked over them with a critical eye. "Maya, access and verify this."
"Right."
Moving to connect her datapad to the terminal, Maxwell slid to intercept her, "I'm sorry, but the specific research funding is classified, and-"
"Under UN jurisdiction. Move aside," Mana's hand strayed to her sidearm, and the pudgy man grinned, nodding and stepping back.
"Yes, yes of course. I wasn't aware, yes."
Swallowing, Maya spared Asuka an apologetic look, to which the redhead shrugged. "Accessing now," she informed Mana, as the data funneled into her own terminal. Sitting, the woman's expression went confused, and she looked up to Mana after a moment. "Kirishima?"
"Yes?" Turning her attention to the tech, she came to her side, looking over the datapad. What she saw didn't please her. "Four percent of recent funds being routed to personnel housing..."
Asuka blinked, looking up from her angry contemplations. "What? That can't be right. I declined that proposal."
It all made sense. The blind at the rock face, personnel housing, Asuka's animosity toward Shinji, the UN and her connection to the German Military... Sneering, Mana pulled her weapon, training it on the Director. "I'm sure. Asuka, you are hereby relieved of duty as lead of Nerv-3. Surrender your pass cards and codes immediately, and be prepared to proceed to a detention block."
"Hold on a god damn minute, I'm telling-"
"Mana!" Kodama's yell broke her focus, as the woman pointed back toward the doors. "Maxwell! He slipped out while you were questioning Asuka."
Scanning the room, she found the doctor wasn't mistaken. "Asuka, why would your accountant run away?" Why indeed... again she was struck by that sense that something wasn't right... or perhaps, too right. "Damn it."
Eyeing the JSDF officer angrily, Asuka stood and keyed her communications system. "Security, detain von Kessler on sight. Non-lethal force allowed." Turning back to the weapon now loosely trained on her, she shook her head. "I don't know, but I plan to find out."
"You said you declined the housing proposal, why?" As they looked over Mana's data, the four women came to an obvious conclusion, as various funds were being pulled off, by small options and trivial side projects to fund changes and renovations to an abandoned subterranean barracks. Someone wanted it done, regardless. As Mana read on, she holstered her sidearm, and frowned.
Asuka looked over the information and swore, "It was extraneous. The barracks were proposed long ago, in the event of a war-time situation. Due to the separation of Nerv from the military, it was declined as a sign that we'd be holing up in defense." She accessed the primary records, and found all the funds routed via proposals tagged on to larger, vital projects, all handled by Kessler. "That son of a bitch."
"Maya, get to work on Kessler, I want to know everything," checking her pockets, Mana pulled the slide on her USP, checking the round there. To her surprise, Asuka stopped her, a hand on her arm. "Soryu?"
"Just shut up and listen a minute." Taking a breath, the woman looked away, before speaking again, "Shinji was the only person to try. He didn't care about any of the bullshit that went on in my past, wasn't stunned by my record, or anything. He treated me like a person. Despite me." Looking up at Mana, her blue eyes were hard, but not in anger. "I envy you. What can I do to help?"
Stunned and somewhat put back, the JSDF officer hesitated, shaking her head. "I... I'm sorry about earlier-"
"That's not important. If what we're thinking is true, then-" Asuka's intercom beeped urgently, and the woman looked to it, her brow furrowing, "Yes?"
"Director, we have a situation here," a voice called, behind it the staccato sound of gunfire. "We tracked von Kessler to the labs, but lost him. He's taken a number of prototypes and we think he's holed up in the caverns beyond sub-floor B-2"
"What's with the gunfire?"
A pause, before the security agent's voice came through again. "Apparently, he has help."
I O I
"The local security can't hold, most are only armed with pistols," his subordinate's report made, the man left. Sitting atop one of the troop carriers, his back to the raised canopy that shielded the back, Scott looked over the small encampment and facility, etched into the very walls of Nerv-3 and the bedrock that cradled it.
Three more such places existed. Facilities hidden within themselves. Clever delusions held and maintained by his employer's faction, their existence an open secret inside the UN. Inspectors to these four locations were paid well to turn a blind eye to the research that went forward, bolstering the power of the body as a whole.
Scott smiled, remembering his contact's instructions. Bring the Nerv executive to the underground base below Nerv-3, then wait for the next step. Things would go off without a hitch, no matter the complications. A plan was pointless unless it was made to consider multiple options. In this, there was so much that could go wrong, but it wouldn't matter.
His goals would be achieved. His potential finally recognized. Nerv had denied him Evangelion, refused to let him show the world his power, his supreme talent. So in payment for that slight, he'd give them an enemy, more terrible than Angels. One Nerv had made itself.
"Ah, Scott, I take it you're trip went well?" His eyes turned to the fat, sweating man that stood beside the vehicle, and he smiled.
Brandon stood and stretched, nodding. "Very well, in fact. The Director's condition is deteriorating rapidly."
"Excellent." His hand rubbing together eagerly, von Kessler looked back toward the gunfire that followed him down the facility. "Your troops can hold them for the time we need, yes?"
Nodding, Scott hopped down beside the shorter man, "Nerv is demilitarized, they don't stand a chance." Looking toward the guard that was set to watch his captives, Scott couldn't help but smile. It only grew larger at von Kessler's next words.
"Yes, good. Begin the second phase. Burn this place to the ground."
A/N: Yep, amost there. Heroes don't just happen - they need a reason. And all Shinji's reasons are about in place.
