.hack//EVA: Catharsis: Thunder Strikes!

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'italics' denotes thought

'bold' denotes location names

'bold italics' denotes skill use

Morganna's Apartment

There were many (quite good and valid) reasons why Lycoris should have distrusted Morganna, based on their shared history together, none of which was indicative of compatibility, but for now, they managed, living together in a joint apartment not to far from Misato's actually (there was no way Morganna would have allowed herself to live in Rei Ayanami's apartment block…she might not be a goddess of The World anymore, but she still had her standards).

Part of this was because they did have shared experiences in a new world they were with still relatively unfamiliar with, so their "home" provided a sanctuary of sorts. Upon entering this place, one could immediately see that it was arranged slightly differently than might have been expected of a teacher's residence.

First of all, it was spacious, formed from the union of three apartments into one. Space was a luxury and here it was definitely one to be enjoyed. The décor was simple, yet elegant, evoking an open atmosphere of wide-open spaces, with a few fantastical shapes here or there that were reminiscent of The World, though most people would miss the paper thin LCD screen that coated the walls, in favor of the more traditional decorations there.

Of course, if anyone had noticed the little stuffed grunties that sat along the wall as a touch of whimsy, they might have raised an eyebrow at how ill-fitting they seemed to be with the rest of the apartment, but again, few who visited the place would do so. People almost invariably saw what they wanted to see, and most people wanted to be impressed with chic sophistication.

But they would notice the paintings drawn from places and people in The World: a painting of each of the Root Towns as they used to be in the history of The World, one of all the once and future "goddesses" together, and one that was almost a family portrait, with Morganna, Harald Hoerwick, and Emma Wielant looking over their "progeny."

Not that Morganna was ever really mother-like, thought Lycoris as she walked into the residence, only to find herself crinkling her nose and widening her eyes at the uncharacteristic sound of Morganna humming merrily away. Even in her days in The World, she had never quite shown her amusement so openly. I wonder who must be coming over for dinner.

Morganna, good at being mysterious as always, had kept this bit of information from her, only hinting that Lycoris would recognize their guest when she saw her. Searching for hints, the silver-haired girl looked around the room, widening her eyes at how it seemed to be a perfect recreation of Dun Loireag at nighttime, Dun Loireag as it used to be, before CC Corp's great travesty. There was even the hint of a breeze wafting through, as on a perfect twilight evening, under the moon, and spider lilies of all things blossomed in the field.

Someone that she knew from the first version of The World then…maybe someone she respected? But who could it be?

Knowing that she probably would not be able to guess the identity of their mysterious guest, Lycoris went to her room to get changed, choosing a variant of the red dress and cape that had been her signature fashion for so long, with crimson ribbons in her uncased hair, and a spider lily behind one ear. In short, she seemed just like her character in The World…or how she had been when she had first arrived in Tokyo-3.

Feeling confident in her appearance, Lycoris went to join Morganna at the table, set for three, as a knock was heard at the apartment door.

"Ah, that would be our guest," murmured the tall, dark haired 'Yumi Aranami', going to open the door.

A moment of fussing with the locks, and it opened with a small click, revealing the presence of a slender brunette with mousy hair. Dressed in an elegant black and purple gown (one which mirrored that of Morganna), her eyes darted about the room, suitably impressed with how closely it resembled a very familiar setting

"Decoration fit for a queen, wouldn't you agree?" inquired Morganna, with an undertone of amusement in her voice.

"In the dark of another world perhaps," replied Maya, her lips twitching into a smirk, "Even a breeze, like a wave, like that which covered the world of shadowless ones."

Maya then caught sight of Lycoris, and nodded in greeting.

"It has been some time since our last meeting, Child of Twilight. And I see that you have been spending a good deal of time with good Skari since then."

Lycoris' eyes widened as she recognized the voice that had addressed her, as well as names and words only used within The World. The last time that someone had addressed her as such, that person had been…

"Helba."

It was not a question, but a comment, a statement of certainty, though who would ever have expected the imposing Helba to be a mousy haired brunette with a boyish haircut in the real world?

"Now that we are all acquainted, shall we to dinner?" asked Morganna solicitously, gesturing everyone towards the dining room from where mouthwatering aromas drifted.

Maya inclined her head slightly in acknowledgement, waving Lycoris ahead of her before following Morganna's lead to where the food would lie. It promised to be a most interesting dinner

Misato's Apartment

Though one might say the same for dinner at Misato's place, the descriptor of 'interesting' would not be for the food, unless one defined interesting as someone being rushed to the emergency room due to food poisoning. Oh, the usual suspects were more or less paralleled, with ward, guardian, and one who was known as an imposing blond in one reality or another (but who were both in all actuality brunettes), but the setting was not.

The apartment had been kept clean only by the painstaking gruntwork of Shinji, and anytime Misato entered the kitchen, his efforts would have been for naught. It was impossible to keep ground zero of that unholy occurrence to the meticulous standards of his liking, and very difficult to keep it decent in the aftermath.

Thankfully, Misato had not quite begun to cook as Shinji entered the apartment, his traditional shout of "I'm home!" echoing in the wooden hallways. This was a good sign, as it meant that the clutter had not built up to such proportions as to absorb the ambient sound, which would have been bad. If there was one thing the hapless Third wanted to avoid, it was seeing the apartment in the condition that it had been in when he moved in.

For now though, Shinji really didn't care about that. How could he, when there were stars in his eyes and his feet oh-so-obviously were not even touching the ground? Everything had been—

"WARK WARK!"

Right. Pen-Pen needed to be fed, since Misato had likely neglected him again. The young boy walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, retrieving a can of sardines to prepare for the warm-water penguin, but stopped cold when he saw his guardian hunched over the stove.

This is not good…

"Misato-san…do you want me to cook?"

"Oh, no, Ristuko is coming over for dinner and she expects my finest!" said Misato, her expression positively diabolical as she poured curry into the pot.

Shinji thought that maybe he could finish preparing Pen-Pen's food and make a fast exit, but as soon as he had given the sardines to the bird, Misato had turned around with a dangerous glint in her eye.

She must have sensed my good mood…

"You came back late today, Shinji," she noted manner-of-factly. Then her voice became more suggestive, low and leering. "Were you out with your girlfriend doing naughty things?"

It was fortunate that the Third Child had not been drinking anything at the time, or there would have been even more of a mess to clean up. As it was, he merely blushed with the light of a thousand sunburns and stammered: "M-m-misato-san!"

She laughed at his response, finding it ever so fun to tease him in his innocence.

"My Shin-chan's becoming a man!" She winked at him, "Just don't do anything I wouldn't do! We wouldn't want a teenage pregnancy on our hands."

If pushed, Shinji was prone to strike back, and though his blush was as warm as the explosion of Krakatoa, he managed to retaliate with a verbal repartee.

"Is there anything you wouldn't do?"

Taken aback, Misato just chuckled and told Shinji to answer the door, as she was expecting Dr. Akagi any moment now. He had managed to recover from that round of teasing, but something told him that his good mood would be spoiled by the promise of Misato's cooking.

Dining Room, Misato's Apartment

As promised, Misato's cooking always delivered everything it said it would, and considerably more. That that more happened to be a collection of barely palatable slop was probably what provoked Ritsuko, longtime friend of Misato, to gag and clutch at her throat after taking just a few nibbles.

"What's this?" she sputtered, grabbing and downing a nearby glass of water in an attempt to wash the taste from her protesting mouth.

"Curry," answered Misato between bites, even as she began to wolf down her double portion.

The Chief Scientist of Project E raised an eyebrow at this rather immature behavior, commenting archly:

"I see. You have continued to eat instant foods."

As might be expected, Misato took offense to this, snapping her head up and glaring at her friend. She had had a great deal of paperwork to fill out too, and maybe she wasn't the best cook in the world, but that mean Ritsuko had to rub it in, in her dining room.

"You've been invited to a dinner, so don't complain!" she snapped, prompting a look of concern from Shinji, who was gingerly poking at his food.

"Misato-san?" he asked tentatively, falling silent when the person in question reached out across the table, picking up a ladle overburdened with curry and dumping the contents into her bowl.

"Ah, me?" she giggled. "Oh, I'll just put some of this into that, and lots of it!"

Ritsuko and Shinji shared a look and a large sweatdrop, as the latter noted to himself never to let Misato near a kitchen again, as it was a disaster waiting to happen. Awkwardness came upon them, the table silent except for the purple-haired woman slurping at her noodles.

But after a moment, even the reserved Shinji could take no more, and burst out incredulously: "Are you serious?"

Misato just laughed, batting his concerns aside with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Of course I am. Why, this is quite good. I can't make such a good taste with just curry-flavored instant noodles!" she exclaimed, before lowering her voice to a conspiratorial stage-whisper. "I just don't put in too much soup and hot water. It's a special trick of mine!"

Another moment of awkward silence, as Shinji and Ritsuko tried to come up with something to say that would be safe in this situation.

Out of a degree of respect for her friend, Ritsuko decided to settle on something fairly neutral, making a simple observation that seemed likely, given Misato's state of mind.

"I guess you cooked this?" she said evenly. However, due to Misato's never-dispelled delusion of actually having good cooking skills, the purple-haired slob decided to take this as a compliment.

"Oh, you noticed?" Misato chirruped, seeming well pleased with her achievement, as the grin on her face would attest.

"Of course, it was the taste," Ritsuko commented scathingly, the bile rising in her throat (along with her voice) at her friend's willful ignorance. "With such basic ingredients as instant foods, only you could…"

She barely managed to bite back anything more damaging, requiring more than a few moments to compose herself for an audience. When she spoke next, her tone was more indifferent, though there was still an undertone of anger to it.

"In the future, please invite me on a day when it's Shinji-kun's turn to cook. Oh, and Shinji…you'd better move out. Don't let your ill-behaved roommate ruin your life."

Shinji sighed indifferently. It didn't really matter to him what happened at home as long as he had The World, and other people to turn to…though he would be cooking in the future.

"I'm used to it," was all he said in response, letting an eloquent shrug say the rest.

But Misato couldn't resist an opportunity to one-up her intellectually intimidating friend, who had been her superior in that department ever since they were college roommates.

"He's right, Ritsuko. Don't make light of humans' ability to adapt to their environment. Besides, if he does move..."

To Shinji's horror, Misato paused, deciding that she needed more curry to go with what had once been instant noodles. He began to inch away slowly, though making sure to push the curry container towards Misato. It was not good to be between a desperate animal and food, after all…he had learned that much from dealing with Pen-Pen.

Seeing that Misato was once again back to priggishly wolfing down her food, Ritsuko sighed, completing her sentence for her.

"…He'd have to cut through an incredible amount of red tape, since Shinji just received his formal security card."

And then came the specialty of the house, the Embarrass Shinji® moment, though it began innocently enough with Ritsuko saying that she had forgotten to give Rei Ayanami's new security card to her, and would Shinji please deliver it to her home on his way to headquarters. Something about the situation was telling him that he shouldn't, but Shinji was still fundamentally a nice person and agreed to it, taking the card.

What he hadn't counted on was how a picture of her could bring back so many of his thoughts about her, why she was alone, who she was, why she—

"What's the matter?" interjected Misato, looking up from her ramen. Her expression turned sly as she saw what Shinji was looking at. "Ohh…you're staring at Rei's photo, aren't you?"

"No," answered Shinji, perhaps more curtly than was called for. His cheeks mercifully had reacted too many times in a single day to flush too much from Misato's teasing, with only a tinge of pink showing.

"Are you sure?" Misato wheedled, hoping to break down his resistance.

"No! I mean, yes, I'm sure," Shinji corrected, almost having slipped up badly. Unfortunately for him, Misato caught his verbal slip, and was determined to exploit it in her favor.

"Ah, you're embarrassed, aren't you?" Her tone turned low and sly once more, even as she nearly leered at him, waggling her eyebrows up and down in a manner evocative of Touji. "Well, now you have an official excuse to go Rei's place. It's a good chance, don't you think?"

"But I already—!" Shinji began, barely cutting himself off before he said anything too revealing. "I just find it strange that I know so little about Ayanami, even though she's an Eva pilot, like me..."

While Misato had been drawn in by his outburst, which disappointingly did not provide any ammunition for further teasing, and was about to pounce on him for it, she did find it odd how little was known about the First Child, so she looked to Ritsuko for information.

"She's a good girl though," said the scientist at last, but like your father, she's not good at..."

Ritsuko trailed off, leaving both Shinji and Misato curious as to what she was going to say.

"She's not good at what?" Shinji asked, hoping for more.

"Living."

Apartment 402, Tokyo 3

Unfortunately, with the dinner, and having to clean up the mess Misato had made in the kitchen (and how much of a mess the woman could make with instant food was simply absurd), Shinji did not have much time to play The World that night. He managed to get on for a bit, but Lycoris hadn't been there, only Rumor, who had informed him that the sister to the Goddess was dining with the Queen of the Dark, and probably would not be available for the night

With a heavy heart, Skari had told the little grey-haired Harvest Cleric to tell Lycoris that he would probably not be at school tomorrow, due to pressing business, to which Rumor cryptically replied that she already knew. In spite of knowing that the silver-haired girl probably would not show, he waited for another half-hour, talking with Rumor about various topics in The World. The little AI was worried about something, though he refused to burden Shinji with it for now.

Not that I don't have enough to worry about as an EVA pilot…

But after a while, even Shinji's eyes grew weary and he bade goodbye to Rumor before logging off and going to bed, just managing to miss the gate-in of a girl in red.

The next morning, after waking up early and making preparations for another wonderful day at NERV, Shinji found himself walking through Tokyo-3 towards Ayanami's place. The journey began uneventfully enough, though as he passed through the nicer districts, then the reconstructed areas, and the housing projects without finding a hint of her residence, he began to get worried.

Where could Ayanami live in the city if not—

His gaze had fallen on one of the most crime-ridden districts of Tokyo-3, one of the areas marked for eventual condemnation, and within, the apartment complex where the enigmatic First Child lived. He gulped, hesitating for a minute before continuing. No coward was he, but no idiot either, and every instinct he had was telling him that agreeing to this without, oh a cadre of Section 2 men and perhaps a car, was a bad idea. Maybe he should even have risked Misato's driving…

But it appeared that his fears were unfounded, and soon enough he found his way to the entrance, making his way inside and climbing to the floor where Ayanami's apartment was.

It seemed deserted, with no sign of recent human habitation. If possible, the hallway was more cluttered than Misato's residence had been before he moved in. Still, Shinji had agreed to do a favor for someone, and he would not back down. So he braved the piles of trash and junk mail, eventually ending up in front of the door marked "402 – Ayanami Rei."

Wanting to get this business over with as soon as possible, he rapped on the door three times and pushed on the buzzer, waiting for a response. Seconds ticked by, then a minute, two minutes.

"Excuse me?" he called out. "Ayanami, its Ikari. I've come to deliver your security card."

No response. Another five minutes passed, and now Shinji was worried.

"Ayanami, I'm coming in," he called out, as he pushed open the door, hoping that would be sufficient warning in case she was in a state of undress or other unreadiness. The fact that the surrounding area was under construction and very noisy was not much help.

What he saw in the room surprised him, as bloody bandages, clothes, and discarded packages of food were strewn everywhere. No beer, thankfully, but the sight of Ayanami's panties and the thought of where they had last been still almost caused his nose to geyser out in a nosebleed. Apparently he had been spending a bit too much time with the Idiot Duo.

I'm such a pervert, he groaned mentally. Reimeiki-san is wrong about me…

Then his eyes fell upon a desk and chair set in the corner of the bedroom, apparently new and well-cared for. On it sat a sky-blue bound journal with the imprint of a snowflake on it, a state-of-the-art laptop, and…a headset for playing The World.

"Is this Ayanami's?" he murmured, eyes wide with surprise. She valued The World this much, to keep this corner clean when everything else in the apartment was so dirty? Why? Could it be that like him, she found a haven in The World as well?

Unable to restrain his curiosity, Shinji had approached the desk and picked up the headset, intending to look through the journal and find out whether Ayanami was Skadi once and for all, when he heard a soft footfall behind him.

He whirled, and found himself frozen in place by the sight of Rei Ayanami dripping wet from the shower, only a towel shielding her slender body from the world. His mouth worked up and down as he thought of how he was going to explain his presence here, but there seemed to be a disconnect between his mind and said organ, as the only sounds that emerged from his throat were "Ah, uh, err", an exercise in basic phonetics.

She came closer to him, her crimson eyes falling immediately on the headset, and she moved to take it from him, as Shinji finally regained some of his mobility and tried backing away. Rei was slightly frustrated by this, not knowing why Ikari was there, and further, what he was doing with her things. But in the end, Shinji found himself backed against the chair, and as the blue haired beauty took her headset back from him and set it on the desk, she accidentally dropped her towel.

Now the Third Child blushed, a scarlet red unlike anything that had ever been seen before, as he had never seen anyone naked before, and had never thought that this would be happening to him. Trying to do the right thing, he attempted to bend down and pick up Rei's towel for her, keeping in mind a certain silver-haired girl that delighted him with her smile. Unfortunately, Rei had moved at the same time, the result being that the two pilots ended up tripping over their own two feet and in an explosion of pain, ended up on the ground, the towel left unheeded at their feet.

As was wont to happen in a fall, his eyes had squeezed shut, and for a moment Shinji had forgotten where he was. He reached out his hands to prop himself up, only to find himself in a repeat of how he had met Lycoris, with one hand on the ground, and the other on something curiously soft.

Oh god, he thought, as his heart nearly stopped. Ayanami is going to kill me…

But there was no movement from the girl beneath him, and Shinji found himself looking into a pair of crimson orbs that were intoxicating in their intensity, not really paying attention to anything else until—

"Can you move?" Ayanami asked, almost indifferently.

Realizing his situation, he began to push himself up with his hands, and then froze, hearing an intake of breath. Once again, he had managed to violate someone and compound his wrong by continuing to touch her inappropriately. Spilling a profuse stream of apologies, Shinji moved his hand and got to his feet, retaining enough sense of dignity to pick up the towel and offer it to Ayanami as he helped her up.

"Why are you here?" she asked, curious and a bit annoyed at having her routine interrupted.

But Shinji was tongue tied and couldn't speak while looking at her. He had gotten used to the idea of spending time around lovely young women by being in Lycoris' company, true, but not…not…naked. Like any teenage boy, he was a victim of his circumstances, and of course, his hormones.

"Well, I…err…I was asked, by accident ... let me see ... Card... your card has been renewed and she asked me to—"

He was interrupted by the closing of a door, and the sound of footsteps going down the hall. Ayanami had left him there alone, obviously disgusted with his pervert presence.

Taking a deep breath, he recited his mantra in his head (I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away…), and followed her out the door, intending, at least, to discharge his duty and apologize.

Outside NERV HQ, Tokyo-3

Rei Ayanami's lips twitched in the faintest sign of annoyance. Central Dogma was open, according to the background announcement, and she was swiping her security card through the reader, so why wouldn't the gate open? She did have a sync test to attend, on the Commander's orders, though lately, The World had made her begin to question her purpose, The World and her association with Reimeiki Hakubo, who had called it her bond to all people, much like Rei herself saw Eva.

Curious. Much like Skari's appearance in The World, much like Ikari-kun appearing in my apartment and…touching me. It was…odd, but warm.

She continued to swipe the card through, until an out of breath Shinji Ikari barreled around the corner and handed her a new one.

"Here's—new card—Ritsuko—asked me—deliver," he managed to gasp out. Irritated by the existing delays, she took the new card without a word, swiping it through the reader and opening the gate.

Escalator, NERV HQ, Tokyo-3

For a few minutes, all that could be heard was the thrumming of the machinery and Shinji's panting as he struggled to catch his breath. Apparently, Ayanami would walk surprisingly quickly when she wanted to, the epitome of efficiency in a way that Shinji would never be. Slowly, his breaths became deeper, less difficult, and after some time, the only sound was the electric buzzing of the escalator.

But the Third Child knew, just knew, that if he didn't say anything, that any chance he had at forgiveness would probably be lost. That and he didn't want to be hated…couldn't stand it, in fact. In some ways, he was a pathetic creature, craving love and attention, though he didn't know it. In other ways, in other ways, he could be impressively strong and decent for a teenage boy with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"I'm sorry," Shinji said at last, breaking the silence.

Rei Ayanami looked at him quizzically, making him feel like an experiment under the power of her eyes. Steeling himself, he decided to try again.

"I-I heard there's a reactivation experiment today. I hope it will be successful this time."

No reaction. Wishing her luck apparently hadn't had any effect at all, and Shinji was beginning to worry that he was annoying her, not that he hadn't done enough of that as it was.

Maybe she is Skadi…that would explain a few things. Or maybe I just haven't hit upon the right tactic yet. Center the target and pull the switch, right? Maybe a question would work?

"Listen... Are you afraid of getting into Unit Zero?" he asked. To his surprise, the blue haired albino finally looked at him, her gaze as intent as ever.

"Why?"

Maybe it wasn't much of a response…but it was a start, compared to the silence of before. Feeling a hint of encouragement, he tried again.

"I heard that you were seriously injured in the last experiment. I just…hope you'll be ok this time."

A flash of curiosity crossed Rei's apparently impassive face, and she graced him by lifting an eyebrow, the most expressive Shinji had ever seen her.

"You're Commander Ikari's child, aren't you?" she probed.

"Yes," Shinji replied, though he hated the man and no desire to be related to him (even if he was suppressing his desire to be appreciated by him).

"Do you not trust your father's work?" Ayanami asked in return. Having done a bit more interaction with people in The World than he would have in reality, Shinji sensed that that was, a loaded question to say the least. So he tried for an evasion…

"I trust The World more…" he said, looking away, not noticing the ever so slight widening of Ayanami's eyes, whose mind was racing in thought.

They continued to ride the long escalator for sometime longer, before it was Ayanami who broached the silence with another question.

"Are you attracted to me, Skari?" she asked, causing Shinji to pale, both at the question, and at the name she had addressed him with.

Oh my god, she knows…I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away…not that I could right now.

"I-I…how?" he managed to stutter in response.

"Your avatar in The World is in my likeness, and there was a seagull on your journal."

"A…seagull?" Shinji queried, wondering exactly what that had to do with anything.

"The seagull means freedom. Its Norse name is—"

"Skari…" Shinji whispered, with terrible realization in his eyes as he looked at Ayanami. "Norse…snow...Winter…Skadi."

"Yes."

Hospital, NERV HQ, Tokyo-3

There had been a few tense moments during the beginning of the activation of EVA-00, but the reactivation had been completed successfully, and the bridge techs were patting themselves on the back for a job well done when an unidentified object had approached: the Fifth Angel. The staff had rushed to sortie EVA-01, and Shinji was feeling more confident this time, knowing that he had a job to do, and someone to protect.

And maybe, just maybe, he could impress his father with his newfound combat stills from The World.

So Shinji had thought as EVA-01 was launched towards the surface, but unfortunately it was not to be.

"High-energy reaction detected inside the target!" cried Shigeru Aoba, on the verge of panic.

"What?" demanded Misato, not quite understanding what he meant by his previous statement.

"Its circumferential parts are increasing speed and concentrating!"

Misato's eyes widened, and she shrieked into the microphone:

"No, dodge it!"

Shinji, not seeing what was happening at the surface, was puzzled, but he barely had time to ask "What?" before being blasted by a high energy positron beam, his blood curdling screams sending chills down the spines of the bridge staff.

EVA 01 was quickly retrieved, with Shinji determined to be alive, if only just. He had been rushed to the hospital, and only now, hours later did he wake up to the sight of Ayanami beside him.

"Ayanami…" he breathed, not quite sure he wasn't just hallucinating in the space between dreams. He wasn't wearing much, after all, and he didn't think a girl would just walk in on him. But then Rei Ayanami spoke, reciting the schedule for Operation Yashima, dispelling any notions he might have of this being a fantasy.

"Don't come looking like that," she had said, casting an eye over his form, which made him acutely aware of how little a hospital gown really covered. And the blue-haired enigma had also said that he was not necessary, that she would use EVA 01 if she had to, if Shinji was unwilling.

Whether intending to or not, those words struck home, as not going would be tantamount to running away once more. And Shinji was not about to do that and let Ayanami suffer for his incompetence, not after his violation on the morn before, and after she knew that he did have some feelings for her.

She's a mystery, really, in some ways even more than Reimeiki-san…

Launch Platform, Mt. Futagoyama Emergency Base, NERV

The briefing session had gone pretty much as expected, though as usual, Dr. Akagi loved to overcomplicate her explanations of their scenarios and action plans. To boil it down to the basics, the Third Child was to use a prototype positron sniper rifle to shoot the Angel out of the sky, while Ayanami was to shield him. Dr. Akagi had rambled on about correcting for the Earth's magnetic field, adjusting for error, hitting the core precisely…and then had told him that all he really needed to do was to "center the target and pull the switch," as he had been told so many times since he had begun his training in EVA.

'You could have just said that to begin with...'

If Dr. Akagi had not been a superior, Shinji might have twitched his eyebrow in annoyance. He wasn't exactly a blithering idiot, his conduct around attractive females notwithstanding. And he would make sure to eliminate the Angel with one hit, so Ayanami wouldn't have to suffer…not after everything else he had done to her.

And so the two found themselves on the launch platform, the winds swirling about them as they sat there, waiting for the operation to begin.

"We may die," Shinji volunteered, knowing that he was fairly expendable in the grand scheme of things, and having experienced the power of the Angel half a day ago.

"Why do you say that?" Rei asked curiously. "You won't die... I will protect you."

No you won't Ayanami, Shinji thought to himself, I'm not worthy of you or your protection.

Silence again, as both Pilots were left alone with their thoughts. Shinji's kept wandering from Lycoris to Ayanami, Lycoris to Ayanami, Lycoris to…

"Ayanami? Why are you doing this?" he asked, curious as to her reason for piloting the EVA.

She reflected on that for a moment and gave her response, one that mirrored what Lycoris had told her of The World once: "Because it's my bond."

"Your bond?"

"Yes, my bond…to all people. Much like The World."

Shinji thought he saw a half-smile on Ayanami's lips, but dismissed it out of hand.

The World? And she smiled? Nah, it must have been a trick of the light…

"You are strong, Ayanami," he sighed, looking down at the platform with trepidation for what was to come.

"I have nothing else," she whispered in a moment of vulnerability, before she firmed up once more. "Its time, we go. Goodbye, Ikari."

Entry Plug, EVA-00

Shinji had failed. To his horror, as he unleashed the full might of the Japanese Electrical Grid upon the Fifth Angel, it had fired a particle beam of its own, sending both of their beams crashing into the ground. He had gritted his teeth, and begun to prepare for a second shot, but the enemy had been too fast, loosing a second blast of its own far before he was ready.

This was it, he thought, preparing for annihilation, but EVA-00 had jumped in the way, and blocked it.

"NOO…REI! Save yourself!" he had screamed, but to no avail. She was not going to move, as she knew her duty. She stood there proud and defiant, taking the hit that was intended for him, defending him despite his many flaws.

As he looked on, the shield had worn down, lower, lower, lower, until it was gone, and EVA-00 itself was left to take the brunt of the attack without a shield.

"Ayanami!" he had screamed, bringing the positron rifle up to firing position and unleashing the fires of hell itself from its muzzle to destroy the Fifth Messenger.

The target fell silent, and Shinji rushed to Ayanami's aid, ripping the entry plug out of EVA-00, and ejecting from EVA-01 to help her out of the superheated plug himself.

He was on the ground, running as fast as his legs could carry him, and he could sense the heat coming in waves from the charred and blasted hunk of steel in which Ayanami was trapped. Shinji reached for the door handle, hesitating only for a moment at the thought of how superheated it was, how it was surely to sear his hands, if not melt them, but he was already a failure.

He needed to feel pain to know that he was alive, and if that was what it took to rescue her, so much the better. So Shinji had gripped the door handles tight, hearing the hissing and gritting his teeth against the pain as the smell of burning cloth and flesh reached his nostrils. It wasn't budging, so he threw his weight behind it, and it moved a centimeter. That still wasn't enough, and he knew that if waited any longer that Ayanami might die, and it would be all his fault…all his fault.

With strength born of desperation and a howl of primal rage and fear, the handle gave, and the door opened, the superheated LCL rushing out over him. When that surge of liquid had passed, he forced his way into the plug and found Ayanami on the pilot's seat, lying perfectly still.

"Ayanami!" he cried out, shaking her, feeling for any signs of life. "Ayanami, are you alright?"

No response, and Shinji began to sob uncontrollably. For all his training, all his determination, he had let Ayanami die to save his worthless hide. Tears ran down his cheeks in bright shining rivulets, the cool watery droplets falling from his face onto Rei's eyelids, causing her to stir.

When she awoke, she was confused by the sight before her, and brought her hand up to touch his cheek. Shinji looked up, his eyes widening when he saw she was alright.

"Don't say 'I have nothing else,'" he whispered, trying to stifle his sobs, though the tears continued to fall. "Don't say good-bye before a mission…its too sad."

She just watched him, not knowing why he shed his tears for her.

"Why are you crying?" she asked "Are you sad that I'm alive?"

Shinji's face took on an incredulous expression as he looked at her, and he found himself laughing at the sheer absurdity of that expression.

"No, Ayanami…I'm crying because I'm so happy," he said, embracing her, holding her, reveling in her solidity and never wanting to let her go.

In his arms, she stiffened, not being familiar with any form of affection, eyes widened once again as she slowly began to relaxed.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what to feel at times like this," she whispered, looking at the Third Child with bright, beautiful eyes that pierced him to his very soul.

"I think you should smile," he had suggested, loosening his hold on her so as to see what she would do.

She smiled, and it was perhaps the most beautiful thing Shinji had ever seen, taking his breath away.

What about Reimeiki? a little corner of his brain was saying, but in the moment after the battle, its voice was not quite so strong, particularly with Ayanami smiling so warmly at him, her pale features accented by the moonlight.

"Like this?" she asked, beaming at him, reaching for his hand for support.

"Like that," he said, taking her hand and having her lean against him as they stumbled out of the entry plug out into the night.

A night in Tokyo-3, the new land of twilight, under the moon.