Next chapter is up! Sorry it took so long but I'm now updating all my stories at once so I don't leave one behind. Reason why it took so long was because I redirected one of my other stories and changed things. But that's all done so it should be good from now on! Hope you all enjoy this chapter!


Round 7

Mad scientists assemble!

Dr. Akagi was not happy at all. First, earlier she had been given a ridiculous amount of work by the commander which he had told her that he had wanted it all done by the end of the day. Then she had Misato and Kaji interrupting her every five minutes. She swore they were doing it on purpose since they seemed to be taking turns "visiting" her. Then, just ten minutes prior, the sub-commander told her to organize a set of synch tests for the pilots for tomorrow. He had also told her to contact the pilots herself.

Getting a hold of Shinji was no problem. When she called his cell, he had been a bit happy. After telling him of the test, he had started asking her about professional medical gear. She was happy to indulge him with her knowledge. She wished more young people would try to seek such knowledge for their futures. But then when she called Rei she had gotten a bit of a surprise. The girl was panting when she called her and even was a little rude to her, asking her to 'hurry up with what she wanted'. After getting a confirmation from the girl on her test, Ritsuko heard several cat wails in the background. Then she had heard the girl cry out something about 'demons and vile felines'. After that, the line had gone dead. She just shrugged it off though, if she was in real danger section two would be there. Then it came down to calling the second child.

First she hadn't gotten her on her cell. Then she called Misato's apartment and also got no answer. After calling section two, they had told her the second child had not left Nerv yet. This had confused her, as the children had no reason to come into Nerv that day. Using her personal computer, she traced Asuka's I.D. to an abandoned lab deep in Nerv. Now she found herself walking down the vacant hallway leading to the lab. 'What could Asuka possibly be doing down here?' she thought as she approached the door. She slid her I.D. card and gasped at what she saw inside.

Asuka spun around and had her knife ready. Both women looked at each other for several minutes without moving. Asuka was the first to break the silence between the two. "How did you find out?"

Ritsuko looked at the young girl. If the girl in front of her had her hair color and was several years older, she would have thought she was looking at a mirror. "I needed to get in contact with you to notify you that there will be synch tests tomorrow. Section two said you hadn't left Nerv, so I tracked the last place your I.D. was activated."

The girl cringed at that knowledge. Just proved to show that you could be the smartest person in the world, and still act like a total idiot sometimes. She forgot to hide her I.D. from being traced here.

Ritsuko then started to glance around. She was visibly impressed at what she saw. "So… how long have you had this space to yourself?"

"A few months. I came to an agreement with the sub-commander. This lab has been designated to me fully legitimately."

Ritsuko nodded her head. "I see. So what exactly do you use this lab for?"

Asuka gave a curious look to her. "Different things. It varies from a lot of things, like programming to building devices and gadgets."

Ritsuko had walked up to where Asuka was sitting. She looked at the computer screen that Asuka was working on. Giving a quick glance, she gave a small gasp at what she saw. "That's the formula break down for LCL. How did you get your hands on that? Wait a minute." She peered closure to the screen as in the lower corner was a schematic for a crab like robot and statistics on it. "Are those, nanites? Impossible!? I've been working on some for the past few years, but I've been stuck on a power source problem for them."

Asuka gave a small smirk at the shocked doctor. "I've already figured out a way to condense a smaller version of an S2 organ into them. It's not a lot of power. But it's plenty enough to power a nanite for a few days without a charge."

Ritsuko gave another shocked look at the screen. "How did you get over the energy instability of an S2 organ?"

Asuka was actually surprised the doctor not only didn't get angry or feign ignorance that she was incapable of making something like this, but she had wanted insight on how she did it. "It was pretty easy, I figured a number of possibilities as to why our S2 organs were so screwy where the angels were fine. So far the nanites are ready to go but I have a problem with their casing. Their steel plating wears away after only a few hours of being exposed to the LCL."

Ritsuko looked on as Asuka brought the plans for her S2 organ up on an adjacent screen. 'My god, she can surpass me in a few years! Good thing my experience still makes me better in the fields.' She looked back over to the LCL formula and nanite plans. She gave a smile as she had reaffirmed that Asuka may be smarter, but she still had experience on her side. "Try using a carbon plate instead. LCL is acidic, which carbon has a resistance to."

Asuka gave a quick look at her nanite schematic and began typing furiously. Akagi made a mental note to see later on who was faster at typing. After a few moments, Asuka gave a beaming smile. "Incredible! Why didn't I think of it before! You know Dr. Akagi, this could be a very beneficial relationship."

Akagi returned the smile with a nod. "I do believe your correct Dr. Soryu. You know I thought all those degrees on your file were phony or falsified. Looks like I still have some to learn about judging people. But one question. What is miss Horaki's part in all this?" As she asked, Ritsuko pointed to the class representative of class 2-A.

The girl was brought out of her stupor at the mention of her name. During the whole conversation she had been gazing thru the telescope. She wore a deep blush as she gave a week smile. "Umm… I-I think I'm just go-going to let m-myself out now. But I can say that you were right Asuka."

Asuka gave her friend a strange look. Then she noticed how the girl was standing. She currently was facing west, while Toji's house was to the north. "Suzahara doesn't have much to offer. But there is someone who does…" the girl said as she skipped out of the lab to head to the surface.

Akagi gave a confusing look to her new partner. "What did she mean by that?"

Asuka gave a look and walked over to where she was standing and had pointed the x-ray device. She looked over to where she knew Toji's house was and did some quick calculations in her head. Her eyes went wide as saucers as she realized just where she was looking at.

"OH HELL NO!!"


Meanwhile, back to our favorite blue head…

Rei was running like she was in a marathon. The poor girl was trying her best to find a certain store while still avoiding the dozen cats chasing after her. She currently had Blue tucked away in his favorite spot as she turned another corner by grabbing a light pole to turn without losing speed. She then spotted the store and immediately came to a stop with her right eye starting to twitch. The store was three blocks away at the end of the narrow street she was on. This though wasn't the problem though, the fifty or so cats peeking out from different spots between her and the store was. 'Where are all these demons coming from? It would be considered rare to see one in a week, and here is a whole GOD DAMN ARMY OF THEM!' As she finished this thought the cats from behind started to catch up and they all jumped at her at the same time. It was then, at this time, that the girl had enough.

She gave a snarl as she did a twisting back flip, avoiding all the cats that had jumped at her. She then landed in a crouch position and looked straight ahead. Anyone looking at Rei would feel a shiver down their spine. The girl's hair was curled up in different directions while she wore a snarl on her face. Ayanami then ground her back foot into the ground while still in a crouch, like she was ready to start a race. Even Blue decided it best to stay tucked away in his spot while his owner was going insane. Then with a roar that would rival a berserk Evangelion, she took off in a dead sprint forward.

"YOU'RE ALL GOING DOWN!"

The dozen cats that had missed her when they jumped were flung to different directions like a bowling ball had plowed thru them. That was when all the others that were lying in wait struck. As Rei reached an area where there were cats waiting, they would launch themselves at the girl. But despite having all these cats jumping at her, she did not slow down. Instead she started to dodge them all while keeping her speed. Jumping, sliding under, cart wheeling, you named it, she did it. Many spectators starting cheering her on as she ran by. She was half way there when she ran past a man sporting a beard.

The man had been non other than the commander himself. Since learning that his scenario was now no more, he just didn't care about anything anymore and decided to go home early. He turned to his left and saw that the first child was racing down the street in his direction. He felt a chill down his spine as she looked like she had been possessed by a demon or such. "Rei?" he asked as she passed by him.

In almost slow motion he saw her passed by him without even giving him any recognition. She then leaned back as a cat, spread full eagle, jumped past where her head was mere milliseconds prior. Unfortunately for him, his head was aligned with the cat's path. The cat landed spread out on his face and dug it's nails into each side of his head. An average human would be yelling or screaming in pain at this point. But the commander was so low in spirits, he just didn't care.

"I need scotch… lots of scotch…" came the mumbled reply from the commander. As if knowing where to go despite having his view blocked by the cat, he went off to the local pub.

Back to the raving madwoman, she was almost to the door when a cat finally landed on her arm. She gave an almost animalistic roar when the cat dug it's nails into her. She ripped it off and flung it away, but the damage was done. She was no longer training her eyes on the incoming cats and collided with another, knocking her off balance. She used her arm to try to right herself when another smacked into her hip. The cats had somehow came to the conclusion that if they could knock her down they could all get to her. Yet after being assaulted by several cats flinging their bodies into her, she kept trudging forward. Many would later swear it was something out of a movie, like the hero trying to get to something no matter what.

One of the store workers had spotted the girl racing towards the store and saw what was going on. He opened the door and leaned back to give the girl an access point into the store. Giving one final push off from the ground, Rei jumped thru the door while spinning around so she could land on her back. One last cat made a jump for her but she just smirked at it before she drew her leg back. "See you in hell!" she screamed as she delivered a kick that sent the cat back outside. The moment she made it thru the door the worker slammed the door shut. Rei finally landed and slid on the ground into a heap of gardening tools. She was panting hard and was bleeding a bit.

"Mew…"

Blue popped out of her shirt and had swirly eyes as he tried to get his bearings from his ride. The worker walked up to the girl with concern. "Miss? Are you alright?"

Rei looked up and gave a thumbs up to the man. "This is the hardware store, correct?"

The worker gave her a nod. "Yea, the only one in all of Tokyo-3 with everything you could possibly need for anything. Is there something specific you wanted?"

"Yes. And as much as I detest having to come here, I need full use of your store. Anything I use here can be charged toward Nerv. Do not get in my way or I'll feed you to my adversaries outside. Understood?"

The poor man just shook his head yes as he stepped back from the girl. Rei had gotten up and went first to the brooms. Earlier the cats destroyed her weapon and now she need a new one. But it couldn't be your average weapon since the cats learned to destroy her last one. She grabbed a metal one. Content with the weight, she pulled off the bristle end and headed to the welding department. 'Pilot Soryu isn't the only one who can make stuff.' She thought as she gave a snicker. Blue went back into his hiding spot and began to tremble as his master's snicker erupted into a full maniacal cackle.


Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget to write a review and check out my profile for a little more in-depth summary and look into the story. Although if you've gotten this far it probably won't do you any good really. Till next time!