Chapter 26: Red Morning Sky

To buy such time, we must be bold. Willing to do whatever it takes to assert our independence from these foreigners. Perhaps there will be blood. Perhaps there will be tragedies. Such is regrettable, but it is the way of any struggle to remain free from the grip of servitude to these peoples, however potential that may be…

- To Stand Alone, Post 13

Shinji's Residence, Mid-September 2016

Shinji, Asuka, Kaworu, and Rei sat quietly in the living room, pondering the options placed before them.

Shinji sighed quietly. "You know, I was looking forward to being done with piloting. With walking away from that life."

"And we kind of have, Shinji." Asuka nodded. "I mean, look at us. We haven't even set foot in one of the Evas since the rescue mission. The Evas… they're disappearing. We're getting our mothers back. A chance at something coming close to a normal life."

"Perhaps." Rei interjected. "But SEELE still looms large. The world needs the Frame Titans."

"Yeah." Shinji said. "But does it need us? I mean, we're just kids who were stuffed into the Evas, one way or another. Having someone else worry about them, as much as I know we should, is… tempting."

"And yet, now, we don't have to be those kids." Asuka said. "I mean, Misato isn't who your father was. She isn't stuffing us into the Frame Titans and telling us to go out and save the world. We can do it if we want to. And we don't even need to get into a Plug if we don't want to. We've got the experience in piloting that allows us to just train the next generation."

Asuka paused for a moment. "But I want to get into a Frame Titan. I want the ability to know that I will make a difference. To know that someone can rely on me being there, being the best pilot in the world. I know that's not your usual playbook, Shinji, but… I know that, whatever I do, whatever we do, you'll have my back. And I'll have yours."

Shinji considered it for a moment. "I'll…" he sighed. "I don't want to make this decision alone. I want all of us who are pilots to discuss this. It does impact all of us, after all."

Kaworu nodded sagely. "A wise decision."

Before he could continue, there was a knock at the door, Shinji standing and walking over to open it.

As he did, he found himself greeted by his parents, Gendo's hand in Yui's. "May we come in, Shinji?" Yui asked.

"Sure." Shinji replied, stepping aside. "What brings you here?"

"I haven't checked in or talked with you in the flesh for… a long, long time, Shinji." Yui replied. "I hope you don't mind if I try and make up for the family time we lost."

Shinji shook his head. "No, I don't mind. It's just…" he sighed quietly as they entered the living room. "We were in the middle of something."

"My apologies." Gendo said. "What were we interrupting, if I may ask?"

"Oh, just our futures, whether or not we'll be pilots for the Frame Titans, those sorts of regular, teenage worries." Asuka said sardonically as Shinji took a seat.

"I see." Gendo replied gravely as he nodded to Asuka. "Ms. Soryu. I hope you're doing well."

He looked over at Rei and Kaworu as Asuka nodded slowly, almost unsurely. "Hello, Rei. Mr. Nagisa."

"Hello…" Kaworu began. Then he blinked.

Now, the man standing in front of him wore a black visor, no hint of a kind expression, or any expression at all, as they stood in the observation room that sat high above an Evangelion bay. Far below them, the shell of a god, taller than the others, was slowly becoming wrapped in armor, four arms spread to its sides. The armor was a deep purple and green, a familiar sight, compared to the one that he'd taken up into orbit and interned years ago.

"And I am to pilot this with Shinji Ikari?" he asked, careful neutrality in his tone guarding his quiet excitement.

"Yes." Gendo Ikari replied without inflection. "It is part of the first stage of True Instrumentality. You understand your role within it. After all, you are still the final Angel to be sacrificed."

"Yes." he replied, looking back down on what he would pilot. The last word he thought, his relation to Gendo Ikari, went unsaid. Along with quite a bit else.

"Kaworu?"

He blinked again, and the apartment came back into view, as he swept his gaze around the concerned faces that regarded him, his gaze landing on Gendo. "Father…"

All eyes widened, and more than a few gasps swept the shocked silence out of the room. "Oh, my." Gendo said. "Something tells me Doctor Akagi will be running a DNA test on the two of us soon."

Kaworu nodded. "Indeed."

Gendo shook his head slightly. "But that is for another day. Yui and I… well, we might have some words for you, concerning your decision to remain pilots."

"Sir, frankly," Asuka began, "I find that I have a hard time believing I'd want to hear anything you might say."

Shinji found himself somewhat amazed by Asuka's self-control as his father nodded. "I understand why. But I still wish to give them regardless."

Gendo sighed. "Ms. Katsuragi will be a far better commanding officer than I could ever hope to be. That much is certain. I can ascertain that she's given you a choice. Whatever choice you make… you have gone above and beyond what anyone else can do, regardless of my interference. You have the right to anything you choose to do."

"And I, and the rest of your piloting team's mothers, I'm sure," Yui said, "will support you in whatever makes you happy. Whether that's serving as a pilot for HERZ, or as a trainer, or finding a new path in life. We understand. After all, we went through it right alongside you."

It was quiet as they digested the wisdom of their elders.

"Well," Shinji said, "thank you for your words. Right now, we're going to go get Hikari and Toji. Talk this out fully."

Gendo and Yui nodded. "We'll let you get to that then." Yui replied. "Good luck. And it was good to see you all."

With that, the couple took their leave, and Asuka shook her head slightly. "You know, Shinji," she said quietly, "I think that's the most I've ever seen your dad smile."

"Mom always said that there was a better man lost in there whenever we talked about my father in the Eva." Shinji replied. "I think… if we give him enough time, he might actually turn into someone respectable."

"It'll be a miracle to see the day." Asuka mused.

"Anyways," Shinji continued, "let's grab the others and… go on a group date."

. . .

The Val

Daniel and Eleanor waited patiently at the transporter pad, waiting for their two guests. The air fuzzed, and Kodama Horaki and Della Duck appeared out of thin air, stepping off the platform after a moment.

Kodama regarded her surroundings with wide eyes. "Wow…" she said after a moment, somewhat oblivious to the fact that the person beside her had just transformed into a duck. "How… how did that work?" she asked softly, her eyes gleaming with a barely constrained excitement.

"It's an instantaneous Pneumaic translocation system." Eleanor replied, a slight smile on her face. "That's the technical term, at least."

"Good to have you looking around, Ms. Kodama." Daniel said as he stepped forward and offered a hand. "How are your family and friends?"

It was a quick moment before Kodama responded. "Well, mother and father are overjoyed to see each other still. Hikari is thinking quite deeply about Commander Katsuragi's offer, and Nozomi is still as rambunctious as ever. As for my friends…"

She paused, an uncertain look on her face. "Shizuka said her boyfriend and his friends are going to be part of 'something big' going on today. He didn't elaborate to her what. I passed it on to Mr. Kaji, but now you know as well."

Daniel nodded. "I see. I'm sure Ryoji will take care of it."

"And Della," Daniel continued, drawing Kodama's gaze to the Duck as she jumped slightly in surprise, seemingly finally noting her presence, "how are the kids holding up?"

"Well, to say they're a handful would be selling it short." Della replied with a shrug and a chuckle. "Frankly, it's the most fun I've had in years. Huey, Dewey, and Louie are all grown up and independent now, so it's nice to be able to take care of someone."

Daniel chuckled softly. "Good, good. In the meantime, let's get you two acquainted with the ins and outs of this ship, shall we?"

. . .

Ritsuko's Residence

Ritsuko looked over at the clone and wondered why, exactly, she had decided to let her stay with her.

There was certainly nothing wrong with the girl herself. She soaked up information like a sponge, proving to be almost insatiably curious about the workings of reality, with a surprising wit to go with it. Far and away she certainly was from Rei Ayanami, who was, even off the drugs that had made her so passive, far more demure and controlled in her inquisitions into how the world worked.

No, she thought, the biggest potential problem was herself. Maya had adjusted to the situation just fine, of course, but she… well…

'How can I expect myself to do this? I never wanted to be a mother. Heaven knows I'm screwed up enough that I might screw up someone who is as close to a newborn as one can possibly get, which is the last thing this girl needs. And yet… with Maya here…'

She looked over at the girl, typing away at her new laptop with a furrowed brow, probably looking at some science article that she would ask them a million questions about later, seeming to slightly pout like Maya did when she was particularly engrossed by something.

'Maybe I can pull it off. If for nothing else, then at least to make sure the girl can survive in this world. To make sure I can be someone Maya can still be proud of.'

"Young lady." she said aloud, causing the girl to blink and look up at her. "Have you decided on a name yet?"

The girl's eyebrow furrowed. "Well," she began, "I've looked for the last few days at several names in several languages, testing out how they sound. Most don't seem to appeal to me. But…"

She began to type again as Ritsuko walked to her side at the kitchen table. What Ritsuko found was… more than a little surprising.

On the screen was the English alphabet, and the girl pointed at the letter Q. "I find the pronunciation distinct and memorable. Yes, it may be a single letter, but it sounds… right to me."

Ritsuko nodded slowly. "I see. So… you want to be named after a letter?"

The girl shrugged. "I see no reason not to be."

Ritsuko cupped her chin thoughtfully, then reached into a pocket to retrieve a notepad and pen, flipping over to an empty page and writing out the hiragana きゅ.

"How about this?" she asked as she showed the characters for 'Kyu' to the girl. "It's the same sound in proper Japanese characters, and I can think of a few meanings for it beyond simply being a letter."

The girl nodded after a moment. "Kyu it is." she said, a slight smile on her face.

After a moment, Kyu spoke again. "From what you've told me and what I've seen, I'll likely need a last name as well. Ayanami is serviceable, but though it may be a copy of her body I inhabit, I do not feel any great kinship with her beyond a friendly understanding."

She paused for a moment. "May I be an Akagi?"

Ritsuko's heart began to pound as she desperately fought to keep her expression neutral.

"After all, you and Maya are the ones that took me in, and taught me the most about this world that I get to live in. I feel…"

She paused for a moment before continuing. "I feel that you two are the closest that I might have to mothers here."

Mother. 'She said it. Oh…' Ritsuko's mind began to spiral into an almost blinding panic for a moment before she regained some semblance of control.

"Ms. Ritsuko?" Kyu asked, a concerned look in her eyes.

"Give… give me a moment to think about it." Ritsuko said quietly, turning and walking quickly towards the bathroom.

As she closed and locked the door behind her, flipping the room's fan on, she sat on the toilet as she tried to master herself again.

Mother. The concept of her being a mother, especially in the breathtakingly intimate way that Kyu only accidentally described, terrified her fundamentally.

'How could I be a mother like she thinks I could be? With Rei, with the Evangelions, and the Dummy System, all I did was make dolls and monsters. How can I raise an actual child like Kyu? How can I not make monsters anymore?'

'Maya will know. She always does.'

After a few more deep breaths, she took out her clear-pad and dialed Maya. She was away at the Matsushiro site, overseeing the pump operation for the up-and-coming Frame Plugs. The pad rang for a few moments, then a soft tone sounded before Maya spoke, her voice underlaid somewhat by the sounds of heavy machinery. "Hey, Ritsuko. What's up?"

"I… I need some help." Ritsuko replied, a defeated tone to her voice. "It has to do with the child. Her name's Kyu, by the way." she said the last part somewhat absentmindedly.

"Oh. Good." Maya said. "What about Kyu?" she asked quietly, the background noise quieting somewhat.

"She…" Ritsuko sighed." She asked if she could be an Akagi instead of an Ayanami. Called us… mothers." she whispered.

"I see." Maya said in understanding. Many had been the nights, especially after they had moved in, where Ritsuko had finally had someone to unload her hopes and dreams, the fears that she dared share with no one else. "You're afraid of screwing up."

"Aren't you?" Ritsuko asked incredulously. "I mean, look at us, Maya. We have zero experience dealing with children in a way that helps them to develop healthily. Hell, the children we do have experience with, we stuffed into the Evangelions, which can't be good for anyone's mental state, regardless of their previous experience. I… I helped create Rei. I'm partially her mother, in a sense. And I turned her into a manikin, used her to create the Dummy System. And now we have a copy of her sitting in our living room asking me to be an actual parent."

She paused for a moment before sighing heavily. "I… probably don't seem reasonable, do I?" she asked wearily.

"Well, you were reasonable enough to call me, weren't you?" Maya asked.

"So," she continued as a smile tugged at a corner of Ritsuko's mouth, "let's break this down. You're entirely right. Neither of us really knows what it's like to be mothers. But then again, who does, at first? We have… well, maybe not a stellar support network, but at least a decent one. And we have each other. We know what we're supposed to do, generally. So… let's take it a day at a time. The greatest experiment we can do together. See if our hypothesis of 'can we raise a child together' is plausible. How about it?"

It was quiet for a moment before Ritsuko gave a dry chuckle. "How did I know you would do that so well?" she asked.

"Well, when I learn from the best, it just comes easy." Maya replied. "We'll make it work. I promise."

"You know what… we will."

Ritsuko nodded. "Thank you. I love you. And have fun looking over the Frame Plugs."

"Will do. Love you too. Bye."

With that, Maya hung up, and Ritsuko stood, taking a deep breath and opening the door. She found herself only somewhat surprised to find Kyu standing outside, who took a step back and blushed slightly.

"How much did you hear?" Ritsuko asked, resignation tinging her words.

"More than I should probably admit." Kyu replied.

Ritsuko sighed. "Well, I had a talk with Maya, brief as it may have been. And…"

She drew Kyu into a hug, eliciting a quiet gasp from her. "Welcome to our weird little home, Kyu Akagi."

After a moment's shock, Kyu reciprocated, and they stood there for a moment, tears in both their eyes.

"First things first, Kyu," Ritsuko said as they pulled away from the hug, "we'll need to find you another color for your hair. Otherwise, you and Rei will be very easily confused for each other."

Kyu nodded. "Well, I have been looking around at what the base standard for humans is, considering the fact that I'm told blue is not a natural color. And frankly… they're all kind of boring."

Ritsuko shrugged. "Well, I can't say I, or many other people for that matter, entirely blame you. Is there something else you had in mind?"

"Well…" Kyu walked over to an end table, where Ritsuko's cat figurines sat. She pointed at the white one, shot through with gold lacquer after a night Ritsuko both cursed and counted herself lucky for. "I quite like that. I understand that it might be… distinctive. But it looks beautiful."

Ritsuko regarded the figurine silently for a moment. 'You know, if I didn't know better, I'd swear something divine was trying to tell me something with this figure…'

"Alright." she said aloud. "I'll talk to Eleanor. She did Ichigo's hair, so she'll probably do yours. It's… like you said, rather distinct, but I think she can pull it off."

The tour of the Val that the four of them took, joined from time to time by Amaya, found them away from the track that Daniel had taken the other Outriders. That tour had touched the more public areas: the ship's quarters, the medical bay, the bridge, and the observation sphere.

Now, though, they stood in the engine room, its center taken up by a massive globe suspended in a hollow pillar, wisps of multicolored light flowing into the top and bottom of the pillar as it emitted a quiet, but piercing hum.

"And this is the Pneumaic Core." Eleanor said as Kodama and Della walked around it, observing it closely. "It's connected to Pneumaity, unsurprisingly, and converts the Metos it collects into electricity via mechanisms within the pillar it rests in. Of course, it also feeds pure Metos to the systems that need it, and is the main power source for the Dip Drive."

"The Dip Drive?" Kodama asked, tilting her head slightly as she adjusted her glasses to peer at a readout. "Is that how you achieve superluminal travel?"

"Of a sort." Eleanor replied. "Due to the way that space works in Reality, getting compressed the closer you get to the Pneumaic Realm, the Drive cuts a hole, sometimes deep, sometimes not, dips into either Mentality or Pneumaity, then cuts another hole out in the destination. Most are only rated for trips into Mentality, but military vessels, like I'm sure this one is, are rated to go all the way to Pneumaity."

"Wow." Della said. "My Cloudkiller is only able to go to Level 2.5. This… likely 2.2. Maybe even all the way to 1."

Kodama looked over at Della with an arched eyebrow. "And what does that mean?"

Della blinked. "Oh. It's the rating system. How deep you can go is done by descending level. 3 is physical space, 1 is Pneumaity itself." she shrugged. "Pretty simple, really."

Before Kodama could reply, a buzz came from her pocket, and she pulled out her phone. "Oh. It's Hikari." she said with a slight smile as she tapped out a reply. "She's just asking me how the tour's going."

She held up her smartphone and the quiet click of the phone's camera was heard. Kodama hesitated for a moment. "You… don't mind if I send a picture, do you?"

Eleanor and Daniel looked at each other then shrugged. "I don't see why not." Daniel chuckled. It's not as though she'll sell it to anyone unscrupulous, by any means."

Kodama nodded as she sent the picture. "It looks like she's going on a group date with the other pilots to talk about whether they want to be a part of HERZ."

Daniel nodded slowly. "Understandable. They'll make the right choice, whatever that may be."

"So," he continued, "let's get up to communications, shall we?"

. . .

Kanrai District, Tokyo-2

Ryoji Kaji watched from the shadows, literally, as three college kids got in their car and began to drive down the road.

As he began to follow their car, he contemplated for a moment trying to establish a connection with one of them, find out what this 'something big' that Kodama said Takashi, her friend's boyfriend and a somewhat prominent ringleader of the local Lone World chapter, was supposed to be. But he needed to focus on where they were going, and a moving target was… tricky to establish a connection with without having one beforehand.

So, he settled on looking at their souls with the Sight. They were anxious, that was for certain. About what, he still didn't know. This group had become awfully tight-lipped, even online. Right now, all he could do was wait and see.

. . .

Gonsen's Dine-In

Shinji sat with his friends at the table, eating food and having a light conversation. It was quite pleasant, and he was surprised that they hadn't done something like this earlier.

Then, he realized why their idle chatting had gone on for as long as it had. They had been dancing around the issue at hand. The reason they had gotten together in the first place.

He glanced over at something else to distract himself for a little while longer, finding a sign by the bar that read 'No Metos Marks Accepted Currently. Cash or Card Only'. The merchants that Daniel had mentioned being close had finally arrived, and while they hadn't begun to fully start exchanging goods with the local populace of Earth, their money, Metos Marks, or M2s or emmies, had gone ahead and done so anyway.

He shook off the tangent with a shake of his head. Enough was enough, now.

"Alright, we've been going around this for long enough." he said, drawing the rest of the table's attention. "It's time to talk about piloting."

Hikari sighed quietly as she squeezed Toji's hand. "I wondered how long we could put it off." she said ruefully.

"I mean, this is why we decided to get together." Asuka replied. "And… where do we even start? There's a lot to cover."

"Logically, there actually isn't, really." Kaworu replied. "We have a choice before us. One that comes down to whether or not we want to pilot for HERZ."

"Well, yeah," Toji interjected, "that's the basics of it. But… the fact that we have the choice is what makes it complicated. Misato could have simply stuffed us in the Plugs if she wanted to. But she wants us to choose. So, really… what do we want?"

The question hung in the air in silence for a moment before Asuka shook her head. "Well, I know what I want. I want to be out there, know I'm making a change. Know that I'm gonna pound SEELE's face into the dirt."

"That is certainly a large part of the consideration, for me at least." Hikari interjected. "SEELE's still out there. An organization who may well still have the capability of producing more Evas, perhaps even taking more children and putting them into Plugs against their will. I might be okay stepping away from the Plug in time, but if that's the cost right now, letting them continue their injustices, then…"

She trailed off and Rei nodded. "Even with the threat that SEELE poses… I want you all to know that I will support you. Whether that's in a Plug, in battle beside you, or whether I am simply training your copilots. If you want me to be there, I will offer what limited experience I will have."

"Don't sell yourself short, Rei." Shinji said. "You were so much better than you were by the time Unit-00 was destroyed. You're better than you think. If you want to pilot, then… why not go for it? After all, the Frame Titans just depend on us. No mothers or tearing apart other people's souls. Just our willpower and drive to do good."

"Well, Shinji," Kaworu said, "with that in mind, I offer up this question. What about you? We know what Asuka wishes to do, quite clearly. Hikari can be inferred as willing to pilot again." he glanced over at Hikari. "If I am not mistaken."

Hikari nodded, and Kaworu turned his gaze back to Shinji. "You have perhaps the most real-world experience in piloting in combat situations compared to all of us. Your… what does Daniel call it… grit, I believe, along with your determination and willingness to lead has won the day in many different cases."

He paused, taking in Shinji's conflicted expression. "What I perhaps mean to say, in so many words, is that whatever you do, we will follow. I will follow you into battle, or wherever you decide to go."

The statement reached a silent Shinji. 'He's not wrong.' he thought. 'But… all of that was luck. Or at least most of it. I simply picked up what I needed to survive, then to protect my friends. I can't be the person they expect me to be.'

Then, memories from seemingly forever ago came to the surface of his mind. The first synch test after they'd become pilots again, before he'd gotten into Unit-01. The need, useless as it was in hindsight, to come up with something to let Misato know they were together. "Don't sell yourself short. If you come up with something good— and you have before— you know I'll follow your lead."

The Over the Rainbow, the last time he'd told someone that what he'd done was mostly 'luck'. "I find that luck and ability are tied closely together, Shinji." Daniel had said.

Asuka grabbed his hand, snapping him back to reality as he looked over at her. "Wherever you go," she said quietly, "I've got your back."

It was another moment of silence before Shinji sighed. "Well…"

A quiet determination flickered to life in his eyes as he continued after a moment. "I'll admit it. The choice before us terrifies me. I'd love to have the option to walk away, let someone else save the world while I live a normal life."

"But NERV, my father, Misato and Ritsuko, all of them, put the world in our hands and told us to keep it safe, fix it if we somehow could. And we've done a good job of protecting it so far. Even started to fix things a little. And if there's anything I've learned… it's to never start a job you won't finish."

"But I can't do it alone." he looked around the table. "I know I won't be going out there alone, but… if I know I can count on all of you, it'll mean the world to me to have you by my side."

"You know I'll be there." Asuka said, not a shred of hesitation in her voice.

"As will I." Kaworu said, Rei nodding in agreement.

"In order to keep you all, and the world safe, I'll do it." Hikari agreed.

Toji was silent for a moment, then chuckled. "Well, us stooges can't seem to catch a break, can we?" he asked wryly. "Alright. I'll probably need to make my peace with my parents, make sure they're in the loop. But when I do, I'll be there."

"Alright." Shinji said with a deep breath. "That settles it then. I'll make sure Misato knows we're all in."

"After all," he continued as he looked at Asuka, a slight smile on his lips, "when we're together, we win. Simple as that."

Ryoji arrived with the college boys at what appeared to be the side alley of a restaurant and a convenience store, the three boys meeting up with a half dozen more compatriots that walked out of one end of the alley after a brief conversation.

Stepping out of the shadows into a corner of the restaurant when he felt he wouldn't be spotted, he focused on Takashi, lightly connecting their souls as he searched for what they were doing here.

As he discerned their true intentions, his eyes went wide for a moment before becoming set in determination. 'Oh no, you don't.'

As he took a step forward, however, he felt something cool pressed against the side of his head, stopping him cold. He glanced to his side, and saw nothing there physically.

As he opened his Sight again, however, he felt time seem to slow as his heart beat a little quicker at the almost terrifyingly familiar sight.

"Well, then." he said, pitched low to not call the attention of the Lone World group. "I wondered where you were when we stormed that mission. Still on the Scion's payroll?"

The cloaking field rippled as it dropped, revealing the familiar rounded armor of the I-Breaker. "No. I'm under new employment now." the I-Breaker replied, a masculine voice emerging from the sealed helmet.

"I'm guessing you won't tell me who." Ryoji said with a wry smile. "But I can still make an educated guess. The Lone World boys and girls over there?"

"Very perceptive." the I-Breaker said levelly.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm just going to go stop them, and we can keep talking." Ryoji said, risking another step.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that." the I-Breaker said, a hard edge entering his voice. "You'll be dead before you even emerge from the corner."

"So why haven't you just killed me yet, then?" Kaji asked, a similarly serious tone to his words.

As the I-Breaker seemingly paused, Ryoji's mind whirled. 'The kids are in danger. Hell, I am too. But… either I let them get away with this and tell the others, or I try and rescue them myself. I've seen how that works out. Damn it.'

"Well, I'll be going now." he said aloud, an easy smile on his face.

"I can't let you do that either." the I-Breaker replied.

"Well," Kaji said as he discretely prepared an Expression, "the funny thing about me is, really, I do what I want. Later."

With that, a sphere of darkness consumed the both of them, Ryoji hearing the whir of silenced rounds buzz past his ear as he dove into the shadows on the wall of the dumpster, exiting the alley in a flash.

As the I-Breaker watched the Frames that made up his opponent fly away, his jaw clenched slightly for a moment. 'Damn. A loose end.'

He'd be going to tell his allies about this. Going to tell… him. 'I might just intercept him on my way to tie this up.'

A part of him hoped such would be the case, as he faded out of sight again and kept watch over the group of reactionaries his employer worked with.

. . .

Shinji and company split the bill as they finished their meal, a far more upbeat atmosphere following them as they began to exit the restaurant.

"I must say, Shinji," Kaworu mused with a slight smile as they stood from the table, "perhaps I should yield the designation of pilot of Unit-01 back to you. For the sake of tradition, of course."

Shinji chuckled softly. "Maybe we should get our designations back. It'd be familiar at least. For most of us, seeing as Daniel's piloting Unit-00."

"Eh, we'll figure it out. Either way, 1 through 4 are taken." Asuka interjected. "Maybe Rei and you can be 5 and 6."

As they exited, turning to walk down the street towards home, they heard a scream from down an alleyway. As they turned, they saw a man, obviously panicked, rushing towards them. "Help! Help! My friend's trapped under a dumpster! It just rolled over him!"

"Alright." Hikari said, stepping forward. "We'll help roll it off him."

The others nodded, and they began to make their way into the alley. True to the man's word, a dumpster pinned another man, while a third stood over him and tried to push ineffectually at the bulky blue metal box.

As they moved closer, Kaworu could feel others moving in behind them, brushing them off as concerned spectators. That presumption was quickly dispelled as he felt their focus come squarely on him and his friends.

His senses sharpened to a razor's fineness, and he noted the sham of the man pinned by the dumpster as he began to turn. But the two projectiles that slammed into him were just that little bit quicker.

As the projectiles hit him, sticking to his body, an overpowering command seemed to course through his very soul. SLEEP. As much as he tried to resist it, he could not help but obey, as his vision tunneled and he hit the pavement with a dull thump. The last that he saw was the rest of his friends, meeting the same fate. Then, he began to dream.

. . .

Misato's Residence

Misato looked at the trio before her, Ritsuko and Maya sitting on both ends of the newly dubbed Kyu, who played somewhat with a curious Penpen, looking for all the world like they were at a parent-teacher conference with their child.

A wry smile tugged at a corner of her lips as the thought tumbled through her mind for a moment. This… this was perfect ribbing material. But there were other matters, far more serious in nature, that she had called Ritsuko and Maya to discuss.

"So," she began, "how are the pumps for the LCL lake coming along?"

"Well," Maya said, "we've got two 8-meter diameter hoses currently pumping into the storage tanks, which are ready and waiting for the first Frame Plug to finish. We've got two of them under construction at the same time, and both of them should be finished at the end of the month."

Misato nodded as she looked at Ritsuko. "And what about the synthetic LCL?"

"The SLCL is being produced steadily." Ritsuko replied. "The plan so far is to start substituting the LCL in the Frame Titans with SLCL, transition the natural LCL into medical and other miscellaneous uses."

"Speaking of regular LCL," Misato said, "how is Suriel doing?"

Ritsuko puffed her cheeks. "Well, she's still in quarantine, for right now. We've done a few tests on her physical form. It's much like Rei's or Ichigo's or Kyu's. Mostly human, with unknown elements that are likely from the FAR."

She paused for a moment. "She can also produce natural LCL." Ritsuko said quietly.

Misato's eyebrows rose as Ritsuko continued. "It was a shock to her as much as it was to us. We ran some tests together. Focusing only on producing it, she can pump out about 5 gallons of LCL a day."

Misato shook her head. "Man… anything else?"

"Well, she's become more and more insistent on talking to Kadmonel. We'll likely have to set up a date in the near future." Ritsuko's lips twitched slightly upward as she snorted softly.

"Alright then." Misato looked intently at Kyu. "And you, Ms. Kyu."

She paused for a moment as Kyu looked up at her, a passing surprise in her expression. "What's your hair going to look like?" she asked with a bemused expression.

Kyu was quiet for a moment, then smiled slightly. "Porcelain white with gold highlights." she said.

Misato chuckled, then began to laugh softly for a moment. Kyu simply smiled. "Oh." Misato said after a moment's silence, a somewhat shocked expression replacing her mirth. "You're... actually serious."

Misato shrugged. "Oh well. You'll stand out compared to Rei and Ichigo."

Ritsuko and Kyu nodded. "Anything you wanted to tell us, Commander?" Ritsuko asked, a subtle emphasis on the word Commander.

"Well," Misato said, a semblance of seriousness returning, "I've commissioned a new logo for HERZ from Faez. This one will be our main logo, and I wanted to clear it with you guys first, seeing as we'll be wearing it and all."

As she spoke, she pulled out her phone and pulled up the picture which showed Faez's work, and turned the phone around, the trio across from her leaning in to look.

It was a bright green traditional heart shape, divided down the center. The left half was mostly filled in, a circle of white with a ring of green in what was roughly the center of the filled-in portion connected by lines to five other circles with dots in their centers around the edge lending the semblance of a teardrop shield. The right half was only the outline of the shape, within its boundaries the letters for HERZ going down from the top corner of the shape towards the point.

"What do you think?" Misato asked after a moment.

"It's certainly distinctive." Maya said. "I like it."

Ritsuko nodded. "So do I. Relatively simple, yet packed with meaning, from what I can tell. Like NERV before it."

"What's symbolic about a maple leaf?" Misato asked.

Ritsuko looked at her levelly. "It was a fig leaf, Misato." she replied, almost deadpan.

"A fig leaf?" Misato said incredulously.

Before anyone could continue, the door burst open, and Ryoji strode in, a worried look on his face as he nearly gasped in exertion.

He looked directly at Misato. "The kids, Misato."

. . .

The Val

The communications area was a somewhat large, empty room, a wall panel near the door the only decoration.

"Alright," Daniel said as they entered, "from here, we can call just about any other ship in Reality we've got the comms codes for. The comms system works through the Pneumaic Realm, so distance lag is basically nonexistent."

"Oh!" Della said as she went over to the panel and began to type. "We can call the Sunchaser really quick, check in with my family." she paused for a moment and looked over her shoulder. "If that's okay with you guys."

Daniel and Eleanor shrugged. "As long as Kodama doesn't have anything pressing." Eleanor replied, looking at Kodama.

Kodama shook her head. "I cleared my whole day for this. We can take a little time to meet Ms. Duck's family."

"Awesome!" Della said as she finished typing in the comm code for the Sunchaser and stepped into the middle of the room, beckoning the others forward as a band appeared on the far wall, the words 'Calling Outbound' within it.

A few moments later, the words changed to 'Sunchaser, Voice Only', and someone spoke into the air.

"Hello? This is the Sunchaser, Captain Launchpad speaking." a masculine, relaxed voice said. "To whom am I speaking?" he paused for a moment, a muttered, "I think that's how Mr. McDuck says it." audible over the link.

"It's me, Launchpad." Della replied. "I'm just checking in. Are the others around?"

"Uh, yeah." Launchpad replied.

After a moment's silence, they heard his voice again. "This is your captain speaking. We've got Della Duck calling in, if you'd like to come and talk to her. Meanwhile, I'll continue flying the ship to our destination, and trying not to crash into anything. Or let anything crash into us."

Daniel leaned over to Della. "Is your ship set up for walk-around?" he murmured.

Della nodded. "If a crash hasn't knocked it out for a few moments, yeah. One sec."

She spoke up. "Hey, Launchpad. Can you get Duckworth to activate the walkabout feature for us?"

Another voice, a cultured British accent to it, spoke up. "No need to worry, Ms. Della. Allow me."

The band then read 'Walkaround Call Activated', before fading into a room seemingly stuffed full of artifacts, neatly sorted in some form or another. In the center of the room, a duck in a top hat sat at a desk, another duck with long blonde hair by his side as they both intently studied a gleaming, polished silver helmet.

The one holding the helmet glanced up for a moment, then his gaze darted back up as he realized who stood in front of him. "Oh." the man said, a thick Scottish accent. "Well, hello, Della. Fancy seeing you call now." he paused for a moment. "Who're your friends here?"
"Well, this is Kodama, Daniel, and Eleanor." Della replied. "I just wanted to check in. What are you looking at? And where are the kids?"

"Oh, just your usual cursed helmet that grants wish-granting power at the expense of your soul." his companion replied with a feminine, almost southern, voice. "And the kids are off in other parts of the ship. Probably on their way here now."

"Well," the man said, "I'm Scrooge McDuck, and this," he gestured to the woman beside him, "is Goldie McDuck, my wife. A pleasure to meet you all."

"Goldie McDuck?" Daniel said with an arched eyebrow. After a moment, his mouth twitched, and he took on a purposefully cool expression. "My, my. A marriage to the richest duck in Duckburg. Sounds like the longest con you could pull to me."

Goldie looked at Daniel in confusion, then her eyes widened. "You've got to be kidding me." she said incredulously.

Daniel began to chuckle, then laugh. "I should have known! I wondered if it were you when I saw the both of you together here."

The others looked at him, thoroughly mystified. "Uh…" Della began. "How do you know my in-law?"

"I believe it was in someplace you called 'the Warp'." Goldie said with an exasperated sigh as Daniel's lighter began to die down. "I tripped into a decidedly unhealthy trap searching for the Belt of Cow Cow, and I was sent to another universe, apparently. Laid low while being surrounded by daemons. Then this guy, in a far more snazzy military uniform, bumps into me with a tall, ethereal lady friend named Isha, and we had a... heart to heart, one might say."

She paused for a moment as she looked at Daniel. "And how is Isha doing, Daniel?"

"Oh, just fine." Daniel replied. "She's an Empress now."

As Goldie hummed in admiration, Daniel felt his pad buzz. Taking it out of his pocket, he glanced at the text he'd received from Misato, and his eyes went wide.

'CHILDREN KIDNAPPED. CALL NOW.'

With a few swipes, he turned and held the pad to his ear as Misato picked up. "I want to know two things." he asked, his voice holding a biting edge. "When, and who?"

Silence fell over the room, the tension growing as all eyes were on Daniel. None missed his fist clenching.

"Alright." He finally said. "Ellie and I will be there."

He hung up, and turned to look at Eleanor. "The Lone World kidnapped the kids. The I-Breaker was there too."

Kodama gasped, her eyes wide with fear. "Hikari…"

. . .

Tokyo-2 International Airport

Julius Price stepped off the airplane into the hangar, looking around as the rest of the squad disembarked. It was far simpler for them to enter the country here, rather than go through the terminals. After all, no one checked your bags when you arrived like this.

"Boss." Ghost piped up as they walked towards the parking lot. "I picked up some news from one of our old spiders. They're reading movement from a squad of Japanese SFGs in Tokyo-2. One that's supposed to be on the other side of the country."

"Don't see how that affects us, Ghost." Soap replied. "After all, they could just be out on the town without their superior's say so."

"That's the thing." Ghost continued. "Jem's picked up at least a few faces that her database says belong to Chinese, Nova Brasilia, even Somali Republic squads. All parts of the UN."

Price nodded as they reached an unmarked grey van, and began loading their duffel bags. He thought back to an encounter in a bar in Australia. 'We're taking care of the pilots. All of them.'

'That cheeky bastard. I wonder if Howard's here, too.' he mused as they got into the van to go find a hotel room to base out of. 'If he is, then I can snap his neck if his squads kill my daughter.'