As the Matsushiro Test Facility went up in an orange and black ball of flame, I briefly thought about all the staff we'd had working there, and just hoped our plans kept everyone alive. Then, as the black mass of smoke began its climb upward, I dismissed the thought as a humanoid figure stepped out of the wreckage and in our direction.

"Look alive, we've got visual contact. Engage on my mark. Three-"

I watched as the Angel/Eva moved towards the two depressions Units 01 and 02 were lying in wait within, and counted down slowly as the time to emerge drew closer. Of course, from my angle, I couldn't see it visually, but with the Jupiter's Thunder's camera-feed, it was fairly obvious just what I was looking for.

"Two-"

'Just a little more,' I thought; "one..." And there!

"Mark!"

From within their valley-like depressions, both Units emerged and rapidly approached from its side, while Unit 00, which had already been passed, approached from behind, Getting ready to snag Bardiel's legs.

The Angel roared and spun to face Unit 02, which was closest, and I scowled as I waved my hand and summoned forth the most powerful AT-Field I could. Unlike what I could make on my own, this field was massive, and apparently extremely noticeable, as the Angel paused to turn towards me as if sensing a greater threat.

Of course, I'd timed it so that Unit 02 would arrive and have a moment to try to snag the thing's arm, and Asuka succeeded in that, Shinji approaching rapidly from the other side to do the same.

Unfortunately, we'd underestimated the Angel's strength, because after a moment, it simply brought its two arms forward, sending Units 01 and 02 crashing into each other hard enough to bend some of their armor.

"Watch out, idiot!" Asuka roared as she dove forward to recapture the Angel's arm. Before she reached it, however, she rebounded off an AT-Field that had sprung up almost the moment she had started moving, and I scowled as Unit 01 reached out and prodded the Field that kept it back as well.

"Never the easy way," I mumbled, before opening an audio channel. "Alright, the initial plan has failed. Fall back to secondary positions and get your weapons. We need to bring down that AT-Field and retrieve that Entry Plug fast."

Switching on the targeting computer, I smiled as I realized that tying some of the systems into the Entry Plug wasn't too bad an idea, as I could visually designate a target just by looking at it.

"Get clear!" I announced, before opening with a blast from the wrist-mounted laser cannons. While not anywhere near as devastating as a turbolaser, each blast was on par with a medium air-to-air missile, and it was highly unlikely I'd run out of ammo any time soon, so I started firing to maintain it's attention while the others got armed.

Much to my annoyance, however, Bardiel didn't seem to want to take his punishment without a fight, and he leapt up, much higher than I would have expected a giant bio-mechanical war machine to be able to achieve, and only at the last minute did I back away as it landed right where I'd been standing, it's fist buried up to its elbow in the asphalt of the road I'd been standing on.

"So, you want to go hand-to-hand?" I asked rhetorically, as I fell back into a fighting stance. While I'd practiced with Makoto during our free time on occasion, this would be the first real fight I'd had since squaring off against Prince Thrakhath's personal guards in the last universe we'd stopped in.

Bardiel began with a punch that wasn't a punch; his frighteningly stretchy arms almost catching Unit 03 in the chin as I bent back to avoid the hit.

"Kyle, you can't afford to toy with it," Makoto shouted as I danced around its lunges as the Angel made repeated attempts to get its hands on me. Sighing, I grabbed the next punch and tried to throw the Angel in a simple Aikido toss, when the arm merely stretched, a moment before its other hand wrapped around Unit 03's neck and it started drooling on my exposed side.

"Oh shit" I mumbled, before frowning. Nothing was happening. Actually, I could feel something tingling slightly along my own side, but a glance at one of the status screens showed no signs of Angelic Contamination.

"Can't contaminate what's already under Angelic control," I muttered, backhanding the apparently confused Angel. As Bardiel fell back, his grip weakened enough for me to shake myself free, I felt a sudden urge to leap away and did so a moment before a stream of over-sized, high-powered bullets tore through the space I'd just occupied and flattened themselves against the Angel's AT-Field.

"Thanks for the warning, Asuka," I grumbled, as the redhead proceeded to empty her weapon to no obvious effect. A moment later, Shinji told us to get back, and as I jumped away, the repulsorlifts activating to carry me further as I turned to look at the purple Unit.

In its hands was an oversized weapon, this one shaped somewhat like the AT4 Anti-tank weapon I'd trained with back at Fort Knox. This one, however, was large enough to fire a cruise missile, and after a moment for Asuka to get clear, that's exactly what it released, the missile passing under me going so fast that it barely had a chance to extend its stabilizer fins before it exploded, its warhead pre-programmed to deliver the maximum amount of force to an Angel's AT-Field.

"The Angel's AT-Field is beginning to weaken, continue your assault and prepare to extract the pilot," Ritsuko said to all of us as the assault continued. I targeted the Angel's back and fired off a Concussion missile while Rei circle-strafed while repeatedly firing, a move that got a chuckle from me as Asuka went to retrieve more ammo for the oversized machine pistol she'd used before.

As we continued to keep the Angel on the defensive, we also closed in, prepared to make our move as soon as we received notification that the AT-Field was down.

"Careful," I muttered over the airwaves as Dr. Akagi notified us that the Field was almost nonexistent, "We don't want to harm the Entry Plug. Target the front of the Angel only." I punctuated my order with another burst from the wrist-lasers, a moment before Shinji managed to get a hit in with a rifle that penetrated the AT-Field and put a rather ugly hole in the Angels torso.

"Move in!" I shouted at the same time Ritsuko announced the AT-Field was down. Asuka and Shinji literally dove in, and this time dug their feet in when the Angel tried to smash them together again. The two were jarred, but nowhere near as bad as before.

Bardiel roared, probably in displeasure, as Rei moved in and wrapped Unit 00's arms around its feet, the three of them keeping the squirming Angel as immobile as possible while I moved in and pulled the Progressive Knife stored on Unit 03's waist.

"Extracting entry plug," I announced as I activated the blade and began slicing the webbing around the plug. Bardiel redoubled his efforts to escape as I continued, but the other pilots held him fast, and a moment later, I cut the last strand, the Entry plug sliding further out as it was released.

"Got it!" I yelled as I pulled the plug free. "You okay in there, Aida?" I asked as the now-free Entry Plug re-established its connection to the network.

"I think... I'm going to be sick," the new pilot said, a moment before the video window closed. I frowned, and stepped away to set the plug down so Aida could step clear and be teleported up to the Thunder.

"Shit," I heard Asuka mumble. I spun around in time to see Unit 01 thrown clear, a moment before Unit 00 was torn from Bardiel's legs and thrown hard into Shinji's unit as it tried to climb to its feet.

"Contamination in Unit 02!"

"Get OUT!" Asuka cried, as the Angel held Unit 02 by the neck with one hand, the other holding the red Unit's arm fully extended as it drooled just like before, the thick purple substance landing on Unit 02's upper torso, where the armor was visibly warping.

"Oh no you don't," I muttered as I vaulted to deliver a flying axe-kick to the Angel's head. Bardiel shifted at the last moment, so instead of sending it to the ground, I caught its shoulder and sent the Angel spinning, fortunately breaking its hold on Asuka.

"Pilot's status?" I asked, as Shinji shoulder-charged the Angel at full speed. The kid must've shaken free from Rei the moment he heard Asuka was in trouble. The off-balance being tumbling end-over-end as Unit-01's momentum was delivered to its backside.

"Unit 02's contained the contamination. Asuka should be fine," Fuyutsuki stated, before turning to look away from the video pickup for a moment. Finally, he nodded then turned back, "Unit 04 has been listed as an acceptable loss. Use whatever force is necessary to destroy the Thirteenth Angel."

I nodded, "understood." The other pilots acknowledged as well, while Rei opened up with another blast from her weapon on the flopping Angel. Nearby, Shinji growled as he drew his progressive knife and moved in for the kill, Rei's fire abruptly stopping as he got close to her line of fire, a moment before she joined him, prog-knife in hand as well. Shrugging within Unit 04's Entry plug, I glanced at the knife in hand, and approached as well, intent on finishing up.

"You want Progressive Forks?" Nabiki asked rhetorically, moments before Bardiel was vivisected. I shot her a withering glare as bright-red blood exploded from whatever wounds were made, the crimson fluid liberally coating the three of us as we went to work.

"This has got to be the most disturbing thing I've ever gotten to participate in," I mumbled.

"Yeah," Shinji replied absently as Bardiel's arms were successfully removed. Unit 01 took its knee off the Angel's back then, and turned to work on its legs, when the Angel bucked, sending the precariously-balanced Eva down, before the damn thing leapt to its feet and roared in open defiance.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," I mumbled as the armless, bloody Angel took off towards Tokyo-3. Glancing at the area around us, a rural area with only the occasional building, I shrugged and armed one of my Proton Torpedoes, aiming for the Angels retreating backside.

"Proton Torpedo away!" I said as the missile took to the air, rapidly eating up the distance to Bardiel before exploding with a flash.

"Would you please stop using nuclear weapons against the Angels," Fuyutsuki asked after the static had cleared from the airwaves.

"There's a weak blue pattern waveform at the site of detonation. The Thirteenth is still alive," Dr. Akagi announced, cutting off my reply.

As the debris settled, I sighed as the battered and torn body of Bardiel wiggled its way forward, obviously still desperate to complete its mission, despite the obvious futility. I took a step forward towards it, when suddenly a red form flew past me. "Wha-?"

"Allow me," Asuka snarled as she leapt, her prog-knife held high as she descended on Bardiel with the intent to kill in her very pose.

"Die!" she screeched as she landed, bringing the blade down into the now-visible core with earth-shattering force. Bardiel shuddered once, before falling limply back to the ground, defeated.

"And we're done here," I said, opening video windows to most of Nerv.

"Unit 02 needs to come back to headquarters immediately for decontamination," Ritsuko said, earning a snarl from Asuka.

"Sure, send down the barge for Units 00, 01, and 02, and I'll walk back," I said, glad to be free of the cables the other Evas had to operate with. As SHODAN complied, I turned to look at the mess we'd made of Bardiel and wondered about how Nerv intended to clean it up.

"The black knight," I muttered to myself, remembering the armless figure from Monty Python, before shrugging and taking off towards Nerv. The others needed a ride, but when you could fly... well...

The trip back was relatively quiet, most comm chatter meant for someone other than me, though I got a bit of a surprise when I arrived and Ritsuko told me to meet everyone in the meeting room. After leaving Unit 04 where the Barge could retrieve it, I crawled out of the Plug, made a quick detour to the showers, and walked into the meeting room a couple minutes after almost everyone else.

"Okay, so what's up? I Thought we were going to stay in our Evas until Zeruel appeared," I asked from the conference room table. The same room we'd discussed the fight with Bardiel in, actually.

"There was a slight discrepancy in the reports that indicate we might have up to three days before Zeruel appears," Fuyutsuki offered after a moment.

"Oh?"

"Pilot Suzuhara died in one version of the original scenario, but in the animated version, he survived, and slept for approximately three days. A large amount of that had been edited out, and apparently we were looking at the doctored summaries... I apologize again for the deception," the older man explained.

I shrugged, "old news. And this is good news. Three days to plan and prepare. What's being done with Unit 03?"

"Despite the superficial appearance, the damage done was too severe to save the unit," Ritsuko said as Makoto and Nabiki walked in. "Also," she added, "even if you'd spared the Unit to the point that I felt we could repair it, my professional opinion would be to trash it anyway, incase we ended up repairing an angel, and not an Eva."

I nodded at that, as Makoto turned to Misato and asked how the ground crews at Matsushiro were.

"Well, the foreknowledge of the event paid off, almost everyone was unharmed, having been told beforehand to get to their designated safety shelters during the actual launch."

"Almost?" Nabiki pressed, frowning.

Misato sighed and looked down, "some staff members didn't fully believe there was any danger, and stayed around to watch, or took their time getting to safety. We've got two confirmed deaths, and a handful of injuries, but surveillance records clearly indicate all casualties were at the sufferer's fault. We did everything we could at our end."

"Well, we can't save people from their own stupidity," Ritsuko said. Makoto glared at her, but remained silent. I sighed to myself as I considered what they felt. I'd never been one for endorsing stupidity, but death was a little harsh for punishment. You couldn't learn from your mistakes if you didn't survive them. Still, they had nobody to blame but themselves, and at this point, there was little we could do about it, so I remained silent as everyone else mulled it over.

Finally, "we'll give their families the full benefits as if they'd died in an accident." Everyone looked at me, and I shrugged, "I can afford it on my own if I have to... but really, we only had people there that we needed, and we're all still alive, so whether or not they did everything asked of them to their fullest, they did their job and kept Third Impact from happening, so they get their benefits." Everyone nodded at that, and I turned to Dr. Akagi and quickly brought out the next topic of conversation, "what're we doing for Zeruel?"

Ritsuko blinked before clearing her throat and motioning to Maya to get her computer out. "Our original plan, inducing a berserker state in Unit 04, has come across some... complications."

"Oh?" Fuyutsuki asked, echoing, apparently, everyone's thoughts but Ibuki and Akagi's.

"Unit 04 has no soul, and the berserker stage requires one to take place. We've gone through the files, and while there are some complications, we'd like to propose Unit 02 as the replacement for 04 in the plan."

"Not 01?" Makoto Hyuuga asked.

"While Unit 01 and 00 are capable of carrying out the plan, 00's Soul is predisposed towards the probable destruction of Nerv, or various individuals herein."

"Who is the Soul in 00? None of the paperwork could say," Nabiki asked, frowning.

Dr. Akagi sighed, and looked at Commander Fuyutsuki for a moment before he nodded. "The Soul in Unit 00 is Naoko Akagi, my mother."

"But... I thought the soul had to have some sort of connection to the pilot! Rei's a genetically engineered-"

"I know what Rei is," Ritsuko snapped, before taking a calming breath and continuing, "while it's preferable to have a soul that has some sort of connection to the pilot, any soul can be used, since the pilot's will almost always overrides that of the Evas. Higher Synch-ratios result, however, from the Soul's desire to give the Pilot what they want; in other words: paternal instinct."

"So... Shinji's class..." Makoto asked.

"The class has viable souls of a parent in the area. The other classes are full of children conceived in the months following Second Impact; viable, but not preferred."

"So why Unit 02?"

"Asuka's mother's soul is broken, which is what caused her body's mental breakdown and eventual suicide. If we intend to try restoring Yui Ikari after this battle is over, I'm unsure how an S2 Engine would interfere, if at all... However, Since Kyoko is not... 'all there,' the chances of a successful retrieval are already infinitesimal."

"And unit 00?"

"If an Eva with hostile intent were given an unlimited power supply and then rampaged like it did during two of Rei's activation tests, the damages could be catastrophic. Being made from Adam, an S2-powered Eva is essentially an Angel, capable of causing Third Impact."

"Like SEELE's plan," Aoba mumbled.

"Speaking of, we've gotten reports of a large division of troops and armor unloading in Aomori. The old men may be moving," Fuyutsuki said with a grimace.

"We'll worry about them when they poke their heads out of whatever hole they're hiding in. Nerv is under my protection, and no terrestrial army is going to last long against the firepower I have at my disposal," I replied darkly. He nodded, then turned back to the monitor displaying Unit 02.

"The confrontation with Bardiel was a success, the only casualty being some of Unit 02's Chest armor. While there are still some tests to be run, I feel it's safe to declare 02 good for combat as soon as the armor is replaced," Ritsuko supplied.

"Want me to have Cantrell send down some replacements?"

"I'll have to send up the specifications, since Unit 02's armor is shaped differently, but yes, now is as good a time as any to begin conversions."

"Send up specifications for 00 and 01, too. I'll prioritize it, and a set of spare armor to be sent down as well, so there's no pointless waiting," I replied, glancing at the camera I knew SHODAN was watching from.

"Thank you," Fuyutsuki said, while Misato nodded gratefully.

"So, Asuka?" Nabiki asked, turning to look at Unit 02 still onscreen.

"Or Rei or Shinji. But you," Ritsuko said, looking at me, "can't, because usurping all control from the soul would negate a berserker state."

"So... why is it this plan began?" I asked, frowning at Maya.

She shifted under my gaze, but didn't respond; instead it was Dr. Akagi who spoke up for her. "The Lieutenant's plan was perfectly viable with the information we had. Only after going over the readings recovered from Unit 03's Entry Plug, and comparing them to the readings from all four other Evas, was it discovered just how and why the plan wouldn't work."

"Oh," I replied, feeling somewhat sheepish for questioning Ibuki.

"Asuka won't like anyone else piloting Unit 02," Misato pointed out.

"Well, it's dangerous anyway, so we're going to have to do the same thing we did with Aida, and ask if she wants to, then move on to the next person. If all three... no, all four decline, then we'll have to hire a reserve pilot."

"Awfully loose with your money today," Nabiki pointed out, looking curious.

"We all lived to fight another battle. And I worked off some stress, too. I'm feeling somewhat better than I have, lately," I offered. She nodded in acceptance, and I turned to look at the camera.

"How's Aida doing?"

"The Fourth Children," SHODAN stated, "is recovering from what appears to be simple nausea. While basic medical scans show no lasting injuries or problems, a blood test has shown some irregularities compared with a sample taken before the Activation Test. While deep body scans show no S2 Organ, and EKG shows no discrepancies from the human norm, the doctors have decided to keep him aboard where he can be fully monitored incase there's more to this than initially appears. Scheduled debriefing will be done via teleconference, at whatever time you designate."

"We'll debrief the pilot after we've gone over the next operation with the Children. Due to this, however, I'm removing Aida from the roster until we're sure he's no threat," Fuyutsuki stated; an order.

"There is one slight problem," Misato said, earning curious glances from everyone in the room. "The Children are still unaware of the natures of the Evangelion Units."

"What?!" I'm not sure who all shouted it, but my voice contributed to the massive outburst.

Misato looked guiltily down at the floor, before continuing, "Shinji and Asuka know what originally was supposed to happen for the most part, and they understand enough of the basics to get by..."

"I'm sensing a 'but' coming up here," Nabiki intoned with a frown.

"But... I chose to edit out the information that might render them unable to endanger their Units or themselves."

"On what authority?" Fuyutsuki asked coldly.

"On mine," Misato shot back. "Look, these children have been forced to grow up in a world far from anything we had to deal with. They understand things like sacrifice and death far more so than any of us did at 14, but they're also still children. Still maturing, still growing up... And they're all missing their parents. If they knew that they were actually hurting their mothers every time their Eva was hurt, especially with the nerve-link's feedback allowing them to feel everything the Eva feels- ..." She trailed off as the implications sunk in. While I'd wanted everyone to know fully what Nerv was about, I wasn't sure I could fully fault the Major's logic.

"While I don't like it," I said, frowning at Katsuragi, "I can't really say it wasn't properly thought out... it was cold and calculating, and in the end, they're going to be very angry at you for it... but it might have been the most prudent thing, considering the alternative," I finally said, diplomatically.

Fuyutsuki, Dr. Akagi, Nabiki and Aoba all nodded, though both Makoto's -Shigeru and Kino- as well as Lieutenant Ibuki frowned darkly at Misato, obviously disagreeing.

"As it stands," Fuyutsuki said, drawing everyone's attention, "we've got to find a pilot for this operation, and potentially go through a complete activation test, plug suit fitting, physical, and psych exam... and we only have, at most, three days to do it, otherwise we're going to potentially destroy half of Japan taking out the next Angel."

Everyone looked a little green at that, and I glanced at the camera, before making my way over to the room's telephone and had Section 2 bring the Pilots to us.

Since we weren't sure exactly when Zeruel would attack, the Pilots had been pulled from school for the next few days anyway, and living at Nerv they were ready to launch as soon as possible whenever the Magi detected the Fourteenth Angel.

When all three had filed into the room, there was a moment of silence as we all looked at each other, before Kozo spoke up to begin the impromptu briefing. "From what we know of the Fourteenth Angel, we're looking at the most powerful opponent yet, originally taking out all three Units before bring brought down by a berserker Unit 01."

"Shinji did it again?" Asuka screeched, clearly appalled.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking down.

He'd paled somewhat at the mention of going berserker again, and I rolled my eyes, before picking up where the Commander of Nerv had left off. "Unfortunately, our only reasonable option is to induce a berserker state in an Evangelion Unit and hope it takes out the Angel."

"So why tell us? Just let Super boy take it out like he did originally," Asuka snapped before grumbling something under her breath.

"Unfortunately, future plans render Unit 01 unusable in this operation and Unit 00 isn't capable of handling a berserker stage and the potential ramifications if the berserker Eva does as Unit 01 did originally," Ritsuko said.

"What happened?" Rei asked, before the others could ask.

"It... acquired its own S2 engine." This time Maya fielded the answer.

"So you're going to use Unit 04, right?" Shinji asked, almost hopefully. It was fairly obvious he didn't want to go through the berserker again. 'Him or anyone he considered a friend,' I mentally amended.

I regretted not being able to give him what he wanted, "unfortunately, my Eva is incapable of going into the berserker stage... and I'm unable to pilot an Eva that is without rendering it incapable of doing so while I pilot."

"You want to use Unit 02?" Asuka asked with some trepidation.

"Unit 02 is the only one we feel safe enough to use in this situation," Fuyutsuki explained.

"Why are they here then?" Asuka asked, pointing at Rei and Shinji.

"Because we need a pilot to volunteer for this mission... it's potentially as dangerous as the activation test was to young Aida," I said.

"Sir," Shinji asked, looking at me imploringly, "how is Kensuke?"

"He's recovered well, merely under observation aboard the Thunder. You can visit him when this business with Zeruel is over."

"You are not allowing him back down here?" Rei asked with a slight frown.

"Not yet, but lets try to focus on the upcoming problem so we'll have time to catch up with friends," Misato said, getting the conversation back on track.

"It's obvious who should pilot; after all it's my Unit 02," the redhead declared.

Shinji frowned and turned to her, "Asuka... please, it's not... going berserker..." he trailed off, apparently unable to continue explaining, and hoping she understood. Instead she sneered at him.

"Ha! Stupid little boy; I'm not afraid of Eva, unlike you! I can handle it, no problem."

"Damn it Soryu, this isn't a contest. You don't get a prize for killing the most Angels! No victory parade, no celebratory speech, no key to the city. You do this... you all do this," I said, indicating the three of them," so that everyone out there," I waved my hand at the surface above," can go on sucking air. If you keep treating this like some sort of stupid contest, I'm going to pull more than just your flight clearance."

"But-" she started, weakly.

"No 'buts!' No more excuses! Shinji and Rei understand the risks, it's time you do too. You're a damn good Pilot, and could teach Shinji and Rei a thing or two, I'm sure, but you're not going to demean them anymore, or I'll have your wings, your plug suit, and your nerve clips before you finish your insult. Do you understand me?"

Asuka glared at me, but mumbled an affirmative.

Unfortunately, I wasn't willing to accept something so weak. "What was that?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, now that that's out of the way," Ritsuko interjected, drawing everyone's attention, "you three have thirty minutes to talk it over. Asuka, you should ask Shinji- nicely- why he doesn't want to do it so you might get a better understanding of what you're in for if you accept."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Rei?" Fuyutsuki asked, drawing the First Children's attention, "will you pilot if Asuka declines? You're under no obligation to answer now, but I assume you already have an answer."

"I will pilot if Pilot Soryu declines... and Major Katsuragi agrees."

Everyone paused to look at her for the surprisingly random clause, before looking at a shocked Misato.

"I-" she looked at everyone, then swallowed, "why does my opinion matter, Rei?"

"From the Major's attitude towards me after the arrival of the new Sub-Commander, it's obvious the Major has learned of my history before the original Commander intended. Given her own history, I'm unsure I'd be the best choice for this sortie if the Major's concerns influence her judgment during the battle. In that instance, I'd prefer to step aside to help ensure success in the operation."

Everyone was somewhat taken aback at the announcement, and it was a moment before any of us could formulate a response. Finally, Nabiki broke the silence with a soft, "an astute observation."

"Well," I said, finally, "all things considered, I suppose-" I was cut off, however, by a quiet growl from the second Children.

Asuka, quivering with barely-restrained rage, glared daggers at everyone around her before speaking, "if I say no, that doll isn't ever allowed in my Unit."

"Christ," I mumbled as her announcement concluded with a hiss, "this is getting retarded. Take your half hour, and call us when you've decided Asuka. We'll cover the technicalities while we wait for your answer."

"I don't want her near my Eva!" Asuka shouted, before storming out the door. A moment later Shinji ducked out after hastily apologizing to us for her, and Rei left after a moment as well, leaving the rest of us to stare at the door in silence.

"That was interesting," Makoto stated, earning a few nods.

"I hope, for our sake," Ritsuko said a moment later, "that she accepts. Replacing an Eva's core with all the other tests to be scheduled if we have to get a new pilot will be very hard, if not impossible without severely compromising the quality."

"Afraid your staff can't handle an all-nighter?" I asked, quirking a brow at her.

"If they can't, we all die. A little concern isn't exactly a bad thing in this instance," Ritsuko pointed out, to which I merely nodded.

"While we wait for an answer, should we discuss our preliminary plans for dealing with Arael?" Fuyutsuki asked.

"It's in space. I'll blow it out of the sky," I replied dismissively.

"Like you did with the Tenth?" the Commander asked wryly, and I shrugged.

"Considering the apparent disparity between the strength of individual Angels' AT-Fields, it's a safe bet that the Fifteenth's is going to be much more powerful than the Tenths," Ritsuko stated, obviously annoyed at my apparent thick-headedness.

"I'm well aware of the variable power levels each Angel seems to have," I replied hotly, "but the Tenth was perforated, and unlike Zeruel, I can unleash those gigaton Heavy Turbolasers we were talking about to perforate Arael, too."

"It might," Misato finally said, "be prudent to have a backup plan."

"I can retrieve the Lance if you end up having to toss it, but I intend to have the Evas and pilots all down below when it appears. Being psychically assaulted ruined Asuka the first time around. It's stupid to risk that on any one if we don't have to," I explained hotly.

"You've certainly-" Whatever Fuyutsuki was going to say was cut off as alarms began blaring everywhere.

"You're shitting me," I mumbled, before my datapad beeped. As I pulled it out of my pocket, the main screen in the room flashed to displaying the countryside, where quite a few structures were burning.

"Angel?" I asked as I thumbed through a report detailing detected explosions all around Tokyo-3.

"No Blue Waveform detected... but..." Lieutenant Ibuki frowned at her laptop for a moment, before her eyes grew wide, "we've just lost almost all our forward defensive posts, sensors, radar sites, and stationary defenses."

"What?" Fuyutsuki roared. I glanced at the elder man in surprise; he didn't seem to be one to lose his cool, even if this was a surprise of the unplanned, nasty variety.

"Almost all your heavy weapons emplacements and sensors have been destroyed. No radar contacts indicate a high probability of sabotage" SHODAN reported.

"SEELE?" I asked, turning to Fuyutsuki. He nodded, his mouth set in a grim, determined line.

"Their intentions are fairly obvious. Blind us, disable our defenses, and hope the next Angel gets through," Misato said, a moment before the attention-snaring Angel Alarm died, leaving only the regular emergency klaxons blaring.

"Surely they realize the Thunder can do everything those buildings could and more," Makoto said, scowling.

"Maybe. Or they underestimated its capabilities. Still, this is bad," Nabiki said, frowning at the camera, "how many men did we lose?"

"I'd say around a thousand at the least. We registered over thirty above-ground explosions, and quite a few questionable dust-plumes that indicate below-ground structures were lost as well," SHODAN answered.

I winced. That was not good. While Nerv itself employed roughly ten thousand people in the Tokyo-3 area alone, most of the staff hired for combat-roles were used to man installations of military design. We'd lost a fairly large chunk of our defensive force at once.

"We've just lost whatever chance we had of holding off an aggressive assault on our own," Misato said, moments before the Children ran into the room, looking worried.

"What happened?" Shinji asked.

"Is it the next Angel?" Asuka inquired a moment later.

"We just lost most of our ground-based sensor-grid and weapon emplacements," Ritsuko stated.

"But, why?" Shinji asked, confused.

"Apparently the people who originally designed Nerv actually want Third Impact to happen," Nabiki supplied, earning a shocked gasp from Shinji and Asuka.

"That's insane!" Asuka shouted.

"How did it happen," Rei inquired a moment later.

"We're not entirely certain," Misato answered, turning to look at a map displaying silenced outposts, "we think it was wide-scale sabotage. Things carried in that can't be detected by the Thunder or the guards."

"Most of the outlying sites have backup generators, a simple grenade could set off the propane tanks," Ritsuko said, looking over the holes in sensor coverage.

"I'll pilot," Asuka said, suddenly.

"You will?" Misato asked.

Asuka nodded once, grimly, looking at the screen displaying a pile of rubble that used to be a Radar center. "Whoever did this can't be allowed to get away with it. I know I can't punish them... but I can prevent them from getting what they want, with my Unit 02," she explained.

"Did you talk to Shinji?" Makoto asked, and I nodded to her, the question on the tip of my own tongue.

Asuka glared at the Third, but nodded, "I did. But it doesn't matter. Nobody can Pilot my Unit 02 better than me, so I'm going to do it."

"Well, if you're sure," Ritsuko said, before turning to Lieutenant Ibuki, "we'll go get Unit 02 as ready as we can."

The two of them walked out after that, and I nodded at the redhead, "Thanks, Asuka."

She opened her mouth as if to reply, but closed it after a moment, merely nodding at me. Considering what she was probably going to instinctively say, it was probably the best choice. A moment later, she dragged Shinji out the door, mumbling to him that they had to make sure "that crazy doctor doesn't break Unit 02."

"What will happen now?" Rei asked, watching the arriving fire-crews begin to battle the blaze lapping away at the remains of one of the missile-launching structures to the south of Tokyo-3.

"Well... I suppose I'm going to have to bring down a force capable of holding off a potential assault," I said, turning to look at the camera. "SHODAN, get General Hongo down here, and brief her on the situation."

"Understood," the AI intoned, before killing the connection.

Fuyutsuki glanced around the briefing room, before getting everyone's attention. "We'll conclude this meeting and reconvene tomorrow at noon to discuss this development, as well as anything else that might come up overnight. Someone tell Dr. Akagi she has to be here, though the Bridge staff can act as department heads while we're there. I suggest everyone get some rest; today was a long one, and tomorrow promises to be even longer."

Everyone muttered their acknowledgements before moving towards the door.

"Sub Commander?" I turned to look at Rei, who had followed me into the hallway. "Am I to come to the meeting as well?"

I mulled over that one for a moment, before shrugging, "I have no objections to you or the pilots attending. We'll probably cover troop placement and other mundane, non-Evangelion things for the most part, but since we could very well cover something Eva-related, your opinions would carry weight."

Rei stared at me for a moment, before frowning, "That was not an answer."

I returned the frown, "It wasn't ignored then, was it?" She shook her head, and I shrugged, "It's your choice whether or not you attend. Your input isn't crucial, but it's not going to be ignored, either."

"I... I understand," she said, hesitantly.

I nodded, and turned to go, "anything else?" I asked over my shoulder.

"No sir."

After Rei had wandered off, I looked around at the seemingly barren halls for a moment before pulling out my datapad and calling Makoto.

"What's up?" she asked, looking a little tired.

Not that I could blame her. "Nothing now. I was wondering if you were interested in going out to eat. I'm getting kind of tired of rationed goods here at Nerv," I said with a smile.

"Oh, thank god. If I had to eat another bowl of canned soup, I was going to take the Thunder out and steal some cows," she said, relief in her very expression.

"So, steak is it?"

"As long as it's fresh, I don't care. Who else is coming?"

I thought for a moment, before shrugging, "I was hoping we could go by ourselves. If anyone else wants food, they know there's a city outside of HQ that has restaurants."

Makoto smiled at me and nodded, "It's a date, then."

I smirked at her, then nodded, before putting the datapad back and heading towards the surface, where I could get a lift to the Thunder. I would have just asked SHODAN to teleport me up, but the AI informed me that General Hongo was coming down on the Shuttle, and I decided to wait.

A moment later, what appeared at first to be a shooting star gradually grew into the shape of the three-winged Lambda-class shuttle, and made its way gracefully to the landing pad.

"No rush?" Makoto asked from behind me, making me jump.

"No rush," I replied, smirking to hide my surprise. Not that she couldn't tell; she was smiling at having managed to sneak up on me.

"So where do you want to go?" I asked as I slid my arm around her.

"There's the Hilltop," she said, referring to the bar/lounge Misato had introduced us to.

"Hmm, we'd probably end up dining with at least a couple others from Nerv if we ate there. Want to just swing by after?"

"That's good. How about Piko's?"

"Piko's?" I asked, turning to her as the shuttle lowered to the ground, "what's that?"

Makoto blinked at me in surprise, "you don't know? We've been told to go there daily by the bridge crew. They insist it's the best place in town."

"Oh... I've kind of been ignoring them lately. Everyone seems a little... tense." I replied, sheepishly. I hadn't ignored the important stuff, but I suppose I was kind of paying too little attention to things that weren't life-or-death. This whole world seemed to be about extremes.

"It's been a pretty busy couple of weeks, hasn't it?" she asked, mirroring my thoughts.

"Too damn crazy," I said, as High General Hongo stepped off the shuttle and saluted, apparently forewarned about our presence.

"At ease General," I said, nodding to her. She loosened her posture, and I pointed over my shoulder. "Head on inside and let SHODAN know you're here. She'll let you know where to go to start planning force deployment. There will be a briefing tomorrow at noon, local-time, where you'll probably get last minute suggestions and be given the go-ahead to begin bringing down our forces."

"Understood, Lord Kyle," she responded, snapping back to attention and saluting again.

I frowned at her, "Our forces are ready to be deployed, aren't they, General?"

I was surprised at the spark of anger that flashed in her eyes as she replied hotly, "the Thunder's Ground forces are ready to rip apart anyone who dares stand against us, my Lord."

I nodded, "good. If it comes down to a fight, at least I know I won't have to worry about my ground forces."

"Lord Kyle, I-" I cut her off before she could continue.

"Makoto and I are going out on the town, to get away from work. Unless it's truly urgent, It'll have to wait for tomorrow's briefing."

"Yes, my Lord. Tomorrow." She said, saluting once more before slipping inside.

"Well, that went well," Makoto mumbled, before stepping into the shuttle, pulling me by my hand as I took a moment longer than her.

"At least we know-" I started, before Makoto put her finger over my lips.

"Shhh... No more work. For the next few hours, we're going to have fun," she whispered, before wrapping her arms around me. And we did; even if we did miss our last-minute reservation and ended up eating at a late-night ramen booth.

The next morning, after a quick shower and an even quicker conversation with SHODAN and the cooking staff of the Thunder, Makoto and I beamed down to Nerv around ten-thirty and let Section two know a large group of Stormtroopers would be through with supplies over the next hour or so.

When the command staff filed into the meeting room, it was to find Makoto and I sitting at the table with plates laden with food, and all along the back wall was a buffet-style table covered in silver dishes containing enough food to feed a small army.

"Eat up," I said, waving at the table somewhat needlessly as everyone made their way to the food.

"What's this for," Fuyutsuki asked, after sitting down at the table with a plate loaded with slices of roast beef and a sizable pile of steamed vegetables.

"I was tired of coming to these meetings hungry, and decided to have a meal catered. I had my own staff and supplies brought down, though, instead of paying out the nose for someone in town to bring their sub-par wares here in an attempt to gouge Nerv," I replied evenly. The older man blinked at that, before nodding in apparent understanding.

"Well, it looks great. I feel a little bad telling the Pilots there was no reason to come to today's meeting before I left," Misato said, sitting down with something I didn't immediately recognize, but smelled like it had something alcoholic in its creation.

"Actually, while Kyle was setting this up, I called in the pilots and the bridge crew, as well as some of the other department heads. When we're done eating, we're heading up to the Thunder to use its Briefing room while the staff here at Nerv eats in rotations."

I nodded at Fuyutsuki's questioning glance, and he nodded once in acceptance before digging in.

While I hadn't initially planned to feed everyone, Makoto's suggestion had made sense, and after a couple of quick questions to SHODAN, we'd set up a schedule that made the most sense.

As we were eating, Rei slipped in the door, and after a brief explanation, loaded a plate with vegetables and joined us.

"Are you coming to the briefing as well, Rei?" Nabiki asked.

The blue-haired Pilot nodded once before resuming her meal, and after a moment of waiting for a verbal response, Nabiki shrugged and went back to the steak she'd requested.

Finally, when everyone was done, we traveled up towards the surface, where the Thunder could get a teleport-lock on everyone clearly, and a moment later we materialized in one of the larger briefing rooms, the giant round table currently occupied by a map of the entire Tokyo-3 region.

"Impressive," Fuyutsuki intoned, and I realized with a smirk that the old man hadn't yet had a chance to board the Thunder.

"Ladies and gentlemen," High General Hongo said, drawing everyone's attention. She was sitting at one end of the table, with a pair of datapads before her, and a small console built into the table all displaying information she'd probably be sharing with us shortly. "If you'd all be seated, I'll lay out our plans for the upcoming days, and a quick overview of the power of the force we're deploying."

As everyone quickly got situated, the map shifted to a topographical representation of the area below, and numerous red, inverted pyramids appeared around the flat Tokyo-3, recognizable as the facilities lost yesterday.

"As you all know, last nights attack rendered Nerv almost defenseless and blind to any potential incursion, and I've been tasked to cover the deficiencies as best as possible, as quickly as possible."

"Now, due to the difficulty it would be to integrate our two varying technology levels, I've decided to forgo direct replacement, and instead, propose to move the nearly-finished Star Destroyer being built into a low, geosynchronous orbit directly overhead, where its sensors can act as Nerv's to cover as much, if not more, of the area your installations once covered."

"Can the sensors pick up waveform patterns? An Angel doesn't give off the same readings an airplane or tank would," Ritsuko asked, worriedly.

"So far, all the Angels we've encountered have registered on the life form sensor as massive, unknown biomasses, save Iruel, who was too deep within Nerv for our sensors to reach."

"And we know the next few Angels are all coming from outside the Geofront, so all we have to watch out for is the Fifth Children," Misato added.

General Hongo nodded at that, then hit a button, bringing up a display of an AT-AT. "This is an Imperial All-Terrain Armored-Transport, or AT-AT, capable of carrying two smaller AT-STs, or five speeder bikes, along with 40 troops. Aside from their carrying capacity, the AT-AT is also armed with two medium laser cannons on the cheeks, and two heavy laser cannons on its chin."

"Deploying those might not rest well with the civilians still in Tokyo-3," Nabiki pointed out.

General Hongo nodded. "Because of that, we've decided to bring them down in the middle of the night, and deploy them in a modified storage position, which would leave their legs withdrawn to appear more like an odd building," the General responded, a spinning image of the AT-AT in the described position showing off it's appearance amidst the plants and trees in the outlying areas.

"While we have 40 AT-AT's aboard currently, a look over the potential threat an invading army has to offer leads me to believe that deploying all of them would be wasteful; as such, I've designated the following locations as intended deployment areas, the green-capped points indicating a Speeder-bike load out, and the yellow-capped points indicating AT-STs.

"What is an AT-ST?" Misato asked.

A new figure appeared over the map, the two-legged walker from Return of the Jedi appearing in all its clanking-splendor. Thankfully, the trees in Tokyo-3 weren't redwoods.

"The AT-ST is an All-Terrain Scout-Transport. It is a two-man scout vehicle intended for areas an AT-AT would have trouble reaching, but too dangerous for a lone stormtrooper. It has two chin-mounted medium laser cannons, as well as a blaster cannon on its left, and a concussion grenade launcher on the right."

"That looks somewhat precarious," Misato stated bluntly. General Hongo, however, took it in stride, nodding at the Major's comment.

"On uneven, shifting terrain, there is a high likelihood the Transport could become unbalanced and topple. However, much like your Eva Units, the use of legs over wheels and treads enables the machine to traverse more terrain with less chance of failure."

Misato nodded at that, and the display changed to Tokyo-3 itself. A large number of the retracting buildings glowed red as the General spoke up next.

"These buildings are actually disguised storage depots for your Evangelion's weapons. While I don't want to leave your Units unarmed, I propose clearing the indicated buildings out, and using them, instead, to house a number of AT-PTs, All-Terrain Personal-Transport."

"They come in singular-size, too?" Fuyutsuki asked, clearly surprised.

"The AT-PT is designed for Infantry Support. Its twin blaster cannons and concussion grenade launcher are effective against armies, but relatively underpowered against armored vehicles. Here, the weapons might destroy a tank, but for the most part, I suggest leaving the AT-PTs to assist troops against troops, and call in the AT-STs or AT-ATs for tanks."

Fuyutsuki nodded, but Ritsuko leaned forward, "can you stack your units? Or can we leave some of the weapons on the higher racks?"

High General Hongo grinned at Ritsuko's question, apparently having anticipated it. "While I've left room for some of the weapons, with a little modification, Admiral Yuuki and I have come up with a suggestion to cut down on the potential wait in case we're attacked by more than just ground units."

"Oh?" Misato asked, looking slightly more interested. While she'd clearly enjoyed flying a TIE-Defender, she hadn't exactly done superb in the fighter, and had expressed interest in watching a pro take one out.

"Some of your weapons dimensions are similar enough that with a slight change to the racks, we can mount a squadron of TIE craft here on the surface with the ability to launch almost immediately."

"Those ships you were practicing in?" Ritsuko asked, turning to Misato. Misato just grinned and nodded, watching the four craft being displayed above the table.

"The Admiral should be arriving in a moment to handle any questions about the capabilities of the TIE series of ships, but while we wait, I'll just point out that our plans include the deployment of a mix of Bomber and Defender class TIEs within these indicated buildings-" the little markers popped up, "-to give us adequate air coverage while the Thunder can launch more to send down at any time."

Misato nodded, as did Ritsuko, but Fuyutsuki spoke up next, waving at the map with a frown, "there's very little AT-ST coverage here. If the AT-PTs can't neutralize some of the larger tanks SEELE has at their disposal, any that get past those stored within the AT-ATs will be free to carve a swathe through our ranks."

The General nodded as the map changed to show a myriad of tunnels below Tokyo-3, all leaving from one area below.

"The Launch tubes" Misato said, recognizing the system immediately.

"While your launchers would currently destroy any AT-ST we tried to launch, a slight drop in supplied power, and a change in the brace-system would allow you to fill the Eva Bay with AT-STs, and continually feed them to any area they were needed."

"Clever," Ritsuko stated, smirking. Then her smirk faded, "SEELE's got to have people in Tokyo-3, if not Nerv itself. How will we be able to cover all these forces up?"

General Hongo shrugged, and brought up an Image of an AT-AT Barge, just as Fleet Admiral Yuuki entered, a set of paper packets in her hand.

"The AT-AT Barges aboard will drop off the AT-STs onto the Elevators, which can lowered while the barge is in place, keeping the transfer secret. Likewise, the buildings chosen to house the AT-PT and TIE forces can be hidden from view with the bulk of the barge so entry is visible only to people within a narrow viewing angle. If you need to, we can deploy stormtroopers to police the area and keep potential spies clear of the area."

"That should work," the Doctor muttered, apparently impressed that the General had covered almost everything.

"Admiral Yuuki?" Fuyutsuki asked, drawing the attention of the Admiral, who had been working one of the wall-panels as General Hongo spoke.

"Commander Fuyutsuki," the Admiral said, nodding in his direction before she turned to salute me, "Lord Kyle. I apologize for being late."

I waved it off, pointing at the papers in her hand, "I'm sure you have an excuse, and if not, SHODAN will take care of it. What's that?"

The Admiral nodded at my response, before holding out the papers for me to inspect. When I realized what they were, I smiled and nodded at the Admiral, who turned to Rei.

"While I wish the other Trainees were here as well; Trainee Ayanami, Front-and-center!"

Rei, apparently surprised to be called upon at all (though she'd been extremely attentive during the entire briefing), jumped to her feet, before making her way over to the Admiral, and standing at attention before her.

"After consulting with your Trainer, and carefully reviewing recordings of your training itself, I hereby grant you permission to pilot the following craft under a probationary license: TIE-Fighter, TIE-Bomber, TIE-Interceptor, DIE-Defender, and Tyderium-class Shuttle. With this license, you're also given the simulated rank of Lieutenant in the Imperial Navy, with a position saved for you to take at any time, should you chose to seek a commission and join the Navy fulltime."

Rei actually blushed a little as she took the packet and returned the Admiral's salute, and it deepened as Makoto and I started clapping, Ritsuko, Fuyutsuki and Misato joining in a moment later.

When Rei had taken her seat again, a somewhat surprised expression on her face, the Admiral rounded the table and took up a position beside General Hongo, her expression serious.

"As the General as already explained, a combined squadron of Defender and Bomber-class TIE's will be spread throughout the Tokyo-3 area to provide moderate air coverage of the area.

"And what, exactly, is a TIE-Defender?" Fuyutsuki asked. Misato had also trained on one, and Ritsuko had probably gone over the design specifications as she tore a pair apart to upgrade Unit 04, but the Nerv Commander was apparently unaware.

"A TIE-Defender is... well, actually, Lieutenant Ayanami, why don't you show us how well your studies have come," the Admiral said, shifting everyone's attention to Rei once more.

"The TIE-Defender is a space-superiority fighter designed to combat the threat of Rebel X-, B-, and A-class craft. One of the few shielded TIE- designs, the Defender is the fastest star fighter fielded by the Empire, and faster than anything the Rebels have yet employed. Only using its SCRAM Engines can an Imperial Missile Gunboat travel faster, but with limited maneuverability and at the cost of its weapon systems." Rei glanced at the Admiral, who nodded encouragingly at the Eva Pilot.

"The TIE-Defender has four laser cannons spread along its wingtips, as well as two ion cannons, and a pair of variable-warhead missile launchers giving it unmatched offensive capabilities, in addition to its already unmatched defensive systems.

"Very good, Lieutenant," the Admiral said, earning a slight glare from Fuyutsuki. The Admiral ignored it, however, as she turned to Misato, "Major, would you like to explain the capabilities of the Bomber?"

While I knew Rei had spent more time in the Thunder's Flight Training room than the other pilots combined, I was surprised that Misato was being asked to explain the Bombers, when she'd been trained on the Defender. Of course, she had been assigned as Rei's wingman in multiple drills; it was likely she had learned what she could about her wingman's capabilities.

"The TIE Bomber is a slower, less agile starship designed for hitting larger, slower targets and relying upon fighter cover for defense, though each has a single forward-firing laser cannon in addition to its 40 weapon payload. It also has a more powerful sensor suite than standard fighters to assist in targeting an area saturated with jamming, and thicker armor to compensate for a lack of shields and speed," Misato explained.

Admiral Yuuki nodded and opened her mouth to speak, but Misato cut her off with a less technical fact. "Given the technology likely to be used against us, despite the Bomber's lack of shielding, I think we'll still have an advantage over UN-issued Hovercraft and whatever fighters might be employed."

The Admiral nodded, and Misato glanced at the stack of licenses she'd brought in before asking bluntly, "is one of those for me?"

"Major," Fuyutsuki growled, though Ritsuko tried to hide a smile.

"Unfortunately, Major, I was overruled," the Admiral said, earning her a questioning look from Major Katsuragi.

Before she could ask, however, General Hongo spoke up, "I've laid claim to your services, actually. While I'm not able to offer you as much as was offered to the young Sim-tenant," she smiled, but there was no malice in it as she gave Rei a friendly wink (which the girl didn't respond to), "if you chose to leave your current employer, I can almost guarantee you a position on my staff after you've gone through the basic training all Imperials are subjected to." As she finished speaking, the General slid the packet she'd received from Admiral Yuuki across the table to Misato, who slapped a hand down on it with a smile.

"Sub-Commander, are you trying to steal away all my employees?" Fuyutsuki asked with a frown.

I shrugged, "honestly? Yeah. But we're not accepting anyone until the threat of Third Impact is over. I'd rather not have a bowl of orange jello as a recruit."

Makoto elbowed me for that, and I winced, before turning to Fuyutsuki and meeting his gaze, "I'm not trying to undermine your authority, nor do I mean any disrespect; I fully intend to offer you a position aboard as well, considering your abilities in both management and elsewhere. The pilots and Misato, however, have earned their wings, and these two," I said, indicating the Fleet Admiral and High General, "have expressed their interest in them as potential recruits."

"I... I understand," He replied after a moment, nodding.

"Great. Think it over, see this through.. when you have an answer, tell me at your leisure. Until then," my light tone turned serious, "is this deployment plan acceptable?"

"Aside from the lack of troops, I have no objections," Misato offered, to which Ritsuko mumbled an agreement. Fuyutsuki nodded at the Major, then turned a questioning gaze on the General.

"A schedule of the standard troop deployment patterns within Nerv has been modified, and will soon be implemented with both Nerv guards and Stormtroopers throughout Nerv Headquarters. In the city proper, your Section 2 will be buffered with our Special Forces and Intelligence unit, to keep suspicion down. Good enough?"

"I'd like to look over the schedules before their implementation," Fuyutsuki stated.

General Hongo nodded, "Fair enough. I am staying here to oversee the deployment process, and Admiral Yuuki will be accompanying you back to Nerv to deliver the other licenses and oversee the modifications to the storage buildings, if that's alright with you, my Lord."

I nodded, "works for me. Who's in charge of the ground forces from down here?"

"I trust Major Katsuragi enough to handle things for the time being. Unless I'm sorely mistaken, I doubt she'll disappoint me if things heat up unexpectedly."

"Gracious of you," Fuyutsuki uttered, apparently surprised at the trust the General had in the Major.

"The Major's test scores and psych evaluation given before she was allowed in the flight simulator speak for themselves. Few academy graduates are able to command their forces with such efficiency."

"I thought those tests were a little too two-dimensional," Misato said, earning a snort from Ritsuko. Admiral Yuuki quirked a brow at that, but remained silent.

"Well, there's one more task here before heading back down," Ritsuko said, heading towards the door slowly.

"Oh?" Fuyutsuki asked, curious.

"Aida. I want to debrief him, before he starts to forget anything about what happened," Ritsuko stated, having explained her reasoning to me earlier.

"Misato, you should go too, so there's a familiar face there, and Makoto, cover for me. I'll head down to oversee the deployment while Misato is busy," I explained, glancing at the General, who nodded.

"I could go down," Fuyutsuki offered, but I shook my head.

"You and Dr. Akagi are both Doctors, capable of understanding what he says better than anyone aboard this ship. I'd rather you be there to assist than me be there to passively listen."

"And me?" Makoto asked, frowning.

"Just in case the slight discrepancy in the blood work was a worst-case scenario," I answered, evenly.

"Nice to see you trust me," she replied with a smirk.

"More than anyone else," I said with a smile, as I started to fade out.

The Admiral appeared beside me a moment later, and I nodded to her, before heading down the hallway we'd materialized in towards the meeting room from earlier. Unless we were very late, the Children would probably still be inside. Rei, who had teleported down with us, turned and headed in the opposite direction, the ID Card from Admiral Yuuki clipped to her shirt like a badge.

Making our way deeper, I smirked at the sound of laughter and conversation ahead, glad the food idea had panned out. Hopefully, after the disastrous attack yesterday, this would help bolster morale while we replaced the lost facilities and manpower.

Of course, it was during that thought that the Angel alert went off, the screen on the wall across from the door flickering to life to display Zeruel, already within the city limits of Tokyo-3, moments before its eyes flashed, and the screen went to static.

------

Well, I guess I'm on a roll or something. I typed this up in the free time I had between postign the last chapter and... well.. now, so here's to hoping I get the next few chapters up and done. Thanks go to Parker, the only one crazy enough to be awake at the hours I work to pre-read. At least for this time. Up next, the battle with Zeruel, and a shocking happenstance!