A few days had passed since the battle with Gaghiel, but for Misato, the victory felt overshadowed by the lingering mystery surrounding Quest Strother. She sat at her desk late into the night, staring at the reports, files, and data they had on the Godslayer. It wasn't much—encrypted communications, some visual recordings from the battles, but nothing concrete. Quest had left no trace of his identity, no background to follow, and no patterns to predict.
The soft glow of her desk lamp illuminated the clutter of papers and empty coffee cups as she leaned back in her chair, sighing in frustration.
"He's just a kid," she muttered to herself, recalling the brief moments she had seen the Godslayer in action, and the voice that had come over the comms after Sachiel's defeat. Quest's voice, cold and detached, rang in her head. You did good, kid.
"Who are you?" she whispered into the empty room.
Misato had requested every piece of surveillance footage available, but all of it led to dead ends. The Godslayer had a cloaking device that not only rendered it invisible to radar and satellites, but it seemed to mask any other signals or information as well. It was as if Quest didn't exist outside of the moments when he chose to appear in battle.
There was a knock at the door, interrupting her thoughts. Ritsuko entered, holding a tablet with new data.
"Still at it, huh?" Ritsuko asked, raising an eyebrow as she glanced at the mess on Misato's desk.
"Yeah," Misato grumbled. "I can't shake this, Ritsuko. Quest could have helped with Gaghiel, but he didn't. And the fact that we can't find anything on him is driving me crazy."
Ritsuko sighed, sitting across from Misato and placing the tablet on the desk. "I get it, Misato. But we've tried everything. We've run every facial recognition program, cross-referenced every known pilot, military operative, and civilian record. He's a ghost."
Misato flipped through the reports again, her eyes scanning for anything she might have missed. "He's not working with any known organizations, and he's not following NERV's chain of command. He operates outside of everything, but he's still always there when the Angels attack. Why?"
Ritsuko leaned back, tapping her chin in thought. "Maybe he has his own agenda. It's possible he doesn't see himself as part of NERV's mission or the UN's. He's an independent actor."
"An independent actor with technology far beyond anything we have," Misato added, narrowing her eyes. "It doesn't add up. Even if he was working solo, the Godslayer's tech is on another level. How does he have access to something like that?"
Ritsuko paused, then handed Misato the tablet. "Speaking of that, we've been analyzing what little data we have on the Godslayer's capabilities. This is the latest from the tech division. Its armor, weapon systems, propulsion—everything about it is advanced, but it's not just advanced. It's as if it's been designed specifically to combat the Angels."
Misato's brow furrowed as she looked at the schematics on the tablet. "What do you mean?"
Ritsuko pointed to the data. "The Godslayer's weaponry isn't just powerful—it's specialized. Some of the energy readings we've picked up suggest that its weapons are designed to counter the unique properties of the Angels' AT Fields. Whoever built this knew exactly what they were up against."
Misato stared at the screen, realization dawning on her. "You're saying Quest, or whoever built the Godslayer, knew about the Angels before they even appeared?"
"That's one possibility," Ritsuko said, nodding. "Or, at the very least, they had access to information that would allow them to prepare for this exact threat. Which means Quest has access to resources that we don't."
Misato leaned back in her chair, running a hand through her hair. "This just keeps getting more complicated. If he's not with NERV or any government, then who is he working for? And why doesn't he just join us if he has the same goal?"
Ritsuko shrugged. "Maybe he doesn't trust us. Maybe he has his own reasons for staying in the shadows."
Misato sighed. "Whatever the reason, I don't like it. We need to figure out who Quest is and what he really wants."
She stood up, determination flashing in her eyes. "I'm not going to just sit around and wait for him to show up whenever he feels like it. There has to be a way to draw him out."
Ritsuko raised an eyebrow. "And how do you plan to do that?"
"I'll find a way," Misato said firmly. "If he's watching us like we think he is, then he's paying attention to everything we do. I'm going to give him something to notice."
Ritsuko crossed her arms, curious. "You think you can bait him into revealing himself?"
"I'm going to try," Misato replied. "He may be out of our reach right now, but everyone has a weak spot. Even him."
As Misato walked toward the door, she stopped and glanced back at Ritsuko. "If we're going to figure out who Quest Strother really is, we're going to need to be smarter. I won't let him stay a ghost forever."
With that, Misato left the room, her mind racing with ideas on how to finally uncover the truth behind Quest and the Godslayer.
