Chapter 15: Revelation of Duties
It's all gone so… wrong.
Granted, it's exactly what we've expected, what we've been waiting for. But Shinji… we were making such progress together, I thought. To go back to Gendo as he did…
But it looks like he has a plan here, at least. Far better than simply going because it sounds like Rei. But we've seen how that plan might fail, too.
And Daniel went off again, into the sky after Shinji. Damn him. It still feels like I just got him back, even after all these years together. But at least I can reach out to him again. At least he's not afraid of me anymore. At least, that I've seen.
These next few days are going to be tricky, no doubt. But I'm not alone this time. I've got the kids, to say the least. We can take care of things around here. Of that I'm sure
- From the personal journal of Eleanor Theisman
Over Japan, 7 Hours Later
Daniel Theisman, alerted by the GPS system in his suit, woke up from his power nap to find himself coming close to Japan, red waves lapping against a similarly red shore coming up quick as the rocket booster disengaged, the wall beginning to disappear into tendrils behind him as the armor registered what was likely an AT Field blooming to life to provide propulsion.
'Looks like it's time to get off, then.' he mused as he dissolved the crystals holding him to the Mark.09, flying up and away into what was now the night sky as the Evangelion sped off and fell for a moment as wings of starlight re-established themselves, allowing him to begin gliding towards Tokyo-3.
'I hope I can spot it, at least.' he thought as his helmet disappeared and he let the wind blow into his face, its bite cut back by a simple Expression as he scanned the land around him, his sight sharpened as he pushed it up past the Second Peak, the night almost day now. 'It should be… close…'
He found himself taken aback somewhat as he saw amongst the vast fields of Corite… green. Within a fence of glowing red ACC Pillars, he beheld the vast, leafy green treetops that stretched out with, and sometimes above, the skyscrapers that they grew on and between. He even found himself shocked to see life there, birds circling in the sky as the Mark.09 zipped into the depths of the now open Geofront, weaving around the absolutely massive pillar of Corite that stretched almost out of sight into the sky.
He looked around for a spot, touching down lightly in the center of one of the intersections close to the opening of the Geofront.
"Well, well." He mused aloud as he began to walk down the street, studying his surroundings. "Ritsuko must have left the ACC Pillars around the city before they bounced. You're looking a lot better than when I last saw you on a screen, old spot."
Even still, he picked up the pace after a few moments, reaching the edge of the peeled-open Geofront in short order and catching a glimpse of the Mark.09 descending fully into the depths of the base. Looking around at the massive caldera-like structure he saw that, even in its ruins, there was now a long untouched beauty to those areas that were still undisturbed from the completion of Third Impact, the shattered buildings that had once hung from the Geofront's ceiling now grown over with vines and moss and trees, birds roosting in many of them.
However, in the center of the Geofront, a dark gray, bulbous structure had partially risen from the ground, with several holes in its surface leading to the ground. This must have been the underground layers of HQ, he realized.
He blinked as he also realized that the Pyramid, the outermost building of NERV HQ, was still within the confines of the Geofront, sitting atop the massive hemisphere with the pillar of Corite going up through the partially reconstructed ruins that were left by Zeruel's attack. 'That's odd.' he thought as he looked up at the inverted pyramid high in the sky, perched at the pillar's top. 'What's up there, then?'
He shook his head as he looked back into the depths of the likely still unknown territory that was the Geofront before him. 'Time slinky strikes again, I guess.'
'If I didn't have a good guess as to what was going on underneath the surface, I'd camp out here.'
Daniel mused after a moment more of observation before he looked down at the drop, the walls underneath him, only a few massive fragments of the reflective mirrors still clinging to them, curving behind him for a little way before going down to the ground. 'But right now, down the walls we go.'
He took a deep breath, weaving an Expression around him for a moment before he took a somewhat too dramatic step into the open air.
As his body pitched forward, it did the patently impossible, a common occurrence for Daniel, and fell towards the ceiling, which soon became the floor for him as he found himself standing on it. He took a moment to readjust, his inner ear rebelling for the briefest of seconds before he stifled it. 'Don't look up. Just walk forward.' he thought, making his way around the mirror fragments as he headed toward the actual ground.
It took more than a little effort to not just float down, but the relatively small Flux expenditure here kept him from possibly being picked up by any remaining Pattern Blue sensors here in the Geofront. Besides, it had been more than a little while since he'd walked on a wall this big before.
Finally, he took another big step and found himself on the ground, near what must have been the ruined stop of the personnel tram tunnel. 'Make a note of that for later, then.' he thought as he pressed forward toward the massive hemisphere of the vessel, a crypt, that interned Lilith. And contained a still-living Shinji.
As he crested the fallen side of a crumbled building, resting up against one of the trees that grew upon it, he scanned the massive hemisphere, trees and dirt and rubble making a natural ramp up to more than a few openings, when he saw something entirely unexpected.
From one of the openings that faced him, he saw a rope dangling down to a somewhat gentle slope. Who could have placed it? Certainly not Kaworu. Right?
'One way to find out.' he thought as he made his way to the end of the rope, tugging gently to test it. Finding it secure, he quickly made his way up the rope. As he reached the top, the hallway coming into view, he found himself staring down a rather more disconcerting sight: the barrel of a pistol.
"Whoa," he said to whoever was behind the pistol. "I'm friendly if you are."
The pistol retreated slowly, and the man before him stood up. "Who the hell are you?"
Daniel's eyes went wide as he took in the person, his familiar voice coming from a somewhat unfamiliar face, Ryoji Kaji scratching a full beard as Daniel clambered into the opening. "Vice-Chief Daniel Theisman of WILLE. Who… are you?"
At the mention of the organization, Kaji paused, brows rising, then chuckled. "Well, then. You're a little far from home, aren't you? Deputy-Commander Ryoji Kaji, also of WILLE."
He reached out a hand, which Daniel shook, looking at least a little dazed. "I, uh… I have to say, you're looking rather healthy for someone who's supposed to be dead."
Kaji chuckled. "Yeah. I do, don't I?"
With that, he shrugged and turned to walk away. "Well, I don't know who you are, or how you got here, but your timing with the Mark.09 is uncanny."
Daniel nodded as he followed. "Yeah. I'm here because Shinji's been taken by the Mark.09. I just happened to… catch a ride."
Kaji looked back at Daniel with an arched eyebrow. "Just like that? I'm impressed. How does that work?"
Daniel smiled slightly. "Trade secret, I'm afraid."
Then he blinked. "You seem rather blase about the fact that Shinji… exists again."
Kaji nodded. "We've got a link to the ship. We see what it sees for the most part. Like the fact that you've been pretty nice to the kid for the last little while." he paused for a moment as he looked back at Daniel. "Good on you. The kid's needed someone to look out for him. I'm sure Misato appreciates the help."
Daniel opened his mouth to say otherwise, then shut it. "Yeah. It's been good to help Shinji and the other kids out."
As they walked… somewhere in the depths of the HQ, Daniel's brow furrowed as he looked at Kaji's back. "So, wait a minute… how are you alive?"
Kaji shrugged. "Something that the Commander did. I'm not sure what or why he did it, though."
Daniel's eyes narrowed. "Commander Ikari brought you back?"
Kaji chuckled. "No. Commander Nagisa of WILLE."
Daniel's eyes went wide for a moment. 'Commander Nagisa… Kaworu's playing both sides, I see. What does he gain from this?'
"Nagisa… can't say I've heard that name. Is he a defector from NERV?"
"No. He's… well, you'll just have to meet him."
The pair stopped in front of a door that led into what looked, from the outside at least, to be one of the old mess halls or break rooms that were situated deeper within the HQ. "Well," Kaji said, "this is our little information center, where we've been coordinating things."
With that, Kaji opened the door, ushering Daniel into a room that had a surprising amount of laptops and projector screens scattered around, wall panels removed as hardwire connections ran to more than a few of the laptops. "How has Commander Ikari not found this place yet?" Daniel asked, no small amount of wonder in his voice.
"He doesn't really wander much down here anymore," Kaji replied as he made his way to a computer, typing at it intently.
"So, how's the Wunder doing otherwise?" Kaji asked after a moment's silence.
"As well as it can do, I would assume." Daniel sighed quietly. "Some of the crew, on the other hand…"
The typing paused as Kaji looked up at Daniel. "What do you mean?"
Daniel was taken aback by the question somewhat before he remembered that the mess hall that they hosted the dinner in didn't have any active surveillance. "Captain Katsuragi… the last thing she tried to do when the Mark.09 took Shinji was to try and detonate his DSS Choker."
He saw Kaji's eyes go wide. "No… that's insane. Why would she do that?"
Daniel sighed quietly. "There's a lot you've missed, being dead and all."
Daniel walked over to the shocked Kaji, shifting the laptop to face him as he tried to interpret the UI to take him to a view of the Wunder. "Come on…" he muttered to himself.
"Why would she put a Choker on Shinji?" Kaji asked, his tone still incredulous. "He isn't contaminated like Asuka is."
"How much of the ship do you have access to?"
"Security cameras, base-level diagnostics, and… that's about it."
"No audio?"
It was silent for a moment. "No." was Kaji's weary reply.
"Then you haven't figured out that Shinji and Rei have essentially infinite sync scores."
Kaji looked over at him, his expression somewhat confused now. "That's possible?"
"Apparently so. And that's not all." Daniel said, finally reaching the camera system for the Wunder and accessing the playback files, showing the view of Shinji's cell, fast forwarding still clearly showing the boy spending most of his time there. "This is where Shinji spent the better part of a month under Captain Katsuragi's orders."
Kaji shook his head slightly. "That's… that's crazy. Misato wouldn't…"
Daniel sighed quietly as Kaji trailed off. "Sadly, she's changed more than a little too, it seems."
"These 14 years are enough to make strangers out of all of us."
The two men looked up to see Kaworu Nagisa standing in the doorway, smiling slightly as he regarded the both of them. "However, you are a complete stranger to me, it seems." the boy continued as he walked forward into the room.
"Hello, Mr… Nagisa, I presume," Daniel said, Kaworu's smile growing slightly as he nodded.
"Indeed," Kaworu replied. "And you are…"
"Daniel Theisman of WILLE."
"Ah. One of our own in the fight to preserve human happiness."
Kaworu looked over at Kaji. "Shinji Ikari is currently within the remains of the medical wing of the HQ, resting from his journey. It is expected that he will awake soon."
Kaworu's focus returned to Daniel. "However, I am somewhat surprised by your appearance here. Did you come with Shinji?"
Daniel nodded. "Yes. I'm Shinji's guardian."
Daniel didn't fully know how to feel when he saw the boy look almost… perturbed. "I see," he said levelly. He couldn't fully read what the words meant. Or what the boy thought of them. And probing into his mind or soul seemed… dangerous, somehow.
'I hope I don't make an enemy of you soon.' Daniel thought as Kaworu walked over to Kaji's side, frowning slightly at the sight of Shinji's mistreatment. The boy may have been Kaworu Nagisa, that much was certain. But he was as much an unknown as Daniel suspected he was to Tabris.
. . .
AAA Wunder, The Next Morning, 1 Day Out from South Africa Safe Zone
Eleanor Theisman rubbed her eyes as she considered what, exactly, she would do to manage and perhaps de-escalate the situation.
A day's rest hadn't fully helped matters, she mused, as she and the others finished getting ready for the day, opening the door and greeting the two security personnel that were stationed on either side, courtesy of Captain Katsuragi.
Thankfully, the guards assigned to keep watch over them were familiar faces, as Korra and Suki looked back at her. "Morning," Korra said as cheerily as she could. "Sleep well?"
Eleanor sighed quietly. "As well as I could with my husband having flown off."
The three of them shared a weary chuckle as Eleanor fully emerged, the rest of her companions in tow. "How're the kids?" she asked. She hadn't seen the Children of this world since they'd all been escorted their separate ways last night.
"Still in their room, still under tight guard," Suki replied. "Sokka and Bolin have made sure they haven't gotten separated from each other, but… I don't know how long that's going to last."
Eleanor nodded silently as she considered the situation. In light of what had happened last night, Ymris had given them the day off again, ostensibly to make sure that they were in top shape come whatever came next. And, as went unspoken, just in case Takeshi and any of the more brazen acolytes tried something else beyond those Spirits.
"So," Anna said, "what are we going to do first to upend the status quo like Daniel has asked us to do?"
Korra and Suki looked at Anna quizzically, and Eleanor sighed as she looked up and down the hall they were on, ensuring that they wouldn't be heard as she began. "Daniel's decided we're going to be revealing ourselves."
As Korra and Suki's eyes went wide, she put a hand up. "Not all at once, mind you. Daniel's last suggestion was to take it slowly."
Korra snorted softly. "And he got all that to you before he flew off instead of sticking around to try and do it himself? I mean, we're going after the kid, right?"
Eleanor shook her head as she sighed again wearily. "Yes, we are. But if there's anything that I've learned about Daniel in the time since we've reunited, he has a knack for getting caught up in the moment."
"Even if he does it terribly dramatically," she muttered under her breath as she pondered on where, exactly, to start.
'Who do I start with…' she thought as she and the kids, their guards included, went to go and find some sort of breakfast. The leftovers from last night's dinner, she was sure, would still taste good. And having Daniel's stew, at least, would be something to ward against the fact that he'd left her again.
It wasn't like that, she had to remind herself. 'He's just trying to keep everyone safe, in his own way. He trusts us.'
It still hurt whenever he left, though.
She shook her head slightly as she continued to eat. 'Focus. Daniel trusted you to figure this out.'
"Let's see…" she said aloud. "Who all already kind of knows about us?"
"Well, from what I remember," Shawn said, "there's Maya, Rei, Mari, and… that's it."
Eleanor snorted softly. "Well. I'm impressed. We only have three people to break the full news to at first. I don't think I've ever had that few people to do that to."
She looked over at Korra and Suki. "And what were your orders concerning guarding all of us? Are we not allowed to meet up with the pilots at all?"
Suki shook her head. "Not so far as I can tell. Our orders were just to keep an eye on all of you guys. Nothing more than that."
"At least so far," Korra interjected, a warning tone to her voice.
Eleanor nodded. "Which means you'll all be there when we break the news. Which means, more than likely, your bending will be exposed, at the very least. I hope you're ready for that."
Korra shrugged. "Well, hell, it was going to happen sooner or later. Toph'll appreciate being able to bend again if nothing else."
Eleanor smiled slightly. "Alright, then."
"Wait a minute." Rachel piped up. "What about Asuka? Shikinami, I mean."
"A good point," Ken replied. "Leaving her out of all the pilots, and her alone, in the dark could lead to some… unfortunate consequences."
Eleanor nodded. "Yeah. We'll fill her in too. No sense in leaving her in the dark when the other Children get filled in."
"Okay," Shawn said quietly. "Are we going to talk with anyone else today? The bridge crews? Doctor Akagi? Mi… Captain Katsuragi?"
Eleanor pondered the question for a moment, then shook her head. "Not today. We'll be arriving in South Africa soon enough. Then, it's a sure chance that we'll be going after Shinji and Daniel after some gearing up in America. We'll likely do it at that time."
Eleanor nodded. "That sounds like as good a plan as any. Now, we just get in contact with the Children and Maya. Have some lunch."
The others nodded, and Eleanor steeled herself for whatever might come. It would at least be… amusing to see their reactions. It always was in the end.
. . .
Shinji Ikari woke up under a ceiling that was at once unfamiliar and familiar, white in those places where moss did not touch it. 'The Geofront hospital.' he thought as he slowly tried to sit up. 'At least they didn't plop me into a cell.'
He could have chuckled if his throat wasn't dry as the floor that surrounded him, the chuckle that he tried anyways turning into a cough that lasted a little longer than he would have expected.
As he finished sitting up, he looked around the room, utterly bare save for the bed that he lay in, and who looked like Rei, the girl in a Plugsuit that was black and grey, with a few green highlights accompanied by red ones that included the numbers '09' on her sternum.
"Aya… Ayanami?" Shinji said, clearing his throat.
"Yes, Shinji Ikari?" she replied tonelessly.
Shinji pondered the reply. So cold. So empty. Perhaps even more than Rei from a decade and a half ago. "Are you… Rei?"
Ayanami didn't even blink. "I am Ayanami."
Shinji nodded. "I see. Is there some… water around here that I can get?"
"Do you need water?"
Shinji's brow furrowed slightly. "Yes?" he said slowly.
Without another word, Ayanami turned and walked out the door, leaving him alone. "O… kay…" Shinji said as he slowly got out of bed, looking out the window at the ruined Geofront surface and marveling at the state of things.
It was a few moments before Ayanami returned, a bottle of water in her hand, as she silently walked over to him and held it out.
Shinji nodded as he took the bottled water, gulping it down and finishing off the water bottle with a contented sigh. He paused for a moment, then chuckled as he realized how that reminded him of Misato. The old Misato, at least.
"Thank you, Ayanami," he said as he went towards the door to find somewhere to throw the now empty bottle away.
"Thank… you?"
He paused at the doorway, looking back at Ayanami. She appeared unmoved, but her brow had furrowed slightly. "Yes. Thank you." he was silent for a moment as his eyes went wide. "Do you… not know what that means?"
"My duty is to carry out the orders of Commander Ikari."
"Which, in this case," Ayanami continued as Shinji opened his mouth, "means escorting you from this room."
She walked towards, then past him, going through the doorway. "Follow me."
Shinji regarded Ayanami's back as he followed behind, emerging from the medical center onto a patch of grass with a path that led to an entrance into the HQ itself.
As they walked, he looked around himself, marveling at the ruins that his ascension to godhood, however temporary, had wrought. 'All this… because of me…'
The melancholy he felt became ever more poignant as they passed a broken, pockmarked wall that had NERV's logo emblazoned on it. Then they passed through a door, and the world opened up in front of him as he came to an ever-familiar gantry, the wall behind it and the ceiling above shorn off and leaving the whole room lit quite well to let him see the decay of years unused.
He stopped in the center, looking up at where an Eva's head would have been, maybe where Unit-01's head might have been all that time ago, noticing only in passing as Rei continued on, looking up at the sky for a moment.
Then, he blinked as he heard something terribly unusual from far below him. He heard… music.
And as he walked forward somewhat and looked down, he saw on the floor, at what would have been far below the depths of LCL that filled this place, something that was almost more unusual than the music itself, a cheery classical piece that seemed to energize the air even as far up as he seemed to be from it.
He saw a section of the floor cleaned to a sparkling white, its center only taken up by a small tree in what must have been a pot, and a piano from which the music sprang. His eyes narrowed as he focused on the player, a boy in strangely normal clothes, a purple shirt with a white button-up over top, black slacks working the pedals as thin fingers flew over the keys, slowing to a stop as the music began to finish. His head was thrown back in what seemed like contentment, surprisingly grey hair framing a young face, and as the chamber fell silent, he opened his eyes. Red. Like Rei's.
'Who…' Shinji stepped back, then looked over to find Ayanami patiently waiting for him.
He decided that the boy below warranted some investigation, but that it would come at a later time, following Ayanami as they began to make their way again.
As they made their way deeper still into the base, Shinji noticed that the walls began to slowly become cleaner. More modern. "How are repairs going on here?" he wondered aloud.
"The necessary repairs were completed before I was activated," Ayanami replied, startling Shinji somewhat. "Many other Ayanami-types did what was needed to get the base to the necessary state to accomplish the Scenario."
The thought of so many familiar faces working, hurting, possibly dying to make sure his father's plans came to pass… burned at him.
Then, they passed through another doorway into darkness, walking a fair way as Shinji hoped he wouldn't hurt himself in the dark. Or that Ayanami wouldn't. He wondered what, exactly, the massive echoing gurgles and clanks were that he was hearing. Wherever he was, it was big.
"We're here."
He took that to mean that he should pause, and as he stopped, a deep red light underneath him turned on, revealing a massive dome that Shinji turned to look at, several massive pipes and tubes feeding into it.
He walked forward as he beheld the symbol emblazoned on the surface in front of him. "Eva 13…" he said aloud.
"Yes."
A spotlight clacked on, the beam of light shining down to show in stark form… his father. Shinji wondered at the visor that he wore. "Why is there another Evangelion being made?" he asked.
"You will pilot it with the other boy after your training together." Commander Ikari said.
Shinji heard another spotlight turn on behind him, turning to see the boy who was playing the piano earlier. The boy said nothing, simply smiling slightly.
"When the time comes, you two will complete the Scenario, and bring an end to this wretched world. That is all."
Shinji's head whipped back around as he watched his father begin to turn and walk away. "Father! Can I control the Impact this time if I try? Father?"
The man said nothing, disappearing from sight. All Shinji could hear was the clatter of the man's footsteps echoing throughout the massive chamber that they stood in.
Shinji opened his mouth to try and shout after his father, but the words died in his mouth. It apparently would have been of little use, anyway.
The spotlight behind him clacked off as he turned to watch the other boy walk away.
"Come, Shinji Ikari." Ayanami said from behind him. "I have been ordered to now introduce you to your quarters."
. . .
AAA Wunder, Later That Night
Eleanor waited patiently in the rather empty mess hall as she picked at some more of yesterday's leftovers, her kids, Korra, and Suki waited for the people that they'd reached out to in order to 'explain things now that everything's started to happen'.
As they waited, they chatted idly, Anna and Shawn currently describing a typical Magic game to a surprisingly riveted audience of Korra and Suki in varying states of dramatization and excitement. Eventually, however, the conversation stilled as the door opened, all eyes turning to see Sokka leading the clearly somewhat intrigued column of Maya, Asuka, Mari, and Rei, Bolin the last to walk in as the door shut behind them.
"Well, well," Mari said as her eyes landed on the food. "Is this a consolation dinner? I've got to admit, without Puppy-boy and Danny Boy here, it's a little less than it should be."
Eleanor nodded. "I know that much. Take a seat. Plate up. We've got some things to tell you."
As the Children, Maya, and their guards settled in, Eleanor regarded them after a moment's eating. "So, most of you know something about Daniel, myself, and our kids. Something that we haven't shared with the rest of the crew."
Asuka paused as she chewed, then swallowed as she looked at Mari and Rei, both of whom were looking intently at Eleanor along with Maya. "Uh… I'm not exactly in the loop here. What's going on?"
"We'll explain as we go along. And trust me," Eleanor said, "there's a lot to explain."
Eleanor paused for a moment as she considered where to start, then nodded at Maya. "We'll start with some of what you know, Maya, and tie it all together as we go along. You stumbled in on something that we were trying to keep under wraps. Something that showed us for what we really are."
Maya nodded as Asuka's eye narrowed. "Wait. So if you aren't decades old super soldiers… what are you?"
"Oh, simple," Maya said terribly nonchalantly. "They aren't from this universe."
Asuka blinked, and Mari blinked with her. "That's got to be bullshit. Right?"
Eleanor shook her head as she put a hand out over the table, twin disks of water swirling to life on her palm and the back of her hand. As she focused her Expression through the Control Surface, all the water around them, sitting in open cups or mugs, began to float out towards her palm, coalescing into a globe that swirled with prismatic color.
The room was silent at the sight. "How…" Rei finally said, trailing off as further words failed her.
"That's part of us being from different universes," Eleanor replied as the water flowed back into the cups. "I can do that because I tap into the powers of my soul, much like you do with your AT Field when you're in an Evangelion."
She nodded to her kids. "They're able to do it because Daniel and I taught them to do it." she paused as her gaze turned to Rei. "Which leads us to what you've at least suspected."
Rei scanned the group before her. "So, do they come from the same universe as you do?"
Eleanor shook her head. "They come from another one. A parallel one."
Asuka looked at Anna and Shawn and Rachel, her eye growing wide again. "Wait. So you're saying…"
Anna nodded. "Yep. I'm you. Kind of." she nodded to Shawn. "Just like this is Shinji and that's Rei."
Asuka leaned back in her seat, letting out a gusting sigh before looking at Ken. "So, who's he?"
Ken nodded slightly. "Well, I am Kaworu Nagisa, where I come from."
He opened his mouth as if to continue, then seemed to consider otherwise. "That is the most pertinent thing to know about me at the moment."
Eleanor nodded. "Yep. They're you. But they aren't 'you'. The reason for that is… complicated. Far beyond simply being a parallel universe…" she trailed off as she looked at Mari.
Mari nodded. "The time looping."
Asuka, Maya, and Rei looked over at Mari now. "Time looping?" Maya and Asuka said simultaneously and incredulously.
Mari nodded. "Yep. I don't know what's causing it, or how long it's been going on, but after lifting this lovely boat into the air for the first time, I figured out that this has all happened before, in some sense. And that, likely, it's all going to happen again."
Asuka looked down at her hands, and Maya leaned back in her chair with wide eyes. "This… this changes everything."
Eleanor nodded. "It does. A lot. And the kicker?" she looked over at Korra, nodding intently. "We aren't the only ones from out of town, as it were."
The trio looked over at Korra as she drew the water into the air in a smooth motion, making it flow around her body and back into the cup as she threw a tongue of flame into the air, gathering up a surprisingly visible gust of air to blow it out before lifting a silverware set into the air, setting it gently in front of the three. "Now, the way that works for us is a little different for me and my friends than it does for Eleanor and hers, and we can't all do all that, but… yeah."
Eleanor nodded as she scanned the trio, saw the dazed looks in their eyes. "I know you've all got a lot to process. And I'm sure you'll all have questions. But right now, until we've got Shinji and Daniel back, and I'm sure that's going to be soon, most of those are going to have to wait."
"Is it because of those things you were fighting when I walked in on you?" Maya asked.
Eleanor nodded silently, seeing the Children's eyes going wide. "Yes. Their handlers are still here, and we don't know what kind of orders they're getting. So, for now, we keep this on the down-low."
Before she could go on, she felt her pocket buzz, and she frowned as she pulled out her phone. The notification that she had raised a brow. The message that came with it raised the other.
'Greetings from NERV HQ, courtesy of Balthazar. I'll probably see you all soon enough.'
She relayed Daniel's message to the rest, and Maya's eyes went wide. "So, if NERV is using Casper alone in order to coordinate its units… how is Balthazar also online? And who's maintaining it?"
Eleanor checked to see if the message could be replied to, but found her digital search coming up with nothing. That was okay. She had her own channels, after all. "That's as good a question as any, Maya. Perhaps if we unblocked the Magi from the comms units, we could backtrace the signal, maybe even hack in."
Maya nodded slowly. "That might take some convincing on my part. Senpai and I were pretty thorough in making sure that NERV couldn't ping us again. It's going to take time. At least a day, maybe more, to make sure we aren't breaking anything to try."
Eleanor nodded. "I'm sure you can at least get further than any of us could."
"Speaking of the Doctor," Mari piped up, "do we… do we tell any of this stuff to the Captain? Or anyone else?"
Eleanor considered the question for a moment, then shook her head. "Not yet. Telling you guys this already paints a target on your backs for the Scions — those people that Maya knows we were fighting. I've done my best to ensure no one might be listening in here, but I'll admit, I can't guarantee that we're fully secure. If we told the Captain, the chaos we're dealing with would spin wildly out of control. More than it already has, at least."
The trio looked at each other, then nodded slowly. "I guess that makes sense," Rei said slowly.
Eleanor smiled slightly. "If nothing else, you can be assured that I'll tell the whole truth once we've gotten Shinji back."
She desperately hoped that Daniel would be able to accomplish that. Then again, he'd saved worlds before. Why couldn't he do it again?
. . .
Ymris was sitting in her quarters, having the latest stage in her current crisis of faith.
She touched the places where scars had been, and where more than a few still were, and remembered that day when the 'concert' had happened.
Then, she saw firsthand what, exactly, Palimpsest was, as one of the oozes shambled over towards her with an unnatural speed.
Fighting against it without revealing her powers as Daniel had asked was nigh-infuriating, and she took the slashes and stabs as best she could while working with Anna. It was… exhausting. And it left her with no small amount of annoyance towards Daniel, even after he'd used his power to destroy all of them in nearly one fell swoop.
But that he'd taken all the heat on himself, and not bothered to out her as the one who activated Palimpsest, or even be anyone related to it…
It had touched her. And it made her think.
These were infiltrator units, so far as she could tell from what little she'd been able to glean of their first attack from Daniel and his companions. To attack so brazenly… and to have one almost focused on her… did Tavis really care if she was in the line of fire?
No, she realized. He wouldn't care. If anything, he might have been somewhat relieved, even, that she wouldn't be 'in his way' anymore.
And he'd sweep away all these people. The people of her crew. Maya and Eleanor. Daniel. All would be gone if he had his way, or at least who they were would be gone and, more likely than not, replaced by hollow shells mimicking them. If not worse.
She couldn't ignore it or run from it any longer. And she chuckled bitterly even as tears began to roll down her face. 'To think that your trust in me to do this long term is going to be your downfall, Tavis.'
Could Kauri be persuaded? Could Aaminata? Questions for another time, she thought as she pulled out her phone and began to compose a message to Takeshi.
'When we land in South Africa, I want a meeting with all the acolytes. Private and isolated, away from prying eyes. I want to know what other weapons you have to try and combat Theisman and his followers. Palimpsest nearly killed me in the crossfire before Theisman destroyed it. I'd rather not die and risk the ire of Tavis. I'm sure you don't either.'
It felt… good to send that text, somehow. The reason for the meeting was an excuse, anyways. She'd tell them the truth, plead her case, and hope that the acolytes, all of them native to this world, would listen to reason.
Soon enough, she got a reply. 'Okay. We'll find a spot and get back to you. For the Unity.'
Ymris nodded as she sighed wearily and tapped out the expected reply. "For the Unity," she whispered as she sent the words, which now seemed more hollow than they ever had.
But, she felt, she couldn't trust that they would all either follow her away from Tavis or leave in peace. And as good as she was, she didn't know how many Interfacers would be among the 27 acolytes. So, she composed another text, this time to Eleanor.
'I'm meeting with the acolytes when we land in South Africa. I'm going to lay things out for them and make them pick a side. If things get hairy… I want you there.'
Then it was sent.
'Done. I'll see what I can do.'
Ymris hoped it was that easy.
