"We must acquire this individual immediately." Gendo Ikari slammed the report onto his desk, an angry expression lit his face red.

"Indeed," said Professor Kozo Fuyutsuki. "There are a few employees that were recently released with pay, not to mention equipment only an aircraft carrier can handle."

Pushing his glasses back onto his nose with his index finger, Gendo calmly remarked, "Remind Section 2 to be discreet. We don't want it to get out that someone -else- could ... emancipate... one of our greatest projects to date."

The Sub-Commander touched a photograph amongst the other papers in the pile on Gendo's desk, "I hope he'll come quietly..." Turning the picture towards himself, he responsively smiled at the image of a boy with black hair, fair complexion, and a big, dumb smile. Not too long and it will be 2015, that's five years, Gendo. What on Earth are you planning for him?

So, I've lost contact with the base. Thanks, old man. No time to worry about it now, they're early... and there isn't anything here in New York they cold be after. Crap! That briefcase!

Unit One moved through the streets of downtown New York, eventually stopping to take cover on the West side of the Empire State building. When he stepped around the structure, Shinji Ikari found himself facing down a gigantic, but humanoid creature. Shinji's sensors and alarms were buzzing, detecting a reaction within the being before him.

"What the he-" His words were cut off by the sudden, unpredicted movement of the machine he was within.

Kozo stopped short of the door in NERV's medical ward marked 'Recovery'.
"Well Gendo, you sure got your wish. It's been three days."

He opened the door to find a nearly-naked Shinji sitting on the chair facing a window into the Geo Front. "Good, you're up. How do you feel?"

Shinji didn't turn to face the man, seeing his faint reflection on the glass. "Three days? My right eye hurts, but the doctors say nothing is wrong."

This room is sound-proofed... "Hmm, yes... that's what they reported. What do you remember before waking up here?"

"Alarms... some sort of explosion? I- can't be sure."

At that exact moment, one of the trams connecting the pyramid to the surface reflected a light in a bright flash that caused Shinji to recall something dreadfully painful.

In response, he clutched his right eye and began screaming.

Shinji awoke to find himself strapped to a similar bed, in a similar room, just... without windows. "Why did I..." A red light flashed in his mind. The word 'Berserker' blinked in perfect time with the klaxon. "I... I lost control..."

A new, female voice, took that stitch in time to reveal herself to him. "A multi-billion dollar, heavily armored, bio-mechanical robot, and you lost control?"

Coldly staring at the ceiling, he countered her point, "Five years since I last saw you, Doctor, and all you can do is sound like him?"

Ritsuko met his cold demeanor with a hammer, "You stole equipment, vehicles, kidnapped personnel. Basically betraying everything NERV stands for."

With a sigh, Shinji conceded his chances of victory, for now at least, "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

A female figure silhouetted by innumerable lights behind her barked with a military air in her voice, "Shinji Ikari. You have committed various crimes against NERV. Sabotage, theft, type zero hacking of a level black coded network, kidnapping... need I go on?"

One light from above and showered Shinji in a pale blue-white light. Shackles on his ankles and handcuffs on his wrists cast a few shimmers across the very large room. He let his eyes take in the form: beret, jacket, ... mini-skirt? and are those cross earrings? He almost growled in response, "Of course, I'm guilty. Though I would ask-"

Another light, this time from the floor, sprouted to reveal Gendo Ikari behind a glass desk, interrupting Shinji's train of thought, "In light of a certain event, the charges against you are hereby dismissed, on one condition..."

Misato immediately protested the Commander, "Sir! You can't override the Commit-"

Gendo turned his gaze to his left and interrupted the unseen, female voice, "Silence, Captain Katsuragi!"

Shinji was suspiciously fixated on his father's form, "... condition?"

Lifting his hands to intertwine before his face, Gendo thought his grin was hidden from his son, "You. Will work. For me."