V1.1 Beta'd version 15/02/2014 Thank you kindly, Vandenbz

[A/N] I was genuinely startled by the reaction to the first chapter. I suppose enthusiasm is infectious. Was going to do one chapter of my other fic followed by one of this, but ideas keep exploding out so bad that it's driving me mad, ergo I'm going to do it day by day, one day doing one and the other the next. For those who haven't noticed, I tend to write in a sort of a serial format, hence why things tend to end on cliff hangers or in the middle of scenes; I just like things to flow from one bit to the next. So if you really hate those cliff hangers you should probably stop now, because I promise that most likely won't be the last one. Now then, if you're one of the few who read this bit, thank you. It warms me that you pay attention to my ramblings, but for the rest I'll just shut up now and stop wasting space on your monitor.

Chapter 2: Shadow Consort

"Don't do this, Shinji-kun…" said Misato carefully, far more concerned with this Shinji's choice of action to care about his queries.

"You expect me to believe that you of all people would just shoot me?" asked Ritsuko, trying to sound as unthreatened as possible, but when you've got a .50 calibre bullet just itching to redecorate the wall with your grey matter it isn't easy to maintain your composure entirely.

Shinji was getting irritated over the fact that they'd ignored his question entirely, but first thing's first, "I don't think you've quite noticed, Doctor-"

"-vice captain," she interjected.

Shinji rolled his eyes, which probably wasn't wise considering his current situation, "I don't think you've noticed, Brigadier General Akagi, but I don't exactly like you very much.

"The last time we met, at least from my perspective, you massacred all of Rei's clones right in front of my eyes just to get one over on my father. Reliable sources also informed me, that shortly thereafter you went absolutely batshit insane and tried to blow up NERV Central in some ridiculous attempt at murder-suicide." He cocked his head, "Lucky Caspar betrayed you…"

Ritsuko's composure finally seemed to break and she wavered on the spot. It appeared to take her a moment to relocate her centre of gravity, "That never…happened," she whispered, another few buttons pressed.

"Yet." added Shinji, causing her to bristle more, "Then you got shot."

"Be quiet…" she whispered.

"That bit made me chuckle, especially considering how expendable I always seemed to be in your eyes."

"I said-"

"-and then you got turned into LCL. In retrospect, you really were having a very bad day."

"Shut up!" she shrieked in an attempt to silence him. She then took a few heaving breaths to calm herself, "I never viewed you –the other you- that way, not on a personal level anyway. I just understand that sacrifices sometimes have to be made."

"So not personally expendable, merely professionally…for the greater good?" queried Shinji.

Ritsuko took another breath and then scowled defiantly. She went so far as to bat the barrel of the gun out of her face for a second, "Yes! It is not a perfect world, Shinji and sometimes horrible, detestable choices have to be made. I'm sure that after the end it'll all be well and good for us to say that 'at least we stayed true to our principals', but I'm not sure that'll be much of a consolation to the billions who will lie dead just so we get to sleep soundly at night.

"If I have to be the one to sell my soul so humanity can survive, then I'll gladly be the one to do that."

Shinji blinked, actually seeming taken aback by her honesty, "So you genuinely think that you do the right thing?"

"No…" she admitted, "I very rarely think I do. I just have to be the one who does what has to be done." Shinji saw her spare Misato a brief glare. Obviously he was missing some context there.

He would have to look into that later.

"I can almost respect that in a way," said Shinji, "So you're just playing your part, are you? I find that comforting."

Ritsuko's brow furrowed, "In what way?"

"In that, even though events seem to have changed and this ridiculous war has been stretched out for fourteen years longer than it should have, you are all the exact same people deep down. None of you have changed. That, Vice-captain Akagi, I find immensely reassuring…"

"And why is that exactly?"

Shinji just smiled in response, "You really don't want me to answer that question."

He then paused to briefly assess the situation: He had to accept that while he knew he could swat WILLE's forces aside with his A.T. field and render himself completely invulnerable to conventional, biological and chemical attacks just like any other Angel, Shinji didn't know what kind of anti-A.T. field ammunition they might be packing, nor did he know if they had any active Evangelion units.

While he might have some power as an Angel, Shinji knew that an active EVA was not something he could face without Unit-01 backing him up, and that was out of his range of detection at the moment. He therefore made a mental note to track it down at his next available opportunity.

He then returned his attention to Ritsuko, "I suppose I also forgot to mention the time you planned to salvage Unit-01 from an Angel by dropping nearly a thousand N2 mines on my head."

"That never happened either!" she snapped.

"Really?" asked Shinji, seeming mildly interested, "Thank you for that."

"Ritsuko…" said Misato warningly and the scientist gritted her teeth with frustration, realising he'd prodded her into revealing tactical information.

Ritsuko arched her head toward the security officers, "Restrain him! He hasn't even chambered a round yet!"

Shinji smirked, his finger tightening.

"Stop!" shouted Misato, flinging her hand up to halt them. The guards froze, their weapons raised an inch.

"Misato…" gasped Ritsuko, wondering what she could possibly be thinking.

Shinji was still smiling, "You're forgetting something, Ritsuko…"

"And what's that?" she asked, scowling at both of them in equal measure.

"I know Misato Katsuragi," said Shinji, who then nodded at the weapon he held unwaveringly in one hand, "and this is her gun."

"Your point?"

"This is a Universal Service Pistol; Mark III if I remember right," he said, "My Misato carried the exact same weapon. I see you opted for the .50 as opposed to the .40 too, but then you always were a fan of stopping power."

Misato said nothing.

"The downside of that choice being," said Shinji, "only seven rounds, unless…" he trailed off and looked to Ritsuko, waiting for her to finish.

"One in the chamber," breathed Ritsuko.

Shinji inclined his head, "A bit dangerous, but then Misato would always rather take that risk than chance having one less bullet than she might someday actually need."

Misato kept her expression blank.

He was right, every single damned word of it.

"The safety however, that was on up until a moment ago. I didn't notice that to start with."

Ritsuko's scowl deepened and Shinji cocked his head back to indicate Misato, "I'm guessing she did though." He turned to look at her directly once more, "Why didn't you jump me when you had the chance?"

"Tevos…" said Misato, "Who is that exactly?"

Shinji rolled his eyes again, "That's the name of the asari who was with me."

"Asari?" she enquired.

"Yes, the asari matriarch," he clarified.

No response.

"The asari representative," he then tried.

Again, just blank stares.

Shinji groaned painfully, "The blue-skinned space lady!"

"I see…" said Misato, seemingly not worried by the fact that Shinji still had a deadly weapon aimed at her first officer, "So that's her name, is it?"

Shinji frowned, "What, you mean she hasn't said anything to you yet?" Shinji found that immensely odd. Tevos would normally try to negotiate her way out of any situation. Failing that, and unless she had a gun pointed at her at point blank range or if someone else was under threat, she would just flatten them with her biotics.

Misato was silent for just a split-second longer than she should've been, "…No." she said.

The discomfort and hesitation in the reply was not lost on Shinji.

Ritsuko took a step back as the gun pointed at her levelled out clear at her forehead. Shinji was retaking his aim, and making a point of it this time.

The elder Third Child glowered darkly at Misato, "Where is she?"

"You asked why I didn't try and take that weapon from you…" responded Misato, not answering yet.

Shinji frowned, "Well?"

"It's because my intention was to take you to her regardless. Give me back my gun and I'll-"

"-I think I'm fine as I am," cut in Shinji, "retain a position of power when negotiating, isn't that rule one?" He glanced around, "Where are my clothes?"

"You have been redressed in appropriate attire already."

Shinji glanced down at the fatigues they'd dressed him in, "I'll rephrase. Where are my clothes?"

"I can have something different prepared for you if-"

"-Don't fuck with me, Misato!" snapped Shinji.

"I'm not giving you back your armour and weapons!" she shouted back, matching him in volume.

Shinji scoffed, "You call that armour? On Omega we call it casual attire."

"Omega…" mused Misato, remembering the name from earlier, "That's the name of a supposed space station, isn't it?"

'So…' thought Shinji, 'unless I sewed my address into the lining of my boxer shorts, and I'm relatively sure I didn't, she has my Omnitool...'

He made another mental note. He needed to get that back as quickly as possible. In fact he considered it an even higher priority than Unit-01.

"I think we've talked enough," said Shinji, not answering her question, "Order your guards to surrender their firearms, restraints, and radios."

"And why should I do that?"

"Because I'd rather have you cooperate than be forced to put a couple of bullets in them to ensure they don't raise the alarm. Even from this distance I can spot about a dozen gaps in their armour that I can easily land a critical injury through…and I only need to hit two of them. Now, you can give me what I want or I can take it, your choice. Do you want your men dead, Misato-san, or do you want them alive?"

Misato considered the fact that Shinji was probably bluffing. If he were even an iota like her Shinji, then he wouldn't resort to lethal force unless backed right into a corner and had literally no other option. She therefore chose to avoid pushing him that far.

She nodded at the guards to acquiesce.

Even through their masks the guards clearly didn't look happy as they unshouldered their weapons and tossed them none too gently onto the bed atop Shinji's legs, followed by their cuffs and radios.

"Keys too please."

They grumbled and then tossed the two small key rings down to join the rest of the equipment.

Shinji waved Ritsuko aside with his gun and then slipped out of bed, staggering as he fought off a wave of dizziness and barely managing to keep his weapon trained on them.

After shouldering the two weapons and pocketing a radio, Shinji arched about and flung the other off the opposite wall, shattering it into useless fragments, "Huh…that was poorly made." he murmured, pocketing the pistol and switching to one of the machine guns, "Now then," he said, turning to the guards, "if you'd be so kind as to cuff yourselves to the bed…"

"Captain!" one of the humiliated guards objected desperately.

"Just…do as he says," she said with a shake of her head. She then looked away as the security officers were forced to restrain themselves.

Shinji nodded, "Excellent. Now then…" he raised the rifle in his hand and cocked it, "going live..."

Shinji swung about and Ritsuko was forced to dive for cover as he opened fire with a short burst of rounds that tore into the wall above her head.

"What the hell are you doing?" shouted Ritsuko, hands covering her ears as shards of plastic and silicon rained down on her.

In response, Shinji swung about and fired again, destroying some of the equipment attached to the bed.

Misato looked on impassively. He'd just shot out the wall phone along with the emergency call system used by the nursing staff.

He was giving himself a head start, and was being almost commendably thorough about it too.

"Time to go, ladies," said Shinji politely as he lowered the still smoking weapon to his side. He then indicated for his captives to move on ahead.

Ritsuko glowered as she pulled herself up to comply, Misato strolling calmly along in front.

The scientist frowned at her Captain as they emerged into the corridor. She really didn't like how calmly she was taking this, or how willing she seemed to be to cooperate.

Shinji glanced carefully left and right before emerging after them, "Forward," he said quietly, nudging Sakura on also, who had been as quiet as a mouse so far, which suited Shinji just fine.

Shinji then swung about and drove the butt of his rifle into the door panel until the casing came away. He didn't pause to consider what he was doing. Instead, he merely let his hands move on autopilot as he shifted a series of wires, jamming their tips into a series of points in the circuitry.

The dangling LCD display gave an angry buzz and there was a pop of short-circuiting electricity, followed swiftly by the sound of bolts sliding into a lock.

"High security ward complete with lockdown…" mused Shinji, "A bit over-prepared, aren't you?"

"Under-prepared more like…" muttered Ritsuko.

"How are we supposed to get those men out of there now?" asked Sakura.

Shinji sighed, "I fused a door, Sakura-chan. I didn't encase them in concrete."

"B-but nobody knows they're even in there."

"You know they're in there, you dolt! Oh, and I should probably take a second to mention: I do not intend to 'dispose of you once you've outlived your usefulness'."

"Oh…" she said, seeming pacified, only to then scowl right back at him, "Who are you calling a dolt?"

"Let's just go…" sighed Shinji, nudging them on, "Which way is it?"

"Follow me," said Misato, who just started walking and completely ignoring the weapon trained on her.

"Nice and slow…" said Shinji warningly, nudging Ritsuko and Sakura along too.

"You have the air of someone who's done this before," commented Misato, not looking back and seeming for all the world like she was still in perfect control of the situation.

Shinji hated it when his hostages got like that.

He inclined his head, "Well I have, once…"

"And how did that go?"

Shinji cocked his head, "Well, you know how first times are…"

"I do, but why don't you tell me anyway," said Misato a moment later as Shinji halted them to lean forward and check round a corner.

He motioned them onward again, "Let's just say there was a…complication during that incident."

"Define complication."

Shinji drummed his fingers timidly off the side of his weapon, "There may have been a slight…shoot-out, but besides that I feel it all went very well."

Misato glanced at him, "You took prisoners and then got into a fire-fight?"

"It wasn't so much a fire-fight as much as it was two hundred heavily armed security officers backing me into a corner and then shooting at me…a lot."

"So you were captured?" asked Misato.

"Nope."

"You gave up?"

"Wrong again. I won outright."

Misato glanced back, seeming genuinely curious, "How?"

Shinji shrugged, "I just did what I always do: lose right up until the last second and then win." He smirked briefly, "Kaji once told me that luck was my talent, that it was part of my destiny…I'd slap him for that if I ever saw him again."

"So how did you end up here? What exactly happened?" asked Misato as she continued leading them.

"Why are you even entertaining a conversation?" demanded Ritsuko.

"Why not?" asked Misato, "I was planning on taking him to see her regardless. I see no harm in gathering information if he wants to give it."

"What is it with my hostages talking like I don't exist?" muttered Shinji to himself.

"Well?" prompted Misato.

Shinji sighed, "You might say that I violated my own modus operandi."

"Meaning what?"

"I won right up until the last second…then lost. I've fought Angels, come face to face with Adam and Lilith themselves, only for my ultimate defeat to come at the hands of a giant squid. Typical."

"Sounds interesting." commented Misato.

"That's one way of putting it…"

Shinji's eyes had marked several surveillance cameras so far. Depending on how many eyes their security had to spare for each camera, he wondered how long it would take before the alarm was sounded. He may have been keeping his weapon lowered and using his hostages as visible barriers when possible, but Shinji knew that wouldn't work forever.

"Where are we by the way? Geographically speaking that is," asked Shinji, "I know we're airborne. Even with technology as primitive as this I know an inertial dampener when I feel it."

"That's none of your concern," replied Misato.

"Fair enough…"

They passed another window and Shinji skidded to an abrupt halt.

"What now?" asked Ritsuko with a tired sigh.

Shinji peered down below the clouds, "Misato-san, I think you have a problem."

Misato quickly approached and looked out, "What is it?" she asked, looking carefully around.

"Your ocean's the wrong colour."

Misato turned away again, resisting the urge to roll her eyes, "We noticed…"

Shinji looked between it and her, "But…it…it's red."

"Correct."

"It's supposed to be blue!"

Her response was somewhat quieter, "I know…"

"Why is it red?" he asked incredulously.

"Second Impact," she replied testily, "Or didn't that happen wherever it was you came from?"

"Well yeah, but the oceans still stayed blue…except for that brief period when they were orange, but the less said about that the better." He glanced down again, "What the hell did Adam do? Slip and cut his throat on a glacier?"

Misato took a breath, "When Second Impact occurred, the four Adams-"

"-Four?" interjected Shinji incredulously, "Why in the hell were there four of him? No wonder the bastard bled so much if you chopped him into four different…no…unless…"

Misato glanced at him again, "Unless what?"

Shinji's eyes went distant as he mulled on knowledge that he really shouldn't have, "The contact experiment: that fatal deep dive Doctor Katsuragi oversaw; It went even worse this time around, didn't it?"

"I wouldn't know," commented Misato.

Shinji went on musing, "If the First Angel got to the point where he started dividing before he got reduced to an embryonic state…Yeah, that'd do the trick. The consequences would be even more devastating. In my world only the Antarctic was rendered lifeless and red like this, but on that scale…" Shinji turned back to Misato, realising the scope of the truth, "Your oceans got sterilized... Every living seaborne creature…"

"Dead…" confirmed Misato, "How were you able to guess all this? Our Shinji was never given access to that level of classified information."

"Forty-forty hindsight," muttered Shinji in response, only half-paying attention, which wasn't wise considering he was supposed to be holding them captive. "How many Angels are left?" he asked.

Misato said nothing.

Rage flashed over Shinji's expression and he stabbed the gun into the side of Ritsuko's temple, "How many?!" he demanded.

Misato remained calm, "None. The last Angel was only recently destroyed in its entirety."

Misato expected this to be met with at least some form of relief, but if anything a look of actual worry seemed to cross Shinji's features.

"Need to get out of here…" he mumbled, expression distant, "Okay, break's over. Keep moving." he said, his nerve renewed once more as he pushed them ahead.

Misato refused to move however. She just peered down at him, defiant in the face of any threat, "What do you know?"

"It's not important..."

"Liar!"

Shinji took a breath to calm down, "Quid pro quo: Take me to Tevos and I'll tell you more of what I know: of how the pattern will turn out, of how it always turns out. I don't see why we can't eventually come to some sort of truce."

"That may be the most intelligent thing you've said since you woke up."

Shinji frowned in thought for a moment. After that period of hesitation he unshouldered the two rifles and set them down atop a nearby waste bin. He then clipped the safety on his pistol and stowed it away again inside his clothes, "Alright. There's an olive branch. I'll keep the pistol as insurance." He then looked carefully at Misato and rested his arms behind his head, "You three could probably take me if you all attacked at once and really went for it... Your move again, Misato-san."

While Shinji was lying through his teeth about feeling threatened by two women bordering on middle age and one girl barely out of childhood, he felt that it was the gesture that mattered. He did however keep a wary eye on Misato. He'd once seen a twenty-nine year old version of her take out a group of heavily armed JSSDF shock troops without breaking so much as a sweat. While he knew he still had the edge on her in terms of brute strength, he'd be beyond stupid to underestimate any version of Misato Katsuragi under any circumstances.

Misato just continued walking, "I can be reasonable."

"You just rarely choose to," said Shinji, "I know the core you very well."

Misato nodded thoughtfully, "Okay. It's a bit of a walk to the quarantine ward. So tell me: how did you actually get here? What's your story?"

Shinji chuckled, "My story is long, very long. The short version: I'm from an alternate reality; I was sent back here from a time period several hundred years ahead of your own. The last thing I knew before waking up here was being in a battle with a creature that wanted to capture the technology of the EVA series-"

"-for what purpose?" cut in Misato.

Shinji shrugged, "Become God, conquer the galaxy, the usual. It used the entrance to the Room of Gauf to rip open a void in the fabric of reality and force me out here. It called it 'casting me down'. It seemed to be trying to send me into my own personal hell. How successful it was remains to be seen."

Misato ignored the jibe about her world, instead asking, "What of the creature?"

"Dead. I felt its body dissolve around me through Unit-01. It was cornered, outnumbered and outgunned. The best outcome it could hope for was this. Rather petty really…"

"So you're a future version of our Shinji Ikari?" asked Ritsuko.

"No, not a future version, an alternative version. I sort of travelled…diagonally through time, for lack of a better expression."

"That's not possible," objected Ritsuko.

"'Not possible?'" echoed Shinji, seeming briefly amused, "You know, my Ritsuko used to say that a lot too, even when the evidence was right before her eyes."

"The evidence is before my eyes." said the vice-captain, "You say you were piloting Unit-01? Well I repeat that that's simply not possible."

"Oh?" asked Shinji, "Well I'm very curious about how you worked that out."

"It's simple," said Ritsuko, "You've aged. There are also no markers indicating the presence of the curse of the EVA in your DNA."

Shinji's response was a loud, derisive laugh that had Ritsuko instantly scowling with indignation again. He sighed once his laughter had calmed to wipe a tear from his eye, "Oh…The curse…of the EVA. Really?" he echoed, chuckling again, "You know, I'm starting to see why you don't go by 'Doctor' anymore."

Ritsuko rounded on him, "Quiet! Exposure to LCL and piloting of an EVA has been proven to cause genetic abnormalities, most notable of these being the absolute destruction of the aging process. None of these were present in the samples we took from you."

"So you're now an expert on what genetic modification technology will be capable of centuries down the line?"

Ritsuko had no response to that. Though to be fair, what Shinji implied was a bare faced lie: there were no traces of him piloting an EVA because he was simply concealing them, but he really didn't want to touch on those subjects yet.

"Then how were you even in the future in the first place?" asked Misato, "You talk like you've been through all this before. When were you actually born?"

"I was born on June sixth, two thousand and one to Yui and Gendo Ikari."

"So now you're saying that you're hundreds of years old?" asked Sakura doubtfully.

"No, physically I'm around eighteen or so."

"Physically?" asked Misato.

"That's the word I used," replied Shinji, keeping his eyes ahead.

"Would you care to elaborate?" asked the Captain, repeatedly looking back at them as they walked.

A smile twitched at the edge of Shinji's mouth, "Quid pro quo, Misato-san…"

Misato gave an irritable grunt and led them onto a transit car.

"How big is this…ship, is it?" asked Shinji, looking around them.

"The AAA Wunder is WILLE's base of operations," replied Misato as she punched in a command and set the car moving, "And it is of some considerable size, yes."

"AAA Wunder?"

"Autonomous Assault Ark," clarified Sakura.

Shinji let out weary sigh, "An ark? And to think I'd forgotten about all the biblical references…" He then went silent as a thought occurred to him, "You said fourteen years…"

Misato nodded.

"Do you mind if I ask: Is…is my father really still alive?"

There was a brief exchange of glances between Ritsuko and Misato, seeming genuinely startled by the query. Misato folded her arms and looked ahead again, "He still lives, yes," she then arched her head about to carefully observe his reaction.

Shinji raised his eyebrows, "So he still had fourteen years left in him. I'm sure the man who was my father would've been amused by that. I take it therefore that there's also another me running around somewhere too?"

No response came, which meant to Shinji that either his other self was dead, or they really didn't want to talk about him for some reason.

"Interesting…"

Misato narrowed her eyes at him, "We didn't say anything."

"Precisely," said Shinji, and the car jolted to a halt.

Misato glared at him with irritation. She had to wonder what could've happened to any version of Shinji Ikari that would bump his perceptiveness up to such terrifying levels.

Misato dwelled on that as she led them into what looked to be another medical wing. She waved several security officers aside that blocked their path, and all three of them were startled that Misato had done nothing to give away the fact Shinji was still armed. It took the consort an instant to realise what she was doing:

She was choosing to trust him.

Foolish, thought Shinji. Did she really think he would continue to try and be cooperative just so he wouldn't betray that faith?

Shinji stopped walking a second later.

'Shit…' he cursed mentally, and then just carried on walking, shaking his head as he went.

Misato suddenly stopped, wanting to ask one more thing before taking him inside, "You called her Councillor Tevos…"

"What of it?" he asked, almost bumping into her back.

"What does that mean, 'Councillor'? Is she a person of some importance?"

Shinji couldn't help it. He actually laughed. He laughed hard. The reaction caused Misato to suddenly feel very uncomfortable. He wiped a tear from his eye, "Yeah, you might say that…"

"I see…" said Misato, "I don't suppose you might know anything about her race's physiology also?"

Shinji only then noticed the expressions on the two officers' faces. And only then did it occur to him how odd it was for Misato to be so willing to lead him to his alien companion.

A horrible context began to form in Shinji's mind and he could almost physically feel his levity drain from him, "Why are you even asking me that?" he breathed.

Misato averting her eyes from him in response was enough for Shinji's heart to skip a beat. He felt himself pale, "What…what did you do?" he asked, his tone wavering, and Misato saw genuine fear in his eyes for the first time since they'd met.

Only now was he afraid.

It took actual willpower for her to turn away, "Please. Just come with me, Shinji-kun."

Shinji found himself following after her as if in a daze, terrified as to what he might find up ahead.

He was only dimly aware of Ritsuko marching swiftly up to Misato's side and whispering some kind of sharp warning into her ear, her eyes locked on him.

Shinji's worry kicked up a notch as they turned a corner. Misato had stopped by a large, long window looking over a brightly lit room. There was a hermetically sealed door by it.

Shinji forced himself to look around and catalog his surroundings. He realized that they were now in some kind of quarantine wing. He noticed that the corridor had gaps in the floor, walls and ceiling at regular intervals, obviously so it could be sealed off as much as needed should there be a breach of containment. His subconscious logged that away for future reference.

Finally, he turned his attention to the window Misato was standing in front of. She was waiting for him.

Shinji went to her side and looked out into the quarantine ward. The walls and floor were tiled in gleaming white and there were several figures in isolation suits. Coiled wires lead from their backs linking them to an outside air source.

The one obscuring the bed moved aside and Shinji's hand went to the glass the instant he spied the figure on the bed. Misato watched him carefully.

He said nothing. Instead, he just gritted his teeth and went straight for the entryway.

"You can't just go in there!" snapped Ritsuko, grabbing his hand to restrain him, "That's a sealed environment! You don't know what kind of diseases she might have that-"

Ritsuko would've continued, but she was silenced by foot meeting gut, as Shinji quite literally booted her to the floor with a lightning-fast sidekick that reduced her to a winded heap. It didn't distract him from his task.

In Shinji's defence, even Misato had to admit that it was a very tactless thing for her to have said.

Shinji's hands were gripping hold of the wheel that kept the pressurised environment closed. His teeth were bared, eyes wild as he pulled it anticlockwise with every ounce of strength he had.

Misato could only watch in silent shock. She had never seen him with this level of intensity before.

He had accused her of changing? Just what or who in the hell had he met in that future of his to turn him into this?

Shinji let out a low growl and pulled again. There was a loud hiss of escaping air, but Shinji didn't stop to rest. He spun the wheel as fast as he could and tore the door open.

A klaxon sounded out around them as Shinji strode inside, the medical staff looking up in shock.

Shinji glared at the alarm speaker, pulled Misato's pistol free, and then silenced it with a single shot.

The lead doctor, an elderly man with thin grey hair and wire-frame glasses, stood frozen in silence as Shinji's eyes swept the room.

Shinji marched up to the physician and snatched the clipboard he still held in one hand before shoving him aside, clearing his path to the patient.

"C-captain, w-why?" stammered the old doctor, and Misato just raised a hand to calm the medical staff before returning her attention to Shinji as he slowly approached the bed.

Shinji kept the trigger guard of Misato's pistol hooked loosely over his index finger as he stepped up to the prone asari's side. And if Misato ever had any doubts as to whether Shinji and the alien were ally or enemy, friend or casual acquaintance, then they were put firmly to rest when she saw the look in his eyes as looked down at her.

Confidence had become crestfallen. Superiority was now sadness.

Friend was clearly the answer, and obviously a good one. And in that instant he almost looked to Misato like that frightened little child she'd known all those years ago, but then that instant was passed, and he appeared to shove those emotions aside with a brief clenching shut of his eyes.

Shinji turned his attention quickly to the clipboard in his hand and began flicking through pages of notes and observations, his mouth opening and closing in quiet murmurs.

"I-if you're here to visit," said the doctor, reaching slowly forward to take his clipboard back, "A-any advice or information you might have about her-" he was cut off however as Shinji flicked the butt of the gun he was holding by the barrel out, cracking him on the back of the knuckles and knocking his hand away again.

"BP is low…" read Shinji, his voice drifting in and out as he read sequentially back from latest to earliest, "…blood oxygen levels…well below safe for an asari…neurotransmitter levels…the hell?" he finally turned his attention to the doctor and just glared at him, as if demanding an explanation.

"I…that is…" stammered the doctor, and then timidly reached forward and flipped the pages of notes back to the start. He then reached around and pointed to a spot near the top.

Shinji turned away again and continued reading with a frown, his voice again just coming in and out with short murmurs, "Admission twelve hundred fifty…authorised use of…signed off by vice-captain…fifteen CC…concentrated…"

Shinji's voice died. His expression became absolutely blank and unreadable. He just stood there in absolute silence for the longest time, eyes locked on one single word.

The room had become deathly silent, broken only by the occasional beeps of the monitoring equipment.

Ritsuko dared to take a step closer, her hand cradling her abdomen where she'd no doubt soon be sporting a very nasty bruise, "We didn't know what would happen when she awoke, so we administered a drug called-"

"-Acepromazine…" cut in Shinji, his voice both disturbingly calm and quiet.

"Y-yes, it's a kind of sedative. Unfortunately we're having some trouble bringing her around, so any information you have about her species, even anecdotal could be-"

"-You injected…" cut in Shinji, "the Asari Councillor with ACP?"

Ritsuko's eyes widened at his use of the term and she only realised now that Shinji wasn't reading those notes in any random order or with a single flicker of bewilderment.

He knew exactly what he was doing.

But still Shinji didn't raise his voice. All he did do was keep pausing to regain control of whatever emotions were simmering up inside of him, "You injected an asari matriarch with an animal tranquiliser used for controlling wild dogs?" That was a brief loss of composure on his part: a note of absolute, uninhibited disgust flashing to the surface.

He paused before speaking again, "Is that what you did?"

Slowly, Ritsuko began to back away.

However, no outburst came. Instead, there was only a gentle tap as Shinji set the clipboard calmly down against the rails surrounding the bed. He then reached down and let his hand slip gently into that of the still asari and slowly turned her arm over, exposing the lighter blue skin underneath.

While Shinji had been mostly calm so far, Misato caught a brief, shuddering intake of breath as he beheld where the IV entered her body.

The small of Tevos' arm was horribly bruised, marked by numerous dark blue welts indicating where multiple clumsy attempts at finding a vein had sliced some open due to the foolish angle of insertion. Her normally flawless skin was dotted by nearly a dozen different puncture wounds.

Misato searched for something to say, but there were no words she could find.

"You…" began Shinji, his voice thick for a second before pausing again to recompose himself. All the while he didn't take his eyes from the still asari, his hand remaining gently atop her arm, "Umm, you…you asked me before who this was. You asked me…if she was someone important. Would you like me to answer you now?"

Misato didn't speak. She just waited for him to continue.

"Her name is Tevos, and she is an asari matriarch. And if you're wondering what that means, it means she's lived for something in the region of a thousand Solar years."

Ritsuko could almost feel the glare Misato shot her as Shinji continued.

"She is one of four Council members whose decisions directly affect the lives of literally trillions daily, and of those four she is known as the mediator; the one who keeps balance amongst them all.

"She was instrumental in brokering the peace treaty between the Turian Hierarchy and the Earth Systems Alliance, putting an end to the First Contact War, most likely saving billions of lives as a result.

"She is arguably the most respected peacekeeper and diplomat in the galaxy, and has quite possibly the most fantastic mind out of any individual I've ever met in my very long existence."

All were stunned to silence as Shinji's fingers began coiling around the bed rail, tightening until his skin turned white. Second by second was his composure was starting to slip, "She was negotiating peace agreements and stopping wars across a galaxy when people on our world were still burning people alive for witchcraft!" He took another shuddering breath, "And you had the gall to stick her with a needle and tranquilise her like she was some rabid animal?"

Misato saw that Shinji once more had that gun gripped in one hand. His teeth were bared, eyes wide and filled with blazing anger and indignation. She took a hesitant step closer, "Shinji-kun, we only-"

"-Get out…"

She blinked, "Wh-what?"

"Get…out…" he repeated.

The doctor scowled and stepped forward to object.

This was unwise.

"If you think I'm just going to abandon my patient and-"the old man was cut off however as Shinji whipped the gun around fired off a single round in his direction.

The bullet tore through his isolation suit and skimmed his ear before ricocheting off a wall. Growling, Shinji then turned about and fired at the nurses, they ducked out the way and screamed. Misato dropped down low. Shinji was so lost in emotion that she wasn't sure how much of what he was doing was just warning shots. Then the gun steadied, and he aimed it right at Ritsuko.

She froze, "Out." He repeated just one last time. The doctor and nurses were already retreating, weaving around the vice-captain and out of the door to safety. Misato knew that the next shot wouldn't be used to injure or warn.

Ritsuko backed away, her eyes locked on Shinji's trigger finger. Misato circled slowly around into his field of vision, "Shinji-kun, please, I know you're upset but she needs medical attention! If you don't let my staff tend to their patient then-"

"-She is not their patient!" he barked, cutting her off as he began advancing, "She is my patient now." And he shoved Misato violently away, knocking back the retreating Ritsuko in the process too.

Shinji dragged the door closed and shattered the glass covering the emergency lockdown control, which came in the form of a large, conveniently labelled big red button.

He paused before hitting the control to seal the door once more, fusing it from the inside and waiting as the bolts locked into place and the hermetic seals came back online.

Misato sidestepped into view at the observation window and hit the comm button, "And what do you expect us to do?"

Shinji laughed again, only this time it was completely without any kind of humour as his hand reached for a control, "I think you've done enough damage for now, Captain. This only happened because of your staggering inability to manage your own crew and any situation you're involved in, which I'm sure probably has something to do with why this war has gone on as long as it has.

"So here's what you need to do: For the sake of me, my friend, and quite possibly the entire human race. Misato Katsuragi, from now on…" and before he hit the control to turn the viewing window opaque and kill the link, Shinji's voice dropped low, his tone positively dripping with venom, "…do nothing."

And then he was gone. Shinji Ikari had rejected and turned his back on her once more…

-α-

Misato just stared at the blank wall as if someone had punched her in the gut. That was when the alarms started going off.

Ritsuko looked about as the red lights flashed and sirens wailed, "He's triggered the quarantine alert!" And all about them the corridors began sealing themselves off, steel armoured segments sliding slowly into place to prevent the spread of possible contagions.

The medical staff made to run for it, as did Ritsuko, who only now noticed that Misato was still standing there, "Misato, we have to go! We can cancel the lockdown from the bridge!" she grabbed her by the arm to pull her away.

Misato just nodded and then turned away from the window before breaking into a run as the entirety of the corridor sealed itself off behind her.

-α-

Shinji hadn't so much pushed the button as he had punched it clean into the wall. He was still glaring at the now blank window. The emotions he'd been suppressing to remain stable were tearing to the surface and there was nothing he could do to stop them.

He was encased in silence, with only the sound of the machinery and his breath to distract him now.

His rage boiled over as he turned about and booted a nearby specimen table aside, upending its contents. He then paced into the middle of the room and let out a long, drawn out cry of anger, sadness, despair and grief as his situation finally caught up with him all at once. The truth he'd been trying to ignore was finally in his face:

Lost.

He'd lost everything again, and now he was alone once more. With little other recourse, Shinji found himself sinking to his knees, fighting the urge to actually cry.

"Stop it…"

Shinji's eyes opened again, realising it was his own voice that had in fact come out, "Stop. This isn't me, not anymore." He whispered to himself, "What would Aria say if she saw you like this?"

Shinji was still as he fought to gather his nerve, "Got to get up…got to…face reality. I must...I mustn't…run away. I mustn't run away."

Shinji didn't move for a moment. Slowly, his fist tightened at his side as he felt his resolve swell back up inside of him.

He stood fluidly back to his feet.

'Why in the hell am I moping?' He thought to himself with disgust as he turned towards the bed, his expression serious and firm once again, 'You're a consort and your client needs you. Be what she needs you to be.'

And she needed a doctor.

He narrowed his eyes at the clipboard on the bed for a second before walking over and picking it up. It was time to get to work…

"First things first…" said Shinji, who walked right for one of the supply closets and returned a moment later with some bandages and wipes.

He approached Tevos' arm and undid the surgical tape holding the IV in place. He then slowly withdrew the needle in her arm, applying pressure with his thumb over the wound once it was completely free, "Not even in the correct vein…" he grumbled, "It's lucky she hasn't died of malnutrition and dehydration yet." He then swabbed the area clean before bandaging up the entire section of her arm to cover up the injuries.

He smiled weakly at her, "If this were the Citadel you could sue for malpractice…"

He then wheeled the IV around to the other side of the bed and rolled up her sleeve, "Asari: far less symmetrical…vascular system," murmured Shinji as he dabbed her arm with alcohol and squeezed the sides of her lower arm just below the elbow with his thumb and index finger.

'Don't think…' he reminded himself, 'Just do. Use those hands of yours and just let what's in your head flow…'

"Purse the upper and lower carpal muscles to expose the vein…" he continued out loud as if instructing himself, aiming the needle down at an angle. He glanced up at Tevos' face and smiled again, "Quick scratch, and…" he then swiftly slid the needle into her skin and reapplied some tape to secure it, "You're done." He said, feeling rather proud of himself, even though all he'd succeeded in doing so far was correctly insert an IV.

Shinji stood back up to full height and then examined the IV bag. He narrowed his eyes at the text, "Should be fine, but still needs…" he trailed off and then opened up the walk-in drug storage closet. He was briefly shocked by how well stocked it was. Row after row of shelves containing countless vials and bottles of substances lined the walls, "Of course," said Shinji, "Needs to remain well stocked in case of an emergency; in case they can't let anyone in or out."

Stowing a few spare IV bags under his arm, Shinji's hand slid over the bottles, tracing their surface until he'd selected some specific vials of protein and mineral supplements.

Using a syringe, he drew a particular amount from each vial and then injected it into the current IV bag, "There we go, madam Councillor. That should be everything your system needs." He then did the same with the spares, since he still wasn't sure how long her situation might take to resolve.

"Lastly…" he muttered, reaching over the bed to the valves. He unscrewed the oxygen tap a bit more than it already was, "Couldn't even get your oxygen concentration right."

He also took a moment to quickly recalibrate the ECG, carefully adjusting it until it was set to more accurately detect the right kinds of neural activity. His heart sank as he looked at the readout.

The results were not promising. Tevos' brain activity was actually a good deal worse than the notes and her chart had indicated.

'There's less time than they thought,' realised Shinji worriedly.

Satisfied he'd done all that was necessary to keep his patient stable for the moment, Shinji decided to set about his task properly.

He looked back to the doctor's notes and then to the table on the other side of the room. On it was a series of bottles. The notes listed them as possible options for a course of stimulants that they could try if they couldn't come up with anything certain.

Hoping to find at least some kind of a head start, Shinji walked over and began reading off the labels, checking them against his knowledge of asari body chemistry to try and predict the outcome.

He glanced at the first one, "Heart attack…" he muttered, tossing it back down and then picked up the next, "Most likely a stroke with this mix. Very nice, doctor."

He went to the third, "No effect; waste of time." And then the fourth, "No effect, except maybe instant death; step in the wrong direction."

And then finally the last, "And…multi-system organ dysfunction!" he snapped, smashing it off the wall in frustration before pausing to massage his temples, "Stay calm…need to stay calm. Just… got to go from scratch is all."

His eyes then went to the sealed door. He guessed WILLE wasn't just going to let him occupy their quarantine ward with impunity, nor could he afford the interruptions; every second wasted risked further damage to Tevos' mind.

His attention was drawn to the console atop the desk by the wall. An idea began to form.

He needed to slow them down…

Shinji walked over to the console and sat down.

MAGI ACHIRAL MEDICAL DATABASE

PLEASE ENTER SEARCH STRING:

'They really should lock their workstations when not in use,' thought Shinji as he flexed his fingertips out.

He then smirked briefly, 'Achiral, is it? In what way are you a reflection, MAGI? Is it just a fancy name, or could it be that someone's trying to hide the fact that they're not so much a creator, but more an imitator?'

His smile widened, "Let's find out…"

SEARCH GENERAL DATABASE.

STRING: "OPERATION" + "PRIBNOW BOX" + "IRUEL" + "MAGI"

Zero results found matching all parameters…

Would you like to retry using fewer terms?

"So…" said Shinji, leaning back in his chair, "You never fought that Angel either, Ritsuko? That would also mean you were never forced to use all those back doors to hack into Caspar and reprogram the Angel either. Which also means you never would've had a reason to change…" he trailed off into a mumble as he brought up a command entry console, "Let's just see how much of you is original, Achiral, and how much is just a copy…"

"You see, Councillor," said Shinji, deciding to direct his voice at somebody, "It was my mother who developed the Personality Transplant OS along with Naoko Akagi. That same system formed the basic fundamental method upon which a mind operated within a MAGI, and also how a pilot operates an EVA.

"You might say that, in a way, the MAGI and the EVAs are very similar in terms of fundamental operating principal. Ergo, if all Ritsuko did was copy over the core hierarchy of the Tokyo-3 MAGI to form the basis of this MAGI, and then code some flashy new interface on top of it, and she was never forced to dig around and discover all those back doors…" his smirk stretched slightly, "then she might not even know that they're there…"

Shinji's hands flicked over the keyboard, punching in row after row of old GEHIRN INT-C code. He just prayed they matched up with the ones from this dimension.

A moment later, the smirk on Shinji's face suddenly matched his father's in terms of dark amusement.

"Oh, Ritsuko…"

SCREEN CRAWL: User Naoko$ online. Root access granted.

"Haven't we been lazy?"

He was right: this hadn't been so much a next generation MAGI like EDEN had been. If anything, this was barely MAGI Version 1.1.

At best 1.11.

And so, once more, Shinji went to work, "Achiral, you and I are going so have some fun…"

-α-

Misato strode onto the bridge and up to her command level, "What's our status?"

Aoba turned about in his chair, "Captain Shikinami is still waiting to speak to you via radio. Her report is quite urgent."

"Is it life threatening?"

"N-no, not at the moment, ma'am. B-but I really think you-"

"-Then it can wait," dismissed Misato, "What's the status on the lockdown?"

Hyuuga spoke up as he worked, "Well I'm trying to disable it so we can get our security forces moved in, but I'm having some trouble."

"What kind of trouble?" asked Ritsuko.

He shook his head with confusion, "It keeps saying that I don't have sufficient access to terminate the lockdown. It…says I need top-level clearance."

Misato glanced at Ritsuko, who could only shrug, "It must be how it was initially coded."

Misato supressed a sigh and crossed over to a nearby console.

Username: KatsuragiM126

Password: **************

Security code: ********

She looked up, "There..."

"Thank you, ma'am. I'm doing it…now?"

"What is it?" asked Misato.

Hyuuga was hesitant before responding, "…insufficient…clearance..."

Misato and Ritsuko exchanged a look, and so the vice-captain quickly moved to try hers. She looked up a second later, "Anything?"

Makoto just shook his head, "No, ma'am. In fact, it looks as if both of your clearance levels have been totally reduced in relation to accessing the quarantine lockdowns."

"What do you mean? Reduced how?" Demanded Misato as Ritsuko worked furiously at her station.

Hyuuga just cocked his head as he read off from his screen, "Well, ma'am, according to this, the lockdown system has you down as being demoted to Petty Officer Katsuragi…third class."

"That's not even a rank," grumbled the Captain.

"It is now…" murmured Makoto, "Apparently you've also been reassigned. As far as this is concerned, you're now a junior officer in the department in charge of…swabbing the decks?" He adjusted his screen, "And apparently vice-captain Akagi is now an assistant in the typing pool, which we now apparently have. She's been demoted to…assistant pencil sharpener."

"Ritsuko!" hissed Misato, looking urgently to the doctor.

She shook her head, "I don't even know how this is possible!"

"Then who does it think is in command of this ship?" she demanded, looking back to Hyuuga.

He seemed to pause to swallow a gulp, "Ma'am, it appears he's created about a dozen additional levels of command hierarchy within the systems that control those sections of the ship and then gone and placed himself right at the top of it."

"Who has?" she snapped, even though she could probably guess the answer already.

Hyuuga opened his mouth, looked to his screen and then looked back at her again, "Do I really have to read it out?"

"Say it," ordered Misato coldly.

Hyuuga's shoulders seemed to sag and he breathed a sigh before speaking, "Supreme Fleet Rear Admiral Commander Brigadier General…Ikari."

Somewhere far below, Shinji was laughing.

"Can you lock him out?" asked Misato, walking up to Ritsuko's side.

"I don't even know how he's doing this!" She said, a note of desperation in her voice. She typed for a moment longer and her eyes then widened in fear, "He's using some kind of back door to gain access to the MAGI!"

"How can he even do that?"

"I don't know! It must've been a leftover from the original MAGI code that forms the basis of the system."

Misato paced, chewing a nail through her glove, "He had medical knowledge, technical skill, and now he's hacking into our MAGI. Assuming he came from a world just like ours, who could've taught him how to do all that at such a young age?"

"W-well I wouldn't even know how to begin-"

"-Guess, if you have to. I want to know who we might really be dealing with here."

Ritsuko took a second to calm herself, "The only other person with that kind of technical skill, who might also have knowledge of MAGI fundamentals would be my mother, Naoko Akagi. But she didn't have any skill as a medical doctor."

"Was there really no one else?"

She shook her head, "Besides Shinji's mother, Yui Ikari, no. She knew the MAGI, and was also an evolutionary biologist with multiple degrees. But like my mother she also happens to be dead. Well, somewhat…"

"Somewhat?"

Ritsuko glanced at the crew uneasily and stepped closer, lowering her voice, "Well you know as well as I do how she became the control system for EVA Unit-01. So she's essentially dead for all intents and purposes."

"Ritsuko…" said Misato with forced patience, "Remind me again which EVA Shinji Ikari used to be the pilot of?"

"Yes, and I know what you're implying," said Ritsuko impatiently, "But he would've had to have had prolonged and direct contact with the control system for a very long time, and I am talking immensely long. Our Shinji was only barely affected by the passing of fourteen years in such a state."

"Would it be possible though, for him to have been affected in some way?"

Ritsuko paused her typing again to think, "Hypothetically, in an extremely long term sense? Yes, I suppose so. There is the genetic link between them which would allow for compatibility, so I suppose whilst in quantum form Yui Ikari could have overlaid certain aspects of herself directly into the cerebral part of Shinji's brain without directly affecting his personality, but there'd only be a billion to one chance that would succeed without leaving Shinji an utter vegetable or with horrible mental instabilities."

"Are those odds more or less than those of a second Shinji Ikari dropping out of the skies accompanied by a blue space alien?"

Ritsuko inclined her head, "Point taken."

"He also claims to have come from a time hundreds of years in the future. For all we know he really did spend a prolonged period trapped in the EVA, "said Misato, "So, assuming you're going up against Yui Ikari and not Shinji Ikari, can you beat him?"

Ritsuko hesitated before replying, "Possibly..."

"Possibly?"

"She wasn't anywhere near my mother's level in terms of skill but…" Ritsuko's voice almost broke for a second, as if loathing yet admitting, "But she was at least at mine."

"Do we still have access to our databases?"

Ritsuko nodded, "It seems to just be certain command functions that we're locked out of."

Misato nodded and turned to face the rest of the bridge staff again, "Can you bring up the personnel file of Yui Ikari? It should be in the SEELE archives."

"Doing it now, ma'am," replied Aoba.

"Good, send it over."

Aoba began to comply, but then sank down in his chair, "I actually don't think there's much of a point now, ma'am."

Misato scowled, "Why not?"

Aoba nodded at his screen, "He got to it first…" he flicked down the page and read off what remained of the information, "Name: Yui Ikari. Date of Birth: Classified. Alias: Mom. Occupation: Mom. Skills: Mom stuff (i.e. hugs and tucking in at night)."

Misato took off her glasses to wipe the bridge of her nose, "That's something, I suppose…"

"Misato?"

"Why would he corrupt her file unless we were right?"

Ritsuko nodded, "At least we might know what we're dealing with now."

"So what do we still have access to?"

"He can't manipulate any critical systems from his current location. Propulsion, navigation, weapons, main power as well as environmental control for the majority of the ship: they're all still under our control. It's only access to systems in the quarantine and isolation sections that he's totally locked us out of.

"I've already erected a Type-666 firewall to prevent manipulation of any further systems. There is however only one problem…" she said and stood back, nodding at her display.

"And what's that?" asked Misato as she leaned in.

"He's erected one too to protect his systems."

On the screen was a diagram displaying the MAGI layout. It was currently divided into two sections, each overlaid with fiery red letters indicating a pair of opposing Type-666 blocks.

Misato noticed the grim smile on Ritsuko's face, "What is it?"

"I actually can't help but be grudgingly impressed…"

"Besides that section, does he have control of anything else?"

She nodded, "Just a few things. He seems to have made a point to take total control of all internal communications as well as our ECM systems."

"So he's got us under a communications blackout. Can you break back into the MAGI and retake control?"

Ritsuko nodded in thought, "It might take some time, but yes, just so long as he's not blocking me at every turn."

"What else can you tell me?"

"Just what I said: he has absolute control of all systems inside the quarantine and isolation sections. He's already sealed off every section he can and then vented the atmosphere inside. If anyone goes in, the chances are they'll be sealed in by one of the backup doors and end up getting asphyxiated.

"Those sections are designed to act completely independently in case of an emergency. Even if the ship crashes, those areas have been designed to contain whatever is inside them, indefinitely if necessary. They all have their own backup power supplies and independent life support systems. In an absolute worst case scenario they're effectively tombs for whatever ends up trapped inside. The containment sections are the same with the added protection of Angel sealing countermeasures."

"Meaning if we wanted to successfully blast our way in…"

Ritsuko finished the sentiment for her with an agreeing nod, "We would probably destroy most of the Wunder in the process. Those sections are designed to be resistant to anything short of a direct assault by an EVA. And while they're also designed to be blasted out and essentially jettisoned if necessary, Shinji's already isolated all the release systems and sealed off the areas containing the manual controls."

"I have no intention of killing him unless he forces me to. Has he done anything other than box himself in and take defensive action?"

Ritsuko pondered for a moment, "Besides taking control of internal communications and those sections, no. We essentially still have full control of the both the Wunder and her functions," And she considered raising an objection to Misato's soft touch attitude, but then appeared to have an idea so went quickly back to her terminal.

"What is it?" asked Misato.

"I think…he might have made a mistake…"

"In what way?"

"He disrupted communications as well as any write access to the security systems in his area, but he left us with basic read access to all systems and databases, meaning that although we can't make any adjustments, we still technically have some access to internal surveillance."

"You're saying that we can at least see what he's doing."

Ritsuko nodded, "I think so. Just give me a minute…"

"If that's the case just post security at the entrance to those areas and have someone monitor the cameras at all times to keep watch on his movements. Retaking those sections of the ship is a secondary priority. Work on it when you can, but I want all focus to be on repairing our battle damage and getting the main engine up to full power." She looked at the screen as an image of the quarantine ward flicked up. She watched Shinji in silence for a moment as he moved about the still form of the Councillor, "If he wants to take responsibility for her and reject our help then that's his decision. So long as he's busy with that then he's no threat. Our priorities remain with defeating NERV and preparing for the next encounter. We don't have time to be fighting two battles."

"Understood, Captain," replied Ritsuko, "I'll also have work crews begin physically severing every computer linkup into those sections just to be on the safe side. It may take time to repair afterward but I think it's worth it."

Misato thought on it for a second, "Do it."

Ritsuko nodded and went about her task.

-α-

Shinji regarded the display and the Type-666 error he'd ran right into. He really couldn't help a smile from appearing on his face, "Not bad, Ritsuko…not bad at all." He had been preparing his firewall since he'd started; Ritsuko on the other hand threw hers up in seconds, almost as if she'd had one waiting in reserve.

He pushed off from the console, "But that should slow them down for a bit." And that was all it was: a distraction. Shinji needed time. If he continued to split his attention between WILLE and the Councillor then there was a very real chance he might not succeed. Every hour wasted was another batch of dead brain cells.

Besides, he could only hold off Ritsuko for so long. He knew that if she really focused; if she realised her true potential and came out of her shell long enough to go at him full-on, she would absolutely mop the floor with him.

As much as he'd insulted her earlier, Shinji knew that at the core, Ritsuko Akagi was very much a natural, whereas his knowledge of MAGI theory was no more an original article than the MAGI that operated the Wunder was.

While he may have developed his knowledge somewhat toward the areas of mechanical engineering and design (he had EDEN for his IT issues, after all) the truth was that Shinji's expertise remained very much in the field of people.

Deciding that enough time had been wasted, Shinji grabbed a nearby blood sampling kit and approached the asari, "Back to work…"

-Ω-

Meanwhile, elsewhere…

Sparatus was not in the best of moods. Having been dragged to the Terminus systems was bad enough, but being forced to permit the uplift and movement of the Relay Monument on top of that was just too much.

Aria T'Loak had been very clear with her proposal: Help us save the Asari Councillor from the situation that you and your colleagues dropped her in, and the rest of the Asari Republics needn't find out. Because if they did, they might just find their perceptions of the current ruling council races permanently…coloured. And Aria had put an almost chilling amount of emphasis on the word 'current'.

Nobody held a grudge like an asari.

He stood on the bridge of the Ascension, watching as the Reaper known as Harbinger hovered over the still open vortex. The underside of the beast was locked onto the uprooted shape of the Ilos Conduit, which was in turn secured into position by a hastily constructed lattice of metal and guidance thrusters.

"Highly irregular, this is just…too irregular." He grumbled, shaking his head.

Lidanya didn't dignify him with a response. Her duty, and indeed the primary duty of the Ascension as a whole was to protect the council, in particular their own councillor, and the council had ordered them to depart after leaving Tevos on Omega. So while she would of course obey the Council without question, that didn't mean both she and the crew of the flagship couldn't be frosty about it.

Sparatus let out a defeated breath. Aria may have said that the secret would be kept, but allowing her to organise the actual acquisition of the monument had been a big mistake.

When a large group of armed Krogan pirates lead by the Patriarch had suddenly emerged onto the Presidium one morning, apparently with full authority to be there, only to then go and effectively tear the Relay Monument out of its moorings and then haul it off, more than a few eyebrows had been raised.

It wouldn't have been so bad had the Patriarch not stopped to tell the ANN news reporter on site as he passed 'not to worry,' and that they were just 'taking it away for cleaning' before marching off, laughing hysterically along with his band of mercs.

The old turian just prayed he could maintain some semblance of order once this all kicked off.

-Ω-

"Will this even work?" asked Joker as he stood on the Normandy bridge, "I mean…letting a couple of AI's and a Reaper reprogram a pair of Mass Relays? Even if they are just miniature prototypes, it still seems kinda crazy if you ask me."

Liara T'Soni, being one of the galaxy's foremost experts on Prothean technology had agreed to assist the Ascension's officers with moving the Ilos entrance to the Conduit to its current location.

She kept her eyes affixed to the structure as she nodded, "I know, Joker but EDEN knows the fundamentals of how this rift operates and…" she paused before speaking again, "…Shepard knows the principals of how the Relay network functions. If there is anyone who can succeed in this task, it is them."

"You okay, Liara?" asked Joker.

She nodded, "I am fine. What about you, Joker? You were closer to EDI than anyone. Does this situation not bother you?"

"Me? No, I'm absolutely fine that the ghost of my dead commander has possessed both my ship and girlfriend. Why would I be bothered?"

"Well, I am… glad to hear it."

Joker's eyes flicked to her, "Sarcasm, Liara…"

"Oh. Oh yes, of course…"

Joker let out a relenting breath, "If that thing out there really is what's left of our Shepard then I'll…I'll trust EDI will be safe."

He looked to Liara again, "How's the pirate doing?"

Liara glanced out of the port window to where the Thunder Child hung in space alongside them. The modified Relay Monument was locked to her underbelly and ready to be released, "Becoming unstable from what I hear. Three days without sleep will do that. Though her leadership is commendable, to think she organised this so swiftly once EDEN had suggested the idea."

"The recoding has been completed," came Shepard/EDI's voice as she walked into the cockpit, "If EDEN's calibrations are correct, we should soon be ready to activate the Conduit."

Liara looked to the Normand's twin, "Is the Bridgehead ready?"

Shepard nodded, "EDEN is finishing the adaptations to the firmware now. Assuming it survives the transit then the VI in the navigational system should immediately move it into place as soon as it comes online. We'll know if we've been successful as we should instantly gain tightbeam contact via the link if the Bridgehead succeeds in getting into position and activating."

"You think the council's going to be pissed when they find out they won't actually be getting their monument back?"

"To be honest Joker, I think they will just be glad to have their councillor back."

"You mean they'll be glad that their decision might not be coming back to bite them in the ass."

"That too…"

-Ω-

"What's the status of our forces?" asked Aria as she paced the width of the Thunder Child's meeting room.

Tisala looked up from her console, setting a datapad aside "We have fifteen ships back to operating capacity. They'll be combat ready in under forty-eight hours."

"I said under four days, Tisala."

Tisala just nodded, "I know, Aria," she said, before daring to add, "I am worried about him too."

Aria's eyes flicked to her and back, "At what point did I say I was worried?"

Tisala cocked her head as she turned back to her console, "You didn't."

"Then get back to work." Aria then stood there in silence for a moment, "I want the Conduit opened in two hours."

Tisala looked back at her, "You can't be serious! We don't even know what's waiting on the other side of that thing. We could be walking right-"

"-I am very serious." Cut in Aria, "I want to see what's happening on the other side. We'll open the Conduit and send a probe in to monitor the situation. Depending on what we see, we'll either move in early with the forces we have or wait."

"And if Shinji's in danger, and sending the Bridgehead through now only provokes his enemy?"

"Then I'll make sure they have something else to shoot at first," said Aria, her tone low and deceptively calm.

Tisala turned to face her fully, "And what if they just destroy it? The shields we installed on the Bridgehead are only designed to prevent it being damaged by any accidental impact that it may suffer upon rematerialization and before the propulsion has a chance to kick in. If it comes under prolonged fire-"

"-Do as I say!" she snapped, losing her cool for just a brief instant.

Tisala braced herself before speaking, "Of course, but don't you think you should at least get some rest before-"

Aria cut her off again by stepping right up into her personal space and glaring down at her, "Are you questioning me?"

Tisala stood bolt upright and met Aria's glare head on, "I am," she shot back defiantly, and Aria opened her mouth to speak, "-shut up, Aria," she cut in, shocking the pirate into dead silence momentarily with nothing but sheer audacity, "The truth is, we need you for this. Shinji needs you! But if you're like this: barely on your feet, unable to think, pumped full of stimulants and completely on edge, then what use will you be to him, or anybody?"

Aria seethed for a moment, "Do not ever-" but she was cut off as Tisala's hand lashed out and stabbed something into her arm. Aria's eyes widened as she spied the injection device in the former spectre's hand. Aria's hand moved for her sidearm, only for her to stagger back, "You sneaky…little…" she trailed off however and collapsed forward, Tisala barely catching her.

She staggered, "Goddess, were you always this heavy?" she glanced at the blue hologram in the corner, "EDEN!" she called, "Can you get…you in here, please?"

The platform entered a moment later, looking between them, "Did you just…"

"Would you be so kind as to take Aria up to the Captain's quarters? I pumped her full of enough sedative to put her out for a good six to eight hours."

EDEN looked at Aria and then back at Tisala, "She is going to be very angry with you when she wakes up."

Tisala inclined her head acceptingly, "She may very well shoot me on the spot, but if that's what it takes to get her head back in this, so be it. She should be fully charged again by the time she wakes up." She then exhaled a relenting breath, "I think she'll still want to depart as soon as she wakes though. We have that long to complete as many of the repairs to the other ships as possible. I'll have to make sure the crew is ready by then. I want you to pass the operation details out in the meanwhile." She paused to set Aria down in one of the chairs.

"We'll be the first to go in and to scout the situation in stealth mode once the link is confirmed as stable. We also have to consider that we might be going into immediate ship-to-ship or pitched combat depending on what we find once we're through."

EDEN nodded, "Moran and the Patriarch have already come aboard with a detachment of their own people to supplement our numbers if needed. The Thunder Child's battle damage has been fully repaired and our torpedo load out is replenished. The vessel at least is ready. There is one other matter however."

"And what's that?"

"Kasumi told me that Justicar Samara has requested permission to come aboard to render field assistance. She claims to have, and I quote 'a debt to repay.' Kasumi mentioned a promise of some sort that she apparently feels she didn't live up to."

Tisala thought on it for a second and then nodded, "She could be invaluable if it comes to a direct ground assault. But if you can, try and make sure you avoid sending her into combat with anyone too unscrupulous or psychotic. The last thing we need is a justicar turning on our own forces out of obligation to the code."

EDEN nodded and then proceeded to take no small amount of pleasure in slinging Aria unceremoniously over one shoulder. She paused briefly to look over at the real-time image of the Conduit as it began to flicker to life, the vortex behind illuminating the core as it slowly came online, "Eight hours…"

-α-

Misato looked out over the dawn. She could see the still-open Room of Gauf in the distance. Ritsuko hadn't been able to provide an explanation as to why it hadn't closed entirely, but since it hadn't changed or widened since appearing she had been assured it was safe, at least for now.

A transport had been sent to pick up Asuka, Shinji and the Ayanami clone, so that at least was under control also. But then there was the main issue that was now weighing on her mind: The new Shinji's Unit-01 had appeared, and it seemed to now be in Gendo Ikari's hands, and there was no way to question the adult Third Child properly given the current circumstances.

The captain drifted inside, sipping her morning coffee and entering one of the conference rooms. Sakura was inside munching on a ration pack. She had taken it upon herself to assume the role of watcher and had been keeping an eye on the other Shinji for the past day.

"How is he doing?" she asked.

Sakura stood up, "Captain…"

"As you were," she mumbled on reflex, eyes locked on the displays that covered one wall.

Sakura turned back and sat down on the pillow she'd brought from her quarters to get comfortable, "I've been taking turns keeping watch with Mari. So far he hasn't done anything new. He started off by resetting her IV, took some blood and since then he's been running tests and checking different drugs and their composition using our medical database."

"Has he left the room?"

She shook her head, "Not once."

Misato frowned, "Then what's he been eating and drinking?"

Sakura looked away, "Nothing. He hasn't left for food, which means he hasn't eaten since he first woke up. Look:" she zoomed one of the displays in on Shinji. A translucent tube could be seen leading away from his lower arm, "He's actually hooked himself up to an IV.

"That's a quarantine room, ma'am; It's not meant for more than one person to be comfortable, nor is there any food or rations. You're either supposed to be in an isolation suit or in bed."

"Has he even slept?"

She shook her head, "Not once. He's actually gone so far as to mix a series of drugs together which, if our records of what bottles were in what position on each shelf were accurate, formed what was essentially a physical and mental stimulant, and a very potent one at that. The database actually has it classified as a narcotic substance. He injected some of it into himself intravenously a few hours ago."

"He's actually drugging himself to stay awake and alert?"

Sakura just nodded, "I think he's trying to design some kind of compound stimulant that he can use to wake the asari. Besides mixing that drug, all he's done is treat Tevos and work."

"You almost sound worried about him."

Sakura didn't respond for a few seconds, "…Do I?"

-α-

Shinji looked away from the display and wiped his eyes. His brain felt heavy. It was getting to the point that he felt as though he were thinking through a thick layer of fog.

His eyes were drawn to the half-empty vial that he'd mixed together. He briefly wondered what EDEN would say if she found out what he was doing: effectively sacrificing his own health for that of another.

The display bleeped as it finished its analysis of the substance he'd considered his best bet yet.

A chemical composition and protein sequence drifted across the screen. Shinji just shook his head and slumped forwards, "Wrong again…"

Every mix he'd come up with so far was either plain toxic to asari physiology or there was some catastrophic aftereffect once the drug had done its work. His most recent failure had been one of these. It wasn't harmful initially, but one of the compounds within it could erode the walls of the more fragile asari blood vessels if used to the extent that Shinji would need to, and he would like to avoid causing a bleed on Tevos' brain if at all possible.

"The problem is, Tevos," said Shinji, opting to talk to her once more in the hopes of avoiding too much sanity slippage, "that there's simply no way that any combination of drugs designed to work in humans will work as well as we need them to in you. You're just…too alien," he paused to get up and pace a few steps, "No offence…"

He walked a few more feet, dragging his IV along behind, "No…what I need is to find a way to get the nasty parts of the drug filtered out and rendered harmless after the stimulant does its job." He shook his head, "but I'd probably need some kind of smart compound that could actually bond with the drug as it worked; a compound that could recognise its environment and then dissolve the parts that were harmful to it." He paused to smile mournfully, "And they won't have anything so miraculous around here for a good hundred years at least."

He shook his head. If he were back on Omega there'd be no question as to what substance he'd be leaping up to grab off the shelf.

He walked back over to his chair and slumped back down, cradling his face and groaning, "Can't somebody just hurry up and invent Medi-gel already?"

He looked to the councillor, "Don't suppose you have any spares, do you?"

And then, as Shinji looked at her, somewhere in the back of his befogged mind, a single word drifted up to the surface of his consciousness:

Omnitool.

Realisation started slowly, but then it picked up speed until it all suddenly came crashing in at once:

His Omnitool contained a triple dose of Medi-gel in case of emergencies.

His eyes drifted to the stimulant displayed on the screen as the pieces began to fit together in his head:

"Three doses," he murmured, eyes locked on the display, "administered over a period of several hours, bonded with the Medi-gel to filter out the harmful aftereffects as the drug does its job."

"Yes…" he dared breathe, "that would do it."

Shinji pushed himself back to his feet as a well of excitement rose up in his chest, filling him with momentary glee.

It was probably the drugs, but regardless…

Shinji swiftly went about the hourly maintenance of his patient and swapped out her IV bag for a fresh one, thinking up a plan as he went.

He'd already tracked his Omnitool along with the rest of his gear: It was several sections away in the Isolation block. Unfortunately, getting there from his current location would mean crossing sections that weren't under his control.

And that would mean getting past WILLE. They would be waiting for him.

Shinji considered pleading with Misato to just give him his Omnitool; to let him use it under her supervision. He had actually been about to walk over to the terminal and open communications with her when he was forced to ask himself the painful question:

What if she said no?

What would happen if she knew what his goal was, and that she considered the risk too great to let him have his technology? She'd probably order the device destroyed to prevent it falling into his hands. Then what would happen?

Well the answer to that was simple: He would fail, and Councillor Tevos would die.

He eyed the vial of stimulant and syringe on the table just a few feet away.

He couldn't let that happen.

Shinji clenched his eyes closed, feeling fatigue starting to creep in once more. He wouldn't make it as he was.

Shinji picked up the needle and filled it with the contents of the vial. Considering how much was still in his system, this was most likely a very dangerous thing to do. But he was weakened, and he would not be getting out of this without going into combat. His eyes went to Tevos one last time and he made his choice.

Shinji plunged the needle into his arm vein and pressed the plunger. He then slid it free and gripped his hand over the injection point, waiting for the hit.

Shinji gasped and staggered back, a hand going to his chest as the drug took effect. His heart began racing, objects became bizarrely clear and colours suddenly became unnaturally vibrant around him.

"Give it a moment…" he gasped, choking for breath, "Wait for the…for the initial high to pass."

Shinji waited for the world to return to a semblance of normality as artificial strength flooded through him.

Once his head was clear and he'd lost the ability to smell colours, Shinji removed his IV and stuck a pair of band aids over the injection points.

Moving back to the terminal, Shinji brought up a schematic of the Wunders layout and burned the route into his mind as best he could, which wasn't hard considering his current level of focus. He then followed this by the swift activation of a few choice ECMs.

Shinji detoured to Tevos' side on his way to the door. He leaned briefly in and pressed his lips chastely to her forehead, "I promise I'll be right back, Madam Councillor," a warm smile then spread across his face as he whispered in her ear, "Just need to go fetch my coat..."

Shinji then checked his sidearm and paused to break free a four foot metal support pole from one of the shelving units, twirling it experimentally around in his hand like a makeshift lance.

Finally, he unlocked the door and stepped out into the open, his course set…

-α-

Sakura turned to Misato as they watched Shinji leave the room, "Captain!"

Misato looked sternly at the screen, "Warn all our security forces around those sections. Tell them he's coming. Order them to give him an opportunity to surrender. No lethal force is to be taken without my direct authority."

"Yes ma'am."

Misato turned to walk from the room, only for Sakura's voice to call out from behind her, "Captain!"

She halted and turned back, "What is it?"

"I can't raise security. He's still blocking all our internal communications!"

"Raise them on the radio then."

She shook her head, "He's triggered our own Electronic Countermeasures. Radio is down too."

A chill went up Misato's spine. There was no other way of looking at it: Shinji would only do this if he were planning to go on the offensive.

They were now at war.

-α-

To be continued…

[A/N] And the fun is still yet to come. More of a scene setter and a drama piece this one, hope that wasn't too much 'not your thing' but I do try and cater to all tastes. I think you can probably guess what's coming in the next installment. Until next time!

Catch you in Chapter 3: Carving a Path