Interludes after the 12th Angel, Part 3

Note, the parenthesis indicates languages other than Japanese, in this case, English and German.

Nanda Parbat

Wildcat scratched his chin, the hard short hairs sounded like sandpaper under his nail. "(First of all, I want you to swear secrecy on what I will tell you, Red. Don't discuss it where you could be heard, don't talk about it to anybody who isn't already in the know. Got it? Your buddy here already swore a similar oath back in his first visit here to be a part-time punching bag and a full-time apprentice.)"

"An oath?" Asuka raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that kinda old-fashioned?"

"(We mystery men are, were, an old-fashioned lot. Especially the ones from before the Big One.)" he paused. "(The Second World War, I mean. The Impact Wars were somewhat worse; but thank God, they didn't last so long.)" He seemed uncomfortable for some reason.

The old boxer put the protective gear back in the boxes. "(It comes with the job, Red. You don't put a costume and go out to punch people's lights out in the name of justice unless you have some amount of personal honour.)"

He raised a hand, showing the palm, cutting her protest, "(Yeah, I know, I'm teaching you to fight dirty, ain't I contradicting myself? Not exactly. I want you to always keep Rule One in Mind: They will fight dirtier than you, and they don't care who they hurt. Fight to stop the bad guys, make sure they don't get up so easily, and that way you can protect yourself and any innocents around. I'm not telling you to go kick a guy 's teeth in when he's down for the count. I'm asking you to make sure he's actually down for the count.)" He snorted.

Asuka rolled her eyes, "Fine. I swear to keep the secrets. I won't be babbling them around. Only here and to the Phantom Stranger and Shinji. Happy?"

Shinji gasped at the lack of decorum, but Wildcat's booming laugh echoed all over the temple. "(You're one feisty lass after my own heart, Red. Couldn't do a better one myself. Sit down, give me a minute to remember and organize my noggin'.)"

"(Ever heard of Mafia Princesses?)" Wildcat asked suddenly.

"(No.)" Asuka shrugged. Shinji shook his head.

"(Okay. Here it goes. From the beginning of civilization, organized crime has been managed by local organizations, each one always trying to get one over the others, and take their territory, resources, money, drugs, whatever. The Mafia, the Mob, the Cosa Nostra, the Hundred, the Yakuza, Intergang, the Triads, whatever they call themselves. The name doesn't matter. They are all basically the same thing, a bunch of thugs with power, and cero respect for anybody else. They take what they can, and hold to it for as long as they can. They start as small gangs, and if their leaders are ruthless, smart, and amoral enough, they grow. The biggest ones eventually insinuate into the higher levels of society and government, and try to look legitimate, and that's supposing they don't begin as the the de facto government if the circumstances are favorable, especially after some great upheaval. With me so far?)"

Shinji and Asuka nodded. Wildcat continued.

"(Most of the time, the families of the mobsters know about their illegal activities, but the older and more powerful and established gang leaders sometimes try to shield they children from their work. They send them to the best schools, for example. Usually, the girls marry into the gang. But sometimes, when the family has enough Heirs to go around, the youngest members are sent away to make their own lives. Some of them even go legit. Until the family business intrudes into their lives.)"

"(Well, back when she was just a child, Huntress was a Mafia Princess (1). I won't tell you which Family. Thing is, she was there when an assassin sent by a rival gang massacred her whole family. She disappeared for a while, and managed to find me. I saw cold determination in her eyes. Just like the Bat had when he was still a wee lad in short pants.)" Shinji chuckled at the mental image, Wildcat chuckled too, and continued, "(She convinced me to train her in hand-to-hand combat. Long story short, she was quite an adept apprentice, and threw herself into the training. I guess revenge was the only thing keeping her alive. She was smart too, and made herself some small crossbows and darts (2). No guns. She hated them with a passion. She went vigilante for a few months, now calling herself the Huntress, and bagged some big name gangsters. Just between us three, had I known she was to take that name, I would have tried to convince her to change it. Anyway, in Gotham City, there was a time limit for that kind of thing, and the Bat found her. That must have been a hell of a talk, because Huntress managed to get herself a place in the Bat-Family! Not an easy thing, I tell you. You need to have a lot going on for you. Batman kept a close eye on her, and when the JLA reorganized, he got her in (3). It didn't last long. She did something, I don't know what, and she was kicked out (4). By the time Second Impact hit, she was mostly back into his good graces; so, when the JLU was formed, she was one of the members. Turns out an old enemy of Batman, Ra's Al Ghul, had been stirring things up, and she was part of the team that put that nutjob down for the count, definitively, thank God. That guy wanted to set of World War Three, as if we didn't already have enough problems with Second Impact. But only Nightwing survived. The whole thing was a trap. All the others paid with their lives.)" Wildcat snorted. "(Nightwing is still around, Red, but no longer running the rooftops. By the way, he used to be Robin, the first one to go public. Maybe you'll meet him one of these days.)" Shinji beamed at hearing this.

"(Normally, I wouldn't be training kids as young as you. This is not an easy life. I have lost partners, friends, and family, and all I have to show are a bunch of scars all over my body. Well, that and that the world is still going round the old Sun. And that it is not a Nazi world, so I guess we didn't do so bad, even if we got caught by surprise when the Second Impact bell rang. But you are already into this up to your scrawny necks. I want to make sure you pilots are as prepared as possible.)" Suddenly, his right fist hit his left palm, the sound was like a shot in the cold air of the temple.

"(I want you to survive, to thrive. Those Angels and those thingamajoobs you pilot are a bit out of my league as a trainer. But I never back down from a fight, and I have kicked the ass of things bigger and nastier than you would believe, some of them didn't even have asses to kick, and I kicked them anyway. Alone and with my friends. The way I see it, if you are tough enough as simple humans, you will be downright scary at the controls of a giant robot.)" He smiled crookedly. "(The best prepared you are before the fight, the better chance you have to walk away with your heads held high.)"

"(Now, it is time for you to go back home. Your ride is here.)" His thumb pointed at the newly materialized Phantom Stranger.

Tokyo-3
Japan
GeoFront
NERV HQ
SEELE HoloChamber
Next Day

Major Misato Katsuragi stood in perfect attention, right in the centre of a beam of light. The rest of the chamber completely dark, so the light coming from above hid the nervousness in her face, or so she hoped. Her voice was easier to control.

"Major Katsuragi. Are you still refusing to allow us to interrogate the pilot of Unit-02. The only one directly involved in the incident?" A disembodied voice asked gruffly. She didn't know the name, but just the mere fact he was a member of the Committee was enough to give her goosebumps.

"Yes, sir," she answered, no hesitation in her voice. "She went through a terrible experience, and she is emotionally unstable. I believe it would be unwise to have her here. However, according to protocol, I debriefed her as extensively as prudence allowed."

A different, oily voice asked, "Then, as her proxy, we will direct our questions to you, Major Katsuragi."

A third voice followed, dry and shrill, "In this incident, didn't the Angel attempt to communicate with a human being?"

"I found no suggestion of that in the pilot's report. She mentioned an encounter with a child version of herself, but she herself believes it was a hallucination induced by the lack of oxygen. The timing seems to corroborate her theory, as she reported having checked on her chrono before said encounter, and by then, the LCL purification system had stopped working. It was only a matter of time for the LCL to become saturated with CO2."

A fourth voice joined in, "That timing, of course, depends on her memory being accurate."

Misato didn't hesitate to answer, "There is no evidence that her memory has been tampered with. She is sure of having lost consciousness after checking her chrono. Dr. Akagi's examination confirms her memory is sound."

Again, the second voice, "However, the EVA Unit's AC recorder wasn't functioning at that point. There is no way to confirm that theory."

The fourth voice again, "Was the Angel interested in the human spirit? In the human mind?"

"I am unable to answer that question. It is more probable that, as the pilot reported, she was hallucinating. It's not even clear if the Angels have a concept of what "Mind" is, or whether they can understand human thoughts or not. That is completely unknown at this point."

The second voice, "A new factor has been added with this incident, the Angel tried to take EVA-02 into itself. Is there any possibility that this aspect may be linked to the predicted Thirteenth Angel and all Angels thereafter?"

Misato almost gasped. Did the Committee know more about the Angels than had been released? Number and characteristics? Abilities? Just what did they know about the enemy? Only her military discipline allowed Misato to stay at attention, not moving a muscle. She needed to discuss this with Kaji at the earlier opportunity!

Quickly, she organized her thoughts to answer, "Based on previous patterns, there appears to be no systematic organization among the Angels. They don't even share form of abilities among themselves. Each one is completely different from the others."

"Correct! It is obvious that they have worked independently, so far." The Second voice mused.

"What do you mean, Sir?" she ventured, hoping to get a little bit of information.

"You are not allowed to question us!" The first voice barked.

"Understood." It had been a long shot anyway. However, even denying the information conveyed some data. That was an uncomfortable line of thought for them.

"That will be all. You are dismissed."

"Yes, sir." The light went off, and only the glow of the emergency lights in the floor allowed Misato to walk back to the door. She couldn't help but think of a trap door, open in the dark, waiting for her to fall down. She controlled her nerves, and without betraying her irrational fears, walked out the dark chamber.

Once the door closed behind the Major, the holo-lights went on, revealing SEELE's inner circle, and Commander Ikari.

The first voice, Lorenz Kiehl, asked, "What do you think, Ikari?"

Commander Ikari, his mouth hidden behind his laced fingers, answered calmly, "The Angels appear to be getting more and more intelligent. There's not much time left."

Kiehl scoffed, "Left for us, you mean?"

"For the human race. Instrumentality must be achieved."

A long silence followed, then the hololights went off, leaving Ikari to his thoughts.

Tokyo-3
Japan
GeoFront
NERV HQ
SEELE HoloChamber
(Spiritual Plane)

The Phantom Stranger and Deadman watched silently the whole meeting. The acrobat commented, "(Well, it looks to me that there are some small cracks already, partner. SEELE and Commander Badshave are getting bitey, don't you think?)"

"(Yes. This means that Ikari must be sure he has some advantage over SEELE. He is not openly antagonistic, but didn't defer to SEELE as much as before. Something has changed.)"

SEELE HoloChamber
(Minus the Tokyo-3 Connection.)

Lorenz Kiehl mused for almost a minute. "(Are we in agreement that the last Angel to attack Tokyo-3 was the 12th Angel, Leliel, the Angel of Night?)"

"(Undoubtedly. The description and behaviour fit with the Dead Sea Scrolls.)" The Russian member pointed.

"(Then, it follows that Ikari has lied to us. Iruel must have attacked NERV Japan when we received that supposedly false alarm.)" The French member said.

"(I am still not completely convinced.)" The American member said. "(I think there is a small chance Iruel has arrived, but is being subtle about its activities. I have raised the security level at the two American NERV bases. The MAGI are monitoring every activity and reading obtained in both sites. No results so far.)"

Kiehl nodded. "(I'll authorize a raise of the MAGI budget for the American bases. Especially the one in Nevada. The S2 Engine test must succeed. The Mass Production EVA series will need the energy for the Scenario to work as it has been prepared.)"

"(I have already set contingency plans. Should anything go wrong at Nevada, all the data and a secondary prototype have been prepared at the First Branch, at Massachusetts. Unit-03 won't be fitted with one until and unless the one in Unit-04 has been tested and approved.)"

Lorenz Kiehl nodded, satisfied. He wrote a note in the screen. "(This meeting is adjourned.)" He pushed a button, and all the lights at his holochamber went off, except for his own.

He opened the secret compartment in his desk, and focused his will into the small device, which began to Ping immediately.

Tokyo-3
Aida's Home

"Kensuke, we need to talk."

"Sure," Kensuke checked he had all his photographic equipment properly stored in the bag. "Can it wait? I think we can get some candid shots of Fire and Ice tomorrow. It's PE day!"

Toji sighed, and carefully, pushed his small friend back to the couch. "That's exactly what I want to talk with you." He said, his face serious. "Kensuke. I don't want to go on with this."

"What? But the pic sets are selling better than ever!"

Toji sat in the small chair. "I know, but…" he exhaled, "I just realized…"

"Woo woo woo!" Kensuke waved his hands, "Take a moment, buddy, and start from the beginning."

Toji looked at him for a long moment. "Shinji and I visited Sakura at the hospital earlier today. You know he always goes with me when he can."

Kensuke nodded. "Go on."

"In the way, he told me a bit about the last fight."

Kensuke's eye almost gleamed, "Tell me all about it!" He fumbled in his bag for his video camera, but Toji grabbed his arm, stopping him from taking out the device.

"Asuka almost died."

"What? But she's a pilot!"

"Yes, and was lost in action for hours! Shinji said they only rescued her because Rei thought of something. I don't know where she was, didn't get what Shinji tried to tell me. Something about a dire sea or something. Have you seen the Western District? A bunch of the buildings there are gone! They disappeared! They weren't destroyed, there would be something left, even if it was nothing but rubble. There is nothing there, Kensuke! As if an alien ship just beamed them up!"

"Really?" Kensuke's eyes sparkled.

"Kensuke! Listen, buddy." Toji grabbed his friend by the shoulders, and shook him. Then, once he saw he had his attention, Toji took a moment to breathe. "I know Asuka can be a royal pain, but she almost died! Remember how Shinji broke down with us in Unit-01's cockpit? He had just fought a big, damned monster! A few minutes of fighting and he broke down."

"But…"

Toji interrupted, "Yeah, he is a badass now. But just imagine this. Asuka was alone, Kami knows where and for how long, not knowing if help was on the way. For all she knew, she was more lost than anybody has ever been lost! At least for the same time we were down at the bunkers. We never had to stay down there for so long! We were there almost a full day and night, man! She could have died there. And we wouldn't even know." His eyes searched for something in Kensuke's own. Understanding.

Finally, Kensuke's eager expression fell down. "Oh."

"Yes. Oh." Toji looked down, "It hit me when Sakura was doing the rounds with Shinji. She walks around the physiotherapy track, and she likes to have Shinji cheering her up. I'd be jealous if it wasn't so effective. She is improving a lot because she looks forward to those therapy sessions with Shinji. She makes an extra effort to impress him, I think."

He closed his eyes before continuing. It hurt to think about it, "I thought what I would have felt if I had lost Sakura. Not knowing if she was even alive under all that rubble. And then it really hit me. What if Sakura had been trapped under that rubble? Not knowing if I was dead or alive, while the air was getting worse and worse with each breath."

Kensuke gasped.

"Do you understand? Asuka could be dead now, and we could be getting ready to sell her pictures at school, Rei's too. Pictures we took without their permission or even knowledge. I can't go on with this, Kensuke. I can't. I'm out. I'll give you back the money I still have if you want it, but I won't have something like that on my conscience."

Long seconds of silence hung between the two, Toji fell back on the chair, emotionally spent. He wiped his hand over his eyes, chocking down a sob.

Kensuke leaned back on the couch, thinking hard. Finally, he swallowed with difficulty. "…" Words stuck in his throat.

"I… I can't do it." He sighed, pulling a roll from the satchel. Deliberately, he pulled the film out. "That's it, no more candid pics." He threw another cannister at Toji. "Go ahead. We can destroy the negatives and the pics we have after we finish this batch."

It took them a couple of minutes to ruin all the undeveloped films. Before the last Angel attack, they had been busy following both female pilots.

"Done. I'll see if I can sell the telephoto lens back at the store, or maybe pawn it." Kensuke said, "Keep your part of the money, Toji. I know how much you need it."

"Thanks, buddy." Toji leaned back on his chair.

"Uh… What are you going to do now?"

"Maybe we can mortgage the house, or sell the car. Our savings are mostly gone. Sakura's therapy is not cheap."

"I… I have some money saved too." The bespectacled boy offered, hesitating a bit. He knew his friend was proud, Kensuke didn't know how he would take his offer.

Toji leaned back on the chair, looking at the ceiling. "Thank you, Kensuke. We will manage. I'm sure something will come to us."

Author Notes

1. Helena Bertinelli, the second Huntress, debuted in Huntress issue 1 (April 1989). According to the miniseries, she was kidnapped as a child by a rival crime family; to be later returned, unharmed, to her family. But having received the message, her father had her always accompanied by a bodyguard. Years later, an assassin killed the whole Bertinelli family during a dinner party, Helena was the only survivor. in the miniseries, the bodyguard is the one who trained her, but that was later retconned to Wildcat.

2. Actually, a crossbow shoots bolts, not darts.

3. JLA issue 16 (Mar 1998)

4. She was about to execute Prometheus when he was completely helpless; Batman intervened, and revoked her JLA membership, in JLA issue 39 (Mar 2000)