Shinji Steel 47

Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion or Max Steel. Wish I did, though.

As Deidre and Roilson set to work on the man Deidre had known for so long as Psycho, she can't help but wonder how the procedure will go. Deciding she wants to know, she turns to a grinning Roilson.

"So, how're we going to do this?"

"Well, first off, we take off the remnants of the mask." Peeling off the mask from the eternally-evil-appearing metal face, Roilson gasps in awe at the dent on the man's face. "I can tell there's a story there."

"How so?"

"For metal to be dented like that, especially in the form of a face, the one responsible would have to have the punching power of 25,000 pounds per square inch. At least." Bringing up a metal detector wand, he goes on.

"By searching for where metal and biological meet, we can find the proper place to remove the front of the skull as per GS Sychola's wishes."

Panning the wand along one side of Peter's head, he gets a constant red light indicating metal. The red light lasts until he gets to where the ears are. At which point, the red light goes off. Repeating the process for the other side, he gets to the ear when the light goes off.

"Whatever happened to him was extensive to be certain. Perhaps even planned by this 'Dread' character." Deidre's gasp of shock gets a nod from Roilson as he nods. "I agree. GS Sychola had indeed been brutalized to the extremes."

"To what end, though? Even more, why?"

"Very good questions. But, for now, gotta see how far up the frontal skull goes before going down." Panning it upward, he smiles when the red light turns off ¼ into the hairline. Panning back down, he gets all the way to the bottom of the lower jaw-line. "It's not often I'm impressed, but I am. The one that put this thing together made a partial, yet fully-functional, skull." Turning to his aides again, he speaks in Swahili.

"Get the spreading claw and position it at the back of the head." As the aides move to carry out his instruction, Roilson turns back to Deidre and grimaces. "You'll likely not like what we're about to do to GS Sychola next."

"Probably not, but I'd like to be informed anyway."

"Very well. I've created a device that spreads flesh apart from any part of the body. With GS Sychola being my first cyborg, this gives me an opportunity to see how well it does on a person's head."

"I'm so glad I could contribute to your dream of being a rough copy of 'Doc Frankenstein'." Deidre's sarcasm can't help but get Roilson to lightly chuckle. Causing Deidre to roll her eyes in exasperation. "Okay, once you've gotten the flesh spread, what then?"

"Then we see about removing the faceplate. If you wish, you can turn away if at any time you feel uncomfortable or nauseous."

"Thanks. I'll take you up on it if I have to."

Roilson gives his aides a nod and they start spreading the flesh apart. Deidre then decides she's seen enough and turns away, not fighting the urge to vomit as it's already forcing its way up out of her. Vomiting into a nearby sink, Deidre can't help but shudder in shame.

'Some former villainess I turned out to be! I can't even see someone dear to me go through a grisly procedure without puking my guts out!'

At the sound of excited chattering in Swahili, Deidre only shakes her head again. Upon feeling a hand rubbing between her shoulders, she sees Roilson smiling kindly toward her.

"Let's step out of the theater. My aides are monitoring GS Sychola and rinsing out the frontal piece."

"Sounds good to me. Is he…"

"He's still unconscious. The serum I'd given him is strong enough to knock out an elephant." Deidre's about tempted to look at Peter until Roilson says, "I really don't think looking at him is such a good idea, if your vomiting just now is any indication."

"Right." As he gently moves her out of the theater, she's glad for the privacy screen one of the aides runs along their pathway. Once they're out of the theater, Deidre can't help but shudder. "You must be pretty disgusted with me. When it comes to Ritsy and her blood, I can relate because I go through the same thing. Peter, on the other hand, all that…"

"Say no more. I understand. You're starting to look green in the gills there. Again."

Deidre can't help but chuckle mirthlessly before one of Roilson's aides comes up. Peter's partial-skull cleaned and in hand. Even though the aide's chattering in Swahili, Deidre can tell from the aide's inflections that he's quite disgusted by what he'd found during the rinse-out.

The aide then hands Roilson the piece before walking away, seemingly speaking 'colorfully'. From what Deidre could tell, anyway. Roilson turns the piece around in his hands, examining it intently. Deidre looking it over as well.

"What was that all about?"

"Henri, the one that was just here, said he'd found what appears to be electrodes on the inner-side of the skull."

"Electrodes? Like as in electrical electrodes?" At Roilson's nod, Deidre asks, "But how?"

"Upon removal, Henri found small pieces of bone protruding from the brain tissue. But they're at the frontal lobe. Which is where this comes in." He shows her the inner-side of the skull, relieved that she hasn't vomited due to the lack of blood in the skull this time. He then goes on to point up toward the forehead region of the skull, getting Deidre's notice.

"The electrodes send bolts of electricity into the brain, resulting in what had happened to him."

"Exactly. The human brain is very complex. But what had happened to GS Sychola was both equally brilliant and evil to the core." Deidre can't help but find herself curious.

"How did he see? I seriously doubt a human eyeball can fit inside the lenses."

"See these stalks, leading back from where the eyes would be?"

"Yes." Deidre can't help but suddenly feel uneasy as if she could tell where this is going. "You mean…"

"Correct. GS Sychola's eyeballs were removed, leaving only the optic nerves for the stalks to feed images of anything seen into the brain." Grimacing, Roilson adds, "Whoever did this had clearly planned extensively and worked methodically to ensure success."

"How long would something like that take?"

"Offhand, now I'm just guessing, mind you, but a case like this would take six months if done on the fly. But, if the planning had started beforehand…"

"The time's drastically reduced." Roilson nods as Deidre looks back to the room where Peter's lying in. "I can't say for sure when 'Psycho' first showed up. I may have to blow myself to get Dread's attention so I can ask him."

"I strongly advise against it." At Roilson's admonition, Deidre looks right back at him and sees him frowning sternly. "If you blow yourself, you risk revealing to the world that Dragonelle is alive and well. How do you think Ritsy would feel if the Mother she knew was actually Dragonelle?" Deidre can't help but chortle before it becomes a guffaw.

"She already knows!" As she laughs, she tells Roilson all about what had happened ever since she adopted Ritsuko. Upon getting to when Ritsuko entered NERV as Dragonelle and met Max Steel Jr., leaving out the part of Shinji being Max Jr. at all times, Roilson can only shake his head in bemusement.

"Your life's certainly become more interesting since the last time I saw you." Deidre can only titter in agreement. His face then turns away from hers, lost in thought, before he says, "Ritsuko's birth parents, the Takusonas, were killed, I believe you said."

"That it has. That they were and that I did. With a bomb made with C-9. Though they actually died when the wave hit and washed over them. Why?"

"I think that she might have been targeted for death as an infant as well." Deidre's shocked gasp gets him to nod. "Whoever it was that made and placed the bomb did a shitty job of it. C-9 is a powerful explosive alright, but it's mainly used for mining applications. If even a small amount is used, the most you'll get is a thirty-foot diameter hole in the hull if it's a big yacht or even a battleship. But a small pleasure boat…"

"Wouldn't even have a chance." At Roilson's nod, she asks, "What about placement of the bomb?"

"Below the waterline is an appropriate location. But in order for a yacht like 'Perseus' to be destroyed, you'd need at least three charges of C-9. Placed strategically and carefully at the aft and amidships. Not in a cabinet with non-combustibles. The bomber was clearly an amateur when it comes to using explosive ordnance." Deidre nods in agreement until she remembers hearing one of the words he'd used.

"Why carefully?"

"C-9 is not only powerful, it's also quite sensitive. If the one holding so much as sneezed…"

"They go ka-boom." At his nod, Deidre groans and mutters, "Why couldn't the bomber have sneezed before getting to 'Perseus' at least? It'd have solved everyone's problems. Ritsy would have had her parents still and I'd have been able to sleep soundly." Roilson can't help but chortle, with Deidre right behind him.

"I wish I could tell you, but in a way, I see it as a blessing. Ritsy may have lost her parents, but she still survived a bomber's stupidity and you were blessed with a cute little baby girl."

"I guess that's the best way of looking at it." Upon Roilson nodding, Deidre changes the subject. "Is there any way possible that extreme temperatures such as cold and hot could reset the victim's brain? Mainly their thought processes and reasoning."

"You mean like a sudden blast of arctic air against a computer to wipe out a logic bomb?" Getting a nod, Roilson replies, "It's possible. Why?"

"Because Peter spent almost nine years, walking underwater in extremely cold water before arriving on shore."

"If what you're saying is correct, though I have no reason to doubt you, then after a considerable delay after leaving such exposure would result in the person's behavior going back to normal."

"Okay. But what about repeated impacts to the frontal lobe? Would that help delay the return of something you don't want coming back?"

"It would depend on the severity of the impacts and how dire the situation is."

"The impacts were so severe, he dented several cars and rendered a cast iron frying pan into abstract art. And the situation was quite dire with his evil side making a break for the surface."

"Then yes. It would delay, but only for a short time."

"How short?"

"Five hours. How long ago did GS Sychola do the impacts?"

"Two and a half hours. Maybe three."

"Let's go with three and say you're lucky you got him to me in time." Getting up, skull plate in hand, he adds, "I'm going to go remove the bone fragments from his frontal lobe. They're what conducted the electrical impulses from the electrodes. Also…"

"Also what?"

"Judging from the way they were positioned, in relation to location of the electrodes, they were placed there." Deidre's eyes can't help but fly wide in shock as Roilson goes back in.

'They were… positioned there?'

Thoroughly horrified by what Peter had been put through, Deidre can't help but want to find Dread, drag him out from whatever rock he's hiding under, and have Shinji 'Go turbo' on Dread's ass. Grinning wryly, she can easily imagine how well that'd go.

'Deidre Takamiya, alias Dragonelle, you are under arrest for numerous charges of corporate and international espionage. You're also being charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, along with aiding and abetting an international criminal.' Unable to resist a yawn, she lets one out.

"I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Her eyes sliding closed, Deidre soon slips into the realm of slumber.

An hour later, Roilson exits the operating theater smiling widely. Upon seeing Deidre sleeping while sitting up, he shakes his head before summoning Henri by snapping his fingers. Henri walks up to him before speaking.

"Yes, Doctor?"

"Bring our guest a pillow so she can get a better rest."

"Right away." As Henri readies to carry out his instructions, he hears Roilson speaking but can't make it out. "Something more, Doctor?"

"How goes the reconstruction of the face-plate?"

"Maurice and Jamal are making excellent progress, Doctor. They expect to have it done by dawn. Only without the cruel implements that was controlling him."

"Excellent. And the making of the mask to conceal it?"

"I've got it undergoing completion as we speak, Doctor. How is Gunnery Sergeant Sychola faring?"

"He'll recover. I got the fragments out of his frontal lobe. I'd heard rumors of an experiment into seeing about making bone a conductor to electricity for the purpose of behavior modification."

"What was your opinion of it, Doctor?"

"I found it to be needlessly cruel and the one that dreamed it up to be a sadistic monster."

"Any idea as to who dreamed it up?"

"No. As I said, they were only rumors. Yet now I see that rumor's been proven to be fact. Whoever dreamed this up was an authentically sadistic whacko."

(Elsewhere; same time)

"AHH-CHOO! AHH-CHOO! AHH-CHOO!" Dread can't help but grumble before blowing his nose. "I hate sneezing. When Instrumentality happens, however, I won't have to worry about sneezing ever again."

(NERV HQ; Gendo's office; same time)

Gendo can't help but glare at the audacity of the man before him. He'd just walked right into his office, ignoring Ms Okisona's words that he couldn't go in there without an appointment or being summoned by the Commander. Knowing full well that there was nothing Okisona can do, Gendo decides to ease her fears.

"It's alright, Ms Okisona. Continue your duties while…"

"Mr. Takashi."

"Mr. Takashi and I speak about why he's before me."

"Yes, sir." Once Ms Okisona's closed the door, Gendo cleats his throat.

"I hope you have a good reason for barging, uninvited, into my office, Mr. Takashi."

"I've come to register a formal complaint regarding your Section-2 Captain."

"Oh? What has Captain Psycho done for the complaint to be registered?"

"He came into the neighborhood and started slamming his face against cars parked in the driveways! Repeatedly! Ms Shigahiru came out of her house, with a frying pan, during the commotion! Captain Psycho then said, and I quote, 'Ah! Just what I need!'! End of quote! He then proceeded to slam the frying pan against his face repeatedly! It was then when Ms Takamiya came out of her house!"

'May not have been the girl, but her death will be a good start.' Nonplussed, Gendo asks, "What happened then, Mr. Takashi?"

"She yelled out, quoting again here, 'JUST WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?'! End of quote! What he said next, I couldn't hear! But then he slammed the frying pan once more!"

'Yes, yes. Do say it was slammed into Takamiya!' As neutral as possible, Gendo asks, "What did he slam it against?"

"HIS FACE! KNOCKING HIMSELF OUT INTO MS TAKAMIYA'S ARMS!" Gendo's eyes can't help but fly open as Takashi goes on to ask, "Is everyone you boneheads in Government hire mentally unbalanced? Or am I asking another mentally-unbalanced person?"

"I beg your pardon!" At the bark in Gendo's voice, Takashi steps back before regaining his ground as Gendo asks, "Where did you get such a ridiculous notion?"

"The young man with Ritsuko Takamiya. When I told him I'd be speaking to you, he told me it wouldn't do any good."

'Why do I have a bad feeling about where this is going?' Uninterestedly as possible, Gendo asks, "Did he say why?"

"He said you're, quoting once more here, 'Mentally unbalanced yourself'. End of quote."

"Did the young man, by any chance, drive a blue coupe with an off-road chassis, have brown hair and blue eyes?"

"Yes! Do you know him?"

"I do. All too well. The Third Child."

"THE THIRD CHILD?" At Gendo's nod, Takashi asks, "Why would he say such a thing about you?"

"The Third Child and I have been at odds ever since his arrival in Tokyo-3. He has his way of seeing things, I have mine."

"I guess it explains how the boy could say that." Shrugging, Takashi brings up a form and goes on. "You'll find a list of all the damages Captain Psycho had incurred. As the Commander of his employer, you're responsible for all that had happened." Gendo quickly looks over the list and his eyebrows arch upward before he chokes upon seeing the bottom line.

Six sedans and three sports cars' hoods with large numerous dents, one heavily-abused frying pan and two metal lampposts. Coming to a total of 1,000,000,000 yen for repair costs. Getting his choking under control, Gendo scoffs before ripping the form in half.

"NERV is in no way obligated to repair property damaged or destroyed during an employee's mental breakdown. Such matters are to be handled by your respective insurance companies."

"They've already been notified. You can look forward to getting calls from them soon. Along with our attorneys." Shaking his head in disgust, Takashi exits. Once the office door is closed, Gendo lets out a yell of fury.

"DAMMIT TO HELL!" Picking up his phone, he grits out, "Get Lieutenant Ishiragi before me NOW!" Two minutes later, Ishiragi steps into the office and right into Gendo's glare. "I imagine you are wondering why you are before me, Lieutenant."

"I am, Commander."

"I'm going to be blunt, Lieutenant. Captain Psycho has gone, well, psycho. He damaged a lot of property today and attacked the Mother of the Third Child's girlfriend. Ms Takamiya, fortunately, however, was able to subdue Psycho and get him into custody outside of NERV. So until this debacle is settled, you are posted as Captain of Section-2."

"Sir." Gendo gives Ishiragi a nod before going on.

"Feel free to continue or discontinue any policies you deem inappropriate for Section-2 to have." Reaching down to his desk, he brings out a Captain badge and slides it over to Ishiragi. As he affixes it to his uniform, Gendo finishes with, "Do your duties to the utmost performance, Captain Ishiragi."

"Yes sir!" With that, Ishiragi turns around and exits. Ideas already rolling through his mind as to the first things to go. 'The "no drinking on duty" definitely goes. As do the ones about porn, gambling and fun games. Especially games like "Russian Roulette". How can he think it's a method of committing suicide?' Making his way to the Section-2 barracks, he sees the men hard at work compiling information and/or readying their weaponry to raise up against any threats to NERV personnel.

"Alright, you mugs, stop what you're doing and form up!" All of them stop and look toward Ishiragi. Upon seeing the Captain badge on his jacket, two words sum it up for most of them.

"Aw shit!" Ishiragi, however, pays it no mind as he strides confidently into the barracks.

"As of now, I'm replacing 'Captain' Psycho as Captain because he went psycho! Meaning the changes he made are now null and void! Any of you have a problem with that, the doorway's right there!" Ishiragi closes his eyes and smiles smugly, thinking they'll accept his leadership. Upon opening them back up, however, he sees only 75 Agents remaining.

"W-W-Where are the rest of them?"

"They just left while you had your eyes closed." The Agent that spoke checks his watch and winces. "Ooh, shift change. I'd better go relieve Oshuka on Fuyutsuki watch. I'll inform him of the Command change so he can decide whether or not to stay."

"But why did the others leave? I'm good leader material! I was trained by Chiron personally!"

"No, you're not good leader material. See, when Chiron vanished, we made an arrangement."

"What kind?"

"If you'd been made Captain right off the bat, we'd leave. At least with Psycho having been in charge, we could get our work done. But, seeing you with a Captain badge, if any of us stay, it's not for you. But it's because we're needed for the Pilots, Major Katsuragi and Vi-Co Fuyutsuki. No more, no less."

"But, but…" As the Agent strides out of the room, Ishiragi scoffs and says, "Fine. One less dissenter." Rubbing his hands together, he then reaches down, brings up a can of Yebisu, and asks, "Who's for a game of 'Russian Roulette', guys?"

(Old Osaka 'N-Tek' facility; sublevel nine; three minutes later)

"Berto?" Josh's soft voice stirs Berto slightly before Berto goes back to sleep. "Man, he's really tired."

"I'll say. He's been working on that 'Kiel' character Mr. and Mrs. Takusona was talking about on the recording." Kat walks up to behind her fiancé and drapes a blanket over his form as he lies over the keyboard. "On top of that, he'd been trying to get the 11th Angel to communicate with him, but to no avail." Josh nods as he looks at the isolated computer, a generator running right by its side, and grimaces.

"I guess it does have a death wish or just wants to be left alone in there. How much fuel remaining?"

"Another thirty minutes before the generator runs out of fuel and the computer shuts down." Josh nods at Kat's words as she sits by Berto's side. "I still can't believe Berto proposed to me after Shinji threatened him with the cassette of the duet with Hoshi." Josh can only chuckle until the feed from the relay registers a loud BLAM. Which jostles Berto awake and wide-eyed.

"Oh, that was loud!" Checking his monitor, he grumbles, "I can't believe I fell asleep like that."

"Hey, you were tired, bro." Josh puts his hand onto Berto's back while Kat pecks him on his left cheek.

"Josh is right, Berto. You'd been working non-stop ever since I got back from Okinawa with that piece of the hull from 'Perseus'. Thinking of, find anything?"

"Yeah. C-9 was registered as an explosive most ideal for mining. So I cross-referenced all mining companies that use C-9 in their operations against those in Japan. I then went over their inventory lists for that particular time frame and everything would have seemed to be in order until I came across a mining company that I saw was connected to a dummy corporation. Care to guess what that dummy corporation was linked to?"

"The Marduk Institute?" Kat and Josh's united query gets a nod from Berto before he goes on.

"The Shukimaro Mining Company in Hokkaido. Which also happens to have a man named Lorenz Kiel on its board of directors."

"Could it be…"

"The same one Mr. and Mrs. Takusona were talking about? Could be. I contacted Rachel before I nodded off. She said she'd look into it and give me a call back."

"She did, Berto." Jefferson's voice behind them gets their attention as the man walks in. "She called an hour ago and said she'd found a link for Kiel to the UN that predates her. That same link is still active, too."

"Then I guess I'm going to meet with the 'missing link' for Kiel." Jefferson gives Josh a nod before Josh turns back to Berto. "You may want to go over the data you'd 'found' while asleep." Berto can only chuckle sheepishly before Josh asks, "You get Doctor Akagi back home okay, Kat?"

"Oh yeah. In fact, she'll be feeling so good, she won't mind a surprise Misato and I had arranged for her on the fly." Kat then looks back at the monitor and grimaces. "Looks like Misato's got something."

(NERV HQ; Terminal Dogma; same time)

'Alright." Kaji grins wryly up at the door before going on. "Now to see what's behind door number one."

KA-CLICK

Kaji sniffs the air and grins.

"I just love when you smell like lavender and mint, Katsuragi."

"Just my way of giving you a heads up, Kaji."

"Ah. So when can I expect a group of Section-2 hatchet men?"

"They're a little busy right now. Lieutenant Ishiragi got promoted to Captain after Captain Psycho's mental breakdown. During the celebration, he was drunk and playing 'Russian Roulette' by himself. You probably didn't hear the shot." Kaji can't help but snort at that.

"I guess when it comes to 'Russian Roulette', the only winning move is not to play at all."

"Which is what you're kinda doing!" Breathing heavily, Misato grits out, "I'm only saying this once, Kaji, if you go too far, I'll have to give an order I don't really want to. If you care for me or yourself at all, you'll stop."

"I guess we're too different, then. I'm searching for the truth while you have no idea what the truth about NERV is yet." With a sleight of hand, he whips out a card and runs it down into the reader. As the door opens, Kaji mutters, "No idea of the truth whatsoever." Once the door's opened all the way, Misato clasps her cross.

"Is… is that Adam?"

"No. It's Lilith. The Second Angel. Ikari has Adam." Kaji then feels Misato yanking him back away from the door and sees her pressing the button for closing the door. She then glares right at him.

"We're gonna talk right now, Mister!" Pushing him along, she finds herself thinking, 'What I wouldn't give to be able to "think" my communications like Shinji does! I just hope "N-Tek" got it all!'

(Old Osaka 'N-Tek' facility; same time)

"I've heard of keeping obscure things in your basement, but 'Commander Dumbass' is taking things too far." Jefferson gives Kat a nod as she says, "Maybe we'll get a lead if we listen in."

"Berto?"

"On it." Turning up the gain, he cleans up the conversation as it happens.

"Okay, Kaji, just what did you mean by it being Lilith down in Terminal Dogma? Along with Rokubungi having Adam?"

"Why aren't you referring to him by 'Ikari', Misato? Are you starting to question him, along with disrespect him?"

"I'll tell you this much. As of today, Gendo Rokubungi had been severed from the 'Ikari' family name as per Shinji's wishes that it be so."

"I'm guessing it's not going to go over well for the Commander, then."

"I'd say not. What about Adam being with Rokubungi?" Even though Misato had heard what Gendo had in mind for Adam and the 'Custom Model' Max Jr. and Dragonette found, she still wants to hear it from Kaji.

"He's planning on using Adam for Instrumentality. Though it's really hinging on Shinji."

"How so?" Misato query has menace within. But not toward Kaji as Kaji's come to care for the young man. No, her menace is toward one person in particular. "What does Rokubungi want with Shinji? Hasn't he suffered enough in this mess? He deserves a better life than this!"

"You'll get no argument from me." Sighing, Kaji goes on. "According to the scant times when I could glance at the 'Dead Sea Scrolls' any time Rokubungi would have them out, I'd get to the point where it says, 'The sole male of the Earth's Champions must be of ideal condition for Instrumentality to occur'. In short, Shinji's…"

"Intended to be a sacrificial lamb." Josh, Kat, Berto and Jefferson's eyes can't help but fly open in horror at the revelation. The sorrow in Misato's voice quickly turns to anger as she grits out, "I don't care if Shinji says it's not worth killing Rokubungi! That bastard's wanting to use him… oh my God!" Misato can then be heard retching violently. Kat finds herself unable to resist vomiting herself and runs out into the hallway.

"Mother of God. Do you think Shinji even knew what 'Dumbass' had in mind for him, Berto?"

"I don't think he did, hermano. All he knew was that Rokubungi was trying to ensure he was miserable. To what extent, I don't think he even knew."

"Do you think we should tell him?"

"At the very least, yeah. Oh, Misato's speaking again."

"Oh, Shinji. How could 'he' even want to do that to you? His own flesh and blood, no less?" Misato can't help but break down into sobs. With Kaji murmuring soothing words.

"Shinji's pretty strong. He won't let that prick win."

"I know, Kaji. Rits does, as do Rits' Mother, Asuka, Rei, his friends and his family. But I can't help but wonder if their support will be enough."

"All he needs is his strong heart as it's filled with compassion for all. Well, except for maybe Rokubungi." Misato can't help but titter at that as Kat comes walking back into the room. Her face pale, yet regaining its usual color.

"Just how can Shinji even be related to that… that… monster?" Starting to seethe, Kat snarls out, "I'd never heard anything so evil! Not since before that asshole Dread died! If anything, Rokubungi and Dread are cut from the same bolt of cloth! Just on opposite sides of time and the planet, is all!" As Berto gets up, Kat stops him.

"Kat?"

"I'm going to go abuse a punching bag, Berto. I don't want you in any path my fists and feet go in." With that, Kat stalks out of the room, causing Berto to sigh.

"I'd better place an order for a new punching bag, I guess." Josh and Jefferson can only chuckle as he does so. Berto chuckling as well seconds later until he shrugs and adds, "Might as well find out what that gunshot was about, anyway." As he listens, he can't help but shake his head.

"Good grief. 'Smiley' was right about 'Russian Roulette'. 'Commander Dumbass' ain't gonna be happy with what happened. Thinking of, I wonder what happened to 'Smiley' anyway." He then proceeds to go over the recordings of the past four hours. What he finds only has him shaking his head.

'Oh, "Smiley", what happened to you?'

(NERV HQ; Gendo's Office; ten minutes later)

"You're sure of it, Agent?"

"I am, Commander. During the party celebrating his promotion, deceased Captain Ishiragi was so drunk, he spun the cylinder and stopped it one chamber shy of the loaded chamber."

Gendo can't help but think, 'Why do I have a bad feeling about where this is going?'

"His final words were as follows, 'It doesn't get any better than this, eh guys?'. He then pulled the trigger and the gun went off. Blowing what little amount of brains he had onto the wall beside him." Sighing, Gendo looks down before shaking his head. Looking back up, he looks right at the Agent.

"Very well. Until Captain Psycho returns, pending a full mental evaluation before he returns to duty, you are Acting Captain of Section-2, Hisnokasu."

"I understand, sir. I just hope Captain Psycho will be alright."

"As do I, Acting Captain. As do I." Mentally, he adds, 'He's proven to be stronger when it comes to Kiel's influence. This could prove to be troublesome.'

(Hokkaido Airport; Roilson's B-2; three AM)

"Ugh. My head." Blinking blearily, Peter Sychola groans out, "Will someone please tell the little jackass with the jackhammer in my skull to give it a rest?" Next thing he knows, a feminine voice filled with poorly-concealed mirth speaks.

"Hey, little jackass with the jackhammer in Peter's skull. Give it a rest, will ya." Deidre's face above his gets Peter to smile widely.

"Now there's proof I've an Angel with me." Deidre can't help but giggle while giving Peter a peck on his lips. Reaching up with his human hand, he gently runs his fingers through her long black hair before asking, "How long have I been out?"

"Since about eight, yesterday evening. You didn't even stir once during the procedure. According to Doctor Roilson, anyway."

"I see you're feeling better, 'Gunny', if you're doing that." Roilson's amused voice gets their attention, along with them to blush while grinning, as he goes on. "You're one of my toughest cases to deal with, yet I'm quite pleased that you made it through."

"Thanks, Doc." Peter gives a smile, only to notice something amiss. "Deidre, did my cheeks just move?" A stunned Deidre can only nod stupefied as Roilson quietly celebrates before yelling out loud in joy.

"Yes! I've got the most amazing staff… in the world!" Finishing off with a mad scientist-style cackle, he notices Deidre and Peter looking at him like he's nuts. Sheepishly grinning, he asks, "Would you care to see both your new outer and inner faces?"

"I would." As a still-sheepishly grinning Roilson brings the mirror over, Peter can easily see the outer face is similar to the one from before. But only not such… a harsh appearance. It's gentle, yet strong. Much like the picture Doctor Akagi had shown him that one night. "How…"

"I looked your records up while you were out like a light, 'Gunny'. Henri did the mask work after I showed him what you looked like before you were attacked."

"He did good work." Pointing toward his 'face', he asks, "Is it safe for me to take it off or does it need more time to settle?"

"I think it's settled enough." Peter nods before taking off the face, revealing the faceplate underneath. Upon hearing Deidre's gasp of shock, Peter lightly frowns.

"It didn't…" Frowns? Putting his fingers to the faceplate, he makes a smile and feels the metal moving. "I'm actually smiling! How?"

"It's a new type of metal I'd been toying with when it comes to medical usage. I'd bore you with the details if I told you. But if…"

"I'm good." Deidre can't help but giggle at Peter's words before he chuckles as well. "I am good, aren't I?"

"You're that and more, Peter." Without hesitation, Deidre plants a kiss onto Peter's metal lips. Metal lips? Peter looks back at the mirror and grins. For the faceplate is the brace for the outer facial features. Shaking his head in bemusement, he looks back up at an amused Roilson.

"I've so much to say, but I can only sum it up like this. Thanks, Doc." Looking toward his mechanical arm, he grimaces, adding, "If I'd known how good your results are, I'd have asked you to do something to this arm."

"Well, actually, I was a little bored after the procedure and I happened to have noticed your arm. It's a folding-claw type, correct? With a basic, yet strong frame acting as the 'bone structure' when the claw forms the arm."

"Um, yeah. How'd you know?"

"Because, 'Gunny', I created the designs for that arm." Deidre's eyes can't help but go wide while Peter's jaw drops. Before Peter can even recover his jaw, Roilson goes on. "About seven years before Second Impact, I was working for a company that designed prosthetic limbs. I'd submitted a design for an arm that expands into a claw for the purpose of Emergency personnel that previously had lost an arm to use to aid in extricating those in bad situations."

"So if they had an arm like Peter's, they'd be able to do their jobs still." At Roilson's nod, Deidre exclaims, "That's brilliant!"

"At least you think the same I did when I submitted it."

"Let me guess. They laughed at you, told you it was ridiculous."

"Well, that and it looked scary enough when folded, 'Gunny'. If it was to unfold before someone going into shock, and they were terrified enough, it'd scare them to death. Even though it wasn't meant to appear that way. It even had a powerful laser in case cutting was needed."

"Okay. Now that I know who to thank for the arm that got me into and out of trouble, how'd Dread wind up with it?"

"Dread?" Deidre's voice gets Peter to look at her before she asks, "What did you mean when you spoke about Dread, anyway? He's dead."

"He's not, 'Nelle." Taking a deep breath, he goes on. "I'd gone to deliver mail from the World Courthouse to 'Commander Dumbass' in his office when he told me someone wanted to meet with me. Now, you know how I feel any time people want to meet me, right? Especially important people."

"Right. Wary and bashful as Hell." At Peter's nod, she asks, "Is that when…"

"Yeah. Only 'Dumbass' doesn't know it's Dread. He only knows Dread as Kiel." Deidre's gasp at that gets his attention. "What is it, 'Nelle?"

"Kiel was the name Ritsy's birth Mother uttered on the recording Aida made for Ritsy. Just before…"

"Second Impact." Deidre's face can't help but fill with horror as Peter nods. "That's right, 'Nelle. Dread faked his death at Del Oro so he could get 'N-Tek' out of anti-terrorist activities in order to pull off the biggest mass murder in history."

"That… that bastard! It's bad enough Ritsy's parents' yacht was partially blown up, only for them to die when the wave washed over them! But for him to have a hand in it? What's next? He had… oh my God!" Deidre collapses onto the floor, Peter kneeling down beside her as she weeps.

"It'd be just his style! That heartless bastard! Any time he'd have a plan, he'd always anticipate people getting hurt or worse! Even more, he'd be demanding it! Now I know for sure I'm glad 'N-Tek' foiled that shitbag's plans every single time!"

"You mean… the BCIs that were implanted in the wake of Second Impact?" At Deidre's nod, Peter softly grins and murmurs, "At least now we know why he's pissed at you and Ritsy. You and she set about something that disrupted a well-laid plan." Deidre can't help but softly chuckle as she nods again.

"I'm glad we could shove his 'well-laid plan' up his possibly 'not-so-well-laid' ass." Tapping her chin thoughtfully, she asks, "Do you suppose that's why he dreamed up all those plots in the first place? Because he'd probably never gotten laid?" A guffawing Peter can't help but kiss Deidre passionately, getting her to giggle.

"Probably!" The two share a laugh while holding each other close. As the merriment tapers off, Peter remembers where they'd left off at before getting off topic. "By the way, Doc, I believe you said you did something while bored?"

"I did, indeed." Striding to a table adjacent to the gurney Peter was lying on, he pulls back a sheet. Revealing a two-piece flesh-like sleeve and a flesh-like glove, all of which are of Peter's skin tone. "They were part of the redesign to make it more reassuring to people that saw the arm unfolded."

"Let me guess. They laughed again."

"You are correct, 'Gunny'. But after they laughed at me, I'd gone drinking late that night. I don't really know what happened because the next day, I got to the office and found the designs had been stolen."

"Everything pertaining to the arm?" At Roilson's nod, Peter gives him a soft grin and asks, "So what do you think of your design, Doc? Is it everything you'd expected?"

"It is, and more, 'Gunny'. Now that I know where it wound up, I can finally finish my work."

Peter gives Roilson a nod as the man affixes the coverings to the arm and hand. First, he has Peter open the arm into the claw to get the sleeve portions onto their respective halves. Upon the claw closing, he nods at the coverings remaining intact before picking up the glove.

Only for Deidre to stop him. Glancing toward her, he sees pleading in her eyes. Giving her a nod of understanding, he allows her to slide the glove onto the metal hand. Once it's in place, the only metal showing is Peter's shoulder before he puts the black blazer back on. Gazing at his hand as he clenches it into a fist, Peter can only be awed at how 'human' a mechanical hand can appear with the right covering or shading.

"And now, for the final piece." Deidre's voice beside him gets Peter to look and see the mask in her hands. Unable to resist grinning wryly, Deidre says, "Can't have you showing up for work with a metal face, Peter."

"True. Though it would be interesting to see how Lieutenant Ishiragi reacts to seeing it upon my return." Deidre gives a giggle as Peter extends his mechanical hand to Roilson, saying, "Thank you, Doctor Roilson. For everything."

"You can thank me by taking good care of this little street rat." Hugging Deidre close, he murmurs, "It was good seeing you again, Dragonelle."

"You too, Greg." Giving him a peck on his cheek, she murmurs, "I'll send you an official invitation to Ritsy's wedding to Shinji when the time comes."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Smirking, he adds, "Peter, I hope you're planning to make Dragonelle an 'honest' woman. Raising a little girl into a version of herself is not 'honest' in any way."

"Maybe not, but she's doing it to protect her beloved. Even as he works to protect humanity."

Roilson gives them a nod as they get into her van. When the hatch opens downward, Deidre backs the van down until its wheels touch down onto the tarmac. Within a minute, they're going through an open gate, another guard in place. Just as the B-2 takes off, destination unknown.

"Next stop, Tokyo-3. Hopefully your absence hasn't cost you your position."

"Yeah, hopefully. By the way, just how do you know the Doc, anyway?"

"I saved his life one time when I was in between jobs for Dread. I was bored and skulking around when I saw a group of six teenage KKK-loser wannabes hassling a man for no reason other than the color of his skin. I got so pissed off, I just charged in without thinking twice. Soon as I calmed down, I saw they were all unconscious but alive. And the first thing he said to me was that he owed me a favor now. He gave me a card with his name and number on it, saying if I needed anything, to give him a call."

"How long ago was that?"

"Hmm, I'd say about a year before Dread faked his death. About two before Second Impact. Which Dread was responsible for, no less."

"That's not all, 'Nelle. It gets crazier."

"In what way?"

"He was the Doctor that had me pronounced DOA in Seattle, WA." Deidre's eyes can't help but go wide in shock.

"He's Readson?"

"Yep. Before he tried frying my brains extra crispy, he told me everything. About myself, about how humanity was stagnating before Second Impact. All that insane loon bullshit."

"We need to tell Shinji without blowing our cover as strangers. Far as I can tell, they don't know about us being intimate with each other. Well, except for Ritsy, anyway."

"I'll see if I can point him and 'N-Tek' in the right direction without being too direct on my end. Ritsy should be recovered enough to snoop around the databases a little bit. See if she could find the source of the explosives or at least the shitbag that killed Mr. and Mrs. Takusona. I'm sure she'd love to get her hands on the varmint." Peter's words can't help but get a smirk from Deidre.

"I'll talk to her, see how she feels about it." Peter smirks and nods right back.

"I'd say we've a plan of sorts then, 'Nelle."

"That we do, 'Gunny' honey. That we do." Peter and Deidre share a raucous laugh all the way into five minutes before tapering off.

(Tokyo-3; Ritsu's walk to NERV; 8 AM)

For the first time ever since getting embroiled into Gendo's machinations, Ritsu awoke with a feeling of hope. Gazing up at the sky and smiling at the abundant light flowing down, Ritsu can't help but feel the urge to giggle giddily. As she's about to give in to the urge, she literally bumps into a person in her path.

"Well, mercy me!" The voice is male as it goes on. "You alright?"

"I am. I'm so terribly sorry about that! I wasn't watching where I was going!" The man resumes his protests, causing Ritsu to think, 'How do I know that voice?'

"Nah, it was my… Akagi?" The man blinks at Ritsu before asking, "Ritsuko Akagi?" Ritsu looks at the man's face and her jaw drops as she gasps. After ten years of not seeing him, he's there in Tokyo-3 before her.

"Matt? Matt Hanson?" At his nod, Ritsu joyfully cries out, "Oh I missed you!" Wrapping her arms around him, she traps him in an embrace. Only to feel his arms wrapping around her in the same manner. Luxuriating in the embrace, Ritsu can't help but let out a sob that Matt catches.

"You okay, 'Suko?" At the short-form of her name, which she'd only tolerated from Matt, Ritsu can only sigh before unwrapping her arms. Matt following suit with his. "What is it, 'Suko? You look upset."

"I'm just remembering what I told myself I'd do if I ever saw you again."

"I think I've a pretty good idea, so go ahead. If anything, I deserve it." Ritsu can only sigh before nodding.

"Yes, you do." With that, she gives Matt a hard slap to his right cheek. "That's for cutting off all contact when you up and vanished!"

Pressing her lips to his and tapping her tongue against them, she grins when his lips open and his tongue greets hers. As the two French each other silly, they pay no mind to the looks of disgust the people around are giving them. Within two minutes, the urge to breathe brings them back to their senses. Ending the lip-lock, Ritsu puts her forehead to Matt's and smiles.

"That's for coming back into my life."

"I should vanish and reappear more often." Matt's wiseacre comment gets Ritsu to giggle before sighing.

"I'd really prefer you didn't, Matt. I may have met good friends when we parted ways, but I still missed you."

"I missed you too, 'Suko." Kinking his head to the side, he then asks, "Just what are you doing in a place under attack by whacked out aliens, anyway?"

"I'm chief scientist and a Medical Doctor at NERV, the Agency tasked with destroying the 'whacked out aliens' as you called them. How about you?"

"Oh, found myself curious about Tokyo-3 and thought I'd come by here and see if anyone with problems from PTSD are here so I can help them through their trauma."

"Oh, you're a counselor?" At his nod, Ritsu thinks it over before smiling. "People say my bedside manner needs work and I don't understand their mental states. They're probably right."

"If you're offering me the chance to work with you, and maybe to also pick up…" Ritsu can't help but giggle again.

"You are a rat!" Giggling still as Matt takes her into his arms, she murmurs, "But yes. I am offering you the chance to work with me, and to also pick up where we left off. I haven't gotten off in years, Matt. Even when I administer to myself, nothing at all."

"Then I guess we've some catching up to do." Ritsu nods before giggling and tugging Matt along. Matt thinking, 'Phase-1 underway. Reunion complete. She hasn't changed much, aside from her hair, that is.' Looking at her face, he grins softly and mentally adds, 'The reports from Smith were accurate, but it also looks like she's set her burdens down. I guess that meeting did her a world of good.' Ritsu, however, notices his scrutinizing her.

"What?"

"I was just thinking how lovely you look with your hair blond and down to just above your shoulders." Ritsu can't help but blush before giggling.

"You charmer! I'm beginning to think you know Kaji already!"

"Kaji? Who's that?"

"Ryoji Kaji. He's an old friend of mine from college. He and Misato Katsuragi are on the verge of getting back together. I think."

"Ah, college sweethearts, huh?"

"Yep. Much like we were high school sweethearts of sorts." Matt gives a chuckle before sheepishly grinning.

"Yeah. All the kids that saw us together called us 'Mr. and Mrs. Hanson' all the time." Ritsu gives him a nod before adding a comment of her own.

"Some of the girls were even looking forward to seeing what our children would look like should we make it to the altar." Matt's chuckle is a soft rumble which gets Ritsu to smile softly. "Is that a 'I'd like to find out' chuckle or a 'Oh damn we're doomed' chuckle? It's been so long, I forgot which is which."

"The former." Ritsu's gasp gets Matt to turn toward her before asking, "Something wrong?"

"No. Nothing's wrong." Her cheeks going pink, she murmurs, "I'm undergoing my cycle right now and you're here. You expressed a desire to find out and I'm not on birth control."

"You want to make a baby?" At her nod, Matt nods back and asks, "Your place or the workplace?" Ritsu snaps her face up to him before she starts thinking. In a minute, a mischievous grin crosses her face. "A workplace conception, huh?"

"Yep. Guaranteed to annoy Commander Rokubungi to no end. Plus something Pilot Ikari's girlfriend told me during the time of the 9th Angel."

"Oh? What'd she tell you?"

"That she'd always wondered what it'd feel like to fornicate in NERV. While the vents were private, they weren't stable or spacious enough."

"You mean…" At Ritsu's nod, Matt chuckles. "I can't wait to meet them."

"Well, you'll likely meet Pilot Ikari, as well as Pilots Ayanami and Sohryu. Pilot Ikari's girlfriend, however, is another matter. Given that she's not NERV personnel, she's hardly ever here unless Pilot Ikari feels she'd be safest down here or she has... wait a minute. You might get to meet her today. Let me check right quick." Bringing out a PDA, she glances at it and nods.

"Yep. She has an appointment to get her replacement BCI extracted today. Then, two months later…"

"She'll have Pilot Ikari's child in her womb."

"Yep. At least that's the way she's got it planned out." Sighing, she adds, "I hope things go according to plan for them. They've all been through so much in this war."

"I don't doubt that. Anything else happening today, other than us seeing about making a baby?"

"Um, yeah, as a matter of fact, there's a cross-sync experiment for the Pilots in each others' Evangelions." Her eyebrow going up in amusement, she adds, "Pilot Sohryu is even being uncharacteristically generous when it comes to Unit-02. Well, maybe not generous, but perhaps more like adamant. She wants Pilots Ayanami and Ikari both to see if they can sync with her Unit while she sees about syncing with theirs."

"Is she always like that? Adamant about people doing what she wants them to?"

"Oh yes. Always." As they enter the express personnel train, Ritsu looks him over before adding, "The years have been kind to you. Yet it looks like you lost some weight. Haven't you been eating?"

"In that order, right back to you, I did lose some of it and yes."

"Well, tonight, 'afterward', come over with me. Pilot Ikari's cooking is to die for."

"I think I'll pass on the 'dying', and just concentrate on the eating, thank you very much." Ritsu can't help but laugh in mirth as the Geofront comes into Matt's view. "Holy… an underground fortress!" Matt's yelp can't help but bring a wide smile to Ritsu's face.

"It's called the Geofront. This is where mankind has based its fight for survival as the Angels are coming here to fight. And ultimately dying."

"I must admit, 'Suko, I never expected you to be working here." Ritsu only gives Matt a grin.