Had anyone seen Washu's face—anyone but the denizens of the Masaki household, who were used to it by now—they would have backed away, for she wore a demented grin. It was the expression Washu wore when she was geniuinely faced with a problem that she did not know the answer to instantly.
Hacking was an old pastime of Washu's—in fact, she was far more responsible for the internet than a certain ex-vice president. Trying to get into NERV's central computer was proving to be no easy task. It seemed she was facing not one, but three computers, each with their own sophisticated security system. Washu also knew that, for every passing microsecond, she risked discovery. Momentarily stymied, she withdrew her probes and pondered what to do next.
"The best thing I can do," she said aloud, imagining if she was teaching Tenchi, "is analyze their attack pattern. The first computer trapped my probes in logic puzzles. The second computer simply blasted them to nothingness. The third…scolded my probes into withdrawing. Now that's insulting." Washu munched on a pocky stick. "Three different methods of defense. Three computers. I can attack one singly, or all three at once. What would you do, Tenchi?"
Washu pitched her voice slightly lower, imitating Tenchi. "Gee, Washu, I don't know. You're so much smarter than I am."
Returning her voice to its normal high pitch, Washu continued, "That's because you're not a genius, Tenchi. Though you are cute. Now, if I attack one at a time, it leaves the others to flank me and destroy my hacking, and I will be discovered. But to attack all three at once leaves me spread very thin. I must succeed with one strike, or all three will combine and destroy me." Washu tapped her fingers against the shadowy keyboard. "There must be a way, Tenchi."
* * *
Gendo Ikari watched the clock intently and resisted the temptation to fidget. By making Belldandy wait, he would allow her imagination to run wild, thinking about all the things that Gendo was likely to do to her. She had, after all, incurred his wrath, mentally damaging Asuka and Rei—the effects of the latter were only now apparent. She had badly hurt Misato. Gendo had once considered removing the beer from Misato's house and drying her out, but then had a mental image of a berserk Misato roaming the halls of NERV with a machete. Belldandy was likely an Angel, a very insidious one, but she had taken the form of a human, which made her just as vulnerable as one. Gendo could well imagine what was going through her mind: the image of EVA-01 squeezing her tightly in one hand until she exploded he particularly liked.
Nonetheless, he had decided to analyze his enemy's weapons as best he could. This included examining one of Belldandy's cookies. He had summoned Futsuyuki to his office with a sample; it would also allow him to see if the old professor had been adversely affected by the Angel.
Futusyuki had just reached the door to Gendo's office. He moved to one side to let the guard detail pass; with MAGI down, he and Gendo had decided it would be best to increase the security until it was back up. He nodded to the captain leading them, then turned as the last man passed and opened the door, walking in.
It was all the opportunity Urd needed. She had smelled the cookies the old man carried, and instantly recognized Belldandy's handiwork. Dropping soundlessly from the last soldier's pack, she dashed into the office on Futsuyuki's heels, then hid in a corner.
"Here you are, Commander," Futsuyuki said, handing Gendo a paper plate. "Try the chocolate chip ones, they're the best."
"Are you feeling any adverse effects?" Gendo inquired.
"Not at all." He stepped back from the desk. "Gendo, it could be that Belldandy is not an Angel."
"It could be. It could also be that she is lulling us into a false state of confidence, then she will make her move. Has she made any attempts to subvert her guards or attempt to escape?"
"None."
"What is she doing now?"
"Waiting for you. Oh, and cleaning up the break room. She said it needed to be cleaned."
"For once, I agree with her." Gendo looked at Futsuyuki closely, but could detect nothing the matter with him…other than he seemed happier than usual. The world is ending, and he is happy? Gendo grumbled to himself. This is Project Evangelion; I cannot tolerate such a thing. "I will keep her waiting another fifteen minutes." Then he remembered that the break room refrigerator could use a cleaning out as well. As far as he knew, the Alaskan king crab that Misato had brought back a year ago was still in there. "Make that another half hour. That should be long enough to analyze these." He motioned to the cookies, and his stomach involuntarily rumbled.
Futsuyuki smiled. "Yes, I can see that."
Gendo graced him with one of his icier stares—for Gendo, that was a serious thing. Futsuyuki knew when he was being dismissed. He turned and left, leaving Gendo alone with the cookies.
I must resist, he told himself. It is surely her plan, these cookies. I must examine them very carefully. He picked one up, and felt a sudden compulsion to devour it. He closed his eyes and slowly counted to ten, fighting down the urge. Opening his eyes, he began to look at the bottom of the cookie, then noticed movement in his office. Quickly, he swung around in his chair.
The woman that stood there was tall, perhaps even taller than he was. Or maybe it simply seemed that way, because most of her height was in her long, sinous legs. Her waist was thin, her breasts large but not overly so. Her face was beautiful, yet it was a terrible beauty, one that promised a great deal of pain if crossed. Around that face flowed, as lifted by some invisible wind, gossamer strands of silvery white hair. She was dressed in black leather that cut daring down to her navel and ended well above her knees. Gendo was rendered speechless for a moment—until he saw the markings just below her eyes, and between them. They were differently shaped than Belldandy's, but the resemblance—not to mention a definite family resemblance—was enough for Gendo to quickly put two and two together and get five.
Moving quickly, he jerked open a drawer of his desk and pulled from it a pistol. In one fluid motion, Gendo slid his chair back, stood, leveled the pistol, and fired three shots.
Urd put out a hand, her lips moving silently. The bullets slowed and stopped as they reached her hand, and she casually flicked them aside to land harmlessly on the floor. She then made a slight motion, and the gun flew from Gendo's hand to hers. She tossed it over her shoulder.
Gendo Ikari was nothing if not smooth. He simply returned to his seat, steepled his hands, and regarded her cooly as she walked forward. "Who are you?"
"Some call me Urd," she said. "Others call me…Urd." She stopped in front of his desk. "And you must be Commander Ikari, the head person of this facility."
"I am." Gendo mentally went over the list of known Angels. There were none named Urd, but there were none named Belldandy either. "You are here for Belldandy, correct?"
"Yes. Tell me where she is."
"And if I do not?"
Urd smiled humorlessly. "Then it will go very badly for you."
Gendo's eyebrow raised a half-millimeter. So. I have risked the life of Asuka, the daughter of one of the most brilliant minds I have known. I have risked the life of Rei, the repository of all I have left. And I have risked the life of Shinji, my own son. Now it is time I am tested. So be it. I am ready. He stood, straightened his coat, and faced her resolutely. "Then I suggest you proceed, Miss Urd. You will find I am no easy target."
* * *
"Where is Urd? That big dummy! I knew she'd go wandering off!" Skuld paced atop the building. "You can't trust her to do anything!"
Keiichi had, to this point, ignored Skuld's rantings. Not because he did not agree with her—responsibility was not one of Urd's strong points—but because he felt something. "Skuld?"
"What?" Skuld snapped, irritated.
"Do you feel…" Keiichi's voice trailed off. "It's…Belldandy's here, Skuld. Somewhere close. I don't know how I know…but she's here."
Skuld had deployed her All Purpose Belldandy Locator, but had not turned it on. Now that she was not screaming maledictions at Urd, she knew Keiichi was right. She felt a pang of jealousy that Keiichi, who was mortal, could sense her sister. Skuld knew he loved Belldandy, but could not quite bring herself to admit it. "I feel her too, Keiichi," she said quietly. "I'll turn on my APBL and that should pinpoint her." She turned her back on Keiichi, and adjusted the machine. It had a passive mode that would allow it to pick up Belldandy's signature without attracting attention.
"Skuld…" Keiichi sounded worried.
"Keiichi, I'm busy," she said, without malice. "These adjustments are tricky. They could detect us if I don't get it right."
"I don't think that's a problem."
Skuld rolled her eyes; sometimes Keiichi could be that dense. "You should. We at Yggdrasil have very strict protocol things against being found out."
"I don't think that's a problem either."
"Oooh!" Skuld decided that her hammer would get the point across, and it would be quieter than a Skuld Bomb. She jumped to her feet, turned, and looked down the barrel of the largest gun she had ever seen. Of course, guns did tend to look bigger when they were pointed at one's head, but this one looked like Skuld could crawl into the bore. Mainly because she could, and bring Keiichi along for company.
Skuld was torn between horror, fear, and utter fascination. The barrel was attached to the gun, which was held by a huge, bright red humanoid mecha, which looked down at them with a hungry expression. "Don't you know this is a restricted building?" a voice boomed out. The gun turned minutely to face directly at Skuld. "But of course, Angels wouldn't know that. Any last words?"
Keiichi threw his hands in the air. "How about 'don't shoot us, we surrender'?"
Asuka Langely Soryu smiled as her finger tightened on the trigger. EVA-03's fingers aped the motion. "Let me think about that one…nope! Eat rail slug—"
"Asuka, hold your fire!"
She sighed. "Dammit, Shinji! Get your hands off my rifle!"
"Asuka, look! They're just civilians in the wrong place—"
"You look, Shinji! Look at the short kid! Look at her face; I've got it magnified on my screen! She looks like Belldandy! She's an Angel, and she's right on top of one of our weapon buildings!" The fact that Asuka was still yelling this out over her external speakers did not seem to worry her any, though everyone in Tokyo-3 could clearly hear her.
Keiichi certainly did. "Belldandy! You know where Belldandy is?" He jumped up and down, waving his arms. "Hey! Hey in there!"
"I'm not a kid!" Skuld yelled, readying a Skuld Bomb. If she could toss it down the barrel, that would make a rather big explosion. The fact that it might take out herself and Keiichi as well kept her from throwing it.
He was ignored. "Gott im Himmel, Shinji! Either let go of my gun, or I will make you let go, baka!"
"Asuka, you're acting crazy!" Shinji knew that Asuka acted a little demented most of the time, but this was going too far. He brought up the image of the short girl in a secondary window. There definitely was a resemblance to Belldandy, but Shinji had already made up his mind that Belldandy was not an Angel. Not one out to destroy him and the world, at least. What he did not know was how to convince Asuka.
"I'll tell you everything," Keiichi pleaded, "just take me to Belldandy!"
"Shinji, let go! I don't care how good Belldandy's cinnamon rolls were—the Angels are here to destroy us all, you know that! She's just trying to get us to let our guard down!"
"Asuka, you—you know Belldandy—she cleaned up the house!" Shinji felt his will weakening. What if Asuka was right and it had all been a hoax? Shinji shook his head; he knew Belldandy was good. She had to be.
The barrel was now close enough that a single shot would annilihate everything on the roof if Asuka fired. Skuld saw the fingers still moving back and knew she had only seconds. She lifted the bomb, determined that if she and Keiichi died, she was going to take someone with them.
"Please!" Keiichi shouted at the mecha. "I LOVE BELLDANDY!"
Without warning, Asuka felt as if her left arm was being wrenched off, and EVA-03 twisted to one side involuntarily. "Was im fich!" Asuka screamed, and turned.
It was EVA-00, now holding Asuka's rifle. "Stop it." Rei's voice was several degrees colder than usual, and Asuka felt herself shiver involuntarily. "We must notify NERV security."
Asuka finally switched off the external speakers. "Wondergirl, I'm not fooling around with you, too—"
Rei pointed EVA-00's free hand at Keiichi. "I heard him very clearly. He is the one Belldandy has been speaking of."
"Rei, what if bringing those two together—how do we know it won't cause more problems?" Shinji asked.
"It will not. He loves her." Rei sounded so convinced that Shinji believed her.
"Oh, great." Asuka threw her hands up, not caring that EVA-03 did the same. "What the heck do you know about love, Rei?"
"What do you know of it, Asuka?" Rei replied cooly.
Asuka frowned as she heard Shinji calling in a NERV security detachment. "Verdammt. I hate it when she does that." She sighed and turned back to the people on the roof, turning the speakers back on. "All right, never mind. The local police are coming up here, and if you want to see Belldandy alive, you'll cooperate. Understand?" She saw the two nod, the boy doing so eagerly, and the girl reluctantly. "No lip, or I'll blow you back to where you came from, got it? Sehr gut." She noticed a third person on the roof, and zoomed in the magnification. It looked like a toy robot. "Say, that's kind of cute."
EVA-01 suddenly jerked upright, and Shinji was, for once, thankful that the LCL fluid cushioned the pilot from sudden blows. It turned in the direction of NERV, and Shinji could swear that he heard the EVA grinding its teeth. Before he could do anything further, EVA-01 began running at top speed for the hidden lift buildings.
"Shinji, where do you think you're going?" Asuka shrilled.
"I don't know! I'm not in control of this thing!" He pulled on the controls, but other than making the EVA-01 develop a case of the shakes, nothing happened. The EVA accidentally kicked a car into an abandoned building. "Sorry," Shinji said automatically.
* * *
The car demolished the far corner of the building, but Washu barely looked up, lost in concentration. "Ryoko, knock it off or mommy will dunk you again," she said absently. Then the realization hit her, going something like this:
A: I scolded Ryoko because she was bothering me.
B: The computer scolded my probes because it was being bothered.
A+B=C: This computer is a mother. No, not that kind of mother. Mother as in mommy.
Ergo, C=D: These computers were invented by a woman. A very smart woman. Almost like a genius, like myself. Ergo, E: The other computer is a scientist. And since C (mother) had a motherly reaction, and E (scientist) had a scientific reaction, then F=computer is a woman, as it destroyed someone poking around in its personal space.
Therefore, A+B+C+D+E+F=W: Washu controls all.
A loud cackle of triumph echoed through the building as once more, Washu's ability to leap logic in a single bound paid off.
* * *
Asuka felt strange for a moment. "Hey, Wondergirl. Did you feel as if as if hundreds of readers suddenly screamed at a fanfic to move faster, but were suddenly silenced by actually realizing it was?"
Rei's answer was short and to the point. "No." She paused. "What is wrong with Shinji?"
"His EVA's freaking out. Again." Asuka raised her voice. "Shinji, what are you doing? Kaji's got the security bunch here, and they're escorting them back to NERV. Quit screwing around."
"It's not me, dammit! It's like my EVA wants to get back into NERV too!"
"Why?"
"How should I know? It's like something really pissed it off!"
* * *
Gendo felt the sweat running off his brow. His glasses had slipped down around his nose again, but his arms were pinned. He could not move. He was trapped by a powerful force. He closed his eyes, and tried to find something to concentrate on, but he could not. He opened his eyes and tried to find part of the Seraphic Tree to look at, but that did not work, either. The fact was, the Angel—he was sure of that; no other being was capable of such maliciousness—had filled his vision.
And one part of Gendo Ikari had to admit that a black leather clad set of female buttocks was a rather nice thing to look at. Indeed, far more rounded than Ritsuko's—Gendo mentally slapped himself. Stop it, Gendo! You must resist! He grabbed at the Angel's thighs, and caught himself thinking about how supple and yet so very strong they were, to be holding him to the ground.
"Hey!" Urd looked over her shoulder at him. "Careful with the hands there, Gendo…don't touch me so high." She licked her lips more than a little suggestively. "Unless you want more than just my legs."
"No!"
"Really?" She ground her bottom into his chest. "It can be all yours, Gendo Ikari…if you just tell me where Belldandy is." Her voice lowered huskily as she leaned back, thrusting her breasts into the air. "You know you want it. I want it…"
Gendo hit his head on the floor as hard as he could, the pain forcing out the temptation. "I…will not…yield!"
Urd sat up and sighed. "Too bad. You force me to use…" Urd reached into her blouse, which was being held together by a single button and a great deal of imagination. "You force me to use…this." She held up a long, white object.
Gendo's eyes went wide. "You wouldn't dare."
"One chance left. Where is Belldandy?"
Gendo's fists clenched and he braced himself. This was going to be very, very bad. "Do your worst, Angel."
"Very well." Urd had already removed Gendo's shoes and socks. She leaned forward, careful to keep Gendo firmly pinned beneath her, and stopped. She grinned back at Gendo fiercely. "Angel Feather Attack!" she laughed harshly, and began tickling.
* * *
Keiichi had submitted to the NERV guards' search silently; he had nothing to hide. Skuld was a different story. When one guard had gotten a little too interested in patting her down, she had objected. One Neo Skuld Bomb and one unconscious guard later, Skuld was hogtied and screaming threats at the rest, for Keiichi for not doing anything, and at Urd for getting her into this.
Ritsuko and a somewhat recovered Misato watched from a monitor as the guards headed down the long escalator into Central Dogma. "There's no doubt she's related to Belldandy," Ritsuko said. "The markings on her face, her abilities; there's even a family resemblance. A cousin, or a sister, perhaps."
Misato took another drink of her Yebisu. She closed her eyes in pure bliss for a moment, then returned her attention to the screen. "You think she's an Angel?"
Ritsuko looked at Misato. "You don't think she is?"
"They're sending kids at us now? C'mon, Ritsuko, the Angels can't be that desperate."
"Why not? We are." Ritsuko turned to Makato. "Contact Commander Ikari and tell him we have two of Belldandy's compatriots." She winked at Misato. "After what Rei did to herself, this should make his day."
Makato shook his head. "Still no answer, Doctor Akagi."
"Still?"
"Yes, ma'am. I've been trying to reach him ever since Shinji called in, but there's been no answer."
Misato crumpled the can and tossed it into a receptacle. "I'll go up to the Old Man's office, Ritsuko. I need the exercise."
"Very well. Makato, get Subcommander Futsuyuki. With his permission, I'd like to bring Belldandy down here."
What Misato hadn't mentioned was that she needed some mental exercise as well. One part of her wanted to find Belldandy and tear her apart with her bare hands. No one, repeat no one, touched her beer. Even Pen Pen had left it alone after one incident, in which he had spent some time in the freezer. Another part of Misato, however, was a bit more rational. Belldandy had only meant the best, and psychotic Angels tended to not clean up their targets' apartment. Belldandy also had a golden opportunity to escape from the apartment—Misato was under no illusions of Shinji and Asuka's ability to stop her—but instead had called Kaji. From what Kaji had told her, he had found them with Belldandy applying cold compresses to her head. What was more, Misato had realized, once she had been revived with a beer, that her hangover was gone. Something did not add up that Belldandy was evil. Which meant that she had been telling the truth all along.
Misato reached Gendo's office and was about to knock when she heard something. Leaning closer to the door, her eyes widened, and she nearly passed out for the second time today.
Gendo was laughing. Not only that, he was nearly hysterical.
Misato quickly keyed in her command override on the door lock. Theoretically, she wasn't supposed to know how to do this, but there was a lot about NERV that Misato wasn't supposed to know about. The door slid open, and Misato could not take another step in utter and complete shock.
Gendo Ikari was beneath a beautiful, well-endowed woman dressed in black leather which looked dangerously close to bursting open. He was pounding the floor and screaming in mirth as the woman intently tickled his feet with a feather.
"Give up?" the woman said, grinning. "Don't make me bring out the oven mitts!"
"Aaagh!" Gendo was having trouble gaining breath. "All right! Bell—Belldandy is in—" Both of them stopped, frozen, looking at an equally frozen Misato.
"What in the hell is going on?" Misato said slowly.
Urd looked up, presented with the problem of keeping Gendo under control and getting rid of the other woman. Gendo, noticing his opponent to be temporarily distracted, threw all his weight into rolling to the right. Urd, taken by surprise, let out an oath and crashed to the floor.
"Torment me, dare you!" Gendo grabbed Urd by the front of her dress, which was a mistake on his part. The only string holding it together snapped, and the tunic came open, exposing Urd from neck to navel for all the world to see, which at this point included Gendo and Misato—and Futsuyuki and Belldandy, who happened to be passing by on their way to the control room.
Futsuyuki's eyebrows rose. "Commander, what are you—who is—" He stopped himself. "No, don't tell me. I don't want to know."
Belldandy's grin became so big Misato wondered if her face would split. "Urd!"
Urd looked over Gendo's shoulder and waved. "Hey, Bell." She then slapped Gendo across the face, hitched up her blouse, and retied it. "Hmpf. I'm not that kind of girl." She turned her back imperiously on Gendo, who was now intently looking for his glasses, and tried to walk over to Belldandy. Misato stopped her with an outstretched hand.
"You are meddling with powers you cannot understand," Urd warned darkly.
Misato's eyes twitched. "I think I understand your powers perfectly. This is a new low, even for the Angels."
"It's all right," Belldandy assured her, "this is my sister, Urd."
"Oh, wonderful," Misato said. "There's two more of them." At Gendo's look—he had retrieved his glasses—she thumbed in Central Dogma's general direction. "The Children caught another of Belldandy's sisters outside on Armaments Building Three. The other one's a kid named Skuld."
"That dumb kid," Urd sighed. "How many of your men did she blow up with her bombs?"
"You came for me?" Belldandy's eyes were shining with tears. "All of you?"
Urd grinned. "Well, of course. We are sisters. Besides, Keiichi would have never have forgiven us, even if Kami-sama would."
Belldandy's hands clasped before her, and a tear spilled out from one eye. "Keiichi? Keiichi's here?"
Misato debated telling her, then decided at the least, she'd get one up on this platinum haired bimbo even if it caused Third Impact. "Yeah, your lover boy's downstairs."
"Oh, please, Futsuyuki-sama, take me to Keiichi! I must see him."
Futsuyuki turned to Gendo. Gendo walked forward, looking from Urd to Belldandy. He held up the feather, a very sinister look on his face. Urd scratched the back of her head. "Uh, well, you know I love my sister and all, and you weren't talking, so uhm…" He snapped the feather in half and handed it back to her. Urd half-smiled, then saw that Gendo's look did not change. He made a gesture, one which clearly meant for Urd to turn around. Sighing, she did so. She yelped as Gendo hit her as hard as he could on her leather-clad bottom. "That hurt, dammit!" she complained.
"Take them downstairs," Gendo coldly ordered Futsuyuki. "Belldandy may be reunited with this…Keiichi."
Futsuyuki smiled. "Thou hast a heart after all," he said in Latin.
"Bite me," Gendo replied in the same language. Futsuyuki chuckled and began leading off a half-skipping Belldandy and a hobbling Urd. Gendo then turned to Misato, who was fighting off a smile and not succeeding. "You saw nothing, Major."
"Yes, sir." She squelched a titter of laughter. "Were you enjoying it?"
"Do you enjoy being a Major, Miss Katsuragi?"
"Sir." She turned around and walked ahead of him.
The main catwalk in the EVA holding chamber were crowded with people. Misato, Gendo, Futsuyuki, and Ritsuko stood behind Shinji, Rei, and Asuka—MAGI would be back up soon, so Ritsuko had called back the EVAs, mainly since EVA-01 had been seemingly bent on crawling back down the launch shaft on its own volition. Even now, Ritsuko could swear that 01 was staring holes through Gendo, who shifted uncomfortably next to Belldandy and Urd. About twenty feet down the catwalk, Keiichi and Skuld stood in front of Kaji's flying squad of NERV security.
"Belldandy!" Keiichi called out happily, waving.
"Kei-chan!" Belldandy called back, and burst through the line, nearly running over Asuka in the process. No one dared stop her. Kaji, with a grin, gave Keiichi a slight push forward, not that Keiichi needed encouragement. The two met in the middle, Keiichi lifting Belldandy off her feet and spinning her around. Both were laughing and crying at the same time. They embraced and shared a deep, passionate kiss, neither caring about the eyes on them; they had eyes only for each other.
An invisible wave of magic spread out from the couple, touching everyone in Tokyo-3. Just for a moment, the heavy weight of their lives lifted from the people, an indescribable feeling of happiness like the first breath of spring.
Shinji shyly reached out and took Rei's hand, who just as shyly accepted it. Shinji found his other hand being occupied by Asuka's, who whispered "Mama," so quietly she believed Shinji did not hear it. Misato's eyes locked with Kaji's for a moment, and they shared a smile they had not since the days they had been lovers. Futsuyuki put a fatherly hand on Ritsuko's shoulder, who marveled at the wonder of people. Even Gendo's hard features softened slightly, and he felt the glare from EVA-01 lessen to something resembling warmth. Above them, the three technicians engaged in a fierce group hug. Urd sighed wistfully, and Skuld, for once, said nothing about Belldandy being too close to Keiichi.
Predictably, the moment could not last. Unnoticed by everyone in NERV, the MAGI diagnostic screens came online, reading that the task had been completed.
"MINE! MINE! ALL MINE! MY PRECIOUS!" The nasal voice whipcracked through the air, causing everyone to cringe and instantly killing the mood. The three technicians looked at their screens in horror. Maya Ibuki, trembling, reached for the intercom. "Commander Ikari, Dr. Akagi, Subcommander Futsuyuki, Major Katsuragi…oh, hell, everybody get up here. This may not be Houston, but we do have a problem."
Everyone, including the three Goddesses and Keiichi, ran up to the control center, crowding around the monitors (all except Skuld, who instantly fell hopelessly in love with the banks of computers surrounding her). "What is that?" Gendo snarled through clenched teeth.
Urd peered closer, leaning over—which caused a problem for Shinji, who was presented with a pair of large breasts next to his left cheek. "I know her," she said.
Asuka firmly ground her heel into Shinji's foot. He stifled a yell of pain and looked accusingly at her. "Eyes front, ecchi," she hissed. "Besides, what's she got that I don't, huh?"
Shinji extricated his foot. "Nothing, Asuka," he whispered. But she has more of them, he added silently.
Urd snapped her fingers. "Of course! That's Washu!"
"Who?" at least three people said.
"It is I, Washu the Magnificent!" Washu had accessed the controls that allowed for two-way communication. "I, Washu the Great, the Finest Scientist in the World—nay, the Universe!" She looked at her own shoulders for a moment, then sighed. "Forgot them at home. Oh, well, I can do my own paeans. I am Washu, First Lady of Science! Daughter of a demon lover! Empress of the Interface! Priestess of the pagan mother! Ancient Queen of Inner Space!"
"And just a little modest," Makato quipped. He screamed as he was electrocuted through his keyboard.
"No, no! Don't screw with Washu the Terrible, little boy!" She noticed Urd. "Oh, hi, Urd! How are those potions going these days?"
"Peorth said you were behind this," Urd said.
"Er, yes. It was an accident, I swear." Washu looked penitent. "Anyhow, I know where Belldandy is—" The crowd parted to reveal Belldandy, who waved at Washu. "Oh. Poopie. Here I went to all this trouble to take over this computer, and you went and found her. This is what I get for trying to help."
Ritsuko's mouth fell open. "Take over MAGI? That's impossible!"
"Maybe for you, Dr. Ritsuko Akagi. For Washu, the Virtual Goddess, nothing is impossible!" She grinned. "Oh, don't take it so hard. You gave me the best challenge I've had in about five or six weeks, and that's pretty good for such primitive technology."
"Primitive?!"
Gendo massaged his temples, wondering if Third Impact could not possibly come any sooner. "Listen, Washu—"
"That's Washu-sama to you, boy, unless you want everyone to hear about what you keep in your desk."
Gendo paled. "Washu…sama. We would very much like it if you would relinquish control of MAGI. It is a very vital piece of equipment. NERV needs it to defend this world from a terrible threat. Now that you have found Belldandy, you can stop your infiltration."
"Oh, all right. I suppose so." Washu looked up at Belldandy. "Hello there, Belldandy. Peorth's told me all about you. Are you all right?"
Belldandy smiled and nodded. "I am now, Miss Washu."
"Well, that's just great. I really am sorry about the inconvienence. It was my occasionally doltish daughter's fault. So the least I can do is offer you a ride home."
"Thank you very much, Miss Washu," Belldandy said, bowing deeply.
"Okay, Dr. Akagi, I will be returning MAGI to you presently, though we really should talk about your firewall protection—" Washu was cut off by an alarm. She looked up. "I didn't do it." They saw her frantically checking for something, her face intent. "Dr. Akagi, I hate to admit that I don't know everything, but…what does a blue pattern mean?"
Misato whirled to look back at Belldandy. "Do you have any other sisters?"
"N-no," Belldandy stammered.
Maya had taken a chance and checked the readouts. "It's no goddess this time, Dr. Akagi. We have a definite blue pattern detection, twenty kilometers north-northwest of Tokyo-3. It just appeared, and it's not skipping like Belldandy's signature was. It's steady and it's solid."
"Washu-sama," Gendo said, "patch us into JSSDF's satellite network. I need a visual." Washu, for once, did not argue, and complied.
At first, there was nothing but the verdant, green hills northwest of the city. Then a black wave topped the hill and spread outward, leaving behind it dessicated trees. At magnification, they could see animals fleeing for their lives from the wave. From the wave arose a giant of black shadow, with no discernable features besides two white-hot, glowing eyes. It did not walk so much as it glided, with tendrils of darkness flowing from its sides. Such was the menace it projected that everyone, even Urd, took a step back from the screens.
Except Gendo. He turned and shared a knowing look with Futsuyuki. "Azrael," he said.
Futsuyuki nodded. "The Angel of Death."
Washu looked pensive. "That's bad, isn't it?"
[Bad da dum. I will have Chapter Five up as soon as I can find time to write it! Tune in (i.e. log on) as the EVA Children suit up to do battle with the embodiment of Death! Witness the arrival of the Fourth Child—well, okay, it's Keiichi and Banpei, but anyway…]