Hi guys, Calborghete here, how are you all?
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So now without further ado, enjoy your reading.
"Dialogues"
- Thoughts -
"Radio Talk"
"Self talk."
Liability Note:
Evangelion, its characters and setting are the property of Hideaki Anno. Any brands, movies and series mentioned in this Fanfic are the property of their creators.
(*)
Chapter 04.
Looking at the horizon being divided perfectly by two bands, one being the blue sky that glowed with few clouds covering it, giving a stark contrast to the reality on the ground, flying over the old Paris, the mighty Wunder war machine passed gracefully through the old city that was once reflected in luxury, romance and fine cuisine.
Looking through the viewfinder of the bridge that gave full view of the old city, Misato let out a sigh, knowing that gathering resources was probably not going to be an easy task, it was never easy in this day and age.
"We are approaching headquarters." Hyuga spoke from his seat.
"Nothing on sensors." Tama spoke without turning around, the sound of fingers tapping on keyboards could be heard by everyone in the room, but the atmosphere was tense.
With that said, Misato quickly proceeded to turn around and grab her internal communicator, bringing the object up to her mouth to begin speaking, with a sigh she began.
"Colonel Katsuragi speaking. We are approaching the objective, EVA pilots and all personnel who will be participating in the operation, meet me in the conference room."
With that said, Misato turned and started to leave the room, being accompanied by Ritsuko.
With a sigh, Makoto rose from his chair, walking toward his destination, being closely followed by Midori Kitakami the young bridge technician from Wunder.
Misato was sitting in her chair in the Wunder conference room keeping her arms crossed over her chest and maintaining her cool posture, looking at the faces of all the occupants who were arriving and settling in, no one could tell what was going through the Wunder commander's head.
Ritsuko was standing in front of a white screen, preparing all the material that would be used in her explanation, looking at the sheets of paper in her hands, she raised her head when she realized that almost everyone was already inside the room, with only three occupants left.
A silence reigned inside the oval room, no one dared to speak, they just stared at their hands and waited for the information to start, Midori gave quick glances to Colonel Katsuragi who was standing like a statue in her seat next to Ritsuko.
"Hyuga." Midori whispered to her bridge mate, anxiously awaiting the response.
Hyuga stood still staring into nothingness as he waited, not having noticed Midori's call, his mind was locked on the good times of NERV.
"Hyuga!" Midori called out a little harder, hoping she hadn't drawn undue attention, seeing her colleague's head turn slightly, she waited for their eyes to meet so she could begin to speak.
"What is it Kitakami?" Hyuga asked keeping her voice neutral, trying her best not to draw too much attention, having noticed the tension in the room with Misato's presence who promptly aimed her eyes from the pair, only having her dark glasses as cover.
Midori looked around and began to whisper. "Do you know the reason for this meeting?" The curious pink-haired young woman asked, hoping that only her colleague heard.
Misato was looking at the pair with interest, keeping her posture and managing to understand some of the conversation, being an expert in counter intelligence, many of these techniques she got from Kaji, like lip reading being one of them, knowing that this was not in the most ethical way of working, but Misato understood that it was necessary to know everything that was going on inside her ship.
"I don't know, but I believe it must be because of Ikari." Hyuga replied with uncertainty in his voice, he knew that talking about Shinji or his father was very dangerous ground to follow in times of war like these.
Midori softly widened her eyes, having millions of possibilities circulating in her mind the moment Hyuga spoke those words.
"Are we going to get Ikari?"
Hyuga looked at her expectantly being he was one of the oldest people in the WILLE, the same had survived the third impact and the chaos that came after that. "I don't know, I hope so ... But something tells me that won't be it."
With a soft knock on the door, Misato watched Maya enter and giving a salute as she looked at her commander with a small nod, Misato turned her attention to Hyuga's conversation with Midori, her interest piqued as she read the words "Ikari" in her colleagues mouth.
"Maya!" Ritsuko called out to her former protégé, watching the small woman get up and head toward Ritsuko. "Help me with this." Spoke the fake blonde as she handed over a set of documents.
Maya nodded as she held up a stack of papers, taking a quick look at the documents and managing to read the words in English "Alone and NERV", Misato looked at the young woman, remembering her words when she was ordered to say her opinion about Shinji, Misato was seriously considering whether she could count on Maya's help, but would leave that for later.
"Did we finally catch the boy?" Midori asked expectantly to Hyuga, who was feeling a chill run down her spine.
"I don't know ... I hope so." Answered the bridge technician nervously.
Giving a small smile, Midori opened her mouth to speak. "I hope so, I want to see your terrified face like the first time when you find out you've been screwed again."
Closing her eyes and giving a sigh, Misato remembered the rumors she was receiving about Shinji's attitudes, reopening her eyes again, she waited for Hyuga's response.
"Midori ... Watch your words." Hyuga retorted as he felt his nervousness increase, he was feeling the sense of being watched, and the same clearly remembered how protective Misato was towards Shinji back in the NERV days.
"Why?" Midori whispered indignantly at her colleague's words, looking with a small scowl on her face in his direction. "He deserves it!.. "
Looking at the young girl beside him, Hyuga spoke apprehensively as he searched with his eyes in all directions for privacy. "Kitakami..."
"No more but!" Midori whispered sharply. "He's ended the world!. "
Misato tightened the heavy fabric of her uniform, making a great effort to maintain her posture, the only wavering was her breathing that became stronger, keeping her iron gaze on the duo who were still arguing, naively believing that no one was listening.
"He deserves the gallows!" Midori whispered angrily as she saw that Hyuga did not seem to share her opinion. "With Hyuga pity?"
"It's no pity, Midori." Hyuga whispered as she used her first name, looking the girl in the eye at all times. "Does he have to pay? Yes. But we can't act like NERV."
"Fuck bureaucracy." Midori retorted angrily, making a great effort to keep her voice low enough not to be heard by the other people. "As soon as he gets back, Tama said he's going to put a bullet in his head, since it seems the colonel doesn't have the guts."
At this moment, Hyuga's eyes widened as she heard Midori's last sentence, swallowing dryly at the possibility that Misato was listening, her conscience still being in doubt about everything. "Midori, watch your words." Whispered Hyuga as she remembered the rumors about Shinji.
"Or what?" Midori retorted in defiance of Hyuga as she stared intensely at her colleague, making a war of gazes, the two technicians didn't realize that everyone in the room was looking at them.
Looking around, they looked at all the faces that were listening to the conversation, feeling the courage drain from her body as she saw Misato's head slowly turning towards her, Midori lowered her gaze in shame as she began to think that Misato might hear her last sentence.
An uneasy silence reigned in the place, everyone was afraid to open their mouths and try to start a dialogue, Misato was staring at the two and challenging them to complete their conversation, but one thing made her worried, it was Midori's final words.
- I'd love to see her try. - Misato thought darkly as she imagined the problems Shinji would have to face when he was recaptured, hoping for the first time that the rumors were true, because the young boy would have to know how to defend himself, many people wanted his blood.
Soon the silence of the room began to be broken with Mari's unmistakable voice opening the doors nonchalantly, Mari looked around at the tension in the room that could be felt.
"One at a time guys." Mari spoke smiling as she walked over to one of the free chairs, but deep down she was curious as to what the reason for the silence might be, having a slight impression that it might be a certain person causing it.
Sitting and waiting, Mari turned and spoke to Asuka who sat next to her, keeping a wry smile on her face. "Restless crowd, huh? What was it that there was a porn image on Akagi's computer?"
Asuka only shook her head, feeling her body tired from the sleepless nights, the redhead didn't have the energy to react to her half-sister's antics, not that she slept well in these hellish years, but with Shinji's escape and his possible actions, the nights and nightmares had intensified.
"Alright, now that everyone is here we can begin." Ritsuko spoke as she signaled for the lights to be dimmed and turning on her equipment.
Giving a quick nod, Midori couldn't help but wonder if she had gone too far in her conversation with Hyuga, feeling a chill go down her back at the possibility that Misato had overheard.
Hyuga looked away to try his best to escape the steely gaze Misato was giving him, the only thing the shy bridge technician wanted to do was to run and hide, Hyuga had always had an unrequited crush on Misato, but deep down he was afraid of his superior officer, the years of combat against NERV only proved his point.
"Alright, listen up everyone." Ritsuko spoke as she asked for the lights to be lowered, seeing that everything was properly prepared she began to speak, a click and an image of the city of Paris was projected onto the white screen, everyone in the room gave a sigh as they saw the old romantic and gastronomic city covered in red.
"In four hours or so we're going to storm the old NERV branch in Paris, our goal is to collect supplies and especially material for the emergency repairs of Unit 02." Ritsuko spoke professionally as she showed images of the site in all its glory, with a click the image changed, showing a schematic of the construction of a machine that promised to replace an Evangelion unit.
"That ladies and gentlemen is a Jet Alone, powered by nuclear energy." Ritsuko pointed at the screen, showing the parts of the humanoid machine. "It is already disassembled and then it will be easier for its recovery."
Ritsuko was about to change slides when a hand appeared in the crowd, not just any hand, but a hand that was wearing a red jacket, its owner being a proud German pilot who was not liking the direction of the conversation. "And how do you expect 'that', can be used on my 02 unit?" Asuka spoke as she pointed to the Jet Alone image on the screen, having her mood brought down as she saw the plans for recovery of her unit.
Ritsuko gave a tired sigh, knowing how Asuka was with her precious Unit 02, giving a long sigh, the fake blonde began to speak, hoping to make Asuka calm down and understand the situation.
"Listen Asuka, Unit 02 has suffered severe damage, we don't have the time or manpower to make the proper repairs."
"Like hell!" Asuka growled as she stood up and pointed her finger. "You guys aren't going to do that!"
She closed her eyes and counted to ten to calm herself down, Ritsuko was losing her patience with Asuka's tantrums, often comparing her to a spoiled teenager. "Pilot Shikinami, we have no choice." Growled the fake blonde.
"Of course you do, just take Unit 02 to one of the colonies, there should be the necessary materials there." Asuka spoke boredly, gesturing with her arms all the while.
"It won't be possible, WILLE is on this mission to finish off EVAS and NERV, they won't allow new Units to be built, Unit 02 is too badly damaged, they'll want to throw it away." Ritsuko spoke coldly, making a great effort to maintain her posture.
Misato at all times was still standing with her arms folded on her chair, wishing she were somewhere else right now, raising her hand and lightly scratching her forehead.
"Throw her away?" Asuka growled at the possibility of having her Unit discarded, preparing to give a speech back to Wunder's subcommander, but a hand pulled her back in her chair, glaring at the person who dared to intrude.
"Princess calm." Mari spoke quietly as she patted Asuka's shoulder. "By the way we were going to get parts to get you back active, soon you'll be back active."
Giving Mari's arm a little nudge, Asuka adjusted herself boredly in her chair.
Ritsuko seeing that everything was already back on track, decided to change the picture, showing sensor and radar schematics. "Everything indicates that we should find no enemy presence in the area."
After some more technical data, Maya raised her hand and asked for the floor, seeing Ritsuko nodding and giving her permission to speak.
"Ma'am, these containment batons we will be using, how are we going to activate them if only NERV has the codes." The former bridge tech asked, keeping her tone of voice firm and determined.
"That's the hard part, we'll have to break in and activate it the old fashioned way." Ritsuko spoke already sensing that she would have many voices speaking at the same time.
As predicted, as he finished her last sentence, everyone in the room except five people started talking at the same time, rolling her eyes, Misato spoke still without moving from her chair. "Silence!" Ordering with a strong tone of voice.
She didn't have to speak more than once, a deathly silence prevailed in the room, with a smile Mari spoke into Asuka's ear. "I love it when she talks like that."
"Shut your mouth four eyes." Asuka growled at Mari, not yet having gotten over the idea of her precious Unit 02 being a jumble of parts, fashioned out of duct tape and spit.
"Boring." Mari spoke as she stood with a false pout. "You're no fun." Asuka didn't bother to respond, she just stared at the screen with the still image as she thought about everything.
"As I was saying, we don't have the codes, so we'll have a small window of time to circumvent the activation of the containment bar's security system." Ritsuko spoke as she realized that order prevailed again.
"How long would that be?" Maya asked from her seat, making some notes in her notebook that always accompanied her.
"About ten minutes or so, a little more or a little less." Ritsuko spoke professionally, watching Maya jot down in her notebook and sit down, her focus completely staying on the task ahead.
"Okay then, does anyone have any questions?" Ritsuko asked dismissively to everyone in the room, wishing hard that no one would ask.
"Over here!" Mari spoke as she gestured with her arms arduously, receiving an indignant look from Asuka and everyone else in the room who was wanting to be anywhere else.
"Say Makinami." Ritsuko replied with a sigh as she learned that she would have to stay longer in the presentation.
"I wonder what the function of EVAS is?" Mari asked curiously as she rested her head on her hands with a child asking for candy.
"Support." Ritsuko replied dryly, but she knew those words wouldn't have the desired effect on Unit 08's pilot. "Unit 08 is with articulated arms, with machine guns deployed, that will be our support down there."
Asuka raised an eyebrow upon hearing that only Mari would be staying for the fun, feeling her anger rise to dangerous levels, with a sigh she spoke, not giving herself permission to ask first.
"What about me?"
Everyone in the room looked on, knowing that this probably wouldn't end well, Misato shyly adjusted herself in her chair, remembering the temperament of the short-tempered young German woman, already knowing that at some point she would have to intervene.
"You will stay at Wunder, there is no way you can be down there." Ritsuko replied dryly, but deep down she knew that now the storm would come.
"So I should just sit around sucking my thumb like a child?" Asuka asked with anger fuming, Mari was watching everything with a shy smile on her face.
"Yes." Ritsuko retorted as if it was the most normal thing in the world, deep down she wasn't caring for Asuka's childish tantrums, she had more things to worry about.
"How dare you you bitch!" Asuka yelled as she slammed her hands on the table and stood up, everyone in the room went silent, no one wanted to be in Asuka's crosshairs.
"Watch how you talk Shikinami." Ritsuko retorted keeping her voice calm and authoritative, she would not have her authority broken by Asuka's tantrums.
"Or what?" Asuka arrogantly retorted challenging Ritsuko at the conclusion, knowing that only she and Mari were the EVA pilots, but soon a thought came into Asuka's head, and a scary one at that, knowing that Rei could pilot an EVA, swallowing dryly at the thought of being replaced by the wonder-girl.
Ritsuko was about to respond to Asuka's challenge, knowing full well what would bring down the redhead's pride and knowing full well how, with a sadistic smile forming on her face, but before she could respond, Misato intervened.
"Enough!" Misato spoke strongly, standing up and looking at the two people who were causing confusion, turning to Ritsuko, "Get everything ready."
"Yes ma'am." Ritsuko replied calmly, picking up her sheets and preparing to leave, thinking about her plans for the reactivation of the containment tube they had to activate, but stayed long enough to listen to Misato talk to Asuka.
"And as for you." Misato spoke as she turned and faced Asuka with a cold, heavy stare. "Respect your superior, this isn't school here, you're staying here and that's final."
Asuka gulped dryly at Misato's intensity in speaking to her, knowing she had crossed the line a bit, abusing her status as an EVA pilot, with a final sigh she calmed down enough, Asuka only nodded to Misato as she sat back in her chair.
"Well..." Misato spoke as she knew she was done with an argument, but was about to dismiss everyone, Midori raised her hand, locking her gaze on the pink haired young woman. "What?"
Midori lowered her gaze at the way Misato responded to her call, speaking shyly. "Ma'am, I know this is inappropriate, but..."
"But what?" Misato growled upon seeing Midori's insecurity, having no patience for the girl who was talking about Shinji minutes ago, especially when she suggested his death.
With a little startle, Midori gave a little jump from her seat, knowing that she shouldn't have started this conversation, but now she had to continue. "Do ... Do you have any information about the fugitive?"
If Misato wasn't wearing sunglasses, everyone could see that her eyes went wide, but fortunately she managed to keep her posture. "What about him?"
"Nothing, it's just the crew's curiosity, we want to know when he's going back to jail." Midori replied awkwardly, unable to keep her gaze on Misato.
With a sigh, Misato adjusted herself, keeping her cool posture as always, but deep down she was uncomfortable, not knowing how she should put her intentions into words, so she spoke as she always did.
Everyone looked on as Misato was thinking about her words, but everyone wanted to know something about Shinji, many because of the rumors wanted some information whether they were true or not.
Asuka and Mari were looking intently at Misato, both had their reasons to be thinking about Shinji.
"The fugitive Shinji Ikari has not yet been found, WILLE is on his search, following leads, but his whereabouts are still unknown." Misato spoke coldly as she looked at everyone's faces, but lingered a bit more on Asuka.
Misato noticed the subtle changes in her former guard's face, going from anger to concern. With a slight frown, Misato thought about the look on Asuka's face. - Was she worried? -
"But how come he hasn't been caught yet, he's just a brat?" Midori asked angrily. "It's not like he's a Rambo! "
Misato returned her gaze on Midori, sensing the venom in her voice, not liking the direction of this conversation. "He still remains a fugitive and that's it." Rebutted Misato strongly, using a tone of voice that made no room for further conversation.
Midori recognized the tone of voice immediately, lowering her gaze to the floor and wondering if she hadn't gone too far, nodding at Misato's last words. "OK, thank you ma'am."
"Good." Answered Misato as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Dismissed."
With that, everyone in the room except Mari and Asuka got up to leave, the only sounds were of their quickening footsteps, no one wanting to be in the front line of Colonel Katsuragi's wrath.
Seeing that Misato was standing still looking at the now closed door, the purple haired woman gave a tired sigh to calm her nerves, seeing that Asuka and Mari were still in the room.
"You have some information about the puppy, don't you?" Mari spoke with a small smile as she looked at her fingernails, not even bothering to look Misato in the eye.
"What makes you believe that Mari?" Misato asked professionally as she approached the table still maintaining the cool pose.
"Simple, you were more nervous than usual when Midori asked about him, either you are afraid of the puppy or you are hiding something." Mari spoke as she faced Misato with a victorious smile.
Clenching her hands tightly as she listened to Mari's words, Misato let out a long sigh.
"Come on Misato spit it out, what did the brat do? Did he go back to NERV to complete the job?" Asuka asked annoyed, getting annoyed at having the image of Shinji coming into her head.
Misato controlled herself as she listened to Asuka, knowing that Shinji had problems with his father and judging that he would not make the mistake of going back to NERV again, at least Misato hoped so.
"No, he is still on the run, but the council is confused." Misato relaxed as she returned to her guardian mode that she had not used in many years.
"For what? General Yamamoto can't find the bathroom anymore?" Asuka scoffed at WILLE's current lidar, with a small laugh coming from Mari.
Holding back a small laugh due to Asuka's joke of the General, knowing that the current WILLE commander was a very old man, Misato spoke up. "Two SEELE members have already been captured."
"So what?" Asuka spoke arrogantly.
"And so what of the fact that all of them when they were caught were tied up with evidence, when questioned, they all said that their captor was Shinji."
Asuka and Mari's eyes widened at the information, shaking her head sharply, the Redhead spoke in disbelief. "Isn't it possible, that brat?"
"Looks like it." Mari spoke with a smile on her face, having in her mind a V for victory, always the brunette who loved pink advocated that Shinji had great potential.
"They said that Shinji captured them, interrogated them, and then promised to release them." Misato spoke with a shadow of a smile on his face.
"He's not wrong." Mari spoke smiling. "He released them, in jail."
Misato couldn't hold back her laughter at the last sentence, but soon her smile crumbled.
"That's true, but it's not a good thing."
"Why not?" Mari spoke between giggles.
"Because if he has that ability to catch the most powerful and dangerous people in the world, that means the rumors could be true." Asuka replied to her sister, her mind bringing up all the rumors that Shinji was acting out, memories of the news about the SEELE influencers' deaths. Mari's smile died at Asuka's last sentence.
"What about the council? What are you going to do about the Baka?" Asuka asked as she faced Misato who had a grim look on her face, knowing that she shouldn't be sharing this information with Asuka and Mari, but to hell with these rules.
"The council is studying the possibility of making a deal, but only studying." Misato replied as she lowered her gaze, her mind flooded with image of injured Shinji asking for help, knowing that the boy was alone in this world.
"But what kind of deal...?" Asuka started to speak, but soon her mind already deduced what Shinji's use would be, widening her eyes. "Are they crazy?"
"Do you have a better idea?" Mari spoke as she already deduced on her own.
Misato stared at Asuka with the same look as Mari, but deep down she wanted Shinji on her ship again, her heart longed to see him once more, to try to fix things a little.
"Those old people have dementia?!" Asuka growled as she stood up, feeling her hands shaking at the thought of Shinji's return, knowing that his little show was not the real reason, but rather the possibility of the two of them being face to face again.
"Asuka, they haven't decided anything yet, and if they capture him." Misato spoke as he lowered her downcast gaze to the ground.
"He's not going to die, the puppy is turning into a wolf." Mari spoke as she smiled like a cat. "Big, strong and lots of manhood, if you know what I mean."
With a laugh, Misato remembered the times in her apartment, how she always teased Shinji all the time, but soon her smile was lost with bad memories. - Back in the days before you abandoned him. -
Completely ignoring Asuka's dialogues, Mari watched Misato's posture become downcast, already knowing what her thoughts were at this point, the powerful Colonel Katsuragi was not that closed off. "Misato." Lifting her gaze to Mari, Misato waited.
Asuka finally stopped speaking her speech, watching Misato's face turn serious and waiting for Mari's words.
"Let's not put the cart before the horse, let's find the puppy first." Mari finished her sentence with a gentle smile on her face, knowing that this must have helped put Misato's thoughts in order.
Letting Mari's words sink in, Misato knew she was right, she had to worry about finding Shinji first, putting her glasses back on again, Misato spoke as she adjusted her posture. "Go get ready, we'll start soon."
Widening her smile as much as she could, Mari could see that her words had the desired effect, nodding firmly as she stood up.
Seeing Mari and Asuka heading towards the door, a doubt arose in Misato's mind, that doubt was whether Shinji would ever forgive her.
"Asuka!" Misato called out, seeing the redhead turn and stare at her with curious eyes. "Will you help me?"
Asuka stared at her confusedly, but soon she knew why, knowing that she had same question in her head, the redhead still had a lot to adjust in her mind about Shinji. "I think so."
With a small smile on her face, Misato spoke. "See you on the bridge."
With a final nod, Misato had been left alone in the briefing room, closing her eyes tightly the colonel thought about her options, knowing that much was still ahead, nodding to her own thoughts, the colonel left for her destination, the command bridge.
(*)
Asuka was walking next to Mari who was chattering about how tedious this mission would be, as all of Wunder's systems were not showing enemy presence.
"It's going to be a total bore." Mari spoke despondently, Asuka was too busy in her own world to care about Mari's complaints.
Mari seeing that Asuka wasn't paying attention to her words, decided to tease her sister in the only way she knew that would work, with a mischievous smile on her face she spoke.
"You know what princess? "
"Huh?" Asuka spoke without interest as she turned her head slightly.
Seeing that Asuka had taken her bait, "You're too down, you need a good night's sex." Mari attacked smiling as she pointed her finger at Asuka who began to blush.
"Bitch." Asuka growled blushingly at Mari as she put her hands inside the pockets of her favorite red jacket, much to Mari's delight at seeing that she had gotten her sister's attention.
"So, am I wrong?" Mari spoke gesturing with her eyebrows to emphasize her point. "Or are you saving yourself for the puppy?"
Asuka made a disgusted look on her face, desperately thinking to look for an answer to break Mari's argument.
Widening her smile as wide as she could, Mari hummed in victory as she quickened her steps, rushing to the EVAS cage, leaving a shocked Asuka behind.
With only her thoughts as company, soon Asuka found herself thinking again about Shinji and Misato and Mari's new words, the redhead didn't know it, but she felt a tightness in her chest as she remembered the situations Shinji was getting into, and alone after all.
Shaking off the thoughts and image of the injured Shinji, Asuka quickened her steps towards the bridge as Misato's orders, but with each step she took, the more her mind caught on Shinji, being clearly in doubt regarding his guilt.
(*)
Four Hours Later - Paris Center.
Descending toward the center of Paris were the WILLE technicians on their mission to activate the angelic containment system.
"How do pilots get to wear those things?" Maya asked annoyed as she felt the layer of the yellow plugsuit adhere to her body perfectly.
"That is necessary." Ritsuko replied from a few feet away from her former ward. "The L barrier can damage the body's cells."
"But the pilots don't seem to be affected." Midori entered the conversation as she looked at herself in the reflection, liking how the plug adhered to her curves.
"They have a higher resistance, having been immersed in LCL longer." Ritsuko spoke as she braced herself to keep from falling when she felt a jolt, knowing that the place where they were being placed was makeshift. "But they don't make them immune."
"What do you mean?" Hyuga asked anxiously.
Maya and Ritsuko looked at him confused, this was something everyone should already know, but he decided to inform him. "Being exposed to the L-barrier for too long can make you sick, it destroys your lungs."
Hyuga swallowed dryly when she heard this, grateful that she was wearing a plugsuit.
(*)
"Paris assault fleet operational, descent to point 0 in the old city." - Koji spoke over the radio keeping his voice professional.
"All ships in defensive position, advance slowly." Misato ordered over her radio, instructing her subordinates, taking a slight glance at Asuka standing a few meters away.
"Gravity control, autonomous movements, everything is normal." Sumire described her reports from her post.
"Roger, all ships move to alert mode." Misato ordered upon receiving all the information.
(*)
Down in old Paris, the ships surrounding unit 08 as a form of protective cocoon, slowly the ships began to move, opening up and lining up like clockwork around the containment staff.
Slowly descending to its target, Unit 08 delicately placed the transport on top of the large cylinder.
Picking up an object and starting to make an analysis of how the density of the air would be, with a green light, Ritsuko got down and walked a few steps towards the edge, taking a look at the landscape.
"Sixteen years have passed since my last visit to this place." Ritsuko spoke to no one in particular. "It's sad to see the old town like this."
"Alright everyone, let's get started, the activation time cannot exceed 10 minutes." Ritsuko spoke as she approached the group of technicians who were already seated, each with their own computer, everything was ready to start the operation.
Upon connecting the device, a countdown began on everyone's screen, showing that every second was precious.
"So guys, it's up to the Nerds now." Mari spoke over the radio, adjusting herself in her seat and looking around with her carefree manner.
With a sharp alarm, Mari's calm had been broken as several dots appeared on the horizon, adjusting themselves and giving a smile, already knowing what was coming.
"Finally, a little action."
(*)
Wunder
"What's that?" Misato shouted, surrounding her were dozens of alert messages.
"It's the nemesis series!" Tama shouted controlling his anxiety.
"Shit!. " Misato growled as she clasped her hands together.
(*)
Ritsuko raised her eyes to the image in front of her, already knowing that the calm would not be forever.
"Nemesis series." Ritsuko spoke dismissively. "EVAS Mark 4."
"Mari! " Ritsuko spoke as she turned and looked at EVA 08's face, "It grants us the time we need."
"You got it!" Mari shouted smiling.
Holding her controls tightly, Mari adjusted herself on her controls, knowing that her EVA had no operational arms, but rather a metal tangle with two machine guns.
"That could be better designed." Mari spoke as she learned that her mobility was compromised.
Broadening her vision, Mari watched a swarm of Mark 04s appear on the horizon, moving like a group of insects, walking in a line formation, making a slight wave with their movements.
"All right, you can come!" Mari shouted as she pointed her arms at the group of enemies, firing a rain of shots that tore through the skies of Paris.
(*)
"Guys how are we doing?" Ritsuko asked without turning around, having her full attention on the battle Mari was fighting.
"We're late, those systems are too slow! " Hyuga shouted from where he was sitting, typing frantically on his keyboard, feeling his forehead sweat with the effort he was putting in, seeing that every second he consumed.
"Shut up and work." Maya growled from her seat, having her concentration broken with the conversation around her.
Listening to her colleague's tone of voice, Hyuga's fingers were working as hard as she could, feeling sorry for the keyboard with the force she was putting on it to get her commands implemented.
(*)
"Ah!" Mari shouted as she aimed her gun, watching her bullets hit each target, leaving a perfect line of tiny energy crosses. "That's too easy!"
By irony of fate, Mari felt her gun jerk, looking at the alerts that issued, signaling that her gun was unusable, with a wry smile on her face. "I have to learn to shut my mouth."
Thinking quickly about how she could defeat these units, with a delicate turn, Mari pointed Unit 08's huge provisional arms in the direction of the enemy, now of little use. "Then let's go old fashioned!. " Capturing each enemy as if it were a fine sword, Mari hit each enemy with complete precision and delicacy.
Capturing them one by one as if they were flies, Mari roared in determination as she began to rotate her unit and with a slow, delicate movement flung them away.
Seeing the image of a Mark 04 ball moving further away, Mari shouted determinedly. "Hey! Where do you guys think you're going?!"
Seeing the units landing in a loud thud and destroying everything they were touching, he moved closer to finish his attack, but his movements were stopped when a large explosion came, adding the force of dozens of Mark 04 detonating.
"That wasn't funny." Mari spoke with a pout, but soon her attention drifted away, seeing a sound of glass breaking in the background as the pieces of an AT field shattered, Mari frowned at the image in front of her.
Like a war squadron a set of EVAS walking, but their form was different, these units had no torso, their bodies were somehow connected.
"This is going to be fun." Mari spoke as she adjusted her EVA to get into position.
(*)
"Interesting, a series of modified Mark 04 C-types with a positron cannon, using modified Mark B-type types as the power source." Ritsuko spoke as she lowered her binoculars, but couldn't help but stare in awe. "Fascinating."
That said, the great mass of Mark 04 were walking with heavy steps through the old city of Paris, making the ground shake with each step they took in synchronized fashion.
Taking one last step, the modified Mark 04 stopped with a loud thud on the ground, holding steady as it began to adjust into an attacking maneuver. Rows of blue light could be seen circling the units.
"They're charging! "Ritsuko shouted over the radio.
(*)
Misato at Wunder was watching everything, she couldn't use Wunder's cannons, her shots might disturb the team that was working on activating the containment cylinder.
They widened their eyes as they saw the units charging their shots, but Misato's words were cut off with Sumire's startled scream. "Large amount of energy being charged by Mark 04! "
"All ships, adjust to defensive position and prepare for direct impact!. " Misato ordered from her seat.
Seeing her team working hard, Misato could only hope that the ships would hold their fire.
(*)
Ritsuko turned away from the edge and ran for shelter, knowing it would be useless for a shot of this magnitude, looking at the circling ships gathering in front of the huge pillar.
"Everyone don't stop, keep working! "Ritsuko shouted to her team.
Everyone who was working could only pray that the ships would get the job done.
With this in mind, all of Mark 04 was shaking with all the energy that was being charged, having its center begin to emit a strong white light, and the tip of the positron rifle stabbing heavily into its target.
With all the ships properly in place, the cannon finally fired and a great beam of energy ripped through everything in front of it until it found its target.
With a loud thud and a deafening sound, the shot stopped at the fortified hulls of the ships in its path, having melted the strong metal that consisted of their hulls.
Mari watched everything in awe, she had never seen so much power and destruction in one place, blinking to come back to reality, Mari began to think of a plan of attack.
Seeing that one by one, the ships that served as cover dissolving into a pile of molten metal, wide-eyed at the knowledge that all would be lost if she didn't interfere, Mari ordered her EVA to go against the great pillar. Stretching out her huge metal arm to support the last ship.
With that done, Mari let out a sigh of relief as she saw the big shot stopping its destruction, pushing what was left of the hull away and watching it crash into a cluster of apartments in red Paris.
"Wow." Mari spoke with a sigh. "One more of those and we're toast."
"Another shot imminent!." Someone shouted over the radio, but Mari was too focused to care about the owner of that voice, quickly looking at anything she could use as a weapon.
Soon his eyes locked on a large object, once used as a French symbol and a great construction of humanity.
Running as fast as she could, Mari now holding the top of the Eiffel tower, set off toward her enemy who was adjusting for his next shot.
"Sumire! Do some distraction!" Mari shouted as she ordered her EVA to run as fast as she could.
With that done, several pieces of ships rose from the ground, having their weight supported by the AT field generated by Wunder, the huge ships set off toward the Mark 04.
Raising her arms to defend herself from the ships flying towards her, soon Mari saw a gap to start her attack.
"I'm sorry Eiffel! " Mari shouted as she used the tip of the tower as a sword, feeling the metal colliding with the Mark 04 core that served as the leader of the group.
Shouting in determination, Mari ordered her EVA to use everything she could. "Die!"
Seeing the ancient metal twisting with the great pressure it was exerting on the enemy unit's core, Mari could only hope.
After seconds that seemed like hours, finally the core gave way, breaking into several pieces, with a leap away, Mari already knew what was coming, a big explosion took over Paris, seeing parts of EVAS flying in several directions.
Seeing the huge explosion in the background, Ritsuko gave a sigh when she heard that Mari had managed to get rid of the enemy, turning to find out the status of how it was going.
"Yes!" Maya shouted as she saw that her codes finally worked, looking at the numbers scrolling on her panel.
With that said out loud, the big pillar began to emit a strong red light, big bands began to sound from the sides, like a sound of a drop of water falling into a river, a white circle passed through the ground.
Clearing everything away like magic, all the red dirt disappeared until it left a big clean hole, revealing clean streets, many colors, a clean city as if nothing had happened.
Walking to the edge and opening her helmet, Ritsuko could feel the cool breeze of the clean air, with a depressed look she observed the horizon.
Inside unit 08, Mari watched as the Paris NERV emerged from the ground, revealing immense buildings, activating enhanced vision, Mari observed as the Jet Alone pieces could be seen.
With a smile on her face, Mari rose from her seat and spoke smilingly. "So that's it, now Unit 02 can be rebuilt and my unit can be adapted." Looking around at the now revitalized old city of Paris, her mind soon fell on Shinji. "Now that everything is on track again, I can get back to what is most important."
"No matter where you are, I will find you puppy." Mari spoke determinedly.
(*)
Somewhere in Italy.
Gasping with each step he took, Shinji was running down a hallway of a house, a very large house by Japanese standards, but since he was in Italy...
"Stop him! " A man in his seventies shouted, seeing his security guards running toward the hallway in hopes of stopping the invader's advance.
"Yes sir." Both men shouted in unison, they were well dressed, but they were people who were part of the SEELE supporters, the only difference was their attire. Raising their weapons toward the hallway, the two men arrogantly approached the door.
Hearing footsteps stopping on the other side, one of the men spoke up smiling, "Do you think you can get past us?"
(*)
Shinji was catching his breath, in fact the hallway was long and his breath was not in the best shape, leaning on the wall to breathe, Shinji lifted his head and looked back, seeing two people lying lifeless on the floor, but he had no time to cry or think about it, he had to catch the next SEELE.
Hearing a door close with a loud bang, Shinji soon suspected he was on the right track, approaching slowly and with his gun in hand, his faithful squire, the Beretta 9mm.
"You think you can get past us?" A man's voice sounded muffled through the door, Shinji frowned at the man's arrogance, with a fake laugh he replied.
"I think!. "
Hearing a series of curses from the other side, Shinji raised his gun and aimed at the lock, with two shots hitting perfectly the mechanism that kept it locked.
Taking cover as he heard a hail of gunfire coming through the wooden door, Shinji could judge that the SEELE supporters expected him to be facing the door.
(*)
Turning on the computer screen frantically, SEELE number 07 turned on his communication in a desperate attempt to seek support.
"Come on, come on!. " SEELE 07 spoke hurriedly as he heard a shower of shots being fired at the door that was being his only obstacle, when finally his call had been answered, a voice with a strong German accent spoke, but others could be heard.
"I need help! "SEELE 07 spoke desperately.
A hush came over the place, all the other SEELES were looking apprehensive and shocked.
"And you are about to be captured and call us?" SELLE 01 spoke in his strong, cold voice, not having liked his colleague's attitude of putting the group at risk.
"But..." SEELE 07 tried to argue, but was soon cut off again by SEELE 01's threatening voice.
"Stick to the plan!" growled President Keel as he disconnected from the meeting, having the act followed by the others.
Seeing that he was alone, SEELE 07 couldn't help but feel betrayed by his group, but he knew that the human instrumentalization project couldn't be jeopardized by the fact that he was caught. And in the end, they would all unite again with Lilith in the end.
Lifting his gaze to the door that was now empty, SEELE 07 could hear the sound of groans of pain coming from outside, knowing that most likely his men had failed.
Pulling out his leather chair and sitting down one of the most powerful men in the world could only hope, he could only pray that the group could complete the scenario.
(*)
A few seconds earlier.
Shinji ducked as he heard a hail of gunfire coming through the wooden door, he could judge that the SEELE supporters expected him to be facing the door.
"So, that's it?" Shinji asked arrogantly when he saw that the shooting stopped, with a smile on his face he continued his teasing, knowing that the bond between the group members was strong. "The guys I broke up with a few days ago were much better than you guys."
Hearing a growl outside, Shinji smiled as he waited for the fight, watching the door open wide and waited as the first of the group came out with a knife in his hand, taking a shot that wounded him in the leg and watching as the man armed with a knife fell to the ground holding his wounded knee.
Raising his gun knowing that he would not be alone, Shinji tried to shoot down the second one, but his hand was hit by a foot, seeing his gun falling to the ground, Shinji cursed himself for making this mistake.
"Shit!" Shinji screamed as he felt a punch to the side of his left cheek, falling to the ground with considerable impact.
"Brat!" The second man shouted as he began to kick Shinji in the ribs.
"Brat."
"You can die I wouldn't even care."
"You just fuck up."
"From now on, you will do nothing more."
"Murderer."
Frowning in pain with each kick he received, Shinji soon felt the weight of this particular word, feeling the adrenaline start to flow even more through his body, he tried to defend himself, blocking the blows as best he could, completely ignoring the cries of the other man wounded in the leg on the ground.
Gripping his opponent's leg tightly, Shinji tried to unbalance his opponent as best he could, trying all the while to get up.
"Son of a bitch!" The man shouted as he tried to free his leg from Shinji's grasp.
Feeling the man struggling mightily to get his leg back, Shinji knew he couldn't stay like this forever, soon beginning to turn around in hopes of getting the man to the ground.
With a kick to nowhere, the SEELE man managed to loosen Shinji's grip, having his leg again, stepping back far enough to be able to think of a good way to attack.
Shinji took this moment to stand up, looking his opponent in the eye at all times.
"Finish him off Elias." The wounded man on the ground screamed.
Feeling encouraged by his colleague, Elias ran towards Shinji, trying to give him a sharp blow to the face.
Dodging by inches, Shinji jumped to the left and with one of his free arms managed to punch his attacker in the face, watching the man stagger backwards.
Shinji took advantage of this moment to run towards Elias, hugging his chest and taking him to the ground he managed to get the upper hand, standing up as high as he could, Shinji started throwing powerful punches at Elias' face while roaring with rage and determination, until he was reduced to a "thing" on the ground.
Getting up and seeing his work, Shinji immediately looked at the injured man's form, looking the man in the eyes, Shinji walked to his gun, seeing the look of fear on the fallen man's face, Shinji immediately tried to aim the gun at his head.
"It would be so easy, just pull the trigger and it's over." His mind spoke arrogantly.
Looking at the man with pure hatred on his face, Shinji gently squeezed the trigger, not enough to fire the gun, feeling the weight of doubt take over his body.
The injured man on the ground changed his gaze from fear to debauchery, with a genuine laugh, he began to mock Shinji. "Can't you? How pathetic." Shinji looked at the fallen man with a look of disdain as he pointed the gun at his head.
"What's one more in three billion?" His troubled mind asked.
Laughing as he lay slumped on the ground, the man continued his debauchery, taking advantage that Shinji seemed to be falling for his bait, the man continued as he reached out to grab his knife. "A monster afraid to kill?"
Hearing this last word, Shinji visibly changed his posture, feeling anger again overpower his senses, strengthened his grip on his gun, he spoke coldly. "Thank you very much for reminding me."
With that said, the man on the ground again changed his expression to fear, knowing he had gone too far. "No wait..."
Shinji didn't wait to hear the SEELE sympathizer's last pleas, pulling the trigger and sending the man's brains all over the wooden floor, putting the gun down and looking at the bodies on the floor, Shinji lowered his gaze and spoke the phrase, to himself. "Monster."
Groaning in pain as his ribs ached from the fight, Shinji remembered his goal, walking slowly into the room, seeing the man who was called SEELE 07 sitting arrogantly in his chair, Shinji observed his posture.
"Get up!" Shinji spoke strongly, frowning as he saw that the man did not move a muscle. "Are you deaf?! "
With an arrogant laugh, SEELE 07 spoke as he slowly stood up. "You think I'm going to get stuck? Me?"
"I don't mind, but the mistake won't be mine." Shinji retorted with a smile on his face. "Now come on!."
Raising his hands and walking arrogantly, SEELE 07 started walking towards the door, but his path was stopped by Shinji who grabbed one of his hands, looking at him with confusion, SEELE 07 spoke as he felt his hands being cuffed.
"You think I'm a threat?"
Shinji properly clasped the old man's hands, not wanting to fall into any traps.
"I don't want to make any mistakes."
Giving him a small pat on the shoulder, Shinji guided him towards the exit, going to the parking lot and picking up one of his cars, Shinji was about to put it in the trunk when he heard SEELE 07 talking.
"Do you think this will help you at all?" SEELE 07 spoke with an arrogant smile on his face. "You will always be a monster, nothing you can do will change that you murderer."
Shinji paused for a few seconds to reflect, knowing that his words were right somehow, his crimes were irreversible, he was far from achieving redemption, but he knew that somehow he had to try, already having a plan christened "Plan E - Gift to the world."
"I know." Shinji replied arrogantly. "Who says I want to go back?"
With a confused look, SEELE 07 watched Shinji's smiling face disappear as the trunk lid closed, walking calmly to the driver's seat, Shinji quickly turned it on and began to walk away from the now empty residence.
(*)
Walking with slow steps into the apartment that was empty, littered with red dust to the sides, Shinji looked sadly at the state of his life, having his life destroyed by people he thought he cared about, getting around as best he could, night had already come and there was no light to help him.
Looking as best he could around the old apartment somewhere in Italy, its internal design ironically enough, was very reminiscent of Misato's apartment, but in European style.
Sitting down on the old wooden table, Shinji felt his eyes burn as he remembered that he had let Misato and Asuka, the two most important people in his life, down.
"I'm sorry Misato." Shinji spoke as he felt a tear run down his cheek, with memories of the old days, of his awakening and the greatest pain of all, knowing that it was not as he thought, that no one cared.
"Wow." A voice came from the back of the apartment, Shinji quickly stood up and grabbed his gun, aiming at the source of the sound.
"Who's there?" Shinji asked agitated, with tears staining his face unwiped, looking around agitatedly, pointing his gun in every direction he thought the intruder was.
"Easy boy, I'm not here to hurt you." A male voice spoke as he stood up, sound of scraping clothes could be heard in the dark room, Shinji tried to force his eyesight to get a better view of the intruder, but he was not succeeding.
At the sound of a lighter being lit, Shinji's eyes finally could see the mystery man's face, widening his eyes in surprise and shock, the last time he had seen this man was many years ago. "How are you alive?"
"Do you think I'm easy to kill? In my business?" The man smiled arrogantly as he moved the lit lighter closer to a candle. "You'll need more than one hit to knock me out."
Shinji watched intently as he lit a candle, blew out the lighter and returned to his seat, Shinji took a few steps forward, keeping his gun pointed at all times. "If you are here, it means..." Soon Shinji's eyes widened at the thought.
"Misato! "
"No, she doesn't know, WILLE doesn't know." The man with a beard to be done and in his forties spoke with a smile on his face, a smile that Shinji swore he would never see again, Shinji was keeping his posture attentive at all times.
"We need to talk boy." Kaji spoke with his natural arrogance as he signaled with his hands that he was not a danger.
Author's Notes: Hello Calborghete folks here, how are you? So chapter four is over, I hope it was to everyone's liking and that I may have been able to get the message across that I wanted to. As always be sure to follow and save it to your favorites so you don't miss any future updates.
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