The next chapter is here.

Enjoy

Round 36

Black Out

Undisclosed location

The place was engulfed in darkness save for the lights that were flickering. The walls showed sight of decays and abandonment as if it hadn't been used in years. The paint was coming off in flakes showing the stonework underneath.

But that seemed to be the least of the concern of the man that was walking through the hallway. He was old with his dark hair lined with grays and wrinkles was started to show upon his face. Dressed in a dark shirt with a coat on, he was swiftly walking through the hallway in an urgent manner.

Then he arrived at his destination which turned to be a door, one which was already opened. He entered it, and gives a glance around the room.

It was a medical room by the look of it with the white bed in the corner and the medical equipment. They were already two people inside. One of them was a man, with long blonde hair dressed in a long gray coat and the other was a woman with red hair and she was seating upon the bed, thought she was breathing heavily.

The man had turned around at his entrance.

"Hey doc," he said giving him a full blown grin.

The man glanced at both of them.

"I can conclude that the plan had been a success," he said.

"It has," the woman, her head still lowered.

"Move Snow," the doc said as he approached the still seated woman, "Let me see the damage."

The blond man, Snow, moved out his way and the doc's eyes turned a vibrant gold as he looked at the woman in front of him. He was frowning deeply at what he sees.

"You used it again didn't you?" he said.

The woman gives a smirk.

"What give me away?"

"Well, you look pale and exhausted," the doc started to list off, "your Ki flow is in disarray, and I can still see it in your system."

"That's reason enough," the woman said giving a shrug of the shoulder.

"Snow, can you leave the room," the Doctor said, "I will have to start my work….again."

"Er…sure doc," Snow said, "And Shiki, I'll take care of it okay, be seeing you."

The woman nodded at him.

"Good luck,"

Snow chuckled.

"I don't need luck," he said.

Then he stepped out closing the door behind him.

"What was that about?" the Doctor asked.

"A little errand I have sent him to," the woman smirked.

The Doctor nodded.

"Take off the shirt and lie down," he said, "This might take a while…considering the damage that had been done."

The woman took off her shirt staying in her bra before lying down upon the bed, the exhaustion visible in her face. She was breathing deeply as the Doctor approached and his hand started to glow with Ki.

"You're going to tell me about what happened at Sakamoto or do I have to beat it out of you?" he asked, his tone light.

The woman chuckled.

"I'll tell you," she said, "No need to be so demanding."

He put his hand upon her body and the woman sighed softly.

"Asuka L. Soryu," the woman said, "That's her name."

"Asuka," the man repeated slowly, "They named her after Kyoko's grandmother. How was she?"

"Alive," the woman said, "She is the same as me…I have felt it when I controlled her Red Ki. She is also very similar to Kyoko in some ways. GEHIRN had sent a boy in the Second Leg, they must have realized that I was after Asuka."

"A boy?" the man said, sounding surprised, "They sure are getting confident in themselves. I would have expected at least an Evangelion."

"The boy carries traces of the Adam Ki within him."

The Doctor's eyes widened.

"He carries…they have…is he stable?"

The woman nodded.

"It seems that the Ki had somehow merged with his own natural Ki," she said, "He was powerful for his level, but nowhere near me."

"They must have trained him to control and use it," the Doctor said softly, "To think…they would still use that malevolent Ki. I thought it was all destroyed."

"Some of it might have survived," the woman shrugged, "GEHIRN will not let something that powerful go away easily."

"Did you recognize the boy?"

"Gendo's son," the woman said, "That's who that boy is."

"Yui's boy," the Doctor sighed. Then he asked, "So what happened after that?"

"After that, Asuka got injured," the woman said, "It seems that GEHIRN wanted to kill Asuka if the mission will fail."

"That would have set them back a long way," The Doctor said frowning, "After all the troubles they went through."

"Maybe," the woman added.

"And then?"

"Linked my Ki with Asuka's so that I could heal her wound," the woman continued, "She saw my face…and thought I was Kyoko. I could see it in her eyes that she didn't want me to go."

"A girl her age is in need of her mother," The Doctor said.

"Probably," the woman shrugged, "But then, Japan's Evangelion ambushed me outside of the Island so…I had to use that Ki to get through them, they would have killed me otherwise."

"The plan was a success then," The Doctor said.

"Yes, it was," the woman said, "Asuka will come to me, one way or another."

The Doctor frowned a little at that.

"How will that be possible?" he asked her, "You didn't leave her a note or an address or anything…Oh, don't tell me…"

"Yes," the woman said, "It was the entire reason that I linked Ki with her after all. Asuka and I are twins in a way. With my Ki, I will lead her straight to us."

"GEHIRN might figure that out," The Doctor said.

"They won't," the woman told him, a smirk on her face, "With the terrorist attack that happened at Sakamoto Island, they will have their hand full with the officials of other countries. It's not like they can explain to the people funding them that the attack that happened was because of their past misdeeds."

The Doctor chuckled at the idea.

"You planned all of that didn't you?"

"Well, I don't like to brag," the woman said.

The Doctor removed his hands from her body.

"So what's the verdict?"

"I've done all that I can possibly do in this condition," he said, "With proper tools we could probably fix the damage better…But, you will have to limit the time you use the Red Ki. A large amount similar to the one you used to make the Planetary Devastation is devastating upon your body."

The woman nodded.

"Well, I'm not a perfect specimen," she said, "But I did what I had to do."

"You just shorten your life," The Doctor said, "Don't you realize…"

"I know what that mean," The woman said, a dark look crossing her face, "But I can't forgive them for what they did to Kyoko."

The Doctor sighed.

"Just promise me that you'll take it easy," he said.

"I'll be fine Doc," she said, "I have you don't I?"

"There are some wounds that I can't fix," he said, "I'm not a miracle worker, you know."

Then the woman seated up.

"What are you doing?"

She frowned.

"I'm getting out of here," she said.

"No, you will rest," The Doctor said, "I don't want any straining activities from you young lady. You are on the brick of exhaustion."

"But…I'm so close to achieving…"

"I don't care," the Doctor said, "Well, I do care but I also care about your health. Take a night rest, you can continue your plan tomorrow at the latest."

The woman stayed silent for a few moments, as if contemplating the idea.

"Fine, one night won't change anything," she said, lying back down upon the bed.

The Doctor sighed in relief.

"That's all I ask."

"Here is Asuka's blood sample," the woman said, giving it to him, "I want to see if she is stable with that Red Ki within her. Can you do that for me?"

The Doctor took the vial from her and looked at the red liquid before nodding.

"I'll see what I can do," he said.

Snow was walking through the corridors. He had a frown on his face, which was unusual from his happy-go-lucky attitude. He was wondering why Shiki had to send him on this little quest.

Flashback

"Snow, there is something that I want you to do for me," she said as she seated upon the bed.

The man looked at her.

"What is it?"

"Bring Ryoji Kaji here," the woman said.

That confused him a little.

Kaji…where have I heard this name before? He thought to himself. Then it came to him. The man was one of the Great Fives.

"Why would you want him?" he asked, "The man is kind of well known in the world of Evangelion."

"He was Asuka's trainer," the woman told him, "and he is also working for GEHIRN."

"Okay," Snow said, "But that doesn't tell me why you would want him here?"

The woman had a dark look upon her features.

"GEHIRN probably monitored Asuka when she was in Kaji's care," she said, "Which mean, he is probably aware of what Asuka truly is and yet, he didn't say anything insulting Kyoko's memory even more. I want him to be here when I tell Asuka everything, for Asuka will need someone to vent that rage into."

The woman looked up at him, her dark features become even more pronounced.

"And who couldn't be more perfect than the very man who she trusted most."

Snow stared at her in surprise.

"That's…you know, you're pretty terrifying when you want to be," he said, slowly.

The woman chuckled softly.

"Will you do it?" she asked.

Snow stayed quiet for a while, but before he could answer, the door behind him opened letting in the Doc.

End of flashback

He landed right on top of a building, as he watched the city of Tokyo-3 extend in front of him. Snow knew he would be able to find the man quite easily; after all, that was his specialty.

Putting both of his hand together, he starts to gather his Ki into it and then after a moment, he extended his palms in front of him.

"Ki Release: Pulse Locator," he said.

Then he started to feel the Ki from the people around Tokyo-3, and with his eyes closed he tried to feel for the Ki he was looking for.

Kaji is well known for his Body Armor Technique, he thought, An easy way to find him is the massive residue of Ki within his stomach area and also, the pathways there will be more developed than most Ki users…

Then Snow opened his eyes.

Found you, he thought.

Then the man went flying forward, aiming straight for where he had felt the presence of the man named Kaji.

GEHIRN

The CEO of the large company was seating in his office, looking at the nightlife outside of his window when the door of his office opened. It had been a trying week for him as the Presidents of the countries that have participated in the Second Leg met with him about the Sakamoto incident. They weren't happy knowing that the Island hadn't been safe enough for their participants and had even wanted to have him removed from power…

Bunch of bureaucrats who waves their money around and yet achieve nothing, he thought, at least, I'm working upon something that could be useful to the world in the future…

He heard his door open and he whirled his chair around.

"You have something Gendo?" he asked.

"I have crossed the references as to whom the identity of the man that faced Evangelion Shigeru," Gendo told him, "It would seems he had once went through the training to become Evangelion…but was rejected. He scored high in his entire requirement; even so, I don't see why it was rejected. He could have made a good Evangelion."

The CEO took the files, and examining them. Then his eyes widened behind his futuristic eyewear.

It…What is this...

"Are you sure that it is correct Rokubungi?" he growled.

"Yes," Gendo spoke, his voice emotionless as always, "Based on the description, this is the closest match."

"You may leave," he said.

Gendo nodded and walked out.

The man stared at the paper in front of him, refusing to believe what he was seeing but the words weren't changing.

To think…the ties that I have severed long time ago is finally resurfacing, he thought.

The name that was on the file was RAMIEL KEEL.

A blast from the past for the CEO? What is the connection between him and the mysterious Ramiel?

Next time: Kaji and Snow goes head to head in Exodus.

Well this is a nice update and also adding a little bit of drama in there. Hope you have enjoyed that little review.

Jacques0 out.

R&R.