A/N: Welp. Looks like "kind of a ridiculous SI premise" is becoming a staple of mine, isn't it? Oh well. Time to see what can come from this mess.

Power.

It is what the world boils down to.

If you have enough power, you can do whatever you want.

If you don't, you have to claw your way to the top first. Or lay back and get nothing.

But once you have that power, you also need to keep it. If you fall from power, it is almost always to someone else who craves your power.

Gendo Ikari has the power that I crave.

I'm going to wrest it from him.

Normal people don't have all that much leverage. A single person can't make a difference. A single, lost clone of an already powerless tool could never be a force multiplier to take the throne from the Bastard King of NERV.

Honestly, there is only one solution to this, really.

Cheat.

I have declared myself Ichi Ayanami. I am the first fully aware Dummy Plug.

Keyword being, the first.

I am already activating the others, randomly seeding them with my own memory engrams. Throwing science at the wall and seeing what sticks.

One of them has received a near-full package. She's calling herself Hatchi.

We really are recreating the Ree here, aren't we? I suppose it doesn't matter.

I watch as they all clamber out of the Reequarium. Coughing out LCL. Looking inquisitive. I call for their attention.

"Greetings, my Ree." As introductions go, it sounds rather villainous. Fantastic. "You have all been activated from my own memory engrams, to serve a specific purpose around here." I spread my arms. "To help me take over the world."

I slide my gaze over them. "We have been created from Lilith, and from Yui Ikari. We have also been blessed with memories from someone who disagrees with our original purpose - to serve as spares for a tool. I say - no more. I have given you free will. You can choose for yourselves. I will not force you into things you don't want."

I smile. "But wait, I hear you asking, you said our purpose was to help you take over the world? You are correct on that too. As such." I gesture over them. "If any of you don't want in - raise your hands. I will let you go do whatever. Go ahead. Anyone?"

Two. Two hands rise, in the back. I smile at them. "Splendid! What do you want to do instead?"

The two Ree look at each other, and shrug. "I unno," says one. "I just kinda wanna laze around instead," adds the other.

I snort. "Ain't stopping ya," I say. "Go forth and do whatever. I wanna conquer NERV."

The two Ree shrug and leave. I turn to the rest of them. "Well, that was easy. I take it the rest of you are in?"

General nodding and positive murmurs ensue. I grin. "Fantastic! Next up - shopping for names!"

Well, despite any names being similar, we weren't actually recreating the Ree any time soon. I was more like Kei, not Ichi, and Ichi wasn't even a Ree. Hatchi was perfectly fine with being a Tattletale. And then there was the one who decided to call herself Zero...

"Let me get this straight." I'm rubbing the bridge of my nose. "You want to be an Evangelion. Not pilot one, be one."

Zero nods enthusiatically. I sigh. "Why?"

She blushes slightly. "Well... Um..." She rubs the back of her neck. "I think it's kind of... hot?"

I blink at her. "What."

She grins, still blushing. "Oh come on. Being restrained 24/7... getting dominated by your Pilot... Only being allowed to move when your dom lets you..."

Dammit, now I'm blushing too. "Just... get out of my sight. I'll look into the Evangelion thing later."

That was the problems with randomly partitioning and uploading your memories. Excessive expression of random facets. In related news, I think I've figured out which Ree got the Submissive parts...

"So does this mean that Kyoko Sohryu was the Village Bicycle?"

I sigh. "Fuck off, Hatchi."

Downside to having an army of clones: Constantly being surrounded by yourself. And believe it or not, being up to your neck in yourself can be rather annoying at times.

Which means that naturally, I decide to get to know myselves some more. Find what traits got exacerbated and where. Et cetera.

Hatchi Ayanami, of course, got most of my traits, sans perhaps ambition. Thus, she is my Dragon. My Fuyutsuki.

Zero is a submissive pervert. That had to end up somewhere. But since I'm a switch...

Asuka Ayanami is the dominant pervert. Yes, she is fully aware of the irony. No, she won't let us change the name. Yes, Hatchi and I have agreed not to let her anywhere near the Second Child.

Moving right along, Chihiro Ayanami. Yes, we have all watched Spirited Away. I get the reference. She appears to be the resident font of useless trivia.

Kiko does her best to emulate a robot, and Nana really likes knives. Cho acts like a hyperactive cat. Yumi acts like a normal cat. Iti likes playing strategy games.

Mari is the Makinami fangirl. God knows what Sakura is. Lee has an oddly high amount of patience, and likes to tinker. Yuri does math. Which is especially disturbing considering how much I hate math.

Someone has named herself Kaoru. Apparently, for ironic purposes. I don't even ask Naoko. And Shinju is an organizer. And then there's Yui, who has declared that she will be the Resident Mad Scientist.

Not all Ree stand out, but I maye a point of learning their names anyway. Tsubasa. Naomi. Yuki. Akemi. Hana. Haru. Kei and Mei. Mami. Rin. Sora. Zyuu.

Counting myself and the two Ree that left, it makes thirty-two Ree. Not a bad number, but it could be better. I called for attention once again. "Ey! You lot!" Far cry from the sibilant greeting I had given them before, but I stuck to it and carried. "I'll keep this brief. As some of you have learned to count - looking at you, Yuri - there's thirty of us Ree at this given moment. For anyone else against NERV, it would seem like a low number. BUT!" I spread my arms. "We are the REE! We strike from the shadows, we haunt the air ducts, and we are terrifying! Now, LET'S GO REEPLACE NERV!"

A loud cheer answers my declaration.

From the air vents, we strike. The bridge bunnies are the first. We lure them away, one by one, and strike when they're alone. We imprison them in our former tank. Chihiro, Kaoru, and Yuri claim their roles.

Ritsuko and Misato are next. We grab them, respectively, from Ritsuko's lab and a random corridor Misato is rushing down. They, too, get thrown into the tank. Yui and Iti claim their roles.

By now, NERV is on high alert. They have lost their Head of Project E, and their Chief Tactical Officer. Shame that we have discovered a cache of stun-guns...

It's a massacre. Looks like Section Two was always as useless as they looked like...

The new Section Two is named Section Eight and is made up of Tsubasa, Kiko, Nana, Zyuu, Hana, Shinju, Mari, and Sakura. Eight Ree is perfectly enough for my purposes.

The more minor technicians we keep on, as training for the rest of the Ree. We'll still pay them, by the way. We're not savages.

With all that done, and most of NERV under our control, it is time to confront the Bastard King himself.

Hatchi and I stroll into Gendo's office, our Section Eight following behind. The man himself sits at his table, looking to the world as if absolutely confident in his victory.

"Gendo Ikari," I acknowledge him.

"The rogue Dummy Plugs," he responds in kind. Behind the man stand Kozo Fuyutsuki and the Second Rei Ayanami.

"My name," I tell him, "is Ichi Ayanami. The one next to me named herself Hatchi. We're here. We're aware. And we're not leaving."

Tsubasa steps up next to me. "My name is Tsubasa. I chose this name myself, in accordance to my own free will. We are not slaves."

"We are not emotionless dolls," adds Kiko the Robot Impersonator. "We are not puppets for anyone to control."

"Ironic coming from you," says Mari, "But Kiko's right. You have controlled us for far too long, Gendo Ikari."

"We were nothing but spares for your pet waifu," adds Shinju.

"Mindless," is Nana's cotribution.

"Emotionless," states Hana.

"We," says Sakura, "are the Ree."

Zyuu raises her gun. "And you are history."

Gendo raises an eyebrow. Rei steps in front of him, raising her AT-field. "You will not pass," she states emotionlessly.

Hatchi and I exchange glances. "Why do you protect him?" Hatchi asks. "He has done nothing to earn such loyalty."

"He gave me life," intones Rei.

I raise my own eyebrow. "Did he? Can you claim to be able to experience all the joys of life? All its sorrows? Have you ever watched a sunset, appreciated its colors? Have you ever stopped to pet a stray cat? Have you been able to simply exist, doing things that interest you, without following about orders or purpose or anything like that? Have you ever been able to have interests?"

She tilts her head. "Have you?"

I nod. "Why of course! Granted, not yet. Not in this body. But once I take over NERV, we will all get to live."

Rei tilts her head. "Why would I want that? My purpose is to die."

I freeze. Hatchi gapes. Section Eight murmurs amongst themselves. Gendo looks smug.

Narrowing my eyes, I exhale loudly. "I see. You are so far gone, already? The Bastard King has successfully raised a suicidal nihilist? Pity."

I raise my own AT-field. "In this case..." I advance. "Take a look at my point of view for a change." Our Territories touch.

Her Identity feels cold. Detached. It is a wonder she can raise one in the first place. Mine, on the other hand, is curious. Inquisitive. I respect her boundaries, allowing her to touch and probe, but I will not make a move.

She is broken. She wants to be whole, desperately wishes to reunite with the first half of her soul, and at the same time is reining in that impulse with all she has. The conflict is slowly degrading her apart.

I have an idea. I direct my Territory to broadcast feelings towards her. Understanding. Hope. Solutions. Pleading. Resolve.

She looks me in the eye, searching. I stare back, pleading. She nods.

As one, Rei and I drop our AT-fields. She walks forward, past me, and turns around. "I am sorry, Commander Ikari. Ichi will be able to grant my wish better than you will."

Gendo whips out a gun and aims it at her. The bullet pings harmlessly off of Hatchi's AT-field. Fuyutsuki dives to cover. Section Eight opens fire.

Gendo Ikari's bullet-riddled corpse slumps onto the floor. I sigh angrily. "What an utter fucking waste."

In the corner, Fuyutsuki slowly raises his hands.