Kaworu suddenly woke up, bringing himself sitting upright on the bed. His eyes squinted in the near-darkness, eyes adjusting as they sought for light. Right besides him was Rei, sleeping but under the blanket she was completely naked. He could also feel the rhythm of her breathing.
His mind quickly went back to the last time they were awake, as they made love, groping between each other in the dim light, kissing, caressing their sweaty skin, all the while they moaned. It was their first time, doing it as if they knew the mechanics for a very long time, and all the while Kaworu thought this was where all living existence began, the necessity of reproduction to ensure the survival of any species, but superseded, in his opinion, by this thing called love.
Love, he thought, and basing it from his experience with the literary and artistic works of humanity, wasn't just the mere act of copulation, mistaken as the carnal definition of love, but it really encompassed everything the lilim valued; love produced peace but also war; some lilim killed or died for love; some made profit from it; and some founded several religions with love as one of the pillars of faith.
Kaworu sighed, and then smiled.
Love wasn't about sex or something that should be followed up by marriage; love was paying respect to one's opposite, but also to one's parents, friends, and if one is so compassionate, to all people; love was meant to give meaning to life, a purpose, a reason to exist.
Briefly he looked down at Rei, still in slumber, and thought of someone else.
Through the thoughts of many whom he made psychic contact and thus accessed their pasts, Kaworu finally formed an overall view of Commander Ikari's personality: clearly he was a man driven to "rescue" his wife back into existence, and at the cost of many, and much had to be sacrificed to achieve his goal piece-by-piece.
He wondered what that man was doing at the moment in his ivory tower; perhaps he was plotting, scheming, and finding some cut-throat way to deal with the old men that made up the entity called SEELE; perhaps he brooded at his loss, or maybe he was contemplating about the future.
A thought entered Kaworu's mind, and it was quite unpleasant that he sighed and frowned: what if Commander Ikari discovered his true purpose? And should he be caught, what sort of penalty Kaworu may have to deal with?
As he was an Angel, Kaworu knew that death would be his final disposition, one way or another. He'd been sent here on a one-way trip, having been informed of what he was supposed to do: to subjugate NERV.
Except he discovered that not all of these people he encountered within NERV were deserving of condemnation; perhaps with the exception of Commander Ikari, everyone else had a reason to be here, principally for the defense of human existence as a bulwark against the Angels; of course the Evas and their functionality in combat would not be made possible without the help of many hands.
But still the old men of SEELE wanted their way to be done, to play NERV into their own hands before crushing it completely, and before that Kaworu knew that they were waiting for him at this very moment, huddled behind their holographic monoliths, proclaiming themselves as the invisible, manipulative puppeteers who held the strings to human existence.
Very well, he'll give them a nice show.
Again, Kaworu sighed as he slowly eased himself away from Rei and the bed, his feet touching the tiled floor. Tiptoeing his way across the room, Kaworu found a paper pad and a pen, before he wrote down a brief message for Rei. Satisfied, Kaworu tore off the scribbled note and left it tacked to the refrigerator door, and then quietly picked up his clothes piled on the floor besides the bed.
Kaworu dressed, putting on his underwear and then his clothes, tied up his shoes and picked up the backpack containing his communications gear. He then passed by the kitchen and washed and dried his face with a towel.
Just as he was about to step outside, however, Kaworu hesitated, and went back to Rei. There he carefully leaned close enough to kiss her on the forehead, before making a step back and gave the girl one last look before leaving.
For a moment he was uneasy; he wished he could stay longer, perhaps waking up with Rei in the morning with nothing to worry about except to make some breakfast for two and small talk, but he had no choice but to acquiesce himself to duty.
"I'll see you later," Kaworu whispered. "Don't worry about me."
But Rei responded by a mere murmur.
The Fifth Children then quietly walked away, went out and closed the door with the near-silent click of the lock. He took a deep breath, gazed at the night sky before him for a while, before adjusting his backpack and walked towards the stairs.
NEON GENESIS EVANGELION
LIGHT AND WATER – SEASON 3
CHAPTER 36: THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE
An alternate path fanfiction by soulassassin547
Written on 7/6/2011 10:59 a7/p7 / 7/6/2011 10:59 a7/p7
Keel Lorenz was a man not known for sleeping early. For the longest time it became a personal habit to be up until two in the morning, his mind swirling with ideas and responsibilities and duties to deal with while plotting and moving his chess pieces across the global board: manipulating politicians and clerics, deciding the policies of the agencies and militaries under SEELE's control, rewarding allies and punishing enemies.
Sitting on an easy chair by the fireplace, he paused to pick up his cup of Earl Grey tea and took a sip. The drink was still warm, pleasant and bittersweet as he wanted, a far cry from the ersatz coffee he had to chug in the last desperate days of World War Two, a Mauser Karabiner 98k on one hand and a tin cup in another, dirtied, worried and angry at Hitler for causing destruction on all Germans.
Keel sighed as he relived that sordid time of his youth, pressed into war, along with his other fellows, soon to be felled by Russian bullets and munitions and flamethrowers amidst the rubble, a very unforgiving lot they were.
His father, as Keel knew the story, was a fanatical occultist and an industrialist, and when the elder Lorenz discovered that Hitler was jumping with joy about himself being mentioned by Nostradamus in the prophet's quatrains, he offered his services and finances, hoping somehow that the longstanding dreams of SEELE could be made possible through the Third Reich.
But it was not to be, for the mad dictator devoted his energies micro-managing the army, much to the chagrin of his generals, all the while approving the development and use of conventional weapons, some of which included a massive battle tank and jet fighters. By the time the Russians were closing in on Berlin, in his frustration and anger over the loss and waste, the elder Lorenz went to the toilets in one of the underground bunkers, and blew out his brains with a pistol.
What a difference it makes, Keel told himself. He succeeded where his father had failed, rebuilding and consolidating SEELE into what it was today, more powerful and wide-ranging than any empire in history.
He wondered if there were any territories left to conquer, with almost everything under control, to be conveniently manipulated for profit or power, as SEELE no longer needed to fire a shot simply to seize every square meter of land and the people who occupied it. Hence, the world was in their hands, and they could do anything with it.
Like gods.
Except he and his fellows were in their mortal shells, in the twilight of their lives, most of them having gone far enough, tired and not contented, they all knew that there was one way to transcend corporeal existence and attain immortality: Instrumentality.
Keel looked upon the grandfather clock standing in the far corner: it past two in the morning. He picked up his phone and dialed for his Russian counterpart, Starayakov, for it was time for them to make contact with their angelic emissary, one which an Arab member of the council referred to Kaworu as Malak al-Haq, or the Angel of Truth.
That young man, whether he's allied or against us, Keel thought, one way or another, he knows he's fated to die.
Misato wasn't around by the time Shinji and Asuka arrived at their quarters, hair damp and clothes almost moistened by the pool water. While they made the journey back, they whispered sweet nothings and exchanging kisses in the elevator.
Still feeling cold, Shinji said, "Thought we should have some hot chocolate."
Asuka nodded as she dried her hair with a towel from the bathroom. "Sure, why not?" she replied happily, before she watched Shinji walk over to the kitchenette, took two packs of instant hot chocolate mix into mugs, and prepared the beverages with hot water and milk.
"When this is over," Shinji said as he stirred the two cups with a teaspoon, "I'll propose once we graduate from high school."
Asuka blinked. "You mean getting married?"
"Yeah, but for now we're still too young for that, and we're not yet done with this…" Shinji paused to sigh, and added, "This Angel business."
"I'm not anxious either," Asuka agreed as Shinji walked over to her and gave one of the filled mugs. "Thanks," she said.
Shinji nodded. "There's something else… I was wondering what the future would be for Ayanami and Nagisa."
Asuka took a sip. "Just like us, I suppose."
"Yeah, but from the looks of it, I think they're still learning," Shinji said as he sat down besides his girlfriend, and carefully drank a little so as not to allow his tongue to be scalded.
The redhead sighed in pleasure and said, "You know what? We've just crossed the threshold and, just look at the way you talk today… You're a different person now."
Shinji blinked, completely flattered. "Me?"
"Yeah," Asuka said. "Like as if you grown up in a space of six days."
The young man chuckled. "You're no different either; you have changed too."
For a moment the couple said nothing else as they drank up the hot cocoa, thinking of the sex they had down at the poolside, self-discovery in the most intimate way, even though they knew the risks. Both had the imagery of their passionate throes burned into their memories for the rest of their lives, to be cherished, and if needed be, reenact it.
"I just want to ask something else," Asuka said, breaking the silence.
"What?" Shinji wondered.
"In our future, where will your father be figuring in? I mean, where he'll fit?"
The young man shook his head. "I just don't know, because he's a complicated man, and because..."
"He has your mama in the head?"
"Yeah," Shinji answered, before sighing. "I'll never know if he'll change; he's too stubborn, beyond my reach... But you and Misato, and Ayanami and Nagisa are the only family I can rely on."
"Uh, speaking of Rei and Kaworu," Asuka said, "Any idea what else they're doing right now?"
Shinji smiled wryly. "Maybe they're now doing the same thing as we have done, I suppose."
Once again, just like a few nights before, Kaworu levitated his way across the lagoon, his feet not touching the surface of the calm waters, until he reached the rocky outcropping in the middle. He then took out and set up his communication equipment, donned the holographic glasses, before pressing a button on the phone to lock onto one of the orbiting SEELE-controlled communication satellites flying over Hakone until he got a clear signal. He pressed another button to transmit, the signal from the antenna fired up to more than 200 kilometers above the Earth.
The satellite then processed the signal, encrypted before retransmitting it through a downlink to Siberia, where an array of parabolic antennas obtained the link and rerouted it to the conference room where Keel and company awaited.
Before Keel was a long conference table, and seated around it was the rest of the council, with each of them a pair of holographic glasses placed before them. They looked eager, even in this early morning, anxious for any news from their ambassador.
"Let us begin, gentlemen," Keel said as they donned their glasses and signaled to an aide to acknowledge the linkup.
At around the same time, Makoto and Misato were looking at Kaworu through high-powered Nikon binoculars with the night-vision option installed. With the Renault Alpine parked behind them, they were stationed at a parking lot on the circumferential highway on the hills above what was left of Tokyo-3. By the readout of their rangefinders installed in the binoculars they were six kilometers away from Kaworu, unaware that he was being watched as he stood on a rocky outcropping.
"There," Makoto said as he held his binoculars. "I can see him now. What he's doing?"
"I think that's his electronic gear," Misato replied. "He's going to call his superiors. Talk about 'ET, phone home'."
"Yeah, with those glasses he's wearing, they must be holographic specs, as they're useful for immersive interaction such as teleconferencing."
"I see," Misato said. "Wonder what they'll be talking about… Shit, I should've borrowed some surveillance gear from Tsutomo, so that we could even eavesdrop on him."
"Wait, wait…" Makoto said. "Just look because something's up."
"Okay."
One by one, each of the black monoliths appeared as they encircled him. They towered, hovering above the early morning waters.
"Good morning," SEELE 01 simply greeted.
"Good morning, gentlemen," Kaworu answered at the cabal, bowing slightly with his head.
Behind his digital slab, Keel mumbled in approval. "We are very pleased to see you again," he began. "Now before we start, let me quote Ivan Karamazov: 'I want to be there when everyone suddenly understands what it has all been for.'"
"And we have now realized Karamazov's ambition," SEELE 04 intoned. "We know what it is all about."
"Aye," the other monoliths agreed in unison.
Kaworu nodded. "Can I speak on my behalf?" he asked politely.
"Yes, you may do so," SEELE 01 answered.
"From the way I have seen," Kaworu remarked, "humans are unable to create something out of nothing... They must have something to start with, because humans aren't gods. They're mere mortals."
"Yes, there were such ambitious fools who tried to be gods," SEELE 01 answered. "But there is a man who seeks to gain power equal to God... the one reason why Evas exist for that purpose."
"There is a man besides us who wants to reopen Pandora's Box," SEELE 05 added.
"And who wants to close the Box before hope can appear?" SEELE 02 opined.
Kaworu's eyes narrowed. "Hope?" he asked. "Yes, Lilim always seek hope for something... when there's desperation."
"There are as many forms of hope as there are people," SEELE 01 said. "Hope exists only in the hearts of people. However, in our case our hopes are materializing in our favor."
"In Lilith, the progenitor of humanity is the false successors from the Black Moon." SEELE 06 seconded.
"And in Adam, the progenitor of Angels are the true successors from the lost White Moon," SEELE 07 added.
"And whose salvaged soul resides only within you," SEELE 10 emphasized.
Kaworu nodded. "Yes, of course."
"But there is one thing you should know... Adam's revived body is already inside Ikari," SEELE 01 said. "This blasphemer will be our undoing if his plans succeed, and thus we should not allow it to impede our chances."
"I know that he has possession of Adam. Do you wish for me to stop him?" Kaworu asked.
For a moment the cabal didn't said a word until SEELE 01 cleared his throat. "That is not an option, as we are sure that traitor shall fail in his quest. Instead, you are supposed to continue the masquerade as planned until you sacrifice yourself."
Now it was Kaworu's turn to keep silence as he let Keel talk.
"You have been born and raised from the remains of Adam, using my DNA as the basis for your physical structure," SEELE 01 said. "We trained you, shaped your mind to be as wise and knowledgeable as we wanted, but you managed to exceed our expectations, as you were destined to fulfill your sacred vow."
Suddenly Kaworu wondered if Keel knew of his activities when they were not looking at him, as he detected suspicion in that elder's voice.
"We are everywhere, and hiding is futile," the old man behind the monolith said.
"Have I done something wrong?" Kaworu wondered.
If the monoliths were capable of movement, SEELE 01 would've leaned forward, close enough that Kaworu's face could fit into the digit on the black digital slate. Instead Kaworu heard a rumbling of the throat issuing from it, and then the old man spoke.
"You are supposed to do as planned," SEELE 01 said. "You were to supply us with intelligence, to know their movements and policies; you were supposed to emasculate this Ikari boy, to remove his resolve until he loses the will to fight with his Eva. Above all, you were supposed to provoke confusion and uncertainty within NERV once you show them that you are an Angel."
This time it sounded more of a downright accusation, as Kaworu thought in alarm, What is going on?
"You were meant to be our only hope to bring the fruition of our long-standing dreams, and yet… Yet, you chose an entirely different path from ours!" SEELE 01 growled.
Kaworu was taken aback by the unexpected rebuke, as it was now clear they were angry, and thus his eyes narrowed and said, "I have made my choice."
"What choice?" SEELE 01 demanded.
"I have chosen to live, rather than die for a fool's dream," Kaworu replied, defiance in his beating heart as he thought he could hear the old man's labored breathing, an indication that Keel was furious. "That is the truth," he added.
"Traitor," SEELE 01 spat out the word. "How hard-headed you are, young man. I am disappointed to hear from one of our sources that you have a little affair with the First Children."
"How much do you know?" Kaworu answered. "In the days since I arrived here I have discovered many things that I have never experienced before: friendship, trust, happiness, individuality, compassion, and the one thing that opened my eyes the most, and what the lilim sought for, is LOVE!"
At first, SEELE 01 said nothing, as he let Kaworu's words sink in, before he gave out a spiteful chuckle. "One way or another, you shall die gloriously," the old man said. "We know that you are now heavily involved with the First Children, whom we sought to obtain an audience from her and yet Ikari denied us the chance. Instead of doing as we ordered, you fell for this young woman because of this thing called love. We pity you for such a foolish and naïve course of action, which shall be of your undoing."
"I don't care," Kaworu said. "If I die and they know the truth about you and your plans, NERV, and perhaps the rest of the world, may oppose you to the death."
"Kaji is dead, and there's nothing else they could do about it," SEELE 01 answered, mentioning the spy slain by their executive agent. "Nothing will be gained from making a dead man talk."
"They did."
"How?" SEELE 01 demanded. "Whatever they'll do, NERV will soon be destroyed in the process, and we will emerge triumphant."
"They have the truth," Kaworu said. "I have seen it, and I'm sure they'll use this information to bring you down, even if I die as you wanted. But should I survive, I'll join the fight because I'll defend for the things I believe and value the most."
"Is it not, Mister Nagisa, that you quoted Nietzsche about idealism as a falsehood?" SEELE 01 countered, recalling their earlier conversation in the garden shortly before Kaworu's departure.
"That's right," Kaworu confirmed, fighting not to lose his composure.
"Love is a form of idealism," SEELE 01 said. "Love does not feed mouths or guarantee security for anyone; it does nothing except to confuse logic and reason, making fools even out of learned men and women who fall for it. It does not work here, and therefore not of use in our plans, because by the time Instrumentality is fulfilled, there shall be no human conflict and emotions to worry about as soon as we reach singularity. There will be eternal peace, there will be no pain or suffering, and above all, there will be no sin, as we become one with God."
Kaworu kept his silence, letting Keel vent his fury in carefully-measured words.
"Even if you have made the choice to fight us, such a decision will be irrelevant once we send the Eva Series. You will die along with them, and there's nothing you can do about it for the clock is ticking away. Of course, by this time I am sure that Commander Ikari has also placed you under suspicion, for he will stop at nothing in making his wish come true."
"Is it not because he loved his wife so much?" Kaworu questioned.
"Yui Ikari… No," Keel corrected himself. "Yui Saint-Clair. What a woman she was, opposing our plans, falsely believing that Eva will be a symbol of human existence. Why not Gendo Rokobungi should marry her? Because she was then connected to us, and he thought by identifying himself with SEELE will make him feel secure and powerful. Such idealistic fools, yet thanks to their contributions of knowledge they managed to accelerate the development of our plans."
"I see," Kaworu whispered.
"Before we leave," Keel said. "Now that you have chosen your fate, are you prepared?"
Kaworu took a breath, and said, "I am not afraid anymore, whether I live or die. Whatever happens to me, they will not underestimate you. As for the days I spent here, I changed their lives as much as they changed mine, and my friends are deserving of compassion. That's something I'll treasure even if I find myself in the jaws of death."
Keel snorted. "You are now useless to us, no matter whatever you say," he said. "You betrayed us and our goals. Henceforth, you shall be erased as predicted."
With those parting words, the monoliths vanished into the air, leaving Kaworu alone. He took off the glasses, then slowly sat down on the outcropping as the cold breeze blew around him and began to ponder on the words he made.
Kaworu sighed and then said, "Everything's going according to Ikari's plan."
"Looks like things have gotten pretty ugly for him," Makoto said, having noticed the disappointed expression on Kaworu's face.
"I can see that," Misato said. "I have a feeling that they must've known the truth, and so they scolded him... No, this is more serious, I think, because Kaworu was supposed to work for these guys, and then they discovered that he double-crossed them."
"The mole must've snitched on him," Makoto said.
"It could be…"
Without warning, Kaworu turned to face at their direction, and his crimson eyes stared back at them. The surprising move nearly caused the duo to drop the binoculars they were holding onto.
"What the hell?" Misato wondered aloud. "How did he know we're here?"
"I have no idea," Makoto answered. "I mean, look, he managed to sense our presence even this far."
"Let me check again," Misato said as she swung up the binoculars to see Kaworu again, before she felt the phone vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out and flipped open to receive the call, without checking the caller ID first.
"This is Katsuragi," she responded, trying not to sound flabbergasted. "Who is this?"
"It's Nagisa, and you saw me," Kaworu replied.
Misato peered closer to see that the Fifth Children now had a mobile phone to his ear. "Y… Yeah," she said.
He looked upset. "Why are you watching over me?"
"Because, damn it, we thought you were talking to somebody, and we're very concerned about you!" Misato said. "That's what brought us to see you right down there, and precisely what the hell you were talking about, and with whom?"
"Somebody blew my cover," Kaworu answered. "Now that I'm finally done with them, from now on I know what's going to happen to me."
"What do you mean, 'them'? I don't understand!"
"The Committee has effectively disowned me because I neglected to act on their orders. Therefore I'm sure I'll be dead before lunchtime, so I'm expendable."
For a moment Misato had a pang of concern for Kaworu, and thus she said, "Hang on right there, don't leave! We'll try to pick you and Rei up and move you two to a safe place until the heat is off."
"No!" Kaworu said, opposing her offer. "I'll deal with it on my own. I'll take a stand."
Misato was aghast. "But… Your request has been denied! You must come with us!"
"This is my responsibility, Misato!" the Fifth Children countered. "I don't want you and our friends to get hurt and be implicated into this mess. Whatever happens to me, I must confront it, and I've got to protect Rei." Kaworu then shut off the phone, gathered and hastily shoved his communication equipment into his backpack and picked it up, before he levitated away, heading to the shore.
Misato groaned in fury, and she turned to Makoto.
"C'mon, we'll have to get Kaworu and Rei out of there!" she loudly commanded as her binoculars dangled violently around her chest.
"Damn right!" Makoto replied.
Just then she heard a pair of helicopters roaring over their heads. God, they're coming for them! Misato cried in her thoughts.
They yanked the door open, jumped onto the seats, slammed the doors and Misato fired up the car. Without missing a beat they strapped on their seatbelts and the woman officer mashed on the gas pedal, the tires screaming and burning rubber as they left the parking lot at more than 120 kilometers per hour.
Kaworu was now running at full sprint, across the field of junk and concrete slabs, desperately heading back to Rei's home. He climbed up the stairs, his feet pounding the floor until he reached the door. He then entered and came up to Rei, who was then already awake and startled by his unexpected return.
"Where did you come from? What did you do?" Rei asked in an alarmed voice, sitting upright and her body covered with a blanket, seeing Kaworu panting in shallow breaths.
Kaworu stared back at Rei. She was genuinely frightened.
"We have to—" he said, but was cut off when the veranda doors were loudly smashed open, shocking both Children to see a pair of black-fatigue-wearing soldiers right before them as they disengaged from their rappelling ropes. One of the soldiers, with the words NERV SRT emblazoned on his vest, unholstered what looked like a pistol and fired a round into Kaworu's chest.
In a second and caught unawares, Kaworu saw a dart embedded right above his heart, and quickly he felt dizzy, not realizing that they hit him with a tranquilizer dart, and he collapsed in a heap on the floor. Astonished, frightened and completely disoriented, Rei then turned around to see the steel door slammed open, and several more soldiers filed in and pointed their submachine guns at her, as though she was a felon caught in the act.
"What do you want?" Rei demanded in a higher voice, her composure now completely broken, before she saw Commander Ikari walking in with a purposeful stride, and came close to stand before her bed. He then gave the girl a face of ice-cold fury.
"You're coming with me," Gendo spoke. "It's for your own good."
Rei looked defiant. "No," she replied. "What wrong he did to y—"
Gendo slapped Rei across the face with the back of his gloved right hand, nearly slamming the girl back onto the bed, before two of the commandoes grabbed and held her by the shoulders. Gendo then leaned forward and close to her face and said, "Your time with the Seventeenth Angel is over."
He then nodded to one of the soldiers, who produced an autoinjector syringe full of tranquilizer and stabbed it into Rei's shoulder. Like Kaworu, her eyes slowly rolled upwards, and then as she blacked out, the rest of her body slumped forward, still held up by the troopers.
Now Gendo gazed back at the soldiers around him. "Take them away," he ordered.
It was too late by the time Misato and Makoto came close to Rei's apartment, as she parked the car behind a pile of rubble and, more than a hundred meters away, they saw a bunch of Suburban and Pajero SUVs clustered near the building, along with the pair of helicopters hovering overhead, their search lights blazing on.
Picking up their binoculars once more to look closely, they saw Kaworu being carried away in a stretcher, his body tightly bound by belts and hefted by a pair of Second Section SRT commandoes, before they pushed in the stretcher into a van and shut the doors. They then saw poor Rei also on a stretcher, completely blindfolded and dressed only in her oversized polo shirt and underwear, with Commander Ikari following her to a waiting second van, wearing a stony expression on his face.
"Shit," she cursed through her clenched teeth, gritting in total frustration.
"Do you want to call up the Professor?" Makoto asked, using Fuyutsuki's former professional title.
"Warn him," Misato replied. "Hell, tell the rest of anyone involved, because they could be compromised!"
Makoto nodded, pulling out his phone and began dialing. As he waited for Fuyutsuki to pick up the phone, he overheard Misato swearing repeatedly in a low voice, blaming herself for not acting quickly.
In his office, Fuyutsuki was sleeping, snoring loudly behind his desk when he heard the phone trilling. Rubbing his eyes, he slowly picked up the phone and lazily said, "Who is this?"
"It's me, sir," Makoto replied. "It's urgent."
"What the hell is going on, Lieutenant?" Fuyutsuki blurted.
"Right now Commander Ikari has just captured Ayanami and Nagisa," Makoto rapidly warned. "Worse, we think you and the rest could be in danger now!"
Shocked, Fuyutsuki bolted from his chair and replied, "Where are you?"
"I'm with Katsuragi, sir!" Makoto informed. "We were too late to rescue them at her apartment, so I think you still have time to get out of there fast!"
But already the old man was up on his feet, having put down the receiver, and just as he was done wearing his shoes, the door slid open and four agents appeared before him, all wearing fatigues and bullet-proof vests. Worse, they also had their pistols trained upon him.
"What is the meaning of this?" Fuyutsuki demanded of the men present.
"Sir, you're under arrest," one of the agents said. "We're acting on Commander Ikari's orders."
This time Fuyutsuki was outraged. "For what crime? I have done nothing wrong!"
"For treason, sedition and conspiracy to depose the Commander by illegal means," the agent unapologetically said as another brought out a pair of handcuffs and snapped them on Fuyutsuki's wrists. "You have the right to remain silent, and anything you say or do may be used against you," the agent added, invoking the localized version of the famous American Miranda Law.
The old man then sighed in defeat, and without resistance he went along with the agents. Worse, he was yet to be informed that Director Hamamoto and Ritsuko Akagi were also arrested at the same time, and there was also no way for him to know how Kaworu Nagisa and Rei Ayanami would be detained and where.
However, he hoped that the rest of those in the know might be able to get Makoto's warning and act immediately.
Author's Notes: Like some parts that I envisioned while conceiving this fic years ago, this was once a snippet of scenery which I was now able to expand on, an extended version of the final meeting between Kaworu and SEELE. Furthermore, from this point onward even I wonder how I'll be wrapping up Season Three, as I'm slowly deviating further from the original plot of Episode 24.
But not to worry, I'll try to do my best to deliver on a regular basis (even as I'm also working on an Eva crossover with Madoka Magica), and to those who put this fic up on their Story Alerts, I thank you very much for your appreciation.