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"Dialogues"

- Thoughts -

"Radio Talk"


Liability Note:

Evangelion, its characters and setting are the property of Hideaki Anno. Any brands, movies and series mentioned in this Fanfic are the property of their creators.


(*)


Chapter 9 - Motivation Final Part

Three Months Later

Shinji was lying in his cell, staring at the ceiling. He had lost count of how many times he had been forcibly removed from that place, how many times he had been beaten by people he didn't know, how many times he had struggled with his mind in order to stay sane. His body hurt. It was easier for Shinji to tell where it wasn't in pain.

While Shinji was thinking, lying on his futon, one of the guards outside was preparing to take him away. Then, he heard something like a gunshot coming. A big gun shot.

- What the fuck? - Number 02 thought, startled and confused by the noise.

The guard drew his pistol and began to investigate the source of the sound, arriving in the room where he knew his partner, named number 04, was resting. On high alert, the man went in search of support.

Upon entering the room, number 02 was faced with a scene he was not expecting. He saw his partner, number 04, sitting in the chair, wide-eyed. His face was covered in blood, with two holes in his forehead. Brain matter was splattered on the monitors behind him, and a pool of blood had formed on the floor.

Number 02 began to feel the adrenaline flowing through his body. He quickly raised his gun and started to scour the place in search of the intruder.

He didn't realize it, but Kaji was watching everything from his hiding place in the corner of the room. He was behind the door, looking through a crack. Kaji wanted to laugh at his hiding place, he was thinking that this should only work in cheap action movies from the 90's; but he couldn't complain. It had worked, after all.

The man was getting ready to pick up his cell phone to warn Sebastian and call for help when Kaji came out of his hiding place.

CLICK


A month and a half earlier.

Kaji was sitting in his apartment, working on the files he had stolen. He already had a lot of material that would allow him to deal with Sebastian; but his focus was on Shinji. Kaji wanted to discover the truth at all costs.

He stopped typing to light a cigarette and ponder a bit. "Am I being paranoid?" Kaji spoke wearily, rubbing his forehead with his smoking hand.

After a second, he went back to work.

A few hours later, Kaji was reading what he had managed to break from the encryption of some files. He flipped through weapon designs, improvements in general, other Wunder models...

- None of it is useful! Guns... Guns... EVA... Guns. - Kaji thought as he pondered each phrase on a specific sheet of paper. Then, his body froze when he remembered a thought and a specific model he had discarded seconds before.

Kaji began to look for the sheets anxiously, rummaging through a pile of papers beside him in search of that information. After a few seconds, Kaji thought it was his tired mind playing tricks on him; but he finally found the paper he was looking for.

The project named as Supreme Attack Project. Kaji could only laugh at the title. "What a silly name," he whispered to no one as he continued to analyze the data.

"It looks like an ordinary EVA." Kaji muttered with a cigarette in his mouth. He quickly returned to his computer and began searching for that project.

After a few hours of work, Kaji found something. He started to read it and his eyes went wide with the information. He compared the energy patterns emitted by Unit One on the third impact with the specifications of these units that Sebastian wanted to produce.

"That's not possible…" Kaji spoke as he felt his tenth cigarette slip from his mouth and fall at his feet. He was looking away when everything began to make sense in his mind.

Kaji quickly returned to the computer. He was now convinced that Shinji was alive, he had to find out now where he was and he knew how to start. Kaji was looking again at the video from a security camera that showed one of the guards he saw leaving Sebastian's secret meeting.

His eyes narrowed as he stared at the feed. He knew that those men knew something. He had to 'talk' to one of them to get all the information he wanted so he could reveal the truth.

Kaji started printing out the frame of the video where the man's face was clearly in view. He automatically took out his cell phone and started typing to a friend.

Iron Maiden, I have an important question for you, can we meet tomorrow?

Kaji pressed the send key on his cell phone. He was impatient, he was getting the evidence he wanted so much; but he was anxious about something else. He had reason to suspect that Shinji might be alive, and this invigorated Kaji's mood.

After a few minutes of waiting, he felt his cell phone vibrate and saw that Kensuke had answered it.

Sure, bro, in the usual cafeteria.

Kaji felt his smile getting bigger by the minute. He was close.

The next day, Kaji entered the cafeteria and saw that Kensuke was already waiting for him, eating a sandwich. Kaji could feel his stomach complaining just by looking at the greasy shape of the food. As he sat down at the table, Kensuke noticed him, stopped biting and raised his eyes to the older man, who just smiled.

Kensuke was confused. He hadn't realized that Kaji had arrived. Was he that distracted? That didn't matter after all. He put down his sandwich and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"So... You wanted to talk to me?" Kensuke asked as he returned the smile.

Kaji just stared at him and put a folder on the table. He opened it, took a picture and handed it to Kensuke.

Kensuke looked confusedly at Kaji as he took the photo in his hands. "Printed photo... Stuff from the Stone Age."

Kaji only looked at Kensuke with his original smile on his face. "Some things work better the old-fashioned way. Or would you rather I send you an e-mail and run the risk of being found out?"

Kensuke swallowed dryly and looked away. "OK."

Kaji only smiled at the expected result.

"So, what do you need me to do?" Kensuke asked as he took a sip of his soda.

"I need you to find out who he is" Kaji spoke, pointing at the man in the photo with his finger.

"That won't be hard. He works for WILLE, so it will be easy." Kensuke spoke as he picked up the photo and looked at the man. "May I know why?"

"Better not; but if I'm right, that will please all of us." Kaji spoke confidently as he stole a fry from Kensuke.

Kensuke was looking at Kaji with a confused look on his face. "And that would be?... I find it hard for any news to liven things up after Shinji." Kensuke concluded, despondently.

Kaji began to analyze the young man in front of him. He was wondering if he should give Kensuke hope, but he decided to keep it a secret. He didn't know if he could tell everyone that he was wrong when they were being so hopeful.

"You'll see. If I'm right, things will change." Kaji spoke as he studied the potato French fry in his hand.

Kensuke was looking at Kaji and wondered what this news he was looking for could be; but he knew the man. He also knew it was better that he didn't know until the right time. However, his curiosity wouldn't allow him to be left in the dark. He needed information, at least a little.

"What's the probability that you are right?" Kensuke asked with curiosity.

Kaji raised an eyebrow at the question, but thought it was okay to answer it. After all, he didn't know what he was investigating at the moment.

"Around 40 to 50 %" Kaji replied as he took a bite of the potato.

Kensuke shook his head, slowly. He was dying to know, but decided to wait for the right moment. "OK, I'll look into what you asked me. Maybe by tomorrow I'll have the information. Maybe."

"Great," Kaji said, with a smile on his face.

Kensuke looked at his watch and saw that it was time to leave for work.

"Gotta go, buddy," he said as he stood up and grabbed his jacket. He stopped and saw that his sandwich was still half gone. Kaji noticed this and spoke before Kensuke could react:

"I'll fix it." Kaji said with determination as he grabbed the snack and began to eat.

"Hey!" Kensuke exclaimed, watching as Kaji finished his snack. He had intended to eat it for lunch.

"What?" the older spy asked, with a smile on his face. "Weren't you late?"

Kensuke only narrowed his eyes and let out a long sigh. After a few seconds he looked at Kaji and smiled. "You owe me a sandwich. You know that, don't you?"

Kaji only looked at Kensuke with a look of disdain. "Wait sitting down, because if you stand up you'll get tired."

Kensuke started laughing and turned, leaving Kaji alone in the cafeteria. The man stood thinking as he devoured the rest of the sandwich.

- Please be right. - Kaji pleaded in his mind.


WILLE Repair Dock

Ritsuko was with Maya in the Wunder machine room, and everyone was trying to understand what had happened to make ship shut down the way it did.

"Here, Senpai." Maya said as she handed over some reports from the Unit One core at the time of her deactivation.

Ritsuko was looking at the sheets with a thoughtful face, trying to understand and make a timeline of events.

"If it helps, I don't get it either," Maya said. "There was nothing wrong with Unit One or Wunder's system."

Ritsuko only nodded without looking away from the papers in her hand. "I have a theory, but I still need to prove it."

Maya lifted her face from the reports and looked expectantly at Ritsuko, "What is your theory, Senpai?"

Ritsuko looked back at Maya. She knew her protégé was trustworthy, but she didn't know if she would understand her point. She wasn't sure enough about her opinion of Shinji to be able to understand. After all, Maya didn't know about the soul that resided within Unit one.

"Maya," Ritsuko looked her in the eyes. The young woman was frozen in place. She knew that her senpai only looked at her like that when she shouldn't be involved in the affairs, so Maya automatically looked away.

"Sorry," she spoke as she bowed her head.

Ritsuko continued to maintain eye contact. She knew Maya could help, but the fewer people who found out about the EVAS' secret, the better. Even for Maya's own safety.

"Maya, you better not know the things I know." Ritsuko spoke firmly, but not aggressively. Maya realized that she would not reveal any information for her own safety. She could only nod and get back to her work, they had to get the Wunder running again, for it was WILLE's best warship, it was with her that they took the EVAS into the battle zone. The Wunder was WILLE's moral sword.


Misato Katsuragi's room - WILLE Accommodation - New London.

Misato was lying in her bed. The last one and a half months had not been easy for her. Misato couldn't sleep; she had no strength to do anything, except for ordering something when it was needed.

She was feeling very depressed. Losing Shinji had definitely broken her.

Misato needed to get those memories out of her head. She was on a diet of crying and eating microwave food. She knew it wouldn't do any good, but still decided to get up and get dressed. She had to go to the market to buy some supplies.

Misato was walking through town, not thinking of anything in particular. She turned around and entered the local market. She headed for the frozen food section, but stopped when she passed the liquor section of the store. She turned and looked at the dozens of choices of drinks available, from beer to whiskey.

Misato was in an intense mental struggle. She had remained sober for almost ten years and she didn't want to go back to getting drunk to drown her hurts; but those times were hard for her. The pain she was feeling was very intense.

She started to squeeze the space between her eyes and she sighed. Misato didn't know how long she stood there looking at the bottles; she only realized that she was back in her lodge with some bags in her hands. In these bags were packages of instant food and some bottles of Whisky.

Misato took a bottle and a glass and sat on the coffee table, where the picture with Shinji was, the same one she often found herself looking at, for hours those days. She poured the drink into the glass and stared at it, knowing that, if she started drinking again, there would be no turning back.

After a few seconds looking at the glass, Misato sighed and spoke in annoyance and sadness.

"Fuck."


Synchronization Test - Asuka and Mari - Wunder - New England

The loss of Shinji was not easy for Asuka. She didn't have the will to do anything. Mari was feeling a little better, but she knew she would never be the same.

Mari still remembered when she had told had Rei and Sakura about it.


Flashback

Wunder - 6 days after the fall.

The mighty Wunder ship was sailing through the red seas of the Atlantic, towards New England. Her movements were slow, but she was approaching her destination.

Mari was lying in her room when she felt hungry and decided to go buy some snacks from the machines in the food section. She got up slowly; she was not feeling well that day. It was nothing physical, but she didn't want to do too much.

Mari looked at the shrunken form of Asuka, who was lying on her bed. She knew her friend was broken, she had never seen her so depressed in all the time she had known her. Mari raised her hand to shake Asuka's shoulder and spoke dejectedly.

"Princess? I'm going to buy something to eat, do you want anything?"

Asuka listened to Mari's question. She was not hungry, she only raised her head a little, not enough for Mari to see her face. Asuka didn't want her to see the tear marks on her face.

"No Mari, I'm not hungry." Was Asuka's response, her voice barely above a whisper.

Mari knew that Asuka was crying almost every day. She wanted Asuka to talk to her, but her pride would not allow her to approach anyone.

Mari only nodded and turned to leave. Her face remained sad on the way to the food court, and the people passing by looked at her with suspicion, because they had never seen her like that before.

When she got to one of the machines, Mari looked at the options and put the money in the machine, which returned it with a noise of refusal.

Mari huffed and tried again, and again she was refused. She felt her anger grow with each attempt. She was under a lot of pressure; she knew there was something wrong with Shinji's death. Mari kept trying until her hands started shaking with annoyance.

"So that's how you want to play, you stupid machine." She growled, walking away.

Everyone around was looking at her at the moment, including Rei and Sakura, who sat at one of the tables in the back. They saw Mari approach the wall, grab the fire extinguisher and then walk towards the machine.

Sakura's eyes widened as Mari lifted the fire extinguisher and started to hit the machine with violence. She stood up and started to slowly approach Mari, while everyone around was in shock at the scene that was unfolding in front of them.

With the front part of the machine destroyed, Mari bent down and picked up the snacks she had ordered earlier. She stood up and, with one strong punch, stuck the bill she was trying to use in the side of the machine. Mari stopped when she realized that everyone was looking at her at the moment.

"What are you looking at?!" she spoke in annoyance. A hush reigned in the place as Mari resumed her way back. Rei and Sakura followed her.

"Mari!" Sakura called out with a worried look on her face. She had never seen her friend like that before.

Mari continued on her way.

"Makinami!" Rei spoke in her soft voice. Mari stopped in place when she heard her. She turned around and faced the girls who were a few meters behind her.

"What?" Mari spoke up, still annoyed.

"What happened back there?" Sakura asked, with concern on her face, while Rei kept a neutral look on hers. She was curious to know the reason behind Mari's outburst.

"Nothing, Sakura!" Mari replied, in a strong voice. She was about to turn to leave when Rei spoke.

"Makinami, if there is something bothering you, we can try to help."

Sakura was impressed by how much Rei was evolving while onboard the ship. She nodded in agreement and looked at Mari again, who was pondering the idea. It would be nice to be able to talk to someone about Shinji. Asuka had been quiet for almost a whole week, she wanted someone to talk to.

"Let's go to Rei's room." Mari spoke in a depressed voice as she turned and started walking.

Sakura was confused, trying to deduce what made Mari look so different those days. Rei was looking at the pink pilot's back, thinking the same thing.

Arriving in the room, the girls sat on the bed as Mari took a chair and turned to sit in front of Rei and Sakura.

A long and uncomfortable silence hung over the room. Mari spoke first.

"Rei... Where is your personal guard?" she asked despondently.

Sakura could only feel shock. She hadn't expected a question like that. She had thought that Mari would talk about what was bothering her; but she kept quiet so Rei could answer.

"Sub-Commander Akagi felt that I was no longer a threat. She said that I would still be under supervision of the cameras and the locator bracelet, but the presence of a physical guard would no longer be necessary." Rei spoke in her soft, monotone voice.

Both Mari and Sakura were nodding.

"Well..." was Mari's response as she let out a short sigh.

A silence reigned again in the room. The girls were letting Mari have her time.

She let out a long sigh, shook her head, she looked at them and spoke.

"What do you guys know about Shinji?"

Rei answered first. "I know he's under arrest."

Sakura waited for Rei to finish and confirmed what she had said. After all, Shinji was no longer an issue after the trial.

Mari nodded weakly and talked. "He's not trapped... He's dead."

Sakura put a hand over her mouth and looked down. She could feel the tears forming.

Rei was staring at Mari's face. She could feel something, something she didn't like. She also began to feel her eyes burn and her breathing quicken.

Mari could only look down and listen to Sakura's low cry. She could understand her reaction. After all, Shinji was her hero and her idol; but Rei was still a mystery to Mari. She saw her beginning to tremble slightly, and a solitary tear run down her beautiful face.

Rei, feeling the tears, raised his hand, wiped his face and asked in a voice broken by the emotion he didn't understand.

"What is happening to me?"

"It means you are sad." Mari answered for her. Rei could only stare back with her intense red eyes.

Mari at this moment stood up and hugged Sakura and Rei, buried her face in the space of their shoulders and allowed herself to cry quietly.

Sakura returned the hug. Rei was still trying to understand everything, but she liked the feeling of comfort that Mari's embrace was giving her, so she slowly hugged her back. She felt more tears streaming down her face.

End of Flashback


Mari bowed her head as she remembered the scene. Sakura had taken almost an hour to recover. Mari even blamed herself for having told her about Shinji, but she knew that both Sakura and Rei had the right to know. After all, they were her friends.

Mari was inside her entry plug, doing a synchronization test. Her scores had dropped since Shinji's death, but she was managing to stay at acceptable levels. Mari didn't care much about her synchronization values; she just thought that, as long as she could get the EVA to work, everything was fine. With Asuka, however, the situation was different.

She was standing next to Mari, trying to concentrate in her entry plug; but she was not succeeding. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Shinji hanging from a rope.

Asuka shook her head so she could clear the image from her mind. She was trying her best, but she was failing.

Ritsuko and Maya were in the control center. The former didn't like the idea of doing that test, she thought Maya was more than capable of conducting it herself; but she couldn't refuse to do it. After all, she was one of the authorities on the subject when it came to EVAS.

"Senpai." Maya called out to Ritsuko, looking at her with a worried look.

Ritsuko turned to Maya with a cold stare.

Upon noticing that, the young woman promptly replied: "Asuka's synchronization has fallen off again."

Ritsuko let out a tired sigh and approached Maya. She realized that Asuka was in free fall regarding her synchronization. She had already dropped 20% since the incident with Shinji.

The scientist took the microphone and opened a channel. "Asuka, your score is dropping. Focus."

Asuka felt her forehead frowning at Ritsuko's words. She tightened her grip inside her plug and replied in annoyance. "I'm focused!"

"It doesn't look like it." Ritsuko retorted in her cold voice. "Stop thinking about Shinji's incident and start focusing. Complaining won't bring him back."

Asuka felt her blood boil at Ritsuko's statement. She bit her lip to keep herself from telling the woman to fuck off. She was making as much effort as possible to control herself.

Mari also felt a vein pulsing in her eye at Ritsuko's insinuation. She was annoyed at how Ritsuko had been so cold towards Shinji. She could only shake her head negatively and refocus.

Maya was in shock at her Senpai's speech, but managed to hide it well. She couldn't believe Ritsuko's coldness. Maya was thinking that she could have said it in a different and more human way.

As the test day went on at Wunder, Shinji was being taken again to one of Sebastian's special rooms.


Somewhere in New London.

Shinji was sitting with his head between his knees in a corner of his cell, seeking some comfort in that situation. He had already lost count of how many days he had been there.

He had several bruises on his body, with many purple spots in his chest. He probably had a broken or cracked rib.

Shinji didn't want to stay there anymore. He was starting to get desperate; he wanted that hell to end. He remembered his own promise, about never again being manipulated. He would never again be used to cause more pain and destruction to the world; but what would that cost?

Shinji cringed when he heard his cell being opened. The light entered and he had to close his eyes. The guard named number 04 approached him.

"Get up, freak!" Number 04 ordered with a firm voice.

Shinji began to stand up slowly. He could not move fast due to the pain he felt.

"Come on!" Number 04 growled as he grabbed Shinji's arm, making him stand up faster.

"Ah!" That was the only thing Shinji could say, because of the pain.

Number 04 was holding Shinji's skinny arm. When he threw him against the wall, Shinji shuddered with pain. He leaned on the wall and put his hand on the right side of his chest. His breathing was quick, but he managed to keep up.

Shinji slowly began to move to the place he had been sent to. His mind was elsewhere as he walked. He was desperately seeking some memory of comfort, so that he could get through what awaited him.

After a few minutes, Shinji arrived in a room where there was only a chair and a small table. Sebastian was already waiting for him.

Shinji sat down on the chair and his arms were tied. He just gazed down.

Sebastian had a bored look on his face. He was not used to not getting what he wanted. He was staring at Shinji with fierce eyes. The man let out a slow, long sigh and said:

"Why don't you talk? Don't you see that you are prolonging your suffering?" Sebastian asked in a low, threatening voice. "Do you enjoy the pain?"

"No." Shinji's voice was barely above a whisper.

Sebastian only shook his head and returned to making threat as he placed a syringe on the table. "Then just talk."

"No." Shinji replied with a faraway look. "I can't let Misato down anymore."

Sebastian laughed at his response, with his head tilted back.

"Misato? Misato Katsuragi? You've got to be kidding me." Sebastian said, turning his head back to normal position.

He saw an opportunity to break Shinji further. He smiled devilishly and spoke. "If she cared about you, don't you think she would have sought you out? Didn't you hear her opinion of you in the report, at the trial?"

Shinji felt tears streaming down his face. He knew Misato hated him, but he had made himself a promise and he didn't intend to break it.

"I know, but I'm not going to help you." Shinji replied without looking at Sebastian's face.

"You asked for this, brat." Sebastian nodded for Number 02 to apply the syringe to Shinji's arm.

"No!" Shinji began to struggle as hard as he could. He had received a dose of this drug before, it caused him pain for hours.

Number 02 held his prisoner's arm tightly and applied the syringe to his shoulder.

Shinji trembled as the effects of the drug began to take effect. Sebastian had a smile on his face as he watched the kid let out moans of pain. He knew that he could no longer resort to physical torture, due to the risk of killing Shinji without getting the information he wanted.

"You are the one prolonging it. I could give you the medicine to reverse the effects of this drug; you just have to tell me how I awaken an EVA, that's all." Sebastian spoke, remaining as calm as possible at the moment.

Shinji could do nothing but moan and beg for some deity to help alleviate that situation. He was begging to die.

After a few more hours, Sebastian was furious, for he could not believe that a brat was resisting his torture. Even the most ruthless terrorists had already opened their beaks at times like this.

Shinji was sitting in the chair. His gaze was distant; he was somehow managing to close himself within his mind. It helped in dealing with the pain.

Sebastian was getting up to continue when his phone rang. His secretary reminded him that he had a meeting with the UN director.

"Right... Thanks for reminding me." Sebastian spoke as he hung up the phone and turned back to face Shinji with a cruel look. "Do you think this is over? No. When I get back from that stupid meeting with that cow who thinks she's important we'll move on." Sebastian concluded as he turned and started to leave the room.

"Take that trash to the cell." Sebastian shouted, to Number 02.

Number 02 nodded and began to untie Shinji and drag him back to his cell. Once again, he was thrown to the floor of the cell. He was in too much pain and too weak to try to speak or do anything. He could only cry.


Kaji's Hiding Place - New England.

1.5 months later.

Kaji was sitting down, looking at the file of WILLE's soldier. Kensuke had identified him and handed him the information. He was looking at the man who was referred to as Number 03.

"So Christopher, will you help me?... Yes, there he is." Kaji spoke with determination as he looked at the man's picture. He smiled, realizing that he was very close.

Kaji took the keys to his vehicle and drove to Christopher's address. After a few minutes, he arrived at the place stipulated in the document and waited for Christopher to return.

After a few hours of waiting, Kaji saw his target returning to his quarters. He smiled, got out of the car and began to approach his target.

Christopher entered an apartment complex and didn't notice Kaji approaching from behind. He froze when he felt a gun against his back.

"Hi Christopher, let's go for a walk." Kaji ordered with a smile on his face. The man could only nod in agreement.


Kaji's Hideout

Christopher was sitting on a chair, tied up so he wouldn't leave the place. Kaji was smoking while looking at his face, which had some marks. He wasn't in the mood to 'go easy' on Christopher, not after he had helped Sebastian. They had been at it for a few hours already.

"So, let's start over." Kaji sat up as he massaged his sore hand. "What does Sebastian want?"

Christopher only nodded. He didn't want to be hit anymore. "He wants to go back to producing Evangelions."

Kaji nodded. He already had some information about that, but hearing one of his henchmen confirming it was good. He decided to take some risks.

"For what?" Kaji asked, looking at Christopher.

"For war, isn't it obvious?" The man replied, dismissively.

But Kaji wasn't convinced that was Sebastian's real motive. Using the EVAS for WILLE's cause seemed like a child's fantasy. The safety of the world wasn't his real concern, he just wanted power.

"I doubt it." Kaji said.

"Man... I don't know what his motive is. I just know he wants to know how the brat made EVA look better." Christopher spoke, tired and in pain.

"What do you mean?" Kaji asked, with curiosity.

"An EVA the way the brat did. Unbeatable."

"So Sebastian wants to awaken an EVA... Dumb guy. Doesn't he know that's not how the thing works?" Kaji spoke, not to Christopher, but to himself.

"I don't know, man. I just know he's with the brat trying to get him to talk." Christopher said, but felt his body go rigid with the information he had just accidentally revealed.

Kaji was looking at Christopher. He could feel his anger growing inside him, but at the same time he had a feeling of relief. Still, he asked:

"What brat?" he stood up and approached his prisoner.

Christopher kept quiet for a while, but he knew that Kaji was willing to do anything for the information; so he shook his head and spoke slowly.

"The boy who caused the third impact, I don't remember his name. I just remember that we got him out of jail and took him to a place near WILLE HQ." Christopher said, defeated.

"Where?" Kaji spoke up.

Christopher revealed the location to Kaji, who promptly asked.

"How many people are in there?" he picked up his gun and prepared to leave.

"Hahaha... Go dream that I will expose my companions." Christopher spoke with disdain.

Kaji at this point raised his gun and placed it next to Christopher's head and repeated his question, speaking as menacingly as he could:

"How many?"

Christopher only looked at the door and spoke firmly. "You can kill me, torture me; but I will not endanger the lives of my brothers in arms."

"Your wish will be granted, then. Save them some seats in hell." Kaji spoke as he pulled the trigger of his gun.

Christopher's head had a hole in the side, parts of his brain were scattered all over the floor of the room.

Kaji put the body in a bag, all while thinking about Shinji's situation. "I will rescue you, boy!"


Shinji's location

Kaji was looking at the place that Christopher had told him about two days before. It had little activity, and Kaji was beginning to think that Christopher had tricked him; but he noticed something on his camera.

Kaji saw the silhouette of a man entering a parking lot. Although he disguised himself with a heavy coat, he could not hide his face. Kaji smiled as he recognized Commander Sebastian leaving the place.

"Bingo. It may not be Shinji, but there's something going on there." He said as he saw the vehicle leave the parking lot. He realized that it was the time to get inside.

He was dressed in black to make it easier to hide. In fact, he had chosen night time as the moment to storm the place and rescue this person so important to Sebastian.

Kaji approached the door and looked for security cameras. He smiled when he saw that the place had no external monitoring. - Your stupidity is my ally, Sebastian. - he thought as he bent down and began to work on the door lock.

Inside the place, Kaji went down a few flights of stairs. He always kept to the shadows and walked softly to make as little noise as possible. He was armed with a pistol with a silencer.

The place looked like a small hotel corridor. It had doors on both sides, but the only difference was that the walls were concrete instead of wood. They were underground, after all.

He noticed movement approaching and hid in an empty room. He could tell by the noise of conversation that there were at least two people there.

A man came out of a room and was talking to someone. Kaji looked around all the time, in search of new enemies.

After a few seconds, Kaji heard that one of the men was going to check on Shinji, referring to him as 'the brat'. Kaji saw the opportunity to get rid of one of the guards and think of a strategy to catch the other.

With his gun in hand, and with caution, he began to approach the room where the men were. Kaji opened a door to hide when one of the men finally left and began to head for one of the stairs. Kaji could hear his footsteps coming down. When he judged it safe, he left and approached the room again where one of the guards was.

Upon entering, he saw that a man was looking at two television screens. One was showing local TV and the other had two security cameras that showed the door to a cell, and also the stairway leading to it.

Kaji wanted to laugh. They had obviously not prepared for a break-in, with the cameras facing the cell door. Kaji came to the conclusion that Sebastian was too confident in his plan.

He raised his gun and let out a hiss with his mouth to get the man's attention. Kaji didn't like being a cold-blooded killer. At least his victim would be facing him when he was killed.

The man heard the noise and turned to look, his eyes widened when he saw the barrel of the gun. He tried to do something, but Kaji had already pulled the trigger and splattered his brains all over the monitors behind.

Kaji looked around to see if the other guard was coming back. He gazed at the body and thought he could use it as a distraction. He removed the silencer from his gun and returned to take another shot at the already dead man's head. The noise would draw attention.

Kaji heard footsteps approaching, and hid behind the door so that he could get the surprise effect.

Upon entering the room, number 02 was faced with a scene he was not expecting. He saw his partner, number 04, sitting in the chair, wide-eyed. His face was covered in blood, with two holes in his forehead. Brain matter was splattered on the monitors behind him, and a pool of blood had formed on the floor.

Number 02 began to feel the adrenaline flowing through his body. He quickly raised his gun and started to scour the place in search of the intruder.

He didn't realize it, but Kaji was watching everything from his hiding place in the corner of the room. He was behind the door, looking through a crack. Kaji wanted to laugh at his hiding place, he was thinking that this should only work in cheap action movies from the 90's; but he couldn't complain. It had worked, after all.

The man was getting ready to pick up his cell phone to warn Sebastian and call for help when Kaji came out of his hiding place.

CLICK

The sound of Kaji pulling the trigger was heard, but not of a gunshot.

He looked quickly at the gun. "You've got to be kidding me."

Number 02 tried to raise his gun to shoot at the intruder.

Kaji at this point threw his gun in hopes of stunning the enemy. It worked, the man looked away as the gun hit his head. Just enough time for Kaji to launch himself and pull the gun out of number 02's hand, causing it to end up on the other side of the room.

Number 02 pulled himself together and landed a punch in Kaji's abdomen, who stepped back a bit. Both men faced each other and stood in a fighting stance.

The first to attack was number 02. He tried to land a series of blows on Kaji, who promptly managed to block, and retaliated with a strong punch to the side of number two's face.

Dizzy from the blow, he tried a straight punch and with all his strength. Kaji managed to block with it his elbow and landed another punch at number 02, but it didn't have the desired effect.

Number 02 stood up quickly and started kicking Kaji in hopes of making him lose his balance. The older agent was trying to stand on his feet, but one of the kicks hit him in the abdomen. Seeing the opportunity, Number 02 punched Kaji directly in the face, making him fall to the ground.

Number 02 promptly tried to reach his weapon from across the room, but Kaji noticed this and quickly stood up and grabbed his opponent's leg, making him fall to the floor.

Kaji stood up, sat on the man's chest and began to throw some blows with the intention of knocking out his opponent

Number 02 somehow managed to land a punch to Kaji's chin, causing him to walk away stunned. Number 02 turned to walk away a bit, but he was slowed by the blows he received from his enemy.

Kaji recovered and again climbed onto his opponent's back, unleashing a chokehold on number 02, who began trying to break free from the deadly grip.

Kaji was holding Number 02 with all his strength, and pinned him to the ground, preventing him from moving. Number 02 was beginning to feel his consciousness leave his body, his movements were getting slower and he finally blacked out.

Realizing that his opponent had already been defeated, Kaji released the grip, as that man could be useful for more information about Sebastian. Kaji stepped back, grabbed some handcuffs from his pocket and restrained number 02 in a way that he couldn't get out.

After a few seconds of peace, Kaji, again armed, moved to the cell in which he believed Shinji was being held. He cautiously reached the door and unlocked it with the keys he got from number 02.

Upon opening the cell, Kaji was faced with an eerie darkness. He promptly grabbed a flashlight and stepped inside. Kaji couldn't help but notice the strong smell of blood and sweat.

Kaji came across Shinji's small, frail form in the corner of the cell. He had his head between his legs and appeared to be extremely thin; but Kaji was happy to know that Shinji was still alive.

He approached him and noticed that he was breathing fast.

"Shinji?" Kaji called, trying to calm the boy down.

Shinji had not answered Kaji, he was too scared to speak. He believed that the man was there to hurt him even more.

"Don't hurt me." Shinji spoke, trying to shrink himself further where he was.

Kaji felt a pang in his heart at the scene and tried his best to reassure the kid.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Shinji... I came here to save you."

"No!" Shinji shouted. "It's a trick!"

"Easy, Shinji" Kaji spoke as he placed his hand on his shoulder.

Shinji cringed at being touched, he was breathing desperately.

Kaji realized that Shinji would not cooperate, so he took a small syringe that he had stored. In it was a tranquilizer. Kaji didn't want to use, but he had to get out of that place as soon as possible.

"Sorry, Shinji" Kaji spoke as he controlled Shinji's agitated arms and applied the injection to his shoulder. It didn't take long for the medicine to take effect and for Shinji to black out.

Kaji had no problem taking the thin and frail Shinji upstairs. He realized that Number 02 was still unconscious, so he carefully placed Shinji on the floor and started looking for something.

After a few minutes of searching, Kaji found a wheelchair so that he could wheel number 02, as he would be too heavy to carry. He promptly put Shinji on his shoulder and number 02 in the chair. He began to carry them both to the stairs he had used to get to that place.

Kaji remembered seeing a small van parked near the place. After some effort to get Shinji and number 02 up, he started working on the van so that he could escape safely. After a while, Kaji was driving to his hiding place, taking Shinji and number 02 with him.

He was tired and in pain. It hadn't been easy for him to get Shinji and number 02 into the van; but he was glad he had made it, and he was glad he had been able to get Shinji back.

Kaji was thinking that Shinji needed urgent medical attention, so he picked up his cell phone and dialed a number he thought he would never dial again. After a few rings, a woman's voice was heard. She sounded tired and broken.

"Hello" Misato spoke tiredly. She was hungover and in a bad mood.

"Hi, Katsuragi. Long time no see." Kaji spoke in his normal voice.


Author's Notes: Please review, your critiques (Good or bad) are very important to me, you know that I take a lot into consideration what is said and it also gives me strength to continue this translation project.

Special thanks to YourBlandestNightmare, who is kindly correcting the grammatical errors in the English... thank you friend.

Don't forget to also like the Facebook page, search for "Calborghete" and locate a picture of Shinji and Asuka, on this page I will post updates and it will also be easier for you to contact me.

Well, see you next time.