Chapter 21: Leaking Information

Deep inside NERV, a conversation was being held in the Commander's office. Gendo was on the phone with a representative about covering information that went against the Freedom of Information Act. He assured the individual that using the dummy info will work. The man agreed and hanged up. Setting the phone down and interlacing his hands in front of his face, he smirked. Hiding and controlling information was one of the things he could well.

Looking down at the file on his desk, he stared at it. Normally he would breeze through them. If they didn't contribute to his scenario, it wasn't important to read closely. All he needed was the summary. However, the one before him was different. Gendo opened the file and looked through the contents slowly, trying to absorb as much of the information in one read.

"…" the Commander said turning a page.

He read the observational movement reports that Section-2 and personnel gave about the Third Child. The only people that have seemed to get the smallest bits of information were the Director of Operations and the First Child. Reading what the Captain reported, one of his son's interests was music.

The Commander could have cared less about the information; however, the lack of information about the pilot troubled him. For one, he didn't like surprises. The first day he has seen the boy in eleven years, his prediction of the child's actions was not even close to what he did. The male pilot contracting the mental disorder was out of the blue as well. Having information about possible motives and behaviors would increase his predictions and control of the Third Child. He continued to read and spot sentences that grabbed his attention.

"…The Third Child said that he created his own music which I asked him about it. He wasn't willing to share it after telling him that it could be taken away from him if ordered. His action makes me believe that he might have a cassette, from my guess, that could have information about him…"

Gendo put the file down and stared forward into his void to brainstorm.

'The Third Child's behaviors and actions do not match up to the scroll's predictions. Could the scrolls be interpreted with errors?'

'A possibility…but from his actions, it does not affect the scenario. It only speeds it forward. His past is none of my concern,' he thought with a blink.

Surprised but not showing it, a clone version of the Third Child appeared sitting on the other side of his desk. He mirrored Gendo's pose and had regular glasses. Light was reflecting on them and couldn't see his eyes. With black attire, the clone dressed like a Section-2 agent. What set things astray was the boy was grinning at him which the Commander didn't flinch. The other oddity was the male pilot looked a couple years older and taller.

"What are you doing here Third Child?" he growled yet wondered how he appeared.

"I could ask myself the same question…I wonder why I am here," it said with an accented voice that made the Commander flatter his thoughts.

"What is the meaning of your actions?"

"Commander, do you know why I am here?" he said with dark amusement.

"I'm not here for your games Pilot!"

"I'm touched by your words. My appearance here is from your actions."

A long silence passed through with both staring at each other with different demeanors. Gendo was giving a cold-hearted glow while the clone had a gloomy yet zany glow.

"Explain," he said in a low tone.

"My explanation is nothing but simple. The past is the past and that is that as they say…" Gendo noticed that he turned back his grin which had a malice look to it.

"…but, the more you know, the more you can control Commander. Being under the state of uncertainness can be…" Shinji said as his glasses slide down his nose. Gendo didn't move but his eyebrows went up slightly seeing glowing silver eyes.

"…deadly…"

"…?!" Gendo said looking back at the older Third Child wondering if he was seeing things.

The task was difficult. It didn't move from his spot nor took the grin off his face. But after a few seconds, the Commander blinked feeling his eyes drying. To his second surprise, the young man wasn't there or ever seemed to be there. Thinking of what the clone said, Gendo went to the file on his desk again. He looked through it till he got to the First Child's report of observation.

Normally she would just tell him when they were in the deep bowels of NERV doing tests. However, she gave him a report on her own accord which was new. Reading ever word and sentence carefully, a slight nagging feeling came on the back of his head. One sentence that the female pilot wrote seemed to cause much discomfort.

"…Pilot Ikari's actions are unpredictable…"

Gendo stood up and turned around. Walking to the observation window behind his desk, he looked at his reflection. He put his hands behind his back then stared down at whatever was there. What the Third Child clone said about uncertainness seemed to ring in his head. It made him want to know for more control, to have comfort in having power over the boy. Putting that plan for something later, Gendo walked out of his office. Before he pressed his doors open, he heard an evil chuckle that chimed through the large room. Turning around, he saw no one and just kept walking.

Heading toward the airlift station, he boarded a helicopter that would take him to a military airport. The aircraft ascended and headed toward the surface to leave the Geo-Front. Reaching the ceiling structure, the aircraft went through a hollow silo. Appearing out of the empty missile bay, the nearby vegetation thrashed about from the downwind from the copter. It lessened as the aircraft continued to rise into the air and slowly tilt to the right. Straightening out, it flew inland.

Going over the hills, a large grass field revealed below. Staring out the window, Gendo looked down to see a single building. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary expect there was a person standing on the roof. Getting closer, the Commander could see a little more detail. Not caring who it was and turning his head, the same evil chuckle from his office sounded.

"…!" Gendo said blinking and looking out the window.

The person on the roof was nowhere to be seen. A frown appeared on his face as he crossed his arms across his chest. Wondering if he was tired, he ignored what he saw. After sometime, they reached the military airport. On the runway was an orbital shuttle used for special meetings and council by the UN, military, government, and special organizations like NERV. Landing on the H-pad, Gendo got out. Escorts already outside directed him to the orbital plane.

Boarding the aircraft, he met with a representative of another country that he would be meeting with. In short time, the plane was given the clear to go. Launching, the orbital aircraft made its ascent to the upper atmospheres. Breaching them, it eventually got into orbit around the Earth. After final adjusts with thrusters, the captain let the cabin know they were allowed to move around.

Gendo's meeting was regarding the productions of Eva Units 06 – 08. Budgets for the war machine production were approved by the UN. The representative said that the time will come when the United States will agree regarding sharing information about their Eva productions. With the meeting ending, the Commander stared out the window toward space. Looking out of the corner of his eye, he watched the rep leave him. Turning back to the window, Gendo watched at how small the Earth was from a far. A shudder went through him suddenly. Not sure why, he ignored it and continued his gaze.

In NERV HQ, three people were on an automatic walkway heading through multiple sections.

"As what I've gathered from Miss Ayanami, what the lectures and history textbooks say about the cause of Second Impact is incorrect," Shinji asked.

"That is correct, the massive meteor impact at Antarctica is not exactly what happened," Ritsuko stated.

"Fifteen years ago, mankind found the first humanoid creature called "Angel" in Antarctica. During the investigation, it exploded for unknown reasons," she continued as Misato frowned looking at a wall. Automatic doors opened and a rush of air blew at them causing them to blink. They entered a deep corridor still on the automatic walkway.

"That's what we call Second Impact."

"I see. To not cause another impact is why NERV and Evas exist," Shinji asked in a calm tone. Misato twitched from a memory in the past.

"That is correct," Ritsuko said.

"Thank you for the clarification Dr. Akagi," he said bowing which she nodded and stared forward.

The walkway neared its end and all three stepped off. Shinji saw both women were heading toward the elevator when his voices were whispering about a mole. Confused, he saw something to his right. There were yellow tiles on the ground that led down the hallway. The words "follow" were written in blood on them.

"…" the male pilot said with an impassive face.

He started walking the yellow pathway ignoring the happy folk dance music that rang in his head. It would change to distortion from time to time with static bursts. The words to the song's lyrics were demented, vile, and evil despite his voices singing with joy. The more he continued, the distortions to the song would increase. Looking down, the yellow tiles started to fill out with blood the closer he got to where it was leading. His right eye began to twitch again with his hands opening and closing making cartilage pop.

Both Misato and Ritsuko entered the elevator when they noticed no third set of footsteps. Turning around, the male pilot was not there.

"Hey, where did he go?" Misato asked.

"Maybe he had some other place to go to," Ritsuko stated pushing for a floor five levels down. The elevator doors closed and they went down.

"I guess so. He could have said something instead of disappearing."

"Well aren't you playing the big sister role," the doctor said with a smirk.

"I'm surprised though."

"Hmm? About what?"

"Isn't he a bit abnormal to be a human?" Misato stated with a serious thinking face. Ritsuko was about to chuckle when she thought more about the statement. The elevator slowed to a stop and dinged. Both stepped out.

"Despite what MAGI stated as a possibility and what I have examined from blood samples recently, he is still a human under a microscope."

"Have you ever seen a person heal from deep wounds that fast before?" the Captain pressed.

"There have been rare cases of people having faster recovery times than the average. He could just be in that category."

"I wonder if the Commander knows about Shinji's condition," Misato stated out loud and looked at her friend. The faux blonde shook her head no.

"From the time he abandoned him and the time he came back, the Commander never knew what happened to him," Ritsuko stated with a neutral face.

Looking out the corner of her eye, the lavender hair woman became stiff and clenched her hands into fists. A similar feeling went through the doctor, but didn't react to it. As they entered a room, the doors closed. A faraway death scream sounded that went unheard by staff.

The next day came for the Jet Alone Project Invention. Misato dressed in her NERV rank uniform. A long black blouse that went down below her knees with slits on the sides. Her long sleeved collared black jacket was buttoned together. A dark green oval pendent centered on the chest. The ends of the sleeves, top of the collar, and shoulders of the jacket were colored with dark red and tan outlining.

She met up with Ritsuko outside next to the VTOL that would take them to the meeting. The doctor was wearing a blue business suit with white buttons and a white outline around the trims and collar. She wore a black skirt that also had slits on the sides. Her accessory was a small black choke necklace with a white pendent on it. Both boarded the aircraft and it took off.

Misato looked out of her viewing window as Ritsuko was typing on her laptop. They passed the former area of Tokyo renamed as Abandoned Area #28. Most of the areas of the former metropolis were flooded by the melting of Antarctica. Most of what was seen from above was water, ruins, and grasslands.

"We're arrived," Ritsuko said as the VTOL approached two structures.

The top portion of one was an upside down plate. It was the landing area for aircrafts. Under it was where the meeting was going to be held. The other building that was a bit of a ways was a towering structure with large windows. Acting as an oversized hanger, it was where the Jet Alone robot was being held.

"There is no reason to have the meeting there. Is the SDDF involved with the project?" Misato asked.

"The Strategic Self Defense Force? No, they weren't allowed," Ritsuko responded.

"That may be why they can do what they want," Misato said stressfully.

Their VTOL made the descent toward an outline pad and landed. Before the two representatives of NERV got out, the co-pilot said something to them.

"When you get to your table, you will have a bodyguard there," he said.

"Did the Commander request one?" Ritsuko asked confused and surprised.

"No, a person volunteered," he stated seeing both women blink still surprised.

"Alright, we're going then," Ritsuko stated with a nod.

"Roger ma'am. We'll be here when it's over."

Both representatives turned around and walked toward the doors at the end of the landing area. They didn't say anything for a while before Misato spoke.

"Who do you think it is?"

"A Section-2 agent?" Ritsuko ask not really caring and opened the doors revealing the entrance to the meetings.

"Doubt it," Misato said as both walked. They went down a set of stairs to a level below. Another set of doors appear across the hallway. The security guards around the door looked at their credentials and allowed them through. Both entered a large ball room.

All around, there were tables with people representing different countries, industries, and businesses. On the tables were plates of food and different wine bottles that some people have drank. Both made it to their table seeing as it was the only one empty and had their company name on it. Sitting down, they looked around seeing people eyeing them and some that ignored them.

'Bodyguard my ass' Misato thought scanning the room a little.

Both sat forward seeing the meeting hadn't started yet. Suddenly two glasses of water were put in front of them. Looking at them, both saw black patted gloves, ends of a white dress shirt, and black sports coat.

"Forgive me for not being here when you arrived. I thought you madams would like refreshments of something other than mind numbing liquor," a familiar voice came. Both turned with surprised faces.

"Ikari!?" Ritsuko said.

"You are the person that volunteered to be our bodyguard?" Misato asked surprised and a bit happy.

"You are correct."

"But why?" Ritsuko asked.

'Not that I mind…hardly.' She thought.

"Curiosity," he said as he took off his sunglasses and wiped them which got him two blank stares. He put them back on and looked at both of them.

"So if a drunken fight is broken out, will we see some of your moves?" Misato teased.

"That can be arranged Misato if you do not want me to use a firearm," he said calmly looking at her. Misato looked at Ritsuko with a raised eyebrow. Blinking, the doctor decided to take a slice at the conversation.

"Ikari, how did you get in here?"

"I asked Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki for volunteering which he agreed. He gave me papers to sign and I got a pass. Arriving here, a guard stopped me outside. I showed him my pass which he sneered. He made a malign comment about our company for sending a child as a shooting target," Shinji said turning to the doctor. Both blinked from him explaining more than usual. However, a thought came to them.

"So where is he now?" Misato asked. She was a little afraid of the answer knowing what the boy could do. Ritsuko felt the same.

"He is currently outside and unconscious. There is a mark on his head from being hit with the bottom of a pistol," he said calmly staring forward. Misato and Ritsuko also turned to the speaker with smirks on their faces. The three saw the speaker coming to the elongated counter and stopped at the middle with microphones.

"Thank you for coming to our exhibition of Nippon Heavy Industry Solidarity. The observation for the official demonstration will be held later on in the control room. Before we get to that, let me show you about our product."

A slide show played showing the Jet Alone project, its production, explanations of its main components and purpose. The power point also showed the companies involved with the speaker's company being advertised a little. After it was completed, there was applause from the guests at their tables.

"That is our presentation of the Jet Alone Project. I will now open this up to the Q&A session. Are there any questions?" the speaker stated. A hand rose in the air. Misato watched Shinji step toward the table and kneel. He pulled out a small red netbook from inside his right coat pocket.

"Oh, you're the famous Dr. Ritsuko Akagi. I'm very glad to see you here," he said. The pilot placed his computer on the table. Opening it up, the computer was already on. She saw him take out and install a USB Bluetooth device. The lights on it started flickering. He opened up a file that caught Misato's interest.

"May I ask a question?" the doctor asked.

"Of course."

"According to the earlier explanation, it's equipped with an internal engine."

"Yes. That's a major feature of the unit. 150 days of continuous operation is assured."

"However for safety reasons, I think it's too risky to install a reactor in weapons for close range ground combat," Ritsuko shot the first issue. Misato raised an eyebrow when Shinji open up a power point that had the model of the Jet Alone Unit as well as technical data.

"I think it's much more useful than a weapon that doesn't work more than five minutes without a power plug," the speaker stated a problem back.

"Remote control may cause a problem under emergency situations," she countered. Misato watched as Shinji was typing almost as fast as Maya which was impressive to see as well as how quiet he was doing it.

"It's more humane than putting a heavy workload on a pilot who might result in contracting a mental illness," he countered back.

Misato looked at Shinji and saw his eyes slowly peer up over his sunglasses. Despite looking at the speaker, he continued typing.

"Control by multiple personnel might cause some problems," Ritsuko pressed on.

"It's safer than a dangerous weapon that goes out of control. A weapon without control is nonsense," he stated showing a slide that was labeled 'Berserk EVA-01'. It showed the Eva's only eye glowing while the other was not there except for a hole.

"It's just like a hysterical woman. No one can deal with one," the speaker said nonchalantly. This caused a few laughs from other participants and Ritsuko to become slightly annoyed. Misato kept watching the Third Child as he was putting stuff together. It made her grin on the inside of having a feeling of what was going to happen.

"That's what our technology and pilots are for," she said letting the insult roll off her shoulders.

"Do you really think that science and the human mind can control that monster? Are you serious?" he asked slightly amused.

"Yes. Absolutely," she stated with confidence.

Misato looked at the people to the left and behind Shinji. She saw them staring at the boy not paying much attention to the speaker's fact bashing against NERV. The Captain was hearing their murmurs and pointing at him with questioned faces. She turned back to the male pilot.

"…Because you believe in unreliable things, like human minds, NERV allowed that uncontrolled incident to happen. As a result, the UN had to pass a big supplemental budget although there's a country where 20,000 people are suffering from starvation. Despite the seriousness of that incident, the cause is still unknown. I want you to be a little more responsible for you are lucky. NERV is exclusively protected by law, and you aren't held accountable," he stated.

"No matter what you say, only our main weapon can defeat the enemy," she stated unfazed by his facts.

"You mean the AT-field? It's only a matter of time. NERV's edge won't last forever," he said expecting other representatives to laugh which very little did. Ritsuko twitched with anger but stopped feeling a gloved hand touch her hand. Blinking, she looked behind to see the pilot looking up at her.

"May I participate in the discussion Dr. Akagi?" he asked quietly.

"…?" Ritsuko said and looked at Misato who nodded. Blinking, she sat down wondering what would happen. Shinji stood up and took a half a step back.

"Is the debate still open sir?" he spoke firmly which seemed to pierce the air without the microphone.

People around began whispering when Ritsuko looked back at Misato. Her expression changed to a smug which she knew well. Knowing the possible dangers of letting the pilot speak, the doctor handed Shinji the mike which he took and bowed slightly.

"By all means, but may I ask who are you?" the speaker asked amused. The pilot removed his glasses showing everyone his dark magenta eyes.

"My name is Shinji Ikari. I am the pilot of Eva Unit-01," he spoke calmly in the microphone. Now, voices of surprise and wonder were going about like a fire spreading.

"Why is a pilot or more a child doing here? You were not invited," the speaker asked.

"May I begin or do I need to explain sir?" Shinji asked. The speaker was about to not let him but stopped. The thought that the pilot would no know anything. He would be more harmful than helpful towards NERV.

"Please begin."

"Dr. Akagi explained her concern about having a nuclear reactor for its core. Have you estimated how much damage the robot can endure before the reactor is broken and becomes unstable?"

"The Jet Alone can withstand much damage before that scenario could occur. If that comes, then there is the shut down module."

"Can it withstand a progressive knife's capabilities to slice through almost any material?"

"Absolutely," he said confidently.

"I beg to differ with you sir. The Jet Alone metal frame has the equivalent of ten reinforced steel plates. The Eva's body is made of material that has a denser thickness equivalent to twelve reinforced steel plates," Shinji said. Clicking on the slide on the computer screen, it appeared on the screen above the speaker.

"In 2011, NERV tested their first progressive knife's capabilities. The results came to going through eight, two-foot thick reinforced steel plates. In their latest test of their new version, the progressive knife melted through 25 two-foot thick reinforced steel plates," he said showing the small clip which showed the knife going through the plates like it was butter. People saw it and began their whispering again. Another clip showed of the battle with the Fourth Angel.

"The question then becomes into defense sir. As you have probably noticed and witnessed, the Fourth Angel I encountered attacked with similar weapons. They had the same or close to the same capacity as NERV's progressive knife. The result from handling its weapon was the Eva's hand melting. What would happen if an Angel with same or higher capabilities wrapped around the Jet Alone unit and it couldn't break free?"

When Shinji finished his explanation, nobody said a word. All were digesting what the pilot said and witnessing on the big screen. Misato and Ritsuko remained silent with blank expressions. Both were following along with the power point he set up on the red netbook. The speaker seemed a little irritated.

"Next question. The robot is controlled by an AI that is given orders from controllers to make it function. What is the rate of maintenance needed for the unit?"

"If you were listening before, the unit can operate continuously for 150 days compared to the Eva's five minutes without the cord. That also causes it to be dependent where our unit can travel freely," the speaker said feeling confident again.

"For clarification, does that mean it will remain functional for 150 days if no problems occur inside the unit and/or outside where the controllers are?"

"That is correct,"

"What will you do to fix these problems if they do occur during an Angel attack, a field practice, or today's demonstration?"

"Problems and technical difficulties are dealt with by a systems check which none problems have been found so far. That can't be said for you as a pilot when NERV's weapon goes out of control," he said calmly but amused.

"Sir, Eva-01 did not go out of control during the Third Angel attack. I was in full control through the entire attack," Shinji said still calmly.

"I find that hard to believe. From a file, you have been diagnosed with schizophrenia after your first time in that beast," he said smiling which caused the room to raise their voices. He expected the two women to cringe but they never did. He wasn't expecting the boy to continue which everyone grew quite again.

"That is not true sir for I already had that mental disorder before I came to NERV. May I ask a question of a statement that you already used?"

"Of course," he said.

The speaker thought that the information alone will keep NERV quiet. It would also show other representatives that NERV is unethical and immoral for putting a mentally unstable kid to pilot. Misato and Ritsuko cringed on the inside from how that information leaked out. Both looked at Shinji seeing that he wasn't fazed by it.

"You asked Dr. Akagi if it was possible to control both the human mind and the monster you so call as Eva-01. As you have claimed, 'NERV does not have a controlled weapon as well as an unstable human mind for a pilot'. May I ask you to elucidate on why from the past three Angel attacks, none of your assumptions have occurred?" Shinji asked calmly as he felt his voices leaving him.

He watched them start killing people around him in different ways that he has seen before. Turning his focus back to the speaker, he ignored the screams, blood splatter sounds, body parts flying, and the murderous giggles and laughs.

"You don't serious believe that being in that thing is curing your illness!?" the speaker asked losing composer. Everyone in the room turned to the pilot only to feel cold staring at him. Some people shudder from the feeling of something going through them.

"It is a possibility, is it not sir?" the boy calmly asked which caused some people from around to shout.

"That's preposterous!"

"Illogical!"

"It defies the basics of the human mind!"

"If I may ask, ladies and gentlemen, could you explain then why I haven't been on medications since piloting? Could you explain why Unit-Eva 01 is operational under my condition? If anyone understands NERV's technology, the psychological links and systems that affect the conscious and subconscious human mind better than Dr. Akagi, I would like them to explain it to her and everyone here," Shinji said still facing forward like a statue. He watched as the child version went behind the speaker with a piano wire and a mischievous smile.

The response from everyone was immediate silence. The speaker glared at the pilot. Something ice cold went around his neck but faded. Ritsuko smirked from everyone's response and from Third Child's indirect praising of her. Misato smirked for it was the first time that she saw a teen shut up a room filled with business men, representatives and the speaker.

'This is fun,' she thought grinning inside.

"My last question is dealing with the AT or Anti-Terror Field that Angels produce. If I may ask, how will you go about to break through the field?"

"Just the same way as NERV's abomination," he said still glaring at the pilot.

"Are you able to elaborate your answer sir?"

"Of course, the use of external weapons and the unit's arms will break through the AT Field with ease."

"Are you sure?" Shinji said emotionless.

"This debate will end if you use petty questions PILOT," the speaker said unpleasantly.

"I see…"

He looked at his computer screen and pointed to another film clip. Misato clicked the icon and it was brought up on the large screen playing automatically. The short clip was taken from a security camera placed around Neo Tokyo. Audio went on and showed Eva-01 ripping off the launch lift wall. Metal screeching and buckling sounded before releasing. The purple war machine did a dash then threw it at the Fifth Angel.

The crowd saw how fast the plate was moving as it almost did a sonic boom. Gasps went around when they saw the plate being smashed and crunched into a lump of metal by a field that appeared in front of the large three-dimensional rhombus. What shocked them was that the AT Field should have bounced any projectile coming at it. This was based on what they read from in the Jet Alone packet. The metal sheet was being squeezed from the AT-field and the force of velocity it was traveling at.

The speaker watched the clip and started to sweat. He turned around and saw the boy still staring at him. It made him shudder. Looking at the two representatives of NERV, both had unreadable faces. More sweat dripped down his back seeing that they were looking at him as well. The boy's voice brought everyone's attention back.

"Are you sure?" Shinji said again with the same tone.

"Of course we are sure," he said a little hesitantly.

"Very well, I have no other questions," Shinji said.

Stepping forward, he placed the microphone back on the table. Kneeling, he turned off the netbook. The boy folded it closed and placed it back his right inside pocket of his jacket. Standing back up, he took a step back and straightened himself. Putting his sunglasses back on, he stood behind the NERV representatives.