I do not own the rights to Neon Genesis Evangelion, or any of the characters, equipment, or locations written in this fanfiction. The purpose of this fanfiction is merely for the non-profit enjoyment of other readers. If requested by Gainax, Hideki Anno, or other parties which represent aforementioned objects in this story, I will remove it promptly.
Chapter XXIX:
Everyone glared at me as Misato personally escorted me to the conference room. The three armed soldiers following behind, M4 carbines slung on quick-release tactical slings did not help my reputation much. But I deserved it, I realize that now. I had done far more damage than good. But do I regret it? Do I feel remorse? I'd like to think somewhere in the back of my mind I feel guilt for my actions, but I doubt it. The dreams come now only as simple reminders, not nightmares.
But the dreams of Misato, those I can honestly say stir up feelings of remorse.
I was expecting to be guarded all throughout the hearing, but that was not the case. "This is as far as I can go," Misato said. "They will call for me later." I nodded, and standing in front of the door, waited for the solid hinged handcuffs to be removed. However, they were never released, even as I was shoved forcefully into the dark room by the butt of one of the soldier's rifles. I fell helplessly to the floor, smacking the right side of my face against the cement. It was at that moment, when the actual men behind Seele manifested in various hues, not the monoliths, watching me with interest as I lay there on the floor, that I realized I was no longer in control.
"Susan... no, Chris," Keel started off in a hoarse, saliva-choked voice. "Yes, we know much about you, and about what you are planning." The visored man nodded, and the exhaust manifold of my Grand National struck the floor a few feet in front of me. Now I knew I was in trouble. If they knew where I had the car hidden, they would have all of my weapon caches mapped out as well. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought I could buy more supplies. I had the money if I sold the hideout in California, but if they found the car, they could have easily located that, as well as a number of other things. All it took was one "good, upstanding citizen" to start talking.
"As you see, we have confiscated your little stockpile," an American businessman started saying, glowing in blue light. "We have also located Dr. Akagi. Seriously, did you think you could outwit us, the most powerful men in the world?"
I thought back to the exhaust manifold, and then strained my ears. If it were tossed, it meant there was a real person in the room, not just these holograms. That person could be armed, and even if I could charge him, my handcuffs were still on. I couldn't fight back. But no, now I had to show confidence. If I could manage that, I could do something, perhaps catch the men off guard, and work my way through their weaknesses. But all of the men, at the same time? I didn't even know how to order a Big Mac and small Coke without offending somebody or being oblivious to the actual person behind the counter. Psychology, no, even simple human interaction was not my strong suit.
I thought I had almost heard the man's hushed breathing when a brilliant white light flicked to life. It was a single, brilliant spotlight, which illuminated the figure of a brunette woman, stripped naked, marks from a serious beating still left on her body. She sat in a simple wooden chair, not bound by any physical means. No, she was too exhausted to even bother restraining. My eyes adjusted slowly, but I had a feeling as to who it was.
Ritsuko didn't say anything. She just stared at me, her eyes dull, half closed from the swelling. "You know of our plans, as she does," another of the Committee spoke up. "We will dispose of her shortly. She is of no use to us. However, you... we have quite a few uses for you."
I struggled to rise to my feet, and it was at that time Misato was summoned. But she did not enter the dignified way an officer of her rank should enter, a person in control of the situation. No, she arrived the same as Ritsuko, bare and bloodied. It seems the three guards had loyalties beyond just the NERV command staff, but to their true masters.
To my amazement, she didn't really seem to pause out of embarrassment or fear. Nor did she seem entirely afraid. Rather, she just seemed sad and angry at the same time. Ritsuko, on the other hand, she was just sad. The difference in the two friends from college all those years ago was the timing. Misato had just gotten hear, and must have figured there was some hope, some chance, no matter how slim, that she could get out of here with her life, spare what dignity she had left to shrug off. But Ritsuko had been in this situation longer. You could tell, not just from the progress of the bruises and cuts, but also the way she behaved in the chair. She just sat there, waiting.
"Major Katsuragi, good, you are just in time," another of the nameless men spoke up. "Pilot, you present us with a problem. While you are no match for the mass production Evas which you know are already on their way, you could prolong our victory with some unnecessary heroics. As little good as it would do, we do not need yet another member of NERV trying to prevent our scenario. It may cost us only a few minutes, but our time is precious to us."
"Yeah, because you know how fast Bill Cosby will start making Jello gags when everyone starts melting into goo," I grumbled. It's only when I'm truly angry that I come up with my more unique insults or sarcastic lines. I had thought I had planned out enough, but I was wrong. Now these two people, the ones who could turn things around were going to die. They would not take their time on Misato if she would simply return to duty. Or at least I thought they wouldn't.
"Entertaining to the last," the American smiled. "Well, I hate to say it, but I've seen Die Hard as well, and Hans' line is appropriate. There won't be any riding off into the sunset for you, or your friends. And this time, you don't have a machine gun." I couldn't help but laugh at that. Misato glared at me, thinking it was totally inappropriate. "But seriously, we must return to business."
The man in the shadows, the one the Committe had placed in the room all along, finally came out into the light. He was short compared to the rest of us, probably about five feet and a few inches, but he had muscle, as well as a nasty beer gut. He didn't bother wearing the blazer which matched his gray slacks, black belt, and white collared shirt minus the tie. Otherwise, we would have seen all the bloodstains from his prior work on Ritsuko. He stood by the doctor, a certain pistol I seemed to remember purchasing and leaving in the auto shop in his hand.
"This is the perfect plan," he said calmly, no smile on his face whatsoever. The man wore gloves, and probably hadn't left any fingerprints on the weapon at all, so only I would be convicted of Ritsuko's murder. "But of course, you consider yourself the genius, so why don't you tell us what we have planned?"
"I can do better," I answered, my voice starting to choke up. "You will kill Ritsuko with my gun, then turn it on Misato, and probably give me some choice, like I live and she dies, or she lives and I die. Even if she manages to live, you'll probably discredit her, maybe even hire some local yokel in town to take a few pot shots at her like what happened to Lee Harvey Oswald. Clean everything up finally with a few 'random' killings by some criminals around town, and there won't be anyone to even so much as whisper the word conspiracy."
"But what about Commander Ikari?" Keel urged. "He would certainly suspect something."
"You probably have an angle for that, too, something along the lines of revealing what he did to Dr. Akagi over there, and getting him discredited as being some sociopath recluse. He'll be swiftly replaced by the spineless Commander Fuyutsuki, who didn't even have the balls to bring about the truth of Second Impact in the first place." I looked over at Misato, making sure she got it all. I didn't want her to miss anything before she died, because God knows if it comes down to even the cleanest preacher, I'd choose me over the other person any day of the week, hands down. "Did I leave anything out?"
"Politics has always been the weapon of coups, not force as you would expect," some German eloquently put as Misato squealed. So, there were two men, not just one, the latter restraining the major with something, I couldn't tell what. "The age of Brutus coming from behind with a dagger isn't necessary when people are so flawed."
"And they are the kind you want to let into Instrumentality?" I asked, a little shocked. "Come on! I said it before, do I have to say it again? A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link, and adding more weak links doesn't make the chain any stronger." But then I remembered, you could at least loop the chain or rope over it's mounting point several times to distribute the load. It was mechanical advantage bending the rules again.
"Since you know the rules, there won't be any need to explain them," Keel began, just as the first hitman put a bullet through Ritsuko's scalp. Her whole head jumped, then slumped against the back of the chair, blood leaking out of her eyes. They were the closest thing to tears I ever saw from her that entire time. Misato screamed, and tried to struggle. I couldn't see in the dark, not with all the surrounding light, but I could hear that she wasn't winning. The second hitman was stronger. "But I do believe we need to explain what you will do for us."
"I'm guessing it's something more than just jumping out of some cake for Gendo so he can at least molest someone of legal age rather than all the clones in the dunk tank below, right?" Yeah, I was definitely pissed. I was in rare form today. "No, you probably want the passcode to Unit-04, followed by my knowledge as to what went wrong with your original siege on the city, am I right?"
Keel nodded. "You would not have taken so many steps if you didn't think there was a chance at victory. Clearly you know there are problems with our attack you intended to exploit." I could hear Misato struggling, not from any gasping or cursing, but the friction of her against the second hitman's clothes. He was obviously using a lot of force to hold her back. "Therefore, once you make your choice, these men will extract the information out of you by any means necessary." My stomach felt a little queasy, as I could imagine what "any means necessary" implied.
"You're going to make the Fourth pilot against the others, arean't you? That's at least what I would do if I were in your place, even if you need the passcode to completely disable Unit-04."
Again, Keel nodded, and at this, Misato started to scream. No use, though, as the room was sound proof. It probably even had it's own ventilation system, so any number of biological or chemical weapons could be used to subdue any uncooperative parties. It was then, when I seriously started to think about the fact I could not win, that the headache started to throb again. The picture started to fade into a deeper shade of black, and I slumped forward.
•••••••••••••
The GTO was decelerating now, crossing the railroad tracks on Power Inn Road, making the left towards the city. The old spy gear shop was still there, along with the various golf courses, tractor repair shops, and yuppie shopping centers. This time the brunette in the blue dress was in the driver's seat, while I looked out the passenger side at the passing buildings. "We don't have a choice now," she grumbled at me. "No matter what you say, we are taking over."
"After you kill the two men, then what?" I asked. "You still going ahead to merge with Lillith?" The woman nodded. Of course she would focus on that one objective. "So, I won't have any control over future events?"
She slammed on the brakes hard, pulling off to a nearby Shell station. "What makes you think you deserve it?" the Angel screamed. Her hands were instantly at my throat. "You were always just a vessel, Lillim! Never forget that! If you had any control, it is because we allowed it!"
"Lillith won't accept you, and even if she does," I began, "you'll be an outcast amongst the Lillim in Instrumentality." Then it dawned on me. "Wait, no... you wouldn't! There's no WAY that could work!" The pieces started falling into place. Gendo was trying to use both, so why wouldn't they? But what was the good of using both Adam and Lillith? How could that change the nature of Instrumentality if Adam were resurrected, and Lillith were made the subordinate to join him?
"Why do you think we spared Unit-04?" the woman asked. "It must remain untainted, so Father may use it." Now it started to make sense. The Evas were always tools man would use for Instrumentality, but now they would be used by the Angels, in a new way.
"The best of both worlds," I whispered. "Man can join with the Evas, but the Evas can't join with Lillith. But it all works out if they join with Adam!" It took another thirty seconds before I could utter such blasphemy. "Angels in control of Instrumentality, not killing man, but enslaving them? For what purpose?"
"As you would say, limiting our risk," she answered. "You are the creation of Lillith alone. Merging with Adam and causing Instrumentality for us would destroy you, but not Mother, and as long as Mother lives, you have the chance to live again." She left the rest for me to figure out.
There was no point in me saying anymore aloud in our little fantasy world of Sacramento, but for those who really know me, talking aloud helps me work through my ideas than just thinking it. The price, of course, is being labeled insane, but it doesn't matter if you can out-think the stable ones. "But using Adam to restrain Lillith, and the Evas to contain all of mankind, you keep the only threat to your afterlife in check. You'll never have a human escape, not while you control the Evas."
"Funny, you do not seem to resent our plan, now that you understand it," she said again, putting the GTO in gear, merging with the west-bound traffic. "Shouldn't you start trying to fight for your freedom?"
"Perhaps you can explain to me as to how I should fight back," I explained. "It's been a long day, and I already had to think my way through getting my friends killed off, what the Eva means to you, and the fate of the world. Now you want me to not only think of how to resist when you will know what I'm planning, but why you would want me to resist?"
"The first is even easier to answer than the second," she replied, now taking my form, or rather, my new form, dressed in the black plugsuit. "You already know the second, don't you?"
"It would figure," I grumbled, "that watching your victims suffer bringing you pleasure would be something you'd pick up from me, wouldn't it?"
The woman nodded, and then it hit me.
End of Chapter XXIX
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Yes, finally, getting to the end. So, now I have a new poll for you to answer in the reviews. How many of you could actually come up with or stay up to speed with all the twists and turns in the reasoning of the Committee, and the Angels? Also, how many of you know what I'm planning to fight against the Angels?
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