From his hiding place in the shadows, Sanderson laid there waiting, gripping his suppressed 9mm Walther pistol, locked and loaded. His eyes darted quickly, wary of anyone about to walk into his field of sight, and his ears were alert, prepared for hear even a snippet of noise, shuffling of feet, voices, and breaths, but all he could hear was his heartbeat and the rhythm of his breathing.

In his mind, he also learned much about her face, and what things she did, and memorized the girl's whole biography. He knew her mother was dead, her father was living with a second wife, and she lived a difficult existence.

Days ago she was supposed to be out of the game, shipped back to where she came from, rendered helpless by the sedatives that put her down. But that was changed, however, as the powers-that-be at NERV first removed the IV drip lines, then gave her a clean bill of health, and just as she was about to leave Tokyo-3, Oda launched an assault against her twice and failed, the killer ultimately paying the price by committing suicide.

Now, as his bosses had desperately wanted, Sanderson was here, ready to pounce… and the opportunity he was waiting for was walking towards his position; he could hear the laughter coming from her, whilst her companions were talking. The noise made him ready the gun, knowing where to shoot and he'd been trained to do it at twice or even thrice the speed.

And he swung around the corner and peered through the sights of his pistol, before he pulled the trigger twice at the incoming Second Section agent, and that man's forehead suddenly had a bloody hole and a stain right over his heart; the other agent, caught unawares, pulled out his gun but was too late, as two more rounds bored into the second man's chest, crimson blossoming over his cotton shirt.

As the men fell, the others scattered, but not for long, as he caught her in his sights before she could take shelter, and he fired thrice; two hollowpoint slugs instantly demolished her heart and lungs, and as the coup-de-grace, the last slug punched through the girl's skull and exited from the back, leaving a gaping baseball-sized maw where her gray matter used to be—

Sanderson blinked twice, and shook his head, realizing he lulled himself into a daydream of his planned assassination of his intended target: Asuka Langley Soryu. Nursing a can of coffee in his hands, he was sitting on a bench in one of the vending machine rooms, about fifty meters away from the Test Facility. He then puffed before he quickly checked his concealed weapons, ready to be pulled out when needed at even a fraction of a second.

Satisfied, he nodded and told himself, It's all for Instrumentality, as long as I don't screw this up first.

But then he heard footsteps from outside, in the hallway, and he watched as Misato and Kaworu walked past him, with no words exchanged between them.

It's him, he thought. What he's doing with that broad? What they're up to?

Sanderson knew that he should keep tabs on the Fifth Children, and already Director Hamamoto earlier briefed him and some agents to conduct a surveillance operation at the Commander's request. He thus now had the license to shadow Kaworu in any way possible, and at the same time satisfy the requirements given by the Chairman.

In this case, it was becoming clear to Sanderson that Kaworu wasn't doing his job.

NEON GENESIS EVANGELION
LIGHT AND WATER – SEASON 2
CHAPTER 26: NEGOTIATION PART II
An alternate path fanfiction by soulassassin547
Written on 8/4/2010 21:50 a8/p8

"You know, there's an engraving inspired by that line," Kaworu said as he and Misato walked, referring to the words love conquers all. "It was made by Agostino Carracci, after I went around the Internet last night, finding anything connected to that quote."

"I haven't seen that before, so what does it looks like?" Misato asked.

Kaworu described the engraving, in which two seemingly frightened young nude women were observing a baby boy striking blows at a much bigger, burly satyr, going down on his knees. He also added that the boy was named Love.

The woman blinked. "That's odd, but why?"

"The problem is that he's not supposed to be on your flank. You fight with him, try to undo the damage he does to others. Unfortunately, he's too powerful and haughty, and according to Virgil, no matter how much we suffer, our sufferings cannot move him."

Misato looked up briefly, recalling Shinji's personal quagmire. "Sounds like the Man," she said, referring to Commander Ikari as she pointed upward.

"Right," Kaworu agreed. "In the same sense, Shinji tried everything he could, he went through every crucible, and yet his father doesn't seem to care at all..."

The woman sighed, and said, "God knows what's going on with that man's mind, but he's beyond caring."

"What kind of father who has little regard for his son?" Kaworu questioned. "And by extension, to all others?"

"That's what my father used to do," Misato said. "Being selfish, he's bent on achieving a single goal, and sacrificed everything, including relationships, and in the process he wrecked my family. Well, I haven't told you this but before my mom divorced him, and later his death, he was obsessed with the Super Solenoid Theory, where energy could be generated infinitely."

From some tidbits she heard, recalling from memories of her father then restlessly pacing around his small and cluttered office, the man loudly reciting his ideas, Misato outlined the basic principle of the S2 Engine, which created helical energy as a perpetual motion machine, in the same way galaxies and stars are kept alive, by mean of vortices, and without consuming fuel. The problem was that her father's theory was repeatedly criticized by some circles supporting the use of existing and fusion-based energy sources, yet despite denigration he managed to cobble funding into this line of research, and eventually found a mysterious sponsor with more money to support his investigation down at Antarctica.

"…but unfortunately, that was his undoing as he opened Pandora's Box right there," she said.

"What happened then?"

Misato shrugged. "When I was finally able to recover myself from the trauma, I demanded answers from the UN, but instead all they gave me was their official bullshit explanation of a meteor impact, even though I was the only survivor then. I pressed further, but dissuaded, accusing me of being a charlatan and loose in the head because of post-traumatic stress syndrome… Goddamn bastards."

"So… You're here now because you wanted to rid of your father's malediction, right?" Kaworu said.

Misato nodded. "That's what I'm still doing, and yes, I told people the line that I joined NERV out of revenge, in my belief that Angels were responsible for my father's death."

"Do you still care about him?"

"I don't know," Misato said as she tweaked the crucifix on her chest, "and I can't say much, but I'm torn up in half whenever I hear that kind of question. So sometimes I asked myself whether I loved or hated him, and it's hard to give a definite answer."

Kaworu sighed. "Letting go might as well be a better solution."

"I'm doing that," Misato replied. "I want to live the day I look forward instead; I want to be surrounded by people who have in common with my own feelings, I don't want to be a prisoner of the past, of delusions… and I don't want to run away this time."

"That's a lot to wish for."

"Sure is… But if necessary, I'll go down fighting."

Just ahead of them, and in the control room, Asuka was apologizing to Rei, as the First Children stared back at her opposite number right on the comlink screen.

"No, no, no… Sorry, Rei, don't get mad… I'm just joking!" Asuka said, trying to tone down her laughter.

"I do not understand why you think Nagisa is a dessert," Rei replied while adjusting her headset.

"Okay, okay, I'll make it clear to you: figuratively speaking, he's delicious in some ways, and since you're lucky to have him as company, it should be your pleasure to spend more time with him."

"He promised to teach me how to play the violin," Rei said. "In his room I saw that he has a violin of his own."

Asuka nodded. "Ah, I don't know that… but that's good for you."

At the mere mention of that line, Rei suddenly blinked, her mind making a flashback.

Lying on the hospital bed, Shinji looked tired, his eyes almost in a daze after he spent about 18 hours in the Entry Plug, trapped in an Angelic abyss before Unit-01 broke out of the creature's "shadow". He was trying to focus, gazing back at Rei's eyes, before he yawned.

"You may just rest for today," Rei said, standing above him while holding a booklet. "We will do everything for you."

Shinji repeatedly blinked his eyes till able to keep them wide, and then he groaned. "But I'm just all right now," he said.

"Well, that is good for you," Rei answered, made a faint smile before pivoting, and she left the room, leaving Shinji nearly flabbergasted.

"That was my line," the First Children remarked.

"What do you mean?" Asuka questioned.

"The one you said 'that is good for you'. I remember that day saying that… When Ikari was at the hospital, after he escaped from the Angel, and I spent the night looking after him."

Asuka remembered that one episode, Unit-01 making a Houdini by punching out of the zebra-striped ball after being stuck for almost a day in the pit made by the Angel. "I know that," she said. "Back then that was a crappy day for me, you know."

Rei nodded, and she knew the details all too well: at that time she found herself at odds with Asuka, and nearly came close to blows when Misato intervened and kept both girls apart.

Asuka sighed. "The past doesn't matter anymore, now that I'm here," she said, preferring not to delve into their past rivalry.

Meanwhile, sitting on a folding chair provided for him, Shinji drank from a can of cola, while watching Asuka and Rei talking over the comlink. As he nursed his drink, Shinji remembered the faint memory of his mother's fatal contact experiment, where he stood watching from behind the window. He still remembered the words, words that were burned into him for a long time, and now they came back with clarity. Back then, he heard them talking from his behind.

"Why's there a child in here?" Fuyutsuki questioned. Out there, Unit-01 stood, restrained with braces, hoses and cables connected to the purplish man-made leviathan.

"This is Chief Ikari's son," one of the scientists present answered, and she looked uncomfortable with the boy's presence. The conversation caught Shinji's attention and he turned around to see them.

Glancing at the main screen, piping in the video feed from the Entry Plug, Fuyutsuki took the microphone and spoke into it. "Ikari," he said, sounding worried. "This isn't kindergarten, and today's supposed to be a very important day."

His mother, sitting in a prototype of an Entry Plug, right in the very heart of Unit-01, looked back at Fuyutsuki and said, "Sorry, Doctor Fuyutsuki. It's my fault that I brought him here."

"But... Yui, it's your contact experiment today. We're not supposed to have him around, and this is a risky time to do so."

She shook his head, as if her decision was something little to worry about. "That's why. You said today's important, so I want to show the promising future to my son."

Shinji sighed deeply, and wondered why it had to happen that way. It was hard for him to guess what kind of future that his mother was talking about. Was it for his benefit, that his mother left Unit-01 as an inheritance for him to use, or for all mankind, still in dire straits even after fifteen years?

"May I talk to you?" Fuyutsuki asked him from behind.

Shinji stood up and whirled around to face the ex-professor, who stood before him and was holding a Styrofoam cup of coffee. "Uh, what is it, sir?"

Fuyutsuki sighed as the man walked closer to Shinji. "Thought it might be the best time for me to explain about your mother," he said, "which perhaps why sometimes you feel unsure with those unanswered questions that are eating you all too long. Seeing you stand before that Eva reminds me of what happened to her years ago."

"I have a question… Why Mom said she wanted to show the future to me? What was it? Eva?"

"Yes, I'm afraid that's right," Fuyutsuki answered. "It was your mother's decision, her risk, because at that time she was deeply embroiled in Project E as much as your father was, unlike today. However, because of her work she ran into trouble with certain people she only knows about, probably stepped on some toes."

Shinji blinked. "What people?"

Fuyutsuki gazed up at Unit-02. "Do you know who's actually behind NERV? The men who put it up at the beginning, and provide the funding for our continued operation?"

"No," Shinji said, shaking his head. "I have no idea."

"I'm sure you haven't heard about the Committee, who sometimes asks me, your father or Misato about how you Children and the Evas are doing. Well, they're the real bosses, the overseers who are behind all this, and they're also around even before Second Impact. Going back to your mother, just before she 'died' in Unit One, she found herself in complete disagreement with some of the members of the Committee, as her ideas didn't match up with theirs."

"Which is…?"

"They argued over the implementation of Project E, and when your mother found out they rejected her views, passed censure on her, and one of them even threatened her life, she came up with a plan to outwit them by requesting to conduct a contact experiment. With Unit One."

With Shinji listening on, wanting to know more, Fuyutsuki paused to take a sip of his coffee, before resuming.

"On that day and I still remember it," he said, "you weren't aware of what's really going on behind the scenes."

"I could now remember what you were worrying about, though," Shinji said.

"Good, it's coming back to you. As I could recall, we tried to recover whatever's left of your mother, just like what happened to you a few months back; we inserted probes, irradiated the Plug with beams, ran the scanners over and over, and tried everything." Fuyutsuki shook his head. "All we managed to take was the LCL from the plug."

"I thought she was dead… Father told me her grave is empty; just a tombstone."

"On the contrary," Fuyutsuki said. "We believe that she, her soul, was absorbed into Unit One."

The young boy was stunned. "What?"

Yet at the same time snippets of memories came back to him. More voices of his mother.

"Is it enough? Well, that's good for you."
"What do you want?"

Next thing he remembered a scene between his mother and father.

"It's an unfortunate pity that this child will live after Second Impact, in this Hell," Gendo said, looking pessimistic. They were at the levee, under the shade of a towering oak, protected from the glare and heat of the mid-afternoon sun. Beyond them was Lake Ashinoko, its waves glittered in light.

Yui merely shrugged, as if unperturbed while she nursed Shinji in her arms. "Well, if he wants to live, to survive, anywhere could become Heaven," she said.

"I doubt about it," Gendo replied.

"Think again," she said, before sighing. "Because if he really lives, even in this world we live in, he will find a chance to be happy anywhere."

Gendo pondered her words for a moment, and then said, "I see. You may be right."

And further back into the past.

"Have you decided?" Yui asked. She was then pregnant, lying in bed, and Gendo was standing right in front of her. Both of them were in a hospital room.

Gendo sighed, before he said, "Let's see… I'll name our child Shinji if it's a boy… Rei if it's a girl."

Yui nodded. "Shinji… Rei."

Fuyutsuki nodded. "She's in the core now," he admitted. "Living on, I believe, in that Eva, almost just in the same way with Asuka's mother, and what happened today is proof that souls can survive."

"How did you know?"

"The data says so, but I only chose you to tell about it. I know her mother's there in Unit Two because I saw patterns in the data that indicates her presence… and there's the same patterns in the results of that contact experiment."

However, Fuyutsuki left out the fact that he and Gendo personally reviewed the after-experiment data as part of the investigation into the incident, and came into the conclusion that Yui's soul was present in the plug. Using whatever genetic and organic material left in the LCL, thinking the primordial soup contained her essence, they attempted to recreate Yui's form and accomplished that, yet were unable to recover her soul. Instead, all they wrought was Rei and she developed a personality of her own, much different from Yui.

But Rei possessed certain traits that Fuyutsuki reminded him much of Yui, such as her motherliness and the protective instinct that came with it.

"In your case, it means that your mother's not far from you," Fuyutsuki added. "Or, for that matter, she's closer than you think. Indeed, she's right among us."

Shinji needed not to ask any further, as he glanced at Rei sitting right before the communication console, still deep in conversation with Asuka. Fuyutsuki was correct, Rei was living proof that a part of his mother's personality persisted long after her physical presence disappeared from existence.

Fuyutsuki then turned to Maya, who was still working at another workstation, and asked, "How she's holding up?"

"Let's see, sir…" Maya said, checking the terminals before her, and shot a glance at the main display. "Sync and harmonics are still within acceptable levels. No major changes so far."

"Good," Fuyutsuki agreed. "Anything else?"

"Barring a single surge spike at the beginning," she said, "everything's normal, just like before she lost almost everything. By the figures, I'd say she can even be combat-ready, sir."

The old man merely smiled and, turning to face the crew, he said aloud, "By the way, since this test is clearly a major success for us all, I suppose everyone's lunch is on me."

Everyone, including Maya, blinked in reaction to Fuyutsuki's offer of a free lunch, whispering as they relayed the declaration. Even Rei and Asuka paused, latching into the old man's announcement.

"No, this is no joking matter, people," he said wryly, as Shinji looked on. "I really mean it; whether you're present here or the crew down at the test floor, I'll reimburse your lunch expenses as long I'm sitting and eating with the rest of you right there at the Cafeteria, and Miss Langley deserves her reward."

Suddenly the control room erupted in applause. Free lunch! From the Sub-Commander, no less!

Just as they walked into the control room, Misato and Kaworu were stunned by the unexpected uproar of cheers.

"What the hell's going on?" Misato asked, blinking.

"I have no idea," Kaworu answered.

But the woman, by eavesdropping into the conversation between the techs, now had an answer: the Sub-Commander was willing to pay for their lunch at his own expense. Misato then chuckled amusedly. "Well, sounds like the Sub-Commander must be really on a roll this time," she remarked.

"He should be," Kaworu added. "After all, it's Asuka's comeback."

At the same time Shinji rose up from his seat, and Rei was walking towards them. "How did it go?" Shinji asked Misato as the First Children stood besides him.

"It's okay, we talked and then agreed on something," Misato answered.

Shinji scratched his head. "What is it?"

Misato shook her head. "Can't tell you. But anyway, is Asuka doing okay?"

"No problem," Shinji said.

"She was happy even while talking to me," Rei added.

"What did you two talked about?" Kaworu asked.

"I cannot say," the red-eyed girl answered. "It is too personal. Only between us."

"Ah, I see," Kaworu said, nodding.

Shinji suddenly chuckled. "Never thought you'll be into girl talk, Ayanami," he remarked.

"It is not a problem," Rei said. "I have discovered that there is good conversation, no matter how small or trivial."

"Say, what else we should be doing after this and lunch?" Misato asked them all. "There seems to be nothing scheduled this afternoon."

"I would like to spend time with Kaworu," Rei said, with Kaworu nodding in agreement.

"Tea time again?" Misato inquired, before she grinned. "…Or something more than that?" the woman added.

The question caught Rei unawares; she quickly blushed and Kaworu blinked.

"No," Rei objected, shaking her head. "Not that sort of thing."

Shinji – wide-eyed and with a sweatdrop on his forehead – wondered what got into Misato's brain to ask such a question. Maybe she was probably trying to have a bit of Kaji's playful attitude and jesting, just like when they first met Asuka on the aircraft carrier. Heck, if Kaji were to be alive today, and somehow knew that Rei and Kaworu were going steady, surely he would tease the girl to death by asking about her sex life. He thus imagined this exchange between them:

"Are you dating Nagisa?" Kaji asked.

Rei merely nodded. "Yes."

Kaji grinned and questioned bluntly, "Tell me, have you lost your virginity?"

"Okay, sorry, I'll not bother you," Misato said apologetically, but in a humorous tone. "I'll have it your way, whether it's tea or something."

"Thank you," Rei said, managing to heave a relieved sigh.

Misato now turned her attention to the Sub-Commander's workstation and saw the old man stand up, before he glanced at the timer on the main display: two minutes left.

The control room was now hushed into near silence, as the techs were hunched over their terminals. Fuyutsuki nodded to Makoto to begin powering down Unit-02.

"Initiate shutdown sequence," Makoto announced, as he glanced at the displays before him, with all systems in the green.

"Preparing to disconnect the power," Shigeru said, typing out the termination commands on his workstation, before he had his fingers on the main power switches.

"Okay, go switch to power-down," Makoto replied.

Shigeru flipped the first switch, and they could hear the power slowly beginning to fade out, as the current and voltage meters plummeted until zero. Inside Unit-02, Asuka could see the walls of her Entry Plug dim and then the whole interior plunged into darkness, before the auxiliary lights came on. She gave out a contented sigh of satisfaction, now that issues between her and Unit-02 were finally settled; they were a team once again.

"All power's down," Shigeru announced, nodding.

"Now disengage the Umbilical Cord," Makoto commanded.

"Roger that," the long-haired tech replied as he flipped the second switch to unplug the Umbilical Cord, actuators contracting as the oversized electrical plug came off the Eva's back before being pulled off by a robot arm.

"Disconnection confirmed," Maya said. "Entry Plug is ready to be released."

"Go release," Makoto answered, and the petite tech pressed a large button on her console. The video feed on the back of the Eva showed the protective carapace retracting, before the Entry Plug was pulled out by an outsized extractor, gripping the Plug's circumference. The extractor then swiveled to the insertion deck, and another actuated arm went down to pull back the cover over Asuka's cockpit.

"Release and recovery complete," Maya said. "Now locking down Unit Two," she added, as the extractor inserted a terminal plug into the Eva, and then they could hear a loud metallic snap once the binder locks were in place.

Fuyutsuki sighed, feeling contented. "Okay, now what do we have in the last thirty minutes? VR on the main display, please," he ordered. VR meant a visual representation of the data.

"Yes, sir," Maya said as she typed some commands to gather and sum up the overall performance data, before displaying it right onscreen. The graphs showed everything at normal levels, especially her harmonics, just like back when Asuka was at her peak.

"Overall sync performance is 44%, sir," Maya reported, and she sighed in pleasure. "Guess this one's will be for the books."

"Very good," Fuyutsuki praised, and then he turned his gaze towards Misato and the Children. "You better come and meet Miss Langley down there," he said.

Misato nodded. "Thanks sir," she replied, before turning to her charges. "C'mon, let's go," she persuaded them, leading the way out of the control room and down to the plug insertion deck via elevator. But once the elevator doors closed on them, Ritsuko Akagi passed by, on her way to the control room.

At his workstation, Fuyutsuki was listening to his subordinates' comments and oral reports when Ritsuko walked in with a plastic bag containing Oda's laptop.

"Oh," the old man said as he stood up and smiled. "So you're here."

Ritsuko nodded, as the techs walked back to their stations in quiet deference for their superiors' need for a one-on-one discussion. "That's right, and I'm sorry if I'm late, yet I want to congratulate Asuka, sir," she said, before she glanced up at the main display. "She has done well… 43 percent," the woman remarked in praise. "I never thought she could make a real turn-around… But where's Misato?"

"She and the Children went down to meet Asuka."

Ritsuko nodded. "I see. I'll wait instead."

"What about the laptop?" Fuyutsuki asked, referring to the killer's computer.

"All of his data has been transferred to Hamamoto," Ritsuko informed, lifting the bag for him to see before she sat down on an empty chair. "I also made copies should we need to analyze them on our own."

"Good," he said. "What else you have found?"

Ritsuko placed the bag on her lap. "Well, yes, there is. Thought you might find it very interesting: by his inbound IP addresses this guy has contacts anywhere from Russia, China, Europe, and America… I think he's part of a network, because he seems to be keeping a form of shorthand for some of his correspondence, and it's up to Section Two to guess his codes. Of course, some of his communications are encrypted, his contacts are using email addresses under different names, and he also sanitizes his internet browser and IM, while hiding behind a Garlic Router network to lose anyone trying to trace his whereabouts."

The Garlic Network, created and operated by a non-profit group, was one way to allow political dissidents, whistle-blowers and, of course, spies, to keep their internet access secure from prying governments.

Fuyutsuki then pondered for a while and then he said, "You know, there's another way to get as much information as possible, like you try to act as Oda behind that laptop."

Ritsuko shook her head. "Masquerading may sound like a good idea, but I think by now he has been compromised and so his handlers may have ditched him to ensure no one could try to trace back to them. I'm sorry, sir."

"I see… Finally," Fuyutsuki said. "Are you ready to talk to Misato?"

The woman scientist sighed. "I want to make up for the mistakes between us," she said. "I also like to settle some issues… and I'd like to apologize to her."

Fuyutsuki nodded. "It's perfectly understandable," he agreed. "Moreover, I find it a critical necessity that you two women must set aside your animosities as we're at a very difficult time."

"I understand," Ritsuko said.

The old man stared at her and said, "Frankly, I don't want to see you people fall apart; I don't want to watch the Children become divided and demoralized, and I want to keep this organization united and afloat even as we do have a crisis in leadership."

"Speaking of leadership," Ritsuko spoke. "Where's he?" she questioned, referring to Gendo.

"You mean Ikari?"

Ritsuko nodded. "Yes."

Fuyutsuki sighed. "He's still up there, at his office. Just before I left him he told me he'll watch the test from there… Well, why?"

"Funny, you're in charge now more than he is," Ritsuko remarked. "Dunno, but because of your seniority and, judging from how much work you're doing, you should've been in his position in the first place."

"I should have," Fuyutsuki said, "but because Project E is his brainchild, he's supposed to be responsible for everything, and I was intended to serve as his advisor. However, I'm like Gandalf trying to deal with Denethor."

Ritsuko blinked. "Come again? What are you talking about?"

"Sorry," Fuyutsuki said wryly. "They're from the Lord of the Rings. Now, to clear things for you, as a steward Denethor was supposed to be wholly responsible for the city he should be defending against Sauron, and naturally Gandalf must persuade that man to take action. The problem is that Denethor has gone mad and feared inevitable defeat in the hands of their enemies, so he planned to take his ill son with him by immolation. Thus Gandalf had to stop him from doing that suicidal stunt… and I'm afraid I'm in the same position as that wizard."

"So… In that sense, you mean you're trying to take charge?" Ritsuko inquired, this time in a low voice.

"Considering Ikari is becoming fickle by the minute, I may have to step in, should things come to worse," Fuyutsuki said. "If the Committee decides to take unfavorable action towards us, there's no choice except to defend ourselves, as they're not pleased at where we're going towards right now."

Ritsuko looked alarmed. "But, does it mean they could also use violent action?"

"Given their vast resources, that's no longer a remote possibility, which is why I approved the acquisition of new weaponry for our security forces because I fear they will do anything to get what they want."

At the plug insertion deck, whilst his men went about inspecting the Entry Plug, Kasuga the crew chief tossed a towel to Asuka, who caught and then used it to dry her LCL-soaked hair. Once done, she then stood up and threw the towel back to the man. "Thanks," she said.

Kasuga nodded. "My pleasure, miss, and congratulations… And oh, here they come," he said as Misato and the other Children walked out of the service elevator. In varying degrees they looked glad.

"Hey, congratulations to you!" Misato said aloud as Shinji rushed towards Asuka, who was getting off the cockpit, and they hugged and kissed.

Kaworu and Rei likewise smiled and looked at each other, and then without warning Asuka gave Rei the firmest hug possible. "I owe you a million, you know," the redhead said.

"I understand," Rei answered, almost in a muffled tone as she was squeezed, before Asuka let go of her.

The Second Children sighed and grinned. "I wish that sometimes soon you should've been fighting alongside me, had it not for losing Unit Zero."

"My duty with Unit Zero is done," Rei said. "It is more acceptable for me to watch you in action instead."

"Oh, well," Asuka shrugged. "It's your choice, Rei. I'll respect that."

"Thank you," Rei said before she took hold of Kaworu's hand. Asuka then turned her attention to Kaworu.

"As for you," the redhead said, "If it weren't for you and your advice, all of my efforts would've come to nothing. I thank you again for asking me to give myself another chance, Kaworu."

Kaworu nodded. "It's still my pleasure helping you out," he replied.

Somewhere in Siberia, deep within the secret military base, and inside a hangar of unimaginably huge proportions, Keel Lorenz and the other Committee members glanced up at Eva Unit-05, who had "horse blinders" in lieu of eyes and its disturbing grin was permanently plastered on its elongated cetacean face. Designated as Mass Production Eva models, this white-painted monster and eight others of its brethren had their outsized wings folded, and they were held down onto each of their own restraining binder frames. Throughout this immense hangar, teams of technicians serviced these Evas, blissfully unaware of their true purpose as they went on their maintenance duties.

"Gentlemen," Keel said, pointing at Unit-05, "this is money well-spent. Eight billion American dollars apiece, decades' worth of research, yet good for a single day's use. However, let us be aware that in Instrumentality, money will be rendered irrelevant, to exist only as a memory among many material possessions."

The other somber old men nodded and whispered their agreements. For the first time in the history of their sect, they have come together as men rather than holographic monoliths, and earlier as they congregated at their designated meeting place they remarked about their appearances and well-being. Despite all of them being wealthy and powerful, a quarter of them were diagnosed with a terminal disease, more than half were widowers, and only a handful had to walk with their crutches or survive on cybernetic implants.

With Keel's remark, however, they knew damn well that only Instrumentality was the cure to all of their mortal and corporeal ills, as no amount of wealth, the potency of medicine, or religious beliefs would resolve the dilemma of death; they want to succeed where pharaohs, emperors, kings and other demigods of old have failed: to obtain eternal life through apotheosis at any cost.

"All nine of these Evas," Keel began to speak before the rest of the Committee, "are at the pinnacle of perfection. First, they have working S2 Engines, which of course will allow them to outlast their opponents, regenerate more quickly if injured, and provide immense amount of energy to generate an AT Field more powerful than what Ikari has with his Evas.

"Second, they have flight capacity with wings and AT Field levitation, which will give them another edge in combat, as Ikari's Evas are stuck on the ground like sitting ducks. Any attempts at shooting them down with conventional weapons will be futile.

"Finally, and the best part, gentlemen… they all have Dummy Plugs, and with Nagisa's thought patterns. Repeated testing of their systems through combat simulations resulted in a near-perfect victory over our opponents. Furthermore, these Plugs also have the advantage of self-learning, meaning to say that they will learn the tricks and tactics of their enemies as they go, and use them to their advantage. If Ikari sends his Children to confront and make battle with our Evas, then it would be a suicidal gesture on their part."

The Committee members were all pleased, and thus they gave Keel their applause. However, Keel gestured with an upraised finger, and said, "In case you're wondering about what weapon these Evas will be carrying, ours have a surprise hidden in them."

Silenced, the men present listened closely except for one, pale as Death with the white hair and a gaunt face, who then asked, "And what is it?"

Keel grinned. "We have successfully replicated the properties of the original Spear of Longinus," he disclosed, "and they're disguised as swords. If deployed in Spear form they will cut through an AT Field with little effort."

Gasps of astonishment came from the other old men. Their collective reaction pleased Keel and he added, "There's nothing for us to lose. The advantage is indisputably ours. Whatever he does, we will make Ikari pay for his betrayal, as we watch his Rome burn to the ground... By hook or by crook, we will."

Author's Notes: It took some time to get this chapter finished, and writing thus becomes very uneasy to do, for I had to deal with personal issues and general disruption. Right now, I'm trying to visualize/think/brainstorm the next chapter.

Again, thanks for keeping me up.