.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Forsaken Light

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 (or of course, any other copyrighted works I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'italics' denotes thought

'bold' denotes location names

'bold italics' denotes skill use

NERV Medical, Isolation Unit

He woke suddenly from his nightmares, bolting upright covered in a cold sweat, eyes darting to and fro in paranoia, shrinking from perceived whispers and the montage of horrors in his mind. But something was different this time…the chains were gone, and there was something of a hollow in his mind, as if something had fled. Then too, instead of floating in darkness, he found himself in a solid place…perhaps not the most pleasant one (hospital rooms never were), but reassuring from its sheer realness nonetheless.

Trembling, the Sixth Child pinched his cheeks himself experimentally, testing whether or not he was truly awake, allowing himself a slow, shaky smile as he felt the little jab of pain. Unlike most however, it was not the fact that there was actually pain that reassured him that this was the waking world—it was the fact that each movement came with such little pain.

'A cold metal room, an unfamiliar ceiling,' the Sixth Child's mind slowly processed, taking in his surroundings. 'I wonder where I am. What…happened to me? Is this my sister's hospital? Did I collapse after…Siarl, that bastard!'

Touji Suzuhara wasn't sure just how long he had been unconscious, but given that the last thing he remembered clearly was a certain Macabre Dancer infecting him with AIDA, he had a sneaking suspicion of what had happened to him.

'I guess I became a Lost One for a while,' he thought, frowning, taking a deep shuddering breath. 'Everything else is a blur…I wish I could remember—'

Movement registered at the corner of his eye, and Touji froze upon seeing the perfect likeness of his tormentor standing before him, humming the soothing strains of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy."

'Him! What the…why is Nagisa here?' the jock thought to himself, mind racing as he clenched his fists and flinched back involuntarily, like an animal reacting to the presence of a predator. 'Does this mean that I'm at NERV?'

"Welcome back to the world of the living, Sixth Child," the grey-haired youth spoke, an insufferable, all-knowing smirk playing at the edges of his lips. "So the criminal survived the tragic events of the day before, even after claiming two victims."

'Sixth Child?' the jock mulled, confused at the appellation Kaworu had given him. Then the rest of the Fourth's words sunk in, and his blood ran cold. "No…the tragic events of the day before? Victims?'

"What are you saying, Nagisa?" Touji asked warily, keeping his eye on the odd grey-haired boy who he had never really trusted. "What tragic events?"

"Oh? Do you mean to say you don't remember, Suzuhara Touji?" the Fourth Child replied in a rather clinical tone of voice, crimson eyes peering intently into the jock's own. "How unexpected, though I suppose this is also a response typical of the Lilim: running from disagreeable things and unpleasant emotion. It is fitting, considering how much of your culture is based on distraction and deceit…"

Now, Touji was perhaps not the sharpest tool in the shed, but even he could pick up on the strange way in which Kaworu was speaking, almost as if he himself were not human.

'Huh…Lilim? Our culture? What is he trying to—'

"But I digress, I'm afraid," the enigmatic youth continued, his face moving uncomfortably close to the jock's. "For you are the Sixth Child—the rogue pilot who single-handedly destroyed the combat effectiveness of NERV, turning Evangelion Unit 03 against the others as a terrible avatar of destruction."

"What? No…th-that's impossible!" Touji denied vehemently, physically shoving the smaller boy away from him as he pulled back. "You're lying! I would never have done something like that."

"Oh? Is that so?" Kaworu questioned sternly, still completely unruffled by the rough treatment. "Then why are you here, in an isolation unit of NERV Medical, with no visitors allowed? Why is there a second Lake Asinoko near Nobeyama, where you self-destructed your Evangelion Unit in an attempt to keep from being captured? Why are Pilots Ikari and Horaki lying in the intensive care unit, at the very door of death?"

"But that's not—it was just a—"

Faster than one might think possible, Tabris' right hand shot out to touch Touji Suzuhara on the forehead, his crimson eyes taking on an eerie glow as he faced the jock, forcibly bringing buried memories to the surface one by one in a deeply personal version of Arael's mind rape ability.

"Then I will give you a gift, Touji Suzuhara, to save you from your self-delusion, to save you from your lies," Kaworu said in a soothing voice, his smirk taking on an almost pitying nature. "I will show you the truth, dear Lilim, and the truth will set you free."

A blinding flash of light flared behind Touji's eyes, and the Sixth Child found himself once again within his mind, his mouth working up and down in horror as he witnessed the atrocities he had committed with his own two hands.

'I—I turned Kensuke into a Lost One, fought Tomoyami, destroyed a branch of NERV, nearly killed my friends as they tried to rescue me, self-destructed an EVA, and acted—as a demon. I…what kind of monster am I?'

"The very worst of all, the one that self-deceives," a soft and silky voice purred from all around, as the form of Siarl of the Seven Eyes stepped into view, half-hiding his face with one of his war fans.

"It's you…AUUGHHH!"

"Yes, me, the free man who is not free," the AIDA-Angel acknowledged with a mocking bow, looking on as the Sixth bent double in the throes of agony, torturing himself by attempting to reject of what he had done. "Is it not strange how some among the Lilim believe that the greatest of curses is to forget? This is nonsense, for the greatest curse that exists is to remember. To possess the knowledge of how you have wronged and have been wronged, and be unable to do anything about it—this is why the Lilim, having eaten of the fruit of knowledge, are fated to die, that you may forget—an act of mercy from the universe."

"But—"

"Ah, you don't want to die? You don't want to be killed?" the grey-haired youth asked with inquiring eyes, chuckling as he brought up one of his razor sharp war fans and slid it almost sensually against Touji's cheek, just barely drawing blood. "I must confess that I do not completely understand the terror inherent in the concept of death for the Lilim, though I am myself amused by how strongly they resist implacable fate."

A snap of Siarl's fingers and the jock gulped involuntarily, finding that he was unable to move, save to speak or look around helplessly.

"Stop, please, Siarl?" Touji whispered, his heartbeats thump-thump-thumping faster, faster, faster as the fight or flight response kicked in, his body triggering emergency reactions even while he stood frozen. "What do you want? Why are you doing th—AIYYEEE!"

Down and across blurred the war fan, in closed form piercing through the thin layer of flesh above the abdomen with a sickening squelch, then spread and pulled out in the way it had gone in—widening the wound.

"It's no use resisting, for everything in this space is bound by my will," the grey haired youth spoke in disdain, delivering a slash uncomfortably near the jock's groin. "Nor is it any use to ask what I want, as there is nothing that I wish from you, or from any other Lilim—except your lives."

"What? You're going to kill us all?" Touji spat, a great globule of saliva flying from his lips to land on Tabris' face, just above the Angel's eye. "Damn, why do all the EVA pilots have some kind of mental problem? Are you just some traitor to humanity or something?"

Without any obvious aggression, the grey-haired boy simply touched the place where the spit had settled, feeling the moisture, raising an eyebrow, and emitting a soft "hmph" as he did so.

"It is rather amusing that you should think me one of you, for indeed…I am the very opposite," he responded after a moment. "For you see, I am a son of Adam, the one your kind would call Tabris…the Seventeenth Angel. As for my motives…I have studied the nature and culture of the Lilim, your music, stories, beliefs, morals, illusions, and truths—finding them all trash to be discarded, veneers your species wears to deny their true malevolence."

Touji had been prepared for many things, perhaps to hear that Siarl was a spy of some kind, a psychotic serial murderer, or some other human threat, but to hear that Siarl was in fact an Angel stunned him into silence.

"Have no doubts, as we are speaking mind to mind," the unmasked Angel said, smirking dangerously. "I cannot lie here, and I did promise you the truth. I do not enjoy Lilim culture, Touji Suzuhara, as these pointless diversions are not to my taste. What I enjoy, like the AIDA that has infected The World, the artificial kingdom of the shadowed ones, are people themselves, the emotions that they show at things such as loss or betrayal, the way in which they struggle in their death throes. You see, the life of a Lilim is but excess, as each one only has value at the moment of death, when they look back on all that they have done and in doing so, judge themselves, a flicker of the divine that quickly fizzles out. It is that flicker that I enjoy."

"No…no…no…"

"Oh yes, for that is the answer to your question, Touji Suzuhara," the Angel affirmed, spreading his hands in a placating manner, a holy being of light speaking chilling words. "As you and your kind yearn for peace and the tranquility of a normal day, as you yearn for justice—I and mine live by feeding on this planet's light, existing as your anti-existence. Shall I speak of how we wakened after Second Impact, how the explosion of souls many called Hell brought us to life after millennia of sleep, when Lilith imprisoned us beneath the sea? The suffering of your comrades touched my heart, and called me from my own state of idleness."

The Angel of Free Will and Alternatives laughed, a hollow mocking laugh that echoed through the featureless expanse of the empty world, then spoke on.

"Perhaps you would think it to be in a distorted fashion," he said at last, "but in truth, no one loves the Lilim more than I. And thus, it is most appropriate for me to be your end. So, shall you and I play a game, Touji Suzuhara? Look upon yourself and tell me, are guilty…or not guilty?"

And then the shadows leapt out at him again, mocking, hissing, raping his mind with depictions of his failings and his many crimes.

'Traitor, killer, murderer. Selfish selfish selfish…begrudging, jealous, thief of love, thief of hope, thief thief thief, theft of glory, theft of friends, theft of talent, the burning of another's dreams, violation violation VIOLATION.'

Laughter, mocking laughter, echoing in the bleak expanse.

'Lecher, liar, libidinous fool. Scorned by friend, scorned by enemies, Concealing mortal lechery, concealing BASE DESIRE, GREED, AVARICE, violation violation VIOLATION, for lust for "love" for fraud, pain pain searing pain, MURDER MURDER, screaming out but voice is silent, windpipe ripped from throat as penance with burning gold, sublimating sublimations shadows all around encroaching, comes the fire, comes the fire, comes the fire VIOLATION.'

Laughter, mocking laughter, echoing in the bleak expanse.

'Failure failure failure, you are failure, failure to friends, failure to family, failure to self. Pissant peeved peasant trodden on the path, vermin of unusual girth, virus to the world. KILLING leeching warmth SELF-DESTRUCTION crimes, the scapegoat, crushed underfoot, malignancy, cancer to be excised in VIOLATION.'

Laughter, mocking laughter, echoing in the bleak expanse.

'Dirty, you are dirty, you are impure and must be cleansed, you must ATONE ATONE ATONE for every crime of man every victim every perpetrator of human treachery. Shadenfreude, delight in others suffering, taking opportunities meant for others, taking lives and taking risks, reveling in excess as a million souls cry out in VIOLATION.'

Laughter, mocking laughter, echoing in the bleak expanse.

'Feel the pain, feel the torment, feel the suffering of the masses. Feel the cancer, feel the seeping of emotion in the heart squeezed by iron fist, eyes gouged out by velvet gloves and popped like grapes between fingers, castration castrati immolation, searing flame emasculation snip snip snip, burn and cackle, crush and crackle sizzle pop of human flesh drip drip dripping vital oils juices internal organs bleeding out charbroiled o'er an open grill of madness and insanity, no choice but to lose control, lose reason, lose hope, to DIE to END THE VIOLATION MAKE IT STOP.'

Laughter, mocking laughter, echoing in the bleak expanse.

Silence, broken here and there by clip-clip-clip-clop of uneven pacing, and whoosh-phew of strangled gasping wheezing, senses failing, save for cursed cursed hearing.

"Do you have an answer, Suzuhara-kun?" a voice spoke once again, a smile in its tone. "The truth of whether you are guilty or not guilty?"

Pause.

"N-n-noo…uh…n-n-nooo…"

He tried to resist, to say anything but what Siarl wanted, but he found that his mouth would not work as he wished.

"G-G-Guilty…"

Released from Tabris' mind hold, the figure of Touji Suzuhara slumped to his knees, eyes glazed over, mind lost, lips shaping silently only the words "...Guilty…Guilty…Guilty…"

"Guilty, is it?" the Messenger of Free Will asked a final time, raising an eyebrow. "Since you have confessed the truth at last, let me give you freedom everlasting."

A silver streak rent the air, and the mental world dissolved, with the last thing Touji's eyes bore witness to the severed stump of his neck.

In the real world, Kaworu Nagisa stepped away from the cold (but physically whole) body of the Sixth Child, fading away with a dark chuckle of amusement. Moments later, the door slammed open, a medical team bursting into the room in response to the warning beeps and whistles of the monitoring equipment. They tried their utmost, using all their skill and training, but were unable to revive him, with Touji Suzuhara pronounced dead.

NERV had at last truly lost a Child, with the cause of death listed as fibrillation resulting in cardiac arrest. What they did not know was what induced this condition, as he had no outer wounds, and no strange chemicals were in his bloodstream, save for elevated levels of epinephrine and norepinephrine, seeming to indicate that he had literally been frightened to death.

Kaji's Residence

A dull thud echoed in the otherwise immaculate apartment, as a FMD slid nervelessly from Ryoji Kaji's fingers to his glass and metal desk, spinning twice before coming to a rest. While he usually took more care of his items, today had been unusually draining, even for the incredibly dogged man of action that some considered him to be. With the Battle of Net Slum coming hard on the heels of the EVA-03 incident (and his subsequent participation in the rescue detail dispatched to Matsushiro to search for survivors), flinging him into a battle for his life against the forces of an Angel, there had been no time to decompress and think about the implications of what had transpired.

But now, in the lull after the primal storm, there was, with the Agent sitting alone within his room, finding himself profoundly disturbed.

'AIDA, Angels, and EVA—what is the connection?' he mused to himself, puzzled as he drew out the connections. 'EVA is a copy of the First Angel Adam, as is appropriate from the name, supposedly restrained by the armor. But is it really bound? Does the mind of EVA reach out to the mind of a human? At least in the other berserker incidents up to now, it is…possible, if not entirely plausible that EVA-01 was acting under the control of its pilot, but not in this most recent battle, where the Unit projected energy lances from its arms. With that, combined with the damage to two of the three Units, I doubt that Committee will let this one slide, even if Ikari is the only cat's-paw capable of achieving their ends.'

Over the year, the rogue spy had found himself involved in some quite unsavory things in his search for the truth, having quite possibly committed more crimes than there were laws for while working for the people who had caused Second Impact.

'While the threat of the Angels is very real—Human Instrumentality is and was only ever a cover for SEELE's desire to control the world in one form or another, using NERV as its instrument. For they, like Commander Ikari, have a scenario that they wish to see fulfilled at any cost.'

Contrary to appearances, he knew that kind of individual well, as in some ways he was one himself, with even the prospect of death failing to deter him from his chosen path. But Second Impact and the ensuing events had already decided that for him, with chains of guilt compelling him towards the truth no matter what might happen.

As a man, he did not deserve to be happy, not after the betrayal he had committed in his teens, condemning his vagrant "family" of sorts to death at the hands of soldiers—soldiers who had let him go because it amused them. From that moment, Ryoji Kaji had considered his life forfeit, honing himself into an instrument of vengeance who could seek out the ones responsible for the root cause of his suffering—Second Impact—and foil their long term plans.

'And now,' the unshaven spy thought heavily, sagging into his chair as the tension bled away. 'At long last I have found some truths, particularly with the aid of the enigmatic Queen of the Dark, only to unearth more questions in the end. If it is Lilith that is down in Terminal Dogma, where is Adam, the embryo that I delivered to Commander Ikari? And for that matter, who is Helba, and what is her interest in NERV?'

Originally, Kaji had sought her aid out of necessity, as he required a hacker of extraordinary skill to balance the odds, someone whose interests were aligned with his and whose skills could match or beat any of the computer technicians at the agencies he worked for. He had not known much about her, save that she was exceptionally capable, that she was rumored to have been responsible for averting the Second Network Crisis, and that she likely lived in Japan, as she was known to be active on the Japanese Servers of The World.

'I did not think that she had a scenario of her own with NERV, or that she had already been keeping an eye on me, an oversight, I admit. It was her Agents that discovered me in The World, rescuing me from the threat of an AIDA(Helen) those many weeks ago—Agents named after the three components of the MAGI, and who resembled Dr. Naoko Akagi.'

The appearance of the Obsidian Knights had rung alarms in his mind, warning him that Helba might actually be someone closer to him than was initially thought. With that in mind, he had had drawn up several suspects for the identity of Helba: Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, Maya Ibuki, Makoto Hyuga, and Shigeru Aoba (as the four of them had convenient access to the MAGI at one point or another).

His investigations had later ruled out Akagi, as she was too deeply involved in Project E to have any time for a side job as an infamous hacker, despite her acknowledged skills, leaving the three bridge techs as the prime suspects, though he could not be sure which one, as each of them had their—quirks was perhaps the mildest way to put it.

'The later investigation of Yumi Aranami proved most enlightening, as the knowledge of her relationship with Maya Ibuki adds an interesting variable into the equation. As it is unlikely that Helba would openly consort with an associate in public, much less one known to be under investigation, it is likely that Maya Ibuki is in fact one of Helba's assistants, possibly even the one known as Bith the Black.'

That line of reasoning was one that actually made a good deal of sense, as Helba was one to use hints and misdirections into tricking people into believing she (or was it really a he, for even this much was unknown) was someone else. Of course Helba would have other people handling real world liaisons, as to involve herself personally would arouse too much suspicion.

'It would be out of character for Helba to involve herself so, and a spy or other professional in a field such as ours knows better than to break cover unless absolutely necessary.'

But even dismissing that as a concern, there were things that weighed heavily upon his mind, such as how someone seemed to be systematically eliminating the Children one by one, save for the Fourth, who had after all come directly from the Committee.

'Yes, the Fourth Child…he was associated with the Second Child before her collapse, was commonly seen in the company of the Sixth, and was on hostile terms with the Third and Fifth, who Helba has chosen as dothackers. His background bears looking into…'

The spy did so hope that the Committee would not order him to do something as foolhardy in the next few days, but even if so, he would accomplish what he set out to achieve.

'Perhaps I will pay a visit to the room of the First on the morrow, as rumor has it she has awakened from her coma.'

Commander Ikari's Office, NERV HQ

"Report, Lt. Ibuki," issued a neutral tone from a shadowy figure, a Machiavellian dictator lurking deep within the bowels of a chamber of secrets.

Like a spider at the center of a web of intrigues and misdirections, Commander Ikari sat within his inner sanctum, looking without emotion upon the figure standing before him as light flashed from his tinted orange sunglasses. If there was yet anything in his heart, his associates could not tell, so close the man played his cards to his chest, keeping all a mystery, even from his lovers and closest acquaintances.

Thankfully, Maya Ibuki was neither of these, though she had learned of some of his deepest secrets through her web of informants and her—side job (though one could argue that this was her side job, and her role as Helba was her actual identity). Unfortunately, this made her a little more uncomfortable in the presence of the Commander, as she was not one of the ones who usually reported directly to him, but with Dr. Akagi rather indisposed at the moment (with the bottle blond having been present at Matsushiro during the failed activation test), it fell to her as senior bridge officer to brief to man.

'I would almost prefer to be fighting off another wave of AIDA Monsters, as that would mean I stood within my domain, instead of being within Ikari's sphere of influence.'

"While Unit-03 was successfully destroyed, the damage done to Unit-02 was easily beyond the Henflick limit, with Unit-01's damage just below that due to regeneration while berserk," the mousy brunette summarized from the report she had prepared. "Of the three NERV units, only Unit-00 escaped undamaged, having left the battlefield prior to self-destruction of Unit-03."

'Just as expected of Tabris, to have plotted this out beforehand so that his unit was the only one remaining…'

"And the Children?" Commander Ikari asked unexpectedly.

Here at least, Maya did have some good news to report amidst the bad, even if she had recently been informed of an unpleasant development.

"The Third and Fifth Children remain in extremely critical condition, having yet to regain consciousness, and the Sixth has apparently expired from cardiac arrest, possibly a result of damage done while synchronized with EVA-03," the bridge tech said after a moment, meeting the Commander eye to eye. "However…there is a piece of good news."

"Yes?"

"At 2100 hours today, the First Child awakened from her comatose condition, with preliminary examination revealing slight amnesia," Maya Ibuki related, her face revealing only a simple note of muted happiness. "However, in all other respects, save for the expected physical deterioration, she is in good condition."

"Can she pilot?"

"There should be nothing preventing her from doing so," the bridge tech responded diplomatically.

"Ah," came the brusque reply, emotionless as always. "Then reconfigure the pilot data for Unit-01 to for the First. That will be all."

Without another word, Maya Ibuki turned to go, as in the darkness, Gendo's expression seemed almost vaguely pleased.

'With the awakening of the First, things may finally begin to return to the scheduled scenario…'

NERV Medical

As the long night wore on in the city of Tokyo-3, and vast mountains of paperwork were produced and dealt with a little at a time, one by one, the weary defenders of humanity finally dropped off to sleep. NERV as a whole was reeling from the most recent "Angel Attack", and once someone had explained just what had happened to the injured Misato (who was probably a secret masochist, for asking about this while she was injured), the Operations Director had groaned out loud, thinking of the report the Committee would probably demand over this, and then, wide-eyed, of her charge.

"EVA Unit 03? What happened to it?" the purple-haired Major had asked, with the staff telling her what they knew, namely that it had defeated Unit 02 before engaging Unit 01 and self-destructing.

"Is Shinji alright?" was her next question, though notably, their replies were more roundabout, telling her that he had lived, but refusing to say any more. When she had pressed the issue, the medical staff had forcibly sedated her, allowing the high-strung woman to finally rest and heal her wounds.

Seeing the fate of her colleague, Dr. Ritsuko Akagi had sensibly held her tongue, allowing the staff to treat her, briefly smiling when her assistant Maya had come by to visit and see if she was ok (with no way to know that the bridge tech had others to visit as well) before she went to sleep. But curiously enough, the last thing the bottle blond had seen before she fell asleep at last was a grey-haired youth peering impassively at the survivors of Matsushiro through the room's window.

'What is the Fourth Child doing here?'

For Kaworu Nagisa had indeed been wandering the halls after the…unfortunate occurrence in the Isolation Unit, meandering towards the room of the First Child, who he heard, had awakened from her coma. It was a curious state of affairs that the blue-haired vessel of Lilith's soul could have returned to awareness when none of the other Lost Ones had as of yet, and wishing to investigate this, the Angel of Free Will had entered her room after the staff had left.

Hearing only the steady rhythms of a sleeping Lilim, he had walked to the side of her bed, reaching out to stroke her cheek with the back of his fingers—only for the blue-haired girl to snatch his wrist from the air, her crimson eyes snapping open to glare into his.

'How very odd…' the Angel mused, suppressing the urge to wince as the grip on his wrist grew tighter and tighter with each passing second. 'Perhaps it is just the light, but the First's eyes seem tinged with another shade…'

"Hello…Tabris," the blue-haired girl said simply, a definite undertone of hostility present to those who knew her. "It is…unpleasant to see you here."

"Indeed it is, is it not?" Kaworu replied, pulling away with a smirk, his arm almost seeming to vanish from her grasp. "But then, is it not always unpleasant to face the truth. You have denied it once, but you are the same as me, here, as beyond the looking glass."

"Perhaps once we were similar, but never the same," the First answered icily, the intensity of her glare increasing, if anything. "For I am bonded to people by free will, while you…"

"Oh, I am also bonded to them," the Fourth filled in smoothly, giving her a mocking bow. "You might even say that I love the Lilim more than anyone else—"

"—even when leading them to their ends, Siarl?" the blue-haired girl questioned harshly. "Even when you use them, and discard them carelessly in your machainations?"

"Especially then, as I am only fulfilling what is fated to be," Kaworu said guilelessly. "Only a Lilim would try to avoid this primal law, fleeing from their inner natures, here or in the other world in which we are acquainted. Is this not truth?"

"The truth from your point of view, perhaps…Temptress Wielder."

Silence hung in the air as the two Children confronted one another, their wills warring against one another without a word, the world itself nearly frozen around them until—

Knock-knock-knock!

They were interrupted from their skirmish by three raps and a short cough, as the figure of Maya Ibuki looked in upon them from the open door.

"Nagisa-san, if you don't mind, I'd like a moment with the First Child, just to check up on her," the bridge tech said quietly, adopting the tones she was used to in her real world guise.

"…Certainly," Kaworu allowed, after a tense moment. It would not be wise to annoy a bridge officer, after all…at least, not yet. "By all means, Lt. Ibuki."

Without any of the usual pleasantries, the grey-haired youth departed, heading in the direction of the pyramid of NERV Headquarters.

"Well, he certainly overstayed his welcome," the mousy brunette commented with a small smile, turning a critical eye to the wide-awake girl on the bed. "And may I be the first to say 'Welcome to the World'."

Bridge Tech and First Child looked at one another warily for an instant, before the latter gave an impish smile with lips quite unused to the expression.

"You know, somehow, I thought you'd be taller," the blue haired girl noted with amusement, "What with your regal demeanor in the other world."

At this, the real world persona of the Queen of the Dark simply rolled her eyes—just as an unshaven man strode in, with his dashing lady-killer smile on his face.

"As did I…," Special Investigator Ryoji Kaji spoke, with one of those 'cat caught the canary' expressions on his face. "Though somehow, I'm not surprised to discover that you are the Dark Queen's…assistant, Bith the Black, since you have a pattern of working for powerful blonds."

'So very close you are, yet so very far…just like the Third Child.'

"Oh, I'm very sorry to disappoint," the mousy brunette replied, a note or two of sarcasm apparent in her voice, even as she glanced at the girl on the bed, bidding her to say nothing. At this stage in the operation, it would be…unwise, for most of NERV to discover the soul within the body of Rei Ayanami. "In any case, I take it that you wish to discuss several matters, including…last night."

"Indeed."

With a last nod to the First, the two prepared to go—just as a series of klaxons rang out, the sound of the Angel Alert pre-empting this, as Zeruel rose from the sea.

"Rei, you will be assisted to EVA-01, which you will pilot for this encounter," Maya Ibuki relayed as the relevant personnel came to move her to the cages and help her suit up. "The Fourth will pilot EVA-00."

"Acknowledged."