Moving On; Part Three

The International Tribunal took several days to reach a verdict. The testimonies of Commander Ikari, Vice-Commander Fujutsuki, Doctor Akagi, and the NERV staff were very clear. Along with the disappearance of the members of the Human Instrumentalization Comitee, the conclusion was unavoidable. Both NERV and SEELE had been at the center of a genocidal complot without precedents.

Although most of NERV's staff was completely innocent of any complicity, the higher echelons were guilty of attempting genocide. However, Ikari's testimony was enough to reduce the sentences of his subordinates. The confessions of Fujutsuki and Akagi coincided with his.

Ikari was sentenced to 2,387 consecutive life sentences. Not even death would release him from prison. As part of his sentence, he would be moved to a small NERV complex, built in the Antarctic ruins, deep in the now dead continent. There, he would spend the rest of his life in solitary confinement, away from any human contact. His food and clothes would be delivered to him through automated systems. His cell would be monitored from afar, and in the improbable case he could escape from the complex, he would still have to travel several hundreds of kilometers before even reaching the coast. It would be a killing trip, as the Antarctic was a death zone.

Fujutsuki was sentenced for life, but in consideration to both his age and his acts during the last battle, plus the testimony of the surviving staff, his sentence was commuted to house arrest. He would even be allowed to receive occasional visits.

The work of the lawyers Misato had reccomended to Ritsuko, James Fleischer and Mike Aparo, was enough, barely, to save Ritsuko from jail. She was sentenced to parole for twenty years. She could work as a general practicioner, under close surveillance. Akagi asked to change her field to physical therapy, rehab, and taking advantage of her work with the neural interfases of the Evangelions, design and fitting of prosthesis. She had two debts she wanted to pay. The comitee accepted.

In private, the recordings recovered from the GeoFront and the JSSDF abandoned vehicles were a decisive factor in the lenience shown to the NERV staff. Several high commanders of the JSSDF resigned in disgrace over their involvement in the NERV Massacre; however, at government level, no one wanted to incur the wrath of the woman in the white kimono.

The comitee decided to dissolve NERV and freeze the two remaining Evangelion in their power. A new agency would take NERV's plave, mantaining the EVAs in reserve and readiness, in case they would ever be needed again.


"Thank you, boys, we're even now." Misato gestured at Shinji and Rei to come in. "No, of course not. Ah, that's more like it. Just let me get a clean bill of health and then we will celebrate as is right and proper. Yes, I'll be seeing you. I'll call you as soon as I get everything sorted out. Give my regards to the children!" Misato closed the phone. "Ah! Those were really good news."

Shinji stood behind the visitor's chair, letting Rei sit down. "Who were you talking with, Misato?"

"Ah, those were Rits' lawyers. They got her a reduced sentence, and she won't be jailed. She will be here tomorrow afternoon, with some cops escorting her, but technically free."

Rei looked at her. "That is good."

"Sure. And I bet you anything that the Commander wishes he had those same lawyers on his side. They pulverized him in court."

Shinji looked a bit sad. "I don't want to talk about him. He got rid of me at the first chance he got."

Misato held his hand. "Well, look at the bright side. Now there's no problems for me adopting you. As soon as I'm out of here, we will start with your adoption. And yours too, Rei."

Taking the chance to change subjects, Shinji commented. "I heard a rumour earlier, they say they will tranfer all NERV's staff who is willing, to a new agency."

"I wouldn't be surprised, after all, NERV is a second generation agency, it was started as GEHIRN."

"Why all these agencies have german names?"

"Do you have any problem with German, Third?", a new voice joined the talk. It belonged to a certain red headed pilot, leaning on the door frame.

"Asuka!"

"In person. And I have news too. Closer to home, literally. First, Hikari and her family are back in Tokyo-3. I got them an apartment in our building, their house was wrecked when..." Asuka shot a fast look at Rei, who lowered her eyes. "Doesn't matter. What matters is we have new neighbors."

"Second, Pen-Pen is back in his fridge. I thing it defrosted while we were away, he got a lot of soggy newspapers out. And Third, you have to get them out the house." Shinji was confused for a second, until he realized the Third Asuka had mentioned was not her third point, but him as the Third Child. Asuka continued, "I put them in a bucket so they wouldn't drip all over the floor."

"It's okay, someone remind me to buy some tuna cans for him."

"And finally, Friday I'll go back to Germany."

Misato's eyes showed her dissapointment for a second. Asuka went on. "I have some matters to attend there; as soon as I have everything under control, I'll come back." Both Misato and Shinji brightened at the prospect. "Misato, I accept your offer, with a pair of caveats."

"Tell me."

"Well," she sighed, "It would not be a complete adoption, my father still lives, and although I don't get along well with him and his wife, I don't think he's as bad as..." Shinji shrank a little, expecting a barb, "like others around, who don't really deserve to have a family. I want to bury the hatchet, and make peace with them. Who knows? They might even turn out not to be as bad as I thought."

Misato stared at her, that much diplomacy was uncharacteristic of the german pilot.

"I'll ask you receive custody of me until I reach adultship. After that, I'll search for my own apartment. By the way, I need you to arrange my entrance to College; it's past time I get to go to a school at my level."

"Uh, sure. It might take a while, Tokyo-3 will be underpopulated for a while."

"I can wait. I got word that the school will be rebuilt once a census of the population is take. So we have at least a month ot two of enforced vacation time. Third," lightly, she punched Shinji´s shoulder. "you owe me a trip to Okinawa, don't even think I have forgotten about it. I'll even teach you to swim. Just get rid of that boring swimsuit before we go. I won't be seen in public with anyone wearing such an eyesore."

Shinji stammered, remembering that red and white bikini and thermal expansion.

Misato decided to rescue him. "Probably I could get you a tutor, Asuka. It will be expensive, but I think we can manage."

"Then it's arranged." Asuka clapped once.


SEELE 12 entered his room. It had been almost a month without any signs of the Ghost Woman, and work on the ship was almost finished. He checked the salt circle around his bed, and went to the well stocked bar.

He poured himself a glass of brandy, he was on the mood for a celebration. Soon, they would leave behind that island of death. Even being caught and judged was a better prospect than waiting to be murdered by a vengeful spirit, or whatever she was.

Satisfied, he left the glass on the bar, and yawned.

Before realizing it, he had a tequila shot in hand. He tried to drop it, but his fingers didn't obey him anymore. A scream stuck in his throat.

Slowly, his hand raised the glass to his mouth. Desperately, he tried to turn his head away, drop the glass, anything. A cold sheen of sweat covered his forehead as he saw the reflection on the mirror behind the bar. The Ghost Woman smiled at him, occupying the place his own reflection should have been.

"Ah! You have good stuff here! YESSS! This is the best way to end the day! Too bad you have no beer around, but I'm not complaining. I have a lot to celebrate, and you will be with me until the end. Your end, I mean. So, BOTTOMS UP!"

A cruel smile parted the lips of the cracked porcelain mask. The reflection emptied the glass in a single move. And poured another.

And another.

And another.

Methodically, she emptied bottle ofter bottle, as SEELE-12 mimicked each movement with shaking hands.


Next morning, the others found him, lying on the floor, reeking to alcohol. Dead.

"Alcohol poisoning. The damned stupid idiot drank himself to death." Sentenced SEELE-08. "Bah, he surely didn't even realize he was killing himself."


The ship was ready two days later. The only thing left to do was to load the food and water, but the sun was setting down. It would be better to leave it for the next day; for now, they would go back to their rooms and renew their salt and garlic wards.

Just in case.

The group walked away from the wharf, when they heard a splashing sound. They turned around, looking for the source of the noise.

Grotesque white tentacles wrapped around the ship. Instead of suction cups, they were covered with hooked barbs, that made long scratches on the paint, leaving deep gouges in the metal surface. The collective gasp of SEELE's survivors wasn't heard, the noise of steel being crushed drowned it.

Lazily, without any real effort, the tentacles pulled down the ship; slowly, letting it fill with water.

SEELE 11 went crazy at that point.

He took a firefighter's axe, and jumped in the ship. He hacked and slashed the tentacles, cutting them with each strike, like trees. Roaring and ranting with each strike.

A tentacle wrapped around him from behind, another pulled the ax from his hands, like taking a toy from a baby.

A moment later, SEELE-11 was upside down, kicking the air with desperation, trying to get free. For a few moments, the tentacle held him up in the air. Then it lowered him into a small pool of sea water at the beach, submerging his head and shoulders with chilling purpose. Immediately, the waters churned around him, forming a red tinged foam.

Meanwhile, a little further back, the ship had almost disappeared in the waters. SEELE-11 convulsed jerkily for almost a minute, before the horrified eyes of his companions in conspiration. His movementer weakening by the minute, until they stopped completely. A minute passed, and then another.

Finally, with what the survivors would have called contempt, the tentacle threw the dead body to dry land. It fell heavily on the wharf, bouncing once. It lay on a small poll of salt water and blood. The face of the man had disappeared. A small crab, with a white carapace and green legs and pincers rushed back to sea, dragging a piece of meat with its pincers. SEELE-05 was temped to stomp on it, but didn't dare to do it.

With a loud splash, a huge green eye broke the waves, looking at then, one by one, with an inhuman expression. It blinked slowly, like daring them to try something. Anything.

No one moved.

Delicately, a long tentacle took the little crab, taking it back to the water.

The creature went below the waves. Without any hurry.

It had all the time in the world.


SEELE's survivors stayed on the wharf for a long time, looking at the few traces left of the ship they had put their hopes on.


Author's Notes:

The lawyers' names are a little hommage to Michael Fleischer and Jim Aparo, the creative team that revitalized the Spectre back in the 70s.