Chapter 6: Followup appointment
Corridors – Aftermath of the Third Angel
Fuyutsuki, Commander Ikari and Akagi make their way outside. The old professor throws his protege a sideways glance. "Maybe." Gendo grunts. They can't be sure yet, but there is certainly reason to hope. The Angel is dead, and Unit 01's exemplary performance only further fuels the small glimmer of hope in the back of Gendo and Fuyutsuki's minds.
But an Unknown Unknown has popped up. Interference from SEELE was to be expected, but not this early, and not from someone with supernatural powers.
"Akagi." Gendo calls to Ritsuko. While Fuyutsuki has an unique position as Gendo's Consigliere of sorts, Ritsuko was sort of half-initiated into Gendo's plans. She had to be. She was the scientist, the craftsman who had to make the riskiest parts of the Plan work out.
"Call up the MAGI sensor readings for Katsuragi, the Child and especially the foreigner over the entire day." NERV's resident supercomputer, the MAGI, could do something no other computer could: It had intuition. Planning and anticipation skills on par with any human, and the ability to correlate gigantic amounts of data.
Akagi nods professionally, not showing on the outside that her head is still spinning from the events of the Angel attack. A near miss, followed by an incredible turnaround, with you being the only person who knows all the things that might go wrong... She needs a drink. And a smoke. And maybe Misato. Thankfully, Ritsuko Akagi only ever has to say three words when the Commander asks her something: "Yes, Commander Ikari."
"Do a triple scan of my office and the surrounding area. Please bring the results yourself, I would like to discuss them with you."
Ah yes, 'discussion'. Fuyutsuki heard that one before. While the professor knows both the omnidisciplinary scientist and the Commander are keeping eachother from diving even deeper into their respective depressions, he has strong reasons to disapprove.
But will bring it up with the Commander change anything? Probably not...
He shrugs and walks off to the cafetaria, away from Gendo and this whole Instrumentality mess for a while. Some Tolkien and a chicken mayo sandwich will do him a world of good.
Central Dogma (NERV control room) - Danny
Hyuga turns toward Misato, who is walking randomly through Central Dogma, seemingly deep in thought. "He had twelve seconds of battery power..." The technician says, sounding a little dazed himself.
Misato glances at the white heli-jet painted with a red cross hovering over the Evangelion and sighs with silent relief. "Twelve seconds. And he used it well..."
Hyuga frowns. "No, you don't get it. The timer ran out halfway through. Unit 01 spent over a minute walking around on its own, with not enough energy left in the tank to sit up, let alone pound an Angel into the ground with the AT-field!"
I can't help but overhear, so I step down to stand on the other side of 'glasses guy' Hyuga's computer desk. "Is that possible?" I ask, sounding more alarmed then confused.
"Apparently it is." Says Maya from her console. She's a young, pretty much normal woman and Akagi's computer expert assistant. She joins Misato and me at Hyuga's console.
"I've got the neurologicals for Shinji. The data readout has been partially lost to the Evangelion's... ehm.. head trauma..." The girl looks away for a moment. She looks as shaken as the rest of us, but her petite, boyish look makes her concern stand out all the more.
"The Child...He has a concussion." She begins with a small voice. "After the blow to the head, large amounts of junk data were exchanged over the neural connection. There was an obvious feedback loop happening between the Evangelion and the Child."
I raise an eyebrow. "I'm guessing that's not -?" Maya shakes her head. "No, these aren't motor or sensory signals. It's a huge burst of static, then nothing. Then static, then nothing. Though it could be that the MAGI just can't interpret the signal."
Suddenly, Misato's eyes go wide. She seems to have a eureka moment. She looks around, sees Gendo, Akagi and Fuyutsuki have already left, then leans forward.
"Has Akagi seen this yet? Or the Commander?" Misato whisper-shouts conspiratorially Hyuga and I glance nervously at eachother. What's Misato up to? "Not yet, why?" is Maya's sqeak of an answer.
Misato smiles a misschievous smile. "Because, Maya: Is it possible that static is communication between Unit 01 and its pilot?"
The young computer tech's eyes go wide. She looks at the readout, then at Misato. At the readout, then back at Hyuga and Misato and I. "Oh my god..." She gasps.
Maya takes a step back in shock, but Misato grabs hold of her wrist. There's a strange fire flickering in Misato's eyes. I have learned to recognize from Sam and occasionally my sisters. Misato has a not-altogether-legal plan, and she's gonna make us play a role in it. I grin.
After staring into Maya's eyes, seemingly pondering on whether she has the right to ask, Misato sighs tiredly. "Delete the data. Let the Commander and Akagi think it was all just... scrambled. Nobody can find out." On hearing the request, Maya freezes, seemingly unable to decide what to do with what her ears just heard.
Captain Misato glances quickly at Hyuga, who chortles. "I ain't seen nuthi'n, I ain't heard nuthi'n, I ain't sayi'n nuthi'n." He says in English. I chuckle dryly. "Cute. Yeah, same here. Mum's the word." And upon saying that, I feel a strange tingle of dread snake up my spine.
Maya, for her part, seems to have put herself into safe mode. "I'm not saying no... But why?" She sounds neutral, a little too serene to discuss matters of treason and Children. The fact that her face and body haven't moved an inch reinforces this image.
Misato blows a lock of hair out of her face, sighs again and sits down on the side of Hyuga's console. Hyuga, for his part, tries to look away, blushing. Real smooth, dude...
The Captain ignores the poor geek. "Maya... I'm asking this for Shinji's sake. The boy who just saved all our lives." She gestures to the medivacs lifting off, a popup of Shinji's stable vital signs drifting behind one of them. "You know the Commander's history with Rei. We've all had our moments of doubt, but each of us made up our mind not to question him, for better or worse."
"But..." Her voice becomes a sad whisper. "This kid is the Commander's son and he treats him even worse."
We were the only ones in Central Dogma at this point, so the whispering wasn't exactly needed for stealth reasons. Well, there's Aoba, but he'd melodramatically plugged in his earpods and is now listening to Rammstein loud enough for us to hear. That sent a clear enough message: He's playing switzerland today.
A dry chuckle from Misato brings me back to the situation. "The Commander wasn't just shoving his son in the Evangelion because there was a time crunch, He..."
I put a hand on Misato's shoulder in sympathy. Surviving a warzone together, even if it is a weird warzone, gets you bonding close. My turn to help convice Maya. "I, eh, lost my temper and shouted at the Commander." The mortified looks on Hyuga and Maya's faces make me throw up my hands in placation. "Don't worry, don't worry, my problem, not yours!" I interject quickly, before continuing more calmly. "I did however manage to shake him up, hard as it might have been."
I exhale sharply in frustration. "You guys seem to realize Gendo Ikari is a piece of work who would get us all killed if it suited his goals." I cross my arms and scowl. "He is putting Shinji up to the chopping block. When I accused him of purpusefully endangering his son, basically in a fit of hyperbole, he..."
Lost for words, I turn to Misato. "He flinched, like someone caught in a lie. And yes, Daniel over here actually managed to frighten the Commander." Misato can't help but shiver at the memory of the wispy presence slithering past her, followed by Gendo's guards stepping back. She hopes Daniel doesn't pull that trick on her. No, she corrects herself. He won't.
"I'm not saying we subvert his authority over NERV," Misato says hesitantly, "But... We don't know what this data means. If... If this is not a bug but a feature of the Evangelions..." This gets an empty chuckle out of the geeks... God, I gotta get these guys in contact with Tucker...
"Then we need to find out what it is first, before bringing it to the attention of the Commander. If Shinji is communicating with the Evangelion, who knows what that means! What I've seen today..." Misato lumps down in Makoto's chair, who is himself at this point standing next to his own desk. "...The Commander has exceeded the faith I'm willing to put in him, and I'm not sure just what Ikari's game is anymore."
She straightens back up, like she was hit by a bolt of lightning. Under her breath I hear her mutter "daddies and their secrets..." She gives Maya a stern, but pleading look. "Give us until the next Angel, that's all I ask..."
Very slowly, Maya nods at Misato. "Okay."
A few minutes later, Misato and I walk off in silence. As we walk through the corridors, I drawl calmly. "What did you mean, 'Next Angel?' And who's Rei?"
Misato stops walking. I stagger a few steps forward before turning to face her. Her face is unreadable but visibly tired. I smile in sympathy and she returns the gesture. "Yeah..." She sighs. "You can find her in NERV's private wing of the city's southern hospital. ...The one that's still standing" She corrects herself mirthlessly. "
"As for the Angels, there's more coming... I'll fill you in on the details later." I nod magnanimously. "That would be nice." We walk on, further down the corridor, tired and deep in thought but mostly satisfied, both of us, at least I think...
"So..." Misato teases slyly. "What were you saying about finding Shinji some answers?" I return her smirk with a broad grin of my own, and decide she's earned a taste of the truth. The colours of my jacket, pants and skin fade an blur away while my eyes ignite bright green and I fall down through the metal floor, intangible.
Katsuragi's jaw falls to the floor, but she quickly picks it back up again, shouting to the hard metal floor: "Look for the keyword 'ADAM'! ...Hm." A quiet little smile and all sorts of different hopes mix with worry for the kid she sent off to war and so she goes striding down the hallway to the hospital.
"Di'n see nuthi'n..." She mutters somewhat cheerfully, and turns a corner.
Tokyo-3, some eight hours later
"...So this kid Shinji's still in the hospital?" Sam, my wife of three years, asks me through the phone. "Yeah," I reply with a ground out sigh, letting out all of my frustrations "The captain, Misato, told me he's gonna be discharged in a week, and is going to be put in the local school to wait out the next Angel attack."
Standing on the roof of one of the buildings the Angel and Shinji had knocked over in their brawl, I look like Tuxedo Kamen in a t-shirt and I know it.
"I think that I'm gonna haunt the town some more. The upper levels of NERV were nice, but I didn't find anything that would stand out in our labs." Dawn is already announcing itself with a few glittering rays of light coming over the hills, and I haven't slept yet. "I'm going to spend a few more days here, so I can see what's going on. For Shinji more then Vlad at this point."
I hear a door opening in the background. "Just a sec." Sam's voice drifts away from the phone. "Hey Val, sorry, on the line with Danny." I hear her say to Valerie from what is presumably her desk. She snatches the phone back up and continues. "...As I was about to say, be careful. From what you've told me, the lower levels of NERV are the place where they built or birthed this... Evangelion thing."
I nod silently, knowing she can't see me do it, but still. "That's exactly why I need to see what's behind the curtain. And we both know they can't hurt me." I add smugly.
"No, you don't know that." Sam presses. "For all you know that AT-field you described to me works exactly like the ghost shield your parents cooked up. Vlad's involved, don't...!" A sigh. "Don't take any chances..." The muffled thump I hear signifies that she's plopped herself down on her office sofa.
"I agree with you that you need to find out what that Evangelion is." She starts again, in a soft tone. "From what little you've told me it's alive and not a very pleasant thing to be around." I nod slowly.
"Just remember that you're in an oogie boogie science facility. It's exactly this kind of thing that can and has almost gotten you killed in the past." With a grimace, I remember Vlad's lab, Freakshow's 'haunted house'...
No. Not another Johnny 13.
"So what do you suggest?" I ask flatly. She hmms on it for a sec. "Wait a while before you go into the really secret places. Maybe say hi to this 'Rei' girl first."
I look at the bulldozers and other construction equipment rolling down the street and take a step back. Sam may have a point.
"Speaking of Misato by the way, I have to meet her sometime." Oh god, the last time I heard her this gleeful... "I would also agree with you on Gendo Ikari. He's bad news, and if it turns out he's incorrigible, you have my support, and everybody else's. Just ask."
Heh. I love my wife. "Thanks. And... it's good to hear your voice. I'll try and visit you and the guys in a few days, but... this kid..."
Sam smiles warmly at her husband half a world away. "I get it, don't worry. Do what you think is right. Just make sure to let me know in time if you need the cavalry."
"Of course. Love you." I end the call with a wistful sigh and look out at Tokyo-3. The sun's coming up. Coming back up. I think I'll go sleep through the mid-day after I visit Shinji and the First Child, Rei, at the hospital.
Back in America...
"Come in, Valerie." Sam says, holding open the door for her friend and self-proclaimed 'ghost hunter'.
"So how's Danny?" Valerie Gray asks her unofficial boss, who responds by almost bursting into laughter.
"He's in Japan, and he's just seen a giant robot beat up a giant monster." Cue the incredulous stare from the ghost hunter. "And?" Valerie asks expectantly. "What's the whole story?" She always was clever. A bitch, but clever.
Sam grins viciously. "Giant robot's piloted by a kid who's not hero material. Danny... empathizes. A little too much." The woman in the charcoal business suit chuckles dryly. "He's got it in head to help him."
Valerie shakes her head in frustrated admiration. "Vlad..." She hisses. Sam nods. "He was probably banking on this outcome. I don't think Danny will have any real trouble... but just in case, I'm going to ask Tucker to send out some feelers."
Reluctantly, the ghost hunter decides not to call Sam out on the fact that these days, Tucker's hacking skills began with the letter "T" and ended with "echnus."
"There's more." Sam adds, without the 'ha, I pity the fool who crosses my wight knight Danny' tone.
"The giant robot is not actually a robot... More like of bio-engineered undead thing." At this, Valerie frowns deeply. Most of this 'play nice with ghosts' bullcrap she tolerates from the Fentons, but with everybody else
Sam holds up her hands in placation. "From what Danny can tell, it's not a ghost, but it's not far off, so he's gonna investigate and come visit here to hash things out in a few days."
"Okay..." Valerie says, not sure whether to offer her help or to double-check if all this insanity isn't actually a joke a joke. This is out there, even in her line of work. Ah well. "Anything else?" She asks nonchelantly.
"Yeah..." Sam sighs, then gives her friend a sideways smile. "Sorry, Danny needed to unload on me, so I'm unloading on you."
Valerie gives a shrug, and motions for her friend to continue. "That adorable kid that Danny's out protecting has got issues with a capitol I. His mother's dead and his dad's apparently the one who pushed him into the 'pilot a giant zombie robot' situation. From what little Danny could see, he's... pretty messed up."
A moment of quiet. Valerie gave Sam a visual once-over, then threw a glance at the psychoterapy diploma hanging on the wall. "Yeah, okay, I can see how that call could've chewed up the whole hour you scheduled for our dinner date." Valerie says with a hint of empathy in her voice.
"Dinner date?!" Sam exclaims with a start. "Oh... oh damn that's right, I forgot, sorry..." They did have an appointment at that fancy Italian place to discuss 'politics' and enjoy lasagna, but Danny's call did kinda run on, didn't it?
"We can still go, right? No reservations, but it's past rushtime anyway..." Sam says apologetically. Valerie's "Sure." is interrupted by the phone ringing again, this time asking for video.
"That's not Danny, I swear." Sam says half-jokingly. Valerie just nods indulgingly. "For his sake I hope not..." Or she'd strangle the hot, scrawny bastard.
Sam accepts the call and the duo sees the unmistakeable frown and gaunt, skeletal face of Walker the ghost warden appear on the monitor.
"Manson, Gray." The Ghost says, formally, curtly, with an undertone of rage.
Sam's eyebrow furrows in worried curiosity. "What's wrong, Walker? You're not the type to make courtesy calls, especially in the evening."
"It's evening?" Walker asks, before quickly dismissing the thought. "I'm sorry to interrupt then, ma'am, but the prisoners are revolting."
A beat. Valerie shoots a meaningful glance at Sam, who tries to smother a snicker.
Ah right, Walker suddenly realizes, he's dealing with humans. They find everything funny. He resists the urge to palm his face.
"I meant, ma'am, that the prisoners are rebelling. Youngblood is leading them, if you're curious. They are not particulairly more or less disgusting then yesterday or last month."
Sam and Val quickly become appropriately dour. The ghost prison was one of the few parts of the Ghost Zone not completely warped into a reality-destroying hellscape by Second Impact, and Walker had become an ally in the wake of the apocalypse, so they had to do something.
"We can send D-" Sam starts, to be interrupted by Valerie. "Flew off a few minutes ago, said she was contacted by Vlad. Was going to tell you over dinner."
Well that's certainly not ominous, Sam grouches internally. But that's a problem for later.
Walker, however, decides to summarize. "So all your hybrid freaks are busy? That's an interesting thing to know." the prison warden says with an undertone of menace.
"I'm not busy." Valerie replies passionately, scowling at Walker's monitor image.
Immedeately, Walker's expression changes into that little smile people get when their evil plans work out. "Good, then you can come help me quell the riot."
Sam now turns to Valerie, smirking at her much the same way Walker's doing.
"Damnit..." Valerie mumbles, shooting daggers at both her boss and her reluctant 'ally'. Hey, she has to put all the ghosts she hunts somewhere. Can't very well kill them. But Walker's an ass. And now she has to save the ass's ass.
"Fine, on my way, five minutes." She grumbles, before stepping out of Sam's office.
"You're learning." Sam says to Walker, clearly amused. Walker manages a small, genuine smile back at her. "Getting bludgeoned into submission helped me get acquainted with human rules. Human behaviour." He corrects himself. "Acclimatization has been..."
What's the word... "Fun." He switches off the video phone call, before walking out of his office and cracking his knuckles. There is order to be maintained and rivals to impress.
For Walker, this will be a good day.
Sam switches off the computer and goes to find Jazz to discuss Danny, Dani and dinner.
Rei
I am resting in my hospital bed. It seems the Third Child, the Commander's son, has been brought into this hospital to recuperate after his fight with the Angel. He chose to pilot Unit 01 and suffered for it.
If I had piloted instead, I may have been wounded further, but the Commander's son would not have been injured.
The Commander and I are in agreement. My injuries are immaterial in the long view. So I must wonder... Why has the Third Child been called on to serve when I could have done so in his stead?
The Commander would not doubt my abilities, even when I am on the brink of death.
Which leaves me with only one conclusion. The Third Child's first sortie was a test. A trial by fire. I have yet to make up my personal opinion on the Commander's apparent callousness. Perhaps I should ask...
No. My uninformed opinion is not important enough to merit distracting Commander Ikari, the man who will keep humanity safe from what is coming. I will simply observe and speculate. It is all the entertainment my idle mind requires.
Which brings me to the presence that has come slipping into my room. My eyes are closed in a mimicry of rest, so my other senses are heightened. He is a man. Confused and uncomfortable. He can see me.
Does he notice my hair is the strangest shade of unnatural blue? Does he realize it is not just an eccentric choice of dye? Does he realize I could simply dye my hair a dark brown and avoid questioning? Few realize the latter. I wonder if doctor Akagi, for all her brilliance, has simply overlooked the option? I wonder if she'd force me to.
He cannot have noticed my eyes. They are closed. They are red. A second clue for the attentive.
I am a tool, sharpened to perfection for one task. Perfection is what I strive for, willingly.
The price of this is being unable to live like...
I cannot find the word? Normal people? I suppose. But that sounds so much less magnificent then it is.
I don't walk into death for 'normal people'. I walk into death to let 'normal people' lead beautiful lives...
And the presence, male, hasn't left yet. He is lingering, observing me from the dark. With the calm of indifference, my eyes open and confirm what my ears have already made known to me. I am alone in the room, there is no man staring in the corner.
"Intangibility?" I ask flatly.
I hear a sharp intake of breath. The source of the sound corresponds with where I sensed him. I stare at the emptiness, hoping to unnerve the apparently easily frightened presence.
"Okay, you got me..." I hear a defeated-sounding male voice say from the same place I am staring at. He has an American accent. Foreigner... possibilities... too many to count. Best guess? An agent from another branch of NERV. He is invisible, so he is spying, so SEELE is most likely involved.
"Does the Commander know you are in the city?" I ask the corner, again without real emotion.
A man shifts into view. He is leaning against a wall, arms crossed. His eyes are seemingly still observing my injuries... "We've met..." The man drawls acidly, the thick eyebrows over his blue eyes crease as he realizes the extent of my injury.
So here he is, the foreigner concerned with the wellbeing of this young, fragile waif and casting judgement on the Commander for it. I am not amused."I am healing. And I took these wounds willingly. Do not presume to know what it is you see here." What almost sounds like anger manages to find its way into my quiet whisper.
The now definitely American (or Canadian) man raises an eyebrow in inquiry. I do not elaborate further. He can think what he will about my motivations.
My eyes are locked on this man in the shadows. Not a glare or a sneer, simple observation. I am... intrigued. Someone who can turn intangible is an anomaly.
I am an anomaly too.
"You're Rei?" He asks after a few minutes of silently avoiding my eyes.
"Yes." I say. No inflection. I have no opinion about my own name. While I prefer he uses my surname to adress me, I will not press him yet.
"You are very strange, you know that, yes?" Yes, I do. But that is looking at my situation from the wrong perspective. "I know my destiny, and the path that leads up to it. Few people are that fortunate."
The man stands up, smiling quietly. He chooses to look in my eyes. Red, the color of blood. Some people are unnerved by them. Not he. Instead, he smiles brightly and his eyes...
His eyes start glowing green? Yes, his irises are as bright green as mine are red, and they glow faintly in the dark of the windowless room.
"You are..." I cannot find... Cannot explain... I am relieved, but there is more to it. Dread, hope of a strange variety. Panic. Confusion overwhelms...
I look away. The man walks to the other side of the room, I hear by his sneakers squeaking on the hospital floor. "I am indeed a freak like you." He says, managing to suprise me further.
"Misato... and, heh, NERV computer records... call you a Pilot. Former pilot of Unit 01, to be exact. Did you get wounded fighting in the Evangelion?"
Should I answer? Should I give him information? No, I should not. He is likely SEELE personnel. "In spite of our similarities, I am not giving information to someone who is presumably spying on NERV."
"Fair enough." I hear the stranger say. "I'll be leaving in a sec, then. But I'll give you some information..." He seems to smirk, one side of his mouth turned up in wry amusement. An expression well worn into his face. "...Some advice."
I look at the man. He turns his back, purposefully melodramatic.
I have emotions. I do not act on them. But they alter my thoughts. Currently, they are... strong. Anticipation and curiosity, I suppose.
"I am listening."
The man sighs deeply. "First, the bad news. Your loyalty is admirable, as long as none of that loyalty translates to Commander Ikari." He states matter-of-factly. "He's completely insane, and if he's the cause of your loyalty then-."
Emotions suddenly change. I choose to act on them. The Commander is the one who has helped me the very most throughout my life. He leads me.
The vase sails toward the stranger's head from behind. He turns intangible, and apparently also invisibile. He turns around and the vase flies through his face, shattering on the far wall.
Did I provoke him? Was I wrong? I am now in a room, barely mobile, faced with an angry person with unknown supernatural powers. Throwing the vase was... melodramatic.
Satisfying, morally right... but melodramatic and foolish.
"- Then... Eh..." He turns tangible again, and frowns at me, but in sadness, not in rage. "Damn" He slowly walks toward me, measuring me up.
"I am still upset. But if you choose your words more carefully, I will keep listening." I reply tonelessly.
He frowns and sighs again. "I am Danny Fenton. People have called me Daniel. I'd like for you to start calling me Danny, if that's alright. For the record, I don't doubt your commander's drivenness or even intellect, but... To tell you the truth, I don't really have much on him, but from what I've seen, he's dangerously irresponsible."
I nod quietly. Danny. Giving one's preferred name is a significant sign of trust. He is either a skilled spy or desperate for allies. Or both. "Ayanami Rei." I answer flatly, emphasizing my surname.
"Last name first..." he mumbles. With 'last name' he presumably means surname. Quietly, I hope he understood my preference.
He sits down on the side of my bed, smiling sadly at my injuries. "Someone willing to be wounded either has something they are willing to die for or nothing willing to live for. From your responses, you're the former. For that you have my admiration, Ayanami."
At least he understands that much.
That is good.
Again I nod, impassively.
"The Commander however..." The man sighs. Has my outburst made him reluctant to continue? That is good as well.
Yet I should not so easily shut out the first dissenting voice in a long time. Outside of the discontent murmurs of Doctor Akagi and Captain Katsuragi, there have been few people who voiced any disagreed with Commander Ikari. Everyone is fallible.
"Continue and I will listen. We can discuss the matter." I whisper, genuinely willing to consider this stranger's point of view, and express my own.
I look silently at Danny, who seems to be trying long and hard to find the right words to express his very emotional distrust. For my part, I patiently wait, simply looking at his face. It may take this man some time to find the words he needs to express himself in Japanese.
"Military people are supposed to trust and try to protect their subordinates as much as their subordinates trust and try to protect them." Danny finally manages to squeeze out.
I consider what the man is trying to say and raise a finger to my chin. An affectation I seem to have picked up from the Subcommander. "You are implying the Commander is unable to see his resources as people with inherent value and is wasting lives where it is not needed?" I inquire.
Danny nods entheusiastically. "Yes!"
I frown at the man, insulted by his temerity. "I disagree. This discussion is over. Goodbye."
He sighs loudly, the rumble of anger evident. "Fine, fine.. Just... the Third Child is two rooms over. If you haven't already, I'd suggest you go talk to him." Danny blows a lock of hair out of his face. "Poor kid doesn't have your... whatever it is. He's scared. Talking with you would do him a world of good. He did, after all, willingly sit in the hot seat, and got burned for his trouble."
Strange proverbs, but understandable. His tone implies genuine frustration, though. Perhaps dismissing his views so nonchelantly was... inappropriate?
Perhaps it was foolish? Childish? Teenage hormones have a way of undermining the most resolute and virtuous calm.
He turns back toward me, going invisible as he does. His green eyes are still somewhat visible to me, though.
"I... I really don't understand you. The way you do... I've met my share of strange people, but you're... new." He sighs exaspiratedly. "So, here's what I'm gonna do." He perks up.
"In spite of everything that's happened today... yesterday... I am giving you the benefit of the doubt." Danny says exaspiratedly. "If you trust the Commander, I'll defer to your judgement for now." The tired man sighs very deeply. "And should I ever have a problem with him, I'll come talk to you before doing anything drastic."
The fatigue in Danny's voice indicates that this is a difficult concession for him to make. His point of view is obviously very different from my own... However, if he is willing to consider my viewpoint, then I aught to consider his in return, no?
"Thank you for giving him the benefit of the doubt." I whisper with what I recognize as relief. "I am in turn willing to grant you that the Commander is capable if errors in judgement like everyone."
Though I will do nothing with my observations. They will remain my personal opinion of the Commander. Exept when I lose my temper and throw flower pots.
"I thank you in turn." Danny chuckles. "Rest well, miss Ayanami..." He says to me in English as he disappears from sight completely.
I will indeed return to my rest for a few more hours.
And perhaps afterward, I will attempt a brief visit to the Third Child.
What would he be like?
A good thought to sleep on.