Chapter 31: Realignment

The Fatherland has little left to offer me, now. After the Great War's end, our country is in shambles, even as far up as the university. Though the volunteers I found in no short supply, desperate for any kind of well-paying work, that I managed to scrape together enough funding for an archeological expedition to the Judean Desert caves near the Dead Sea was a miracle. We leave soon. I feel… something, something momentous, awaits us. Awaits me.

- From the personal journals of Kihl Lorenz, March 18th, 1920

Infinity Box, Early October 2016

Suriel, still not entirely used to her new body, and taking in the sights around her, stepped slowly into the wondrous, cool room that seemed to hold the potential for so much, from what she had been told. Her grey eyes swept every inch of the blue stone that surrounded them, everything lit with a glow that seemed to come from every stone.

Daniel and Eleanor followed behind her, Rei and Kaworu behind them, each with somewhat bemused smiles.

"How…" she finally said, entering the empty room as Daniel discretely lifted it out of time. "Where do the constructs you've spoken of come from?" she asked as she paced around the room.

"Mentally constructed from Plasm to mimic just about anything physical." Daniel replied, a slight smile on his face as he watched her gently let a hand slide along the wall.

"Plasm. That is…" she furrowed her brow for a moment as she tried to find the word. "Clay, I believe, is the closest translation to the word I know."

After a moment's exploration, Suriel looked back at the group that accompanied her, a somewhat apprehensive look joining her wondrous expression. "So… where is he?"

Daniel walked over to a spot in the center of the room. "Right here, almost beneath my feet."

Suriel made her way over towards Daniel, slowing to a stop in front of him. "Can… can I see him? Or, at least, the vessel which he is contained within?" she asked quietly, her eyes darting down to the floor for a moment.

Daniel took a step back, silently nodding as a portion of the floor between them swirled, then bulged, a large black sphere, pulsing with waves of prismatic light, rising up on a pedestal before slowing to a stop at chest height.

Suriel looked at the sphere with wide eyes and an unreadable expression, the room silent as she pondered on what—who—lay within.

She looked back up at Daniel after what felt to her like an eternity lost in the colors of the sphere. "I'm… unsure if I'm ready."

Daniel smiled slightly again. "Even with billions of years to prepare, I wasn't either. Let it happen. It'll be okay."

Suriel took a deep breath, then nodded as she looked back down at the sphere. "Very well. I'll connect with… him…"

Her eyes narrowed. "Who… are these with Kadmonel? The souls entrusted to him?"

Daniel nodded slightly. "Yes. Those that are left to him, at least. We know them as the Angels." he said quietly.

"So few…"

Suriel shook her head slightly as she looked back up at Daniel. "And… I cannot help but think I am still responsible."

Daniel sighed quietly, reaching up somewhat to put a hand on Suriel's shoulder. "Suriel." he said patiently. "We've been over this."

Suriel sighed. "I'm aware." she said wearily. "It's… a difficult task, shaking such a feeling off."

"It always is." Daniel sighed.

"Now," he continued, "seeing as you've asked Rei and Kaworu to come along, would you prefer they be included before or after your first moments with Kadmonel?"

Suriel looked over at the two children, hanging back and looking at her encouragingly and even somewhat expectantly. "I think… I would have a moment with Kadmonel first."

Kaworu and Rei nodded. "Very well." Rei said. "We will join you whenever you are ready."

"Thank you, Rei." Suriel replied, then she looked back down at the sphere, and focused. There, in the middle of the cluster of Fundaments, was one soul. One man that she had yearned for and dreaded speaking to in equal measure.

She reached out with a branch of her soul, grafting it to the Fundament… and there he was.

"Hello?"

a voice from ages past, a voice that had saved, in some small part, the legacy of her people, asked. And her first emotion was… embarrassment.

"Um… hello, Kadmonel." she nearly stammered. "I'm Suriel. The councilor."

"The one who suggested the two Seeds?"

Kadmonel asked, curiosity rippling through what few branches of his soul were there.

"Yes." Suriel replied slowly. "I'm… sorry for messing everything up?" She had no idea what else to say.

"Well," Kadmonel replied, "I think, since it's worked out as it has, I can say that such an apology is unnecessary."

"Oh."

Suriel said, shock and the feeling of a heart fluttering rippling through her soul.

"It's… it's good to finally actually meet you." Kadmonel said.

"That it is." Suriel replied. "Meeting you in such a fashion is rather… less than I'd hoped for, but… it's a start." she could not hide the raw want that now seemed to bubble in her heart, spilling over from it like a cauldron.

"I wish I could be more… present, than this."

Kadmonel admitted. "But I must guard my children, now. Ensure that they are kept company by the one that made them what they are." There was resignation tinged with bitterness and self-loathing in those last words.

"Well," Suriel said after a moment, "I can arrange to create a body for you. There is more than enough Vitae that my Vessel left behind to make it so you and your children walk the waking world again."

What would have been a wide-eyed wonder gleamed for a few moments, then that morose resignation returned. "Perhaps. But… my children have been made how they are quite… purposefully. To put them in a human body risks much, not simply for them, but for your children as well."

"Is there no way to heal their souls?"

Suriel asked. "If you are so capable as to preserve us, the souls of our people, our legacy through what would become Rei and Kaworu, can you not restore to these few remaining children a future?"

It was quiet for a moment, then there was an impression of a chuckle. "You know… it's that hope."

"What do you mean?"

"That hope that there was a solution, even when no one else saw it. That's… that's what made me fall in love with you."

In the physical space, Suriel's eyes went wide as tears began to prick their corners. "For me, I guess… it was your smile. I couldn't help but… find it so hopeful."

It was quiet between them again for a moment as they simply took in each other's feelings. From beyond her sight, Daniel and Eleanor stepped back towards the exit, pausing for a moment by Kaworu and Rei. "We'll be overseeing the construction in Matsushiro while you keep them company." Daniel said quietly. "We'll see you later."

Kaworu and Rei nodded, and Daniel and Eleanor left them with the progenitors of their souls.

"You know," Rei said in a link to Kaworu's soul, "our familial situation has become quite complicated to explain."

"That it has."

Kaworu replied. "It's a good thing we don't have to do that often."

"Be careful what you ask for."

Rei said warningly, an undercurrent of amusement flowing through the words. "With the way our world seems to work, it might just begin happening now."

As Rei and Kaworu silently conversed, Kadmonel spoke up again. "With what I understand, even with this world's fledgling understanding of the Soul Arts, with people like the Theisman's and their compatriots… we should be able to release these children from their duties. And… perhaps we can finally explore what we should have all those ages ago."

"Perhaps."

Suriel replied.

"Speaking of children…" she glanced up at Kaworu and Rei, noting Daniel and Eleanor's absence before beckoning them over.

"Our… other children, in a sense, wish to speak with the two of us. Our own little family reunion, one might call it."

As Rei and Kaworu connected, Kadmonel's soul pulsed with understanding and a little surprise at the wording. "Yes. A… family reunion."

. . .

HERZ-Matsushiro, One Week Later

Captain Asuka Soryu-Langley (a title she took no small amount of pride in) sat back in the virtual Frame Plug as she looked over at a comms panel that had Daniel and Maya's faces on the screen. "Found any bugs?" she asked, taking a deep breath.

The adults looked up for a moment before shaking their heads. "Nothing mechanical here." Daniel replied. "At least not that I'm seeing."

As Daniel leaned out of frame to ask Eleanor if she saw anything, Maya continued. "And there's nothing wrong in the digital space, Asuka. Everything should be running smoothly on your end. Would I be correct in assuming that?"

Asuka looked back out at the simulation world that she piloted in, an avatar of what was going to be Frame Titan Unit-02 standing amidst the rolling hills of Neue Berlin.

Across the way from her, another digital Frame Titan, green and tan and crimson, stood in a relaxed position.

"Nothing wrong for me. One moment." Asuka keyed up another comms panel, and the face of Mariah Marlowe, hands behind her head in a t-shirt and jeans, looked over. "Hey Boudica, any glitches on your end of things?"

Mari scanned around the Frame Plug for a moment, testing the controls and making the digital Frame Titan she piloted do a cartwheel into a backflip, finishing with a dramatic acrobat's pose.

"Nope." she said with a shrug. "Nothing on my end, princess." she furrowed her brow after a moment. "There is one thing missing, though."

"What's that?" Daniel asked, having leaned back into frame.

"The smell of LCL." Mari replied. "Now that we don't use it as a buffer fluid anymore, it's… weird, not being dunked in it. All my training for piloting Unit-05 had the smell actually grow on me, I kinda have to admit."

Asuka arched an eyebrow. "Really? You like the smell of drying blood?" she said somewhat incredulously.

"Kinda." Mari said with a shrug. "It wasn't just the blood. It was whatever else they put in it too."

Asuka looked at Mari somewhat in wonderment, then shook her head. "You haven't had it go stale in the Plug and clog your nose. Once that happens, you cool off on liking it real fast."

Mari blinked. "Oh, man. I'll need the details on that later." she said. It was silent for a few moments more as Daniel and Maya continued their diagnostic check before she continued. "So, how's our dear Pinocchio doing after finding out he's a clone of Puppy's dad?"

Asuka blinked for a second as she parsed the statement into something she actually fully understood. "Oh. Uh… everybody's actually not all that surprised. After all, if Rei could be a clone of Shinji's mom, why not Kaworu a clone of his dad?"

An impressed expression flashed across Maria's face. "I admire your level-headedness."

Asuka shrugged. "When you've seen as much shit as we have, you learn to roll with the punches real quick."

"Fair dinkum." Mari paused for a moment. "Hear anything back from the Commander and Deputy-Commander?"

Asuka glanced at Daniel and Maya. "Did you hear that?"

"Nothing different from last we've heard." Daniel replied. "They're still at Vatican City, ironing out the details of the Titan Frame weapons treaty."

He glanced up, smirking slightly. "They're classifying the weapons you'll be piloting in quite familiar terms, I've been told."

After a moment, Asuka rolled her eyes as she sighed. "After all this time and effort spent trying not to call them Evangelions?" she said in exasperation.

"That's what Ritsuko said." Maya replied. "Technically, the Evangelions you'll be using will still be the Frame Titan Type-E. It's just that it'll still be an Evangelion at the end of the day."

"Either way," Daniel interjected, a smile on his face, "we're done with our diagnostic check here. I'll be with Eleanor over in the new Eva bays taking stock of things. Have fun with your third round."

Asuka didn't notice as Daniel walked away, a hungry look in her eyes as she looked back at an utterly excited Mariah. That surprise suplex had caught her off guard last round, but she was going to take this home. She wasn't the best Evangelion pilot for nothing.

"I wanna do things a little differently this last round." Mariah said as they settled into ready stances, their Unit's hands opening and closing.

"Oh?" Asuka asked. "What's that?"

"Switching weapons." Mariah said, an almost vicious gleam in her eyes. "I'm thinking… every 30 seconds or so, we pick up something different. Keep things… spicy."

Asuka was silent for a moment. Then, a small grin turned the corners of her mouth up slowly as she glanced over at Maya. "Can the Intermediary System handle something like that?"

Maya arched an eyebrow as she pressed a palm to the console, her brow furrowing as her eyes scanned invisible pages of data that scrawled up the insides of her pupils. After a few moments, she blinked the data away, looking back up at Asuka and Mariah. "It can, but it'll have to be a solid minute between changes."

Mariah shrugged as she tapped on a control panel. "Oh, well. I can work with that, I guess." she said with a slight sigh as a model of her old Progressive Sword appeared in her Unit's hands.

"Oooh, swordplay to start." Asuka slightly snarked as a similar sword appeared in Unit-02's hands, and she settled into a high guard. "I'm getting real fond memories of when you last tried to kill me with that thing, Mari."

"Oh, come on, princess." Mariah shot back. "It's not even gonna really hurt this time. Even though it kinda should."

Asuka bobbed her head back and forth for a moment, fighting to keep the grin on her lips from turning into a smile. 'That's what I've been saying. Nobody ever lets something that hurts happen more than a few times.'

"Maybe." she replied. "First to shatter the opponent's core, as always."

"Alright." Mari said, then paused for a moment. "Go!"

. . .

Vatican City, October 5th, 2016

Commander Misato Katsuragi of HERZ fought the urge to nod off yet again and dearly wished that she still had a coffee to sip from as the diplomat droned on about the final terms of what would become the Vatican Treaty. She glanced at Ritsuko, her new Deputy-Commander, and found her fighting to do the same.

They knew the basics: nobody could have more than 5 Evangelions (a name which Misato and Ritsuko had to suppress a groan at hearing applied to the entire class of what was labeled 'massive-scale weaponry'), and confederations could only get 1 more per 5 member states.

The part that mattered to Misato and Ritsuko was that HERZ was exempt from such limitations, but they answered to an assembly of nations, including the UN, known as the Massive Weapons Use Committee. That, and they had to act as general protectors of Earth (a job they were very much accustomed to), and be the police force for any rogue Evangelions, lest the wrath of every nation's Evas be brought to bear against them should they go rogue, et cetera, et cetera ad infinitum. There were other things she knew she should know, terms like 'Designated Engagement Area' and 'Appropriate Activation Times', but those were for another day, with far more rest, and far more coffee. Maybe even a few beers.

'Maybe we'll only be here another day.' Misato thought hopefully. 'Maybe, by then, these gasbags will have finally decided to just sit down and sign the damn treaty already.'

"Commander Katsuragi."

Misato blinked as the diplomat finally sat down, and Secretary Beaulieu regarded her intently. "Are there any thoughts that you'd like to offer at the close of this meeting? With your position as head of the organization in charge of maintaining order amongst the Evangelions, and with your previous history, you have a… special perspective you might be able to offer us."

Misato took a deep breath, then nodded. "Give me a moment to collect my thoughts."

The moment came and went, and Misato stood, all eyes on her. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'll admit I'm not one for flowery words or long-winded speeches. I'm a soldier, and I speak as such."

"The Evangelion platform, as designed by who is now my Deputy-Commander, was built to save the world from the threat of the Angels. Though the ends it may have been used for by some afterward were far less pure, that was its stated mission."

"We had hoped, in one way or another, to finally lay these weapons down after the Angel War. Now, with a wider Reality open to us, and the threat of SEELE still looming large, we know that, in one way or another, the Evangelion is here to stay."

"It's a dangerous force we wield now, as I'm sure everyone is aware of, and the Angel War, as well as the orchestrated attack on Tokyo-3 by manipulated human forces, has shown its breadth and depth of power in the right hands. Make no mistake, even for how far removed these Evangelions are from their original namesake, it is still a beast that must be contained."

"As such, I promise to you once again that HERZ will strive to contain these beasts we've made, to do the job our forebears at NERV were thought to do: to keep the people of this ever-changing world safe. I will not go so far as to say that our hands are the best for these weapons to be in. But I will say that we will manage them, and those who will come under our stewardship and protection, with the utmost care."

It was nothing nobody in the room had heard before, she knew as she sat back down and Secretary Beaulieu continued on with the meeting. But she knew what she said would be true.

"With that, ladies and gentlemen," Beaulieu said, "I believe we are ready to finalize the terms of the treaty and sign it. Such will be carried out tomorrow."

Misato and Ritsuko looked at each other with deep breaths as the Secretary of the United Nations released the meeting, standing up and making their way towards the door.

"Welcome to the new way of things," Ritsuko mused, "same way as the old."

"At least here we can be relatively sure that our new Committee won't try and use us to end the world." Misato replied, a corner of her mouth turned up in a slight grin.

"I don't know." Ritsuko replied seriously. "The Human Instrumentality Committee was supposed to help humanity with the Evas, too. And we know how that turned out."

"Yeah." Misato's grin slipped away. "We'll make sure that doesn't happen again, though. There's a reason I made the Intelligence Division a part of HERZ. Ryoji's going to have some work to do, making sure our new Committee is above the board."

They stepped into the open air of the holy city, nearly untouched by the depredations of Second Impact, and as they walked back to their apartment, Misato looked up at the sky, at a moon that she remembered was now much higher in the sky than it usually was. "It's going to be interesting." she said offhandedly.

Ritsuko glanced over. "What is?"

"Looking at the night sky again, seeing things where they used to be. After they do the whole 'axial realignment' thing."

Ritsuko looked up at the moon for a moment as well before nodding. "Well, we'll be able to see it soon. It's in the next couple of days if I recall."

"Yeah." Misato took her gaze off of the sky as they reached their apartment. "I'll have to talk to Rastaff and Izalith, see when exactly they're going to do it."

The ride to their floor, and the walk to their door, was taken in contemplative silence. As the door opened, and the two tired officers of HERZ walked in, a newspaper crinkled slightly.

"So," Penpen said, a new speech module providing a voice to the words in his soul, "how were the 'preachers' at your little, uh… 'church service'?"

"Same as the last two days, Penpen." Misato replied. "Everything alright here?"

"No housekeeping, not since the broom incident." Penpen replied as he leafed through the newspaper and sipped at a can of beer. "And no one else has come snooping around, either. Other than that, I'm just ready to get back home."

"Well, we're in the final stretch." Ritsuko said, now used to actually talking to Penpen and getting a response. "We'll be signing the treaty tomorrow."

"Hooray, a piece of paper that tells us to do what we've already been doing." Penpen said sardonically as he flipped to the next page. "And I thought you people were complicated enough already."

"Yeah." Misato sighed as she nodded. "That's about how I feel."

. . .

Evangelion Bay 5, HERZ-Matsushiro

Mayumi Yamagishi looked up at the silent golden form of Unit-07, and wondered who was inside its core.

The others had done their research, and had eventually found records, very cleverly hidden, of her family. Her father and mother, Goro and Yume, and an older sister, Hotaru. Other than that… nothing.

She knew there were memories of the people behind those names… somewhere, still hidden themselves by the editing that SEELE had done to make her loyal to them. It burned at her that, as much as she tried to remember, there was just… nothing.

She sighed as she tried again to remember a face, a personality, anything that connected to the names she had seen on the screen that Kensuke showed her. Nothing came to mind.

She sighed again, a defeated, weary sound that echoed in the empty bay. After all the effort that had been put into finding out who she was, Kensuke's help seemed to matter little.

Which brought her thoughts to the boy in question. And the girl that went with him.

She appreciated his help in adjusting back to something that could approximately be called a regular life, regardless of the rather niche and nerdy pastimes that he'd introduced her to. Ichigo's calming influence had helped her weather so much uncertainty, especially now, with the choice before her of whether or not to continue piloting. And now… she liked them. Which made things… difficult, at times.

She looked into the chest of Unit-07 deeply. 'Whoever's in there… I hope you'll understand. I certainly don't.'

"Mayumi?"

She jumped slightly, then looked over at Mr. Theisman, looking up at Unit-07 then back at her. "Taking a moment alone?" he asked quietly.

"No, not really." Mayumi shrugged. "You can be here. I thought you were the head of the Pilot Division now."

Daniel shrugged as he walked slowly to Mayumi's side. "Old habits die hard. I've spent years keeping these things in shape, now. Going walkabout and checking up on them is nearly second nature." as he stopped by Mayumi, he looked at her and smiled slightly. "And I think that's a habit I'll keep, even with Eleanor in charge of Engineering."

Mayumi nodded. "Yeah. I guess."

They stood there silently for a moment in companionable silence. "I'm guessing there's a lot on your mind?" Daniel asked quietly.

Mayumi nodded slowly and silently after another moment.

Daniel nodded in turn. "I get that. Anything in particular you'd be okay with sharing?"

"Well, there's the whole piloting… thing."

"Understandably." Daniel looked over at Mayumi. "And we'll accept whatever answer you give, however much time it takes."

"Thank you." Mayumi looked back to the chest of Unit-07. "And… I can't help but wonder at who's in there."

"Best guess is your mother, following the pattern of the other pilots. But, truth be known… Anyone you were close to would do." Daniel paused for a moment. "Either way. We're getting them out of there before we start doing anything else. Even the move back to the Geofront won't start before your Unit, and Mana and Mari's, have their resident souls extracted."

"Having talked to the others… why haven't you just used your Interfacing to look in?"

"We've tried." Daniel said, an edge of annoyance creeping into his voice. "There's something blocking any sort of looking into your core. Any of the cores you kids brought with you. It's built… differently from the cores we've seen. Far more of a trap than simply just a container." Daniel grimaced. "It's made identifying who's in there and getting them out… difficult."

Mayumi nodded slowly. "Would… I be able to help, seeing as I can synch with it?"

Daniel looked back down at Mayumi. "Perhaps. You'll have to be Interfaced, most likely, but… hmm… it might just work. I'll talk to Eleanor about it."

Mayumi nodded. "Thank you."

"Of course." Daniel smiled.

"As an aside," he continued, "with Earth's realignment coming up, we have a party that we're planning with the command staff of HERZ and the Children. You're invited to come along. Mari and Mana will be there, and Kensuke and Ichigo will be there too."

"Oh." Mayumi fought, and failed, to keep a blush from slightly shading her cheeks. "That's good to hear."

Daniel's brow arched. "Ah. Interested in Kensuke?" he said, a slight grin evident in his voice. "Or is it Ichigo?"

Mayumi was silent.

Daniel nodded after a moment. "No need to talk to me if you don't want to."

"No, it's just…"Mayumi sighed. "It's… complicated."

"Oh? How so?"

"Well…" Mayumi crossed her arms. "Kensuke's very patient, and very passionate about the things he likes to do. It's… fun, watching him share whatever he does with us. And Ichigo… she's just been so supportive. Checking in on all of us, sharing her experiences of figuring out who you're supposed to be, and…"

Mayumi trailed off as she blushed deeper, and Daniel's eyes widened in understanding as he nodded slowly. "Ah. I see. You like both of them."

Mayumi nodded again.

"Okay." Daniel was silent for a moment as he considered what to say. "Well, I would air out your feelings to them, either separately or together. They're both very understanding, as you know. And… see where it goes from there. I've heard sundry rumors about Kensuke's previous relationship, all good, of course, but… again, just talk to them. Bottling it up does not do good things to you. Trust me, I know."

Mayumi looked at Daniel with no small amount of amazement. "Thank you, Daniel." she said after a moment.

"You're welcome." Daniel replied. "I find playing relationship counselor here is something that helps a lot of people, so… I'm just glad to help you in another way."

They looked back up at Unit-07 for a little while longer, then Daniel nodded. "Well, I'll go ahead and get going. I'm glad I could talk to you more."

"Thank you for stopping by." Mayumi paused as Daniel began to walk off. "Wait."

Daniel paused and turned, and Mayumi looked over at him. "When is the party?"

Daniel glanced up and to the side for a moment. "I believe they'll be on schedule for… the… 10th. So the party will be then."

Mayumi nodded. "Okay. I'll be there then. And maybe… I'll have a few more answers then, too."

Daniel smiled slightly. "Alright. See you around."

With that, Daniel left, and Mayumi went back to looking at Unit-07. Things were… more certain, now. Not fully certain, maybe. But at least more.

. . .

Hotel Rooftop, Tokyo-2, October 10th, 2145 Hours, 3 Days Later

The sky was dark, and the city along with it, almost all lights extinguished to allow the night sky to shine through as clearly as possible. All throughout Japan, all around the world where it was night, there was stillness and near silence in the darkness of the cities, near-total silence in the countryside, as all eyes gazed skyward, waiting to watch the moon and stars return to their old places.

Of course, such wondrous waiting was not without its levity, as evidenced by the not too terribly large group that had laid claim to the rooftop of the hotel, their status as HERZ staff getting them, and their party supplies, past. Not that such would have stopped them easily. Every other tall building was filled with partygoers, those unable or unwilling to go on the rooftops filling the parks or sitting intently by their tv or computer screens, watching any of the dozens, even hundreds of broadcasts that showed the observatories feeds of the sky.

The moment was growing close, now. 1400 PM, Greenwich Mean Time. 2200 PM Japan Standard. Now, there was quiet chatter, the pop and hiss and clinking of soda cans and bottles of beer, ginger and craft, along with a host of other drinks. The tiny, almost star-like lights of cellphones and clear-pads provided a little means for everyone to see each other.

Friends, family mingled as they watched the sky, Daniel and Eleanor talking quietly with Misato, Kaji, Ritsuko, and Maya about the Vatican Treaty while Shinji, Asuka, Rei, and Kaworu discussed a music piece they wanted to compose and play soon. Toji, Hikari, Mari, and Mana hung close to the kids, one talking to them excitedly about the instrument that she played and drawing Daniel into the conversation, Kyoko stepping in to take his place as Naoko and Kyu wandered in as well. Gendo and Yui were apart from the others, talking quietly and enjoying each other's company.

That left Mayumi alone with Kensuke and Ichigo, a little ways away from the others, while Penpen wandered from group to group, still surprising people with his voice module.

They were silent, looking at the sky and glancing at each other every few moments. Finally, Kensuke decided to break the silence. "So… have Daniel and the others figured out a way to get whoever's in the core of Unit-07 out, Mayumi?"

"They have a few ideas." Mayumi said. "They all involve me becoming Interfaced. It seems… exciting, actually."

"It is, actually." Kensuke said, turning to face her, the little light that shone on his face showing the excited, almost wondrous gleam in his eyes. "It's… oh, how to describe it…"

"Revealing, perhaps." Ichigo said quietly, a calm gleam in her own eyes. "Like a curtain has been lifted from your eyes, and you can see and know… so much more."

"Yeah." Kensuke nodded. "That's one way to put it. And… freeing, too. You do things you almost never thought possible." he paused as he regarded Mayumi for a moment. "Maybe even help get those memories you're looking for back. Daniel does say that the soul remembers everything."

Mayumi nodded slowly as she considered the words that they'd said. "Wow." she said, barely above a whisper. "That sounds… amazing."

Kensuke put a hand on her shoulder, and she jumped slightly. "If you do decide to do it, we'll be with you every step of the way." he said with conviction.

"Indeed." Ichigo chimed in.

It was getting very hard to hide the blush as she tried scooting slightly, further into the darkness. "Thank you, Kensuke, Ichigo." she nearly mumbled.

Before Kensuke could reply, Mayumi watched Penpen waddle over, drawing the attention of the other two. "There's something about you two." he said without preamble, pointing his beak between Kensuke and Ichigo.

"O… kay, Penpen." Kensuke said slowly, still not used to what he'd first assumed was Misato's pet talking. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know." Penpen replied, an edge of annoyance in his voice. "It bugs me. Like… there's more than just the three of you hanging around here, and I can only see the others for seconds at a time."

The kids' brows furrowed slightly, and Kensuke nodded slowly after a moment. "Huh. Would you be talking about Ace and Ichigo's Spirit?"

"Ace?" Penpen and Mayumi asked nearly simultaneously.

Kensuke blinked, then blushed slightly. "It's a reference I'll explain later. Anyways," he said quickly, "would that be it?"

Penpen looked intently at Kensuke for a moment, then did his best impression of a shrug. "Hold on. Let me go get someone who actually might know."

He turned, and waddled towards Daniel and the other Children, and the three kids leaned forward slightly as Penpen said something quiet and brief, gaining the man's attention as he walked over to them.

"I hear there's a question concerning Spirits?" Daniel said with a slight smile as he sat down in front of them.

"Well, yeah." Kensuke replied. "Penpen is seeing… something."

"Makes sense." Daniel replied. "Animals often have relatively simple souls and a lot more sensory inputs than humans do. It makes them receptive to other energies, such as your Spirits."

"Ah." Ichigo said. "Much like what I have heard of ancient folklore from one of Kyu's spontaneous branches of research into the workings of the world."

Daniel nodded. Before he could continue, however, he looked down at the clear-pad in his hand as it buzzed, then looked back at them with a smile. "5 minutes to showtime." he said excitedly.

As the lights began to wink out, Mayumi looked at Ichigo and Kensuke, then at the other Children across the way. They had been so kind to her. Inspired her to become, if not her former self, then perhaps someone close to it. For them… for Kensuke and Ichigo…

"Daniel." she said quietly, causing him to pause from walking back to the others and turning. "I'll do it. I'll pilot."

Her sight was slowly adjusting to the darkness, but she could see Daniel's smile widen slightly. "As head of the Pilot Division, I'm happy to have you." he said, equally quietly.

The lights were snuffed out, and silence fell on the world as everyone looked skyward. 4 minutes, now. 3 minutes.

At 2 minutes before 1400 GMT, a wave of shifting, brilliant blue and green light swept across the sky from the south like a curtain made of an aurora being drawn across the world. As the light passed, the trail it left faded away into invisibility, and slowly, certainly, as the clock struck 1400, the moon began to float southward, the stars trailing ahead and behind and around it. It was almost impossible to notice at first, but it swiftly became almost impossible to believe.

A minute of sheer awe passed, then another, then three more before the moon slowed to a stop. A heartbeat passed, then another, then another. Then, the city rang with cheers, a cheer of relief and triumph and dumbstruck amazement that echoed around the world.

As the members of that rooftop, and many others, raised glasses or shared hugs and kisses, mirroring all others, they knew that, even though the sun had only set a few hours ago, it was the dawn of an old world made new.