Chapter 5: Entwining

Even with all the effort I have spent in making sure that these Children are prepared for what comes, I still feel that I have done precious little to help. And even then, right now I can only prepare them against the threats that this world holds in store for them. Right now, only I can stand between this Earth, and what lies beyond.

Misato, irked by the alarm that inevitably went off every day, smacked the alarm clock until blessed silence reasserted its rightful reign. She dragged herself out of bed, stretching as she threw open the inner curtains of her room to allow the artificial light in, and began to pick out her uniform for the day.

After a moment, the continued silence puzzled her. Asuka was usually up and bouncing around by now, wasn't she? Especially now that she had Daniel to bounce off of, being the rock of patience that he was. She finished dressing and opened the door to the living room.

She began to call for Asuka, then stopped as she noticed the back of what appeared to be Daniel's head peeking out over the back of the couch. Her eyes narrowed and a grin slowly crept across her face. Didn't get enough sleep last night, did he? She crouched, and crept towards the back of the couch, silently as she could. She wondered how hard it was to get the jump on him. He was a tough enough guy, after all. He should expect the unexpected.

She reached the back of the couch, slowly standing and looming over Daniel, arms raised dramatically when she was stopped by the sight that greeted her.

In the crook of Daniel's arm, Asuka was curled up, sound asleep. A small, contented smile on her face, such a rare sight when it related to her, could not help but make Misato smile herself. Whatever had happened last night, it seemed, it had found Asuka in a far better mood than she usually had in the middle of the night. The sight was picturesque. Misato hardly wanted to disturb it.

So, before she did, she made her way around, noting the ginger beers thick with condensation, and made sure to take as many pictures of the cuddling duo as possible. This was just too good to pass up.

After she accomplished her quiet photoshoot, she approached and gently nudged Daniel's shoulder. He stirred after a moment, eyes cracking as he stretched slowly. "I hope we aren't going to be late," he said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, "because I don't think I got all the sleep I needed."

"And a good morning to you two," Misato said, her smile still evident on her face. "What got Asuka out on the couch?"

Daniel looked down as the fiery hair under his arm rustled with Asuka's stirring. A small smile came to his own face. "We came to an understanding last night." he replied quietly.

Misato waited for him to elaborate. When no elaboration was forthcoming, she straightened her shoulders, the smile on her face becoming a smirk. "Well, I wouldn't be surprised if that understanding includes 'I will allow myself to be beaten at every video game'."

Daniel chuckled. "Well, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if she asked that."

Asuka, having stretched and yawned cavernously, finally replied. "What, that I take my place as the rightful champion of our little tournaments?" The cocksure smile that she usually wore began to take its place on a tired, but happy face.

"However did you know?" Daniel said in mock surprise.

Asuka gave a haughty scoff, then turned to Misato. "So, chef, what's the menu for breakfast today?"

Misato drew herself up, placing her hands on her hips. "Well," she said with a prideful air, "I figured I'd fall back on a familiar classic. Gourmet toaster waffles, cereal with the finest whole milk, and freshly unwrapped muffins from the great baker of Aldi's."

Asuka rolled her eyes. "It's a little basic, but it still has the Misato touch we all know and love."

A round of laughter passed through the group, and the day started.

5 Months Later

That day passed into memory, much like every other did. It would be a cherished memory for all involved, and it marked the beginning of Asuka's healing with Daniel's help. Much as Daniel could help her though, some healing would be on her shoulders alone, and some would be helped only by someone far closer than Daniel would ever be to her. And he knew intimately how some scars would never heal.

Those thoughts were far from Daniel's mind, though, as excitement buzzed in the control room of the NERV Main Campus. Monitors glowed, displaying readouts that detailed a thousand different streams of data. Chatter passed from one station to the next, and the massive door on the east side of the Stahlturm was displayed on one of the massive monitors on the far wall.

On the main monitor, however, was the star of the show. It showed in a split-screen both Asuka, who waited without too much bouncing off the walls of the Entry Plug, and Unit-02 itself, now standing in the gantry tall and proud, covered completely in armor, gleaming in brilliant scarlet, orange and white, its pilot's Plugsuit painted in a similar style.

The room contained many of the different teams associated with the Unit's creation, and most all wore, in one form or another, a patch, ironed or sewn on or hanging on a lanyard, showcasing the face of the Unit, backdropped by flames, it's designation and date of commission, and across the bottom, the nickname it and its pilot had been given, the "Little Red Devil".

The chatter in the room reached a fever pitch as Commander Lutenhahl entered, stepping up to the raised command station, taking his place between Captain Katsuragi and Captain Theisman as he surveyed the sight of the Evangelion, prepped and ready to go. "Captains," he said after a moment of appreciation, "what's our status? Katsuragi?"

She turned to him, saluting. "Our pilot's ready and waiting sir."

Lutenhahl nodded. "Good. Theisman?"

Daniel turned as well, offering a salute. "Power distribution is nominal, and there aren't any structural weaknesses that have made themselves known in the inorganic materials. AT Field as it stands is nominal. Unit-02 is ready to go."

The commander nodded, raising his voice for the benefit of the rest of the control room staff. "Ladies and gentlemen," he said, pausing for a moment to ensure he would be heard, "we may not be the first Evangelion, but with your help, your dedication to every effort you have made thus far, you have helped make this Unit perhaps the one I will always be most proud of." A small smile broke the normally serious demeanor of his face. "Now, let's make sure we can defend humanity, shall we?"

Some scattered clapping presaged the control room attacking its preparations with renewed vigor. One of the minor techs announced the beginning of final preparations, as the cage surrounding the Unit finally fell away. "Gantry is entering final stages of release. Opening outer door."

Alarms flashed around the top corners of the massive door in the side of the Stahlturm as it slowly opened, the platform holding the Eva slowly coming to a rest just outside the door, the Eva itself seeming to gaze into the far distance.

As the platform came to rest, an operator spoke up from her station. "Egress complete. Attaching power supply."

Two massive cranes began to lift the massive plug, its thick cable snaking down into a receptacle in the earth. After 10 minutes of patient ascent, the plug secured itself with a deep clunk.

Daniel peered at a mirrored screen from one of the other consoles in the room, then turned to the Commander. "Power flow is stable, and interface is secure. She's as ready as she'll ever be."

Misato leaned towards a microphone on the console in front of her, pressing the transmit button beside her. "Alright, Asuka. Are you ready for the test to begin?"

. . .

Asuka leaned back in her seat, eyes closed. The smell of LCL that filled her nose and lungs was now one that was familiar to her. She listened to the thrum of the Unit around her. She had only been in the Plug of Unit-02 proper a few times before. She savored the time she had to simply listen to the thing that she would be piloting.

The voices over the comms prepping the Eva to launch were a white noise in the back of her mind. She was comfortable here. Whole, in a way that she felt she hadn't been in a long, long time. For how small and tight this space was, it filled a hole in her that seemed massive in comparison.

Then, Misato's voice cut through the meditative calm. "Alright, Asuka. Are you ready for the test to begin?"

She opened her eyes, focus, and barely contained excitement, filling them. "Misato, you know the answer to that as much as I do. Of course I'm ready."

Misato nodded, straightening and turning to look expectantly at Commander Lutenhahl. Before she could speak, Lutenhahl chuckled. "What are you waiting for me for? You have permission to begin the test. Launch the Eva."

Misato nodded, turning to look across the room. "Release the final locks! The test begins now!"

The final restraints fell away, and the Evangelion was free. Asuka gripped the controls tightly, excitement flowing through her like a live current.

Misato again leaned down towards the microphone. "Alright, Asuka, let's start slow. Just give us a good walking pace to start."

Asuka rolled her eyes in the Plug but began to concentrate on walking. The massive machine stepped off the platform and began to walk forward. It felt… natural. Even with her training, it was almost like she was never meant to be anywhere else except in this Plug. She continued her leisurely pace.

Daniel, meanwhile, kept a discerning eye on the number of displays that made their way across his monitor. The armor plates were flexing within normal parameters, synchronization was within acceptable ranges, and nothing seemed mechanically wrong.

The most interesting display was that of the AT Field monitor, showing the passive state which kept the Eva from falling prey to the Square Cube Law. It was an almost mesmerizing display, pulsing with colors that rippled across the wire-frame representation of Unit-02.

After a moment, Asuka's voice rang through the control room, the main monitor showing the quickly growing boredom on her face and the hidden excitement in her eyes. "Permission to run?"

With a bemused smile on her face, Misato turned to Daniel. "So, how many miles of power cable do we have?"

Daniel chuckled. "I was expecting this, you know, " he said, as he leaned over to the mic in front of him, patching through to Asuka. "You've got about 12 kilometers of cable available. Just try not to tangle it up too much."

A grin nearly split Asuka's face, as she prepared to accelerate. A walk became a jog, and soon, Asuka settled into the wavelike motion of the sprinting pace she had settled into. She was alive here. The Evangelion sang to her in a way that she could not deny, and there was nothing that could pull her away from this now. If this was her life, all the better.

She let out a wild whoop as she continued her mad dash across the slight hills of Germany, and the control room laughed and clapped with her. There was no doubt about it. The Evangelion Unit-02 was ready to go.

February 28th, 2015

Life continued, and soon, NERV-2 celebrated the start of a 2015 that seemed full of promise. Further tests were made, and Unit-02 was hardly found wanting. Life was good for the trio of Daniel, Misato, and Asuka.

So it was with a heavy heart that Asuka and Daniel stood at the airport, preparing to say their teary-eyed goodbyes to an anxious Misato.

"I understand why you're leaving," Asuka said, her face full of frustration, "but did they really have to transfer you all the way to Japan?"

Misato, misty-eyed herself, put her hand on Asuka's head. "I'll make sure and call, and stay in touch in other ways. You're set up at Daniel's place, right?"

Asuka nodded. "Yeah, for the whole two weeks that I'm without a guardian. I don't understand why Daniel couldn't just be my guardian."

Misato and Daniel shared a glance, then Daniel spoke up. "Neither do we, Asuka, but we can be assured that at least someone will be looking out for you. And at least I'm still here."

Asuka nodded, trying to hide an errant sniffle. "Yeah, I guess that's true. I can still kick your butt six ways to Sunday if I wanted to."

Everyone shared a chuckle, then the system called that Misato's flight was boarding. The chuckle died.

Misato wrapped both of them in a quick hug. "Like I said. I'll keep in touch. And besides, it won't be that bad. I'm sure we'll all see each other again at some point."

Daniel resisted the urge to speak up and say just how right she would probably be, and contented himself with waving as Misato turned and boarded her plane. Asuka waved as well, all the way until Misato was out of sight.

With a sigh, Asuka turned to Daniel. "Well, now I'm properly bummed. Do we at least know who's replacing her?"

Daniel nodded. "A little. His name is Ryoji Kaji. He's actually coming over from Japan, seems like he's been a part of NERV for a little while at least."

Asuka rolled her eyes as they began walking back to the car, which Misato graciously loaned to Daniel for the duration. "Great, a swap. I hope he's not boring, at least."

Daniel remained silent. Depending on what happened in the near future, boring would be the last thing Kaji would be.

"Well," Daniel said after a moment of silence, "at least it's an opportunity to meet someone new, regardless of whether you like them or not."

Asuka looked up at him with a deadpan glare. "I adore your delightful optimism." she said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

They reached the car and made their way back to Daniel's flat, and the X360 that awaited both of them.

Even with their duties, the weeks leading up to Kaji's arrival flew by in a haze of Evangelion maintenance, video game sound effects, and Bundaberg ginger beer. So, two weeks later, Daniel and Asuka found themselves at the airport once again, waiting for the airplane to dock again. Asuka had brought along a portable console, and was busy whittling away at the game she played, brow furrowed in concentration.

The plane docked, and passengers began to disembark. Both Daniel and Asuka scanned the oncoming crowd, looking for whomever Kaji might be.

Daniel spotted him first. He was surprisingly disheveled for someone who worked at NERV, even for having just got off a red-eye flight from Japan. He wore a black button-up shirt, undone at the top two buttons, a loose blue tie hanging around his neck. Black slacks and sporty black shoes topped off a look that screamed out casualness.

He wore his dark hair long and in a ponytail, incidentally mirroring Daniel, who had let his own hair grow out in the years he had been in Germany. Kaji scanned the area with surprisingly discerning blue eyes, eventually spotting them and starting to make his way over.

"I think that's him," Daniel said, nudging Asuka and pointing out Kaji. As she looked where he pointed, her gaze shifted from boredom to annoyance, and then to a wide-eyed wonder as she seemed unable to take her eyes off of him. Daniel recognized exactly what that look meant. Asuka was smitten.

"Well, hello there. I'm Kaji Ryoji," Kaji said in a relaxed, easy tone as Daniel and Asuka stood to greet him. Asuka continued to stare, while Daniel reached out a hand.

"Pleasure to meet you, Kaji," he said as Kaji took his hand in a firm grasp. "I'm Captain Theisman. You can just call me Daniel. Asuka and I are looking forward to working with you."

He looked to his side and found Asuka still wide-eyed at the sight of Kaji. "Asuka," Daniel said, nudging her with his elbow, "don't be too terribly rude. Introduce yourself."

Asuka jumped, an almost concealed "eep" escaping her throat before her eyes went from wide to leery. "Well, it's good to meet you too, I guess." She stretched out her hand, and Kaji shook it politely, shooting a glance at Daniel.

Daniel shook his head. "She's not usually this wary. She's just not used to not having Misato around."

In the noise of the busy airport, Daniel almost missed hearing Kaji's breath hitch for just a moment, or how his eyes widened slightly at the mention of Misato's name. But only almost.

"Misato Katsuragi, huh? That's a name I haven't heard in a while," Kaji said, appearing to quickly regain his composure. "I hope she's doing alright. Shall we get going?"

"Of course," Daniel said, noting how quickly he changed the subject, "Let's get you settled in."

The car ride back to the Stahlturm was somewhat uncomfortable and mostly taken in silence. Asuka, however, was curious. "So, how do you know Misato?" she asked as they passed into the Stahlturm proper.

"Well," Kaji said after a moment to collect his thoughts, "We knew each other in college. Had a hell of a fling."

He smiled distantly, seeming to recall happier days. "Misato broke it off, though, and went to South America afterward, last I heard. It was her choice though, and I respect that." he ended off with a shrug.

Asuka nodded, clearly unsatisfied with her answer. "All right, then."

They reached Asuka and Kaji's apartment soon after, and Kaji breathed deeply, taking the place, his belongings in the corner of the living room. "Well, I got to say, for a place as cramped as this can be, I'm surprised at how spacious it is."

"Yes. Well, you probably need some time alone to get settled in," Daniel said, looking at his back with an appraising look. "Unless you'd like Asuka's help?"

"No, no," Kaji quickly responded, waving a hand and turning around. "I should be fine just by myself, and it looks like Asuka needs a little more time before we become attached at the hip."

Asuka rolled her eyes at this. Daniel simply nodded. "Well, we'll give you some space then. Asuka will be back here at the end of the night."

Kaji nodded. "I'll see you tonight then."

And so, Asuka and Daniel left Kaji alone in the apartment to unpack. Before he started, Kaji took another deep breath. "It still smells like you, Misato." He said this as a simple matter of fact when his heart knew it went much deeper than that, however much he hesitated to admit it.

While Kaji focused on settling in, Asuka and Daniel went to perhaps one of the rarest, most out-of-place locations in the Stahlturm: a McDonald's. The fast-food chain had only survived Second Impact and the resulting Impact Wars by the skin of its teeth.

It was because of this oddity that Daniel chewed thoughtfully on a Big Mac while Asuka finished off her own hamburger. He looked at Asuka intently, then looked around to ensure they were sufficiently in private. After he was satisfied by the privacy they had been given, and with a small smile crossing his face, he spoke with all the delicacy of a thrown brick. "You totally have a crush on him."

Asuka had the grace to not inhale the last piece of her hamburger but still coughed anyways, an indignant look replacing whatever was there before. "What the hell? Why do you say that?"

A knowing smile made its home on Daniel's face. "Because I am very good at reading people. And you, my friend, were an open book with a massive font. You were smitten the moment you laid eyes on him!"

Asuka drew herself up, utterly affronted. "No!" she said indignantly.

A moment of silence passed across the table as Asuka then slouched down a little and uncharacteristically blushed. "Well, maybe." she muttered.

Daniel chuckled, the smile shrinking but not disappearing. "Don't worry, you and I will be the only ones who know. And, being good at reading people, I'm also fairly certain of the read I got on Kaji."

Asuka leered at Daniel. "And what, exactly, would that be?"

Daniel's face became serious as he considered what to say. "Well, he still isn't over Misato. He's kind of sad that he's missed her, and he dances around talking about her because it still hurts that she left." he said thoughtfully.

Daniel paused, and Asuka's face grew a thoughtful expression.

Daniel continued after a moment. "Misato also danced around mentioning him too often, too. She'd get close sometimes, but..."

His eyes gleamed as he continued. "I think they're in the same boat, always dancing around each other but afraid to commit because they're afraid of getting serious with each other."

Asuka nodded, all the fire she'd stoked against Daniel having gone out. She cupped her chin in a rare overt display of thoughtfulness. "Well, when you say that, it actually makes a lot of sense. Based on what we've both seen, you from Kaji and you and I from Misato, they both obviously had a past, and they enjoyed it. But then something happened. If we get to the bottom of it..."

Asuka went silent for a moment, then a smile slowly grew on her face as she came up with an awful, wonderful idea. Daniel couldn't help but notice this. "And what do you have spinning around in that college grad mind of yours?" he asked with a sly smirk.

Asuka nodded, having apparently put the final touches on her master plan. "If we get to the bottom of it, and help them resolve it, they can not feel any guilt in finally getting together!" She put a fist to an open hand, obviously resolved to do this.

Daniel's eyebrows went up in surprise. That was a twist. When he spoke next, surprise and respect were evident. "Asuka Soryu-Langley, you are utterly devious, you know that?"

Asuka preened. "Look at me, Daniel. I graduated in the top 20 of my class at the University of Neue Berlin. At 14 and a half. That sort of intelligence just comes with the bonus of being good at being devious."

A serious, sad look entered her eyes as she continued. "And besides, I want Misato to be happy. Truly happy. Not just content with drowning her sorrows and stress every day, mumbling little secrets to me while she's half passed out on the couch. I care for her too much for that."

Daniel nodded. "I do too. Which is why you've got an accomplice in me." Before Asuka could speak, Daniel raised a finger. "However, our little plan is going to be very hard to pull off when they're halfway across the world from each other."

Asuka deflated somewhat as he said this, then became thoughtful again. "You're right, of course. This might take some time and a healthy dose of luck. But I'm not giving up on it."

Daniel nodded. "Good, because I'm not either. Who knows, we might get a chance to go to Japan, and…"

He glanced up at the television hanging on one wall, playing the evening news, which was covering a breaking story. "That might be sooner than we might think."

Asuka turned to look at the TV as well. "Why do you say that?"

Daniel said nothing, allowing the reporter to speak for him.

"Earlier today, the Prime Minister of Japan spoke on his decision to call an emergency situation into effect for the area around Tokyo-3. He thanked the United Nations for lending its support during such a "critical time." No news on why the emergency situation was declared was forthcoming during the conference, and the Prime Minister declined to speak with us further. For a deeper insight on this, we turn to our Japanese correspondent…"

The TV continued while Daniel turned back to Asuka after looking around once again to ensure their privacy. "That's a NERV protocol for protecting sensitive information from the general public. You were asking how I knew we would be going to Japan soon. Call it a gut feeling."

Daniel glanced at the time after a moment of silence. 19:24. "Well," he said, "we should probably get you back with Kaji. Heaven knows there's no time to start working on our little love scheme like the present."

Asuka responded to the amused glimmer that appeared in Daniel's eyes with her own. "That is an excellent point. I should be able to pack up and have everything back by 2100 if we start now."

Daniel nodded. "Excellent. Let's go."

After packing everything up from Daniel's flat, they made their way back to Kaji, who answered the door in much the same outfit, sans tie. "So," Kaji said, "You ready to go, Asuka?"

Asuka nodded, a polite smile on her face. "Certainly. I look forward to getting to know you better." She turned to Daniel and gave him a quick hug. "See you later, Daniel."

Daniel returned the hug, holding for a few seconds before letting go. "See you, Asuka." He turned to Kaji. "Your packet is on the table, right?"

Kaji nodded. "Yep. Has everything I need in it. Thanks for the warm welcome," he said, extending his hand towards Daniel.

Daniel accepted it. "Never a problem. Welcome to NERV-2."

Kaji nodded, and the door closed.

Daniel made his way home, taking his shoes off and heading for the couch, turning on the TV, and grabbing the report he put on the table as he and Asuka packed up. He flipped through it as he leaned back on the couch. It was nothing special, mostly maintenance reports he already saw every day, but one thing in particular someone else had noticed and flagged for him was that LCL storage was always reading as somewhat lower than it should be. Someone was apparently helping themselves to NERV-2's supply of LCL.

Daniel arched his eyebrow as he scanned the careful record printed to verify this statement. LCL was useless here outside of very specific applications. Why would anyone here want NERV's LCL? Unless…

No. He had to see for himself before he came to that conclusion. He would have to investigate this LCL theft himself.

But first, he would have to get some sleep. It had been a busy day, and Asuka keeping him up playing video games over the last two weeks hadn't helped matters. So, he turned the ignored TV off and made his way to bed.

In the days and weeks after the news broadcast, the staff of NERV got the official news. After 15 years, the Angels, one of whom had caused Second Impact, had returned to Earth and were targeting Tokyo-3 specifically. The news shocked most, but Daniel passed it off as an afterthought. After all, Angels were not the strangest, or most dangerous, things he had seen in his lifetime.

But such was the case for many, and one in particular. Shinji had called soon after the first Angel attack. Naturally, he had questions.

"So, Daniel," Shinji started at the beginning of one of their phone calls, "how did you know about the Angel? About AT Fields? About the Eva? Why did you hide these things from me?"

Daniel sighed. He had a right to know. But the knowledge, all of it, or even most of it, given now, would put him in indescribable danger. Daniel knew he had to tread carefully.

"Well, Shinji," he said after a moment of deliberation, "I was involved with NERV even when I was with you growing up. I got a lot of information about what had happened at Second Impact, what the Angels were supposed to be, and I even snuck out some information concerning the Evangelion."

A pause. "Don't… don't tell your dad about that one, would ya?"

Shinji answered immediately. "Of course. Not like I plan on going out of my way in talking to him anytime soon."

Daniel couldn't help but wince. "I assume that didn't go well then?"

Daniel could feel the bitterness in Shinji's voice dripping out of the receiver. "I'm just a pilot. A tool! All Father sees when he looks at me is how well I can pilot the Eva. There's no love, no desire to reconnect, nothing. He doesn't love me."

Shinji's voice grew quieter. "He doesn't love me." he repeated, sorrow evident in its creeping in.

Daniel didn't bother trying to keep the concern out of his voice. "Hey. Don't get down on yourself just because your father is a fool. You are loved. I love you. Don't forget that, okay?"

There was silence on the other end of the line. "Thank you, Daniel."

"Always, Shinji." Daniel paused for a moment, then continued. "Have you met Misato yet?"

A slightly worried chuckle came over the line. "Well yes, I actually have. She speaks fondly of you. Says that she misses you and… Asuka from time to time?"

Daniel nodded in understanding. "Yes, Asuka. She's the pilot of Unit-02. You might meet her one of these days. She's… quite the character."

"I don't doubt it." Shinji replied with a chuckle.

An extended silence from Shinji came as a muted voice that could only belong to Misato made itself apparent in the background. Shinji came back to the call momentarily. "Alright, I have to cut it short. Misato wants me to make dinner. She sends her regards to you and Asuka."

Daniel chuckled. "I'm sure she appreciates your cooking more than even the best thing she could microwave."

Laughter came from both ends of the line. "Alright," Daniel said after it had died down, "go make dinner. I'll talk to you later."

Shinji hesitated for a moment. "Thanks. And… I love you." It seemed like he found it strange to say, but liked it nonetheless.

Daniel smiled. "I love you too, Shinji. Bye." The line went dead.

. . .

Sighing, Daniel pocketed the phone and turned back to where he was, which was the cramped, dim room that was LCL storage. It wasn't hard to siphon LCL from this place, Daniel thought, if you could get here. After getting past camera networks and guards and locks of all sorts, this room had a lot of places to hide, only two cameras guarding the way in and out, and few security measures in place to alert others of undue draining.

Daniel shined a flashlight in the room, the beam of light cutting through the dimness of the quietly gurgling, bubbling room. There were no physical signs that were readily evident to him, so Daniel used the power his Interfacing gave him, and slowly sharpened his senses, the power of his soul strengthening his body and mind. He scanned the area with eyes far superior to those of any animal in this world.

As he did so, he eventually noticed an errant handprint, seemingly left in haste on one of the containers. It didn't appear too smudged, but a handprint on a single container could mean anything. Luckily, he had his ways of finding out who it may have belonged to.

Standing in front of it, and holding his hand out to it, he began to will the latent Metos, the latent energy of the soul, within him to become focused, directed. Then, he got to work creating a Framework for the Expression he wanted to use.

It would be a simple thing, really. All the Frame, and thus the Expression, needed to do was act as a sort of signal booster, strengthening the link between an anchor, in this case, the handprint, and the soul of the person who left it. It wouldn't make too much Flux, which would be nice in keeping the Expression working for a little while. But the handprint as an anchor would not last, and it would not be strong enough for more than basic questions and answers. But it would work, for now.

The Framework completed, it glowed briefly in the physical world, before fading away. The handprint then began to glow, as Daniel's Expression activated. He closed his eyes and focused.

He saw in his mind a sphere, glowing with rippling colors, reminding him offhandedly of the AT Field monitor. Refocusing, he asked his first question to the sphere. "Who are you?"

The sphere pulsed, sending ripples of purple and green, a slight, nasally male voice answering. "Tavis Farhaven."

Now that didn't sound too local to this Earth, did it? Daniel asked again. "Are you from this world?"

The sphere pulsed again, a combination of blue and orange rippling around it. "No."

Daniel wondered. It made sense that they would be able to sneak past everything. They were probably Interfaced like he was. His mind continued to wander for a moment. He did not like the direction it was going in. The link was fading fast, too. He only had time for a few more questions.

So Daniel continued his interrogation. "Do you belong to any groups?"

The sphere pulsed red and white this time. "Yes."

A sense of dread began to build in his chest. He had time to ask one more question. After that, the anchor would be useless in maintaining the connection. With great trepidation, he asked his last question. "Which groups do you belong to?"

The sphere pulsed black. "The True Scions of Unity."

Daniel severed the connection before it could fade, stumbling back to rest against one of the LCL containers, his heart pounding in his ears as he struggled to breathe. They were here. A splinter group, perhaps, but they were here. Suddenly Gendo Ikari, SEELE, even the Angels weren't the greatest threat to this world. But he couldn't act now, and he could not act brazenly.

Daniel took deep breaths as he steadied himself. Regardless of the extrauniversal nature of its thieves, he still had to report the thefts to Commander Lutenhahl. But in a little while, when he was ready. He made his way to the door and quickly made his way to somewhere, anywhere private.

The weeks passed into months. As the weeks went by, Unit-02 and its pilot underwent an escalating series of readiness tests, ostensibly in the event that Germany was attacked in much the same fashion as Tokyo-3.

As time, and two more Angel attacks, proved, however, their focus seemed to be entirely on Japan. Soon, Daniel received the news, entirely unofficial at this point, that the Human Instrumentality Committee was considering sending Unit-02 to Japan to support Unit-01.

As Daniel entered Commander Lutenhahl's office, that consideration had become an order, and in addition to Asuka and Kaji going, of course, Daniel and much of his support staff, familiar with the workings and idiosyncrasies of Unit-02, would be going as well. The only question left to be answered then was how.

Lutenhahl stood, smiling at Daniel as he entered. "Daniel," he said, the both of them now on a comfortable first name basis after a particular night at the Zeitverschwendung, "I understand you have some ideas as to how we'll be transporting Unit-02 to Tokyo-3."

"That I do, Karl," Daniel replied, the both of them sitting at Lutenhahl's desk, and Daniel producing a packet of papers, opening and leafing through them.

"It boils down to two possible solutions. Both are comparable in length, the one real difference being choosing how much land we want to cover."

Lutenhahl nodded his understanding. "Go on."

Daniel cleared his throat before continuing. "Our first option is to use the Trans-Siberian Railway. We'll need to airlift the Unit about a third of the way, but the rest of the track is rated for the load-bearing requirements we need to transport an Evangelion. From there, it's a straight ride to the Bering Strait, where we load her onto a suitably sized ship and sail down to Japan."

Lutenhahl nodded as he smiled slightly. "The UN Task Fleet has been… graciously put forward, shall we say, to be our escort for overseas transport. And the vessel you're probably thinking of would be the Over the Rainbow. It's an Iris-class Supercarrier, first of her class. It'll be the only thing that has the tonnage and the weight displacement for our needs. And our other option?"

Daniel nodded, then continued. "Our second option involves a much longer sea journey, but a much shorter air journey. Simply put, we'll have the Task Fleet meet us at Lisbon, and after we've airlifted her there and loaded her onto the Over the Rainbow, we can look forward to about a month's journey that has to go around the Cape of Good Hope. We would use the Suez Channel, but there are just too many ships that would have to go through if we're being escorted by the U.N."

Lutenhahl nodded, pondering for a moment. "So, we're looking at a sizable journey either way. It's whether we want the majority over land or sea."

He continued to quietly think before he seemed to reach a conclusion. "As much as I'm sure he'll be irked by how we'll make Siberian grain shipments a little late, I'm sure I can talk to the Russian foreign minister, convince him of our need. We'll take the overland route."

Daniel nodded. "Very well, Karl. My team has already drawn up some specifications for the railway cars we need. They shouldn't be too hard to produce, what with how dependent Russia seems to be on the Trans-Siberian for almost everything now."

Lutenhal nodded in turn. "You and your team get on that, Daniel."

He sighed heavily. "In the meantime, I'm going to engage in perhaps the most annoying part of this job."

They both stood, and as they did, Daniel glanced down at Lutenhahl's desk.

To the side, he noticed a document partially hidden away, its title being written in at least three different languages that all seemed to say "Human Instrumentality Project". Attached to the front page of the document was a small picture, one of what looked like a younger, happier Karl Lutenhahl and his family.

Lutenhahl saw where he gazed, the friendly light in his eyes slowly dimming. "Do you know what that is, Daniel?"

An uneasy silence filled the room before Daniel responded. "Yes."

As he turned to walk away, Lutenhahl asked another question, deathly quiet now. "Do you know what must happen for it to succeed?"

Daniel, his back to Lutenhahl and already suspecting what seemed to be the inevitable now, answered simply. "Yes."

Another moment of silence swept into the office. It was disturbed only by the quiet click of a pistol's safety turning off.

"Then you know I can't allow you to leave this room alive, Daniel."

Daniel slowly turned and saw the Beretta aimed at his head, steady as a rock. But he could also see the conflict in Lutenhahl's eyes. So he decided to speak carefully.

"Karl," he started in a calming tone, raising his hands placatingly, "just put the gun down and we can talk about this."

Lutenhahl's voice was drained of any emotion, seeming to leave him on autopilot. "You don't understand. Not like I do. Second Impact, the Impact Wars? They took everything from me. They left me a broken shell of myself ready to just end it all to reunite with my family. Then the Committee, then SEELE, came to me and offered me salvation. They offered me a chance to reunite with my family in a way that was impossible before. I can't let you take that from me."

Daniel continued in his calming voice. "I do understand, Karl. I do. I've lost family, and other people that I love too. I know the pain you're feeling, how you just want it to stop. But SEELE can't offer you your family. They can only offer an illusion."

Lutenhahl began to tremble slightly, anger edging its way into his voice. "And how do you know that? SEELE wants to make things right again. They've promised a paradise after this plan comes to pass. How can you dispute that if you've never seen it?" He was shaking harder now.

Daniel lowered his hands slowly. "Because I have seen it, Karl."

Lutenhahl's eyes widened, the aim of his gun dipping for just a moment from the shock that made itself evident.

"How?" he asked, his voice now a strangled whisper.

Daniel took a second. Doing what he was about to do was going to be slightly tricky here on the spot in Karl's emotional state, but it would be the only way to convince him.

So, in the moment's silence that followed, he connected his soul lightly, perhaps tenuously, to Lutenhahl's with a simple Expression.

Daniel looked into Lutenhahl's eyes. He was afraid. Daniel couldn't blame him. "Look into my eyes, Karl. Look and see."

And as Karl Lutenhahl did so, Daniel showed him what would happen at the end of the world.

In the physical world, it took only a moment, but Lutenhahl saw and comprehended far more with his soul than Daniel could ever express with simple words. After he was finished, Daniel ended the Expression, and Lutenhahl lowered his gun, not caring as it slipped out his hand to clatter briefly on his desk.

Then, he slowly sank into his chair, taking his head with his hands as sobs soon wracked his body. Daniel slowly went to his side, placing a hand on his shoulder to support his friend.

After many minutes, Lutenhahl finally seemed to find his voice. "It was all so quick. I wasn't even there for them. My dear Sofia. Leon, and Albert. My darling Anna…" More sobs, as tears hit the desktop. "I want to see them again. At least to tell them I'm sorry…"

Daniel sat in silence as his friend released what seemed to be the better part of a decade's worth of sorrow, rage, and guilt.

After a while, the sobbing stopped, and Lutenhahl turned, his eyes red and puffy. "So, will I ever truly see them again, Daniel?"

Daniel shook his head. "There are ways, Karl. But this is not one of them. Like I said, and as you saw, it would be nothing but a dream if Instrumentality came to pass. And SEELE would have license over such things."

Karl shook his head, a hard look in his eyes. "I can't allow that. They have to be stopped. All of them."

Daniel squeezed Lutenhahl's shoulder. "And they will be stopped. But now is not the time. We have the Angels to deal with first."

"And besides," he said as he let go of Karl's shoulder and circled to the front of his desk, "there are now far more dangerous groups here than SEELE. People with my sort of power, and very little moral compunction to get in the way of using it for their own ends."

Lutenhahl looked up, desperation evident in his eyes now. "Then what do we do?"

Daniel put up a placating hand. "For now, we wait and carry on. Such groups as I have mentioned are content moving in the shadows, letting the story play out for now. As such, we will leave them be for the moment. Find them and watch them, yes, but keep our distance in doing so."

"In the meantime, however," he continued, "there's this world's problems to deal with. And a great way to start," he said, looking back to the document, "is if you allow me to copy that."

Karl nodded after a moment. "Very well. I understand well enough the need for covering our tracks, and for making sure that there's evidence and a way to make a game plan. I'll get it copied and sent to you."

Daniel nodded and stood to leave. "Excellent. Thank you, Karl," he said, reaching out and gripping Lutenhahl's shoulder. "And you're sure that we aren't being watched?"

Lutenhahl nodded. "Much as it pains the Magi technicians, I've made sure that this is one of the few places that has no continuously active surveillance by the system. Nobody else knows what happened here."

Daniel nodded grimly, then chuckled. "Nothing quite like secret combinations to end the day, is there Karl?"

A small chuckle escaped Karl's throat as an unsteady smile came to his face. "No. No, I can't disagree. As I said, I'll get the document in question copied and sent to you securely. Then I'll get on with preparations for transporting Unit-02."

Daniel gave his own smile. "I'll let you get to it, then."

He turned again and made his way to the door of the office, then turned. "Karl… if you ever need someone to talk to… you know where I am."

"That I do, Daniel," Commander Lutenhahl said. "That I do."

Next Time on Apotheosis Echo...

Unit-02 makes its way to the battleground of Tokyo-03, and those involved with the Evangelion slowly begin to come together, including those hidden thus far. Who truly is Eleanor? And how long has she really been here? Next Episode: Convergence.