PRESENT
ABOARD THE WUNDER
Steaming cup of coffee in her hands, Rei knocked on the closed door.
A moment passed before a response.
"Enter."
"Your coffee, Doctor."
The blonde took the cup, silent as she drank.
It was silent, Misato seemingly deep in thought about something, while Ritsuko seemed content in the companionship of her mug.
The silence was broken by a familiar face entering.
"Hey Captain, long time no see!"
Mari had strolled into the office, ignoring etiquette. Asuka was behind her, face indifferent.
Katsuragi coughed as powered off a tablet, putting it down on the desk before responding, her tone exasperated.
"Pilot, can you please knock?"
Mari paused for a moment, stupid grin still on her face as she backed up and proceeded to rap her knuckles on the now closed door.
Dear god, this girl really seemed to want to piss her off today.
"What did you come here for pilot?"
She put her finger to her chin in thought, before blurting out what she had been thinking.
"Oh! I'm going to neeeeed…"
Her motions exaggerated as she waved her finger around the room, before landing on the blue haired girl a few feet to the left of her.
"Her!"
Misato pinched the bridge of her nose.
"And why, might I ask, do you require Ayanami?"
"I wanted to have her eat lunch with us!"
Hm.
That didn't sound so bad.
Danger wasn't a worry, the clone having proved herself essentially harmless in the past two years.
Authorizing her wouldn't really cause any trouble besides maybe some annoyance from the crew. Her gaze shifted to the blonde next to her.
However…
This would be a nice and petty way to piss off her second in command. She knew that Ritsuko essentially kept the girl around as a personal butler.
The woman treated her like trash otherwise.
Eh. Why the Hell not?
"Alright, you can take her. Ritsuko won't need her for a while anyway working on the replacement arms for Unit 08."
"Suhweet!" The ponytailed girl pumped her arm in celebration, grabbing the arm of Rei and dragging her out.
"Come on Blue! Let's blow this popsicle stand!"
The redhead leaning against the side of the doorframe with her arms crossed watched as Mari pulled Rei away, speed walking down the hallway.
She did have to admit, the dumbfounded look that had made its way onto the blue haired girl's face was amusing to say the least.
A moment later, she groaned and rolled her eyes, pushing herself off the wall and following, the door closing after her a moment later.
The two older women were left alone, blonde glaring at purple.
"Did you have to do that?"
"Yes, yes I did. I know you use her like a personal slave. Keep that up and I'll reassign her with Ibuki where she can actually be useful."
The blonde made the smart choice and kept her mouth shut.
"Besides, she needs some time to rest. I want to have her tested soon anyway."
"You don't mean?"
"Yes, I mean exactly that. She's proven herself, and we need every pilot we can get."
The blonde hummed in agreement, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it.
Exhaling out of her nose, she posed the question neither really wanted to think about.
"And what about Shinji?"
She thought back to before the third impact, remembering how empathetic he had been.
How all he seemed to care about was making others happy, remembering how upset he would get at the sight of others hurting.
So much unlike his father, it was honestly hard to see how they were related.
Which is why it pained her to think about the events of the past 2 years.
The almost vegetative state he had been in after the fourth impact, mind overloaded with trauma.
The blank, thousand yard stare in the prison interviews.
A man whose mind had simply shut down after years of trauma.
The video from moments ago played again in her mind.
The clean and efficient way he took out the SEELE operatives, treating murder as if it was nothing more than minor annoyance.
She was scared of what he had become. Scared that there wasn't much left of who she had known all of those years ago.
And she knew she had played a part in it.
WILLE was a necessary organization after the third impact, but the public pressure made it difficult to get anything done, the confused populace placing blame on them.
They needed heat off of their backs, and fast.
They had needed a fall guy, and WILLE had been more than eager to provide one.
She had let it happen, her own anger at the time clouding her better judgement.
If there was anything left, any semblance of the kindhearted boy still left in there, she would help him.
No, she owed it to him.
You break it, you pay for it.
She turned back to Ritsuko, finally voicing her final decision.
"Yes. Even Shinji."
ELSEWHERE
"So Rei, how are the vegetables? I heard a technician say they're nasty. Never had em myself."
Rei had spent a good portion of her life living off of nutrient pills, so she was far from picky.
"It is adequate."
"Cool, cool. "
The mess hall was relatively empty for the day, only a few scattered WILLE members still in outfit eating.
The redhead sitting across occasionally sent glares her way when she thought Rei wasn't looking.
"Why did you get the vegetables again? The technician was right, they're disgusting."
"Tsk tsk tsk princess, don't you remember? Blue here is vegetarian!"
"Oh, right."
They continued eating, the relative quiet only occasionally being broken up by the clattering of utensils against meal trays.
Dipping her spoon into the soup she had gotten with her meal, a flash of thought entered her head.
"I apologize, I do not eat meat." The Shinji in front of her was younger, likely no older than 15.
The smile on his face faltered for a moment, before he snapped his fingers.
"You know what, that's fine. How about some soup?" A moment later, a small bowl was produced, a broth created from vegetables within.
"Here, try this."
Taking the offered spoon, she dipped it in and tried a mouthful, the flavor pleasant and well seasoned.
"It is enjoyable. Thank you."
Shinji smiled and nodded, making his way to the other side where the second child sat.
The redhead glared at her as she enjoyed her meal, whispering out an insult before turning back to her own food.
"God, what a tramp."
What?
She never remembered experiencing anything like that.
A hand on her shoulder snapped her out of her daze, looking over to see Mari with a concerned expression.
"Rei, everything alright?"
She blinked hard, letting her eyes refocus, noticing the redhead across, arms crossed with a raised eyebrow.
"I am well. Thank you for asking pilot Makinami."
If they didn't believe her, well, they said nothing of it.
EARTH
EARTH, EXACT LOCATION CLASSIFIED
In the large room, it was silent, save for the occasional hisses of the life support systems attached to his body.
One by one, the dark monoliths within the room came to life, their respective numbers lighting up.
Keel spoke with a voice laced with age and authority.
"Gentlemen."
"What is the meaning of this meeting? Did we not agree to remain silent after Ikari's actions?"
"Yes, but for now, there is a larger issue at play." His voice was even, tone calm and clinical.
02 spoke up.
"And what would that issue be, sir?"
He readjusted his posture, making sure his back was straight.
"As you all know, the younger Ikari is currently a wanted fugitive."
"And why is that a concern?"
"It has come to my attention that he may be responsible for the recent termination of some of our most experienced kill squads."
"How can that be? The psychographics showed him nearly incapable of even functioning normally. How could he be responsible?"
Keel let his expression darken slightly.
"The report we obtained from the prison he was in was apparently not very accurate. Interviews with multiple inmates after his escape revealed he had apparently been involved in numerous unreported physical altercations."
"That brat has been nothing but an annoyance! We need him and Unit 01 now!"
Keel interrupted the fourth monolith, deciding to finish up a meeting that had been running on for longer than he had liked.
"Gentlemen."
Silence, once again.
"We must remain collected. Brash decisions will only lead to regrets down the line. In time, we will catch him. Katsuragi will likely make that job far easier for us. For right now, let's let the elder Ikari believe he is in control."
With that closing statement the monoliths faded, leaving Keel once again alone, in silence.
Unlike his brethren, he was not worried about the possibility of failure.
Fate would one way or another, ensure Instrumentality.