1:00pm, Tokyo-3, Kobashi's den
Coffee.
This miraculous liquid was currently all that prevented Misato descending into the realm of sleep. The dark rings hanging under her eyes were like a weight dragging her head down.
Picking the cup up, she took a sip from the piping hot liquid. Looking to her right, she could see her somehow completely awake friend type away on an Ipad, with a determined look upon their thirty-one year old face.
To say Ritsuko had been excited earlier that day, would be an understatement. She'd dashed into the protective dome covering the Seraph's remains, only to find the damn thing's body had set as hard as rock. Things eventually got so desperate, she'd resorted to trying to smash the chest open with a sledge hammer. And this was only after she'd tried the power drill...
"Perhaps a timed explosion..." The faux blonde took a break from typing, sipping her own coffee.
"You really want some samples from it don't you?" Misato raised an eyebrow.
"Well of course. Wouldn't it just be fascinating to see how they work, or how their DNA structure is set up?" Were these younger days, Misato would have expected Ritsuko to start bouncing up and down at any second.
Sadly, this didn't happen.
Fourteen years of being abused by Gendo Ikari would break even the strongest of people...and Ritsuko bless her, was never that strong to begin with.
"Do we really need to know the details? I mean, all we need to know is how to kill them." Misato shook her head.
Ritsuko turned off her Ipad and leaned back, sighing a little.
"And that is why you aren't a scientist. But even you should see the importance of knowing thy enemy."
"They're meant to be beyond us in every single way. Why bother trying to understand something that can't be understood?"
"So we shouldn't have even tried to understand the Chinese?"
Misato explosively harrumphed.
"Oh for Spirits' sake, Rits-chan, you know what I mean. Why are you taking their side anyway?" She growled, as her friend's expression softened.
"I know it's quite tetchy for you, and I understand, Misato-chan. I really do. I'm just saying there are so many things we don't know about the Seraphim. For example, they might actually be an entire sentient civilisation instead of random eldritch abominations."
They stared at each other for a few moments, before Misato started roaring with laughter.
"Hey, I did say for example." Ritsuko harrumphed, but couldn't repress her smile.
Half an hour later, the two were being driven through the city of Tokyo-3 in one of NERV's giant Mitsubishi lorries, the likes of which would haul cargo from one end of the country to another. Within the now populated streets, soldiers of the Tokyo-3 garrison tramped along, making sure the roads remained clear for NERV's personnel to do whatever they did. Which for all intents and purposes was a total mystery to the men and women of the JSA.
Above them all, dozens of Kaze squadrons darted about, the normally deafening roar of their engines being drowned out by the strange humming noise FCVs produced. And above the city today, resided three of the two hundred metre long monsters. This was not just a show of power, it was a message.
Life goes on as usual, everything is under control.
Like hell it is
To say Misato felt relaxed would be an understatement. For within this ordinary vehicle, existed a paradise.
An air conditioned paradise.
"This...is Man's triumph over nature." She stretched out her now bare arms and exhaled. In this age of constant and unyielding heat for the Japanese people, they would enjoy the cold whenever and wherever they could.
Ritsuko however, had never really been bothered by either. In both hot and cold conditions, she would wear her dark grey uniform and white lab coat.
With a box of cigarettes usually poking out of one of her pockets...
But today, the faux blonde didn't feel like filling the compartment with disgusting smoke, so ultimately their ride didn't end with Misato gasping for air due to holding her breath.
There was a sound of ringing, promptly followed by Ritsuko fumbling about with her pocket before producing a touch screen phone. Whilst she placed it to her ear, Misato kept looking out of the window, taking in Tokyo-3's skyline.
Just like home...
Tokyo.
Not Tokyo-2 or 3.
Old Tokyo.
The place in which she was born and raised.
Despite it being so crowded, Misato didn't have an overly unpleasant childhood, having a fair few friends, and at least one loving parent. But then Second Impact happened. And all that she held dear was washed away by both water and nuclear hell fire.
"...Misato-chan?" Ritsuko's finger prodded the woman in question's shoulder.
"Hmm, what?"
"That was Tenka-sensei on the phone, he says Ikari-san is ready for collecting whenever."
Misato sighed quietly as she fell back into her seat with a pained expression of guilt.
"How's he doing?"
"Physically fine, but he took a few knocks in that fight, and the shock of...what...he saw last night has left his memories a little muddled." Ritsuko maintained a straight expression, but inside even she felt a little ill over what had transpired the previous evening.
Poor kid. Came here to talk to his father, then we threw him into battle...Spirits, necessity can be evil sometimes.
"Soon as we finish up here, I'm going to get him." Misato said, more to herself than anything.
Ritsuko understood. No sane person didn't worry for the people they cared for. Not to mention the faux blonde herself felt something that might resemble worried sick over a certain teenage girl with blue hair...
Their journey had ended by one of the massive cranes which was currently transporting NERV's newest equipment to wherever it needed to go. The reason the two were here, was because they'd needed to sign for their newest Seraph killing machine as it was delivered by the disgruntled JSA.
The Pallet Rifle.
In short, an eighty foot long assault rifle that fired high explosive rounds coated in the same sort of energy that ship mounted positron cannons used. They were designed for use on, and by, FCVs.
Thirty rounds of ammunition, all to be expended in a six second long squeeze of the trigger.
Truly a magnificent yet terrible example of Mankind's aptitude for war.
The other reason the two were there, well at least as far as Misato was concerned, was her car was parked here.
Having removed herself from the lorry, Misato had gotten back into her rather skin hugging black dress, with red jacket slung over her arm. Despite getting a few looks of absolute disgust from JSA soldiers, especially the female ones, and some murmurs of "call that slut a soldier?," she paid them no mind.
For in many ways, Misato was every bit as much of a soldier as they were.
Were she not devoted to NERV and it's cause of destroying the Seraphim, the Lieutenant Colonel would have happily donned JSA dark blue. Even if she did dress somewhat...revealingly...Misato was a soldier at heart, and possessed great respect for the men and women of the Japanese State Army, who truly had no hope of standing up to a Seraph, but by the Spirits they'd fought.
And would continue to fight against the twelve yet to come.
Well, at least according to the Commander.
Having signed for the rapid fire WMD, and giving a respectful nod to its JSA overseers, Misato now found herself placing a hand upon the blue door of her now repaired car, which had been dropped off at that point a few minutes prior.
"Mind if I hitch a ride?"
She very nearly jumped out of her skin, but upon seeing Ritsuko briskly walking over to her, Misato resumed a more comfortable stance.
"Sure. What for?"
She would never refuse a friend's request, but would question it. Just showing that underneath all the tight dresses and party girl attitude, lurked a shrewd and intelligent woman. A woman that only two other human beings had ever seen.
"I...need to check up on Ayanami-san. Tenka-sensei is a highly competent individual, but she is...unique. Therefore she falls into my field of expertise." Ritsuko said in an almost expressionless tone.
But Misato knew all too well what the faux blonde sounded like when she was concerned.
"Hop in, I'll just ring on ahead to let them know you're coming too." She smiled, gesturing at the passenger side seat, to which Ritsuko obliged.
Misato started dialling the Medical Ward's number on her phone, whilst mulling over Sub Commander Akagi's rather strange relationship with the blue haired clone.
As much as Ritsuko refused to admit it, and even showed plain disgust at times, Misato was quite confident that her friend did care for that dead woman's replicated bag of flesh. To her own shame, Rei unsettled the NERV Combat operations director, with for one being a clone and how utterly ethereal she was...in every single way.
But on the other hand, Misato hadn't raised Rei from its, as she would say, birth in a murky tank of LCL.
2:00pm, NERV central, medical ward, waiting room
He could still feel it.
The pain of his arm being snapped in two. His eye being gouged out by white hot energy. Cut marks across his body. And now...something that felt like fire constantly stabbed into his shoulder.
He understood that pain now.
Shinji was mistaken in believing seeing footage of his fight would give him peace of mind on the matter. Instead, he only felt sheer dread over the prospect of him possibly having to pilot Unit 01 again.
That thing was not a war machine. It was a monster.
None of his questions could be answered, for all staff in the vicinity were just as clueless as him. And as for Caspar...the word "classified" cropped up a great deal.
And thus, he was left sitting by himself waiting to be taken away from this place.
As much as he wished to honour his promise to her, he still felt a little...uneasy around Rei, and would like to not be in the same building as her for a while, so as to get his feelings on the matter in order.
How long had she been alive without him knowing?
She seemed some sixteen years old, roughly his age, but Shinji knew his Sister was probably closer to twelve or thirteen, as with cloning being what it was, a clone could be grown and animated at whatever age the creator deemed fit.
How much money must NERV have if it can make clones? More to the point, how much is the UN in their pocket to let them do this?
He ran a tired hand through his hair, as despite doing hardly anything, the day had been exhausting in a way. Clearly the emotional shock was a little much for his weak mind.
"You alright there?" Tenka's gruff voice hauled Shinji out from his own little world by the scruff of his proverbial neck.
"Um-yes...I'm fine. Just waiting..."
"For Lieutenant Colonel Katsuragi?"
"Yes that's right." Shinji nodded, almost to himself. His eyebrows furrowed as Tenka started to chuckle.
"What?" The young man tilted his head.
"Oh...oh...it's something of a joke among our staff. Katsuragi-san is a formidable soldier, but she has absolutely no concept of what direction is. She's worked at this place for years now, and still gets lost." The older man shook his head, as a slightly louder laugh escaped his lips.
"Don't worry, I've sent Caspar-san off to give her directions. She'll be along soon."
Before Shinji could mutter a "thanks" however, Tenka was called away by one of the nurses.
He spent a little longer sitting there, even twiddling his thumbs after a while, when fiddling with his newly returned bag had stopped amusing him. However, eventually some slow, timid, footsteps started echoing across the waiting room, as a shadow loomed over him.
She was late, but he wasn't angry. You can't get angry when someone didn't mean to cause problems.
"Are you okay?" Misato held her red jacket sheepishly.
Shinji eventually met her gaze, and smiled a sad smile.
"I'm really not sure, Katsuragi-san."
2:30pm, Commander's office
"He's going to have us shot." Eiji stated as a matter of fact, whilst he fought to keep his balance.
Spirits, this "cybernetic limb" is a right fucker to work...
"Don't be a pessimist, Eiji. There's far too many of them in this world as it is." Kiyoshi rolled his eyes ever so slightly, while Seiichi looked genuinely annoyed.
To be frank all three men were highly concerned about the situation they were in.
They hadn't been allowed to leave the complex, and now they'd been summoned here. Not to mention heated debates between the General and Ikari had been rumoured to be heard earlier that day.
But still, they stood smartly to attention, helmets held under arms, well kept uniforms making them stand out from the futuristic, yet drab, cream cloth that the staff of NERV wore.
The office was a foreboding place, dark, quiet, empty, and extremely utilitarian. Not to mention the bizarre tapestry of some sort of tree stretching from the door to the desk on the floor, unsettled the veterans. The only thing more spine chilling than this place, was the person to whom it belonged.
All of a sudden, an older man walked forth from the blackness, nearly causing the three men to jump. But when the features of Vice Commander Fuyutsuki in his grey uniform came into view, they relaxed.
For it was known the Commander's lackey was a good deal less...awful...than his master.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Commander Ikari is indisposed at the present moment, so I'll be informing you of your new deployment " Kozo stood in front of them with a warm expression.
New deployment? The crew of the Akuma looked at each other with both confusion and dread.
"Due to reasons of security, I'm afraid we cannot permit you to leave the city. But with General Motichka's...persuasion-" The old man smiled when he heard the younger men chuckle. For the General's temper was known to be legendarily short, and was something of a joke among her soldiers.
"-Commander Ikari has deemed it unnecessary to conscript you into NERV or have you shot. So effectively immediately, you are now reassigned to the Tokyo-3 garrison."
The three men stared back at him with stunned expressions. To say the idea they would be put into one of the most prestigious parts of the JSA, would have been deemed ludicrous some months before.
But now...not much seemed ludicrous to the lone survivors of the 1st armoured division.
"I am sorry you cannot rejoin the Eastern Army, but rules are rules unfortunately." Kozo quietly sighed, being all too aware of the attachments soldiers form to one another.
The three men snapped to attention and bowed their heads.
"My thanks to General Motichka for not letting him shoot us." Kiyoshi half smiled, half grimaced.
The old man nodded before gesturing at the door.
"I'll be sure to pass it on. We have repaired your tank. You are free to report to your new commanders, I have staff prepared to show you the way."
The crew of the Akuma bowed again, as soldiers of the JSA did not salute civilians, and briskly walked out single file, closing the doors behind them.
Kozo stared at their exit point for a few moments with a saddened expression, before turning away.
"Told you." Eiji smugly grinned whilst limping on his brand new limb, as they were led back to their cramped mobile home by a youngish looking technician.
"I prayed to Amaterasu you were wrong, but as it always fucking is with you, you were right. Thank the, Spirits for the General!" Seiichi grumbled, but felt his spirits soar.
Mikasa...I'll see you soon.
"One day, Private First Class Fukui, I'll see you be wrong." Kiyoshi's mouth curled into a small smile, as best his burned face could.
"And on that day, a giant naked albino woman will turn us all into orange juice." Eiji beamed gleefully as his comrades broke into sniggering, whilst the technician cast a confused gaze over his shoulder.
"You say some of the most brilliant shit I've ever heard, Eiji." Seiichi clasped him on the back.
And then the three nearly walked into the stiffened and saluting technician.
"What are you-?" Kiyoshi stopped his annoyed growl as Gendo Ikari stalked past them, flanked by two black trench coated members of NERV's feared Section Two.
Their secret service.
But the three proud soldiers of Japan would not, nor would they ever, salute him. They saluted only their Country, its Emperor, Parliament, and protectors. This man headed a private initiative, and took a great deal of Japanese money with no properly given reason.
To the JSA, this made NERV among the lowest of the low.
Gendo found it amusing to see the looks of sheer hatred and disgust these men threw at him, as if they thought his actions were unforgivable.
Not unforgivable, necessary. Simple fools, one day you will understand.
And thus he walked out of sight, the gazes of the three men trailing after him.
"What a cunt." Eiji spat on the ground. He'd been filled in on what the poor kid they'd picked up yesterday had been put through...by his own father.
He'd had never been good with, nor really liked children. But...no child deserved to be treated like that. And no child deserved to be used as a soldier, which Geneva should be throwing a huge hissy fit about. But alas, the bastard king had such cowards in his pocket.
"It was a good thing you weren't there last night, Eiji. I really think you'd have tried to kill him." Kiyoshi tore his gaze away before patting the still frozen technician on the shoulder, causing him to jump.
By the Spirits, you people truly are Japan's last line of defence aren't you?
After another good ten minutes of walking, they reached the corridor that led directly to the parking lot they'd come from the previous afternoon.
Waving their guide away dismissively, whilst forcing Eiji to ignore the technician's look of absolute disdain, it was not long before they were all sitting within the uncomfortable and humid metal box that was a Type 2 Yoroi.
Otherwise known as home.
"Everything is working as it should be...front armour repaired...A-T field activated and expanded, rail gun online...ready to go sir." Eiji looked up at his superior from his driving seat, helmet firmly placed upon his head.
The Sergeant smiled, before nodding.
"Get us out of this creepy hole."
"Hai!"
The S2 engine began to hum, and the Akuma rumbled forward.
At the turret control, Seiichi felt the tank bump and jolt as it went along, feeling like closing his eyes. For all this movement made him feel sleepy.
He hadn't slept a wink last night, not after what he'd seen of that fight. The poor kid was lucky to even be alive, even if his foe appeared to have some concept of honour. Kiyoshi couldn't actually watch, his gaze firmly fixed on his black boots, a look of shame and rage upon his face.
Especially when "Shinji" started screaming.
Turning his thoughts to more positive things, the twenty-seven year old felt himself warm up. In a way, that wasn't caused by the humid conditions of his Tank.
Tokyo-3...the damned Capital. Cushy patrols, military displays, all the sights and sounds...
He blinked as the tank drove out through the entrance point 18, broken barrier still there with furious Section Three trooper, who hurled no small amount of verbal abuse at them, and the sun shining brightly through his periscope.
And you Mikasa. I want to hold you again so badly...