Chapter 18: Hollow Victories in Hollow Halls
Our first successful test related to the guidelines presented to us by the Committee, Subject #1265, was only barely able to meet the guidelines. The Committee has graciously accepted the results regardless, and the results of the test gave us a solid foundation to begin further refinements...
- Confidential Report on the Theory and Application of Long-term AT-Field Manipulation, Section 4, "The AT-Edit System and Its Successes"
Matsushiro Command Bunker 018, September 4th, 0126 Hours
Commander Misato Katsuragi sipped at the coffee that she held as she looked out into the night with a grimace that was kept mostly in check by the warmth of Penpen snuggled against her leg, listening for the heavy footsteps of the Evas and Titans. They were muffled, distant. But they were getting closer now.
She stood on top of one of the concrete and steel pillboxes that were the outermost outcropping of the series of interconnected bunkers that made up this site. The rest of the rolling valley was dark. The power had been knocked out, and with NERV being the only ones in sight with backup generators, it left the only lights that shone into the night that of the moon and the starlit sky above them. Stars that, every once in a while, held Misato's attention as her mind at times wandered.
The pilots would probably all be exhausted now, she mused silently. Thankful that, within minutes of turning the corner of one hill or another, they would be there and able to get out, coming from…
'It's gone.' Misato finally seemed to realize after a moment. 'Tokyo-3 is gone now.'
She mourned silently for the city she had protected. That had become a part of her, in a sense. Their belongings might have been safe in the Infinity Box, but the home they'd belonged to… vanished. And somehow, that hurt most of all.
Her eyes focused again as she felt the footsteps begin to make the earth rumble. She scanned the valley, looking, looking…
There, out in the distance, dully gleaming in the moonlight, three figures began to approach. Her brow furrowed for a moment before she caught the dull red and orange gleam of Unit-02 being fireman carried by FT Unit-00, and a seed of fear planted itself in her stomach.
The night was pierced through as searchlights snapped on, causing Misato to wince slightly as the massive colossi became stark against the darkness, slowing to a stop near where she was.
Misato put a headset on with her other hand, keying into the general comms for the Evas and Titans. "Hey, guys." she said quietly, all sense of command or decorum having fled from her 3 coffees and 4 beers ago. "Welcome…" she sighed. "Welcome back. Shinji, we've got bays ready for you and Asuka, 2 and 3. Daniel, Kaworu, you can both go ahead and just park the Plugs in…" she furrowed her brow for a moment. "Bay 6. Shouldn't be that much farther from where Shinji and Asuka are going."
"Good to be back, Misato." Shinji replied, and Misato felt a ghost of a smile appear on her face. "What will we do with the Entry Plugs we have? Is there another bay for them?" he continued.
Misato nodded, for all it was worth. "Yeah, actually. Bay 5. Just set them in, and the security staff we have on hand will take care of the rest."
"Okay. Just…" Shinji continued. "Be kind to them. They weren't in control of this."
Misato's smile widened slightly. "Of course, Shinji." she replied quietly.
"After all that is said and done and those of you in LCL get to rinse off, we'll be flying to Tokyo-2. There are quarters set aside and waiting for us." Misato continued. "It won't be much, but… it'll be home, for now."
"Alright, Misato." Shinji replied. "Are the other Children coming with us?"
"Maybe. The decision is still up in the air." Misato replied. "Get out of the Eva, and we'll talk more about it. See you in a bit."
"Okay. See you then." Shinji said, and Misato clicked off the channel as she took off the headset, watching for a moment as the Evas and Titans moved away.
"Alright, Penpen." She said, looking down at the penguin. "Let's go see Shinji and Asuka."
"Wark." Penpen replied, a quiet, almost inquisitive tone to it.
"It's been a while since you've seen them. Since you've stayed with me." Misato said as she polished off the now lukewarm coffee. "I'm… I'm sorry it's been like that." she said quietly.
Penpen gently tapped his beak against her knee with a "wark" that was nearly stern.
Misato chuckled. "Okay, you obstinate shut-in." she said in affection. "Let's go."
She and Penpen walked slowly through the Matsushiro complex, Misato quietly wondering as she passed by people, nodding and offering a quick salute every once in a while. Did they realize, too? Truly realize that where they were going after this wasn't home? That it might never exist again?
Such were her thoughts as she came to rest at Bay 3, watching the Entry Plug slide out from the nape of Evangelion Unit-01's neck. She made her way out of the room above the bay, stepping onto the platform as Shinji stepped out of the Entry Plug, accepting a towel from one of the technicians and wiping himself down for a moment.
As he finished, he looked up at Misato, and he paused. Misato didn't need to look any deeper beyond the physical to see the anguish, the sorrow, all threatening to pour out of him.
"Misato…" he finally said after a moment. "It's… it's gone." he said, his voice cracking with the last word.
The entire bay fell silent.
"Our home." Shinji whispered as Misato walked closer.
"Yeah." Misato finally said out loud as she kneeled in front of Shinji. "But you're here. And that's what counts."
Misato quietly embraced Shinji as he wept. She wept with him.
. . .
Tokyo-2, The Following Day
Daniel Theisman opened his eyes slowly, reaching beside him… and feeling nothing but the empty sheets.
His eyes went wide for a moment before he closed them and sighed. He remembered where he was now. What had happened.
He remembered hanging in the air in front of the green Unit as a screen with Ritsuko's face appeared. "Alright, we've deactivated the NuDummy System on Units-05, 06, and 07."
"Good. Can you open a channel to the green one?" Daniel had replied.
"Will do." Ritsuko had said curtly. "That one will be…" she squinted her eyes a little. "Unit-05, with Ms. Marlowe in it."
After a moment, she had blinked. "Why?" she asked calmly, letting no puzzlement show in her expression.
"Because there's a child in there who's about to see the end of the world. One they had a hand in. They need someone to ground them." He had replied.
Ritsuko looked up at him for a moment, saying nothing as she looked intently at him, her gaze softening. Then she nodded slightly. "Here she is now."
Ritsuko's face disappeared, replaced by a young face, a brown wave of braided hair falling past a green Plugsuit, her jaw slack, red-rimmed glasses framing bright blue eyes that were hollowed out by shock and no small amount of horror.
"Mariah Marlowe. Or do you prefer Mari?" he had said calmly, and her almost empty eyes had drifted over to look at him.
"Mari. Mari works." Mari had said softly.
He had nodded. "Okay. Mari, I'm going to need you to shut down Unit-05 and eject your Entry Plug." he continued. "Better safe than sorry, after what's happened." he'd said sympathetically.
Mari had then looked around for a moment. "I… I don't think I can do all that…"
He had switched the comms back over to Ritsuko, muting his feed to Mari. "Alright, the kids can't deactivate their Evas on their own. Can you jack in and get that done?"
"Of course." Ritsuko had replied, almost seeming hurt by the unmeant implication that she somehow couldn't. "Maya and I are getting the process started now."
He had nodded. "Good. Make sure Eleanor is ready with the rest of the teams to crack this thing. She might want a look if this Entry Plug is somehow different."
The typing had stopped, Ritsuko's face only barely twitching. But it was only for a moment. A moment that he had caught.
"Ritsuko…" He had said slowly. "Where is my wife?"
"Eleanor and Rei entered Lilith to try and help stop the Impact. It seems they succeeded." Ritsuko's clinical tone couldn't quite push back the feelings she had been trying to keep down.
His eyes had gone wide. "What?" he'd said, almost as numbly as Mari had, and looked down at the form of Lilith, sprawled out in what used to be the Geofront.
His eyes had snapped back to Ritsuko. "We need to go in and retrieve them." he had said.
"And we will." Ritsuko replied. "But first we need to ensure that you're safe. You're all surrounded by activated core material, a material that we have no idea what does when it stays activated for any great length of time. Get out of there first, and we'll come back later."
"And what if something happens to Lilith?" he had shot back, his voice beginning to rise. "Ritsuko, I can't risk losing my wife, or Rei. We need to get in there, and now."
"And you can't risk the Children." Ritsuko had shot back. "They are at the end of their ropes, and if you push them any farther than they already are, we might not have one of them make it back. Are you prepared for that?"
He'd drawn back at that. She… she… was right. They couldn't risk that.
"Alright." he'd said wearily. "But we're coming back." he'd continued, in a voice that brooked no argument.
"And we will." Ritsuko said patiently. "But right now, focus on getting the Children back here."
She'd glanced down at her screen. "The Plugs should be able to be extracted now."
He'd nodded wearily. "Alright. We'll see you… when we get back."
"We'll see you then." were her last words before her screen had disappeared, and he'd looked back over to Mari.
He'd taken a deep breath, wiped away the tears that had started to fall. "Okay then. Don't worry about it. We've got you." he'd said to Mari as he moved FT Unit-00 towards the back of Unit-05.
It was a quiet moment as he tenderly extracted the somewhat strangely marked Entry Plug before Mari spoke. "You're leaving something behind, aren't you?" she'd asked, almost presciently.
His eyes had widened at her observational skills. Then he'd sighed and nodded. "Yes." he'd said quietly. "But we're coming back for them."
The resolve with which he'd said those words remained as he regarded the empty space next to him before he got out of bed.
He explored the room with a fresh mind, almost discovering it again. It had been a long ride from Matsushiro to their hotel in Tokyo-2. He'd almost been asleep already as he'd walked in and collapsed into the bed. Thus, the walls around him, the floor, and the ceiling were at once familiar and alien.
He got prepared for the day, putting on a change of clothes that had been set out for him, and made his way out the door to find something to eat. As he walked out the door, looking up and down the hallway, he noticed one of the doors had two guards on it, seemingly relaxed and in casual clothes.
As he approached, one of the guards looked over at him, standing to attention and saluting. "Major Theisman." he said professionally.
Daniel saluted in return, glancing over at the door. "Who's in there?" he asked, already having his suspicions.
The guard's counterpart stepped over. "The enemy pilots, sir." she replied. "They were bussed here separately from your group and set up here. It was on one of the pilot's insistence, from what I hear."
Daniel scoffed softly as a slight smile quirked his lips. 'Shinji. Caring as always.'
"Speaking of the pilots," he said, "where are they located?"
"Shinji Ikari is across the hall from you. Asuka Soryu-Langley was placed in the room next to you on the right, at your request." the man replied. "And Kaworu Nagisa is next door, on Mr. Ikari's right."
Daniel nodded. "Alright. Thank you, Second Lieutenant Kagashi, Second Lieutenant Halsey."
The guards said their goodbyes as Daniel made his way to Asuka's room, knocking quietly before opening the door.
As he entered, he walked through the nearly silent apartment, soon coming to Asuka's bedroom. She lay in bed almost peacefully, Shinji by her side and holding her hand as he looked up with a tired expression that was soon joined by a small smile. "Hey, Daniel." he said quietly.
"Good morning, Shinji." Daniel replied as he came to his side, kneeling by Asuka's bed. "How is she?"
"About like you were the first few days." Shinji replied. "Out cold."
He chuckled softly. "It's amazing you were able to stay up for as long as you did."
"It takes some doing, and a lot of experience in Interfacing." Daniel replied frankly.
Shinji nodded silently, his gaze drifting back down to Asuka. It was a moment more of silence before Daniel's gaze drifted down to Asuka's other hand. "And have you met Kyoko yet?"
Shinji chuckled again, even as he blushed slightly. "Yeah, actually. She's… excitable. Treated me like I was already part of the family."
Daniel nodded. "Yeah. She's glad you're in Asuka's life, to put it lightly."
Shinji nodded, then looked down at Daniel's wrist. On it was a white bracelet, barely thicker than his thumb, a band of shifting light in the center rippling from one color to another in its center.
Shinji remembered that bracelet. Daniel had worn it after the first Battle of Tokyo-3. "What is that? I've seen you wearing that before." he asked, pointing at the unusual ring.
Daniel looked down at it. "Ah. It's a Vent Cuff. Helps get the Flux out a little faster. After all, keeping a Vent Frame running is a rather physically draining thing, what with exhaustion being a bleed over from Flux removal. It's a sight more light than wearing your power armor. More stylish too."
Daniel paused after a moment. "Come to think of it, you guys would more than likely want some. I should have a few spare. Sorry I haven't thought of it before now."
Shinji shook his head. "Don't worry about it. With the way this last year has been…" he sighed. "I can't blame you for forgetting."
Daniel stood, a familiar key appearing in his hand. "Maybe. But now, you get a nice new fashion accessory. I'll grab a few for everybody, then we can go down to the lobby to get some breakfast."
. . .
Mariah Marlowe sat on a couch in an almost bare room and regarded her fellow pilots. They looked back at her levelly, unaware of the storm that was swirling inside Mariah's mind. She hadn't had her meds for a while, and the stress of confinement was what it was, so her brain, of course, bounced from one crazy, somewhat scary idea to the next. It took a mighty effort to read the room, or so she thought, and keep it bottled up and to herself.
What was next? That question alone spiraled into a thousand different possible answers that all led to their own questions that led to even more answers. Her body almost vibrated with how much she jostled her legs and drummed on the arm of the couch.
Then, the door opened. Mariah jumped to her feet, falling into a judo stance almost on instinct, ready for… seemingly everything except Daniel.
Mariah blinked for a moment, keeping her stance up. "Oh. Uh… hello, Danny boy."
Daniel smiled slightly. "Good morning, Mari. And good morning to the two of you, Mana, Mayumi." he paused for a moment as he seemed to look at Mari up and down. "I'm not planning to fight you if that's what you're wondering. Excellent stance, either way."
Mari blinked again, then shuffled into an awkward approximation of a relaxed stance. "Well, what were you planning then? If it's bouncing us from place to place, that's going to be trouble. Especially as the days go on. Especially with me. Or if you were planning on interrogating us, I can have a terrible attention span. All you'll have to do is ask Major Howard. Or my dad, or my teachers…"
Daniel chuckled as he raised his hands. "Nothing quite of that nature, Mari. I was wondering if you'd like breakfast. Or lunch, as it were. All of you are probably quite hungry."
Slowly, all the heads in the room nodded. "I believe we should all get some nourishment." Mana replied. "It will make what comes ahead easier for us."
Mayumi glanced over at Mana with no small amount of worry in her eyes. "Maybe you could make it sound a little less intimidating, Mana. I'm tense enough as is."
Mana closed her eyes and nodded. "My apologies, Mayumi. I will try to make sure of that in the future."
Mari looked over at Daniel from the brief conversation that her friends (friends? Battle buddies?) were having. "Well, this hotel would probably have to have a pharmacy attached to it in order for me to have a happy, healthy meal, but I doubt that's the case."
Daniel's brow rose slightly. "Do you have meds that you have to take?" he asked, a quiet concern in his tone.
"Adderall, Effexor and Zoloft. My own personal trinity." Mari replied, a small, cheeky grin on her face.
Daniel nodded understandingly. "I see. I'll talk to Ritsuko, then. She's our resident doctor of many hats. She'll probably be able to get some medications for you."
"In the meantime," he continued, "Shinji and Kaworu will be there too, so it's a nice chance to continue interacting. So, I'll let you three get dressed down from your Plugsuits and ready for the day. Then you can tell the guards whenever you're ready, and we'll find something to eat."
The three of them glanced down at their Plugsuits. They were dry, perhaps, but the musk of simply sleeping in them was getting to be enough to make Mari's nose crinkle slightly.
"Alright, then." Mari said slowly. "I'm guessing the clothes in the drawer are for us?"
Daniel nodded. "That they are. Well, I've got some other things to take care of before we go out to eat. See you when you're ready."
He left them where they were, sitting or standing somewhat awkwardly. "Alright, well, I call dibs on the first shower." Mari said, her Plugsuit hissing as she slipped out of it with practiced ease.
She walked to the bathroom confidently, leaving behind a somewhat blushing Mayumi and a stoic, as always, Mana.
. . .
In time, they all got ready and informed their guards. After a few more minutes of waiting, the door opened once again, and revealed Daniel, with Kaworu and Shinji standing behind him.
Mari waved at both of them with a wide smile on her face. "Hello, puppies!"
Shinji blushed as he looked away, while Kaworu simply rolled his eyes as he waved. "Hello, Mari. Are you and the others doing well?"
Mari bobbed her head side to side. "Well, about as well as getting captured by our enemies could, surprisingly. Mana's as stoic as ever, and Mayumi's still getting used to things."
Kaworu shook his head. "We're not your enemies, Mari. I promise."
"That sounds good." Mari replied. Then she stepped forward past Daniel and came within inches of him, whispering in his ear. "But what if they just brainwashed you to say that? Do you think you can still blink twice?"
Kaworu put his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her back. "I'm not brainwashed either, Mari." he replied patiently. "I can blink as many times as I want. I have my friends to owe for getting me where I am now. Closer to being a real boy."
Mari looked Kaworu up and down, then gently rapped on his forehead. "Well, well. If I couldn't tell otherwise, I'd almost call you Pinocchio."
Kaworu smiled slightly. "That's not the only time I've heard that name attached to me."
Mari grinned. "Pinocchio it is. But the world just isn't right without a proper Puppy in it." she turned slowly to regard Shinji, who inched back slightly as Mari's smile widened.
"Congratulations, Puppy." she said, almost solemnly. "You've inherited an almost sacred name. There's only one Puppy in the world. And now, it's you."
"Uh… thanks?" Shinji replied, radiating uncertainty.
"Not a problem." Mari said confidently.
Anything further was interrupted by a chuckle from Daniel. "Alright then. Let's go ahead and get going, shall we?"
As the group passed through the door, one of the guards stepped forward. "Major…" he began.
Daniel raised a hand. "Don't worry, Lieutenant. I'll be able to keep an eye on them. I've cleared it with the Commander."
The guard stepped back, nodding uncertainly, and the group continued on their way.
. . .
As they all got into a rented SUV, Daniel looked behind him. "Anyone want anything in particular? I know that Tokyo-2 is…" he paused for a moment. "A little unfamiliar for most of us. So, if you don't have something somewhat popular in mind-"
"Hasikage's." Mayumi said, and all eyes turned to her as she blinked, her eyes widening after a moment.
"That's quite specific. Something you remember?" Daniel asked softly.
"Yes. And… no, somehow." Mayumi whispered, and Daniel pursed his lips for a moment.
"Well, we'll take your recommendation." Daniel finally said. "Give me a moment, and we'll be on our way."
The drive was taken in strangely contemplative silence, and the van stopped in front of a small, somewhat out-of-the-way ramen restaurant. As they climbed out, Mari whistled quietly. "My, your runaway memories must have a lot of faith in this place, Mayumi."
Mayumi slowly nodded. "Something tells me this place is… good." she said slowly, unsure of herself.
As they entered the quiet shop, an old man and a young man and woman looked up.
"Well, hello." the old man called. "Welcome to our little shop."
"Thank you." Daniel replied as the group came to look up at the menu. "It might be a moment before we start ordering."
"I'll have the beef and broccoli bowl, extra thick noodles. Add carrots and green onions, and let the combination simmer for a moment." Mayumi began.
The old man nodded. "Well, this young woman knows what she wants." he said with no small amount of respect as the young man went off to prepare the dish. "What else?"
It took a while longer for them to order, and for the food to be prepared as they sat at an out of the way table. All the while, Mayumi was silent, looking down introspectively as the food was served to them.
Daniel looked over at Shinji, his mouth silent but his words passed to him regardless, and Shinji nodded slightly as he focused.
After a moment, the quiet noise of the ramen house disappeared, and Mana looked up from her meal. "What have you done?" she asked levely.
"Made it so that we won't be heard or disturbed." Daniel said frankly. "You have Shinji to thank for that. Any other questions? Feel free to ask."
"How do I remember this?" Mayumi asked quietly regardless. "This feels familiar, and yet I have no idea how I knew to order that."
Daniel was silent for a moment, looking at Mayumi for a moment before he turned his Sight on. He saw the Frames their souls made, normal for the most part, except…
Their heads. His eyes flicked between the three children, and each of them, even Mariah, had gaps in their Frames. Bigger than normal. Poor Mana's were massive, like someone had taken a scoop to parts of it. And there was something about them, too… they looked like they were capped off by bits of Flux.
"What is it, Daniel?" Shinji asked him, Kaworu listening in silently. "Do you recognize what you're looking at?"
"Yes." Daniel replied, his face unchanging. "But right now, I'll tell you two about it later."
"That's a good question." Daniel said aloud. "One that requires a lot of explaining. But what I can tell you is that it can be fixed." he paused. "I'll talk to Ritsuko, Maya, and Hikari. They should be able to help me undo what SEELE's done to you."
"Ah, about that." Mariah cut in. "What's SEELE? Sounds real spooky, what with the whole mysterious German. Speaking of German, where's Asuka the princess? I'd figured she'd be up and about despite you guys keeping her down."
"I'll answer those questions in reverse order." Daniel replied with a quiet sigh. "Asuka is on my ship, the Val. She's resting after pushing herself too hard with that last battle."
"You have a ship?" Mari cut in before Daniel could continue, her eyes wide with wonder. "Like a starship?"
Daniel nodded with a slight smile. "Yes, of a sort. It's how I got here after all." he said patiently, raising a hand to forestall any more comments from the now clearly excited girl. "Now… about SEELE." he continued, the smile disappearing.
Mari almost subconsciously leaned back as Daniel continued. "They're a shadow organization that has been pulling the strings of powers large and small across the world for decades, the better part of a century, even. They orchestrated Second Impact, and as the Human Instrumentality Committee, they almost made a Third Impact happen."
It was silent for a moment as Daniel paused before Mari chuckled nervously. "Oh, come on. The Human Instrumentality Committee? Our bosses? Come on. They've been trying to help the world all this time. They sent us on the mission to retrieve big Lilith whatever so they could study it and prevent a Second Impact. It just went tits up is all. They couldn't be controlled by something like SEELE."
"Is that what they said?" Kaworu interjected, turning all eyes to look at his similarly serious expression. "Mariah, the Human Instrumentality Committee isn't just being manipulated by SEELE. It is SEELE. That is their public face."
"Impossible." Mana cut in. "The Committee was dedicated to bringing to pass Instrumentality, not… whatever happened last night."
"So then what is Instrumentality?" Shinji said quietly.
The girls looked over at Shinji. "What is Human Instrumentality?" he repeated, concern evident in his expression.
"It's…" Mayumi started, trailing off as she seemed to gather her thoughts. "It's the process that will help cleanse the planet, set things right again. A process that was supposed to unite humanity and make them happy." she said the last part with a carefully hidden envy. "But…" she continued with uncertainty.
"Yeah." Shinji said quietly after a moment. "It would unite humanity, you're right. But Kaworu showed you what would actually happen. What I-"
He was interrupted by a hand on his shoulder, and Shinji jumped slightly as he looked over at Daniel. "Hey." he said quietly. "No need to go digging that up, okay? Don't worry about it right now."
Shinji took a deep breath before he nodded, looking down and focusing on his ramen.
Daniel patted Shinji's shoulder once before he looked over at the girls with a sigh. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make this an interrogation. I just wanted to make a space where you felt comfortable asking your questions and having them answered."
It was an awkward moment of silence while they ate before Kaworu, of all people, broke it. "Do any of you have any family that you're close to?" he asked quietly.
The girls blinked, looking amongst each other. "Well, there's my dad." Mariah said. "He's ex-military. Super awesome. Taught me a lot of what I know. He's… probably very worried. I… I miss him." she continued quietly. "Mom's gone, so he gets to do her worrying for her. I don't really remember her. Only that she was supposed to be a lot like me."
Daniel nodded. "And you two? Do you have anyone left waiting for you?" he asked softly.
Mana shook her head. "I have no living family. I am a ward of the United Nations, with the rank of Lieutenant, under the command of Major Howard. He is, perhaps… the closest person I could call a "father"."
Mayumi nodded. "Yeah. Major Howard's taken care of us for a while now. And my family's gone too. I was too young to remember them… I think."
Daniel nodded. "I see." he said simply. "Well, let's not waste good cooking, shall we? I commend your choice, Mayumi."
So, they ate, and enjoyed the meal. At least, as best they could.
As they made their exit, thanking the old man and his family, Daniel quietly connected to Ritsuko's soul. "Ritsuko."
"Yes, Daniel?" Ritsuko replied.
"I'm going to need to meet up with you tonight. Maya and Hikari, too. We've got some things to discuss about our new arrivals." Daniel said, seriousness in his tone.
"This evening should work. It's not like we have anything else to hold us up." Ritsuko replied as Daniel got in the car and began their drive back to their hotel. "Anything else?"
"Yes, actually." Daniel said. "Mariah needs Adderall, Effexor, and Zoloft prescriptions. See if you can do anything to wrangle them up."
"ADHD medications?" Ritsuko asked. "Is she autistic?"
"She's on the spectrum, yeah." Daniel replied. "Likely only somewhat mild, but she asked for the meds anyway."
"I'll see what I can do." Ritsuko said.
"Thanks. See you tonight." With that, Daniel severed the connection, focusing on driving to their new housing.
Soon enough, they arrived, the sun dipping towards the horizon as they handed the three Numberless Children back over to the care of their guards. As the door shut in front of them, Daniel looked at Kaworu and Shinji, nodding over to his room.
They followed, and soon, Daniel sat down on the couch with a heavy sigh, shaking his head as the two boys sat down next to him.
"So, what did SEELE do to them?" Shinji asked quietly.
"They pruned them." Daniel replied, equally quiet even as a coal of anger simmered in his voice.
"How do you mean 'pruned'?" Kaworu asked.
"It's the same principle that went into making our Frame Titans work." Daniel began. "Take the natural Frames that grow from something, and trim them down in order to make them work differently or more efficiently. For us, that meant making it easier to make the Expression for the Frame Titan. But that pruning, if improperly done, can cut away the connections necessary for many different functions. Motor skills, emotion, empathy…"
"Memory." Shinji said, his voice cold with terrible realization.
Daniel nodded. "Yep. It's also a challenge when it comes to removing the Flux caps on the Frames and regrowing them. Especially when we don't have our star Mender by our side."
Daniel took a deep breath before he stood. "Thank you guys for coming along and helping with the girls. I… I need some time to myself, okay?"
It was a moment before both of them nodded. "Of course, Daniel." Shinji replied. "Let us know if you need us. We've got some more talking to do ourselves, anyways."
Daniel smiled slightly. "I'll leave you to it then."
. . .
Daniel Theisman sat on an air conditioning unit on the rooftop, the sunset on his left framing him as he swirled his ginger beer and took a drink, staring at where, approximately, they had come from. Where Tokyo-3 had been.
He took a contemplative sip, pondering on what might come next for… everyone. The Children. NERV. This world. Reality. So much seemed to hinge on what happened here, and he seemed to be right in the middle of it.
'Well, I put myself in the middle of it, after all. I'm not sure what I thought I should expect.' he mused as he snorted softly, taking another drink.
His head came up slightly as he heard the door to the roof open and shut behind him, turning to look at the visitor.
The man behind him was large, probably a little over 2 meters, broad-chested and sporting a well-trimmed high and tight head of blond hair, a somewhat darker beard sitting beneath discerning dark eyes. He wore a long dark blue coat, a dark red lining peeking out as the coat opened in the breeze to reveal a button-up shirt and slacks.
"Oh. Pardon me if I'm interrupting anything." the man said with a deep voice laced with apology.
"No, no, it's fine." Daniel replied as he looked back out over the edge. "This is my first time on this rooftop. Usually, I'm on another one whenever I'm thinking like this." he continued, a note of sadness entering his voice with the admission.
"Really? First time in this city, too?" the man asked, walking up and coming to a stop by Daniel's side.
Daniel looked up at him. "Not really. I've visited once before." he paused for a moment as he took in the man's features again. "You're not from Japan, I'm guessing?"
"No." The man said, taking a seat. "It's my first time here."
"Ah." Daniel said as he nodded. "Then you might have missed what happened in Tokyo-3 last night."
"What happened this time?" The man asked, seeming genuinely curious.
"Well…" Daniel began, then he sighed. "We prevented the end of the world. Even if Near Third Impact happened."
"We?" the man said. "Are you with NERV, then?"
Daniel looked back over as he nodded. "Yes. Major Daniel Theisman."
"I see. Well, I'm Daniel O'Brien." the man, O'Brien, replied as he reached out a hand.
Daniel smiled slightly as he took it. "Pleasure."
As he shook his hand, Daniel blinked on his Sight, taking in the soul of the man sitting next to him. It took a fair amount of effort to keep a level expression as he regarded the fuzzed edges and the scarring that was visible. 'Well, now. You've aged gracefully. The only soul I've seen older than that here is the one in the mirror.'
O'Brien looked back over at the view. "I assume you aren't taking in the sunset beside us for a reason."
Daniel sighed and nodded. "Yep. I'm looking out in the direction of where Tokyo-3… used to be."
O'Brien looked back at him with a level expression. "Used to be?"
Daniel chuckled darkly. "Stay a while and listen, and I shall tell you a tale…"
He sighed before he continued. "We were attacked. Six Mass-Production Evangelions, and three Evangelions piloted by Children specifically trained to take us down, puppeteered by new generation Dummy Systems. They breached Terminal Dogma and woke up Lilith."
He glanced over at O'Brien, smirking slightly at the somewhat wide eyes that no doubt hid utter astonishment. "My, that sounds… hellish." he finally said after a moment.
Daniel chuckled. "Being in the heat of the moment like I was, it certainly felt like it. They leveled the Geofront, empty thankfully, and began to spread activated core material from the center of Tokyo-3 after they peeled the Geofront like a fruit."
"And why are you telling me this like I'd understand?" O'Brien asked after a moment of silence.
Daniel looked back over, chuckling. "Because you are from a lot further out of town than you first let on, my friend. I wouldn't be surprised if you read up on things, as it were, before coming."
It was silent for a moment before O'Brien nodded. "Yeah. I've read up, in a sense." he looked back out over the view. "So what were you doing then?"
Daniel chuckled again. "I was actually piloting in the middle of that mess."
Daniel glanced back over, somewhat satisfied at how shocked he'd seemed to render the man. "Yes, piloting. And not even an Evangelion at that. A Frame Titan. The replacement for the Evangelion. Something to ensure that the Children can get their mothers back."
"The Evangelion being replaced…" O'Brien replied. "How much work did that take to come across? So many other replacements have failed before."
"Maybe." Daniel replied. "But for the kids… it was all worth it."
"You care for them." O'Brien said quietly after a moment.
"They're like family to me." Daniel replied frankly. "Shinji and Asuka especially. A family I'm all too lucky to have. A family... I'm not always sure I deserve. Even if I do need them, sometimes more than they need me."
It was silent for a moment.
"Good." O'Brien replied. "Then you've promised to keep them all safe?" he said quietly.
"Every day that I wake up." Daniel replied, equally softly. "There's nothing I wouldn't do for them."
Out of the corner of his eye, O'Brien nodded, and they looked back towards the resting place of Tokyo-3 for a while longer. "So," Daniel said after a moment, "when did you get here? I didn't see you with the League delegation. Did you really just recently arrive?"
"No, I'm not with… the League." O'Brien replied. It was the briefest of pauses. "I'm a… free actor, as it were."
"A free actor." Daniel echoed with a chuckle. "I know how that feels."
He continued to look out over the skyline for a moment before blinking. "So, then, where did you…"
He turned to look, but the man was gone. Completely so, his Sight revealed. "Come… from…" he trailed off.
It was silent for a moment as Daniel continued to fruitlessly look around, then he sighed as he looked down at his Bundaberg. 'Some days, you really could stand to be a little stronger, couldn't you? And what, exactly, was he? He's seen this before. Like I have, I'd wager.'
Daniel shook his head as he took another swig, and looked out as the sun set on the first day of a far more uncertain future.