Categories > Anime/Manga > Neon Genesis Evangelion > Evangelion Gear
Episode 4: Battle in Tokyo-3! Sohryuu vs RAY
Rei Ayanami hated two things.
The first, people who insult the Supreme Commander of Nerv. The second, being confused.
Currently, it was the latter.
The object of her confusion? One Shinji Ikari.
At the moment, the First Child was inside her apartment, laid out on her bed, looking at the ceiling, thinking about the past events that had transpired.
She may not look like it, but Rei was very observant. She simply hid it underneath her cool exterior. Up until a month ago, following his return from Unit One's core, Shinji was in Asuka's words, 'a spineless baka.' Now, he was anything but. He was simply cold. In some cases, even colder than Commander Ikari. As if he had shut himself away following Zeruel. She was not exempt. After all, she did slap him and called him a coward when he had returned.
She watched as Asuka and most of the class had pretty much made his life hell, making him a virtual pariah in their classroom, while having the class wrapped around her finger, and she did not raise one finger to stop the abuse. She knew that he would simply roll over just to avoid confrontation. She watched as Ritsuko snubbed him and his father act even more colder towards him. And did nothing.
Until that day...
...the day that he had simply stopped giving a damn about the people around him. She was there when Maya had tried to apologize for using the Dummy System, and Shinji had sent her running away in tears. Aoba and Hyuuga also steered clear of him when they demanded that Shinji should apologize to Maya, and he told them off as well.
Day by day, he grew colder and colder towards the majority of the senior Nerv staff. The only exception was Fuyutsuki, Mr. Kaji, and Dr. Hunter.
Then came the day that Shinji had not only chewed out Dr. Akagi, he also denounced his father, severing the tie between father and son. As for her, Shinji simply ignored her, as if he was refusing to recognize her existence. She would have slapped him then, but when he stared her down, she was literally frozen in place.
And three days ago, when Asuka had confronted him...
Even Gendou was willed into submission by his own son. No one dared to step in to stop Shinji from maiming Asuka. Not Misato, not Ritsuko, not even herself.
The following day, she would arrive at school with bruises all over her face, the more prominent one was at her throat, where Shinji had nearly strangled her to death. When questioned about it, Asuka's reply was that she had a freak accident while undergoing synch training. Unknown to the students of Class 2-A, said accident was Hurricane Shinji.
It had pretty much irked Asuka to no end.
Asuka could have told the class what had happened, which would have sent the majority of the class after Shinji, but there was the little fact that it would violate the restraining order placed on her, which would get back to the Geofront, and she would be ejected from the active roster, if not fired outright.
Earlier that day, Asuka had cornered Rei on the school rooftop, where Shinji would usually eat lunch at. But he was not there. Hasn't been there since Zeruel. Asuka knew that Rei was the one that could basically expose her for the poser that she truly was, and had decided to act in order to keep Rei from revealing Asuka's deception.
---
[Flashback]
Tokyo-3 Junior High School, earlier that day.
The two female pilots stood facing each other. One, a pale-skinned bluehead with crimson eyes, the other, a hotheaded half-German redhead, battered and bruised from her ill-advised confrontation with the sole male pilot of the trio.
"What do you want, Sohryuu?" Rei had asked in her cool tone.
"What happened back in the Geofront...was a fluke," Asuka snapped. "That pathetic spineless baka got lucky."
"I would not call it luck," Rei replied. "You provoked Ikari, and he simply defended himself."
Asuka growled. "Listen up, you blue-haired bitch. You've done a pretty good job in keeping your mouth shut, and it would be better for you to keep it that way. I'm the best pilot here. Don't you forget that. I got the entire class against the Third Child. And I can do the same to you as well."
Rei's response was to simply walk over to Asuka, until she was within arm's reach of her. Her red eyes burning into Asuka's own azure orbs, the pale-skinned girl replied, "I do not respond very well to threats, Sohryuu. Especially after what I had found out during the battle at the Nerv facility in Matsushiro."
Upon seeing the look of shock on Asuka's face, Rei continued. "You were right, Sohryuu. It does benefit in being Commander Ikari's favorite. And what would happen if I released the footage of the battle to the students in Class 2-A, after you told them that you so valiantly tried to save Suzuhara? I think that their opinion of you would change once they see you put out of action in under five minutes."
"You...you wouldn't dare," Asuka hissed.
Rei smiled. Unlike the smile she gave to the two Ikaris, this one was...evil. "Like I said, I do not respond too well with threats. Especially from you, Sohryuu. If you think that I am bluffing, then you are free to call my bluff. I guarantee you that you will be on the first flight back to Berlin without Unit Two."
Seeing as how she had won, Rei had excused herself from the rooftop, leaving her steaming teammate behind.
[End Flashback]
---
'Shinji would have been proud of me,' Rei thought sadly. But she would never know, since after Zeruel, she had went along with the others in condemning Shinji in regards to his actions after Bardiel.
It was after Shinji's confrontation with Asuka that Rei had started to think. After questioning Maya and the male bridge bunnies, she discovered that the entire debacle was Gendou's fault. He was the one who ordered the Dummy System to be activated, thus nearly killing Suzuhara. She knew that the Commander was a cold person, but to order the Dummy System to be activated, and to wash his hands of the whole affair, putting the blame on his son?
Rei was starting to see the one person who she would die for in a different light. And it wasn't a pretty picture.
'This feeling...is this...regret?'
It was after reaching his conclusion that she decided to try and mend her relationship with Shinji.
Only problem was that not only did he transferred out of Class 2-A, but he had also moved out of Misato's apartment and into his own place on the other side of Tokyo-3. No one, aside from Kaji and Fuyutsuki knew where he was. And he never stuck around to hear the synch scores, since she viewed most of the Nerv staff with nothing but contempt.
So Rei went with another course of action.
She followed Shinji one day after school. Instead of heading to his new home, he instead, headed for the park. There, she found the reason why Shinji was able to defend himself.
The reason being was that Shinji was trained to do so by the old man. From the look of things, Rei deduced that he was military, given his uniform. The first time she followed Shinji, the old man was dressed in combat fatigues and a beret. From her hiding place, she watched as the one-eyed man defeated Shinji, but the boy did put up a fight.
The following day, Rei tailed Shinji again. This time, there was no training. Instead, Shinji and the older man walked along the pathway, the teacher passing on his wisdom to the student. Watching from a distance with a pair of binoculars she had 'borrowed' from Section 2, she saw that Shinji was for the first time in his life truly happy.
Rei knew that it was because of the old man.
Which led her to make another decision; should she tell Commander Ikari about this new development?
In the end, she decided to keep her mouth shut. Knowing Gendou, he would try and intimate him into keeping away from Shinji. Or worse. Either way, she still had to make amends for her past behavior, since Shinji was the only person to try and reach out to her.
---
Katsuragi Asylum
Rei wasn't the only one concerned for Shinji.
Misato sat at her dining room table, a carton of takeout open, the food untouched, her can of Yesibu unopened. She was alone, since Asuka was spending time at Hikari's house, allowing her some time to think for herself.
Ever since that incident inside the Geofront, Asuka's synch ratio was deteriorating, while Shinji's remained stable. Both her and Ritsuko had originally thought that if had been because of the confrontation between Asuka and Shinji, but Naomi had said otherwise. Shortly before the fight, Naomi had interviewed both Shinji and Asuka (Gendou had refused to let Naomi interview Rei), and the results were in.
While Shinji was suffering from a mild case of post-traumatic stress disorder, Asuka's condition was even more worse. Aside from the inferiority complex, Naomi had labeled Asuka as being a narcissist with a male complex. While Asuka could still pilot, Shinji could not. Despite his solid synch score, he was too much of a risk. So he was temporary removed from the active pilot's roster and placed on the reserve roster, much to Asuka's delight.
Naomi had also warned that Asuka was showing signs of one having antisocial personality disorder. In order words, Asuka was showing symptoms of becoming a sociopath. Despite having plenty of friends and admirers, Asuka was still a sheltered girl, not letting anyone get close to her, with the exception of Kaji and Misato.
Ritsuko, on the other hand, was kicking herself. Despite being the senior medical officer, she had failed to see the signs. Fortunately, Naomi did not bust her ass too bad.
Since Shinji would recognize her in her blue Renault, Misato used an unmarked car to tail Shinji. There, she followed him to the park, where Misato discovered that Shinji had a mentor, someone he could look up to.
It also answered the question about how he was able to defend himself against Asuka.
Whoever he was, Misato noticed that Shinji held him in high regard.
Deciding not to notify Commander Ikari about this development, Misato continued her surveillance. One clue that stood out was his uniform. On the days that Shinji wasn't training with the man, he would walk with the one-eyed man along the pathway, the teacher lecturing the student. He was dressed in the uniform similar to what a senior officer of the JSSDF would wear, save that his was black, identifying him as an officer of the United Nations. And on top of that, he was a general.
After asking around, she had managed to get a name.
John Hayter.
He was a general in the U.S. Army, and had originally retired several years before Second Impact. After the Valentine Treaty had been signed, he was asked to return to active duty, this time as a general of the United Nations, meaning that he easily outranked both Commander Ikari and Deputy Commander Fuyutsuki. Her contact in the JSSDF said that General Hayter is working with the Japanese armed forces as both an instructor and combat analyst.
Misato also found out that he frequently visited a teahouse near the park. The Operations Director decided to pay the old man a visit and ask about her former charge.
---
The Geofront, Commander Ikari's Office.
The female undercover agent for Section 2 had done her job well. For the past two days, she had tailed Shinji Ikari, and had acquired surveillance footage of the Third Child training with Big Boss.
Footage that was at the moment being played inside Commander Ikari's office.
Ever since that day in which Shinji had beaten down Asuka, Gendou was becoming very concerned. So he did what was natural to him. He ordered an undercover Section 2 agent to tail his estranged son.
Gendou Ikari watched behind folded hands, along with Deputy Commander Fuyutsuki. The footage had answered the question on how Shinji was able to fight off Asuka. He also appeared to he holding his own against the older man, despite losing the match.
Another video showed Shinji and the old man walking alongside the lake, the pilot of Unit One simply listened with rapt interest, and asking a question once in a while. To make matters worse for Gendou, Shinji was actually smiling. His son was supposed to be in all aspects, a coward who would only fight if ordered to. Now, Gendou could not risk harming Shinji because only Unit One would accept him as a pilot, giving Shinji a major advantage. Without Shinji, Gendou loses Yui.
"Any idea as to who this man is?" Gendou asked.
"I've asked around, and the JSSDF refused to give out his name," the agent replied. "When I told the U.N. that you requested the files, they replied that your clearance is not high enough."
"Hmm..." Gendou looked at the rank on Big Boss's uniform. "He is a General in the American branch of the U.N. Forces. Anything else?"
"He is working as a combat instructor with the JSSDF," the woman replied. "That was all I was able to find out about him. His background is classified by the American government and the U.N."
With a wave of his gloved hand, Gendou dismissed the security agent.
"So he is protected," Fuyutsuki said.
"That he is," Gendou admitted. He was expecting a low-level peon which he could threaten and intimidate. Instead, he found a high-ranking officer – a guest of the Japanese government – tutoring Shinji in the art of combat. "It would also explain how the Third Child was able to defend himself against the Second Child. This...general is a threat to the scenario."
Fuyutsuki did not like where this was going.
"Professor, I want his dossier on my desk in one hour," Gendou demanded. "I want to know exactly what we're dealing with here. Have Dr. Akagi use the MAGI if necessary. I want to know everything."
Fuyutsuki nodded and exited the room.
---
Inside the teahouse, Big Boss had long since noticed the blue Renault outside. Both Shinji and Kaji had verified that only Misato drove the Alpine, and the old soldier quickly deduced that Major Katsuragi was coming to speak to him about Shinji.
From what Kaji had told him about his old flame, she was the Tactical Operations Director of Nerv, as well as the sole survivor of the Katsuragi Expedition. Big Boss had his concerns about the woman, but Kaji had vouched for her, saying that if there was one person that he could trust, then it would be her.
Misato stepped inside, she looked around for a moment, before spotting him in a corner booth, reading over some documents. He didn't appear to notice her, as he was into his work.
Misato walked over to his booth. "Excuse me? General Hayter?"
Big Boss looked up from his documents, sizing up the young major with his eye, causing the woman to squirm under his gaze. "You just as how young Ikari described you, Major Katsuragi." Off Misato's surprised look, Big Boss continued. "Yes, he's told me quite a bit about you. I take it you are here regarding him, correct?"
Misato nodded. "Yes, General."
"Please have a seat," Big Boss said, gesturing to the seat across from him with one gloved hand.
Misato sat down. One of the waitresses appeared and set down a cup of warm tea in front of the legendary soldier. Misato declined to order some tea for herself when asked by the waitress.
"You are sure?" Big Boss asked, taking a sip of the tea. "The tea here is very good."
"I am sure," Misato replied politely. "As you already know, I am here in regards to Shinji. I just want to know why. Why take such an interest in him? Because of you...he's changed. I can hardly recognize him anymore. Part of that hatred is directed at his father and most of the Nerv staff...but now...I just want answers, General."
Big Boss leaned back in his seat, arms folded across his chest. "Have you ever really sat down and talked to the boy? See how he truly feels about piloting the Evangelion, Major? Of course not. So long as the Angels are destroyed, who really cares how the pilot think, right? Underneath all of that self-doubt, there is nothing but rage. Rage towards his father for forcing him to pilot."
Misato remembered that day well. Gendou had ordered Shinji to pilot once he was brought to the EVA Cages. When Shinji refused, Gendou had brought out an injured Rei, threatening to use her as a pilot in his place.
"Have you ever seen a child soldier snap under stress?" Big Boss asked. When Misato shook her head no, Big Boss continued. "Children who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder are most likely to lash out, in most cases violently. I met Shinji shortly after the Angel had assaulted the Geofront. Oh, yes. I know. Shinji told me everything. Even if he didn't tell me, I would eventually find out, given that my clearance is much higher than yours, Fuyutsuki's and Ikari's. Despite saving the city countless times from the Angels, he feels unappreciated, betrayed and used. Instead of a 'thank you,' or a pat on the back, he is given nothing but contempt."
"Shinji would have said something," Misato pointed out.
"But would you have listened to him?" Big Boss replied.
"I..." Misato's comment died on her tongue.
"Did you know that Shinji was going to kill himself?"
Misato's eyes widened at that little revelation.
"I met him at the park. He had a pistol in his hand and had planned on blowing his brains out. But I stopped him. He said that he stolen the gun from your room."
'So that's what had happened to my gun,' Misato thought.
"His original intention was to gun down both Sohryuu and Ayanami before killing himself, but went against it," Big Boss continued. "Reaching out to him was the last thing I had expected to do, but he reminded me of a young boy I rescued many years ago."
He leaned back into his seat. "Ironically, he also reminds me of myself. Let me tell you a story, Major."
[Here, the scene fades, and we go into a series of flashbacks, this time, from Big Boss' mission into Russia fifty years earlier.]
BIG BOSS: (voice-over) Fifty years ago, I was sent into Russia to retrieve a man named Nikolai Stephanovitch Sokolov, a high-ranking weapons developer who was defecting to the West. Most people don't know this, but I was the first person in history to ever perform a HALO (High-Altitude, Low-Opening) jump into the former Soviet Union. That was a pretty amazing rush for me. But back to the story at hand.
[Shot of the younger Big Boss, holding the Knife and his Pistol.]
NAKED SNAKE: Commencing Virtuous Mission...now.
[Shots of The Boss, Colonel Volgin and the Cobra Unit. We see The Boss beating the crap out of Big Boss, er...Naked Snake on the bridge, right before tossing him into the river. Next shot is that of Volgin using the Davy Crockett to nuke Sokolov's facility.]
BIG BOSS: (voice-over) That mission was a failure due to someone close to me betraying me and leaving me for dead. Even worse, the U.S. was framed for the destruction of Sokolov's facility. Because of what my mentor had done, I was accused of being a traitor, as was the members of my old unit.
[Next shot is that of Naked Snake executing Operation Snake Eater. He is taking down each member of the Cobra Unit; The Pain, The Fear, The End, and the Fury. Next shot is that of Volgin being fried by a bolt of lightning on top of the Shagohod.]
BIG BOSS: (voice-over) I later returned and not only eliminated her former unit, but also the renegade Soviet colonel that was her host. It was also the same time I got this memento. (gestures to the eyepatch)
[Shots of the confrontation between Snake and The Boss at Rokovoj Bereg.]
BIG BOSS: (voice-over) I faced my mentor in combat. Even after five decades, I still remember her words to me.
[Shot of the Boss.]
THE BOSS: The one who survives will inherit the title of Boss. And the one who inherits the title of Boss will face an existence of endless battle.
[Shot of the climatic battle between The Boss and Naked Snake. Snake defeats The Boss.]
BIG BOSS: (voice-over) It was the longest ten minutes of my life. But I accomplished my mission I defeated The Boss.
[The Boss hands Snake The Patriot.]
NAKED SNAKE: A Patriot?
THE BOSS: Jack...or should I say...Snake...You're a wonderful man. Kill me. Kill me now. Do it. There's only room for one Boss...and one Snake...
[Snake executes The Boss. Next shot is that of Snake inside the lodge, listening to EVA's confession on the tape player.]
BIG BOSS: (voice-over) I honored her last request. I killed her. It was only in the aftermath that the truth was revealed to me. Her defection to the Soviets was all but a ruse set up by the American government in order to gain the upper-hand on the Soviets. But the mission parameters had changed. In order to prove to the Soviets that the Americans were innocent, I had to kill my mentor.
EVA: (from the recording) Snake, history will never know what she did. No one will ever learn the truth. Her story...her debriefing...will endure only in your heart. Everything she did, she did for her country. She sacrificed her life and her honor for her native land. She was a real hero.
[Final shot is that of the newly-christened Big Boss saluting her grave.]
EVA: (from the recording) She was a true patriot.
[Back to the present...]
Misato sat there, eyes wide as Big Boss finished his story.
"Killing The Boss has left me empty, even to this day," Big Boss continued as he fondly remembered the days when he was her student. "So I took solace in the battlefields. I never could let it go. The Boss was something of a spiritual mother to me. She taught me how to fight, how to fire a weapon, damn near everything I know." He sighed. "I have...three sons. Well, make that one, since two of them died after the Impact. I can honestly say that the remaining one and I were at odds in the past, but we made our peace."
He paused for a moment to down the remainder of his tea. "I listened to Ikari as he told me his story. It's a miracle in itself that he did not snap under the strain of being a pilot. Scientists should never be allowed to conduct military operations. They are not soldiers. They make rash decisions in which can have catastrophic results. He wanted to become more confident, more assertive. So yes, to answer your unspoken question, I took him in as my student in CQC."
"CQC? Close-quarters-combat?"
"He said that he was tired of being afraid, tired of running away from his problems. I can safely say that despite being the first person I taught since the Impact, Shinji is very talented. He also told me about the confrontation with the Red Devil."
"Red Devil?" Misato repeated. She then realized who Big Boss was referring to. "You mean Asuka."
The old man nodded, as a waitress handed him a refill of tea. "Yes. I can see why Shinji despises her. The girl clearly has some personal issues she needs to deal with, as well as an inferiority complex. Things like that could get her killed, as well as everyone else. In war, you never fight for glory. You fight solely to survive. Sohryuu is fighting solely for the former, which makes her a serious liability."
Misato knew that Big Boss was right. It had taken Shinji moving out to see that Asuka was starting to get out of control. That lack of control was in fact, a major liability in Nerv. It was only the restraining order Shinji had placed on Asuka as well as the threat of being fired from Nerv that made Asuka fall back in line, if only temporarily.
Big Boss looked at the woman for a moment. "Katsuragi...you're related to Doctor Hideaki Katsuragi?" he asked.
Misato nodded. "He was my father, General."
"So that means you were actually there when Second Impact took place," Big Boss surmised. "You do have a soldier's spirit within you, if you managed to survive that hell."
"I only survived because of my father," Misato replied. "He placed me inside an escape capsule." She gestured to the cross around her neck. "This was also his. I guess he knew that he was going to die, and he wanted me to live."
"You never got along with your father, didn't you?"
Misato shook her head. "No. Total workaholic. Yet...when Second Impact struck...he saved my life."
"A parent's first responsibility is that to his children," Big Boss explained. "Never forget that, although my relationships with my sons have been less than peachy. Your father wanted you to live."
Before Misato could reply, the alarms began to ring. Outside, the people scampered to the shelters. Misato's phone began to ring. She quickly retrieved it from her jacket pocket and answered. "Katsuragi."
"Major, we got a blue wavelength," Hyuuga's voice replied from the other end.
"I'm on my way," Misato replied. Hanging up the phone, she turned to Big Boss. "Sorry, sir. But I'm needed. Get to a shelter. And thank you for your time."
Big Boss nodded. "Not a problem. One more thing, Major."
Misato turned around. "Sir?"
"Watch yourself around Commander Ikari," Big Boss warned. "He is not someone to be trusted. The man has an ulterior motive."
Misato quickly left the teahouse. Big Boss rose from his seat and walked outside, where a parked sedan waited. He got into the back seat, closing the door behind him.
In the seat next to him, was Ocelot.
"It's time," Big Boss said calmly. "Is everything ready?"
"RAY 3 is prepared to sortie," Ocelot replied.
To the driver, Big Boss ordered, "Mount Futagoyama."
"Yes, sir," the driver replied before peeling off.
---
The Geofront - ten minutes later...
The images from the orbital satellite were in. Sure enough, in a low-earth-orbit, was Angel number fifteen.
Arael.
To Misato and Ritsuko, it looked like a freakish, glowing multi-winged bird of light.
With the exception of Shinji, both Asuka and Rei were already in their EVAs. Shinji, on the other hand, was standing beside Naomi. On her recommendation, Naomi had requested that Shinji should sit this battle out, pending his PTSD treatment. Gendou and Fuyutsuki had agreed.
"We have visual confirmation," Hyuuga said. "It's an Angel. Satellite's at maximum zoom. So far, it has not moved from its position."
"Which makes it impossible for us to attack it," Aoba added.
"What is that Angel planning to do?" Misato pondered. "Is it just going to sit there, or is it going to destroy us from its position?"
"At this rate, we can't attack it. It's too far out in LEO," Hyuuga pointed out.
"Smart move, staying out of our firing range," Misato concluded. "How is Rei and Unit Zero?"
"Both are in good position and ready to move out," Maya replied.
"Good," Misato nodded. "Equip Unit Zero for long-range firing and launch."
On the launch pad, Asuka Sohryuu was inside her EVA. Originally, she felt giddy that Shinji was ordered to sit out this battle. Wondergirl to her wasn't that big of a threat, meaning that she would kill the Angel and take the credit for herself.
That is, until Misato's image appeared on screen and issued the battle orders.
"Asuka, you are to back up Unit Zero," Misato ordered.
"What? Back Wondergirl up? Forget it!" Asuka objected.
"You have your orders, Pilot Sohryuu!" Misato snapped. "You're the rear guard."
"You can't be serious!" Asuka shouted. "EVA Unit Two, launch!"
'Now why am I not surprised?' Misato thought as she watched Unit Two rocket towards the city surface. In the back of her mind, Big Boss' words came back to her.
'Things like that could get her killed, as well as everyone else. In war, you never fight for glory. You fight solely to survive. Sohryuu is fighting solely for the former, which makes her a serious liability.'
Deep down, she hoped and prayed that Asuka's recklessness did not get her killed.
---
Meanwhile, at Mount Futagoyama...
Located on the outskirts of Tokyo-3, Mount Futagoyama was the location of the Yashima Operation several months before, where Shinji had sniped Ramiel. Now, the mountain itself was deserted, the remains of various pieces of equipment still there, as the JSSDF did not have the time nor the manpower to remove the equipment from the mountain.
Up in the sky, a dim blue light was seen. Arael has arrived. The Angel of Birds kept its distance, far out of reach of conventional weapons.
Big Boss stood outside of the makeshift operations center, looking out at the city below, a lit cigar in between his lips. The umbrella he gripped in his hand shielded him from the rain.
'EVA always did enjoy the rain,' the old soldier thought as he fondly thought of his lover, taking a puff of his cigar, blowing the smoke out. 'Then again, so did I.'
Big Boss could not deny that he had plenty of good times with the former Chinese spy. Even back when they were part of Zero's Patriots, they always made time for each other. After losing to Solid Snake in Outer Heaven, it was EVA who had taken him to Japan to recover from their epic duel.
It was also EVA that had convinced him to make his peace with Solid Snake before it was too late.
"A penny for your thoughts?" Ocelot asked as he stepped outside, an umbrella in his own hand.
Big Boss' eye looked distant. "She always enjoyed the rain," he said, still looking out into the rainy night sky.
Of course Ocelot knew who he was talking about. Unlike Big Boss, Ocelot saw EVA as something of a elder sister. Her death had hit Big Boss as hard as The Boss' death had 50 years earlier. Only difference was that Big Boss was his mother's executioner.
Ocelot did not find out about the truth regarding his parents until shortly after Big Boss was recruited into the Patriots. How his mother had given birth to him in the middle of the Normandy invasion. How his mother had killed his father, The Sorrow. And of how Big Boss had honored his mother's final wish of defeating her in combat. Even after all this time, Ocelot held no ill will towards the older man for the events of Operation Snake Eater.
"EVA was my friend as well," Ocelot said. He looked at his watch. "It's time. Nerv will be releasing their Evangelions to fight Arael. RAY 3 should be moving into place soon."
"And the ion cannon? Will it have enough power to destroy the Angel in orbit?" Big Boss asked.
"It's Patriots technology at its finest. Something that Nerv does not have. All RAY has to do is compute a firing solution, and it will do the rest."
"Excellent," Big Boss replied as he turned around and entered the operations center. Aside from Kaji and the techs on the Patriots' payroll, three generals were present. As it turned out, they were the same three JSSDF generals who were there at the Geofront when Sachiel had attacked.
The three men were also veterans of Outer Heaven and Militares Sans Frontières, and fiercely loyal to Big Boss. It was through Big Boss that they had gotten officers' commissions with the JSSDF upon its formation years earlier.
The three men rose from their seats and bowed. "Big Boss, sir!" the three men barked.
"As you were," Big Boss said. "Status report."
"RAY 3 is moving into position," the senior tech reported. "Stealth camo is working at 100 percent."
"Prepare to fire," Ocelot ordered.
The tech nodded and moved to perform her duty.
"You do know that once the cannon reaches maximum power, we lose the stealth camo," Ocelot noted. "As advanced the tech is, it still needs to be tweaked."
"I know."
"And what if Unit Two attacks RAY?" Ocelot asked his former mentor.
"Simple. We use the water cutter to knock it on its ass. If it becomes too stubborn, then we destroy the core." Turning to the JSSDF personnel, he said, "Begin the operation."
The silent RAY slowly moved into its firing position, stopping once it was behind Asuka's Unit Two. Its maw silently opened, and the cannon slowly began to power up. It would take at least ninety seconds before it would reach full power.
---
Inside Nerv Headquarters, Shinji watched Unit Two on the monitors along with Naomi and the rest of the senior Nerv hierarchy. Unit One was going to be down for quite sometime. Aside from the fact that Naomi had diagnosed Shinji with PTSD, he would be sitting this battle out.
Which suited him just fine.
It was at that moment, Aoba noticed something...odd on the monitor. It was still raining, so why was the rain behind Asuka was bouncing off of something...very, very big?
Misato noticed it as well. 'What the...?'
It was at that moment, the stealth camo failed and RAY 3 was revealed in all its glory, preparing to fire.
"Asuka, behind you!" Misato shouted.
---
"Asuka, behind you!"
"Huh? Wha...?"
Asuka spun around, and found herself facing an unknown mecha about the size of an Evangelion.
And from the look of things, it was preparing to fire on her. And from this range, now even her AT-field would not stop it.
"Oh...SHIT!" Asuka cursed as she dove out of the way...
...just as Arael's beam of pure light struck the spot where Asuka's EVA had been standing at moments earlier. Arael then quickly brought its beam on the RAY, bathing it in its attack.
Unlike the EVAs, RAY was completely unmanned, controlled by a AI, just as Arael would soon find out.
On Mount Futagoyama, Big Boss and Ocelot watched as Arael tried to probe into RAY, but with no success.
"Cannon charge is 100 percent complete," the senior tech reported. "We got a firing solution on the Angel."
"Fire," Big Boss ordered.
RAY 3 fired.
Not as Asuka, but upwards. The ionized particle beam shot upwards at the speed of Mach 4. Arael brought up its AT-barrier to full power in order to deflect the beam, but it was a fraction of a second too late. The ion beam destroyed the core, and with it, Arael.
---
Nerv Headquarters.
Silence reigned throughout the bridge as to what had just transpired. The mechanized monstrosity had all but destroyed the Angel in one move. Even Gendou was shocked at this new development.
"The...the Angel is gone!" Maya gasped. "There is no trace of it!"
"What the hell was that?" Misato demanded, turning to Ritsuko.
"I don't know," the blonde replied, still shocked at how the new mecha had destroyed the Angel without little effort. "Maya?"
"Scanning the mecha through the MAGI, Sempai," Maya replied. "The MAGI does not recognize the mecha."
The gears in Misato's head were starting to turn. 'If that mystery mecha could destroy an Angel in one blast, then what kind of damage could it do to an EVA? This is not good,' Misato thought.
"Asuka, return to base now," she ordered. "We have no idea as to what that mecha is. I repeat, return to base."
"Belay that order."
Misato and Ritsuko turned around. Gendou was on his feet. And he did not look very happy at this development (big surprise!).
"Pilot Sohryuu, you will disregard Major Katsuragi's previous order. I want that mecha. Do you hear me? Capture that mecha," Gendou ordered. "Use whatever means at your disposal."
"Then send me a damn rifle!" Asuka shouted.
---
Mount Futagoyama.
"Pilot Sohryuu, you will disregard Major Katsuragi's previous order. I want that mecha. Do you hear me? Capture that mecha. Use whatever means at your disposal."
"Then send me a damn rifle!"
Of course, Big Boss and Ocelot knew what was going on. After all, it was easy to hack into the MAGI, giving the Patriots a back door into Nerv. And the JSSDF had some of the best hackers on their payroll, allowing The Patriots to use their talents to get inside of Nerv, from their phone lines to their video feeds inside the Evangelions.
Ocelot and Big Boss exchanged looks. "This is why scientists should never be in charge of military operations," the Patriots chieftain mused as he watched Unit Two retrieve two palette rifles from the weapons locker. "Especially Gendou Ikari."
Thanks to the hackers, Big Boss had been reading up on the Supreme Commander of Nerv. As it turned out, the estranged father of Shinji Ikari had plenty of skeletons in his closet.
More importantly, he was the one who had sabotaged the Contact Experiment with ADAM, thus triggering Second Impact, on Seele's orders. The original intention of the Contact Experiment was to conduct research on ADAM's S² Core, but Gendou had tampered with the experiment, thus unleashing the hell that was Second Impact.
And now, Gendou was preparing to unleash his own version of Third Impact in an attempt to reunite with his wife, who was inside Unit One. Even if it means killing his own son and the rest of the world in the progress. And given what happened on Second Impact, Ikari was not squeamish on ending human lives, even on Seele's orders.
Ocelot wanted to kill him upon finding out that Gendou was the one responsible for the Impact, but Big Boss refused.
"In due time, Shalashaka," Big Boss had said. "In time, in our own special way...Ikari will answer for his crimes."
From RAY 3's optical sensors, which gave them a video feed to the facility on Futagoyama, Big Boss, Ocelot and the JSSDF personnel watched as Asuka retrieved two palette rifles from a weapons rack which had risen from the ground.
"Your orders?" Ocelot asked.
"No need to ask," Big Boss replied. "I believe Sohryuu is looking for a fight. Humor her. But don't kill her."
Ocelot grinned evilly. "With pleasure." Turning to the techs, he said only one word. "Sortie."
---
Back in Tokyo-3, the rain had picked up as RAY 3 made its challenge known in the form of its trademark scream. Armed with two palette rifles, Asuka opened fire with both of them, the spent shells falling to the streets, some of them destroying parked cars, if Unit Two had not already crushed them underfoot as the red EVA charged.
The rounds from the palette rifle harmlessly bounced off RAY 3's armor.
Asuka dropped the empty rifles and went for her Prog Knife.
Which did absolutely no good when RAY 3 body-checked Unit Two with brutal force, sending the red production-model EVA to the ground, Asuka losing her grip on the Prog Knife, which as she watched, was crushed under the RAY's heel. While Asuka forced Unit Two to its feet, RAY's missile silos opened on its back, and the Metal Gear launched a volley of rockets at Unit Two.
Asuka's reaction was instant. Her AT-Field was up, and the missiles detonated against the field. However, it had obscured her vision. When the smoke had cleared, RAY 3 was gone.
Asuka looked around. "Where are you?" she shouted.
After a moment, it appeared that RAY 3 had retreated. Of course, Asuka, being Asuka, reacted automatically. "Whatever it was, it ran off. Coward. Just like Baka-Shinji! I told all of you that I'm the best! That reject has ran off like a coward instead of facing the great Asuka Langley Sohryuu!"
It was at that moment, that RAY 3 had appeared, using the smoke from the rockets to trigger its stealth camouflage, and thus outflanking Asuka.
"ASUKA, WATCH OUT!" Misato screamed.
Too late.
RAY 3 fired off one single rocket, nailing Unit Two in the back. Not only it caused major damage, it also had the effect of destroying Unit Two's power cable, reducing the red EVA to battery power.
Meaning, it had less than three minutes to either escape or fight.
"Damn!" Misato cursed. "That thing has some kind of stealth technology! Asuka, withdraw!"
Once again, Misato was overruled by Gendou. "Belay that order," he barked. "I want that mecha!"
"Commander, she can't win!" Misato appealed. "She only has two minutes of battery time left. She has to retreat!"
Gendou leveled his gaze on Misato. "Major Katsuragi, one more word out of you, and I will have you arrested for gross insubordination."
Misato growled internally. Gendou was more than willing to sacrifice Asuka to capture that mecha, and she was helpless to do anything. Shinji just watched the brawl with great interest, while at the same time, not surprised at his ex-father's veiled threat. So far, all of Asuka's training wasn't worth shit, since she now had one minute of power left.
Naomi, on the other hand, knew what the RAYs were capable of.
Back on the surface, Asuka looked at her timer. Forty-five seconds left. Her ego had all but overridden her common sense, the latter telling her to retreat.
And she paid for it.
The water cutter from RAY 3 was something Asuka was not expecting. The blast had all but knocked Asuka to the ground, just as her internal battery had ran out of power.
RAY 3 let out a screech before pouncing on top of the downed EVA.
This fight was over.
Then Unit Zero appeared, armed with a Mag-Rifle. Unit Zero opened fire on RAY, who simply jumped off of Unit Zero, and returned fire, firing short bursts from its ion cannon.
Rei brought up Unit Zero's AT-Field, but found out that it was no use, as the particle beams had penetrated through the field, striking Unit Zero in the shoulder, damaging it, as well as its knee, causing it to stumble.
Now behind Unit Zero, RAY 3 severed the EVA's cable, before punting it away, causing it to land on a undignified heap on top of Unit Two. Letting out a triumphant roar, RAY 3 made its exit, bounding over buildings before reaching the beach, where it leapt into the ocean with a huge splash.
"Damn it!" Gendou cursed, slamming one gloved fist onto the console. His chance of obtaining that mecha had all but failed.
"Get the recovery teams to Units Zero and Two," Misato ordered. "And find out what the hell was that thing that destroyed the Angel!"
Shinji, in the meantime, slipped out of the bridge, and made his exit from the Geofront.
---
Mount Futagoyama.
"That was fun," Ocelot had said once RAY 3 was safely away from Tokyo-3. The massive RAY was heading back to its fallback spot in southern Japan.
"Indeed," Big Boss replied. Turning to the JSSDF staff, he addressed them. "Good work, from all of you. The battle has been won, but we have one more Angel to deal with. All of you are dismissed."
---
The Geofront, an hour later.
"So how bad is it?" Misato asked as she, Naomi, and Ritsuko stood in the EVA Cages, looking over the battered Unit Two.
"Pretty bad," Ritsuko replied. "We may have to take Unit Two down for the repairs. The most prominent of the damage is the destroyed power socket and core. The damage to Unit Zero is minimal. But it's going to be a while before Unit Two is combat-ready again. First, we need to repair the core."
"Any ideas as to what destroyed the Angel?" Misato asked.
"None whatsoever," the Project E chairwoman replied. "It's technology is radically advanced. A particle cannon capable of penetrating AT-Fields. And that stealth technology...the Commander is not very happy at the moment."
"Because whatever that mecha was has all but made a fool out of all of us," Misato guessed. "Especially Asuka."
Ritsuko winced in sympathy. "And you're her guardian as well. I feel for you. I could hear her as we got her Entry Plug out, blaming Shinji for the entire thing."
"Sohryuu is becoming a liability," Naomi said. "Her synch ratio has been declining since Ikari's return from Unit One."
"Maybe he was right," Misato sighed.
"Who?"
"I found Shinji's mystery mentor," Misato explained. "He's a general in the U.N. Pretty old-school too. Name's Hayter."
'That should make the search a lot easier,' Ritsuko thought. Shortly before the Angel attack, Gendou had ordered her to use the MAGI to discover the identity of Shinji's mentor. Now, Misato had inadvertently given her a vital clue.
Misato shook her head. "This whole battle was nothing more than a mess. Asuka should have retreated."
It was at that moment, she remembered something that Big Boss had told her hours earlier.
'Scientists should never be allowed to conduct military operations. They are not soldiers. They make rash decisions in which can have catastrophic results.'
Misato realized that he was right. Gendou had overrode her authority as the Operations Director because of his desire to obtain the unknown mecha. Now, Unit Two was badly damaged and was in danger of losing the core. Without the core, then EVA Unit Two would be dead weight.
And if that happens, then that may push Asuka off the deep end.
Little does Misato or anyone else know, that Asuka Sohryuu - blinded by her own ego and desire to be the best - was already on her path to self-destruction.
---
Commander Ikari's office, some time later...
"Well?" Gendou demanded as Fuyutsuki entered his office, followed by Ritsuko.
Thanks to Misato, Ritsuko had accomplished her task. She had found Big Boss' dossier. Unknown to her, it was a slightly modified version of Big Boss' dossier, since Big Boss had correctly guessed that Commander Ikari would come sniffing around, trying to find out who he was once it became known that he was mentoring Shinji.
The erstwhile lover of Gendou Ikari placed the dossier on the desk. "It appears that the Third Child has quite the mentor," Ritsuko noted as Gendou leafed through the dossier. "General Hayter has quite the military history."
"Hmm...Jackson David Hayter," Gendou read. "Born 11 July 1935. 192 centimeters tall. Served with the U.S. Army's Green Berets and later the Army Rangers. Worked for the CIA as an operative of the now-defunct FOX unit. Also worked with LRRP (Long-Range Reconnaissance Patrols) and SOG (Studies and Observations Group) during the Vietnam War. Worked as a mercenary for a time...The Wild Geese and founded Militares Sans Frontières Was called back to active duty following Second Impact. Currently a five-star general, working with the JSSDF as a combat analyst and trainer. Over five hundred missions and operations in his career before the Impact."
Gendou closed the folder as he took in the information. His son was dealing with a career soldier. A battle-hardened career soldier whose clearance and authority easily dwarfed his own.
But Gendou would not be denied. He had waited for so long to get Yui back. Not even his son nor his mentor, or even Seele would stand in his way.
"Ikari, this is a dangerous game you are playing," Fuyutsuki warned. "This is a high-ranking officer of the United Nations we are dealing with. One that the Third Child has taken quite an interest with."
"That is irrelevant," Gendou replied icily. "General Hayter is a threat to my scenario. Have Section 2 scour the city for this man. Once they find him, bring the General in. I wish to speak with him personally."
"Understood," Fuyutsuki said, both he and Ritsuko leaving the room.
Rei Ayanami hated two things.
The first, people who insult the Supreme Commander of Nerv. The second, being confused.
Currently, it was the latter.
The object of her confusion? One Shinji Ikari.
At the moment, the First Child was inside her apartment, laid out on her bed, looking at the ceiling, thinking about the past events that had transpired.
She may not look like it, but Rei was very observant. She simply hid it underneath her cool exterior. Up until a month ago, following his return from Unit One's core, Shinji was in Asuka's words, 'a spineless baka.' Now, he was anything but. He was simply cold. In some cases, even colder than Commander Ikari. As if he had shut himself away following Zeruel. She was not exempt. After all, she did slap him and called him a coward when he had returned.
She watched as Asuka and most of the class had pretty much made his life hell, making him a virtual pariah in their classroom, while having the class wrapped around her finger, and she did not raise one finger to stop the abuse. She knew that he would simply roll over just to avoid confrontation. She watched as Ritsuko snubbed him and his father act even more colder towards him. And did nothing.
Until that day...
...the day that he had simply stopped giving a damn about the people around him. She was there when Maya had tried to apologize for using the Dummy System, and Shinji had sent her running away in tears. Aoba and Hyuuga also steered clear of him when they demanded that Shinji should apologize to Maya, and he told them off as well.
Day by day, he grew colder and colder towards the majority of the senior Nerv staff. The only exception was Fuyutsuki, Mr. Kaji, and Dr. Hunter.
Then came the day that Shinji had not only chewed out Dr. Akagi, he also denounced his father, severing the tie between father and son. As for her, Shinji simply ignored her, as if he was refusing to recognize her existence. She would have slapped him then, but when he stared her down, she was literally frozen in place.
And three days ago, when Asuka had confronted him...
Even Gendou was willed into submission by his own son. No one dared to step in to stop Shinji from maiming Asuka. Not Misato, not Ritsuko, not even herself.
The following day, she would arrive at school with bruises all over her face, the more prominent one was at her throat, where Shinji had nearly strangled her to death. When questioned about it, Asuka's reply was that she had a freak accident while undergoing synch training. Unknown to the students of Class 2-A, said accident was Hurricane Shinji.
It had pretty much irked Asuka to no end.
Asuka could have told the class what had happened, which would have sent the majority of the class after Shinji, but there was the little fact that it would violate the restraining order placed on her, which would get back to the Geofront, and she would be ejected from the active roster, if not fired outright.
Earlier that day, Asuka had cornered Rei on the school rooftop, where Shinji would usually eat lunch at. But he was not there. Hasn't been there since Zeruel. Asuka knew that Rei was the one that could basically expose her for the poser that she truly was, and had decided to act in order to keep Rei from revealing Asuka's deception.
---
[Flashback]
Tokyo-3 Junior High School, earlier that day.
The two female pilots stood facing each other. One, a pale-skinned bluehead with crimson eyes, the other, a hotheaded half-German redhead, battered and bruised from her ill-advised confrontation with the sole male pilot of the trio.
"What do you want, Sohryuu?" Rei had asked in her cool tone.
"What happened back in the Geofront...was a fluke," Asuka snapped. "That pathetic spineless baka got lucky."
"I would not call it luck," Rei replied. "You provoked Ikari, and he simply defended himself."
Asuka growled. "Listen up, you blue-haired bitch. You've done a pretty good job in keeping your mouth shut, and it would be better for you to keep it that way. I'm the best pilot here. Don't you forget that. I got the entire class against the Third Child. And I can do the same to you as well."
Rei's response was to simply walk over to Asuka, until she was within arm's reach of her. Her red eyes burning into Asuka's own azure orbs, the pale-skinned girl replied, "I do not respond very well to threats, Sohryuu. Especially after what I had found out during the battle at the Nerv facility in Matsushiro."
Upon seeing the look of shock on Asuka's face, Rei continued. "You were right, Sohryuu. It does benefit in being Commander Ikari's favorite. And what would happen if I released the footage of the battle to the students in Class 2-A, after you told them that you so valiantly tried to save Suzuhara? I think that their opinion of you would change once they see you put out of action in under five minutes."
"You...you wouldn't dare," Asuka hissed.
Rei smiled. Unlike the smile she gave to the two Ikaris, this one was...evil. "Like I said, I do not respond too well with threats. Especially from you, Sohryuu. If you think that I am bluffing, then you are free to call my bluff. I guarantee you that you will be on the first flight back to Berlin without Unit Two."
Seeing as how she had won, Rei had excused herself from the rooftop, leaving her steaming teammate behind.
[End Flashback]
---
'Shinji would have been proud of me,' Rei thought sadly. But she would never know, since after Zeruel, she had went along with the others in condemning Shinji in regards to his actions after Bardiel.
It was after Shinji's confrontation with Asuka that Rei had started to think. After questioning Maya and the male bridge bunnies, she discovered that the entire debacle was Gendou's fault. He was the one who ordered the Dummy System to be activated, thus nearly killing Suzuhara. She knew that the Commander was a cold person, but to order the Dummy System to be activated, and to wash his hands of the whole affair, putting the blame on his son?
Rei was starting to see the one person who she would die for in a different light. And it wasn't a pretty picture.
'This feeling...is this...regret?'
It was after reaching his conclusion that she decided to try and mend her relationship with Shinji.
Only problem was that not only did he transferred out of Class 2-A, but he had also moved out of Misato's apartment and into his own place on the other side of Tokyo-3. No one, aside from Kaji and Fuyutsuki knew where he was. And he never stuck around to hear the synch scores, since she viewed most of the Nerv staff with nothing but contempt.
So Rei went with another course of action.
She followed Shinji one day after school. Instead of heading to his new home, he instead, headed for the park. There, she found the reason why Shinji was able to defend himself.
The reason being was that Shinji was trained to do so by the old man. From the look of things, Rei deduced that he was military, given his uniform. The first time she followed Shinji, the old man was dressed in combat fatigues and a beret. From her hiding place, she watched as the one-eyed man defeated Shinji, but the boy did put up a fight.
The following day, Rei tailed Shinji again. This time, there was no training. Instead, Shinji and the older man walked along the pathway, the teacher passing on his wisdom to the student. Watching from a distance with a pair of binoculars she had 'borrowed' from Section 2, she saw that Shinji was for the first time in his life truly happy.
Rei knew that it was because of the old man.
Which led her to make another decision; should she tell Commander Ikari about this new development?
In the end, she decided to keep her mouth shut. Knowing Gendou, he would try and intimate him into keeping away from Shinji. Or worse. Either way, she still had to make amends for her past behavior, since Shinji was the only person to try and reach out to her.
---
Katsuragi Asylum
Rei wasn't the only one concerned for Shinji.
Misato sat at her dining room table, a carton of takeout open, the food untouched, her can of Yesibu unopened. She was alone, since Asuka was spending time at Hikari's house, allowing her some time to think for herself.
Ever since that incident inside the Geofront, Asuka's synch ratio was deteriorating, while Shinji's remained stable. Both her and Ritsuko had originally thought that if had been because of the confrontation between Asuka and Shinji, but Naomi had said otherwise. Shortly before the fight, Naomi had interviewed both Shinji and Asuka (Gendou had refused to let Naomi interview Rei), and the results were in.
While Shinji was suffering from a mild case of post-traumatic stress disorder, Asuka's condition was even more worse. Aside from the inferiority complex, Naomi had labeled Asuka as being a narcissist with a male complex. While Asuka could still pilot, Shinji could not. Despite his solid synch score, he was too much of a risk. So he was temporary removed from the active pilot's roster and placed on the reserve roster, much to Asuka's delight.
Naomi had also warned that Asuka was showing signs of one having antisocial personality disorder. In order words, Asuka was showing symptoms of becoming a sociopath. Despite having plenty of friends and admirers, Asuka was still a sheltered girl, not letting anyone get close to her, with the exception of Kaji and Misato.
Ritsuko, on the other hand, was kicking herself. Despite being the senior medical officer, she had failed to see the signs. Fortunately, Naomi did not bust her ass too bad.
Since Shinji would recognize her in her blue Renault, Misato used an unmarked car to tail Shinji. There, she followed him to the park, where Misato discovered that Shinji had a mentor, someone he could look up to.
It also answered the question about how he was able to defend himself against Asuka.
Whoever he was, Misato noticed that Shinji held him in high regard.
Deciding not to notify Commander Ikari about this development, Misato continued her surveillance. One clue that stood out was his uniform. On the days that Shinji wasn't training with the man, he would walk with the one-eyed man along the pathway, the teacher lecturing the student. He was dressed in the uniform similar to what a senior officer of the JSSDF would wear, save that his was black, identifying him as an officer of the United Nations. And on top of that, he was a general.
After asking around, she had managed to get a name.
John Hayter.
He was a general in the U.S. Army, and had originally retired several years before Second Impact. After the Valentine Treaty had been signed, he was asked to return to active duty, this time as a general of the United Nations, meaning that he easily outranked both Commander Ikari and Deputy Commander Fuyutsuki. Her contact in the JSSDF said that General Hayter is working with the Japanese armed forces as both an instructor and combat analyst.
Misato also found out that he frequently visited a teahouse near the park. The Operations Director decided to pay the old man a visit and ask about her former charge.
---
The Geofront, Commander Ikari's Office.
The female undercover agent for Section 2 had done her job well. For the past two days, she had tailed Shinji Ikari, and had acquired surveillance footage of the Third Child training with Big Boss.
Footage that was at the moment being played inside Commander Ikari's office.
Ever since that day in which Shinji had beaten down Asuka, Gendou was becoming very concerned. So he did what was natural to him. He ordered an undercover Section 2 agent to tail his estranged son.
Gendou Ikari watched behind folded hands, along with Deputy Commander Fuyutsuki. The footage had answered the question on how Shinji was able to fight off Asuka. He also appeared to he holding his own against the older man, despite losing the match.
Another video showed Shinji and the old man walking alongside the lake, the pilot of Unit One simply listened with rapt interest, and asking a question once in a while. To make matters worse for Gendou, Shinji was actually smiling. His son was supposed to be in all aspects, a coward who would only fight if ordered to. Now, Gendou could not risk harming Shinji because only Unit One would accept him as a pilot, giving Shinji a major advantage. Without Shinji, Gendou loses Yui.
"Any idea as to who this man is?" Gendou asked.
"I've asked around, and the JSSDF refused to give out his name," the agent replied. "When I told the U.N. that you requested the files, they replied that your clearance is not high enough."
"Hmm..." Gendou looked at the rank on Big Boss's uniform. "He is a General in the American branch of the U.N. Forces. Anything else?"
"He is working as a combat instructor with the JSSDF," the woman replied. "That was all I was able to find out about him. His background is classified by the American government and the U.N."
With a wave of his gloved hand, Gendou dismissed the security agent.
"So he is protected," Fuyutsuki said.
"That he is," Gendou admitted. He was expecting a low-level peon which he could threaten and intimidate. Instead, he found a high-ranking officer – a guest of the Japanese government – tutoring Shinji in the art of combat. "It would also explain how the Third Child was able to defend himself against the Second Child. This...general is a threat to the scenario."
Fuyutsuki did not like where this was going.
"Professor, I want his dossier on my desk in one hour," Gendou demanded. "I want to know exactly what we're dealing with here. Have Dr. Akagi use the MAGI if necessary. I want to know everything."
Fuyutsuki nodded and exited the room.
---
Inside the teahouse, Big Boss had long since noticed the blue Renault outside. Both Shinji and Kaji had verified that only Misato drove the Alpine, and the old soldier quickly deduced that Major Katsuragi was coming to speak to him about Shinji.
From what Kaji had told him about his old flame, she was the Tactical Operations Director of Nerv, as well as the sole survivor of the Katsuragi Expedition. Big Boss had his concerns about the woman, but Kaji had vouched for her, saying that if there was one person that he could trust, then it would be her.
Misato stepped inside, she looked around for a moment, before spotting him in a corner booth, reading over some documents. He didn't appear to notice her, as he was into his work.
Misato walked over to his booth. "Excuse me? General Hayter?"
Big Boss looked up from his documents, sizing up the young major with his eye, causing the woman to squirm under his gaze. "You just as how young Ikari described you, Major Katsuragi." Off Misato's surprised look, Big Boss continued. "Yes, he's told me quite a bit about you. I take it you are here regarding him, correct?"
Misato nodded. "Yes, General."
"Please have a seat," Big Boss said, gesturing to the seat across from him with one gloved hand.
Misato sat down. One of the waitresses appeared and set down a cup of warm tea in front of the legendary soldier. Misato declined to order some tea for herself when asked by the waitress.
"You are sure?" Big Boss asked, taking a sip of the tea. "The tea here is very good."
"I am sure," Misato replied politely. "As you already know, I am here in regards to Shinji. I just want to know why. Why take such an interest in him? Because of you...he's changed. I can hardly recognize him anymore. Part of that hatred is directed at his father and most of the Nerv staff...but now...I just want answers, General."
Big Boss leaned back in his seat, arms folded across his chest. "Have you ever really sat down and talked to the boy? See how he truly feels about piloting the Evangelion, Major? Of course not. So long as the Angels are destroyed, who really cares how the pilot think, right? Underneath all of that self-doubt, there is nothing but rage. Rage towards his father for forcing him to pilot."
Misato remembered that day well. Gendou had ordered Shinji to pilot once he was brought to the EVA Cages. When Shinji refused, Gendou had brought out an injured Rei, threatening to use her as a pilot in his place.
"Have you ever seen a child soldier snap under stress?" Big Boss asked. When Misato shook her head no, Big Boss continued. "Children who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder are most likely to lash out, in most cases violently. I met Shinji shortly after the Angel had assaulted the Geofront. Oh, yes. I know. Shinji told me everything. Even if he didn't tell me, I would eventually find out, given that my clearance is much higher than yours, Fuyutsuki's and Ikari's. Despite saving the city countless times from the Angels, he feels unappreciated, betrayed and used. Instead of a 'thank you,' or a pat on the back, he is given nothing but contempt."
"Shinji would have said something," Misato pointed out.
"But would you have listened to him?" Big Boss replied.
"I..." Misato's comment died on her tongue.
"Did you know that Shinji was going to kill himself?"
Misato's eyes widened at that little revelation.
"I met him at the park. He had a pistol in his hand and had planned on blowing his brains out. But I stopped him. He said that he stolen the gun from your room."
'So that's what had happened to my gun,' Misato thought.
"His original intention was to gun down both Sohryuu and Ayanami before killing himself, but went against it," Big Boss continued. "Reaching out to him was the last thing I had expected to do, but he reminded me of a young boy I rescued many years ago."
He leaned back into his seat. "Ironically, he also reminds me of myself. Let me tell you a story, Major."
[Here, the scene fades, and we go into a series of flashbacks, this time, from Big Boss' mission into Russia fifty years earlier.]
BIG BOSS: (voice-over) Fifty years ago, I was sent into Russia to retrieve a man named Nikolai Stephanovitch Sokolov, a high-ranking weapons developer who was defecting to the West. Most people don't know this, but I was the first person in history to ever perform a HALO (High-Altitude, Low-Opening) jump into the former Soviet Union. That was a pretty amazing rush for me. But back to the story at hand.
[Shot of the younger Big Boss, holding the Knife and his Pistol.]
NAKED SNAKE: Commencing Virtuous Mission...now.
[Shots of The Boss, Colonel Volgin and the Cobra Unit. We see The Boss beating the crap out of Big Boss, er...Naked Snake on the bridge, right before tossing him into the river. Next shot is that of Volgin using the Davy Crockett to nuke Sokolov's facility.]
BIG BOSS: (voice-over) That mission was a failure due to someone close to me betraying me and leaving me for dead. Even worse, the U.S. was framed for the destruction of Sokolov's facility. Because of what my mentor had done, I was accused of being a traitor, as was the members of my old unit.
[Next shot is that of Naked Snake executing Operation Snake Eater. He is taking down each member of the Cobra Unit; The Pain, The Fear, The End, and the Fury. Next shot is that of Volgin being fried by a bolt of lightning on top of the Shagohod.]
BIG BOSS: (voice-over) I later returned and not only eliminated her former unit, but also the renegade Soviet colonel that was her host. It was also the same time I got this memento. (gestures to the eyepatch)
[Shots of the confrontation between Snake and The Boss at Rokovoj Bereg.]
BIG BOSS: (voice-over) I faced my mentor in combat. Even after five decades, I still remember her words to me.
[Shot of the Boss.]
THE BOSS: The one who survives will inherit the title of Boss. And the one who inherits the title of Boss will face an existence of endless battle.
[Shot of the climatic battle between The Boss and Naked Snake. Snake defeats The Boss.]
BIG BOSS: (voice-over) It was the longest ten minutes of my life. But I accomplished my mission I defeated The Boss.
[The Boss hands Snake The Patriot.]
NAKED SNAKE: A Patriot?
THE BOSS: Jack...or should I say...Snake...You're a wonderful man. Kill me. Kill me now. Do it. There's only room for one Boss...and one Snake...
[Snake executes The Boss. Next shot is that of Snake inside the lodge, listening to EVA's confession on the tape player.]
BIG BOSS: (voice-over) I honored her last request. I killed her. It was only in the aftermath that the truth was revealed to me. Her defection to the Soviets was all but a ruse set up by the American government in order to gain the upper-hand on the Soviets. But the mission parameters had changed. In order to prove to the Soviets that the Americans were innocent, I had to kill my mentor.
EVA: (from the recording) Snake, history will never know what she did. No one will ever learn the truth. Her story...her debriefing...will endure only in your heart. Everything she did, she did for her country. She sacrificed her life and her honor for her native land. She was a real hero.
[Final shot is that of the newly-christened Big Boss saluting her grave.]
EVA: (from the recording) She was a true patriot.
[Back to the present...]
Misato sat there, eyes wide as Big Boss finished his story.
"Killing The Boss has left me empty, even to this day," Big Boss continued as he fondly remembered the days when he was her student. "So I took solace in the battlefields. I never could let it go. The Boss was something of a spiritual mother to me. She taught me how to fight, how to fire a weapon, damn near everything I know." He sighed. "I have...three sons. Well, make that one, since two of them died after the Impact. I can honestly say that the remaining one and I were at odds in the past, but we made our peace."
He paused for a moment to down the remainder of his tea. "I listened to Ikari as he told me his story. It's a miracle in itself that he did not snap under the strain of being a pilot. Scientists should never be allowed to conduct military operations. They are not soldiers. They make rash decisions in which can have catastrophic results. He wanted to become more confident, more assertive. So yes, to answer your unspoken question, I took him in as my student in CQC."
"CQC? Close-quarters-combat?"
"He said that he was tired of being afraid, tired of running away from his problems. I can safely say that despite being the first person I taught since the Impact, Shinji is very talented. He also told me about the confrontation with the Red Devil."
"Red Devil?" Misato repeated. She then realized who Big Boss was referring to. "You mean Asuka."
The old man nodded, as a waitress handed him a refill of tea. "Yes. I can see why Shinji despises her. The girl clearly has some personal issues she needs to deal with, as well as an inferiority complex. Things like that could get her killed, as well as everyone else. In war, you never fight for glory. You fight solely to survive. Sohryuu is fighting solely for the former, which makes her a serious liability."
Misato knew that Big Boss was right. It had taken Shinji moving out to see that Asuka was starting to get out of control. That lack of control was in fact, a major liability in Nerv. It was only the restraining order Shinji had placed on Asuka as well as the threat of being fired from Nerv that made Asuka fall back in line, if only temporarily.
Big Boss looked at the woman for a moment. "Katsuragi...you're related to Doctor Hideaki Katsuragi?" he asked.
Misato nodded. "He was my father, General."
"So that means you were actually there when Second Impact took place," Big Boss surmised. "You do have a soldier's spirit within you, if you managed to survive that hell."
"I only survived because of my father," Misato replied. "He placed me inside an escape capsule." She gestured to the cross around her neck. "This was also his. I guess he knew that he was going to die, and he wanted me to live."
"You never got along with your father, didn't you?"
Misato shook her head. "No. Total workaholic. Yet...when Second Impact struck...he saved my life."
"A parent's first responsibility is that to his children," Big Boss explained. "Never forget that, although my relationships with my sons have been less than peachy. Your father wanted you to live."
Before Misato could reply, the alarms began to ring. Outside, the people scampered to the shelters. Misato's phone began to ring. She quickly retrieved it from her jacket pocket and answered. "Katsuragi."
"Major, we got a blue wavelength," Hyuuga's voice replied from the other end.
"I'm on my way," Misato replied. Hanging up the phone, she turned to Big Boss. "Sorry, sir. But I'm needed. Get to a shelter. And thank you for your time."
Big Boss nodded. "Not a problem. One more thing, Major."
Misato turned around. "Sir?"
"Watch yourself around Commander Ikari," Big Boss warned. "He is not someone to be trusted. The man has an ulterior motive."
Misato quickly left the teahouse. Big Boss rose from his seat and walked outside, where a parked sedan waited. He got into the back seat, closing the door behind him.
In the seat next to him, was Ocelot.
"It's time," Big Boss said calmly. "Is everything ready?"
"RAY 3 is prepared to sortie," Ocelot replied.
To the driver, Big Boss ordered, "Mount Futagoyama."
"Yes, sir," the driver replied before peeling off.
---
The Geofront - ten minutes later...
The images from the orbital satellite were in. Sure enough, in a low-earth-orbit, was Angel number fifteen.
Arael.
To Misato and Ritsuko, it looked like a freakish, glowing multi-winged bird of light.
With the exception of Shinji, both Asuka and Rei were already in their EVAs. Shinji, on the other hand, was standing beside Naomi. On her recommendation, Naomi had requested that Shinji should sit this battle out, pending his PTSD treatment. Gendou and Fuyutsuki had agreed.
"We have visual confirmation," Hyuuga said. "It's an Angel. Satellite's at maximum zoom. So far, it has not moved from its position."
"Which makes it impossible for us to attack it," Aoba added.
"What is that Angel planning to do?" Misato pondered. "Is it just going to sit there, or is it going to destroy us from its position?"
"At this rate, we can't attack it. It's too far out in LEO," Hyuuga pointed out.
"Smart move, staying out of our firing range," Misato concluded. "How is Rei and Unit Zero?"
"Both are in good position and ready to move out," Maya replied.
"Good," Misato nodded. "Equip Unit Zero for long-range firing and launch."
On the launch pad, Asuka Sohryuu was inside her EVA. Originally, she felt giddy that Shinji was ordered to sit out this battle. Wondergirl to her wasn't that big of a threat, meaning that she would kill the Angel and take the credit for herself.
That is, until Misato's image appeared on screen and issued the battle orders.
"Asuka, you are to back up Unit Zero," Misato ordered.
"What? Back Wondergirl up? Forget it!" Asuka objected.
"You have your orders, Pilot Sohryuu!" Misato snapped. "You're the rear guard."
"You can't be serious!" Asuka shouted. "EVA Unit Two, launch!"
'Now why am I not surprised?' Misato thought as she watched Unit Two rocket towards the city surface. In the back of her mind, Big Boss' words came back to her.
'Things like that could get her killed, as well as everyone else. In war, you never fight for glory. You fight solely to survive. Sohryuu is fighting solely for the former, which makes her a serious liability.'
Deep down, she hoped and prayed that Asuka's recklessness did not get her killed.
---
Meanwhile, at Mount Futagoyama...
Located on the outskirts of Tokyo-3, Mount Futagoyama was the location of the Yashima Operation several months before, where Shinji had sniped Ramiel. Now, the mountain itself was deserted, the remains of various pieces of equipment still there, as the JSSDF did not have the time nor the manpower to remove the equipment from the mountain.
Up in the sky, a dim blue light was seen. Arael has arrived. The Angel of Birds kept its distance, far out of reach of conventional weapons.
Big Boss stood outside of the makeshift operations center, looking out at the city below, a lit cigar in between his lips. The umbrella he gripped in his hand shielded him from the rain.
'EVA always did enjoy the rain,' the old soldier thought as he fondly thought of his lover, taking a puff of his cigar, blowing the smoke out. 'Then again, so did I.'
Big Boss could not deny that he had plenty of good times with the former Chinese spy. Even back when they were part of Zero's Patriots, they always made time for each other. After losing to Solid Snake in Outer Heaven, it was EVA who had taken him to Japan to recover from their epic duel.
It was also EVA that had convinced him to make his peace with Solid Snake before it was too late.
"A penny for your thoughts?" Ocelot asked as he stepped outside, an umbrella in his own hand.
Big Boss' eye looked distant. "She always enjoyed the rain," he said, still looking out into the rainy night sky.
Of course Ocelot knew who he was talking about. Unlike Big Boss, Ocelot saw EVA as something of a elder sister. Her death had hit Big Boss as hard as The Boss' death had 50 years earlier. Only difference was that Big Boss was his mother's executioner.
Ocelot did not find out about the truth regarding his parents until shortly after Big Boss was recruited into the Patriots. How his mother had given birth to him in the middle of the Normandy invasion. How his mother had killed his father, The Sorrow. And of how Big Boss had honored his mother's final wish of defeating her in combat. Even after all this time, Ocelot held no ill will towards the older man for the events of Operation Snake Eater.
"EVA was my friend as well," Ocelot said. He looked at his watch. "It's time. Nerv will be releasing their Evangelions to fight Arael. RAY 3 should be moving into place soon."
"And the ion cannon? Will it have enough power to destroy the Angel in orbit?" Big Boss asked.
"It's Patriots technology at its finest. Something that Nerv does not have. All RAY has to do is compute a firing solution, and it will do the rest."
"Excellent," Big Boss replied as he turned around and entered the operations center. Aside from Kaji and the techs on the Patriots' payroll, three generals were present. As it turned out, they were the same three JSSDF generals who were there at the Geofront when Sachiel had attacked.
The three men were also veterans of Outer Heaven and Militares Sans Frontières, and fiercely loyal to Big Boss. It was through Big Boss that they had gotten officers' commissions with the JSSDF upon its formation years earlier.
The three men rose from their seats and bowed. "Big Boss, sir!" the three men barked.
"As you were," Big Boss said. "Status report."
"RAY 3 is moving into position," the senior tech reported. "Stealth camo is working at 100 percent."
"Prepare to fire," Ocelot ordered.
The tech nodded and moved to perform her duty.
"You do know that once the cannon reaches maximum power, we lose the stealth camo," Ocelot noted. "As advanced the tech is, it still needs to be tweaked."
"I know."
"And what if Unit Two attacks RAY?" Ocelot asked his former mentor.
"Simple. We use the water cutter to knock it on its ass. If it becomes too stubborn, then we destroy the core." Turning to the JSSDF personnel, he said, "Begin the operation."
The silent RAY slowly moved into its firing position, stopping once it was behind Asuka's Unit Two. Its maw silently opened, and the cannon slowly began to power up. It would take at least ninety seconds before it would reach full power.
---
Inside Nerv Headquarters, Shinji watched Unit Two on the monitors along with Naomi and the rest of the senior Nerv hierarchy. Unit One was going to be down for quite sometime. Aside from the fact that Naomi had diagnosed Shinji with PTSD, he would be sitting this battle out.
Which suited him just fine.
It was at that moment, Aoba noticed something...odd on the monitor. It was still raining, so why was the rain behind Asuka was bouncing off of something...very, very big?
Misato noticed it as well. 'What the...?'
It was at that moment, the stealth camo failed and RAY 3 was revealed in all its glory, preparing to fire.
"Asuka, behind you!" Misato shouted.
---
"Asuka, behind you!"
"Huh? Wha...?"
Asuka spun around, and found herself facing an unknown mecha about the size of an Evangelion.
And from the look of things, it was preparing to fire on her. And from this range, now even her AT-field would not stop it.
"Oh...SHIT!" Asuka cursed as she dove out of the way...
...just as Arael's beam of pure light struck the spot where Asuka's EVA had been standing at moments earlier. Arael then quickly brought its beam on the RAY, bathing it in its attack.
Unlike the EVAs, RAY was completely unmanned, controlled by a AI, just as Arael would soon find out.
On Mount Futagoyama, Big Boss and Ocelot watched as Arael tried to probe into RAY, but with no success.
"Cannon charge is 100 percent complete," the senior tech reported. "We got a firing solution on the Angel."
"Fire," Big Boss ordered.
RAY 3 fired.
Not as Asuka, but upwards. The ionized particle beam shot upwards at the speed of Mach 4. Arael brought up its AT-barrier to full power in order to deflect the beam, but it was a fraction of a second too late. The ion beam destroyed the core, and with it, Arael.
---
Nerv Headquarters.
Silence reigned throughout the bridge as to what had just transpired. The mechanized monstrosity had all but destroyed the Angel in one move. Even Gendou was shocked at this new development.
"The...the Angel is gone!" Maya gasped. "There is no trace of it!"
"What the hell was that?" Misato demanded, turning to Ritsuko.
"I don't know," the blonde replied, still shocked at how the new mecha had destroyed the Angel without little effort. "Maya?"
"Scanning the mecha through the MAGI, Sempai," Maya replied. "The MAGI does not recognize the mecha."
The gears in Misato's head were starting to turn. 'If that mystery mecha could destroy an Angel in one blast, then what kind of damage could it do to an EVA? This is not good,' Misato thought.
"Asuka, return to base now," she ordered. "We have no idea as to what that mecha is. I repeat, return to base."
"Belay that order."
Misato and Ritsuko turned around. Gendou was on his feet. And he did not look very happy at this development (big surprise!).
"Pilot Sohryuu, you will disregard Major Katsuragi's previous order. I want that mecha. Do you hear me? Capture that mecha," Gendou ordered. "Use whatever means at your disposal."
"Then send me a damn rifle!" Asuka shouted.
---
Mount Futagoyama.
"Pilot Sohryuu, you will disregard Major Katsuragi's previous order. I want that mecha. Do you hear me? Capture that mecha. Use whatever means at your disposal."
"Then send me a damn rifle!"
Of course, Big Boss and Ocelot knew what was going on. After all, it was easy to hack into the MAGI, giving the Patriots a back door into Nerv. And the JSSDF had some of the best hackers on their payroll, allowing The Patriots to use their talents to get inside of Nerv, from their phone lines to their video feeds inside the Evangelions.
Ocelot and Big Boss exchanged looks. "This is why scientists should never be in charge of military operations," the Patriots chieftain mused as he watched Unit Two retrieve two palette rifles from the weapons locker. "Especially Gendou Ikari."
Thanks to the hackers, Big Boss had been reading up on the Supreme Commander of Nerv. As it turned out, the estranged father of Shinji Ikari had plenty of skeletons in his closet.
More importantly, he was the one who had sabotaged the Contact Experiment with ADAM, thus triggering Second Impact, on Seele's orders. The original intention of the Contact Experiment was to conduct research on ADAM's S² Core, but Gendou had tampered with the experiment, thus unleashing the hell that was Second Impact.
And now, Gendou was preparing to unleash his own version of Third Impact in an attempt to reunite with his wife, who was inside Unit One. Even if it means killing his own son and the rest of the world in the progress. And given what happened on Second Impact, Ikari was not squeamish on ending human lives, even on Seele's orders.
Ocelot wanted to kill him upon finding out that Gendou was the one responsible for the Impact, but Big Boss refused.
"In due time, Shalashaka," Big Boss had said. "In time, in our own special way...Ikari will answer for his crimes."
From RAY 3's optical sensors, which gave them a video feed to the facility on Futagoyama, Big Boss, Ocelot and the JSSDF personnel watched as Asuka retrieved two palette rifles from a weapons rack which had risen from the ground.
"Your orders?" Ocelot asked.
"No need to ask," Big Boss replied. "I believe Sohryuu is looking for a fight. Humor her. But don't kill her."
Ocelot grinned evilly. "With pleasure." Turning to the techs, he said only one word. "Sortie."
---
Back in Tokyo-3, the rain had picked up as RAY 3 made its challenge known in the form of its trademark scream. Armed with two palette rifles, Asuka opened fire with both of them, the spent shells falling to the streets, some of them destroying parked cars, if Unit Two had not already crushed them underfoot as the red EVA charged.
The rounds from the palette rifle harmlessly bounced off RAY 3's armor.
Asuka dropped the empty rifles and went for her Prog Knife.
Which did absolutely no good when RAY 3 body-checked Unit Two with brutal force, sending the red production-model EVA to the ground, Asuka losing her grip on the Prog Knife, which as she watched, was crushed under the RAY's heel. While Asuka forced Unit Two to its feet, RAY's missile silos opened on its back, and the Metal Gear launched a volley of rockets at Unit Two.
Asuka's reaction was instant. Her AT-Field was up, and the missiles detonated against the field. However, it had obscured her vision. When the smoke had cleared, RAY 3 was gone.
Asuka looked around. "Where are you?" she shouted.
After a moment, it appeared that RAY 3 had retreated. Of course, Asuka, being Asuka, reacted automatically. "Whatever it was, it ran off. Coward. Just like Baka-Shinji! I told all of you that I'm the best! That reject has ran off like a coward instead of facing the great Asuka Langley Sohryuu!"
It was at that moment, that RAY 3 had appeared, using the smoke from the rockets to trigger its stealth camouflage, and thus outflanking Asuka.
"ASUKA, WATCH OUT!" Misato screamed.
Too late.
RAY 3 fired off one single rocket, nailing Unit Two in the back. Not only it caused major damage, it also had the effect of destroying Unit Two's power cable, reducing the red EVA to battery power.
Meaning, it had less than three minutes to either escape or fight.
"Damn!" Misato cursed. "That thing has some kind of stealth technology! Asuka, withdraw!"
Once again, Misato was overruled by Gendou. "Belay that order," he barked. "I want that mecha!"
"Commander, she can't win!" Misato appealed. "She only has two minutes of battery time left. She has to retreat!"
Gendou leveled his gaze on Misato. "Major Katsuragi, one more word out of you, and I will have you arrested for gross insubordination."
Misato growled internally. Gendou was more than willing to sacrifice Asuka to capture that mecha, and she was helpless to do anything. Shinji just watched the brawl with great interest, while at the same time, not surprised at his ex-father's veiled threat. So far, all of Asuka's training wasn't worth shit, since she now had one minute of power left.
Naomi, on the other hand, knew what the RAYs were capable of.
Back on the surface, Asuka looked at her timer. Forty-five seconds left. Her ego had all but overridden her common sense, the latter telling her to retreat.
And she paid for it.
The water cutter from RAY 3 was something Asuka was not expecting. The blast had all but knocked Asuka to the ground, just as her internal battery had ran out of power.
RAY 3 let out a screech before pouncing on top of the downed EVA.
This fight was over.
Then Unit Zero appeared, armed with a Mag-Rifle. Unit Zero opened fire on RAY, who simply jumped off of Unit Zero, and returned fire, firing short bursts from its ion cannon.
Rei brought up Unit Zero's AT-Field, but found out that it was no use, as the particle beams had penetrated through the field, striking Unit Zero in the shoulder, damaging it, as well as its knee, causing it to stumble.
Now behind Unit Zero, RAY 3 severed the EVA's cable, before punting it away, causing it to land on a undignified heap on top of Unit Two. Letting out a triumphant roar, RAY 3 made its exit, bounding over buildings before reaching the beach, where it leapt into the ocean with a huge splash.
"Damn it!" Gendou cursed, slamming one gloved fist onto the console. His chance of obtaining that mecha had all but failed.
"Get the recovery teams to Units Zero and Two," Misato ordered. "And find out what the hell was that thing that destroyed the Angel!"
Shinji, in the meantime, slipped out of the bridge, and made his exit from the Geofront.
---
Mount Futagoyama.
"That was fun," Ocelot had said once RAY 3 was safely away from Tokyo-3. The massive RAY was heading back to its fallback spot in southern Japan.
"Indeed," Big Boss replied. Turning to the JSSDF staff, he addressed them. "Good work, from all of you. The battle has been won, but we have one more Angel to deal with. All of you are dismissed."
---
The Geofront, an hour later.
"So how bad is it?" Misato asked as she, Naomi, and Ritsuko stood in the EVA Cages, looking over the battered Unit Two.
"Pretty bad," Ritsuko replied. "We may have to take Unit Two down for the repairs. The most prominent of the damage is the destroyed power socket and core. The damage to Unit Zero is minimal. But it's going to be a while before Unit Two is combat-ready again. First, we need to repair the core."
"Any ideas as to what destroyed the Angel?" Misato asked.
"None whatsoever," the Project E chairwoman replied. "It's technology is radically advanced. A particle cannon capable of penetrating AT-Fields. And that stealth technology...the Commander is not very happy at the moment."
"Because whatever that mecha was has all but made a fool out of all of us," Misato guessed. "Especially Asuka."
Ritsuko winced in sympathy. "And you're her guardian as well. I feel for you. I could hear her as we got her Entry Plug out, blaming Shinji for the entire thing."
"Sohryuu is becoming a liability," Naomi said. "Her synch ratio has been declining since Ikari's return from Unit One."
"Maybe he was right," Misato sighed.
"Who?"
"I found Shinji's mystery mentor," Misato explained. "He's a general in the U.N. Pretty old-school too. Name's Hayter."
'That should make the search a lot easier,' Ritsuko thought. Shortly before the Angel attack, Gendou had ordered her to use the MAGI to discover the identity of Shinji's mentor. Now, Misato had inadvertently given her a vital clue.
Misato shook her head. "This whole battle was nothing more than a mess. Asuka should have retreated."
It was at that moment, she remembered something that Big Boss had told her hours earlier.
'Scientists should never be allowed to conduct military operations. They are not soldiers. They make rash decisions in which can have catastrophic results.'
Misato realized that he was right. Gendou had overrode her authority as the Operations Director because of his desire to obtain the unknown mecha. Now, Unit Two was badly damaged and was in danger of losing the core. Without the core, then EVA Unit Two would be dead weight.
And if that happens, then that may push Asuka off the deep end.
Little does Misato or anyone else know, that Asuka Sohryuu - blinded by her own ego and desire to be the best - was already on her path to self-destruction.
---
Commander Ikari's office, some time later...
"Well?" Gendou demanded as Fuyutsuki entered his office, followed by Ritsuko.
Thanks to Misato, Ritsuko had accomplished her task. She had found Big Boss' dossier. Unknown to her, it was a slightly modified version of Big Boss' dossier, since Big Boss had correctly guessed that Commander Ikari would come sniffing around, trying to find out who he was once it became known that he was mentoring Shinji.
The erstwhile lover of Gendou Ikari placed the dossier on the desk. "It appears that the Third Child has quite the mentor," Ritsuko noted as Gendou leafed through the dossier. "General Hayter has quite the military history."
"Hmm...Jackson David Hayter," Gendou read. "Born 11 July 1935. 192 centimeters tall. Served with the U.S. Army's Green Berets and later the Army Rangers. Worked for the CIA as an operative of the now-defunct FOX unit. Also worked with LRRP (Long-Range Reconnaissance Patrols) and SOG (Studies and Observations Group) during the Vietnam War. Worked as a mercenary for a time...The Wild Geese and founded Militares Sans Frontières Was called back to active duty following Second Impact. Currently a five-star general, working with the JSSDF as a combat analyst and trainer. Over five hundred missions and operations in his career before the Impact."
Gendou closed the folder as he took in the information. His son was dealing with a career soldier. A battle-hardened career soldier whose clearance and authority easily dwarfed his own.
But Gendou would not be denied. He had waited for so long to get Yui back. Not even his son nor his mentor, or even Seele would stand in his way.
"Ikari, this is a dangerous game you are playing," Fuyutsuki warned. "This is a high-ranking officer of the United Nations we are dealing with. One that the Third Child has taken quite an interest with."
"That is irrelevant," Gendou replied icily. "General Hayter is a threat to my scenario. Have Section 2 scour the city for this man. Once they find him, bring the General in. I wish to speak with him personally."
"Understood," Fuyutsuki said, both he and Ritsuko leaving the room.
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