A/N: Hmmz... The Brits are in for a bad experience...

The Prisoner

Sachiel stared up at them from where it was crucified. Rei and the Nagisa stared back.

"The Third Angel," said Rei, blandly.

"Yes and no," said Nagisa, smiling weakly. "This will shortly become an Evangelion, or something like it."

"How?" Rei was surprised, but didn't let it show in her voice.

"The Angel has a nervous system, similar but not identical to a human's. Through a very advanced device acquired by the Central Intelligence Agency, we can convert the Angel's nerve signals into human ones, and vice versa."

Rei remained silent. "The Third Angel was completely destroyed."

"Not exactly. Some of Sachiel was scraped off of Unit 01. We procured it, and created this clone."

Rei considered. "You wish me to command the Third Angel against the United States' enemies?"

"All the nations of the world are enemies, Miss Ayanami. No nation can produce enough food for its people. The only way to survive is to attack and loot granaries, factories, and hospitals. This is a pivotal time, Miss Ayanami. Only one nation shall stand. The others shall fall before this one country, which shall rise again to repopulate the Earth."

"Would it not be more efficient to dissolve national borders, and share all resources?" asked Rei.

"They say it is better to reign in Hell than to serve in Heaven," said Nagisa. A slight sadness tinged in his voice.

Rei opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off. "They're preparing for the surgery. Follow." Nagisa led the young girl into an elevator, where they rode down to a large room level with Sachiel. Scientists were scurrying back and forth, guards stood at all the doors, and consoles lined the walls.

Rei's eyes scanned the room. They were all unfamiliar… except one. Her eyes looked on one brown-haired young woman. Rei recognized the face, but the hair seemed out of place. The woman saw Rei, and hurriedly turned back to the console. There was a sudden whirr of machinery, and Sachiel, still crucified, was raised into an upright position. A drill descended from the roof and placed itself at the back of Sachiel's neck. The Angel seemed to squirm. It began to spin, sending splatters of blue blood across the room. Sachiel strained at his restraints as the drill bored into the back of his neck. A young woman at a console in the corner turned green and vomited into a wasteback.

The drill retracted, still dripping with Angel blood. Another machine descended and inserted a large, capsule-shaped object into the cavity, perhaps an entry plug. The rest of the surgery was disinteresting: The still squirming Sachiel was covered with armor. On both his arm large gun barrels were placed. A small, curved sword was hung off his right shoulder in such a way it hung parallel to the entry plug installed in the back of his neck. Finally, he was released from the cross, and he fell into the reddish liquid below.

"When will I attempt to synch with it?" asked Rei.

"Tomorrow, at six o'clock," said Nagisa. "Do not be late."

Was Rei ever late?

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The half-angel stood on a raised platform, the looking at the entry plug that stuck out of the back of Sachiel's spine, or the equivalent. The plug jutted out even during combat, but this could not be avoided. Sachiel was also covered with blue armor, with the US flag painted on either shoulder. Two gun barrels were planted on either arm. Rei, in a plugsuit, looked on.

The door slid open. Rei climbed into the entry plug, reflecting that it was almost identical to the Eva's. Inside, she wondered how different piloting Sachiel would be from Unit 00.

The activation test began. Sachiel resisted with his pitiful intellect, but was soon overcome by Rei's soul. Rei blinked as she gazed through Sachiel's eyes, looking around the four walls of the test chamber. Nagisa's voice sounded.

"Let's start simple, shall we?" An unadorned version of Sachiel, armed only with the its claws and fists, appeared and began to advance. Rei raised a single gun barrel and directed it to fire. The facsimile was turned into a fireball. The smoke cleared, revealing a twisted wreck.

Inside, Nagisa leaned back. "Dr. Akagi, what was the difficulty level of that simulation?"

"7 out of ten," she said, ignoring usual military courtesy.

"I see." This was looking good. "Send a simulation of Zeruel in."

Rei saw a figure floating in the distance, drawing closer. It gave her an odd feeling to face once again the Angel that had killed her a year before. It landed, and a tentacle arm flung out at her. Rei side stepped and delivered a hail of bullets to Zeruel's chest. This had little effect, leaving only a few dents. The other tentacle shot forward as the first looped around. Rei raised her AT Field, blocking both, but Zeruel had her trapped. Gambling, Rei leapt forward over the tentacles, but was blown out of the sky by a cross of light.

"Congratulations," said Nagisa into the microphone as the simulation rebooted, "You have just wasted millions of government dollars."

Rei looked up. "I fail to see the point of this exercise. I will not be fighting Angels on an actual battlefield."

"Yes…" murmured Nagisa. He cleared his throat. "Very well then, let us run a simulation against the sort of forces you might actually fight."

A landscape formed in the chamber. Trees, hills, flowers, mountains… a lake… a house… this place was familiar.

Mountains. Heavy are the mountains, but that changes with the passage of time.

Sky, blue sky. What your eyes can't see. What your eyes can see.

The Sun. One, only one.

Water. It is agreeable. Shinji Ikari...

Flowers. So many the same. So many without purpose.

Sky. Sky of red. Red the color, the color I hate.

The liquid flows, it drips, ripples and pours.

Blood. Scent of blood. A woman who does not bleed.

From the red soil the humans come.

Humans made by man and woman.

City, a human creation…

Rei's eyes opened as the poem continued to play in her head. The simulated forces began to gather before her. Suits of mobile armor, coming only to Sachiel's knee, began to raise their missiles. A positron rifle was charging, not unlike the one used by Unit 01 against Ramiel. Tanks aimed their gun barrels and a few missile platforms moved into position.

In the control room, Nagisa leaned forward and grinned. "Her synch ratio is approaching 200," said Ritsuko, stunned.

"Of course," he said, grinning. "This is the place of her dreams. Here, she'll break that last barrier that Gendo kept her from."

Sachiel didn't move an inch as its enemies moved into position. The rifle continued to charge. All guns were loaded, all missiles aimed. Silence reigned…

A missile roared into the air. Ten others followed it, rocketing towards the immobile Sachiel. The tanks cannons roared to life as the positron rifle continued to charge. Rei's AT Field activated at the last minute. Explosions filled the air around the Angel, smoke blocking out all view of it. Another of tank fire sent more fire and smoke into the sky. Sachiel was invisible. The positron rifle fired into the fog of war. A terrible silence filled the room.

"No AT Field could survive that," said Ritsuko, confidently.

Sachiel stepped out of the cloud, raised either arm, and fired the four gun barrels into the formation. They were cleared in less than forty seconds.

"Well, well," said Nagisa, almost to himself, "Perhaps the NSA will contribute to the upcoming assault on Britain. Now… if only we could master Sachiel's most powerful weapon…"

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