PRESENT
SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE RED WASTELANDS
He opened the door, sweeping the inside of the room with the barrel of his rifle.
The old apartment within the abandoned districts had been a makeshift safehouse for the past few days for him.
He had not seen a single soul here the past few days, only occasionally witnessing helicopters and cargo planes make their way to the still used part of Italy.
The meager amount of possessions of his were on the counter, unmoved from where he had left them.
All of the doors were closed, locks turned to the specific angle he had left them at.
Seems like he was safe for the time being.
He sat himself at the small island that connected to the kitchen counter, placing the pilfered Kalashnikov on the table and shrugging off his combat gear.
He began his nightly ritual of firearm cleaning, running torn pieces of cloth through the barrel to remove residue, ramming the cleaning rod through.
The makeshift patches had come out the barrel blackened, courtesy of the many rounds that had been run through it a few hours prior.
The raid had been far more messy than he had liked, the squad assigned to protect the SEELE member well equipped and trained, every movement calculated.
He was glad that he had taken a chest rig with him, six spare magazines within it.
He had needed them.
They had no hesitation sending gunfire his way the moment he was spotted. It made dealing with the subsequent guilt of killing them easier.
Not by much though.
The gurgled cries of a SEELE guard who had taken a round in the neck would likely be heard again when he went to sleep later.
Once he had managed to get his hands on the committee member, a problem had made itself clear. The other had managed to recognize him, even through the facial coverings.
Apparently his name had been making waves, and it seemed they had found out what he had been doing.
Great. Just what he needed. More people on his tail.
He had repeated the same procedure with the bastard as the first, watching as the car made its way towards the base, a brick on the accelerator to keep it moving.
He exhaled out of his nose in exasperation. Things were only going to get harder from here on out.
He tried to ignore the recent revelations, instead putting his focus on the field stripped rifle in his hands.
He enjoyed the simplicity of the crude but effective design; this rifle was likely older than his shitbag father, if the date stamp had been read right.
After about 15 minutes, he was satisfied with his work and put it back together, the bolt, recoil spring, and dust cover put back in their respective spots.
He grabbed the magazine, rocking it into place, racking the bolt handle. He pushed it forward a smidge to ensure it was in battery, and flipped the fire selector to safety.
As he began to reach to set it down to the side, a voice made him freeze.
"That's a nice piece you've got there."
He swung the rifle up, instinctively slamming down the fire selector to automatic, aiming in the direction the voice had come from.
Apparently the shadow in the corner he had been ignoring wasn't a hallucination this time around.
Or he had finally gone off the deep end. Neither option sounded good.
"Now that's not a very nice way to greet a guest."
Shinji did not waver, continuing to aim the rifle at the corner of the room, sights lined up on the now slightly visible outline in the darkness.
A lighter clicked, a soft flame appearing as the figure lit a cigarette, illuminating their features.
He recognized that face.
He still did not lower the rifle.
The other stepped forward, familiar slacks and button up shirt now visible in the faint moonlight.
"What, did you think I was dead? It'll take a little more than an impact to take me out."
The rifle was still raised.
The man sighed.
"If you're wondering, no, Misato didn't send me, nor did WILLE. I'm here of my own volition."
The rifle lowered.
Shinji kept his rifle at a low ready, still not fully trusting the man across from him enough to completely let his guard down.
The other pulled up a chair, sitting at the table with him.
"It's been a while, hasn't it?"
The face of Ryoji Kaji stared back at Shinji, expression turning serious.
"We need to talk."
WUNDER
The horizon was split in half, the deep blue of the sky contrasting the crimson of the abandoned city.
Seeing the city through the bridge viewfinder, Misato sighed. Gathering supplies was going to be a pain.
"300 clicks from our destination ma'am. ETA is 8 minutes." Hyuga spoke up, informing the captain of their current distance.
"We haven't picked up anything on thermals. We're clear."
The only other sound's were the tapping of keys as the bridge crew worked, the atmosphere too tense for anybody to say anything else.
She reached for the microphone nearby on the wall, activating the talk button.
"All pilots and ground personnel involved with the current operation, report to the conference room in sector 2A."
Moments later, the conference room was filled with personnel quietly talking amongst each other, waiting for the commander to arrive.
Hyuga sat quietly, hands folded as he waited.
"Hyuga." He turned his head to the person who had whispered to him, noticing Midori, another technician.
"Hmm?"
She leaned in, seemingly not wanting others to hear what she had to say.
"What do you think this will be about?"
"Might be addressing the rumors that have been circulating."
She furrowed her brows in thought.
"You mean Ikari?"
He nodded, watching as she sat in thought.
"You think they caught the bastard?"
The figure of Misato Katsuragi had entered silently into the room, unnoticed by Midori who was now facing him.
"Maybe. I hope so."
"Same here. I want to see that filth hung for what he did." Her voice raised a little bit, tinged with anger.
He noticed a few eyes glance their way.
"Uh, you really shouldn't say what you don't mean."
He hoped the subtle wording would make her stop, but sadly, the stubborn girl carried on.
"Except I do mean it. That piece of shit ended the world!"
She was getting louder.
"Don't say that. He deserves punishment, but we can't go around passing judgement like NERV."
"Fuck that! Even Tama wants to put a bullet in him once we find him, considering the commander doesn't seem to want to."
She had practically yelled that one out. The glare directed their way by Misato made it obvious she had been listening.
He gave up on subtlety and pointed behind her, watching as she turned towards the commander, blood draining from her face.
Silence reigned supreme as the Midori smartly decided to shut up for the time being.
Misato was silently making mental notes on handling his capture, worrying about how she was going to deal with a crew who would likely try to shoot him when she wasn't looking.
"Hey hey people!"
Nearly every person in the room faced the new voice in the doorway, glares boring into them.
Mari raised an eyebrow at the numerous eyes suddenly staring at her.
"I'd be happy to see me too."
She strolled over to a free seat, watching as the redhead that had been accompanying her sat down beside her.
She glanced around the room again, noticing the tense atmosphere.
"Damn. Seems you guys got some sticks up your asses today. Did Akagi catch you guys surfing porn again?"
Asuka shook her head in annoyance at the others' antics. She was too tired to bother creating a reply to the other.
She hadn't been sleeping very well recently, especially in the past few days.
Before anybody could retort, the blonde doctor that had been standing to the side spoke up.
"Alright, now that everyone is here, we can start."
The lights dimmed, a projection coming up on the wall in front of her.
The image of the now hellish Paris popped up on the screen.
"At 0600 we will send a team to collect supplies and materials in the abandoned NERV base here."
The image switched, a large robot looking thing not unlike the Eva Unit's being shown.
"This, is the Jet Alone. An abandoned project to replace the Evangelions. They were taken apart after their failure. Mostly useless, save for one part we need to find."
Another image, showing a schematic of the internals of it.
She took out a pointer, shining the dot on a specific piece.
"This, is it's power source. A nuclear reactor capable of producing enough power to keep it going for centuries."
Clicking to another image, this time an image of Unit 02.
"Due to WILLE not authorizing the construction of new units, it will be retrofitted onto Unit 02 to get us back to fighting capability faster. Our original plan was to dispose of the Unit, but this proved to be a better option.
Asuka straightened in her seat, hearing how desperate they had gotten in their attempt to get it back to operational status.
Were they really considering throwing it away? Her Eva?
A hand on her shoulder interrupted her thoughts, a voice quietly whispering to her.
"Don't worry princess, I can feel your anxiety from here. You'll be back in action in no time."
She grumbled in response, crossing her arms and sinking back down in the seat.
The blonde turned back to the group.
"Any questions?"
Maya decided to speak up.
"And what about the containment rods? Doesn't NERV have the codes for them. How are we going to activate them?"
She sighed.
"That's gonna be the hard part. We're going to have to send in a team to hack into them. A combative fireteam will be assigned with them to ensure safety."
Maya nodded her thanks.
"Alright, any more questions?"
Mari decided to take her chance.
"And what about the Eva's?"
"You will take a supportive role, the new autocannons recently installed should prove useful should we encounter any issues."
A different voice butted in.
"And what about me?"
Asuka watched as the blonde turned her eyes towards her, facial expression neutral.
"Your Unit is currently inoperational. You will stay aboard the Wunder on standby."
"So I'm supposed to sit around with my thumb up my ass?"
"Yes."
The doctor was tired, far from in the mood to be dealing with the others' childish antics at the moment.
The same could not be said for Shikinami.
"You bitch!"
"I would watch your tone, pilot."
"Or what?"
The doctor felt a smile forming on her lips, knowing exactly what she could say.
Rei's results had been promising, and the blue haired girl would likely give her far less sass during operations.
"Stop."
The authoritative voice of the commander rang out, cutting off what both were about to say.
"The operation is about to start. Akagi, make sure we are prepared."
The doctor nodded, before grabbing her materials and leaving wordlessly.
She turned back to Asuka, an intense gaze on her.
"And you. This isn't high school. Respect your superiors, or I will not hesitate to court martial you. Is that understood?"
The other glared at her, responding a moment later through gritted teeth.
"Yes ma'am."
"Good. Anything else before we begin?"
A hand was raised in the group, belonging to Midori.
"Speak."
She put her hand down, speaking shyly.
"Well, it's a little inappropriate, but…"
"But what?" It came out as more of a growl, the woman impatient.
The shorter woman jumped in her seat, deciding to get to the point.
"We were wondering if you had any information on the fugitive?"
Even with the visor, it was easy to tell that he eyes had narrowed.
"What about him?"
"We want to know if he's been found yet, and if so, when he is being thrown back in jail."
Misato kept silent, keeping her posture rigid and face neutral. She couldn't exactly say how she felt, so she kept it cold and clinical.
"The fugitive has yet to be found. WILLE has found evidence of his trail, but his exact whereabouts are unknown."
She couldn't help but notice the slight shift in facial expression from the redhead out of the corner of her eye.
Was she worried?
"Thats bullshit!" Midori's voice shot back, loud and clear.
"There's no way he could have evaded us for that long. He's not Rambo for gods sake!"
She shrunk back under the sudden withering glare the commander was giving through her visor.
"He is still at large. That is all that is known." The venom in her voice was clear.
Midori decided it was best to keep her thoughts to herself. She responded in a far more meek tone.
"Understood ma'am."
"Good. Everyone is dismissed."
The room quickly cleared, save for Mari and Asuka, who approached Misato a moment later.
"You know something about the puppy, don't you?"
"And what makes you believe that?"
"You were far too angry when she asked. You're definitely hiding something."
Asuka stepped forward, speaking up.
"Come on Misato, spill it. Did he go back to NERV to finish the job?"
Misato ignored her, knowing that he wouldn't have now, knowing what his father wanted.
She decided to return to her guardian personality for the time being, Commander Misato wouldn't help much here.
"No, we still don't know where he is, but we know he isn't with NERV. He has the council confused."
The other scowled at her. She sighed, finally deciding to tell the girl the truth.
"After an interrogation, we found that he was responsible for the recent capture of the two SEELE members."
The redhead widened her eyes in disbelief. Seems the rumors were true.
"No way, that brat couldn't do that."
"The MAGI and interrogators confirmed it."
The other stood silently, mulling over the new information she had received.
"Along with that, they confirmed he was responsible for the recent killings of SEELE operatives."
Mari smiled, liking what she heard. Asuka remained silent.
"Seems the rumors are true then. Puppy boy ain't no longer a puppy. What about the deal? Will this affect that at all?"
Misato looked at her, startled that she knew that, before sighing and rubbing her temple.
"Of course you found that out. Why shouldn't I be surprised?"
She sighed again as Mari giggled.
"They aren't sure. They haven't reached a final decision yet."
"Guess that's all I want to know then! Ta Ta!"
Mari skipped out, not waiting to see if her half sister followed or not.
She didn't.
Misato turned her attention back to the redhead who had her head down now.
"You should head back. You don't know if we might need you or not."
"Right."
Asuka turned to leave, only for Misato's voice to stop her once again.
"Asuka!"
She turned. It had been a while since her commander had used her first name like that.
"If we get him back, help me, help him. Alright?" She spoke softly, a sad smile on her face.
Asuka studied her for a moment, attempting to search for any signs of deception, finding none. She stared back into the other woman's gaze.
"Alright."