2022-01-28: Revealed Truth ~LESSON~

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 <Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.
When the Gutsy Galaxy Guard left, one of the requirements placed upon the new Gutsy Global Guard upon its foundation under NERV was that they not reconstruct the old Division Fleet, with its generally single-role ships. Between that, and an increasing need to deploy in multiple places at once to fight both aliens and science crime across the globe, the Gutsy Global Guard's Division Fleet is more uniform in nature, with two main ships: The Yamatsumi, designed with a Mirror Coating-based stealth system for intelligence activities and stealthy insertions; and the Wadatsumi, designed for large-scale deployments and, occasionally, staff meetings.

Division X: The Mobile Execution Fortress Wadatsumi is a massive gleaming machine, some few hundred meters long and rather wide. In atmosphere it resembles a doubled-up pair of locomotives, with long lengths along the hull glowing green with Ultra-Technology thrust amid the yellow-gold plating of the rest of the hull. It floats along the coastline over the bay outside Tokyo-3. If something does come in hostile, GGG will bear the responsibility of having taken NERV's pilots away from stations.

Both GGGs will. In the meeting room of the Wadatsumi, with its holographic display in the center and long windows peering out over the city, two distinct groups have gathered. On one side of the room are the Chief of the Gutsy Global Guard, Shigeru Akamatsu, an older gentleman with gray streaks in his hair, dressed in the long black jacket of a GGG Chief; next to him, Supervisor Yang Long-li, a black-haired Chinese man with glasses, his face squinted in concern and thought; and the third, a Japanese woman with auburn hair that explodes into a multi-colored forelock, in glasses and the attire of a researcher, Research Division Operator Hinoki Sai. On the other side, one stands alone: Guy Shishioh, tall with long auburn hair and a tight green jumpsuit under...ALSO, the long black jacket of a GGG Chief.

Guy's collar has the green three-Gs symbol of the old Gutsy Galaxy Guard. Everyone else, the blue of the modern Gutsy Global Guard.

"Thank you all for coming," Guy says, by way of beginning. He has his hands on his jacket, tugging on it self-consciously. "There's a lot you need to know and it's all urgent."

"So first things first!" Akamatsu says. Guy has a calm voice, but Akamatsu sounds like he's trying to be heard over a jackhammer, even in the quiet of the meeting room. "The Federation council has decided to pull the Gutsy Galaxy Guard off ice! Guy'll be Acting Chief until Kotarou Taiga is back and fit for duty! He'll also be the Mobile Division Captain and the only member for the moment! The Gutsy Global Guard will remain as it was!"

Yang pipes in, "In order to avoid communications mishaps, please refer to the Gutsy Global Guard as GGG Blue, and the Gutsy Galaxy Guard as GGG Green."

 <Pose Tracker> Tetsuya Tsurugi has posed.
There is a man sitting in the back of the room. This is not normally unusual, except that this time, said man is Tetsuya Tsurugi, who appears to be nursing a cup of some kind of steaming, caffeinated bean soup. It smells delightful, a roast that tickles the senses and instantly awakens the mind even before the drinker imbibes.

It's unusual because normally Tetsuya would be front and center for this kind of thing-- but no, this time he's hanging back, sipping his coffee. After all...

...This isn't going to be news to him.

He's just here... for moral support!!

(For both Guy and the various youngsters)

 <Pose Tracker> Madrigal has posed.
        A lean teenager in a pair of cargo shorts and a tank top with a high collar and scarf lounges on one of the gathering seats near a couple of bags of what look (and smell) like fresh-baked cookies. With long burgandy hair that is gathered in a ponytail and a pair of orange-tinted glasses, she looks like she is immensely used to being here. The GGG Blue insignia is blazoned on the back of her top, albeit looking like casual wear somehow.

        Madrigal speaks up quietly, "Courtesy of the cafeteria, we have some refreshments for everyone in case this becomes a long session."

 <Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.
Take pork. Slice pork thinly. Slice vegetables (onion, carrot, broccoli) to similar width. Cover in marinade (Spicy Korean Gochujang-style sauce, mixed with lemon-lime cola.), refrigerate for half an hour. Start the rice (seasoned with toasted sesame seeds). Feed penguin.

"Oh, my phone." Shinji Ikari says, patting Pen-Pen gently on the head before getting a phone that usually never rings. "Hello?"

"Pilot."

The domesticity of the scene is immediately shattered; the soft colors Shinji saw around him became washed, dark, the jagged edges of reality reassering itself. His heart rate increased, his breathing slowed, and he wondered if this was what a panic attack felt like. Shinji wondered if anyone would tell him if he asked.

"Father."

"You will attend the seminar tonight."

"With...with the Guard?" Shinji held onto the kitchen counter as if he was physically assaulted. He tries to move his mouth to speak more. "Why? Aren't you coming?"

"You are familiar with the concept of orders?" The voice over the phone said, and waited a moment. "I believe the current crisis may eventually be of use. You will familiarize yourself with it. I shall be there in the back of the minds of the old guard. My physical presence would only reinforce baseless fears."

"You." Shinji gasps for air, a drowning man. "You think I'll be exposed again?"

"I believe this is getting out ahead of a potential risk to Unit-01's safe operation. You have taken enough of my time, pilot. Go or be taken." The phone clicks.

Shinji slides against the counter, eyes wide, and counts to ten. With shaking hands, he gets to work, quietly frying the pork and vegetables and packing three boxes to go; there is no joy in the act now, no gentle experimentation, no fun with the toppings. Shinji doesn't even look at his work, ignoring an oil burn on nearly ruined hands. He has to go to work.

Shinji arrives, hollow eyed but otherwise quiet, mostly recovered from a few hours ago. His lunches are in a little backpack, along with his phone and the tablet NERV shoved on him for official business and because Misato lost, like, three of them so someone had to keep track of the damn thing. Shinji sits down at a table without really paying attention to anything. Didn't these people try to take over the world?

 <Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.
Eisen is quiet, but very much in attendance. Seated at the back of the meeting room, using his legs to push himself back a bit, tilting the seat. He's watching Guy with rapt attention as he begins to introduce himself and the current state of the GGG. Two GGGs - that will get confusing. But strangely enough, not a word out of him.

Surely, it has nothing to do with the fact that he might idolize Guy Shishioh as one of the 'Greats' of Super Robot battles he used to play out with miniatures.

 <Pose Tracker> Asuka Shikinami Langley has posed.

A teenager in a red plugsuit remains standing, accented by various colors is leaning against the wall, arms crossed. Asuka never fails to show that she's a pilot at every opportunity, it being a core part of her identity.

She notably doesn't go for refreshments. Nor did she need to be coerced to come for once.

"Must be..." She says of the urgency Guy spoke of, "...they'd still be hand-wringing about the optics otherwise." She mutters, but not so quietly that it isn't audible.

Asuka Shikinami Langley notably despises Federation politics. Ordinarily she'd be wondering but strings he had to pull to make this happen as the Federation Council feels more likely to acknowledge Spacenoid Independence than admit it might have made a bad call how it handled the Gutsy Galaxy Guard.

Which only leaves one option, that the threat is too big for them to worry about how it looks.

So for once, she makes no further smart comments and just listens like this is a serious mission briefing.



 <Pose Tracker> Renais Cardiff has posed.
       One of the conference room doors chimes, and a meal cart is wheeled in with a few more refreshments placed on the table--cans of soda, apparently internally produced at GGG, branded 'GUTSY PEPPER', and an assortment of danishes--evidently, both custard and fruit. The now-empty coffee pot is changed out, old grounds replaced with new, and it brews quietly in the background as proceeding begin.

 <Pose Tracker> Tetsuya Tsurugi has posed.
"It's a long story," Tetsuya says to the two Eva Pilots, having been inexplicably seated in close proximity ALL ALONG (though still very much toward the 'back' of the room. "Once the red tape's all dealt with, we can fill you all in properly. That is, if Guy's not going to do the honors himself in a moment."

 <Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

       When the meeting begins, Kaworu, dressed in black slacks, a long-sleeved button-up shirt, a violet tie that (oddly) terminates like a scarf, and a beige jacket with a lapel indicating his first initial and last name in English letters and a winged star insignia that indicates he holds a command position--a NERV administrator, as he's largely left others to advertise for him--is chilling to one side of the room. He glances down at the city from one of the long windows, hands tucked in his pockets, smiling his usual quirk of a smile, until Guy begins to speak; then he focuses his attention on him and the GGG Blue.
       
       Well, save for when Shinji arrives. Kaworu looks his way, takes in his hollow eyes and inattentive gaze, and his faint smile fades into neutrality.
       
       He opts to leave it be for the time being, though. It won't help Shinji to bring attention on him during an official meeting. His gaze lingers a second or two longer before he gives Madrigal and her refreshments a polite nod.
       
       "That's very thoughtful of you," he tells her, an acknowledgement of her kindness. He makes no move to actually partake, though, instead opting to return his attention up front. As for Asuka's comment--well, Tetsuya seems to have that well in hand already.

 <Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.
Yang emits a helpless chuckle and tips his hand toward Asuka. "Not a bad point," he says. "Perhaps we should start there, Guy."

"Right," Guy says, and straighens. When Guy Shishioh decides to be the center of attention he gets it, hands falling from their uncomfortable fidgeting to sweep across the assembled. Clear blue eyes take them all in. "May as well let them know now," he says to Testsuya. Then he continues: "Five years ago, the Gutsy Galaxy Guard determined that a hostile force was depleting the universe of dark matter in a way that would eventually cause its collapse. The Federation Council determined that it was not urgent enough to act on, but..." ...one, it was personal: This fight had claimed the life of a GGG member. He doesn't mention that part. "...they were wrong," he says instead, because that's true. "They did try to stop us," and here he looks to Tetsuya with a nod. "But the banishment was more of a political ploy by people who are a bit savvier at that than I am, to let us go do what needed to be done without restrictions." He chuckles, scratching at his collar near the GGG Green logo. Nerves. He can practically feel Kotarou Taiga staring a hole in the back of his head from wherever the man is.

"Which is why it was relatively easy to reverse," Akamatsu says, hands on his hips. "Us at Three G Blue and allies in the Federation Government have been settin' that up for years! Hah!"

Yang straightens now, stepping forward to the console that controls the floor-mounted hologram emitter. "As for the main purpose of this meeting..." He taps the console, and the holographic display in the middle of the room flicks on, showing the tableau from the night Guy returned: A Mazinger with GaoFighGar's arms, shining with a relentless orange light.

"Last week, in addition to Guy Shishioh's return, we confirmed the appearance of this machine, designated Reine Noir. Mechanically, it is based on a Mazinger chassis, specifically the one the Gutsy Galaxy Guard took with them when departing human space five years ago. The arm parts appear to be retrofitted from the Left Arm of Protection and Right Arm of Destruction components of GaoFighGar. Its pilot was this woman." he taps another button, and brings up a staff photo of Renais Cardiff-Shishioh, agent of Chasseur. A woman who was in good standing and a known enemy of evil when she left with GGG Green five years ago.

"Renais. My cousin," Guy says. "And an ally of GGG Green." He looks at her picture with an unreadable expression, then gathers himself. "She came with us when we left. GGG Blue Mobile Unit Captains Mamoru Amami and Ikumi Kaidou made full reports. I can give you the whole war story later." He cracks into a slightly rueful chuckle. "For now what you need to know is that at the end of it, the way home was closed and all we could do was send Mamoru and Kaidou back on our last two ES Missiles."

 <Pose Tracker> Madrigal has posed.
        If someone were close enough, they could hear the seat Madrigal is leaning on squeaking as her hands clench on its surface hard. Her eyes closed, she can picture the entire fight being summarized... watching as GGG Green was exiled, a little girl who wanted nothing but to join the fight and who was shot down for being too young and too inexperienced. Eventually, she finishes her reminisces, eyes opening again behind her glasses with a determined look that never leaves Guy's face, giving him the respect he deserves for the information he is providing.

        If he were not perhaps so focused, he might also be able to easily read the grimly unyielding look, one that says a simple but absolute statement - no matter what happens, THIS TIME nobody is making this young woman stay behind when the fighting starts.
You are empty-handed.

 <Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.
"I'll change the coffee." Shinji says, softly, not making eye contact with his drill sergeant but acting like someone'd complained about the stuff. He turns the little tablet onto 'record', just in case there's a test or something. "Want a hot shot, Coach Tsurugi?"
%eThey sure are proud of lying, Shinji thinks, but doesn't say anything because presumably this guy saved the universe from quantum or something. Shinji's moving the pot to do just that when Shishioh starts talking seriously. Shinji's eyes widen and his skin pales at the vision of the Reine Noir. His hands shake, and he has to put down the coffee pot before he drops it; some spills on his hands and Shinji barely notices.

All he can hear is the sound of a shield trying to break a cockpit into pieces.

And see the face of a lost woman he was about to kill with his bare hands for no reason.

And then her eyes turned red and.

"sorry." Shinji says, grabbing a fistfull of napkins, "Sorry, sorry, burned, burned my hand," Shinji can feel every eyeball in the room bore into him like justice, ripping him apart and squeezing the filth and dirt out and why does he say anything that just makes it more obvious.

 <Pose Tracker> Asuka Shikinami Langley has posed.

Asuka makes an irritated noise as Tetsuya says it's a long story but to wait on the red tape. Not saying much otherwise to that, it's all too expected for some kind of bureaucracy to inhibit her from doing her job effectively. However, Guy takes over and does just that, Asuka's blue eyes falling upon him like she's simply absorbing every word as possibly mission critical details.

"Of course they did..." She says, irritated, but this time low enough that it won't interrupt him, on the 'not urgent enough to act upon'. The idea that someone savvier than Guy managed to stage it as a ploy to get it done doesn't surprise her too much, what annoys her is that it was necessary at all.

It needed to be done, so he should have been allowed to do it without all this political maneuvering. Screw how it looks. And then, he presents the meet of the problem with a display of an odd Mazinger Hybrid with GaoFighGar. Asuka gives it a long onceover. Then another at the photo of Renais Cardiff-Shishioh.

'Cousin'.

The sound of a coffee pot spilling breaks her silence - not in the expected way, as she was about to ask if this was a recovery and rescue operation. Now instead she uncrosses her arms as she glares across the room...

sorry sorry sorry burned burned my hand

"Idiot. Can't you even fix coffee without making a mess?" She says harshly, without seeming to care about his injuries in the least.

Just, the interruption. Just, the mess he made.



 <Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.
It is no surprise to Eisen that there might have been some political shenanigans around this. There were plenty of conspiracy nutcases who are constantly rambling about such things on the BBSes, that it's hard to fully trust the Federation when it comes to that. Still, he's pretty quiet, until that image of that black Mazin shows up.

He bites his bottom lip a bit.

"An enemy capable of draining Antimatter at such a scale, and capable of defeating an ace team of Super Robot Pilots..." He remarks, "And now, they are on our doorstep. And they have taken hold of this 'Renais'." Eisen is quite capable of reading between the lines. "And seem to have turned her into their thrall. That, or her psychological state was severely eroded during your five year outing." He proposes.

"But how long were you really away? Is this all the time differential between earth and space - or did you not age by much? With the type of transportation involved, I can accept either answer to this." The man remarks, sounding remarkably... sane and serious.

Were one to ignore the fact that his right eye begins to glow a green light, focusing in on Guy.

"I imagine that the technology that allows the Black Mazin to perform at such a high level is the very same that forced you and your team to go on the back foot, am I correct? Do you have any samples to analyze, or tactical data we can use to prepare for more of this?" He has to keep his voice stable, because within his mind, he's reeling at the fact that he's talking to Guy Shishioh is such a manner. He raises his hand to his lips, biting against the joint of his index finger. Not because he is trying to look super serious, but to deal with the momentary stress.

 <Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

       As Guy explains what had happened five years ago, Kaworu's expression remains neutral. It remains neutral when he brings up the image of Renais, pilot of the Reine Noir. He doesn't insert any comments or offer any questions. Guy's story is still underway, after all, and others like Eisen are eager enough to seek out more knowledge.
       
       Shinji, though, fumbles with the coffee pot, spilling hot liquid on himself as he shakes and goes pale. As Asuka tears into him for making a mess, Kaworu's lips thin momentarily.
       
       Then he steps over to Shinji, offers him a soft smile, and plucks a small bottle out of a pocket that he sets down near Shinji's hands. "For you," he murmurs, and then retreats to give him space.
       
       It's a bottle of aloe vera, to treat burns.
       
       He'd mentioned he'd burned himself with oil earlier on the comms, after all. Kaworu had already been planning to give this to him; the opportunity to do so just came up earlier than anticipated.
       
       Once he's back to his previous spot, he nods to Guy to silently encourage him to continue, as if the interruption(s, technically) had really been no big deal at all.

 <Pose Tracker> Tetsuya Tsurugi has posed.
"It's not quite that simple," Tetsuya asides towards Eisen. "If GGG had failed in their task, we wouldn't have a universe to live in. No, they succeeded in doing what they set out to do, by all reckoning. It's what came after--"

A coffee pot spills. Tetsuya's well-honed reflexes snap his head to one side at the noise, only to find not a threat, but a...

"--Shinji, are you alright? Hmn." Embarassment, guilt, yes, these are familiar. Tetsuya rises from his seat with a clatter of metal, moving like a purposeful colossus over to the tray of refreshments, where he...

...Grabs a fistful of napkins and uses them to scoop up a bunch of ice out of the ice bucket like some kind of barbarian. What kind of monster is this Tsurugi Tetsuya!?

One who feels responsibility for someone burning their hand on his behalf, of course.

"Here," he says, offering the makeshift cold compress to the younger pilot. "Hold it in place for a little bit."

And Kaworu... has come prepared as well! Tetsuya gives the silvery haired boy an approving nod.

 <Pose Tracker> Renais Cardiff has posed.
       Hinoki Sai remains silent at first, a clipboard in hand, ready to take notes. She straightens a bit, clearing her throat as the subject of the Reine Noire is brought up. "Besides the spatial distortion it arrived in, the 'Reine Noire' displayed high levels of Elementary Particle Z0--a type of particle first observed during the Primeval War, emitted by Zonderized humans, Zonder Robos, and later the 31 Primevals themselves.

       The Primeval War--a conflict between humanity and machine entities known as the '31 Machine Primevals', bent on consuming Earth and humanity through a process known as 'Machine Sublimation'. Guy Shishioh and GGG led the charge.

       "The Reine Noire's emission profile was different from any we've previously seen--but existing Z0 detection equipment should be more than sufficient to pinpoint attacks, if these emissions are common to all 'Triple Zero'-affected mobile weap--Ah! Are you all right?" she asks with a bit of shock, grabbing a couple of napkins and dabbing the hot coffee from Shinji's burned hand.

       "Um... here, hold still." She pulls out a small first-aid kit from her coat, passing the aloe vera from Kaworu along to him along with a couple patches of gauze and a roll of medical tape. "Here. Rub this in gently, and once you've iced the burn, put this gauze over it. After the meeting, I can direct you to the infirmary to get that more thoroughly checked." She gives him a warm smile.

       Back to business. "--right. So... what we don't know, the most worrisome part, is what this has to do with the Primevals. We've only ever detected Z0 from Zonder entities, which implies a connection... do you happen to have any insight on this, Chief Shishioh?"

 <Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.
Akamatsu chuckles smugly, pointing a finger at Eisen for spotting the time question. Guy...is looking at Shinji with a concerned turn on his face. "You alright back there?" he asks, gently. He sees one of them - Kaworu, he remembers from the lists Hana put together for him - go to attend, and he glances to Tetsuya briefly to make sure he's on it as well. And Hinoki moves, too. Good, good. That's all proper for GGG. Everyone takes care of each other. As for the rough talk, he gives Asuka a short, frowning Look. "It's a lot to take in, I'm sure," he says."

Hinoki prompts him. "We have...a theory. Long story short, our attempts to leave the collapsing universe we found ourselves in resulted in us ending up in, uh. The egg of the universe?" He chuckels, a little bewildered. "I still find it strange. Between the Big Crunch that ended the last universe and the Big Bang that started this one...the Orange Site, a place of infinite, overwhelming energy."

Yang cuts in. "You may have heard us mention a force known as The Power over communications. We've mostly kept the details classified, to avoid it being abused by malicious parties...but you should know. The Power," he taps a button, and the hologram projector shows a picture of Jupiter, "is something the Gutsy Galaxy Guard encountered during the Primeval War, a supernatural super-energy capable of miraculous feats, located in Jupiter. It achieved numerous miraculous feats during those battles, and one of those was empowering the assembled Primeval Z-Master with unlimited energy."

Another slide. This one is Jupiter, except a monster also the size of Jupiter is plugged into it by its hair.

"What we determined," Guy says, and motions ofr Yang to produce another image, a pop-in that demonstrates what looks like a rip in space, "is that The Power...is nothing more than a small trickle of the energy of Orange Site, leaking through a dimensional tear. That massive, universal-scale source of energy, a force which surpasses beginnings and endings, is what we designated as the Oath Over Omega. Triple Zero."

 <Pose Tracker> Madrigal has posed.
        Madrigal glances to Shinji and smiles a tiny smile when he gets plenty of medical attention. She then turns her gaze back to the explanations. This is new information even for her, after all. 'The Power' was a HEAVILY protected secret, even to someone who LIVED there. Nodding slowly, she fills in some gaps here and there, plus connects them to old information that had no context before.

        Coming to a conclusion in her head, she puts forth softly but seriously, "The 'Triple Zero'... it wants to destroy, doesn't it. Everything. And it's using GGG Green as hosts." Looking up at Guy, her ever-so-Lovecraftian eyes boring into him soberly, she asks the hard question, "How many did it claim, of those who went with you?"

 <Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.
Eisen's expression darkens when Tetsuya points out that they can't have failed, or their universe would be gone. "Is that it?" He's not so quick to assume that this was a succesful task. "Do we know how many years we had, if the current rate of anti-matter depletion continued?" He continues to listen, glancing up when Akamatsu points a finger at him.

Eisen glances back at Shinji, then looks back. Let the others deal with the Hot Coffee incident. "Egg of the Universe?" Eisen asks. "What an awfully uninventive name." He grunts, but he raises his brow at the idea of infinite energy somewhere out there. The idea that any kind of energy can be infinite is... both worrisome and confusing to him.

And then, Jupiter.

Then, that monster. Its sheer size...

He tilts his head back and just quiets at this point.

They're going to need a bigger Eva.

 <Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.
Shinji doesn't bite back at Auska, this time, looking away, blushing fiercely because he interrupted an important meeting about space energy. "sorry, I. Sorry." He's mostly gotten the coffee cleaned up. No one's noticing, it's fine, it's fine.

Tetsuya helps. He also just shoves ice on Shinji's hand like some kind of weird barbarian, which makes Shinji shudder down to his spine. Okay, he can deal with this, he knows Tetsuya, Tetsuya once made him run a minute mile he can handle this, Shinji thanks, and Nagisa basically slips him some aloe which is incredibly nice and Shinji is too shell shocked from the attention to say so. And then one of the GGG staff comes over and wraps his arm up like he's a child.

"i can get it. thank you." Shinji says, and flushes as the woman can see the subtle scarring from when the skin grafts didn't entirely hold. Early in his career Shinji Ikari burned his hands rather badly saving Rei Ayanami's life; thanks to NERV's top of the line biomedical department, he has functional hands. The mark is there, though, forever branding Shinji Ikari away from the peaceful, anonymous life he wanted. "please i don't want to interrupt-"

But he does. This hero, this Guy everyone looks at like Superman looks right at him and Shinji Ikari wants to die right there on the spot. He forces a nod, instead, knowing stoicism in these matters will end the conversation faster. This is fundamentally the introvert's worst nightmare.

"Wait, Daiwel's actually a scientist?" Shinji finds himself saying because if he looks at that monster the size of the planet fucking Jupiter he's just going to walk out of this madhouse and directly into the Getter Team's incinerator.

 <Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.
"Mad Scientist." Eisen snap-comments from the corner, pointing at Shinji. "I would bid you to register the difference!"

 <Pose Tracker> Asuka Shikinami Langley has posed.

Watching so many people drop everything to go help Shinji with a minor coffee burn just irritates her. Right now the mission briefing is discussing the fate of the universe from a force literally draining it of Dark Matter and so many people are stopping everything just to apply first aid for what are probably just minor burns. Giving him so much attention that she could imagine someone treating his 'booboos' like he's a little boy.

She hates it. She hates watching it.

She might have been inclined to just let it go with Guy's comment, letting it slide with a typical teenage defiance - that kind of look that says 'So what?' but... suddenly she can't. A fist makes contact with the wall behind her with a dull thud as she yells across the room. "Why are all of you coddling him?!? We have more important things to worry about!"

Making an irritated noise, she returns to silence after, not even giving a look of apology.

Asuka scoffs at the 'Egg of the Universe' title, perhaps showing more in common with Eisen than she'd ever admit in that moment but keeps listening...

And there it is. She seems to finally understand the scale of the threat - and it excites her. It finally makes sense why it was so easy to reverse the situation of the GGG.

Eisen though gets an immediate eye roll, "The difference is that one's a respectable career and the other is a delusion - you chuutwo flunky."



 <Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

       It's fine if Shinji doesn't acknowledge it. Kaworu had hoped to resolve the matter without letting too much attention fall on him, but... this room has many kind people in it. Such irony. He returns Tetsuya's nod with a slightly rueful smile and, keeping Shinji in the corner of his eye, takes in Hinoki and Guy's continued explanations, as well as the clips of the Jupiter-sized monster.
       
       "Hmmm..." he murmurs contemplatively. The egg of the universe, the Orange Site, Triple Zero... He nods as if all of this makes sense. Beyond that, he continues to keep his thoughts to himself. He *does* have a question. But it can wait.
       
       Asuka's outburst, wall-punch and all, gets ignored so thoroughly it's like it never happened. Sorry not sorry, Asuka.

 <Pose Tracker> Renais Cardiff has posed.
       Patiently, and calmly--though with a glare in Asuka's direction--Hinoki explains, "I'm a medical professional. Burns can blister and become infected if they aren't treated, and between the aloe and the ice, the *pain* of the burn can be eased enough to make sure it won't be a distraction for *him* during this important meeting."

 <Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.
Guy finds himself with a unique problem.

He's never dealt with troubled teens before!!!! He actually looks a little poleaxed at her outburst. But then...he straightens up, and makes a face Eisen probably knows, serious and committed. "Because Braves solve the problem together," he says, and smiles warmly. He can sense Shinji is seconds from fully imploding so he leaves the poor boy be.

"I should clarify that Z-Master is quite defeated," Yang says, and helpfully loads a new slide that has Z-master on it with a comical 'bleh i am dead' face with X'd-out eyes and its tongue lolled out. Akamatsu chuckles, because this was his idea.

"But...you've more or less guessed the problem," Guy says. "The rift from Orange Site was too big a threat. If it got wider, the flow of The Power would grow, and then the rift would get wider...eventually the universe would run like a torn seam. Tear itself apart. We decided to close it from the inside." He closes his eyes. "Which is when it got to them. The Order Room team went quiet, the Brave Robo Corps turned on me...Galeon forced a Fusion Out. J was able to buy me some time, but even he..." ...

He swallows. These are vivid memories still. But he needs to make the point.

"Too much exposure to Triple Zero energy causes it to get into your head. You're not quite right, it doesn't replace you. As far as we're able to tell, you're still the same person, under it all. But it does force you to take the Oath Over Omega's Cosmic Law as paramount, and you twist your own thinking from there."

His ungloved hand flexes, uneasy. "That Cosmic Law being that the cycle of the universe living and dying and living again must continue; that phenomena that would defeat that like negative entropy or other miraculous powers are abominations against that principle; and therefore, that intelligent life, which seeks and finds such miracles constantly, must be destroyed."

He looks to Madrigal, finally answering her question. "Every former member of the Gutsy Galaxy Guard is now an apostle to this ruinous belief. Only I escaped."
 
 <Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.
Eisen throws his head a bit up and to the side, showing Asuka what's what! By pointedly ignoring her comment and focusing on the one 'deserving' of his attention in this moment. Tilting his head back down and looking towards the GGG crew. The non-infected GGG. The Pure GGG? He can't come up with the best way to delimit the two groups with an awesome name...

"GGG... apocalypse. Zero G... G Zero..." He's mumbling to himself. All while listening. Understanding some of the science behind this all. He is a bio-mechanics student. He has some understanding of energy distribution. The idea of infinite anything is extremely dangerous.

Eisen grins a bit when he indicates that Braves solve things together. A wicked little smile. But he manages to surpress that need to act out.

"Z-Master..." He repeats, and shakes his head. "An energy itself forces a Cosmic Law? You are saying this energy... this 'power' has a Will of its own?" He doesn't know the secret behind Getter Energy, or he might not have been so surprised by this. "An apostle... what would you have us do on the battlefield? I know the GGG has had ways to deal with corruption in the past when dealing with the Zondar. But if you aren't around - will you excuse us if we have to do what must be done?"

 <Pose Tracker> Madrigal has posed.
        Madrigal exhales deeply, the sound turning musical almost out of habit before she mutters something in Italian that sounds lovely, but is decidedly ... not so, for any who understand it. Turns out, she's been picking up some inappropriate words along with the standard vocabulary! She shifts back to something more standard after that, and notes, "I would be more worried about them doing what needs to be done to us. GGG Green took down the Z-Master, the Primevals, the Zonderians, the Zonders... you get the idea. If they all come after us in force, it'll be a bloodbath. Our biggest asset at present is that they appear to have only sent a herald for now."

        Shaking her head and grumbling, she brightens and rallies as she changes tack and adds, "But... if we can find a way to fix the problem, it sounds like what we need to do most of all is find a way to force this 'Oath' out of their hearts. I'm certain it cannot have simply claimed them so easily, there is no way I would buy that they did not fight hard."

 <Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.
"It's fine." Shinji says, ashamed again, "It's fine, I was going to go after the meeting, she's right, this is important." Shinji flinches at Asuka beating a dent into the wall.

Just shut up, he thinks, just shut the fuck up please father absolutely has a guy watching this meeting and he's going to see 'derailed by your son setting himself on fire' and what'll happen is he'll smile for the first time in his life and the effort will kill him stone dead and then nothing will stop this psychotic shrew from taking my head off and eating it.

"So wait a whole group of veteran super robot pilots are hiding in space, brainwashed into wanting to destroy all life-sorry, reprogramed by energy to have a totally different belief system and loyalty in a way that isn't brainwashing-and it's contagious? So like any of us can get turned into one of these things?" Shinji asks, because he is trying to wrap his head around this and doing that means not thinking about how he just made a fool of himself in front of half of NERV.

"Wait. Wait that woman shot me. With eye lasers." Shinji says, eyes wide. "How does the infection work? Is it immediate, gradual?"

 <Pose Tracker> Asuka Shikinami Langley has posed.

Asuka gives Hinoki an unsympathetic look, "Let them then." In her mind that would even be ideal at least. That Shinji might be grounded for his injuries. The sooner he goes back to a normal life, the better for him and the better for her. Pitilessly she focuses in back on the meeting...

"More important than it having a 'will' - is how did you protect yourself from it while the others didn't? Or... did you?" Asuka asks, not implying that he's secretly some traitor or something but rather. "If you've discovered a method of limiting exposure or simply filtering out this Triple Zero energy - that's more important than any other considerations."

Crossing her arms again, she wonders, "Or is it that you just managed to avoid exposure long enough that it couldn't alter your thinking?"

She's already considering the possibilities. An A.T. Field would probably work but... could it be maintained in a manner that would keep it out indefinitely.

Shinji's speculation though, causes her to look sideways... he'd been exposed? He'd fought this woman? Guy's Cousin? Well, there's only one logical way to go with this.

"Tough break. If you've been exposed then it means it's better for everyone if you're taken off duty until we know it's not going to twist your Daddy issues against us."



 <Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

       "The way you describe it, it sounds as though the Triple Zero energy didn't take hold of all of your companions all at the same time--that the effect was staggered," Kaworu notes to Guy, chiming in at last. "Is the reason you were not corrupted is simply that you escaped in time? If so, what allowed you to resist long enough to do so?"
       
       Eisen asks several excellent follow-up questions, and Madrigal makes some sound observations as well. Asuka asks similar questions, which might be amusing to some and distinctly less amusing to others. Shinji--
       
       --suggests that he might *himself* get infected by this energy, having been attacked by Renais with an energy beam. Kaworu shoots him a sharp, alarmed look; it's visible for about a second before he covers his face with one hand, fingers splaying between and around his eyes. "....."

 <Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.
From the door...a new voice!!

"Well, they got rid of the pilots, but we are lookin' at three Dragon Twin pairs, Big Volfogg, Goldymarg, Mic Sounders the Thirteenth...not to mention this Reine Noir. And of course, the mother of all problems, King J-der."

The man who enters is wearing a GGG Blue uniform, a Caucasian man with a clean-shaven look and blonde hair. "Advisor Urchin Prickle," he says, with a Neo-American accent, as greeting. "I do the tactical analysis around here."

He steps into the room, then hops up on a console, casual as you please. "Staff-wise they've got Geki Hyuuma, the guy who had my job before me; Kousuke Entoji, the Intelligence Division operator who built half our computer systems; Swan White, Stallion White, AND Liger Shishioh, who were most of the brains of GGG Neo-America..."

He rubs his chin, anxiously. "Oh, and Kotarou Taiga, the man who makes miracles happen. 's not gonna be pretty."

Guy is grimacing. But Prickle has saved him the most brutal blow he could possibly deliver, so the Acting Chief of GGG Green sucks in a breath and looks to the group. "We're bringing them all home. Most of them aren't even pilots, so that's....not a concern. Just don't destroy the AI Blocks of the Strongest Brave Robo Corps. while you're fighting them, please."

As for himself... "I had several layers of GS-Ride in front of me, plus Galeon, plus..." He holds his hand up, fist out, and it makes a high whine as a symbol of a G surrounded by glowing lines flashes across his flesh. "...I'm not exactly human. My Evoluder body may have done something to disperse it. Unfortunately, that makes it tough to say exactly what helped. I think all of that would have failed, if my parents hadn't protected me. Their spirits are still there, floating in The Power, and they were able to use that energy to shield me from T0's effects." Somehow. He doesn't entirely get it. But he remembers darkness...and there was no such thing in Orange Site.

As for Shinji...rather than jump in himself, he looks to Hinoki. "Doctor? I believe you had some theories."

 <Pose Tracker> Renais Cardiff has posed.
       Hinoki nods. "Well... You said that J resisted longer. That's... the alien cyborg, Soldato J, correct?" She writes something down. "And you weren't overcome at all. If I had to make an educated guess as to why," she explains, "it's to do with his nature as a cyborg, and yours as an Evoluder. Could I trouble you for a blood sample?"

       "--anyway, by Chief Shishioh's account, they were in the Orange Site for a considerable length of time, correct? And everyone was 'themselves' until near the end... I suspect, then, that Ikari-san will be fine. If he's worried, perhaps a psych evaluation would be in order, but."

 <Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.
Eisen turns his head when Urchin Prickle steps in. The GGG most certainly has a large staff, he has come to realize. Especially when the losses start to be named. Men of strength, support staff, units.

"You lost Goldymarg..." He at least knows that name. How could he not? Goldymarg had been the lynchpin in too many a victory not know that name. Eisen runs his hand through his hair, drawing some of it back. It's gotten a bit sweaty. There's nerves here that he doesn't wish to expression.

"I can't guarantee the safety of their AI cores if push comes to shove. But if I see an opportunity, I will aim to remove those centers if you can get me details on where those are stored within their bodies." Eisen proposes.

He then glances towards Ikari. "I think we would have noticed if the Ikari kid was acting different." Pause. "Besides, I was attacked by that machine as well, and both me and the Carestia are fine." He pats his chest. "No desire to halt the impossible." Though he can understand the desire to halt things that would break the universe like that.

Eisen then gets up from his seat and pulls his coat over one shoulder, staring at the crew like a Matador.

"Anything else?" As if he has somewhere to be.

 <Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.
Shinji lets out a breath as the adults talk about how if he was going to become evil he probably would've already.
       hat's a bit reductive but it really does cover the bases. He guesses the Super Alloy Z that saved his life also kept whatever strange energy from consuming him.

Or maybe it just knew he was doomed already, Shinji thinks, and then Asuka uses a near death experience to try and sideline him and Shinji feels something snap inside of his brain.

"I reported it." Shinji says, and there's a little edge there, now; he stands up straighter, his eyes narrow, his gaunt face looking just a little different at the right angle. "The commander said personal injuries didn't concern him as long as Unit-01 wasn't compromised. Take it up with him if you want."

 <Pose Tracker> Asuka Shikinami Langley has posed.

Asuka flicks her gaze towards the guy entering the room... listening to his continued explanation of what Guy began. Until... "Rescue or recovery then." Asuka says quietly - for once. Perhaps it's not the kind of mission she'd prefer, but it's not up to her. It never is. If Guy told her that his former comrades needed to go, then she'd do that without hesitation.

It's a tougher mission, but in her eyes, she's the best and she can handle it.

Though when he says he's not sure what protected him - and that the spirits of his PARENTS might have, Asuka's nose wrinkles like there's a bad smell in the room.

"Wonderful." She says, sounding supremely irritated at that idea. Though it doesn't sound like she disbelieves him that the spirits of his parents are involved?

As Hinoki notes that Shinji should be fine from his limited exposure, and Eisen backs her up - she gives the woman and her fellow Eva pilot another irritated look, "Don't be stupid. Of course he needs a psych evaluation at the very least."

It's hard to discern what would even be the most ideal outcome in her eyes? Would she prefer Shinji be infected or something? What?

Shinji though... there's a challenge there, and Asuka looks him in the eye to meet it with an angry but self-assured glance. "Right. I'm sure it wouldn't concern him at all that you might compromise a mission when it counts Daddy's Boy." Still - it doesn't sound like she's going to go tattle or anything? Like... maybe the idea of running to an adult up the chain of command to solve her problem offends her far more than Shinji taking the field, "Whatever though - if you start shooting my Unit-02 in the back - I can deal with that too."


 <Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

       A newcomer, Urchin Prickle, enters the room and gives the rundown of who exactly has been consumed by the Triple Zero energy. Also good to know, however dire the information may be, but Kaworu's primary interest is in what separated Guy from the rest of his team. As he gets that answer, and as Hinoki offers her medical opinion and speaks of blood samples and psych evaluations, his hand slides down to cover just his mouth. When Shinji and Asuka snipe at each other, he slips it off entirely and tucks it back in his pocket. His lips form a straight line.
       
       "The more we know, the easier it will be to take appropriate action. Even if there are still uncertainties, what we've learned now is still useful," he tells Guy. The nod that comes next is directed to him and the GGG Blue in general, though. "Thank you all. It's been an enlightening meeting."
       
       He does wait in case there's anything more to be said, any more questions asked; after that, though, he excuses himself. He still does not partake of refreshments.

 <Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.
Prickle wanders over to the soda cart and grabs one, idly. "Oh yeah," he says toward Eisen. "The Hammer needs a mech to attach to, but Marg's based on Geki Hyuuma and he can and will kick your ass upside down and backwards if you give him a chance." He pops his soda.

Guy says, "I'd be happy to, Doctor, though, uh, you remember the...existing issues, with biological samples of mine." Which is to say he's made of rocks at the subatomic level.

Then Prickle spits his soda completely across the room and makes a horrible choking noise. "Hell is this! What maniac makes jalapeno cola!"

Akamatsu stares. "...guess I'll go reboot the machine," he mutters. "Uhh, that's about all we had. Y'all take your time, we're here for hours."

 <Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.
"Do you really think he doesn't know every word that's been said in this room?" Shinji says, sounding more resigned than angry for a second. "If he thought I was a threat to Unit-01, I'd be in the brig. And if you think I'd shoot you in the back, Asuka, you don't know me at all."

There are two ways to take that sentence.

Shinji leaves one of the little barbecuqe bento boxes on the table, turning to go and deliver Misato's portion to her, since they seem to be dismissed.

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