I let him go... Was it a moment of weakness on my part? Would this singular decision be my undoing in the end? Did part of me really want him to win?
No... He simply was no longer a threat to me. I wouldn't see him physically again for quite some time...
II: Conflicts
Four-and-a-half miles to the southwest of the city of Kobayashi on the island of Kyushu, lay the massive jutting prominence of Mount Kirishima. The area had long since been abandoned since the days of the Second Impact. The slopes were easier to climb on the southeast face since the northwest face had collapsed during the seismic events triggered during the very events that changed the world twenty-two long years ago. It was outside of normal habitation zones, off the beaten path. It was the perfect place for a hideout.
At night the world here was very dark, the nearest lights being fourteen miles away beyond more hills and mountains. The view of the sky was actually quite beautiful thanks the lack of light pollution. A person lying on the grass, like Maya was doing now, could make out countless stars and pick out constellations with ease. Meteorites as they streamed across the sky to die in the upper atmosphere were also visible as streaks of light occasionally giving motion to the heavens.
Nearby where she lay, there was the sheer drop off of the northwest face of Mount Kirishima. The building in which she and her lover currently lived lay to her other side, and dark as no windows existed on the outside of the building on this side. Inside, Maya was doubtless that Ritsuko was probably hammering away at her complex calculations and theories as she tried to decide what needed to be attempted next to complete her project. Both women felt confident that once the technology was completed, the world would be allowed to relax and move forward.
Neither knew of the horrors taking place nearly 300 miles northwest of them in the city of Tokyo-3. As Maya lay there she pondered just what her friends were up to.
As if to answer her question Shinji's face came into view above her. Excited, she jumped up and jumped on the young man hugging him.
"Hello, Maya," he greeted, though there was sadness in his voice.
She jumped down, yet to speak and then she noticed he was in his Spiderman outfit, and he wasn't alone. Rei stood nearby holding Eve, Behind her was a beleaguered looking Hikari in her military uniform and Mari who seemed to be pondering something.
"What's going on?" Maya asked in a low voice.
"You mean you don't know?" Shinji asked.
"No... the television has been dead now for the last three days. The radio has been pretty quiet as well, though there was the occasional amateur operator talking about a terrorist attack. Internet channels are dead, and Sempai hasn't been able to get a stable satellite uplink."
"It was no terrorist," Rei said with anger in her voice. "But a healthy amount of treachery was involved none-the-less."
"We should talk inside," Shinji noted.
Maya nodded and lead them to the main doors on the south side of the building. Shinji noted it was a relatively decent sized structure being at least three stories tall. Upon entry, Maya yelled out that she was home as was customary.
Shinji looked around and saw that the place used to be an observatory of some kind. Though the telescope was still there on the north side of the building, it didn't look like they had used it in a while. The rest of the building was converted into an apartment with a research lab for Ritsuko's reactor technology. A spiral staircase made of wrought iron lead to the second floor and Ritsuko was currently walking down that stair. She took a moment to see who it was, then hurriedly finished her decent.
"What happened?" Ritsuko asked Rei directly. The half-angel was the only one of this group who knew of the location of their hideout. If she had led all these people to her, there must have been a reason.
"Disaster," Rei replied. "One we never saw coming."
"The streets of Tokyo-3 have been taken over by an army of cloned troopers," Shinji replied. "Cloned from Eve."
"Eve?" Ritsuko asked in disbelief. "Someone from NERV is doing this?"
"Misato," Shinji replied. "She's gone totally insane. She's trying to take over the world so she can remake it the way she wants it."
"What?!" Ritsuko cried, her tentacle arms touching down to steady her. "How could this have happened?"
"I don't know," Shinji replied. "I only know what I saw. She killed Lieutenant Anako in cold blood, slaughtered whatever staff at NERV she couldn't control and is now on the warpath. She blew up the Diet with all the old men still inside with a low yield N2 Mine."
"My God," she whispered. "What the hell has come over her?! This isn't the Misato I knew in college... This isn't even the Misato I knew as the Commander of..." She stopped herself there as she began to remember her starting to fall apart during the Venom incident...
...
Shinji ran from the office and Misato tried to stop him, but he was too fast.
"Leave him be, Misato," Ritsuko suggested. "I don't blame him."
"Damn it," Misato whispered.
"Don't beat yourself up. This is all my fault anyway. I should be the one he hates, not you."
"He understands you better than you know," she replied. "Me as well I'm sure. He's gonna try to bring her back himself."
…
"I swear to you Misato, I had no idea it could reproduce like that."
Misato was visibly fuming now. Ritsuko wouldn't be at all surprised if her friend pulled her gun out at this point. Though the office of the Supreme Commander of NERV was famous for its tense moments before, this looked to be one of the worst yet. And considering who had this office before Misato did, Ritsuko realized how much that was saying.
"Well, now we know," she said in barely contained rage. "So, how the fuck do we kill them?"
"We could always try to fight fire with fire," Shinji offered. He stood at Misato's right side, where Kozo Fuyutsuki once stood when Commander Ikari reigned. "Maybe make a new symbiote, one that can be controlled..."
…
"Get them outfitted as soon as possible," Misato ordered. She leaned back in the chair looking tired and worn. "We have to stop them before this entire city falls into the grip of chaos."
"You look like hell," Ritsuko noted. "When was the last time you slept?"
"What day is it again?" Misato asked.
"That wasn't funny Misato."
"I wasn't joking," she deadpanned. "I don't think I've slept well ever since we found out Rei was Venom." She turned her chair towards the window and watched as the light began to dim in the Geofront. "I don't think I even can at this point. I'm tired of this, Rits. I'm tired, heartbroken, and I feel completely helpless. As much as I want to, I don't think I can save Rei. And now that I know that another innocent has fallen victim to this thing, I feel terrible."
…
"There is nothing that can be reasonably done to save his life at this point. Does that answer satisfy your–? "
"What about unreasonably?" Misato interrupted.
Ritsuko stayed silent. She had some ideas on what could be done, but every one of her strategies would turn the young man into a monster. She hesitated far too long on her response for her friend, and said friend then did something Ritsuko never thought she'd do. Misato was instantly to her feet and grabbed Ritsuko by the front of her outfit, yanking her closer even as Ritsuko tried to use her hands to pry the Commander's hands from her lab coat.
"Goddamn you, Ritsuko Akagi!" she nearly screamed. "If there is ANYTHING you can do to save his life, then FUCKING DO IT! I'll be damned if the boy I virtually raised as a son dies on my watch because someone wouldn't do a fucking thing about it! DO YOU HEAR ME?!" Ritsuko was shaken by the slightly younger woman and, for the life of her, she was terrified to try to stop her.
Ritsuko could only nod. This caused Misato to drop the doctor and try to get both her breathing and her temper under control.
…
"What is it?" Shinji asked as Ritsuko went silent for almost a half a minute.
"I don't remember when she was the Misato that I do remembered now," she whispered as she placed her hands up on her chest at the point where Misato had grabbed her a few years ago. "She's been downhill ever since the Bloodletter/Venom incident." The mention of that caused Rei to look down sadly. "She's allowed herself to succumb to the darkest reaches of her own psyche."
"That implies she was always insane," Shinji replied as he turned away, taking a few steps away from Ritsuko. "I won't accept that."
"Shinji, she saw Second Impact with her own eyes... she lived during the worst age mankind ever knew, just as I did. What she witnessed caused her to cease talking for years! God only knows what kind of psychological damage remained."
Shinji's head bowed and his eyes closed. Ritsuko was right: there was simply no way to know.
"So what do we do now?" Rei asked.
Static started blaring over the radio, resounding around the building. Inspirational music kicked in.
"The hell?" Shinji asked rethorically.
"I think the new leader of Japan is going to speak," Mari said with a bit more venom in her voice than anyone would have expected out of her.
Soon the radio was fully alive, and just as Mari assumed, so it was.
"Good Evening Japan," came the voice of Doctor Doom over the radio. "Allow me to introduce myself properly to you. I am Doctor Victoria Von Doom. As many of you saw a few days ago, I destroyed the Diet in Tokyo-2 in order to remove the old order and replace it with a new one. At this time, I now claim total control over Japan and its territories."
"It's on the TV too," Maya pointed out. As the group moved to get a better look, Doctor Doom continued.
"Now, I know many of you probably have a few misgivings as to my true intentions, but I can assure you that I only mean to bring this world to order at last. For too long, this world has been shaking sticks at each other and not pushing forward progress to make life better for all. In an age of tyrants, we can ill afford half measures now. And so I took control of this great nation in order to make it an example to the rest of the world. The old world is dying, and to signify this, I have brought something special to you all."
"I don't like the sound of that," Shinji commented.
"In September of 1945, our great nation was forced to sign documents, surrendering to the Allied forces and promising we would never again deploy forces abroad. I have these documents, and the resulting Constitution here." Doom produces the documents in front of her. "It's quite a read, really. Sadly, it is in the way. Many of the nations that exist in the world will not want to change from their old ways, and continue to subscribe to technological and social stagnation. This can no longer be tolerated. And so, more than 70 years later, I officially end this agreement."
Doom held up the papers before the crowd and began to tear them apart with as little care as one would tear apart junk mail. Some in the crowd began to cheer but there was a lot of silence still.
"Once we were a superpower, and now we will become one again! With this last yoke thrown from our necks we can build our industry and technology. Thousands of jobs will be created, and our great nation will once again prosper!"
The quickly increasing cheers of the crowd gathered before Doctor Doom told Shinji all he needed to know. Misato was winning support by giving the people what they wanted... prosperity.
"This is just the beginning. As we spread our influence all over the world our country will continue to grow strong! Trust in Doom and I Doom will provide!"
Maya turned off the TV and the radio as the building fell into silence.
"Don't they realize what's happening?" Hikari asked with fear in her voice.
"Either they simply don't, or they simply don't care," Rei replied harshly. "My daughter's genetic legacy has been corrupted by Doom, and she's going to use it to secure her place in history. Doom is going to have to kill a lot of people to secure this dream of hers."
"It's not Eve," Shinji tried to convince himself.
"It is!" Rei shouted. "The same thing is happening to her that happened to me but on a much larger scale. I was cloned to form the basis of the Dummy Plug System. I would have been used as a blueprint effectively for auto-combat systems against the Angels. This is the same thing, only it's happening on a grand scale, and weapons are being placed in the clones actual hands... all this before the original has even started Pre-K yet!"
"It's not Eve!" Shinji yelled back.
"And what are you basing that on?!" Rei challenged. "Are you basing it on the fact that the clones are not the original, just copies? Because then what does that make me?! I was created in a lab, cloned countless times and reborn by the grace of Lilith... but I'm not the first Rei and you damn well know it! So you tell me... what are you basing your statement on?"
"I... I don't..." Shinji couldn't answer
"She killed them," Mari whispered, breaking her silence.
The entire group, even the somewhat stunned Shinji turned slowly towards the half-British girl seeing that she was now trembling as she struggled to take her glasses off.
"Mari?" Hikari whispered tentatively as she walked closer.
The dark haired sniper put her glasses down and tried to breathe out a ragged breath as a tear fell from her eye and her lip trembled. She slowly sat down as she tried to get a hold of herself, but she kept seeing the faces of the friends she made over the past year haunting her.
"She just… she murdered them." Hikari sat next to the girl placing a hand on her shoulder as Mari began to silently sob. "I watched it happen… she gathered the members of Section-5 that she knew she couldn't control and she simply had them all shot like lame animals."
Shinji looked away. Section-5 was set up shortly after NERV became reinstated after the Angel Wars. It was a liason group from the JSSDF that was designed not just to help protect NERV from outside attack, but to keep an eye on it from inside. Mari had worked with them on several assignments during the Chinese Civil War, and became close with a few of the members.
"She has the entirety of Japan now," Shinji said aloud. "Perhaps it would be a good idea to fortify our position here in case we're found out."
"I agree," Ritsuko replied. "But any such measures we take should be to buy time to escape more than anything else."
"To where," Rei asked almost sardonically. "At this rate, Misato will overtake the planet.
"Maybe not," Maya offered as she pulled from Ritsuko's hold. "No world takeover attempt has ever succeeded. I doubt this will."
"That may be," Rei replied. "However, Misato is no ordinary supervillain. And none of the other would be conquerors had access to the technology and tools she does."
"She'll succeed," Shinji said in a dark voice.
"Shinji-kun?" Rei asked as she approached him, noticing he was beginning to tremble.
"I don't understand it," he replied. "Why? Why of all the people to turn to darkness did she have to? She's the closest thing in this life I've had to a real mother since my birth mom died. She virtually re-raised me to be the man I am now. Now, suddenly she's become the devil... a conquering monster who murders without care. How could this have happened?"
Rei wrapped her arms around Shinji from behind as he simply stood there and let the sadness wash over him. Yet, he couldn't shed a single tear.
He didn't know why he couldn't cry for her...
Jan Xing had held the office of General Secretary and President of China since just after the Second Impact, when the chaos that tore the world asunder almost destroyed the country from within. He's since weathered internal disputes and tightened the communist grip on China even further. The Chinese Civil War also tested his leadership, but with the help of key external allies, including Japan, he was able to keep the country together. Now he was faced with a problem he didn't see coming.
On his communications viewscreen was the person he just finished reading about… the new de facto ruler of Japan.
"I am glad we finally have a chance to speak, General Secretary," her mechanized voice spoke. "Although you may not enjoy this conversation."
"I had a feeling I wouldn't," the older gentleman replied back. "Especially after I saw the way you treated your old men in your own country."
"Those men were nothing more than an aging reminder of everything wrong with this world. Will you be no different?"
"If you are trying to convert me to your line of thinking, forget it." He stood up. "This country will not bow to your whims, Doctor."
"Well then, I guess that means the answer is 'Yes, I will conform to the old ways and refuse to change despite the advantages in embracing a new way'. I expected more from you General Secretary, but then again, I assumed you Reds would be difficult to manage without a display of force."
"You don't scare me," Jan shot back. "I have control over the largest military in the world. Your forces would be nothing compared to mine. So go ahead… invade my country if you dare. I'll kick your forces off my soil and come and take everything you hold dear. I'll put your country back in the hands of its people where it belongs!"
"You don't seem to understand anything," Doctor Doom replied calmly. "Allow me to enlighten you." She stood up and picked up the small camera. Jan watched as the feed moved to the balcony outside of the current temporary surface palace that Doom would eventually replace with something grander. As soon as she appeared on the balcony the sounds of cheering and elation reached the ears of Jan, too strong to be faked. He watched as Doom panned the camera over the streets where the people were out in force waving banners and displaying Japan's new flag; a deep green background with black stripes forming a sideways cross across the banner. Over the cross point was a circle covering the cross there and within its confines a pair of inverted angular "S" shapes between a tiny triangle. It gave the impression of blades or pincers.
"You see this?" Doom said over the crowd. "My people love me? When was the last time you had a rally like this that was not state enforced? In just three short days since I took power, I have fixed nearly all of the country's problems. Unemployment is nearly 0, everyone prospers, and no one has to participate in combat if you they choose not to do so. My people have everything they want and now we desire to spread that prosperity all over the world."
"China will never bow to you!" Jan yelled as Doom could be seen making her way back into her office.
Victoria Von Doom carefully place the camera back in its original housing and calmly walked back to her desk where she sat down and folded her hands Gendo-style.
"Well then, I know what must be done. I was hoping this conversation would be more… productive. But I can see you are a very stubborn man, a shining example of everything in this world that needs to be purged." Doom sighed briefly. "So be it… If you will not kneel willingly, then I'll have no choice but to bring doom to your country. You were warned… When we meet again, it will be shortly before I send you to oblivion."
Hours Later
The Port City of Shanghai needed to be relocated like many cities did after the Second Impact due to the rising seas. It remained a busy port, but now it was a bit inland compared to its previous location. Moving unknown and silently though the ruins of Old Shanghai were 12 EVA-II's. Unlike the old behemoths, these EVA's didn't need any specialized equipment to move underwater and were able to push slowly though the ocean unaided. The battery systems used on these models required no external power sources either as they would have been far too cumbersome in conventional warfare. Behind the EVA's were transport subs carrying Doom Infantry, ready to disperse their deadly cargo to form a beachhead.
Well offshore waiting silently were Several JSSDF Aircraft Carriers waiting to launch their fighters and bombs into the China. The Chinese fleet was already on its way to intercept them, however they would be too late to stop what was coming.
The silence of the night was shattered by the explosion of the two heavy cruisers in Shanghai's harbor. As the sirens started to sound in the city the EVA's launched themselves out of the water and onto the edge of the waterfront. Gliding strategically, they moved to strike at the defensive positions of the city; the military posts and watch complexes near the waterfront. Moments later, the transport subs broke the surface. Their tops and sides opened into ramps slamming down on the wharf, and Doom Infantry dispersed into their groups, sweeping the streets.
At that moment, the Carriers began to launch their fighters. While some would be used as overwatch over the city, most were going instead after the quickly closing Chinese fleet. The Chinese carries launched their own fighters, easily outnumbering Doom's pilots by 5 to 1. But despite how well trained their pilots were, Doom's girls were superior in every way. They were able to dodge what should have been guaranteed kill shots and shoot down hardened veterans with little difficulty. For every one plane lost by Doom, The Chinese lost 25. Soon the sky was clear of Chinese fighters, and Doom's planes then concentrated on the ships themselves.
Within less than 2 hours, the city of Shanghai was secured. The Chinese lost four cruisers, three battleships, five carries and over 200 aircraft. They also lost close to 800 men in the city that were there as a garrison. Doom's casualties were one moderately damaged EVA, four infantry were wounded but not killed, and 7 planes were shot down, but all pilots were recovered.
Jan Sung Kim was the son of the original president of South Korea. His people were inside of Chinese territory to keep an eye on the Reds. While he had his misgivings about Japans involvement with China to preserve the regime, he knew there were important reasons for their actions. Now as he read the latest reports from his field operatives, he realized just how much power Japan had behind it now. Shanghai had been taken in less than an hour, and Doom's forces were already pushing further inland, liberating the Chinese people from communist oppression.
Shortly after he read this report, his computer let him know that a foreign leader wanted a video audience with him. He straightened up and hit the prompt, surprised to see the face, or rather mask, of Japan's new ruler on his screen.
"Greetings President Kim," she began. "I've been hoping to speak with you."
"I expected this," he replied. "I just wasn't expecting it so soon."
"As you can imagine, I'm very busy right now, but I had to make time for one of the worlds most progressive leaders."
"Flattery will get you no where," he joked. "But please, don't stop on my account. So what can I do for you?"
"I think you know," Doom replied. "I am seeking to begin my conquest of the world with Asia. The Chinese turned down my offer for peaceful entry into the empire of Doom, so now I extend you the invitation."
"I imagine, I would retain some measure of power."
"If course. While your vision and goals are less direct, you have the same ideals. A man of your influence would go a long way to helping me."
"I see. Of course, you have my loyalty."
"Excellent. My forces will be arriving shortly. Unfortunately, North Korea turned down my proposal."
"My forces are at your disposal if necessary, though most are still stationed at the 38th Parallel."
"Have them hold their position. My intelligence indicates they will be making a direct attack on your country soon."
"Guess they figured I'd join you," he mused. "Thanks for the assist then."
"Your thanks are not necessary, you are doing Doom a great service by your compliance already."
As the screen turned black, President Kim leaned back in his chair. He wasn't sure if he agreed to help because he actually believed in her quest, or if he simply didn't want to die…
The battle that morning was fierce. North Korea rolled a full three companies of mechanized infantry across the border, quickly sweeping Kim's forces aside as they reclaimed territory in the name of communism. It was to be the greatest moment of Kim Jong's career…
Before they were able to get more than a few miles, their tanks began to explode one by one. The infantry raised their rocket launchers to find the source, only to find that EVA-II units were responsible. They opened up with everything they had but were either unable to hit the targets, or unable to do any significant damage when they did hit. Chaos erupted on the main line as the EVA's blew through them with little effort. Soon they were crossing the border into North Korea themselves. The main bulk of the attack group was in Pyongyang by early evening, and the main defense force was defeated with haste.
While Doom did lose a few hundred clones in this blitz of North Korea, the military infrastructure of the country was wiped out before nightfall. Two of the cloned dragged Kim Jong-un out of his comfortable home and into the street where he was met by the armor clad leader of Japan.
"You came yourself?!" the former ruler yelled just before being unceremoniously thrown to the ground in front of Doctor Doom.
"I had to," Doctor Doom replied in an even voice. "The world has been waiting for this day, when your legacy and that of your father have finally come to an end." Doom was handed a two-pronged spear, designed to look like Lancea Longini, by one of the clones with him. "Doom should be the one to remove you from this world."
"Don't kill me!" he cried out, begging for his life.
"I wonder how many of your victims, how many entire families, said exactly the same thing before they were killed by your people. I bet you never had the guts to do it yourself."
"Please!"
"Pathetic," Doom replied. "I expected more out of 'Dear Leader'."
The young man only managed a further cry of 'no' before he was run though with the spear's twin prongs. Doom's aim was perfect with the upper prong puncturing the heart and the lower into the left lung. When she ripped the spear back out, the former mad ruler coughed out dark blood before falling face first into the street.
Doom, for her part, simply stared up at the sky, watching the color slowly drain away into nightfall. She thought about how many lives she just ended in her attacks on Shanghai and North Korea. Quickly, she put them back out of her mind, wondering instead if she could make it back to Tokyo-3 in time to have dinner with Lilith.
In a single day she had subjugated both North and South Korea, and her troops were making headway into China.
"A good start," she mused.
Another child denied, their human right to a life,
Free from the shackles that assure their slavery
The monster in human skin, employs abduction again
Collecting innocents to steal their purity
I see the global decline, while wealthy pockets are lined,
The masses begging them to show some sympathy
Without a care in their heart, they let it all fall apart,
Their twisted rationales have never made sense to me