Chapter 8: Elucidation in Firelight

These past few weeks have been like drinking through a firehose. There's so much to take in, and I'm not sure I can take it all in. Honest to goodness aliens, political talks about changing the very Earth itself, Interfacing…

I still haven't touched my Interfacing since the battle. Too many memories there. Him... But I'm getting away from things.

There's been a lot of things that not only impact me, and NERV, but the Children. Asuka, in particular… No. I don't want to think about it, and I barely even want to write about it. There's an entire world waiting for us now. One that looks… wonderful.

But it's a world that more than a few can see more danger in it than wonder. And the ones who see that… well, they're going to be trouble. There's no doubt about that.

- Personal journal of Misato Katsuragi

Faez Residence, Tokyo-3, Early August 2016.

It was a long, dark hall that Adira Faez found herself in tonight. She looked around, hearing a low growl at the end of the hall, seemingly muttering in what sounded like Portuguese.

Then, her blood ran cold as she heard one scream, that of a woman. Then another, a man screaming only seconds afterward.

Adira raced down the hall without another thought, and as she passed through a doorway, the space opening up into what appeared to be a cavernous room as her blood ran cold at the sight that greeted her.

A massive monster seemed to fill the room with its body that seemed covered in deep green, thick leaves and writhing vine-like tentacles, its massive mouth like a crocodile's gaping wide and filled with teeth. It was like a jungle come to life.

From its mouth, two other tentacles emerged, wrapped around the legs of two people that it slowly dragged towards the maw, and certain death.

One of them was Makoto, his brown eyes wide with fear as he clawed uselessly at the ground.

And the other was a woman with short, blonde hair and blue eyes, dressed in a combat uniform as she reached out desperately to Adira. Anna.

Both were too far apart to save both of them at once. She had a choice. And though her mind screamed at her, she made it in an instant.

She ran over to Makoto, grabbing his arms and pulling with all her might. After a moment, the grasping tentacle that held Makoto's legs gave way, spurring black blood as it retreated into the maw of the creature.

As she looked over at Anna, she could tell that there was no time to save her as well. Her legs were already within the monster's mouth, and she pressed on the lower half of the monster's jaw to keep from going in.

As Anna looked over at her, Adira could see the hurt, the confusion in her eyes. And just before she disappeared fully into the monster's mouth, she reached out with one hand and shouted a single word. "Adira!"

Then the mouth snapped shut, and Anna was gone.

Adira woke up with a quiet gasp, chilled by the sweat that drenched her and the sheets and pillow of her bed.

The world spun madly, and she tried to ground herself as she breathed deeply, shutting out the world as she squeezed her eyes shut. But the image of the monster, of Anna's expression of utter betrayal, forced her eyes open again as she sat up at the edge of her bed.

She looked over at the clock on her nightstand. 3 in the morning. 'Good thing it's my day off… today, I guess.'

She shook her head, trying not to think about the nightmare. That would lead to other thoughts. Other memories. She needed… something.

She considered the whiskey sitting in her cabinet. No. The last thing she needed to be was plastered right now. And besides, that had been a birthday present from Makoto. That was its own can of worms to open up.

She grabbed her phone and checked to see if there were any notifications. There was one, a text message. It was from Makoto. 'Hey. Hope you're doing alright. I'm here to talk whenever you want to.'

She couldn't help but smile slightly. She knew that he meant it. He was terribly earnest if nothing else. It was kind of cute actually.

But her smile faded as she recalled what had woken her up in the first place, and she sighed heavily as she turned the screen off, plunging the room back into darkness.

She was awake now. There was no doubting it. What could she do?

There was something, actually.

. . .

Adira set the paintbrush in the glass filled with paint water as the first rays of the sun began to lance through the curtains of her apartment, leaning back and taking in her work.

It was a rough thing, still only a few shapes and colors. But it was taking form. The form of the creature from her nightmare.

This one would be burned, just like the rest of them before she had come to Tokyo-3. Especially the ones that had related to the nightmares that she had had since she was a child.

And there always were nightmares, regardless of who was in them, or whether she was in the desert or the jungle or a city ruined by combat. There were always nightmares.

But now, she thought as she looked over at another painting, one of a familiar city skyline at night, there might be some she would keep, in the rare moments she didn't use her art to conquer her nightmares. Makoto had seen to that. Makoto had been the first to think that they had any worth beyond that. Or, at least, the first to speak out about it.

But Makoto was a complicated subject, she thought as she stood up and got a glass of water. She sat on her couch, sipping contemplatively as she looked down at the picture of her unit. At Anna.

She had cared so much for her when they had met as somewhat scared 16-year-olds. She probably even loved her before the end. But there had been little time to explore that with the missions that they had constantly been sent on for god and country. Now, all Adira would probably ever have of the woman who was probably the closest friend she had ever had was could-have-beens and what-ifs.

And now, Makoto had entered the picture, and made things… confusing. He'd comforted her, in more ways than one, and she'd come to appreciate his caring, even if he was a little naive and unknowing at times. She liked him. A lot.

She sighed quietly as she took another sip, glancing between the paintings and the picture in front of her. 'How did saving the world become the least complicated thing in my life?'

. . .

Ritsuko's Laboratory, NERV-HQ, Geofront

Ritsuko looked intently at the simulation in front of her and Maya as a wireframe form, the form of the Evangelion, slowly manifested before their eyes, a timer ticking up beside it the only notice that the timing was sped up. LCL became the outline of a skeleton as it flowed from what was, tentatively at least, being called the Frame Plug. Bones formed a cage around the trapezoid shape of the Plug, then muscle obscured it from view, then skin wrapped around it all. Finally, the armor that seemed iconic of the Evas, represented in the clear, hazy iridescence of regular Plasm, began to flow and sculpt itself to the Eva's body

As the armor completed the figure's body, the timer stopped, and Ritsuko and Maya both nodded slowly.

"32 minutes and 19 seconds to completion." Ritsuko said, noting the sound of a pen scratching on paper as Maya noted it down.

"Better than last time, at least." Maya said, looking over at Ritsuko. "We've shaved a whole 20 minutes off of the formation time due to Lieutenant Aida's LCL storage and injection mechanism implemented onto the Plug."

Unseen by the both of them, Kensuke blushed slightly as Daniel patted his shoulder, smiling slightly. The smile dimmed as Ritsuko continued. "Perhaps. But we're talking about a process that took only a few minutes, if not seconds when accomplished by Daniel."

"However," Daniel said, stepping forward as Ritsuko and Maya looked over at him, "it would be somewhat unwise to use a time when I was running on adrenaline and Metos, assisted by the power of at least one other soul, and being immersed completely in LCL, as a baseline. As impressive as it would be to get the body formed completely in about a minute and a half, even getting somewhat close to that would be an accomplishment."

"It's an accomplishment we'll need to make if we need to be able to deploy quickly in order to defend against oncoming threats." Ritsuko replied with a serious look on her face, Maya silently nodding in agreement.

"At this point, I think we've got the physical form down." Maya chimed in. "We're just having trouble with how the Frames translate the Metos into matter."

"Indeed." Daniel replied with a nod. "Which is why I've asked for some help." he looked down at his watch. "She should be here any minute now."

As Daniel finished speaking, the door swished open, and a tall figure stooped through, straightening to her full height as the door closed behind her. Her jet black hair in a ponytail, Izalith smiled slightly as she scanned the room. "It looks like I've arrived just in time." she said as she watched Daniel lower his arm.

Ritsuko nodded, looking between Izalith and Daniel. "I believe I've seen her before, at the Contact Day conferences." she said to Daniel, who nodded in turn.

"Well, it's hard to miss her." Daniel replied with a slight smile. "This is Izalith, formerly of the world of the First Flame, and an accomplished Pneumaist. If there's anyone who can help streamline this, it's her."

"Streamline it?" Kensuke said as he nearly ogled at Izalith approaching and leaning down to observe the Framework of the Evangelion that they were using as a base. "Didn't you take the original scan from an actual Evangelion? What is there to streamline?"

"More than you might think, young man." Izalith said, causing Kensuke to jump slightly as she straightened to her full 9-foot height, holding the Framework in her hands and studying it intently. "Even still, this is an impressive work of Pneumaics. Especially considering the fact that you accomplished it with next to no knowledge of how a soul truly works if I am to believe what I've been told."

She looked over at Ritsuko with an impressed expression. "Tell me, how did you do this?"

Ritsuko tilted her head side to side. "Well, we grew them from a base organism, what we call a Progenitor. One of the Units is grown from a creature we call, or called, at least, Lilith, and the others are grown from its opposite, what we called Adam."

Izalith nodded slowly. "I see. So these are made up of natural Frames."

"Natural?" Maya asked, a curious look in her eyes. "What does that mean?"

"Well," Izalith started, "Frames are generally separated into two broad categories, natural and intended. Natural Frames, which are found in most things that simply grow without being shaped by an Interfacer, are dense in their growth, thus a lot of deadends and overly complicated paths with little in the way of Vent Frames are present within something with natural Frames, causing a greater expenditure of active Metos, and subsequently, a greater amount of Flux produced."

"Is that why the Evas could only last about 5 minutes on battery power without an external source?" Kensuke said, looking over at Ritsuko.

She shrugged. "Probably. Even as the head of Project E, there were a lot of things about the Evangelion which I'm sure SEELE didn't tell us about. The most I knew was that the 5-minute limit was a self-imposed limit. The Eva would simply stop functioning. Now, though, I guess I know why."

Izalith cleared her throat quietly, drawing the attention of all, some of it slightly embarrassed, back to her as she continued.

"Intended Frames, on the other hand, are those produced by someone with at least some knowledge of Interfacing." Izalith continued. "They accomplish the same purpose, but they are far more streamlined, with what could be considered a "proper" amount of Vent Frames to allow for greater effects that would take nearly three times as much natural Framing."

Izalith paused, cupping her chin as a thoughtful look entered her golden eyes. "Think of it like… an internal combustion engine. Fascinating, complicated mechanisms, but they can be over-engineered, costing fuel, or in this case Metos when efficiency often calls for simplicity." she nodded, smiling slightly as Ritsuko, Maya, and Kensuke nodded along with her.

"Wait a minute." Maya said with a questioning look. "Active Metos?"

"Yes." Izalith said. "Metos is, and this is still something that I'm wrapping my head around, much like light, in that it has two different states: active and standing. Active Metos flows as energy, rushing through Frames and powering Expressions, and standing Metos is most easily seen in the Frames themselves and, in the physical world, Plasm. Each state requires the other to make the world work, as it were."

"In this case," she continued, holding out the diagram of the Evangelion's Frame, "that balance is more important than most other parts of your current project."

"I can see how that would be the case." Ritsuko said, looking at the Framework of the Eva in Izalith's hand. "It looks like we have our work cut out for us, then."

"You've made a good start already, despite your relative inexperience." Izalith replied, putting the Framework of the Eva back on its pedestal. "But I can certainly assist you in this project. And perhaps begin teaching you some things along the way."

Ritsuko, Maya, and Kensuke's eyes went wide, while a single eyebrow rose on Daniel's face. "That would be excellent." Ritsuko said. "Thank you, miss…"

Izalith chuckled softly. "Just Izalith is fine. It is the only personal name I have ever had, and I prefer to work on a first-name basis."

"Okay then." Ritsuko replied, nodding slowly. "Then let's get started, Izalith."

. . .

Several hours of work and insightful instruction later, the simulation was running again, with a comparison of the old Framework next to a far more trimmed down, sleeker Frame.

The timer started, and the process began. Again, bone and muscle began to develop, then skin covered the body. Finally, the Plasm that stood in for armor began to take shape.

As was expected, the new Frame finished its formation, just as the skin of the previous Frame finished closing around the bone and muscle.

"9 minutes, 22 seconds." Maya said, undoubtedly satisfied.

"A great improvement." Izalith agreed. "It goes even beyond my expectations."

"Perhaps." Ritsuko replied with a serious tone. "But even still, I feel like we can get it faster."

"Maybe." Daniel said. "But that would mean cutting down on what physically manifests. And I'm not personally entirely sure what we could take off."

The assembled group pondered on the form in front of them for a moment.

"What are the shoulder and arm pylons for?" Kensuke said quietly, looking intently at the parts of the Frame in question.

Ritsuko blinked after a moment of silence. "Well, they're designed to help secure the Evangelion in case it goes berserk in the gantry or during synch testing."

"So…" Kensuke said, trailing off. "What if we just took them off? We aren't at risk of having an Eva Frame go berserk on us as a regular Unit would."

"Which means we could replace it with something that takes less time to make." Maya said, an excited look in her eyes. "Like Vent Frames."

"That would also increase the amount of power a given Expression made by an Interfacer pilot, as well." Daniel said, a slight smile on his face as he looked over at Kensuke. "Good thinking."

"If such were to be the case, what would the timing look like?" Maya asked Ritsuko, and she pulled up a keyboard over the databank, typing madly as the nearly iconic shoulder pylons faded from physical matter to glowing energy, not unlike an AT Field's, the less visible restraints on the arms doing the same.

The timer ticked down, soon displaying '00:05:07.54'.

"Just a shade over five minutes." Ritsuko said with a contented grin. "For rapid deployment, I'm not sure how much less I can ask for."

"I'd agree." Daniel replied. "I can talk to Eleanor, see about how long it's going to take to get a prototype up and running."

Daniel looked up at Izalith. "Your ship wouldn't happen to have Frame extrusion fabricators on board, would it?"

"It certainly would." Izalith replied. "As well as a communications array. I can have some engineering-focused Menders out here fairly soon."

"Good, good." Daniel said, an excited look in his eyes. "It'll be interesting working with some other Menders. And getting the rest of the technicians up to speed."

As Izalith nodded, Maya looked over at Daniel with a questioning look. "Speaking of Menders, where is Eleanor? I haven't seen her since we started?"

Daniel looked over at Maya as he nodded. "She's been tending to Solace. He had an issue in a few of his appendage motors pop up, and Eleanor volunteered her services."

Ritsuko nodded. "Fascinating sort. Very interesting views on life. And an artificial lifeform, to top it all off! What I'd give to study the machinery he's made up of…"

"I agree." Izalith said quietly, her deep voice almost rumbling. "To be so kind and caring after all that he has experienced… his is truly a fascinating story."

It was silent for a moment as they pondered on the being in question.

"Well," Daniel finally said, breaking the silence as he turned towards the door, "I'll go ahead and let Eleanor know we're ready to start production. Let me know if you make any changes."

"Sounds good." Ritsuko replied, turning back to study the Frames before her intently as she began drawing up actionable schematics.

"And don't work yourself to death, either." Daniel called back. "I'd hate to see you dying for your work, even on something this important."

Ritsuko rolled her eyes as she continued to construct a rough schematic. "I have Maya to help me with that. No need to worry here."

Daniel chuckled. "Alright. I look forward to seeing how things progress."

Then he turned and left the scientists to their studying and tutelage.

. . .

Theisman Residence, 3 Days Later

Daniel and Eleanor sat down on the chairs in their living room and did something entirely out of place in their usual routine. Right now, instead of the quiet rustle of the turning of pages, the television was on, and the news channel quietly did its duty, a reporter facing the camera with a serious expression.

"And in other news, in the wake of the stunning revelation that not only is there life out in the universe, but that there are other universes beyond our own, more and more popular figures, from actors and business people to politicians and government officials, are throwing their support behind what is calling itself the 'Lone World' movement, dedicated to, in the words of its founder, an online personality known only as "Providence", 'providing a planet Earth that we, the human race who occupies it, know is suited to our needs and desires, without outside interference'. We now go to our correspondent in America with more on the story."

The scene changed to a man standing in front of a wall that had been covered in graffiti that was in the process of being studiously scrubbed off, the reporter's name unimportant, the place 'NERV-4, Boston, Massachusetts'.

"Thank you. Though you wouldn't know by looking at it now, this wall, the front entrance to the former United Nations Special Agency NERV's remaining branch in America, has become one of the most visible signs of the Lone World movement's rising name and fame, and NERV, a group that has become infamous for its relations to the extraterrestrial in not only their hearings, but their ushering in of intelligent outside forces, has become a prime target for their displeasure. Representatives from both the nation of Tel and the League of Independent Echoes recently spoke on this issue, stating that they understand many people's apprehension, and hope to engage with them in making up a solution that satisfies all parties."

The correspondent continued for a moment, then Daniel muted the television with a sigh.

"You seem… perturbed by what you have seen."

Daniel and Eleanor looked over and saw Ichigo standing in the hallway, looking at them with curiosity in her eyes that broke through her usual calm expression.

Daniel nodded. "Yeah." he said softly as he stood, walking over to Ichigo. "There's just a lot going on right now. And now we've got this on top of making essentially a new Evangelion, hosting the diplomatic talks happening in New York in the next few weeks, and just keeping things running."

Daniel sighed quietly. "It's…" he said, trailing off as he struggled somewhat to find the right words.

"A lot?" Ichigo said, an eyebrow slightly raised as Daniel and she made their way to the couch.

"Yeah. A lot." Daniel chuckled as they sat down.

It was silent for a moment as they enjoyed each other's company, the scene marred only by the silent talking heads on the television screen.

Eleanor looked over at Ichigo. "So," she said conversationally, "have you decided a new name for yourself yet? I know that's something that you've been meaning to do."

Ichigo looked down at the floor silently for a moment as a slight blush colored her pale cheeks. "Well…" she said, trailing off for a second. "I've actually decided that I might keep it."

"Oh, really?" Daniel said, a slight smile on his face. "May I ask why?"

"I find that it has more meaning than I first assumed. And… Kensuke said that it was a good name." Ichigo finally said. Her blush deepened slightly.

Daniel's smile widened slightly. "Well, that sounds like as good a reason to keep a name as any."

"Yes. I would agree." Ichigo said, smiling slightly.

After a moment of silence, the tone of the doorbell sounded out, and Daniel looked up. "Hm. I'll go see who it is."

Daniel stood and made his way to the door, and opened it to see who would be waiting for them.

It was a woman a little taller than Daniel was, thin and dressed in dark jeans and a black jacket over a white shirt. Her smooth skin was pale, and her hair was grey, looking to almost be like a body drained of all color. Her eyes, however, black irises on white, were quietly alive, and a small smile creased her lips. "Hello, Daniel." she said, with a voice that seemed used to speaking quietly.

"Hello, Quelaan." Daniel said as a calm smile of his own started growing on his face. "Come in. How are you doing?"

"As well as I can be." Quelaan replied, stepping in and removing her shoes. "I hope I haven't interrupted anything."

"No, no." Daniel said, ushering her in. "In fact, there are a few people who I wouldn't mind you meet. How are the rest of your sisters?"

"Quelaag and Quelana are in the Geofront, assisting mother in beginning the creation of the Frame Plug device. They've taken to engineering, and with no small amount of skill, either." she said with a slight chuckle. "I, on the other hand, had other ideas in mind when I properly began Interfacing. Ideas more… alive than the simple constructs that my sisters seem content with making."

"I'm sure. In fact..." Daniel said as they emerged into the living room, and he lightly connected his soul to Quelaan's, asking silently for a request, which she accepted with no small amount of interest.

Eleanor and Ichigo looked over at Daniel and Quelaan as they entered the living room, and Daniel stepped forward. "Eleanor, Ichigo, this is Quelaan. She's an old friend from the same Echo that Izalith comes from."

Eleanor raised a hand in greeting. "Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Eleanor stood and walked over, offering her hand, which Quelaan took in a surprisingly firm handshake. "And it's good to meet you. I've heard a small portion of your story."

"I'd imagine." Quelaan said, her slight smile becoming a small grin. "Daniel seems to be fond of telling stories when the mood strikes him."

Eleanor rolled her eyes. "Honestly, you probably haven't heard even a portion of what he can go off about. Much as I love it."

The two women shared a knowing chuckle as Daniel scoffed slightly and crossed his arms. "Oh, come on. I'm not that bad, am I?"

The chuckle turned into quiet laughter as Daniel sighed and shook his head.

After a moment, the laughter died and the group sat down. Quelaan looked over at Ichigo with a gentle expression. "And who would you be?"

"My name is Ichigo… Ayanami." Ichigo replied quietly, nodding at Quelaan.

Quelaan's smile grew slightly. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Daniel told me a little of who you are before we sat down. You have quite the eventful life story."

"Yes." Ichigo said quietly. "And, from what I have learned from my friends, you, along with your mother and sisters, have had a life far more eventful than mine."

"Perhaps." Quelaan said. "But you are young, and there is still much in reality to experience."

For a while they talked quietly, Daniel and Quelaan expanding her story as Eleanor and Ichigo listened raptly, the silent television, and the uncertainties that it spoke of, forgotten for a little while.

"So," Daniel began, "I understand that you're an Animist." he said offhandedly.

"Yes." Quelaan said, smiling slightly as Ichigo looked over at her. "I've been working on gaining the trust of a few Spirits over the course of my time away from our old home."

She held out her hands, and a Grip, like a piece of charred firewood, appeared in her hands, and she closed her eyes as she focused.

On the bare coffee table, three small flames flickered to life, emanating little heat as they seemed to grow arms and legs, dots of purple flame taking the place of eyes and mouths as they seemed to yawn, stretching the wisps of flame that constituted their appendages as they stood and walked around, exploring the table.

Ichigo looked at the small figures with wide eyes as one of them noticed her, walking over to look up at her, the other two joining its side.

"These are Spirits, given form." Quelaan said softly. "For all the knowledge that we've studied, my sisters, mother, and I, they are still one of many mysteries within the realm of Interfacing."

She paused for a moment. "Perhaps it is good, to have something so humbling as mystery in something so grand as life, to remind us of how much there still is to know."

After a moment of silence, Quelaan narrowed her gaze slightly. "They seem to be… drawn to you. I am unsure why. They are not usually this… willful."

Ichigo did not reply, simply reaching out to try and touch the flame Spirit closest to her. As her finger approached, the Spirit reached out, grabbing at it like a particularly large tree branch. "It's… warm." she whispered.

Daniel and Eleanor looked intently at the display as it unfolded, then Daniel looked over at Quelaan. "What are the Spirits?"

"Shreds of Humanity." Quelaan whispered, not daring to take her gaze off Ichigo facing her palm up, the Spirit clambering up onto it. "The few that I had left from when Quelaag was keeping me alive."

"Humanity…" Ichigo whispered. "I… I pull them, somehow. I see..."

The room was silent, the only noise that dared intrude upon it the quiet crackle of the flame Spirits as Ichigo took the other two in her other hand.

Finally, Daniel decided to break the silence. "Ichigo," he said, and she cringed slightly as she looked over at him, "go ahead and let Quelaan release her Spirits from their form."

Ichigo blinked, then nodded slowly, setting the Spirits back down on the coffee table, where they flickered out like the blowing of candlelight.

Everyone leaned back in their seats with a quiet sigh, and it was silent again for a moment.

"What did you see?" Quelaan said quietly.

"I saw… memories." Ichigo said quietly. "Pieces of them, at least. I'm… unsure. But it felt… right, somehow."

"If such is the case," Quelaan said, "then you might want more training. If Spirits are drawn to you like mine were, then you'll need to be taught how to control yourself, and them."

She looked over at Daniel and Eleanor. "If you give your permission, of course."

Eleanor shrugged slightly. "Any permission is hers to give." she said simply, and Daniel nodded silently.

Quelaan nodded in turn, and looked back over to Ichigo. "What do you think?" she said quietly.

It was silent as the young woman considered the empty coffee table. Then, she slowly nodded. "Yes." she said quietly. "Yes, I would like to learn this."

"Except…" she said after a moment. "I don't think I'll be learning. I think I'll be… discovering it. Or rediscovering it."

She fell silent after that.

The adults in the room looked over at each other, Quelaan questioning, and Daniel and Eleanor wondering.

After a moment of silence, Ichigo looked over at Quelaan. "Is there anything I should know now?"

"Well," Quelaan said after a moment, taking her Grip in two hands, "the first is that to call upon Spirits, and give them physical form, often requires a Locus. These are often called Grips by the simple, but they have the potential to be powerful relics. Spirits are stored within them, empowering the Locus or emerging from it or its wielder. As for the methods of drawing Spirits to the Locus, that will come later."

Ichigo nodded slowly in understanding. "Very well."

"A word of warning." Daniel said, a serious look in his eyes as his own Grip, a handle of crystal that seemed to change colors every so often, appeared and began to hum an almost pleasant tone.

"Spirits are not the only things that are able to be drawn to the Locus." Daniel said quietly, looking down at the Locus as it continued to hum. "Souls can be drawn into them too. One way… or another."

"How do you know this?" Ichigo said, discomfort in her voice creeping into her expression.

Daniel sighed quietly and closed his eyes for a moment before he responded. "This is Nynrya." he said quietly, lifting the Grip in his hand for a moment. "She seems, or seemed, to enjoy singing. That is all that I have ever found out about her. Other than her eyes. A deep brown, like melted chocolate, before the light went out of them."

He closed his eyes and sighed again as Eleanor put a hand on Daniel's arm. "Another of the long list of my sins."

Daniel took a deep breath, then opened his eyes and looked at Ichigo, seeming to stare into her soul. "If you ever come across a soul, be careful what you do with them. Don't do what I did."

It was silent again for a moment, then Daniel made his Grip vanish, the hum abruptly stopping as he stood. "Well, that's enough of that dour mood." he looked over at Quelaan. "Will you be able to stay for lunch? Rei and Kaworu will be coming back before they go up with some of the other Children on a group date."

Quelaan smiled. "Why yes. I would like to, actually. And I've been wanting to meet the Children since I heard about them. Such strong souls, to go through what they have."

"Yes." Eleanor said quietly, standing and walking over to Daniel's side. "That they are."

. . .

Uluru Blacksite, Australian Outback

Mariah Marlowe gazed out the window of the helicopter as they circled the massive, tree-stump-like rock that was Uluru. She had only seen it in pictures in school before, probably, but she was probably barely feeling the Thrill for something as mundane as schoolwork and look at how big it was! It was so huge!

In a moment, before they descended, she got out her phone, taking a few pictures for later. She would have sent them to dad now, but Commander Townsend had been very clear that dad shouldn't be hearing anything from her, what with "operational secrecy" and all that nonsense.

She'd still managed to sneak a few pictures out to dad, mostly of the Suez Channel and a few pictures she had taken of the sea that interested her. If she remembered, she might send him some pictures of this. She knew he liked them, mostly because mum had liked them too. What would mum have thought of the sight?

It disappeared before she could think of an answer, replaced with the sight of an inset hangar bay, surrounded by catwalks and doors, mostly empty of people save for one who waited on the edge of the pad in a military uniform.

The helicopter touched down, and as she opened the door to bounce down onto the floor, bag in hand, she heard the rumble of the doors overhead closing.

She came to a stop in front of the gentleman, shifting her bag into her other hand as she came to attention and offered a sharp, palm-out salute. "Pilot Mari Marlowe at your service sir!" she said cheerfully.

The man's lips quirked at the right corner as he saluted back to her, allowing them both to drop it as he extended his hand. "Pleased to meet you, Miss Marlowe. I'm Major Howard, and I'll be your commanding officer during your stay here."

Mariah took the hand and firmly shaked it. "Oh, good. A commanding officer. Exactly what I needed. Seeing as what I'm about to do seems to be rather important."

"That it is." Major Howard replied, letting go of her hand. "Follow me. We'll get your stuff put away, and then I'll introduce you to the other pilots."

"Oh, yay! I've been wondering what they're like since I saw their names and faces." Mariah said, following behind as they passed through the doors and into the base itself. She lowered her voice in a conspiratorial whisper. "If I come off as weird, it's because I haven't had my meds yet. We took off a liiiittle too early for that."

Major Howard nodded slowly. "I'll keep that in mind."

They talked as they walked to drop her bags off, which mostly consisted, as it usually did for her, doing most of the talking and Major Howard most of the listening, chiming in at a few points.

As they walked away from what was to be her room, Major Howard stopped, turning to Mariah with a serious look in his eyes. "Now, as I'm sure you're aware, you'll be going into battle beside these other young women in an extremely important mission."

Mariah nodded slowly. "Yeah. I've got that."

It was quiet for a moment. "Keep them safe." he finally said, sighing quietly as he did. "They're valuable assets, and the Human Instrumentality Committee would not want to see them wasted."

It was quiet again as they began to walk again. After a moment, Mariah suddenly realized what he was actually saying. "Ohhhhh." she said, gaining a few looks from some technicians that passed by. "You-"

Major Howard suddenly looked over at her with a stern glare, cutting off whatever she would have said next. After a moment, he looked around, ensuring that no one was in the corridor with them.

Seemingly assured that they weren't heard, he looked back at Mariah with a neutral expression. "You're very observant." he said neutrally.

"Thanks. I mean…" she looked around much like Major Howard had, ensuring that no others could hear them. "If you're so concerned, why not send me and a few of those Mass-Production Evangelions ahead, clear things out, and keep them safe? I'm probably more than a match for the other pilots we might be going up against."

It was a long, silent moment before Major Howard replied. "Because the plan has already been laid out quite meticulously by the Committee." he said.

Then, he smiled slightly. "And besides, they're both just as willing as you are to see this through. Even if they don't look like it."

As they turned another corner (their 7th since dropping her bags off, and their 18th since leaving the helicopter, a quiet part of her brain noted) and stopped in front of a door, Major Howard smiled slightly. "Speaking of the other girls…" he said, swiping a card in front of a reader.

The door opened with a swish, revealing a bare conference room, occupied only by a long table and the dome of a projector of some kind.

It was empty, save for two girls who looked about Mariah's age. One was a little taller than her own 5-foot 4-inch frame, wearing military combat fatigues and boots that clacked slightly as she stood up and came to attention, putting up a sharp salute that shrouded her hard blue eyes in a little shadow, the overhead lights instead gleaming dully off of her short brown hair.

The other girl stood more slowly, coming to attention and offering a somewhat more uncertain salute. She was slightly shorter, with long black hair that draped over the back of her own fatigues. She looked at Mariah more than she did at Major Howard, the girl's brown eyes filled with both wondering and hesitation.

"Miss Marlowe," Major Howard said as he stepped forward, "as I'm sure you know, these are your fellow pilots. Mana Kirishima and Mayumi Yamagishi."

Mariah stepped forward, stretching her hand out towards the stoic Mana. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Mariah, but it'll just be Mari between us, good?"

Mana lowered the salute after a moment as Major Howard presumably saluted back, and stared at Mariah with a neutral expression as Mariah kept her hand extended. She glanced behind Mariah after a moment, then slowly took her hand in a firm grip. "Hello, Mari. I am Lieutenant Kirishima." she said levelly.

"Yes, ma'am, so it seems to be." Mariah said. After a moment, she tilted her head slightly. "Are you, by chance… a cyborg?" she said slowly, a suspicious look in her eye.

Mariah heard a quiet intake of breath from behind her as Major Howard began to speak, then didn't. Mana, for her part, simply tilted her head slightly. "No. I am not a cyborg."

Mariah nodded slowly. "Got it. Good to know." she said, just as slowly.

Mariah looked over to the other girl, Mayumi, and again reached out her hand. "And hello to you too."

"Hi." Mayumi said slowly, reaching out and shaking Mariah's hand limply. "It's… nice to meet you, I guess."

Mariah smiled broadly. "Not a social butterfly, eh? That's alright. I do most of the talking, anyway."

Mayumi let go of Mariah's hand, nodding slowly and silently.

Mariah took a step back, looking between the two girls then back towards Major Howard. "Well, then, lovely ladies, looking forward to working with both of them. When do we start?"

"We start with going through some simulations." Major Howard said, his expression fighting to remain cool and controlled. "We're still finishing repairs on the Mass-Production Evangelions in our care, and we're waiting on word that the ones stationed elsewhere will be ready. Until then, you three get to learn how to work together."

"Sounds like a plan!" Mariah said, nodding sharply, then looking back at the other two pilots. "I'm going to have fun seeing what you two can do in an Evangelion." she said with a broad smile.

Major Howard did his best to not openly sigh. The next few weeks were going to be… eventful.