Book 2. Resurrection

The Angel of Free Will.

Asuka, Rei and Maya stood staring at the logo in mute horror.

"This is..." Asuka began, but she trailed off.

No, she thought, it's not possible, this can't possibly be...

"Nerv," replied Misato, to Asuka's half formed question, "well, Nerv Mk. II, actually. I told you to brace yourselves. Come into my office."

She led them dumbly through the hubbub to a door at the back of the room, located underneath the dreadful logo. The office beyond was spacious, but relatively dark compared to the command room. Misato moved to a large desk and hit a button on its surface. The ambient lighting rose slightly. She began pressing other sections of the desk as they lit up beneath her fingers.

"This was all set up in a very short time. I was contacted soon after Rei returned from... wherever you returned from, Rei. They asked me to come back to work for them. Initially, I told them they could stuff that where... well, you get the idea. The point is, I changed my mind when they showed me what I'm about to show you."

She turned towards them, smiling. At that moment, Asuka crashed into her, forcing her against the wall beside the desk. In a heartbeat she had her hands around Misato's neck.

"Asuka!" gasped Maya.

"Lock that door," Asuka snarled at her. Maya jumped and then did as she was asked.

"Asuka... stop..." choked Misato.

"And let you trick us, like you tricked us into coming here?" replied the German. "No way! How do we get out of here? There must be a secret exit from this office? Tell me!"

"... didn't trick you... asked and you came..."

"You're lying!"

Misato was struggling to reach something on the desk, her fingers flapping for a button. Asuka didn't see it until the last moment.

"Stop that!" she cried, but even as she did, Misato found what she was looking for and slammed a finger down on it.

A projector started up, playing light across one wall. The picture was of security footage taken from inside the refugee sector of Kaibyaku and showed new arrivals being processed before being allowed entrance into the ever growing slums. There were numerous lines of people – men, women and children – all pouring into the city from the rest of Japan, the parts that were far away from simple law and order.

Someone in line was being blocked by a member of the gate security personnel. The figure was dressed in a hooded trench-coat of a deep red/brown colour and would have looked out of place had they not been surrounded by refugees wearing all manner of hotchpotch clothing. As it was, they merely looked a little odd with the hood up covering their features. As the guard continued to berate them, the figure tried to push past, but was knocked back. Then suddenly all hell broke loose. The ground all around the figure tore up, blood and dust flying in all directions.

"Oh, Asuka..." moaned Maya, a hand clasped over her mouth. Asuka's eyes widened and her grip on Misato's throat slackened, to the point where the woman took a whistling, rasping gasp of breath.

On the screen, panicked refugees were running in all directions as security personnel tried to get a grip of the situation. The dust settled, revealing the mangled and dismembered bodies of the guard and several refugees, but of the hooded figure there was no sign. The feed stopped on a still of the carnage.

There was a stunned silence in the room.

"This happened four weeks ago. Just after you turned up looking for Shinji, Rei. The perpetrator escaped – we think into the city, as one of the perimeter fences on the city side of the holding area was slashed apart." Misato looked down at Asuka's now loose grip. "Would you mind?"

Asuka's eyes were wide. She looked from her hands to Misato's face, stunned and trembling.

"Asuka..." said Rei, placing a hand gently on her arm. Asuka released the woman, who rubbed her neck.

"Is he another Angel?" asked Maya.

"Not exactly, no. Not another Angel," replied Misato, pulling her rumpled jacket straight again. She reached for the controls on the desk once more, rewinding the video to a certain point and pausing it.

On the screen was a chaos of blood and torn earth, but emerging barely seen from the tumult, like a fleeting ghost, was something that glowed a thin pink colour, like a writhing cord of light.

"Oh my god," said Maya as the implications dawned on her.

"That's... Shamshel." Whispered Asuka.

Misato nodded.

"We think so."

"The first Angels...?" asked Maya.

Misato dismissed the recording and took Asuka by the shoulders, moving her to a chair and sitting her down.

"I'm sorry, Asuka. Are you okay?"

"Misato!" said Maya, forcefully. "Is it the first Angels?"

Misato glared at her.

"It seems so. And this isn't the only one. We've had similar incidents all over the city. We're struggling to keep it suppressed and keep the population from panicking. Who knows what'll happen to this fragile peace we've created if it gets out that the Angels have returned. Kaibyaku might tear itself apart."

"But how is that possible?" continued Maya. "We destroyed all of the first Angels."

"You saw the mass production Eva Series restart after it had been destroyed by Asuka, perhaps this is the same thing."

"But Shamshel is different now," stated Rei, quietly. "It's human sized."

"Yes," agreed Misato. "We don't know whether it's colonised a human in order to escape detection or if this is an entirely new form based on its perception of our physiology. It may be trying to emulate what it sees as successful in us. It may even simply be a child of the Angel, as we are children of Lilith. It may be all of these things and none of them. I'm afraid all we have are theories."

Maya looked at the screen.

"But if they're back..."

Asuka shook her head violently. Her eyes were wide and terrified.

"Arael..." was all she could manage to say.

"It won't come to that," replied Misato, "I won't let it, Asuka."

"You can't make that promise, major," said Maya.

"No," agreed Rei, her voice soft, but firm, "you can't." And the girl stepped in front of Asuka in a protective gesture that would once have been most unlike the girl.

Misato looked surprised, but then bowed her head.

"You're right, I can't," she admitted. She looked up again, her voice suddenly hard. "But if the Angels really are still alive, if Arael is coming back, do you really want him to do to others what he did to you?"

Asuka didn't answer. She dropped her head into her arms and drew her knees up to her chest, attempting to hide away. Misato sighed.

"I see this is too much for you. I'm sorry Asuka, sometimes I forget you and Rei are still only children. You aren't a slave to Nerv, Asuka, you have your own free will. I'll have someone take you back to your apartment. You can decide what you want to do from there, though it might be an idea to leave Kaibyaku. You too, Maya. I'll have to ask Rei to stay. Whatever's going on may be connected to her return."

Maya looked uncertainly from Rei to Asuka, but Rei simply bowed her head in acquiescence.

"No," said Asuka from within her arms.

"I'm sorry?" said Misato.

"You can't have Rei," said Asuka.

"Asuka –" began Rei.

"No, Rei!" shouted Asuka, lifting her head. Her face was lit up with fury. "I won't let them use you again. I promised I would help you, and if that means staying here to keep Nerv from hurting you, that's what I'll do. And if the Angels are going to come back and attack you, I'll kill them all over again!"

Misato smiled.

"That's more like it."

She looked towards Maya, the question unspoken but conveyed by her look.

"How can you ask children to save the world again?" pleaded Maya. "Even if they agree, the Evas are gone. We have no weapon to use against the Angels."

"That may be true... for the moment. But we aren't as defenceless as we may seem."

Someone was knocking on the door. They could hear muffled voices beyond, calling.

"Can I let them in?" she asked Asuka, "They'll be getting worried."

Asuka stood up and marched to the door. Hitting the lock, the door hissed open.

"Ah, hello Asuka," said the man standing behind the door. He had short dark hair and glasses and was carrying an electronic pad. "I must have missed you when you arrived."

"Lieutenant Hyuga!" gasped the redhead.

"Actually, that's Lieutenant Colonel Hyuga," he replied, pointing to the pips on his uniform shoulder. Then he smiled. "Though I'd rather you called me Makoto, this time."

"Makoto!" cried Maya, looking delighted. She ran to her old colleague and hugged him.

"Good to see you too, Maya," he replied, grinning ruefully when she released him. "It's been a while."

"I didn't even know you came back!"

"I did," he replied, then he looked a little sad. "Aoba, on the other hand..."

Maya's face fell a little.

"Lot's of people didn't make it," she said quietly. He smiled sympathetically, then turned to Misato.

"I'm sorry to interrupt the reunion, Commander, but we believe there's been another incident."

"Commander?" asked Asuka, turning an incredulous eye on Misato. "They put you in charge here?"

Misato looked supremely annoyed at this.

"And why wouldn't they?" she arched, then she turned to Makoto. "Was the Angel sighted?"

"No, but a bar was attacked, and there were several fatalities. We're checking the CCTV to see what exactly happened, but given the nature of the damage, I'd say it's almost certain it was an Angel."

"Was it Shamshel again?" asked Misato.

"The damage would seem to be consistent. Oh, and one other thing... the delegation from the UNIDC will be arriving shortly."

Misato sighed and put a hand to her forehead.

"UNIDC?" asked Maya.

"United Nations International Defence Committee," supplied Makoto.

"An international army by another name, and one that I'm none too pleased to have around," said Misato. "It's like the JSDF all over again."

"The Secretary-General insisted," reminded Makoto. "No organisation should have a monopoly on this crisis, everything has to be shared in order to avoid a repeat of last time."

"Yes, yes," she replied, looking tired. "I'd have thought the Secretary-General would have more faith in me, though. Anyway," she turned to survey Asuka, Rei and Maya, "you three must be exhausted, what with rooftop flights and death defying leaps and all. Makoto, could you show them to their rooms so they can rest."

"Our rooms?" asked Asuka. "We already have rooms?"

"Temporary rooms, for the moment, until we can set up something more permanent," replied Misato. She grinned at the look on Asuka's face. "Well, I thought you'd want to at least sleep on it, before joining us."

"You know we haven't agreed to help you, yet?"

The commander's grin widened.

"Yet."

Infuriated, Asuka looked like she was going to yell at Misato some more, but then she seemed to change her mind and instead stomped past Makoto and out of the office. Looking a little lost, Maya and Rei followed.


The room she had been assigned was modest to say the least, but it was still larger than her apartment bedroom. Everything was minimalistic, decked out in stark whites and steel greys. There was a bed, a chair, several panels in the walls that could be opened for storage (not that Asuka had any clothes with her to store) and a small en-suite with a tiny shower cubicle.

It reminded Asuka of a hospital room. Or a prison cell.

She sat on the bed, staring at the floor, trying to get a hold of her whirling emotions. Maya and Rei had been shown to separate rooms and separate beds. They were nearby, no doubt, but being apart from them was strange. After almost a week constantly in Rei's company, Asuka suddenly felt very alone, and with the prospect of having to face the Angels again hanging over her, alone probably wasn't the best state to be in, given her track record. She could already feel her mind going down some very dark paths.

So when there came a knock on her door, she almost jumped up in relief: it would be Maya come to check on her, most likely, or maybe Rei. Maybe she would want to see Asuka, having spent a week sleeping in the same bed. Maybe she would need to stay in the same room with her in order to feel easy... sleep in the same bed, again...

But it wasn't. When the door opened, Misato stood on the other side, looking down at her.

"Oh, it's you," said Asuka, feeling disappointed.

"Thanks for the heartfelt welcome," said Misato. Asuka was about to snap at her, but she looked up at Misato's face and saw something there that stopped her. The new commander of Nerv was not smiling. She looked serious. Morbidly so.

"Can I come in?"

Asuka stepped back, holding the door open and Misato entered, the door swinging shut behind her.

"Not much to look at, these rooms, are they?" said Misato, looking around. Asuka didn't answer. "We'll have to go and collect your belongings tomorrow," the commander continued. "Then maybe find somewhere more appropriate for you to stay."

"I'm not staying here?" asked Asuka, feeling disinterested.

"Like I said, this is just temporary accommodation. You wouldn't want to stay here long. I know I wouldn't."

"Sure," replied Asuka. Misato sat down on the bed, then turned and stretched out, hands behind her head, staring up at the ceiling.

"They've got me a nice apartment this time, close by. Bigger than before."

"Right," replied Asuka, staring at nothing in particular. Misato tested the mattress.

"Comfortable, at least," she continued.

Asuka couldn't stand it any longer. She pushed her fingers into her fringe and held her forehead in exasperation.

"What is it, Misato? What do you want? Or did you just come to make pointless small talk?"

Misato closed her eyes and heaved a sigh. After a moment of silence, she spoke.

"I'm sorry," she said. "That's what I want to say."

Suddenly, Asuka felt acutely embarrassed by her behaviour. She knew Misato wasn't a bad person – the woman had proved that fact countless times, and here she was doing it again.

"It's something I've needed to say for a while," continued Misato. She clenched her fists on the duvet and gritted her teeth in frustration. "And it's stupid, because none of this is my fault, but I just want to say sorry for your life getting messed up again..."

Asuka didn't feel like telling Misato it was as if her life had only just started again this previous week. It didn't seem appropriate. Besides which, what did it say about her that she needed such strife to make her feel alive?

"I'm not angry at you," she said quietly, staring at the floor. "But, when is this ever going to be over? Will it ever be over, or will there always be more reasons for us to fight, more monsters that want to kill us?"

"I don't know," replied Misato. She sat up and swivelled, bringing her feet down onto the floor at the side of the bed.

"Sit down," she told Asuka, patting the surface of the bed cover next to her. Hesitating, Asuka did as she was instructed and was surprised when Misato put her arms around her and pulled her into a hug.

"I mean it when I say I'm sorry," Misato whispered. "I wish we could have met again under better circumstances. I always wanted to protect you and Shinji and Rei. It might sound strange wanting to protect you and yet asking you to fight and put your lives on the line for everyone else, but there it is. I always thought of the three of you as mine, somehow my kids – like I was a surrogate parent."

"I guess you were," replied Asuka.

"But I wasn't very good at it," said Misato. She released Asuka and gave her a sad smile. "I truly am sorry."

Asuka sat back, sniffing a little.

"That's okay." With a some effort she managed a smile. "You must have had it as rough as we did."

Misato returned the smile. She put a hand on the top of Asuka's head.

"I'm proud of you, you know?"

Asuka was stunned by those few words. She'd never heard them before.

"I mean it," assured Misato, misreading the look on her face for incredulous disbelief. "What you did, all three of you, over and over... well, I don't think anyone else could have." Suddenly she looked grave. "And even so, it all seems to be starting again. We've all had it rough, before and after third impact. Humanity seems set to make all the same old mistakes over again... Nerv is reactivated, the UN are building an army, and on top of everything, the Angels just won't give us any peace..." She turned to Asuka, a haunted look in her eyes. "But, you know, that's not the worst thing to have happened since I saw you last."

Asuka wasn't sure she wanted to know what could possibly be worse than the return of the Angels. She swallowed, hard, then asked the question.

"Why? What happened?"

Her unease heightened when Misato glared hotly at her, looking Asuka straight in the eye. She could see the pain behind them clearly. Then suddenly, the fire disappeared and she sagged, like a puppet whose strings had been cut. When she spoke again it was as if from the very pits of despair.

"I turned thirty..."

Misato dropped her face into her hands and began to bawl, leaving Asuka to struggle against the growing urge to reach up and strangle the commander for the second time that day.


When Asuka opened her eyes, the room was no longer white. It was red. Something was wrong, but her sleep dulled mind couldn't quite connect the pieces of information her senses were sending her. Somewhere in the facility an alarm was going off. A warning.

They're here...

Suddenly she was fully awake and aware. The sound from the klaxon was all around her. Looking at the clock by her bed, she saw that only a few hours has passed since she had bedded down. It was still the middle of the night.

Well when had the Angels ever been considerate?

Throwing her feet out of the bed, she jumped up and grabbed the clothes she had been wearing the day previously, starting to struggle into them. Even as she did, her door opened. Misato entered.

"What's going on?" she asked the commander.

"The main gate reported an attack. Communications went dead shortly after, we think it's an Angel. Don't bother," she told Asuka, when she saw her attempting to get dressed, "here, put this on."

She handed the girl a one piece garment, it looked gut-churningly familiar.

"What is this?" asked Asuka, holding up the rubbery red suit. "This isn't what I think it is, is it?"

"It's a modified version of your old plugsuit, yes," replied Misato, "don't worry, I'm not going to ask you to pilot Eva 2... Oh, and take this, it'll get you through most of this facility's security."

She handed her an ID card. It had an old photo of Asuka from her Nerv days on it and bore the title 'special unit attached to Nerv Command' under her name. Asuka saw she was holding another suit, this one in shiny white.

"Is that for Rei?" asked Asuka, askance. "You can't be intending to make her fight?"

"She already told me she wanted to," replied Misato. "Hurry up, I'll meet you in the command room."

And with that, she left, leaving Asuka looking on in disbelief.

Shaking herself, she began pulling on the plugsuit replica. It was remarkably similar, except with added connection points, like nerve clusters, all over the suit. Where the previous plug suit had been a bit of a misnomer – well not really a misnomer, after all the entire suit had been one giant connection point – this time the connectors really did look like little plugs.

"What's this for, if there aren't any Evas to pilot?" she muttered to herself as she hit the button that evacuated the air and hugged the fabric to her skin.

Mere minutes later, she was striding down the corridor towards the command room. As she approached, she saw Rei and Maya standing outside the command door.

"There are a lot of military in there," said Maya as Asuka reached them, "some kind of meeting. Misato told us to wait here, while she gets it sorted out."

"To hell with that!" replied Asuka striding past. She hit the entry button, but the door stayed closed.

"The hell?" she asked no one in particular. Then she remembered the card Misato had given her. Taking it out, she thrust it into the slot beneath the button and it glowed green. The doors hissed open and she strode into the command chamber.

Inside the large room things were less chaotic than the previous day. All of the consoles were manned and only a few technicians worked feverishly on certain circuits and wiring. The main screen was on and displayed a schematic of a base of some kind – Asuka presumed the one they were currently standing in.

Misato sat in the command chair, with Makoto stood smartly at her side. She had her hand under her chin and was leaning heavily on it, looking bored. The reason for that became immediately apparent. The room was awash with men wearing military uniforms and carrying guns. Several of the uniformed men were obviously high ranking, judging by their pips. One of them, a general Asuka reckoned, was stood in front of Misato's chair, upbraiding her loudly.

At her entry, the man stopped, and Misato looked up, apparently delighted to see her.

"Asuka!" she exclaimed.

"How did you get in here?" barked the general, then he obviously recognised her because he stopped short.

Misato stood up, turning her back on the general.

"She's here because she has clearance to be here. Say hello to the one who's going to defeat the Angels for you, general."

"What's going on?" asked Asuka.

"Oh, nothing," replied Misato, "just the general here trying to overstep his bounds and take control of my command room."

"Where is the Angel?" asked Asuka.

"We have it contained for now. It's two floors down from the entrance, trapped at a road exchange. Security are suppressing it using industrial lasers used in the construction of this place. But we won't be able to keep it there for long, we don't have a full complement of personnel to send against it."

"Which is why you should turn the operation over to me. My Daemon can take care of the situation you've gotten yourself into," growled the general.

"And as I have said, your unit may have been created to counter these new Angels, but they have only four weeks of anti-Angel training and zero experience of taking them on for real. No one has more experience in combating the Angels than Asuka."

"This girl?" spat the general. "She should have died on countless occasions fighting the Angels last time. It's sheer bloody luck she –"

Misato rounded on him suddenly and fiercely.

"And countless others did die fighting the Angels last time, general, so don't you dare call it luck! Asuka, are you ready?"

"Wait!" said Asuka. Misato stopped, looking mildly surprised. "If I'm going to do this, I have some conditions."

"What conditions?" asked the commander.

"Firstly, I want full reinstatement to Nerv and promotion to the highest rank below yours – vice-commander, or whatever that is."

The general behind Misato fairly erupted in indignation, but the commander silenced him by raising her hand.

"Done," she said, "what else?"

"You can't do that," sputtered the general, "you don't have the authority!"

"As I have already pointed out to your superiors," replied Misato, without even looking at the man, "if I'm not given full autonomy in this matter, you can look for another commander to take over the newly fledged Nerv special operations organisation. Good luck finding someone with as much knowledge on the greatest threat mankind has ever faced."

The man fumed and gnashed his teeth, but said nothing further.

"Go on, Asuka," said Misato, when it was clear she wouldn't be losing her job any time soon.

"I want to be in the loop for all discoveries regarding the Angels, their nature, their composition, and I want a veto for any plans or procedures I don't like."

"Done," said Misato, with a smile.

By now the general was almost white with shock and rage.

"She's just a fifteen year old girl!" was all he could manage to whisper.

"Lastly, I want to move into an apartment twice the size of the one I'm in at the moment."

"Oh, is that so?" replied Misato, cocking her head to one side, a sly smile on her face. "Thinking of using your new found authority for personal gain? Well I suppose we can't begrudge you a few comforts after all you've been through."

"I-it's not that!" stammered Asuka. She bowed her head, cheeks suddenly burning. "I thought Rei could... move in... with me..." She raised her head again, glaring at Misato, defiantly. "I don't want her living on her own, like last time!"

Misato's smile widened.

"Well, that's no problem with me, but don't you think you should ask Rei first?"

Asuka looked around at Rei, who was standing in the doorway, a stunned look on her face.

"Rei," said Asuka, "is... is that okay?"

After a moment, the girl nodded. Asuka breathed a sigh of relief, before it struck her that she didn't know what she was feeling relief for.

"Right!" said Misato, "If you and Rei are ready, Asuka, there's an Angel to be defeated!" She turned to the still shocked officer behind her. "General Forster, I will allow your unit to engage the Angel, but only as support to Asuka and Rei, is that clear."

"Yes, ma'am," replied the general, sourly.

"Good," said Misato. And she folded her arms and looked well satisfied. She nodded at Asuka and Rei. "Well then, let's get you two suited up."

"Eh?" asked Asuka, "Aren't we already suited up?"


The hunched man slipped along the darkened streets. The high collar of his duster coat was buttoned up over his mouth and nose, leaving only glinting eyes, blue on yellow, and pale, almost green tinged cheeks and high a forehead visible below swept back dark hair. Every now and then he would be racked by short barking coughs, which erupted from behind the collar, but he never slowed or stopped during these episodes. They were nearby, he knew. Not on the surface, but below. His brother, his rival, had already found entry. His brother was strong. He might succeed and if his brother succeeded then that would mean his own destruction. He couldn't allow that. He would be the first. He must.

But how... how...

The man stopped and leant against a rubbish container at the entrance to an alleyway, trying vainly to formulate a plan. A gust of coughs caught him again. The coughs didn't concern him as much as did his new body. The cough was merely a symptom of his physiology trying to adjust. It hadn't accepted the change as readily as his brother's had, but then his brother didn't have to deal with his... unique internal processes.

He coughed again, feeling the sting on his lips.

"Hey mister, are you all right?"

The voice came from deeper into the alleyway, where a drunk had been woken from his sleep. Humans were such distressingly fragile creatures, so prone to weakness. He couldn't understand how they had managed to defeat him and his brethren before the turmoil of third impact. They were so weak, they even tried to kill themselves.

"Hey, you don't look so good, mister. You sick or something?"

The drunk was staggering towards him, now. He silenced the man without thinking, so focussed was he on unfolding events. Things were changing beneath him. His brother had stopped moving and the children were advancing. Soon they would meet. Time was running out.


"What is this?" asked Asuka.

She and Rei stood in the hangar like room again, along with Misato, General Forster and his retinue. They were faced by six soldiers, who were lined up in front of a command vehicle, wearing getup that Asuka and Rei had never seen before, even with their long association with various armed forces.

"This – girl – is Daemon. They're an elite and totally unique fighting force, readily able to take on anything that the Angels might throw at us."

Misato tutted and looked irritated at the general's use of the word 'girl'.

"They're battle suits," she clarified.

Asuka looked along the line of soldiers. Four of them were wearing what seemed to be suits of armour, like combat gear, though more sculpted, thicker, but apparently just as flexible and mobile. The other two were in extremely bulky versions of the former, that obviously involved robotics and which lifted the occupants two or three feet higher than their squad-mates. They also carried much heavier armament; where the lighter soldiers carried automatic rifles, the heavies toted what looked like mini-guns. All of them were coloured in city camouflage, mottled dark and light greys.

"The concept was first put forward shortly after the Matarael attack, to allow flexible deployment of forces in enclosed environments, but wasn't put into serious development until after Tabris's arrival, when Nerv realised the Angels might choose human sized forms and engagement with an Eva would be unrealistic."

Asuka was never involved with Tabris, she had been catatonic at the time of his arrival, but after instrumentality she knew the deep pain Shinji had felt about the death of the final Angel.

"But there were no more Angels after Tabris," said Rei.

"True," replied Misato, "but not all of Nerv's branches were privy to the information in the dead sea scrolls, so certain operations continued right up until instrumentality."

"We'll be fighting wearing these?" asked Rei.

"Not exactly. These were developed in North America. Nerv Japan have our own versions."

Asuka turned to Misato, furious.

"I don't care what armour you give us, this won't be enough to stop an Angel's weaponry. You're marching us to our deaths!"

"Don't be so sure," replied Misato, coolly. She raised a hand in signal to the driver of the command vehicle. To their astonishment, one whole side of the vehicle opened up, swinging smoothly upwards. Two human shaped receptacles that reminded Asuka horribly of the entry plug seat glided forward from the side.

Rei was already stepping towards them without a word.

"O-oi, Rei!" stuttered Asuka.

"Yours is the one on the left, Rei," said Misato, also stepping past Asuka.

"I understand," replied Rei dutifully, as she hoisted herself up into the seat. Misato turned her head.

"You too, Asuka," she prompted.

"Now wait just a second –" started Asuka, then she stopped in astonishment. An inner section of the raised side of the vehicle swung down, encapsulating Rei in a steel cocoon. Various parts whirred and rotated and locked into place. Then, after a pause in which various clanks and whooshes sounded from the pod, the section hissed and rose once more, revealing Rei now encased from head to foot and heel to fingertip in armour of pure white, worked through with the same black detailing as her plug suit. The armour was sleek, so sleek it hardly looked like armour at all. Some kind of power pack sprouted wing-like antenna from her back and an open faced helmet with interior lit visor covered her head. Just a few strands of her blue hair were visible from inside, framing her face.

Asuka was stunned.

"What the...?"

Rei lifted a hand, flexing it and studying the movement.

"Pure white?" asked one of the soldiers, a big guy with sandy hair and beard, "No camo? Paint a target on her, why don't you?"

"Well look on the bright side, Jake, at least we'll be able to tell which one she is," said a female with short black hair, dark eyes and a scar along her jaw. "You know, so we know who to hide behind."

The sarcasm dripped from her voice, making Asuka clench her jaw in annoyance. She glared at the woman, who merely smirked in reply.

"You too, Asuka," repeated Misato.

"How is that supposed to protect us?" Asuka shot back at the commander. "The armour's like paper, and anyway I've never seen any armour that could stand up to an Angel's weaponry!"

"True, but the armour isn't the only thing that'll protect you," replied Misato, tersely. "See those things that look like little wings? That's an amplification device that allows you to project a limited AT field."

"An AT field?" replied Asuka, aghast. Misato nodded.

The ground rumbled as a crashing noise came from somewhere above, travelling through the concrete room. A voice crackled over a communication link.

"Commander, the Angel is moving again," said Makoto.

"I thought you said security had it pinned down," replied Misato.

"They did," came the reply, "but the Angel used its whips to break through the floor. It's on its way down to you."

Misato turned to Asuka, an alarmed look in her eye.

"Asuka, hurry!"

The German gritted her teeth, nodded and, uttering a deluge of curses in her native tongue, climbed into the second auto-armourer. As she sat down, a horrific crash resounded through the hangar-like room. Part of the ceiling thundered to the floor in a tumult of crushed stone and dust.

As the auto-armourer swung closed, Asuka just had time to see the anti-Angel unit, Daemon, scatter in all directions and Misato move around the back of the command vehicle. Then she was entombed in blackness, which suddenly blazed with multi-coloured light, sprayed across her from a multitude of sources she couldn't make out. She felt herself squeezed, as though she were being vacuum packed, and for a moment she couldn't move a muscle. Then a helmet was over her head and a HUD flashed in front of her face. Outside, she could already hear the judder of automatic fire, punctuated by crashes that rocked the command vehicle.

A machine voice spoke from everywhere and nowhere.

"Voice ident required."

"Hurry up, you stupid machine!" yelled Asuka. A light blinked in her visor then the words 'Diagnostic Initiated' played across the glass, followed by the legend 'Initialization Complete. Welcome Asuka Langley Sohryu.'

With that, the lights went out. The locks hissed in release and the auto-armourer opened onto chaos.