January 30th
2016
New York
United Nations Headquarters
Assembly Meeting Hall
3:32 PM EST
"Ritsuko Akagi, we have called upon you and dozens of others to give their testimonials about the information provided by NERV during the seige. Do you solemnly swear to speak the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"
"I solemnly swear to speak nothing but the truth."
Ritsuko stood at a podium at the center of a large, rounded room, surrounded by representatives of the world's nations. Dozens of news cameras were trained on her and the surrounding representatives. She spoke in a slightly accented English, however it was still perfect.
Each of them held a look of nervousness, as they feared what the brunette scientist would say next. She obviously knew too much, but they cannot do a thing to her.
"Ms Akagi, We have asked you to come here to answer a few questions we have for you. Are you ok with that?"
The man asking was the General Secretary of the United Nations. He was a man who looked to be in his early 50s. His demeanor did suggest he was nervous about what answers he might get from his questions.
"Yes I am fine with that."
She answered, knowing there really wasn't any other choice she could make here in this situation. Her testimony here along with the other surviving senior staff could change the world, or make it worse, so she had to speak carefully.
Clearing his throat the General Secretary began reading from a sheet of paper, most likely containing the questions tailored to her.
"Ms Akagi, can you recall when your mother first entrusted you with the plans to stop Former Commander Ikari's and Former Prime Minister Lorenz's plans for their own versions of the Human Instrumentality Project?"
This one was a kinda hard hitting one. She doesn't remember it exactly, but she needed to give them something.
"I do not recall the exact date, but it was shortly after Shinji's twelfth birthday. She said that she trusted me enough at this point to not get myself killed with this information."
The hushed murmurs of anxious bureaucrats filled the room, as each one discusses their own theories. Faking a cough to get the other's attention again, the GA asked his second question.
"Our next question is: How involved were you in the production of the so-called Ayanami Series of Clones?"
Ritsuko kept her calm yet confident demeanor and answered the question.
"I was not much involved. I only helped do check ups on Rei Ayanami. Gendo Ikari and a few unknown individuals maintained and created the series of clones. However I do know one of the unknown individuals, but their whereabouts are unknown."
An interesting look came from the GA as he leaned forward slightly.
"And do tell, who is this individual?..."
…
"Maria Iscariot. A former classmate of Gendo and Yui Ikari."
The GA nodded slightly before writing down a few notes, before he went back to his line of questioning.
"Now, We have asked this to others, but we would like to get your take on this… What exactly is an Evangelion?"
Ritsuko's face softened as she looked almost disgusted with the answer.
"An Artificial God. Mankind built it in the Image of God. Its flesh is cloned from the keep of the Fruit of Life, Adam, With Unit 01 being the exception of being cloned from the Fruit of Knowledge, Lilith."
Somewhat horrified and disgusted faces appeared on most of the representatives, knowing that these abominations were funded by them to kill all of them in the end.
"One… Last question Ms Akagi…"
He asked this in a rather odd tone, but it hinted no malice.
"Yes, General Secretary?"
…
…
"How is your family taking this?"
…
…
…
"Not really well."
Ritsuko and Shiro
By DerpymanMT
A Maternal Programming Story.
Chapter 1
"Bureaucracy"
Outside the Assembly Meeting hall
3:40 PM EST
"How'd it go?"
"Better than expected, But they all reeked of self preservation."
"You'll get used to it. They all are like that."
Shiro sighed as he followed his girlfriend to their next destination in the large modern building.
Dealing with stiff-neck politicians, generals and businessmen, Shiro knew how to put on a façade to appease them.
"They're all too concerned about their careers and nothing else. A bunch of cowards, nothing more."
He shook his head, remembering all the times he had buttkiss those stuck ups.
They walked down the large somewhat brutalist halls, past all the lower level workers and news crews, who kept trying to get an interview with the two.
"Ms Akagi, why did you and the rest of NERV wait to tell the world?"
"No Comment."
"Mr Tokita, How far does JHCI's involvement with NERV go?"
"No Comment."
"Ms Akagi, are you aware of the many complaints against you and the rest of NERV?"
"No Comment."
"Mr Tokita, why was the Jet Alone project solely bought out by NERV? Was this another part of SEELE's plans?"
"No comment."
"Ms Akagi, what was your mother's relationship with Gendo Ikari, and was there anything involving her and the late Yui Ikari?"
"No. Comment."
"Mr Tokita-"
"Enough!"
The reporters were quickly cut off by an annoyed looking Naoko. She had worn a formal dress, not unlike the one she wore to the Jet Alone demonstration. A small glimpse of her prosthetic leg could be seen, sending a slight chill down several reporter's spines.
"You will not pester us with your inane questions just to cut it up and use it out of context! Now get out of here before I shove my shiny metal foot up your ass!"
Despite this building being a place free from violence, no one dared to test the patience of the older woman. Each of the crews slowly dissipated after each reporter gave their piece to their respective station.
The grumbles of crews could be heard as they walked off back to their vans.
A disappointed sigh escaped the lips of the former head scientist, as she turned to face her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend. Each of them looked tired.
"So Shinji's up next… I'm genuinely worried about what type of questions they are going to ask him. Would he even be able to withstand them?"
A wave of anxiety rushed over Ritsuko as she remembered his constant anxiety he gained after The Siege. He had nightmares almost every night since then, screaming as he called out the names of the recently deceased.
His Father and Kaworu especially.
Every day since the siege, they had been relocated to a temporary housing district along with the rest of the citizens of the now ruined Tokyo-III.
Most of the buildings were destroyed by the artillery strikes of the JSSDF.
And Shinji remembered every bit of it.
"Well, we'd have to wait and see when he gives his testimony in the hall… And speak of the hero."
Naoko looked past Ritsuko and Shiro to get a better look at her rather anxious son. He was wearing the same formal clothing he wore on the day of the UN conference in Japan.
However his stars were gone.
Following him were his two compatriots, both in their formal uniforms they received. Their expressions are somber and grim.
They all slowly walked down the hall as people all stood and stared at them, knowing exactly who they are and what they did.
Just as Naoko was going to stop and talk to Shinji, he simply brushed her off and walked passed, his face hollow and devoid of any happiness.
Rei and Asuka stopped by Naoko and watched as Shinji continued toward the Assembly hall.
"He isn't talking much to us either. He barely really says anything…"
All of them carried a lot of heavy emotions leftover from that day, and for Shinji… It didn't get better.
Assembly Meeting Hall
3:50 PM EST
Shinji stood anxiously at the temporarily set up podium, standing in front of the many representatives of the world, each of them staring intensely at him.
He could feel sweat forming on his skin. It wasn't hot in here, but he felt like he was on fire.
"Mr Shinji Akagi, We bring you here today to get your testimony about the events that lead up to the Siege of NERV. Do you solemnly swear to speak the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"
Shinji was about to have a heart attack, but he mustered the courage to speak.
"Yes I do sir. I swear."
Shinji's english wasn't perfect, but it was good enough to hold advanced, medium length conversations.
"Alright. So Mr Akagi, can you give us a detailed description of the conditions you endured while piloting Evangelion Unit 01?"
This question didn't hurt as much, but he knew exactly how everyone else would react. But there wasn't a good reason to not tell them.
"The Evangelion responds to my mental will. Every time I activate it, I feel just as big as it and feel everything it feels. The more I am synchronized with it, the more I feel its pain in me. If it's stabbed, I feel it completely."
Murmurs waved around the hall, with each member talking about some form of child abuse and human violation rights, not like they really cared.
"Oh. Alright then. Next question."
The GA pushed up his glasses and began to read his next question.
"Mr Akagi, Were you aware of Dr Akagi's, Gendo Ikari's, or SEELE's plans at any time during your employment at NERV HQ?"
"No sir. My mother and father never told me anything about their plans. All I know is that very specific people are able to pilot."
Nodding, the GA pulled out another piece of paper and began to read it over.
"So you were not aware that the majority of the students at Tokyo-III First Municipal School are considered potential candidates for Project E?"
Shinji's stomach dropped, his skin turned cold and frigid. Eyes widening to the size of saucers and his mouth agape.
"W-What?"
The clear, visible shock on Shinji's face portrayed clearly to everyone he had no idea about that. Everyone there only said that they had family working there at NERV.
"Did you know, Mr Akagi?"
…
"N-No sir."
Chatter rose around him loudly causing the GA to call order to everyone. Clearing his throat for the dozenth time today, he read out his next question.
"Mr Akagi, have you or any of the other pilots been the recipient of any abuse? Whether it be staff from NERV, your father, suster, or your mo-"
"MY MOTHER HAS DONE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO HURT ME! NONE OF THEM HAVE EVER TRIED TO HURT ME, OR MY FRIENDS!"
His outburst surprised everyone in that room. None of them have really expected to see him this outraged at such a concerned question.
"I see… We do have one more question for you, Mr Ikari."
Shinji began to dread what would be asked of him next. His heart was already pounding from anger of the last response he gave to the annoying council.
"Do you know what happened to Ms Yui Ikari?"
…
…
"She was taken by Evangelion Unit 01 during the initial Contact Experiment…"
…
…
…
"I see."
Asuka's Testimony
4:02 PM EST
"Ms Soryu, how is your relationship with the other pilots?"
The GA's question here was rather personal, but she had no other choice than to answer it truthfully… Or maybe not, they can't exactly arrest a fourteen year old.
"My relationship with them?... I mean… I guess I'm Shinji's girlfriend or something… And Rei is like me and Shinji's best friend. And Kaworu… I liked him… He didn't deserve to die. He was so kind to all of us…"
Her eyes began to water as she remembered what happened to him that fateful day. She remembered that he always kept a warm smile on his face.
"So you are close to the most with Shinji Akagi? Is that correct?"
Getting a bit uncomfortable she then tried to answer the questions her own way.
"Yes sir. We started when his mom was in the hospital."
The GA nodded and shuffled his papers, writing down something on a notepad next to him.
"Ms Soryu, do you recall what happened to your mother after her Contact Experiment with Evangelion Unit 02?"
Asuka's body froze completely, her mind trying to quickly calm her down as the bad memories began to surface. Her heart started to pound as she also started to hyperventilate.
"I-I don't want to talk a-about h-h-her. M-Mama i-i-isn't-"
Before she could even finish her own sentence, she broke down. Usually she could handle this and just take the conversation somewhere else, but now she couldn't even do that.
The intense stares from the representatives felt nauseating to her. She could hear their chatter as it began to crack her down.
" I Don't want to talk about Mama."
Asuka's tone was dangerous, everyone instantly knew to keep their mouths shut for this. Despite her visibly shaking, she kept standing up straight.
"That is fine. Our next question is: What were your interactions with former Prime Minister Keel Lorenz like?"
This one was much easier, but harder to somewhat explain to them. She cleared her throat and wiped away the forming tears.
"He was… A supportive man… He kept kinda cheering me on and told me that all of Germany was behind me… I now know why he was so supportive… He never.. Did anything wrong to me until recently. The Siege…"
Her voice was hollow, knowing that he had essentially groomed her to believe he was the good guy.
Murmurs around the room spoke in a disgusted tone.
The GA sighed and sat down with his papers.
"That is all of the questions we have for you today Ms Soryu. You are dismissed."
Rei's Testimony
4:21 PM EST
"Ms Ayanami, can you tell us about Gendo Ikari and your relationship with him?"
Rei stood nervously at the podium as everyone stared. Her body slowly panicked as essentially the world was watching.
"He essentially created me. I am the partial clone of his deceased wife; Yui Ikari… Originally I was a means to an end… But then he released my technical slave collar, And he set me free in a way a few months ago…"
For the dozenth time today, the representatives all talked amongst themselves about this new revelation. There were many things behind the scenes that they didn't know were funded!
All this technology that NERV and SEELE had hoarded , could've served… Their country better…
"That is… Rather concerning… My next question is;-
Outside the Assembly Meeting Hall
4:42 PM EST
Naoko tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for Shiro to finish up. Rei had already been excused and everyone was waiting for him. Misato and Kaji walked over as they had their testimonials done much earlier today.
Shinji sat on one of the benches nearby, staring down at his feet. Asuka sat next to him trying to comfort him, even though she wasn't doing the best either.
Sighing a heavy sigh, Ritsuko went to sit on a bench next to one of the entry doors to the Assembly Meeting Hall, waiting for Shiro to come out.
The group's mood was tense and uneasy. They had essentially given their life's story out to the whole world to hear and judge. Their sins laid out for all to bear witness to.
The minimalist doors of the meeting hall swung open, letting out the mentally exhausted members of the UN out along with the overwhelmingly more exhausted Shiro.
"Shiro!"
Ritsuko immediately jumped up and rushed over to him. Shiro gave a weak smile and warmly accepted her embrace. After a good moment of hugging she finally let go and returned an equally tired smile.
"Well… I'm glad at least you finally found someone who is the same intelligence as you."
Naoko said with a somber chuckle. She looked down at her hand and stared at the beautifully cut gemstone ring. One that carried a small fragment of an S2 drive.
Sighing and nodding her head, Naoko spoke up once more.
"I believe it's time for us to head back to the hotel."
…
"Yeah, It's been a long day mom…"
; )
I just can't stay away!
I do certainly hope you guys enjoy
-DerpymanMT
Deus