DISCLAIMER: I still don't own Evangelion or any of the characters, they're still property of…well, whoever owns them these days. This fic's got nothing to do with Rebuild, just the original series/movies. This one's (obviously) the next part in THE IKARI IDENTITY/SUPREMACY series, so read them first if you haven't. And lastly, 'this' is thoughts and "this" is speech.

THE IKARI ULTIMATUM

Chapter 1: A Means to an End

A jarring sensation shook Shinji Ikari out of the otherwise-fitful nap he'd taken. Looking around, he saw that he was still inside the small passenger plane they'd left America in. Around the plane, he caught sight of the five other people he was traveling with. Misato Katsuragi and Kaji Ryoji were both seated in the row on the other side, with Ritsuko Akagi in the row behind them. Rei Ayanami stared out of the window two rows ahead of him. And to his left was Asuka Langley Sohryu, who was currently enjoying a deep sleep and snoring lightly. He'd noticed that particular habit while they stayed in Osaka. 'Still cute, though,' he thought with a smile. Turning to look out the window, he saw that the plane had finally touched back down on the ground.

Taking a moment to stretch, Shinji lightly shook the girl next to him. "Come on, Asuka," he whispered, "wake up. We're here."

Asuka slowly opened her eyes to the waking world, taking in her surroundings. Looking over at Shinji, she smiled with half-opened eyes. "Morning," she said groggily. "How'd you sleep?"

Shinji shrugged. "Not that well. Hard to get comfortable in midair."

"At least you didn't get airsick," Asuka joked, rubbing her eyes and yawning. "That wouldn't have gotten you this," she finished, planting a feather-light kiss on his lips.

"Hey, no mile-high club on my watch," Misato's voice sounded from across the aisle. As they turned to look at her, she continued. "Well, nice to see you two finally up and around."

"Yeah, yeah," Asuka said with a wave of her hand. "Always a good morning for you when it starts with teasing, isn't it?"

"Yep," Misato answered, quickly letting the smile fade from her face. "Gather everything up. We've got work to do…"

Shinji nodded, standing and reaching in the overhead compartment to gather one of the three bags they'd taken along. He grabbed up the rucksack and handed Asuka the backpack. Rei got to her feet and opened her own compartment to retrieve her bag. "From here on, we must blend in and remain quiet," she stated.

"Yeah, good luck with that," Asuka replied.

Rei said nothing, only reaching into her bag to remove a long brunette wig and a case for contacts. "You assume I would not have prepared. That is unwise, Asuka," she explained. Taking a moment to put the contacts in and affix the wig over her hair, she turned towards Misato. "Is this acceptable, Major?"

"Works well enough for me," Misato answered.

"Hey, that's pretty good," Asuka spoke up, walking past Rei. "Maybe when this is over, you can use that look permanently."

"Do you find it to be satisfactory?" Rei asked. Asuka nodded, walking out of the plane. The pale girl turned to look at Shinji. "And what would you say?"

Shinji found himself unable to answer at first. 'Wow…the resemblance is really eerie now,' he thought. Rei had told him that she had been modeled after his mother, but it wasn't until now that he really saw it physically. "Uh…s-sure, it's fine," he finally replied, giving her a slight smile.

Rei gave him the barest of smiles in return, leaving out of the exit hatch. The adults soon followed suit, Shinji trailing just behind them. Upon exiting the plane, he was caught by the slight chill in the pre-dawn air. It was less than had been present in the part of America they had traveled through, but was still very much similar.

The pilot stepped out of the plane right afterwards. "Well, here we are. Just a mile or two outside of Berlin, as per your destination," he said.

"Thanks very much," Kaji replied, shaking the man's hand. "Glad you didn't ask too many questions."

"Hey, not like this is a first for me," the pilot said. "My boss has taken on work for guys like you before. It usually just went a lot worse. Now go on, I don't need to attract any more attention than this."

"Heh, sure thing," Kaji said. "A safe trip for us all."

The group left the landing strip after that, the trip to Berlin taking about an hour. Kaji led the group for this leg of the journey, knowing just where the facility they were looking for was. They remained at the edge of the city, just to avoid further surveillance or detection.

Upon reaching the far side of the city than they'd begun from, Kaji led them to a large two-story concrete structure. "Looks like it's been abandoned for quite a long time," he mused, taking in the building's outside appearance. 'It at least looks solid enough' he thought, gazing up and down the street to see no one in sight.

Four guns were at the ready as they opened the front door and quickly piled inside. This place reminded Shinji of the bunker they'd used back in Tokyo-3. It certainly smelled similar, full of dust and age. 'Damn, even that seems like so long ago,' he thought as they walked up the stairs. The second floor was much like the first, just a wide-open space with concrete pillars in the center of the structure.

Rei approached the door to the roof. "Major, come with me. Everyone else, stay here. We must not present too many targets."

Misato nodded and followed the girl through the door and up the short stairs there. Once outside on the roof, they crouched down as low as they could and snuck over to the edge of the structure facing the NERV branch they were here for. Reaching into her back, the former First Child removed the wig and contacts she'd been wearing. Then she brought out a pair of binoculars and looked to their destination. "What do you see?" the woman asked.

"It is quiet," Rei stated. "More so than the Russian branch was. It is very…discomforting."

"I just hope it's the good kind of quiet," Misato replied. "Like we've arrived before they have."

"We can hope so," Rei said, continuing her watch. The building in question was much like the other had been, only a small structure on the surface with the greater portion of it deep below the ground. It was situated what Rei judged to be about five hundred meters outside the city limits, just far enough for them to not purge it similarly to the Russian branch. 'But it still means they could be within,' she thought.

"So now we wait, huh?" Misato asked.

Rei nodded. "Midnight would be best," she said, removing a watch from her bag. "We still have more than twelve hours. I suggest we prepare thoroughly."

"You'll get no arguments here," Misato replied. She followed close behind as Rei slowly edged back towards the door back down to the stairs.

As they arrived back inside and on the second story, Kaji approached them. "What's the verdict?"

"A little too quiet," Misato answered, leaning against a wall and letting herself slide down it, "but still standing. We leave at midnight."

The others nodded in agreement and settled in for the day. It would be a long wait until midnight…

Asuka sat near a window on the second floor, looking out at the city behind her. It was just after ten at night, they'd need to be ready in less than an hour. The others were below, mentally preparing themselves for their mission (except for Rei, who offered to keep watch). Currently, the redhead was deeply absorbed in her thoughts. Being back in Germany didn't feel right, it brought up a past pain she'd tried hard to bury. She shivered a little, both from the night air and her musings. "It just had to be back here," she thought aloud.

"I thought you said it wasn't good to talk to yourself," a voice sounded, shaking Asuka from her train-of-thought. Looking into the dark, she could only just make out Shinji in the darkness. "You alright?" he asked upon noticing her far-off stare.

"Yeah, just…" Asuka cut herself off, shaking her head. "No, not really. I'm…uncomfortable with being here."

"Why's that?" Shinji asked, walking up and taking a seat next to her.

Asuka looked down at the floor. "It's…complicated," she began quietly. "It brings up a lot of things I want to forget. I'll tell you in full one day, but for now, let's just say…you know my pain well enough."

Shinji stared at her silently for a moment. "What do you mean?"

"I mean about your mother," Asuka said, doing her best to hold in her own torrent of emotions concerning those words. "I saw how it made you react when Misato and Rei explained it to you. You thought she'd died, but…"

"The contact experiment took her into the EVA," Shinji finished for her. "Yeah, I remember. I saw her there when Unit-01 absorbed me, too."

"Kaji told me something similar happened to Mama," Asuka started. "No one really knows for certain, but it…took part of her. And what happened to her after that…" She trailed off, her shaking becoming more pronounced.

Shinji put an arm around Asuka and pulled her close. "Shh," he whispered, "you don't have to continue. I think I understand." He smiled at an old memory. "That finally makes sense now…"

"Huh? What does?" Asuka asked, wiping a few tears away.

Shinji sighed, the smile on his face remaining. "It was on the last night of our unison training…"

Asuka laughed a little as the memory came back to her. "Oh God, that was an odd time. I still remember those hideous outfits."

"Yeah," Shinji continued. "You went into the other room to sleep, but…did you know you sleepwalk?"

Asuka looked up at him, surprised. "What? Really?"

"At least, I think you were," Shinji replied. "All I know is that I opened my eyes and you were next to me, sleeping soundly."

"Did you try anything with me?" Asuka questioned with a teasing smirk.

Shinji turned away to hide his red face. "I…wanted to kiss you then," he admitted. "I can't deny that. But then I saw a tear and you mumbled 'mama'. I couldn't do it after I saw that. It was just so unlike I'd ever seen you…"

Asuka didn't have an answer to that. It wasn't shocking that he'd wanted to kiss her even back then. But that she'd unwittingly showed him a vulnerable side of her certainly was. From what she could remember, he was across the room when they awoke the next morning. "Did you know you were in love with me then?" she finally asked after a long silence.

Shinji shook his head. "No, but I did realize then that I liked you more than on a purely physical level," he explained. "I think it was…when we first kissed."

Asuka hung her head low at that memory. "Ugh…that's one I'd rather forget about."

"Because you didn't like it?" Shinji asked. He clearly remembered her reaction then.

Asuka shook her head a bit. "It just wasn't how it should have been," she whispered.

"You mean you weren't just testing me then?" Shinji asked in a shocked tone. She had made it so clear back then that she didn't enjoy it one bit.

"Alright, fine" Asuka said in a huff. "No, I wasn't JUST testing you. I was…interested in you then. It couldn't be helped, we'd been living together for months by then. I think it was just a matter of time before one of us made a move. But you being how you were-"

"-meant you had to make it, right?" Shinji cut in. "But what did you want from me then?"

"To hold me…" Asuka admitted. "Instead, you just stood there like a statue."

"Funny," Shinji said, deciding to tease her a bit, "I seem to remember someone cutting off my air first."

Asuka gave him a nudge to the ribs. "Did you even enjoy it? Honestly?" she questioned.

Shinji smiled widely at her. "Of course. Didn't I say I wanted to before then?" he asked. "You just…took me off-balance with it all. How else was I supposed to react, given how things had been between us up until then?"

"I…see what you mean," Asuka conceded. "But you liked it even when you ran out of breath?"

Shinji nodded. "Your lips were the softest thing I'd ever felt," he explained with a wistful look. "And the warmth behind them just left me…I dunno, anything else was a pretty far cry from that."

"And it was that moment, not really a proud one for either of us, that made you love me?" Asuka asked, laughing a short bit after. "My God, we're both still such complete messes."

"Maybe," Shinji replied with a sigh. "But we can at least be messes together. And maybe we can help each other work on that."

"You'd really be that willing?" Asuka asked.

Shinji nodded. "I'll always be here. If you'll have me, of course."

Asuka remained quiet, but leaned in to press her lips to Shinji's. The kiss only took seconds to deepen, to the point that each felt like the other would engulf them. And they both had to admit, this was FAR better than the first time they'd done so. As she pulled away slowly, the redhead whispered to him. "As long as you want me."

Shinji continued to smiled widely at her, his face only a little red. Looking at his watch, he spoke up. "I think we need to go back to the others. It's almost time."

Asuka nodded, standing from the hard concrete floor and following close behind him back to the ground floor, where the others were readying themselves for the coming mission…

Fifteen minutes before midnight, the group had made it to the front door of the NERV Germany facility. The outside was very nondescript, a plain rectangular building with a single entrance in the front. "Yeah, I'd have passed this place and never known," Misato said, staring at the structure. "Not even a logo to show on any surface."

"Maybe we're just too used to how NERV Tokyo-3 was set up," Ritsuko replied. "Although I'd be surprised if it isn't the same layout inside. I see SEELE as the kind of people who adhere to a set pattern of things."

"Agreed," Rei stated, looking at the guts of the front door's electronic lock. "But this part may take some time. I am afraid I do not know how to bypass electronic locks."

Asuka sighed and walked up beside her. "Here, lemme give something a try," she said, reaching into her pocket to produce a blood-red card she swiped through the card reader. A soft beep and a click told them all they needed to know. "Well, I'll be damned. Can't believe that worked."

Shinji stared dumbly at her, then down at the card in her hand. It was Asuka's ID card for this branch of NERV. "No way in Hell would anyone convince me that happened," he muttered.

"Now that's either just the laziest shit I've ever seen," Misato began, "or they're waiting for us."

"I'll bet on the latter," Kaji said, hold his handgun at the ready. "Move slow and keep your eyes open."

The inside was only a long hall with an elevator at the end. Piling inside, they could see that there were many choices of where to begin their search. But two seemed likely: the level that Asuka recognized as being the main floor and something marked 'sub level'. "Guess we'll go from the bottom up," she said, pressing the bottom button. Slowly, the elevator descended deep below the surface. As it traveled down, everyone on board glanced at each other. Four guns between the six of them, every one loaded and at the ready. Everyone looked prepared to meet an army head-on.

After nearly twenty minutes, the elevator came to a stop at its destination. The doors opened to show a long, barely-lit hallway that reminded some of them the lower levels of the NERV branch they'd been in so often. "This is almost identical to Terminal Dogma," Ritsuko mused, walking with the rest of the group down the long hall. "Wait, this area…"

"Yes," Rei spoke up. "It would have gone to the Dummy Plug Core in the Tokyo-3 facility."

Shinji swallowed hard at the memory of that particular room. He'd seen it in some of his nightmares since then. "Wonder what they keep down here?"

"Ugh, who knows?" Misato asked. "The more NERV secrets I learn, the more I wished I didn't know."

As they passed one particular room, Rei stopped and stared inside. "This is…" she began.

"It's just like the one back in Tokyo-3," Ritsuko continued. The room they stopped in front of was almost identical to the room she'd shown Misato and Shinji, telling them it was the room Rei was 'raised' in. Bandages, pills, a simple bed…every detail was eerily familiar.

"What does this mean?" Rei asked. Continuing down the hall, she came to a door at the end. As she reached out to open it, she felt fear…something she hadn't felt since her second self's death. Opening the door, she was met with another room that was all-too-similar.

"Oh God…" Misato whispered. It was almost the same as the Dummy Plug Core she'd seen in Tokyo-3.

Rei slowly walked over to the central tube, reading the name imprinted on it. "Tabris…" she stated. "This is where they created Nagisa."

"Y-you mean this was here the whole time?" Asuka questioned. It was insane…right below where she'd spent so much of her childhood, SEELE had created and raised the final Angel. "And if it's like the other one…"

"…then there were others made like him," Rei concluded. "Most likely, they became the cores of the Dummy Plugs for the EVA mass-production models."

"Figures they couldn't leave that damned thing well enough alone," Ritsuko said, studying the object in the center of the room. 'An exact likeness,' she thought.

"I think I found the light," Misato said from the far wall. "I don't know if we're ready or not, but…"

Shinji took a deep breath. He hoped the sight they'd see wouldn't be the same as the other one. "Go ahead, Misato."

Misato nodded and pulled on the large switch. Nine more lights came on from nine more tanks arranged around the room. Each of them was empty, only LCL inside. "I just hope it's a good thing they're empty," she said, letting out the breath she'd been holding.

"Let…let's just go, Misato," Asuka said. "I'm already feeling sick about this all."

"I can imagine," Shinji replied. Looking over at Rei, who was still standing near the central tube, he spoke softly to her. "Come on, Rei. We've got to move on."

Rei stared at the device for a few seconds longer before turning towards him. "Yes…we should not delay any longer." As they left to return to the elevator, the former First Child turned back to look at the room. "I guess we really were the same, Nagisa."

After another fifteen minutes in the elevator, the group came out into the front room of the main level. It was a large open room with many pillars that narrowed after about a hundred feet into a hallway. "Not quite like back home," Misato said.

"I think I can take it from here," Asuka spoke up, walking to the front of the group. "I was here for a number of years, you'll remember." No one really disagreed with her, it did make perfect sense. Continuing into the hallway, the group soon came to a two-way split. "This way," the redhead stated, pointing to the right path.

"We should split off a small group here," Rei offered. "I volunteer myself. Who shall accompany me?"

"You sure that's a good idea?" Misato asked.

"If there are already operatives here," Rei explained, "then perhaps we could make it difficult for them to pin us into one area."

"Sounds good enough to me," Kaji said. "What do the rest of you say?"

The other three nodded. It wasn't unreasonable. But it did cut their numbers down in either group. 'Good thing that three of us are trained for this,' Shinji thought.

Misato looked at Rei. "I'll go with you," she said before turning back towards the other two Children. "You two be careful, okay?" They both nodded.

"Watch your back, Katsuragi," Kaji said with a wink.

"Watch your own," Misato replied, following Rei closely down the opposite hall.

Kaji sighed and turned back to the others. "Guess we're down to four now, huh?"

"You think they'll be okay?" Shinji asked.

"You'd know as well as I would, Shinji," Kaji answered. "Let's go."

The four of them slowly made their way through the corridors of the building, following Asuka's directions until they reached an open catwalk overlooking what seemed to be an EVA cage. Peering down into it, Shinji let out a sharp gasp. "Th-that's…"

The others looked over the side at what he'd seen, their immediate reactions similar to Shinji's. Down below in the cage, there was a huge white form in pieces. Although the head was oddly-shaped, there was no doubt of what it was. "That's an EVA…" Ritsuko said.

"Correct, doctor," a voice sounded from just above them. The four of them spun around quickly, Kaji and Shinji pointing the guns they were carrying at the sound. On a catwalk several feet above and across from theirs, a middle-aged man dressed in black was standing. The boy could make out something in his left hand. "Evangelion Unit-07, to be exact," the man continued.

"And just who the hell are you?" Kaji shouted to the man.

"Consider me…an expendable asset," the man answered with a wide smirk. "Oh, and do lower the guns. Or else…" he trailed off, holding up the object in his hand.

Kaji's eyes widened as he recognized the device. "Dead-man's trigger…" he said quietly.

"What?" Shinji whispered.

"It means, mister Ikari," the man cut in, "that if I release this…well, let's just say it's a long way down."

"Assassin or mercenary?" Kaji shouted, lowering his gun.

"Call me a bit of both," the assassin said. Then he noticed that two of them were unaccounted for. "Where's the major and the First Child?"

"We left them in a safe location," Kaji bluffed. "It's only the four of us."

"You should have brought them, too," the assassin shot back. "You'd have needed all the manpower."

"If that's true, then why not just go and finish us off?" Shinji spoke up suddenly. "It's clear that you have the drop on us."

"Shinji, what are you-" Ritsuko began.

"Trust me on this one," Shinji replied.

The assassin laughed coldly. "My boy…who ever said we were looking to kill YOU?"

Shinji felt his blood freeze in his veins. "Wait, you mean…"

"Of course," the assassin cut in. "Boss's orders say you're to be brought in alive. Part of some 'project' he's got cooked up."

"Third Impact…" Shinji whispered. He felt the anger slowly build in him. "And what makes you think I'll even entertain going along with that?" he shouted.

"There's always the people around you…" the assassin said. "More to the point, the Second Child."

Shinji looked over at Asuka, who just stared at him wide-eyed. He slowly walked over in front of her and stood his ground, holding his arms outstretched. "You want to hurt them? You'll have to take me with them."

Kaji and Ritsuko walked closer to them, the four of them now in the direct center of the catwalk. "Your move, asshole," Asuka said in an angry tone.

"I'm holding all the cards here," the assassin said in an upset tone. "What makes you think you can order me around?"

"The fact of what your 'boss' will do to you if you kill me," Shinji replied.

The assassin was currently weighing his options. If he killed the Third Child, Zero was sure to make his death as slow as humanly possible. And it seemed the boy wasn't even concerned with his own life, only those with him. 'Goddamn stubborn kids, they're always mak-'

His thoughts were cut off as an arm clamped itself over his neck, a knife digging slightly into his throat. "You keep ahold of that thing or I'll gut you, I sweat to God," Misato whispered threateningly.

"And what will you do if I don't, Major?" the assassin asked.

Misato dug the blade in a little more, just before breaking the skin. "You'll wish I was as lenient as your boss," she replied. "And don't even think for a second I'm any less than dead serious." The assassin didn't reply. He knew just how serious this woman could be if pushed. "Rei, disarm that damned thing."

Rei moved out onto the walkway and beside the man, looking over the device carefully. After a few seconds, something glowing on the top of it caught her eye. 'Toggle switch,' she thought, pressing it softly. A beep sounded from the device as it went offline. "It is safe now," she stated, removing it from the assassin's hand.

"And what now, Katsuragi?" the assassin threatened. "You don't have what it takes to do it. You'll just have to let me go now."

"Hardly," Misato said in a cold tone, barely above a whisper. She slowly brought the knife down from his neck…only to shove it forcefully into the left side of his back, giving it a slight twist. "You NEVER threaten those children, you hear me?" she whispered before releasing him, the blade sliding out of his body. A soft gasp was the last sound that escaped him as he bled out onto the catwalk.

Shinji could only stare at what had just happened. 'She…killed for us,' he thought. Asuka's reaction was similar, feeling a little sick. It brought to mind the last time she'd seen a dead human being.

Rei walked over to Misato, who was still breathing heavy and staring at the dead assassin. "Major," she said, almost a shout compared to her normal tone. Misato's head snapped up quickly to look at her, the knife falling from her hand. "Do not dwell on it."

Misato shook her head several times, trying to control her rage. "I'm…okay now, Rei," she said slowly. Looking over the railing, she shouted to Asuka. "Does this come out down there?"

"Yeah, a couple hundred feet down the hall," Asuka replied.

Misato turned to leave, taking one last look at her first kill. Shaking her head again, she followed the upper hallway to where it connected to the lower one via a small corridor. As she got closer to the children, she quickly picked up speed and took them both into a tight hug. "Oh God, I thought he was…" she tried to explain, tears threatening to burst out at any time. She slowly released her charges and took a deep breath. "I'm fine, before you ask."

Shinji tried to smile to her as best as he could, but the assassin's words came to mind again. "So they still need me…"

"Yes," Rei said, walking up behind Misato. "We both heard what he said. I did not assume that Zero would resume the Instrumentality Project. And if there was someone here…"

"Then no doubt there'll be others to meet us on the way out," Kaji cut in.

"They've made a terrible mistake, then," Shinji spoke in a voice as cold as his father's.

"What are you talking about?" Asuka asked.

"Now I know they won't kill me," Shinji explained, "and that gives me an edge over them. They threatened your lives. That was their first and last mistake."

"You've got some way we can just walk out of here, then?" Asuka questioned.

"I do," Shinji began. "But I must ask you all to trust me. Implicitly."

"I know I do," Asuka said. Looking around the walkway, the others nodded their heads in agreement.

"Good," Shinji said, going over to a corner of the walkway and lying down. "Look on the underside of this thing. You'll know what you're looking for when you see it." He turned back to slowly peer over the edge and under the path to see exactly what he expected. Semtex, at least a pound in each block, strapped to several points the walkway. "Somebody grab my ankles."

Kaji walked over and did so, allowing the boy to reach just far enough to take hold and dislodge one of the blocks of explosive from its place. "He wasn't bluffing after all," the former spy mused. "Hey, wait…you don't mean to-"

"Yes, he does," Rei answered. "I understand, Shinji." She turned to the others. "Gather four more of these in the same manner."

The group scrambled to quickly do so. After a couple of minutes, they had five blocks of the material on the walkway with them. "So…what are we going to do with these?" Misato asked.

"Each of you take one and keep it close by," Shinji began. "Don't worry, it's inert right now." The others did so, only two of them understanding his plan. "Rei, hand me that," he said, pointing to the device she'd taken from the assassin.

Rei handed it off to him, breathing a heavy sigh. "I trust you know what to do."

"Me too," Shinji replied, taking the device firmly in his left hand and activating it. The five blocks of Semtex they were carrying became live once again.

All around, the others slowly understood what the plan was. "Ohmigod," Misato whispered, feeling her hands start to shake a little. "I trust you, Shinji. But this is just…"

"I can't see a better way to walk out of here," Shinji replied. He tried to keep it together outwardly, but inside he was a virtual storm of anxiety. "Now stay as close as you can to me. That'll be key."

The rest of the group nodded, huddling around him and slowly keeping pace with him on the walk back out into the hallway. As they made it back into the large main room, clicks were heard all around the room as nearly a dozen-and-a-half heavily armed men in fatigues came out from behind the pillars. One in particular stepped forward, armed with only a pistol. "You'll be coming with us now, boy."

Shinji slowly raised his left hand to show them the device held by it. "You see this?" he asked, looking around the room. "You see what they're holding, don't you? Anything happens to them, I let this go. And if anyone lives…you'll have to deal with your boss."

Several of the men shuffled nervously, wondering if this kid was just bluffing or not. "You don't have the balls," the commanding officer spoke up.

"Just try me," Shinji spoke using a tone not unlike his father's. "We'll be leaving. Now."

"I think there maybe someone who has something to say otherwise," the commanding officer said, placing a laptop on a nearby surface and opening it to show a screen displaying 'SEELE-0 - SOUND ONLY'.

"At last, we finally meet," a voice with a heavy Russian accent came from the laptop. "You have caused me far too much trouble, boy."

"SEELE-0," Shinji said. "I'll give you one last chance, sir. Leave us to our lives in peace or, so help me God, I'll bring this war right to you."

"And what would you threaten me with, child?" Zero asked. "I hold all the cards here, including something from Tokyo-3 we need for the ceremony."

"Unit-01..." Shinji muttered.

"Yes," Zero continued. "While you've been…busy, I had my forces retrieve it and bring it to where I am."

"And just where is that?" Shinji questioned threateningly.

"Let's just say…the last place untouched by Second Impact," Zero replied.

"Which you and your comrades started," Shinji spat.

"We made miscalculations!" Zero shouted. "It was a mistake to think we could use Adam. This time, it will not be the same."

"That's because it won't happen," Shinji said. "Now order them to get out of our way. Like I said, this is your last chance."

"I wouldn't let your bastard of a father ruin our plans," Zero said. "What makes you think you could?"

Shinji held the trigger device up to where the camera on the laptop could see it. "This does," he answered. "You make a move on me OR them, your scenario will fall apart completely. Don't think for a second that I'm joking."

A tense silence fell over the room. The others staring between the soldiers, the laptop, and Shinji. The soldiers looking around at the intruders and at each other. The former Third Child stared into the laptop's camera unblinking, not looking anywhere else. On the other end, Zero stared at the boy's expression. "Let them go," he finally said after several terse minutes.

The commanding officer was hesitant to speak up. "S-sir, are you…sure?"

"Do not question me, lieutenant," Zero ordered. "Unfortunately, he has the upper hand this moment." He addressed Shinji again. "You continue thinking you can outrun my reach. Pray we do not meet again, boy."

"The same to you," Shinji replied. "And who said I was running anymore?"

The lieutenant closed up the laptop and stared at Shinji. "You'll never win against him."

"We'll be the judge of that," Shinji said. "Now give me the keys to whatever you arrived in."

"And what makes you think-" the lieutenant began.

Shinji held up his other hand, his M9 held tight in it and pointed at the man's head. "I won't repeat that again. Now…"

The lieutenant motioned to one of the soldiers, who tossed a set of keys at the center of the group. "There. Now get out of here before I don't care what my boss wants."

Shinji looked out of the corner of his left eye to Misato, nodding at her. The major slowly lowered herself to the ground, picking up the keys before rising again. The group continued their snail's-pace walk to the elevator, never once taking their eyes off the crowd of soldiers.

They piled inside, Shinji reaching out and hitting the button for the ground floor with the barrel of his gun. As the elevator's doors closed, Shinji switched the device off and waited for the explosives to go offline before breathing in the deepest he ever had and letting go of the trigger. "Okay…we…have about five…minutes before we come…back out to the surface…" he managed in between breaths, leaning against the closed doors. "First things first," he continued, pointing to the ceiling. "Rei, get the panel open and place one of the charges there. Someone help her up."

Misato gave Rei a boost using her hands. As she stood on the unsteady footing, the pale girl quickly used the end of a knife to unscrew the panel and open it up before placing one of the Semtex charges near the main cables. She then quickly replaced the panel and stepped down. "What is the next step?"

"Just stand behind the others," Shinji said, picking the trigger device back up. "We'll have to see if anyone is waiting outside."

The other four in the elevator picked up the blocks of explosive and held them tightly as the journey upwards continued. Just before the elevator doors opened, Shinji quickly took a tight grip on the device and toggled it back to active. The elevator arrived back into the small structure up top, the doors opening to reveal an empty lobby. As the doors closed behind them again, Rei spoke up. "We have no more than ten minutes until they are on us again."

Shinji nodded, leading them out of the entrance. There were no soldiers here, only two black APCs parked a few feet away. "Misato, check which one the keys go to," he began, switching the device off again. "Kaji, take two of the charges and place them on either side of the entrance. Rei, look for the any tracking devices on the vehicle the keys go to. Asuka, plant two of the charges under the other one. Doctor, stay behind one of the vehicles for cover."

The others nodded, going about with the plan. Misato walked into the back of one of the APCs and tried the keys in the steering column. "Damn straight, got it in one," she muttered. "It's this one!"

Asuka quickly ran over to the other vehicle, planting a charge under the front and back sides of it. Rei inched herself under the APC Misato was in and scanned the underside for anything that'd give a signal. 'I must hurry, they are coming,' she thought, searching quickly. She finally located the device after another two minutes, cutting all of the wires attaching it to the APC. Sliding back out from under it, she ran into the back of the vehicle.

"Alright, let's get clear," Misato shouted from the driver's seat. The others piled in quickly and took seats, buckling themselves in tightly.

"Rei, take it," Shinji said, handing her the trigger device. "My grip's pretty much done for now."

Rei took it in hand and activated it, keeping it in a strong grip. Looking out one of the small view ports in the back, she caught sight of the soldiers finally having arrived back at ground level. "We must depart. Now."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Misato said, turning the key and cranking the vehicle up. Putting her gas foot down as hard as she could, gunfire began bouncing off the back end of the APC. "Do something about them!"

"We have to get clear first," Rei replied. They were still far too close.

Misato steered the large vehicle away from the building and in the opposite direction of Berlin. 'Don't need to be close to there anytime soon,' she thought.

Rei slowly watched the entrance of the structure slowly become smaller. "I am sorry," she whispered, letting her grip relax and shedding a single tear.

A deep thud from underground shook the APC and a good bit of the nearby area, along with the more obvious explosions at the entrance of the facility and the other APC. "Guess there was more planted than just what was under the walkway," Kaji said, looking out at the fires that had sprung up around the front door. As the shockwave subsided, the occupants of the APC all took in a little time in silence.

"Shinji…" Asuka finally spoke after a long time.

"Y-yeah?" Shinji asked, still not having fully calmed down.

Asuka rose from her seat quickly and stood in front of him, picking him up by the collar. "What the fuck were you thinking?" she practically screamed. "You absolute fucking prick, you almost scared me to death!" She slapped him across the face once and began hitting him on the chest, the blows becoming weaker after the first few hits.

"Asuka…" Shinji began, stopping her blows by pulling her into a hug. "I had to make sure we all got out of there. I had to take that kind of a chance. It was the best option."

"I know, but…" Asuka managed, trying not to cry in front of the others. Shinji was one thing, but she wouldn't be able to stand letting anyone else see her like that. "You'd have really died for us?"

Shinji nodded. "I would have. Especially you," he said, pulling back slightly to have her look him in the eye.

"But I don't want you to die for me!" Asuka said loudly.

"But if something happened and you…died," Shinji whispered, letting a few tears fall, "I wouldn't want to go on. You mean that much to me."

Asuka couldn't reply to that. 'Oh God, just how deep does this go for him?' her mind asked itself. Staring Shinji in the face, she smiled a little. "I…I'm glad you feel that strongly," she began, the smile falling away a few second later, "but I'm going to stay pissed at you for a while for that stunt. So enjoy this, because you won't get another one or a word from me until at least a few hours from now." After finishing her statement, she pulled him into a kiss as fiery and smoldering as the first one they'd shared back in the hotel room.

Shinji's breath caught for just a second before relaxing into it and focusing his attention on her. Both made faint moans and came up gasping for air more than thirty seconds later. Asuka glared at him before moving to a seat away from him in the APC. "Wh-wha…I…sorry…can't…" was the best he could come up with, his mind clearly fogged over.

"Remember to use proper grammar, lover-boy," Ritsuko teased. "Geez, you two really get into it."

"I'll say," Kaji replied, blinking in surprise. 'Damn, they kiss like Misato and I do,' he thought with some amusement.

Rei moved towards the front of the APC and into the passenger side next to Misato. "Where do you suggest we go from here?" she asked the woman.

"I've got nothing," Misato admitted, trying to keep the vehicle on the more out-of-the-way roads. "I'm going to need some direction soon. I'm…just a little out of my element here."

Ritsuko moved over to where the onboard computer was and began typing away. "Give me a few minutes, I'll tell you where they would've been headed with us," she said, her fingers moving wildly. A little less than five minutes later, she stopped typing and turned towards Misato. "Head north for now, I'll get into detail about where after that."

"Where were they headed?" Misato questioned.

"Looks like it's almost near the top of Denmark," Ritsuko replied.

Rei walked back into the APC towards the scientist, looking at the information on-screen. "It appears to be a supply base with an airstrip."

"That's pretty out of the way for one," Misato said, keeping her attention on the road.

Shinji, finally having regained his faculties, looked over to Rei and Ritsuko. "Wait, what was it Zero said?" he spoke up. "He said 'the last place untouched by Second Impact', right? Where would that be?"

Ritsuko thought on it for a moment before coming to a conclusion. "The Arctic," she said. "It makes sense, it was the continent least affected by it. And a supply base and airstrip would be needed, if that's right."

Rei studied the map for a minute before returning to the seat next to Misato. "I will relay to you from Dr. Akagi where we will need to go," she stated.

"Sounds fine to me," Misato said, looking down at the almost-full fuel gauge. "Don't think we'll be have to worry about that, at least."

*****To be continued…*****

A/N: A good start to this arc of the story, I'd say. Plenty of suspense and tension along with some explosions makes for a great time.

Like I did with Supremacy, we'll just save the omake for the last chapter. You could consider it something to look forward to…

Pre-read for this chapter was again done by the team of Dark Machine, Eric Blair, gesser87, and JimmyWolk. Good work as always, gentlemen.

Small note: this chapter and all previous/following it were written around late June/early July last year. So a quick "sorry" to everyone who may have been waiting for something after TLaWR. Revisions and pre-reading can take quite a bit of time, it would seem…

For any of you who are new to the community, all of my older (2004-2006) works have undergone a small bit of tweaking (as of the 14th of June 2010). So go take a look, tell me what you think. And review! Even if it's not positive, review!

As usual: good comments will be appreciated, bad ones will be ignored (or kept for firewood). But I do favor good/helpful criticism, so send it my way!

-AngelNo13Bardiel-