Chapter 10: March of Angels (Rear Echelon)

Then Sahaquiel. The Angel from beyond. An attack now, from a being on high carrying the name of a messenger of God, was quite the capstone to many different revelations to people here. Whether or not they acted on those revelations as they came? Well, that depended on the person, of course. Some had the beginnings of a change of heart, while some ran from such a thing for a little while longer.

Tokyo-3, October 2015

It was a cold, blasted hellscape that awaited Misato Katsuragi. She stirred in the dream, forcing her eyes open, and looking up at the face of her father. Her father. This one hurt. It always did.

They were both bloody messes, backlit by a hellish orange light and bent over by the massive wind coming from… God? The Devil? Something else? Nevertheless, it was a gargantuan figure seemingly composed of white light, black voids carving holes into where its eyes and the center of its chest should be. As they walked, one phrase echoed in Misato's mind. We have to get away. We have to get away. We have to get away. We have to get away.

Misato's vision faded in and out, and next she knew, she was gently laid down into the pod that would ensure her survival. She always hated what came next. But as she opened her eyes, and slowly turned to look at her father's face for the last time again, fear became a knife that stabbed into her heart.

In her father's place, she saw Kaji, similarly bruised and battered. He smiled slightly as he closed the doors of the pod amidst a gale of wind. From his lips came silent words, as a now-grown Misato desperately pounded at the doors, screaming for Kaji to not be here, be anywhere but here. What was he saying? What did her father say that day? She didn't know, she desperately wanted to know, and she had never wanted more than anything in the world at this very moment.

The world outside began to glow even brighter in orange, and soon the light encompassed everything. The Light was everything. Its Light. Its roar that seemed to shatter the sky around it, the very ice and metal. And with a thunder greater than any mere explosive could produce, and a shockwave wall of white and grey steel, she was swept away. He was swept away.

And as she opened the pod to look at the twin pillars of baleful light that stretched into the sky, a banshee howl accompanying them, she finally woke up, a thunderstorm's rumblings a distant echo of the furious noise in her dream. She wiped the tears from her eyes, as she always did when such dreams came, but as she prepared for the day, she looked not only at her scar, a finger gently crossing its length, but also at an old picture.

It was a picture from college. Happier days when the people in the picture smiled more and worried less. In it, a candid Misato was wrapped in Kaji's arms, Ritsuko by her side. All of them smiled. But now, looking at it, she only became confused. Why was Kaji appearing in her dreams? Why did she think of him so often now? Hadn't she moved on? Or was she still the same Misato who fell head over heels for him so long ago, simply buried by guilt and shame and...?

Right now, the answers to those questions didn't matter to her just yet. They could wait a little while longer.

The thunderstorm that had been sweeping through the south coast of Japan had become quite the nuisance for the residents of Tokyo-3, drenching anyone unlucky enough to be caught in it. Among those unfortunates were Toji and Kensuke, who had the great luck of being close to Misato's apartment.

As they quickly came inside on the invitation of Shinji, they took the towels proffered with no small amount of gratitude. "Man, you are a lifesaver, Shinji." Toji said. "I mean, who else can we count on to so reliably get us out of the rain?"

Shinji chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Oh, come on, you guys. Anyone else could have given you a second inside and a few towels."

"Well, Shinji," Kensuke said, "anyone else just isn't you." He looked around for a moment. "Say, where's Ms. Katsuragi?"

Shinji shrugged. "She's been pulling a lot of all-nighters. She's probably still asleep."

Kensuke nodded sagely. "Ah," he said in a low voice, "then we should let her get her sleep. She has a lot of important duties after all."

The washroom door slid open partially, revealing a damp Asuka who glared at the three boys. "And what exactly are you doing here?" she said with no small amount of annoyance, and volume.

"Will ya keep it down?" Toji said in a strangled voice.

Shinji simply looked at her. "Well, they're staying out of the rain, Asuka."

Asuka sniffed. "Yeah, sure. You two are probably only here because you're hoping for some more photos, I bet! If either of you try and peek, you're dead men."

She closed the door dramatically as Toji and Kensuke rolled their eyes. "As if we didn't learn from the last time she caught us being distributors." Toji said derisively.

Kensuke sighed. "I still don't know why she's so full of herself. Even if she has saved the world multiple times."

Shinji simply looked thoughtful and remembered back to before Israfel. There was something more to her, something that she didn't want others to see, like Daniel had said. He thought about that moment often. So why did he, of all people, get to see that side of her?

His train of thought, along with the brief silence that followed the little encounter with Asuka, was disrupted as the door to the living room slid open, revealing Misato. The three kids looked over in various levels of surprise.

"Ms. Misato," Kensuke said as Toji stuttered, "I hope we didn't disturb your rest."

A slight smile came to Misato's face. "Oh, it's no problem. It's nice to see you two."

She turned to Shinji. "Remember, our harmonics test is this afternoon, so please, don't be late for it." She turned to the closed washroom door. "That goes for you too, Asuka."

Asuka shot back with an "I heard!", while Kensuke leaned in to look at a detail on Misato's collar, a pin with a downturned red triangle above two black bars.

His eyes widened in surprise as he bowed deeply. "Congratulations on your promotion, Ms. Misato!"

Toji glanced at Kensuke, then followed his lead. "Uh, yeah. Congratulations."

Misato's smile grew a little as they noticed this. "Aw, well thank you, boys."

Kensuke continued to bow. "Oh no, ma'am, the pleasure's ours."

Misato turned, the smile fading a little as she walked to the front door. After a moment, she glanced back at the children. "Alright," she said with a cheerful tone, "I'm off to work now. See you later." Then she turned and stepped out into the rain, the door shutting behind her.

Toji and Kensuke waved, a cheery look in their eyes. "Have a nice day, Ms. Misato!" they said nearly in unison.

Shinji stood in the entry hall watching the two, a slightly confused look on his face. "So… what happened to Misato?" he said with a little hesitation in his voice.

Kensuke turned to look at him with wide eyes. "You didn't notice Ms. Misato got promoted? She's a Major now instead of a Captain. That's big news!" Toji nodded sagely as Kensuke said this.

Shinji nodded, eyes slowly filling with understanding. That was pretty important, wasn't it? He said as much, and Kensuke nodded again.

Asuka poked her head out into the hallway, towel on her head and Penpen just beneath her. "Well, that is pretty important!" she said, disappearing from view once again.

Shinji nodded thoughtfully. "I guess it must have happened after the last Angel, didn't it?"

Kensuke rolled his eyes. "You mean you don't know why she got it?" he threw up his arms in an exaggerated shrug. "I guess that just means that you need to poke your head out of your own affairs more often, doesn't it?"

Shinji's brow furrowed slightly, and a hint of annoyance crept into his voice. "Hey, I'm not in charge of handing things out. I am just a pilot after all."

Kensuke prepared to reply when Asuka came back into the hallway. "Now, if you three could kindly not block the way out the door, I have somewhere to be."

She turned to Shinji as she reached the door, regarding him with a peculiar expression. "See you at the harmonics test." she said simply, then stepped out the door and turned right as it closed.

"And where would she be going?" Toji asked with more than a little suspicion.

Shinji nodded, a sad look settling on his face. "She's probably on her way to check on Daniel. She's done that pretty consistently over the past few weeks since the last Angel attack."

Kensuke raised an eyebrow as he pushed up his glasses. "And what happened to Mr. Daniel to merit such attention?"

Shinji felt a familiar memory of fear grip him as he remembered what happened. "Apparently, somebody tried to sneak into the Geofront. Daniel ran into them and got stabbed with something that had some sort of poison on it. He hasn't been able to come into work at the Geofront since then."

Toji nodded soberly. "Man, that sucks. My regards to him, then."

Then Toji's brow rose, mirroring Kensuke. "And you haven't gone and seen him since?" he slowly asked.

Shinji's eyes widened in surprise. "What? No! I have. Just... not as much as Asuka has." he rubbed the back of his head again. "I should go and see him sometime today. Maybe after the harmonics test."

"Yeah." Kensuke said, and silence entered the hallway for a moment. Kensuke broke the silence again. "Man, you guys got a lot of love for Mr. Daniel. It probably helps Ms. Misato too. It must be hard for her to raise you and Asuka on her own."

Shinji nodded. "Yeah. I guess it can be hard sometimes. But I think she loves us enough to make it through how difficult we can make it for her."

Toji nodded. "It can take a lotta love to do that. But I think, in the end, the amount of effort put in proves it's worth."

Kensuke looked at Toji with no small amount of surprise. "Y'know, I think that's the wisest thing I've ever heard you say, buddy." he said in amazement.

Toji looked back at him with a little annoyance in his tone. "Yeah? Did you just not expect that from big, dumb jock Toji?"

Kensuke waved his arms, a look of near panic on his face. "No, no, it's not like that! I just… agree." he finally settled on after a moment.

Toji nodded assuredly. "I thought so."

. . .

Asuka waited in front of the door next to her apartment, which bore a label saying 'Theisman Residence'. She pressed the doorbell, then waited until Eleanor opened the door with a knowing look and smile. "Here to see Daniel?"

Asuka rolled her eyes as a slight smile came across her face. "Same as always, Eleanor."

Concern began to fill her eyes. "How's he doing today?" she asked quietly.

Concern touched Eleanor's expression as well as she replied. "It's… bad, today. He's seeing a lot of things that aren't there. Things from…" she sighed. "A long time ago. Do you still want to talk to him today?"

Asuka nodded. "I have to. There are some things…" she paused herself, as they made their way to the master bedroom. "Some things I need to get off of my chest." she seemed to settle on.

Eleanor nodded. "Okay. I think he's as ready as he'll ever be right now." she slid open the door, revealing a darkened room.

Daniel lay on the bed, eyes closed against the horrors that waited for him in the waking world. He heard the door slide open, then shut. Felt someone sit at the end of his bed. Then, he heard a tentative, familiar voice. "Bruder?"

He opened his eyes, and though he controlled any outward showing of it, a lance of fear drove itself into his heart.

He lay on a large piece of rubble in a shattered cityscape, draped in a fallen banner. Massive skyscrapers flickered and glowed as they burned, and the sight was eerily silent, reminding him he was just in his bedroom in Tokyo-3.

Sitting on the end of the rubble he lay on was Asuka, dressed in her Plugsuit. She was perforated, bleeding profusely throughout as though she had been stabbed dozens of times. The one eye that wasn't gouged out and bleeding looked at him with concern.

"Bruder, are you okay?" Asuka asked quietly.

Her question snapped him out of his fearful reverie, and he shook his head as he smiled sadly. "Jünger, I couldn't be anything else right now."

Asuka chuckled slightly. "I have… a lot I need to talk with you about." she said, hesitation evident in her voice.

Daniel chuckled himself as a wry smile turned his lips up. "Do you want to have a conversation, or do you just need to vent? Because I can be party to both, you know."

Asuka sniffed quietly and nodded. "A little bit of both, I guess." she said.

Daniel nodded. "Well, go ahead then. What's on your mind?"

Asuka sighed, and her brows furrowed as her eye, no, no, eyes gained a frustrated look. "It's Wondergirl." she growled.

Daniel raised an eyebrow. "You mean Rei?"

Asuka sighed loudly. "Yes, Rei. Wondergirl. Little Miss Perfect. The commander's pet. She frustrates me to no end! She's always so emotionless and distant, yet she always looks at me like I know nothing. Nothing! I bet she feels so superior, being Commander Ikari's precious First Child. And I just don't know what to do about her, because there's this glimmer of… something in her cold, dead eyes that feels like there's something else in there that she just hides away from everyone else, and… I know that glimmer. I've seen it in the mirror. What is she? And why is she so insistent about being… her?"

Daniel got into a more comfortable position on what he pleasantly noted was once again his bed and looked at Asuka. "What do you mean 'being her?'"

Asuka rolled her eyes. "You know, always follow orders, chain of command, all that? It's like she's spent her entire life in the military or something. Either that or she's a…" she paused, trailing off as she looked down and to the side.

After a moment of silence, Daniel responded. "I don't usually see you this insecure about someone unless you feel like you're competing with them over something. So, what do you think you two are competing over?"

The silence came again as Asuka appeared to blush slightly, a small smile coming to Daniel's face. "Or is the better question who do you think you two are competing over?"

Asuka blushed even deeper and refused to answer. So, Daniel made an educated guess. "It's Shinji, isn't it?"

Asuka growled as she clutched her head. "How do you know these things?"

Daniel sighed. "Like I've said, I know how to-"

"-read people, yeah." Asuka finished, sighing, and seeming to deflate a little. She grabbed at the air around her as if it were a physical thing as she continued. "He's so… dense."

Daniel waited for a moment to let her elaborate. When no such thing was forthcoming, he spoke again. "So, what do you mean 'dense'?"

Asuka rolled her eyes. "It's like trying to start something with a brick wall! I let my barriers down, show him a side of me I've only ever shown you, and he still hasn't the slightest clue what that means! He's such an idiot! Except, except, there are moments where I feel like he almost understands. Like with Sandalphon, the magma Angel, when he caught me, which was on your suggestions, not your orders, or Misato's for that matter."

Asuka sighed heavily as she paused, a forlorn look on her face. "But then, it's back to the same scared little kid." she muttered.

Daniel nodded sagely, an understanding look on his face, as he physically saw reality as it was for the first time in weeks. "So," he said after a moment, "you're wondering why Shinji hasn't made a move yet, even though you seem to have indicated you're interested? Is that what it's all about?"

Asuka grumbled. "In so many words, yes."

Daniel nodded. "Okay. I've got two things to say. Firstly, you and he are the apparent opposite of each other. You know that much."

Asuka rolled her eyes. "Yeah, so?"

"I'm not finished." Daniel continued. "However, you two are also far more similar than you think. Like you said, you've shown him a gentle side of you, something that you've decided to have hidden because it clashes with your image. But he's also, because of you, found a far braver side of himself that has been hidden until he met you. You bring out the sides of each other that you two have hidden, either by choice or circumstance. You two bring out the best parts of each other. That's not a coincidence."

He paused for a moment. "That's my first point. Second, this, the chance at a relationship like you might be interested in, is something he's terrified of."

Asuka nodded. "Again, kind of obvious."

Daniel sighed. "Jünger." he said with a slight hint of exasperation.

Asuka raised her hands in mock surrender. "Alright, alright, wise sensei. Please, continue."

Daniel nodded. "As I said, this sort of unknown is scary to a person who has a normal level of life experience. He has none of that. You, even, have scarce little in the way of… romantic experience, let's put it."

Asuka sighed. "I know that much. So, are you saying anything I try with him is doomed to fail?"

Daniel shook his head. "No, I'm not. What I'm saying is that what you're trying is an experiment for both of you. And Shinji does not want to fail that experiment. He knows how valuable seeing the other side of you is. Having talked with him, he treasures it. So, he doesn't want to lose that. Does that make sense?"

Asuka slowly nodded after a moment. "Yeah. I guess it does."

Daniel smiled softly. "So, now that you know all that, would you like some advice on how to get him to notice you?"

Asuka gazed sideways at him, eyes narrowed. "And what exactly do you mean by that?"

Daniel chuckled. "Well, as you can tell, I have a lovely wife, and you have a lovely sister-in-law. So, I know at least a little about some of the… intricacies, shall we say, of courtship and relationships."

Asuka rolled her eyes but smiled anyway. "Alright, you've got a decent resume, I'll give you that. So, spill already."

Daniel's smile got a little wider as he leaned forward. "Okay. First tip. Boys…" he paused for dramatic effect. "Are absolutely stupid when it comes to interpreting signals."

Asuka tilted her head. "And what do you mean by that?"

Daniel chuckled. "You are smart. Breathtakingly so for your age. One of the things that you do sometimes forget though is that not everyone operates on the same level as you."

Asuka rolled her eyes. "It'd be a much easier life if they did."

Daniel nodded. "I don't doubt it. However, back to the topic at hand. You are very, very smart and cunning. Shinji, as much as I love him, is not as devious as you, at least not yet. You are playing a game of chess, while poor Shinji is playing checkers."

Asuka narrowed her eyes once again. "So, you're saying I should stoop to his level?" she asked warily.

"Not in the slightest." Daniel replied. "What I'm saying is that right now, he needs something bold, direct, and unconfusing. He can be smart when it comes to things he needs or wants to learn. But he needs to start somewhere. And when it comes to your feelings, every simple statement of them at the start counts."

Asuka nodded, a thoughtful look in her eyes as she contemplated all that Daniel had told her. "I think… I think I understand. Something bold, huh?"

Daniel grinned. "That should be no problem for you, I'd wager."

Asuka sniffed. "Of course, it isn't! I'm the greatest pilot in the world, facing death on a regular basis. How hard can telling someone I like them be?"

Daniel shook his head. "Harder than you think."

Asuka snorted, then checked the time on her phone. "Alright, we have a harmonics test today, so I should probably get ready for that."

She stood and walked to Daniel and squeezed his hand. "It was good to talk to you, Bruder." she said quietly. She walked to the door, pausing at it before turning again.

"Before I go…" she said with no small amount of hesitation. "What did you see? What are you seeing?"

Daniel sighed, a forlorn look on his face. "I'm… I'm not ready to talk about that just yet." he replied quietly.

Asuka nodded slightly. "Okay. Ich liebe dich, Bruder."

Daniel nodded. "Ich liebe dich auch, Jünger. Good luck on the harmonics test."

Asuka snorted. "As if I need good luck."

"Oh, before you go," Daniel said, Asuka pausing as he spoke, "if you're planning on something as brazen as kissing the poor boy… it's going to tickle a little. Just... be ready. You'll know what I mean."

Asuka's eyebrows rose. "I mean… okay? But now that you mention it… anyway, goodbye."

She left, closing the door behind her. In the solitude he now had, Daniel looked up at the ceiling, and a tear that he had been holding back finally slid down his cheek. "I'm sorry." he whispered. "I wish I could make it up to you. But I'm trying again. For what it counts."

As the Children sat in the dark spaces that mimicked their cockpits, they focused as they had been told to do while a dim blue light surrounded them, the hum of the Test Plugs a mirror match for their regular Entry Plugs.

Misato, Ritsuko, and Maya monitored the Children's synch scores and harmonization values from another room, staring at the monitors that displayed them intently.

"Plugs 00 and 02 are at the contamination zone limit." Maya said as a terminal sounded a tone.

Ritsuko nodded. "Plug 01 still has some room to go further. But not by much. Lower the graph depth by about 0.3, see how that affects the readings." Maya nodded as she set about her task.

Ritsuko turned to Misato, who studied the Plugs intently. "I hope you've given some thought to my proposal." she said, seeming to snap Misato out of her vigil as she turned to look at Ritsuko.

Miasto nodded, a slight look of uncertainty in her eyes. "I have, and on paper, it looks fine. I just don't know how the pilots are going to take it, though."

Ritsuko's brow rose slightly. "You mean, you don't know how Asuka's going to take it."

Misato sighed. "However did you know?" she asked wearily.

Before Ritsuko could reply, another tone sounded. "Alright, 01 is right on the contamination limit." Maya said as Ritsuko leaned over to study the readings.

She nodded appreciatively. "And his scores are this high? That is nothing if not impressive."

Maya nodded. "He's approaching Asuka in both harmonics and synch rate values."

Ritsuko looked up at the Test Plug. "It looks like he has quite the talent for this. It's like he was born with the skills to pilot."

"But none of the desire." Misato said as Ritsuko turned to look at her. Misato sighed. "He doesn't enjoy any of this. Even if it is important to him and to us."

Ritsuko shook her head. "Well, like you've said, saving the world comes before enjoying how you do it."

Misato's lips pressed into a thin line. "In so many words, yes."

Eventually, the rather calm test ended, the Test Plugs opening with a hiss, and a walkway extending over the vast bath of LCL that the Test Plugs jutted out of.

As they filed into the monitoring section of the test chamber, Ritsuko turned to face them. "Alright, you three did excellently today. Shinji, you have made perhaps the most improvement I've ever seen someone make in such a short time, with an eight-point increase in harmonics values and synch score over the past 10 days. That's an impressive improvement."

Asuka sniffed. "That may be impressive, yes. But he is still a full 35 points behind me. He has a lot of catching up to do."

Ritsuko nodded. "Maybe. But there's no denying that he's making great improvements."

Asuka rolled her eyes as she looked back at Shinji. "Today's really your day for praise, isn't it Shinji?" she asked with a wry grin.

Shinji chuckled nervously. "I mean, I guess…"

Asuka sighed and made for the door. Before she could get far, Misato spoke up. "Before you go, Asuka, there's something all three of you need to hear."

Asuka paused, then slowly turned. "Why do I feel like I'm not going to like what I hear next?" she said, her voice dripping with suspicion as she slowly made her way back to Shinji's side.

Misato quirked her lips. "Like it or not, it's still going to happen. You and Shinji have been making great strides in synch score and harmonics since we had you two together for Israfel. Rei has been lagging behind you two from the start."

Asuka leered as she connected the dots. "Don't tell me…"

Misato nodded seriously. "Yes. Rei will be staying with you two throughout your day until her synch scores begin to improve as well, starting tomorrow."

Asuka's face turned a deep red. "You mean I have to be shackled to Wondergirl, the commander's pet until she starts doing slightly better? This is utterly ridiculous! I can't agree to this!"

Ritsuko shook her head. "You don't have to. It's a decision that I have made, and that has been approved by the Commander. My only advice is to get used to it until such a time as I say that it no longer needs to be the case."

Asuka threw up her hands dramatically. "Fine! I'll deal with it. But I'm not dealing with it right here!" she shouted.

She turned and stormed out of the room, Misato sighing as she shook her head. "I told you something like that would happen." she said, deadpan.

Ritsuko shrugged. "It is what it is." she turned to the other two pilots, one clearly uncomfortable, the other deadpan. "Do either of you have any objections?" she asked.

Shinji simply shook his head, while Rei barely blinked. "I will make such an arrangement work, Doctor Akagi."

Ritsuko sighed slightly as she nodded wearily. "I can trust you for that much. You won't go to the extreme of living together for the duration, simply being together throughout the day. No need to worry about living arrangements. You can go now."

As the other pilots made their way out of the room, Ritsuko's phone buzzed. She checked it and saw that it was a text from Gendo. It read the same as many of the other texts he had sent before. 'Personal meeting tonight before I leave for Antarctica. 2200 hours. My quarters.'

She nodded. He would want one of those before such a long trip, wouldn't he? So, she sent her usual text. 'I will attend.'

Misato looked over at Ritsuko. "What's going on?"

Ritsuko bobbed her head slightly as she looked back to Misato. "Oh, the usual. Commander Ikari wants to meet with me tonight before he goes to Antarctica. It shouldn't get in the way of anything else today."

Misato nodded, a slightly sour look on her face. "Oh, yeah. I nearly forgot about that."

Ritsuko smiled slightly. "About what? Being in charge for a little while?"

Misato snorted gently. "Yeah. With my luck, we'll have to deal with an Angel attack just as they leave."

Ritsuko shrugged. "It will be what it will be."

Misato shrugged in turn. "Yeah, I guess. Well, I have to get the Pilots home. I don't know if I can catch Asuka, but I can at least get Shinji and Rei."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about Rei." Ritsuko said. "She'll be helping out with the first field test of the Progressive Spike later today. She'll be sticking around."

Misato nodded tiredly. "So that means I only have Shinji. Okay." she began to walk towards the door. "Well, I'll see you later. Have fun!" she said as she waved.

"You as well, Misato." Ritsuko replied as Misato went after the Children. Of course, she would have fun. Not only was there science, which was her love, to do today, but there was something more… basic to enjoy tonight.

As Shinji and Rei walked down the hallway in more or less companionable silence, Shinji eventually turned to Rei. "So, Rei… uh… how do you feel about this?" he said, stumbling over his words.

Rei continued to look ahead as she walked. "I have no strong feeling towards this assignment, pilot Ikari. I will follow the orders given to me."

Shinji chuckled nervously as he scratched the back of his head. "Sorry. I figured I'd ask." he said.

Rei nodded. "I will do my best to make this assignment as equitable to pilot Soryu as I can. I understand that her feelings towards me are strained. I may have already failed, however."

She slowed to a stop, Shinji coming up beside her with a puzzled look on his face. She turned to look at him, her brow slightly furrowed, her lips downturned only a fraction, and the faintest glimmer of what could be either confusion or concern in her eyes. "Shinji Ikari, do you know why pilot Soryu considers me a doll?"

Shinji looked at Rei with no small amount of surprise. "I…" Shinji paused as he considered how he could possibly answer such a question from Rei, of all people. "I don't think... I mean, I don't know if she actually called you a doll. That's something you're probably going to have to ask her."

Rei dipped her head slightly as she appeared to consider this. After a moment, she looked up. "Very well, pilot Ikari. I will try to ask her at a later point in time."

As Shinji nodded, Misato finally caught up to them, placing a hand on Shinji's shoulder as he looked at her. "Glad to see you two talking," she said in a cheery voice. "Ready to go home, Shinji?"

Shinji looked back at Rei. "Are you not coming with us?"

Rei shook her head. "No. I am going to participate in a test of the new weapon that Doctor Akagi, in conjunction with the Theisman's, have created."

Shinji nodded as he began to understand. "Oh. Okay. Well, good luck on the test then."

A ghost of a smile came to Rei's face as she looked at both Shinji and Misato. "Thank you, pilot Ikari. Farewell, Major Katsuragi. I will see you both tomorrow."

She turned down a side passage and disappeared.

Misato squeezed Shinji's shoulder. "Come on then, Shinji. Let's get home."

As the sun began to dip in the sky, Unit-00 stood amongst the hills of the Matsushiro test site backdropped in a halo of brilliant orange light. Beside it sat a massive box, containing the object of today's little experiment. From deep within the reinforced observation bunker, Ritsuko and Maya studied the readouts intently.

"Alright, Rei," Ritsuko said as the time came for the test to begin, "pick up the weapon and attach it to your arm."

The image of Rei on a screen before her nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Equipping the weapon now."

Unit-00 reached down, opening the box to reveal a long trapezoidal construct, with a handle curving off the front end of it. Rei picked it up, laying on the top of the Eva's forearm, restraints popping out of the sides of each end and locking securely around the arm and the fin on it. "Weapon equipped." Rei said simply.

Ritsuko nodded as she looked at the screens showing the reading for the weapon itself. Power distribution was nominal, and everything was going as it had during the prototype stages. "Alright, then," Ritsuko said after finding herself satisfied with the current readings, "proceed to the target."

"Yes, ma'am." Rei said simply, as she walked over to the surprisingly large piece of Ramiel's remains that they had airlifted over here. It was, they had found, perhaps the closest they could get to an analog of core material, and after Operation Yashima, there was more than enough lying around to act as a target for this test.

As Unit-00 came to rest in front of the remnant of an Angel, Ritsuko spoke again. "Alright, Rei. Now, aim the weapon as we've shown you, and activate it with the button on the handle."

Rei nodded, pointing the Spike at the dull blue chunk of crystal at an angle, and depressed the clearly marked button on the end of the handle with her thumb. A hatch opened at the back of the weapon, and a spike extended out, an angry whir filling the air as it began to glow with superheated intensity.

Ritsuko continued to look appreciatively at the monitors. The weapon had activated without issue, and the Progressive element had heated the spike evenly. She couldn't ask for a better test at this point. "Alright," Ritsuko said, with a small smile on her face, "fire the weapon."

Rei simply nodded. "Firing." She squeezed the two halves of the handle together, the whir emitted from the weapon intensifying as she did so. When the handle was fully depressed, a sound not unlike a guitar sting on a massive scale pulsed from the weapon as the spike rocketed forward, piercing the crystal with a resounding crack.

As Rei extracted the spike and deactivated the weapon, Ritsuko nodded in appreciation. "Thank you for your cooperation on this test, Rei. I'd say today's test was a success."

Rei nodded. "You are welcome, Doctor Akagi."

It was a moonless night tonight. It always was, down in the Geofront. Thus, the dim, distant lights that mimicked the stars shone down on the figure of Ritsuko Akagi, walking home from Gendo Ikari's apartment with a burning resentment in her heart.

It had ended up as it always did, with the two of them wrapped in each other, almost burning up with passion and want. She seemed to live for those moments now, for being wanted by him, for being needed by him.

But then, as they both reached for the climax, as if it was like clockwork, one word, a single name, turned all that passion to ash in a moment. "Yui…"

It had the effect it always had, ending with a whimper what had started with a bang, but tonight it had just become too much. So tonight, she simply walked home, among the dark trees with dark thoughts.

Why could he never get over Yui? She was gone, her soul interned within Unit-01. So why didn't he just see that she was right there in front of him? That she loved him right now?

Ritsuko shook her head. She had never really met Yui Ikari, only heard about her from others. But she had come to resent her, for being the only anchor that Gendo had keeping him from her.

No. no, there was another anchor, she thought as she reached her apartment complex. There was Rei.

Rei, his precious little doll, juiced to the gills on her medications, which Ritsuko had to give her to keep her from wandering off. Ritsuko knew what went into her. How much of Yui went into her, in more ways than one. She was his coping mechanism as much as she was his lynchpin.

The door opened, and the old cat which lived with her meowed at her, rubbing up against her leg. As Ritsuko crouched down to pet her, she looked into the kitchen at the cabinet, and the wine that it held within. She would need a lot tonight. Maybe forgetting for a little while would help...

One and a Half Weeks Later

Asuka sat at the lunch table next to Shinji and Rei with no small amount of annoyance. Tomorrow had come, in the end, and now had been going on for the better part of two weeks. An awkward, now almost unbearably long day at school with a boring, unfunny companion in Rei, and an awkward one in Shinji, and a blessedly separate walk home, had become the norm. Asuka bore it, in her eyes, as best she could.

On top of that though, with the time passing as it did with the three of them together, some of the other girls in the class started to have peculiar looks in their eyes. Especially when they looked at Shinji.

Try as Hikari might, the class had rumors about them, and about Shinji in particular, spreading around it like a particularly unpleasant virus. Asuka hadn't fully realized how easily such things could happen in a class full of teenagers. Even with the experience she had with rumors from college, she didn't expect them to come and spread with such ferocity as they did.

Even now, one of the girls in particular, Chihiro Tanaka, looked at Shinji with no small amount of interest from another lunch table. When she met Asuka's gaze, that interest slowly became something bordering on disgust, as she turned to whisper in a friend's ear, the girl giggling at whatever Chihiro said.

For whatever reason, besides the familiar annoyance of being the center of negative gossip, something deeper than that came to her as she glanced at Shinji. Why did she feel so strongly about how the other girls looked at him? Was it just that it took the spotlight of admiration off of her, where it rightfully belonged? Or was it something with how she felt about Shinji?

She didn't know, and Shinji himself would probably remain blissfully ignorant of what she thought until she got the courage to just kiss the damn boy already. She had decided that was what she wanted to do now. She just didn't know what was holding her up now, and she didn't know if there was anything resembling an indication of a proper time and place to do it. Was there? Daniel was right. This was harder than it looked.

Asuka sighed and turned back to her lunch. This was going to feel like forever. Shinji looked over at her. "Something wrong, Asuka?" he said.

Asuka rolled her eyes as she sighed again. "I'm just contemplating being shackled to you two. Again."

She looked over at Rei, who calmly ate her lunch. "At least one of us could be a little more interesting." she said, with no small degree of annoyance.

Rei glanced over at Asuka. "My apologies, pilot Soryu. I do not wish to be a burden to you during this time."

Asuka snorted. "Well, you're doing a fine job of it regardless." She dug into her lunch, cutting off any further complaints or conversation from the others. She would get through this. As much as she hated this and cursed the heavens, and Commander Ikari, for dumping such a ridiculous burden on her, she would do what she was always willing to do, and get through this herself.

Eventually, the day ended, the school bell rang, and the three Children waited outside the school as the other children streamed past them. Today was somewhat different. Eleanor would be picking them up and dropping them at their homes today. Asuka secretly fidgeted slightly as the car pulled up, and the widow slid down, showing an Eleanor with a seemingly eternally patient look on her face.

As the Children all got into the car, Eleanor turned to face Rei. "We'll be taking you home first, seeing as you live apart from us. Where do you live?"

After Rei gave her the address and she put it into the GPS, Eleanor set off. As the miles passed by, the sights of disuse, of an aging place being torn down, became more and more common as they approached Rei's residence.

Asuka looked out the windows in slowly dawning shock. "You live in this area? It looks like a construction zone! Half the buildings here look like they're about to be demolished."

Rei simply looked forward, as the dim clamor of a demolition team taking down the wall of a building that they passed by proved Asuka's point. "As I have said, this was the residence I was assigned to on Commander Ikari's orders. I have not needed to ask for any other place, nor has any been provided for me."

The car slowed to a stop as it parked in front of a building that seemed as ready to collapse as many of its neighbors did. Asuka got out with Rei and looked up at it with an odd sense of dread. "This is where they put you? One of their pilots, the commander's pet, and this is where they put you?"

Rei turned to look at Asuka with a neutral expression. "The point has been made, pilot Soryu. This is my residence. I will see you both tomorrow."

Rei began to walk forward towards the building when Asuka walked up to her and grabbed her arm. Rei turned to look at her, and Asuka let go, an uncharacteristic amount of embarrassment evident in her posture. "Is there something else you intend to say, pilot Soryu?" Rei asked levelly.

Asuka openly fidgeted for a moment before she spoke, uncertainty filling her voice. "I've been told… that a team is only as strong as its weakest link. That a leader's responsibility is to look after that weakest link."

She seemed to find her courage as she placed her hands on her hips, fire filling her voice. "As the best pilot here, I am that leader. And as much as I don't like you, Wondergirl, you are the weakest link. So show me."

Rei tilted her head. "Show you… what?"

Asuka rolled her eyes. "Show me your apartment."

Shinji, having also gotten out and now staring in open-faced confusion, stepped forward. "Asuka…"

Asuka wheeled around to face him, the fire in her eyes directed at him causing the words he would have said next to wither and die on his lips.

"Look, Shinji," she said with no small amount of force, "I intend to be the best pilot out here. And I can't be chained down by my teammates in any fashion. Are you coming with me, or not?"

Shinji gulped, simply nodding. Asuka nodded sharply. "Okay."

She looked back to Rei. "So, lead on, Wondergirl. Let's find out how bad your situation really is."

Rei simply nodded. "Very well, pilot Soryu. Follow me."

With that, the three Children made their way towards Rei's apartment.

Behind their sight, Eleanor smiled slightly. It wasn't too hard to find Daniel's voice when Asuka spoke of the team like that. He had taught her well. She followed behind at a distance.

As the Children made it to the fourth floor, then to room #402, Rei opened the door and walked in, Shinji and Asuka looking around, one in resigned familiarity, and one in wide-eyed shock.

"Mein Gott…" Asuka muttered, looking at the grey, featureless, nearly decrepit rooms, a small kitchen section on one side, a dark bathroom on the other, and a somewhat large living area that served the purpose of the bedroom, with a desk and dresser opposite of a small, dingy bed and nightstand.

"I've seen maximum security prisoners get better treatment than this!" Asuka said, nearly shouting and not caring for any potential neighbors.

Rei turned to look at her. "And what is your point?"

Asuka's eye twitched. "Because you deserve better than this, regardless of how much I like you or not!"

She turned to Shinji and leered as she saw his expression. "Shinji," she said with a deathly calm as he blushed brightly, "did you know about this?"

"I...I..." Shinji said as he resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands.

Rei interrupted before Shinji could speak. "He came here to deliver a replacement identification for me and had an altercation. That has been the only time he has seen this residence."

Asuka turned back to look at Rei. "That doesn't mean he can just… wait a minute, what do you mean by 'altercation'?"

Shinji fully decided to bury his face in his hands as Rei continued. "As Shinji studied a personal effect, I tried to grab it from him after I had gotten out of the shower. We lost balance and fell, and his hand landed on my right breast as he fell on me. It was a memorable experience."

"A memorable-" Asuka paused before she continued, trying not to feel like she would have an aneurysm. "And you did nothing? Nothing at all? Have you no shame?"

Rei tilted her head a little. "Shame?"

Asuka's eyes went wide in amazement. "Shame? No one taught you about shame. Your own mother never taught you about shame?"

Rei blinked. "I do not have a mother."

Asuka blinked herself as she processed this. "No mother at all?" she said, her tone deflating somewhat.

Rei shook her head. "No. I do not recall having a mother, pilot Soryu."

Asuka reeled silently for a moment, then turned to Shinji with a sigh. Shinji, who had removed his hands from his face, cringed back as Asuka looked at him. "And no one else has seen this place? You haven't told anyone?"

Shinji's eyes widened. "I don't know what I'm able to do. I'm just a pilot," he said with no small amount of desperation. "Who do I even go to?"

"Misato, for one! Shinji, we live with her! Has she ever been here?" Asuka said with exasperation.

"Major Katsuragi has not visited this residence." Rei said.

Asuka turned around, looking around the place. "Well, I can tell you this much, Wondergirl, she wouldn't stand for one of her pilots being somewhere… like…" she trailed off as she caught sight of a large group of pill bottles on the top of the dresser.

A memory of what Rei had said a month ago came to her mind as she approached the frankly massive number of drugs. "I am taking my medications to ensure that I am able to follow my orders."

She reached the bottles, picking one up and noting the name on the label. 'R. Akagi'. Then she looked at the name of the medication, and dread began to rise from the pit of her stomach, as she put the bottle down and picked up another one, and then another, names like 'Diazepam' and 'Benzodiazepine' and 'Methoxetamine' dredging up a voice she had only heard recently in her nightmares. "Now, Asuka, I know the last ones didn't make you feel good, and that you didn't like them, but you need to take these ones. They'll help you be calm. They'll help me be better able to help you."

As Asuka's mind desperately tried to escape the pit it was falling in, she uttered absentmindedly, "...a doll…"

Rei's brow furrowed, and genuine anger flickered in her eyes. "I am not a doll."

Rei's words seemed to snap Asuka out of her downward spiral, her head tilting up suddenly. "Not a doll?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She turned around, shaking one of the pill bottles in one hand. "Then why are you taking these?"

Rei's eyes did not waver. "Because I have been ordered to by Doctor Akagi, by Commander Ikari's requirement."

Asuka shook her head as she walked to Rei, grabbing her shoulder with one hand. "These are all dissociatives, depressants, hormonal contraceptives, the sort of stuff I... the sort of stuff that hardened criminals have to take. You want to prove you're not a doll?"

Rei nodded slightly as Asuka paused for a moment. "Then stop taking these," Asuka continued, holding up the bottle and shaking it slightly, "all of them! Throw them away! No wonder you didn't feel anything when Shinji landed on you. It's a wonder you even registered that it happened!"

"Just," Asuka finally said, deflating as she dropped the pill bottle, "just start by going off a few of these over the next little while. See what happens. You won't be a doll. Not like..." She looked desperately into Rei's cool eyes. "Please."

Rei's eyes widened slightly. She had never heard Asuka ask like that before. This had to be important to her. Very important. "Very well," Rei said. "I will… try."

Asuka released a breath she didn't know she was even holding, as she released Rei, walking past her. "Shinji," she said as she passed him, "we're going home."

"Asuka…" he said, then flinched as she stopped and turned around.

"Shinji," she said, the deathly calm returning, "we're going home. Now."

Shinji nodded after a moment, then turned to Rei. "Well, we'll see you tomorrow, Rei."

Rei nodded. "I shall see the both of you tomorrow."

Asuka and Shinji left the decrepit apartment, a waiting Eleanor following behind, while Rei pondered, looking intently at her medicine.

As Shinji and Asuka rode home, there was a tense silence. Shinji finally broke it. "Asuka… I'm sorry."

Asuka sniffed, trying to hold back the tears she knew would be coming. "Oh, don't be. You may have been an idiot, but you didn't know what to do like you said. It's not your fault that Commander Asshole had her shacked up in there, or… or…" she trailed off, staring intently at the floor of the car.

Shinji continued to look at her, his gaze trailing down until it stopped on her hand, slightly shaking. He reached for it, and as he touched it, flinched away as Asuka herself flinched. They looked into each other's eyes, and Asuka grabbed Shinji's hand wordlessly, holding it tightly. They spent the rest of the trip in silence, holding each other's hands.

As they pulled up to the apartment and entered their residence, Misato looked up from the kitchen table, a beer in her hand and some scattered paperwork before her. "Well, you're home a little later than usual. What was the holdup?"

Asuka sighed explosively. "We took Rei home first. It's an absolute dump!" she said, throwing up her arms. "I've seen prisons with better accommodations than that! I can't believe you haven't seen that place!"

Misato gained a concerned look in her eyes. "Well, if her quarters are that bad, I think I would have been told they were. Ritsuko was taking care of her before I arrived. She would have known, I thought."

Shinji shook his head. "I was there. And I went there before. Asuka's not exaggerating. I really should have told you earlier."

Misato nodded. "Alright. I guess I'll see what I can do. If it's as bad as you say, then there's space here that we could put her up in."

Asuka nodded emphatically. "You'd better if even I'm complaining about it. If you need to talk to anyone else, ask Eleanor. She was there too."

Misato nodded. "Okay, I will. After this paperwork, at least." She looked back down at her paperwork, intent on it.

As she did so, Asuka turned to Shinji and gave a wordless nod towards the living room. With no small amount of puzzlement on his face, Shinji tried to ask her why before she put a finger to her lips silently. He settled for simply nodding and following her.

As they got to the living room, Asuka grabbed Shinji's arm with a look that said that he'd better keep quiet or risk serious consequences. Shinji got the message as she nearly dragged him to her room, shutting the door with a quiet clack.

She let go of Shinji and went over to her bed, sitting down and hugging her knees to her chest as tears seemed to finally well up in her eyes. Shinji was silent for a moment, then sat down next to her. He asked a question that had come to his mind just after they finished talking with Misato. "So… why didn't you tell her about the drugs?"

Asuka squeezed closed her eyes. "Because as much as I like Misato, she's still NERV. That's what those bottles are. NERV. They could do that to any one of us. That was Doctor Akagi's name on those pills, just like she said. And Wondergirl's the commander's favorite. What does that say about how they feel about us? What they're willing to do to keep us piloting?"

She continued after a moment. "Now I don't know how to feel about being the way I am to her. At first, I thought she was just being a snob, all superior and holier-than-thou. Now…"

Shinji was silent as he thought about that for a moment. What did that say? What could he say? He was almost too scared to think about it. However, another question he had meant to ask came to mind as he looked at her. "Something happened to you, didn't it?"

Asuka simply nodded. "Yes." Silence reigned for a moment. "But I don't want to talk about it."

Shinji nodded. "Okay."

They sat there for a little while. Then, thinking he should probably leave her be, Shinji got up to leave. Before he could go any further, Asuka grabbed his arm. She was shaking. He turned to look at her eyes, red with unshed tears. "Shinji," Asuka said after a moment, "can you please sleep next to me tonight? Like you did with Israfel?"

Shinji reeled. She was asking him to do that. Really? "Um…" Shinji got out in place of any words.

Asuka shook her head. "Idiot. It helped both of us then, obviously. I think it'll help both of us now. And… I'm going to need some help sleeping peacefully tonight."

Shinji's surprise didn't lessen, but was joined by at least a small understanding. "Okay," he said after a moment, "I'll be here."

Asuka sniffled as an unsteady smile came to her. "And just because I'm inviting you to sleep in my bed with me doesn't mean you should be getting any funny ideas!" she said, anger in her tone with no bite behind it.

Shinji slowly smiled as he nodded back. "I won't plan on it."

(Rear Echelon) will continue after the break.