Disclaimer: I most definitely do not own Evangelion.

AN1: I don't normally do this, but you should check out Shattered Glass by Jalen of the Silence. It's amazing. Now, on with the story.
P.S. You should also check out Evangelion: Age of Marvels by Chuckman. It's probably not everyone's cup of tea, but it's really well written. Now we're on with the story.

Warning: This chapter may contain language of a sexual, but ambiguous, nature. Don't say I didn't warn you.


"Ritsuko, are we going to make it?" Misato asked over the Magi's self-destruct countdown.

"I should finish with one second to spare," came the doctor's voice from inside of Caspar.

"One second?" Misato asked incredulously.

"It's not a zero or a minus," Ritsuko shot back irritably.

As her fingers flew across the keys, Ritsuko reflected on how she ended up cramped inside of her mother's creation. Somehow the Twelfth Angel hitched a ride into Nerv HQ as part of a panel in the 87th protein wall. The damn angel managed to take control of the test body and force them to abort their test. After the pilots were launched into the Geofront lake, Ritsuko and the other scientists found themselves forced to flee the Pribnow Box as the resulting assault against Ireul caused the safety glass to crack and allow the thousands of gallons of water to come crashing through. Now, hours and one very complex firewall later, Ireul was close to victory. All it needed was to beat out Dr. Ritsuko Akagi before she could cause it to turn on itself.

Ireul was quick, but it was no match for Ritsuko. With a second to spare, Ritsuko pressed the action key and Ireul ground to a halt. As the Twelfth Angel's assault was reversed and the Magi were returned to normal, Ritsuko leaned back with a sigh. "Thanks Mom," she said softly, gently placing a hand on the organic computer.

As she crawled free of the Magi's confining interior, she could hear Misato organizing the retrieval efforts of the three pilots. Ritsuko breathed a sigh of relief, she certainly didn't want to be the one to pick up the most likely pissed Second Child. She could just imagine Asuka's rage after being trapped in her entry plug during the attack. Stretching, Ritsuko decided that she'd earned a break and left Misato to corral her roommates.


A short while later, recovery crews were lifting the last entry plug out of the lake and onto the shore. As soon as the plug was safely on dry land, Shinji forced the hatch open and climbed out. As one of the crew passed him a towel, Shinji could hear a wolf whistle coming from the tent just up the hill. Shinji's eyes shot upwards to see Asuka staring down at him. Realizing that he was still naked, Shinji quickly wrapped the towel around himself and stormed towards the tent.

"Woo, Shinji! Take it off big man!" Asuka shouted at him. Shinji's attempts to ignore her went unnoticed by the young German.

"So Shinji~, packing a nice pallet rifle for your girlfriend?" Asuka sarcastically asked him.

Shinji ignored the comment, but flushed slightly at her choice of language. Stepping behind the curtain, he began to put on Nerv issue coveralls as Asuka continued to make more inappropriate comments.

"You've got a pretty impressive prog knife there," she said. "Or is it a prog sword?"

Shinji continued to ignore her, but it was ineffectual. The young German smiled brightly as she continued. "You gonna sheath that hard, heavy sword in her?"

At this point, Shinji's embarrassment grew worse as Rei decided to finally speak up. "Excuse me, but I do not understand what is going on? What does the arrival of Pilot Makinami have to do with Shinji carrying a pallet rifle, or a having a non-existent progressive sword? Also, if he did have such a sword, why would he want to stab her with it?"

Asuka fell silent at the girl's question. Shinji stepped out from behind the curtain, now dressed, and stared open mouthed at the blue-haired albino. Asuka's eye began twitching slightly as she gazed at Rei, still frozen in place from the abrupt comment. Then, she burst out laughing hysterically. Shinji palmed his forehead before falling into a chair, as Asuka fell to her knees, holding her sides. Panting from the strain it had put on her lungs, Asuka brushed a few tears from her eyes before explaining.

"Oh Wondergirl, you have so much to learn. I'm not really talking about either of those things, I'm talking about Shinji's junk."

"What do you mean? What do these comments have to do with Shinji's refuse?"

Shinji flushed even brighter at Rei's ignorance. Ducking back behind the curtain, Shinji listened as Asuka started laughing again. "Ha ha ha, mein gott are you stupid. I'm talking about Shinji's penis Wondergirl."

"Oh, I see," Rei said softly. "Then the statements you used before were..."

"Euphemisms for the size of his junk."

"They did not seem like they were just euphemisms for size."

"That's true, I was also implying where he would put it. I'm saying that Shinji's gonna have sex with Makinami when she gets here," Asuka explained climbing into the chair Shinji had vacated.

"I see, but Shinji seems distressed," Rei replied.

"Of course he does, I made those comments to embarrass him. Men are always embarrassed about their size."

"I understand the concept, but I do not see a reason for Shinji to be embarrassed."

When she said that, Shinji stepped back out from behind the curtain. "What do you mean Rei? Why shouldn't I be embarrassed?"

The blue-haired girl turned her attention to the male in question. "Well, from what I could see, your 'junk' was of a rather substantial size. I see no reason why you should have any problem 'sheathing it' inside of her vagina," she said with a straight face.

Shinji's jaw dropped as Asuka once again began laughing hysterically. As the German fell off of her chair, Shinji decided his best option was to flee the recovery tent. A minute later, Asuka followed him out, still laughing. Draping an arm around the brown-haired boy, the redhead took a moment to calm down before speaking. "Wow, that couldn't have gone better if I'd planned it."

"Yes, yes, it's 'Make Fun of Shinji Day'. Anything else on the agenda for today?" Shinji asked sarcastically.

"I wanted to ask you about tomorrow," she said quietly.

Shinji stiffened slightly. Closing his eyes, he leaned back against Asuka. "Ah, so that's what you were trying to do."
"Yup, I wanted you to have some fun before you went to meet with the bastard tomorrow. Guess I went about it the wrong way, huh?"

"Kinda, but I appreciate the thought."

"So, worried?" Asuka asked, removing her arm.

"No, it's not about seeing him. It's about visiting Mom's grave."

"I see, so are you going to bring your little friend with you?"

"Mr. Teeth? No, he's going to stay behind, I'm not going to need him anyway."

"Really? Misato told me that you brought him everywhere."

"I used to, but not anymore."

"Why's that?"

"Well, ever since I made some more friends I didn't really need him that much anymore," Shinji said with a slight grin. "Don't get me wrong, he's still one of my best friends, but now that I have Rei, you, Toji, and Kensuke I just feel a little silly always relying on him."

"Good for you," Asuka said, patting him on the back. "Well, have fun tomorrow, and don't worry, Wondergirl and I will take care of your little friend."

Shinji chuckled quietly. "Thanks Asuka, and this time, let's not let him go on another trip like last time."

Asuka gave him a playful frown. "I'm not going to live that down, am I?"

"You might," Shinji said with a smile. "You just might."

With that, the pilots were loaded up into a Nerv van and taken back to headquarters. As he looked out the window, Shinji wondered how the visit to his mother's grave would go. What would he say to his father? Most importantly, should he say anything about Mari? As these thoughts ran through his head, Shinji sighed. Here's hoping tomorrow isn't totally miserable, he thought to himself.


"How long has it been since you last visited here?"

These were the first words Gendo Ikari spoke to his son Shinji as they stood before Yui Ikari's grave. Shinji didn't answer. Instead, he looked out over the multitude of other graves. Thousands of graves stretched out past the horizon in every direction, making Shinji feel small. Thousands of lives lay resting here, and what was the significance of his own, or anyone else's, he wondered. Lowering his gaze back to his Mother's nameplate, Shinji spoke.

"I have never been here," he said coldly, refusing to look at his father.

Gendo remained impassive. Continuing to stare at his beloved wife's grave, he spoke again. "Why have you forsaken your mother's memory?"

Shinji turned his head so that he could glare over his shoulder at the man next to him. "I never forgot Mom," he growled. "Not a day goes by where I don't think about the accident. Even so, I never even knew this place existed until the professor contacted me and told me you wanted to meet here."

As he stared down the elder Ikari, Shinji thought about the professor and how he acted. Most of the time, Kozo Fuyutsuki was the calm and wise Sub-Commander of Nerv. At other times, times when he was speaking to Shinji, he reverted back to the caring and guiding teacher. From talking to Professor Fuyutsuki, Shinji learned more about his parents than he would have ever thought possible. Much of it surprised him, like how they had met in college or how Gendo had taken Yui's name when they got married. Other things made him smile, like the way Fuyutsuki talked about his mother. It was those comments though, that really confused Shinji sometimes. It almost seemed as though the Professor was in love with her.

The younger Ikari returned his attention to the grave before them. "It's hard to believe that she's down there. After so many years I can't even remember what she looked like. Aren't there any pictures left?"

The elder Ikari's voice retained its cold edge as he responded. "No, nothing remains. I carry everything I need in my heart. Even this grave is a but a mere marker. Nothing remains."

"So my uncle was right, you did destroy everything after she died," Shinji muttered quietly.

Gendo remained silent, there was nothing for him to say.

Brushing off the heavy feeling surrounding them and clouding his mind, Shinji decided to speak his true feelings to his father.

"It doesn't matter. Soon I'll be able to form bonds of my own with someone I care for. I'll never forget Mom, but I won't let her death rule my life."

Shinji spoke with such passion that even the stoic Nerv Commander was surprised, but it never showed on the older man's face. During his son's speech, Gendo's eyes never left Yui's grave. For a moment, just a brief moment, he experienced something he never thought he would, something utterly foreign to him.

Doubt.

In the span of that brief moment, he began to question his treatment of his son, his plan for Human Instrumentality, even his love for Yui. As quickly as that gnawingly, terrifying moment had come, it had passed. Shoving those poisonous thoughts from his head, Gendo reasoned that it was his son's own weakness that was affecting him. He believed that his son was attempting to cover his own spinelessness with false bravado. Gendo was too stubborn to realize that it was his own weakness bleeding through, and that there was nothing false about his son. Not anymore.

The two Ikari men remained silent from this point on, each consumed by their own thoughts. For Gendo, it was the glorious progression of his plan coupled with his impending reunion with his beloved Yui. For Shinji, it was the impending arrival of his beloved Mari coupled with the culmination of a promise made almost a decade prior. Father and son continued to stare at the grave of the woman they owed so much to, both reaffirming their resolve, and vowing to let no one stand in their way. Not even blood.

Not long after their silent oaths, the peaceful tranquility of the memorial ground was broken by the heavy, grating sound of rotors. The two Ikari men glanced down the row to watch as a VTOL came to ground not far from their position. Father and son faced each other once more, glaring coldly at one another. They remained frozen for a moment before Gendo once again turned his back on his son. As Nerv's Commander walked to the waiting transport, he could hear the pilot of Unit-01 calling out to him. "Commander! I really wish I could say that it was good to see you, but I won't lie in front of my mother."

Gendo paused for a second in his march, but he never turned to face the boy still standing by his wife's grave. Without any reaction to the harsh comment, Gendo carried on to the VTOL and became it's lone passenger. Shinji watched as Gendo departed, never shifting from his spot, no matter how hard the buffeting winds from the transport tried to move him. Even after the wretched mechanical beast had left the place of rest he could still her the obnoxious noise of those damnable blades. Turning one last time to face the grave of Yui Ikari, Shinji departed in the opposite direction, promising himself to return under a happier circumstance.


Maneuvering quietly down the gangway, Ryouji Kaji approached the computer terminal to access to Terminal Dogma. Dropping the keyboard into its ready position, he quickly entered the stolen codes to unlock the heavy blast doors. His fingers floated over the keys, inputing the proper code in a matter of seconds. When he reached the end of the code he paused for a moment, his finger hovering over the "Execute" key, savoring his victory.

It was at that moment that he heard the click. The obvious, familiar, and tell-tale click of a gun being cocked. The spy felt the cocky grin form on his lips as he knew just who was behind him. Raising his hands, he asked, "So Misato, what brings you down here?"

Misato flinched slightly at the address. "How did you know it was me?" she demanded.

Kaji turned to face her, flashing his best devil-may-care grin. "Simple. If it had been anyone else, I would already be dead," he told her nonchalantly.

Though he appeared relaxed, every muscle in the spy's body was tensed, ready to spring forward at any moment to defend himself. He relaxed a minute later when Misato lowered the barrel of her gun fractionally and her cold visage softened. Deciding he could chance it, he asked her a question. "So did Ikari put you up to this, or did you just decided to do some snooping of your own?"

Misato frowned harshly. "This was my initiative. The Commander doesn't know about this...yet," she said, studying the man in front of her. He looked no worse for wear, despite his most recent travels across the country. His beard was scruffy, his clothes were unkempt, but that was ordinary for the 30 year old man.

Still glaring at her "captive", Misato began questioning him. "So, it this your real job, Kaji? What is it that you really do? What are you looking for down here?"

Kaji ignored her first two questions, choosing to focus on the third and more pressing one. He returned his attention to the keyboard and sharply jabbed the "Execute" key. "Looking for this," was all he gave her for answer.

Misato's attention quickly shifted to the massive doors arrayed before them. Doors that were quietly opening. The cold visage of a consummate soldier vanished, and was replaced by unadulterated terror and horror. "What the..." was all Misato could say.

Now on display before them was a massive figure, humanoid in shape. A white giant. A very familiar white giant. "Yes," came Kaji's voice. "The first, Adam."

The giant before them stood legless, crucified like the religious savior from almost 2000 years earlier. A massive red lance was stabbed through the center of the beasts chest. Misato could only stare in mind numbing shock at what was before her. "How could they?" she asked to no one in particular. "What is the Commander thinking?"

Rounding on Kaji, the spy turned his attention to the imprisoned form hiding within the confines of Terminal Dogma. He ignored Misato's questions, not out of spite, but because he simply did not know the answers. He listened as Misato spoke again. "Who else know's about this?" she asked quietly.

"Dr. Akagi knows," was all the answer the spy offered. It wasn't much to go on, but it was enough to allow Kaji to reseal the beast and cover their tracks. Leading Misato away, he listened as she questioned herself, wondering what she could have missed or why Ritsuko wouldn't tell her. As soon as they were safely away with no one the wiser, Kaji left her to her own devices, slipping off into the shadows until he could learn more about what was happening.


When Misato walked through the front door of the apartment that evening she was immediately set upon by an irritated Asuka. The purple-haired woman sighed heavily. After the day I've had, a pissed off teenager is the last thing I want to see, she thought to herself. Hoping to have at least one beer before she dealt with the fiery German's tirade, Misato attempted to push past the girl. "Not now Asuka, let me drink first," she groaned.

What happened next surprised Misato. She found herself staring at an open can of BOA. Taking the can from Asuka she downed it quickly, spotting a six-pack of Yebisu in the girl's hand. Dropping the can in the recycling bucket, she pulled a can off the six-pack and popped the top. Taking a sip, Misato asked, "So, who is it this time?"

"Shinji," was Asuka's venomous response.

"What did he do?" Misato asked, rubbing her temples and taking another swig of the beer.

"The happy-go lucky idiot is practically skipping around the apartment. He's acting too nice, even Rei is avoiding him," the Second Child moaned.

Misato was stunned, she couldn't believe that even Rei felt bothered by something like that. Granted, Shinji is normally so subdued, but Rei's taken everything else in stride, Misato thought to herself. Draining the second and cracking the third, Misato waltzed into the living room followed closely by Asuka. Surprisingly, the room was completely empty, not even Penpen was to be found. Finishing and dropping the third can on the table, she pulled the fourth one off and handed it to Asuka. "Here, take care of this one for me," she said absently as she headed towards Shinji's room.

Smiling like the cat that caught the canary, Asuka popped the top and muttered, "Don't mind if I do." Taking a swig from the can, she flopped down onto the couch and waited for everyone to come out for dinner.


Misato made her way down the hall towards Shinji's room. As she passed Rei's door, it opened fractionally and a single red eye peered out. Misato stopped and stared at the eye as a voice called out from behind the door. "Is he gone?" it asked.

Misato smiled at Rei. "Yes, he's gone. Shinji's gone back to his room, I'm gonna try and calm him down," Misato told her young charge. The door opened fully and the blue-haired girl stepped into the hall. Casting a quick glance towards Shinji's door, Rei spoke. "I will begin preparing dinner then. I do not trust anything he might make tonight.

Misato nodded at the girl and moved on. Reaching "Shin-chan's Lovely Suite", Misato knocked and entered. When she stepped into the room the first thing she noticed was humming. Spotting the Third Child, she realized that the humming was coming from him. It was a happy, upbeat tune, contrasting sharply with his usually more somber personality. Deciding to take a shot, she sat down on the bed and said, "Shinji, let's talk."

Patting the mattress next to her, Misato waited for the boy to take a seat. Once he was settled she popped the tops on the last two cans and passed one of them to Shinji. He stared warily at the proffered can before Misato said, "Just take it. If I'm gonna have this conversation, we're both gonna be drunk for it."

Taking the can from his irresponsible guardian, the young pilot took a tentative sip from the beer can. Shuddering, he lowered the can and turned to Misato. "So, is this 'The Talk'?" he asked, adding air quotes.

Misato nodded. Shinji took another, larger, sip of the beer. "Look, you don't have to worry about any of that. I'm not going to do any of those things with Mari, right away anyway. I really just want to get to know her again. It's been ten years since we've last seen each other, ten years since she 'loaned' him to me," he said, jerking a thumb towards Mr. Teeth, who was perched atop the Third Child's desk. "The most important thing for me right now is that she and I can become friends again. Even if we do end up in a romantic relationship, I know that I'm still not ready for anything...physical."

Misato looked down at the boy...no, young man, next to her. Patting him heartily on the back, she took a swig from her beer. "I'm proud of you, Shinji. You're not going to take advantage of a poor defenseless girl in a strange land," she said with a smile.

Shinji drained his beer and gave Misato a friendly shove. "Misato, I would never do something like that," he replied in an embarrassed tone. Misato laughed, grabbing the boy in a playful headlock. Shinji blushed as he found himself in a very compromising position. The pair stayed like that for a few moments before they heard someone clearing their throat.

"You know Shinji, you're going to make your girlfriend very jealous if you carry on like this. Us girls don't like competition," their German roommate said mockingly.

Shinji responded by simply smiling at her, and then throwing the pillow from his bed towards the door. It was a lazy throw, but it managed to surprise all three of them. The feather-stuffed projectile arced gently through the air and smacked Asuka full in the face. The pair on the bed fell about laughing hysterically while the red-head stalked off, muttering darkly about "more beer". Shinji and Misato quickly composed themselves, though a few chuckles still managed to slip past their lips. When they had calmed down enough, Misato rose.

Quietly playing with his beer can, Shinji mustered up the courage to ask his guardian a question. "Hey Misato, has there been any word on Mari's medical file?"

Misato sighed heavily. "I'm sorry Shinji," she said. "It still hasn't arrived yet. It's weird, it should have been sent right after they announced the transfer, but something's delayed it."

Shinji frowned. "I bet I can guess what stopped it," the boy muttered under his breath.

Smiling quickly, he jumped up from the bed and twirled the empty can around his finger tips. "Oh well," he said cheerily. "It doesn't matter. I still can't wait to talk to her again."


"Where the hell did it come from?" Misato demanded.

It was a question on everyone's mind, but one that no one had the answers to. Hyuga cast a nervous glance over at Misato. "We have no idea Ma'am. It just suddenly appeared over the city."

"Damn," she swore. "Well, is it an angel?"

"No idea, we can't get a clear fix on the pattern," Maya replied.

"Ma'am, the Eva's are prepped," Aoba called out.

"Good, launch them," Misato ordered. "Instruct the pilots to maintain distance until we can get a solid read on the target. I don't want any surprises."

"Understood," the bridge techs chorused.


The three Eva's jolted to a stop when they reached the streets of Tokyo-3. Shinji gripped the control yokes tightly, almost cutting off the circulation. He waited silently for any information on the target currently hovering over the city. Opening an audio only line to the bridge, the Third Child listened intently for the slightest bit of information that could aid the Eva's against this potential threat.

As he listened to Maya and the other technicians, he noticed another voice in the background. It was hard to hear at first, but he soon realized that it was female, and a young girl speaking at that. Her voice was a little husky, but undeniably cheerful. As he strained to listen, he heard a fragment of a sentence. All he could focus on was the girl's name. It was her name, Mari Makinami.

Flexing his hands excitedly, Shinji drove the controls forward, ignoring the shouts and protests coming from Maya and Misato far below him. Shinji sprinted towards the angel at full speed, not caring about the panic he was causing. All he could think was, She's here, and what better first impression then killing an angel.

Shinji skidded to a halt and let out a quick burst from his pallet rifle. The heavy-duty rounds flew quickly towards the target. Just as they were about to hit, all hell broke lose.


Maya watched the three colossal units come to a halt on the streets of Tokyo-3. Glancing back over her shoulder, she said to Misato, "All three units are in position and holding."

"Good, keep scanning the target," Misato ordered.

As Maya turned back to her terminal, a strange voice echoed throughout the bridge. "Woooooow~! You guys sure didn't spare any expense. It's so much cooler here than my old digs."

Maya lurched back around to examine the source of the voice. She was surprised to see a young brunette girl standing at the entrance to the bridge. She was tall for her age, about Shinji's height or perhaps just a little taller. Maya also noticed that the girl was incredibly well-endowed. She felt a brief pang of jealousy, but quickly pushed it aside and continued to study the girl. Her hair was pulled into two ponytails that fell down her back. Her blue eyes seemed to sparkle mischievously behind her red-framed glasses. Instantly, Maya knew who she was staring at.

Hyuga, surprised by the girl's sudden arrival, stood up and shouted, "Hey, this is a restricted area. How did you get in here?"

The girl bounced lightly on the balls of her feet. Smiling brightly at Hyuga, she grabbed the hem of her skirt and twirled around. Her skirt rose up slightly, just enough to cause Hyuga and Aoba to blush. "Well, you want to know how I got in here, right? Well it's easy, I just used this cool ID card they gave me," she told them in an upbeat and perky tone.

"Yeah, they gave this awesome card and told me to come here," she continued. "I'm super glad they said to come here. It would have been sooo~ boring to go to a stupid shelter."

"That's all well and good, I suppose," Hyuga growled. "But that still doesn't explain who you are."

The perky girl started bouncing again. "Oh, that's another easy one. I'm the super amazing pilot of Eva Unit-03, Mari Illustrious Makinami!" she shouted, flashing a peace sign at the bewildered technicians.

Well, that confirms it then, Maya thought to herself. She was about to introduce herself to the girl when something strange appeared on her terminal. Quickly scanning it, her eyes widened and she let loose a roar of frustration. "Shit! Shinji's moving rapidly towards the target," she yelled back to Misato.

"What the hell does he think he's doing? He was told to stand by for further orders," Misato bellowed.

"I have no idea, he won't respond to my hails," Maya replied.

"Wow~, he's really gung-ho, isn't he?" Mari commented.

"Not usually," Misato muttered darkly. The purple-haired woman was about to order and intercept, but it was too late. Shinji had opened fire on the strange object hovering above Tokyo-3. The technicians watched as the blasts from the pallet rifle flew towards the target. Right as the projectiles should have struck the target, it vanished.

The warning klaxons sounded as Aoba shouted," Pattern Blue confirmed! It's an angel."

Misato stared at the cityscape and noticed something strange. "All the buildings that were beneath the object are sinking," she said quietly.

"My god," Maya said, realizing the danger. "That thing's shadow is the real angel."

Frantically re-opening the comm line, which had been closed in the confusion, Maya tried to call Shinji back. It was too late however, Unit-01 and it's pilot were nowhere to be found.


Misato was pissed. Not only at Shinji for rushing in blindly, but at herself for blindly rushing into his rescue. In her haste to save the boy, all they had managed was to break the umbilical cable and almost lose Unit's 02 and 00 in the process. Now Shinji was not only stranded, but also stuck on life support. Granted he still had 14 hours until life support failed completely, but it was bad enough without the Makinami girl repeatedly asking if "the pilot will die?" or "can I have his Eva?". Leaving the girl with Hyuga and Aoba, Misato headed topside with Maya and Ritsuko.

"So let me see if I got this right. The shadow of that thing in the sky is really the angel, and that thing in the sky is the shadow," Misato said, completely confused.

"In simple terms, yes," Ritsuko replied. "The body of the angel is incredibly thin, and it acts as a Dirac Sea, which is–"

"Look, I'm sure it's interesting, but all I need to know is how to kill it without destroying Unit-01," Misato cut her off. "So what have you got?"

"Nothing," Maya said sadly. "Dr. Akagi's plan poses a substantial threat to Unit-01, not to mention Shinji, but it's all we have."

Maya explained Ritsuko's plan to Misato. "Before you say anything, I know dropping every N2 mine the JSSDF has will kill Shinji, and probably destroy or cripple Unit-01 in the process. That's why I think we should wait. The angel isn't making any hostile moves, or moves at all, right now, so it shouldn't be a problem if we don't agitate it. If it moves, launch. But if it doesn't, at least wait until the life support expires and we're sure that he can't survive," Maya pleaded.

Misato stared at the younger woman, admiring her initiative. Taking a deep breath, Misato nodded once. "Alright, we'll wait."

Ritsuko was shocked. "Misato! What are you thinking? We can't risk losing Unit-01 just because the pilot might be alive," she shouted.

Misato was furious. She angrily rounded on the doctor. "Know your place Dr. Akagi! The Eva's may be your responsibility, but the pilots are mine. I am in command of this operation, and that is not subject to change. As long as there is a chance of recovering the pilot alive, we must take it. Now, your plan will be our primary, but you and first Lt. Ibuki will put your heads together and try to find a way to free Pilot Ikari and Unit-01 without dropping every N2 mine we have. Am I understood?"

Ritsuko clenched her teeth. "Yes, Major Katsuragi, you are," the blonde doctor growled. Wit that, the two women turned their backs to each other, neither wanting to look at the other.


Shinji found himself sitting on one of the city's trains at dusk. Taking a moment to scan his surroundings, he was surprised to see an image of his 4-year old self sitting across from him. He was about to try questioning his younger self when a familiar voice seemed to sound all around the train car.

Why do you pilot? Why do you fight? Is it for that man? Or for yourself?

Shinji stifled a laugh.

Do you fight for recognition? For pride?

Shinji fought harder to hide his laughter

Does it have something to do with this one?

Images of Misato flashed through his mind. Misato picking him up for the first time. Holding on to his SDAT and Mr. Teeth when he stepped into Unit-01 for the first time. Showing him Mari's personnel file. Taking him shopping for more clothes. Giving him his first beer and "The Talk".

This time, Shinji didn't hide his chuckle.

Perhaps something to do with this one?

This time the images were of Rei. Their first meeting in front of Unit-01. Their conversation before facing the fifth angel. Rei smiling at him for the first time after he wrenched her broken Entry Plug open. Him defending her against Asuka. Her commenting on the size of his "junk".

This time, Shinji just smiled.

Maybe it's this one?

As images of Asuka stared flashing through his head, Shinji burst out laughing.

"Alright," he choked out between fits of laughter. "I'm going to stop you right there. This whole sub-conscious act isn't going to fly. If you really were my sub-conscious you'd already know the answer to all of your questions."

Very well, then what is the answer?

"It's simple. Everything is for Mari. Everything I do is for her and the chance of seeing her again."

Why? What is so special about that one?

"Love. That's what's so special."

With that, the illusion broke and Shinji found himself floating in darkness. The voice came back after a moment, resonating inside his mind.

Then I will you show you what could have been.

"No," Shinji said sharply. "I don't care about 'what could have been'. All I care about is what will be. Let me show you what will be."

Shinji focused hard on the dream he had. The vision swam before him in the dark. He saw two brunettes, a man and a woman, standing on a grassy hill. The vision expanded to show two children playing with a penguin about the same size as them. The hill remained in focus for another minute before fading completely.

Smiling to himself, Shinji spoke again. "See, I know now that it's not just a dream, but proof of what's to come."

The was no response from the voice, only a strange rumbling, shaking him back into consciousness.


About an hour remained before the life support gave out and Shinji was lost forever. Maya was working frantically on a way to rescue him, while Dr. Akagi was...

Maya had always admired the blonde doctor. She even had a bit of a crush on her. But after seeing her completely disregard Shinji's life and not even try to find a way to help him, she couldn't understand what she ever saw in her. Maya kept working on a way to save the kind boy's life, when she noticed a strange reading coming from the target. Turning to Ritsuko, she asked, "Dr. Akagi, are you seeing this?"

The bored doctor looked up from her cup of coffee and scanned the terminal screen in front of her. "There's some sort of strange reaction coming from the target,'s shadow" she mumbled. Turning towards her younger counterpart she asked, "Do you think it's preparing to attack?"

Before the brunette could answer, a strange ripping sound echoed through the air. Immediately following, Asuka's voice sounded over the intercom. "Hey nerds, you're gonna want to see this."

Ignoring the German's insult, the two scientists raced outside in time to see Unit-01 push it's head and torso out of the strange floating body. The purple behemoth, now stained red with the angel's blood, let loose a deafening roar. Maya looked on in horror, muttering quietly to herself. "Dear god, what have we created?"

Ritsuko watched in stony silence. How did he free himself? It should have been impossible. This makes me realize how little we truly know about the Eva's, but I do understand how Oppenheimer felt. This...thing, is an engine of destruction. Just what are you planning, Ikari?

Turning away from the gruesome sight, Ritsuko spoke authoritatively, "You'd better contact Major Katsuragi to recover the Third Child. We wouldn't want his life support to run out."

With that, the head of Project-E stalked off. Maya watched her go, wondering just what was wrong with that woman.


Mari had watched the thrilling climax to what was probably the most boring battle ever from the safety of the bridge. Though she had to admit it was kind of fun to see the purple Evea get sucked into the ground, the 13 hours that followed were some of the worst hours of her life. She found herself alone with the two male technicians from earlier. The two men were doing their best to ignore the hyperactive Fourth Child. The pair was so successful in their dismissiveness that Mari found herself forced to take a nap, despite the chance that she might miss the action.

Thankfully, she had woken up just in time to see the Eva force it's way free. Listening happily to the fierce roar, only one thought was on Mari's mind. I wonder who that pilot is?


AN2: Oh my god, I'm a horrible person. I have no excuse why this chapter took so long, I just didn't write it as quickly as I could of. That being said, I'm glad I finally got it done.

Now, I know I said in my Author's Note last chapter that this would be Mari's return, and while I didn't lie, this isn't the reunion you were expecting. That's next chapter people (which I will do my best to get out sooner, but I make no promises).

Also, in case any of you are wondering, the reference to Oppenheimer is about a quote of his after the development of the Atomic Bomb. "I am become Death, destroyer of worlds", I figured this fit well with the actions of Unit-01.

Anyway, that's all I've got for now, so please please please review...or flame, whatever you want. Just please do something. Your reviews are what keeps me going.