Disclaimer: Studio Gainax owns Neon Genesis Evangelion. Any other name, product, or etc. are registered, trademarked, and/or copyrighted by their respective owners. Should they, or their affiliates, request it, I shall remove this fan fiction from the Web. Thank you.

Author's notes: Well, here I am again, writing another fic! This fic is an alternate storyline of what could have happened with a few divergences during the events in EoE. The fic will have moments of strong language, violence, and sexuality, so if you are disturbed by those types of depictions please take this as a warning. This will also be an angsty fic, though at this point I don't know if it'll become a full on darkfic. Just warning you ahead of time. Well, enough rambling from me, and on to the fic...!

" " : Indicates spoken words.

italics : Indicate thoughts.

] [ : Indicates radio transmissions.

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angel Opposition Agency

Book 1: Divergent Scenario; Chapter 1

Every one of us, already plagued;
soon to wipe out the human race.

A planet of life, infected since birth;
dominated by power, war, and wealth.

Over time accelerated;
a vicious circle we have perpetuated;
we will die before we wake;
we'll never know it's too late!

This graveyard earth...

Time to bleed again and again;
when it's all over we'll just be bones in the sand;
monuments built of stone and blood and skin;
decaying through the years and found by no one!

Excerpt from: This Graveyard Earth by Six Feet Under.

Tokyo-3, June Eighth, 2015; 9:55 A.M. NERV Headquarters parking garage 3-47.

Shinji Ikari sat underneath an open sided set of metal stairs. The stairs were part of an alcove in a building side corner of one of several large parking garages within NERV Headquarters. The alcove also lead to a corridor that lead to the depths of the massive pyramidal structure. He sat on the bare concrete with his legs hunched up to his chest, his arms circling his shins, and his head resting on his knees. He wore his familiar school uniform, though it was now rumpled and a bit dirty. The young man sat in a manner of someone trying to hide. The phrase hidden was somewhat of a misnomer, however, as it was not difficult to find him in his current location. Not that it really mattered to the young man. In all actuality, he would almost welcome death at this point in time. The sounds of gunfire drifted to him, quieted by both distance and his location under the stairwell. Everyone's going to die... Nothing matters, though, so I guess I shouldn't really care... He looked up from his position under the stairs. His young, though already handsome features were clouded in immense pain. He panned his gaze around the parking garage before him, taking in the cars that were there, as he thought of what had made him choose to await his fate here.

The darkness of the place had been one thing that had brought him here. It was a very gloomy, oppressive darkness, very much in keeping with his current state of mine. The smell of the place was another. It smelled dank, though not in the musty, mildew tainted manner of an abandoned house. This was different, the smell of an immense building, the air of which was conditioned to be a certain way at all times, except in areas such as this. Here the air was merely recirculated to the outside of NERV's massive headquarters building, where it was filtered in a fairly rudimentary manner and released into the atmosphere. He could feel the air being slowly pulled by him and through the grate in the wall behind him. As it did so, it brought the smell of the parking garage with it. The stale, heavy odor from oil stains in the concrete. The residual odor of exhaust from the numerous vehicles that still used the garage. Even the arid smell of dirt and dust that had collected within the confines of the garage. All of these smells persisted here despite the best efforts of NERV's massive air circulation and conditioning system.

The overall feeling left by the smell was of a place that was dirty, filthy beyond recovery, or even of being worth recovery. Filthy, like me... thought the depressed young man. Beyond being worthy of redemption, or of ever being truly clean again. He sighed and put his head back on his knees. I'm scum, a creature of filth and vileness, just like the angels... My father isn't even as filthy as I am! A tear formed at the corner of his left eye, but did not fall, as this occurred to him. He had not had very much luck with his life over the last few months. The worst, however, had been recently. Shinji closed his eyes tightly as he remembered having no choice other than to kill his best friend, Kaworu Nagisa. He had willingly crushed the life out of his friend, the only person to ever tell Shinji that they loved him, because Kaworu had also been the seventeenth angel. His betrayal had been bad enough, but what had happened that very morning was even worse, in his opinion. Why? Why did I do it? Not even my father would do something like that! I... I didn't mean to... I... He spoke softly, unconsciously running his right hand on his pant leg, his voice scarcely above that of a whisper. "I defiled her... Just the same as that damn angel..."

Against his own will, a few tears squeezed passed his eyes, following the path of dried tears that had already coursed down his face. Not a few weeks earlier, he'd told Misato Katsuragi, his guardian since he had moved to Tokyo-3, that he couldn't cry anymore. That morning, he had finally found his tears again. He had found them after visiting Asuka Langley Sohryu in her room at the NERV Central Hospital's First Cranial Nerve Department. He had initially gone to visit her, and perhaps speak to her, even if she was unconscious. That had gone terribly out of hand, though. She had not responded when he had asked for help. He had shaken her, repeatedly, until she finally fallen over onto her back, monitoring cables pulling themselves from her torso, and also pulling her hospital gown apart. He hadn't meant for that to happen, but it had, and he hadn't been expecting what he saw then.

She had only been wearing her panties underneath the flimsy garment. He had imagined seeing her revealed to him in the past, and even though the situation horrified him, he couldn't stop from looking at her half nudity. He had drank in the way her hip curved smoothly into her taut, muscular belly, then to her full, round breasts, and from there to her graceful, slender neck, and finally to her beautiful face. She had looked angelic, in the sense of how angels were supposed to be. She had looked perfect. Then he had done something he hadn't thought himself capable of. He had locked the door, and pleasured himself, gazing upon her body from a little over two meters away as brought himself to climax. While she lay there, unknowing, lost in wherever she was in her coma. He let a strangled cry of desperation escape his lips. "I failed her... I've failed her again! I... I saw something I liked, and I..." Shinji's voice dropped again, low, but not whispering, "I'm a monster, just like that angel that raped her mind..."

He raised his head again, looking up, tears slowly streaming out of his now open eyes. His right hand slowly balled into a fist. "Why? Why did I have to fail her again? Why didn't I stop?" Shinji looked down once again his arms at his side, and slammed his right fist down onto the concrete. "Why do I always fail, especially when it comes to..." he couldn't finish the thought. It was too painful. It was a thought that made his act in Asuka's hospital room even harder to bear. "Why?" he whispered, slamming his fist down into the concrete. "Why, why, why, WHY, WHY?" with each question, his voice rose, and his fist slammed down harder, until he was screaming, and had nearly fractured his fist. Shinji knew the hand wasn't broken, but he still stopped, not knowing why he did so. He wrapped his arms around his shins again, and put his head back down onto his knees, "Why do I always fail her, fail everyone else I love? Why?" Shinji heard the sound of voices down the corridor. He heard hushed voices speaking, and what sounded like orders. After the orders had been given, at least two men move off from the main group, which continued towards him. He tensed, but was not truly afraid, as a thought came to him. Maybe now all of this suffering will stop...

Tokyo-3, June Eighth, 2015; 9:57 A.M. Central Dogma lower levels, clone rebirthing chamber.

Rei Ayanami stood before a tank that she knew all too well. It was her rebirthing tank, the place where she had placed her memories for the dummy plug system. It was also the place that had called her soul into its current body when she had died saving Shinji Ikari. She looked over the room, which was generally circular, except where she stood at the door. She was dressed in a school uniform, which revealed little of her physique, other than she was petite and rather small breasted. In all actuality, she was, although petite, surprisingly strong, her physique supply muscled like a gymnast's. She also looked older than her fourteen years, even wearing the school uniform as she was, with her beautiful, mature looking face, mysterious crimson eyes, and quiet, introspective manner. The room she peered into was awash in an eerie red-orange glow, the light spilling out from the room bathing the young woman almost entirely in gray and green hues. The only part of her that escaped the change brought on by the light was her deep, blood red eyes.

Rei moved forward, towards the tank in the middle of the room. The tank was a cylinder about two and a half meters tall, raised on a slight dais, and was made of a very thick layer of glass. The top of the tank was connected to a very large mass of pipes and tubing, connecting the tank to both the MAGI computer system and the sea of LCL several hundred meters below her. After staring into the place from which she had arisen in her current form, she looked at the massive glass wall surrounding her. She gazed into the depths of the amber colored LCL within the chamber, and wondered at the residue lying at the bottom of the chamber. So you are gone, my sisters? she thought, confused as to why they would have been destroyed. How, and why did this happen? This is like my memories, I see and know things, but I have no emotions connected to the people and places I see... Yet I feel things I know the second incarnation of myself did not know...

As she peered into the chamber beyond the glass, a strange realization struck her. I am mortal now... What does this change? She knew now that if she died, her mission, the very reason she had been created for would fall apart. Would that be a bad thing? I feel a bond with Humanity; I still do not understand why it should be necessary to destroy it... She leaned forward, touching her forehead against the glass and raising her right hand, placing it upon the surprisingly warm glass next to her face. She tore her eyes from the remains of her clones to stare into the depths of the amber liquid before her, as if it held her answers. I do not want to destroy humanity... That would cause me... What? I do not understand the emotions I feel upon thinking of Humanity's destruction. Regret? Grief? A memory came unbidden into her mind, one of the few that had emotions connected with it. She felt an unbearable sense of being alone, of not having another around her. "Loneliness..." she stated, her voice a low, husky whisper. If this is how I feel while here, yet also how I feel at the thought of destroying Humanity to bring Humanity together, should I do such a thing? Should I let the Commander decide the fate for all of humanity?

More memories assaulted her, this time of a young man, the Third Child, Shinji Ikari. She felt a pang of emotion upon seeing him, regret again, and infinite sadness, yet also joy. She knew that he would be a better choice in choosing Humanity's path, even in his disturbed state. Why do I trust you so implicitly, Shinji Ikari? Did I care for you in my second incarnation? She scanned her memories, and knew that she had felt a great need to protect him, and felt it still, though not as strongly as her second incarnation. She was puzzled, not understanding what she was feeling. Do I wish to follow through with the Commander's plan? I do not know anymore... She knew that she wanted to help him, even though she did not know how at the moment. She felt a peculiar sensation at that moment.

As she looked into the depths of the LCL she saw something, just on the edge of her vision. She closed her eyes on pure instinct at that moment, and felt what she could barely see, almost as if it were on her own skin, and within her mind's eye, she saw that which she felt. Rei shuddered as she felt the loose gossamer strands of probability that slowly wove together to make the threads of the very fabric of reality slide silkily along her body. She almost wept at the beauty of the structure of reality around her, as the divergence and convergence which made up the now that she knew and the future that she did not floated and wove into the solid essence of that which is the past. She also saw the wheel like machinations of those that would affect probability to their own ends, spinning loose threads of probability into threads that entered the fabric of reality. The sensation was very brief, one that she immediately attributed not only to her relatively close proximity with Lilith, but also to the fact that she was staring into the blood of Lilith as well. She had felt a similar, though less powerful, sensation when Shinji had been deciding whether or not to destroy the seventeenth angel, Tabris. She knew that he would make the correct decision at that very moment, and had left, knowing that Tabris had given himself over to Shinji's will at that time as well. She saw that the time was not correct to make her decision, yet that time was coming soon. She also glimpsed, at the very edge of her expanded perceptions, that there was a change coming soon. A decision would be made by one individual that would change the entire course of events to follow. The events would change not only the machinations and intrigues of those currently affecting the course of reality, but the events that had been put into affect centuries before that had allowed the current course of events to happen. That person would interact with Shinji, within fifteen minutes. When the decision came to pass, she would also make hers. She knew that, although the perception she currently benefited from would have faded, she would still feel the choice being made, as well as Shinji's decision based on that choice. Choose correctly, Ikari, or all may be lost... Rei's reverie was broken by a low, stern, voice from behind her. Commander Ikari... You are no longer... Agreeable... The sensations and knowledge she had received a moment ago faded from her mind, though the need to wait for some kind of shift was still with her, as well as the need to keep her perceptions open. She turned towards Commander Ikari, her face neutral.

"Rei… I thought I'd find you here..." Gendou said as he entered the room, his glasses glowing with the same eerie glow as the room. His face held concern for her, as well as what seemed to be mild relief at finding her. She nodded simply at his statement, waiting for him to continue. He stepped forward moving into the room, his face showing no sign of anything being out of place. "The promised time has come..." he said, almost as if intoning incantations in some kind of thaumaturgic ritual. "Let us go, Rei..." he continued, holding his left hand out before him in an almost gentlemanly gesture for her to exit the door first. Rei stepped forward at his beckoning, stepping into the hall and turning right, towards the elevators that led down to Terminal Dogma, the very heart of NERV Headquarters. All is going perfectly according to the scenario... He allowed himself a rare, happy smile, which quickly devolved into a smug, self assured smirk. Your move now, Selee. He looked at the young woman in front of him, and felt a small pang of guilt. He had used so many, even his own son, to acquire his goal. He knew that it was necessary, however. He had the dual task of not only stopping Selee, but reuniting with Yui, and finally having a true family with her and his son as well. He only hoped that they could forgive him, someday...

Tokyo-3, June Eighth, 2015; 10:05 A.M. NERV Headquarters, Level 2 main passageway entrance.

The passageway was a place of carnage. Bodies of NERV security personnel littered the passageway in clumps, their blood surrounding them in quickly congealing pools. Men and women in dark Japanese Strategic Self Defense Force infantry uniforms milled about, some returning from branches of the passageway, others awaiting orders from their commanding officer. The soldiers were a sight to behold, even while standing at ease. Most of those preparing to move to lower floors were in full regalia, their weapons at the ready, their chemical-biological warfare gear covering most of their features, their vision enhancement and tactical goggles making them look more like machines of death than flesh and blood troops. Those that were in special operations teams went in without their CBW gear on, but were equally as impressive in their dark colored soft armor body suits, festooned with equipment and weapons. Those staying in the current area for more than a few moments had their masks hanging off of their faces to preserve filter time, and had their goggles pushed up from their eyes. As the company commander, a rather tall woman with the insignia of a major, listened to a radio a soldier with corporal insignia on his armored uniform ran up to a sergeant. "Sergeant, we have level two secure, with the exception of Parking Garage Three Forty-seven!"

Before the Sergeant could respond, the Major spoke quickly into her radio, and moved over to her subordinates. "Thank you corporal, carry on." The corporal saluted and moved off when the Major saluted back. She turned to the sergeant, who was at attention. "At ease... Who's securing that area?"

The sergeant smiled briefly, then spoke. "Ma'am, Second Platoon, Third Squad!"

The major nodded in a pleased, almost knowing manner, "Good, they're good men; they should be able to handle it." She bowed her head in a contemplative manner, and seemed about to speak when her radio interrupted her.

]This is Second Lieutenant Mayazuki of the Fifth Company. We're having trouble securing Command Center Two! Opposition is too strong for another assault without risking damage to the MAGI system. Requesting orders...[ The voice was strained, but not panicking.

The Major's face clouded in concern as she brought her radio up to her mouth. "This is Major Miyama of the Second, Lieutenant... What happened to your commanding officers," she heard a scream from near the lieutenant, then the staccato report of automatic gunfire, which was interrupted by the lieutenant ordering his men to hold their fire. "And what the hell is happening right now?"

]Captain Mikagi is dead, First Lieutenant Takegami has been severely wounded, and I'm the next in the chain of command. We have also taken losses due to death and wounding among out non-coms as well...[ Major Miyama heard him converse with one of his subordinates briefly before he spoke to her again. ]They've brought most of their Level Three security personnel up to the floor of the Command Center, but the one's who tore us up were on the Command Bridge. They have a very defensible position with excellent cover, they're right above the MAGI so explosives are out, and the techs are excellent shots. We've underestimated them, Ma'am, at least when it comes to the Command Center..[

"Very well, Lieutenant. We have this floor under control, so I'll send my Fourth Platoon to support you. In the mean time, you keep your people's heads down. When my reinforcements get to you, you will have until ten forty-five hours to secure Command Center Two. By that time, if you are unable to secure the Command Bridge, the Seventh and Eighth Companies will take over, and you are to make your way to..." She raised a portable data pad, bringing a schematic of the area to her screen. "Maintenance hallway MTCA dash two, take stairwell twelve fifty four to the Eva cages. My troops will be relieving First Company's Fifth, Seventh, and Ninth Squads and taking over security of the seventh and eighth Eva cages, and I'd like you to assist us in holding the cages..." The Major put her data pad away as she awaited the lieutenant's response.

]Affirmative, Ma'am! Will be awaiting your reinforcements. Mayazuki out.[ he said, his voice relieved.

"Sergeant?" The Major said, as she turned back to him.

"Yes, Ma'am?" he said, his voice sounding eager.

"Join Lieutenant Hayakawa, his orders from me are to take Fourth Platoon and rendezvous with Lieutenant Mayazuki's people. I trust his judgment of choosing a route, just don't waste time." Her tone was all business, but the sergeant still bore a smile, though it had more in common with grin of a hunter than a smile. The sergeant came to attention and brought his hand up in salute, to which the Major returned his salute and dismissed him. She returned her attention to her radio as a coded message came through on her radio. She entered the command sequence that allowed her radio to decrypt the message, and spoke into the radio. "Miyama here…" She said in an almost terse voice. She listened to the voice on the radio, confirming the orders given her as one of her squads brought a group of surrendering NERV officers to her.

The NERV officer the seemed to be the head of the group was a kindly looking man of perhaps thirty seven, small of frame, with dark, witty looking eyes and medium brown hair. With his bearing and manner, he looked much like the clichéd favorite uncle of popular television. Major Miyama raised her submachine gun towards the man, indexing her finger to the side of the trigger guard, her expression neutral. "Major," the man began after glancing at her rank insignia, his tone nervous but firm. "I and my people are just ventilation maintenance personnel; we can be of no harm to yourself or your people. We are surrendering to your authority." Major Miyama's face remained neutral, and she hefted her submachine gun to a more comfortable firing position. The man standing in front of her seemed to almost panic, his eyes going wide, and filling with fear. "Ma'am, please! I have a wife and three young children, and Megan there..." he indicated a European looking woman in her early twenties, "She just returned to work from maternity leave last week!"

Several of Major Miyama's soldiers came to surround the first third of the captives. For the most part, the NERV personnel wore expressions of fear, even panic, but only a few fearful mewlings came from their ranks. Major Miyama considered the situation and her last set of orders, and slung her submachine gun. The NERV officer's face dissolved into a look of relief, a small, relaxed sigh escaping his lips. The rest of his group also started to relax, taking his reaction as a good sign, the indicated Megan bowing her head as tears of relief flowed down her face, her lips moving in the manner of a prayer. Major Miyama's right eye twitched in disgust as the orders she'd just received came back to her mind. Mechanically, she reached for her sidearm, a Glock model eighteen military pistol. The pistol had become the standard issue to the JSSDF after Second Impact, thanks in large part to Selee's involvement in the arms industry. She removed it and thumbed the safety off in one quick, efficient maneuver, and made sure the firing mode was set to semi automatic instead of fully automatic. Seeing that it was in semi automatic mode, she registered the NERV officer's head in her sights, and squeezed off one round directly to his forehead. The man dropped to the floor, quite dead.

As the NERV officer's subordinates saw this, they're reactions were varied. Most panicked, trying to get up from the sitting position many of them had taken. A few sat still, meekly awaiting their fate. The young woman named Megan, who had so recently returned from maternity leave, looked on in shock. Her view was clear as Major Miyama numbly placed a booted foot on the NERV section head's stomach and aimed, placing one round through his heart, and yet another through his head. As Megan panned her gaze around, she was having trouble seeing as her colleagues surrounded her in a mass panicked humanity. The last thing she saw clearly was other troops begin to open fire, their submachine guns and assault rifles blazing as they unleashed death into the thirty four NERV personnel around her.

Megan was struck from behind and to her left by a rather large maintenance man as she struggled in vain to stand. This saved her life, as she was spun around, her back striking the floor with a dull thud as the man's body fell on top of her. She felt both disgust and the urge to vomit as his blood splashed over her face and upper body, matting her long blonde hair to the side of her head. She felt another body fall over the first, almost crying out in pain as this body fell upon her right knee while it was in a very awkward angle. As the shooting ebbed to nothing, she realized that she hadn't been hit, and that she was still quite alive. She kept her eyes opened, but stared at t he ceiling, hoping that perhaps she would be passed over if they checked the bodies. Then she heard the cold, almost dead sounding voice of Major Miyama as she issued yet more orders to one of her troops.

"Lieutenant Arima," the Major said, waving the young looking man over. As the lieutenant approached into a quiet enough distance to speak, she continued, a small, but noticeable amount of guilt shading her features, "Check vitals and terminate any survivors… Those are the orders from the Prime Ministers Office…"

Lieutenant Arima smiled at the slight show of disgust in her voice at the actions she was forced to take, knowing that she did not like the idea of shooting unarmed non combat personnel. It did not bother him in the slightest, and his voice even had a hint of happiness to it as he responded to her orders. "Yes, Ma'am!" he barked, and moved to the pile of bodies, checking pulses.

The Major nodded absently as the man moved over the bodies quickly but attentively. She turned away and raised her radio to her mouth once again, speaking on the general tactical network. "This is Major Miyama. I have new orders from The Prime Minister's office. The pilots of the Evangelion units are to be terminated on sight, as well as the unconditional execution of all NERV personnel, including non-combat personnel. Miyama out..."

As the orders were being given, Lieutenant Arima moved among the dead, checking pulses as ordered when he felt a very strange sensation. He felt his perceptions falter than fade, then felt an even more unique sensation, as if his very soul were flying away from his body. Better... thought the new inhabitant of Lieutenant Arima's body. This inhabitant looked over the soldier's memories, committing them all to his own prodigious memory, before releasing the soul from the body. You are a very sick man, Lieutenant Arima... I think I've done the world a favor... The entity within Arima's body looked around and smiled, finding what he sought. Hm... He bent down, checking her pulse. Good, she's still healthy. Now to let her know she's safe...

Megan found herself looking up into a very handsome face, a different, younger face than that of the man who was supposed to be looking at her had. The man had an attractive, delicate, jaw line, and smooth skin that had a slight paleness to it. His cheekbones were set high upon his face, his brow clean and unlined. His small, thin lipped mouth was turned into a small, regretful smile, and his wide set, emotionally open eyes stared into her soul. She saw the pain in his eyes as he peered briefly at the carnage around them. His eyes softened as he saw the fear in her frightened emerald green eyes. He whispered quietly to her in her native Swiss tongue, his voice calmed her, and she felt immediate trust for him. "Do not worry child, I will not harm you… I do so wish I could have helped your coworkers, but I had to choose you, as you are so very important to the future of humanity..." His voice was very different than the one that came from him earlier. It was soft, almost feminine, and extremely caring. He touched her forehead, and she began to fall into a deep sleep. She heard the click of his pistol's safety and the report of the weapon, yet she knew she wasn't dead, and felt no pain where she was sure the bullet would have struck her. The last thing she heard and saw before unconsciousness took her was the old voice of the soldier, stating that she had been executed, and his face returning to what it had been as the man stood from his crouched position above her. She sent a silent thanks to whomever it was that had spoken to her through the man, the last thought in her mind about the beautiful, mysterious pink hue to his eyes.

Major Miyama was about to order her troops to regroup in preparation for their move to the Eva cages when she heard news over her radio that made her shake her head in pity. ]Third Child located on Level Two in the parking garage. Commencing with termination...[ As Major Miyama passed orders along to her subordinates, she marveled at how smoothly the operation had run, even with the unexpected resistance of Command Center Two, as well as the new changes to the existing battle plans.

Tokyo-3, June Eighth, 2015; 10:16 A.M. NERV Headquarters elevator E2-3-47.

Major Misato Katsuragi fumed silently as she leaned against the back of the personnel elevator as it descended towards Parking Garage 3-47. The elevator would open about thirty meters up a passageway from where Shinji sat hiding underneath a stairwell. I hope that I'm not too late... Dammit, why did this have to happen? She slammed a fist futilely against the rear of the elevator. She felt helpless, in a manner she hadn't felt since her father had saved her from death at the site of Adam's reawakening. Why the hell is the JSSDF attacking us? This makes no sense! She sighed in disgust as she realized how useless contemplating the reasons for the attack were. Maybe after this is all over we'll get some answers. She snorted derisively at her own thought, a small, humorless smile taking to her features for a moment. Unless I can get Shinji into Unit-01, the answers won't matter, because we'll all be dead!

Her thoughts of Shinji brought her mind to how depressed he'd seemed the last time she'd seen him. He had been sleeping, and having a nightmare about Kawaru, calling the angel's human name out as he cried in his sleep. Shinji... I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I tried, but I'm no psychologist... I know how things have bothered you, and I know I should have tried harder... When we get out of this, I'm going to get someone to help you through this... No, I'll get some help for you, Asuka, and myself as well... Misato managed a weak laugh at this, honest humor in her features. God, Shinji, did we make a messed up little wannabe family or what? I wish I could have made a real family. Or at the very least adopted you, to let you know that I loved you, that you weren't "just my job"… Maybe we would have made a good family. You, me… Kaji... She smiled sadly as she thought of the man she had loved since college, trying to force back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. Misato Kaji... That sounds so, I don't know, weird, I guess! And it could have happened… I could have been married to him if I wouldn't have been so damn foolish... She put her hands to her face, wiping the few tears that had forced their way past her control and had flowed from her eyes. "I miss you so much, Kaji". Misato whispered as she looked down at the pendant that hung from around her neck, smiling as she hefted it in her left hand. "I wish I'd told you how much I love you..." She let the pendant drop back to its place, and a wistful, regret filled smile took to her face, as she looked up towards the ceiling of the elevator. "Are you watching me now, Kaji? I hope so... I hope you're guarding me from wherever you are... I hope that you help me make the right decisions from now on..."

She dropped her eyes from the ceiling, tilting her head down towards the floor of the elevator in thought. No matter what happens, though, I hope you find someone that you can love, Shinji. And if you do, I want you to hold on to them with both hands, and never let go! Misato smiled as she thought back several months, when the seventh angel had come. She remembered how Kaji had come up with a plan to help her, involving Shinji and Asuka fighting in perfect synchronization. She remembered how close they seemed to have become, especially near the end of the training. It would be nice if it was Asuka. You both need someone so much… She snorted in a derisive manner. Not that I'm much to talk of relationships… Hell, I was so damn jealous of Asuka and her damn infatuation with Kaji that I didn't even see how much I needed him. Now Kaji's dead, and I have Asuka in Unit-02 under that damn lake. I hope she'll be alright there. I hope… She sighed lightly, not sure what she hoped at that moment. She thought about it for a moment, finally answering her question aloud. "I hope that we get through this alive…" She looked at the floor indicator, watching it steadily move downwards. Just a few minutes now until I'm there. I hope I'm not too late… For a lot of things… Again she thought of Asuka, especially when the girl had been younger. We were friends then, weren't we, Asuka? I thought we were. What was it that killed that? Were you jealous that Kaji chose me instead of you? I know that I was jealous of the time you'd had with him. Misato looked back towards the doors of the elevator, a look of regret crossing her face. I should have tried harder though… Tried to get past my own petty jealousy. Tried to become your friend, not just your guardian. Misato closed her eyes in shame at her last thought, and bowed her head again, whispering softly to herself. "I guess it's kind of like we were sisters. You liked the guy who liked me, and that made me jealous enough to want him to prove he loved me more… Oh, hell, I guess you are like a little sister to me. Ever since I watched over you in Germany before Kaji took over for me, I kind of felt that way… I guess… I guess I could have tried harder." Misato looked up as the elevator slowed, her face hardening. "No, I should have tried harder. And I will, when we get through this. But that's later… Now I have no time now to worry about what could have been, or what will be…"

Misato slid her service sidearm, a Glock Model 17 nine millimeter pistol, from its holster. She depressed the clip release and caught it before it released completely, looking at it to confirm that it was fully loaded. She slid the clip back into the pistol's grip, making sure it was properly seated with a light slap to the bottom of the clip. She pulled the slide back and released it, chambering a round and cocking the pistol, and thumbed off the safety, indexing her finger on the trigger guard. I just hope that I'm not too late to be of any help to Shinji…

Tokyo-3, June Eighth, 2015; 10:19 A.M. NERV Headquarters parking garage 3-47.

First Sergeant Toshi Hirayama edged his way up to the corner at the end of the corridor he was leading his troops down. He went into a low crouch, peering further down the corridor to where he could see a stairwell and another corridor leading to the right. After confirming that the area of the corridor he was in was secure, he waved the other four troops in his squad forward. The troops were all dressed like him, in black colored jumpsuits. The suits were a lightweight, form fitting material, layered with Kevlar ballistic resistant fibers, and had places to attach web style weight reduction gear built in. The helmets were also black in color, and had goggles attached to them that held both lowlight and infrared image enhancement electronics, but also held a heads up display for communications and other essentials. As the troops came up, Sergeant Hirayama signaled them to hold behind them, and glanced briefly around the corner and into the parking garage to his left. Seeing nobody, he pulled back, and something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. He saw a flash of white, like that of a shirt, and the color of pale skin underneath the stairwell ahead of him and to his left. He nodded to himself, and pointed at two of his subordinates, signaling them to round the corner to his left and sweep and secure the parking area. He angled his assault rifle up as the first two moved into position, awaiting his signal. He nodded at them, and they moved off, covering each other in leapfrog style movement, as the other two moved up to take their place behind him.

He waited until the first two troops had moved about a quarter of the way towards the other end of the parking garage, then moved across the gap between himself and the small alcove in which the stairwell had been built. One of Hirayama's troops took to the right side of the corridor, his assault rifle angled up towards the stairwell. The other soldier, the only woman of the group, stood above and behind Hirayama, covering the other corridor as they approached it, while Hirayama himself covered where he believed he'd seen someone. He was not surprised when he found someone sitting there, but he was surprised to see that it appeared to be a boy, perhaps in his early teens. Hirayama consulted his HUD, checking to see if this young man was one of the Children. He smiled humorlessly as his suspicion was confirmed, and he pulled his radio's boom microphone down to his mouth. "Third Child located on Level Two in the parking garage. Commencing with termination..." His voice was cold and impersonal, with no hint of remorse. Shinji didn't move, or even seem to acknowledge his presence, and remained huddled in the same position the soldiers had found him in. This surprised Hirayama, who had been expecting panic, or perhaps even to hear the young man before him to beg for his life. Ballsy little bastard, that's for sure. he thought as he pulled his pistol from its holster. He made sure it was in semi automatic mode and that the safety was off, then placed it to the back of Shinji's head.

The soldier that had been guarding the stairwell looked over, as if eager to witness the execution. The other soldier kept her gaze resolutely on the corridor she was guarding. None of them saw an elevator about thirty meters down the corridor they had come from open, admitting someone into the corridor. The person was a woman, wearing a one piece, form fitting brown dress, and the red jacket of NERV Command Personnel. The woman was Major Misato Katsuragi, and she did not like the scene before her in the slightest. Shinij! Oh, no you don't, you bastards! She ran forward, trying to be as quite as possible while still making good time towards her ward.

Sergeant Hirayama looked down at the boy on the floor, almost feeling pity for him as he spoke. "Nothing personal, kid…" His finger was tightening on the trigger when he heard a loud report to his right, and felt the spray of blood, bone, and brain matter from the head of the soldier that had been covering the stairwell. As the soldier guarding the other corridor moved back to cover the sergeant, Hirayama dropped his sidearm, reaching down to bring his assault rifle to bear as he turned quickly towards his right. He amazed to see a woman with raven black hair running towards him, firing with deadly accuracy as her bullets ripped into the head of his remaining subordinate in the stairwell alcove. The soldier dropped, the last command she had sent to her hand causing her hand to squeeze off a burst of fire into the ceiling of the alcove before falling fully backwards, dead. Sergeant Hirayama squeezed off a short burst towards the woman closing the last couple of meters to him when she side stepped his line of fire, kicking him squarely in the upper chest.

Misato had run quickly, closing the thirty meter gap between her and the soldiers in less than two seconds, waiting until she was only a few meters from them before opening fire with her pistol. As the soldier still standing brought his assault rifle to bear, she side stepped slightly and sent a kick flying towards him, connecting squarely upon his chest. As the man flew back into the wall, she followed him, slamming her pistol's barrel under his chin painfully. The man pulled his face up and away in an attempt to alleviate the pain in his jaw line, when he heard words that made his blood run cold. "Nothing personal on my end, either, you heartless son of a bitch!" Misato's voice was very cynical, indeed, almost cruel as she spoke. She pulled the trigger, ending the man's life in a spray of blood and brain matter against the wall of the corridor. She turned to Shinji, who was now shaking, his hands covering his head protectively. "Shinji?" As Misato called his name, Shinji flinched, but remained cowering on the floor, afraid to move from the spot he was in. Misato sighed heavily, her eyes rueful, and she hoped that Shinji didn't hate her for having him by killing the people who would have killed him. "Shinji, let's go to Unit One…" she called softly, crouching down to look at his face. Seeing that he seemed to be catatonic, Misato reached to grab his arm, and was startled as he flinched away from her. She grumbled a curse under her breath, pulling back to survey the situation. She holstered her pistol and reached down, taking the lead soldiers assault rifle. She removed the nearly empty clip but left the chambered round in the rifle. She then rifled through the leader's clothing, and took his remaining two clips, loading one into the rifle before moving on to his subordinates. After a quick search of their bodies, she had a total of five extra clips for the assault rifle. Slinging the rifle, she heard some kind of commotion coming over the leader's radio, and pulled the removable piece of electronics from his helmet.

Misato placed the headset on her head, pulling the transceiver from the leader's web belt. ]This is Captain Suzuki of the First Company. We have begun to encase the purple unit in Bakelite, and should be able to encase it completely to a thickness of two meters in about five to ten minutes. There is a black unit here as well, but we'll only be able to cover the black unit up to the shoulders because the holding tanks will empty before it can be encased.[ The voice that came over the radio was that of a younger man, and he sounded almost elated with his success as he spoke.

]This is Major Miyama. Good job, Captain, you're fifteen minutes ahead of schedule.[ said a woman with a husky, harsh voice. ]My troops and myself will be down to relieve you within fifteen minutes, you just hold tight until then, copy?[

]Yes, Ma'am, will do![ the soldier replied, his voice revealing even more pride in himself.

Misato crouched down again, resting a hand on Shinji's shoulder, but not grasping it. When he didn't flinch, she felt that she now had a chance to get through to him. "Shinji, they're trying to cut you off from Unit One! Do you want to just sit here or worse yet, run away? Or do you want to pilot, and maybe save us from these bastards? Quick, Shinji, pick one!"

Why don't you just let me die like the scum that I am, Misato? It'd be easier on everyone... Shinji thought, his self loathing making him not wish to move. He remembered the hospital, and all of the events that happened there, and whispered something that shocked even him. "Asuka… Help me, please, Asuka…" He didn't know why he called out to her for help; even if she were awake he doubted that she would do so. I've done so much to hurt her…

Misato almost flinched back herself now, upon hearing Shinji call out to Asuka. She was shocked, even somewhat disgusted at hearing Shinji do so. "What the hell are you doing, Shinji?" she berated, her tone exasperated. "Are you seriously hiding behind a comatose girl at a time like this? Running from life, from reality itself?" Her tone softened somewhat, turning slightly questioning as she continued. "Lying to yourself? Are you actually going to do this, Shinji?" As she said this, Shinji started to shake his head, as if to get rid of a hallucination. Misato's voice hardened as her hand now gripped Shinji's shoulder, pulling on him slightly. "Doing things half assed like that is the worst thing you can do, trust me…" Misato pulled on him once more, managing to pull him out from under the stairwell and into the alcove. She heard over the radio the other two soldiers call in from securing the parking garage, and that they were almost back. "Dammit, these weren't all of them in this group. There are more soldiers coming here, Shinji. Now get up! Get up, damn you!" she almost screamed in desperation, knowing immediately that it was a mistake. She heard alarmed calls from about fifty meters down the stairwell side of the parking garage, and glanced around the corner, seeing the soldiers moving in a fast jog, crouching slightly to offer less of a target. She pulled back around the corner just as the soldiers opened fire, chips of concrete stinging her face.

"Why don't you just leave me alone to die, Misato? I don't want to do anything else to hurt anyone…" Misato was enraged by this. Her face became flushed as anger almost overwhelmed her, and she gripped a little harder so her hand would not come loose as she attempted to pull Shinji forcibly to his feet.

You little bastard! How can you act like such a spoiled brat right now? She almost said the words aloud, but since she'd pulled him into the light she could see the complete, desolate loss in his face. Of course, I kind of helped you to be spoiled didn't I, Shinji? What the hell happened since yesterday? You weren't even like this after Nagisa died! You look so lost… Misato knew that saying that would have made the situation worse, so she decided to take a different route. "OK, Shinji, you're still alive, right? Since you are, why don't you at least stay alive for the time being, and die later if you want to so badly?" Shinji remained immobile, saying nothing to his guardian and superior officer. Misato didn't wait to let him give her an answer more than a second, then spoke, deciding against waiting for the soldiers in the alcove. "Ok, since you're not giving me an answer, I'm ordering you to get off your ass and get to Unit One and pilot it, do you hear me?" She pulled him towards the corridor, and to her surprise, he decided to stand rather than be dragged along. Well, at least his sense of self preservation isn't completely shot if he decided to walk instead of being drug along concrete! Misato thought with a touch of humor.

As Shinji and Misato rounded the corner into the adjoining corridor, they heard the sounds of bullets chewing up the wall opposite the corner as well as the corner scant instants before hearing the report of the high rate of fire assault rifles. They flinched as a few bullets ricocheted around them, and felt lucky when none of the errant bullets struck them. When they got to the end of the corridor, which was a "T" intersection, Misato shoved Shinji down to the floor on the right hand side of the intersection, and stood with her back to the wall, just around the corner. She carefully peered around the corner, allowing as little of her body as possible to show, and when she saw that the men hadn't followed as yet, she brought the assault rifle to bear, a savage smirk crossing her face. C'mon, you bastards, show yourselves! You tried to hurt my Shinji, tried to kill him, I'll show you what happens when you get between me and my charge!

The two soldiers that Misato waited for were staring at her handiwork. They were shocked that one woman could have taken out their leader, let alone three of their squad. The more shocked of the two was the younger man, who was bent over the only woman in the squad. When he had seen the three soldiers lying in the alcove, he had immediately moved over to check on her, hoping that she lived had somehow lived. He had ripped his goggles off and thrown his goggles to the floor. They had fallen next to the bodies of his fallen squad mates, as he had leaned over her still form, checking her vital signs for any hint of life. He slowly brought his hand away from her neck, tears flowing freely from his eyes. "Nanaka…" he whispered, knowing by the damage to her once beautiful face that she couldn't have survived even before he'd checked for a pulse. The only remaining soldier from the squad reached over to place a hand on his shoulder. As his surviving squad mate was about to speak, he shrugged the hand off violently, and grabbed his assault rifle. "Nanaka! You're going to pay for killing her, do you hear me you bitch!" he called down the hallway. "I'm going to take your goddamn weapon away and knock you senseless, then I'm going to gut that goddamn kid in front of you, SLOWLY!"

Misato's smile thinned as she heard the threat, then Shinji's gasp at the cruelty in the man's voice. "Come and try it, you heartless asshole!" she screamed, intentionally goading the man, hoping he'd get angry and do something stupid. "I'll make you scream like she did when I shot her!" Unknown to Misato, Shinji was now staring at her with wide, uncomprehending eyes.

Why are you being like this, Misato? Why are you so willing to kill someone? He looked at her face, and concentrated as if he were trying to read her mind. He was surprised as she spoke to herself, as if she were thinking aloud.

"You bastards tried to kill Shinji, to take him away from me… I'll protect him from you, no matter if it means I have to kill all of you!" Shinji almost bolted then, yet he didn't, much like a dear caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. He was shocked that she seemed to care for him so much, despite his self perceived failings. He had trouble believing his own ears, yet he couldn't deny that he had heard her speak those words. He was about to ask her why when she growled softly, and gritted her teeth, her finger squeezing the trigger of the weapon, the weapon bucking as it belched a stream of death down the corridor.

"BITCH! You're dead!" The young man gripped his assault rifle firmly, and bolted to his feet. He immediately ran around the corner Misato and Shinji had so recently retreated down. His squad mate, a sergeant by the name of Okiura, tried to stop him, but he was smaller and several years older than the man he was holding, and was thus dragged into the hallway with the younger, stronger man. Okiura immediately saw Misato as she braced herself, and he even saw her grit her teeth into a near smile as she opened fire on the two of them. He tried vainly to bring his assault rifle to bear on her, but he was too slow. He felt the high velocity, armor piercing bullets slam into his squad mate, then into him, as the bullets ripped easily through the younger man's body.

The only condolence he had was that his squad mate had slowed the bullets enough to only cause surface wounds when the bullets hit him. He recognized the woman at the end of the hallway as she aimed the last several rounds from her clip slammed into his upper abdomen and mid chest. The bullets caused a fire to spread through his body, driving him into unconsciousness. The last thing he saw was the image of the woman from his briefing, as well as her title and a warning from Major Miyama. The woman he saw was Major Misato Katsuragi, NERV Operations Director, and the warning was that she was very dangerous; she was to be terminated on sight, and not to be taken prisoner under any circumstances.

Misato immediately dropped the clip as the bolt stopped in the open position, and slapped in a fresh clip, pulling and releasing the bolt after doing so. She covered the two men for another moment, until she was satisfied they were no longer a threat, and looked back to Shinji, her eyes widening slightly when she saw him looking into her eyes. She held no remorse for her acts of protecting hi, but she did feel regret for Shinji having to witness it. "I'm sorry, Shinji, but we have to get to the Eva cages… C'mon, please, Shinji?" The pleading in her voice and eyes were the only things that allowed Shinji to reach out and take her hand, the only thing that allowed him to follow her down the hall and past the bodies. Misato considered making sure they were dead, but she couldn't, not with Shinji there to witness it. Although Shinji didn't stop when they approached the bodies, he looked at each one as he passed, taking note of the faces of the people that had to die for him to be safe. As they got to Misato's car, Shinji looked at her questioningly, and Misato glanced at him apologetically as she opened her door, "They're encasing Units One and Three in Bakelite, Shinji. If we take the route I came here on, we'll never make it in time. By driving through Terminal Dogma's Eva graveyard, we'll come out almost on top of the elevator that'll take you straight to the Eva cages."

Shinji looked for a moment seeming about to refuse to get in the car. As Misato's face fell into an almost panicked expression, he sighed lightly and got into the car, speaking so softly that Misato didn't hear him, "I'll go with you, Misato, but I won't fight and kill humans…" Together Misato and Shinji left the parking garage, her car roaring loudly through the enclosed space. Sergeant Okiura, the soldier than hadn't died with Misato's attack, slowly, and quite painfully, pulled himself from under his fallen squad mate. He felt blood welling up in his lungs, slowly depriving him of breath. He knew what he must do, to prevent them from getting to the Evangelion cages, though in doing so he would ensure his own death. He lowered the microphone of his comm. gear to his mouth and keyed the personal comm. channel to Major Miyama, a pained, regretful expression spreading across his features.