I do not own the characters of Neon Genesis Evangelion, nor any other aspects of it. Although that doesn't stop them asking me for money.

Rating: T - a fair bit of swearing (this should probably be rated higher)


Initial Perturbation

CHAPTER 11 - Deviation


Shinji opened his eyes to a darkened hospital room. 'Same old ceiling.' he sighed. He cast his mind back to the events that put him there. The battle with the 13th, carrying Unit 02 under red-headed protests back to HQ. Asuka's face as she sat him on the floor in the locker-rooms, after he started blacking-out from the sedatives overcoming the stimulants in his body once more. Her hands on his shoulders. The fear in her drawn, tired eyes.

He stretched and sat up. It was still pitch-black through the windows. The battle with Zuruel had taken place at dusk, so it was probably early morning right now. 'Everyone's probably asleep. I hope there wasn't too much damage to the city this time.'

Sometimes the nights after a battle were a mix of flashing lights and sirens, and flashbacks to the battle as he slept. In the hospital they sometimes drew thick curtains over the windows, like a WWII night in London or Germany.

'Funny how Unit Zero smells like Rei. It let me in this time...like it knows me now. I don't think I'll ever understand how they work, they're more like animals than robots."

The hospital-gown clad boy let out a yawn and sat on the side of the bed. 'Gotta go...'

The door opened and Shinji had to shield his eyes from the light. "Ah, Shinji-kun. You should still be asleep."

Shinji smiled weakly. "Miss Kanazawa-san. I...have to go."

The nurse smiled tolerantly back. "Well, that would be better than wetting the bed. Unless you want to give me more work." she said with a wink.

Shinji blushed slightly as he went to the bathroom. When he came out, he saw the nurse still in the room. "Is...everything okay?"

She smiled sunnily in the shadowy room. "I just need to tuck you in, Shinji-kun."

"Ah...arigato..." Shinji mumbled. 'Weird...' he thought to himself. Still, it wasn't uncommon for the nurses to mother him a bit.

He laid down and let her pull the sheets up to his neck. She leant over and produced a syringe.

"Wh-what's that for!" he asked in alarm as she skillfully inserted the tip into his exposed arm, despite the gloom.

"Ssh. It's alright Shinji. You've been through a lot."

"What?" he asked, confused. Then he noticed his field of vision shrinking. "Why..."

"It's okay, Shinji. You're going somewhere safe." he heard her say before he went under.


Kaji strode into the laboratory deep within the bowels of Nerv's research section. A crumpled cigarette burnt pitiably in his mouth and he held his jacket on his back with a single finger over his shoulder. He took the butt from his mouth with his free hand and ground it into a pressed steel cigarette tray lying on a printout-covered desk. "Don't you have a few Evas to fix?" he asked the unkempt room's inhabitant.

The woman jumped a little. "You! God-dammnit, why do you always have to be so cocky?"

Kaji shrugged. "Because it makes people cranky, and cranky people tell fewer lies. Effective lies, anyway. Now, what's so urgent that it had to interrupt an extended effort of comfort-rendering to our fragile Operations Director?"

Ritsuko snorted. "Misato's so selfish it's sickening. Shinji's still in the hospital and she's playing doctors-and-nurses with you!"

The agent raised an eyebrow. "She's selfish?"

The doctor cupped her face in her hands and brought them up to run through her blonde hair. "Okay, she's just a hypocrite, but I'm one to talk. Look, I need you to do something for me."

Kaji cringed. "I don't know if I can handle both your and Misato's needs right now."

"Shut up. I need you to...transport something for me."

Kaji frowned and held his hand against his hip. "Like what?"

She gestured to a table covered with a sheet and peeled it back to let the agent see. The man paled visibly. "You're not serious." he choked.

Her mouth tilted upward in a grim smile. "Time to earn your cover-up. I'll give you a list of requirements. It has to be hidden, and safe."

He looked at her in disbelief. "You want...it back! Just what are you, Doctor?" he said as he accepted a paper envelope from her.

Ritsuko's eyes glazed as she looked into the distance with her mind's eye.

Kaji clenched his hands behind his back and paced the floor. "You're hiding this from Ikari, aren't you. In the name of Adam's Offspring, why!"

Ritsuko clenched her fists. "For christ's sake, get on with it. We don't have much time!"


"Misato! Misato!"

"Asuka-chan, what's wrong? Ssh, honey. What's wrong?"

"He's been kidnapped! Some evil woman kidnapped Shinji! He's been taken, Misato!"

"What...?"

"Get Section Two! Get Kaji! Get the Commander!"

"Ssh. Asuka, this isn't a game. How did you find out he's been kidnapped? He hasn't just gone for a walk or something has he?"

Asuka fixed the purple-haired Major with a steely look. "Listen you moron! While you were screwing Kaji first thing in the morning I was here looking for him! Any-fucking-thing to get away from the noise! Anyway, I badgered Security until they showed me the video footage - some nurse drugged him and took him out of a service door in the middle of the night! Now get off your arse and find him you bitch!"

"Oh my god...shit..." She took her phone from her handbag and dialed. "Commander? I have reason to believe that the Third Child has been kidnapped! What? Surveillance footage, sir. Yes. Yes, right away!"

She looked down at the girl who's opinion on this matter she trusted. "You'd better be right, Asuka. Or I'm drowning in shit creek."


Kaji jogged to the Commander's office, jacket on his arm. 'What now?' he thought, swearing like crazy only in the privacy of his own head.

Commander Ikari stood by his desk facing the expansive sephoric diagram before him, back to the doorway. He turned around to look as his man as he entered.

"Agent Kaji. The Third Child has been kidnapped. Please deal with it."

Kaji frowned. "Was it the nurse who sedated him before the battle?"

Ikari grimaced. "Indeed. A woman with impeccable timing."

The Agent looked down at the floor, then cast his gaze over the giant diagram. "Very well. I'll get him back, sir."

"See that you do. Dismissed"


Hikari stared at the back of Asuka's head while she played her console game with vigorous energy. She'd been there for hours, and the dusk sun filtered through the windows. It was time to close the blinds, but as long as they were open the Section Two agent wouldn't invade her home. So they could stay open for now.

Asuka's character died. She slammed the control pad down, fuming at the monitor, then leaned back to lie flat on the carpet of Hikari's bedroom. "This sucks." she snarled.

"You can play another game if you'd like," Hikari offered.

"No, that's alright. I mean, I just need something to do."

"I see," Hikari said sympathetically. "So, what do you want to do now?"

The pilot let out a sigh. "I dunno...is it dinner time yet?"

Hikari's lips quirked. "You want to stay for dinner?"

"I guess...or maybe we can go somewhere, my treat? I don't wanna go home right now."

Hikari rolled her eyes. "So I noticed. Look Asuka, something's obviously wrong. If you want to talk about it, I'm here."

Asuka chuckled ironically. "Of course, it's your house. You see that ape out there?" she asked, pointing out the window. "He's here because Shinji was kidnapped. I'm not supposed to tell you that, but hell, they're the ones who let him get taken right? So now that ape is following me around, with a dozen others you can't see. Fat lot of good it does. I'm not the one who got stolen." she puffed a few stands of hair from the front of her face disgustedly.

Hikari's eyes went wide. "Kidnapped? Why! We need him as well as you and Rei in case of an attack, right?"

"And the bitch nurse who did it sedated Shinji before the last battle too. She must be a total retard or something, too dumb to do a real job."

Hikari frowned. "I don't know about the kidnapper, but nurses aren't dumb you know. My older sister is training to be one, and she's not dumb."

Asuka smiled sarcastically. "Whatever. Not everyone can be brilliant, I suppose."

"You're so stuck-up sometimes it's infuriating. But why can't you go home? Because Shinji's not there?"

Asuka cringed. "It's not like that. I can't stand the sight of Misato right now, but she'd better be out looking for Shinji anyway. It's too quiet at home. And I couldn't even find Rei."

Hikari sat down next to the girl on the floor. "Shinji's very important to you, right?"

"Yeah...I guess. He's...someone I can tell exactly what I think, and he doesn't disagree. He doesn't have to. If I told him all nurses were stupid, he'd give this look and I'd know he thought I was being a bitch, but he wouldn't have to say it. Dummkopf. He thinks everyone is wonderful, except his father."

"It sounds nice."

"Yeah, it feels good. But if I went home now...it'd be dark. And...quiet. Even Pen-Pen will be hiding in his fridge."

Hikari smiled tolerantly. "You can stay here tonight, if you'd like."

Asuka looked at her. "Can I? Awesome!"

"Of course, Asuka. Now, come and have dinner with us."

The Second Child smiled. "Thanks Hikari. I'll get Shinji to cook dinner for you when he gets home again. He's pretty good, for a boy."

Hikari giggled. "Does he do the washing too? I guess he's the house-wife while you're the business man?"

She kept giggling as she ran down the hallway, avoiding the blows that would certainly have hit Shinji had they'd been aimed at him.


The overweight, balding man looked at the blood-and-saliva covered broken teeth on the desk under his face, fearing to move lest the man with the gun smash his head into the door frame again. The pain was agony, but the cold muzzle at his temple stayed his screams.

"I swear, I swear! Her rent is paid up for the month! Her fridge is full of fresh food! Her laundry is on the line! I know nothing about her going anywhere, she's a nurse! She's got irregular shifts, I never know what she's doing! I've got nothing to do with it I swear!"

Cold sweat ran onto the handgun's barrel. Kaji growled, and pulled the man up. "It goes without saying what will happen if you're holding out on me. You don't run from Nerv. And you don't run from me. Got it?"

The landlord nodded vigorously, bloody spittle dripping from his swollen mouth. He stumbled backward into a wall, shying away from the man with the gun.

"I hope you don't think I was too rough on you. Just because you might be innocent doesn't exempt you from suffering."

The landlord just nodded. Since second impact, the old ethos of just and righteous treatment had suffered. Survival took precedence over justice.

Weakly, the man spoke. "Mister Agent...you might try Misa Tan...Tanagii. One of Ami's friends. She comes around every now and again to visit."

Kaji nodded as he wiped the gun with a towel. "Thanks."

The man shook his head. "No...for my family's sake I thank you for your diligence."

The Agent of Nerv nodded as he left through the open door, leaving the man and his problems behind him.


"Rei."

The naked girl looked through the LCL that submersed her in her glass tube surrounds to the figure of the Commander. She floated effortlessly, waiting for some stimulus to react to.

"I am the Commander, Rei."

The floating girl continued to stare at this invader into her pristine environment.

"You have a purpose, Rei..."


Fuyutsuki caught the arm of Nerv's chief scientist in his hand as she passed him by. "Doctor, may I have a word?"

The Doctor stopped and regarded the Sub-Commander with a veiled expression. "What can I help you with, Sub-Commander? I am very busy right now, you know."

Fuyutsuki lowered his voice as he moved his head closer to the blonde's ear. "Of course, two of three Evas are unserviceable. However, we both know that the Evas are not the be-all and end-all of Nerv's operations. Please see me in my office soon. This is a matter of some urgency."

"Uh...of course, Sir." Ritsuko said, a little stunned. 'What could he want? Does he know something?' she wondered.


"Something is wrong with the Scenario." boomed Seele 03.

"The number of deviances in the projection is...disturbing. There must be something to account for this." said Seele 06.

"Information coming from my inside-man at Nerv paints a worrying picture. It seems that matters of the Nephilim are not what they seem." reported Seele 02.

"Unfortunately, Tabris reports that there has also been a disruption with the appearance of the 11th Angel. I have not been able to get a satisfactory answer as to the reason for this." said Seele 01 tiredly.

Seele 06 snorted. "Your coddling of that angelic child is unbecoming. Is he a resource on which to draw the reigns tighter about Ikari's neck, or is he your pet and plaything?"

"One does not easily coerce an Angel, gentlemen. In honesty, we must wonder whom is playing whom in this matter." said Keele defensively.

Seele 02 spoke. "Perhaps. It seems that in our haste, we have created contenders for control of the final outcomes of Instrumentality. We must ensure that our control does not slip on our minions, lest they try to turn the tables."

"We hold them by the throat. We must see to it that they don't forget the fact." rumbled Seele 03.

"On a side note, it seems that the pilot of Unit 01 has been taken under duress. Ikari's puppet-child may become unviable." Keel said.

"What would you suggest? That we send your 'boy' in early?" groaned Seele 05.

"To stir up a vipers nest, perhaps send a mongoose. He may also be able to determine the status of Iruel."

"If he doesn't already know." added Seele 04 snidely.

"Gentlemen, do I have the trust of this committee or not?" Seele 01 snapped.

"If you do not hold sway over the Angel of Free Will, then we are lost in any case. Do as you see fit." said Seele 02 civilly.

"Very well." said Seele 04. The monoliths signed off until 01 and 02 were left.

"It seems that holding the fate of the world in our hands is not so simple as it seemed." said Seele 02.

"If it were, it would not be worth the price we have - and will - pay for it."

"Yes. See to it that Ikari does not gain an upper hand by this."

"Of course." said 01 hoarsely. The two monoliths signed off simultaneously, leaving an empty chamber in the depths of the earth.


"Shinji-kun?"

Shinji heard a voice calling his name. He smiled in his sleep. 'Ah...another Asuka dream. Time to...wait...something's wrong...'

His eyes fluttered open. He tasted sour and dry in his mouth. 'Oh bloody. Another unfamiliar ceiling...where the hell am I now?'

He sat up weakly and looked around. The nurse was sitting on a stool by the couch he was lying on, smiling patiently. She was wearing a yellow T-shirt and jeans, suited to the cheerfully low-rent surrounds of the homely room.

"Here, Shinji-kun." she said, holding a glass of water to his lips, letting a little trickle around his lips. He opened them to accept the cool, clear liquid.

"Ssh, not too much. You've been asleep a long time. Slowly, or you'll choke"

Shinji drank slowly as instructed until she stopped pouring. He looked at her expectantly. "Why...why did you bring me here?" he started.

She smiled sadly at him. "You needed someone to save you, Shinji-kun. I saw your medical history, which happened to include some of your psych evaluations after you came to work for Nerv. You've been in need of help for years. After the Angels came, you need it even more. I'm just sorry it took me so long, and that no-one else came for you before me. It's been a long time, Shinji-kun."

The teenager managed to look skeptical despite still being groggy from his drug-induced slumber. "A long time since what?" he questioned.

"Since your mother died."

The woman watched him as this sunk in. Shortly, she saw tears forming in his eyes. "You..." he choked.

"Ssh, Shinji. It's okay. Let it all out." said the nurse as she cradled him to her breast. Shinji sobbed in her arms, letting long tears soak her T-shirt.


Kaji let himself be led into the seedy hotel room by the slightly padded, buxom asian lady in her cocktail dress. He latched the door and she pressed her body against his suit, leaning up to whisper in his ear.

"Please be rough with me," she said, a little shyly.

Kaji grinned. "My pleasure."

He tossed her lightly to the bed, face first. The girl jumped a little, then giggled as he put handcuffs on her wrists. "You came prepared," she said seductively.

Kaji said nothing as he took a roll of electrical tape and bound her ankles together. The girl tried to sit up to see. "Whoa...you're really into this aren't you?" she said in surprise.

Kaji sighed as he bound her wrists further with the tape. He rolled her over so she could see him. Standing up, he took off his jacket and pulled the gun from it's inside pocket. He held it in his hand so she could see it before tucking it into the waist of his trousers.

"Right now, I'm not role-playing." he said simply. The girl's eyes went wide and she shuffled to the back of the bed, away from her assailant.

Kaji raised a thoughtful hand to his chin and regarded the frightened girl. "I need to know where Amelia Kanazawa is. I think you might know."

The woman narrowed her eyes. "Wh-who are you? Government? JSSDF?"

Kaji smiled a sick smile. "Nerv."

The girl pressed herself against the bed's backing board. 'Oh my god..."

"Something like that."

"I..I don't know where she went. Honest!"

"Hmm." Kaji went to his jacket and took an envelope from the breast pocket. "Perhaps these will loosen your tongue?"

The girl caught the paper envelope. "What is it? Money? How much are friends worth?"

Kaji shook his head. "Sorry to disappoint you."

She opened the package. "Photos..."

"You were at a party two years ago. The after party took place on a set."

The girl threw the photos at him, scattering them about the room. "Making pornography isn't a crime!"

"Of course. I don't care who you screwed or how. This is just leverage."

"I don't care!"

"It might be arranged for your father to notice a familiar face. He is partial to finding such things online occasionally."

"You bastard!"

"As I said, this is just leverage. I don't have to use it."

"Shit." the girl considered her options. "Fine, you bastard! I don't know where she is, but she was asking about any relatives I might have in the country. I told her I have a cousin with a spare room in rural Osaka."

Kaji nodded. He took the gun out of his pants and put it on the chair with the jacket. "Can you give me the address?"

"Yes."

He took a notepad from his shirt pocket and wrote the took a deep breath. "Why are you looking for her? Did she do something?"

"Maybe I just liked the look of her." He put the notepad back into the pocket and removed his shirt. "Your cooperation is appreciated."

Misa Tanagii smacked her lips at his impressive form. "Oh good. I'm sooo ready..." she whispered.


Shinji straightened up, still wrapped up in his nurse's warm embrace. She let him go, taking her hand from the back of his head.

"I'm thirsty, miss." Shinji said timidly.

"Call me Ami. Would you like some tea?"

Shinji nodded. Ami got up and went to the kitchen, leaving Shinji to ponder his new circumstances.

Presently she came back with two cups of green tea. They sipped in silence, both sitting on the couch. Shinji's head was still sore from his catharsis, the peculiar sensation from crying too hard.

"Ami...w-why, did you decide to help me?" he asked quietly. "Why not Asuka, or Rei? Both of them..."

Ami leant back on the couch. "I suppose...there are a few reasons. You all need help, but Rei and Asuka both deal with life in their own ways. But you openly need help. You can accept it, unlike those two. In the early days, you said it often." At his questioning look, she clarified, "In little ways."

Shinji cringed inwardly. "You're helping me because I'm a whinger?"

Ami stroked his hair with a free hand. "A cry for help is a cry for help. You asked for it, I answered. The way it should be."

Shinji looked at the tea-leaves that had settle at the bottom of his cup. "But...you must have taken a risk to do this. I mean, I'm kind of...important you know." he said hesitantly.

"I know. You have to pilot that giant robot to save the human race from catastrophe. That doesn't mean you don't need rescuing. You've done your bit."

"But, if Nerv find us..."

"Ssh. It's a risk I'm taking, for my own reasons. You will be safe in any case."

Shinji looked at her. The nurse was looking at the ceiling, beyond it into the past.

"Are you okay?" Shinji asked her, concerned.

She looked down again and sipped from her tea. "Yeah, I'm fine. Anyway, you haven't eaten for a long time - I've made some congee for us."

Shinji felt warm as he watched Ami stand up to go to the kitchen again. He noticed her shoulder-length black hair and mature body. He thought about her soft eyes and warm, round face. 'She's...what a real Angel must be. Like...a mother." he thought to himself.


Misato's phone went off, singing the Yebisu anthem. She moaned and groped around with the arm that wasn't numb under her body, finding the phone and hitting it like an alarm clock. When the noise didn't stop, she picked it up and submersed the phone into her doona.

"Moshi-mosh?" she groaned.

(Misato-baby. I need you to check out an address for me.)

"Did you sleep with her?"

(Maybe.)

"She was a good little bitch then, was she? Put out when you asked? You rewarded her for that?"

(She gave me an address. Stop feeling jealous and help me find Shinji.

"Fuck you, Kaji. I've been working my ass off here, fucking paperwork. Just to get access to the Intelligence database. I shoulda just got Rits to hack 'em with the MAGI."

(Maybe you should have.)

"Yeah. Get my kid back, you bastard."

(Hey, you're the one who told me to use any means necessary.)

"Since when did you do what I told you? Anyway, what was that lead?"

Kaji told her. Misato was careful to memorize every syllable, every letter, every number. A minute later she was accessing the MAGI from her laptop, and eventually called Kaji back.

"That sleepy little town had a visitor two days ago. They didn't go to the address you gave me, but there someone moved into a small apartment that day. It might be her."

(Thanks. Sorry about last night. I shouldn't have told you, work and life should never mix.)

"At least you're honest. I gotta sleep, I've had like two hours sleep in sixty. Get Shinji, and get your ass back here."

(Yes, Major Katsuragi Sir. Sleep well.)


Asuka woke slightly to find herself snuggled against Hikari's body. 'Strawberry conditioner. What a kid she is.' she mused fondly. She stroked along it with a free finger. 'I don't think I've ever been this close to anyone since...'

Asuka repressed a shudder and closed her eyes again.

Hikari, wakened by her stirring, heard her breathing roughen up. 'Asuka...'


Author's Rant:

Ah, much better. Less German language to royally screw up (your comments have been duly noted), and some actual storyline. Of course, you might not like where it's headed...no doubt there's not enough SA for some. Oh ye of little faith...

(That's also assuming that I go the SA path...I never have said I would and nothing is set in stone.)

Thanks to PyramidGirl89 for beta-reading again!


/- Omake for Chapter #11 -/

Ritsuko lit up a cigarette and flicked the 'on' switch of the MAGI power supply.

"Oohhhhhh" said MAGI 01 Caspar.

"Oooohhhh" said MAGI 02 Melchior.

"Oooooohh" said MAGI 03 Balthesar.

"Hi Ho! Hi Ho! It's Off To Work We Go!" they chorused. The synchrograph whistled in tune.

"Hi Ho! Hi Ho! Hi Ho!" sang Gendo, waving at the three supercomputers.

Ritsuko ground her teeth. "Fucking Ikari really is a bastard!" she hissed.

"Hey, that was my nickname for her when we were still dating. I was her pimp, bee-yatch."

Fuyutsuki slapped his own face, remembering. "The horrors of Second Impact." he groaned.

He poured himself a whisky as Ikari began break-dancing on the floor. Ritsuko swiped it and threw it back in a single gulp. Fuyutski poured himself a double.

The Seele monoliths appeared, singing an do-wap acapella in tune.

"It has begun..."

Pen-Pen led twelve other penguins onto the bridge, equipped with shovels and pickaxes.

"Do those shovels and pickaxes look a little...lance-ish to you?"

"Why are we criticizing the props of a bunch of avian invaders?"

Misato stared as the Penguins started to run amok. "Someone get the Pilots!"

"Asuka's taking a nap," reported Hyouga.

"Shinji's stuck in the lockers, he says his plug suit is locked in his locker and he can't find the key." cried Maya.

"Rei's naked." grinned Aoba.

Misato slapped her forehead. "Dammnit. Someone expendable, go slap Asuka around until she wakes up. I'll go get Shinji!"

"Any excuse to go to the men's changing rooms, eh?"

"What about Rei?"

"She's naked."

"Oh right. Forget about her helping, then."

Asuka stormed onto the bridge in her bright-red, form-fitting plug-suit that had an odd resemblance to cosplay spandex, having thrown the expendable cast member around the room like a destroyer.

"Hyah! Momma's come to get you you little fiends!" she shrieked like a banshee. She started tossing the penguins around like tenpins in tuxedos.

Pen-Pen noticed this and squawked a command. 'Stwaaaaks Ooouuun!"

All of the penguins launched themselves at Asuka in a kamikaze attack.

"Oh. This can't end well."


"We'll continue this later, if you survive."

"Misato...I'll fight the demons of hell if you do that again!"


Rei looked down at the defeated Asuka. "Your bits are showing."

Asuka looked tiredly up. "I know that! Stupid Penguins ate my clothes!" she snapped.

Rei smiled enigmatically.

Asuka frowned. "Why are you nude?"

"Ikari wanted it this way."

"You are all Hentai Bakas!"


Copyright 2006, unless Gainax puts that bounty on my head. Or, more likely, my ass.

-fin-