Creation began on 10-06-23

Creation ended on 10-12-23

Neon Genesis Evangelion

SEELE's Suspicions

"This Mysterious Protector," went SEELE 11 to the council as they were reviewing the limited footage they had access to regarding the mecha that appeared and faced the Angels after the Twelfth Angel incident. "It has appeared four times now and defeated four Angels. We have to assume that whoever controls it must know of our plans and took steps to negate our progress. Still, possessing technology that NERV can only dream of possessing makes it something that must be acquired at any cost."

"It could take us months or even years to reverse engineer whatever technological advances were put into this mecha," said SEELE 05. "Much of its abilities feel almost…childish…as if some kid imagined this thing and brought it to life."

"Even so, it was able to best four Angels, and single-handedly," SEELE 09 states. "Are we sure it wasn't a rival company of NERV's?"

"We've checked and rechecked," SEELE 02 replies. "Nobody's taking credit for this thing."

"We have spies in every industry across the globe, and nobody is doing anything close to this," added SEELE 12. "There is no way that anyone could build something of this sort without our knowledge and use it to dispatch four Angels. Which could imply…"

"Which could imply?" SEELE 01 questions.

"That this mecha may not even belong to this world."

"You're suggesting…that it's possible that…this mecha…is the result of some other civilization…from beyond the stars?" SEELE 04 asks. "Such an assumption is ludicrous."

The fact that none of the SEELE members knew what to make of this Mysterious Protector mecha and had no idea of who made it or anything else associated to its existence was what made it so mysterious to them. Not knowing anything beyond what they had been informed about it was what made it so desirable to them; any weapon of this sort that could surpass an Evangelion in terms of performance would be seen as the ultimate weapon in any war.

"Should another Angel appear," SEELE 10 utters, "it's bound to show up and face it."

"How can we be sure of that?" SEELE 07 asks.

"If it showed up when the previous Angels attacked, we have to assume that it will appear to face the next one."

-x-

The night air of Tokyo-3 was different this time tonight. Maybe it was because there was no trace of criminal activity or the people out and about weren't as active as he had thought they'd be this evening, but Shinji, who had awoken an hour ago, was restless and needed to do something to wear himself out. So, here he was on his Hoversword, flying above the streets and people, unseen by any of them, just wandering around. In all honesty, sneaking out of the apartment while everyone else was asleep was something Shinji thought very little of doing until he actually did it. He pondered what else he thought little about doing until he actually did, which included his attack on his father and taking the Adam embryo from him to dispose of.

Waiting for the last Angel was a trying time right now. Even more trying because Shinji wasn't sure how to deal with it when it showed up. He knew it had to be dealt with for the sake of protecting the people, but if the arrogance of the people responsible for inciting the devastation of Second Impact has taught him one thing about the Angels, it's how far one's arrogance will drive them to commit acts so unspeakable that they violate all manner of morals and ethics. The sooner it arrived, the sooner he dealt with it, the better everyone would be once it was all over.

"Trouble sleeping?" He heard Vambre's voice behind him, and he turned to see that she was right there, following him on her Hoversword, just as invisible to the masses as he was.

"Recurring dreams," he explained. "How long were you following me?"

"Three minutes. You were deep in thought."

"Wondering how to deal with the last Angel when it arrives. My gut tells me that it won't be like the previous Angels."

"You wish it was like these previous Angels?"

"Yeah. Still, I gotta be ready for anything."

"Expect the unexpected, even when it's not expected."

"Who said that? Let me guess. Veronica Victorious?"

"No, I did."

"Very wise."

"It sounds like something she'd say, doesn't it?"

"Yeah…but it sounds better coming from you."

"Thanks."

They flew further down the half-empty streets, unnoticed by anyone.

"How are you not being seen by anyone and you're exposed?" Shinji had to ask her, noticing that, while he was dressed in his dark clothing from Lyvsheria, using his Magiswords to hide in plain sight, Vambre, dressed as she usually always was, didn't seem to be using any of hers. Until she pulled out one that looked like a mechanical lion with wings (A/N: Picture the Stealth Black Lion from Voltron: The Third Dimension).

"I'm using this. My Stealth Magisword." She reveals to him.

"Wow."

-x-

At first, SEELE wanted to consider questioning the heads of Japan Heavy Chemical Industry of having any involvement in the creation of a new mecha to humiliate NERV for the failed demonstration of their Jet Alone robot, but then decided against it due to the fact that the company was gaining support from the locals for their venture into the agricultural industry. It would seem that their only interest now was helping the people that had to deal with the issues of not having enough food to support themselves. This, combined with the fact that the last time NERV had any dealings with them was when the former Third Child had shown up in their boardroom as a result of his attempt to return to this dimension. Plus, because the company had been met with scrutiny following the Jet Alone incident, it was a miracle that they were still in business before the boy had been reported to NERV by them.

If there was no way to confirm that this mecha was created by human hands, all SEELE could assume was that it was made by hands not of this world. This meant the minds behind the Mysterious Protector were likely otherworld lifeforms from a civilization more advanced than they currently were. If so, then these were the questions that needed to be answered: Who were they, what were they doing here, and what were they hoping to gain from interfering with their mission to defeat the Angels?

To be continued…

A/N: How did that seem to you? The fact that SEELE has no clue who or what the Mysterious Protector is, or who controls it, is what makes it so unpredictable to them. And as for Shinji's nighttime flying around, since he has Magiswords of his own, he can do much of what he wants at night, but that's only because he woke up and couldn't fall back to sleep.