Chapter 14: Revelations in Starlight and Steel

And, at last, the time came. Not only for another pilot, in the aftermath of a disaster in a land far away, but for another set of revelations. The truth. I had hoped such a day would come under far less distressing circumstances. But it seemed fate, and other, far darker parties, had other ideas.

Two Days After Angel Attack

It was, by all accounts, a rather ordinary school day, despite the rain. The pilots and their classmates all sat in homeroom, eagerly digging into their lunches.

While they did this, Rei stood from her seat alongside the other pilots without a word. She had been released from having to stay with them all day, but they had grown close enough that such things as orders really didn't matter anymore.

Rei walked over to Kensuke, who was sitting with Toji and Hikari, and waited quietly for Kensuke to notice her. As he did, Rei was quiet for another moment. Then, she spoke. "Classmate Aida, are you available this Saturday?"

Kensuke nodded slowly. "Yeah. Why do you ask?" he said, equally slowly.

Rei was silent for a moment before she answered. "I would like to go on a date with you. I have not gone on any previously. What time shall we meet?"

The silence that fell over the classroom could make a pin dropping sound like thunder. Did Rei Ayanami, the Ice Queen of Tokyo-3, just ask Kensuke Aida, renowned nerd and general weirdo, on a date?

Kensuke blushed furiously, Toji and Hikari blushing right alongside him, as he tried to process this seeming miracle.

Watching from afar, Asuka leaned in to stage whisper into Shinji's ear. "I won the bet. I get to choose dinner for the apartment tonight. You'd better like German food."

Shinji rolled his eyes as he sighed. "Come on, Asuka. One, you just made the bet, and two, It was going to be a given that all of them blushed."

Asuka nodded self-assuredly. "But of course. Just because a bet is tilted in one's favor doesn't make it any less of a bet."

Shinji nodded and sighed again. "I guess."

Much as everyone would probably speculate about the growing relationship, or at least, what one could consider a growing relationship, between Asuka and Shinji, that would be swept under the rug by this latest, seemingly earthshaking development. For a while, at least.

Kensuke finally seemed to get his wits about him, looking up to Rei with wide eyes. "Uh… I mean… I guess around 6 works for me? If it works for you, I mean."

A small smile came to Rei's face. "Yes. I am available at that time. You may choose the location of our date. I am, as I have said, inexperienced with the intricacies of dating, so I will go where you are most comfortable. Thank you, Classmate Aida."

She turned and walked towards the other pilots, as whispers and glances towards the still stunned Kensuke and the cool and collected Rei, began in earnest.

Asuka and Shinji regarded their fellow pilot with no small amount of awe. "I gotta say, Wondergirl," Asuka said after a moment, "I didn't quite expect you to ask him this publicly. You've got guts."

Rei tilted her head, a slight look of confusion in her eyes. "Was I not supposed to ask in such a public place? Should I have waited?"

Asuka shook her head. "No, no. You can ask someone out anywhere. As long as the situation's appropriate, I guess." she sighed after a moment and lowered her voice. "I still don't know why you picked Kensuke, of all people. Why him?"

Rei looked down at her lunch thoughtfully before she looked back up at Asuka and Shinji. "As you have said, Classmate Aida is seen as 'strange' or 'weird'. I… I believe I understand that. We have both been perceived as such. As such I have a… connection to him that others do not."

Asuka and Shinji were silent for a moment. Shinji nodded. "That makes sense. You're very kind, Rei. I'm glad we get to see more of that without..."

The table was quiet for another moment. "Yeah." Shinji finally said.

Rei nodded slightly. "I did not see you in class the day after our defeat of the Angel. Were you being decontaminated from your contact with the Angel?"

Shinji and Asuka looked at each other, discomfort evident in their eyes. Asuka shook her head. "Yeah. Poked and prodded and asked a thousand different questions. We even went in front of the Human Instrumentality Committee. NERV's bosses. They were… creepy."

"Yeah." Shinji said as he nodded. "They mostly asked us about what our time in the Angel was like, what we saw and talked to."

Asuka glanced at him warningly. Rei took the hint as well and lowered her voice as she asked her next question. "So, what did you see?"

Asuka shook her head. "I'm not even entirely sure what we saw down there. It was like… like falling asleep in a particularly boring college philosophy class after eating something weird."

Shinji looked over at Asuka with no small amount of puzzlement in his eyes. "That sounds... oddly specific."

Asuka rolled her eyes. "It isn't, I promise."

She paused, then continued. "We talked to… little versions of ourselves, I guess? All they would go on about was selves and who we were and all sorts of ridiculous, confusing stuff."

Asuka's expression grew thoughtful, and her voice became even quieter. "And… I also saw something, just before we got out of the Angel. Saw someone."

Shinji looked at her with a dawning understanding. "A bright, warm light? You saw my mother?"

Asuka looked back over at Shinji in utter confusion. "Your mother? No, Shinji, I saw my mother." she blinked after a moment. "So you saw your mother, and I saw my mother, and then our Evas woke up and went crazy. What does that mean?"

Shinji shook his head slowly. "I don't even know. But… it was good. To see something like that, after never having really seen her."

Asuka nodded as she turned back to her lunch. "Yeah. Yeah, it was."

Rei regarded them both as they began to eat their lunches again. They were coming closer to the truth. And it saddened her to think of what would happen when they found out. She didn't let it show, though, as she slowly started to eat her own lunch again.

After a moment, a small, strangled gasp drew the pilot's eyes back towards Hikari, Toji, and Kensuke. Kensuke's eyes were wide, and Hikari and Toji were blushing furiously. Asuka put two and two together and turned back to Rei with a sly grin on her face. "Would you look at that, Wondergirl? Looks like Hikari finally got the courage to just ask the dolt out already." She nodded at Rei. "You seem to have become a real inspiration."

A small smile came to Rei's face. "So it would seem."

NERV-3, Nevada, United States of America, One Week Ago

Down in the earth, under a dry, hot desert, a silver giant stood silently in its gantry, wires and cables attached to its chest and stomach, connected to a tank that held a large, slightly glowing organ, suspended in LCL, close to an incision in its chest.

One of the lead technicians looked over her readings. The organ was stable, that much was certain. Power distribution was nominal, and Unit-04 was reading just fine. There was a storm warning that had passed overhead beforehand, she noted, but that was more of an afterthought than anything else.

She turned to a junior technician. "Alright. Insert the Organ and start connecting the Evangelion to it. We'll take it slow, ensure that we don't burn out the connection."

The tech nodded, and the test began. The organ began to glow even more, and power, an unlimited amount of power, began to trickle into the Evangelion.

The lead tech nodded. The test was going about as smoothly as it could. It was somewhat surprising, really.

Then, something flickered on the readout of the Evangelion. The lead tech tapped her screen, then sighed. Probably just a quick glitch.

That notion was quickly dissuaded as alarms began to sound, and the S2 Organ disappeared into the Evangelion's chest.

She looked around at the other techs as the Evangelion did the impossible, and stirred. "What the hell is going on here?"

One of the technicians looked up with a harried look on his face as the Eva's struggles became more violent. "The Evangelion's moving without a pilot or a core! Something's taken over!"

Another technician looked at her. "We've lost readings on the S2 Organ! The Evangelion's consumed it! Like it-"

The silver giant roared, eyes flashing red as skin sealed itself around fully the Organ, and the world was consumed by a white light.

. . .

Tokyo-3, Present Day

Misato looked at the satellite footage showing the area where NERV-3 once stood. In the beginning, it was as it usually was. A dot showed the epicenter of where NERV-3 was located, and there were several small towns surrounding it. Alamo, she idly read on the overlay over one of the towns nearby. She had no idea why she was only hearing about this now, but she dreaded what came next.

Maya's voice overlaid the rather sparsely beautiful scene with an ominous countdown. "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Mark."

In a moment, a point of briliant white light sprang into existence, then expanded at a terrifying pace as it consumed NERV-3, then the rest of what was an old Air Force base, then the towns surrounding the base then… nothing, as the satellite watching the area lost its feed. A cut to another satellite that swept over the area afterward showed that nothing was left from within the light's boundary. Not even the ground was spared, as the light left a perfect bowl where it once was.

The recording stopped.

Ritsuko sighed. "All contact was lost at the time of the incident. Their schedule showed that they were due to test the S2 Organ on Unit-04."

Misato shook her head as she grabbed her necklace. "What a terrible tragedy." she muttered. She turned to Maya. "What are the casualty reports?"

Maya looked down at her tablet. "Unit-04, the S2 Organ that we salvaged from Shamshel, the entirety of NERV-3, and anything within about 89 kilometers of the blast center."

Ritsuko nodded. "Including most of the towns within the area, and their population."

Maya looked back down at her tablet. "Possible causes of the explosion, which we have narrowed down to being caused by the S2 test, range from faults in the primary material of the Organ to flaws in the design itself, to unpredictable energy fluctuations during the test. The Magi counts up to over 30,000 total possibilities."

"Could sabotage have been one of them?" Misato said.

Hyuga, who had been silent until now, spoke up. "Well, ma'am, it didn't look like an explosion, at least not one I've seen before. It looked like everything just… vanished."

"Probably swallowed by a Dirac sea, then." Ritsuko said with a grim look on her face. "That would mean everything is gone."

"Not just Unit-04, but..." Misato said, the realization dawning on her.

"The S2 Organ as well. Along with all of our hopes of freeing any of the Evangelions from their cables and batteries in the near future." Ritsuko said, quietly.

Misato nodded, then looked over to Hyuga and Maya. "Continue to monitor the situation. Let me know if anything changes."

The two of them nodded, and Misato stood. "I'll want a full summary of what happened by the end of the day. Doctor, come with me. We have some calls to make, obviously."

Misato and Ritsuko left the room. Silence followed them until the pair stood on a descending escalator. Misato spoke first. "So, what are the Americans doing with Unit-03?"

Ritsuko shook her head. "They'll be transferring it over to us. The US administration is very anxious about facing the possibility of losing the NERV branch in Boston."

Misato rolled her eyes. "All this pomp and circumstance about building the next two Units, and now they can't wait to have us in charge of them, instead."

Ritsuko shrugged. "Well, after an event like this one, anyone would be skittish, really."

"So, who do we use for the activation test then? The Dummy System you've been working on? One of the pilots?" The question was underpinned by the understanding of how that selection would be made, though it didn't show in Misato's tone.

Ritsuko was silent for a moment. "I'll pick someone."

Tokyo-3 General Hospital, One Week Later

Toji Suzuhara and Hikari Horaki walked into the hospital, hands held together in an uncertain grip. The development of them starting to be a couple was still somewhat mind-boggling, at least to one of them. It was an adventure that they were both looking forward to, though, as they asked after Sakura Suzuhara.

"Cla… Hikari, thanks for coming with me. Sakura likes it when people visit with me." Toji said, weathering the patient glance from Hikari as he slowly got used to calling her by her name.

She smiled slightly as they got into an elevator, Toji pressing the button for the correct floor. "Of course, Su...Toji. I'm glad that I'm able to meet your sister. She sounds very nice." Toji was far from the only one still getting used to calling someone by their name.

Toji nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, she is. I'm glad she's starting to do okay. Even just a little better helps, really."

He shook his head in wonderment. "Though when I talked to her and told her about you, she said she "gave her blessing", or something like that. I'm still trying to figure out what it means."

Hikari slowly blushed as she considered the implications of what Toji's little sister had said about their relationship, then chuckled uneasily. "Oh, she must be quite the jokester, then! Acting like she's the head of the family and all."

Toji, much to her surprise, nodded thoughtfully. "Well, honestly… she might as well be, some days. She's got Dad and I wrapped around her little finger. I can hardly say no to her anymore." he shook his head slightly as he smiled sadly. "She's just too cute, some days. Even with everything that's happened."

He turned to look at her as the elevator dinged quietly, letting them out at their floor. "You and your sisters must be like that sometimes too, huh?"

Hikari nodded quietly as they walked. "Well… yes. Or at least a little. I do all the cooking and cleaning around the house, but I'm just good at it, is all. I'm just playing at being a mother."

The two of them were silent for a moment as they continued to walk. "I wish I could have met your mom." Toji said quietly. "I think she might have been real nice."

Hikari nodded silently. "Dad says she was. I wish I could have met your mother too." Their first date had been surprisingly emotional, finding out how much they had in common. Their grip tightened as they continued to hold each other's hands.

As they stopped at Sakura's door, Hikari impulsively pulled Toji into a hug. "I'm glad that we're together now, Toji."

She stepped back, a little of her class representative attitude seeping in as she put her hands on her hips. "After all, when a girl pines for as many months as I have, it's almost a duty for her to guide the one she fancies into realizing that. However long that may have taken." She said that last part with a smile, one that Toji returned as he opened the door to the hospital room.

NERV-HQ

The massive network of air shafts contained within NERV-HQ provided a quiet hum as Rei and Commander Ikari stood silently on a conveyor belt, one behind the other. With an ease born of necessary practice, Rei had assumed her bland, distant attitude as they walked with each other.

Commander Ikari finally broke the silence. "Rei, are things satisfactory?"

It was a question he had asked her since her inception. It was always a general inquiry, and Commander Ikari rarely delved into specifics. Rei pondered the question for a moment.

Yes, she decided, things were satisfactory. But not in the way that Commander Ikari had intended. She felt good, she felt alive, she felt loved by her peers for the first time… ever. But she couldn't tell him that.

In a way, it saddened her to admit that to herself. Before her was the man who showed her kindness and what little happiness he ever showed to anyone. In a way, he had raised her and was like… a father to her.

But then she remembered what he had ordered done to her. The cloud of drugs, the terrible home, the isolation from those who she now called friends. It only reinforced the fact that he couldn't know how she truly felt. So, she answered without inflection. "Yes, sir. Things are satisfactory. I will be with Doctor Akagi for today's procedure, and back to school the day after."

Commander Ikari nodded. "Good."

Silence fell upon them again as Rei considered what being with Doctor Akagi meant. She would undertake her quarterly brain scan, and the data would be backed up into the Magi, in case of her untimely death before the end of Gendo's Scenario.

She had enjoyed it at first, at least as much as she could have, floating weightlessly in the tank of LCL. Now, though, an existential sort of dread had begun to seep into the process. It seemed designed to ram home how expendable she seemed to be, how easily she could be replaced if she broke.

'No. I am not expendable. Not to them. I am not a doll. I will not be such. For my friends.'

Gendo spoke again. "And how is school?"

'It is where I am free. It is where I am loved. It is where the people I love are.'

"Without problems, sir."

"Good."

. . .

As Rei began her upload, Ritsuko gazed at the latest in technology, the work of her hands, and suppressed a shudder. The Plug in front of her was painted a deep, crimson red. The color of blood and pain and alarm. It was appropriate, she felt, for how dangerous it could be.

"This is the prototype Dummy Plug, sir." Ritsuko began. "Rei's personality and mental patterns, or at least as close as the Magi can get them, have been implemented into the Dummy System. But…"

She paused for a moment. "We can't replicate a real pilot's abilities with this. We cannot replicate a pilot's soul with this. All it will ever be is an imperfect copy. I have… concerns about how the Evangelions might act when this will be controlling them."

Gendo regarded the Plug silently for a moment. "As long as the system is sound, and activates as it is supposed to, that will be all we need."

He glanced over at her for a moment before looking back to the Plug. "Install the Dummy System data into Units-01 and 02."

Ritsuko's eyes widened slightly in shock. "Sir, there's still a host of shortcomings that need to be accounted for. The behavior models, and how unpredictable they are, for one-"

"Don't matter, Doctor." Gendo said calmly. "As long as the Evas can move, they can fight. That is all that matters."

Ritsuko nodded stiffly. "Understood, sir."

As Gendo and Ritsuko walked back to her clinic, Ritsuko stewed silently. 'You haven't seen the footage of them breaking free from the Angel yet, have you? Do that, then tell me everything will be fine. You have no idea how much those things scare me, Gendo. We have little enough control of them as it is using the pilots, and you want me to loosen their leash with the Dummy System? Do you really have that much confidence in our control of them?'

. . .

As Rei floated quietly in the tank of LCL that helped to record her neural patterns, Ritsuko sat at a desk nearby, as Gendo looked up at her. After a moment, Gendo spoke.

"The UN is handling Unit-03's transportation here. It will be arriving this weekend." Gendo said levelly. "Are you prepared to receive it and do an activation test?"

As Ritsuko looked up, she quashed an almost instinctual pang of jealousy. He was looking at a tool, a husk. He wasn't looking at her. She had told herself these things a thousand times, that such fears were irrational, and every time, a little part of her doubted it. It had become exacerbated as Rei had gone off her drugs, had become more than just the doll that Gendo expected her to be.

Ritsuko blinked. She still hadn't told him about that, had she? Well, right now, it could wait until it bit him in the ass.

Ritsuko finally responded. "Yes. The adjustment and activation test will be done at the Matsushiro test grounds."

Gendo spoke without turning. "And who will the test pilot be?"

Ritsuko shook her head out of his sight. "The Dummy Plug is too dangerous for a test as of right now." she pulled up notes on her computer, scanning through them with easy efficiency. "Shinji's synch score is at around 75%, Asuka's is at almost 80%, and Rei's is at about 65%."

She paused for a moment, then continued. "Given the results, I still think we should proceed with pilot selection as I laid out in my template last week. The best candidate out of our pool will then be selected a-"

"The Fourth Child?"

Ritsuko nodded. "Yes. There are several candidates for whom we can prepare the cores immediately."

Gendo nodded slightly. "Very well. I will leave the final selection to you, then. The addition of another Child is useful, but it will not be critical."

"Understood, sir." Ritsuko replied.

Gendo smiled. It was a small smile, and it seemed out of place on an eternally serious face such as his. But nevertheless, he smiled at Rei. "Rei. We are done here."

Rei opened her eyes in the tube, as a small smile came to her face. "Yes, commander."

"Let's go eat now."

"Yes." Rei's gaze wandered from Gendo to Ritsuko, who stared daggers into the back of Gendo's head. What she said next was almost an afterthought. "Thank you, Doctor Akagi."

Ritsuko's eyes widened in surprise, and Rei fought hard to not have hers do the same as a spike of panic drove itself into her heart at the slip of her tongue.

Gendo's eyebrow only arched slightly. "You've never thanked Doctor Akagi before. Why do you thank her now?"

Rei gathered her thoughts for a brief instant before she replied. "I am told by the other pilots that it is customary to thank those that have served you in some capacity, commander."

Silence filled the room for a moment, then his shoulders moved up a fraction. "It is good to know that your fellow pilots are at least well mannered."

He turned, and Ritsuko turned back to her work quickly. "As I said," he continued, "we will go and eat when you are prepared."

Rei's smile faded. "Yes, commander."

Warehouse S-52, Tokyo-3 Outskirts

The large warehouse, along with much of the rest of the outskirts of Tokyo-3, was dark and silent. Almost everything outside of the main city was, due to the Angel attacks. For the figure in a dark hoodie that approached the door of the warehouse, it was that reason that made this the perfect place for a house of worship.

The figure placed his hand on the metal door and focused. The door began to vibrate at a very specific pitch and tune for all of 5 seconds before he stopped and waited. After a moment, a small portion of the door became transparent, and discerning eyes studied him up and down.

After a moment, the eyes faded from sight as the eyehole lost its transparency, and the door opened with an almost unnatural silence. The man at the door nodded respectfully. "Welcome back, Acolyte Farhaven." he whispered, even with the knowledge of their isolation.

As Tavis Farhaven stepped in, he pulled down his hood, running thin, delicate fingers through close-cropped black hair, his silvery eyes sweeping across the quiet, improvised monastery. The length of it had been divided up by stone walls shaped by the Expressions of one of their Interfacers, and the immediate surroundings were offered up as a chapel, where a few of their newly acquired acolytes sat in reverence as they listened to the deep, soothing baritone voice of Receptorist Jameson.

He walked around them towards the back, paying them no heed. They were as of yet unmarked, listening intently to Jameson quietly elucidate to them the mysteries of Reality and the Guides.

A doorway led to a small set of steps leading down under the surface, another work of Expression. Down below, the dormitories of the acolytes stretched the length of the warehouse. He made his way to a particular door and pushed it open.

In the room was enough space for four acolytes, and Ymris, his last bondsmate, looked up as he arrived. She shouldn't have been alone. Abed should have been there. But at least he got to be with his love again, he thought, as he sat down on his plain bed.

"It's good to see you back, Tavis." Ymris said, absentmindedly rubbing a pointed ear that was usually concealed with an Interfaced necklace whenever they went outside. "I thought you were going to talk to Jameson."

Tavis sighed. "I was, but he's in the middle of a sermon."

It was quiet for a moment. "So, what were you going to talk to him about?" Ymris said after a moment.

Tavis shrugged. "Well, I'm supposed to receive the next Proximity, what with uncovering another outsider's influence." he sighed. "I just hate what it cost me. What it cost us." Tavis's voice lowered to a whisper. "Another dead friend in another broken world."

Ymris nodded, glancing over at where Abed used to sleep. "Yeah." she said quietly. "I still don't quite know how to process it. Him being gone. And..." she trailed off.

Tavis nodded, his expression hardening. "I don't care who that was, or who he might have been. It's just one more stumbling block in the way of our goals." 'Of my goals.'

"The fact that we'll avenge our friend when we take care of him makes it all the better." Tavis continued.

Ymris nodded. "Yes." she paused for a moment. "For the Unity." she said quietly.

"Yeah," Tavis said, equally quietly, "for the Unity."

Ymris shook her head. "But how are we going to avenge Abed against someone like that? He wiped the floor with us in a standup fight, unarmed, Tavis."

Tavis nodded. "Maybe. But we're inexperienced Acolytes."

He shifted on his bed resting his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward, his hard face splitting slightly as a small smile came to him. "But I hear that we have some help coming in from the Seaside. Someone who doesn't need a stand-up fight to win against him."

NERV-HQ

Misato knocked on the door to Ritsuko's office as she entered. "Alright, I'm here. You were looking for me?"

Ritsuko looked up briefly from her computer and nodded. "Yes, I was. I wanted to talk to you about Unit-03. Seeing as it's coming in soon, the Commander scheduled the activation test for Sunday afternoon. You'll be escorting the pilot who will be participating in the test, so you'll have to come overnight, and leave your two behind for an evening."

Misato rolled her eyes. "I'm sure that Shinji and Asuka will be fine with a night to themselves, what with how much they've calmed down."

Ritsuko paused for a moment, a small smile on her face as she looked back up. "That's quite the trust you're placing in them, two hormonal teenagers who'll be all alone at night."

Misato rolled her eyes. "Please. Even if they've gotten used to each other, I doubt that they'll do anything like what you're thinking about. It would be like trying to mix oil and water with them, that's how different they are. Though I do wonder sometimes…"

Ritsuko chuckled. "Well, you could have the Theisman's keep an eye on them, if you're so inclined."

Misato shrugged. "Well, maybe Kaji can do it. He doesn't seem to be doing anything right now, and I'm sure that Asuka will at least be happy to see him."

Ritsuko raised a single eyebrow. "Oh? And you're sure it isn't because you and Kaji have been 'going out for drinks' a lot more recently?"

Misato rolled her eyes. "Come on, Ritsuko. It's drinks on his tab and a little flirting. Watching Shinji and Asuka dance around each other like I know they have reminded me of the good old days of flirting with Kaji in college."

Ritsuko's other brow rose. "Oh? You consider a week of wearing a divot into a bed 'flirting' now? I must be such a prude, compared to you." she chuckled.

Misato stuck her tongue out at Ritsuko. "I'd hardly call you a prude, Ritsky. Not after that one party after senior midterms."

Ritsuko blushed slightly. "Come on." she muttered. "That was one time, and we were both very, very drunk."

A sly smirk came to Misato's face. "Oh, come on. I know you enjoyed it."

She shook her head with a chuckle, then she blinked as her expression became thoughtful. "Wait a minute. Is Rei the pilot for the test? You didn't mention her."

Ritsuko's expression became serious as well. "No. We'll use the Fourth Child as the test pilot."

A pit opened in Misato's stomach as she schooled her face into seriousness. 'So who did you decide to pluck out of school now, Ritsuko?'

"Oh? They've found the Fourth Child?" she answered inquisitively.

Ritsuko nodded. "As of yesterday. The paperwork is still processing, but I went ahead and set it up."

"Alright." Misato said after a moment. "Who is it?"

Ritsuko typed for a moment on her computer, then turned the display to show Misato.

Misato's eyes widened a fraction even as she confirmed her worst suspicion. "Really? That's who the Fourth Child is?"

She straightened up. "Ritsuko, what are the odds of that?" she asked only somewhat genuinely.

Ritsuko shrugged. "Well, all the candidates are gathered in one place for their safety. It couldn't be helped, really."

Misato nodded. "So all the kids in their class are potential pilots." She said this and suppressed a shudder at what it might have taken to make all of them eligible. "This… this is going to be hard to break to the other pilots. Rei will accept it. Nothing really seems to bother her about this business anyway. But I don't know about Shinji and Asuka."

Ritsuko turned her monitor back around and resumed typing. "They'll have to accept it, one way or the other. We need the Children in order to survive. All of them."

Misato glared sullenly at Ritsuko. "I admire your great sense of compassion. I still have to tell them and deal with the fallout, in the end."

Ritsuko didn't even look up. "And I'm sure you can deal with it. As will the Children."

The vending machine lounge in HQ was a quiet place today as Maya and Kaji considered their options. A speaker system chimed and began to speak. "Attention: Preparations for Third Area and prototype weapons testing will begin as scheduled. Doctor Nishizawa, 3rd Engineering Section, please contact the 2nd Development Section. I repeat…" It did so, and a tone preceded silence coming back to the lounge.

Kaji rolled his eyes as the two of them sat down on a bench with their drinks. "The intercept system is finally finished, and nobody's throwing a party? Man, it's so uptight around here."

Maya looked over at him. "Well, the commander is a very serious man. He expects those that work under him to be equally serious."

Kaji nodded, then a sly smile came to his face as he looked sideways at Maya. "So, what about you? Do you like to party, go out for drinks?"

Maya blushed slightly but rolled her eyes. He had left her severely flustered at their first meeting when she learned about the secrets that he and Misato and Daniel knew, and she wasn't going to let him fluster her again. At least, not too much. "Only every once in a while, Inspector." she replied levelly. "And I thought that you and Major Katsuragi were the ones who mostly did that."

"Well," Kaji said slowly, "drinking always appreciates company."

"And I thought that company was going to be me, Kaji." Misato said, causing Kaji to turn to regard her standing there.

Misato continued to glare somewhat at Kaji. "Taking care of business?" she asked pointedly.

Kaji shrugged as Misato sat down. "In a manner of speaking. I was just ensuring that our dear Ms. Ibuki couldn't be seduced by anyone. If she can survive me... well, she can survive just about anyone trying to tempt her for her sysadmin access." Maya blushed a little deeper as he said this.

Misato sighed, a small, playful smile coming to her face. "Well, seeing as we're getting drinks this Thursday, Mr. Kaji, you will be taking me out and paying for everything, seeing as I was supposed to be the one you were flirting with the most. Call it penance from a woman spurned."

Kaji raised his hands in mock surrender. "You got me, Major. I guess there's nothing I can do about that."

Misato smirked slightly. "I thought so."

Her face grew somber again after a moment as she sighed. "They've found the Fourth Child."

Kaji glanced around to ensure that they were alone, and Maya's eyes widened slightly. "Who is it?" she asked.

Misato sighed. "It's one of the pilot's classmates. Daniel was right. They did group them into a single class, just in case. This confirmed it."

Before she could continue, a familiar voice called out. "Ms. Misato? Are you there?" Shinji appeared from around the edge of the doorway into the lounge, Asuka right behind him.

Misato stood. "Yes, I'm here." she replied as she stood. She turned to Maya and Kaji. "We'll keep talking later."

Maya nodded. "Sure. I have some debugging in the system I need to take care of, anyway."

Kaji nodded knowingly. "Well, Ms. Ibuki, have fun with your 'debugging'."

She nodded and walked out of the lounge.

Misato turned back towards the Children. "Yes, Shinji? What do you need?"

"Ms. Ritsuko was looking for you. She said something about being at a meeting for a business trip?"

Misato nodded. "Ah, yes. Thank you, Shinji."

She turned to look at Kaji. "I'll be seeing you around, Inspector." she walked out of the room, leaving Kaji with Shinji and Asuka.

He looked at the both of them, how they stood together instead of simply by each other, how relaxed they were around each other. They were far more aware of each other than friends usually were. So, he thought as he suppressed a grin, he decided to have a little fun with them.

"So, Shinji," he said in a casual tone, "care to join me, go out for a cup of tea later today?"

He noted the instinctual signs of jealousy on Asuka's face that flashed by in an instant before giving way to a shocked expression, followed by a peal of laughter. Shinji, for his part, looked nonplussed by the obvious pick-up line. "I'm a boy, as I'm sure you can tell, Mr. Kaji." he said patiently. His eyes flickered away to his side for a moment before a slight smile came to him. "And I'm more preferential to coffee, anyways."

Kaji laughed. He didn't miss any of what had just happened in front of him, seeing as they both all but confessed to him. "Well, anyway, what are the two of you doing roaming around together? And where is the enigmatic Ms. Ayanami?"

A sly grin crossed his face. "Or do you prefer having it be just the two of you without her?"

Asuka stopped laughing, an annoyed glare settling in in the absence of mirth. "Well, I'm here on my duties as a pilot, Kaji, obviously. And seeing as Shinji here still gets lost around here, I figured we would be better off sticking together. And as for your question about Rei, we haven't seen her today or yesterday, and we have a synch test that we all need to do later. We came in to look for her as well."

'Excuses, excuses, Asuka. Forgive me if I'm only amused.' Kaji nodded. "I see." he said aloud.

Shinji finally spoke again, muttering somewhat. "And he asks me out for tea, of all things… I thought you would be a much more serious adult, Mr. Kaji."

Kaji snorted slightly. "My, when you know someone, you really let that ferocious streak show, do you Shinji?" he said sardonically.

Shinji blushed as he withdrew himself. "Sorry." he said quietly.

Asuka's similar blush didn't prevent her from slapping Shinji softly upside the head with an annoyed look. "Hey!" Shinji said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, don't worry so much about apologizing! There's nothing to apologize for, anyway." Asuka said.

Kaji chuckled again. "It's okay, Asuka. I've got thicker skin than that, so don't worry, Shinji. I didn't mean to sound sarcastic. So, since you've been so honest with me, I'll show you both something nice, and be honest with the two of you."

He walked down the hallway where Shinji had come from, beckoning to them to follow. Shinji and Asuka looked at each other for a moment, then shrugged and began to follow him.

. . .

In what could be considered the open air of the Geofront, Shinji and Asuka looked in wonder at the vast rows of watermelons that spread out before them. Asuka gave a hmph after a moment, looking over at Kaji as he watered his plants. "I didn't know you gardened, Kaji. Though, thinking about it, there probably weren't many opportunities to grow things in the Stahlturm."

Kaji smiled as he set the watering can down and surveyed his patch. "It's cute, isn't it? It's my secret hobby. A little escape from the rest of the world. Creating something, raising it, it's a wonderful thing to see. There's a lot we can learn from doing that. What we enjoy is the least of that."

Shinji nodded. "Does Misato know about this place?"

Kaji nodded. "Yes, actually, she does. So does Daniel. But they've promised to keep it a secret, too." he thought silently for a moment. "You know, this might make for a nice, romantic little picnic spot, wouldn't you think?" he said absentmindedly.

"Yeah." Shinji replied, a distant look in his eyes. "You know, you should do that someday. You should never miss any chance to do something with someone you care about. You just can't get those back."

Kaji nodded as he turned to look at Shinji, noting that Asuka had intently begun looking somewhere that made it so her back was turned to them. "Those are wise words, Shinji. It's rare to hear those from someone so young. Are you speaking from experience?"

"Well," Shinji said, shuffling a little in the sandy dirt, "I've just been thinking about how much happier Misato is with you around, as much as she doesn't seem to want to say it." he paused for a moment. "I want her to keep being happy. We both do." he nodded over to Asuka, who turned around as she heard this, a serious look on her face as she nodded in agreement. "She's been so kind to me, to us, and… we want to see her happy more often."

'I know that all too well.' Kaji nodded as his phone rang. "Well," he said, checking who was calling, "speak her name, and she will answer."

He accepted the call. "Hello there!"

"I left my pilots with you, Kaji." Misato said matter of factly. "Where have you taken them off to?"

"They're just here with me right now." Kaji said.

"Well, get them to the test area then. It won't start without them."

Kaji nodded. "Will do, ma'am. They'll be on their way."

He hung up and looked at Shinji and Asuka. "Well, kids, it's time for your test. Let's go ahead and not take up too much of their time, shall we?"

. . .

As the Children sat quietly in the Test Plugs, Misato aired out her shirt silently in the heat of the observation room. The heat was not unbearable, but it was annoying. She thought back, almost against her will, to a similarly toasty time, in an elevator in the dark with Kaji, then to a walk home under a night sky. 'We kept our promise. So why am I still thinking about that? Did he really mean what he said? Did I mean what I said?'

She shook her head silently. Then she looked over at Ritsuko. She thought of the revelation that was hanging over the Children's heads because of her. 'How could we do this to them? Take their friends, their classmates, and make them weapons right alongside them? They look happy, Rits. Some of them look happier than I could have ever imagined them. But… how will they react to this? The things I know now… I hate the end we're working towards. But… I need to work with you and make sure we get there, or everyone dies.'

She shook her head again. 'I miss you, Ritsuko Akagi. I know you're in there somewhere, buried under all the seriousness and secrets. But how do I get to you?'

She hadn't the slightest clue right now. She mourned that fact.

Another school day was in full swing as Shinji stepped out onto the roof to eat his lunch in peace. The rooftop was quiet compared to the backyard, he and the other pilots had heard. Today, it looked as if it would be blessedly empty. Save for his friends, the rest of the school was getting even more ideas now, and frankly, he was getting tired of some of the advances that had been directed at him.

He was just tired today. Tired of having to try and keep something like his growing relationship with Asuka secret from the group perhaps most adept at winnowing out such secrets. He was tired of people who had no idea what it felt like to be a pilot, who never went through what he had gone through, to congratulate him, call him a hero.

Even as much as Asuka and Rei, and recently Hikari and Toji, started to deflect such things from him, console him that even though they didn't know what it was like, he was still a hero, it still weighed on him heavily. He may have been a hero, perhaps. But he didn't feel like it. At all.

His mood brightened as he saw Kensuke leaning against the fence ringing the roof, talking quietly to two of his female classmates. He smiled wryly to himself as he thought back to what had happened after Rei's maiden date. People had come to the conclusion that if he could convince Rei, of all people, to go out, then there had to be something special about him.

Shinji shook his head with a small smile. Poor Kensuke, in the two weeks since his date with Rei, had gone on a plethora of first dates, sometimes even twice a day. It felt nice some days not to be the center of attention. The ones talking to him now were probably trying to compete for his attention. "Hello, Kensuke! Is this spot taken already?" Shinji said cheerfully.

Kensuke, and his two friends, turned to Shinji and waved. "Hey, Shinji! No, it's fine. I was just talking."

Shinji nodded. "Alright. How was your trip to the military parade?"

Kensuke grinned. "It was great! I got some awesome pictures!" he chuckled uneasily as his companions looked cooly at him. "And I had a good time with Sayaka and Kyoko, too."

Shinji nodded again, more slowly this time, as he set down his lunch. "Okay… so was one of them your date? And why did the other go with you if it was a date?"

Kensuke chuckled uneasily. "It's complicated."

Sayaka, who had dyed her hair a deep red recently, which was not against the school's policy due to one Rei Ayanami, stepped forward. "Well, it's actually simple, really. Kyoko and I" she said as she nodded over to her friend, "wanted to date him. We couldn't agree on different times, so we decided to just accompany each other on his dates with each of us. He's been very accommodating."

Shinji's brow rose as Asuka, Rei, Hikari, and Toji all came up behind Shinji with their lunches forming an almost instinctive protective circle around Shinji to keep any wayward girls away from him. Shinji shrugged. "Alright then. That's kind of weird to me, but I'm not one to judge. I hope that it works out for you three."

Kyoko nodded. "Thank you, Shinji. It's been a very enlightening experience."

Asuka came up beside Shinji looking at Kensuke, Sayaka and Kyoko. "Alright, whatever you three are doing up here, if you can leave us in peace, that would be very much appreciated."

Shinji raised a hand. "No, it's okay, Asuka. They should be fine staying with us here. It's a bigger group of friends to enjoy lunch with."

Asuka rolled her eyes, then nodded after a moment as she understood what went unspoken. "Alright. You three can go ahead and stay then."

Sayaka nodded to Asuka. "Thank you."

As the group sat down to eat their lunches, Kensuke turned to Shinji. "Oh yeah. So, I heard a rumor I wanted to ask you about. Specifically about Eva Unit-03."

Shinji's brow rose. "Unit-03?"

Kensuke nodded, his eyes brightening as he settled into his element, as Sayaka and Kyoko both rolled their eyes slightly. "Yeah! It was under construction in America, and they're shipping it to Japan, now. Is that right?"

Shinji shrugged. "Well, I haven't heard anything about it." He turned to Asuka and Rei. "Did either of you hear about this?"

Asuka shook her head. "We're pilots, Kensuke. Assuming we know things is more than a bit of a stretch."

Rei shook her head. "Asuka is correct."

Kensuke nodded. "Alright then. Makes sense. But I also heard that Unit-04 exploding is what caused it to be sent here, too. My dad's section was going crazy over it."

Most all present rose their eyebrows at this news, even as the assuredly massive cost of such a loss weighed on them.

Kensuke nodded after a moment. "Yeah." After a moment, he perked up. "So, do you think that they've announced a pilot for it?"

Hikari and Toji quietly reached for each other's hands, squeezing them as they went unnoticed for the most part.

Shinji nodded. "Maybe. I'm not entirely sure about how the process goes."

Kensuke got a, for lack of a better description, dreamy look in his eyes. "Man, that would be crazy if it were me. I can only imagine getting to pilot one of them. That would be so cool."

Shinji shook his head. "It's not all that you think it might be, Ken. And besides, they probably haven't even picked out a pilot yet."

Toji finally broke his silence. "Yeah, actually. They have." he said in a pained, husky voice, as tears began to well up in his eyes.

All eyes turned to him, a silence not unlike a funeral's falling over the whole group. "Toji..." Shinji said, eyes filled with compassion. "I didn't know… you don't have to accept. I'm sure they can-"

"It's me."

Everyone turned to Hikari, as she wiped at tears of her own. Hikari nodded. "It's me." she repeated, taking a second to breathe. "Doctor Akagi called me in between class periods. That's why we missed some of our classes. Toji stayed with me to… to support me."

She paused, taking a deep breath. "She said that I was the Fourth Child. That NERV needed me. She said that they would do anything that I wanted in order to make it so I could pilot. That they would take care of my family and my education, and that they could even move Toji's sister to the NERV hospital. I asked them for that one."

She took another deep breath and squeezed Toji's hand again as she sniffled. "I guess… I guess we aren't going to get to go on our next date on Saturday."

As Hikari took in their puzzled expressions, she continued. "The Unit-03 Kensuke was talking about. It'll be here in a few days. I have to go and make sure that it's ready and able to work on Sunday. It's supposed to take the whole weekend."

She fell silent. Shinji's mind reeled. He shook his head after a moment. "Class Rep… like I told Toji, you don't have to do this. They can probably find someone else…"

"And what, Classmate Ikari?" Hikari said, a measure of her serious tone as class representative coming through. "Let someone else take the responsibility I was too afraid to take? You do it. Asuka and Classmate Ayanami do it, even when Ayanami was hurt. I can do this. Who else can?"

"I can!" Toji said, tears finally slipping down his cheeks as he grabbed Hikari's shoulders. "Let me do it, please! If you got hurt… I don't… I don't know…" He choked, at a loss for words, as Hikari drew him into a hug.

"And that's part of why I love you, Toji." she said quietly. "You care. You care so much, and I know there's nothing you wouldn't do to protect the people you love. But… you might not even be able to pilot an Eva. I was told I was one in billions, and that there are only four Children that they've ever identified."

Confusion and no small amount of wonder entered her eyes as she finally pulled back from Toji's nearly bone-crushing hug. "Come to think of it… only four Children in the whole world, and they're all right here. That's… quite a coincidence."

Shinji looked at Asuka and Rei. Asuka gave him a look that told him that they all had things to discuss when they were in much more private spaces. Rei's look was a close mirror of Asuka's.

Shinji's mind puzzled over the information that he had just gotten. 'Only four Children in the world, and a chance of one in billions, and the next Child just so happens to be in our class? That's more than a coincidence. There's more to this.' He held back the inopportune urge to ask Hikari about her mother.

Hikari shook her head as she stroked Toji's face. "So, no, Toji. I can't run from this. And besides, I'll have Classmate Ikari, and Asuka, and Classmate Ayanami by my side to look after me. It can't be all that bad."

Rei spoke up from beside Asuka. "Representative Horaki… Hikari. As we will be going into battle together, please, just call me Rei."

Shinji, Asuka, and the others looked back at Rei. "Rei…" Shinji said quietly.

Rei looked back at Shinji calmly. "Yes, Shinji?"

Shinji shook his head for a moment. "You do know what you're doing, right, Rei?"

After a moment's silence, Rei nodded slightly. "Yes, Shinji. I do."

After a moment, and a glance at an equally confused Asuka, Shinji sighed, scratching the back of his head. "Well… welcome to the team, Hikari."

. . .

As lunch finished and the rest of the group slowly made its way down to classes, Shinji stayed behind for a moment, Asuka waiting for him. He walked to the fence surrounding the roof. All was silent for a moment. Then, in a moment of impotent rage, Shinji slammed the fence with both hands, not caring for the sting it gave his palms.

Asuka stepped towards him. "Shinji…"

Shinji turned, and Asuka stepped back as she saw the anger in his eyes.

"It's his fault." Shinji spat. "My father. It all leads back to him, anyways. More friends dragged into life or death, more of the people I love putting their lives on the line, more people to…"

Shinji paused, then deflated as he dipped his head, the anger draining from his eyes as Asuka came up to him. "What happens, Asuka?" he said, barely whispering. "What happens when I can't save them?"

Asuka looked around to ensure they were alone, then took Shinji's head in her hands, lifting it up to give him a quiet, soft kiss. "What happens is that you don't just put it on yourself to save them. You let us help. Please. We're here for you. I'm here for you."

Shinji placed a hand on one of Asuka's and a weary smile came to his face. "I will. Thank you, Asuka."

A warm smile came to Asuka. "Of course, Shinji."

She stepped back, and her usual fire came to life in her eyes. "Alright, enough moping! Let's hurry and get to class. We're already late, so let's not make it any worse."

Shinji sighed, then nodded. "Alright. Let's go."

Ritsuko stood silently in the quiet, empty office of Commander Ikari. The light of midday slowly slipping into the evening only just managed to reach the office through the blood-red windows, leaving the usually highlighted murals of the System Sephirothicum in deepening shadow. Commander Ikari's eyes were amber disks of light held up by shadows as he considered her, Deputy Commander Fuyutsuki by his side.

Ritsuko finally spoke to give her report as the amber disks dipped slightly. "The Fourth Child candidate accepted our offer. She did so with the only stipulations being some things that would be done for her family and that of her boyfriend's. Everything is in order to fulfill her requests, and she will be accompanying Major Katsuragi in a few hours to go to Matsushiro."

The office was silent for a moment. "A question, Doctor Akagi." Fuyutsuki said. "Are you certain of your selection of Ms. Horaki as the Fourth Child? She is only the second choice for the position."

Ritsuko collected her thoughts for a moment before replying. "Deputy Commander, there are two reasons for such a choice. Firstly, of all the pilots, the First and the Second have consistently made greater advances in synch scores and harmonics compared to the Third. Second, while she scores highly on her willpower and intelligence, she is also shown to be more responsive to authority and hierarchy compared to the number one candidate. This will give us better leverage over her, and we can be more certain that she will follow any orders that we give her."

The office saw the return of silence once again as all considered this. After a moment, Gendo finally spoke. "Very well. I believe that the Fourth Child will be adequate for our needs. The UN has given the time of arrival for Unit-03. It will be here within 24 hours. Have Matsushiro ready to receive it."

"Yes, sir."

"Dismissed."

Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean

A massive transport plane bucked slightly as a bolt of lightning from the storm it passed through struck it with a crack of thunder.

"Woah!" one of the pilots said, clearly startled, looking over the flickering screens of the cockpit with a harried gaze.

His copilot, many years his senior, put a calming hand on his shoulder. "Relax, man. It's okay."

"Are you sure? That was a hell of a strike there."

The copilot rolled his eyes. "And we're rated for bigger strikes than that." He looked around him as the panels in the cockpit became stable again. "See? No problem up here. Care to check out the cargo?"

The pilot tapped at one of the screens, confusion swiftly coming over him. "Man. This thing's going wild..."

"It's newer technology." The copilot said with endless patience. "See? It's already stabilizing. We'll be fine."

"Alright." the pilot said, taking a deep breath. "You know, there for a minute, I thought that we were really toast."

He gave a leering glance over to his copilot. "I still think we should have flown above or around this thing instead of through it."

"And make the bigwigs waiting for this thing angry? No chance, my friend. Besides, it's not like the lightning really did anything. Like I said, everything's going to be just fine."

In the massive cargo hold, red eyes faded to black once again, as their body's possessor waited quietly.

Theisman Residence, Tokyo-3

The night was much like any other, and it found the Theisman's doing what they usually did, reading quietly before they retired. They waited for Rei, who was unusually late tonight, with no word on what she was doing. It was odd, but they had faith that Rei was doing well.

The familiar tones of the door opening and closing had them setting aside their books, ones that did not need to disappear tonight, as they stood and looked towards the kitchen doorway as Rei gave her customary "I have arrived".

A warm smile came to Daniel's face as Rei, Shinji and Asuka walked in. It was joined by raised eyebrows as he saw Hikari and Toji with them. "Well," he said, "what's the occasion?"

Asuka sighed, shaking her head. "Daniel… Hikari's the Fourth Child. And she's going to be testing Unit-03 tomorrow."

A moment of silence washed over the apartment as Daniel and Eleanor processed their carefully hidden shock. To say they were thrown for a loop was an understatement.

Daniel blinked. "Well. They found the Fourth Child? Well…" Daniel sighed. "I can't say that I expected that, but I'm glad that it happens to be someone we all know." he turned to Hikari as a warm smile returned to him. "Welcome to our team, Ms. Horaki."

Hikari nodded after a moment. "Thank you, Mr. Theisman."

Daniel raised a hand. "Please, when we're working together, it's just Daniel. I'm here to help, not here to be your commanding officer."

Hikari nodded slowly. "Very well… Daniel."

Daniel nodded. "Thank you. And I'll let you know something Shinji and Asuka know. If you ever need anything, regardless of whether or not it has to do with piloting… our door is open anytime. Come whenever, and we'll be more than willing to help."

Hikari nodded again, a small and unsteady smile coming to her. "Thank you, Daniel."

Daniel sighed as he turned to the other three pilots. "Alright. Does she need a place to stay? We can put her up here if need be."

Shinji nodded. "I think so, if that's okay with Hikari." He looked over at her and she nodded wordlessly.

Shinji looked back at Daniel. "We can talk to Misato about that. I'm sure she'll be fine with it."

"Alright then." a small, wry smile came to Daniel as he looked over at Toji. "Do we need to make room for Mr. Suzuhara, too?"

Toji blushed, then shook his head. "Uh, no, no, I don't need to inconvenience you, Mr. Theisman. I… I just need a little time alone with Hikari." He blushed even more. "If you can make that work, that is."

Daniel chuckled slightly but nodded his head. "Of course. It's not a problem. As long as you don't need to be home soon or anything."

Toji shook his head as he relaxed visibly. "I can tell my dad something. It's fine."

Daniel nodded. "As I said, my door is open. That includes the pilot's friends as well."

Asuka nodded. "Alright. Shinji, Rei, and I still have schoolwork we need to do. We'll be over at Misato's." she stepped forward and gave Daniel a quick hug. "Good night, Bruder."

Daniel returned the hug. "Good night, Jünger."

As they pulled away from each other, and Asuka, Shinji and Rei began to leave, Daniel turned back to Hikari. "Do we need to get any supplies from your home?"

Hikari shook her head, shrugging off a backpack. "No. I have everything I need here."

Daniel nodded. "Alright. Go ahead and get settled in. We'll leave you with as much time as you need."

Hikari sighed. "Thank you, again. This means a lot."

Toji nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, it does. Thanks."

Daniel smiled slightly. "No problem."

. . .

The atmosphere in the Theisman's master bedroom was tense. Daniel paced around the bed slowly, while Eleanor sat on one of its edges. After confirming that Toji had gone home and Rei and Hikari were asleep, Daniel turned to Eleanor, his hands pressed together in front of his face. "Eleanor… I have so many questions." They both knew that, but Daniel simply had to say it out loud. "Like…"

"How Hikari became a pilot instead of Toji?" Eleanor shook her head slowly. "It's not impossible, but… we certainly had nothing to do with it."

"This Echo is different. Not just because we've changed it. And… I think I recognize it." Daniel lowered his hands. "We need to talk to Amaya."

Eleanor nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, it seems we do."

She stood from the bed, and walked to one of the walls. "Care to let us in?"

Daniel nodded, stepping forward and focusing. As he did, a small, crystalline key appeared in his hand. He pressed it onto a particular area of the wall, and the wall rippled, the key sinking into it with a hollow tone, not unlike a bell.

As Daniel turned the key, the wall in front of them shimmered and rippled still faster, until it changed from a portion of their bedroom wall in Tokyo-3 to a doorway to a far, far stranger room.

Daniel opened the door, then stepped aside. "After you."

As they descended down a stairway of cool, slightly blue stone, lit by glowing gemstones, Daniel brushed a hand across the wall, and a strange sensation rippled through the both of them.

Eleanor stopped and looked back at Daniel, who raised placating hands. "I've just isolated us from the time stream. We'll be able to be in here for as long as we need."

Eleanor nodded slowly, and they continued on.

After a moment, they emerged into a bare, empty room, and Eleanor turned to him. "Well? What space will we be studying in tonight?"

Daniel nodded and closed his eyes. "I believe… we should study in a nice reading room. Something that feels like you could find it in an out-of-the-way country manor in England. With oak bookcases, and a fireplace in the corner, and leather chairs. A place that feels warm and cozy. Something we can relax in for a little while."

As he spoke, the stone rippled and flowed, pieces of the wall and floor extruding and pulling back to become chairs and shelves and bookcases. One of the walls became clear, a view of a brilliant night sky filling what became a window. The coolness of the room was dispelled as a fire crackled to life in a hollow in the wall that became a large fireplace. The walls themselves changed from cool stone to a forest green patterned wallpaper.

Daniel opened his eyes and took a deep breath of the scent of old books and well-worn leather that now filled the room. Eleanor nodded appreciatively. "Well, if we're going to study anywhere, this feels very appropriate."

Daniel shrugged. "Well, we're looking for knowledge, the greatest weapon of all, after all. And what better armory than a library?"

Eleanor shook her head as she chuckled. "Point taken."

As they sat down in the comfortable leather chairs, a portion of the wall rippled and flowed into a wooden door, from which entered a tall, slender woman with red hair and knowing green eyes, wearing an ephemeral white dress that seemed to glow as it rippled in an unseen wind. She walked towards them, a calm smile on her face as she looked over to Daniel. "Hello, Daniel. It has far been too long."

She looked over to Eleanor. "I see that your wife has found you. Finally."

Daniel nodded. "Yes, she has, Amaya. And I'm glad for it. You're right. It has been too long. How are you?"

Amaya's smile grew a little wider. "I am doing well, Daniel. There is a seemingly infinite number of things on your vessel that can occupy me, so it is no great matter."

Daniel smiled. "Good. Speaking of spouses, how is your husband?"

Eleanor looked between the two of them with a questioning glance. "Husband? I didn't know you were married, Amaya."

Amaya chuckled. "I am, Mrs. Theisman." she paused for a moment, then turned as another person walked through the door.

He was almost as tall as Amaya, but more muscled and broad, filling out the shirt and pants he wore easily, his hair black and his eyes a piercing blue as he came to Amaya's side, putting an arm around her waist. "Hello, Daniel. It's good to see you again."

Daniel smiled up at the man. "Hello, Vordt. It's good to see you too."

As Eleanor's eyebrows rose, Daniel looked at her with a knowing smile. "Well, I believe now's the time for more proper introductions. Eleanor, this is Amaya and Vordt of Irithyll, City of the Boreal Valley, daughter and son-in-law of Gwynevere, the Lady of Light. They are old friends from one of the worlds that I traveled to, and I gave them passage from that world when it ended."

Eleanor took this in with no small amount of shock. After a moment, she nodded. "So… You have royalty kept in your ship's systems? And is she why your ship's name is Gwynevere's Valiant Daughter?"

Daniel nodded. "Until such a time as they want to become corporeal again, yes. But the choice is theirs. And they had decided for the moment to remain ethereal. To continue being ghosts in the machine. And yes, she is the namesake of the ship. It just so happens to be a mouthful."

Eleanor scoffed. "Don't I know it." Amaya and Vordt chuckled slightly at this.

Amaya looked to Daniel after a moment. "So, there is a reason you have called us here."

Daniel nodded, a serious look settling on him. "Yes, Amaya. You have access to the Receptor records for this world." It was a statement more than a question.

Amaya nodded. "Of course I do." she reached out a hand, and a book from one of the bookshelves, bound in brown leather and lacking any title, floated down to her, opening as it floated above her hands. She turned Vordt. "Dear, I might be a moment. I'll see you later tonight."

Vordt smiled and quickly kissed Amaya. "Very well. I'll see you soon." he turned and walked out the door, shutting it behind him.

Amaya turned back to Daniel and Eleanor. "What would you be looking for?"

Daniel shook his head. "How many Receptor records of this world have Hikari Horaki become the Fourth Child instead of Toji Suzuhara?"

The pages of the book began to flutter as Amaya looked on them, her eyes seeming to vibrate as they looked through masses and masses of stories collected by a far more mundane world than the one they were on.

After a moment, Amaya looked up. "There are many of them. It's a small, but a noticeable trend in the Echoes that make up this world."

Daniel nodded. "Alright. Which one is the most prominent?"

The fluttering of the pages slowed, then stopped. Amaya put her hand on one of the pages, seeming to draw out a string of light that composed itself into another, smaller book. "Based on events that have already occurred, this would be the one with the strongest connection to this world, I believe."

The book floated over to Daniel, who caught it with an appreciative look before Amaya made another copy for Eleanor. "Thank you, Amaya. That should be all for us for now."

Amaya smiled faintly. "My pleasure, Daniel. I'll leave you two to your reading." she walked out the door, and all was quiet for a moment.

Daniel sighed as he opened the book. It looked like it was a story collated from forum posts, and memories from a home farther away than any geography could place washed over him. "I… remember this. But only vaguely. I'm going to need a little time to study this."

A smile tugged at a corner of Eleanor's mouth. "Well, like you said, we're outside of time right now. We have all the time in the world."

Daniel nodded, a smile of his own slowly growing. "That we do. That we do."

The room fell silent as both of them began to read.

Apotheosis Echo will continue after the break.