Disclaimer: If only I owned it, then I would make it faster, longer, hotter and with ever increasing amounts of potatos! But alas, I don't....yet MWAHAHA

(cough, splutter)

righty oh then.

AN:

Sorry it took a lil while, laptop decided to shit itself so I had to upgrade....yay for super-top.

Still looking for a pre-reader dangnabbit, someone volunteer if they like the story please. Tis only so far one can go one their own, unless that person trips out then its anyones guess.

Also, while on the subject of hamsters with argueablely little creative talent, 90 views and 1 review....thats pretty piss-poor. Least say whether or not you like the story, I might just cry otherwise....WAH!

Onwards, once more into the buffet dear friends!

"Class representative?"

"I'm glad at least one of you remembers me, how's it going Rei?"

"Today's events withstanding I am well. Yourself?" Rei eyed Hikari's BDU, trying to figure out who she represented.

"Can't complain." Turning to Asuka she says, "How about you Asuka?"

"...Hikari?"

"Yes."

"Hikari Horaki...?"

"We covered this." Hikari's tone dead panning slightly.

"Bullshit, you can't be her!" Asuka raises her pistol to Hikari's head, her finger tense on the trigger. At the same time the soldier, with snake life reflexes raises his rifle, the sights lined up with the bridge of the Sub-Commanders nose.

Hikari didn't so much as even blink at the situation while Rei forced herself not to react, the brutal display of power from before still fresh in her memory.

"Well, I can see that you need proof." Hikari raised a gloved finger to her mouth, tilting her head as she thought. Within a few seconds her ponderous expression changed to one of amusement.

"So tell me Asuka, do you till have that massive crush on Shin-" Hikari's sentence was cut short as Asuka jumped forward, slapping her hand over the former Representative's mouth.

"Shut up!" Asuka looked deeper into the eyes of the woman before her and found that same sparkle that used to be in her old friends eyes, as well as something more...predatory. "You promised that you wouldn't tell anyone about that." Her muttered whispers are barely overheard by the other two nearby.

"Believe me now then?"

"Yes." Asuka holstered her pistol, letting out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Much to her chagrin she noticed that the other soldier still had his rifle up, the business end still pointed at her face.

"So, onto the business at hand at last. I am Captain Hikari Horaki and this," she gestured to the soldier next to her, "is Anubis, of the Jackals, a rapid assault unit belonging to the ARCOM Corporation." Hikari came to attention whilst Anubis lowered his rifle, but kept his shielded gaze on the irritable redhead.

"I'm Sub-Commander Asuka Langley Sorhyu of NERV, this is Rei Ayanami, the head of Section-2."

"Excellent, as of now everyone in this room is under my command until we reach NERV Central." Hikari's voice loud enough for the three bridge bunnies to hear. "Please do not disobey my orders as they are for your protection."

"What right do you have to give me orders, I'm the Sub-Commander of NERV dammit!" Asuka's fiery gaze followed the two Jackals as they entered the room.

"Orders from both ARCOM and NERV Central's Commander Katsuragi place everyone here under my authority." Hikari turned to Asuka, her hands reaching up to reattach her visor and mask. "If you do not wish to follow my orders I have been authorised to use non-lethal force to get you to cooperate, understood?"

"Fine." Asuka gritted her teeth, the person in front of her nothing like the shy girl from the past.

"Good. Keys! Get in here!" Hikari yelled out into the hallway, causing one of the soldiers to stand up and jog into the room.

"What-cha need Spitfire?"

"Destroy the drives and set-up the eraser, maximum yield."

"Righty-o then, if you will just excuse me miss." The soldier named Keys walked up to Maya's console, occupying the seat as soon as the young tech moved. Keys fingers flew over the keyboard at a speed which would make even Dr Akagi envious.

The three bunnies watched as Keys rapidly worked on deleting the base's HDD's whilst Asuka looked over Hikari and Rei scanned the other soldier, Anubis with a little more than simple curiosity. If he noticed, he didn't let on.

"How long Keys?" Anubis's voice caused Asuka to jump, his voice was deep and raspy, a sign of damaged lungs.

"Five minutes at the most Nuby, then another two to set up the bomb." Keys replied, her typing tempo never slowing.

"Spitfire, you there?" A voice slithered through the Jackal's headsets.

"What have you got Hawk?" Hikari raised a hand to her throat, pushing the button on her throat microphone.

"Those rats we picked up earlier are getting closer, five minutes at the most, scans show that they are more heavily armed than we originally thought too, mobile AA and a few dozen more men and an armoured convoy coming up behind them. I think it might be the Clan."

'Shit, that changes things a little.'

"Keep holding pattern, we'll be up in three minutes."

"Copy that."

"I don't know who you pissed of this time Asuka but they sure as hell want your head." Hikari turned to the other two Jackals. "Keys, set up the bomb now, Anubis stay down here with her, I'll lead the others and our VIPs to the VTOLS, you have three minutes at the most."

Keys pushed herself away from the console just as Anubis slammed the butt of his SCAR-H into it, sparks spurting out everywhere.

"Alright you lot, follow me and stick close, we won't have time to come back and find anyone if you get lost or decide to head off on your own." Hikari lead the group into the corridor to where the other Jackals were waiting, all of them still held their guns up. "Mana and Guardian are riding trail, Smoke's with me. Keep the VIPs in the middle and move fast."

Asuka and Rei glanced at each other, each having the same thought.

'Just what the fuck is going on?'

(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)

'Holy shit!'

That was Asuka's first thought as they ran out of the exit and into the daylight. As they came out of the complex her eyes were instantly glued to the scene in front of her.

The bodies of the other Bounty Hunters.

Dozens of them, each torn apart with various chunks of flesh and limbs scattered about, but that was nothing compared to the blood. Splattered along the ground, over the empty, terrified faces of the former living and splashed all around the area like a demented painters convention gone horribly wrong.

The roar of the VTOL's broke her thoughts as one of them came down towards the ground, the landing struts compressing as the heavy machine touched down.

"Smoke, Mana, take the three techs into that one, the rest of us will take the other."

"Got it Spitfire." The two women rounded up the three techs, ignoring the green in their faces from the sight of the gore and herded them into the waiting VTOL before jumping in themselves. As soon as the last person was in the ramp sealed itself and the VTOL lifted into the sky, only to have the other one replace it seconds later.

"Alright you two, hop in. And try not to worry about the pilot." Hikari smirked, trailing behind the two former pilots.

'Worry about the Pilot? What does the Captain mean...This entire situation is most confusing.'

Inside the VTOL Hikari, Guardian and the two ex-pilots found themselves a seat in the 8-passenger cabin. The VTOL itself was broken into two. The cabin which could store anything from crates to people to even a Humvee and the cockpit, which was separated from the rest by a thick metal door with a small clear window. The sight on the other side of the window further confused the young Sub-Commander.

There was a pilots chair, all the controls and consoles you would need to be able to fly this complex aircraft, everything except for one small tiny problem.

There was no pilot.

"Hawk, how much longer till were screwed?"

"I'd say two minutes if we get lucky, their pushing pretty hard to get here so probably less." A shrill beeping over the radio caused a needle of worry in Hikari. "Scratch that, their trying to get a missile lock. We have a minute at the most!"

"Shit! You two, sit down and buckle up!" Hikari pivoted, looking out the hatch of the VTOL just as the remaining two Jackals, Anubis and Keys, came charging out of the steel archway and moving towards the VTOL. "Yui, seal the hatch and take off as soon as their in!"

"Order confirmed." A young woman's voice came out the cabin's speakers.

'Who the hell was that? God I just knew it was going to be a bad day when the espresso machine exploded.'

Gunfire brought Asuka back to reality as a few bullets snapped against the hull. Seconds later Keys dived into the cabin with Anubis just behind her, a few bullets slamming into the ground behind them.

As soon as the hatch was clear the ramp started to close as the roar from the engines increased dramatically as it lifted sharply into the air.

The world in the cabin tilted to 70 degrees as the VTOL lifted off. Anubis scrambled for a hand-hold, sparing a glance at the still closing ramp as he started to slide towards it.

'Ah shit.'

A quick jerk by the VTOL to avoid an incoming missile was all it took for him to lose his already poor grip and go sliding onto the ramp and just about to slip off-

-he jerked to a sudden halt!

Looking up he saw Guardian, the only other male member of the Jackals and Rei gripping his arms tightly. Slowly they both started to pull him back into the aircraft, his legs dangling about in the wind behind him.

A few moments of exertion later and he was in the hold with the ramp sealed behind him, death once again missing its chance.

Standing up Anubis left his reflective goggles on but unclasped his mask, letting it drop to the side of his face. From what could be seen he was the definition of handsome, with a sturdy jaw, clean-shaved face and lightly tanned jaw the only thing marring his Adonis like appearance was a scar running from his jawbone up and into the goggle masking the rest of his features.

"Thank you." Short and concise words towards the two that pulled him back in causing Rei to blush lightly. Asuka felt a spark of...something at his words, but couldn't place the feeling she had. "Yui, next time try to be a little more careful. I'd rather not end up as a pancake." He looked into the camera in the cabin, just before the cockpit door.

"Hehe, sorry about that." The voice came over the speakers again. Rei was beginning to question whether this was real if that cheese sandwich she had last night had been seriously out of date.

Silence descended as the VTOL and its twin cut through the sky, picking up more speed as they ferried their cargo through the clouds.

Asuka, was the first one to break the silence.

"Just what the hell is going on Hikari?! Why were we attacked by bounty hunters, and more importantly why are you here?!"

"Look, I'll tell you everything we know once we get to NERV. What I can tell you now though is for some reason, somebody wants NERV dead, the former pilots especially."

'Shinji...' A worried expression washes over Asuka's face. With one look Rei can already tell that the red-head is worried about her brother.

"Don't worry Asuka, if we couldn't find Shinji, then they won't be able to either. I'm sure that he is somewhere, safe and sound without a worry on his mind." Rei consoles her friend and superior, neither of them noticing the uncomfortable shifting of cabin's other occupants.

"Captain, Eraser detonation in fifteen seconds." Keys' soft voice wafts over the radios.

"Good. Yui, are we out of the blast zone?"

"Passed that point eighteen seconds ago Hikari."

"Alrighty then, everyone hold onto something because in ten seconds were going to experience the life of a Martini shaker."

(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)

The Clan stormed into the NERV Germany base, spreading through it like water in a series of pipes. Fast, efficient and fluid.

As they finished their sweep the leader of the detachment strode into the command room, two bodyguards trailing behind him. Looking around the room he can't help but feel a rage that somebody beat them to their prize.

'No matter, its not over until the objects are delivered. We'll just have to get them before then.'

"Sir?" On of the trailing bodyguards stepped forward, waiting for his next orders.

"Looks like we were a little slow, oh well. Have the second team on watch at the collection spot, when they arrive I want our rivals executed and the money collect-"

He never got to finish that sentence.

Because at that very moment, the small box under one of the consoles came to life, beeping once before performing its devastating job.

Satellites watching the area were blinded as a miniature sun erupted on the Earth's surface, turning a chunk of land no bigger than 15 square kilometres into a superheated smoking crater. All signs of the NERV complex, the fire fights and the Clan were washed away in a ball of non-nuclear fire.

(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)

In the two VTOL's, the explosion sounded for all the world like the sky was falling as the bomb detonated. A second later and the concussion wave from the explosion washed over them, sending both of them through what would best be described as extreme turbulence for a few moments before they levelled out again.

"Spitfire, new orders from ARCOM. Your stop at the Whale has been cancelled due to recent American naval activity in the area, instead you are ordered to proceed directly to NERV Central."

"Thanks Yui, how long till we get there?" Hikari smirked at the thought of the shaken faces of the techs in the other VTOL. 'That explosion must of scared them shitless.'

"Four hours on current speed and course. When you arrive the Jackals are to report immediately to the Commander for debriefing. She will provide you with more information and further orders from ARCOM."

"Well...might as well get comfortable." Guardian looked at his fellow Jackal. "Don't spose you brought them?"

"Didn't have time to grab them, Spitfire might have a some thou-" Anubis cut himself off as a pack of cards flew at his head. With ease he plucked them out of the air and started to shuffle the deck.

"What shall it be this time, oh mighty luck god?" It was hard to tell whether that was amusement, sarcasm or both in Anubis' voice.

"Go fish?"

"Just...no."

"Snap?"

"I'll show you snap in a minute-"

"- Kids! My deck, my rules, Five card stud, alright?!" Hikari snapped at the two of them, causing a feeling of deja-vu to pass over Rei and Asuka.

"Yes mum." The two soldiers replied, Anubis shuffling and passing cards out.

"You playing Red? Blue?"

Asuka eyed the three in disbelief.

"We just had hundreds of people trying to kill us, you nearly fell to your death and we were nearly cooked in a massive explosion and your going to play cards?!"

"Well...Yeah." Anubis replied, non-nonplussed.

"Deal me in then." Asuka replied with a sigh.

"I do not know how to play." Rei looked at the cards placed before her.

"Just get Red or Mum to teach you." Guardian picked up his cards, suppressing a grin at the hand he held.

"Its Spitfire or Captain, not Mum!" Hikari's yell echoed in the cramped space.

"Sure thing mum." Guardian replied, a smirk on his face at the annoyance cause to his CO.

"Gah!"

(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)

"So Kono failed?"

"Yes, from satellite scans and what we already know we believe that Kono has been killed. We also have reports that the Clan was moving in on the target zone."

'Kono, I knew it was a mistake to send you. Too bad you were all we had in the area.'

The man spits on the ground before bringing the cigarette back to his lips.

"The Clan huh? Guess word spread around a lot faster than we originally thought."

"It would seem so sir."

"What of the targets?" With a final drag the cigarette was finished, the butt tossed carelessly on the ground.

"They have escaped, we predict that given the situation as it is now they will most likely return to NERV Central."

"Damn, guess we can say goodbye to that bounty then. How about the other one, Ikari?"

"Still unable to locate him, following his trail from he end of the Angel Wars has proven to be a dead end, so far we've had the same luck as everyone else that's gone looking for the Third Child."

"Hopefully he won't stay hidden forever, it would be nice to add his bounty to the other ones we got from the other NERV commanders. What of the old men?"

"SEELE began operations yesterday at 1300 to locate the temples mentioned within the scrolls, as of 0900 this morning they have located one of them, the other four remain hidden."

"The references given in the Dead Sea Scrolls are murky at best. That they've actually managed to find one is a miracle. Or as they would say 'Their divine gift'." Taking another cigarette out of the packet and lighting it the man looks back out over the frozen tundra, nothing but a thin wall of glass separating him and his colleague from the harsh environment. "What about those two VTOL's?"

"We don't know yet, we have some guesses but nothing substantial. I shall keep you updated as more information becomes available."

"Good...Good."

(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)

After several games in the VTOL two things became abundantly clear.

First, Rei Ayanami had one hell of a poker face.

It took her a few games to get the rules and ideas down, but once she did she started to cream the competition. While this was no surprise to those that knew her, the soldiers were shocked to say the least.

Second, Asuka hated to lose. The bruise forming on Guardian's face was more than enough proof of that.

So, four hours, two hundred and twelve card games, a few minutes of the VTOL rocking violently from Asuka trying to kill Guardian while Hikari and Anubis laughed their asses off and a small argument about the merriments of bridges met the two VTOL's making their approach to NERV Central.

If one were to look out the windows they would see the ultra-modern and brand new city of Tokyo-3. It seemed that getting the shit torn out of it by several angel attacks and the N2 mine detonation by the JSSDF had taught the builders of T-3 how to build an entire city very quickly. Of course the massive funds given to it by the government as an apology for bombing them also helped, but that was splitting hairs.

The two black VTOL's slowed down over the most recent lake to be blasted into the city and came to a halt above a massive steel hatch. Screeching every now and then as it opened wide enough to allow the VTOL's access to the secret, or not so secret any more, area underneath it. Both VTOLS dropped through the hole in the Earth and emerged in an underground world.

The Geofront.

Having been rebuilt following the attack against by the JSSDF, to Hikari it looked exactly the same as the time when Asuka had dragged her into it, and just like in her memories, taking pride in the very middle of the Geofront was a very unusual structure.

A steel replica of the Great Pyramid in Giza.

Circling the Geofront once the VTOL's hovered just over the landing pads before lowering the final few feet, a wave of dust and dirt spreading out on all sides from the engines wash.

And there, waiting just outside the landing pad with a dozen Section-2 Agents stood the Commander of NERV.

Misato Katsuragi.

(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)

Misato looked on eagerly as the ramps of the black-birds lowered. As one both ramps touched the ground with a light 'thump' and the passengers disembarked.

The NERV personal retrieved from the Germany base were the first ones out, the three bridge bunnies looking around the Geofront and pinching themselves to make sure they were really here. Asuka and Rei came out of the second VTOL and walked right up to Misato, judging from the look on the red-heads face the raven-haired woman was about to have her hearing tested.

"What the crap?! Just what the hell is going on Misato?! I'm gone for a few days and all of a sudden the world's out to kill me!" One of the Section-2 agents grabbed his ears screaming. It just didn't pay to be the new guy and not know about the red-head's rather impressive vocal abilities.

"Give it a rest Asuka, I'll explain everything that I know later at the debriefing." Ignoring the outrage in her former ward's eyes the Commander turned to face the soldiers, all of them standing in a line and at attention. "And you are?"

"Captain Hikari Horaki, Jackal Team, of the ARCOM Corporation reporting Ma'am." Hikari stepped forward.

'Hikari...why does that name sound familiar...wait a minute.'

"Hikari...as in the Asuka's friend."

"Yes Ma'am."

"Your shitting me." Misato looked at the woman in front of her, sure there were some similarities between her and the girl she knew but for Hikari to become a soldier?

"No, its really her Misato." Asuka sighed, having gone through the same thing a few hours previous.

Now that they were all gathered without the threat of death looming at their heels Rei noticed something about the soldiers that rescued her. Out of the seven of them gathered, only two were male.

'How strange.'

"Right." Drawing the word out she turned back to her former charge. "Come on you lot, lets get back to the base. There will be a debriefing in two hours in my office. Everyone involved needs to report there capiche?"

"Understood Commander." Misato's voice snapped the bluette out of her thoughts.

"As for you lot, your free to go where you want so long as you do not go past the first four levels of the base, understood? I'll send someone to get you for the debriefing."

BLAM!

Everyone spun to the source of the gunshot, finding Anubis with his rifle up and aimed at the fallen body of a Section-2 member, a pistol tumbling out of his hand.

The reaction to this was instant.

The other eleven agents went straight for their weapons and took aim at the soldiers, while the Jackals did the same, only aiming at Section-2.

"Anubis." Hikari's tone was far from a pleasant one.

"He was about to off Red." Anubis replied, his rifle still trained on the dead Sect-2 member. "His weapon is primed."

Misato, lowering her gun moved over to the fallen man prying the gun from his still warm fingers, trying her best to ignore the new orifice in his face. Tugging back the slide gently she could see the gleam of a brass case. She handed the weapon to another Sect-2 and looked over at Asuka.

The way that she was looking at the dead man and that Rei had own gun trained on him proved that both had seen the man about to strike, only Anubis had reacted faster to it.

"Rei."

"Commander?"

"Could you tell me why one of your agents just tried to off Asuka."

"I do not know Ma'am. He is, or rather was one of the more experienced agents I had. He consistently passed all of his quarterly background checks with no red flags."

"Fine, I want you to do a complete search on this man, find out why he just tried to assassinate the Sub-Commander and how he managed to avoid detection by internal affairs, I want the reports on my desk within 24 hours." Misato gave a slight kick to the corpse, pissed that one of their own just tried to kill her subordinate. "The rest of you lower your weapons."

Everyone lowered the weapons cautiously, a heavy tension blanketing all of them as Rei stood up holstered her pistol and watching in amusement as Asuka checked to see if she any holes extra holes.

Silence prevailed among them, both parties wary of each other. Everyone within a hairs reach of their weapons.

Keys broke the silence.

"Well, I'm hungry. Anyone else?"

"Your always hungry, like a freaking black hole with legs!" Mana replied, shaking her head at her friend.

"Hey! At least I don't try to stab my friends in the back!"

"That happened one time and it was because you stole my pocky bitch!"

As the yelling match continued Misato only had one thought.

'This is going to be a long debriefing.'


AN2: So? Like, dont like, review, criticise and do the happy dance.

I SAID DANCE DANGIT!

Hopefully the next chap will be longer, if not then meh :P

Planning on writing a funny story, open to suggestions, ideas and tips. Lets face it, I need all the help I can get, both creative and psychological...is it weird to talk to your hair?

~Pseudo