Creation began on 08-10-22

Creation ended on 01-10-23

Neon Genesis Evangelion

NERV Backlash

A/N: When heroes rise up, those that were meant to be the ones assigned to deal with the situation are the ones that get in trouble.

NERV was not enjoying the cleanup duty they were left with after Kirby defeated the Fourth Angel by destroying its core. While studying the body would help to some degree, it seemed moot without the core, which was not only in so many pieces that they would never be able to put back together, but some of the fragments had been grounded into powder, making any attempt to study them useless.

"…We can't hide this from the public now," Misato told Ritsuko as they were on site of the Fourth Angel's defeat. "People with cameras on their phones probably saw most of the battle between the Angel and Kirby and have posted it on the darknet to go viral across the mainstream media. Even if we take the videos down, someone else will put new ones up. But most of the attention is directed towards Kirby, not the Angel."

"Even if that alien is the star, it paints NERV in a bad light because we failed to do anything," Ritsuko responded as she typed away on a laptop. "Without an intact core from any of the Angels, much of the data we were able to obtain on this Angel and the Third Angel is next to useless. Despite being comprised of altogether different form of matter, much of the Angels' base DNA is similar to that of humans."

"Okay, that's creepy."

-x-

While it seemed as though the media cared more about the pink alien than it did about the paramilitary agency or the Angel, it didn't help improve NERV's reputation among the public. There were threats of information reaching the wrong people because of the possibility of leaks in their personnel, individuals employed by NERV later developing a crisis of conscience due to the attempted actions of others involved, and even forty of them resigning from the agency due to not wanting to be targeted by mere association. It was these issues that prompted the Committee to consider Kozo Fuyutsuki's idea of using Kirby as NERV's mascot and the mere idea of reaching out to the pink alien for aid against the Angels. If anything else, it was to mitigate the damage already done to NERV's reputation by the rumors of what they were going to do to the Third Child, who left with the alien after deciding that he didn't want to stay due to his father not being a good person.

"…Just because we can try to convince the alien to have words with us, it doesn't mean that it'll actually have a sit-down with us," Shigeru expressed to the sub-commander as they walked down the hall of the NERV base.

"What other choice do we have but to try and talk with him?" Fuyutsuki questioned. "He's still in space just above Japan, right?"

"For now, but it's not like we can talk with it; it doesn't seem to have any means of communication, on either its ship or on itself."

They would worry about communication later. For now, they just had to mitigate NERV's tarnished image by letting the world know that they were willing to cooperate with Kirby in order to defeat the remaining Angels. If Kirby was seen by some as a hero of sorts, then it was possible that, because he was a fighter for the people, he could be reasoned with to aid the agency in protecting the world from the Angels.

-x-

Standing in front of Unit-01, Gendo was upset that NERV was now working to portray itself as needing the help of some little creature from beyond the stars to face an enemy that had other intentions that threatened the human race. He hadn't been removed from his position as the leader of NERV yet, but with his actions being closely monitored by the Committee, he wasn't going to be able to do much of anything short of whatever led to dealing with the Angels.

"Our son betrayed us, Yui," he uttered to the purple Eva. "He abandoned us."

"Kirby, I want to go back to Popstar, please," he remembered Shinji saying. "Kirby, I want to go back to Popstar."

"You will not harm your son, ever again," Kirby had told him before taking the boy away for the second time.

Harming Shinji? How could he harm him if he didn't so much as lay a finger on the boy? Yes, he was examined and his identity confirmed, but there was actual harm done. But Gendo couldn't see the difference between understanding who anyone was…and not trying to reconnect with them. He couldn't see the difference at all…or why his son rejected him after being away for so long after being left alone at that station for people he didn't know about to come get him.

"He was supposed to help us ensure a future for all of mankind, and he instead leaves when some little alien appears and takes him."

But it wasn't as though he could have Kirby charged with kidnapping; so long as Shinji went willingly, regardless of his age at the time, and because he was left alone by Gendo, it couldn't be viewed as kidnapping by any degree known. Because Kirby wasn't considered human, no matter how intelligent it probably was, it couldn't be held to any reasonable degree of the law, as the law only recognized crimes as when people, humans, committed them.

Unit-01 said nothing. Not that it could say anything. This was merely Gendo venting his frustrations out to a behemoth that couldn't respond. But he was hoping that someone was listening to how he felt towards his son, about how he felt betrayed by him for leaving with the alien that came back for him.

-x-

It was the small things that Shinji loved most about living in Dream Land on Popstar. Outside his home, he was relaxing in his outdoor bath, gazing up at the stars, which seemed brighter than they were on Earth. He almost felt like he could just lay there in the hot water and drift to sleep for a day.

Every day is like a peaceful dream, he thought as he saw a lunar phoenix fly by in the night sky. "So beautiful and stress-free."

The lunar phoenix resembled a crane with blue and silver feathers, leaving a fiery trail of cinders wherever it flew, attracting many of the people on Popstar. There used to be rumors of the lunar phoenix being the only one of its kind…until three years ago when there was a boom in its numbers. The chances of seeing even seven lunar phoenixes at night was a sign of rebirth being in the future for those that believed in hope.

"Ah…" Shinji sighs as he let his head sink under the water.

-x-

NERV was dealing with the repercussions of the Angel incident that ended in Kirby's favor and the favor of all mankind, and while it gave the people a sense of hope that this alien would defend them from other monsters if they were to make themselves known, it made NERV seem more incompetent at what they had been tasked with doing.

"…All we gotta do is wait for the next Angel to show up and we'll see if we can talk with Kirby," sighs Misato.

"And should communication prove impossible?" Hyuga questioned. "Either because Kirby chooses not to chat with us or because of Commander Ikari's actions that led to his own son leaving with the pink alien a second time?"

"Either way, we have to attempt talking to him."

"I can just imagine the next headline in the newspaper: 'NERV gets outshined by Pink Alien with Smile'," went Shigeru. "What do you suppose are the chances that this alien's actions result in NERV getting disbanded?"

"We don't know that to be sure," said Misato. "Anything can happen later on."

But the truth was that NERV was likely facing termination because of Kirby's actions against the Third and Fourth Angels. This, along with the commander's estranged son leaving with the alien a second time because of their lack of a relationship…was spelling out the potential designs for the paramilitary agency's fate if they were unable to demonstrate that the Evangelions they had built were able to face the Angels and defend the human race. It was likely that if a third Angel appeared and was defeated by Kirby before they could act, NERV would be shut down. To think that everything they did, all the years they spent developing the means to protect themselves, it would all mean absolutely nothing…because of an unusual…child-sized…pinkish alien.

"But on the positive side," went Maya, "the public seems to have ceased their ranting towards NERV over the matter regarding the commander's son. The revelation that he left with the alien following the Third Angel's defeat only left them questioning why Kirby would take the boy after returning him years later. It only seems to all be directed towards Commander Ikari."

Some of the personnel pondered how the public directed their spite towards Gendo Ikari for not reconnecting with Shinji…and being the reason he chose to leave for the second time. But the fact that he demonstrated practically no interest in reconnecting with Shinji is what led to him, more or less, losing his son all over again.

-x-

Laying on the grass of a hill, Shinji looked up at the afternoon sky and the cloud shapes. He noticed how one cloud had a peculiar shape that put a smile on the young boy's face.

"Thank you again, Kirby," he expressed, seeing the cloud resemble the pink alien's body.

To be continued…

A/N: My apologies to all of you out there. Everything new and recent feel like the next best thing that I forget about the things I have that still need to be worked. I'm going to try and make that a resolution for this year to do updates on my other stories. I hope that you'll have patience for my progress this year. Until the next update, peace of mind, progression in creativity and maintaining good health as we move towards a better tomorrow.