ADAM reached out with both hands, pressing them against the torsos of the MP-Evas, right over where the Cores were. "YOU WILL SERVE AS MY INSTRUMENTS."
The Light of ADAM's Soul bloomed.
xxxx
Keel Lorenz didn't quite know what to say.
Decades of planning. Nations manipulated. The world, reorganized according to the whims of SEELE. Becoming one with an Evangelion, powered by an S2 Organ...an eternal lifeform, theoretically speaking. Instrumentality, within his fingertips.
And now...by the mere whim of the First Angel, he could do nothing.
The power of ADAM was slowly suffusing the MP-Eva, wearing away at his soul.
So...this is how it ends.
Such a shame. He had been so close, to becoming part of the new godhead of humanity. Instrumentality would have transformed mankind, ascending into something greater, purer, everlasting.
And it was not to be.
Oh well.
Strangely...this wasn't so bad. The hypothetical possibilities of ADAM's awakening had been hinted by the historical portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the memories of Tabris: in all likelihood, ADAM would proceed to unmake all of humanity. After this was over, humankind would only live on as a memory of a colossus that had lived for eons. That was a testament in and of itself.
And to be honest...oblivion sounded nice. He had given it his best shot, and had come up short.
Such was life. Such was evolution encapsulated.
The fate of destruction is the joy of rebirth...all is right with the world.
Not with a bang, not with a whimper, but with contentment, did Keel Lorenz embrace nothingness.
Though...it does occur to me that four of the MP-Evas weren't subjugated by ADAM. MP-11 was destroyed by the Jet Alone, and MP-07, MP-02, and MP-04 were destroyed by Kaworu/Asuka/Unit-02 prior to ADAM's full revival.
I'll definitely make it more explicit as we continue forward within this last episode, but there is a window of time between the moment of the human body's physical death and the moment that the corresponding human soul is completely absorbed by the spiritual matrix (or just Matrix for short. Go ahead and get your giggles out now!). The amount of time is...somewhat variable, depending on the person. While this transition is happening, the soul is still anchored within the body; hence why those who had recently died were also Tanged alongside the living. This will lead to a bit of an uncomfortable realization when people start realizing that some who had died in the beginning stages of the operation - namely, when the cultists rebelled - didn't come back.
So there was a possibility of those four being revived...if they hadn't already been bound to Eva.
Thanks to their current state, their souls had more 'bandwidth', if you will...so the transfer to the Matrix upon the destruction of their Cores was more or less instantaneous (hence why the remnants of ADAM's soul returned so quickly to him after each Angel was destroyed: the equivalent of spiritual fiber optics!). So, those four also did not get revived.
The Cores of Units-00, 01, 02, and 03 were still intact, of course, before, during, and after Third Impact, and survived inside Eva Prime. Which is where Pen-Pen also obtained the genetic material for Yui, Kyoko, and Ai's bodies for ADAM's revival wave.
To summarize: the 'essence' of the Old Men are now experiencing a particular manner of afterlife, whatever that may be (after all, ADAM and LILITH had already observed a number of times that individual humans in the past had exhibited flashes of 'divinity', possessing insights or attributes that couldn't solely be chalked up to the merely physical or metaphysical). However, their metaphysical forms (aka the soul) are either bound within the Matrix (11, 02, 07, and 04; thus, their memories and experiences are now 'stored' in mankind's giant spiritual database), or were outright annihilated by ADAM (Keel, Katsuhito Ikari, Putin, and the other five).
Shinji Ikari opened his eyes, wincing at the light of the early afternoon sun. "...are we...home...?" He slowly sat up, looking down at his Plug Suit-clad form. "I'm...back to me." Looking ahead, he resisted the urge to wince; with all the chaos and havoc of the battle against the UN's forces and the Mass Production Eva Series, he hadn't had the chance to fully process the damage. Tokyo-3 was simply gone; where had once been a city, there was now a gaping hole revealing the Geofront. The surface within the Black Moon no longer resembled a national park in miniature, pitted and scarred as it was from the cumulative effects of the battles against Zeruel, Tabris, and the MP-Evas, along with the long-range ordnance of the JSSDF. Fully a fifth of the interior was now submerged, flooded by the waters of Lake Ashi. Fortunately, the lake's surface had since equalized with the gap into the Geofront, so the flooding had stopped...but it was still a sobering sight. "...it's..."
"The destruction is...an unfortunate consequence, isn't it?"
Shinji turned his head; Kaworu Nagisa stood near the edge, observing the same scene of devastation. Rei Ayanami sat by his feet, her face downcast. Asuka Langley-Sohryu was apparently still asleep, curled up on the grass. "...Kaworu?" That's right; the last time he had actually seen the Fourth Child, it had been months ago...he had only heard Kaworu's voice when he had emerged in Unit-02, and likewise during their battle against Tabris...and, he guessed during the whole thing with...Eva Prime, was it...and just like that, Shinji clutched his head, groaning due to the glut of memories and impressions. There was just so much to process...!
"You are remembering our final battle against ADAM?"
"...starting to." Everything was jumbled, and...big. It had all been so much bigger than him, and yet unbelievably intimate, serving as a conduit for millions and millions of human beings...even though some of the impressions were dim and fading, he bet that he could remember some if he tried hard enough, as though grasping for a piece of paper dancing in the wind. "Did...we really do all of that?"
"If by 'we', you meant every living human...and a particularly special penguin...then yes."
"...okay." He really wanted to just lie back down and go to sleep for a while. Maybe for a day or two. That sounds really good...but I shouldn't. Not now. There would be time to absorb everything later. For now, given the tumultuous circumstances - he really hoped that the military wasn't going to start fighting again, but darn it if his father's paranoia hadn't gotten to him - it was important to stay alert. Besides...there was someone he needed to talk to. "Rei-chan?"
The First Child slowly got to her feet, turning to face him. Her eyes...she looked so tired. "Shinji-kun."
"...are you okay?"
"I am...exhausted. I feel like I fought forever, across all of existence, in mere minutes...as everyone and no one..."
"One could make the argument that that's exactly what we did," interjected Kaworu.
"...so to answer your question Shinji-kun, I am 'okay'. I am just...exhausted."
Shinji smiled lightly. "It's okay to feel that."
"Maybe for you. This feeling is...unusual."
"That's because you're you."
"...if you say so." She stepped forward, slowly embracing Shinji around his shoulders. "...I believe the feeling will pass."
He sighed, returning the hug. "I'm glad."
"...we made it, Shinji-kun." At his lack of response, Rei leaned back, her eyes glimmering with sheer relief. "The Angels have all been defeated. We've withstood the machinations of SEELE. We...defeated ADAM. We won."
"...I guess we did, didn't we?" Shinji glanced over at Kaworu; he was quietly looking at them, a melancholy expression on his face. "Are...you going to be okay, Kaworu?"
"I do not know what would 'constitute' okay. However...I will still endeavor to live, and make the best of it. After all, as someone was quite insistent on telling me...I'm not alone." He turned around, walking towards Asuka's prone form. "Speaking of which...I believe there's someone we need to meet." Casually picking up Asuka's Plug Suit-clad body - her limbs dangling limply - Kaworu maneuvered her into a piggyback position, resting her hands on his shoulders and locking his arms under her thighs. "Follow me."
Shinji blinked dumbly. "...where are we going?"
"You'll know when we get there. I am only following a...sensation, if you will."
He turned towards Rei, trying to get some clarification on Kaworu's cryptic words. Rei frowned, her brow furrowing in a brief bout of concentration...and then she blinked owlishly. "...oh. I see."
"See what?"
"...you will know when we get there. I believe it would be...better to let you see for yourself," explained Rei.
"...okay." Relenting, he stepped away from their embrace, "I trust you." He held out his hand. "Then shall we?"
Rei looked at the invitation; nodding, she placed her hand in his, and they both walked after Kaworu. Eventually, they were walking side-by-side, which is when Shinji chanced a look at the seemingly slumbering Asuka.
'Seemingly', because her eyes were wide open. Shinji opened his mouth-
Asuka swiftly and silently brought an index finger to her lips, beckoning him to keep quiet if he knew what was good for him.
Shinji closed his mouth.
Grinning, Asuka winked once at him before closing her eyes, 'sleepily' nuzzling her face against Kaworu's back. Judging by the light smile that was on the Fourth Child's face, Kaworu knew full well that she was awake, and was simply...playing along.
Shinji blinked owlishly. Did...did I miss something? Are Asuka and Kaworu together? He tried to recall his experiences within the mass of human souls, when everyone had been united...and he seemed to recall a distinct closeness between the Second and Fourth Children. When did that happen?
If one were to ask Shinji as to why he was pondering the apparent romantic development involving the redhead and the nephilim, he would probably tell you that it was an incredibly normal thing to occupy his attention for the time being. It certainly hurt less than trying to think about his part in a cosmic struggle against an alien that had lived for hundreds of millions of years.
Misato Katsuragi grumbled, impulsively bringing a hand to her head. "Urgh...five more minutes..." A foot nudged against her ribs, ignoring her heartfelt demand. "...fine, be a spoilsport." She opened her eyes, looking blearily at the face of Shiori Aoba.
The Lunatic chuckled, extending her hand. "Took you long enough. Now...do you have any idea what the hell happened to us?"
"...hmm." She tried to think about it. For some reason, a lot her memories involved Pen-Pen. "...I'll have to get back to you on that." She took Aoba's hand, allowing herself to be pulled up. The Operations Director quickly looked around, trying to take in the situation; Ritsuko was hovering over Maya and Miyata as they catalogued the locations of NERV and UN personnel alike. Makoto Hyuga was speaking calmly with the highest-ranking JSSDF officer, trying to shut down any possibility of renewed hostilities. The rest of her subordinates were clustered close together, with the UN soldiers hovering near the periphery of the Command Deck. "So. Sitrep?"
"People are still waking up, we're all vaguely confused about how we were brought back, we've got some hazy memories of kicking major Angel ass, and I need a drink. That about sum it up?"
"Yes." Misato frowned, racking her brain; as much as she wanted to grab a beer and spend a day (or four) trying to figure out what had happened, it was time to keep a level head and keep the UN from restarting its attack. Glancing over her shoulder, the Lieutenant Colonel paused at the sight of something...unexpected. "Lieutenant Aoba?"
"Yeah?"
"...what exactly am I looking at?"
"Still haven't figured that one out. Is it a problem?"
"...I hope not." Misato stared quietly at the slumbering form of Toji Suzuhara; resting against his side was the diminutive form of Ai Suzuhara, wearing the same hospital garments that she had worn the day of her absorption into Unit-03. "I really want this to be a happy ending, and not just some trick."
"No kidding."
A faint grunt caught their attention; Misato looked up, watching as the Sub-Director rose from his position on the highest deck. "You okay, sir?"
Kozou Fuyutsuki grimaced. "...to be determined." The wizened man looked around, trying to gain his bearings. "We're...back?"
"Hopefully."
"...and we're currently not fighting with the UN?"
Misato glanced warily at Hyuga and his ongoing conversation with the enemy(?) officer, noting Hyuga's outstretched palms - an attempt at placation - and the JSSDF soldier's bewildered demeanor. "Right now? No."
Fuyutsuki nodded. "Let's keep it that way. Get me a line with the commanding officer of the Central Army."
xxxx
/Base of Mt. Mikuni, West of Lake Ashi, Hakone, Japan/
Kyoko Zeppelin Langley-Sohryu sat up, looking around at the odd indent she was sitting in, vaguely shaped like a giant humanoid. "...this seems uncomfortably familiar." She thought hard, finally recalling that this was where Unit-02 had fallen during the Eighteenth Angel's psychic assault on her daughter. "Ah. No wonder." She looked down at herself, looking at the long beige skirt, blue shirt, and white lab coat adorning her form. "...why do I have clothes?" I was nude when I was absorbed by Unit-02. "...come to think of it, how do I have clothes?"
The redhead paused. That voice. Kyoko turned around, eyes widening at the sight of a friend she hadn't seen in person...for years. Yui Ikari - clad in the prototype Plug Suit she had worn during both of her Contact Experiments with Units-00 and 01, bulky and sharing a similar white and green color scheme with Asuka's original Plug Suit - was sitting on the slope of the pit. She had undone some of the bindings on the arms of her antiquated Plug Suit, allowing her hands to come free. The woman - a former head of Project E, and one of the greatest scientific minds of GEHIRN - was slowly rubbing her hands over her own face, looking somewhat enraptured by the whole affair. "...Yui-chan?"
"...have you ever realized just how smooth our skin is?"
Kyoko blinked, somewhat flummoxed by the query. "...not exactly the first question I expected out of you."
"I've been trapped within two Evangelions for over a decade, and couldn't sense anything unless Shinji or Rei synchronized with me. I will indulge myself if I want."
"...fair enough." Kyoko felt the grass, marveling at how oddly intense the sensation was. The sky seemed so...clear, and blue, so unbelievably blue. "...you may have a point." There were faint footsteps approaching, from beyond the Eva-shaped crater. The two turned, and saw four figures enter their field of vision. "...well. We have company."
Kyoko recognized only Shinji and her daughter by sight. The blunette seemed vaguely familiar from her memories of Project Nephilim...Rei Ayanami, if she recalled correctly. She had no particular memory of ever meeting the ashen-haired boy in person...however, she knew of Kaworu Nagisa, simply due to residual impressions from her daughter. And from when he had piloted Unit-02. And, of course, there was the whole bit where she had been unified with all of humanity for the sake of fighting ADAM-
"MAMA!"
Kyoko blinked, watching as Asuka scrambled atop Kaworu, jumping off of his shoulders (the boy, she idly noted, didn't budge at all). Her daughter fell into a diving roll, tumbling down the slope. Uncurling from the roll, Asuka actually leapt at her.
Kyoko sidestepped her charging daughter, letting Asuka crash into the ground, her limbs splayed outward.
"Mama!" The young girl spat out some grass, her tone bearing a trace of outrage. "You're supposed to let me hug you!"
"That would have been a tackle, not a hug."
"...fair enough." Asuka proceeded to tackle her anyway, driving them both to the ground. "MAMA!"
Well, I can't exactly fault her. Kyoko sighed with content, lightly rubbing her daughter's hair as the girl embraced her tightly. The older redhead watched idly as the other three Pilots slowly descended, Shinji and Rei approaching Yui warily, while Kaworu remained on the periphery.
Shinji looked incredibly hesitant, whereas Rei looked mostly detached. "M...Mother...?"
Yui looked intently at her son, a sense of visible wonder on her face.
That's right, belatedly realized Kyoko, it's been over a decade since they've seen each other in person...
"Are...are you...?" trailed Shinji.
"...oh my goodness." Yui got to her feet, walking over towards Shinji. "You. Are. So. Big!" She rubbed at his hair and nuzzled his cheek, before turning towards the aloof Ayanami. "And you too, Rei-chan! You've gotten so tall!" Apparently deciding to indulge herself even further, Yui wrapped an arm each around Shinji and Rei, embracing them tightly. Shinji begin to look somewhat elated, whilst Rei appeared...surprised and confused in equal measure, as though she hadn't expected Yui to hug her too.
Kyoko sighed lightly, leaning back into the grass. The world would eventually catch up to them. But for now...this felt right.
"...ah. I had forgotten that this entire area was on the verge of being overrun."
Kaworu Nagisa's idle comment prompted Kyoko to look up. "...that's...putting it mildly." Apparently, the world had decided that now would be a good time to catch up with them: several fire teams of JSSDF soldiers peered over the lip of the impact crater, eyeing them with suspicion. Yui's arms relaxed, her excitement fading in the face of possible hostiles. Shinji looked around warily, while Rei's eyes narrowed with suspicion. Asuka - sensing the change in mood - protectively tightened her hold, looking vigilantly at the soldiers. All told, it was a definite mood killer. Hmph. What's going to happen now?
One of the sergeants raised a hand to his radio, speaking into it. "General Sakamura, we've found four of the Eva Pilots and two unknown civilians. Orders?"
xxxx
/Sakamura's Field Office, Eastern Slopes of Mt. Fuji, Japan/
"Keep your eyes on them, don't let them escape your perimeter. If they resist or initiate any hostilities, kill them," answered Hiroki Sakamura.
"Yes sir!"
The General sighed, wearily rubbing his forehead. What a damn mess this is. After ADAM's resurrection and ascension, everything had gone...blurry. His memory of the most recent events was scrambled, hinting at something...unbelievable. However, by some act of Fate or Providence, they were still alive; ADAM was nowhere to be found, and neither were the Evangelions. A few of his subordinates had yet to awaken; those who had, exhibited the same sense of jumbled memory and chaotic recollection as he did. Bottom line: he needed answers, and he needed them now.
"Sir! One of our units inside NERV has Ikari's second-in-command on the line!"
Sakamura wasted no time grabbing the transceiver, bringing the handset up towards his lips. "Am I speaking to Sub-Director Kozou Fuyutsuki?"
"Yes."
Sakamura frowned. "Given our current circumstances, you'll have to forgive me if I sound somewhat short...but what the hell happened, and why shouldn't I order my men to resume our offensive?" He needed to leverage his numerical advantage while he had the chance; who knew what else the First Branch had hidden within its depths-
"That's precisely why I wished to speak with you. I have no interest in prolonging this conflict."
"Talk is very cheap, Fuyutsuki-san."
"Indeed. That's why I'm offering you an unconditional surrender on behalf of myself and NERV."
Now that was more like it. "...very well. Here's how it's going to go."
"And then the UN proceeded to take control of the Geofront," said Mari, segueing into history that practically everyone knew. "Gotta say, it almost seems...depressingly anticlimactic."
"Although the Old Men were no longer...a factor, their vast network of agents and representatives still existed. Given the information that we had leaked prior to the invasion, the continued existence of SEELE represented a subversive influence that the governments of the world could no longer tolerate," said Gendo. After all, even though they had been part of the human aggregate in the fight against ADAM, who was to say that their overall aims were unchanged? Having a taste of the potential of Instrumentality, what was to stop them from trying again...or so the argument had gone. Besides, it wasn't like sovereign nations needed an excuse to root out the servants of a massive conspiracy...even though revelations of who had turned out to be agents of said conspiracy had had their own ramifications. But that was another story. "And more importantly...mankind needed a sense of closure if we were to move forward into the future."
"I know. It still sucked." Mari's cheeks puffed up, exhibiting as much mock indignation as she could muster. "It was months until I got to see 'Ska again..." Her gaze trailed over towards one of the nearby bookshelves, noting some of the newer titles. "Ooh...you've certainly gotten quite a collection going."
"Our son brings in books whenever he visits. Likewise my brother and his family," said Yui, idly fiddling with her husband's hands and fingers. "We have...quite the burgeoning collection of literature involving the aftermath of Third Impact."
"No kidding." Mari grabbed a random title - Into Darkness: The Invasion of Tokyo-3 by Hizuki Nakagawa - and opened towards a dogeared page near the back.
xx
Although word had been sent that NERV had unconditionally surrendered, [Sergeant Yusuke] Hirano and his squad were still moving through the base with trepidation. Their original platoon had been among those who had fought Section 2's most elite agents, handpicked by the First Branch's Operations Director herself. Despite the mutual confusion and short-term amnesia that they all shared regarding Third Impact, there was no sense in leaving the First Branch unsecured. "I honestly was one hundred percent done with NERV," admitted Hirano during our interview. "Their defensive strategy and tactics will probably serve as the basis for a new book on urban warfare, but I didn't much appreciate it at the time, and neither did my men. I mean, if you remembered getting eviscerated by some Russian's gigantic minigun, would you be relaxed?" Hirano's sentiments were shared by the rest of his squad.
Compared to the pitched battle prior to Third Impact, the clean-up operation was uneventful and boring. This changed rather dramatically when, upon calling an elevator to move to a lower level, they came face-to-face with Gendo Ikari. "Like running into the devil himself. I think it was [Corporal Shinta] Uramaeshi who always made jokes about what kind of superweapon [Gendo] Ikari was hiding behind those orange glasses of his. When those doors opened and that damned maniac was just standing there, all quiet like a statue, [those jokes] didn't seem so funny."
Regardless, they still had a duty to uphold, and Hirano informed Supreme Commander Ikari about NERV's unconditional surrender. Instead of resisting (as Hirano privately hoped for, he would later recall), Ikari calmly acquiesced, commenting that [Sub-Director Kozou] Fuyutsuki knew more about the current situation than he did. It was a course of action that apparently surprised Hirano's soldiers, as Ikari then allegedly said, "oh believe me, I don't like this outcome one bit. But I've already waited for over a decade with nothing more than mad, desperate hope. A little longer won't make any difference." Having said his piece, Ikari held his hands forward to be restrained.
"Having met the man myself, I understand why [NERV] fought so hard during the invasion, and why so many people defended him during the [JSSDF Military Tribunal against Gendo and Yui Ikari for Crimes against the Nation and Humanity]. I don't want to admit it, but I understand." Hirano declined to elaborate on this statement.
xx
Mari scoffed, putting the book back on the shelf. "Well, someone likes to go on an ego trip. 'Man, I'm feeling down on myself...I know, I'll relive the moment where someone recounted how badass I was!'."
"Your mockery needs work," dryly said Gendo. "It needs more pizzazz."
"I'm a journalist, give it time."
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32.45, in which we get a glimpse of the trial of the century.
"If you say so," Gendo rose to his feet. "I believe we need to begin preparing the meal." He looked down, lightly tugging the arm that Yui held. "Shall we, Yui?"
"Only if I get to handle the spices."
"You always handle the spices."
"I'm simply reiterating the terms."
"By this point, it's a mere formality."
Mari watched the husband and wife depart for the kitchen, her lips quirked into an odd little smile. Well, they seem to be getting along. And Yui-san is as much a hedonist as ever. Well, that was being less than charitable; the woman simply had a zeal for sensory experiences following her freedom from Eva. And if that's the case, well...hoo hoo. Rather naughty scenarios danced through her mind as she grabbed another book, deciding to occupy her time until dinner was ready. Next on the list was Nuremberg of the New Millennium: The 2016-2018 Tribunals against NERV by Simon Liebowitz.
xx
The stage was finally set. For practical, logistical, and dramatic reasons, newly-constructed facilities in the vicinity of Tokyo-3 would serve as the site of the trials. Extensive deliberation had led to the indictment of certain individuals for crimes against peace and humanity, or for being accessories to said crimes: the greatest prominence was given to Gendo Ikari, Yui ikari, Kyoko Zeppelin Langley-Sohryu, Naoko Akagi, Kozou Fuyutsuki, Misato Katsuragi, Ritsuko Akagi, Ryoji Kaji, and Shiro Tokita. All information gathered to this point indicated that others within NERV were either too separated from the SEELE conspiracy (which itself was the subject of an ongoing tribunal in Berlin-2; for further reading, I suggest The World v. SEELE: An Eyewitness's Guide to the Trial of the Century by Arnold Steyn, and Great Geopolitical Upheavals: SEELE and the Instrumentality Committee by Sarah Locklear), or were sufficiently lacking in influence. Of course, there were numerous individuals who would be called to provide eyewitness accounts or character testimonies, not the least of which were the Evangelion Pilots themselves.
There was no small controversy in not indicting the Evangelion Pilots, despite their distinct status as minors. However, a thorough review of the data leaked by Gendo Ikari prior to the invasion of Tokyo-3 indicated that doing so would be a waste of time and resources. This also applied to Nagisa, even when taking into account his former status as the Angel Tabris. "We concluded fairly early on that [Shinji Ikari], Asuka Sohryu, and [Toji] Suzuhara wouldn't be indicted. We eventually came to the same conclusion regarding Rei Ayanami; despite her extensive association with NERV, the laws regarding nephilim at the time were clear regarding their lack of agency. Nagisa was...a different matter, due to his old connection with the First Angel," admitted Masashi Ishida, the interim Minister of Justice following his predecessor's outing as both a member of the Angelic Acolytes and an agent ofSEELE. "Although an argument could be made for indicting the Fourth Child based on his interactions with Keel Lorenz and his knowledge of SEELE's overall goals, not to mention the part he played in the Angel War, his circumstances were eventually deemed...sufficiently extenuating." When asked to elaborate on what he meant by 'extenuating', Ishida added, "if you ever talked to him, you'd understand. Trying to indict him would have been like kicking a puppy. At least, that's how [Attorney Shigeru] Naga described it."
xx
Mari chuckled; 'puppy' might have been a mild description when it came to her brother-in-law. Maybe I should start calling him puppy-kun. She skipped ahead, flipping through another chunk of the book.
xx
"I don't know why anyone expected anything different," Kozou Fuyutsuki would later recall. "The man was, at one time, more than willing to potentially trigger an Impact Event of his own if it meant getting his wife back. Whoever decided to keep him and Yui separate prior to the start of the trials was, to put it mildly, an idiot." It was blunt language, but certainly fitting in light of Gendo Ikari's extreme reaction on the first day of the trials. Surveillance footage detailed the sequence of events perfectly; each individual under indictment was brought in separately, to prevent potential collusion. Yui Ikari was already in the courtroom when Gendo was escorted in by military police. The subsequent events were rather unexpected, as Gendo practically tossed men aside to get to his wife, who was already leaping out of the defendants' enclosure. This led to the now infamous photo (see insert on this page) of the Ikaris embracing and kissing each other in the tribunal courtroom, with Gendo in the process of falling backwards due to Yui's momentum.
"I honestly thought they were going to make a baby right then and there," admitted Misato Katsuragi with some humor (in the aforementioned photo, she can be seen laughing uproariously at the entire chain of events, with her fellow defendants appearing in various shades of shock and amusement). "It took six guys to pull them away from each other! Given how crappy that whole farce was up to that point, it certainly made my day." Subsequent interviews with others involved in the tribunal indicated that this moment set the tone, as the public perception of Gendo as a relatively unhinged madman was still widespread. That display of raw and spontaneous affection, more than anything else, paved the way for the eventual conclusion.
Mari cackled. Now that she was beginning to remember her old history courses on Post-Third Impact events, the overall outcomes of the entire trial were coming to mind; Shiro and Misato had been unequivocally found not guilty. Ritsuko had been more aware of Gendo's Plan, and had possessed greater knowledge of SEELE and the Instrumentality Project, but her general mental condition rendered an actual judgment somewhat impossible by reason of insanity. Mari quickly skimmed ahead, trying to find the relevant section...ah, right there.
xx
In summary, the testimony of Ritsuko Akagi, despite the relatively glowing assessments provided by her subordinates and coworkers, couldn't truly be used to determine her guilt or lack thereof; her random outbursts at inopportune times, despite bringing proceedings to a halt more often than not, held a deranged timelessness according to those present. Ultimately, she was judged unfit to stand trial, and was ordered to attend psychiatric therapy, in spite of her ardent insistence that it would be a waste of time. As a postscript, it's somewhat telling that her psychiatric profiles from Dr. Yoshitake Kono and Dr. Mako Okura, obtained during and after the trial respectively, both ended in the same line, with no change in punctuation: "WHAT. THE. HELL."
xx
That sounds about right, thought Mari with a mild frown. Unfortunately, she hadn't ever interacted with Ritsuko much, even during the Angel War. Still, it was pretty much a 'not guilty' verdict.
Her mother and Ritsuko's mother had been judged more harshly, having been more intimately involved with Project E and SEELE. Kyoko's particular circumstance - becoming bound to Unit-02 by the command of Keel Lorenz - had garnered more sympathy than Naoko's, given that her time as a MAGI had largely been of her own making. However, their work with Project E and Project Nephilim had been largely above the board, so they had also been declared not guilty of crimes against peace and humanity. Some of Naoko's clandestine activities as HEROD had garnered scrutiny, however, and she had been tried separately in a lower court on several counts of cyber espionage; if Mari recalled correctly, her legal representation had managed to get her off proverbially scot-free by arguing that Naoko had been under duress for the entirety of her time as a MAGI unit. Hey, if it works, it works. Sometimes, 'a shitty situation was a shitty situation' (as she had heard Ai's brother describe some of their more nasty assignments), and prison time wouldn't really accomplish anything else.
Ryoji Kaji had been interesting in an entirely different way. Again, he had been declared not guilty of crimes against peace and humanity...but he had been subsequently charged with so many counts of espionage against companies and governments that determining the proper jurisdiction had actually been a problem. Unlike the others, he had been convicted; however, he had ultimately pulled a Frank Abagnale and - after serving time in a maximum security prison from 2018 to 2022 - had his sentence commuted in exchange for working with the Public Security Intelligence Agency of Japan. Not that this is well known to the public. Sometimes, there were benefits to being friends with the Commander of WILLE.
Kozou Fuyutsuki had also been declared not guilty of crimes against peace and humanity; his entire time in the tribunal had been marked by normalcy and good decorum. Again, despite knowledge of SEELE's Scenario and of Gendo's Plan, he had never 'actively' advanced either one; Fuyutsuki's main role had been to provide the airs of legitimacy and orderliness to the affairs of GEHIRN and then NERV, to serve as the avatar of reason to counter Gendo Ikari's notoriety. Despite criticism from some quarters that no charges of criminal conspiracy had been pursued, most came to the conclusion that Fuyutsuki's cooperation and testimony had been deemed more useful to the prosecutors when it came to the 'bigger fish'. To this day, the exact nature and details of Fuyutsuki's plea bargain were secret from the eyes of the public. Then again, it's not like the old Sub-Director needed an excuse to perform lots of community service.
Mari looked down at a particular page, and smiled at the sight of one of her sister's many testimonies...or, to be more accurate, the reactions to them.
xx
"Every single time she got called to the stand to testify, I got more and more dismayed," admitted General Sakamura. As the months had crawled by and the trials continued on, he had begun to dread whenever the Second Child was called to serve as a character witness. "She would launch into a big speech about love and friendship and the overall decency of the defendant in question. Every. Single. Time." Sakamura's enunciation was quite clear on that last point. "I would call her a fool if she didn't have an IQ of 163. As it is, I can't help but wonder if she legitimately believed everything that came out of her mouth."
Sakamura's distaste was shared by some of the more cynical members of the tribunal, but Sohryu's cheerful demeanor was seen as one of the tribunal's bright spots by others, one that made the extensive procedure more bearable (in the interests of fair play, I must disclose that I wrote an opinion-editorial for the New York Times in June 2017 titled "This Bright Ray of Sunshine Must Be Protected", covering Sohryu's various testimonies up to that point and lauding her dogged idealism. I still stand by my opinion covered therein).
xx
Not a surprise at all, thought Mari with a haughty grin. My sister is the best.
However, there would be no escape for the final two: the Ikaris, Gendo and Yui. They had both been involved with SEELE; even though they had ultimately rebelled, their actions had been the catalyst for Second Impact. The data leaked by the Supreme Commander prior to Third Impact had detailed the various illegal activities the two had engaged in - and then just Gendo following the Contact Experiment - to blunt SEELE's works. The need to reveal nephilim to the public had been so emphasized by Gendo that SEELE had instigated the Central American Wars. Numerous charges of manipulation of public records, of espionage, of high treason...despite the Supreme Commander's personal popularity, it had been inconceivable that he and his wife would receive anything less than life imprisonment, or outright execution.
Then, during the final deliberations, Gendo had been asked to take the stand for one final testimony.
Mari turned towards the penultimate chapter.
xx
"I told them, I told them, I told them!" Attorney Yuichi Soga apologized for ranting at this point, but he confided that this particular phase of the trials always irked him. "Never allow a bullshit artist time to talk! I told them!" His words seem prophetic in hindsight, if perhaps uncharitable; however, it could not be denied that Gendo Ikari's hour-long testimony in the final days of the tribunal effectively communicated the duress he and his wife had been operating under, thanks to the overarching threat of SEELE. Although somewhat unapologetic about their actions, he humbly accepted that there would be consequences regardless.
Finally, the verdict was handed down on August 21st, 2018: not death, nor life in prison, but rather exile for life, in the manner of Napoleon Bonaparte. For such a larger-than-life figure who had been able to direct global events with seemingly effortless ease, it was an appropriate outcome.
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32.47, in which there are more exploits involving Liam Neeson, and the greatest horror is unleashed.
Mari placed the book back on the shelf with a forlorn smile, looking briefly around the room. Seems kind of like a bum deal, to be stuck here for life. Not that she didn't understand or appreciate why the exile had been done; the Ikaris' actions had gotten a lot of people killed, even if it had been unintended consequences of their fight against SEELE. If someone could get convicted for manslaughter, then the Ikaris could certainly get convicted for Second Impact. At least it's not like they were always alone. For obvious reasons; Mari glanced over her shoulder, staring warily at the hall. "...hmm." She had no idea where the sudden paranoia had come from; it's not like they were around. They're still visiting Kozou Fuyutsuki on the mainland. Or was it Tomoe's family this time? Shrugging, she turned back towards the bookshelf, grabbing a rather familiar tome: Catacombs of Instrumentality: The Subjugation of SEELE by Karl Beckmann.
xx
The first sign that Inspector Adrien Rehder knew something was awry was when he opened the tram car and saw blood. "Complications were always unwelcome, even if they did make for more exciting stories."
Rehder and his fellow agents with Interpol were coordinating the international crackdown on SEELE, in conjunction with national investigative bodies and local police authorities as needed. Keel Lorenz's estate had already been turned inside-out in the weeks following Third Impact; the discovery of a tram system leading deep underground had warranted extra firepower in case of unexpected resistance, as SEELE's own followers had already proven themselves unwilling to negotiate. "Those types are always the worst," Rehder would elaborate. "Convinced of the unassailable rightness of their cause, even in the face of evidence to the contrary. The events of Third Impact only gave them a taste of godhood; although SEELE's Council were never seen again after Third Impact, they had plenty of zealots waiting in the wings to continue their crusade." Lofty rhetoric aside, the remnants of SEELE often acted with religious fervor more appropriate for an Angelic cult than a shadowy cabal that had manipulated world affairs for decades, hence why further backup from the Bundespolizei (BPOL, the German Federal Police) was requested. In response, two squads from GSG 9 (Grenzschutzgruppe 9 der Bundespolizei, the counter-terrorist arm of the Federal Police) were deployed.
May 1, 2016 was when the tram system had been initially discovered. When the GSG 9 operators arrived two days later, the tram system was accessed, only to reveal the bloodstained car. "The [GSG 9 operators] didn't take kindly at being beaten to the punch." Nonetheless, Rehder and two subordinates from Interpol accompanied him and the special forces units as they descended underground. When they entered the subterranean facility (which they would later learn was called the Ark), sterile carnage awaited them. "I was impressed at the clinical precision," distantly recalled Inspector Rehder; the corpses of Keel Lorenz's security personnel bore one or two bullet holes, or single slash marks along vulnerable arteries. "Someone with a grudge had torn through the entire facility, yet had acted with absolute professionalism. I would've been more impressed if I hadn't been so damn frightened." Of greater concern was the fact that the security guards had been killed within the past twenty-four hours judging by their state of decomposition and the freshness of the blood; the implications - that someone had accessed the tram car without their knowledge, despite the entire estate being under careful watch by German police and Interpol - were unsettling.
After what seemed like hours of moving past dead bodies, they finally found SEELE agents amongst the living; in a large hangar, fifteen technicians and scientists had been bounded and gagged, rendered unconscious by some sort of sedative. "I would've considered it a gift from a good Samaritan if I hadn't seen the calling card." Namely, a single card wedged in the bushy mustache of [Dr. Albert Wilhelm], bearing the image of a canine's head on one side, and the letter 'J' on the other. "In all my years, I never thought I'd be in the same city as the Jackal, let alone the same building." Despite Rehder's discomfort, the GSG 9 operators swiftly spread out and searched for the wanted mercenary. Following Pieter Langley's public outing as the Jackal, and his subsequent disappearance from Lorenz Memorial Hospital after Third Impact, Interpol had quietly dreaded the possibility that the legendary assassin would act on behalf of his erstwhile employer. "[The realization] that he was directing his anger at SEELE was welcome on one hand...but on the other, it meant that he was taking justice into his own hands. The world had seen enough of unelected provocateurs deciding the fate of peoples and nations."
Eventually, a hidden elevator was discovered that led directly to what public schematics designated as the lowest level of NERV's Second Branch. "Naturally, there was no security footage showing Pieter Langley using that elevator." Despite making Rehder's job somewhat easier with investigating SEELE, he was not looking forward to filing his report. "I mean, would you want to be the bearer of bad news to [Superintendent Koichi] Zenigata? Because trust me, you do not want to get Pops angry," asserted Rehder, using the nickname that-
Mari yelped in sudden pain as a petite heel smashed into her torso, knocking her into the couch and over the armrest.
"Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh! I think you killed her! Mom and Dad are gonna ground you, and then you won't be able to kick anymore!" exclaimed a bubbly, energetic voice.
"Nonsense! There's no way my eternal rival would be killed by something so weak! I still haven't reached my potential!" retorted Mari's assailant, her voice loud and boisterous.
Oh. Great. They're back early, thought Mari, her eyebrow twitching. Her mortal enemies...
"I have to say sis, your form was poor," said a sly, boyish voice. "I give it a six, maybe a seven."
Mari groggily sat up, giving the stink-eye to the three seven-year-olds. "Hi, brats."
Her assailant - a girl with neck-length auburn hair, bangs held out of her brown eyes by a light blue headband, clad in a white tunic with a pink leotard - sniffed. "That's not my name, eternal rival! It's 'Kick-chan'!"
The lone boy - wearing khaki shorts and a shirt with pink and blue horizontal stripes, brown hair fashioned in a short style with a ponytail - readjusted his orange sunglasses, way too big for his head, but an obvious imitation of his father. "You know she doesn't use her normal nicknames when we upset her."
The other girl - clad in a white shirt and blue skirt combo, her light brown hair arranged in a bowl cut, and with wide amber eyes - impulsively crossed her hands above her head, babbling, "b-but if our nicknames are different, maybe our names are different! Maybe we're different!" She quickly fell to her knees, bowing profusely and repetitively. "Please forgive us, Mari-sama! We don't want to change!"
The twenty-year-old grimaced, staring idly at the three fraternal triplets Noriko, Kamon, and Mako Ikari. Or, as she preferred to call them, Kick-chan (for obvious reasons), Glasses-kun (also for obvious reasons), and Cheddar-chan (for...not so obvious reasons, but that was another story altogether). But right now, they were just brats. "Look, kicking someone when they're reading a book is generally bad manners."
Noriko paused, as though realizing she may have miscalculated. "Uh...but...you always told me it was important to test your reflexes! To make sure you could react in an instant! I may have saved your life in the future!"
Mari grimaced. Darn it, I hate it when they use my words against me. Then again, the trio tended to remind her of halcyon times with Ai Suzuhara and Nozomi Horaki, so they already had easy access to her good side. "...eh, I did say that, didn't I?" Readjusting her glasses, Mari looked knowingly at them. "I thought you were still visiting Fuyutsuki."
"Sensei brought us back early! We wouldn't miss our dad's birthday!" exclaimed Kamon. "Besides, big brother's supposed to be coming too!"
"And there's no way we were going to miss Onii-sama!" proclaimed Noriko, pumping her fists.
"That's right!" chimed Mako. "Because if we missed him, then he would miss us! And if we kept missing each other, we would never find each other, and we would be lost! Maybe forever!"
...gah, I can't stay mad at these kids. They were just too much fun.
"CHILDREN!"
Mari, by virtue of experience, wisely stepped away as Gendo came soaring down the hall, performing a flying body slam. The Triplets scattered, avoiding their father as he caught himself before landing, staring grimly at them. Rising, he snappily said, "report!"
The trio scrambled back towards the front door, a cloud of carefully-controlled chaos as they brought back in their bounty from outside. Mako held up two fistfuls of shallots, the bulbs still caked with soil. "I got food!"
"Excellent."
Kamon held up a rather old book, with a dusty blue hardback cover. "I found a history book that wasn't already part of our collection!"
"Also excellent."
Noriko held the beheaded body of a five-foot snake above her head. "I got a pit viper!"
Gendo glanced towards Kamon. "Did she use proper form?"
The young boy nodded nervously, readjusting his glasses. "Yes sir: a sidestep when it ambushed us, then two strikes with the machete."
"Good." He looked back towards Noriko, booming, "most excellent." He promptly wrapped his children up in a massive bear hug, ignoring the fact that he was getting dirt and trimeresurus flavoviridis blood on his tank top. "Well done."
The trio beamed at their father's praise.
Mari impulsively grinned; the story of the Triplets' childhood was going to make for a bestseller one day. Ah, the joys of insider access.
Mako Ikari: Hold it! (HALLELUJAH!) This isn't right, it can't be right, it mustn't be right! This song is a famous bit by Handel, but you're using it to put Asuka-chan in a handle! It's all about proclaiming the coming of the Messiah, the Savior, but you're not saving Asuka, you're making her sigh with agony! Agony, off of me, it's just so mean, how could you, how could you, how could you?! If you're gonna use a song, use something more appropriate, like AC/DC or John Williams or Tupac, something edgy yet classy, like a broken chandelier, or a really expensive disposable razor!
Arael: ...what.
/for reference
//this is Mako
///
////and that is why of the Triplets
/////she is Asuka's favorite
Well, if we're gonna go with Gainax references as the children of GrappleGun!Gendo, why not go with Mako of Kill la Kill (already seen above), Noriko of Gunbuster...
