To anyone who read this before I disappeared: I could ask for forgiveness and go into Shinji mode saying I'm sorry a hundred times, but after three months everyone deserves to insult me.
R/R
13. Plotting
NERV HQ- Ikari's Office.
The office is quiet, calmed and unmoving. No signs of life can be heard. Yet there's some movement in there, someone is standing in the room, a brush in the person's hand. The figure is a woman, a tall and old woman painting something in the ceiling of Ikari's office. The painting is small, almost unnoticeable: a hexagon with white stars on each corner, strange symbols on the lines that interconnect the stars and one single, black star in the middle of the figure. It looks very simple next to the massive Tree of Life that adorns the center of the ceiling. Yet the hexagon means the same as the Tree: an incoming end.
"May I know why Keolan Lentai intrudes into my office?"
The voice is cold, simple and full of power: the voice of Gendo Ikari. Yet he knows his voice has no power over Keolan Lentai. The woman had never feared Ikari or anyone at NERV.
"I was just waiting for your arrival, Ikari. I must say the painting of the Tree of Life in your ceiling annoys me: the ten Sephirots… the ten attributes of God. Such a thing is not necessary. Humankind will advance beyond God's creation, into a plane of existence were he won't matter"
"Beyond God… Such a foolish statement. I hope you are aware that we could fail: the Angels aren't just enemies; they are messengers of God… And their message is very clear: "stop or you will die"".
"Yes, but the thing about the Angels is that they can't defeat us, as we have the same weapons. We wanted to be God, so we created Evangelions to protect us while we do so"
"Evangelions are more important than that: they are set to be the catalyst of Instrumentality. That's why the Angels try to destroy Evas in their way to Lilith, because they are part of our plan…"
"I still don't see why God must interfere in Instrumentality: it's not a rejection of him, merely the use of his only gift to us…"
"Intelligence"
"Yes. I still don't understand why we wait for all the Angels to come: we could start Instrumentality right now and we would succeed…"
"Who would protect mankind once we merge into one? All of mankind would be under Lilith's control: it would take only one more Angel to merge with Lilith and Third Impact would annihilate our new world in Lilith's egg"
"Aren't Instrumentality and Third Impact the same concept?"
"Both of them have many different meanings. Humankind sees a Third Impact as another catastrophe like an explosion in the poles; SEELE sees it as the merging of any Angel and Lilith: the devastation of humanity. Instrumentality is the evolution of mankind into a higher plane of existence: a world of one complete soul. If Instrumentality fails and humans return to individuality, they will find their world destroyed, and then it can be called Third Impact"
"You say that as long as mankind doesn't realize the destruction of their world, they won't even know of a Third Impact?"
"Exactly"
"Then why take the risk of a Third Impact? I'm pretty sure you are aware of what that hexagon means: the Death of mankind. In Death, humans will join together and, as one, will find strength"
"From Death must come Rebirth. Instrumentality is the only way to assure that rebirth"
"I see. Well, Ikari, I can't say you are a man without convictions, but when you are wrong, something must be done. As you may have heard, I have orders to take Adam away from you"
"And, as you expected, Adam is here"
The man opens his suitcase to reveal an embryo sealed in bakelite. Lentai pays no mind to the Angel; rather, she is looking at Ikari's right hand, where she can see some bandages and the red color of blood. She nears the man and takes the suitcase, closing it.
"To seal an Angel within yourself…Only you could have done that Ikari"
"You have what you want, now leave"
"I have every right to be here"
"But nobody wants you here"
"Good thing I control my own actions, then"
The woman leaves the room, but has no intentions to leave the Geofront: there's much to learn before she leaves. Many secrets waiting to be discovered.
She then notices the entrance to the room housing the MAGI computers, alongside the technicians, Doctor Akagi and her intended target since yesterday.
What better place to start than the center of NERV's knowledge
She walks into the room, not being noticed until she reaches her intended target: Jeyn Lentai.
"Avoiding me won't get you anything"
"And I thought it was working" She sighed
"Why don't you come with me, Jeyn?"
Both of them leave the room and walk towards the containment cages: as Jeyn had expected, Keolan was here to make sure their plan would work.
They reached cage 4 and stood over the black giant: Evangelion Unit 03. Currently, some of the armor was being put in place and some parts were missing, like the wrists.
"I still don't know what part this thing plays: it's just another Eva, another production model born from Adam's cells. As it owns a soul inside of it, it can't merge with Lilith, so it won't do any good during Third Impact. On the other side, it's not a especially powerful Eva: Unit 02 is an older model and it's probably better. Units 00, 01 and 06 have their part on the plan, so…"
"So Unit 05 is another useless Eva"
"Well, all Evas are originally made to protect us from the Angels, so I wouldn't say useless. In the end, they will make our task more difficult, yes."
"Suzuhara and your daughter… it won't be hard to get rid of them"
"I think we already discussed that"
"We did, but not in this place"
"What about Ikari? He is just letting us go on?"
"He is confused: he doesn't know what to do. A few months ago it was either SEELE or him, but now we are on the same game, Jeyn. We are option number three, ready to be used by the best postulant"
"The Death of mankind… We don't even know if rebirth can come from it. SEELE and Ikari's way is far more trustable"
"But we are another option, not a very good one, but we are one. And if nobody chooses us, well…"
"We do it ourselves?"
"Perhaps"
"To be the murderers of mankind…"
"Yes. But I think we should do what we came here to do"
"Yes"
They continue to walk towards the next containment cage, cage 5. The cage is empty, as the expected occupant is "missing".
"Unit 04… the only one besides Unit 01 born from Lilith. I still can't believe those Germans couldn't make a good engine…"
"Construction was deficient in the terms of platting and control of the reaction. Plus, the reaction itself was something we knew nothing about. They just extracted the engine from the remains of the Fourth Angel, send them to Germany for some studies that found out nothing, and inserted it inside Unit 04"
"They were in a hurry, apparently"
"The scrolls had dictated the fourth defender of mankind would betray them"
"Unit 03"
"So they needed another Eva as soon as possible. They found the opportunity to make another one even better, so they took it"
"Fools playing with a power they don't understand"
"Just like creating six copies of Adam, all of them equipped with the same power, and store them where they can cause the most possible damage"
"The accident wasn't my fault: Kazegawa used the wrong dummy plug in those. Albert knew they wouldn't work, yet he used them"
"Well, if I was him, I would rather use those and get rid of the Evas than using my own son"
"Dorian or Demian?"
"Probably both"
"Let's go to the next cage, this one is a little empty, you know?"
The next cage is filled with a horrid smell: the smell of organic components, bakelite, and LCL and Eva blood. Where Unit 05 used to be, now there's an Eva with a massive whole in its torso.
"May I ask what happened here?"
"That damned storm angel reared its ugly head in one last attack and made sure we would remember him"
"I see. But the Unit is still operational?"
"Not right now, but it will be. We can't just lose Unit 05: we put too much effort in it"
"I wonder why… Did you ever hear Kyoko Sohryu altered Unit 02's design for her daughter? A very nepotistic action, may I say"
"If you want to talk about nepotism, go speak with Albert Kazegawa: he is the one who made Unit 06 fit his own son like a bloody glove…"
"Yet you made sure Unit 05 would be perfect for your daughter…"
An awful silence falls on the two women: it's not everyday they talk, but every time they do, it end ups in a fight.
"Save me the lecture, Mom"
"Shut up"
They silence is different this time: more relaxed, as both look at each other and laugh.
"You haven't changed at all, Jeyn Lentai"
"Neither have you…"
"All technical and tactical personnel report to your positions! This is not a drill! Al technical and…"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing good, I assure you"
Eastern China Sea
The waters are calm as the hours go on, nothing disturbing them, only the quiet movement of commerce ships. Despite the great extension of the oceans, hundreds of ships go through the trading routes of the Eastern China Sea everyday, from China to Korea, to Japan, to Russia and to other countless destinations. This day isn't the exception: many ships can be seen sailing through the usual trading routes.
"UN commerce ship 817, confirm your ETA"
The voice, mechanic and faintly masculine, can be recognized as the intercom voice of the MAGI super computers. Very few ships are actually contacted by the MAGI itself, meaning the ship carries something valuable.
"Estimated time of arrival: 18:35, Japanese Central Time"
Confirmation is given by the MAGI and the ship goes on, fighting against a no longer calm sea. The tide has risen and the wind has become faster, crashing against the ship and forcing it to slow its march.
Then, the sea calms down, the winds stops blowing and the tide has subsided.
Then, in a second, the tide raises again, one single massive wave forming from it. The wave is set to crash with the ship in a few seconds.
And then it crashes, but it's not such a drama: the ship should hold against it. But as the water covers the entire ship for a second, the wave crashes back against the ocean, vanishing whatever lied underneath it.
In a few seconds, the sea swallowed an entire ship.
Control Room-NERV
"This is the last picture taken of the Eastern China Sea: we can see the ship is still on course, nothing affecting it. The next picture, taken ten seconds after the previous one, shows a dramatic change in the sea, as the tide and the wind speed increased massively in a few seconds. Then, the third picture shows a calm sea again, but the ship is missing"
The three pictures lie in the MAGI's screens, showing the mystery of the UN ship: just like the first branch in Nevada, the ship vanished in a few seconds, leaving no trace of what happened to it.
"I think we can all agree that this was caused by an Angel"
A silent nod of approval goes through the room as Ritsuko exposes the few facts they have here: a missing ship lost in the East China Sea and an unexplainable disappearance.
"The MAGI managed to scan waveform patterns through the sea: despite a lot of interference, we found a pattern with some similarities to an Angel's one. We should be able to get a complete scan in a couple of minutes, but the MAGI is 89 percent sure it was caused by an Angel."
"Any other possible reason?"
"Perhaps, but the bad weather combined with this attack, so it's almost impossible"
"I see. Doctor Akagi, are there any reasons to take immediate measures?"
"The commerce ship contained some very valuable elements, so I would say we have to hunt down this Angel as soon as possible"
"Sounds like a commerce raiding Angel. Reminds me of a submarine, you know?"
The last comment, which was totally out of line, was made by Keolan Lentai. Ritsuko and Ikari didn't expect any intervention from someone else, so they were taken back by this comment.
"A commerce raiding Angel?"
"Commerce raiding is a war tactic used to block an enemy from receiving supplies or any sort of war material. The Angel was aware of the ship's cargo, so it decided to attack it"
"Major Katsuragi, any comments?"
Misato got a little a mad at the request: of course she had things to say, but to ask them like that.
"Well, considering the cargo of the ship, it's only logical it was very vulnerable not only to Angels, but to many other enemies. But I must say it's surprising: an Angel blocking our supplies. It's probably smarter than any other one we have seen"
"Save the seventeenth"
The comment sends the room into dread: Tabris wasn't a subject to be discussed in NERV, not any longer.
"Major Katsuragi, we evidently have an Angel here, so as our tactician I expect you to do your job and come up with a strategy"
"I was thinking that…"
"Excuse me, but I think everyone in this room is bypassing a important point here!"
"Mrs. Lentai? What point?"
"The ship was directly under UN jurisdiction, so it's only logical the UN must take measures against the attacker."
"Angels are NERV's field, it's our jurisdiction"
"And NERV is directly dependant of the UN, meaning we have the power to intervene in any Angel attack if necessary"
"What's the point of this Mrs. Keolan?"
"The UN has been explaining mistake after mistake of NERV's actions: this can't happen any longer. I have been sent here with orders to act over NERV's own command if necessary Commander, so I must do as instructed. NERV will be immediately locked down and closed to anyone: nobody will leave unless ordered to"
Despite her age, Keolan's voice has a power and strength never seen in NERV: the same voice that dominated the UN general assembly now controlled NERV, over ruling Ikari and Fuyutski.
Everyone turned around to watch Commanders Ikari and Fuyutski, waiting for the answer: there was no way this woman was going to get her way.
But the two men merely stand up and leave, saying only one fraise before leaving.
"Doctor Akagi, Major, and both Mrs. Lentai, please come with us"
Ritsuko and Misato can only swallow and be afraid of what's coming. The two Lentai's follow after them, one felling confident and the other one embarrassed at being called a "Mrs."
NERV-Geofront
"Boring" Asuka's mind yelled. They had been locked down for almost five hours and she was already losing all of her patience.
"Could this be any more boring?!!" Asuka yelled
"No, but it could be worst: we could be fighting whatever caused this lockdown"
Asuka only glares at Shinji, not even bothering to answer.
"When I think about it, I would rather be bored than fighting an Angel."
"Idiot! Maybe you don't like it, but some of us do, you know?"
"Whatever"
Shinji can't help it but to feel Asuka's remark is false: from where is lying he can see Dorian, lying on the ground trying to catch some sleep, and Cremina holding a CD player, lost in listening to it.
"Yeah, it's better to be here bored than fighting"
"Look idiot, if you don't want to fight, fine. There's still more pilots if you haven't noticed. Plus, haven't you ever thought of those who have worked to be here?!"
"I… didn't. I'm sorry"
Shinji expects to get some pity, but Asuka only looks angrier.
"Stop saying you are sorry, it doesn't fix anything if you don't mean it!"
"But I do"
"All the time? 'Cause you are always saying you are sorry!"
"Well, maybe not all the time, but…"
"Not all the time, you see!"
She closes her eyes and grins: for her it's a victory, but for Shinji it means almost nothing. Perhaps it's better this way…
"Hey, Shinji"
"What is it?"
"Why are we staying down here anyway? We always go up and fight or Misato tells us what's wrong. But now we are kept here in NERV and we don't even know what's going on"
"Perhaps it's not about an Angel"
"What do you mean?"
"It could be that something is going on within NERV. Something with the people who work here"
"Some sort of treason perhaps?"
"I don't really know. But this isn't just an Angel: there's something else to it"
"It's probably got something to do with that old woman coming…"
Dorian's voice is barely a whisper for Shinji, but he manages to hear it.
"Who? Who's the old woman?"
"Cremina's grandmother…"
"Who?"
"Keolan Lentai, British representative to the UN assembly and one heck of a rich woman"
"The UN? You mean that woman is involved with NERV then?"
"She's been walking around NERV for two days now, so I would say she finally found a reason to cause trouble"
"Cause trouble? The she is here to…"
"She is here to "clean" NERV of anyone the UN doesn't want working here, which is probably everyone"
Cremina's intervention was something no one expected.
"And I used to think you were deaf when you listen to that thing…"
"It's not a secret my grandmother is here for political reasons. Plus, I don't think she has found anything yet, it's probably something else…"
And once again, they knew nothing. But the answer to their questions came from the pyramid of the Geofront. A purple haired woman with a troubled mind.
"Misato!"
"You guys…"
An awkward silence falls between them, making everyone feel uneasy about the news they're waiting for.
"Misato, what's going on? Why are we waiting here?"
"Kids, you better come here and see it yourselves"
The four children follow Misato inside the pyramid through one of the many underground entrances. They move through the corridors of NERV until they reach the Control Room. In the MAGI screens three frozen images can be seen.
"Okay: today, about three hours ago, an unknown enemy attacked a UN commerce ship in the Eastern China Sea, leaving no trace of the ship. Then, about an hour later, another ship disappeared mysteriously near the Russian port of Vladivostok. Both cases aren't very important: ships can go missing and reappear because of poor scans or route changes, but the cargo of both ships was the same and it would be very hard for the MAGI to miss a ship"
"All right Misato, but what the hell does that mean?"
"It means there's an Angel attacking UN ships out there, as quiet as a tomb and faster than any ship in the world. But the main problem is the cargo of those ships: both ships were carrying Evangelion material"
"Eva parts? So this Angel is like a submarine blocking us?"
"How the Angel attacks doesn't matter, what matters is that we lost valuable material in the course of a few hours. Plus, no trace was left of the ships, so the material is still intact; meaning the Angel probably has a use for it"
"What could an Angel do with an Eva…?"
The question didn't even need to be answered: the name "Bardiel" ringed a bell in Asuka's mind.
"So this Angel is going to use Eva parts to…"
"Fight against us. But we still have time: it will take at least a couple of weeks until that Angel gathers all of the necessary components, so we have to stop it before it can gather enough material"
"And how do we stop such a thing? You said it can travel hundreds of kilometers in a few hours!" Shinji complained.
"Idiot, we set a trap to catch it!" Said Asuka in reply.
"Not exactly. We are going to set a trap, but we won't even move. He will come to us" Misato explained.
A devilish grin crossed her face: she had a perfect plan in mind.
Geofront – Train to the exterior
"How the heck are we supposed to "use Evangelion advantages to stop the Angel" without even knowing a thing about this Angel?!" Asuka yelled
The five children (including Rei) were on their way to the surface. Meanwhile, Asuka had done nothing but complain. Not that her complains were stupid, but after a couple of minutes, they start sounding pretty…useless.
"Well, tell me: we are fighting a mysterious ship-attacking Angel, what advantage do you have against it?" Dorian answered
"How I'm I supposed to know my advantage without knowing the enemy?! It's plain stupid!" Asuka answered back
"If the Angel was able to find the Eva parts in the ship, that means he always knew where the parts were, so we can conclude he prefers to fight in the sea, as he attacked when the parts were in the ship and not at any other time" Rei said with her monotone voice.
Everyone was left speechless: she was right, absolutely right. Plus, nobody felt in the mood to answer back: it was the beginning of their little knowledge of their enemy.
"Then, he is just like the 18th: all we have to do is get him out of the sea and our job will be done" Asuka concluded
"It's never that easy. Plus, you heard them: the Angel changed even the weather, so it's similar to the 19th" Cremina said.
"Then we are fighting a mix up of sorts? No real challenge in that: we just do what we did last times" Dorian said
"You are all missing the point in here: our main concern is the Angel's interest in the Evangelion parts, which we also need to recover. The main trouble will be to stop him from using the Evangelion equipment he has" Rei said. Once again, she left everyone speechless.
"Ummm, does that mean we are going to fight an Eva?" Dorian asked. The question sent Shinji back to a bad memory: Unit 03 and the thirteenth.
"It's possible. But I doubt the Angel will be a complete Eva: it will probably lack some parts and a pilot" Rei noticed the sorrow in Shinji's eyes and used her words to relief Shinji. His mood improved a little, but the bad memories kept attacking him.
"No, the point of this trap is to catch him before he turns into an Evangelion. So you all don't even think about fear or defeat: we are just way too good for an Angel"
The comment, made by Asuka, sent everyone to awe: since when did Asuka value the others?
NERV-Containment Cage 7
The cage is quiet and calm as the dormant Unit 06 stands still, nothing disturbing the Evangelion, despite the presence of a red haired scientist and a politician.
"You do realize we lost an Evangelion with that UN ship? This is probably going to set us back weeks, maybe a month" The older woman said to her daughter-in-law
"We need six, not eight: the Chinese built II series is useless to us, as they are probably built with political purposes, not ours. The six II series MP Evas of the Fourth Branch are still at our disposition, and if SEELE decides to use them, we can give them the first series in return" Jeyn answered. She knew Keolan was here to make sure everything was on track.
"Five Evangelions are under NERV's control. Unit 04 is missing in a Dirac Sea with no chances of coming back. The Chinese built MP Evas are…?"
"Two of them are still in the Beijing Branch, but they will end up destroyed, as we know. The other Chinese Eva was lost in the attack to that ship."
"The whole Eva was in the ship? I thought they were just parts"
"Not quite. But that leaves the nine Evas from the first MP series and the six from the second one."
"It's unsafe to start our plan as long as SEELE controls the first series, Jeyn. We could have to face SEELE and NERV all on our own."
"The scrolls predicted it: in the final hours, Death will claim all of mankind. The throne of all souls and the rogue king won't be able to stop the end of humans"
"SEELE is the throne of all souls. And Ikari is probably the rogue king. But tell: what about the rest of the world? The UN, the JSSDF, the other countries military forces… how do we know they won't act?"
"We don't. That's the nature of our plan: we need coincidences to happen in a specific sequence, and then we can start our plan. If they don't happen, we are domed, but if they do, nobody will be able to stop us"
"We are going to kill all of mankind and join it in Death… this couldn't be a little bit safer?"
"Not really"
"Okay. Now, I have to make sure this thing will work: tomorrow is going to be hectic"
Next Day- New Yokohama Docks
The docks were filled with a noise that hadn't been seen in months since the arrival of a massive UN fleet. But the scenario hasn't changed at all: it is the same duty and the same arriving ships, bringing whatever the UN wants in Japan. The only change is the figure of the black-and-yellow Unit 06 crouched near the bay area, expecting the arrival of the ships.
"Come on, no Angel would be stupid enough to fall in this trick!" Dorian complained, his voice resounding in the Control Room in NERV. Standing there was a very annoyed Jeyn Lentai. Next to her was Misato, silently agreeing with the young English: how the hell forced this plan to happen? Her own authority had been denied when she refused to execute the idea: to catch an Angel off guard by waiting his own attack? It was kind of hard to miss the gigantic Evangelion waiting for the Angel, so surprising the Angel was impossible.
But someone in NERV didn't think so; otherwise they wouldn't be doing it.
"Major Katsuragi?"
"Yes Commander?"
"I understand the Tenth Angel threw himself recklessly against Tokyo-3, right?"
"Yes"
"And the Sixth Angel swallowed two battleships, causing his own death, right?"
"Yes"
"Then I don't understand, pilot Kazegawa, why you think Angels are smart in any way"
"That's probably the closest to a joke he's ever been: a sarcastic remark" Dorian thought. But he did make sense: Angels didn't sound particularly smart, but then again, their plain wasn't smart either.
"I doubt Misato planned this thing, but then who?"
The questions were left in the back of everyone's mind when they saw the latest report from the MAGI.
"The MAGI computers have concluded the Angel has entered Japan's territorial waters, he will access the bay in two minutes and counting!"
As Dorian waited for the incoming threat, his mind drifted elsewhere. A little phrase, meaningless, appears in his mind: somehow, it seems fit for the moment.
Sitting ducks.
It was a perfect fit: he had been ordered to remain waiting, with little chance of doing anything else, but there was one problem with that:
Sitting ducks usually get killed.
"The signal has disappeared. No trace of the Angel is left, only resonance from old ships sunk in the bay"
Damn, he thought. Not that he wanted to fight, but waiting for nothing was probably worst.
"Okay, Dorian, hold back to the Tokyo-3 outskirts. You will stand guard there"
"What? Why? The Angel backed off"
"It isn't safe anyhow" Misato cut the communication immediately: she wasn't in the mood to argue with the pilot
Control Room-NERV
"Could anyone tell me how an Angel vanishes right in front of us?!!" Misato asked, anger taking over her.
"Well, he stopped moving and lowered his AT field, meaning he backed off from attacking Unit 06. It doesn't have any science in it" Jeyn answered her.
"Yes, but why the hell would he back off?!"
"Why would you back off, Major? There are hundreds of reasons, but I would say the Angel backed off because…"
"READING'S BACK, THE ANGEL IS IN THE BAY!"
"How the…"
New Yokohama Docks
"READING'S BACK, THE ANGEL IS IN THE BAY!"
"How the… Kid, behind you!"
Dorian wasn't an idiot, so he turned around, drawing his weapon in the process.
All he saw was a pair of teeth and water coming out of the bay
"It's the…!"
Then darkness.
Geofront
A lone figure stood next to the lake of the Geofront: nobody actually cared about the lake; it was just a security measure. With a lake right above part of NERV's facilities, they could prevent detection of a lot of things going on down there: the water, specially altered as it was, was a perfect defense against infiltrations of any kind.
But the figure pays it no mind: it silently sits nearby the water, a cup in it's hands. Soon, another figure rushes out of the Geofront pyramid, clearly exasperated.
"Funny you, of all people, come to see me"
"Shut it Keolan"
It is once again her distressed daughter in law: Jeyn Lentai.
"I don't read minds, so you will have to tell me…"
"It's the kid…"
"What did he do this time?"
"The Angel got him: it somehow became invisible to our radars and attacked him without a warning: it crushed the entire braincase of the Evangelion"
"So what are you mad about: the failure, the Angel or the extra hours of work to repair the Unit?"
"None"
Keolan looks away from the cup she was holding: the scent says it's hot tea.
"Then what bothers you?"
"My daughter"
"What does Cremina have to do with him?"
"Keolan, after everything I have told you about Kazegawa, please don't tell me you don't remember…"
"Yes, I know, this obsessive mother thing you have, believing he is after your daughter"
"He is!"
"So? He hasn't actually done anything, has he?"
"No"
"Then tell me what's wrong, you damned woman!"
Jeyn steals the cup of tea from Keolan's hands and takes a long drink from it. Once she lets go, her voice becomes filled with anger.
"Katsuragi was briefing the pilots about this incident: you know, Angel disappeared this, mysteriously reappeared that, attacked, etc, etc, etc, and then she told them that Kazegawa had been injured by a direct hit and Cremina, she, she…!"
"She what?"
"…"
"You are going to have to speak louder because I didn't hear you."
"She…"
"What?!"
"She worried"
"She worried? That's it?!"
"But not like in friendly worry! She was worried like if that kid was… important to her!"
"They are friends, it's only logical"
"It was more than friendly I told you!"
"She also sighed you know? That's more than friendly"
"…"
"What?"
"This is good you know? I always wondered if you had sent your motherly instincts to the grave with my son, but it seems you didn't"
"This isn't some joke!"
"It is to me, but if it's so important to you I can only say one thing"
"What?"
"Leave the kid alone for a while. Plus, ever thought it's a little too late to start being the girl's mother? You left that role in the sidelines long time ago"
"But you just said...!"
"I said your instincts were kicking in, but I also think it's a little too late for you to play your role as her mother: she will probably not allow it anyhow"
"… That's bullshit"
"I wish it was"
"It's not fair: you have barely played a role in her life, yet you still are "the good grandmother who comes home every Christmas" and all that crap"
"I'm the grandmother: my role is smaller than yours, so I can give myself that pleasure. You, on the other side, are the single parent: you have to be the mother and do the father's part. One day you will see her grow up and leave you, and she won't miss you probably"
"Provided she actually has a future after this"
"… I will make no comments about that"
"You think our relationship will fix itself in our new world"
"Only time will tell"
They stay in silence, the memory of their plan for mankind appearing in their minds. Then, Jeyn speaks
"You know…"
"Yes?"
"I think I won't have to fix Unit 06"
"Jeyn, I insist, leave the kid alone"
"I'm not going to harm him. I was just thinking of how to avoid having to work on the Unit and I found out how"
"And the million yen answer is:.."
"I will ask for help"
"Akagi will laugh in your face"
"Not to her"
"Then who?"
"The designer"
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A/N: Short chapter, I know, hate me, but I promise another chapter before Friday.