Neon Genesis Evangelion: Legacy
Episode VII: Awakenings


Chapter 11 – A Call to Arms
August 23, 2020 – NERV HQ

It had been two weeks since Shateiel's attack. Since then, all the pilots had doubled down on their training, taking extra time to work in Maya's digital simulation trying to beat all the Angels without losing anyone. Thus far they hadn't been very successful, as someone always got killed during Armisael's stage due to the Angel's extreme difficulty. Mari was the unfortunate loser of this simulation, due once again to Toji's shoddy trigger finger, and exited her Test Plug in a foul mood.

"Figures…" Mari muttered to herself. "That fucking Angel is a pain in the ass… fucking rapey noodle…" Mari punched her Test Plug in frustration. "And Toji needs to stop fighting so damn erratically… he's literally going to kill one of us."

Mari, with nothing else to do, went to the Command Center inside to look at their progress on the main screen. When she arrived, she saw they had advanced past Iblis and were fighting Barakijal, the eighth and final stage.

"So… uh… how are they doing?" Mari asked.

"Rei's down… Asuka's down… Shinji's down…" Maya listed off nonchalantly.

"Why them three?" Mari asked. "Don't tell me…"

"Actually it was Hikari." Kaji said. "They went to save her and got knocked out."

"And it's all over." Maya said. "They went down really quick."

"Oh… that bodes well for the future." Mari quipped. "Really glad Asuka pulled herself out of bed to save Shinji… otherwise he'd be dead for real."

"Why did you have to say that?" Misato asked.

"Because it's the truth." Mari said. "Their sync scores are low, and they're inexperienced and afraid. It's not a winning combination."

"Well, the training should help that." Kaji said.

"Not until Toji talks to someone about what's bothering him." Mari replied. "I mean, we've killed these things before, we should be able to do it again!"

"In theory, yes." Maya replied. "But this is more of a test of your teamwork than anything else… which is apparently lacking."

"Well, at least your sync scores are improving." Kaji said. "Right?"

"Well… yes." Maya replied. "But the rookies need to focus more, because their scores should be higher than this."

"Well, we'll talk about it at the debrief." Kaji replied. "I'll get the kids, you get the data?"

"Sounds like a date." Maya winked.

"God… old people are weird." Mari muttered.

"Oh, stop." Kaji replied. "Friends are allowed to banter… you ought to know that."

"Whatever…" Mari replied. "Well, come on, old man, try and keep up!"

"Aren't you technically older than me?" Kaji asked.

"Not anymore, scruffy." Mari replied as she jogged backwards towards the elevators.

–––

Kaji, Mari, and Maya walked into the briefing room and saw the dejected looks on everyone's faces. Mari winked at Kaji and Maya and took a seat next to an irate Asuka, who was clenching her fist very tightly in an attempt to calm herself down.

"So, I'm sure you guys aren't doing so great right now…" Maya began.

"Ya think?" Asuka snapped. "We got fucked again in that simulation of yours." Asuka pointed to Toji. "By that Grade–A fuck up."

"Asuka, it's not right to point fingers." Rei said.

"Yeah, and it's not right that someone is training with us who couldn't hit the broad side of the fucking moon!" Asuka snapped. "I mean come on! Every time he takes someone out and we're left to clean up the mess!"

"Hey, I'm trying!" Toji snapped. "It's not my fault the Angel moves so fast!"

"Which is why we agreed on melee attacks unless your field of fire was clear!" Asuka said angrily. "Literally, we ordered you to do that!"

"She's right though, that was the plan we agreed to." Shinji said. "Toji you disregarded that order and hit Mari."

"Shinji, buddy… come on…" Toji said.

"No, Toji, don't do that." Mari said. "Don't beg."

"Beg?" Toji asked. "I wasn't begging."

"Shinji buddy… come on…" Mari mocked in a false–baritone voice. "That's you right now. Just own up to it, you wanted him to go easy on you cause you're friends."

"No I didn't!" Toji said.

"Yes you did!" Mari replied. "You can't admit it because you're embarrassed. And you need to, otherwise you'll never get over what's bothering you, cause your insecurities about being a pilot are going to get someone killed, one of us… KILLED!"

"You're so full of shit!" Toji snapped.

"This isn't new, Toji." Hikari said. "We've talked about this."

"You too babe?" Toji asked. "Seriously?"

"Yes." Hikari said. "They're right. You need to talk about what's bothering you."

"I'd be happy to listen, Toji." Maya said. "Anything you say would be completely confidential."

"I don't need to talk about anything!" Toji snapped. "Why does everyone assume there's a problem?!"

"Because you haven't been yourself since we started doing this, Toji." Kensuke said worriedly. "Everyone's just worried about you."

"Well stop it." Toji quipped angrily. "I'm fine."

"But Toji…!" Hikari said consolingly.

"I said I'm fine!" Toji shouted.

"Alright, enough!" Kaji said loudly. "Toji, sit down. Everyone just stop bringing it up, that's not going to help anyone." Kaji pointed to Shinji and Asuka. "You two of all people should know that it takes a certain amount of time to come to a realization about something, right? He needs to figure it out himself, and shouting at him isn't going to help anything."

"Right." Asuka said.

"Sorry." Shinji added.

"See, I'm fine." Toji said stubbornly.

"I never said you were fine, Toji." Kaji said as he turned to Toji and his voice got very deep. "But be warned, if your performance in the simulations doesn't improve and you keep endangering everyone by rushing to kill the Angel without thinking, you won't have a lick of free time until you can aim a rifle and shoot it with pinpoint accuracy and take orders without hesitation or question, am I making myself very clear."

"Yes, sir." Toji said quietly.

"Good." Kaji said in his usual lighthearted tone. "Now if everyone's done, back to business." Kaji and Maya sat down and faced everyone. "So… we skipped ahead a bit by going over your… abundant teamwork issues…" Kaji sighed. "So, we can consider that subject closed."

"So sync scores it is." Maya said.

"Are we seriously just leaving this alone?" Mari asked angrily. "We can't just leave this alone."

"We can and we will." Kaji said. "There are other things we need to discuss."

"And at this point we're just beating a dead horse." Asuka said. "So I'm with Kaji, we're moving on Mari… that's an order."

"So you're ordering me to ignore the giant fucking elephant in the room?" Mari asked.

"Yes." Asuka said calmly. "Like Kaji said, if he doesn't want to listen to reason we can't force it, but we can move on with the rest of the things we have to talk about."

"But it's not just about him…" Mari said. "This affects all of us!"

"Mari enough." Asuka grumbled. "That was an order."

"Whatever…" Mari said defiantly as she shoved her chair back forcibly, slamming it into the wall as she stood up. "You did a complete one eighty because Kaji made a little speech… that doesn't solve this fucking problem."

"There isn't a problem!" Toji snapped.

"I wasn't talking to you, Toji!" Mari shouted back. "I'm done with this fucking meeting too!"

"Mari, don't you walk out that door!" Asuka shouted. "That's an order!"

"Bite me." Mari said as she stormed out.

"Mari!" Shinji called. "Come back!"

"Not unless you're going to make Toji own up to his shit!" Mari shouted from the hallway.

"I'll go get her…" Asuka said as she started to get up.

"Don't bother." Maya said. "Look, the sync scores are irrelevant if you all can't work together. Kaji, let's just cancel the meeting and send them home."

"Are you sure?" Kaji asked. "I mean…"

"Nothing's going to be accomplished at this juncture." Maya said.

"Well, you all heard the Major, class dismissed." Kaji said.

"Good." Toji said as he rushed out of the room.

"What about Mari?" Shinji asked. "She seems upset…"

"Leave her alone." Asuka said. "You can't reason with her when she's upset."

"I will talk to her." Rei said.

"You will?" Hikari asked.

"I will… but you need to talk to Toji." Rei said. "Mari was right, and Asuka, you should have not changed your opinion… this issue cannot persist any longer. He needs to find… peace. Either with himself, or with the Evangelion."

"Rei… I can't…" Hikari muttered.

"If you love him, you will." Rei said. "And we all know you do."

"Yeah… I just…" Hikari said. "I just don't know how."

"Yes you do, Hikari." Asuka said. "You understand that… guy."

"You were going to say idiot, weren't you?" Hikari asked.

"I'm not going to answer that." Asuka replied.

"Because the way's he acting about his problem, I'd be inclined to agree with you." Hikari replied tiredly. "But I think I know how to fix the problem."

"Good, get to it." Asuka said. "Before everything goes to shit."

–––

Misato was in her office, and she was very unhappy. She was talking with the freshly returned Hyuga, Aoba, and Takao about their journey to every NERV branch around the world and what they had found and cleaned up.

"There were how many?" Misato asked again.

"1,758 Cores in total." Takao replied. "1,697 had viable souls, 42 had degraded souls, and 19 had never been used and were apparently kept in reserve."

"That's how many were remaining?" Misato asked incredulously.

"Yeah." Aoba replied. "Out of the 2,000 or so that were manufactured…"

"That doesn't even match with the official number of souls on record!" Misato shouted. "How did we not know about this?!"

"The prior administration was very good at covering its tracks." Hyuga replied. "There's a large discrepancy in what was actually made."

"No shit." Misato said. "And I'm sorry for yelling… but are you sure you found them all and destroyed them?"

"Well, with the records of the confirmed Cores destroyed… that still leaves us about 82 unaccounted for." Takao said.

"Unless you count the white devils." Hyuga added.

"You think those were made with those Cores?" Misato asked.

"Why make your own when you have a hidden stock all around the globe?" Aoba asked. "Path of least resistance or something like that."

"So… what does this mean?" Misato asked. "Can you find them?"

"Unlikely." Aoba replied. "They're gone and nowhere to be found."

"Plus if SEELE had their hands on them, any usable info will be gone now that the entire organization has gone tits up." Hyuga said. "At least from what Kaji's told us that is."

"Well, Kaji's a reliable guy." Takao said. "He wouldn't say it if there wasn't proof."

"But what would those Cores be used for?" Misato asked.

"Either there are more discrepancies in the records we were unable to dig up." Hyuga said. "Or we have a greater threat out there looming over us than we can imagine."

"Great…" Misato said. "Just what we don't need… more threats."

"Well, you want us to be honest, or do you want us to lie?" Aoba asked.

"The truth is better." Misato said. "But what do we tell everyone else…"

"The truth I suppose." Takao replied. "It's the best solution."

"No… not to everyone." Misato said. "We'll only tell who needs to know about this. Kaji, Maya, and the pilots."

"Are you sure about the pilots, ma'am?" Hyuga asked. "Do they really need to know?"

"Well, they did bring this to my attention." Misato replied. "They should know the ultimate resolution of your hard work."

"If you're sure." Takao replied.

"Well… I'll have to tell them there could be more than just Angels waiting to attack us." Misato said.

"Theoretically, they could attack anywhere." Aoba said. "We know why the Angels keep coming here, but…"

"What, you don't think they'd attack other cities, do you?" Misato asked.

"It's at the very least a possibility." Hyuga replied. "But the souls themselves…"

"Those… well… there were very meticulous records kept." Aoba said. "Almost too creepy… but we have accounted for every soul that was…"

"Murdered." Misato said. "So there are no more of those?"

"Only the seven we know about." Takao said. "And they're all sitting downstairs in biomechanical killing machines."

"Well… at least there's some good news to come out of this." Misato said. "But those other Cores worry me…" Misato sighed. "Thank you guys for doing all this… it's good to have you back."

"Well, we apparently missed some fun." Hyuga said.

"Well, it was just another Angel." Misato said. "Nothing you guys haven't experienced many times before."

"Still, there's always a little thrill when the alarms go off." Hyuga joked. "And watching the kids kill those things is always good for a nervous thrill or two."

"I won't mention to Asuka that you said that." Misato said.

"Well… cheering them on was a big part of the job." Aoba replied.

"Oh well… it just sounded odd…" Misato muttered.

"Commander, if you don't mind my asking… are there to be any disciplinary measures taken?" Takao asked.

"No, unfortunately everyone involved in the cover up was taken out of power when Fuyutsuki turned himself in… so they're already either in the wind, in prison, or dead." Misato explained. "Still… I'll have to talk to Fuyutsuki about that."

"What do you mean, ma'am?" Hyuga asked.

"Oh, I'll have to have a visit with him." Misato replied quickly. "That's all."

"So is that all, ma'am?" Hyuga asked.

"Yes… thank you again gentleman." Misato replied. "I think you've earned a few days off at the very least. Dismissed."

–––

Mari was lying in her room, staring blankly at the ceiling when she heard a soft knock on the door.

"I don't want to talk, Shinji." Mari said loudly.

"I am not Shinji." Rei said. "But if you would rather not talk…"

"No, it's ok Rei, you can come in." Mari said. "You can uh… leave the door open."

"I think it would be best if we were not overheard." Rei said as she closed the door behind her. "I wanted to talk to you about today."

"What, about the meeting?" Mari asked.

"Yes." Rei replied.

"And nothing else?" Mari asked hopefully.

"Not yet, Mari." Rei said quietly. "I am… not quite ready for that conversation yet."

"It's ok." Mari said as she sat up slowly. "Wishful thinking on my part."

"Not really." Rei replied "We do need to discuss that eventually… but I'm more concerned with what made you so upset today."

"I wasn't upset, Rei." Mari said. "I was fucking pissed."

"Because of Toji, right?" Rei asked.

"No because of Toji." Mari said. "Because of his stubbornness. He's just so fucking arrogant saying he doesn't have a problem… but he always fucks up… he always makes stupid mistakes…"

"Like we used to." Rei said.

"No… well… yeah." Mari said. "But he should know better! He heard all the stupid bullshit we did! He should have learned from our mistakes!"

"Is that why you're upset?" Rei asked.

"No… the mistakes are fine, but…" Mari paused. "Our mistakes, we only risked our own lives… we rushed headlong into things without thinking… we didn't care what happened to us as long as we won… but Toji… he's a liability! He can't shoot for shit, let alone aim the fucking thing and he's gonna get one of us killed in actual combat if he doesn't get his shit together soon!"

"Mari that could happen anyway." Rei said. "It's the risk we take as pilots."

"No… the risk should only come from the Angels, not from our friends!" Mari said angrily. "Then what's he going to do to himself once he realizes he's hurt one of… or worse killed one of us?!"

"I don't know, Mari." Rei replied. "Only he can answer that."

"Well, I personally don't want to know the answer, cause that means one of us is probably going to be dead." Mari grumbled.

"Mari… stop." Rei said. "You're going in a circle and nothing is going to get accomplished by complaining."

"I know that but it makes me feel better!" Mari snapped. "I just wish Misato or Kaji or someone would force him to deal with his bullshit!"

"Mari, forcing people to fix their problems doesn't solve anything." Rei said.

"Really?" Mari asked. "Don't you remember how Asuka and Shinji finally admitted they loved each other?"

"Not really…" Rei muttered.

"That's something damn important to forget…" Mari muttered. "Anyway… it took being confronted by the truth to admit what they felt for each other." Mari said.

"Yes, but Arael was invading their minds." Rei replied.

"That doesn't matter, they were still confronted by the truth, that's what matters." Mari said defiantly. "If he's confronted the right way, he'll finally have to admit he's fucking up!"

"Mari… I don't see that happening in the near future." Rei replied solemnly. "So you need to let it go and focus on keeping yourself safe for your own sake."

"What!? My focus is fine!" Mari said. "I can still hit a moving target, no problem! I haven't lost my edge!"

"Mari, I meant for your own peace of mind." Rei replied. "Please just… let things happen, and if one of us gets hurt, or even dies, it wouldn't be the first time…"

"That's not the point!" Mari snapped. "We're older now, and way more experienced than before! We have better weapons and better armor! We shouldn't have to risk getting hit by friendly fire!"

"But that is the reality of combat and the risks we take, Mari." Rei said calmly. "It's not like it's a big surprise we can get hurt."

"I know, but he should be better at this by now!" Mari said. "It's not like he hasn't trained!"

"Mari… perhaps you're the one forgetting something important." Rei said seriously. "Did you forget about Toji being trapped inside Unit–03 while Bardiel was infesting it and hurting all of us?"

"No… but I doubt he remembers anything." Mari muttered dismissively.

"He told as much when he agreed to pilot again." Rei said. "He's afraid of not being in control again and he's hesitating and then overreacting… he's overwhelmed."

"Well he needs to get over it." Mari said. "He's not the only one who has problems… Asuka was gutted and she's not fucking up royally every time we're in the training simulation… hell her and Shinji can manipulate their A.T. Fields now."

"Mari…" Rei said in a stern but exasperated voice. "I'm asking you as your friend to let this go, please."

"As my friend?" Mari asked hopefully.

"Yes." Rei said. "I am asking you this as your friend, for your own sake, leave Toji to his demons… he will deal with them in his own time."

"Yeah, but…" Mari began.

"No buts, Mari." Rei said. "The matter is no longer your concern."

"I haven't agreed to anything yet!" Mari grumbled.

"You have a choice Mari, my continued friendship or continuing to complain about this problem." Rei said sternly. "Which will it be?"

"I… you really mean that?" Mari asked, stunned by Rei's ultimatum.

"I do." Rei replied without hesitation.

"Then I choose your friendship…" Mari replied tiredly. "I won't say anything about it… but that doesn't mean I'm not still upset by Toji's stupidity."

"I know." Rei said. "Thank you."

"Yeah… like I had a choice." Mari replied sarcastically.

"You did have a choice, Mari." Rei said as she turned to leave. "And you chose correctly."

"Was this a test or something?" Mari asked.

Rei turned back to Mari. "Perhaps…" Rei said as she smiled. "…or perhaps not." Rei opened Mari's door and left. "Goodnight, Mari."

"Goodnight… blu…" Mari hesitated before finishing her statement. "…Rei."

–––

Shinji and Asuka were lying in bed, with Asuka still being wide awake. She could hear Mari complaining loudly about something, and Asuka figured she was still going on about Toji. She rolled over to see Shinji sleeping soundly, unaware of Mari's continued protestations. Asuka was also upset by the day's events, and decided she too needed someone to talk to and prodded the closest possible option in the jaw.

"Hey, baka, are you awake?" Asuka asked as she prodded him several more times in the jaw.

Shinji groaned and sighed deeply. "I am now…" Shinji muttered tiredly.

"Good." Asuka replied. "I need to talk to you."

"Can it wait until tomorrow?" Shinji groaned. "It's late, and I'm tired…"

"It can't wait." Asuka said. "It's important."

Shinji sighed deeply again. "Ok… what's wrong?" Shinji asked.

"Why didn't you speak up more in the meeting?" Asuka asked.

"What?" Shinji replied. "I said stuff, then Kaji said to drop it."

"I mean after that." Asuka said angrily. "Why didn't you tell Mari to zip it?"

"I know better than to tell her to stop." Shinji replied. "She's like you… once you're angrily focused on a topic you won't leave it alone… which is probably why she stormed out and hasn't said anything to us since we got home."

"What are you talking about, baka?!" Asuka snapped. "I don't get angrily focused on things!"

"So you weren't going to keep me awake if we didn't talk about this?" Shinji asked.

"This is…" Asuka began and then she bopped Shinji on the forehead. "Oh shut it…"

"Like I said…" Shinji said cockily.

"Watch it, baka!" Asuka warned. "Unless you're comfortable never having sex with me again!"

"You're not serious." Shinji replied nervously.

"You wanna call my bluff?" Asuka asked coyly.

"I'll be quiet now." Shinji said meekly.

"Good baka." Asuka said as she patted his head. "Now back to what I was saying… why didn't you talk to Mari?"

"I already said why, Asuka." Shinji replied tiredly. "She was… too upset to reason with, and she has a right to be… aren't you still upset? Don't you want Toji to get his shit together?"

"Obviously, but I'm not the one that can get through to him." Asuka said.

"Well, neither can I." Shinji replied. "I tried… but he doesn't want to hear it. What about Hikari, has she had any luck?"

"Nope…" Asuka muttered. "So, I guess it's really up to him to get his shit together…"

"Sounds like it." Shinji replied. "I'm sure he'll figure something out."

"Do you really think that?" Asuka asked.

"Asuka… why would you…" Shinji began.

"Because I want to know." Asuka replied. "I'm not going to tell anyone…"

"Well… I'm hoping he figures it out soon." Shinji said. "If not for his sake, than for Sakura's."

"Do you think Misato would follow through on her threat?" Asuka asked.

"Do you?" Shinji replied.

"Well… maybe." Asuka said. "I mean, would she have said it if she didn't mean it? She did make you train for three years leaving the rest of us in the fucking dark…"

"So anything's possible I guess…" Shinji muttered.

"Yeah…" Asuka sighed. "Now I feel worse about all this… I don't want Sakura to fight."

"Well, unless Toji deals with his issues, she might have to." Shinji replied. "So… can I go back to sleep?"

"No." Asuka replied bluntly. "I don't think I'm going to be sleeping very much tonight, so neither are you."

"How is that fair?" Shinji asked.

"Because you made me think about this too much." Asuka replied. "So, let's watch a movie or something till we pass out."

"What about… you know…" Shinji hinted.

"Nope." Asuka replied. "I'm not angrily focused enough to even bother."

"Yeah… I deserved that." Shinji said. "Movie it is then."


August 25, 2020 – Comfort 17 Apartments

It was still fairly early when Kaji woke up. He rolled over and saw that Misato was already up. He heard the shower running and the kids clamoring to leave the house.

"Wow… everyone's up so early." Kaji muttered. "But seeing as the kids are leaving, I'll have Misato to myself for a few minutes…" Kaji smiled. "Well, perhaps I have to take the opportunity whenever it presents itself…"

Kaji got up and looked around for something to put on and went out to meet Misato in the kitchen. He grabbed a red folder from his bag off the floor and rubbed his eyes as he left the room. He came upon Misato in the kitchen, wrapped in a towel shoving toast into her mouth with no disregard for the jelly covering her face.

"What a sight to behold." Kaji joked. "Such beauty to feast my eyes upon."

Misato swallowed the toast roughly and glared at Kaji. "Bite me."

"I'd rather eat you like that toast…" Kaji said coyly. "wet and sloppy."

"Kaji, we have to get to work." Misato said.

"Well, you do." Kaji said. "My shift isn't until later."

Misato rolled her eyes. "What idiot let you have a later shift."

"Well… you'd be that idiot my love." Kaji replied.

Misato grumbled silently. "Is there something you want, Kaji?" Misato asked. "Or are you just going to tease me all morning."

Kaji picked up a napkin and handed it to her. "First… you have jelly…" Kaji motioned his hand around his mouth. "Well, everywhere."

Misato grabbed the napkin and wiped her face. "Fine, is that better, mister OCD?" Misato asked sarcastically.

"Well, I can't talk to you seriously when your face is covered in jelly like a three year old." Kaji said as he put the red folder on the table. "So, I did that favor you asked."

"Which favor is that?" Misato asked.

"The one about Chief Inspector Iwasawa." Kaji said as he picked up the red folder.

Misato's eyes widened. "So you found something?" Misato asked.

"Well, yeah…" Kaji said. "Otherwise I wouldn't be showing it to you."

"That was fast." Misato said.

"First time you've ever told me that." Kaji joked.

"You're almost as bad as Mari…" Misato muttered.

Kaji laughed. "So, do you want to see this or what?" Kaji asked as he waived the red folder around.

"Is that it?" Misato asked as she took the folder from Kaji's hand. "It's not that thick."

"Well, basically, it's everything I could dig up on Yuki Iwasawa." Kaji replied. "It's not much, but it gives us a better picture of the thorn in your ass."

"I still can't believe this is it…" Misato bemoaned.

"Well, I found a few somethings." Kaji said, taking the file back and opening it. "So read it first before you complain."

"Why don't you give me a summary, smart ass." Misato replied snarkily. "Enlighten me to your wonderful intel gathering skills."

Kaji rolled his eyes. "Of course Commander." Kaji joked as he flipped open the folder. "Well, does the name Shikinami ring any bells?" Kaji asked.

"No… not really…" Misato said. "Wait… isn't Asuka's step–mother named Shikinami?"

"Right on the money." Kaji said. "And guess who her older sister is?"

"Yuki Iwasawa?" Misato asked. "I'm calling bullshit."

"Nope, Iwasawa is her married name." Kaji said. "She was born Yuki Shikinami, and it's still her middle name according to her U.N. personnel file."

"How did you get that?" Misato asked.

"A simple hack, not really that hard." Kaji replied. "Their cybersecurity is weak."

"Ok…" Misato replied. "So Iwasawa is married?"

"Well… yes, but… technically…" Kaji paused. "She's a widow."

"Oh… well, I can see why she wouldn't mention him." Misato mumbled. "Also explains her… coldness…"

Kaji chuckled. "That… shouldn't be funny."

"So, how did he uh… die? Cancer?" Misato asked. "Or does it not say."

"No, he wasn't that lucky." Kaji said.

"Why would you say that?" Misato asked. "Cancer isn't lucky? It's better than murder."

"Well, I actually found him in NERV's records." Kaji said.

"Seriously?" Misato asked.

"Yep." Kaji said. "Does July 15, 2015 sound familiar?"

"Yeah… no… you've got to be kidding me!" Misato said. "That's the day I picked up Shinji, the day that Sachiel attacked! Was he killed by the Angel?"

"No… according to our records, the investigation into all the videographic evidence of the fight as we know it proved that Unit–01 accidentally crushed him." Kaji said. "He was found on surveillance of the battle site. As Unit–01 was engaging Sachiel, knocking buildings down and such, he was going back for someone trapped in the rubble."

"Who?" Misato asked.

"Sakura." Kaji said.

"This is too much…" Misato muttered. "This has got to be made up or something."

"Yeah, it's a small world after all, isn't it?" Kaji joked. "But it's not, it's all here in our files."

"This isn't funny, Kaji. This is serious." Misato said sternly.

"Yeah, no shit." Kaji retorted.

"Out of the 1,274 casualties that day…" Misato muttered.

"What are the chances that she's related to someone who got crushed during a fight by Shinji and Unit–01…?" Kaji asked rhetorically. "It's certainly one hell of a convenient coincidence that Asuka's step–aunt is here, in the same place her husband died to observe NERV, and by extension the boy that killed her husband."

"That's too coincidental…" Misato muttered.

"Nothing is that coincidental." Kaji replied. "It's at the very least suspicious."

"Oh, it's suspicious alright… but what is she up to?" Misato asked. "Is this why she was so eager to meet the kids? She wanted to see Asuka?"

"Maybe…" Kaji replied. "But I don't think that's the right question to ask."

"Then what is?" Misato asked.

"Who sent her here and why?" Kaji replied.

"Kaji, stop being so damn paranoid!" Misato snapped. "There is no puppet master behind the scenes here!"

"Misato… not that long ago someone tried to stage a coup d'état." Kaji rattled off. "Second Impact, and your father's research was funded by people trying to make themselves into gods, one of their own had his own plans for godhood to get back at them for killing his wife and tried to use his son, and these same people also dragged kids in to be pilots on their giant chess set that was Tokyo–3!"

"Take a breath, spymaster." Misato said.

"Well, you say there isn't a conspiracy to be had when the Evangelions and their creation is surrounded by nothing but conspiracy!" Kaji protested.

"I know Kaji." Misato replied. "I just… I don't want to deal with another conspiracy, having a bunch of Cores unaccounted for is enough, I don't want a spy on my hands too."

"Well, what's your plan of attack?" Kaji asked.

"I'm… I'm not sure." Misato said. "I don't want to be like how NERV was before… I want to be different, so no more subterfuge."

"So the direct approach?" Kaji asked.

"What other approach is there?" Misato snapped. "Torture isn't exactly changing from how things used to be done."

"I'm aware, Misato…" Kaji trailed off.

"Yeah…" Misato replied. "Sorry…"

"It's fine." Kaji said. "I know what I did for Gendo… I can't hide from it. I just have to accept the… terrible things I did and move on." Kaji sighed. "And… you're smart Misato." Kaji said kindly. "You're really quite brilliant, even though you like when people underestimate you… you like exceeding their expectations. I know you'll figure something out."

"Well, I do have an idea." Misato said. "And Ryoji… you really think that?"

"I always have since the first time we first met." Kaji replied. "It's part of the reason I fell in love with you."

"You're such a sweet talker, Ryoji." Misato said. "And before you get any ideas, I have to get to work…" Misato kissed Kaji on the cheek and grabbed her keys. "Maybe if you come into work today, I might have some… time free in the afternoon."

"Oh… now I'm torn." Kaji replied as Misato walked out the door. "Guess I'm going to work today after all…"

–––

After a day's break, the kids were back at NERV for another round of sync tests, but before they were allowed to start their tests, Misato needed to have a little chat with them. Misato walked into a very quiet and tense room. Toji was sitting alone near the door with Hikari looking hurtfully at him. Shinji, Asuka, Rei, and Kensuke were sitting next to Hikari, and Mari was leaning against the wall in the far corner of the room, avoiding Toji's gaze. Misato sat down calmly and addressed them.

"So… I heard about the other day." Misato said with the calmest tone she could muster. Mari stared Misato down and Toji looked away nervously. "Now… I get it, you all need to trust each other… you rely on each other out in the field. Can you all agree to that?" Misato's question was met with silence. "Look, if you're not going to talk, this conversation is going to be painful for all of us."

"Yeah miso, we all need to trust each other." Mari said sharply. "Otherwise we're right fucked, and probably all dead."

"Well, Mari, you need to stow the attitude." Misato said. "Suck it up like an adult, and grow the hell up."

"The hell…" Mari began.

"So I don't want to hear anything out of your mouth unless it's the words "yes, Misato" is that clear!" Misato shouted.

"Yes, miso…" Mari replied combatively.

"Yes, Misato!" Misato snapped.

"Yes, Misato…" Mari grumbled in protest.

"Good." Misato said coldly. "Toji… I agree with Colonel Kaji, if you don't get your stuff together there will be consequences, and you won't be piloting anymore… but we'll still need seven pilots."

"Huh…?" Toji said nervously.

"Does that motivate you enough?" Misato asked. "To get your shit together?"

"Yes, ma'am." Toji said.

"Shinji… Asuka…" Misato sighed. "I'm disappointed with you both."

"Why?" Shinji said in a hurt tone.

"Yeah, what'd we do?" Asuka asked angrily.

"You two didn't control your subordinates!" Misato replied. "You're in charge of them, how can we trust you two to command in the field if you can't stop a stupid argument?!"

"You can trust us." Shinji replied.

"Yeah, what the hell are you talking about?" Asuka said loudly.

"You two need to forget that these guys are your friends when you're here!" Misato said. "You are their commanding officers! You need to act more like adults! You're both better than this, and I'm upset you're not living up to your potential!"

Asuka and Shinji both looked hurt by Misato's words, but stayed quiet.

"As for the rest of you…" Misato said more calmly, but still with a bit of a harsh twinge. "Just stay focused, and keep working hard."

Hikari, Kensuke, and Rei all nodded in quiet agreement.

"Excellent." Misato said in a steely tone.

"Is that all we had to talk about?" Hikari asked.

"No, there is some other news I need to tell you." Misato said with a grimace.

"What is it?" Hikari asked.

"It's about the Cores." Misato replied. "The team we sent was able to track down and destroy what was in stock however… however there were some issues."

"Like what?" Asuka asked. "Did they kill more people than we thought?"

"Yes, almost 2,000 people, all mothers of kids your age from around the world."

"Was the plan to have that many Evangelions?" Shinji asked.

"Yeah, what the fuck is up with that?!" Mari asked angrily.

"I honestly don't know, perhaps it was the plan to have a shit ton of alternates, no one can really be sure." Misato replied. "But all the other Cores that were found were destroyed."

"What do you mean, the ones that were found?" Rei asked inquisitively. "There are some missing, aren't there."

"Yes, 89 or so." Misato replied. "If we deduct the 13 from the Mark II EVAs that assaulted the Geofront that leaves approximately 76 unaccounted for."

"So… there's a potential for what?" Mari asked angrily. "76 more fucked up EVAs coming after us? That's fucking wonderful news!"

"Mari, what did I say about that attitude?!" Misato snapped.

"Fuck that, you're telling us bedsides the threat of Angels that there's other shit waiting to come after us!" Mari sot back. "So excuse me for being upset."

"Mari, enough!" Asuka shouted. "We're all well aware of our job, it's not like the possibility never existed!"

"Princess, don't tell me…" Mari began.

"That's Major Soryu to you, Captain Makinami!" Asuka snapped. "Now stop acting like a damn child and let's finish this briefing!" Mari sat down quietly and Asuka turned to Misato. "Continue, Commander."

"Right." Misato cleared her throat. "Well besides that, I have nothing else, just needed to give you all an update." Misato stood up as Maya entered the room. "Maya, they're all yours."

As Misato walked out of the room, she sighed deeply. "I hate having to be so rough on them… I hate being so mean." Misato took a moment to compose herself. "I don't know what's worse… being tough on them… or not being able to help them more."

–––

Sakura had met Kensuke after he was free from his sync testing. They were lying in bed after another fun evening together, basking in their afterglow. Usually Sakura had to leave as soon as they were done, but tonight Sakura had planned for the long haul.

"Don't you have to get home?" Kensuke asked.

"Not tonight, Kenny." Sakura replied as she kissed his forehead. "Hikari's actually staying over tonight, so I'm staying here."

"Yeah, but what if Toji finds out or something?" Kensuke asked.

"Relax Kenny." Sakura said. "He thinks I'm at a friend's house, and he'll be too busy with Hikari to really be thinking of me." Sakura paused. "Well, I hope he doesn't worry about me at least, but whatever, enough about him, I'm here to enjoy myself."

"Yeah, but Sakura he will find out eventually." Kensuke said worriedly. "What happens then? What's he gonna do to me?"

"Kenny, you need to stop worrying so damn much." Sakura replied wearily. "It's not something you should be thinking about."

"Yeah, but if he finds out he'll probably kill me!" Kensuke added.

"That idiot isn't going to do a thing, because I won't let him." Sakura said sternly. "When it happens, I'll deal with my brother, so stop worrying about it." Sakura climbed on top of Kensuke. "Besides, it's none of his business who I go out with or what I do with them."

"Sakura…" Kensuke protested.

"Please, don't kill the mood, Kenny." Sakura said. "Keeping our relationship secret sort of kills all the fun we could have, so I need to fit it all in when I can." Sakura kissed Kensuke's neck again. "Now stop thinking about my brother, be a good boy, and focus on me, ok?"

"Alright fine, I'll be a good boy." Kensuke sighed happily.
–––

Hikari and Toji were sitting quietly in Toji's room watching TV. Toji had barely spoken to Hikari since she had arrived, instead he gazed, unfocused at the TV while Hikari glanced between it and him worriedly. After several hours of tense silence, Hikari decided she would have to take the initiative and force Toji to talk.

"Toji, are we going to talk or anything, or are you just going to ignore me?" Hikari asked.

"Huh, what?" Toji asked, glancing over at her.

"I guess you're going to ignore me then." Hikari said in a huff.

"What, I'm just thinking." Toji snapped. "Is that a problem?"

"Of course not." Hikari replied. "What are you thinking about?"

"I'm just… thinking." Toji said quietly.

"Toji, are you thinking about why you're having trouble piloting?" Hikari asked. "I'm here to listen if you want to talk about it."

"I am." Toji replied.

"Well?" Hikari asked. "I can't drag it out of you, Toji."

"I know." Toji snapped. "I just… I'm afraid."

"Of?" Hikari asked.

"Everything!" Toji shouted. "I almost died and everyone seems to forget that! I had to watch as my friends all froze in fear while my EVA knocked them aside. I had to hear Shinji scream while I felt his EVA beat the shit out of me, my bones breaking blood everywhere…" Toji trailed off.

"Toji…" Hikari said as she wrapped her arms him. "You don't have to be afraid. I'll always be right there."

"You're not in the Entry Plug with me!" Toji said. "I keep getting flashes while I'm in there of what happened! I can't escape it!"

"You have to try Toji!" Hikari implored. "You have to let go of the past!"

"I can't just forget what happened!" Toji shouted.

"You don't have to forget, but you have to move past it!" Hikari grumbled.

"Why?" Toji asked.

SLAP

"Because you're being a selfish jerk thinking you're the only one who still has issues with those memories!" Hikari shouted as Toji caressed his cheek. "Stop letting those memories hold you back! You weren't the only one affected by that you selfish jerk! I had to watch Shinji cry that he didn't act sooner, and watch you lay there motionless for days thinking you were going to die! It affected us all!"

"Yes, but I went through it!" Toji shouted back. "You'll never understand what it's like until you have an Angel almost kill you!"

Hikari recoiled in shock at his words, giving him first an angry glare that softened to one of understanding. "Fine, maybe I don't understand, but given how things are going, I will soon enough." Hikari retorted as she pulled Toji towards her and hugged him tightly. "You just need to get out of your own head and join the rest of us in the present." Hikari sighed. "And if you can't do that, then do better for me… I only feel safe knowing you're right there with me."

"Hikari!" Toji said softly in her ear. "Why would you say that?"

"Just so you have the right motivation." Hikari said. "I know you're an idiot at times, but you're my idiot and you make me feel safe whenever we're together."

"Alright Hikari… I'll do better." Toji said as he kissed her forehead. "For you."


August 29, 2020 – Comfort 17 Apartments

Shinji and Asuka were watching TV with Asuka doing her usual channel surfing. Nothing was catching her interest until she saw a flash of a news report that caught her eye. "Finally something interesting." Asuka exclaimed happily.

Rei was reading quietly and peeked over the top of her book to see what Asuka was exclaiming about. She saw a news report on their most recent fight, her red Evangelion popping onto the screen moving towards Shinji's own.

"Finally, something worth watching!" Asuka exclaimed. "All about us."

"Oh hurray." Shinji said dryly. "The news."

"Oh shush." Asuka said. "I can't hear them."

The Evangelion footage had cut away to a female anchor. "This is the third such attack in recent months. The first was a devastating blow to our nation with the utter destruction of Tokyo–2 have put any people on edge and the new capital city, Tokyo–3 at the center of a war no one outside of NERV and the U.N. truly understands."

"We barely understand it ourselves." Asuka muttered as Rei had put her book down, now also focused on the news.

"No one quite knows what these Evangelions are made out of or where they come from. Much of the information we have comes from the limited public releases NERV puts out. Their true origins remain unknown, though presumably NERV had a hand in their construction." The female anchor continued. "Our previous coverage has dealt with some of the events nearly four years ago and with the sparse information about recent attacks, all we are left to wonder about is when or if the next creature will arise and what chaos it will bring. With so much secrecy behind NERV and its inner workings there is little we can report on except the snippets of information our research department finds." The anchor paused as a display of their last fight was brought up again with Unit–01 and Unit–02 about to deal the killing blow. "However, no matter the circumstances we do wish the pilots of these massive mechs the best of luck and recognize that only they stand between us and certain doom."

The news coverage cut to the male anchor. "This has been an Action News, tune in again at 11 for continuing coverage of the day's events."

Asuka flipped the TV off. "Finally, some recognition." Asuka said proudly. "My EVA was finally shown doing something! Finally credit where credit is do."

"It's about time." Rei said quietly. "Though how did they get that footage? It looked like the same stuff we saw afterwards in the briefing."

"Maybe someone's leaking it?" Shinji suggested.

"Sounds about right." Asuka nodded. "Not like we can keep the secret anymore anyway, not after Tokyo–2."

"Yeah but who would leak footage?" Shinji pondered aloud.

"Kaji would." Rei said. "If it got us credit and such. He was a spy after all."

"That I could believe." Asuka snorted. "He wants to show off how awesome we are. How awesome I am."

"Yeah but they did bring up a good point… no one really knows the true secret behind the Evangelions, just us and a few others."

"And a whole lot of people that Kaji killed." Asuka retorted. "Do you really think the public could handle the whole truth? I mean they've barely scratched the surface of the whole Second Impact and Third Impact issues. The world's been lied to for so long telling them all the bullshit at once would probably cause a riot or mass hysteria or something."

"Probably something like that." Shinji muttered. "Still, there's a lot that everyone should know… like the real reason behind Second Impact and what actually made the Evangelions possible."

"Yeah but they're not wondering why there was a three year break between Angel attacks!" Asuka replied loudly. "No one even thinks about that! There can't be that many fucking things just lying around in wait!"

"We don't really know where the Angels came from." Rei replied. "Other than being the spawn of Adam we don't really know."

"SEELE probably knew." Asuka said. "They had to know, they were behind so much… they led everyone to the point their plans would be carried out and it almost succeeded…" Asuka's voice trailed off.

"My father probably knew too." Shinji muttered. "He had to know, he was so intertwined with those assholes that it's not a stretch to assume he did."

"Do you think Akagi knows?" Asuka asked.

"No, I doubt it." Rei said sternly. "Ika…" Rei paused unable to mention Gendo directly. "He did not trust her that much."

"Why should he? She was batshit fucking crazy." Asuka quipped.

"I know, Asuka." Rei replied coolly.

Asuka looked back at Rei for a moment. "Sorry, Rei."

"It's alright." Rei muttered.

"It still seems fishy that they built more EVAs though." Shinji muttered. "Three new EVAs to replace our losses?"

"Yeah and Unit–04 comes back form whatever hell it created at the Second Branch." Asuka muttered. "Seven instead of two…" Asuka shook her head. "I still can't believe any of this…"

"Which part?" Shinji asked.

"That we have to do this shit all over again. I really did think it was over." Asuka sighed. "I know I don't mind piloting again… being close to my mother again… I just don't understand why we're back to where we were three… fuck almost four years ago at this point. I just hope we can beat the odds a second time."

"Asuka, we did once, we will again." Rei said. "I have faith."

"Yeah but… you died Rei… Asuka died… Mari got liquefied… so did Misato, Hyuga, Aoba, Maya…" Shinji rattled off. "Fuck everyone we knew died for short time… I'm still not sure whether or not I was actually dead or…"

"Ascended?" Asuka asked.

"I guess?" Shinji shrugged. "I still don't know, and I don't think I want to know."

"It's not like we ever talked about this, at least more than in passing." Asuka said. "At least not that in depth."

"We just… wanted to move on with our lives." Rei muttered. "I wish things could move forward instead of back like they have…"

"Cause we're fighting Angels and shit all over again?" Asuka asked.

"Yes." Rei said curtly. "What else would I mean?"

"You and Mari?" Asuka prodded.

"I do not want to discuss that, Asuka." Rei snapped. "I have told you this countless times."

"Yeah well, I'm stubborn." Asuka chuckled. "Just ask Shinji."

"She is." Shinji shrugged. "It's endearing."

"Look, I… I'm just worried." Rei said quietly. "I've been feeling uneasy for a while about all this. The Angels were gone and Shinji stopped the end of the world. We were supposed to be done. We won."

"Rei, I thought you said you have faith." Shinji said with a puzzled look.

"I do have faith, but I still have doubts." Rei replied. "We barely made it through last time, I just… I don't know…"

Asuka got up and sat on the arm of the chair next to Rei. "It's tough on all of us." Asuka placed her hand gently on Rei's shoulder. "We'll be fine, I got your back."

"Asuka it's not that, though I appreciate the sentiment." Rei replied. "You're both right, things are suspicious, that's why I'm worried. It feels like the shoe is on the other foot."

"I think you mean we're waiting for the other shoe to drop." Asuka said. "We need to work on your idioms."

"Asuka…" Shinji muttered.

"What? I'm being honest." Asuka retorted.

"Onii–chan it's fine." Rei said. "She didn't mean any harm."

"Rei are you alright?" Shinji asked worriedly.

"I am fine, onii–chan." Rei said with a weak smile. "Can we discuss something else?"

"No, that's half our problem, we never talk about this…" Asuka started again as Shinji glared at her. "What? I'm still being honest. We need to talk about this shit or we'll all end up like Toji!"

"Asuka, we all seem to have our doubts, no matter how confident we are in our abilities." Rei said. "I guess we're all a little like Toji, avoiding what bothers us."

"Fine can we at least make a promise?" Asuka asked.

"What?" Shinji and Rei said in unison.

"That we all chat about our worries from time to time… let out our fears every once and a while." Asuka said. "Just an idea."

"I don't mind doing that." Shinji said.

"Neither do I." Rei smiled. "So… now can we talk about something else?"

"Sure." Shinji said before Asuka could continue. "What do you want for dinner?"

"It's still early though." Rei replied.

"Doesn't mean I can't plan ahead." Shinji smiled back.

"Can we have quesadillas?" Asuka asked. "With lots of meat and extra cheese."

"I was asking Rei what she wanted." Shinji retorted.

"Yeah well I don't like veggie quesadillas!" Asuka said. "I'd like some beef."

"Rei, what do you want?" Shinji asked, ignoring Asuka.

"Quesadillas are fine, onii–chan." Rei said. "I don't mind the eggplant ones you make."

"Good." Shinji smiled uneasily. "I wonder if Mari would be ok with quesadillas…" Shinji looked around a bit. "Where is she anyway?"

Asuka shrugged as she got up off the arm of Rei's chair. "No idea, but she'll literally eat anything so what does it matter?"

"I don't know, I still like her input on dinner sometimes…" Shinji muttered as he walked to the kitchen.

"Hold on onii–chan, I'll assist you." Rei said putting her book down.

"I'll be in here if you need me." Asuka said as she plopped down onto the couch and started flipping through the channels till she found something interesting to watch.

–––

Mari looked over and saw Asuka throw herself back down on the couch and shook her head. "Fuck." Mari wandered silently to her room and threw herself face down on the bed.

"This is all my fault." Mari muttered angrily into the pillow. "Those three are out there… trying to cope with the shit they've been through… and it's all my fault. Why did I have to be so fucking selfish… none of us would be here if it weren't for me…" Mari started tearing up. "I wish I had never gone to that fucking interview…"

Flashback

"Yes, please Ms. Makinami, have a seat. I have been quite eager to meet you." Fuyutsuki said. "At such a young age, you've finished your bachelor's and master's degrees. Your intelligence is extremely high, and your doctoral proposal is very intriguing. The ability to transfer the soul of one person to another person or object is an intriguing theory. How did you come up with that?"

Mari sat there silently for a few moments contemplating what to say to Fuyutsuki. 'Should I tell him the truth, or should I tell him something else. I don't want him to think I'm bat–shit crazy.' Mari couldn't decide which road to take. 'I should just tell him the truth, lying would not make me a very trustworthy candidate.'

Fuyutsuki noticed her silence. "Ms. Makinami, are you alright?"

"Yes Professor, I was just preparing my answer." Mari said, she gathered all of her strength and explained her reasons for her thesis proposal. "After my parents died when I was 8, I had trouble dealing with their deaths. I was in the car when it happened and I can remember the details very clearly. It took a couple years before I could even visit their graves. After I visited them once, the idea came to me. If I were able to salvage the souls and memories of a person and transfer them to something or someone else, people wouldn't have to die needlessly, they could be reborn. They could be saved from the mistakes of others."

Fuyutsuki sat there quietly taking in what Mari had just said. "Wouldn't that be playing God, Ms. Makinami? Wouldn't that be beyond the ethical scope of science?"

"Well, professor, it depends on how the idea is implemented. At the moment it is only a theory, so there is little probative value to its implementation without a process to create a vessel for the soul to go into." Mari explained. "The only practical use is to keep people alive that shouldn't be dead, where the decisions were taken out of their hands."

"What qualifies a person is undeserving to die, Ms. Makinami?" Fuyutsuki said calmly. He had read Mari's file, and knew she had difficulties with her parents being gone. He had already surmised why Mari had come up with the idea, but he wanted to hear it from her. He needed to confirm that it came from her grief.

"I'm not sure, every person is unique. Maybe if someone is murdered or dies as a result of someone else's carelessness, they should qualify. Kids shouldn't become orphans because of some horrible and avoidable tragedy." Mari could feel the tears ready to come to the surface again, but she did her best to keep them down. "I know with my intelligence that I've come up with a way to make it possible to bring people back to life and play God. And even if it isn't possible to bring back my parents, it should be possible to bring back the parents of another kid who might become an orphan one day."

End Flashback

"How could I have been so stupid…" Mari muttered as her tears covered her pillowcase. "Thinking I could play God… all I did was give that power to some other crazy fucks…" Mari rubbed her face into her pillow. "I'm just as guilty as Gendo and SEELE in all this… all because I wanted to bring my parents back… all because I was a selfish idiot." Mari screamed gutturally into her pillow, muffling the agony in her cry. "I gave them apiece of technology that got so many people killed… all to create weapons capable of bringing about Armageddon…"

Mari rolled over and looked at the ceiling. "What the fuck would things have been like if I never came up with the idea to transfer souls? Maybe we wouldn't be in this fucking mess… there'd be no Second Impact… no Angels… no Evangelions… no Tokyo–3… no Rei…" Mari paused, not just because her voice was hoarse from screaming, but also because of the conclusion she'd just drawn. "But if Rei didn't exist… and the Evangelions didn't exist… then Yui would still be alive…"

SLAP

Mari slapped herself across the face leaving a mark. "There I go being selfish again… thinking that Yui would leave Gendo for me… then there would be no Shinji… how fucking selfish am I?" Mari sighed. "If I never came up with the idea, I would probably never met Yui anyway… would never fallen in love with her…" Mari started tearing up again. "But then the world wouldn't be the shit hole it is today… all those billions that died in Second Impact… all to save two people and fall in love with one wonderful woman…I wish I could back and take it all back… everything I've done to create the world of today… damn the consequences… I could probably even create a time machine… the Evangelions are strong enough…"

SLAP

Mari had slapped herself again. "What am I even thinking? I've done enough damage to the time space continuum just by being here… out of time… I only survived because I was trapped… I don't belong here… interfering more would cause more harm than good… I already tried playing God once and what did that cause… all that death and destruction…" Mari shook her head. "It's supposed to be the needs of the many… and I'm just stuck being a selfish cunt…" Mari shook her head. "I guess the road to hell really is paved with good intentions…"

Mari heard Shinji calling down the hallway. "Dinner! Mari, are you even awake! Come get something to eat before it gets cold."

"Yeah four eyes, hustle it up!" Asuka shouted.

"I'll be there in a minute, just start without me!" Mari shouted back as she wiped her face off and looked at herself in the mirror. Her cheek was a bit red from hitting herself but otherwise she was ok. "I'm glad my face doesn't get puffy like when Asuka cries…" Mari took a good look at herself. "How can I really go out there thinking like this? Look them in face and act normal, even knowing they know I was a part of this with their mothers… why can't I stop thinking like this…" Mari shook her head and walked to the door of her room. As she opened the door she put a smile on her face to go have dinner.

To Be Continued


A/N: I do not own Evangelion or any of the characters, GAINAX and the other distributors of NGE related material do. I am simply using them as a backdrop for my fanfic.

Sync Score Rankings!

Shinji – 155.0% (No Change)
Asuka – 155.0% (No Change)
Mari – 105.0% (+5.1%)
Rei – 100.0% (+1.3%)
Kensuke – 57.5% (+14.8%)
Hikari – 56.4% (+15.6%)
Toji – 55.7% (+14.5%)

The chapter name comes from the ST:DS9 episode of the same name. Just like how that was the set up for the remainder of the series, this chapter is setting up a few events down the road with hefty revelations to be made. Not to mention it also begins to tie up some loose ends that have been hanging around for this story, and some you may have forgotten about from the previous arc.

The arc of the Cores also comes to a close, as all the ones listed in NERV's inventory as destroyed, and the rest of the safety stock have been destroyed. Now only seven people are eligible pilots, and those Cores are all currently installed in Evangelions. Sure there's some missing ones, but what could possibly happen in this new world where those could be a thing.

And speaking about forgetting things, given the amount of time between the posting of this chapter and the last one I could understand if some of you forgot most of this minor stuff.

Things will be coming to a head in the next chapter to set up the rest of this story arc, something that over the past year I've had a lot of time to work into a something really damn interesting, hopefully you all enjoy it.

As I said before, and will always say at the end of chapter, please leave comments, as I would like to try to improve the story going forward any way I can. And, hell, constructive criticism is a good thing.


つづく