'What am I doing here? I should be in my room getting rest for tomorrow. Is it because of what Wondergirl said? Since when do you let her get to you so much, Asuka?'

Asuka Langley-Sohryu stood before the door of Cranial Ward room 303, her hand hovering over the door handle as it had been for the last minute. Her red hair was slightly damp and in disarray from the lightning-quick shower she had taken to get rid of the LCL, her usual bathroom rituals foregone once again in the effort to get where she was as soon as possible.

And then remain there, unable to bring herself to finish what she had intended to, much to the girl's chagrin. After all, it was not often that Asuka Langley-Sohryu second-guessed herself.

'Or at least it wasn't, three months ago. You are doing it a lot more lately.' The Second Child thought to herself, before a frown marred her features. 'Stop being an idiot, Asuka. Just... go and get it over with.'

Taking a breath, the redhead pushed the door open and stepped into the room. Inside, the Third Child continued to lie on his bed, exactly in the same position as when she had last seen him, and Asuka felt a slight pang of disappointment strike her. It would appear that her wishful thinking would see no fulfilment on this side of her troubles, either.

'At least it will make this a lot-'

"Now there's someone I didn't expect to see."

"Huh?" Asuka blinked, focusing on the male voice that she had heard and quickly finding its source sitting in a wheelchair in the room's corner. "Suzuhara...?"

Toji Suzuhara offered a small smile in response, waving hello with his good arm.

"Hey there."

"...The hell are you doing here?"

"Is that a way to greet someone? ...Well, I guess it is for you," the Fourth Child rolled his eyes with a groan, before focusing back on the slumbering young man. "I heard the staff say that somethin' happened to Shinji a while ago, and I finally got someone to confirm it today and wheel me here."

"That's not what I'm asking," Asuka replied, motioning to Toji's upper and lower stumps. "You're hurt. Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"Not while my friend is goin' through some bad times. I can't move on my own but everythin' else still works fine. That ain't what's important, though.

"What happened out there, Red? I got them to wheel me here, but everyone's still very quiet on the details." Toji paused for a moment, his eyes catching sight of something. "And the hell happened to your hand, while we're at it?"

"None of your business." Asuka shot back, quickly hiding her reddened appendage behind her before scrambling for an explanation. "As for the idiot, he just tried to play the hero and one-up me one too many times. Came back to bite him in the ass."

The exact same justification that she'd been using all day.

"Really?" Toji narrowed his eyes, suspicion dripping off his words. "That ain't what Ayanami said."

'...No shit, that story's starting to sound stupid even to me. Why can't you just admit that the idiot had to save your skin again, Sohryu? It's not like it's news.'

"You calling me a liar?" Asuka kept up her front, walking menacingly towards Toji.

But the Fourth Child merely wiggled his stumps and laughed at the girl's threat, a hollow and humourless thing.

"So what if I am? Think you can hurt me worse than I already am, Red?"

Asuka froze in place, memories of the disaster against the Thirteenth coming to her unimpeded, another one of those battles in which she had failed to make a difference. The Second Child felt her nails bite into the palm of her hand. Perhaps if she hadn't been so useless at her job, Toji Suzuhara would still be able to walk.

"Whatever, I don't hit cripples."

"Right. Hittin' shy guys that don't fight back is more your thing," Toji shot back, motioning with his head towards Shinji. "You come here to keep up the habit?"

"You-" Asuka narrowed her eyes, fixing the Fourth Child with a nasty glare. "...Shut the fuck up, moron. You know nothing about me."

"And I don't care. As if I needed to know to tell that you're still as self-centered as ever," the Fourth Child scoffed. "...The hell does Shinji see in you?"

The Second Child's gaze fell to the floor in response, a slideshow of past images that served as perfect answer to Toji's question flying past her mind's eye.

"...Nothing, that's wha-"

"Ikari-kun admires her courage and confidence. He also finds some of Pilot Sohryu's childishness endearing."

"W-What?"

Asuka turned towards the entrance of the room to find the First Child standing just past the threshold, holding a pair of trays full of food in her hands. Apparently the bluenette had taken a 'short' detour through the cafeteria, but the Second Child was beyond registering such small details at the moment.

"Oh, Ayanami. Hey."

"Good evening, Suzuhara-kun." Rei nodded her head in polite greeting, before her eyes narrowed just the slightest bit. "Please refrain from provoking Pilot Sohryu any further."

"...Guess you're right. Hik-... Horaki would have my head if she heard, anyway." Toji grimaced at the image of an angry Class Representative, before turning towards Asuka and bowing his head in apology. "Sorry, Sohryu. I shouldn't have yanked your chain like that. You can't be happy about this, either."

"Yeah… same." The redhead acknowledged off-handedly, the better part of her attention focused on tracking Rei as she walked to a small table beside the bed and put one of the trays on it.

''Admire'? 'Endearing'? What did Wondergirl mean by-?'

"This is for you." The bluenette suddenly stated, extending the other tray towards Asuka and breaking her out of her thoughts. At the Second Child's questioning look, Rei decided to elaborate. "I am hungry. I assumed you would be as well."

Taking the tray off of Rei's hands, Asuka gave it a quick once-over: Bread, rice, vegetables and some fish, as well as a small sandwich with ham and cheese to break off the monotony of the average eastern meal. All in all, the various foods on top of the tray looked very appetizing for Asuka's protesting stomach, but the redhead ignored her belly's lamentations in favour of the First Child's last words.

"All that stuff," the redhead demanded, caring little for how unlike her her voice sounded. "Where did you hear it?"

"Ikari-kun told me during one of our conversations. I believe it was around eight weeks ago."

'Eight weeks? That would be around the time when that Angel tried to fall on us, right?' Asuka quickly recalled. 'Shinji really thought that about me back then? But then why didn't he do anything when I-'

"You didn't listen to my advice during the last test."

"Huh?"

Asuka blinked herself back into awareness, quickly finding that Rei had moved to sit next to Shinji's bed and had begun to pick at her own food. A fair amount of the salad was already missing from the First Child's tray.

"You tried to force your will upon EVA once again. You should have reached out to it, instead."

"I only tried to synch like I always do," the redhead defended herself, sitting in an empty chair and resting the tray on her lap. "It used to work wonders."

"Of course. Such a method proved effective when your own resolve was strong enough to overpower hers. But not anymore."

"It's just a stupid doll! It should do what I tell it to do!" Asuka angrily replied, the tray teetering precariously for a second or two. "And did you just say I don't have what it takes to do the job?!"

"EVA is much more than you realise. And what I am saying is that you doubt yourself, despite the fact that nothing has changed in regards to your Evangelion between then and now," Rei elaborated far more cryptically than Asuka would have liked. "Regardless, until you feel confident enough to Pilot EVA as you used to, you should rely on my advice."

Advice. Ayanami had been adamant about handing that out today. Funny, considering the bluenette had never been wont to do so before (not that Asuka would have listened to it), and doubly so due to the fact that the Second Child believed the albino to have been angry at her for daring to speak against Shinji and his… choices.

'...Not like I'll be getting many of those. It's either try to go with the Doll's way of doing things or try another normal synch and hope for a miracle. But even then...'

"...I don't get it," Asuka eventually spoke, after turning a leaf of lettuce on its axis for the umpteenth time. "Why are you trying to help me?"

"Ikari-kun sacrificed much to keep you safe, Pilot Sohryu," Rei responded, her chopsticks stopping their clacking for a brief moment. "Offering you the tools to continue doing so on your own is merely the best way of ensuring the continuity of his wish."

"Wouldn't it be easier to just let me be, then? I won't be a Pilot anymore from tomorrow on. My uselessness won't be getting me or anyone else into trouble again."

"Perhaps. However, a discharge would mean your return to Germany, and I do not believe Ikari-kun would want that to be the case."

"Uh… wait a second, you two," Toji cut into the conversation, causing four eyes to focus on him. "What's this about not pilotin' anymore? Is somethin' wrong?"

"That is confidential information, Suzuhara-kun. You're no longer-"

"My EVA won't listen to me. It's impossible for me to synch with it," Asuka sighed deeply, discarding both fork and tray due to a sudden lack of appetite. "A Pilot that can't synch with her EVA, that's what's wrong."

"...For real?"

"Yeah," the redhead confirmed, pulling her knees to her chest. "Go ahead, laugh. The Great EVA Pilot can't do the one thing she's been trained to do all her life. Isn't it hilarious?"

"Not really. Who do you take me for?"

Emerging from behind her legs for a brief moment, Asuka sent an appraising look in the direction of the young man. Unknown to her, Rei Ayanami did so as well from her side of the room.

"...Why're you both lookin' at me like that? I said nothin' funny." Toji looked away, scratching the back of his head. "And what's with you, Red? The Sohryu I know wouldn't be mopin' about this stuff, sayin' it's impossible and all that."

"Well, maybe you don't know her all that well."

"Yeah, let me call bullshit on that. I've been on the receivin' end long enough to learn a thing or two," the Fourth Child scoffed, before his features softened somewhat. "By the way, Red… Look, maybe this ain't the time for it, but Hik-... Horaki was worried about you. Said you haven't been to school in a long time, even if now I can see why. Think you could drop her a call sometime, anyway? Who knows, maybe it will help with your thing?"

"Now you are the one offering advice?" the appraising look returned in full force. "Wow, I must be one hell of a sorry sight."

"Hey, I may not like you, but no self-respectin' man wants to see a girl cry."

"Well, lucky for you, I'm not going to cry."

"Really? Could've fooled me."

"Probably because you're an idiot. Want me to bring you to tears so that you can tell the difference?"

"Heh. I'd love to see you try, Red."

A sudden knock on the door cut into the friendly banter, causing all eyes to fall on the room's entrance.

"...Or not," Toji supplied. "Guess that's my ride back to my room. Visitin' hours must be over."

"Indeed. We should vacate the premises, so that the nurses may care for Ikari-kun," Rei counselled, moving to push Toji towards the door. The bluenette then turned towards Asuka. "You should make sure to rest well tonight, Pilot Sohryu. Tomorrow will be a long day."

"Sure," Asuka agreed, wincing slightly at the prospect of sleep. "I'll try to do-"

And then a rumbling akin to a dragon's roar cut into the redhead's words, causing an eerie silence to fall upon the room.

Rei blinked once, and then twice, her surprised eyes falling to the Second Child's midsection for a brief moment. By the time she raised her gaze once again, the redhead's face had grown to match the colour of her hair.

"...Do not forget to eat your dinner, either."

"Y-Yeah…"

-O]|[O-

It was late past dinner time when Ritsuko Akagi managed to make her way to her apartment for the first time in days, after chaining enough back-to-back work shifts to kill many a lesser woman. Evangelion recovery efforts had been followed by core diagnostics on Unit-01, then by screening and adjusting of the medical reports on the Third Child and finally by the handling of the necessary paperwork that would be required for the Second Child's discharge after the next day's synch tests, all of that on top of her regular duties as Head of Project-E and her little chat with an old friend.

All in all, another day in the life of Ritsuko Akagi. For all of her bitching about paperwork, Katsuragi had always had it easy by comparison, really.

"At least this one wasn't as bad as when the Third Child went on his excursion within Unit-01," the blonde muttered, slipping out of her shoes and venturing further inside her quarters. "...I'm home."

Ritsuko's greeting went unanswered, however, not that she had actually expected anything else. After all, cats weren't known to have a penchant for speech outside of fiction, no matter how often their mistress had found herself wishing for the contrary.

Sighing in exhaustion, the doctor lumbered to one of the cupboards and reached out for a glass, before opening the fridge and searching for a bottle of red wine that she remembered opening sometime during the past week. But the half-empty container wasn't in the spot where she last recalled seeing it, and a cursory glance around the rest of the fridge revealed that it was nowhere to be found, period.

"...Strange," Ritsuko mumbled, checking to see whether she had forgotten the bottle on top of one of the kitchen's surfaces. "Where did I put-"

And it was then that she noticed the open can of cat food lying on the kitchen counter.

"Good evening, Doctor Akagi," a distorted voice suddenly greeted from somewhere behind her. "I hope I'm not intruding."

Ritsuko quickly turned on a swivel, her hand flying to the inside of her coat where she kept her personal handgun. Eyes flying towards the living room, she was quick to identify a person relaxing within the depths of her own apartment, sitting on her couch and petting one of her cats while they helped themselves to a glass of the wine she had been looking for.

"What…? You- You're not Section-2," Ritsuko quickly relaxed and let go of her weapon, correctly realising that the Commander's personal security detachment weren't known for their subtlety. "Are you with… them?"

"Indeed I am. But you may speak freely, Doctor, this room is not being monitored," Ritsuko's 'guest' replied, always making sure to remain hidden in the darkness deep enough that their features wouldn't be recognizable. "Although perhaps it would be more accurate to say that this room can't be monitored."

"What do you mean...?"

"Nothing that you need to be aware of. Let us say that NERV's little police state is not as secure as they would like, anymore." The hand that was petting stopped doing so long enough to indicate one of the other seats in the living room. "But please, have a seat."

Ritsuko nodded and grabbed her own glass before heading to the indicated seat, her fingers homing in on the light switch out of habit.

"And leave the lighting as it is," the agent interrupted her. "I believe it helps maintain the clandestine atmosphere, wouldn't you agree?"

The doctor narrowed her eyes at her secretive guest, but soon decided that it was probably in her best interest to play along. Sitting down in the seat that had been indicated to her, Ritsuko reached for the bottle of wine and poured the drink into her glass until it doubled the amount of liquor that she had initially intended to drink.

"So you successfully hacked into the MAGI…"

"Indeed. And the backdoor access you provided proved very helpful for that, Doctor. Our thanks," the shadowy individual confirmed, doing a toasting motion with their glass. "But let us not waste any more time on pleasantries. I came here to inform you that our experts have finished going through all the data you provided."

Ritsuko's glass stopped just as it was about to reach her lips, the woman's eyes going wide.

"A-Already!?"

"We pride ourselves in our efficiency," the agent responded, and the doctor had no problem picturing a smug smile growing on their face. "More importantly, however, we believed it important to let you know that we will be inserting our agent on shorter notice than what was initially planned, in light of the new information we just learned. I trust that everything is ready for them?"

"Y-Yes, mostly. A vacancy in the Pilot corps for your agent to occupy will become available shortly."

"I see," the shadow paused, thinking for a moment. "The Second Child? I seem to recall her performance dropping off as of late."

"Yes, indeed..."

'...Maybe I was too harsh on her. Insufferable as she may be she's still just a kid.' Ritsuko's wine finally managed to complete the trip to her lips, the Doctor taking a few sips in contemplation. 'Well, I guess that's that. Even if she stayed as she is now, the only thing that would await that girl is an early coffin.'

"Is something wrong, Doctor?"

"No, it's nothing." Ritsuko shook her head, refocusing her attention. "But returning to the matter at hand, how much of a short notice are we talking about? I need to prepare-"

"Do not worry. The necessary reports and other assorted papers will be awaiting you on your desk tomorrow, courtesy of our newly acquired access to the MAGI."

"...Very well. Should I begin work on laying the groundwork for any other such infiltrations, then?"

"There is no need for that, Doctor, you should but focus on the fulfilment of your own duties. We can take all the necessary steps to successfully insert the handful of agents that will be entering NERV in the coming days."

Ritsuko paused for a second, eyes narrowing towards her guest.

"A... handful?"

"Indeed," the agent calmly confirmed. "Is something wrong with what I said?"

"No, but… I expected a greater effort to secure NERV," the doctor elaborated, putting her wine on the table. "Something around one or two dozen agents, or even more."

"The better part of our workforce is currently focused on tracking down and preparing to deal with SEELE. I'm afraid that, in light of the information agent Percival and you provided, we haven't given the society the respect they deserved over the last few years, and we need to make up for lost time." The agent sighed softly, before making a calming gesture with his hand. "But do not worry, Doctor. I'm confident in our ongoing ability to secure NERV for our cause."

Ritsuko's head slowly swayed from side to side with a heavy sigh, her ears not giving credit to what they were hearing.

"...You people do realise that Ikari will not stand for that, right? That he won't just let you… waltz into NERV?"

"We assume so as well, of course," her guest replied, the hint of pompousness returning to their voice. "But you give Gendo Ikari far too much credit, Doctor."

"What do you mean?"

"He's intelligent, he's adaptable, but he's by no means infallible. Tell me, what would have been the aftermath of the Fourteenth Angel's attack had the Third Child not decided to return to NERV?"

"We would all be dead," Ritsuko replied, stating the obvious. "But you don't understand. That was all part of his-"

"Plan?" the shadow interrupted, chuckling softly. "That is what he made you believe, Doctor. And there might even be a sliver of truth to that, in that Gendo Ikari burnt no bridges in the pursuit of his objectives. But the chain of events during the Fourteenth's attack was simply far too chaotic for anyone to accurately predict and exploit. Gendo Ikari merely found himself a lucky opening in the form of his son, then utilised it to the best of his ability."

"That's a very simplistic way of looking at the situation. I believe you are underestimating him."

"And I couldn't disagree more," the agent countered, pausing to take another sip of wine. "I believe that you merely fell for his chessmaster charade, Doctor; hook, line and sinker."

Ritsuko stiffened at the accusation, her anger rising at the memory of the other myriad things she had fallen for in regards to Gendo Ikari.

"I do not take kindly to insults."

"Oh, my apologies." The shadow made a placating gesture, although Ritsuko had no trouble picturing a smirk on their face. "Insulting you wasn't my intention at all, Doctor."

"...I'll take your word for it," the blonde scoffed, reaching for her glass for a second time and taking a long gulp to calm herself. "But you are awfully confident to so blatantly put down one of your major enemies. Is your plan so infallible that you can half-ass it so?"

"That information is not yet for you to know, Doctor. But suffice to say that Ikari plays this game with the severe handicap of being unable to affect most of the board, unlike his opponents. He sits in his corner, merely waiting for the moment in which he'll be able to steal the match." The agent put their drained glass of wine on the table, a finger dancing around the edge hard enough to make it wobble in its base. "But his position is tenuous. Were he to somehow lose his Queen before the final move..."

A small measure of greater force was exerted, and the side of the wineglass impacted against the table with a dull thud. A gesture that, following in the chess analogies, Ritsuko found trivial to decipher.

There was but a small problem in their assessment:

"The girl is completely loyal to him."

"Then we need but to break that loyalty," the shadow instantly countered, voice growing dead serious. "Or break the girl, whatever is simpler."

Ritsuko found herself blinking in surprise at the agent's words, for outright threatening of children, no matter their origins, had not been something she had been expecting to hear. Perhaps she had foreseen something a bit more virtuous out of an organization Kaji had worked for? Then again, Kaji had been no stranger to justifying means for ends, either.

And neither would she. Ritsuko Akagi had no moral high ground to speak of regarding that issue, after all.

"And on the topic of loyalty, did you manage to successfully recruit Misato Katsuragi to our cause?"

Ritsuko blinked herself back into awareness, her expression tightening up a little when she recalled her conversation with her former friend.

"The Major… will not be helping us."

"That is a shame. But do not worry, Doctor, we are confident in our ability to change her mind in the future. NERV's Director of Operations is too great an asset to be allowed to roam freely," the agent reassured, before Ritsuko felt a pair of sharp eyes boring into her. "As for yourself, can we count on your continued support, Doctor Akagi?"

"...Yes," the blonde decidedly nodded her head, countering with a look of her own. "But I won't budge on my-"

"Conditions?" the shadow interrupted, causing Ritsuko's eyes to narrow even further. "But of course. Lieutenant Ibuki will come to no harm, now or in the future. Of that, you have our word."

"And what of the rest?"

"Referring to your personal situation?" the agent questioned with a hint of amusement. "That may be more complicated. You do recall how deep your own sins run, don't you, Ritsuko Akagi?"

The doctor's stare turned into a full-blown glare, Ritsuko mutely pushing past the taunting and urging her guest forward.

"But nevertheless, we shall see what we can do, although we make no guarantees. Of course, a better performance on your part over the next few weeks will lead to a greater effort on ours..."

"...I'll keep that in mind."

"Good. We will be in contact, Doctor," the agent bid their farewell, putting the cat back on the ground. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

And as soon as they rose from their seat, all the lights in the apartment went out in unison. Ritsuko's hand flew back to her sidearm in response, but it wasn't long until she could hear footsteps walking away towards the entrance.

"Wait!"

"Yes?" the agent stopped, and the doctor heard a shuffling of clothes that probably indicated their turning to regard her. "What is it, Doctor?"

"I-I don't even know who you people are yet!" Ritsuko protested, allowing her hand to relax its grip. "Are you a government agency or some other sort of consortium? What's your angle in all of this? And do you even have a name?"

"…I suppose the former would more loosely define us and, as of right now, we have no other purpose than to ensure the existence of humanity as it is. As for your other question, we have no name, for our organisation has no need of one."

The shadow chuckled, the picture of a smirk clearly appearing in Ritsuko's mind for the umpteenth time.

"However, we could arrange for an alias if it will help ease your mind, Doctor: at the risk of sounding clichéd… how about 'Legion'?"