Deterministic Chaos

Disclaimer: NGE and it's characters/setting/cool stuff are in no way mine. And if they were, I'm sure they would move to get out of my custody anyway. I would.

Description:

"This...may be confronting." Rei offered.
"K-Kensuke? They got you too, eh"
"I'm hurt. Surely Shinji the Invincible has some commensurate weakness?"

Alone, Fuyutsuki's shadowed outline played against the light of the hallway behind him as he entered the boardroom.

"Chairman Keele." he uttered, his voice heavy with distaste bordering on loathing.

The monolith loomed, the sole illumination in the cavernous room. "Kouzo, good of you to come."

"Where are the others, Keele? Or should I say, Seele Himself?" standing up to the monolith, the man's voice echoed slightly and making him seem small.

01 chuckled dryly. "Somewhere in complete ignorance of this meeting."

The supreme Commander of Nerv snorted. "So you've left your puppets behind for once."

"The puppets have strings. I can scarcely be surprised if they choose to tug on them."

Narrowing his eyes, the Professor asked, "What is this about, old man?"

The monolith stayed silent for a moment. Fuyutsuki raised an eyebrow. Rarely did Keele hesitate before speaking before.

"I'm calling in a favour. I need Nerv's assistance due to some rather unfortunate circumstances."

Fuyutsuki raised a lip in a contemptuous sneer. "Oh? And what favour could you possibly call in from me?"

"The very existence of Tokyo-3, and given it's recent role, the existence of the human race as we know it. Even I have to agree that it is better than the alternative."

With a snort, it was Fuyutsuki's turn to chuckle. "Knowing your ultimate goal, I find this all rather hypocritical. Is that all? I do have an organisation to run."

Seele 01's voice contained a distinct note of mirth. "Yes, I've heard you're doing some renovations. New extension, slate floors, supercomputer-controlled defense systems and the like?"

Fuyutsuki shrugged. "A known defense is still better than no defense."

"Embezzling funds from Tokyo-3's welfare system, the primary education department, the national sustenance fund...quite a bit of money is falling to the back of Nerv's couch these days." accused the monolith.

"If given a choice between possible starvation and utter annihilation, I suspect the Japanese people would feel generous to our cause."

"'Annihilation'? Perhaps you misunderstand Instrumentality. Or at least, the version I propose."

"Oh, I see. So your Council of Pinochios decided on not electing you master of the universe, and you wish me to audition as a replacement mannequin."

The monolith snorted impatiently. "You never were the insightful one, professor. Nonetheless, I will forward the details of the my proposed design for Instrumentality, as well as a copy of the Council's original one. I believe I will let that do the negotiating for me."

Fuyutsuki shook his head gently. "How the mighty have fallen. What happened to you, Keele?"

"Touched. Betrayed."

"What?" Fuyutsuki asked incredulously.

Keele seemed, of all things, contrite. "By an Angel."

The former scientist nodded in comprehension. "Tabris. He gave you free will?"

"You are hardly in a position to understand my motives. Now, should I fore-arm you before battle, or will you learn the Council's will the hard way?"

"You surprise me, Chairman."

"Spare me the condescending platitudes. Just let me know when you choose my scenario over the alternative."

The great block's lettering faded to darkness.

"Perhaps I can understand you, Keele." muttered the Commander. "You're not the only one who's been touched by an Angel. Even if my Angel was much more Earthly."

The room was filled with heavy, human scents. A purple-topped head poked above the bedsheet and lit a cigarette.

"Hey, that's my last one."

She glanced at him in disdain. "You should have thought about that before making me need it."

Kaji rolled onto his back and watched the smoke waft from his lover's lips.

The woman pulled the sheets up to cover herself, from who no-one knew. "How...are the preparations?" she asked.

"Work, work."

"Playtime's over. Speak up, I am your superior officer you know."

"Yes, Mein Fuhrer." The man pillowed his head on an arm. "They're coming along. SEELE's getting careless. My contacts have been reporting some very scary stuff. It seems the Council will not rely on Eva alone."

Misato's eyes widened. "Something more than Eva?"

"I wouldn't say more, but perhaps close enough."

She swept a hair from her face. "Hmmph. So, are they getting careless because they're in a hurry, or because it doesn't matter anymore?"

"That answer could be most valuable of all."

"You really get off on intrigue, don't you. If spy stuff wasn't getting you laid at university, you might have made a fair philosopher. Or a scientist."

He raised an ironic eyebrow. "Like your father?"

"Oh, shut up."

"Understand thyself. It's not a shame to understand your own motivations."

"I'd prefer to be pathetic and ignorant, thank you so much. Argh, I'd better go. Make sure the kids aren't up to anything."

"Two gets you ten, they are."

Misato sighed, standing up and taking the sheet with her. Somehow, she failed to hide her loveliness to his eyes. "Yeah, you're right. I just hope they don't feel as guilty for it."

"There is no pleasure like a guilty pleasure."

"Then why do I wish they were still innocent ones?"

"Getting old."

"Do you want help standing up or don't you?"

Shinji suckled on Asuka's lips before kissing behind her ear and down her neck. He had her pinned underneath him on the couch, the TV was off and Pen-Pen had been confined to his fridge. The heat of their bodies mingled through their clothes. Asuka ran her hands along Shinji's back as he kissed along her neckline, his hands running from her underarms down to her waist, and back up again.

"Mein...Shinji..." Asuka murmured, eyes closed as she felt his lips tickling and caressing her.

"Asuka-chan..." he answered in between nuzzling touches.

His hands ventured to her waist, fingertips trembling at the hem of her top. She reached her hands down his back to the top of his buttocks.

Shinji breathed heavily and looked into her now-open eyes.

"No..." she whispered.

Shinji nodded. "No, it...not yet." he sighed, resignation heavy in his frown.

Asuka sat up as he moved off of her. She wrapped herself around him as he slumped against the arm rest.

"I want to," she whispered, "But...not yet."

"Yeah, I know." he groaned.

"You know why..."

"Yes." Shinji sighed. "It doesn't mean anything unless we have a future, after all."

She smiled at him suddenly. "Or are you going to tell me you have, how do you say, 'blue balls'?"

He frowned. "I would never...!"

She pinched his nose. "I know, my boyfriend is a perfect gentleman. With no sense of humour, ach nein!"

"No sense of humour? It's the Germans who have no sense of humour!"

"Lucky for you I'm half Japanese, ja-ne?"

Growling softly, he reached around and lightly slapped her bottom.

"Ooh, do it again!"

The boy's expression of surprise lit Asuka's face with glee. "You...!"

The light went on suddenly. Misato looked into the room morosely. "Having fun, kids?"

"Yes, and with our clothes on, thank you very much! Unlike some people..." Asuka turned up her nose. Shinji groaned and left to find the bathroom.

"There's a lot you can do with your clothes on..." said the guardian suggestively.

"Oh? Do tell?" the girl bantered back gamely.

"Uhm...guys?" Shinji spoke up, having come back suddenly. "The fridge is foaming."

"Pen-Pen!"

"My beer!"

"First Child, en-route to Nerv. Mode of transport is by foot."

"Look at her, she's exhausted. Can't we just give her a lift?"

"We can't interfere."

"Sure we can! Here we are, black sedan with ample room for a fourteen-year-old kid to get where she's going. We're only going to follow her anyway."

"Of course. Hey, why don't we just move in with her, do her shopping, wash her clothes. Hey, we could even go to school with her. Then she'd never feel like she was under surveillance twenty-four seven and couldn't even take a shit without someone taking notice."

"Like she's got a social life to lose. It might even help!"

"Shut up, Aoshi."

"I mean it! Ever since the other two started exploring each other's tonsils, Rei's been left out of the loop. Even if she does live so close, she hardly ever visits them anymore. And the bottle-blonde Doctor is working her like an animal. A goddamn lab animal."

"You shut your damned mouth. There's a lot going on right now."

"No shit, our budget just tripled and we're surrounded by raw recruits who can hardly hold a hand-gun."

"They're not Section-2. They're just using our facilities."

"Why didn't they prepare their own barracks for them?"

"The word is, preparations for something big are being done in an insane rush. I heard it from on-high; time is running out."

"Preparations? Who told you that?"

"Aoba Shigeru. He works with big-wigs on the command deck. We drink in the same bar."

"How nice of him to slum it with us Section-2 types."

"Nah, he's alright. Seems to know a thing or two about what's going on, too. And he plays a mean solo when his band's on stage."

"Damn. So I can't just blame this on the cynical ramblings of a few disgruntled men in black?"

"'fraid not. First Child has reached Yahiko Way. In discreet pursuit. Out."

Maya frowned at the technical document. "That's a pretty bizarre concept, sempai." she said skeptically, subjecting a page of specifications to intense scrutiny.

The older woman gave a superior chuckle. "They're already trialing it at our German branch."

"Sempai, this goes way beyond the dummy plug. Who would even try such a thing?"

Akagi sobered. "Desperate men. Men desperate to ensure the future of mankind."

The lieutenant put the document down as if it were mildly radioactive. "I can't believe the new Commander would have approved such a thing. Is it...them?"

Akagi shrugged, a little mechanically. "This is only a concept design. Just a lab trial. A full program would certainly take several months to run, even with the dedicated backing of a MAGI system and huge resources. What I want is your thoughts, your ideas on such a setup."

Maya stared abstractly at a point on the wall, thinking. "Well, aside from the monstrous ethical issues I think it would almost certainly give a much more robust link between Eva and Pilot. Better synch ratios should be possible too, with careful synthesis controls and a re-profiled A10 algorithm. But do we need such a thing? Surely the Evas will be disposed of after the council attacks."

Doctor Akagi nodded. "Think of this as an exercise and an investment in the future, just in case anything goes wrong."

Her subordinate smiled softly. "Good. I really don't even want to think about the Evas being used against human beings. Those Seele Evas are bad enough as they are. Do you think the Children will be able to face them?"

Closing her eyes, Akagi sighed. "Only time will tell. But it will not be a simple battle between Evas. I wish it could be."

Rei arrived silently, looking at the senior scientist impassively. Maya jumped slightly as she caught the girl in her peripheral vision. "Oh, Rei! How are you this morning?"

"Tired." the girl stated blandly. "I've only had three hours sleep."

Maya grimaced and looked to her Sempai. "Another late night experiment?"

Akagi just shrugged. "I was on a roll. We were getting some very useful data, so we kept going. I'm sure Rei appreciates the difference her contribution makes to our work."

The younger woman rolled her eyes. "Maybe, but she sure doesn't look happy about it."

"Go and get changed, Rei."

"Yes ma'am."

"Hey, Rei. I'll treat you to a hot chocolate afterward okay?" Maya chipped in.

"I would prefer to sleep." the pale girl responded. "But...thank you. Can I have a cheque for rain?"

"Uh...sure."

Akagi looked at her student with a raised eyebrow. "A certain degree of professional detachment is no bad thing, you know."

"I can't help it, sempai. I can't see them as only Pilots, they're still kids."

Ritsuko snorted in good humour. "Huh. I guess it's just a matter of perspective. Well, you have your style and I have mine. I'll see you for lunch, okay?"

"Hai, sempai."

"Rei, you know how important this is, right?"

"Yes, but...I'm uncertain at times. I have to wonder why we are doing this at all."

"Don't you remember, it was the Commander's will. You owe everything to him, don't dishonour his memory and forget all he fought for!"

"I would never...I will do as the Commander wished."

"Good. Remember, in spite of all his efforts for the fate of humanity, it is still very much a delicate thing. We will have to struggle to ensure that his will be done. You have to work with me, Rei."

"I...yes, Doctor. I apologise, when I get tired I just get confused sometimes."

"Confused? This is the only way to get back to him! How could you get confused?"

"Sometimes I wonder...no, you are right."

"Yes. Together, we can make sure that Gendo's scenario will be fulfilled. And then...we can be with him again. Remember, you are the key to instrumentality."

"Yes, ma'am." The girl lifted her hand up as she stood in the tube, looking at it through the thick LCL. 'But the key has many combinations.'

Asuka rubbed her eyes and picked up the phone which was casting bright lights into her darkened room. "Uh, Rei? What is it?" she mumbled with her eyes closed.

(I'm waiting outside your apartment. I need you to come with me.)

"Ehhh?" Wide awake now, Asuka's eyes narrowed. "Go with you where?"

(I'll explain on the way. Please.)

"Okay, okay...I just have to get changed and wake the Baka."

(Asuka, please...come alone.)

"Okay...you're starting to frighten me now Rei."

(I'm sorry, but I need you. I need to do something, that I really don't want to do, and it frightens me.)

"This'd better be important, Wunderkind." Asuka muttered, having recovered some of her temper. "Where are we going?"

Dressed in her black slacks and top, covered by a grey overcoat and sneakers, Rei was clearly ready for stealth. Asuka had just thrown on whatever had been handy, and cast a much brighter shape in the dimly-lit corridor.

"To Nerv." Rei stated simply.

"Uh?" Asuka pulled a confused face. "Then why are you dressed like Catwoman?" As a small smirk formed on Rei's face, Asuka barked, "None of your pervert one-liners, just tell me!"

Rei let the smirk die away. "It doesn't matter. I suppose I was just getting carried away."

Asuka folded her arms. "Riiight...now, don't tell me you're going to make us walk to Nerv? It is 1:30am in case you hadn't noticed."

Rei pulled at a lip thoughtfully. "It should make no difference."

"Good!" Asuka pulled her to the elevator and dragged her out to the discreetly parked Section 2 vehicle. "Wake me when we get there." she demanded before closing her eyes in the back seat.

"Asuka. Asuka."

"Huunh? Wha? Is Misato home yet...? Find my blouse, baka..."

Rei's normally serene expression distorted into one of disgust. "I did not need that mental image."

Asuka woke with a start. She noticed that she was nuzzled against the First Child's arm in the back seat of a car. "Ah! Rei!"

Rei blinked. "I had not expected our relationship to progress quite like this."

Asuka shrank away to her side of the car sheepishly. "Y-you kinda smell like him." she mumbled defensively.

Rei rolled her eyes. "I suppose that would be inevitable. We've arrived."

"Gutt. Let's get this over with."

A small expression of regret appeared on Rei's face, but she said nothing. She led the Second Child from the fortified carpark into Nerv proper. Having toured through the labyrinth that was Nerv's Command, Tactical and Technical divisions, Asuka was becoming somewhat concerned by the time they reached the very bottom levels of Central Dogma.

"'Terminal Dogma'? Is this where...?"

"Yes. This is where I was born. You were in here once before, when you fell through Heaven's Door."

"The bowels of Nerv. The land of Monsters." the red-headed girl said in disgust. "Oh! Not you, I mean the Evas."

Rei looked at her blankly. "This way."

The albino pressed her keycard into the scanner and walked though the doorway. Asuka pulled a face at their dank, spartan surrounds. "It's like your old apartment. How could a girl live like this?"

Rei shrugged. "It met my needs, at the time."

"Pah. The old Commander was a real prick to make you live in a total dump like this." Asuka spat.

She reeled as Rei's slap contacted her cheek. "You know nothing about him." Rei pronounced, a flash of anger in her eyes.

Asuka held her cheek tenderly. "Rei..." she tested her lip for blood. "Geez, no need to take it so seriously! I'm sorry, I've only ever seen his bad side I guess."

Rei's lower lip straightened. "In any case, this is not what I brought you here for."

'Good one, Asuka.' the girl monologued. 'The First Child brings you on a heart-and-soul reveal-all, and you insult her father figure at the first opportunity. Fathers must mean something I'll never fully understand.'

Asuka followed morosely as they toured the Evangelion Graveyard for a grueling five minutes, even at Rei's efficient pace. She felt sickened by the sheer number and scale of the failures that preceded the creation of Unit Zero. Once, she thought she saw a skull that resembled that of a human's, but quickly dismissed the thought. No good could come of it. 'How much did they sacrifice for Eva? How did they know that it would be needed so badly?'

After touring through a small maze of abandoned laboratories, Rei stopped at a entranced blocked by a huge steel door and surrounded by what seemed to Asuka to be armoured walls. She looked an askance at her mysterious friend.

"This...may be confronting." Rei offered, before unlocking the door and swinging it open on it's heavy hinges.

Asuka stared at amazement at the orange-lit tanks that filled the room, all filled with empty bodies.

"They're you!"

"Yes. Clones."

"I had no idea...that there were so many! And they just keep them here, trapped in these tanks, waiting for years until..."

"Until this day." Rei monotoned, a glint of determination in her eyes. She stepped up to a control panel in the middle of the room, studded with controls and readouts.

"Rei...!" Asuka gasped, moving to stand next to her. Rei's face was lit from beneath with the blue light of a readout, giving her an unnatural aura as the light soaked into her white skin.

Rei hesitantly manipulated the controls. Clearly she had never touched them before, yet knew their operation. Nonetheless, she persevered. When she was ready, she looked up at the tanks, tears forming in her eyes.

"Are you...going to kill them?" Asuka asked, head hung low.

"Destroy...yes."

"Why?"

"I have to." Rei whispered. "I have to give up...being disposable. I'm...mortal and if I die I'll die, once and for all. So...so I can have a future to live."

Asuka shook her head. "I don't understand...why?"

Rei looked into her eyes with a look of maddened desperation. "Because...I am the key! I am the key to Instrumentality, and if Seele can control these, my own flesh, they can control me and the fate of humanity. Then, they can just kill me on the battlefield, in hiding, anywhere. An N2 bomb, an Eva, it wouldn't matter. Even without Adam, Third Impact can be controlled with me, the Lance, Lilith and Eva. So I have to destroy these...bodies. Destroy...myself."

Asuka wrapped a hand onto Rei's shoulder comfortingly. "Can't we just, uh, protect them?"

Rei shook her head. "No. Not against Seele. And they have to know it is so."

The German girl sighed. "Well, whatever. We're in your corner Blue. Me and Shinji. And Misato too, for whatever she's worth."

The Nephilim nodded thankfully. "Asuka...I wish it was easier..."

Asuka hesitated. "Do...you want me to do it?"

Downcast, Rei turned down her offer against a strong temptation to let her. "No. If it's me...then maybe it isn't murder."

Her expression showed her uncertainty, but even so the button was pushed. And then, only she was left.

Asuka gathered the small girl into her arms as she collapsed, holding on while Rei let the pain seep out in tears.

"Are you saying that you didn't put her up to it?" Ritsuko demanded, throwing an armful of papers at the man.

"Would I admit to such a thing?" Kaji replied.

Misato stood up. "Are you suggesting that Kaji told Rei to commit mass-suicide, and she just went off and did it?"

"A ringing endorsement for my suggestive powers, I must admit" said the wheelchair-bound man.

Fuyutsuki cleared his throat. "A-hem. This is an unexpected turn of events, but it certainly does not seem to be too troublesome. I hadn't fully realised how useful those clones might be to Seele. I have to wonder how Rei herself knew they...she might be manipulated against us."

"He must have convinced Asuka to force Rei to do it, through some psychological trick. She's very impressionable, and we all know how easily a mature male can force his way onto a teenaged girl." the Doctor rallied.

Kaji smiled. "Hmmph. You called me mature. I like that. Still, there is a flaw in your theory. How the hell could I convince a girl, who is dating Shinji I might add, to convince yet another girl to do something so drastic? Try again Doctor. Or better yet, simmer down."

"We could always, y'know, ask her." Misato pointed out dryly.

Ritsuko flopped down on the couch. "No," she said, covering her eyes with her arm. "You're right. I just can't believe she did it, it's so unlike her. She's never been this..."

"Willful?" Kaji suggested.

"Self-posessed." Ritsuko finished, shooting the man a look of sharp, red-hot and acidic objects. "In any case, we must now keep Rei alive. With Lillith's mask in place, Rei's soul has nowhere left to return to if she should die."

"And just why do we need to keep her alive, Doctor?" Kaji prodded.

"Oh, for God's sake, show some humanity!" Misato spat.

Fuyutsuki closed his eyes with a sigh. "I think we all agree that Pilot Ayanami should be kept alive for general reasons of ethics. Major, please brief us on the current state of our defenses."

"Construction has begun on the major structural work. Ehrm, the toilets will become co-ed for a while on levels one through thirteen, since the male cubicles have been commandeered to install the new MAGI-controlled systems. We expect sexual harassment rates to go up, but other than that everything's going smoothly. Oh, and our Matsushiro defense network has finally been fixed to a battle-ready level."

"Not that we can expect it to make any difference." Kaji noted darkly.

"Indeed." Fuyutsuki stretched subtly. "Very good. Mister Kaji, any fresh fruit on the grapevine?"

For a moment, the spy looked troubled. "A little too much. I'm dismissing almost all of it as disinformation, and it seems the Akagi woman's intuition backs me up there. Although the MAGI can afford to consider it nonetheless, unlike a mere male like me."

"Anything useful or concrete, Agent?" the Commander sighed.

Kaji looked grim. "The foundations of their attack, such as they might be, are ready. It's just a matter of preparation before they attack. Three weeks, at the outside. Maybe just one."

Ristuko snorted. "What's this based on? Staring deep into a scotch glass and watching tobacco smoke?"

"Blood, sweat and a shitload of money. None of it mine." Kaji monotoned.

"I can't take you two anywhere!" Misato scolded. "You don't have to respect each other, just try to be a bit professional!"

Kouzo rubbed his brow. "And the Pilots, Major?"

"Shinji and Asuka appear to be recovering surprisingly well, and seem determined to see this through. As for Rei, I'm afraid Ritsuko's in a better position to answer than me."

Fuyutsuki turned his gaze questioningly. "Doctor?"

"This is an extremely important time in Evangelion development." she explained. "We need every advantage we can get over thirteen mass-produced Evangelions, to say nothing of their conventional forces. Over the last eighty-six working hours we have achieved several of our long-term goals for improving Eva interface stability and synchronisation accuracy. As for Rei, she's tired and clearly this may have affected her judgment. I will give her some time to...recover."

The old man closed his eyes. "Please do so, Doctor. I'd like to think we deserve her good will."

Shinji's eyes were narrow slits, but not due to his suspicions. They just refused to open any further. "Asuka...? Why couldn't...yawn...you open the door yr'slf?" he groaned vacantly, free hand absently scratching down his side as he pulled the door open for his favorite night-owl.

The rings around Asuka's eyes were like big rubber washers. "Couldn't find the key."

Shinji dumbly observed the keyring dangling listlessly in her hand.

"Couldn't find it." Asuka repeated shortly.

Too tired to care, he moved aside to let her into Misato's apartment. "Uhm...coffee?" he murmured.

"Nein, nein."

"Going back to sleep? It's, uh, four AM."

She nodded while barely stifling a yawn. "I feel like I could just 'eat' sleep right now. I wish I had a big, fat chunk of it the size of a pillow and just bite into it."

"Did something happen?" the boy inquired dutifully, though he plainly wasn't particularly interested.

"Rei committed mass suicide."

"Oh...okay." Clearly, his higher brain functions were disabled. (But then again, just what kind of state can you be in to process a statement like that properly?)

She padded into his bedroom and collapsed onto the bed.

"Uhm, Asuka...?"

"Closer."

"Eh?"

"It was closer."

"Oh. It's closer to me, too."

"Hrrmph..."

"Anno...?"

"...nrr?"

"Is that Rei standing in the kitchen?"

"Mmmmm...baka. Go get her in here."

"Fine, I'll sleep on the couch."

"Schnell."

"Ja...I mean, hai..."

A grim, aging business man looked over a gurney. "Are you there, my son?"

The sleeping form on the gurney did not stir.

"You will be elevated to the level of a god...know power beyond the ken of Man...and yet you lie here. Young, innocent as a suckling babe." he whispered.

A technician appeared to take control of the gurney. "Sir, we need to start now."

The old man moved back compliantly. "Yes, yes. Uh, spare him any pain, if you could."

"Sir? I'll...do my best, sir."

The rounded wrinkles on the wizened face sharpened up severely. "Perhaps you see a rambling old fool. But your lot in the future could very well be the whim of this old fool! You would regret earning my ire in the End."

"Yes, sir!"

He sighed. "Don't listen to me, I'm a cranky old man. It's the pain...so much the worse when I know it will end soon..."

"I'm sorry sir."

"Don't be. My time is coming, and I will seize upon it."

The councilor walked slowly on his crutch, wondering if his face would have his old wrinkles in Instrumentality, or that of the one sleeping.

Misato slurped from her over-sized coffee cup, drinking in the lukewarm fluid like it was mother's milk. Putting the mug down, she noticed a shadow on her desk. "Oh! Sir...I didn't realise we had a meeting."

Kouzo sat before her. "We don't. This isn't taking place. I'm off surveillance, for the next twenty minutes."

The Sub-Commander was taken aback. "Uh, sir?"

"No, I'm not going to try to take advantage of you."

"You could at least try...I might make it easy for you."

Fuyutsuki chuckled. "Tempting. Sadly, this has to do with our plans."

"The battle plans?"

"Indeed. Chairman Keele himself has given me some information."

"WHAT? I wouldn't trust that old dragon if I had him by his balls, they'd probably turn out to be cyborged as well!"

"Well, what he has to say stacks up against Agent Kaji's reports."

"I wonder what that means."

"Exactly. What Kaji hasn't told you is that there has been an undue amount of electronic correspondence between the MAGI, Project-E division and the second, fourth and fifth branches. And, interestingly, our Doctor has said nothing about any external corroboration on Evangelion technology."

Misato's tactical training kicked into over-drive. "One of them is working with Seele."

"Oh, both are working with Seele. The question is, which do we choose? Keele, or the rest."

The Major grit her teeth. "I don't trust Keele."

"Good. But I trust the rest of the Council even less. As for Akagi...she has issues."

Misato stood up in a panic. "It has to do with Gendo Ikari being stuck in Unit 06...Instrumentality..."

"Seele will come with thirteen Mass-Production Evangelions, according to Keele. Each will be capable of flight, and each will have some kind of EVA-tech weapon. And we can't trust Akagi."

Misato sat back down and covered her face. "It's a nightmare..."

The Professor stood up. "Find me a way, Major. I suggest we throw in with Mister Lorenz and Agent Kagi, for now."

Misato gave him a numb nod. "Yes sir...for now."

Asuka snorted. "You grow flowers?" she asked incredulously.

Kaji scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Melons, actually. The flowers of today will be the fruit of tomorrow, that being a time of a different sort of beauty."

"Melons?" Asuka said dubiously, obviously concerned as to what implications this had for her idol's masculinity. "Fat, bulbous fruit?"

"I prefer to think of it as the life-affirming swell of fertility."

"Riiight...you would. Well, I guess no-one's perfect after all."

"I'm hurt. Surely Shinji the Invincible has some commensurate weakness?"

"Of course! I could give you a list a kilometer long!"

"But he doesn't grow flowers."

"Ja."

Kaji knelt along the lines of well-tended soil teaming with the complex coils of green from deep arbour to light jade. He idly picked out a small weed and tossed it to the side. "I didn't just bring you here to show you admiration for my green thumb."

"Thank goodness for that! But why haven't you brought any of us here before? Is this your secret hide-away?"

"Actually, I did bring Rei here for a while. I suppose it's impossible for her to remember it, though."

"Oh." The girl knelt next to him, looking at a yellow flower in more detail. While on closer inspection it was quite impressive by her sophisticated standards, it was no more revealing. "Dunker...for helping her back then I mean."

Kaji shrugged. "To tell the truth, I didn't have much choice. Ritsuko blackmailed me into helping her. But that's not to say I'm not glad that I did it."

The young pilot rolled her eyes. "Is that what you wanted to say?"

He paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "Asuka-chan...when Seele attacks, you will have to be ready for the worst."

Asuka stood up and puffed out her chest in a less than feminine manner. "Of course I will be! I'll be able to handle anything those old men throw at us, with help from Shin-chan and Rei of course."

The Agent sighed. "That's not what I meant. You have to be prepared...to lose someone. You have to remember that after the dust has settled, those that will be left will have to get back into the business of living, and let the dead rest."

"Well that was morbid. Have you hit male menopause or something?"

"I'm trying to help you."

"Why? Help me after the fight. Sure stuff will happen, but we can't change that so we'll deal with it when it comes."

Kaji pushed up from his squat. "Because there's a very real chance I won't be around after the fight!" he growled in irritation. 'Or before it.' he muttered internally.

"What? Don't be stupid. The Evas will take care of Seele's toy robots and the MAGI will take care of the invading forces. Those defense lines might even come in handy, finally."

"What I'm saying, Asuka-chan, is that the battle plan never survives contact with the enemy. And...there is reason to suspect that Seele's Evangelion forces will have the upper hand over the three of you."

"Pah. We're the only experienced Eva pilots in existence. What chance do they stand?" she said as Kaji came closer to look her in the eyes.

"Remember Bardiel?" Kaji asked with a grim expression.

Asuka felt the reminder penetrate like a knife. She shied away slightly. "That was a fluke! A one-in-a-million chance...and Doctor Akagi said she's reinforced our neck armour in that area."

Kaji placed a hand on her shoulder, fully encompassing it in his fully grown palm. Suddenly she felt small. "Expect the unexpected. Things will go against us. There's only so many secrets we can steal, but me and my people will do the best we can before the game starts."

And Asuka understood. "But...you'll be alright. You've done it before...it's what you do. Your job was always more than just protecting me, wasn't it?"

"Asuka...protecting you was and has been one of-no, the most satisfying and rewarding task I have ever taken."

The girl looked away. "But not the most important. And...now?"

"The stakes have never been this high before..."

The girl latched onto her childhood protector, hugging him around his chest. "Baka! Don't you dare do something stupid...!"

The man chuckled sadly. "But that's what I do, meine kleine Prinzessin."

She huffed, using bluster to cover for the moistness that surrounded her eyes. "But why, you idiot? What about Misato? What about...me?"

He patted her head softly. "What happens now is what I've worked almost my entire life to have a hand in. I can't give that up now. Not when it's with your, and everyone I care about's, best interests."

"You idiot...you've always got an answer."

"Of course. I have to protect the future so my and Misato's little tikes can harass Shinji and your crazy kids. Ooof!" he exhaled as a blushing Asuka jabbed him in the gut.

Touji cradled Hikari in his un-mechanised arm. The cold night air bit at his poorly insulated flesh, ironically making his artificial parts feel the warmer. The tingling in his 'ghost' leg screamed at him to kick out, to feel some movement, but he didn't want to disturb the frightened girl.

He heard shuffling, grunts and moans and the rattle of the chain link fence he was leaning against. A mass hit the ground near him, and he heard a soft mumbling sob. After a short time, the sobbing started in earnest.

Touji sighed into the darkness. "Yo. You from Tokyo-3 as well?"

"Touji...is that you?"

The boy started. "K-Kensuke? They got you too, eh?"

The bundle of misery sniffed and wiped his nose on his sleeve. "Y-yeah...a shitload of kids from our old school, and almost everyone from 2-A got taken I think...some men in suits came to take me away, but troops in SWAT gear killed them all. They had some really serious guns...just for me...just for me."

Touji snorted. "Don't get a fat head over it, Ken."

"Huh." he sniffled. "Is...Hikari safe?"

"She's right here. She...hasn't said anything since they took us. We were in a movie theatre when the bastards rushed in. I think...they killed some of the other people in the cinema. This is some real serious shit."

"Hmmm...you know why, then."

"Yeah...Nerv. And Eva. Sometimes...I wish I'd never'a met that punk kid...or that red demon...or ice-girl..."

"Well, even if it wasn't us, it'd be some other poor kids who lived in Tokyo 3 when all this took place. We'll go down in the history books...if any get written. And if they don't, it doesn't really matter does it?"

"I never knew you were so dark on life."

"Existentialist? Nah. But after all this, I think I have a right to be a little cynical."

"Huh. Hey, Kensuke...figure there's any chance of getting out of this? You know, that Shinji and them will, I dunno, win?"

"You know, a pessimist is just an informed realist. Ask any pessimist."

"Bastard. Figures. You couldn't just lie, could you?"

"Heh. At least you've got a girl to spend your last hours with."

"Yeah, well...I wish she weren't here with us."

"The 'noble brute'...no wonder I'm depressed."

Rei stared up at Unit 06, itself positioned thoughtfully across from Unit 01. Both looked a little downcast, Unit 06 unable to meet 01's eyes while the purple unit's ferocious features seemed a little ragged, like it had been turned slightly inward in frustration.

'Do I have an imagination, or do I see what others cannot? What is it that the dead would say to me, and what would they do if they could?'

Though powered down and inactive she, could feel an energy within Unit 06's cold armour and dead flesh. Dormant energy yearning for release.

'Why is it I never felt this from the Zero? Why was my Eva different?'

Then the answer came to her. Without unseemly haste, she made her way to the deepest levels within the Geofront. Since the new Commander had never had a taste to travel down this far, and even Ritsuko needed permission, she felt that she would not be observed. At least, not by human eyes.

Standing on the bank across from the tableau, she looked upon the cross.

'I understand this bond better now. I have not heard your words, but I know your will is my own, okaa-sama."

AUTHOR'S RANT:

Phew! It's been awhile.

A lot has happened, in story and out, and yet overall it's still same 'ol, same 'ol. This story should be finishing up soon, the next chapter is probably being beta'd soon and that will be that. The climactic final battle? Heh. I can't wait until it's finished to my standards.

And then? Will the a post-apocalyptic world have a place for the Singing MAGI? Time will tell...

Thanks to PyramidGirl89 for beta-ing, as always. And Rahhel for the language tips.

And now for something marginally less serious.

OMAKE

Will the a post-apocalyptic world have a place for the Singing MAGI?

An echo sounded through terminal dogma into the dummy-plug system. It may have been from the Azumanga Universe as a voice, spoken with a strong Osakan accent, whispered: "Cereal killer? Why would I kill cereal? Unless...you think I only go for easy targets?"

Rei Cereal Killer

"Baka! What a way to wake me!"

"I can't help it, it's morning."

A furtive presence tried to digest the possible meanings of those words, and decided to give up while she was ahead.

"I'm having chocolate-puffs this morning." Asuka declared. "Your comment about holding toast in my mouth has put me right off."

"Sorry..." Shinji replied, pouring her cereal as required by the law of not dying before noon.

Pouring milk onto her food, Asuka squealed in shock as the bowl of 'Coco-Puffins' exploded in her face. Chocolate powder stuck to her face in a cloud of sticky-sweet goodness.

The boy wonder's face tightened, his right lip sagging dangerously. He seemed to be choking, holding his sides in place in case of implosion.

"Laugh it up, chuckles! I'll bet she got to yours too!" said the tan-redhead in irritation.

"Well, uhm, Rei and I have, uhm, a kind of understanding you know? Like...we're kinda friendly these days."

Asuka harumphed. "I'd check the cupboard if I were you, Mister Casanova."

Shinji gasped in shock to find his bulk-box of Ironic Man Food wilting. The packing was dark with moisture, and on inspection the contents were awash in a flood of water.

Aghast, he pointed a damning finger at his erstwhile blue-haired friend.

She raised an eyebrow. "I was told to inspect the fiber of your being. This breakfast food does not comply with Nerv's recommended dietary requirements."

"When did she get in?" demanded the warhead.

Misato waddled drowsily into the kitchen, still dressed in her nightclothes.

Shinji died from sudden bloodloss.

Scratch that. Misato entered the kitchen attired in significantly more than her usual night attire. As in, a long T-shirt was in evidence and, fortunately for Shinji's bloodpressure, little else.

"Wha's goin on?" she mumbled. "Why did Pen-Pen throw-up bran onto my bed a minute ago? Oh, hey Rei. You kids have a threesome last night?"

Asuka and Shinji would have protested their innocence, but were beaten to the punch. "I am trying to correct my fellow pilot's morning habits."

"Oh...so that's how it is. Somehow, I always did imagine you as a madam dominatrix. After a night of tequila shots, anyway." she yawned.

Blindly, Misato grabbed her customary pack of cornflakes and dumped the contents into a bowl. She then grated some raw onion into the bowl, and cracked a fresh can of beer which she carefully poured in so as not to froth it too much.

The trio of teenaged tragics watched as Misato brought a spoonful of the noxious substances to her mouth, still bubbling. "Oh wait, forgot the tobasco." the purple vixen realised and fished a small bottle out of the cupboard, sprinkling some of the powerful pepper sauce onto her breakfast. She took a mouthful before the spoon melted.

"Mmm, that's the stuff. Texture's a little different this morning, though."

Rei blinked. "She is strong." she deduced in quiet respect. "My worthy nemesis..."

Shinji pointed, again aghast. "You made Misato eat bran! Health food!"

Asuka rolled her eyes. "I think the bran is the least of her worries. I've seen depleted fissionable materials that were less of a biological hazard."

Rei tilted her head. "No wonder her cooking is reputed to be somewhat sub-standard." She tilted her head further to a disturbing angle when she saw her follow pilots cringe and turn rather purple shades of green.

Gendo stared deeply into his fingertips, searching for hangnails on his un-gloved hand. "These measures should reduce our sewerage system maintenance costs by 20%. That should keep the old men happy."

Reviews make the next chapter come faster. Clinical trials also suggest an increase in SA WAFF content, especially in constructve form.

fin