Chapter 29

Misato had ran over to the youth group and had nearly grabbed Asuka by the hair. She ended up dragging her away by the back of her dress. From the time she got the call, it took her five minutes to get down to the Tokyo-3 docks. A runabout was already there waiting and had them across the bay in minutes.

Misato had nearly beat the boat driver who brought them alongside a rope net to climb up. It took another five minutes to get a boson's chair set up for them. When they finally got on deck, the kid who led them down started twitching whenever Misato raised a hand after a while.

Finally, a whole half hour after Misato got the call, they arrived.

Misato was unsure what the chamber had originally been, but it was now filled with various pieces of medical equipment, all seemingly dedicated to the single patient on a bed in the center of the room. She could see Rei, wearing a blue dress, and Aida on one side of the bed, along with that disgusting German. Suzuhara was sitting on a cot nearby and looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"Doctor, what is going on?" Kensuke said in a short, clipped, command voice.

"Mein Herr, that is what I am trying to figure out."

"Well Hans, why don't you tell us what is going on before our dark mother here becomes displeased." Warthog added.

"Oh, ah, yes, yes, okay so approximately thirty minutes ago, his brainwave activity began to spike across all wavelengths. Then his temperature and heartbeat rose to where he should be having a heart attack. But he isn't you see! And his chest wound has completely healed, bone, muscle and skin, just regrew! At an astonishing rate! Look, see these bags?" The doctor held up two empty IV bags.

"This is nutrient rich fluid, to make sure he doesn't starve. Each should last at least four hours. This is his third in the last twenty minutes alone! His body is taking in and consuming… Ah, mein Herr, should I continue in front of... well them?" He said, motioning towards Misato and Asuka as they approached the bed.

Ken looked to Rei, who spoke instead.

"No, I have heard enough. Focus on attending to him."

"Yes Da-… Fraulein."

The familiar faces of the children and the fat German turned to the newcomers. Even Toji got up, though he looked asleep on his feet.

Misato tried to walk past them, to go to Shinji. It was Rei that stopped her.

"I want to see him." The major said, tugging at her right arm that Rei held in vice like fingers.

"You can see him from right there."

"Rei, let go of me right now and let me see him."

Rei bared her teeth and shoved Misato back towards Asuka.

"You are here as guests, do not presume to make demands." Kensuke and Warthog both tried to come around in front of Rei and perhaps convince her to settle down, but she waved them off.

Rei was furious, which she consciously recognized as a fear response. This woman was supposed to care for him, but she was useless at it and put the burden on him in every circumstance. Rei feared she would continue to do so. This was not acceptable.

Rei's nose twitched as she sniffed the air. Her crimson eyes locked with Misato's brown, and just like that night months ago, Misato couldn't look away.

Misato was already remembering that horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach, all too vividly as it came back to her. It only got worse as Rei took one step closer, then another. With Rei up on the balls of her feet as she was, they were the same height.

"Rei… okay, Rei, honey, I am very sorry for being rude. I am, like you, very concerned about Shinji. We don't need to let our emotions run high here, we are all here for the same reason, Shinji. And we promised not to fight, remember when we promised that?"

Rei remembered many things.

"Remember when you promised to stop drinking not even two weeks ago, Misato, honey?" Rei said, and grinned as she saw the distress cross Misato's face. "We are not the same Major Katsuragi, remember that, and your place."

Rei was turning away from Misato when Asuka spoke up.

"Okay, that's enough. You may be queen bitch here, but that does not give you the right to talk to Misato like that. She is trying her best in a really bad situation and you are coming down on her, for what? Assuming she could speak to a fifteen year old girl like an equal?!"

Rei settled back down and cocked her head as the little gaijin continued to rant. This… fire, was interesting.

"But no, how dare she speak to Gendo Ikari's little girl that way. I get it, you've been spoiled and had people kow-tow to you as soon as you were made a pilot. Well guess what, this is a goddamn war and she is your commanding officer, so you will behave, do you understand me?" Asuka said, finger pointed in Rei's face. "Or do I have to bring your ass in line?"

Asuka had not finished speaking before the guns were out. The fat one, Kensuke, even the half dead looking Toji and the doctor. All pointed at her. Rei just giggled and smiled.

"Your ignorance is astounding. Before you insult me further in our lair, would you like to know the truth of things? I can show you very quickly. Tell me Soryu, have you ever contemplated what it would be like to know the mind of a god?"

Stop it, both of you.

In the commotion, everyone had turned away from the bed. Shinji was sitting up and machines were squealing as he tore the cables and tubes from his body. Rei was at his side in a flash, ready to do a great many things before Shinji put a finger to her lips.

"First, apologize. I don't know where we are, but if they are guests, you treat them like guests."

"But-"

"Now Rei, and no sarcasm."

Rei sunk her shoulders, looking a bit hurt before she saw he wasn't going to let this slide. She turned and curtsied in the direction of Asuka and Misato.

"I apologize for my rudeness. Your words caused offense, but I overreacted."

She didn't wait for an answer before turning her attention back to Shinji, who was already swinging his legs off the bed. He tugged at the paper-like hospital gown with disdain. Before she could speak, he had his hand up again.

"I have questions and people I want to ask them to, both in very specific orders. There is an angel on the way, more powerful than any so far. So everyone is going to stay nice and quiet until Mr. Shinji calls on you, okay?"

There was a silent chorus of nods.

"Good. Toji, you first."

"Huh, uh, yes my lord?"

"You look like the risen dead, why?"

"I've been at your side for the better part of five days."

Shinj took a quick look around the room. "Are we safe, any threats nearby?"

"No my lord, we are safe as we could be given the circumstances."

"Good." Shinji said and hopped off the bed. "You, lay down right here and sleep."

Toji promptly fell down on the bed and pulled the pillow to his head with a muffled "Yes my lord."

"Okay, right… Rei... who are these people, why are we on a boat, and where are some damn pants?"

Kensuke spoke up. "Perhaps we should move to another room…"

"Ken, I will get to you, I promise, I just-" Shinji began before being cut off by something like that horrible, disturbing roar Unit Zero had made after it ate Ramiel. It was a deep and rumbling bass that reverberated off the walls.

"As I was saying, Toji snores."


They adjourned to a nearby cabin set up as a conference room, leaving the medical professionals to examine the wonder that was the snoring of Suzuhara.

"Alright…" Shinji began, now dressed in a set of fatigues. "…Take it from the top, last thing I remember is getting put in the ambulance."

"I zink I have ze best perspective here. So I led the team who escorted you down into the geofront. I also met mit your father unt Frau Major." Warthog said, motioning a hand to Misato. "I presented your father with our mission statement, which I would succinctly describe as not letting anybody make ze pilots zer bitch."

"More or less…" Ken said. "We recruited as many people as we could during the battle, both military and civilian. Some media geeks made a little video exposing some of NERV's dirty little secrets. Nothing major, but enough to get people making noise."

"So that was you…" Misato chimed in.

"With all due respect Major, everyone under sixteen in this room is one of NERV's dirty little secrets. We are done being fucked around." Ken said with conviction in his eye.

"NERV hasn't treated me that badly." Asuka said, getting a stare from everyone else. "What?"

"Are you sure you'd like us to continue with, y'know, them here?" Kensuke said, gesturing his head to Misato and Asuka.

"Yes, yes, just get on with it." Shinji said, flipping his hand in the air with his chin resting in the other. Rei was sitting besides him with one hand rubbing his back in slow circles.

"Alvight, so while ve vere having zis nice, civil, conversation, Frau Doktor Akagi hits you with a sedative. Our personnel on hand immediately contacted me and we removed her from your presence. Whatever she gave you put you quite a vays under. Und then things got interesting…"

Over the course of an hour, Shinji got the story of the week he missed. After Dr. Akagi's 'assassination attempt', MSF had kept an entire platoon around him until a bed in a private hospital was secured on the surface. He was there for three days until being transferred to the ship late at night once equipment was brought in. The ship, incidentally, was payment in kind from the UN. It was nearly eighty years old, but had been upgraded several times along the way.

"Ve asked them to take the big guns off before they handed it over. Figured it might be a tad less menacing, and they would have been an arschloch to remove ourselves."

We have plans for the ship, we can go over them later." Ken said with a glance to Misato.

"Okay, why the suspicion?" Shinji asked

"NERV has been less than happy about our existence." The one-eyed boy answered.

"Is that so hard to believe?" Misato said. "Don't get me wrong, what they did, what we did, to you kids was wrong and I think it's a good thing you have some power to counter that negative influence, but this is a private army that came in and took a lot of NERV's power and resources in one night. Yeah you bet the commander is pissed. Oh and what happened next…"

Misato took up the story. Following the outing of NERV's more questionable antics, UN inspector Ryoji Kaji shows up with new orders implementing a shared executive power structure. Gendo would be kept in check by a second person who the commander could not then overrule back.

"And, surprise surprise, that person is Kaji himself." Misato said, arms crossed across her chest and scowling.

"But that's a good thing, Master Kaji knows what he is doing."

"Not going to talk about this now Asuka."

"Alright, so where are Remo and Viral in all this?"


"Man, I can't believe we got put on a bus!" Viral moaned.

"Quit yer whining." Remo snapped back. "So a train breaks down for the first time in Japan in forever and we get a bus to the next station, boohoo."


"They said it was necessary for them to personally find the man who injured you." Rei said. Shinji reached up and touched the spot where the hole had been. It was still tender, but quite solid.

"Alright, so let me get this straight. This ship belongs to Militarie San Frontieres, a private military organization you" Shinji pointed to Ken. "And Toji set up during the battle overnight?"

"Yep, with help from our friend here." Ken replied and slapped Warthog on the back.

"And we are totally outside NERV control here?"

"Yep, and we have the anti-aircraft missiles to back it up."

"One last question… When can I move in?"

Ken, Rei, and Warthog laughed. Misato and Asuka did not.

"Fraulein Ayanami has been seeing to your quarters. Shared of course."

"Woah woah woah, no way, uhuh, shared? Like, same room?" Asuka said, standing up from her chair with her hands slammed down on the wood veneered table.

"Yes, it was the captain's cabin, only the best for the pilots. Would you like to look at the X-O's quarters Asuka? You'd be more than welcome." Ken said, at least sounding sincere.

"Okay, wait, I still need to get past this. You two are going to be rooming, together?"

"You seem to have quite the preoccupation with our relationship Soryu. Are you perhaps jealous?"

"You two are fifteen, you aren't even old enough to be dating, and you want to live IN SIN together? No, nope, I don't want any part of this weirdness. You can all burn in hell. Damned armed rebellion just because your father wants you to have a moral relationship…" Asuka said, pouting and looking down with her arms crossed.

"Asuka…" Misato said, turning towards Shinji when the red-haired girl refused to meet her gaze. "Shinji, are you sure you want to live here? I mean, I was hoping, its just that… No, never mind, I mean I want you to be happy, and you are safe here but…" She started mumbling and fidgeting with the hem of her dress.

Shinji sighed and held his forehead in one hand with his elbow resting on the table. "Okay… Ken, I am REALLY hungry, could we get, dinner, lunch, whatever, brought in?"

"Of course, dinner it is, I will have the galley get it started."

"Good… um, could I maybe ask everyone else to step outside for a bit, I need to talk to Misato alone?" Shinji said, grabbing Rei by the arm as she rose. "No, you stay too."

Kensuke, Warthog, and Asuka filed out of the room, and Shinji and Rei moved to sit next to Misato.

"We need to talk." Shinji said. Misato was looking down, still clenching the line fabric of her dress in her hands. She nodded.

"Misato, I… what's happened here, this is good. I know things now I didn't know before I went to sleep. I want to tell you about it, about everything, about why I can't trust NERV right now, why none of us can. But I need to trust you Misato. You've been like a mom to me, even when it's been rough. I want you on the right side."

Misato looked to him with tears in her eyes. "Like a mother, you mean that?"

"Yes Misato, I do." Shinji said and laid a hand over hers in her lap.

"I am on the right side Shinji, the same side we are all on. We are fighting for humanity."

"Misato, what if I told you NERV had someone working for the angels in its ranks?"

Misato moved as if to speak. She was going to say she wouldn't believe it. But somehow she had to. This was Shinji saying it.

"How do you know?"

"Misato, I'm sorry, but I can't tell you unless I know where you stand. I need to know you are on my side, whether that is with NERV or not."

Misato tried to stay composed. To think and be reasonable. She failed utterly and cried until nearly dinner laying with her head in Shinji's lap wit both children stroking her and telling her it was okay.

Interfacing with the complex nervous systems of other bodies was a skill Rei had perfected. Even through clothing, it was a simple matter of controlling the tiniest impulses of electricity across the nerves of the skin.

While they had been bringing him up to speed, he was devoting half his attention to listening to Rei as she rubbed his back. She told him what MSF truly represented. This was the fruit of Kensuke's work. Nearly two thousand fighters and growing, each devoted not to country, cause, or money, but to them and the world they meant to save. Their leaders, two hundred of the deadliest and most ruthless warriors alive, each a fanatic ready to fight and die at their whim. Rei had already 'inducted' twenty-five, and the rest awaited the privilege eagerly. From the inducted Thuggi who oversaw all operations at the highest levels, all the way down to the most junior soldier, each was a believer.

"Misato…" Shinji said, and she looked up, make-up smudged down her cheeks. "Will you side with me, so we can save the world together?"


Dinner was good, if awkward. The mixed nature of MSF meant that the cuisine came from all over the globe, though it tended towards the pedestrian. The cooks were more soldiers who could cook than trained chefs, though there was some overlap. If nothing else, Asuka's mood improved considerably when the weinerschnitzel came out. It was apparently a favorite of the man called Warthog, and he made a point to mention she was welcome any time to partake.

Misato had cleaned up in a head (so the restrooms were called) attached to the room before the others were allowed to return. Further business was tabled until the morning. Once dinner was complete, coffee was had before Misato and Asuka were escorted off the ship to a waiting boat.

Meanwhile, Rei was eagerly leading Shinji through the halls of the ship. "I really hope you like it, I mean before we didn't have much to work with before and…"

Shinji smiled as she tugged him along by the hand. She was rambling, which he always found cute. She was normally so serious and composed, but when she got flustered like this it meant she had all her attention on him.

The room was really nice. It had been the captain's cabin and could probably fit two of Rei's apartment inside. The carpet was blue, but most of the floor was covered in various rugs. Where Shinji assumed there had once been furniture due to the deeply sunk depressions, now there was mostly pillows on the ground besides a long conference table to one side. The bed had a curtain hanging on a track around it and was a big queen size. There was even a private bathroom… wait, head, that's what they were called on boats… with a shower.

Before he had even finished looking around, she was tugging at his clothes.

"You need a shower."

"I don't smell that bad, do I?"

"You've been laying in a bed for a week. I am sorry beloved, you stink." She said, already unbuttoning his top. "Besides, you've changed, I need to reacquaint myself with your body."

It was true, Shinji had changed. He had been reorganizing his own body in the final moments before he woke up, erasing damage from a mostly sedentary childhood. The exterior result was the last of any child fat was gone and he was all lean muscle, even somewhat bulkier than when he had gone down. Where the gaping wound had been, Shinji had forced the tissue to regrow and twist back closed, resulting a tight

They were seated on the floor, each wrapped in a towel, when they spoke a word again.

"So… how did you do it?"

"You will have to be more specific."

"Wildflower, don't play with me. I could smell you on every single soldier we've met, just like I can smell you on Ken."

"Oh… well I see it as having helped them all really. They have purpose now, and really care about the fate of the world."

"I worry that we are crossing the same line that was crossed with Ken and Toji. The lack of choice bothers me."

"Firstly, our moral authority supersedes that of NERV. Secondly, these are not children, they are persons who otherwise would have needed to be eliminated at some point to make the world peaceful. If they are truly unhappy once their lives are complete, then I would still say the ends justify the means, because provided we succeed, the cycle of karma and reincarnation will continue."

"That… that actually makes sense."

"Also, it is not as if they do not benefit from the arrangement. It is an exchange, not a harvest."

"Okay… What are we going to do with Misato?"

"Do you trust her absolutely?"

"Does it matter?"


The next morning, Shinji had the privilege of taking part in something he had only ever heard whining about from his teacher… just not in the same position. At 0700 sharp, the Monday operational meeting.

"Guten Morgen everyone, I hearby bring zis meeting to order. First item on the agenda, I am very pleased to velcome Lord Shiva to his proper place at ze head of our vonderful organization." Warthog said and stood up, raising one hand into the air in Shinji's direction and snapping his heels together.

"Seig Hiel!"

"Please never, ever do that again, Warthog." Shinji said, hands steepled on the table in front of him. No wonder father did this all the time, it is comfortable, he thought.

"Sorry, old habits. Anyvay, second item…"

They were all seated around the conference table in Rei and Shinji's cabin. Shinji sat at the head of the table with Rei on his left and Toji on his right. Next to Toji was Kensuke and next to him was Warthog. On the opposite side of the table, next to Rei, was one more person Shinji had just met this morning but had seen around town previously.

"Frau accounting vench-" Warthog started but snapped his mouth shut when he had a sharp heel dig into his foot under the table.

"I warned you not to call me that, it is Rabbit or Kodama, or nothing, got it?"

Kodama Horaki resembled a taller, older version of her younger sister Hikari. In place of the middle Horaki sister's girlish pigtails, Kodama had a single high ponytail.

"Ja, Frau Hossenfeffer, perfectly clear… OW!"

"I am not married or that old!"

"Ja, fraulein, my apologies."

"ANYWAY… Here you are m'lord." Kodama said and slid a thin sheaf of papers across the table to Shinji. "Our current personnel statistics, accounts, and projected costs going forward. I have also attached several uniform and materiel acquisition proposals. Fortunately, with our personnel's experience in the private sector, we have a wide network of contacts to choose from."

Kodama Horaki had been settling down for overtime stretching late into the night, at her shitty office job, with her shitty boss, and her stupid coworkers, and watching that dumb bitch who just got her promotion across the boss's desk leave early, when the attack happened. Unlike those spineless cowards she used to work with, she wasn't going to let herself be a victim. When MSF had found her, she had a bloody letter opener along with the swing arm off the office paper slicer, and four bodies dead on the floor. Kensuke Aida had hired her on the spot.

"I was informed you had some business experience, so I have organized it to come down to somewhat simplified numbers. I have detailed breakdowns and spreadsheets if you want them though."

Shinji was leafing through the papers, going back and forth from summary to detail pages. This woman was good, if she were in the food business, he would say gods help anybody who went in against her. "This is great, but if you could include your figures next time I would like that."

"Certainly m'lord. If I may though, there is something I would like to point out before we go any further at all. Please see where I have the red tag."

Shinji flipped to the page with the red tab sticking off it and found it was an arrow pointing to a certain number. Said number was highlighted in red as well, bold, italicized, and underlined, as well as being circled several times in red pen.

"So, basically we are broke at the end of the month, or we don't do anything but feed our people and pay salaries."

"Exactly."

"Alright, good to know. Ken, I assume you thought this far ahead, what are we going to do?"

"Weeeeeeell,while I appreciate the confidence, that hasn't really been my department. See this business is a little bit more complicated than I thought and…"

"Vould you like an industrial excavator to continue digging zis hole, Herr Snake? Or should I just take over?"

"All yours."

"Bitte. My lord, while our primary mission ist of course to see to it that none interfere with your work, zis ist a business und one I know very well. Amongst our staff are no fewer than ten formally major players in the private military industry. Vat I propose is that we leverage our experience und personnel and continue in zis work. Ve have already received several offers, however our dark mother vished to wait until you were present to decide on vich ve vill accept." Warthog said and took several file folders from a brief case and laid them out on the table.

"I have of course omitted any offers from more disreputable sources. I have also noted those who I personally know can pay in kind. There are several items we need und several we veally veally want."

By lunchtime, boats and helicopters were taking away squads of soldiers. They had even rented several busses to take more men to Tokyo-2 to take civilian flights out. Even Warthog was riding out. Not that he seemed unhappy about it; he had his whole squad singing seig heil viktoria as they boarded the boat to take them ashore, even though most of them weren't German, or even European.

It had been a policy Ken had instituted pretty much right away. Troops trained, ate, bunked, and fought with intentionally mixed units. A given squad would all carry weapons chambered for the same caliber but could otherwise come from across the world. They communicated in battle sign and code words until they came to know their languages. They ate of each other's food until it was all their own. These warriors would no longer see themselves as citizens of a nation, but natives of no land at all. Their loyalty, absolute and total, rested with their brothers and sisters in battle, and in their gods.

They had approved all the assignments which would take three days or less and met certain ethical standards. They also approved certain actions, even though they would go unpaid, to eliminate those who put forth offers on contracts they found disagreeable. Those who targeted children, or used children for war or… other things, would be punished.

By early afternoon, Kodama Horaki had new numbers, acquisition plans, and Kensuke Aida was already putting in proposals for standardization of equipment. Their maxim would be "proven and reliable". Weapons that ran on common ammunition, aircraft and vehicles with easy access to spare parts and fuel, uniforms that could be procured anywhere with a tailor.

"There is of course one other thing we need before we start sinking money into development, but I am afraid we are going to need an inside line with NERV for that. Nobody else has the administrative authority to ease the red tape involved, m'lord."

"Yeah… you realize what you are asking for here, right? You think they are just going to give us one? And its not like its just plug it into the socket right? I mean won't they have to tear the entire ship apart to install it?"

"I'll worry about that, I know a guy." Kensuke responded.

Shinji cocked an eyebrow. "You… know a guy?"

"Yeah… why are you looking at me like that?"


"YOU WANT A WHAT?!"

Shinji held the phone away from his head as Misato yelled. Maybe rerouting his ear canals for better pick-up had not been a good idea after all.

"Well Misato, it makes sense, plus its better than burning all this diesel just to idle. Its better for the environment when you think about it."

"What makes you think I can even approve that? No, you know what, you need to come in, you and Rei both, we have things to discuss."

"I would really rather not Misato, I mean I am just kind of nervous after the last time…"

"Save it, you weren't even awake the last time. Besides, I was going to call you anyway, Kaji wants to meet with you both, something about ongoing training and school."

"Um okay, we can get a boat over and if you could send a car…"

"I will have a chopper in the air as soon as we get off the line, see you soon… And for the record, you need to ask someone else the next time you want a damn nuclear reactor."


"Hey kids, thanks for coming in so late in the evening,. I asked Misato to contact you this morning but I guess it can take time to reach you out on that big boat."

Co-commander Ryoji Kaji was a tall man, and fit without being musclebound. He wore slacks and a button down with the sleeves rolled up and a tie that would have benefitted enormously from clip, a pin, ANYTHING to stop it just hanging there wrinkled and askew. His long hair was bound up in a messy ponytail. Gendo was not present.

He bowed to them both and enthusiastically shook their hands.

"I am sorry I didn't get to say hi out on the fleet Shinji, its nice to finally meet you, and you, Rei. And you are?"

Ken had elected himself for bodyguard duty and was wearing his dark suit with a yellow tie. The PPK in the shoulder holster was the only thing small enough to not print on his slight frame.

"Kensuke Aida, MSF, formally NERV experiment."

"Ah I see, well I invite you to wait outside while we discuss some sensitive business." Kaji said and motioned to the door of the office he shared with Gendo.

"Invitation declined." Ken said, deadpan. Ever since Rei helped him remember what they did to him, Ken was in no mood for NERV's shit.

"We really must insist he stays." Shinji said. He was wearing some of the new clothes their followers had brought for him. The white sport shirt, much better cut and quality than the school uniform he used to wear, had the sleeves rolled up to the elbow like the co-commander. He had the top two buttons undone, showing off the upper tip of the new mark from the blow that nearly killed him a week earlier. The shirt was untucked over khaki chinos and someone had been good enough to bring him a new pair of kedds.

"You understand that having the commander put a gun to our heads has shaken our trust." Rei said. She was wearing a white blouse, and a blue skirt, her long hair hanging freely behind her shoulders.

"Ah, well, I suppose we do need to make some compromises under the circumstances. Please, lets all have a seat. I can have another chair brought in for you if you like Mr. Aida."

"I am fine on my feet, thank you."

Kaji took a seat behind the desk while the pilots sat down in two high-backed chairs set up across from him. Kensuke stood beside and behind Rei's chair, while Misato too to the left of the desk.

"Now, given recent revelations concerning NERV's conduct, the UN is of course committed to improving pilot working conditions and home life. I understand your concerns and even your shaken trust in NERV. I for one welcome MSF…" Kaji said, motioning to Ken. "As partners in our battle against the angels. However, you are both only fifteen, and while we would very much like to see you both continue on in school into college prep and university, even if you wish to drop out, you are still both required to attend classes for another year. This is part of a normal life that we are committed to seeing all of the pilots have, as much as possible."

Shinji snorted suppressing a laugh. "That's what this is about, you want us to go back to school?"

"What I want has nothing to do with it, the law requires you attend until you are sixteen years old."

"Sorry, I just figured having a planet to save had priority over math and Japanese literature. Remo-sensei already talked about this with dad anyway, we are independent contractors as assassins of the house of Sinanju."

"Assassins or not, the law says you need to both go to school. Asuka is going and she already has a college degree, she has plenty of reason not to. We are all subject to the law just the same Shinji."

Damn that was irritating, Shinji thought. He just met the guy and he was using his first name like he was a little kid.

"However…" Rei began. "who is responsible for enforcing this… annoying, ordinance?"

"Well I suppose that's what truancy officers are for."

"Are they like police officers?"

"Yes something like that, Rei."

"I would prefer you not use my given name commander, thank you. Given the much reduced strength of the metropolitan police, I highly doubt they would be willing or able to mount an assault of significant strength to transport us to school against our will, and certainly not without heavy causalities. As this is then unenforceable, I think it would be much more reasonable for us to continue to spend our days preparing for battle."

"Uh, well…"

"Kensuke, at its full complement, what is the size of the Tokyo-3 metropolitan police?"

"That would be fifteen hundred officers and support staff, Ma'am."

"And how many is the department estimated to number currently?"

"Less than seven hundred, Ma'am."

"Thank you Kensuke. Commander, might we interest you in hiring MSF to offset the police force? It would also serve to deter any ill-advised attempts at forcing the issue of our attendance." Rei said, in a perfectly calm and even tone that did nothing to betray the undertone message: gettin' real tired of your shit.

"Um, perhaps we can table that issue for now. Regarding your training however, I am sure you are aware that Remo Williams and his apprentice have left town. As I have been teaching Asuka for some time, I will be taking over as your instructor. I have a lot of respect for Mr. Williams, but I suspect there are some gaps in your education."


They had declined the invitation to stay the night ashore and Misato was escorting them back to the surface where a helicopter awaited them.

"So what kind of surveillance do they have in these elevators?" Kensuke said, breaking what had been awkward silence.

"Well cameras, microphones…" Misato began until Ken held up a little box like a garage door remote and clicked the single button.

"Not anymore." He said with a smirk.

"Misato, you don't like Commander Kaji, do you?" Shinji asked.

"No, we… we went out in college. He is nice on the surface, but… yeah we just didn't work out."

"Do you trust him with the fate of the world?" Rei asked.

Misato looked up at the ceiling and was silent for a while.

"No." She said finally, hanging her head. "No, I don't."

"You know, I would trust you to do that job. They should have promoted you instead of bringing in an outsider." Shinji said.

"Me? Oh hell no, I can barely keep my own crap together, no thank you."

Shinji shrugged. "I don't think you give yourself enough credit. Anyway, would you like to come over for dinner again? We can call it a meeting if you like. I always like seeing my might-as-well-be-mom."

Misato smiled. "Yeah, you know I would like that. But if I am your mom, do I get to fix your hair in front of the troops?" She said, reaching over and playing at smoothing down a cowlick.


Half an hour later, as Shinji and Rei were walking to the audience hall of their little kingdom, Rei asked him:

"Does it bother you to say things you know she wishes to hear to gain compliance?"

"No… I mean, I realize it is kind of like manipulating her, but I am not being dishonest. We need Misato in charge, where she can do the most good, but we need her at her best. Not everyone has the opportunity to do what I did, in a coma for a week, with medical care I don't need to pay for, with the best friend possible as my guide to work through my emotional problems. I dunno if Misato could pay rent if she took a week off, and who would feed Pen Pen?" Shinji said, adjusting the deep purple robe around his shoulders.

"He would manage." Rei said. She was quite sure that, if forced, the bird would go whale hunting and succeed. "Come, and do not be nervous. Speak from your heart and they will listen."

Shinji nodded as Rei straightened his collar then laid her hands on his chest. "If you do not wish to speak tonight, you do not have to."

"No." Shinji said and gently pulled Rei to him by the hips. The blue and gold silk robe she wore was soft on his fingers. "I need to do this."

She nodded and kissed him on the cheek. "Ready?"

"As I will ever be."

It was a small group for services tonight, as the majority of personnel were out on assignment. Shinji looked for the face of Kodama Horaki before he remembered that she was one of the many staff who were residents of the city and stayed in their homes.

The attendees still wore their patchwork of uniforms, united only by the black and yellow brassards on their left arms. The thirty or so men and women stood at parade rest with their eyes forward.

Shinji stepped onto the small riser along with Rei and looked out on the soldiers. He tried to remember how he wanted to start, but was drawing a blank. He knew that these people, like all people, were sizing him up on first site, deciding if he was worthy of the stories they had heard…

But no… no they were not. Shinji looked into each set of eyes and saw not judgment, but awe. He had nothing to prove to these people, who knew the truth and believed in them. They believed in him, and so he would believe in them.

"Everyone, please sit." He said with a slow downward sweep of his arm. All of them fell to their knees. He gracefully lowered himself into the lotus position.

"My friends… and that is what I wish to call you all… As your bodies are truly a temporary shell for your spirit as it moves from one life to another, seeking true knowledge, so my body is a shell around a much greater presence. This crisis, this war, it is so great that it required the both of us to combat it directly. Make no mistake, it is the greatest threat this world has ever known."

"While this body slept, I went on a journey in my memories. There I found a message and faced the true enemy, the enemy that sends the angels to try and destroy us. It spoke as if it were a god itself, but my friends… I will tell you this. The enemy was frightened. Not of us, my beloved and myself, but of humanity. It fears humanity's very existence so much that it sends the angels to try and destroy us all. And so my friends, we have come as the destroyer to defeat this enemy. Not to drive it back, to force it to retreat. No my friends, our purpose is to end this threat totally."

"But my friends, you well know that the threat is not just from the angels. The enemy has agents among humanity, even within NERV itself, at the highest level. My friends, my very own father, Gendo Ikari, is among their agents."

There were murmurs among the troops at that. Gendo Ikari, the commander of NERV was an enemy agent. Kill him they began to agree.

"My friends, do not spare regard for my father. He has been neutered and his influence taken. We must now watch and learn, so that we may divine their next agent. We must also concern ourselves with the next angel, who I predict will arrive not long after this week is out, if not before. I promise you this though, as my dearest friends on this earth, those traitors who sided against humanity and those unwitting collaborators who took arms against her defenders, they will face a day of reckoning. We will crush them as the insects they are."

"I promise you also, that when this war is done, we will not abandon you. We will build upon this earth a golden kingdom, built on righteous intent and righteous action. Where we are warriors, so too shall we be builders, and physicians, and leaders of men. To get there, we need the very best of humanity with us against the enemies both without and within."

"It is a glamorous thing, to stand beside the gods as they fight, but I will ask many of you to do a thing which is so much more important. To go out to fight and die is glorious, but to raise children who have nobody, to teach the true religion to those who have not heard it, to give aid to those who need it, these things save humanity just as surely as I do when I face the angels. People must believe in the gods. And to believe in MSF, to believe in all of you, is to believe in us."

"Together, we will destroy the enemies of man and build a new world. A world where no child needs fear his elders, or hunger, or disease. Where no child will be made a fighter before their time, where the most precious of humanity and the world itself are protected above all else. This what I demand of you, each and every one of you. I demand a commitment, absolute and total, to our will, to my will, to the will that will build the future of humanity and defend her from all comers!"

Shinji stood suddenly, arms extended with clawed hands upturned.

"My friends! I ask you to follow me in war and peace, in battle and building, to rake through the depths of hell so that we may build heaven upon its foundations!" Shinji said and as chilling wind whipped through the room his eyes began to glow like yellow suns, while upon his forehead another light shone.

My friends! What. Say. You?

The troops were on their feet, fists in the air.

"HAIL LORD SHIVA! HAIL LADY KALI! HAIL THE DESTROYER!"

And hail to you my friends…


The next night…

"Shinji, Rei, I love you both but if I make dinner here a regular thing I am going to get fat." Misato said, sliding down in her chair as staff cleared the table in Shinji and Rei's cabin. It was just the three of them. An Italian crewman was on rotation as head chef tonight and the dinner had very much redefined the terms "rich" and "savory" for all present. Misato had hated herself for reaching for the canoli but resistance was futile.

"Misato, you look like you are going to pass out right there in the chair, would you like to spend the night?" Shinji asked.

Misato checked her watch, it was after eight. "Oh I just need some time to get over the food coma, besides, besides with everything going on, we haven't had time to talk at all."

"Well I suppose that's the real reason we wanted you to come over, you know, alone. So we could talk."

Misato nodded, grabbing the table to pull herself back up to proper posture. "This isn't about kicking you out of your room, is it?"

Shinji had to smile, even chuckle a little. "No Misato, but I want to apologize for what I said. I tried to be hurtful because I was angry, and it was wrong of me to play on your personal issues that way… But that is more what this is about I guess."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean it is about you Misato. Please just listen and hear me out if you would, okay?"

"O-okay."

"Misato, you are amazing, You are a great warrior, and even if we have had some disagreements, you have been a wonderful mother to me."

Shinji felt a twinge of remorse in the back of his mind when he used the word mother and she reacted… just like he had known she would when he planned this out.

"I need you to tell me, no I need you to promise me, promise me that your loyalty is not to NERV, or Japan, but to the fight against the angels, to humanity."

"Shinji… come on, what is this about?"

"I need to know you will do the right thing Misato. If you aren't willing to put your loyalty where it matters, I can't trust you. Not as a commander and…" Shinji frowned and looked down. "Not even as a friend."

Misato pushed herself away from the table and got up. She took the short step over to Shinji and wrapped her arms around him, even uncomfortable as it was to bend over him like that.

"Shinji… ever since the day you said you wanted to be a soldier, that you wanted to fight for humanity…. Then when we were fighting those things in the Pacific. I made a promise to myself that I would side with you kids over anything else. We have done such horrible things to you, it is the least you deserve and I know I am going to hell, but I will at least try to atone for my mistakes. My loyalty is with you, and Rei, with Asuka, and even Kensuke and Toji. All the children we have wronged for the greater good of saving the world."

Shinji swallowed hard. This next part was crucial, and he had practiced the technique Rei had perfected, but he was still nervous. Shinji reached up and gently strokes Misato's bare arm with his fingertips.

"Misato, there is something I would like to show you, it will explain a lot. Please just watch and I will answer any questions you have afterward."

"Okay…" Misato said. Shinji very carefully untangled himself from arms and stood, careful to keep his skin in contact with hers.

"You are going to be here late, you should call Asuka and tell her dinner was very good, and that you will be staying late and spending the night. We are having an important meeting. Tell her you will see her tomorrow and to sleep well."

"Uh huh…" Misato said and took her phone from her jacket, which hung over her chair. She dialed by touch, her eyes locked on Shinji.

"Hello Asuka… Yes dinner was very good… I am going to be staying late and spending the night. We are having an important meeting… Yes, see you tomorrow, sleep well." Misato said and flipped the phone shut when she was finished. She looked at it for a second, not sure what to do with it.

Shinji took the phone from her hand and set it on the table. The concentration required for this was insane and he didn't want to try and figure out fine motor skills yet. He wasn't even truly controlling her, just pushing her conscious mind into a kind of introspective, wandering state. Like forcing someone to space out. He was not controlling her thoughts, just making her suggestible and compliant for a bit.

Shinji slid his hand down to Misato's own and squeezed. This would be somewhat easier than trying to keep his palm on her arm.

"Okay Misato, lets go." Shinji said and began to lead her to the door. Rei was already ahead of them and had the hatch open. As they neared the door, Misato stopped and tugged on his hand.

"Misato, come on."

"Uh uh…" She said, tugging again and shaking her head. "Want."

"Want? What do you want?"

Misato tugged back again and pointed to the curtained off bed then grabbed his hand with her other hand as well.

"Want." She said with pleading eyes and tone. Shinji had figured this might happen, but wasn't really ready for being confronted with it. As he began to stutter, Rei thankfully stepped in and took Misato's other hand away from Shinji, so that she was held between them like parents might have a child.

"Mine." She said and gave the woman's arm a sharp tug. "Come."

End


This was getting long and a little crowded, so I cut it here. Thematically it is a good place to stop, with just a tiny cliffhanger. Next chapter will be up tonight or tomorrow.

Next chapter we move the story up to the arrival of Israfel. How long has it been since Units Zero and One got out for a walk anyway?