I do not own either of these series. If you wish to flame me on any subject, or at any level, then I welcome the very fires of Hell. Oh, and I like to follow the manga of Evangelion for some things, and the series for others. Also, I'm going to follow events to a certain extent and this is in the Evangelion universe. There will be no Negaverse monsters romping around. I'm doing this in order to challenge myself back into my Cowboy Bebop story.

My Purple Haze

A Sailor Moon / Evangelion crossover

Part Two

Rei stared ahead as the escalator took her down. Behind her, stood two others, the Second and Third. The boy's face seemed to breath in misery and exhale gloom. He was apparently very disturbed about his hypothesis on what the news that Misato was to present to them might contain. The red haired girl on a step above him did not seem to share his feelings, and was more interested in glaring down on the crown of his head. Her focus of agitation, however, was not Shinji, but he was within her range of insults for the time being.

Shinji was unaware of the blue eyes boring into his skull. He was focused on something Kensuke had talked to him about earlier, though the boy had seemed to be franticly dodging the true subject he wished to speak of.

"Uh, I was looking on Dad's computer last night. There's gonna be another Evangelion."

"I know."

"Did Misato tell you this time?"

"In a way."

"Uh, ok. Did she tell you who the pilot is?"

"No."

"Really? Well, from what I could tell, they've selected a girl from the seventh grade class here."

"Seventh grade?"

Shinji's sneakers began to grind against the floor.

"Dònkoff! Get off the stairs!" came a growl from behind and he felt two hands shove his shoulders. He stumbled forward, but didn't fall. He tossed a glare behind him at Asuka, but she ignored him and kept walking behind Rei, who hadn't looked back for a long while.

Shinji took up third in their order, trailing a little behind the girls. Rei and Asuka. Two of the number of people he had met in Tokyo-3 but still had yet to understand.

Rei and Asuka.

Blue and red.

Though their hair, eyes and attitudes were opposites on the color wheel, both their skirts swished in a bizarre synchronized rhythm. Asuka must've noticed this in the quiet, and switched her weight to her right foot. But no matter what she did to change her walk, her skirt still sounded out with Rei's.

"So, wondergirl, what do you think this thing looks like?"

"Why?"

"Do you think it will be some ugly color or be brilliant red like my Unit 02?"

"The color of the unit does not matter."

Asuka became miffed almost immediately.

"I know that. But what color do you think it is?"

"Asuka, it's just like Rei said. It doesn't matter."

Asuka whirled around and her hands were attached to her hips in a flash. "Was I addressing you, Third Child?"

"No."

"Then keep your nose out of it. Like you would care what color it is anyway. You have a purple one."

"Just what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

Asuka crossed her arms triumphantly. "Well, if you don't already know, then I won't tell you," she said and then muttered a German curse under her breath. Shinji recognized one word from her constant blurting of her native tongue, but he didn't know what it meant.

He looked up and Rei was watching them. Her face was not of granite for a moment before she realized Shinji was looking at her. She retreated inward, but Shinji had seen what he knew on Rei as bemusement.

The three resumed their walk.

The elevator opened and Misato was there to greet them. "Hey guys! I'm glad you could make it here so fast. You guys want to go get lunch or something before we go downstairs?" Misato said, leaning against the inside of the opened steel door with a broad smile.

Asuka smiled and began to agree that something was needed in the stomach when a voice cut through.

"Misato. Where is it?"

Misato lost her smile immediately and cocked her head to the side. "Shinji, don't you want to eat first? You know the lounge food isn't all that great at NERV…"

Shinji's face remained with the very same expression. I'm facing the truth, but I feel so scared inside. I'm still a coward, he thought, nearly dropping his eyes to the floor.

Misato moved away from the door and let the three load on. The ride down was swift as Asuka and Misato provided some conversation to listen to while they waited. Then the belts stopped whirring and the box clicked to a stop.

As they were getting out, Shinji felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Shinji, I promise. There will be no more last times."

Shinji turned and looked at her face. She was young, still in her twenties, but she had wisdom beyond anyone's years. The only thing that she didn't understand when she first met him, and maybe even at this moment, was that he was not a tool. He was human. He was a coward.

"You know like I do, Misato. There shouldn't even have been a last time."

"I…" she faltered for words a moment then reclaimed them, "I know."

They became silent for one of the first times since he had met her.

The people of NERV were talking among themselves, creating a murmur of sound. Asuka had run ahead of the others. She pressed her forehead and hands to the window. Her disappointment in its color was apparent in her pressed frown. Rei and Shinji stepped up to the window.

"I present to you, Unit 05," Misato said from behind them. The EVA apparently fell under her jurisdiction, like the others, for a bit of pride could be heard in her tone.

The EVA was hooked up to the wall and was ready to be put through an activation test. Its dark grey armor gleamed under the fluorescent lighting inside the chamber. Unlike Unit 00, it had a face, and a place where the mouth was apparent along the jaw. Strips of purple lined its forearms and shoulder armor. The black of the shoulder armor made it seem menacing in the white room where it was held. The darkness of the chest and ribs made it seem ravenous. The eyes and body remained without life, although the power circuit was attached on its back. Shinji pressed his fingers on the glass. He could feel his knuckles turn white.

And we damn another to hell…

"She's a real beauty isn't she?"

"She sure is, Ritsuko. When are we getting down to business?"

"We were about to begin activation. Mind getting them to the alternate hall?"

Shinji frowned hard. They make it sound like a cakewalk, he thought bitterly.

"Not at all. Asuka, Rei… they want you to get out of the way so that they can begin. Shinji… Shinji?"

He didn't move.

I live inside a monster.

"Shinji."

He pulled his hand down and watched the condensation fade then stepped back and joined his two comrades in the other hall. He didn't listen to the startup conversation of it.

"Begin primary connections."

It was those words that signaled it had begun.

"Entry plug secure."

"Transmit pulse."

"Psychograph position nominal."

"List cleared up through 1350."

"Roger that. First stage contact complete."

"Control," Ritsuko ordered, "Authorize proceed to phase two!"

"All neural links normal."

"List clear to 2550."

"Harmonics nominal."

"Reaching absolute borderline."

Shinji looked up at the EVA. He expected it to leap from its shoulder holds and burst through the wall, grabbing him and squeezing enough for the blood and organs to run through its fingers. It was his fault the last time, and he would make sure it would not be his fault this time. He was not afraid to die by the hands of the EVA in front of him.

But nothing happened.

"All clear! Phase two successful!"

Somehow, despite what it might mean for Rei, Asuka, or even the nearly lifeless Toji, he was almost disappointed.