Disclaimer: I don't own Neon Genesis: Evangelion, Gainax does. Money Chapter 1 Shinji Ikari, the self loathing pilot of the infamous biomechanical beast - Evangelion Unit One - was currently trying to find somewhere to feel sorry for himself. Keeping to the back streets and quiet trains, he was desperately avoiding people, not wanting to take the chance that someone would come and tell him that it would all be ok, if he would just let it. That would just ruin his day. As he stepped onto a train, he didn't even take the time to look at the line he was about to venture down. His entrance to the train was obstructed by something, or someone, as he suddenly found himself pressing up tightly against an unmoving object. Suffering a barrage of hits and curses, he instantly knew who he had slammed into. Quickly shuffling around the girl and into the train to avoid the sliding doors, he continued staring at the ground, fully accepting the tongue lashing from the victim of his ignorant steps. Once the cursing had died down to a guttural murmur, he looked up briefly and was blessed, or cursed depending on what mood one was in, with the radiant sight of the beautiful Asuka Langley Sohryu; the eccentric, boisterous and arrogant pilot of Evangelion Unit Two. For a brief moment he stared at her passively, but as her expression slowly worked its way into his consciousness, he felt a little scared. "What the hell are you doing on this train." The girl said loudly, making sure that everyone else on the train knew that she certainly didn't want this 14 year old boy in her presence. Just to make sure they all got the point, she folded her arms and pouted her lips, and although it didn't seem possible to the mere bystander, intensified her glare. "Ummm. Nothing, I just needed to get out for a walk." Speaking in a voice just above a squeak, his self loathing intensified as he heard the blatantly obvious weakness in his voice. The other commuters who had nothing better to do and were somewhat interested in this little event cursed the boy as they had to lean in closer, disposing of all inconspicuousness in their eavesdropping. "Well, third child. Don't you dare use the train's jarring as an excuse to rub up against me, or-" as her teeth were bared, a few small children gasped, "I will kill you." Gulping to himself, he sunk his chin into his neck and muttered an apology to the girl. Asuka dropped her arms to her sides, and began to move away. "I'm going to stand over-" Before the boy had time to listen to the cries and plea's of his self preservation instincts, he cut her off. "What are you doing on this train?" Her face contorted into a vicious scowl as she looked away, drilling holes into a window. Realizing the boy could still see the reflection of her face, she quickly merged into the crowd of people. Shinji stood dumbfounded, his confusion at the girls actions left him replaying her words over and over, trying to find the hidden message. What he had found really worrying was the fact that she hadn't she hadn't bothered to assure herself the final word in their discussion. Shinji shrugged as he resigned his attention down to the floor. As he raised the volume on his S-DAT player, the familiar melancholic tunes entered his ears reflecting his mood, or, his intended state of mood. It wasn't that Shinji needed to be inspired into depression, as that was his inertial state. Days like these tended to require further lamentations and he felt like digging himself into a deeper and darker pit of misery. It felt much safer in this hole of self loathing, as he didn't have far to fall during the next stumble. Shinji's traumatic past was partly responsible for his gloomy moods, and it was something he could never simply let go of. If he could remember, he would clearly be able to trace the peak of his downhill slide to the age of four. His mother disappeared at this time which drove his father insane. So insane that he tossed the boy aside, leaving him to pursue his own objectives at NERV, or Gehirn as it was known as in those days. The boy then spent the larger portion of his life in the care of others who never really paid him the attention a growing child requires. It was a lonely existence, one that bred self doubt and insecurities that plague him even to this day. At fourteen, the initial cause of his struggle reared its head and struck out at him again, pulling the boy back into the same entangled mess where it had spawned. He was thrust back into a scheme created by a powerful organization, commanded by his father and core parts conceived by his mother. Shinji was now ordered - or manipulated, he thought bitterly - to pilot a forty meter tall monstrosity. The bio-mechanical humanoid beast he piloted to defend Tokyo-3 against the Angels terrified him. He sat inside a capsule filled with some kind of liquid that he could breath, but always instilled him with a sense of nausea. This vessel would then be inserted into the rear of the Evangelion's neck, and then he would be connected mentally with the machine. The shapes of the devices and the processes used would have Dr Sigmund Freud nodding in triumph, if he were alive to bare witness. Especially if he knew that the soul inside the EVA belonged to Shinji's mother. Shinji would command his leg to move, which at the same time caused the robot's leg to move. It was an odd sensation, and as the sync was two way, he could feel all of the sensations experienced by the Evangelion. Prolonged exposure to this activity left his nerves in a jumbled mess. He didn't like it one bit, but he felt he didn't have much of a choice anymore. Gendo Ikari, an odious man with many secrets of the worst kind; the kind that only he knew about, and any others that were cursed with the same knowledge had better keep themselves useful, lest they become land fill. The man had quickly thrown aside any traces of his humanity when Yui Ikari, his wife, had disappeared during the first evangelion activation tests. Unbeknownst to everyone else, save for the people high up in the NERV command hierarchy, this woman's creation had been her undoing. Evangelion Unit One had absorbed her into itself and all attempts to salvage her body were fruitless. Although Shinji had been present during this day, the images and sounds had been locked safely away in his subconscious, waiting for the day when he would be lying on a nice leather couch in an office with someone asking him to describe ink blots. Gendo Ikari had simply tossed the boy aside, but ordered him back again when he had a use for him. He had manipulated Shinji into piloting by using a badly hurt Rei Ayanami as a catalyst in his decision making. Social Services would definitely have words with this man, if they could survive the glares he was notorious for. Shinji's current living arrangements would be considered a small piece of heaven to most outside observers. He and Asuka shared the apartment with one Major Misato Katsuragi, a gorgeous woman of 29 who was both a pleasing sight and an enjoyable experience to behold. Her living habits would be described as extravagant to say the least; her morning breakfast consists of several beers consumed without a pause for breath, her diet comprises predominantly of instant curry and her sense of humor is irrefutably unlike that of any other woman of her age. She is still a child in behavior, untainted by the staleness of age and career. Yet, if she wanted, she could be a menacing foe. As the operations manager of NERV, she is responsible for all the planning and outcomes of the battles that take place between the Evangelions and the Angels. But her favorite pastime is still getting Shinji to blush. His other roommate was the aforementioned Asuka. The fourteen year old girl was part Japanese, part German. Her bright red hair seemed to reflect her fiery nature, contradicted by her deep blue eyes which hinted at a deep sadness but were usually hidden behind a cold icy wall. If anyone managed to break through the surface, somehow reaching the inner girl that desperately sought kindness and comfort but had been locked up within the self constructed prison, they would be rewarded with a glimpse at the person who sat in the shadow of her vicious defender; still full of confidence, but lacking the hurtful, cynical attacks which were more of a defense than an offense. Her past had been of a similar nature to Shinji's and the very same organization had been involved. The only difference is, the locks on Asuka's suppressed memories were starting to crack and the vivid image of her mother hanging from the ceiling flickered in the back of her mind frequently, distracting her from her every day activities and causing her to lash out at others, to keep them at a distance before they caught sight of her weakness. As the train car pulled to another halt, the fourth or fifth since he had bumped into Asuka, he saw a brief glimpse of red hair in the mass of departing people. There was an urge to follow her that he couldn't act on straight away. He was worried about her, ever since he saw her EVA head crash through the shelter he had been in. He knew she was depressed too; her synch score had fallen to a terribly low value, barely registering above the minimal amount required to synchronize with an Evangelion. The last battle had seen her defeated with ease, almost destroying her confidence and diminishing the value she saw in herself. Feeling absolutely positive that he didn't want to follow her, he convinced himself that this would be a nice place to get off and begin his walk, to resume his brooding. Glancing about to make sure no one suspicious was watching him, he set off down the stairs and walked into the forest of the concrete jungle before him. Not far away, a man in a white suit was pacing around a white limousine parked precariously in a vacant building lot. His receding hair was slicked back tightly into a long pony tail that hung down his back. On his right hand were several large gold rings with various different colored gems set into each. In his right hand was a small silver mobile phone that he was currently speaking quietly into. His face was narrow and dark, having high cheekbones and a pointed chin and his narrow nose supported a large set of dark glasses with a thin gold rim. Beads of sweat were currently forming on the mans knotted brow as he began raising his voice into the phone. Slowly and cautiously, a large and heavily armed man approached. He was not attempting to sneak up on him - on the contrary - he was just unwilling to startle him, for fear of incurring the mans wrath. He stood nearby, waiting patiently for the conversation to end. He had news that he didn't want to give, but since he had drawn the short straw with the other guards. "You don't ever send me out on one of your errands again, you hear me?! After I take care of this, I'm coming to take care of you! I hope for your sake that this isn't some kind of setup!" The man spat at the ground as he threw the phone at a nearby brick wall, smiling to himself as he watched the small pieces of plastic and electronic components fly through the air. He grunted to acknowledge the guard behind him, whose presence he had been aware of before the guard would have suspected. Shuffling forward a step, the large lumbering guard spoke slowly and quietly. "Ummm, boss. The guy wants more gear. He said-" Gulping, he reached up and scratched his shoulder nervously. "He said it's not enough. We threatened him a few times, but, you know... we didn't want to do any more threatening without your word." The air between the two solidified. Not even the breeze could penetrate the icy connection that had been established. The guards heart almost stopped as his boss slowly turned around, and then did as he noticed the smile he wore. "Good. I needed this." The white suited man muttered as he clenched his right hand, releasing a few cracking sounds. Sighing with relief, the guard considered his deed to have been a good thing and expected himself to be in the bosses good books. He was disappointed however when the foot connected to his groin. As the white suited man approached the crowd surrounding a small suit case wielding person, his day got even brighter as he saw how cruel the beating would be on such a defenseless looking man. Straightening his tie, he spoke loudly as he approached. "So, changing deals on us at this late a stage are we? Very un-professional. You give us the money, and we give you the product. The terms are non-negotiable. It has been agreed on!" "Ahh, Mr. Yushitoko, It is good of you to finally grace us with your presence." The small man adjusted his glasses and looked him up and down, his small wide face retaining a calm passive expression. "Yes, I am afraid things have changed. My advisor has told me the quality of the product is below the grade you promised us. We hope this is not too much an inconvenience." Sneering, Yushitoko folded his arms and narrowed his eyes. "Are you telling me that our gear is not good enough for you? This is the best in Japan, and probably the world. Tokyo-3 is so unregulated due to the angel attacks, we can make anything up here and take our time with it. So its always top quality." "You refuse to bargain?" "There is nothing to bargain!" His malicious smile contorted into a frown, putting his silver canine on display as he bent his head back, trying to give the man a good view up his nostrils and still watching him intently through the thin slits of his narrowed eyes. With a wave of his hand, Yushitoko signalled for several men behind him to train their weapons on the man. This was replied to with a similar action by the opposing men. "Very well. This has happened too many times and we cannot keep doing business like this. We apologize for this having to happen." Yushitoko's eyes widened in surprise, as with a single motion, the man had managed to retrieve a small gun hidden in the handle of his case and fire off a bullet. He blinked as he felt the impact on his chest, knocking the wind out of him and sending him backwards. Collapsing to the ground, he felt a thickening in the back of his throat, which at first he thought was phlegm, but then as the taste became clearer and the liquid trickled from his mouth, he realized it was blood. Breathing was quickly becoming torture and he could have sworn there was someone standing on his chest. All he could do was watch in awe as guns gave off large, brief jets of flame as they sent bullets onwards to their intended targets. The sounds seemed so surreal and slow, strangely muffled and at times they echoed in his head. He smiled to himself as he heard the other cars pull up behind him, followed shortly by intensified gun fire. He had expected something like this and he was prepared. Yushitoko was a firm believer in paranoia being a virtue in this business. Time seemed to pass slowly. He didn't have a recounting of his life, he didn't see a white light or a bright tunnel approaching him; but he knew he didn't have long to go. The world around him was starting to darken, colors were changing and shifting to give the impression he was watching the world on a negative film. His chest erupted into flames at the slightest movement, his face was starting to go numb and his head felt like it was bobbing around in a bucket of water. As he was beginning to black out, he managed to catch one last glimpse of the battle field. Corpses lay strewn about him. No one was left standing, save for the short fat man slowly limping away with a badly disfigured suitcase. The man was obviously wounded, large patches of blood stained his brown suit and he was struggling to stay on his feet. Cursing, Yushitoko passed out. Asuka was currently walking slowly down a street staring blankly at her shoes as they rhythmically passed in and out of her vision. Her current objective was to disappear for a while so she could shrug off her falsified layers of strength and arrogance to wallow in a bit of self pity. It wasn't often she did this, as it was something she despised more than anything. Asuka wasn't one to ever give up on something she had begun. EVA was no exception as it was an integral part of her life. She had been trained to be an EVA pilot since her mother's death and therefore it was all she knew and had. It was also a good distraction to keep the darker memories at bay. But since things had been going bad, she started to realize she couldn't keep it up for much longer. Her failures began showing her the horrible truth that she may not be the person she thought she was, but she wasn't about to admit that to anyone, least of all herself. Suddenly she stopped as she saw a man stumbling round a corner in front of her. Her legs froze and worry overwhelmed her thoughts as she noticed the man's blood soaked clothing. Asuka was now faced with conflicting emotions, wanting to stay and help the man and at the same time she wanted to flee. Since her legs had decided to disobey her commands, she opted for the former. As the man drew closer to her, he looked up and smiled. "Ahh, this is your lucky day young lady." Shoving the suitcase out towards the girl, he collapsed to the ground. Asuka gasped as the case came into contact with her hands. Absently, she gripped the handle tightly and stared down at the man laying motionlessly on the ground. She jumped back as the man coughed up a small amount of blood. "Hey, are you ok?" Asuka asked, almost tempted to prod him with her foot. At that moment Shinji rounded the corner, feigning surprise to find Asuka. He instantly felt a rush of adrenaline as he noticed the body laying at Asuka's feet. "Asuka! Are you ok?" Shinji spoke with trepidation as he ran towards the girl. Snapping out of her daze, Asuka looked around quickly and frowned at the approaching boy. "What the hell are you doing here? Have you been following me?!" "W-What? No! I just went out for a walk." Looking down at the body and occasionally glancing at Asuka out of the corner of his eye, he resisted the urge to prod the body with his foot. "Who is this guy? Shouldn't we get him some help? Is he dead?" He immediately jumped back as the body stirred briefly, letting out another blood laced cough. "You kids, get outta here. Take that case, it should give you a bunch of fun. I'm done with this game." Coughing up some more blood, the man had a serene smile on his face as his eyes softened. Asuka and Shinji watched silently as the man's breathing slowed down, and then stopped. Deciding there was nothing they could do, except maybe prod the corpse with their feet, Shinji phoned for an ambulance as Asuka continued to stare at the body. ------ As Asuka and Shinji stepped through the doorway to their apartment, they were greeted by a frantic penguin flapping its wings and letting lose an awful din of squawks. Shinji recognized the tone; this bird was hungry and he was mad. With Misato constantly at work and Asuka lacking any interest in the bird, Penpen had to rely solely on Shinji being there to feed him. Asuka watched Shinji go about the penguin feeding routine which he usually performed every day. She was still lost in a daze as being interrogated by police officers had been a daunting experience for the both of them. She had taken charge of the interview at times and scared several police officers, but she still felt worn out as the constant barrage of questions had left her brain feeling numb. A small smile crept across her face as she realized they still claimed the prize. After manufacturing a story about the suitcase belonging to her and giving a few menacing glares to the third child, he unwillingly became her accomplice in this act of deception. Patting the suitcase, she strode off towards the lounge room preparing to examine the contents. After the bird had been well fed and appeared to be content, Shinji solemnly walked towards the lounge room in hopes of being welcomed by a soft comfortable couch. He had been terrified during the police interview. Like a scared rabbit, his eyes bounced back and forth between the interrogators and Asuka, as one would be demanding answers and the other would be demanding allegiance. Shinji and Asuka had shared all the information they knew with the police officers and although they hadn't made a big deal over the case, he still felt the guilt; the paranoia that there were now going to be further inquiries and he was going to get found out. Asuka had coaxed him into playing along with her lie. At times, Shinji didn't know which he feared more out of the police or Asuka. Her body language was enough to beat him into submission. A strange thought occurred to him, causing him to pause his thoughts. One of the police officers had watched the suitcase at times, causing Shinji to panic as he thought the man would get up and open it. But for some reason, they had let Asuka take it. At the time he was too nervous to give it any extra thought, but now, it struck him as very odd. He was just glad they didn't get NERV involved, although, little to his knowledge and even the regular police officer, the local authorities were mostly run and owned by NERV. Upon entering the lounge room, he was not surprised to find Asuka sitting on the floor with the suitcase in front of her. She scratched her head and frowned at the case. "Probably thinking of how to shout it open" he muttered to himself bitterly. Shinji deliberately fell back into the couch, enjoying the feeling of the brief free fall and rush of wind. Plunging into the cushions, he shifted a little to get into a comfortable position, then began searching the many crevices of the couch for the remote control. Both children now mirrored each others quizzical looks. After several minutes of mutual frustrated grunting, Asuka stood up and gave the case a kick. She looked over towards her fellow puzzle solver. "Hey idiot. Give me a hand with this." Much to the annoyance of Asuka, he took several moments to respond as he was still engrossed with his search for the television remote. "Huh?" "Go find something to pry this open with!" "What? Why should I? Your the one that wanted to keep it. I can't believe you lied to the police for it!" "Oh come on. That guy gave me this case, you saw that. Made it sound like there was something good inside, don't ya think? Aren't you even a little curious?" "No! You made me lie! I can't belie-" Asuka thrust her hands onto her hips and shouted "Oh shut up! Why do you have to be so moralistic about everything! God, after all we do for this city, don't you think we deserve a little fun? When was the last time you did anything you enjoyed!?" Briefly, Shinji recalled a memory of a kiss he had shared with Asuka, but he did not mention this to the girl, as he feared for his life. He was still confused by the event, and her motive, unsure if she actually liked him or if it had just been a cruel trick. It had been quite painful to endure, as the girl had held his nose tightly shut, rendering him unable to breath. But he held out for as long as he could. Although he was hurt by her claiming disgust at the kiss, he couldn't stop thinking about it. The warmth he felt from the close proximity to her face, the extra detail of her features he was able to observe, her warm breath brushing lightly across his cheek and the contact of her soft lips; it harassed his mind constantly and he couldn't help but enjoy the experience, even if it wasn't without some pain. "Ummm. I don't know." He lied. "See? So, let's open it up. Might have a load of drugs in it, wouldn't that be fun?!" "Asuka!" "I'm kidding, jeez. You're really boring you know." Rolling her eyes, she looked down at the case. "I bet it's money anyway." About an hour later, Shinji watched as the lid was finally starting to move. Asuka had the case wedged tightly between her legs, holding it firmly to keep it still as she continued to pry at it with the metal bar. Shinji noted for a moment that it seemed the case was currently the luckiest object in the world, but then feeling ashamed, he started thinking about Angels and Evangelions to take his mind off his impure thoughts and to chase off the blush that was quickly forming on his cheeks. With a loud crack, the lid of the case snapped open and the bar Asuka had been using went flying out of her hands. Quickly removing her leg from the top of the case to allow it to fully open, she grabbed the sides of the case and gazed upon its contents. "Yes! So. What..... Oh. My. God!" Asuka's eyes widened as she took in the beautiful sight of hundreds of tightly bound wads of cash. Running her finger along the edges of the notes, a large grin appeared on her face accompanied by a twinkle in her eye. "Shinji. There has got to be, I don't know how much, but its allot. I mean, a hell of allot. My god. We're rich!" Noticing a lack of response from her lesser partner in fortune, she turned around to determine why he wasn't shrieking like a little school girl, as she had anticipated. There lying on the ground unconscious was the third child with the thin slab of metal lying next to his head. It didn't take her long to deduce the reasons behind his lack of consciousness, after she noticed the small trickle of blood coming from a small cut to the boys forehead. Feeling a little panicked, she reached out to grab his hand, but upon seeing that he was still breathing and emitting a small groan, she shrugged and went back to counting the money. ------ "Ohhhh, my head." Shinji lightly rubbed the sore spot on his head as he slowly followed Asuka down a pathway through the city. Looking up at her, he noticed she seemed very happy, and although seeing her smile brought a sense of comfort to him, he still wondered if she had a conscience. "Asuka, what are you going to do with the money?" "I already told you, we're putting it into the bank. Idiot!" She looked over her shoulder. "Come on, hurry up!" Shinji flinched as she yelled at him. "Ahh! Don't yell at me so loud. My head really hurts Asuka." Gripping his head a little tighter to try and keep it from bursting, he gave the ground a pleading look and began to walk a little faster, trying to express his pain and disinterest in their venture with every step. "Don't be such a baby. It was just a little smack to the head. Now, listen. I have a brilliant idea that will save us so much work and give us time to do allot of other fun stuff. I'm still pissed at missing the school trip." She smiled brightly. "We could have our own trip to Okinawa." It took Shinji a little while to figure out what the girl was saying, as she had spoken so fast and without pause. He began to wonder if there had indeed been drugs inside the case. Once his mind had interpreted the onslaught of words, he was surprised. Shinji thought the girl would never consider anything else more interesting than piloting her EVA and battling Angels. Rubbing his throbbing head a little more, he couldn't help but feel a little curious. He didn't want to pilot the EVA's, he had even tried to run away several times. Any idea of getting out of piloting had to be a good thing, so with some reluctance and fear, he decided to go along with her plans. "What did you have in mind?" he asked with as much hesitation as possible. Smiling brightly, which inadvertently caused Shinji's muscles to liquefy and spawned a hoard of rampaging butterflies within his stomach, Asuka replied. "You'll see." Stopping outside of a large building, she nodded to Shinji and then to the building. "This is it." Almost skipping through the door, she grabbed the boys hand and dragged him along, causing him to trip several times as they entered the quiet room. Guilt began to seep back into Shinji's body as he saw the large overweight security guard watching the pair. Having second thoughts, he tugged on Asuka's hand. Slapping his hand away, Asuka instantly realized the folly of her ignorance. "You! Keep your hands off me!" "But. But you-" She quickly silenced him with a light smack across the head, igniting several tons of explosives within his skull. The girl knew she had done wrong as she watched him fall to the ground, clutching at his head. Briefly she felt regret, but instantly recovered. "Get up and stop causing a scene!" "Mghhphhhh!" He spluttered from the floor, rocking back and forth. Rolling her eyes, she joined the queue for the bank tellers. Looking around, she was overwhelmed with boredom at the bland aesthetics of the bank. The carpet was a light shade of blue and felt thin and solid under her feat. The smooth rounded contours of the benches rendered them indistinguishable from the walls. Even the employees matched the apathetic theme. The bank tellers all donned horribly boring grey jackets and looked uninterested with everything they were doing and everything the customer had to say. Customers were filing in, and filing out, barely uttering a word except for a simple request. Yawning, her eyes began to feel heavy. Looking behind her, she noticed her roommate dragging himself up off the floor which brought a new train careening through her current stagnant set of thoughts. Events of the day had certainly changed things. This morning, she was outright ignoring Shinji, like she had been doing allot lately. Asuka was adamantly going out of her way to make sure he knew she didn't want anything to do with him. Lately, he had really been getting on her nerves; the way he captivated everyone else's attention without trying, the way he ignored her when she would tease him, the way he made her look so weak and useless at piloting an Evangelion. Deep down somewhere, there was a hope that it was just temporary. She found him amusing at times, fun to tease and sometimes even his company did appeal to her. But since things started falling apart again, any chances of a friendship quickly diminished as she put her vicious defenses on high alert. However, that hope had been rewarded a little since the case. It was a distraction she needed. Something had gone right for Asuka and she remembered what it was like when she was happy. It changed her perspective on things substantially, plainly showing her how silly it was to mope around and that it was quite easy to be happy. Her feelings of self loathing, that Shinji and many others suffered for, were silenced for now, all thanks to the bundle of joy attached to her arm. It wasn't the thought of what she would spend the money on, or the fact that she was rich. Simply, it was the fact that after all the recent things going wrong, something had turned to her favor, which meant that it could happen again. "Next." Even though the voice was plain and monotonous, it startled Asuka from her dream state. Glancing over at the source of the voice, she strode with strong determination towards the bank teller. "I'd like to make a deposit please." Asuka beamed at the older woman behind the glass. The woman regarded Asuka and her case indignantly. As Asuka lifted the case lid, her eyes widened. "Is this some kind of joke?" Asuka, being a very intelligent fourteen year old, expected this "No, its not a joke. We're from NERV." She quickly handed over her identification card to give the woman proof. Nodding, the woman took the case from her. "You want this deposited to your account?" "Nah, put a quarter of it into jerk faces account." A quick gesture with her thumb indicated she was referring to Shinji, who was now standing behind her "Go on, give her your card!" Shinji reluctantly handed his card over to the woman. Glancing from the card to the boy several times, she placed it on top of Asuka's card and picked up a phone beside her. "This will just take a moment." Asuka nodded. Her vision wandered about the room, staring vacantly around the bank as the lady spoke quietly into the phone. Suddenly, she was aware of a man standing beside her. Looking over, she became a little nervous as she noticed he was dressed in a sharp black suit. Her fears were alleviated when she saw the flower sticking out of his jacket pocket, and the smile the man had on display. "Please madam and sir, if you will follow me." They were led into a large room filled with expensive looking furniture. Several leather couches circling a low glass table sat on top of a large, extravagantly patterned rug. About the rim of the table were deeply set computer terminals each giving access to the bank's online services. A large screen hung from a wall as it gave the latest financial news and the current share prices flowed along the bottom of the screen. About the television sat several high ferns in clear glass pots, set low into the shiny wooden floor. As if to help the plants counter the technological theme of this room, several old and expensive paintings adorned the walls. "Please, make yourselves comfortable here while we process your deposit. Feel free to let me know if there's anything I can get you while you wait, and we thank you for your business." The man bowed and walked out of the room. "Wonder what this room is for?" Asuka muttered to herself. Shinji instantly sat down on a couch rubbing his head as it throbbed angrily at him. Like most times when he was surrounded with silence and nothing to keep his mind busy, he began thinking about the angels again. The last angel attack was interesting, to say the least. Shinji had tried to run away, but when he saw the decapitated Evangelion belonging to Asuka, followed by Rei's selfless kamikaze style attack, he found a new resolve to return and fight harder than he had ever fought before, even if it meant hurting others. Following in his mother's footsteps, Shinji had been absorbed during this battle when his Evangelion went berserk. Unlike his mother though, he had returned a month later. To him, the time spent in his state of questionable existence was over in an instant, like going to sleep and waking from a dream. The only things he could remember were emotions, and a particular scent that seemed very familiar. Asuka wandered about the room, running her finger along the frames of several paintings, vacantly examining their shapes and colors. "Shinji, you have always wanted to leave NERV, haven't you?" Asuka tried to use as little emotion possible in the question, but it was such a personal topic that he couldn't help but feel she was suddenly digging into his soul. Slowly, he masticated her question with a grim determination to compose a response that lacked stupidity. "I guess". He mentally kicked himself hard at his failure. "Oh come on. You have run away a few times now, haven't you?" As he nodded slowly, avoiding her gaze, she folded her arms and continued "Your father is an asshole, you almost killed your best friend-" Noticing the pained expression developing on his face, she rolled her eyes and spoke louder, quickly interrupting any depressing thoughts that were forming "Not that it was your fault! Stupid. And you were stuck inside your EVA for a month! Don't you get sick of being messed up like this all the time?" Shinji's gaze remained transfixed on the floor as his face was overcome with sadness. He suddenly looked like a child who had just been caught drawing on a wall with crayons. "Well, I'll let you know my plan to get us out of piloting for a while ok? I will need your help to pull it off, so you get to be part of it too. What do you say?" "Umm, Asuka?" Slowly, he raised his head up and looked at her with eyes that were still hinting at some sadness, but were also slowly becoming curious. "Why don't you want to pilot anymore? I thought-" Asuka quickly cut him off. "Are you in, or not?!" Taking a moment to try and figure out what she could be hiding, he decided her reasons to be beyond his comprehension, so he threw any further queries out the window. "Fine" Asuka smiled proudly, infecting Shinji with a small, yet nervous smile of his own. "Right, lets go over a few things." ------ "You have got to be joking. Dummy plugs, based on you two?" Dr. Ritsuko was on the verge of calling security and having the two children tossed out into the streets. Things had been going bad for the woman lately. With her lover paying her very little attention, she was distracted from her work. Even her best friend had been nagging at her, trying to pry secrets that kept her own job and life safe. Her lack of sleep also added to the stress, so furiously stubbing out her cigarette into an overflowing ash tray, the woman glared at the children. "Look, I shouldn't even be having this conversation with you kids. And just where did you get that kind of information? What makes you think dummy plugs are based on anyone?" Asuka frowned a little. "I've read all about them and how they work. It was within my security clearance. You transfer personalities to them right? We want you to use ours." Ritsuko sighed lightly. She had forgotten about the falsified reports on that particular technology that they had released for their own personnel to read after the last terrible incident involving the dummy plug system. "Well, what the hell do you think this is. If we could just make dummy plugs to pilot EVA, don't you think we would have done it by now? I mean, you saw what happened with the prototype." She gave Shinji a look, which she regretted as she saw the pain laying openly on his face. Shinji had been strongly against Asuka's plan. The instant she mentioned dummy plugs to replace them as pilots, he became so livid with anger he was barely able to continue the conversation. Asuka had convinced him by mentioning that if it were their own personalities in the dummy plugs, they would be more humane towards their targets, instead of the monster that was unleashed that day and almost destroyed Shinji's friend, Touji Suzahara. "Look, I am not going to dignify this preposterous request with any further discussion. You two, get out." Pointing at the doorway, Ritsuko's attention was suddenly caught by the small case Asuka had quickly placed in front of her. "What's this?" "A little incentive?" Asuka wasn't totally unfamiliar with bribery. Having never actually tried with money before, the concepts were not foreign. After all, she had managed to get a host of boys to submit to her will many times in the past. She saw it as the same equation, with her beauty replaced by the briefcase, and the boys substituted with a very suspicious scientist. Opening the case up, Ritsuko's eyes widened in wonder at the small hoard of cash before her. "What-" She paused her sentence to pick up a wad of cash, turning it over in her hand, scrutinizing it with all her powers of suspicion and paranoia. "Asuka, what the hell is this. Where did you kids get this money from?" Asuka didn't hesitate with her lie. "A relative just passed away and I received allot of money as my inheritance." Ritsuko blinked as the doubt renewed itself in her mind. Although she was oblivious to most things going on with the rest of the world due to her obsessive devotion to her job, she knew that money wasn't really all that common amongst the general public. After second impact, the population had been cut by several billion and hence, there weren't many people to make money off anymore. Of course, she knew there were a few exceptions to the rule. Ritsuko tried to sound as doubtful as possible. "Really?" Asuka simply nodded. Shinji remained silent, fidgeting with a shirt button. Ritsuko could have sworn he had moved closer to the door since she last looked at him. For a brief moment, Ritsuko thought she might actually check into Asuka's lineage, but after thinking about how little she got paid for how much she was doing at NERV, that information quickly became irrelevant. Staring at the money, it seemed to fill her vision, the surrounding images replaced with darkness and then being padded out by the recurring pattern of the notes. Suddenly, the realization hit her. Ritsuko hated her job. She felt like she was just being used in her current position and her treatment by the Commander as a side mistress was infuriating. Before her now lay the ticket out of here to enjoy the remainder of her life, even if it were to be shortened by the commander's plans. As images of herself sitting on a beach somewhere far away crossed her mind, her resolve strengthened. Calling Ritsuko a genius was an insult to the woman. Her mental capacity was immeasurable, her ability to look at a situation and come up with a solution - that sometimes seemed so absurd that it didn't belong in a cartoon - was uncanny. Before her lay just another problem. It was obvious to her what Asuka and Shinji were asking for. This particular puzzle was a trivial matter compared with other things she was faced with in her line of work, so quickly putting together a small abstract plan, she nodded to the pair. "I have just the thing. We can forget about the dummy plugs." Although, she was amused at the similarity between the two ideas which no one else was aware of. "I hope you two don't hold too strongly to those old ethics on cloning or soul synthesis." Not usually one to have a problem with self confidence when it came to her work, Ritsuko felt strangely uncomfortable. The ideas were so simple to her, but they had never been attempted due to a lack of funds for research filed under 'other'. Asuka's mind slowly worked away as she frowned hard at the floor, trying to contemplate the doctors not too subtle hint. It didn't take her long to realize what she was insinuating. Shinji just heard the word ethics and decided he would rather stick to the old saying 'ignorance is bliss'. His objections at participating in their plans were renewed as he saw the grins on the two women, who now appeared before him as witches plotting his own moral demise. "You mean you can actually do that? But, wouldn't that take years or something?" Asuka spoke with clear disappointment. Ritsuko took a mouthful of coffee before replying. "Not necessarily. I have a few... things I have already been working on. I could have some ready in a week or so." "That would be great!" "Right." Taking another look at the cash and rubbing the wad of notes in her hand, she nodded. "I accept. But, I need to get a few things straight with you two first. This conversation never took place. You have never given me any money. If anyone comes asking anything about me, you claim ignorance. And do not ask me any questions about anything. The less you know, the easier this will be to pull off." Watching with a concerned look, she nodded after deciding they had absorbed her words long enough. "Come with me, lets get started" ------ Asuka groaned loudly "We've been walking forever! How much further is it?" Ritsuko took her glasses off and gently rubbed her eyes. Asuka's constant nagging had been gnawing on her frayed nerves and were verging on breaking through the surface to receive a nasty shock. Forcing down the mounting tension yet again, she sighed. "Not far." "Hmmph, that's what you said 3 hours ago" Asuka glared at the back of the woman's head, hoping it may have an effect on the woman to either extract the truth, or to hurry her up. Shinji looked up to see why the pair had stopped. He felt a little nervous as Ritsuko tapped a combination into a keypad beside a door in front of them. Any time they passed a camera, Shinji couldn't help but feel that he was being watched. The blue and red lights in some corridors appeared to him as police lights and he was constantly expecting to be arrested. "Finally!" Asuka said, as the door slid open. Stepping inside, the three were engulfed in stuffy darkness, which was further made uncomfortable as the door closed behind them. Shinji noted the air was musty and stale, but there was a vague odor that resembled LCL. Suddenly, dull orange lights flickered to life in various locations about the room, followed by an assortment of computer screens flashing login prompts. Cables, tubes and circuit boards littered the floors and benches. It was the large object in the center that captured their attention the most. There before them was a large cylindrical tube, standing vertically. It appeared large enough to contain a small adult and was filled with liquid that looked like LCL. Above the tube were attached many large pipes that trailed off in various directions to be absorbed by the ceiling. Along the walls were several similar tubes, but the attachments were smaller and less in number, except for several larger pipes around the base, which the central tube had lacked. "What is this place?" Shinji had been the first to break the silence. Ritsuko looked up at him from the computer she was working feverishly at. "This is just one of my experimental labs. Allot of cloning technology was started here, but we don't use it much anymore." She didn't bother to mention the production lab that was deeper down within NERV headquarters. Realizing he was getting no further responses from the woman, his eyes began to wander about the room again. Looking over to his side, he noticed Asuka was silently doing the same. "Ok, now this is going to take a little while." Ritsuko took her glasses off and began to rub them with her lab coat. "First, Asuka, take off your clothes." The instant she finished speaking, Asuka's face went bright red. "What the hell is it with you guys wanting to get us naked?! It's sick!" Folding her arms and closing her eyes, she turned her nose up and away from Shinji "He better not be looking! Can't he wait outside or something?" Sighing as she put her glasses back on, and having her desires to never have children reaffirmed, she replied impatiently "Yes yes. Shinji, wait outside. I'll come and get you when its your turn". "Ok" Shinji slowly walked out of the room and stood next to the closing door, leaning up against the wall. Fear struck him as he thought about his father discovering their plan. His conviction to help Asuka was beginning to waiver as the paranoid thoughts of all the possible negative outcomes sat burning inside his head. After both children had taken turns at being put inside the tube while Ritsuko ran a series of commands through several computers, they were ushered out towards the exit. All three appeared a little nervous every time a guard passed them, or each time they would spot a camera in the ceiling. "Right, I'll call back as soon as they are ready. As long as there are no angel attacks between now and then, it shouldn't take too long. Some of these techniques are a little experimental, and the materials.... Never mind, just get out of here and do not talk to anyone about this. I mean this very seriously when I say, your lives and mine could be in danger if any of this were to slip." Ritsuko watched the pair leave. Frowning, she realized how much extra work she had just created for herself and how dangerous it was going to be. Her hand's dropped into her pockets as she decided it would all be worth it with the amount of money currently sitting in her office. It had been a relatively easy decision to make, as she had been feeling rather apathetic towards NERV and her assigned projects lately. Her desires to do something drastic to make a point or to expose some of the commanders secrets were going to be fulfilled and she would be making a profit out of it too. "Ha, bastard. This is going to be perfect. You're going to regret choosing her over me." ------ Misato Katusragi slumped against the steering wheel of her car as its engine became silent. She let out a small groan as the silence and lack of movement inside the car seemed to magnify the fatigue she was feeling, bringing about a ringing in her ears. Spending several minutes like this, she finally got out of her car and slowly walked towards the elevator towards her apartment, until a familiar black car caught her attention off in the distance. "What are they doing here?" She muttered to herself as she altered her direction and began a brisk pace towards the car. As she got close to the vehicle, she noticed it was empty and both of the doors were open. Stopping abruptly and frowning, she retrieved a gun from under her jacket and started glancing about. Spotting something, she ran towards a patch of dense grass and stopped as she came upon a body dressed in a black suit, wearing black glasses. The man's neck had been cut in a neat arc that went right around the front, just below his chin. "Damn. Who would want...Shit! The children!" Frantically, Misato ran back towards the apartment and took the stairs up to her floor. Noticing the door to her unit was shut, she cursed as she fumbled through her pockets for her swipe card. Finally locating it, she ran the card through the slot by the door. The sound from the electronic devices disposed of any chances of a furtive entrance, so she ran without hesitation into the apartment, quickly checking around corners for would be attackers. The first door she stopped at belonged to Shinji. Standing still for a brief moment to compose herself and steady her gun, she slammed the door open and stepped into the room with her gun drawn and ready to fire. Shinji had heard the front door open and since he didn't hear anyone call out, he had grown a little nervous. When the door was thrown open and the gun wielding woman stepped in, his first reaction had been to back up into the corner on his bed where he had been laying. Shinji panicked. "I'm sorry! You can have it back, I didn't... I... Misato?" Breathing a sigh of relief, Misato lowered her gun. "Sorry. Where's Asuka?" Misato began hurriedly walking out of the room, but lingered as she awaited a response from the boy. "She's in her room I think. Or out with Hikari again. I'm not sure." "Shit." Misato quickly ran to Asuka's room. Slamming her door open, Misato quickly stepped into Asuka's room and was instantly relieved to see the girl laying on her bed reading a magazine. Without looking up, Asuka spoke calmly while flipping a page in her magazine roughly. "Oh, please come in Misato. Don't worry about knocking." "What's going on Misato?" Shinji spoke timidly from behind the woman. Slowly, he took a step into the girls room to see what the woman was so excited about. "Don't mind me you guys, just make yourselves at home. It is just my room." Anger was starting to build up in the red haired girl as the intruders were failing to register the sarcasm she was laying on as thickly as she could. Slamming the magazine shut, she glared at the pair. "Idiots! What are you doing in my room?!" Misato spoke as she left the room hurriedly. "Something's happened kids. I need to make a phone call." Quickly dialing a number, Misato paced around her room as the phone rang. Pausing a moment, she stared sadly at the answering machine sitting on her desk that still contained a single message. It never failed to bring about the stinging sensation from the threat of tears. Misato's concentration turned back to the phone call she was attempting to make as she heard a click, followed by a deep monotonous voice. "Section 2." "This is Major Katsuragi. What the hell are you guys doing?! We have one man down by my apartment and he's from your section. I don't know the location of the his partner, but I need extra men down here right away." "Status of the attackers?" "Unknown. I didn't see anyone. We will need to beef up security on the children right away, this could have been an attempt on their lives." "Backup is on the way." Breathing out again to relief some of the tension, Misato made one last demand before hanging up. "I want no less than four men on guard, twenty four hour watch, ok? Bye." "Misato? What's going on?" Shinji stood in her doorway, looking a little confused. Misato started to question the worth of letting Shinji know about the death of a security guard outside their apartment. Her feelings were that he was under enough stress as it is, so she considered just keeping it a secret from the boy. It was a tough choice for the woman though, as it was the secrets she had kept from Shinji that were tearing at the thinning strands of their relationship. "Someone from section 2 got hurt. I'm not sure who did it, but it wasn't good." "Oh. Are they ok?" The silence from the woman was enough of a response for him. "Oh." "Listen Shinji, you guys need to be careful. I don't know who did that, but just keep an eye open for anything out of the ordinary, and don't do anything stupid." "Like that's hard for him to do." Asuka rudely interrupted the conversation, barging into the room and pushing past Shinji. "So, what's going on. Why are you running around waving your gun at teenagers?" "Someone killed an agent outside." As Misato finished her sentence, Asuka's eyes widened a little. "We're going to step up security a bit. I have no idea what's going on, but you kids need to be careful." "What ever." Asuka began leaving the room. "Asuka, this is serious. Someone is dead!" Once the area had been searched and the guard's took up their new positions, Misato walked back into the apartment and groaned. "God, more paper work. There is just no end to it. Kids, I'm going to do some work in my room." With that, Misato stepped into her room and shut the door behind her. "May as well get a little sleep first." She muttered. Falling face forward onto the bed, she let out a long sigh as she closed her eyes and went to sleep. ------ Asuka had found it difficult to restrain herself from spending recklessly with her money, but she and Shinji had agreed to keep their new found wealth a secret, mainly to keep any unwanted attention at bay while they were involved with Ritsuko and the cloning plan, especially now that section two were watching them closely. Regardless of their agreement, Asuka had been spoiling herself quite often when she knew no one was watching. She went out occasionally for an expensive meal, sometimes taking Hikari along and telling her it was Misato's payment for being such a good pilot. Her wardrobe was bulging dangerously, but she hardly wore her new clothing, feeling it would definately give her away. Shinji's constant battle with his conscience was put on hold momentarily when he managed to subdue the nagging voice long enough to purchase a new album for his SDAT player. Asuka tapped her foot impatiently, the look on her face was mixed between excitement and annoyance. Shinji stood silently next to her, staring at the floor of the dark passage. A low humming sound of equipment hidden away within the depths of the NERV base could be heard, which Shinji found strangely unsettling. He was still waiting for the police to come and take him away and charge him for grand theft. "Ok, come in." Asuka instantly jumped through the doorway and gasped as she saw herself floating motionlessly in a tube. Besides having shorter hair than Asuka, the clone was a perfect match. Continuing to scrutinize the Dr's handy work, she noted their figures were identical; legs, arms, shoulders, breasts. The last realization hit her like a brick against the head and she quickly reacted by jumping on Shinji, knocking him to the floor as she slapped her hand over his eyes. "They're naked!" Asuka shouted at Ritsuko. "Hey, get off me! I wasn't looking" Shinji squirmed under the girls weight, but his efforts were futile. "Mine is naked too you know!" Asuka had already noticed this and was still noticing as she absently punched the boy in the arm. "You better not stare at her, you pervert!" "I promise, now get off me please?" Ritsuko shook her head as she watched the pair get up off the floor. Both seemed to be concealing a blush. "Kids" she muttered to herself. "Right, now help me get them out and onto the tables." "What!? You're not thinking of letting this pervert get his hands all over my body are you?" Asuka was glaring furiously at the blond woman. "Asuka. Could you please just stop acting like a-" Ritsuko rolled her eyes and began walking towards the tube containing Asuka's clone. "Never mind. Just come over here and help me will you? Shinji-" Pausing her steps and frowning, she took a few seconds to consider the red heads requests "Push that table over here. And avert your eyes or something, ok?" Shinji nodded and slowly began pushing a silver table on wheels towards the tube. He was taking every precaution to ensure he didn't catch sight of the naked Asuka floating in the orange liquid. It took allot of willpower, but the thoughts of what she would do to him helped. Seeking a distraction, he began examining the shiny metallic table he was pushing. Attached to its side were several electronic devices and poles. Swinging gently from the tops of the poles were several bags filled with various liquids. Each had a small tube which trailed down the attached pole and came to an end on the table. Shinji was no stranger to this type of equipment, as he often woke up amongst the same devices after each Angel attack. A loud swooshing sound permeated the air as the LCL was drained out of the tube, causing the body to slump to the bottom of the tube with a wet thud. Ritsuko tapped carelessly away on another computer, causing the glass surrounding the body to recede into the floor. Finally, she walked over and examined the unconscious girl. Asuka stood perfectly still as she watched the doctor examine the pale, limp body. "Is...Is she dead?" Asuka whispered. After poking at the body with several instruments, Dr. Akagi propped the unconscious girl up into a sitting position. Asuka immediately walked over, trying to stand in between the naked girl and Shinji. She was entranced by the girl before her, wondering what she would be like when awake. It felt eerily surreal to watch; she felt a little detached from the scene as she watched the doctor handling what looked like her own corpse. "She's fine. Now, grab her legs and lets get her up onto the table." With that, they both effortlessly hauled the girl up and onto the table. Several minutes passed as the doctor attached many cables and tubes to the clone. Meanwhile, Asuka located a large green sheet from underneath the table and covered up the naked girl's more sensitive areas. She was still lost for words and had a look of awe on her face as she continued to watch. "What will she be like?" Asuka inquired. Ritsuko was heavily engrossed in her work and took a few moments to respond. "Well, I didn't do a very thorough transfer. They will only recollect recent memories. Deeper, subconscious areas of the mind are a bit trickier and require allot of time. So, it will be just memories that you two have been experiencing over the last few years, as a rough guess. There is no real way to tell, until they wake up. It's not an exact science." Connecting a few more cables to devices strewn about the area, Ritsuko continued. "For a while, these two will be very." Pausing, she glanced at the ceiling as if it would give her the words she sought. " They could be very emotional. Well, I mean. They are loaded with hormones at the moment, so they will probably be a little hard to control at times." Asuka frowned as she pondered the implications of the Doctor's words. Ritsuko leaned over the unconscious girl and flicked a series of switches, then brought out a syringe filled with a clear liquid. "Right, here we go. Asuka, get ready to hold her down." Slowly, she brought the needle up to a tube attached to the girls chest. Ritsuko flicked a switch, causing the girls body to spasm a little as she inserted the needle into the end of the tube. She closed her eyes and grimaced as she sent the clear liquid on its way to the girls blood stream. "Hope this works" she thought silently to herself as she depressed a switch on one of the devices hooked up to the girl. Suddenly, the girl woke up with a loud, drawn out gasp for air. Asuka panicked and slammed her back down onto the gurney with unintentional force. Realizing what she had done, Asuka put a hand to her mouth as she watched the clone stare at the roof, motionless. "Did I kill her?" she whispered. Ritsuko was busy typing in a series of commands into a nearby terminal. Looking up at the equipment, she shook her head in response. Shinji was currently pleading with a patch of wall to hold his attention and thus save him from the girls wrath. Asuka wasn't paying him an ounce of attention however, she was still gaping at the catatonic girl and hoping it wasn't broken. Asuka let out a small yelp as the eyes she had been staring into blinked. Ritsuko quickly came across to the table and began adjusting a clamp on one of the tubes attached to the girls arms. Slowly, the doctor took her hands away from all of the equipment, and watched as her creation gained consciousness. Slowly, the pale girl's eyes began blinking and turning about in their sockets, testing their limits and trying to focus on the ceiling. Moments later, the female clone's head began to turn about awkwardly, as though it were trying to roll away. Ritsuko noticed the curious look on Asuka's face. "They may be a little stupid at first. But it won't take long for them to learn things." She added a silent prayer that this wouldn't turn out to be a lie. Shinji could no longer contain his curiosity. Deciding he would just take a small peek at the events taking place behind him. A little fear crossed his mind as he saw the girl struggling to move. Small gurgling sounds escaped her mouth as her head was still slowly turning back and forth with eyes rolling back into her head every now and again. "What the hell is this? I didn't pay you good money to create a couple of retards!" Asuka had now lost her interest in the clone and was staring murderously at Ritsuko. "Asuka, calm down. I am sure that her brain is functional. The readings I am getting show some fairly standard activity." Ritsuko tapped a monitor with her pen. "Just give her some more time." Sighing to herself, Ritsuko was a little worried. The technology she had based her experiment on was experimental itself. It was a miracle she had even gotten this to work at all, and being the paranoid type, this concerned her. She wasn't totally sure how it would turn out in the long run, but she was certain that problems would have to show up sooner or later. Especially if the Commander found out, which she knew was just a matter of time. "While she is waking up, lets get Shinji's clone up and going." Minutes later, the same process was repeated for the male figure floating in the liquid filled tube. Asuka's attention was focused solely on her clone as Ritsuko and Shinji worked on a separate table to revive the unconscious boy. "Whhhhheerrr." All heads instantly locked onto the source of the noise. The female clone had sat up and was currently struggling to speak. "Whhherrrreee. Am." Finding it difficult to continue, she slowly tapped herself on the chest and shivered slightly. It took Asuka several moments to get over the initial shock, until she finally spoke "Your in a lab. Don't worry, we will be out of here soon. As soon as moron and his stupid clone are done." Shinji looked down at his clone, who was currently trying to form different shapes with his mouth. Every now and again a sound would escape, but no words were coming yet. "Well, its obvious these clones take after their originals. See how smart mine is? And Shinji's hasn't even worked out how to sit up yet! Ha!" "Shinnnnji?" The clone turned her head and was now staring intently at the pair of boys. The sheet that had been covering her fell down, revealing her upper body. Blushing, Asuka quickly covered her back over. Ritsuko chuckled as she saw Shinji quickly look away and blush. Narrowing her eyes at Shinji, Asuka spoke to her clone "Yeh, that's him. But you can call him idiot." Asuka became a little nervous as a faint smile began forming on the naked girl's mouth. She became furious the longer her clone continued to stare at the boy. Quickly, she snapped her fingers in front of her face. "Hey! I was talking to you." Once she had the girls attention, Asuka crossed her arms and spoke with a haughty air. "Now look. We have to get out of here soon, so you better figure out how to walk, ok?" "Asuka? Sorry?" Both Asuka and Dr Akagi were stunned as they turned their heads towards the pair of boys. It wasn't Shinji who had spoken, but Shinji's clone. "What the hell?! His spoke much quicker than mine! Great, you really did give mine a mental disorder, didn't you! Is this because of that time I hid your cigarettes?" "Asuka, I told you. They are both perfectly healthy. It just looks like Shinji's has remembered how to speak allot quicker than yours." "Shinji?" the red haired clone again began staring over at the boys. "Stop staring and stop saying his name. You call him Ideeeeot! Ok?" "No. It is Shinji." She shook her head slowly. "Well, at least their memory seems in order." Ritsuko said brightly, with a smirk present on her face. "Arggh!" Asuka balled her fists up as her face went red with anger. Ritsuko chuckled to herself and began attaching a system of cables with pins on the ends to clones' arms and legs. "What's this for?" both Shinji and Asuka asked in unison. The clones merely watched the pins being pushed through their skin, not showing any hint of discomfort. "Just going to give their muscles a little more incentive to move." Pressing a switch, Shinji gasped as he saw his clone's leg spasm. "Don't worry, this process isn't anything new to them. I used a similar procedure on them all through out their growth, to help develop their muscles. This is just the finishing touch." Several hours passed as Ritsuko worked hard with the children to get the clones on their own feet. Her stress levels were mounting as the minutes ticked by. She knew she had to hurry as although she was one of the more important people around NERV, no one was allowed to go around the depths of the installation for too long unchecked. "There. Now, this is so important, I can't stress it enough. Do not" she paused for emphasis "Do not get caught together, without one of you wearing these." Handing each a mask, one male and one female, she placed her hands deep in her pockets to admire her handiwork one last time. "I will be keeping an eye on you children. You don't realize what a risk I am taking by doing all of this. I just hope you can keep them hidden from Misato. She has been extra nosey lately." Ritsuko began entering commands into a terminal, then quickly began walking towards the exit. "I should be able to keep security out of our way so you can exit the base. But we have to hurry, The camera's will go back on soon." To give further ammunition to her plan for revenge on the Commander, Ritsuko decided to give the children information that would steer his plans in a different direction. On their way through the labyrinth, Ritsuko gave a very cryptic explanation of hypothetical situations that may take place in the future, regarding angels and the commander's plans. A more detailed explanation of the SEELE organization was given however, and how it had a stranglehold on NERV that the commander was doing his best to remove on his own. Ritsuko didn't tell them about the commanders own motives however. Both SEELE and Ikari required the use of the same devices to manifest their plans, stopping one essentially meant stopping the other. "Why are you telling us all this?" Shinji asked. "I thought the less we knew, the better off we would be?" Ritsuko grinned evilly. Her conscience remained silent, as both her and the children would benefit from the commander's loss. "Oh no, I haven't even begun to tell you anything. That was just a little bit of advice, to maybe allow you two a chance at stopping... something tragic from happening." Deciding the exit was clear, they began to prepare for the walk home. Shinji watched the girl as she placed her mask on. Examining his own mask, he rubbed it between his fingers to feel the smooth latex feel, admiring how lifelike it appeared, and yet how cold and slimy it was to touch. Quickly, they slipped out the doors and ran off into the city, each dragging their clone along with them. Ritsuko watched with a blank face as the four children left, the full realization of what she had done finally hitting her. Shaking her head, she slowly walked back into the darkness, muttering. "What the hell have I done?" To be continued...... ----------------------------- goatherder
