Welcome back! You guys all know what's happening. Shinji really meets Rei here (and I mean really meets her), and the Fifth Angel begins its approach!


August 9th, 2015

The glare of the early morning sun shone through the foggy clouds as Shinji made his way through the deserted streets of Tokyo-3, why he decided to come to Rei's place to deliver her new ID at the crack of dawn was a mystery to him. But he was already out, so why stop now.

Coming into the street where Rei lived, Shinji glanced up. The building that sat there was a complete mess. No sense of cleanliness or order were seen. Simply put, the place looked like it was going to be torn down any day now. No person, would ever want to actually live here.

"This place looks like a dump!" Sachiel commented as he floated beside Shinji, opting to go for a smaller size today. Shamshel was too dumbfounded to even comment. Shinji just glanced warily at the staircase, before slowly making his way towards it. Heading towards the 4th Floor, just as he had been instructed.

Reaching room 402, he glanced up. The door was just as bad as the building, but only time would tell what the inside of the apartment looked like. Convinced that this was where Rei lived. (And it was not because there was the name Ayanami in the slot above the door) Shinji stepped forward and tried the doorbell.

"There's no sound."

"Thanks, Shamshel." Shinji replied sarcastically, before knocking instead. Nothing happened.

"Maybe she's having a shower?" Shamshel stated glancing at the door. "Maybe that's why she couldn't hear you."

"Hope not." Shinji replied, trying one more thing. The Door Handle. Pulling on it, the handle moved normally. The door was unlocked.

"That's not a viable solution to anything." Shamshel commented as Shinji opened the door and peeked inside. The apartment wasn't much better than the building itself.

"I have a bad feeling about this…" Shinji commented to himself, before speaking up. "Excuse me? Rei? Sorry for intruding. It's me, Shinji Ikari." Nothing happened. Taking a deep breath, Shinji entered the apartment, letting the door shut behind him. "Damn it all. I'm coming in, alright…" Shinji removed his shoes, and stepped into the apartment.

Walking through the hallway Shinji noticed one thing. The apartment was extremely small, and extremely barren. In the small bedroom, only a desk sat, along with a rickety bed. On the bed was Rei's uniform, what seemed to be the only clothes she actually owned. Oddly, the pillow had patches of dried blood on it, with a box in the corner full of bloodied paper. One window was in the room, through which the early morning sunlight shone through. Glancing around, Shinji was appalled, the state of the place was an absolute wreck. While glancing around, something caught his attention, a pair of glasses on the desk.

"These can't be Rei's glasses." Shinji commented as he wandered over to them, on closer inspection, the glass had cracks in it, and the entire frame looked slightly melted. Putting them on, Shinji stood for a moment.

"You look like your father, Shinji." Shinji frowned at Sachiel before his attention was torn elsewhere. The sound of a curtain being pulled away was heard. Freezing, Shinji turned towards the sound, where Rei stood, a towel wrapped around her shoulders. Beside him, Sachiel started buzzing with glee, while Shamshel just stared at his brother, confused.

Stopping from drying her hair, Rei let the towel drop around her neck, covering her modesty as Shinji tried to explain himself. "Rei… I…" Rei stared at the boy, before stepping forward, a somewhat angry expression on her face. "I didn't mean to…" Rei stepped right towards Shinji, using her hand to take the glasses of his face. In the process, Shinji lost his balance, sending both himself, Rei, and one of the draws in the desk sprawling to the floor.

From their position, anybody who decided to walk into the apartment at that exact moment would immediately turn away to give the two teens some privacy. Yet, Shinji and Rei simply stared at each other. While the towel Rei had been wearing had softened the fall a bit, there was just one problem. The towel wasn't covering Rei anymore. Shinji, still frozen, had no idea what had just happened.

"Will you please get off?" Shinji stared at the blue-haired girl quietly, before feeling something squishy in his left hand. Looking down, his hand had somehow landed on Rei's bare breast during the fall. Shinji quickly got up, panic and embarrassment written all over his face. Rei continued to stare as Shinji started fumbling over his words, an attempt to say sorry. Rei just stood, not bothered at all by her nudity.

Rei stalked away, Shinji staring after her as she started to get dressed. Confused and at a complete loss for words, Shinji simply clenched his hand a couple of times.

"What is it?" Rei suddenly stated, causing Shinji to have a complete rewind at what had just happened.

"Well, I mean, I was…" Shinji stopped for a moment and glanced at the girl again, before quickly gathering himself together. "I mean, I was asked too, so I… what was it? Oh right, the card, your card… it's been renewed! I was asked to deliver it." Shinji gulped as Rei continued to change, the shuffling of clothes throwing the boys thoughts all over the place. "So… I didn't mean for any of this to happen! I swear!" Rei carefully placed the glasses away, staring at them for a moment. "Ritsuko asked me to give it to you. It's true. I rang the doorbell, but I think it's broken. There was no reply. And the door was unlocked. So…" The sound of a door closing broke Shinji from his attempt to tell Rei what he had been doing. Staring at the door, Shinji sighed.

"Smooth." Shamshel commented, earning a laugh from Sachiel.

"I finally did it though! I now know where babies come from!" Sachiel cheered as Shemshel stared at him in annoyance.

"What? That's what you're more concerned about?"

"Of course! I finally understand everything!"

"What have you been looking at on the internet!?"

"Nothing of concern."

"Weirdo."


'Damn!' Shinji growled to himself as he crushed the can he was holding under his fist. 'She probably hates me now.' He thought as he threw the can to the ground in anger. 'This can was crap anyway. A waste of money.' As he prepared to get up, a shadow came into his view.

Rei stood watching him, silent. A small look of annoyance on her face. Without saying anything, she started to walk away, not looking back.

"Ayanami!" Shinji called. Rei didn't answer, and kept walking. Shinji watched her go, before making up his mind and running after her. "Hey! You're going to HQ, right? Rei! Wait up!"

Rei didn't respond to Shinji. She knew he was following her, yet she wouldn't speak. Why should she? She was annoyed. Annoyed that Shinji had taken and wore something that was hers, that she kept safe. She didn't care that the boy had seen her body. To her, Nudity was natural. Clothes just got in the way. But she wore them, because that was what society had told her.

"Fancy her, Shinji?" Sachiel stated, from his spot inside Shinji's shirt pocket. Shamshel sighed from the same place. Shinji frowned, not listening to the two Angels as he walked behind Rei. Wandering past a large yellow building, Shinji kept his eyes on the strange girl. 'Why was she like that?' He thought as he walked. 'Why was she more concerned about the glasses than herself? Nothing was hidden. It was a big mistake. I just hope she knows that.'


Rei stepped towards the large iron gates that were the entry point to NERV HQ. Coming to a standstill, the black machine sat to her right, allowing her to swipe for entry. Providing her ID Card she had on her, she swiped the card through the machine. The machine flashed red. Frowning, Rei tried again. Red flashed again.

Shinji stepped into place beside her. Swiping her new and renewed card across the same place. Smiling at her, the machine flashed Green. "As I was trying to say before, this is your new card. Dr. Akagi asked me to deliver it to you." Rei stared at the boy, annoyance brushed over her, snatching the card away, and stepping into the confines of NERV HQ. Shinji watched as the girl entered, the door shutting, blocking his view.

"Real smooth, Casanova."

"Shut up, Sachiel!"


- Music from Evangelion 1.0 – Track 26 – Cruel Dilemme IV –

The elevator creaked as it moved slowly along its course. Rei in front. Shinji still trailing behind.

"Look, I'm sorry about earlier." Shinji said, staring ahead of him.

"About what?" Rei replied, in her usual monotone voice.

"Um… Well I…" Shinji struggled to get words out, the embarrassment of the moment catching up with him all over again. "You have a re-activation test today, right?" Shinji quickly said, changing the subject. "Aren't you scared that it might fail again? Aren't you afraid of getting back into Unit-00?"

"Why?"

"It's just that… I heard you got hurt pretty badly in the first test…" Shinji muttered, "So I was just wondering if you were okay with it."

"Aren't you Commander Ikari's son?" Rei asked suddenly, catching Shinji off guard.

"Yeah."

"Don't you have faith in your father's work?" Shinji felt an overwhelming amount of anger at Rei's seemingly innocent question.

"No! Of course not! How can I possibly trust him!?" Rei turned suddenly, stepping up a couple of steps to stand right in front of Shinji. Shinji started to sweat at the girl's closeness, a feeling of unease as Rei stared straight into his eyes. "What's wrong?" Rei brought her hand up, and slapped him. Hard. Rei stared for a few more moments, before silently turning and walking down the elevator, away from Shinji. Shinji brought his hand up to his face, touching the place where her hand had contacted his face.

"What just happened?" Sachiel said, "I thought you were actually getting somewhere there!"

"What is it with you and girls, Sachiel?"

"Why, what a great question Shamshel! You see, the female is a very exquisite species, that are specifically designed to house…" Both Shinji and Shamshel droned Sachiel out at this point, as Sachiel detailed the wonders of the female body all over again.


Rei had gotten changed in the change rooms while Shinji was dealing with his Angel friends. She sat in silence, not completely sure whether what she had done was right. 'I've never felt like that before?' She thought as she pressed the button on her left wrist, pressurising the plugsuit to fit around her slender body.

Memories of the first activation test plagued her mind. She frowned at what had happened to her, and to why Unit-00 didn't listen to her. She vaguely remembered a voice sounding so much like her own, screaming in the entry plug. "AKAGI! THAT VILE WOMAN KILLED US! KILL, AKAGI!" Were only some of the things that she heard during the first test.

She then smiled slightly, memories of the Commander coming to rescue her, asking if she was all right. She was very happy about that. It made her feel special, wanted. She continued to sit, waiting for the moment when she would be called to enter Unit-00 once again.

- End -


Rei sat in silence. The Entry Plugs walls comforting her. She was back. This time, the Eva would work.

"Rei." The Commander's voice came over the intercom. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes." She replied simply, sitting in wait.

"The Unit-00 re-activation test will now commence. Initiate first stage connections."

"Connecting main power supply." Unit-00 once again hung limply in the same room it first used a couple months before. Once again, the Unit was restrained to the wall, the atmosphere was eerily similar to the initial test. But this time, Unit-00 would activate.

"Activation voltage has passed the critical point."

"Roger." Ritsuko replied, staring warily out at the Orange Eva Unit. "Shift format to Phase 2."

"Connecting Pilot to Unit-00."

"Opening Circuits." The Entry Plug flashed brilliant colours around Rei, but she didn't notice, continuing to stare straight ahead. "Pulse and Harmonics are normal." The Entry Plug finished flashing colours, settling into a semi-activation mode, showing the room around Unit-00 in detail.

"No problems detected in synchronisation."

Close by, Shinji and Misato watched as Unit-00 went through the various preparations. Neither said anything, simply watching.

"All nerve links completed."

"Central nervous system elements are nominal."

"Re-calculating. No error connections." Rei glanced to the right. The glasses hung of the control yokes. It was there. He was with her.

"Checklist is satisfactory up to 2590. Approaching absolute borderline." Shinji continued to watch. Still silent. "2.5 more. 1.7… 1.2… 1.0… 0.8… 0.6… 0.5…" As Maya continued her countdown, everyone watched with anticipation, for anything to happen. Ritsuko glanced over at Gendo, staring out at Unit-00. "0.4… 0.3… 0.2… 0.1 and rising." A cheery beep sounded from the monitor Maya was sitting at. "Absolute borderline cleared. Unit-00 has been activated."

"Roger." Rei simply replied from her perch in the Entry Plug. Her sight hadn't wavered whatsoever. "Beginning Interlock test." She stated, as Unit-00 moved into higher, more productive testing.


A gentle hum sounded loudly across the region. Rising steadily from the water. The being began to move. The hum continuing along its way.


"Ikari!" Fuyutsuki stated, placing the phone down. "An unidentified object has been spotted, flying, heading rapidly for Tokyo-3. It's likely to be the Fifth Angel." Gendo nodded, understanding.

"Abort the test. All personal, all operations to First Stage Alert."

"You're not going to use Unit-00?" Fuyutsuki asked.

"She isn't ready to fight yet." Gendo replied, "What is the status of Unit-01?"

"Unit-01 can be ready in 380 seconds." Ritsuko replied.

"Make it so."

"Yes, sir."

"Rei." Gendo asked, turning his attention back to Unit-00. "Re-activation was successful. Return now."

The Entry Plug returned to a dormant state. The dull walls coming back into place. Rei leaned back. Letting out a massive sigh, the bubbles of the LCL drifting in the Plug.

Shinji stood to the side in silence, the re-activation test had been successful, but further testing was suspended, and he had an idea why. Fuyutsuki's call had confirmed it.

"What's the matter?" Gendo asked coldly. Shinji glanced up at his father, staring right at him. "Get going!"

'Of course.' Shinji thought as he ran out of the room, towards Unit-01's cage. 'He won't even wish me good luck. I can't believe in my father right now. All I can do, is get in the Eva and fight.'


The being approached Tokyo-3 at a swift pace. The being was a massive octahedron, blue coloured. It didn't look threatening at all. Moving quickly and swiftly, the giant crystalline octahedron moved towards Tokyo-3's epicentre, the bright blue skin reflecting everything anyone saw, it's hum never stopping as it flew.

Ramiel was prepared, ready for her opponent.

つづく


Ramiel's here! Now knowing every single Eva fic writer on the planet. The Rebuild version is obviously being used here. Because Ramiel in Rebuild is awesome! Not much aside from that. Battle will take up the next two chapters. This one's a doozy.

Note about Angel genders:
I've decided that each Angel will be either Male or Female. While I'll decide some of them along the way, others are already guaranteed:
Sachiel and Shamshel are both Male.
As noted above, Ramiel is Female.

As for what I've decided:
Zeruel is definitely Male.
Israfel is both. Alpha is Male (Gold), Beta is Female (Silver).
Arael and Armisael are both Female.

As for the others, they haven't been decided yet. Although Gaghiel will most likely be male. Suggestions for the other Angels genders is highly appreciated, so bring them in!

Additions and changes:
Short scene from the Manga after Shinji meets Rei.
Gendo and Shinji scene from Unit-00 re-activation test, after Ramiel is confirmed. (Manga)

I'll see you all for Chapter 12! Until then, Ciao!