Lucky #13 Chapter 3: First Time Training

"They were… nice." Shinji whispered to himself, as he rode the tram down to HQ. "I didn't think I would really, you know…"

"Make any friends?" Bardiel asked. "Gotta have more faith in yourself, 'Shin-man.'"

"Stop!" Shinji said with a chuckle. "That's not funny, I don't even know how he came up with a nickname for me that fast."

"Who knows, maybe he's just one of those kinda people." The Angel replied, before forming and appearing on Shinji's shoulder. "Now you've found yourself three friends in less than a week; much more and you'll be drowning in people."

"I guess so." the boy mused, before he looked up to the corner of the train car and froze. "Um, Bardiel… there's a camera in here."

"A.T. Field distortion; cameras can't see me." Bardiel said smugly. "The only way other people can see me is in the flesh."

"Do you have 'flesh?'" Shinji asked, making air quotes with his fingers.

"Well, no, but 'in the goop' doesn't quite hit the same, y'know?" he retorted. "Now, onward, my chariot! We've arrived at the station, and I for one want to get back into that Evangelion and try some things."

The boy grumbled in response, as he picked up his backpack and walked into the terminal. He pulled out his phone, looking up the directions Misato had sent him to get to the testing chamber, and began trudging there. After a few minutes of mindless conversation with his permanent companion, he found himself outside a door marked 'Live-Fire Chamber #1.' He knocked on the door lightly, and heard footsteps on the other side.

"Ah, Shinji!" Misato exclaimed. "I'm glad you got here so quickly, come in."

"Shinji's here?" Ritsuko asked from her seat by a large set of computers. "Perfect, that means we can get started a bit early."

"Started with what?" Shinji inquired. "Misato mentioned something about training?"

"We'll definitely get to that." Ritsuko said, as she stood up from her chair. "But first things first, we need to puzzle out what happened with your Evangelion in the last battle."

"Wha… what happened?" the boy asked, slightly confused. "Was there something wrong?"

"Nothing wrong, per say, just… atypical." the woman replied, as she tapped a few buttons on her tablet, before showing a video to Shinji. It depicted Unit-01, crouched low to the ground, as it whipped its arms towards the Third Angel. The arms extended to longer than the Eva was tall as they wrapped around the Angel's wrists, until they snapped. Ritsuko stopped the video with a tap of a stylus. "That's not typical Evangelion behavior, Shinji."

"How… do you think it happened then?" Shinji inquired, a nervous sweat breaking out on his forehead. If they found out about Bardiel already, they were going to kill him, or worse, Bardiel!

"I've got a theory." Ritsuko replied, as she set a hand on Shinji's shoulder. "Unit-01 is constructed much differently than every other Evangelion, and I'm wondering if that has something to do with it. Hence why it's known as the 'Test Type.' So, the reason you're here today is to try and recreate that ability, and discover any additional ones Unit-01 may possess."

"Differently?" Shinji asked.

"It's too much for me to explain now, but it'll be explained one day." Ritsuko said. "Now, there's a test plugsuit in the locker room attached to this; hop in it, then head out on the gantry and enter Unit-01. We'll resume from there, okay?"

"Y...y...yes ma'am!" Shinji replied, before turning tail and walking in an awkward sort of march towards the locker room, slamming the door behind him.

"So, does this theory have anything to do with Unit-01's 'parent?'" Misato asked, as she drained a can of coffee, throwing it into the trash. "Being Lilith, and not Adam?"

"It's likely." Ritsuko replied. "My currently running theory is that, as humans, we're the most adaptable of animals. Perhaps Lilith, the mother of all humans, is likewise similar?"

"So you think that Lilith can evolve herself to meet any challenge?" Misato said, earning a nod from the doctor. "And you think Unit-01 has inherited that ability?"

"It's the most likely theory." she noted. "Unit-01 was feral, and found itself in a predicament; it needed to attack safely, but was too far away, ergo the extended arms."

"How will he be able to recreate the stress of the fight then?" Misato pointed out. "It's not like we can exactly scare him until Unit-01's arms go all 'Mr. Fantastic,' right?"

"It's most likely that the adaptation will remain in place once created." the doctor said. "Now that Unit-01 has developed the ability to lengthen its arms, it most likely will be able to do it at will."

"That's a lot of 'most likely' and 'what-ifs,' Rits." Misato replied. "Do you really have any idea what's going on here?"

"Where Progenitors are concerned, all I've got are guesses," the blonde said, "and mediocre ones at that."

"This is the most embarrassing thing I've ever worn in my life." Shinji stated, aghast, as he stared at himself in the mirror. The test plugsuit was bulkier than a normal one, and colored neon purple, which he could live with; the main issue was the massive translucent green panels that spanned from his chest to his groin on the front, and to the top of his rear on his back. "My… everything is visible!"

"Eh, I've seen worse." Bardiel replied. "Remind me to tell you about that one time I was in Germany and ended up over a brothel, and then…"

"Bardiel, please, stop talking." the boy retorted, trying to stifle a slight giggle. "I'm trying to take this just a little bit seriously. I'm practically naked!"

"Ah, you see, my Lilim friend, you're only mostly naked. The Angel pointed out. "There's a big difference between all naked and mostly naked. Mostly naked is slightly clothed. All naked, well there's only one thing you can do…"

"Which is?" the boy asked, apprehensively.

"Grab a camera and print some photos for blackmail."

"Why do I hang out with you?"

"Because you're stuck with me," Bardiel retorted smugly, "And that brings me to another point; as things stand, I know you're afraid they might find out about me. If they're running deep synch tests, like I'm assuming they will in a test like this, they're gonna detect a foreign consciousness. Unfortunately, there's only really two solutions to the issue."

"Which are?"

"Solution 1: you use your A.T. Field to forcibly remove me, and I find a new host."

"No way." the boy muttered. "I don't… I don't wanna lose any more friends."

"Well, then Solution 2: I bond to your nervous system." the Angel said.

"Aren't you already, you know…" Shinji asked, waving his hands for emphasis. "Bonded to me?"

"Yes… no… kinda? It's some weird sciencey stuff I can't explain very well; right now, I'm bonded on what you'd consider 'the surface level.'" the Angel explained, as he formed onto the boy's hand. "All I can really do here is communicate with you, manifest myself, and give you a drop or two of power on occasion. Now, if I move from being bonded at the surface level and actually bond with your nervous system, I'll be undetectable from most sensors."

"I feel like there's a 'but' coming up." Shinji said.

"If I bond with your nervous system, that's it." Bardiel admitted, as he sat on the boy's palm. "It will be nigh-impossible to separate us, and you're going to start exhibiting abilities that can't be explained by reason. There's likely gonna be personality overflow, and you'll have access to my S2 Engine when you want it, rather than when I let you."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Shinji asked. "I mean, you could always find a better…"

"Nope, stop yourself right there." the petite Angel said as he extended his arm and lightly slapped the boy across the face. "I've known you for only a week, but considering you and I have talked non-stop for a week, I've gotten a good impression of you, and you're one of the best Lilim I've ever had the privilege of meeting. You're honest, and kind, and good at heart. You're timid, but you're full of caring, and that's everything this world is missing. Plus, you pilot a really kickass robot, and I want to help you every step of the way. So yeah, I do want to do this, so we can reach our full potential, as Angel and Lilim, and kick both of our father's asses. Sounds good?"

"...thank you." Shinji replied, as he wiped a few tears away from his eyes. "Let's do it."

"Alrighty, get ready, this might sting." the Angel noted, as he disappeared. "Three, two, one… done!"

"OUCH!" Shinji screamed, as his entire body felt like it was on fire; the pain was like the shocks he felt before but multiplied by a thousand, but it lasted for only a second. He fell down on the locker room floor, clutching his arms against himself. "Son of a… holy crap, that hurt!"

"Shinji, are you okay in there?" Misato asked over the intercom. "I thought I heard you yell?"

"I'm fine, Misato!" the boy replied. "Just stubbed my toe, that's all!"

"Okay, just making su-uuuure~!" the woman gleefully said. "Just make sure you're not up to anything despicable in there, m'kay?"

"Thanks… Ms. Misato… be out in a moment." the boy groaned. "Why did that hurt… so bad?"

"Shinji, I just affixed myself to your nervous system." Bardiel deadpanned. "You know, that part of the body that literally makes pain a thing. Why WOULDN'T it hurt?"

"You could've at least warned me!"

"But then you would've anticipated it."

"What, would it have hurt more if I anticipated it?"

"No, it just would've been WAY less funny."

"I've got a demon living inside my head." Shinji groaned.

"I'm an angel and you know it." Bardiel replied sarcastically. "Well, now that's done, what do you say we hop in the giant robot?" Bardiel asked, the grin evident even in the way he spoke. "I wanna break some stuff."

"You've got issues." Shinji groaned, as he limped out of the room.

"Third nerve connection established." Maya Ibuki said, as she tapped a few keys on her computer. "Synch rate is… wow, 50.5%!"

"Really?" Ritsuko exclaimed, as she peered over the younger woman's shoulder. "That's a 9% jump in only a week, with no tests or activations between!"

"It took Asuka over a year to climb 9%..." Misato muttered. "What are they feeding him?"

"Don't ask me, you're the one that lives with him." Ritsuko retorted. "Alright, Shinji, can you hear me?"

"Um, yes ma'am!" the boy responded, awkwardly saluting in the entry plug. "What do you want me to do?"

"We're lowering down several range markers into the test environment." Ritsuko said. "We want you to try and recreate what you did with Unit-01 during the first battle and see how far you can reach.

"Um, okay Ms. Ritsuko!" Shinji replied, before shutting off his comm feed. "Bardiel, how do I do this?"

"It's kinda hard to explain, but you kinda just have to feel it." the Angel said cryptically. "Just put all your force behind the throw, and flex your forearms as you do it. You'll get a hold of it real quick."

"Okay, here goes nothing." the boy muttered. He took a deep breath, focusing on the 50 yard marker in front of him, and slammed the controls forward. His Eva lashed out, the arms stretching to wrap around the marker, crushing it like tin foil. "I did it!"

"Nice job, Shinji!" Ritsuko replied, as she gestured for Maya to start taking in-depth notes. "How do your arms feel?"

"Kinda tingly?" Shinji said. "It feels like someone is pulling on my arms."

"That makes sense, given the circumstances." Misato chuckled, before giving the boy a glowing smile through the comm-link. "You're doing great, Shinji! Keep it up, and we'll be out of here before you know it!"

"Alright, let's try 75 yards." Ritsuko interrupted, as she scribbled a few words on a paper scrap. "Repeat until you can't reach any further, okay Shinji?"

The boy nodded, before returning to the task at hand. 75 and 100 yards were easily reached, while 125 proved a bit more of a challenge. 150 yards was too painful to hold for very long, and his arms flopped to the ground before he could reach 175. The boy let out an exhausted gasp as the arms retracted themselves to their normal length.

"Good job, Shinji." Bardiel commented, forming on the boy's leg and giving him a thumbs up. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I could really use a nap." the boy replied, yawning heavily.

"Hey, you can close your eyes and get in an hour or so if you want." the Angel responded. "Now that we're bonded, I can take the driver's seat if you like, at least while you rest."

"That's alright." the boy replied, as he tapped the button to let the LCL drain from the entry plug. "I still have to cook when I get home."

"Oh, cooking, that reminds me!" Bardiel said, snapping his fingers. "I was gonna teach you how to use your A.T. Field!"

"What does that have to do with cooking?" Shinji asked.

"Well, when you teach an athlete how to use math, you deal in sports metaphors." Bardiel explained. "And when you teach a Shinji how to manipulate the fabric of reality, you use his favorite pastime!"

"You know… this sounded easier in my head." Bardiel noted, as his host let out a loud huff.

"You don't have a head." Shinji bit back.

"Well, fine, it sounded easier in YOUR head." the Angel said.

The two of them were standing in the kitchen, surrounded by an array of different ingredients to make dinner for the night. Shinji had spent the last ten minutes trying to move a bowl from one part of the counter to the other with his mind, at Bardiel's insistence. The Angel had insisted he 'learn how to properly use his A.T. Field,' and Shinj obliged, thinking it would be easy. Instead, he'd stood here for ten minutes staring at silverware and trying to move it with his mind.

"I don't even understand what I'm supposed to be doing." Shinji muttered, as he stood up straight, facing back towards the counter. "What does 'unfold the light of my soul' even mean?"

"I don't know, I can kinda do it at will." Bardiel said. "You have to reach deep within yourself and find what makes you YOU, and simply stretch it out."

"Forget this." Shinji replied, as he dropped his arms. "I've gotta get started on dinner."

"Wait wait wait, I've got one last idea. I'm gonna borrow some advice from a movie I once saw Lilim watching on a foggy day." Bardiel insisted, as he formed himself into his customary shape and sat on Shinji's shoulder. "I want you to pick out the happiest memory you know, the happiest you've ever been in your life."

"Oh, um, okay." Shinji said, as he mused for a moment. He thought back to all the years he'd spent with his tutor, and there were few happy memories to be found there. Reaching back even further, there was one memory, faint but strong, from his early youth. "I think I've got something."

"Alright, now let that memory fill your entire being. Close your eyes and imagine that you're there, in that memory." the Angel guided, as he placed his hands over Shinji's eyes. "Reach out and feel the world around you, that memory, and… grab it."

Shinji scrunched his eyes, and focused on the memory. He tried to ignore the water slowly building up in his eyes as he reached out, trying to lose himself in the memory. He grasped at the strands of happiness within his mind, and pulled.

"There you go, Shinji!" the Angel exclaimed, as he pulled his hands away from the boy's eyes. Shinji stared in shock as he saw a solitary fork floating in the air in front of him, and slowly drew closer until it dropped in his hand. "You did it! You used your A.T. Field!"

"I really did it." Shinji whispered to himself, as he sat down on the floor in the kitchen. "I can actually… do it."

"Good job, Shinji." Bardiel said, as he hopped off the boy's shoulder and took a seat on the table. "Now, if you don't mind me asking, what was the memory?"

"It was, um, my mom." Shinji replied, tearing up slightly. "She was talking to someone, an older guy, I think? His voice sounded kinda familiar as well, but I don't think it was Father. It was a sunny day, and I just remember her looking at me… I can't even remember her face, but I can remember how she looked at me… she loved me so much."

"Your mother sounds like a lovely woman." the Angel replied, before standing up and dissolving, flowing back into his host. "Alright, let's try again! Once you succeed, the world is your oyster!"

Shinji smiled, as he waved a hand at a carton of broth, trying to pull it towards himself. Instead, it wriggled awkwardly to the edge of the counter, before flopping off the edge and spilling on the ground.

"... I've been proven wrong." Bardiel said resolutely. "Evidently, once you succeed, you somehow manage to make chicken broth commit suicide."

"Shut up." Shinji grumbled, as he grabbed a roll of paper towels.

Fuyutsuki set the phone down in its receiver as he turned his attention back to Gendo. "The night crew reported a minor A.T. Field fluctuation, but it went away almost immediately. They'll continue to monitor it."

"Irrelevant." Gendo replied, his stony face still set behind his tented hands. "Likely just a domestic incident where a civilian got angry enough to accidentally affect their A.T. Field minutely. Besides, we have much more pressing matters."

"That we do." Fuyutsuki noted, as he turned back to face the screen on Gendo's wall, which was replaying the testing Shinji had done earlier that day. The two men watched in silence as Unit-01 lashed out time and time again, before Fuyutsuki finally spoke up. "This wasn't a part of the Scenario; I told you as such before"

"No matter; as I told you before, the Scenario can be adjusted." Gendo said. "This changes little, other than that Unit-01 may have an easier time dispatching the Angels."

"Ikari, I don't typically like to cross you, but this IS relevant." Fuyutsuki insisted. "That Evangelion is doing things it was never meant to do, and only after your son got in the Entry Plug. You know what that means, don't you?"

Gendo's fingers clenched ever-so-slightly, unnoticeable to the naked eye. "Very well. Keep an eye on Unit-01's continued tests for me."

Fuyutsuki huffed, and strode out of the Commander's office. As soon as the man had left, Gendo unfolded his hands, reaching down for a locked desk drawer. He fiddled with the key, finally pulling it out and unlocking the drawer, drawing out a small photograph from within.

"Yui…" he whispered, as he gingerly touched the photo, before reaching down into another drawer and drawing out a glass and a bottle of whiskey.

Fuyutsuki grumbled to himself as he made his way back to his office, cutting through the Section 2 security checkpoint to save some time. As he made his way through the room, two members of the security team noticed him, and gave him a kind wave.

"Good evening, Sub Commander." one of them said with a smile, before turning back to his compatriot. "So I told my wife, 'you know you get more flies with honey than vinegar, right? The same thing applies to the children, y'know?'"

Fuyutsuki stopped in his tracks, before backing up a few steps. "Excuse me, what's the situation? I helped raise my fair share of kids during the post-Second Impact Era, and this old man just might have a little advice."

"Oh, well, my wife is just mad that our son never does what she asks." the guard explained, as he shrugged his shoulders. "I told her, and this is exactly what I said, y'hear, I said, 'Babe, you don't get the kids to listen to you by beating 'em down with an iron fist, you get 'em to listen to ya by holding out a hand to 'em and showing them you care."

The Sub Commander let a small grin cross his face as he chuckled. "That's absolutely true, young man. Tell your wife you've got the Sub Commander's approval." he stood up, giving the two guards a nod. "Now, if you gentleman will excuse me, you've just given me an idea, and I just must write it down before it escapes me."

"Um, no problem, sir!" the first one replied. "Thank you for the advice!

"Have a good night, Sub Commander!" the second one added

"It already is." Fuyutsuki chuckled, as he entered into his office and began jotting down the beginnings of a plan on a scrap of notebook paper. "It already is."

Author's Note: The first chapter published on a regular update day! This chapter feels like filler, but there's quite a few important reveals for the greater story here. Some are obvious, and some are not. You also may be noting the suspicious absence of a blue-haired albino in this story; don't worry, she's the focus of the next chapter, and will be more present down the line. I simply wanted to take some time to solidify the friendship between Shinji and Bardiel before I began to introduce new main characters. This fic will stick fairly close to NGE in general structure, but I will be stealing some of the good parts from the Rebuilds... including Mari, fight me, I think she's hilarious and she's a blast to write. Now onto the feedback!

Author0fntent: Don't worry, I also forget I was responsible for it half the time, it kinda sucked.

BrotherBov: I have not! I've read a lot of NGE on , but I've never read any of the Warhammer crossovers (which seems to be a strangely popular crossover genre? Not saying it's a bad thing, I'm sure the stories are incredible, just confused as to how out of all the crossovers possible with NGE, that became the big hit.) I've never really interacted with the Warhammer universe, stories, or games, so it's one that I've never got around to reading.

SherriffJohnStone: I'm glad you enjoyed that part of the story! Bardiel stealing the Angel's powers is going to become very relevant for character development in the future when he steals a specific Angel's (bonus points if someone can guess the Angel in question :P), but for right now they're just fun plot beats and power boosts. Also, I agree with you that twice a week is quite the commitment and burnout is a risk; however, I've been in quarantine for three weeks straight, and I've got quite the backlog for this story. I'm not afraid to drop to once a week if burnout does become a serious risk, however.

hys8892: Thank you!

Guest reviews: Actually, I just came up with the name of the top of my head because Bardiel is the 13th Angel :P As for the Ireul idea, that's a good one!