OCTOBER 15TH
NERV HQ
COMMANDER'S OFFICE
3:24 PM JST
The door opened with whoosh, revealing the four young pilots, each still in their school uniforms. All of them wondering what the new Commander of NERV would want to see them for.
He stood up from his oak desk and motioned for them to head over to a set of sofas nearby.
"Come please. I wanted to have a chat with you all about a few things, and get to know you all better."
He gave a warm smile and pushed up his glasses. He watched them walk over and sit down. Asuka sat down next to shinji, Rei sat down next to Kaworu who was sitting next to Shinji.
The newly made commander then walked over to a mini fridge near a set of furniture that hadn't been setup, and pulled out a pitcher of sorts. He also grabbed a tray and some cups, setting them up neatly and properly.
Everyone watched as he came back and sat it down on the coffee table.
"Would any of you like some lemonade?"
He asked.
Shinji raised his hand, to which Jacques began setting up a cup for him. He poured a glass for Shinji and handed it to him.
Shinji looked at it for a moment before taking a sip. His eyes lit up with pleasure. He took another and another, until it was all gone.
"It's really good!"
Jacques smiled proudly.
"A family recipe. It may sound cliché, but it was handed down for a while."
He sat down at an empty couch and clasped his hands together, and leaned forward.
"So, I've called you all here for us to get to know one another. Even though I've been here since the meeting in Tokyo-II, I really don't know much about you four. I mainly know Young Akagi's mother more. So, let me introduce myself first."
They all paid close attention to the man in front of them. They were curious about the new commander and his past.
"You already know my name, but it's Jacques LeBlanc. I am from France, and I served in the French Senate for many years before I became Minister of The Armed Forces in 2001. Now I serve under the UN Security Council and as your new Commander. In my freetime, I enjoy a bit of art and literature. I also sometimes do the occasional chess game. So, what about you four? Who would like to go first?"
. . .
Asuka raised her hand first, wanting to go.
"Ah yes, Ms Soryu, tell me about yourself. I know that Prime Minister Lorenz knows more about you than me."
Asuka gave a prideful smile before giving her story.
"Well, My name is Asuka Langley Soryu! I'm the pilot of Unit 02 and a better gamer than Shinji!"
"Hey!"
MATERNAL PROGRAMMING
EPISODE 20
"Anxious Attachment"
OCTOBER 16TH
DOWNTOWN TOKYO-III
NEW PATHS THERAPEUTIC DAY CENTER
DR BUYO'S OFFICE
4:32 PM JST
Shinji shifted uncomfortably in the leather seat he sat in. His mind raced with feelings he didn't want to share with the person in front of him. His anxiety rose by the minute.
"It's alright Shinji, please just take your time, I want you to be comfortable enough to share this stuff."
Said the woman before him. Her name was on the desk behind her.
"Dr Andrea Buyo"
She gave him a patient smile as she waited for him to begin. The clock on the wall was the only thing that broke the silence.
"I… Mom said that I needed to come here… I…"
He was hesitant to continue speaking. He was scared.
"I have… Anger Issues… And Mom says that I'm being too harsh on… My Biological father…"
Dr Buyo nodded, paying close attention to him and his body language.
"Does your mother get along with him well?"
Shinji didn't speak for a few moments. He kept his eyes down to the floor, averting all eye contact.
"Only a few months ago… Before that, she would avoid him and only talk to him at work… And it's only been a few weeks since he moved in with us."
She began writing down things into a notepad that she had.
"A-Are you going to tell my mother or him?..."
He asked, getting more and more worried.
"Only if you are in danger or are planning to hurt yourself. Other than that… Your thoughts and feelings are safe here."
. . .
"I see."
. . .
"My mom… Isn't my biological one… But I consider my true mother. Ms Yui died when I was young and My father tried to abandon me a few days later…"
. . .
"Do you remember how she died if I may ask?"
. . .
"It's classified. And I don't remember much…"
. . .
"Well then tell me about Naoko, I can see you speak highly of her."
. . .
"She essentially saved me… I don't know where I'd be if it wasn't for her. Her and Ritsuko mean the world to me… And that… Man now tries to come back into my life, tries to talk to me, tries to say he cares…"
. . .
. . .
"He's a goddamn liar."
OCTOBER 18TH
NERV HQ
COMMANDER'S OFFICE
9:24 AM JST
Naoko awkwardly walked into the room, the leggings she wore today irritated the synthetic skin below. Walking was still a bit hard despite only losing her leg half a month ago.
"Ms Akagi, It's a pleasure to see you again. I see you have created a prosthetic yourself to use. Very resourceful of you."
Jacques said from his desk. The office was getting more and more decorated, meeting tables were put up, rooms were being built to split up the large vast office.
Naoko hobbled over to the desk and stood in front of it. The same distance from when Gendo was in power.
"I see you've changed up the place…"
Jacques simply grinned.
"It looked too… Empty. Such a waste of space for one desk. Used some of my own money for this."
Naoko looked around and agreed.
"Yeah it looked sad before this…"
. . .
"Now then, onto the matter at hand. About your leg and your return to work…"
OCTOBER 19TH
AKAGI RESIDENCE
10:24 PM JST
"Alright. This is of utmost confidentiality, You all know What'll happen if LeBlanc or Keel finds out. I risked my ass for this information. And with Kozo's Previous data we can possibly have insurance for this."
Kaji stood in front of the gathering of people before him. Misato, Gendo, Fuyutsuki, Ritsuko, Naoko and Shiro sat on the seats in the living room. All of them with serious and stern expressions.
Tokita was recently brought into this, with Fuyutsuki being brought in when The Fourth Angel came in.
"Shiro, You know what is said in here cannot be relayed to anyone else, right? No JHCI, no technicians, no one else. Just knowing this information is enough to get you and the rest of us killed."
Shiro shifted uncomfortably in his seat, knowing he cannot back down now. He nodded, realizing the consequences of failure.
"Good. Now then… You all know LeBlanc is Keel's right hand man, Loyal to Keel, but not SEELE. For what we are going to do.. We need him to turn on Keel, and Misato will explain some ways we could do that."
Kaji gestured to Misato, who was still in her uniform. She got up and stood next to Kaji.
"So, Like Kaji said, we have a few options. Torture is out of the question entirely. Blackmail may work, but it wont work if he gets access to our files. Another way is to appeal to him. Apparently, Jacques and Keel go way back, maybe his loyalty has shifted, he seems to care for the pilots, we could use that-"
"Absolutely not."
Naoko stood up immediately, ignoring the sensitivity in her leg. Her face was angry, anger from the thought of using her son for this plan. She was already frustrated at the fact of him being a pilot.
"We will not use the Children for any of these plans!"
Misato was taken aback, but not surprised at Naoko's sudden snap.
"If you would let me finish, I'd suggest other things…"
Misato said, a hint of annoyance in her voice. Naoko scowled and sat back down, crossing her arms.
"Back to what I was saying… It would be preferable not to use the children, as they might be the target of threats from SEELE. If we are to pull this off we need a way that won't put any of us directly into harm's way."
Shiro shakily raised his hand. Nervous about all this talk of a coup.
"What exactly will we be doing that would need him to be on our side?..."
. . .
Kaji spoke up.
"We are going to blow up Terminal Dogma and Kill the Angel inside."
Shiro's eyes widened. They had an angel trapped inside Terminal Dogma?
"I thought we only had that angel that's in containment… The one that people named Maggy…"
Kaji shook his head.
"This Angel is called Lilith. And that's why the angel attacks are all here. They are trying to reach her for some reason. And if we kill her… The Angels will stop trying to reach her, and SEELE can't proceed with their plans."
Shiro felt sick to his stomach. This… This was so much put onto him at once. Ritsuko took notice and tried patting the nervous man on the back.
"A-And what is SEELE's plan?..."
. . .
. . .
. . .
"To become god."
. . .
. . .
"To take all human life, merge it into one, and form Instrumentality. A state of theoretical existence in which all souls are one."
Shiro began to hyperventilate. His breathing is rapid and shallow. This was so much to take in.
"We'll give you a moment to take it in. I'm sorry we had to spring this on you, but we know you can help us a lot. We are the good guys here."
Ritsuko tried to soothe Shiro, but it wasn't working.
The sound of footsteps alerted the group to another person's presence.
Kaji and Misato quickly pulled out their pistols and pointed it at the source of the creaks.
Standing there in his pajamas was Shinji, who looked like he was about to shit himself.
"Oh."
Misato and Kaji lowered their pistols. Naoko was about to yell at the two for their choice, but let it go and instead went over to Shinji, who was scared and confused at the whole situation.
"Shinji, just go back to sleep ok?"
"W-What's going on??"
"Nothing, just us all talking, but you can't be here for this. Please just go back upstairs…"
"B-But mom, I-I came to see what was all the commotion and-"
"Shinji. Bed, Now."
. . .
It was a voice she rarely used. Only a few times recently had she used such an annoyed and commanding tone.
Shinji stood there for a moment, before a few tears formed in his eyes. He looked like he was about to break down. But he quickly ran back upstairs and slammed the door shut.
. . .
. . .
. . .
"Shit."
Naoko quickly got up and jogged over to the stairs and up them.
. . .
"Well… I guess we can continue without her…"
UPSTAIRS
Naoko knocked on his door, only to have sobs as a reply.
"Shinji…"
No response but soft cries.
"Shinji I'm going to come in now…"
. . .
Naoko slowly opened the door, revealing the boy curled up in his bed crying to himself.
"Shinji… I'm sor-"
"I know you don't love me anymore…"
Naoko was taken aback. She never expected to ever hear those words from him.
"Shinji… I love you with all my heart… You know that… There is no one that could ever replace you…"
. . .
"What about… father?..."
. . .
"He just needs someone to care for him. I can care for all of you… But remember… He won't replace you. He won't have the same love I'll give you."
. . .
"You are my world. You are everything to me, You and Ritsuko. I love you both so much…"
. . .
. . .
. . .
"I love you too…"
. . .
"I'm sorry for yelling at you…"
Naoko rubbed Shinji's head to try and calm him down, which worked. The boy was slowly calming down and slowly getting more sleepy.
"It's.. Ok…"
With that Shinji soon fell right back to sleep. A small smile formed on Naoko's face as she kissed his forehead.
. . .
. . .
. . .
"Goodnight Shinji."
The next chapter will be a special one… One that coincidentally lines up with real life dates soon…
It's the spooky month!
TIME FOR THE SPOOKY EPISODE!
I'll see you guys then!
-DerpymanMT
Deus
. .
. .
. .
50 72 6F 6D 65 74 68 65 75 73 20 77 61 73 20 70 75 6E 69 73 68 65 64 20 62 79 20 74 68 65 20 67 6F 64 73 20 66 6F 72 20 67 69 76 69 6E 67 20 74 68 65 20 67 69 66 74 20 6F 66 20 6B 6E 6F 77 6C 65 64 67 65 20 74 6F 20 6D 61 6E