Hi guys, Calborghete here, how are you all? I hope everyone is doing well.
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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 22 - Betrayal.
A great silence reigned in the apartment, Misato stared at Kaworu intensely, his patience was already running out with the lack of dialogue from the angel in front of him.
Kaworu was looking at Misato, taking his hands into his pants pockets, he was dressed in his school uniform, something very natural in the old days, it basically consisted of a white shirt and black pants.
"Well?!" Misato growled as she saw the silence in the illusion of her apartment, she couldn't deny that she missed this place, but her focus was on Kaworu right now. "What's going on?!"
Kaworu turned his eyes to give Misato, after giving a long sigh. "I had to talk to you."
Misato kept his steely gaze on Kaworu, his mind still filled with questions. "What the fuck is this place?!"
"We are inside your mind." Kaworu spoke quietly. "This is a safe haven for you here, coincidentally it is the same as Shinji-Kun's." Concluded the angel with a smile as he remembered the conversation he had with Shinji in this very apartment.
"Shinji-Kun? Has he been here before?" Misato asked apprehensively as she dropped the pot, she knew that this would be useless, that no weapon could do any real damage in this place.
"Unfortunately yes." Kaworu spoke as he remembered how it was possible for him to talk to Shinji, his voice carried a hint and sadness. "He was between life and death."
Misato's eyes widened when she heard this, she knew that Shinji was only between life and death when the red dirt contamination reached its peak, but a big doubt hovered in her mind, if Shinji was here when his life was at risk, was she in danger?
Kaworu saw the doubt on Misato's face, he could feel her uncertainty, with a sympathetic and calming smile he spoke. "Calm down Miss Katsuragi, you are not dead or close to it, just sleeping."
Misato visibly softened, her mind was soon panicking at the thought that something might have happened to Wunder while she was sleeping, but another question came into her head. "How are you talking to me?"
Kaworu took a hand out of his pockets, he spoke pointing at Misato as he began to explain about how he was getting in touch with people. "You must already know about AT camps, right?"
Misato still had the strong look on his face, giving a strong contrast to his clothes, not bothering to signal that he was getting the point or not.
Kaworu saw this, but didn't seem to care, like all angels, he didn't care what image they had, he didn't care if Misato liked him or not.
"We all have an AT field that surrounds our hearts, the EVAS can only expand that." Kaworu began to speak, all the while maintaining his calm posture. "When we are asleep, our ego barrier weakens, they become weak enough that I can do what I am doing now." Concluded Kaworu as he gestured with his hands the apartment.
Misato shuddered as she heard this, Kaworu not only can enter her dream but was interacting with her, soon a great shiver ran down her spine. "Angel! Where were you all this time!?" Misato asked in Wunder's commander mode.
Kaworu only gave his best simple smile, showing that he was not afraid of Misato's posture, alias he had already lost his physical body. "I was in NERV."
"Sure." Misato spoke with disgust at the knowledge, all this time after the almost third impact Kaworu's whereabouts were being a mystery, but many suspected that he was somehow in NERV alongside Gendo.
"How is he?" Kaworu asked quietly.
"Huh?" Misato retorted as he came out of his mental reverie.
"Shinji-Kun ... How is he?" Kaworu asked Misato calmly, Shinji's safety and his happiness were the angel's priority, nothing else mattered to him at this point.
"Shinji is fine." Misato replied dryly, she didn't want to give any more information about him right now, but soon she remembered when Shinji had been recovered from the red earth after the near fourth impact battle.
Remembering Shinji's broken form as he was once again locked in a cell, Misato remembered him mentioning Kaworu's name, but she never had the opportunity to listen to Shinji's story, she was too focused on getting away from him at that time.
"Shinji mentioned your name." Misato asked apprehensively. "What happened between you two?"
Kaworu lowered his gaze as he remembered that time perfectly, his angelic memory never failing. "I just showed him the truth ... Which you guys didn't do."
Misato felt the hint at her, feeling his anger beginning to rise at the accusation. "You think you're not an angel! But what happened?!"
"What happened to me doesn't matter, I don't care what you Lilins think of me, all I cared about was Shinji's happiness." Kaworu spoke without breaking eye contact with Misato, he knew she would have many questions, fortunately they would have time.
"Happiness!" Misato spoke in shock, she saw how Shinji came back, Kaworu had given Shinji everything but happiness. "You saw how he came back! What you gave him was not happiness!"
Kaworu lowered his gaze as he was accused, he knew that Shinji witnessing his death must not have been easy on his already weakened mind. "I know, the events that happened must not have helped."
"What events? Force him to make an impact?!" Misato asked wryly.
"If Gendo hadn't betrayed me, everything could be as it should be now." Kaworu spoke as he remembered Shinji's father, still not knowing how a man like Gendo Ikari had managed to overcome his angelic mind.
"Betrayed?" Misato was taken aback by this, she had believed it was Wunder's intervention that had stopped the fourth impact. "We stopped you!"
"No." Kaworu spoke arrogantly. "I stopped."
Misato gave Kaworu an indignant look, his commander's mind not believing what he was hearing.
Kaworu seeing this only increased his resolve. "I stopped the impact by doing something that really hurt Shinji-Kun, even today I will never forgive myself for that happening." Kaworu spoke with remorse as he remembered the detonation of the DSS choker, the look on Shinji's face as he realized that Kaworu would die right in front of him.
"What have you done?" Misato asked in fear, still unable to understand how it was that Kaworu injured Shinji to that extent, soon memories of highly shocked Shinji popped into his head, reports from Asuka about how he stayed in the red earth came back.
Misato remembered in detail how Asuka had forced him to eat, his great pleas to be killed soon after, the enormous guilt he was carrying.
"I was with him at NERV, he was refusing to pilot." Kaworu spoke as he remembered, he had sadness in his voice, Misato felt a pang of relief to know that Shinji did not want to pilot, that again he had to be coerced into doing so.
"He didn't want to do that anymore, knowing that he had let you down was eating him up inside, that choker reminded him of that." Kaworu continued talking with his mind away, Misato felt curious as to how Shinji had removed the choker, he only spoke that it had been Kaworu then nothing else.
"I then removed the choker and put it on myself." Kaworu spoke as he looked Misato again in the eye, remembering the moment his true identity was discovered, the moment the DSS chokers were built for the purpose of killing angels.
"You're crazy!" Misato spoke in shock, she still couldn't see what the purpose of Kaworu putting the choker on himself was. If he had already removed it, why not simply discard it?
"When the whole thing went wrong, it activated." Kaworu spoke as he felt downcast remembering the look on Shinji's face that day, Misato finally understanding where this story was going to go.
"Shinji saw everything." Kaworu spoke dejectedly. "The choker exploded right next to Shinji."
Misato brought her hand to her head, knowing that it must have been highly disturbing to have to watch the person next to her have their head blown off, a feeling of guilt arose in Misato, she knew what the choker was capable of, she would never expect Shinji to see its true potential.
Remembering the video about the third impact, Misato soon remembered about the mystery pilot of the Mark 06, clenching his eyes shut and closing his fist in anger, he soon growled. "You! You were the pilot of the Mark 06!"
Kaworu only smiled, he was happy that Misato remembered. "Yes it was me."
"You caused all this!" Misato again growled, any pity at knowing that Kaworu had died for the choker was gone, she could only see the real culprit for the state of the world.
Heading toward Kaworu, Misato tried to punch the angel, but an AT field appeared, preventing the proximity. "Coward!"
Kaworu only smiled. "That's not real Katsuragi, even if you could touch me, it wouldn't harm me." Kaworu watched Misato try again, and with a frustrated cry he watched her give up, watching as the woman with purple hair stepped back as she held her head in hopes of calming down.
"Yes ... I am an angel after all." Kaworu spoke as he put his hands in his pockets. "I would have completed my goal, but as always the king of the Lilin was one step ahead of me, so it went wrong the third impact, I didn't have Shinji-Kun, the perfect trigger."
"But I'm not here to talk about myself." Kaworu spoke as he changed his stance radically. "I'm already dead then, let's talk about the living."
Misato was still feeling irritated knowing that Kaworu was the real culprit, but she knew that Kaworu had said something about Shinji at the beginning of this experiment, soon her calm was regaining the control lost earlier.
"Speak what you have to speak soon angel!." Misato spoke strongly annoyed, she still felt a strong anger inside her, she wanted to be able to avenge the world, but knowing that he was somehow dead complicated things, she wanted to be able to avenge herself for this person being responsible for the destruction of the world and causing great harm to Shinji.
Kaworu only smiled as he began to manipulate his surroundings, Misato was noticing how his old apartment began to dissolve, seeing long battered hallways, lots of dirt and debris everywhere.
"Where are we?" Misato asked as he looked around for any information, but soon his eyes fell on the wall in front of him, seeing with wide eyes the NERV logo painted on the weathered wall. "NERV?"
Kaworu walked by Misato's side, he could see her shocked look, looking down the hall with sad eyes. "In a few seconds it starts."
"Start what?" Misato asked fearfully, but soon the sound of footsteps echoed, sound of voices, but all this was cut off with sound of gunshots and shouting.
"What's going on!?" Misato shouted to Kaworu who only lowered his gaze.
"Let's go!" Shouted one of the men who emerged from the smoke, but a firing sound made him fall to the ground.
Misato looked shocked at the scene, watching as his friend's head exploded with a perfect shot, Misato identified the men, they were all SEELE sympathizers.
If it were possible, Misato would have widened his eyes even more, watching as Shinji emerged from the darkness, his eyes showing anger and betrayal.
"Shinji!" Misato called out as she tried to approach, but a field stopped her, she watched as he approached the injured man on the ground. "Shinji listen to me!"
"Please." Begged the injured man, he had a wound on his back.
"Die!" Shinji spoke firmly as he aimed his 9mm Beretta at the soldier's head, with a sharp sound, the man's brains splattered on the ground.
Misato watched shocked at his coldness, she only watched Shinji speak to no one.
"Then it will be like this." Shinji spoke bitterly as he continued on his way, Misato only looked at Shinji's back, still trying to understand why this was happening, everything seemed to be in order.
His thoughts were cut off with the sound of more gunshots echoing down the hallway, soon all this began to change, Misato could see when an office partially came into view.
"What's going on here!?" Misato asked confused as she looked at Kaworu, he had a downcast posture on his face.
"The future." Kaworu spoke simply, his downcast posture confirming the truthfulness of his words.
Before she asks any more questions, she can watch Wunder appearing in the background, tearing through the heavy clouds that were producing a large rain shower over what was left of Tokyo 3, watching as she slowly approached.
"Gendo!" A fierce scream brought Misato out of his reverie, turning back to the door and watching as it opened, recognizing Gendo entering, Misato made a great effort to restrain the urge to kill this man, but seeing the look of fear and shock I his face, Misato soon thought of why.
Seeing how he tried to go to his table, Misato only watched as Gendo desperately searched for his weapon, Misato had never seen him like this before.
"What the..." Misato whispered confused, but she never finished speaking, the sound of a loud thud coming from the metal door, she recognized that sound, it was someone kicking it in hopes of being able to break it down. "Shinji-Kun?"
"You will not escape today!" A thick voice shouted from the other side, even the heavy metal doors were not able to silence the invader who was promptly kicking his barrier.
Misato only watched as Gendo faced the door with a look of pure fear on his face, something had gone very wrong with his plan.
Misato watched Gendo again looking at the door that had been silent for a few minutes. The silence of the room was replaced by a loud explosion that tore the metal door from its place, leaving only a large cloud of dust.
Shielding her face from the strong explosion, Misato soon realized that she was protected by Kaworu's AT field, she no longer cared about his presence at this point.
Looking shocked as Shinji entered, she tried to reach out to him when she noticed him injured, punching the AT field in hopes of getting his attention, but again she realized she only had to watch. "Shinji!"
"So here we are old man." Shinji spoke as he slowly approached, his wounds did not seem to be hindering his judgment.
"Listen, let's talk." Gendo tried to start talking, only his glasses were causing the man to show no fear.
"Cut that old talk." Shinji spoke strongly, finally emerging from the cloud of dust and raising his gun now pointing it at Gendo's face. "Didn't I warn you that your turn was coming?"
Misato seeing how angry Shinji was, she looked at everything with wide eyes, feeling a bad feeling of what was about to happen.
"But..." Gendo began to speak, fear could be felt in his voice, but he was soon cut off with a gunshot, the same one passing inches from his head, precisely intended to make him stop talking.
"You have nothing to talk about." Shinji spoke menacingly. "The only thing that will come out of your mouth will be the flies from your rotting body."
Misato was only looking at the face of the person who was swearing to kill his own father, not being able to believe that Shinji could take such an action. "Don't do this Shinji!"
"Please, just listen to me." Gendo began to feel that his time was running out.
"It's no use." The man spoke still maintaining his strong posture, not wavering for anything, briefly looking out, seeing Wunder now rapidly approaching,
Misato looked at Kaworu desperately, she only received nothing, but her eyes saw a small ship coming out of Wunder, but that was not the focus.
At this distance, she could see Unit 2 + 8 on Wunder's hull. "What the fuck is that EVA?" Misato asked shocked and confused, but her eyes soon returned to the scene at hand.
Misato thought as she returned to her serious posture, she saw Shinji walking over until he put the barrel of the gun to Gendo's head, Shinji spoke coldly as he stared Gendo in the eye.
Gendo's eyes widened as he felt the barrel of the gun on his head, feeling the cold sweat pouring down his forehead and his insides melting, the man now could only wait for the end, when the person pulled the trigger and everything he had worked for would be over.
"Time to say goodbye." Shinji spoke as he engaged a round in his gun, looking at the man in front of him coldly, without a shred of remorse for the activity he was about to do.
"See you in hell, Dad."
"Shinji no!" Misato shouted as she saw Shinji pull the trigger of the gun, soon Gendo's brains splattered on the floor behind him, looking at everything with heavily shocked eyes, Shinji had killed her father, no matter how much she hated that man, he deserved to die, but not at the hands of her own son, he didn't deserve that burden.
Misato felt tears wanting to come out, but soon his eyes focused on Shinji, seeing how he stood there looking at his father's body with deep, empty eyes, he only lowered his head, his eyes varying between the body on the ground and the gun in his hand.
With a long sigh, Misato saw Shinji approaching the window, he watched with regret as the powerful Wunder approached, watching as his eyes scanned the entire ground in the background.
"I'm sorry Asuka. I'm sorry Misato." Shinji whispered as he felt a tear run down his face, a strong regret came over his body, not for killing his father, not for the things he had done, but for knowing that he would now be at the end, that this was the end of the line for a person like him, looking again at the Beretta in his hand. "The beginning and the end are the same for me."
Misato felt the strong urge to go to Shinji, she wasn't understanding what was happening, but she felt that he needed her at these times, but as before she couldn't, feeling desperation taking over her body as she listened to Shinji talking to himself. "Shinji listen to me! Look at me!"
But again as before, she couldn't, her eyes widened as Shinji sat on the ground and faced his 9mm Beretta, Misato somehow knew what was going to happen, screaming with all the force of her lungs. "Shinji don't do this!"
Shinji gave a long sigh as he whispered. "I'm not going to live like this." And bring the gun to his own head. "I'm sorry." Shinji spoke as he closed his eyes.
"No Shinji!" Misato screamed in desperation as she tried to pierce Kaworu's AT field with all her might, but nothing happened, this only increased her desperation, soon Misato watched as Shinji pulled the trigger of the gun.
Watching with tears tearing at his face as Shinji's body fell to the side, Misato cried as he collapsed to the ground openly. "No Shinji ... Why would you do that? " Misato spoke between heavy sniffles, feeling the blow to her body like the most powerful punch, she didn't know how long she stayed crying on the ground.
Kaworu just watched everything with sadness, he wouldn't like things to be like this, knowing that Misato had a great affection for Shinji. Soon he tried to change the scenario again, Misato didn't notice the change, she cried uncontrollably on the floor, her mind trying to understand what had happened, even knowing that everything was an illusion, seeing Shinji taking his own life had hurt her heart and hurt it hard.
"Why?" Misato asked between sniffles, she was openly crying. "Why did he do that?!"
Back in her apartment again, Misato crept up until she found herself leaning against the wall, she was still crying from what she had seen. "What happened?!"
Kaworu again put his hands in his pockets as he spoke, his face conveying the sadness he felt. "This is what will happen in the future, this is Shinji Ikari's future."
Misato frowned in annoyance, she was not believing these words, things were no longer bad with Shinji, they had found out the truth about the third impact. "It's not possible, he wouldn't do something like that ... If you can see into the future, what will happen to get to this point!?"
"I can't see the future, only what the timelines allow me to see." Kaworu spoke as he sat down on the table. "But I can't see the events leading up to it, each time it's a different thing, one time it's Shinji himself who manages to get to his father before WILLE, WILLE ends up betraying Shinji, the possibilities are endless. But the one thing that doesn't change is that scenario."
Misato had controlled herself enough to stand up, she spoke sharply to Kaworu. "You're a fucking angel! Who can assure me that you're not manipulating me?!"
Kaworu gave a long sigh upon hearing this. "I guarantee it isn't." Kaworu looked away as he moistened his lips. "I just want Shinji-Kun to be happy this time, because it is my last attempt."
"Ultima? " Misato asked confused, her mind was screaming to tell him to fuck off and wake up, but curiosity was winning out.
"Yes, this is not the first time the human race has been exterminated." Kaworu spoke as he recalled his other lives. "And every time Shinji is the person who has suffered the most, that's what piqued my interest in him, I've never seen a Lilin suffer so much."
Misato lowered her gaze upon hearing this, even though her rational part doubted it the other times, but hearing that Shinji was the one suffering the most hurt her somehow. "How ... How was it the other times?"
Kaworu raised his gaze as he faced Misato with his wine red eyes. "The first time, the third impact happened and he was left alone in the world, shortly after, Asuka somehow made it back from the sea of LCL." Kaworu spoke with distant eyes. "But things got bad, she ended up dying of an illness."
Misato lowered her gaze upon hearing that Asuka hadn't made it, but she soon asked. "What about Shinji?"
"Shinji was destroyed by Asuka's death." Kaworu spoke as he felt the sadness hitting. "He died of starvation."
Misato's eyes widened, hearing that Shinji had died so cruelly scared her.
"It had the dimension that he died by the hands of people, as they were coming back from the sea of LCL, the Lilin wanted revenge, and they managed to get Shinji." Kaworu spoke as he faced Misato again. "You can imagine what that was like can't you? What did they do to him?"
Misato shuddered as she imagined the scene in her head, she knew that people could be extremely cruel.
"In the other he grew up as a normal child, he had friends, nothing related that EVAS existed, it seemed he would finally be happy." Kaworu spoke as he smiled. "He had crossed paths with Asuka on the way to a new school ...You were the vice principal of this prep school."
Misato gave a small smile at the knowledge that in some timeline she had a normal life. "But then?"
"He remembered everything ... He wasn't supposed to remember." Kaworu spoke angrily as he tried to imagine where he had gone wrong. "He ended his days in a mental hospital, who would believe it, giant robots? Fighting aliens? Lilith? He was abandoned there by everyone, he died alone in a hospital bed."
"Now I can try again." Kaworu spoke as he stood up. "But this time I can't make a mistake, I will only get this one chance, not even Lilith will be able to help."
"Lilith?" Misato asked confused, she knew they had an angel in NERV, but she didn't know who.
"Yes, but I will keep your identity a secret." Kaworu spoke smiling.
"Is she among us?" Misato asked shocked, feeling her hands shaking.
"Yes ... But she's not a danger, believe me." Kaworu spoke smiling, "She even has a thing for Shinji."
"That doesn't make me feel any better." Misato spoke annoyed as she walked through her old apartment, heading toward the kitchen.
Kaworu smiled as he heard the sound of the refrigerator opening, he knew about Misato's drinking problem.
"A seriously!" Misato shouted as he saw his empty refrigerator, closing the door tightly, this was all very stressful for Misato.
Kaworu only watched as he returned with a scowl on his face. "That's not real, it's just an illusion I created."
Misato sat down on her old couch, she looked Kaworu in the eye and spoke strongly. "Can I avoid that?"
"I hope so." Kaworu spoke as he felt anxiety taking over his calm posture. "Miss Katsuragi, I really want Shinji-Kun's good ... Will you promise me that you won't let that happen?"
Misato knew that for an angel to make that request, things really were serious. "I ... I won't."
Kaworu nodded, she knew Misato would not rest, "Promise me something too?" He only received a nod from Misato. "Please guarantee that he will be happy? Whatever it takes ... He has already suffered too much, in this life and in others."
Misato didn't really understand the angel's request, but she could feel his anguish, deep down she had the same goal as Kaworu, she wanted Shinji to be happy, in this she agreed with him. "I will, Shin-chan deserves happiness more than anyone."
"Thank you" Kaworu spoke smiling, a happy and genuine smile. "Thank you very much indeed."
Misato blushed at the greeting, she could feel the happy atmosphere that Kaworu emanated, he really likes Shinji, Misato thought.
"Time to wake up colonel." Kaworu spoke smiling.
Soon Misato noticed the world around her disappearing into dust, feeling consciousness returning, she opened her eyes, seeing her vision adjusting to the dim light.
"Crap." Misato spoke groggily as she found herself in her room, but the dream stayed in her mind, feeling confused by what she had seen.
"Is it?" Misato thought as he recalled every part of the dream, feeling his eyes burning as he recalled the moment of Shinji's suicide. "Dream or not, it won't happen." Spoke Misato determinedly as she stood up, she could see that she would soon begin her shift, but this time she was not tired.
Still with the strange dream in her head, Misato walked with heavy steps through the long halls of Wunder, her mind still thinking about what Kaworu had shown her.
Bringing his hand to his face with the strong memory of Shinji with the gun to his own head, the silver Beretta 9mm had stuck in Misato's mind, that gun in particular.
Misato was so lost in her personal world that she didn't even realize she had arrived at the bridge, walking on automatic, she simply ignored her subordinates and went straight to her office.
Walking in, Misato headed towards her desk, she knew she had her obligations, but this day was being very strange, the dream had been very real and it was making her very scared.
"I'm not going to live like this."
Misato blinked to clear the image of Shinji on NERV, she was wondering what could happen to make it come true, but as usual, her mind couldn't come up with a concrete answer.
Clenching her hands tightly, Misato closed her eyes, she had to do something, even though it might just be her strong paranoia about Shinji's safety, but it made her extremely upset.
Looking at his computer, Misato decided to see which errands required his attention, working would help clear his troubled mind.
After a few seconds programming herself, soon Misato's eyes focused on a message from Kaji coming from WILLE's central office, knowing that it would be nothing compared to her video about the third impact, Misato decided to read its contents.
Seeing the lines describing an event that had just happened, Misato's eyes widened, shaking her head hard as she read the news Kaji had shared with her.
"Sons of bitches!.. " Misato growled as he lowered his head, bringing his arms to his face to control the anger that arose, taking a long sigh to calm himself. "That day has already started well."
(*)
Again an empty room, Keel Lorenz was standing in his traditional pose, clasping his hands tightly in front of his face, his eyes behind the prosthetics that allowed him to see showed no emotion whatsoever.
With the sound of wind, the monoliths began to appear, one by one all the members of SEELE gathered again, Keel showed no emotion at all to learn that all the members of the secret group were reunited.
"Gentlemen." Keel greeted with his cold, dry voice; he could see the shape of the monoliths in front of him.
"President." Greeted SEELE 02. "It's been a while since our last meeting, even more so where everyone was able to be together."
"I told that brat that we would never be arrested." SEELE 04 spoke debauched.
"He's already put in a lot of work!. " SEELE 06 spoke as he entered the conversation, his voice showing extreme bitterness. "We have to fight back! We can't show weakness!"
"WILLE could have gotten to all of us." SEELE 05 spoke in a cautious voice. "I agree with 06, we can't show that a single person can cause our scenario to be put at risk."
"The setting is secure." Keel spoke in a calm, quiet voice, his body again screaming with the effort to function. "I already have an idea for dealing with young Ikari."
"We have to be cautious." SEELE 02 spoke as he listened to the words of the most influential member. "Shinji has great influence over unit 01."
"Unit 01 has already gone through the awakening." SEELE 07 spoke up. "We don't need Shinji Ikari, the S2 engine is already activated, unit 01's special genetics will handle the rest."
"Shinji is at Wunder with Unit 01." SEELE 02 spoke apprehensively as he listened to his colleagues' ideas. "We still have no way to get his capture."
"Probably Colonel Katsuragi already has access to the leaked contents of WILLE." Keel spoke as he clasped his hands tighter. "We must assume that somehow the Wunder crew also knows by now."
"Talk about leaking." SEELE 04 spoke angrily. "How is the search for the spy going?"
"He's still on the run." SEELE 02 spoke carefully. "He is covering his tracks very well."
"His whereabouts are now irrelevant." Keel spoke keeping his voice calm. "The damage has already been done, there is nothing we can do about it now."
"But that could affect the scenario." SEELE 03 spoke with fear in his voice, having seen that this could somehow interfere with the plan to instrumentalize humanity.
"Even if the truth comes out to the public, nothing will stop the scenario already established by this committee." Keel spoke in a more determined voice. "It has no relevance if the world knows how the third impact went, we really only need Unit 01 and an Adam embryo."
"He is currently meeting with Gendo Ikari." Keel spoke standing like a statue at his desk. "We'll get it one way or another, we just need the right stimulus."
"Excuse me sir, but how are we going to do this?" SEELE 07 spoke cautiously, he was already becoming concerned about the realization of the scenario, seeing that SEELE did not have in his possession the main keys to this process. "For we do not yet have control over unit 01 and the Adam embryo."
Soon a large number of voices came up, Keel only observed through his visor the members discussing solutions, they would get nowhere with their radical and unintelligent ideas.
With a harsh sigh, Keel closed his eyes, he was no longer old and healthy enough to put up with such discussions. "Gentlemen."
One by one the SEELE members were silenced until a great silence reigned in the meeting, Keel knew that this would be the opening for him to begin his speech.
"Let's think about our moves calmly." Keel spoke as he saw the anxiety in his colleagues, not being able to deny that he himself was very much looking forward to the day when they would all meet with Lilith for the completion of humanity. "We can't put the scenario at risk with premature and idiotic ideas. Don't worry, unit 01 will be in our possession when the time comes."
"Regarding the Adam embryo, Ikari will make a slip up at the key hour of his plan, his biggest mistake is his arrogance, he believes he can predict our movements, which he cannot." Keel spoke with a smile, having already imagined a highly possible scenario in his head, he kept daily studying every scenario people could make.
"Regarding young Ikari, let us take action." Keel spoke as he opened his hands and showed his frowning, thoughtful face.
"Sir, but unit 01 is very volatile, being somehow extremely intimate with younger Ikari." SEELE 02 spoke with fear in his voice.
"Yes, indeed it is." Keel spoke as he adjusted himself in the luxurious leather chair. "But we'll have to take our chances a little."
"Are you sure about that chairman?" SEELE 05 spoke up as he saw the risk that he thought was unnecessary.
"Yes, the scenario will remain unchanged." Keel spoke with authority as he brought his hands together again to his face. "The boy has already caused us a lot of trouble, we can't stand by with our arms folded at this inopportune moment."
"It shall be so." SEELE 02 spoke smiling, having full confidence in his colleague. "What are your orders president?"
"Let's take out the younger Ikari's fragile confidence." Keel spoke as he thought about his plan of attack. "Even though he has already adjusted as a member of Wunder, he is at his most vulnerable, his impulsive behavior will end up giving us exactly what we want."
All the SEELE were silent, they listened to everything the president was saying, few spoke at this point, Keel Lorenz already had everything planned in his head, nothing could change his plans, at times like this he was proud to be able to believe that all people were predictable and in some ways he was right.
"Will the younger Ikari follow that path?" SEELE 05 spoke as he listened to Keel's ambitious plan, his mind still thinking that it would be difficult to be able to predict every move Shinji might make, the committee had failed to do that before.
"He will, as I spoke before, now he has his guard at the lowest level." Keel spoke as he smiled from behind his gloves. "They are more concerned with not doing anything wrong inside Wunder than watching his back."
"Right." SEELE 05 spoke again, having felt more confident in his leader's words. "How long before everything is prepared?"
"In a few days." SEELE 02 concluded. "Some arrangements have to be settled before that can be tangible."
"Well, now let's close this meeting." Keel spoke as he prepared to face. "Let us wait, our time for reunification with Lilith is getting closer and closer gentlemen, the time of purification will come as planned."
After saying this, Keel watched as the monoliths began to fade away to the sound of wind, until only he was left in the dark room, his mind still machining out the parts of his plan, plotting the moment he had been waiting for so long.
With a roar, Keel rose from his chair, leaving the meeting place, he was counting the days to leave this tired old body behind, he was counting the days to become a God.
(*)
Wunder.
Shinji was getting ready to start his day, he knew the schedule he should follow, knowing that he had a synchronization test to do, another medical check-up to see how the situation of his lungs was and then he should go to the simulators to train.
Bringing his hand to his chest, Shinji still felt pain, breathing still hurt when the hot steam from the bath came in contact with his chest, but as the days went by, the pains subsided.
Looking in the mirror, finally Shinji could look at himself without having a crisis of self pity, his mind was still recovering, but he was beginning to believe that he would indeed be a member of the Wunder team.
Ready to leave, Shinji gave himself another look, but his thoughts were broken when voices could be heard from the other side of the door, and he could easily recognize the owner of this voice, for sure it belonged to Mari.
KNOCK ON THE DOOR
With a smile, Shinji went to the door, pressing the button that opened it, seeing Mari and Asuka arguing about a hot topic, especially for Mari.
"I already told you, EVA could be defeated by the Megazord." Mari spoke with a smile on her face.
"Unfortunately that is a fact."
"Okay." Asuka spoke with a tired look on her face, she wasn't interested in these childish moments of Mari's, her focus was on being the best EVA pilot the world could have, soon her eyes locked on Shinji watching everything.
Part of Asuka's pride wanted to be able to defeat Shinji, she knew that he was her biggest rival when it came to EVA, she wanted to be able to show that she was always number one in this regard.
Mari finally noticed Shinji standing there looking at them with a confused look on his face, smiling she spoke as she gestured with her hands. "Good morning sonny."
"Hello?" Shinji replied confused, his mind still wanting to know what they were doing facing his door, soon Shinji's eyes fell on the box Asuka was holding.
Mari noticed Shinji's look at the box and with a smile on her face she spoke. "Oh! Son, that's for you, the princess didn't show me what it was, but I bet it must be a pretty daring Cosplay outfit."
"Four eyes!" Asuka cried out blushing, really she had not contacted the contents of the box to Mari, Asuka wanted to return something to Shinji, something she had no right to have.
"What is it?" Mari asked with false innocence. "Sexual fantasies help strengthen the relationship ... I don't mind performing fetishes, I had a lot of nice clothes myself."
Asuka only stared at Mari with shocked and flushed eyes, her teasing really got worse when she and Shinji were in the same room, but before she could retort, Mari spoke first.
"Come on guys, Misato wants us in her room now." Mari spoke as she started walking, but not before speaking a hint to Shinji. "I bet the cub would love to see me in my cat costume."
Shinji blushed as he looked at Mari's body, he couldn't deny that she was very beautiful, and like any male person, his mind couldn't control itself as he imagined Mari dressed as a sexy cat.
Asuka noticed Shinji's gaze on Mari's back, she only spoke as she blushed, slapping his arm hard. "What are you looking at pervert?"
"Nothing." Shinji spoke smiling as he began walking down the hallway, completely ignoring Asuka.
Asuka looked shocked at Shinji, seeing him walking back down the corridor towards the bridge, then Asuka used her finger to give Shinji a strong poke in the ribs, smiling as she saw his suffering.
"Shinji!" Asuka called out, seeing how Shinji and Mari stopped their journeys and looked at her, Asuka soon handed the box to Shinji.
"What is that?" Shinji asked curiously as he picked up the object.
Asuka spoke embarrassed and clumsily. "It's just something I want to return." At this moment Mari moved closer to look at what was going on and find out what was in the box.
As he opened it his eyes widened at the contents, and he looked back at Asuka who looked away.
Inside the box was his faithful squire, the Beretta 9mm that had long been Shinji's only friend, looking at the silver metal object in front of him, Shinji spoke as he stared at the gun with a nostalgic moment in his mind. "She saved my life many times."
Mari looked at the gun and smiled, she really was pretty, soon her eyes locked on Asuka who was looking away embarrassed. "Nice gift princess."
"Thank you." Shinji spoke smiling as he looked Asuka in the eye. "Thank you very much Asuka."
Blushing at the thanks, Asuka tried to control herself and speak with false authority. "Very well, let's not keep Misato waiting."
Shinji only watched as Asuka walked back down the hallway, exchanging a quick glance with Mari, soon everyone started heading for the bridge.
The way to the bridge was quiet, Mari was chattering about anything that came into her head, Shinji was walking next to Asuka, both exchanging glances.
Shinji looked at the faces of other crew members, seeing that he was receiving many good morning and greetings, one of the members even spoke up. "Good morning Lieutenant Ikari."
"What's going on?" Shinji asked confused at not being punished with stares and silent curses.
"I really don't know." Asuka spoke as she realized that as well.
(*)
Inside Wunder's bridge, the mood was still strange after the video everyone had seen, but the most shocked person was Midori, she had heavy dark circles under her eyes on her face from having spent all night thinking about the video.
Soon all eyes fell on Shinji entering the bridge, everyone was looking at Shinji with regret, he realized this and soon felt a shiver run through his body.
Midori watched Shinji walk in, feeling guilt consuming her inside, knowing that Shinji really was innocent made her feel like an idiot, she knew that Koji was probably laughing at her behind for her stupidity.
Seeing how the trio of pilots were meeting Misato, Midori took a deep breath as she spoke.
"Lieutenant Ikari!" Midori shouted as she got out of her seat, going to meet Shinji.
Mari and Asuka listened to the voice, both had their reasons for disliking Midori, Mari for remembering her scorning the news that Asuka was alive and that Wunder should prioritize Shinji over Asuka.
Asuka disliked her for the fact that she had always wished Shinji's death in the worst ways, and all this was added to the fact that Mari had told her about the period she had been away.
Shinji let out a sigh when he heard Midori's voice, she knew that the girl didn't like him, but turned anyway, but when his eyes locked on her, he felt confused to see that Midori looked embarrassed, different from the aggressive posture from before.
Midori stopped in front of Shinji, she lowered her eyes in shame. "I ... I ..."
"Speak up!" Tama shouted from her seat, smiling as she saw her colleague's discomfort.
Midori turned around and screamed with all the force of her lungs. "Shut up you idiot!"
Shinji felt sorry for his ears, but kept his posture.
"So I, I ... I wanted to apologize." Midori stammered, her eyes never locking on Shinji's.
Shinji felt surprised, he exchanged a quick glance with Mari and Asuka, both of whom felt the same way.
"Is ... All right ... Lieutenant?" Shinji replied confused, still not knowing how to cope.
"Oh!" Midori widened her eyes. "I am Lieutenant Midori Kitakami."
"OK ... I have to talk to Misato now." Shinji retorted not understanding what was going on.
"OK." Midori spoke as she felt disappointed that Shinji hadn't said anything about her apology, but her mind wasn't going to blame him, after all what she had done to Shinji was going to be hard to forgive.
Shinji watched as Midori turned and began to walk back to her post, feeling sorry for the girl, he soon spoke. "Lieutenant Kitakami?" Seeing how tense she became, Shinji spoke smiling, "Thank you."
Midori quickened his steps back to his post, soon he heard Mari and Asuka talking. "What's going on today?"
(*)
Misato was in her office, she was going to break the news of the release of the SEELE members, she just hoped that Shinji wouldn't freak out about it, since his temper was impulsive.
KNOCK ON THE DOOR
Misato raised her head upon hearing this, already knowing that it was most likely Shinji. "Come in."
Confirming her suspicion, Misato locked her eyes on Shinji, seeing how he was accompanied by Mari and Asuka, her eyes frowned at the sight of the box, which he was carrying, but her main focus was on Shinji, remembering the dream in detail and trying to understand how things got to that point.
"You wanted to see us?" Mari spoke smiling as she sat down.
"Yes, but what I'm about to say is related to Shinji." Misato spoke apprehensively, she could see how tense everyone was at the information. "But first, what is this?" Misato spoke pointing to the box in Shinji's hands.
"That's from Asuka." Shinji spoke as he handed the box to Misato. "Returning an old friend to me."
Misato felt her blood freeze as she saw its contents, inside was the same gun that Shinji had used to kill Gendo and then kill himself, soon panic wanted to take over her body, that dream was getting too predictable.
"Everything okay?" Shinji asked as he saw the look on Misato's face.
"Yes." Misato shook her head to clear her mind, she had to deal with something else with Shinji.
"Shinji ... I don't know how to say this so I'll say it directly." Misato spoke anxiously as she adjusted herself at the table, she could see the apprehensive looks on everyone's faces, even Mari had lost her smile, her mind pondering whether to tell or not, but she had already crossed the line, now she couldn't go back any further.
"They released all the SEELES you took."
Shinji bit his lip upon hearing this, he somehow knew this could happen, one of them had even warned him of this, containing his anger as best he could. "What?"
Misato noticed the change in Shinji's posture, seeing how he was struggling not to freak out. "I received the news this morning. " Misato again spoke looking directly at Shinji, seeing how he was shaking with anger.
Shinji was struggling to keep up, he was remembering all the injuries and suffering he had received to get those people, he knew he should have listened to his mind and finished them all off.
Gasping slightly, Shinji leaned on the wall and gave a long sigh of frustration. "How WILLE let those people go!? They had all the evidence!"
"SEELE is powerful Shinji." Mari spoke as she saw Shinji's agitation.
"They'll be back, sooner or later." Asuka spoke as she clearly saw Shinji's discomfort, but deep down she was in the same boat, remembering the scars Shinji had on his body.
Shinji shook his head sharply, completely ignoring his colleagues, turning and simply walking out of the office with accelerated steps.
Misato lowered her gaze to her desk as she wondered how this must be bothering Shinji, she only stared at Asuka and Mari with shocked and downcast eyes.
Rooting for Shinji not to do anything crazy, she would have to keep an eye on him these days, now after he had the object that would end his life, Misato mentally cursed herself, she should have come up with something else.
"Shit."
(*)
Walking with heavy steps through the halls of Wunder, Shinji was strongly irritated, making a great effort to keep himself in control, still having Misato's face in his head, he could see how unhappy she was with this information.
"So much work for nothing!" Shinji grumbled as he put the box away in his room and left, he wished he could clear his mind, but every time he closed his eyes, the faces of the SEELES he had captured would appear, giggling loudly.
"Everything okay, Shinji?" Sakura asked as she crossed paths with Shinji through the halls of Wunder, she could see that something had happened, judging by Shinji's face this was not good at all.
"So much suffering for nothing!" Shinji clenched his fists in frustration, still being able to hear the sound of laughter echoing through his head, he soon remembered all the pain he had endured to be able to capture these people.
Passing Sakura as if she wasn't even there, Shinji was so focused on his mind that he didn't even notice the young doctor staring at him with worried eyes.
Sakura only stared confused when Shinji passed by her, seeing how he grumbled strongly annoyed, she wanted to follow him and talk about it, but judging by his rigid posture, the young doctor thought it was not the best time, she only prayed that it was nothing serious to the point that Shinji would regress all the progress he had made.
"Fuck them!" Shinji squeezed hard on the gears that gave access to the Wunder's outer deck, it was windy outside, but that wasn't getting in Shinji's way, his anger and frustration was managing to cut through any environmental discomfort the Wunder was causing.
Stopping and staring at the horizon, Shinji was looking at nothing, not looking at the beautiful scenery that the day was giving him, his mind was visualizing the SEELE members, thinking that now they were in their luxurious homes and thinking about how they could screw up the world even more.
And most importantly, they were laughing at him now, squeezing his hands tighter to the point that his joints cracked with stress, he just wanted to be alone now, he didn't want to see Misato, he didn't want to see Asuka, he didn't want to see anyone.
Closing his eyes, Shinji soon returned to his personal world, where he was bombarded with his worst fears, he knew that SEELE was an extremely powerful organization and that it was very likely that this would not be in vain, they would strike back and hard.
Feeling his hands trembling with the anxiety coursing through his body, desperately trying to keep calm, Shinji could feel that he was about to have a panic attack.
(*)
Back in Misato's office, everyone was still staring at each other with Shinji's sudden departure, Misato was looking at her desk, with a long sigh she waited for the questions.
But one thing was able to overcome all thoughts, soon a strong shiver ran down Misato's back, she remembered the dream she had, this was enough to make her blood freeze, added to discover that Asuka had returned the gun to Shinji and this was precisely the gun that Shinji used in his 'dream.'
"What the fuck." Mari was the first to speak, she had an apprehensive look on her face, but she could see Misato's change in posture, this would not be news that would make her change this way, there was more going on.
"That must have ended with Shinji." Asuka spoke as she sat down in her chair, she had the look of betrayal that Shinji had on his face. "Damn bureaucrats!"
"What is it Misato?" Mari asked as she saw Misato's hands trembling.
"Nothing." Misato readjusted herself enough, arranging the papers on her desk, she was still thinking about her evening. "Just thinking about Shinji."
Misato pondered whether to tell Mari and Asuka about the dream she had, but soon discarded that idea, she couldn't say that she somehow met with fifth son and that it showed her the future where Shinji somehow went back to NERV, killed his father and then committed suicide.
Shuddering at the memory of when Shinji pulled the trigger of his gun, the sound of the gunshot echoed loudly in Misato's head.
Asuka realizing that the conversation was over, quickly stood up and started walking to the door.
Mari saw this and soon decided to ask. "Where are you going?"
"Where do think!?" Asuka replied dryly, she was going to look for Shinji and try somehow to help him. "To look for Baka!"
"Don't forget the condom." Mari spoke in a despondent voice, she saw no point in making a joke at a time like this and scolded herself strongly for letting a joke get away.
"That's all you think about!" Accused Asuka annoyed as she opened the door and left the office.
"Fuck!"
Misato only stared at Mari, she could see that the joke came out by accident, but she didn't blame Mari for trying somehow to improve the atmosphere, the situation was delicate for Shinji, having gone to great lengths to catch these people and finding out that it was all for nothing can't be easy.
"Don't worry about Asuka." Misato spoke as she saw Mari downcast. "It's just her way of dealing with the pressure."
Mari gave a weak smile as she faced Misato again. "I know. My tongue doesn't control itself at times like this, but that's not what gets me down."
"What is it?" Misato asked as she adjusted himself, soon her eyes fell on the stack of papers, but somehow that wasn't important, her mind still thinking about why Shinji was going to NERV again, still judging strongly whether to listen and take the dream seriously.
- Am I just not being very overprotective? - Misato thought about the reason for the dream, wondering if it wasn't just a maternal instinct that was dormant in her brain.
"I ... I'm just afraid this will end up changing things." Mari spoke as she looked down at her hands. "A lot is changing, one hour Shinji was the causer of the third impact, now he's not anymore ... Before he had caught the SEELE members, now they're loose again."
Misato was listening to everything Mari was saying, absorbing everything carefully to understand her point.
"That's a lot for one person to handle, Shinji's mind must be in complete chaos, one day he thought he was a monster, the most dangerous of killers." Mari looked Misato in the eye, seeing how he had her full attention. "Then everything changed, the human mind doesn't change overnight, I just hope he doesn't end up freaking out from the pressure ... What I mean is, too much is happening all at once."
Misato only nodded, she knew that even if Shinji was proven innocent, a lot had to change, her mind must really be a mess, knowing that Shinji still had a lot of things to come to terms with himself. "You're right."
"Is everything really okay, Misato?" Mari asked with genuine concern in her voice.
"I ... I'm fine." Misato spoke lying on her hard face, her mind flooded with the dream she had with Kaworu, everything Mari spoke only made her fear increase even more. "Just a bad night, weird dream."
"You want to talk? I'm an expert on nightmares." Mari spoke as she smiled and pointed her finger at herself. "I've been helping the princess for years."
Misato smiled, she still didn't know how Mari was withstanding all the pressure these fourteen years, Mari's mind must be really strong.
"It all started in my apartment."
(*)
Asuka was walking down the Wunder, having already looked for Shinji almost everywhere he could be, already losing hope of being able to find him. "What the heck! Where did he go?"
After searching her room, the kitchen and being unsuccessful, Asuka growled in frustration. "Shit! There's no way he got out of Wunder!" Soon feeling a pang of fear.
Jasem saw the redhead's frustration, seeing how she was looking for Shinji at all costs, a thought came into his head, knowing that he had met with Shinji on Wunder's outer deck . "Captain."
Asuka heard Jasem's cold voice coming from the kitchen, soon her eyes bore into the middle eastern man. "What?"
"Are you looking for the Lieutenant?" Jasem asked with his disdainful voice, even though he didn't see Asuka's response, he answered. "After the incident with Lieutenant Kitakami, I ran into him on the outer deck."
Asuka mentally scolded herself for not thinking of this possibility, remembering that Shinji liked somewhere where she could see the sky, turning to leave, she only called out to Jasem.
"Thank you."
Jasem only smiled as he saw Asuka running out of the cafeteria, returning to her work in the kitchen, he only hoped that Shinji was the same lieutenant he had in Asuka's mind.
(*)
Gasping slightly as she reached the floodgate, Asuka peeked outside, she could see Shinji standing there with his arms crossed looking at the horizon, grateful that she had finally found him.
Shinji heard the sound of the metal door opening, the wind had improved to the point that it no longer hindered his hearing, he was still too irritated to care who the person right behind him was.
Asuka held back her hair, but nothing that couldn't be controlled, approaching from Shinji's back, stopping a few feet away, she didn't know how to start a conversation at these times. "Hi Baka."
Shinji closed his eyes as he listened to Asuka, not that he didn't appreciate the help, but he really wanted to be alone. "Hi Asuka." Shinji replied dryly, not that this was done on purpose.
"How are you?" Asuka spoke quietly as she stopped beside Shinji and looked at the horizon.
Soon the smell of Asuka's perfume flooded Shinji's nostrils, he loved the smell of her shampoo, it calmed his body a little, but he didn't say anything.
Asuka knew that Shinji was not the talkative type, just like her. "Don't take it so seriously, they'll get what you deserve one day."
Shinji clasped his hands tightly, speaking with strong bitterness in his voice, the same tone he used in the red earth days. "So much work for nothing."
Asuka shuddered at the tone of his voice, she only heard him speaking as she looked at the horizon with deep, dark eyes.
"Seeing that takes my hopes away." Shinji spoke calmly, but somberly. "Seeing 'justice' acting like this with them makes me think I'm just wasting my time thinking I can have a normal life."
Asuka's eyes widened, finally understanding what Shinji was talking about, he was worried that he would end up going back to prison after all. "WILLE wouldn't do that to you ... Now that we have the proof."
"They hid Asuka." Shinji spoke without turning his head. "They might cover it up again. Sometimes I think the whole thing is one big bad joke."
Asuka was losing patience with Shinji's self-pity. "Shinji! It's not like before anymore! WILLE won't betray you! They made the deal in front of everyone! They won't betray you! "
Asuka only saw Shinji shrug, she became enraged when he simply turned and started to leave. "Don't you trust me, Shinji?" Asuka saw how he had returned a bit to his old behavior.
Shinji stopped upon hearing her name, speaking without turning around. "I trust, I trust with my life ... But I don't trust WILLE." Shinji then opened the door again, he didn't like leaving Asuka like this, but too much was going on in his head right now.
Asuka found herself alone on the outer deck again, closing her fists in frustration, she was finally getting close to Shinji, but fate had to get in the way, as always.
(*)
The rest of the day went by. Morale among the pilots was low, Shinji for feeling that everything he suffered to find the SEELES was in vain, Asuka for not being able to help Shinji and Mari was tense with the dream Misato described, she wasn't believing it, thinking it was just a simple bad dream, but when Misato reported the weapon, Mari felt worried.
After everything had calmed down, Shinji went to his room to get ready for bed, but the sound of knocking on his door caused his plans to try to get some sleep to be delayed. Opening the door and seeing Asuka on the other side, Shinji was happy to see her.
"Hi Baka." Asuka spoke clumsily, it was still awkward for her to ask to spend the night with him.
Shinji noticed the backpack on Asuka's shoulder, judging that she wanted to spend the night with him, part of him wanted to be alone, but deep down he wanted a decent night's sleep. "Hi Asuka."
Both of them didn't do anything on this day, just their presence was enough to make things a little better.
Little was said between them, after everything had settled down, Shinji lay down on his bed, making room for the redhead, slipping his arm around her shoulders and hugging her lightly, Shinji quickly went into the dream world.
Asuka took a while to sleep, she was lost in thought, her mind saying that Shinji had nothing to worry about, WILLE wouldn't betray him, but Asuka didn't feel reassured about that, her mind was saying that something bad was going to happen the next day, she just hoped it was female paranoia.
Feeling and hearing Shinji's heart beating, Asuka drifted off to sleep and slept, having a peaceful night's sleep.
(*)
"WILLE wants to talk to Shinji."
Mari spoke in the doorway of Shinji's room, seeing how she had an anxious scowl on her face, Mari was having a bad feeling. "They said they want it now."
"But what do they want?" Asuka asked anxiously, she could control that feeling very well.
Shinji was looking at the box where his gun was, his mind screaming to pick it up and prepare for the worst, feeling as if something was screaming inside his head, Shinji cautiously went to his faithful squire, pretending to pick up his uniform, he discreetly put it on his waist.
"I don't know princess." Mari spoke as she looked Asuka in the eye. "Even Misato wasn't informed about the contents." Soon she noticed Shinji returning fully dressed, he had a dark look on his face.
"Let's find out." Spoke Shinji annoyed.
Mari and Asuka only exchanged a glance, they noticed when Shinji left the room and started toward the bridge.
(*)
"Colonel Katsuragi!" General Yamamoto growled as he saw the delay for Shinji to arrive. "Where's Lieutenant Ikari?!"
"He'll be here in a moment sir." Misato retorted as she sensed Yamamoto's dry tone. "If we were informed about this meeting earlier, we could have prepared ourselves."
Yamamoto cast a sour look at Misato who was in her cool posture as Wunder's commander, but deep down she was sensing that something was going to happen.
Seeing how tense everyone on the bridge was under Yamamoto's gaze, only the sound of keys being typed could be heard.
Ritsuko was standing next to Misato, she had a look of expectation on her face, as did the other members.
Shinji entered accompanied by Mari and Asuka, he could see a tense atmosphere in the room, he made sure to feel his gun in case things got serious, in the background he could see the security guards standing by waiting for orders.
Stopping in the middle of the bridge, Shinji looked at Yamamoto's face on the screen, Misato had an anxious look on his face. "You called?"
Yamamoto smiled as he saw Shinji, something he realized. "Lieutenant Ikari, I order your immediate arrest!"
Everyone on the bridge looked back, not understanding the reason for this.
"What?!" Misato spoke as she lost her posture, everyone had a shocked look on their faces, was WILLE really doing this?
Shinji stared at Yamamoto's smiling face on the transmission screen.
"What charge?" Asuka asked as she stepped forward, her hands trembling with anxiety, she exchanged glances with Mari and Shinji.
"Disregarding the proposed agreement, illegal appropriation of an Evangelion, conspiracy to make an impact, conspiracy to destabilize world harmony, espionage and treason of the highest degree!" Yamamoto replied in a cold voice, "You have abused our patience Ikari, we will not stand idly by."
"As per these crimes, I have nothing left to do but to send you back to prison, where you will be awaiting your retrial." Yamamoto spoke as he put his hands together in front of his face. "Justice will be served this time, so I would expect nothing less. "
"Sir, with all due respect..." Misato began to argue, feeling the weight of betrayal.
"Arrest him Colonel." Yamamoto spoke with strength in his voice. "That is an order, a caravan was to be sent to collect the prisoner."
Shinji was listening to all the voices mingling on Wunder's bridge, but his mind was in one place, image of his cell flooded his mind. "I'm not going back there."
Feeling the blood rushing through his body, Shinji could have sworn his heart would burst out of his chest with the force of its beats, feeling the weight of betrayal coursing through his body.
Mari had her hands over her face in shock at all times, she could see Shinji standing there with his head lowered as he opened and closed his fists hard, she could see he was about to burst. "This has got to be a joke."
"Guards!" Yamamoto spoke again. "You already have your order!" Yamamoto spoke as he turned off the transmission.
Soon a silence reigned on the bridge, all eyes traveled between Shinji and the bridge guards, Misato's eyes widened as she saw his soldiers cautiously approaching Shinji, feeling her body paralyzed as she remembered Kaworu's words.
"Once it will be WILLE that will betray him."
Asuka was about to freak out, seeing how WILLE was betraying everything she stood for, seeing the security guards walking past her going to carry out the order she received, but Shinji did something, something even she didn't expect.
Rising to his feet and giving a sour, sarcastic laugh, Shinji was in another world. "Then this is how it's going to be." Seeing how everyone was looking at him right now, soon his unfocused, glassy eyes locked on the oncoming security guards.
"Shinji." Misato spoke apprehensively as she saw the look in Shinji's eyes.
"Let's go." Spoke the security guard as he held one of Shinji's arms.
"I'm not going back there!" Shinji spoke as he landed a kick to the abdomen of the first security guard with one swift movement, holding the second in front of him as a human shield and with his free hand drawing his gun that was in his waistband.
"Shinji!" Asuka shouted as she approached, but soon her eyes widened as he drew his concealed weapon and aimed it firmly at the security guard's head.
"Everyone, stop!" Ritsuko ordered as she saw Misato frozen in place in shock, all the crew members were looking at Shinji with wide eyes, not knowing what to do.
"Shinji stop it!" Mari spoke as she approached, showing with her hands that she was not a threat.
Normally Shinji would have listened, knowing that Misato would never betray him, but anger was dealing with the situation, his frustrations were running his body and like anyone who had their emotions controlling their body, nothing good would come out of it.
"Stay away!" Shinji shouted as he pointed his gun at Mari.
Seeing that this had the effect he wanted, he again turned to the security guard's head, taking steps toward the door.
"I'm not going back there!" Shinji spoke repeatedly, his eyes glazed over in paranoia.
"Shinji please calm down!" Asuka spoke in an anxious voice, struggling to keep her voice under control, she wished she could get close enough to disarm Shinji, she could see the out of control look on his face. "Let's talk."
"Talk!?" Shinji growled as he only saw the hatred in his eyes, taking slow steps toward the door just behind him. "I'm not going back there!"
"I know." Asuka pleaded as she felt her eyes burning, her eye patch glowed a strong blue, showing all her anxiety and anger, but that anger was not directed at Shinji, but at the betrayal WILLE committed in front of everyone. "Let's calm down please."
"I'm not going back there." Seeing that it was time, Shinji quickly let go of the guard and dashed off, everyone on the bridge looked at each other, knowing what WILLE had done was unforgivable, Misato was about to collapse, the dream was coming true.
Shinji was running at full speed, he ignored the glances of the other crew members, his only thought was to escape, he was going as fast as he could towards the cages.
(*)
The bridge was in chaos, but no screams were given, everyone was looking from one to the other, all trying to understand what was happening.
Ritsuko looked to Misato for orders, but judging by the shocked face the Wunder commander was showing, she would have to take over herself.
"Locate Shinji!" Ritsuko ordered as she went to her console, opening the program that controlled the DSS choker, seeing how it was set to detonate if he even stepped out of range, Ritsuko felt her fingers trembling as she had to make a decision.
"He's heading for the cages!" Tama shouted as she got Shinji's approximate location.
"Misato!" Again Ritsuko shouted, but she received no response.
"Don't let him get into an EVA!" Shouted Ritsuko back, but her eyes returned to the monitor, still not knowing what to do.
Asuka looked at her sister with shocked eyes, a mixture of feelings was inside the redhead. "Mari ... Tell me this is a nightmare."
Mari only held her own head at a time like this, she was finally faced with a situation she didn't know what to do about, the strongest of powerlessness hit her body. "I ... I don't know what to do!"
Picking up her communicator, Ritsuko spoke anxiously, trying to remain calm.
"Bridge to Cages!"
(*)
Finally arriving at the cages, Shinji could see unit 01 standing still, with a brief glance, he saw when EVA 01's eyes glowed with the color white, acknowledging his presence.
"Lieutenant Ikari?" Asked the technician as he saw Shinji entering, seeing how agitated he was.
"Open the outer hatch." Shinji ordered the technician, but before he could hear the answer, his personal radio began to play.
"Bridge to Cages!" Ritsuko's voice spoke over the communicator, he could see anxiety in the sub-commander's voice.
The technician only stared at Shinji, judging by the sub-commander's anxiety on the communicator things were not good, soon he noticed Shinji's gun on his head. "If ... Sir?"
"Open up!" Shinji spoke strongly as he saw the anxiety in the terrified technician's eyes.
"Calm down." The technician stammered as he typed in some commands, Shinji only watched as the outer door opened. "Please don't kill me."
Shinji with one swift movement, hit the head of the technician who fell unconscious, running to his EVA as he opened the input plug, Shinji repeated a single sentence. "I'm not going back there."
Already inside his EVA, Shinji could feel the connection beginning. "Get me out of here mom!"
As thought, soon EVA's eyes glowed brighter, turning a brilliant white, using his hands to break the gears that held him down, Shinji only looked downcast at EVA 02 who was standing beside him, closing his eyes and saying extremely downcast. "I'm sorry Asuka ... But I'm not going back there."
Feeling the sensation of falling, Shinji only watched as his EVA landed, looking one last time at Wunder with regret, but soon ordered his EVA to run as fast as possible.
"Prison."
"Loneliness."
"Treason."
"Death."
While feeling the ground at his feet, Shinji was still thinking about everything that happened, feeling the betrayal in his veins, soon old thoughts came back strongly.
"So that's who it's going to be."
"Nothing will change the fact."
"I will always be seen as a monster."
"I will always be seen as a murderer."
Deepening the connection, Shinji could feel his mother's presence, but anger and betrayal were inhibiting the feeling his soul was trying to give him, he already knew where he was going, he already knew what he should do, knowing that his destiny was locked, that there was no way he could win, this really was a battle he could never win.
"I can't beat WILLE."
"I can't face Misato."
"I can't face Asuka."
"They finally beat me."
Facing SEELE was one thing, but WILLE was another, it was only a matter of time before he was caught again and locked up in a cell again, even Misato couldn't do anything about it and Shinji didn't want her to get into a fight over him, so he had to take the opportunity, he could make this war end somehow.
The soul inside EVA 01 knew that his plan made no sense, that he again had made a mistake, but when a person was seized by anger, all rational behavior was inhibited, that's when people made mistakes.
"I can only do one thing."
"Solve two things at once."
"End it all."
"Plan E."
(*)
Misato was still standing on the bridge, they had seen Unit 01 running away, she only looked at her own hands as she felt how WILLE can do this.
Her whole world collapsed in a matter of minutes, Shinji again was out of Wunder, WILLE wanted his head again, lost in her personal world, Misato didn't realize her name was called.
"Misato!" Ritsuko shouted to bring Misato back to the real world.
"We have to get him!" Ritsuko spoke with wide eyes. "We have to catch him before he does something stupid!"
"Lock on course for NERV." Misato whispered to her crew members, where everyone only stared at her in shock.
"How do you know?" Ritsuko started typing, she could see that again the choker was out of range, so it couldn't be used as a locator.
"I just have a bad feeling." Misato spoke as she again faced Mari and Asuka, Mari knew what that meant.
"But ... If he's going there! " Hyuga asked as he calmed down again. "Ikari wouldn't betray us? Would he?"
"No ... He's not going to help your father." Misato spoke as she faced Mari and Asuka just below her, with only her glasses hiding her face. "I believe I know what he is going to do."
"Full speed!" Ritsuko ordered as she saw that Misato was not going to speak anymore.
"But ma'am." Koji spoke as he began to maneuver the Wunder. "The EVA 01 is too fast, the Wunder won't catch up."
"Just do it!" Misato shouted, everyone could see that Misato was at her limit, Ritsuko only faced her going to her office.
Asuka followed Misato with Mari in the rear, she was wondering why Shinji was going to NERV, fear gripped the two women following the Wunder commander.
Misato walked into her office, grabbing the first chair and throwing it at the wall hard, Misato let out a loud and fierce scream, her mind still wanting to understand how the situation had come to this point, clutching her head tightly, she didn't notice Asuka and Mari at the door with a worried look on their faces.
"Motherfuckers! WILLE motherfucker!" Misato yelled as she punched her desk very hard, causing everything to take a jump.
"What do you guys want?!" Misato growled as she saw Asuka and Mari standing in the doorway, removing and tossing their glasses somewhere in their office.
"What's going on Misato!?" Asuka asked as she felt her hands shaking. "Because Shinji is going to NERV!?"
"He will finish what he started." Misato spoke as he leaned on his office desk, closing his fists and delivering a powerful punch to the metal surface.
"Shit WILLE!"
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