Interludes After the Eleventh Angel, Part 3

Note, the parenthesis indicate languages other than Japanese, in this case, English, German.
Please Read and Review. I'd like to know what I'm doing right (to keep doing it), and what I am doing wrong (to correct it).

SEELE Holochamber

The most powerful men in the world gathered once more, to review and fine tune their plans; taking into account the data gathered until then.

"(Are there any new developments in the analysis of the Angels?)" Lorenz Kiehl asked, his raspy voice calm and collected.

"(None we can consider definitive.)" The others reported, each man framed by a column of colored light. "(The Dead Sea Scrolls text has been confirmed to the expected parameters. The next Angel is projected to attack in a couple of weeks, one month at the most. Leliel, the Angel of Night.)"

"(Progress in the S2 Engine?)"

SEELE 4, the representative of the USA opened a folder. "(The S2 organ has been back-engineered, adapted to the NG tech, and installed in Unit-04. The Nevada base reports a satisfactory progress. Well within schedule. The test will proceed as expected. If there are no problems with the S2 Engine, this would free the MPEs from any need to use the umbilical cables. Still, the alternative energy projects are still running.)"

"(The Fourth Child is ready?)" Kiehl asked.

"(She is. Her psych profile is remarkably free of trauma, yet she is very willing to pilot. She synchronizes well with the core, even though the soul inside is not related to the Fourth Child in any way. Still, her synch rate is lower than the other three pilots. Most probably due to her own lack of family attachments.)"

"(No matter. Her function is to test the S2 Engine. Her attitude makes it doubtful she would carry the end ceremony to its conclusion. Still, she is to be considered for a support role should any of the other three pilots be incapacitated before the final stages.)"

"(Very well.)" Kiehl approved the report with the push of a button. "(Have the psych evaluations of the Marduk Batch reviewed, in prevision of the arrival of Bardiel.)"

"(Yes, sir. Ikari obtained statements from the Marduk Batch under the guise of a school report on their insights of the events since the Third Angel's appearance )" Lorenz Kiehl pushed a button, and an additional column appeared. The occupant was Commander Gendo Ikari himself. "(Ikari, it is time for you to present your report. We are especially interested in the effects the Angel battles have had so far in the emotional state of the Marduk Batch, but also in your insight on the development so far. Do not hold out anything. Is that understood?)"

Ikari sat still as a statue, his fingers laced before his mouth, as it was his custom. "(Clearly understood, Chairman Kiehl.)"

Not a single one of the occupants of the chamber ever noticed the two figures watching them from the shadows. A dead acrobat clad in red, and a mystery clad in black and blue. they had waited patiently until the connection with the Holochamber in Tokyo-3 had been established.

After a moment, Ikari commented, "(The original Japanese text had been translated to English by myself. To facilitate communication, as some Japanese characters can hold double meanings, needing cultural context to elucidate the true meaning. The original texts have been already sent to your MAGI, for later review.) Commander Ikari pushed a button on his own desk.

The centre of the chamber changed into a black column, two sentences appeared on each of the four sides, easily read by the six occupants of the Holochamber,
"(Excerpts from the Notebook of Toji Suzuhara. Recorded after the Sachiel Event.)"

"(My sister's only in second grade. She got hurt in that stupid battle in the city, what makes it worse is that she was injured by our own stupid robot, not by the enemies. There's no way I can forgive any one who did something so stupid. I'm gonna find the jerks who hurt my sister, and teach'em a lesson they will never forget.)"

Ikari spoke behind his laced fingers. "(This prospective pilot did strike at the Third Child. However, they seem to be in good terms now, having solved their differences. It was not considered necessary to discipline him, as his scuffle didn't interfere with the Third's conditioning, it even reinforced it.)"

"(Very well. Next.)"

"(This was obtained surrepticiously in Tokyo-3 school, most of the diary contained only the normal entries expected from a girl in the age range and location, and had no information of interest about the Sachiel Event, beyond noting she and her family had been evacuated into the bunker closest to their domicile. The girl is the Class Representative of the Marduk Batch. The diary was returned by the same agent who obtained it. The owner didn't notice the removal and return of the diary. This was the only entry that merited inclusion in the report.)"

"(Excerpt from the Diary of Hikari Horaki. Recorded After the Shamshel Event)"

"(We'd already had a lot of evacuation training at the school, so we didn't really think it was that serious. The guys were all acting like jerks, as usual; like they were on a field trip. And none of the girls were afraid either.)"

"(Notably, she doesn't mention that two of her classmates managed to get out the bunker. The pair was disciplined for violating the emergency protocols. They had almost been crushed to death under Unit-01, thrown into the air by Shamshel during the battle. It is worth mentioning that Shamshel had cut the umbilical cable during the fight, severely limiting the operational time available to the Evangelion Unit-01. Captain Katsuragi, under her own authority, ordered them to enter Unit-01's plug. Despite the mental interference, the Third Child managed to destroy Shamshel, though using all the energy in Unit-01's internal batteries. This was an unexpected development. The analysis of the Event resulted in the modification of the neural interface of Units 01 and 02. It is believed that this facilitated the three-way synch reported in the Gaghiel Event. It is also possible that the two individuals involved in the incident could be compatible with Unit-01's neural interface.)"

"(The mark of the wise man is to listen to Providence as it makes itself heard.)" commented Kiehl. They all mumbled a prayer. Even Ikari, to keep appearances.

"(The next excerpt was obtained from the personal computer of another Marduk Batch individual. This individual has repeatedly expressed interest in joining the pilot corps. His profile indicates a rebellious streak, as he was the instigator of the previous Event, goading his classmate into escaping the bunker. I recommend discarding him as a viable pilot, but keep him in the class, as his presence is a stabilizing influence in the class dynamics)"

"(From the Personal Files of Kensuke Aida. Recorded after the Ramiel Event.)"

"(Shinji never really told me what really happened. But if I had to guess, I'd say that Rei must've tried to sacrifice herself in order to protect Unit-01 from the enemy's particle beam. The reason I'm so sure about this is Rei herself. I don't think she has much respect for her own existence. It's not just pessimistic, Hell! A lot of kids our age are like that. No. its something much, much more. But nobody ever tells me nothing.)"

"(Keep him away from operating procedures. He is showing unacceptable insight into the First Child's psyche.)"

"(The First Child has moderated her apparent nihilism, in public, that is. She maintains a consistent obedience to the objectives of the program.)"

"(Keep him under loose observation. Next.)"

Ikari nodded silently. The text in the column changed again, "(Gaghiel Event)"

"(This event did not occur in accordance with our scenario, Ikari)"

"(Nevertheless, the result was within the projected parameters. We can make the necessary adjustments.)"

SEELE 4, the US representative spoke, "(The United Nations' combined Navy lost four ships in this encounter! Plus, four jet fighters!)"

The USSR representative, SEELE 3 commented acidly, "(At least the lost ships belonged to your country, the damage is negligible. The Over the Rainbow was repaired in record time. The lost ships were already obsolete, and about to be replaced. The Othello was in its last voyage. The Angel saved us the bother of decommissioning the ship)"

Then the French one, SEELE 2, spoke, "(Quite true. It was fortunate that so much of the damage is inconsequential.)"

Kiehl cut the bickering before it could really start, by the simple means of pressing the button to advance to the Seventh Event.

"(I see no need to analyse this Event. The means to fight Israfel were unorthodox, but effective. The Second and Third Child still showed some residual synchronization leftover from the Gaghiel Event.)"

"(The mutual synchronization has receded to a latent state. I'm confident it could be reinduced if needed.)" Ikari noted, his mouth hidden behind his laced fingers.

"(Monitor that capability in the Second and Third Children, Ikari.)"

Commander Ikari nodded fractionally. "(I have already given the appropriate orders.)"

"(Do not try to anticipate our orders, Ikari. Next Event.)"

"(Sandalphon was located inside Mt. Asama, still in its larval stage. Captain Katsuragi enacted a Special Command A-17. The Second Child was selected for the capture, supported by Unit-01.)"

SEELE 2 commented, "(Very inconvenient that the Angel hatched before being delivered to the Matsuhiro base.)"

"(All security procedures were enacted. It was not possible to recapture it. It was necessary to eliminate the Angel. The cost was minimal. Repairs and refitting of the two Evangelion Units involved was well withing the acceptable operational margin. Samples of the Angel's body were collected immediately, and sent for analysis.)"

"(Next.)"

"(Despite operating without energy, NERV Japan managed to destroy Matarael. Your performance was acceptable. The unacceptable part is that the Geo-Front generators failed simultaneously.)"

"(It was determined sabotage was the cause. The likely culprits were identified in absence. However, they have not been captured. There are standing orders for their capture and arrest.)"

"(Next)"

"(Sahaquiel. In my absence during the recovery operation of the Longinus Artifact, Captain Katsuragi devised a method to stop the Angel from executing an orbital drop. She has been rewarded with the rank of Major. On a minor note, this was the first simultaneous operation for the three Evangelion units. The pilots worked well together, as the scenario demands.)"

"(What about Iruel, Ikari? Our projections agree it should have manifested itself by now. We received an alert that NERV-03 had been invaded by an Angel.)"

SEELE 2 interjected "(That's true. This has not occurred in accordance with our predictions of when an Angel would invade NERV.)"

SEELE 5 added, "(And to make it worse, you let it intrude into Central Dogma itself.)"

SEELE 3 added his own opinion, "(If contact had occurred then, our entire project could have ended in disaster.)"

Finally, Ikari spoke, his voice flat and inexpressive, as always, "(The report to this committee was in error. There is no truth behind this tale of an Angel invasion.)"

SEELE 4 asked, clearly irritated by Ikari's attitude, "(Are you saying the Eleventh Angel's intrusion did not occur?)"

"(Correct.)"

"(Speak with caution, Ikari. Making false statements to this conference is punishable by death.)" SEELE 2 admonished, clearly eager to see such a penalty enacted.

"(Check the MAGI's recorders. Nothing concerning such an incident was recorded.)"

"(That's absurd. Hiding the truth is your specialty.)" SEELE 3 was not to be easily convinced.

Ikari stuck to his version, "(The time schedule follows what the Dead Sea Scrolls prescribe.)"

Kiehl, annoyed, ceded, for the moment. "(All right, we won't discuss any possible guilt or punishment this time. But let me remind you that you cannot create a new scenario.)"

"(I understand.)" Ikari's face was a mask, his eyes hidden behind his reflective glasses, and his mouth behind his laced fingers. "(Everything is proceeding according to SEELE's plan.)"

"(The rest of this meeting doesn't concern you, Ikari. You are dismissed.)" Pushing a button, Lorenz Kiehl cancelled Commander Ikari's link to the meeting. In NERV 3, the five holoimages disappeared in the darkness. Ikari stood up in silence, and abandoned the chamber.

SEELE Holochamber
NERV-3, Japan
(Spiritual Plane)

"(So, what do you think, partner? Informative?)" Deadman floated upside down, at the place previously occupied by Lorenz Kiehl.

"(This confirms that so far, SEELE has no real knowledge of the changes in the pilots' psyche. Ikari is keeping the information to himself.)" The Phantom Stranger walked out the room, without bothering to open the door. He simply disappeared from the inside as he closed on the exit, and reappeared at the other side, Deadman ghosted through the wall. "(He also managed to keep hidden Iruel's attack, and that the Angel is now part of the Japanese MAGI.)"

"(So, what do we do now? They didn't really discuss anything we didn't know before.)"

"(I'll follow Ikari, and see what he does. You go check on the pilots.)"

"(Sure, boss. I'll give the kid your regards.)" Deadman flew away without waiting for an answer.

Katsuragi-Ikari Apartment

Shini Ikari closed his laptop, "Well, tickets bought and paid. They will deliver them tomorrow, Toji. What did Hikari say?"

Wincing, Toji Suzuhara rubbed his ear as he set the phone down, "She really wants to go to the circus, she almost got me deaf in one side with her 'YES!' Must be a circus fan or something." He shrugged, "It's getting late, Shinji, I should go home."

"Sure, I'll see you tomorrow."

Minutes later, Shinji found himself sitting at his desk. A new message on the screen.

"So, the circus, uh?"

"Boston-san? Is that you?" Shinji whispered, even though he was alone at the apartment.

"In the ectoplasm, kid. The Stranger and yours truly have just been listening to Commander Badbeard and the SEELE bigwigs reviewing the performance of NERV Japan. Nothing really new, those guys love to check and recheck everything. I'd go full villain if I had to do that for a living, you know. BTW, the Stranger send his regards."

Shinji rubbed the back of his neck, "I guess it gets on the nerves. And thanks, I was a bit worried about him."

"Yeah, he is okay now, he was a bit under the weather, but feels better now.
I couldn't help but listen to you guys when I got in. You know, I used to perform at that very same circus, a long time ago…"

"Really?"

"Yup. I was the top header! Deadman, defying Death in each show! We toured all over the USA, and even did a tour in Latin America. For some reason, the guys in Mexico changed my stage name to 'Dantón' (1). I have no idea why, I have nothing to do with that guy from the French Revolution. I even had to check the encyclopedia. I guess the literal "Difunto" was too much for some sensibilities. (Scratching head)."

"Anyway, I wish you could have seen me back in the day! Soaring through the air, no net! Crowds loved me! However… I let it go to my head. I was a complete jerk back then. Still, I didn't deserve to be shot right in the middle of my act! There I was, nailing a quadruple spin, the most difficult manoeuvre a trapeze artist can do, without a safety net, mind you. And just as I'm about to grab the trapeze bar to finish my act, blam! Shot in the heart."

Shinji gulped.

"I didn't even realize I was dead then. I only realized something bad had happened when instead of a thundering applause, all I heard was a complete silence. I turn around to see, and what do I find? A group of carnies around a twisted body in the ground, dressed just as me, in the middle of a spreading pool of red. Total shock, buddy."

"I hadn't even processed things when I am pulled outside, and a cute face appears in the clouds, Rama-Kushna was her name, a goddess from Asia, she says, and tells me I have been chosen to address a cosmic imbalance, and gives me the power to hijack bodies. My first mission, to find my killer (2). I had a lot of adventures, and saved a lot of people in the way. I met a lot of heroes, and a few villains. But I always went back to the circus. I just feel empty if I don't hang out at a circus now and then. Now even Death can keep a carny away from the rings and the sawdust. My brother Cleveland (3) even took my act for a while. We were twins, (Yeah, Mom had some strange ideas about names…) but I had the limelight bug, and he was a better accountant than acrobat. He dropped the act after a few months,once they found a replacement, and travelled with the circus as accountant and organizer. My niece Lita travelled with him too. I wonder if she's still with the circus… She must be a mother by now. I wonder if I have any grandnephews or grandnieces…"

Shinji smiled at the words.

"Still… I guess Id like to get this off my chest, kid. I haven't told anybody what happened later on. I found my way to Rama-Kushna's turf, a little place in Tibet, where evil becomes good and ghosts can have a body again, and instead of being a sensible little ghost, I went out, lost my body again just as I left the place, and in a monumental show of idiocy, I ended up causing my brother's death. I just had to go trapeezeing again. In his body, just in time for the remake of my own murder. At least I got to see him enter Heaven. Turns out things didn't stop there, in the end, Rama-Kushna was no more, and Nanda Parbat was destroyed. A friend of mina and myself ended up having to care for about a hundred kids, war orphans, you know. It was a nightmare to find homes for all of them, but we managed. Good kids, graduated early, most of them. Last I knew, a couple were already married or considering it. (4)"

"Wait, Nanda Parbat?" Shinji gasped. "Ive been there! I train there!"

"Wait, wait, wait. You've been to Nanda Parbat?"

"Yes! The Phantom stranger brings me there to train, Mr. Grant has been teaching me to fight."

"Mr. Grant? Joe Grant?"

"No, no, Ted Grant, Wildcat!"

"Hes still around? I thought he had been killed in the Impact Wars."

"He said he has to stay at Nanda Parbat, I guess whatever lets you be human there also applies to him."

"Yes. I'll have to visit there one of these days, once we get over this Third Impact problem. I won't make the same mistake again. I'm gonna keep my eye on the ball."

"Boston-san…" Shinji's voice cracked. "…is there something I could do for you?"

"Well… seeing you're going to go to the circus and all… could you do me a small favor?"

"Whatever you'd like, Boston-san."

"Buy a big bucket of popcorn, hot, with butter. And let me hijack you for a little while, just to eat it. It's one of the things I really miss about being alive."

Shinji smiled again, sometimes it was hard to keep the pace, but after all the bad things Deadman had endured, the fact that he could still joke and have fun was encouraging for the pilot. "Sure I will."

A possible XXVI Century
NERV-2 Base, Nevada Desert

"(Oh, god…)" Mari wheezed. The images were incredible, yet they fit with the little Dr. Canus and Kamandi knew about the Great Disaster.

"(Who is that girl?)" Kamandi asked. "(What's she doing?)"

"(I don't know, but look!)" Canus pointed at the screen. "(The effect is spreading all over the world!)"

"(She looks like one of the other Evangelion pilots, but how could she grow to that size? It's impossible for a body to grow that much! The Evangelions push the limits and even they are not that big)"

"(How long did it take for the effect to cover the world?)" Canus asked, still horrified, the appearance of those cross shaped lights disturbed him at a level he couldn't even begin to describe.

Mari wrote a query in the computer, a moment later, she had her answer. "(Seven minutes and forty two seconds... (5) Oh, god, the end of the world lasted only that?)" She sobbed.

Kamandi opened and closed his mouth several times, he just had no words to express the horror he felt at the images, he focused instead on the next file. "(This one was taken from ground cameras…)"

"(Blondie, I am not watching that. Excuse me.)" Mari stood up, and ran out of the room.

"(Dr. Canus?)" Kamandi's finder hesitated above the keyboard.

"(Yes, my friend.)" Canus' words sounded choked, as if they were refusing to leave his throat. Just to imagine a whole world filled with people like his human friend, reduced to nothing in just a few minutes filled him with an unbearable sadness. "(We owe it to your ancestors. We watch, we learn. We will held a howl in remembrance for them.)" (6)

He grabbed the human's shoulder in mute support. "(If you'd prefer to not watch, I'll understand. Go to Mari. She needs you more than I do now.)"

Kamandi nodded, "(I'll return soon.)" and he pushed the key.

"(Are you okay?)" He found Mari sitting on the scaffold around Unit-04's head. Her legs hanging down over the edge of the platform.

"(No.)" she gulped. "(I don't know if I will be okay ever again. One thing is to know your world died long ago, to know it in here.)" she tapped her temple. "(But knowing it in here…)" she tapped over her heart. "(I hadn't thought about it, but I am the last survivor (7). Me! The Problem Child! I was chosen to stop this from happening! I wasn't there, and now I have no idea of what to do, what to feel…)"

"(I don't know either.)" he admitted, and sat next to her, passing an arm over her shoulders. Mari grabbed him, and cried on his shoulder for a long time. Kamandi simply held her, rocking with her, until her tears stopped.

"(What are we going to do, Kamandi?)" she asked, softly.

He wiped the tracks of her tears with a thumb. "(If Brother Eye is right, if there's a chance to save the Human Race, we fight. That's what we do. We fight. All my life I've fought to simply survive. Now, I will fight for my people.)" His blue eyes looked deeply into Mari's green-blue ones. "(For you.)"

She grabbed his shoulders, and pulled him into a kiss. Her first clumsy, awkward kiss. But full of fire and eagerness.

Author Notes

(1) I first knew Deadman through the Mexican publisher, Editorial Novaro, they had a curious policy, imposed by the government, about translating names. Deadman was renamed Dantón, just as Deadman says, and probably for the same reasons he explains in story. As a side note, even though many of their renaming ideas were strange at best and really bad at worst, at least one name is better, IMO, than the original: The Phantom Stranger became El Mensajero de Ultratumba (The Messenger from Beyond the Grave). It sure beats the literal translation of either Forastero Fantasma, or Fantasma Extraño. Or the current name in Spain, Fantasma Errante (Wandering Ghost), which I feel is better for Deadman.

(2) A somewhat modified version of Deadman's origin, from both his first appearance, in Strange Adventures issue 205 (Oct 1967), and the retelling in Secret Origins issue 15 (Jun 1987)

(3) Cleveland Brand debuted in Strange Adventures issue 211 (Apr, 1968), along with his daughter, Lita.

(4) In the Deadman mini series 1-4 (Mar to Jun 1986)

(5) That's how long Komm Susser Todd lasts. The song that plays while Third Impact unfolds, in End of Evangelion. I took the length from the Wikipedia entry about Music of Evangelion.

(6) Not canon, but I thought the Enhanced would have their own funeral traditions, and howling seemed appropriate for both wolves and dogs.

(7) A little reference to Novaro. Their version of Kamandi didn't have the tagline "El Ultimo Muchacho Sobre la Tierra" (the literal translation of the original "The Last Boy on Earth"), but "El Ultimo Sobreviviente" (The Last Survivor). I must say that the Novaro version sounds waaay better in Spanish than the literal one.