I'm sending this out for comments, because otherwise I'm not going to get any.
I know this needs work still. (What do I do with the subplot involving
Asuka, for instance? I haven't been able to use it more than halfway through.)
Angels, Heaven, and Earth
by Ken Arromdee
Chapter 5
The last that Rei could remember was the pain. Unit 00 was cut, and she
felt the wounds. Unit 00's skeleton was broken, and she felt it as if it had
been her own bones tearing through her own skin. And finally, Unit 00 had
died, but she didn't need to feel it, because in the process the Fourteenth
Angel had crushed the entry plug around her and she had followed it along to
its doom.
After that, Rei had awoken in a void. She itched all over, but the pain
was gone. She was floating, but there was no LCL around her, only a glowing
haze. Rei opened her eyes to see a strange woman floating with her. "Welcome
back, Ayanami Rei", the woman said with a small smile.
"Who are you?" asked Rei.
"I'm Sasami. It's nice to meet you."
Rei looked at her.
"I'm Sasami", she repeated. "I rescued you, Ayanami Rei."
"Why?"
"Because when I learned about you I remembered a girl from twenty years
ago. A girl with blue hair and red eyes, a girl who was always polite and
always did what was expected of her while hiding inside herself a secret which
she feared very much. Do you want me to go on, Rei?"
It was clear to Rei that this woman did want to tell her something, so Rei
gave the answer that the woman expected. Whether Rei herself really cared
about what it was was purely secondary. "Yes", she replied.
* * * * *
Against the world, Shinji was helpless. The biggest thing he could do was
to finish his homework and study for his tests, while the biggest thing that
the world could throw at him was life and death and destruction and disaster.
Two of his classmates were gone... Rei was probably dead, and Akuma was never
really one of his classmates to begin with. Shinji stood at the open door,
looking out and wishing that he didn't have to go to school, but knowing that
he had no choice but to face the new, twisted, future that awaited him.
"Idiot Shinji", yelled Asuka. "Don't just stand there." Asuka shoved
Shinji aside and left the apartment. She stopped, turned, faced him, and
lectured him. "If you don't go to school, Idiot Shinji, you won't be able to
be a pilot any more and then the Angels are going to come and we're all going
to die. So get going, got it?"
"Wait, Asuka!" he yelled. Shinji sighed and walked out, towards school.
He could still run to catch up with Asuka, but there really wasn't much point
to that; instead, he slowed his pace, until Asuka disappeared into the distance
and let him be alone in his sorrows for a time.
* * * * *
"The best way to start", said Sasami, "is to ask a question. Who are you?"
"Ayanami Rei", replied Rei.
"Why are you Ayanami Rei?" asked Sasami.
"Because others call me Ayanami Rei."
"You are formed by interaction with others", said Sasami. "The
interaction with people and the flow of time change the shape of your mind.
They've formed you so far, and they will form you from now on. But, there's
someone else who is the true you."
"I am me", replied Rei. The idea that Sasami was driving at floated to the
top of Rei's mind, but Rei pushed it away. Somehow, Sasami sensed her
reticence.
"You don't know her", said Sasami. "Because you don't want to see that,
you are trying to run away. Because of fear."
"Fear?" asked Rei, knowing, but not wanting to know.
"Because she might not have a human shape. Because the current you might
disappear. You fear that your self disappears."
"Fear?" replied Rei. No, I don't fear. I wish to die. I do as I am told
and then I will return to nothingness again."
"You don't need to, Rei", said Sasami. "That is fear, and despair, and
you don't need those, not for that."
"I don't need to fear?"
"The girl I told you about, the one with the blue hair and red eyes, had
fear too. She thought that she was a construct. She and another being, who
wasn't human, were one, and she feared what was inside her because she thought
that that meant that her mind and body were false."
"What happened to her?" Sasami shook her head at that last word, and in
this place, Sasami's mind was close enough that Rei knew what Sasami wanted
her to ask instead. "What happened to you?" asked Rei.
"Me..." She briefly pondered the thought, and explained. "I came to
realize my nature. I am Sasami, and I am Tsunami. And neither is a false
self, because both are part of me. I'm something older than humanity, living
far away and only partly in this plane of existence, and at the same time I am
a woman like others, living in the body you see before you."
"Tsunami...?"
"The name of my other self is Tsunami, just like the name of yours is
Lilith. You are Lilith, a being that humans found and built the Geofront
around without ever really understanding, and at the same time you are Ayanami
Rei, a human girl living in a human body."
* * * * *
Even after Shinji's slow starting pace, he managed to arrive at school a
bit early. Not that it would make any difference; he could stand around at the
apartment waiting for school to start, or he could stand around at the school
waiting for exactly the same thing. Shinji spotted Asuka far away, arguing
with a group of students as usual. How did Asuka ever get the energy she
needed to do that?
A boy walked behind Asuka and tapped her on the shoulder. Shinji saw Asuka
turn to look at him, yell something from which he could only make out the word
"Devilman", and then run away. The boy had black hair, a thin pony-tail....
"Akuma?" said Shinji.
He didn't reply. Of course, Akuma didn't hear him. Not even an Angel
could hear him at this distance. But wait, that was silly. How could Shinji
know what an Angel pretending to be human could do, anyway?
He looked perfectly normal, thought Akuma as he approached. The shirt and
pants of the uniform fit him perfectly, and his body language was so good that
nobody would ever guess that humans to him were like penguins to mankind.
"Shinji, come here", said Akuma, motioning to Shinji. Though Shinji had
been approaching, at that sudden burst of attention, he stopped. "Shinji?"
asked Akuma, hesitancy in his voice. "Come on. Touji and Kensuke are here, I
couldn't get Asuka, don't you miss out too."
"What do you _want_? What do I matter to you?"
"I want to _explain_, Shinji. When was the last time someone told any of
us what was really happening?"
Never, thought Shinji, and if it started now, he'd be very surprised. But
he had to at least give Akuma a chance. Shinji approached and faced the two
boys and one putative Angel.
* * * * *
"You brought me back to life", said Rei.
"No", replied Sasami. "I rescued you. I healed you by regenerating your
entire body. But I can't bring back the dead. You never were dead; you're
still the same Ayanami Rei. Your body was destroyed, but your soul is that of
a greater being who lost only a nonessential part. Once you had another body
created for you, you could manifest through it again. And I insured the
transition was gentle enough that your mind and your memories suffered no
further injury."
Rei nodded to Sasami, patiently listening to the explanation.
"Only a day ago", continued Sasami, "I healed myself exactly the same way.
I went into the NERV complex, to gather information, and I didn't expect to
come out. They killed my human body, but I, Tsunami, was still alive, because
what they killed was only a part of me."
"Then what am I really? And you?"
"I've been called a goddess, Rei, but that's a measure of power, not an
indelible title. Then I decided to be a tree, and I was a tree. And now, I'm
Sasami. As for you, what do you want to be?"
"Ayanami Rei."
* * * * *
"A lot of my family is from outer space", whispered Akuma to Shinji and the
others. "We came here from outside, but Earth is our home now."
It was a crazy story to Shinji. But his whole life was a crazy story;
one bit more was hardly going to make any difference.
"Are you an Angel?" asked Touji.
"I'm not, Touji. None of us are. We didn't even know about the Angels
until I first came to NERV."
"You have an AT field", said Shinji. "Just like the Angels."
Akuma shook his head. "No, the Angels have fields, just like us. We don't
call them AT fields, and they're very powerful, and very rare. A long time
ago, a civilization called Neo-Atlantis tried to copy some of this power to
try to change the human race. It didn't quite work as they expected."
"You're confusing me", said Kensuke.
Akuma shrugged. "I'm not a teacher. There are people who can explain it a
lot better than me."
* * * * *
"You'll be able to go back soon, Rei", said Sasami. "This glow around you
is protection. You are nearly healed now, so soon you will be able to return."
"You want something for this. Or you are just being kind?" wondered Rei.
"I'm not that old man Gendou", said Sasami. "I don't want you to be a
servant who knows nothing better. If there's something I want you to do, it's
to think about what I've said and to realize you are not a thing. I thought I
wasn't real for four years. I hid it... I acted the perfect child for years,
because I wanted to be a good enough fake to be accepted as real. Don't do
that to yourself, Rei. Believe in yourself."
"Shinji should know that I am safe", said Rei.
"You can tell him that, if you want to", said Sasami. "You know how to do
it; I can see in your mind that you've done it before, without meaning to."
* * * * *
It was an explanation, at least as good an explanation as the obvious one.
Was it, wondered Shinji, something he should believe?
"Shinji, everyone... I didn't do anything to you. I *never* did anything
to you. Can you trust me?"
"I'll believe you, Akuma", said Kensuke.
Touji nodded. "Me too. We're all scared, but all you really did was
help."
Shinji stared at Touji and Kensuke. "I...." he stammered.
"C'mon", said Touji. "Shinji, we're all on the same side."
"All right", responded Shinji. He was trapped anyway; if he said anything
else, he'd look like an idiot. And who knows, maybe Akuma was telling the
truth after all. It was a faint hope, but it was hope.
"Whew..." mumbled Akuma to himself. "One thing", he said, "could you not
tell anyone about any of this? It's going to have to be our secret... nobody
else at school except Asuka and Rei even has any idea what happened yesterday."
"Rei's all right?" asked Shinji.
"She got hurt but she'll be..."
"What?" asked Shinji.
"What good timing", said Akuma, motioning to behind Shinji's left shoulder.
Shinji turned to look. There, in front of him, was Rei in her school
uniform. Her body was only a few inches from his, but he had seen and heard
nothing of her approach.
"You startled me", said Shinji, but Rei didn't reply. She spoke, moving
her mouth slowly, as if getting out any words at all was a struggle. In a
whisper, Shinji heard Rei say "I'm safe." And then, Rei disappeared.
"She..." said Shinji in astonishment.
Touji and Kensuke were gaping. It was as if they were watching Akuma fight
the Angel again. And even Akuma had a surprised look on his face. So they
must have seen it, thought Shinji. He wasn't imagining it at all.
"She disappeared..." continued Shinji. "And it's not just that! She...
she did it once before", said Shinji.
"What?" asked Touji.
"When I just got here, weeks ago, I saw her. I looked away and I looked
back and she was gone. She didn't have any time to run away, and she couldn't
have really been there anyway... I found out she was in the hospital."
"Spooky", said Touji. "Anyway, we'd better get into class."
* * * * *
Akuma usually did pretty well at tests, but things had been pretty hectic
and he didn't get much of a chance to study again for this one. So he was a
bit relieved when he finished it and managed to fill in most of the answers.
"Will student Masaki Akuma please report to Ribo Field?" blared a voice on
the class loudspeakers. "Repeat, will Masaki Akuma report to Ribo Field?"
Now what, wondered Akuma. But he'd better go; it wasn't as if he had much
choice. Akuma got up, waved to his classmates, and exited the class. He
walked all the way to the field, which was five blocks away; there was no way
he could be sure teleporting was safe unless he twiddled his thumbs for long
enough to make it seem like he walked anyway.
It was good for Akuma that he walked, because it kept him from being
surprised. On the top of the hill were fifteen black slabs, with a large
number marking the front of each one. They were arranged in a circle with an
empty folding chair in the middle. As he approached, one of them boomed out
"Please join us." The pleasantry in the voice sounded fake, but then these
things didn't exactly look as friendly as Azaka and Kamidake.
"We have some information that we thought you might be interested in", came
the voice from monolith 05.
"Who are you?"
"We are known as SEELE. We have been watching the Angels, all of the
Angels. What you did yesterday to Zeruel verifies your status as the last."
SEELE... that group that Sasami had warned everyone about. And they
thought he was an Angel. Not surprising; after all, everyone else did. But
it was one thing if Shinji thought he was an Angel and got a little scared; it
was very different if a government, and worse yet a secret government of spies,
thought it. Best to play along, thought Akuma, and then warn everybody.
Again. "I'd like to hear your information", said Akuma.
"Unification is our wish", boomed one of the voices, "as it is yours. You
wish to unite with Adam, returning to your origin. And we, separate
individuals of the human race, wish to unite all of ourselves into one. To
open Pandora's box, but to find hope for humanity. With your unification will
come our own."
Akuma didn't understand. But he tried to remember what they had said, so
he could repeat it later.
"Adam", continued one of the monoliths, "is in the hands of a man who
wishes to gain power equal to God's." Was Akuma imagining it, or did that cold
voice chuckle? "We will lead you to Adam, if you lead us to our hope."
That, decided Akuma, was another way in which those things weren't like the
friendly logs at home. They spoke in riddles. "Could you be more specific?"
"We'd require a blood sample and a brain scan."
They what? Now what should he do, wondered Akuma. They couldn't
physically hurt him... maybe. But they could cause a lot of trouble for him
and his family, or even for the other students. Wishing for the luck of
Mihoshi, Akuma gathered together his courage and said "I'm not going to give
you one."
If monoliths could become agitated, they didn't do so in any way that Akuma
could notice, but they did pause for several long moments before speaking
again. "Perhaps we may have another discussion later, then, to try to convince
you otherwise?"
"Sure", answered Akuma. He considered teleporting away, just to confuse
these people more, but being a smart aleck to a group of robots who seemed
that serious was about a good idea as entering his grandmother's lab without
knocking. Instead, he walked back to class. Back to normality.
* * * * *
Lunch had already started by the time Akuma reached the classroom. He sat
down again--right next to Asuka, who looked away from him and refused to say a
word, even a greeting, during the rest of the day.
When the final bell rang and everyone left, Akuma walked around the
building and prepared to teleport once he was out of everyone's sight, only to
stop when Rei, standing to the side, said "Hello, Akuma" to him.
"Hello. Are you... are you feeling okay?"
"I am fine", replied Rei.
"Aunt Sasami helped heal you?"
"Yes, she did."
"That's good", answered Akuma.
By then, Touji, Kensuke, and Shinji had started to gather around Akuma and
Rei. Shinji even managed to crack a smile at Rei. "I'm glad you're all
right", he said as the other two pestered Akuma and Rei with questions.
* * * * *
One man, however, had questions of a somewhat different sort. After the
failure of his attempt to revive Rei, Ikari Gendou gave an order, for any
information about Rei to be relayed to him. He didn't think it was too likely
for anything to turn up, but he had to keep all possible avenues of
investigation open as long as possible. Most likely, SEELE had finally played
its hand, no longer having much need for Gendou's own personal version of the
Third Impact.
The phone rang. Gendou picked up the receiver and waited.
"Ikari Gendou?" asked the voice.
"This is him. You're...", he replied.
"I'm janitor Taro. You told me to watch out for Rei, and you said I
should report to you if I see her, sir. I saw Rei."
"You saw Rei. How did you see Rei?"
"She returned right after school, Mr. Ikari. I was sweeping near the
grounds as you ordered and she walked right by me and waited at the entrance
until all the students came out."
"Thank you. Goodbye", said Gendou curtly. He hung the phone up. This, he
realized, was something to think about. Rei II was dead. He had seen her
lifeless, mangled, corpse with his own eyes. So SEELE was one step ahead of
him. They had created bodies of their own--they certainly had the technology.
Perhaps they were even working with that Angel-child, having him kill the Angel
only after Rei died, just so that they could have another Rei who, remembering
little, would be more pliant to their will.
* * * * *
"So what happened this morning?" asked Touji.
"It was spies", answered Akuma.
"Spies?"
"They think I'm an Angel. I didn't bother telling them anything different. They made me some kind of offer I didn't understand and they wanted to talk to
me later. I'm going to have to go home and tell everyone what they said."
"Oh."
"Say, have you seen Asuka around?"
"Nope", replied Touji.
"I don't think Asuka likes you very much", said Shinji. If there was one
thing Shinji could recognize and comprehend, it was senseless personal
loathing.
"Maybe at Misato's place?" suggested Touji.
"If we go there", replied Akuma, "I may end up having to explain to
Misato...."
"You can't do that?" asked Kensuke.
"I'm not supposed to. Aunt Sasami is supposed to. She and Misato went to
college together, so she'll know how to explain it. It was hard enough just
getting Mom and Dad to let me tell all of you."
"Hey, there she is!" said Kensuke, pointing at a distant redheaded girl.
"Hey, Asuka!", yelled Touji. The girl noticed him and turned to face the
boys, but didn't approach. Then she turned back around and continued where she
was going.
"It's important!" shouted Akuma. Asuka turned briefly to look at him, then
resumed her pace away, even speeding up, almost to a run. Wait a minute,
thought Akuma. Nobody else was around, right? So catching up to her would be
a cinch. He blinked out of existence, reappearing in front of Asuka.
Asuka screamed in terror and fled.
* * * * *
Misato sat at her table, alone except for the empty and recently-used beer
cans in front of her. There was a knock on the door. "Come in!" she yelled.
As she realized her mistake she added "Oh, wait." and got up to open the door.
Asuka stormed in angrily and threw her books down. "It's not fair!" she
exclaimed.
"Calm down, calm down", said Misato. "What'sh not fair?"
"My Eva's gone! And we have an Angel running around and going to school
with us! There's nothing I can do except just sit and take it!"
"Go and get shum resht", said Misato. "We *hic* both nee-- need it."
"You're drunk! The one person who's back here to talk to and you're drunk!
Everything's so wrong around here. I'm worthless now. Nothing to do but stay
here and take classes that I pretty much know anyway. Do you even care? Of
course not. Nobody cares." Asuka pointed to Misato's bedroom. "Go on, go lie
down", she ordered. Misato did go to her bedroom a minute later, though
perhaps it was coincidence.
It really was unfair, though Asuka. A few days ago she was doing so well.
Now her Eva was destroyed, her school was infiltrated by Angels, and since
Wonder Girl had it almost as bad as her, the only person who could save the
world was that kid Shinji. Dammit, Shinji had it so easy... he had a parent
who was still alive, unlike her mother. That was probably why he was chosen
to be a pilot to begin with--influence. It certainly wasn't his innate
ability. Asuka sobbed; there was nothing left for her.
The sound of a key in the door alerted Asuka to wipe the tears from her
face. She really shouldn't be a whiner like Shinji, especially not in front of
Shinji himself, who that probably was.
Shinji opened the door. Along with Rei. And the Angel. "Hi, who invited
Angels here?" yelled Asuka.
"Let me get this straight", said Akuma. "I'm not an Angel. You're around
the fifth or sixth person who thinks that, and I'm really getting tired of
it. My family's from another planet."
"Of course. Angels come from another planet, you come from another planet.
So there."
"You can't really believe I'm an Angel. If I was, wouldn't I be a little
dangerous to talk to?"
"It doesn't matter if you're an Angel or a Saiyajin. You came out of
nowhere even more than Shinji did. You used these superpowers on the Angel
and you made the Evas obsolete, which hardly matters, since they're dead
anyway. Why didn't you just stay away and let us do our business?"
"Forget it", said Akuma. "Rei, do you want me to walk you home?"
Rei shook her head. "I should be safe."
"You can't leave now!" yelled Asuka as Akuma walked behind her, no doubt to
head for the door. Realizing this, Asuka turned and ran ahead to stop him, but
the boy was nowhere to be seen. "Wait! Where did Devilman go?"
* * * * *
Rei's room was not so much living quarters, as it was the place where Rei
was stored. Gendou unlocked the door and entered, not knocking; Rei was his,
after all, and never complained anyway.
She sat on the bed, staring into space with her red eyes, like usual. Or
like usual, when she was alive. What had SEELE done? What did they have in
mind for Rei? Would she still be of use to let Gendou achieve Instrumentality
with Yui? "Hello", said Gendou, with a little bit of concern--not so much for
Rei, but for what she represented. "How are you, Rei?"
"I'm fine", replied Rei.
"What happened to you?"
"I was hurt, and then I was rescued."
"By who?"
"By a friend. Somebody you don't know."
"Nobody that I don't know of is your friend, Rei. Who was it, and what did
he want from you? Tell me."
"No", answered Rei.
Now how did SEELE do that? wondered Gendou. Even if they had grown another
Rei body, there's no way they would be able to completely change her loyalty to
be towards them. The best they could do would be to deliberately keep her
amnesiac.
"Rei, you have no reason to follow SEELE. Even if they did create you this
time. Your purpose is still to be the key to bringing me and Yui together with
all of mankind."
"I wasn't rescued by SEELE. I was rescued by a friend. There's no need to
worry about it. Old man."
* * * * *
Sasami, or Tsunami, floated in her pocket realm, staring at the image of a
tree branch, that was part of her just as much as the Sasami everyone saw was.
She wished she could have said more to Rei, but the truth was, she didn't
understand enough about herself to continue.
Tsunami, before, was content to have left the goddesses, to sleep on Jurai
forever rejecting anything else. But with the new perspective from the
merger, she gained a more active interest in the world around her, no longer
just the passivity of a tree. So now, after eons of forgetting everything
except the sunshine and the rotation of the world, Tsunami had been trying to
remember the past again.
The last three goddesses were her, and Washuu, and Tokimi. Tokimi had kept
her power, and her knowledge, but given up on non-interference. Luckily for
the universe, she rarely intervened directly, but she was still out there,
somewhere.
Washuu had forgotten everything more deliberately and completely than
Sasami. Moreover, she had given up most of her power, choosing to create, not
a race, but a daughter. Washuu, as a powerless humanoid, had suffered the
pains of life, but in the end, she had accomplished more than she could in
millennia as a goddess.
Tsunami herself had led Jurai to domination of much of the galaxy. The
trees spawned from her body changed Jurai from a pirate haven to a world of
grandeur and scope.
That was the ending, but what was the beginning? Before that, Tsunami
knew, the three goddesses had decided to leave each others' company, knowing
that in infinite time, they would sooner or later meet again. And before
that... it was harder and harder to remember. Remembering back the billions
of years to Lilith's time seemed impossible. Still, she tried.
* * * * *
Misato awoke. Pain was throbbing in her head. What did she do last night?
That's right, she drank, and then she slept while Asuka got depressed enough to
yell, unlike Shinji, who gets depressed enough to imitate a rock, and unlike
herself, who gets depressed enough to drink. Not that the girl could be
blamed; she had spent years trying to live up to what she imagined her mother
would have expected of her, pushing herself much harder than the woman would
really have wanted had she stayed alive and well.
And Asuka's problem was a whopper. As far as Misato could figure out,
Asuka was bothered because NERV no longer mattered. Misato herself joined NERV
for the chance of getting back at the Angels; she understood very well. Was
everyone just a bunch of natives on an island, throwing spears and occasionally
running in fear when an airplane roared overhead like a monster?
Misato nuked herself a cup of coffee and guzzled it. It might help her get
over the hangover, but she doubted that. Then, looking around the room, she
spotted her answering machine, light still blinking. She had been so eager to
precede Asuka into mental hopelessness that she had ignored it. Okay, she
thought, let's see who this one is.
*Beep* "Hello. I'm calling from the T2PC, the Tokyo-2 Polling
Corporation. We're contacting you in the hope that you'll participate in our
survey about answering machines. We're gathering information on how people use
them to screen out junk c---." Misato pressed the 'clear' button.
*Beep* "Hello, Misato, this is Sasami. I need to talk to you, and
Ritsuko, and Kaji. And it has to be in person. I knew all three of you in
college, and you all knew there were some things I wouldn't talk about.
Considering what my grand-nephew did to the Fourteenth Angel this Thursday,
it's about time you hear what they are. Please give me a call back at this
number...."
So I was right, thought Misato. Looking up Akuma... calling to find that
that was where her old college friend lived... that was the right thing to do
after all. Sasami was up to her neck in something, but she was willing to let
Misato in on it, and maybe, just maybe, it wasn't the end of her fight against
the Angels at all. In two days Misato could be working on Sasami's employers'
secret project. On the other hand, depending on who Sasami was working for,
Misato could be fired, dead, or just fleeing for her life.
Not that she had a lot of choice, since unless Akuma magically disappeared
there would be no further use for NERV. Misato dialed Sasami's number and left
her acceptance.
* * * * *
"Whee", mumbled Misato sarcastically as her car passed over yet another
bump in the mountain road. How out-of-the-way was this restaurant Sasami had
suggested, anyway?
It was a bit too far, but she eventually did arrive, at a building that
must have survived from before the Second Impact--of course, high up in the
mountains, it would have been out of reach of the floods, and it was well
sheltered from the bomb that hit Tokyo. The neon sign on the front advertising
"Mountain Stream Fried Fish" made the place look even older. Misato parked her
car on a bed of gravel next to two other cars that she recognized as belonging
to Kaji and Ritsuko, and entered.
Inside was standing Sasami, Kaji, Ritsuko, a man who looked like an older
version of Akuma, and a woman with spiky hair, prominent ears, and wearing some
kind of tacky contact lenses that gave her eyes the appearance of a cat's.
"Hello", said Sasami. "Sorry this was so far away, but the owner is an old
friend of my brother's. We can talk about anything here perfectly safely."
After a waiter brought them to a booth for six far in the back away from
what few other customers were present, Sasami looked at Misato and the others
and cleared her throat. "This is Ryouko, my niece", she said, indicating the
woman with the spiky hair. "And this is Tenchi, her husband."
"Nice to meet you", said each one in turn, and shook hands around the
table.
"We've discussed this together, everyone", said Sasami, "and we've decided
to explain what we can. You're all keeping secrets for the government already,
and we hope we can trust you to keep a few more. It's for the government, in
a way, though some branches aren't that good at telling other branches what
they know. Is there anyone who thinks they can't do that?"
Misato shook her head. She looked at the table, and neither Kaji nor
Ritsuko seemed about to leave. But that was silly, thought Misato. If anyone
was going to tell someone else, they wouldn't say it to Sasami. Sasami really
shouldn't trust other people that much.
"The long and short of it...", said Sasami.
Ryouko floated upwards. Her knees drifted right through the table, and her
head embedded itself in the latticework atop the booth. Interrupting Sasami,
she said "... is that we're from outer space. Me, and Sasami, and even Tenchi
a little bit." Sasami glared at Ryouko, who descended back into her seat.
"That's..." said Kaji, astonishment on his face. Misato knew she must have
looked just as bad herself.
"Kaji..." said Misato, "I think I can believe her. I saw what happened to
the Fourteenth Angel. The boy Akuma destroyed it, and when he came back he
insisted that he wasn't an Angel. Something like this is about all that can
explain it."
After a slight gasp, Ritsuko watched it all with scientific detachment, but
Misato wondered just what she really thought.
"We've been around for a long time", continued Sasami. "Over seven hundred
years. Earth is officially Colonial Planet Number 0315, under the control of
the planet Jurai."
"You've got to be kidding", replied Misato.
"The government does know about us. They keep contact in secret, and we
don't usually tell them what to do. Except for little details like our family
registers."
"Why are you here?" asked Ritsuko. "What do you want from us?"
"We're here because we like it here!" exclaimed Ryouko.
"And I was born here", added Tenchi.
"And we would have stayed like this", said Sasami, "except for that project
at your Tokyo-3. Somehow Tenchi and Ryouko's son got chosen for it, and then
he ended up fighting an Angel barehanded. And he won."
"Tenchi and I", said Ryouko, "are proud that our son saved the world, but
after that we had little choice, especially with what Sasami found. Either we
could tell you what happened... or we could leave the planet. And then our son
would have lost his chance at a normal childhood, something I never could have
myself. Even if there was an Earth to go back to later."
"There really was no choice at all", said Tenchi.
"What do you mean, 'even if there was an Earth'?" asked Misato.
Sasami replied. "What she means, Misato, is that I found the secret behind
NERV, behind SEELE. They started the Second Impact by forcing Adam's soul
out... I'm sure you've heard of Adam... and they're trying to start a Third
Impact to unite all of humanity into one mind. Once all the Angels are gone
and can't unite with Adam, humans will be united instead. It has to be
stopped."
"I've heard nothing of this", said Ritsuko. "And why should I believe
you?"
"Because Earth is our home now", replied Sasami.
Was that supposed to be an explanation? wondered Misato. "What do you want
us to do?"
"Nothing", replied Sasami. "Oh, if you run across some good information,
it couldn't hurt to give me a ring, but we're really not expecting anything.
Just let us take care of it as best we can. I don't think you'd survive spying
on SEELE. But don't report us to anyone."
Silence descended on the table after Sasami finished speaking. A waiter
timidly peeked in and asked "May I take your order now?"
* * * * *
"There's a message for you, Misato", said Maya. "Sealed, and paper-only."
She handed Misato a manila envelope, stamped "Top Secret", and Misato tore it
open.
Inside was a letter, dated the previous day and signed by the Prime
Minister of Japan. Giving her orders in a way that bypassed the usual chain of
command--orders not to investigate or speak about anything related to Jurai,
Juraians, or friends of Juraians. No names were listed, but Misato knew very
well who the letter was referring to.
Well, thought Misato, maybe Sasami wasn't that naive after all. But now
what? There were aliens on Earth. She _knew_ one of them, had drinks with
her... heck, she worked with her in physics lab back in college. It was a
pretty big pill to swallow. And NERV was still obsolete.
But if what Sasami was saying was true, NERV had been obsolete all along.
Misato thought she was fighting for humanity, but she was really helping the
men who killed her father with their own selfish ambitions. She didn't know
what to think.
At least what she had to do didn't depend on whether she believed it or
not, as long as she didn't go straight to Gendou to report it. So any action
could be delayed a little longer.
That was a good plan, thought Misato, as she rationed a pile of beer cans
out for herself.
* * * * *
"Good morning Sasami", said Kaji as his co-worker-cum-space-alien entered.
"About last night...."
"I know. It's hard to believe. I didn't want to do it... none of us
really did. But if we're lucky we'll make it through this and fade back into
obscurity again."
"Could you tell me a little bit about your planet, Sasami?"
"It's beautiful. There's no pollution, and it's full of trees. Let me
tell you about the bonding ceremony...."
* * * * *
Ritsuko looked at the letter in her hands. Urgent, and from the Prime
Minister. It demonstrated that Sasami really did have some of the influence
that she said that people like her had. But what should she do, she wondered.
Ritsuko dialed up a secure line and rang Gendou. He was always so cold to
her, even in bed. But maybe giving him this bit of information could get him
to open up a bit more. "Commander Ikari, there's something I need to tell you
about...."