Chapter 33: Are Intentions Ever Enough?

"You are now fully committed to seeing our cause realized?"

In the center of the room the SEELE monoliths occupied, Gendo Ikari was no longer the man they were hearing from. One particular member of NERV through recent developments came to realize what sort of scenario was brewing. Instrumentality was meant to be achieved for them some day and yet here they were forced to deal with what would be another troublesome delay.

The agent simply known as Hawk kept his head hung as he answered, "I have seen the message sent. They cannot be stopped now."

The 02 Monolith pointed out, "We have no other choice. Ikari is not willing to contact us and we still do not have an update on the 5th Child."

The 11 Monolith agreed, "We were supposed to be nearing the end and yet now we may see even more issues with our plan."

The 04 Monolith added, "We have been fortunate up to this point that the 5th Child has not made contact with Adam. At best this will only serve to that end."

With the growing alarm echoing through NERV, the 01 Monolith acknowledged the situation by ordering Hawk, "We have no other way to ensure that Instrumentality can still be achieved. The task is yours now. Activate Legion immediately. We give you clearance to engage in defensive measures for now. Do nothing else until the 5th Child is confirmed to be destroyed."

The 09 Monolith pointed out, "Do you believe that is wise at this point? A strategic defense of the base may be all we have now."

The 12 Monolith countered the suggestion by reminding, "The base had endured too much damage already. We cannot allow any misfortune to be placed on Adam."

Intent to make sure that his order was fulfilled, the 01 Monolith repeated, "We will deal with the occupation when we have the advantage. Whatever Ikari believes he is accomplishing now, he will discover how useless his planning is. You have your orders, ensure NERV is secured."

Raising his head with a confirmed order, Hawk accepted, "Right away."

In following the orders of his superiors, Hawk was prepared as soon as he heard the gunfire engage in the lower levels of the NERV headquarters. The Japanese Strategic Self Defense Force was still on its way but there were clearly some who knew what was coming as well. Some with secrets that might have been as crucial as the ones he had now.

As soon as he found Kaede on the floor he was not assured his plans were about to be successful. Flipping her on her back he asked, "What happened here? Has anyone escaped?"

Kaede coughed through the injury she received earlier before answering, "Kyoya had a specific target in mind. He has been further ahead of us than we anticipated."

Looking up ahead to prepare for his pursuit, Hawk took out his gun asking, "That explosion wasn't him you think?"

Realizing his mission, Kaede leaned against the wall admitting, "If it wasn't him then Kaworu is less predictable than we expected. His motives are unclear right now."

Leaving Kaede where she was, Hawk made his way down the halls and searched for the area where the explosion occurred. It was a short time before he found Kyoya on the ground along with Mitsuru sprawled at the corner of a wall. There were gunshots near Mitsuru's wall but no signs of injury from either of them.

Hawk saw Kyoya shake on the ground before observing, "Your prior assignment brought you to this sort of desperation. Unfortunate you remain so weak even now."

Kyoya overheard the accusation before demanding, "Hawk... Please tell me... it wasn't you..."

Hawk watched Kyoya turn over as he revealed his face. With his sunglasses removed his one red eye stood out compared to his other brown one. He was left to look up to the two men who managed to cut off his pursuit and now held his fate.

Hawk shook his head before removing his sunglasses to reveal both of his red eyes and told Kyoya, "You found out too late and you still wanted someone to trust. Considering the scale of this operation, it was the best you could have done."

Uneased by the praise, Kyoya reminded, "You said you would never want SEELE to succeed..."

The reminder only made Hawk place his sunglasses back in as he answered, "You will not have any more failures to answer for."

Watching Hawk prepare his gun above him, Kyoya was frozen in place as he saw the barrel take aim at his head and left him to plead, "Misato... Forgive me..."

At the surface of Tokyo-2, there was an alarm sounding through the city. It was the one indication Misato had that she managed to avoid the danger of being in the center of the upcoming NERV occupation. Even though she would not be in danger at the moment, it was not the most immediate concern she had.

Stepping out of Koji's car, she looked around before asking, "Where's Shinji?"

Koji realized the complication he would have to deal with as he revealed, "Hajime is getting him out right now. I'm sorry but there is no other way to know if they are safe or not."

Slamming her fists on Koji's car, Misato reminded, "I'm out here because you said Shinji was going to be safe! If you're going back on your word, you'll wish you didn't help me!"

The warning made Koji cringe as he was forced to apologize, "I know how much he means to you. If he is safe at all, then we'll find him out here when Hajime gets to us."

Realizing she would have to wait even longer made Misato point out, "You went through all this trouble to get us out and you're having this kind of trouble? I thought you were supposed to be working with someone who could pull this off without a problem."

Attempting to find some way to ease Misato's concerns made Koji explain, "If we have any complications it's because SEELE was ready for this situation. Just being delayed a little does not mean we failed."

Misato did not allow herself to be relieved as she repeated, "I am not giving you credit for doing half the job! There were better people than me who deserved help down there!"

Koji lost the restraint he had left as he shouted back, "You know better than anyone that you can't assume to know everything about anyone! How long ago would you have said Ritsuko or even the commander deserved it more?"

Being reminded how serious the situation was for the NERV personnel did little to put Misato's mind at ease as she asked, "How much do you even know about the others anyway?"

There was little else Koji could determine would be enough to brush away her fears as he snarled before telling her, "If it's the pilots you're worried about, believe me I know!"

The last statement made Misato take a step back as she kept herself from falling over but managed to ask, "You... know about me and Shinji?"

Koji sighed now that he had Misato under a semblance of control as he confirmed, "As far as I am concerned, what you two were up to was none of my business. There was risk in you covering it up with Mitsuru when this started to say the least. I'm not going to tell you what you should have done but I did assume you knew what you were getting yourself into."

Misato leaned back against the car as she placed her fingers to her forehead attempting to fight off her dejectedness before admitting, "I really thought this was going to be over before I knew it. I didn't think it would cause us all to end up here."

Seeing Misato depressed by the reflection made Koji lean back in his seat as he tried to assure her, "Don't give yourself too much credit. Everybody did something to cause this mess to pile up. We're just two little clumps of it."

Placing her back against a nearby wall, Misato attempted to lighten the mood by telling Koji, "If that's your attempt to hit on me, you could have picked a better time."

Koji turned to see where Misato placed herself as he corrected her, "I get that things must be serious for you right now. I'm not going to tell you what you should do, just know that holding this back as a secret any longer is what's going to keep this mess from ever getting better."

Misato crossed her arms as she pointed out, "It seems like everybody knows by now. Even if it's not a secret anymore, it still seems like he doesn't want to be anywhere around me."

Seeing her settle herself across from him, Koji turned to Misato and leaned out his window asking, "It's not from pushing him away is it? Because you were worried?"

The question was a struggle for Misato to accept at first as she tried to keep herself from lying, "We wouldn't be here if that was the case... No... I guess I did... I let him walk away and I didn't deny what he wanted."

Attempting to remind her of his intentions, Koji agreed, "Well you're free now. I'm sure the government is going to round us all up at some point but staying in NERV is too dangerous."

"That's what you dragged me out for."

"At least it sounds like you still care on some level. Shinji will be here soon enough and... well everything else is up to you two."

Misato raised her gaze back to Koji as she asked, "You don't think anybody is going to try and stop us?"

Koji was less enthusiastic about saying anything than before as he answered, "I know I won't. Still, you better be ready for what other people are going to think. Honestly I would have thought Shinji would have been more afraid of what you decided on than you."

"I think he just stopped caring after a while. Guess I did that too. Seems like I forgot he was supposed to be just a kid all this time and now he's what he is."

"We can't undo the damage done to these children, but we can try and salvage them. I feel safe guessing that's what you were trying to do."

"It's like you said, everybody is going to have their own idea. I probably have the advantage where nobody is going to start investigating me anyway."

"I'm sure you'll have the window Misato. Still, you need to be willing to accept whatever the outcome might be. I know it's supposed to be dangerous to rely on someone else entirely if you're trying to have any sort of support in life."

Shinji was still trembling as he realized what had just happened. The boy he tried to give his affections to was no longer in front of him. With a parting kiss as one of the few selfish actions he could say Kaworu ever made, Shinji was left in absolute bafflement over what happened to one of the few people he felt strongly for.

Hajime was left panting in the corner of the elevator as he kept himself from collapsing but saw Shinji on his knees in front of the elevator door as though he hoped it would open again. They were both forced through what seemed to be a split second of revelations and an attempt to flee with their lives. Both were left struggling to process what they had gone through at different angles and struggled to imagine how they could have been any closer.

Desperate to simply break the silence between them, Hajime told Shinji, "There were very few of us who thought the reports would have been accurate."

Hajime did receive an answer from Shinji but felt himself shaken as soon as he heard his accusation, "You... you left him..."

Sighing in disappointment at what he had to answer for, Hajime reminded, "He did it for you Shinji. I doubt he is going to face substantial harm."

The assurance Shinji received did little to ease his disappointment as he continued to look at the doors and denied, "That's not... the point..."

There were so many things that barely made sense for Hajime as he realized what he was dealing with. With so little knowledge of what made Shinji this emotional over what was happening he felt almost powerless in the face of such sorrow. He was able to save someone despite everything that happened and he could not bring himself to readily declare himself successful.

Not only was Hajime attempting to assure Shinji of the situation but trying to reconcile with his recent actions by assuring, "I'm sorry I couldn't help him. He wanted to see you be able to live your life after this. I'm going to do all I can to assist."

Shinji remained seated in front of the doors as he asked in a shaken tone, "And everyone else?"

Hajime heard the accusation behind Shinji's question. His mission was supposed to serve as a way to save the children of NERV from being taken into custody but were fewer in number than he hoped for. If there was anything he could have come to acknowledge about Shinji it was how he did not enjoy being favored over others.

Realizing these factors made Hajime explain, "Asuka and Kensuke are immobile at this point and Rei Ayanami is kept in high security that had to be handled by some of our allies. My goal was to get both you and Kaworu out but that went differently than expected."

Shinji fell on his hands as he realized what brought him here and accused, "You should have left me... Those people they... If they want to kill us... I just want it now..."

Hearing him say that were the words Hajime needed to hear as he knelt down and pulled him up by his shoulders to tell him, "Don't put yourself through more pain than you have to. If you care about Kaworu, you cannot insult his sacrifice like that."

Shinji shook his head as he countered, "Those people down there are going to let everything happen. Nobody has to live for anyone anymore."

The elevator doors opened to reveal the garage level Hajime had been looking for and took Shinji alongside him. Running through the halls, Hajime searched around for his car while digging for his keys. As soon as he found it, Hajime opened the door and thrust Shinji into the passenger seat before setting himself in and starting the engine.

Hajime felt himself struggling to remain calm before pulling back and telling Shinji, "There are still people who care about you Shinji. Not just down there, but out there as well. Don't forget that and you will find reasons to live."

Feeling himself pushed back by the inertia of Hajime speeding his way through the garage area, Shinji felt himself completely taken in by the moment. His mourning of Kaworu leaving him and fear of what he was being thrust into were second to him as he tried to make sense of his current situation. It was not long before Hajime sped his car through the exit and onto the road where only a few other cars were making the same exit.

Despite what Hajime tried to assure him earlier, Shinji summarized most of his immediate feelings by asking, "Where are we going?"

Hajime kept himself focused on the road as he answered, "Tokyo-3. You'll be safer up there along with the others."

From what little Shinji allowed himself to understand about Hajime's plan, there seemed to be a backing to his claim. If there were people waiting for him it had to mean he and the others went through the trouble to make it possible. More than ever he hoped it would be the one person he could summon any enthusiasm to hear was safe again

Shinji voiced the hope he had for the moment as he asked, "Is Ayanami going to be up there?"

Hajime looked around in relief as he answered, "Ideally once we break her out. With everything we know, she is going to be a priority we have to take seriously."

The mission to give the Japanese government the room it needed to easily take over NERV became more difficult than Porter imagined. Despite so many preparations he found himself facing members of NERV who were willing to aim their guns at him to prevent his advance. It left him and a few technicians hiding behind a corner as they protected themselves from gunfire and struggled to find any way to move through the headquarters.

The situation was a challenging one for much of the NERV personnel with how little they had to work with. The most distinct identifier they had for staying in the defensive was that some developed red eyes and began to fire on a select number of people. With no other way to identify attackers, the few who were not apparently brainwashed were left trying to defend themselves and determining who was on their side.

One of the technicians shakily prepared a pistol while asking, "What's going on here? Do they know?"

Porter looked around the corner before hiding away from another incoming bullet before answering, "No word yet. We have even less of an idea how many of them there are."

Another technician held up a pistol with a more determined resolve, "Let us get through them! We'll buy you the time you need to get help!"

The offer made Porter reach out his hand to remind, "The forces are going to arrive soon! Don't risk your life like this!"

As the NERV technicians found themselves fighting one another to make an advance, Satsuki and Aoi watched the exchange of gunfire from afar. The alarms that made their way through the base commanded their attention but not enough to distract them from making sure the resistance was kept at bay. As they kept the opposition from moving forward they were left assured their main objectives would not be interrupted.

Satsuki looked around before asking, "Do you believe the commander had any knowledge of what caused this?"

Aoi denied the possibility, "He would not be transparent with us and we were not transparent with him. We both have similar aspirations and yet here we are."

"Everything played out the way it should have. We were fortunate not to need our mass production units after all."

"That will be the ideal case. Unfortunately executing our plans might be more difficult."

The two women were distracted from their observation as soon as they heard Hawk contact them, "Has the commander been found?"

Satsuki reached for her radio to report, "We have not seen him. Legion is currently working its way through the halls. The bridge has locked itself out from contact."

Hawk hesitated to give a response before warning, "We have personnel making an escape. We cannot afford any more deviations to the plan."

Despite the growing desperation, Satsuki remained committed as she called for him, "We must go do everything we can to initiate Third Impact. Return here and help us secure the First Child."

Accepting there was nothing else he could do in his current location, Hawk accepted, "I will be there soon."

Returning her attention to the exchange of gunfire in front of her, Satsuki told Aoi, "We are having complications but we might see the end soon."

Aoi was not so sure as she warned, "As long as we have no interruptions, we may not have any issues."

Despite seeing several cars pass him by, Takeshi was not alarmed as he saw the NERV headquarters come within range. There were doubtless going to be people who would try to avoid being taken under his custody but he would have a chance to pursue them later. For now he was focused on the opportunity to fulfill the mission he knew would be tasked with one day.

Looking to the skies above he saw V-TOL craft shooting past him to secure the area above the site. With the exception of the few that made their way out, there would be no one to escape Takeshi's judgment. Without anywhere to escape, the resistance his men were about to face was the first thing he came to expect as his truck pulled its way in front of the headquarters.

Gun shots sounded through the air as Takeshi leapt out of his truck and heard one of his men announce, "General! We have resistance!"

Ducking for cover, Takeshi kept himself collected as he ordered, "I can see that. Press through, take every prisoner you can get. Kill them if necessary."

The situation outside NERV became more desperate for SEELE as soon as the Japanese military arrived. Forced to defend itself and struggling to find the components necessary for its grand plans to be achieved left onlookers fearing their fate.

These building factors were all that led up to Hawk receiving a message on his radio, "We are being compromised. Legion must not fall here."

Trying to comprehend where the development was coming from, Hawk realized, "I understand this is coming from the scenario you have warned us of. The dilemma of how Ikari managed to think this far ahead of us."

"He believed he was accomplishing that much. It was true foresight that allowed us to respond accordingly."

"The fact you show interest in upholding our ends is all we want to hear. You are correct that Legion will have to cooperate for now."

"This could not be prevented but we have been able to handle the leader of this gathering. It is only a question of finding those who do not share our interests."

The doors opened and Hawk found the path down the halls waiting for him before he concluded, "With your assistance proving to be so effective, I trust you will be able to find them."

Turning off his radio, Hawk looked both ways before drawing his gun and searched for the nearest unoccupied room. It was easy for him to immediately find one but saw several NERV technicians hiding under desks. He was not intimidated by the occupation however as he made his way inside and spun around to shut the door.

One of the technicians poked her head out asking, "Who are you? Are you with them?"

Hawk returned his attention to the holed up defenders answering, "I am not. What is the state of this place?"

Another technician made his way to a computer before activating the camera system and answered, "Gun fire just started all of a sudden! I have no idea what they're after or what's making them do this!"

Hawk prepared his gun telling him, "It is not for you to discover."

Gun shots sounded their way through the room as the technicians were taken by surprise as one of their own was shot in the head. Hawk turned his attention to the other two and fired while taking care not to shoot any of the screens or servers. The business was quick but Hawk had the three occupiers killed and immediately took control of the computer with the camera system.

Inserting a USB drive into the server, he found the program he was searching for and went through the NERV operating system to send the message to another source of assistance in his infiltration. It was only a short time before the gun fire he heard outside died down gradually and took it as the only sign he was successful in stopping the violence. He knew the system SEELE identified as Legion would calm itself for now but his work was not done here.

Searching his way through the camera systems, Hawk asked himself, "Now Gendo Ikari. Where are you?"

Within his command room, Gendo was able to watch the escalating violence take hold of his base from his monitor. There was much confusion occurring and he found his own plans in jeopardy as the personnel of NERV fought among each other and had the Japanese Strategic Self Defense Force just outside his doors. All of it occurred in the same night where the supposed last Angel was destroyed and he would have had no interruptions.

All of the chaos was only enough to make him ask Fuyutsuki, "Has the First Child been secured?"

Fuyutsuki answered, "As secure as she can be right now. If things progress the way they are now, we will see just how close to success we are."

Gendo acknowledged the situation by ordering, "The violence appears to be settling down now. The military will be making its way inside soon enough. I want you to represent us."

Fuyutsuki's face soured as he remembered what he was going to fulfill as he warned, "We are being asked to play a very serious game Ikari. Your plans to see this through are going to be tested."

The warning only kept Gendo focused ahead as he dismissed, "We have been using those old fools up until this point. We will not fail after coming so close. Even if they come close to defeating us, they will find themselves disappointed."

Realizing he could not do anything else to sway Gendo away from his commitment made Fuyutsuki accept, "I know you are not willing to lose after all this time. I suppose there is still a question of how efficient it was to finally come here and achieve what we have."

Gendo repeated his order while reminding, "Efficiency is not something we can ask about when we are already close to achieving something so crucial. Invite the military in. See how they intend to handle this place."

Stepping forward to the exit, Fuyutsuki turned and parted, "You have proven yourself quick to adjust up to now. Ideally this will be the last time you are required to."

The doors shut as soon as Fuyutsuki exited and gave several clicks and turns to secure Gendo inside as he permitted himself a small smile agreeing, "Yes. Just one final adjustment."

Shinji and Hajime both felt a sense of relief as the car made its way to the surface of Tokyo-3. There were still remains from the reach of Maelstrom in the distance but it was a more calming sight than what the inside of NERV was about to become. What sense of relief that was achieved however was only temporary as they considered what they were leaving and what they were about to enter.

Hajime kept his attention in front as he told Shinji, "No one is ever free when it comes to getting hurt. It's just not something we can avoid."

Shinji remained unmoved by Hajime's assurance as he looked at the road ahead asking, "What did you drag me out for?"

"A completely selfish reason. So I didn't risk being left with the reminder I let you get hurt down there."

"I can't stand things being the way they are. I don't get what I'm supposed to be living for now."

"Down there are a bunch of adults who don't have much of a life ahead of them. Sadly some kids might be as lucky as that. I know you aren't one of them. You still have a chance."

The last point reminded Shinji of his hopes that he would possibly be face to face with Rei at some point. Out of everyone he could think of there was no one he could bring himself to want to see again. This earned a sense of despair from him when he considered a constant reminder he heard from Kensuke and other sources about what she was now. Just the simple fact he was thinking about someone who did not even have a soul of her own or would be starting over from the beginning with her again had an initial appeal but a shame that came after he thought about it.

All of these reminders made Shinji sit back as he wondered, "What would being with her feel like?"

Before he could ask anything else about his situation, Shinji felt Hajime turn his car to the right and make its way down an alley where a parking lot was kept. There was one other car waiting and the lights were on. It was only as soon as Hajime turned his car off that he felt secure in looking around with a sense of security.

Hajime announced the arrival, "Well we made it. I don't know about the others but it seems like Koji made it at least."

Willing to accept that no one else was around at the moment, Shinji stepped out of the car and looked across to see another two people step out and greet him. Neither of them were individuals he hoped he would see. Koji followed alongside Misato as he breathed a sigh of relief that Hajime fulfilled his part of the mission but remained at a distance as he held out hope there was someone other than Shinji.

Misato stepped into the middle of the lot and called out, "Shinji..."

Shinji turned away as soon as he heard her call only to remember there was nowhere else for him to run. Misato stopped where she stood as she saw him clench his fists for a second before hanging his head. Disappointment hung over him as he was forced to remember that Misato was still trying to find him but was struggling to even want to be in the same area as her.

The sight gave a sinking feeling in Misato's stomach as she realized what she was facing. The two were never able to really solve their issues and the recent battle against Maelstrom did little to change anything. Both she and Shinji were together in reality but struggling to even look each other in the eye over what they did to one another. The presence of Koji and Hajime around them was the only thing that made her hold back any displays of grief other than hanging her arms and looking on longingly.

Hajime tried to understand the situation by asking, "What's the matter? Is there actually an issue here?"

Shinji shook his head while he answered, "I don't know what else I should have expected."

A/N: And that will do it for this chapter, basically a lot of set up for what could be the fall of NERV and desperate attempts to take advantage of where things have developed. Revelations of the true intentions of just some of the characters coming to light that caused this hangup to happen. And most of all the struggle of Shinji to even consider his own happiness as he continues to struggle to even speak to Misato.

No doubt this chapter probably left you with a lot of questions about how things will turn out. Who is Porter receiving his tips from? Will SEELE or the JSSDF be successful in taking over NERV? What sort of gamble is Gendo trying to play? And what you're probably most anxious to find out, what will it take for Shinji and Misato to even look at one another again?

Some of these questions are going to be answered in the next chapter where you will find out which ones. Hope to see you all next time.