Disclaimer: see part 1.

1

2

By Random1377

It was not… a good morning.

"Shinchi – waygup!"

Shinji groaned, flinging his arm over his eyes as he felt an insistent tugging on his sheet. "Justaminute," he mumbled, wondering if he had ever been more tired than he currently was. "Tired."

"No," the voice demanded, "Shinji waygup! Guroh es… Shinchi, wayGUP!!"

Flinching at the sudden shout, Shinji sat up in bed. "Alright," he said, clutching his throbbing head, "alright, I'm up…" Rubbing his eyes, the under rested Third Child glanced down at his adopted daughter. "What is it? Are you hungry, or-"

Bella rolled her eyes. "Gedup," she demanded, pulling on his hand, "deoh is guroh."

"Girl?" Shinji murmured, desperately hoping he had interpreted correctly. "What girl?"

Instead of responding, Bella tugged harder.

Shinji got to his feet, looking down at himself in confusion for a moment until he remembered that he had not bothered to undress before dropping into bed. That's right, he thought, letting Bella lead him towards the door, when I got back from Hikari's house, Bella threw a fit. After she finally calmed down, I was too tired to-

His thoughts cut off with an abrupt snap as he found the left side of the hallway almost entirely blocked with boxes. "What's… all this?" he stuttered, gesturing to the boxes with obvious confusion.

"They're mine."

Shinji jumped, instinctively shielding Bella in his shock as a figure he had not expected to see in his house popped up from behind the wall of boxes. "A-Asuka??"

"Nice to see you too," the redhead muttered dryly. "And your kid," she narrowed her eyes balefully at Bella, "is quite the charmer."

Bella stuck her tongue out – from a safe vantage point behind Shinji's legs, of course – as Shinji tried to sort out what was happening. "What are you doing here?" he asked, finally deciding that the direct approach would be the best.

Asuka's reply was succinct and to the point.

"Moving in."

"Huh??"

Opening one of the boxes and starting to rifle through it, Asuka absently replied, "What are you, stupid? I said I'm moving in. Misato wants us to train together to fight the angel, so I have to live here until it's dead."

"Train?" Shinji echoed, noticing from the corner of his eye that Bella had stepped around to stand at his side. "For what?"

"Try listening sometimes," Asuka quipped, "We're training together to fight the angel, ok? Ok – now stop asking stupid questions. What do you people eat around here? I'm starving."

Shinji opened his mouth, but before he could reply, Bella planted her fists on her hips and said – very clearly, "Skaska bat!"

Taken completely off guard, Asuka frowned. "What?"

"Skaska BAT!" Bella repeated more forcefully. "No pushy!"

"Did… she just say what I think she said?" Asuka mumbled, turning her attention to Shinji. "That's some mouth your kid's got."

"PUSH-Y," Shinji said clearly, putting a hand on Bella's shoulder, "she lisps a bit."

"I'll say."

Bella, it seemed was not done with the redhead. "Skaska pushy," she said to Shinji, "Push dowen. Huwt."

Suddenly, Asuka looked a lot less bold. "I said sorry," she grumbled, busying herself with the contents of one of the boxes, "get over it, kid – and don't stand in people's way when they're moving stuff!"

"Bat," Bella growled, narrowing her eyes at Asuka, "baaaat Skaska!"

"Ok, ok," Asuka snapped, throwing her hands in the air, "I'm bat – very, very bat! Blah! Booga booga! Don't mess with me, if you know what's good for you!"

Oddly… this seemed to appease Bella's sense of justice. Her brow cleared, and she turned to Shinji, looking up into his face as she solemnly declared, "Skaska cracy."

Asuka reddened. "This is why I don't like kids," she said through gritted teeth.

"I see everyone's met."

Shinji turned to find Misato leaning against the hallway wall with a clear look of amusement on her face.

"Misato!" Asuka huffed, stomping over to the older woman. "How am I expected to train side by side with wonderboy over here while he's busy changing diapers, hmm? This isn't going to work!"

"It better," Misato snorted, handing Shinji a DAT as she sized the Second Child up. "It's the best plan we have – and besides, we've got a babysitter."

She stepped to the side, gesturing behind her to where another person was patiently waiting.

"Pilot Souryu."

"Oh HELL no!" Asuka exploded. "Where's she going to sleep – the balcony?? This place isn't that big, Misato!"

"Rei will stay here during the day and help out with Bella," Misato said levelly, "and I will take her home after dinner. Right? Right. And besides," she winked at Asuka, "with you and Shinji working so… close, there should be plenty of room. I told you – I want you two BLINKING at the same time when all this is over."

"Grr!!"

Brushing past the operations director, Asuka made her way to the front of the apartment, waving a hand over her shoulder as she pulled the door open.

"We'll start when I get back," she announced flatly, "not negotiable! If I have to be stuck in this dump with a whole bunch of losers, I need some time to psyche myself up."

Misato pushed away from the wall. "Get back here!" she said angrily. "You can't just do whatever you want, you spoiled little-"

She cut herself off as she felt a soft touch on her shoulder.

"Let her go," Shinji advised quietly. "I'll pick up the slack for her when the training begins, I promise."

"It doesn't work that way, Shinji," Misato muttered, "with the plan we've worked out, you have to move the same, think the same… there IS no slack."

Shinji rubbed his tired eyes, smiling faintly as he heard Bella scramble across the room and throw herself at Rei, babbling happily about how Skaska was not just bat, but VERY bat. "We'll make it work," he said gently, "I won't let you down."

Sighing, Misato leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. "Make sure you don't, Shinji," she said calmly, "if you can't make it work with Asuka, we ALL pay the price."

- - - - -

As it turned out, making it work with Asuka was one of the hardest things Shinji had ever done. No matter how he tried, he could not synchronize his movements with the Second Child, and while Misato worked diligently with them – even going so far as to bring in lighted dance mats, complete with sensors and sound effects – they had not shown any significant progress by the fourth day.

The fifth day proved to be both the worst, and the best.

Worst because Touji and Kensuke dropped by to check on Shinji… and arrived at almost the exact same time Hikari arrived to check on Asuka. Best because during one of Asuka's temper tantrums, Misato had the inspired idea of having Rei attempt the synchronization training – a task she succeeded at almost phenomenally, forcing Asuka to swallow her pride and work harder towards the common goal.

This obvious manipulation, coupled with the woman's insistence on taking pictures of everyone – including forcing them all to pose for a group photo – made for a very uncomfortable evening.

As Hikari, Touji, and Kensuke began getting their things together to leave for the evening, Hikari abruptly caught Shinji's hand, pulling him into his room and closing the door before he could say a word. Leaning against the door, she murmured, "I'm sorry for yelling at you like that. I know me and Asuka aren't really close friends, but she looked so scared when Rei did better than her, it just… it hurt me. I'm sorry."

"I don't think anything scares her," Shinji said lightly, carefully studying the floor as his wife shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, "but I think she'll try harder from now on, so… thanks."

"Mm," Hikari nodded absently. "Is, umm… how's Bella?"

Shinji sighed, scratching the back of his neck as he thought of a proper reply. Rei had been staying in the apartment for the entire time he and Asuka had been training… so Bella was happier than she had been for some time – but he had noticed the way she had shied back from Hikari when she came into the room, and he knew that Hikari herself had picked up on it.

She still cares, though, he thought, slowly meeting Hikari's eyes. Even though she never wanted any of this, she still cares for Bella.

"She's fine," he said finally, turning around and leaning against the wall next to Hikari, "she's resilient, you know? She doesn't even talk about what happened, anymore."

Hikari nodded, the expression on her face so pathetically gratefully that Shinji wanted to cry. "…I'm glad," she whispered, discretely wiping her eyes. "Well, I guess I should get go-"

"Are you with Touji now?"

To her credit, Hikari did not flinch at the sudden, blurted question. Then again, she could not quite manage to find her voice to tell him that she was.

"I guess I should be mad at you," Shinji said quietly, resting the back of his head against the wall and closing his eyes as Misato called for him to hurry up and get back to training, "we're still technically married, after all."

Slowly, Hikari pushed away from the door, turning to face the Third and carefully wrapping her arms around him. She held him for a moment, squeezing her eyes tightly closed as she recalled the last time they had been this close. "We won't come back, if it hurts you to see us," she said softly. "I never wanted to hurt you, Shinji, you have to believe that."

Shinji nodded, gently returning her embrace. "I know," he whispered, "and I never really thought about how hard any of this would be for you. All I thought about was Bella." He sighed deeply as Hikari stepped away from him, trying to lighten the mood before he broke down crying. "The next time I get married, I'll make sure my wife knows what she's getting into," he said with a weak grin. "I just hope she's half as good at cooking as you."

"She won't be," Hikari laughed, wishing her voice was not quite as uneven as it was. "But if you need me for anything – I mean… for anything I CAN do, not to be your wife again… call me." Staring into Shinji's eyes, she concluded, "If you'll let me, I always want to be your friend."

Unable to cope with the emotions running through him, Shinji took a page out of Rei's book and shoved his feelings deep inside, nodding decisively and pulling the door open to let Hikari out of his room.

"Yeah," he said quietly, giving her one last, sad smile before heading back to his training. "Yeah, I'd like that."

- - - - -

"Ok," Misato said, tapping her fingers nervously on the edge of the control console as she looked up at the screens marked Feed from Unit 01 and Feed from Unit 02, "you're both SURE you're ready for this, right?"

On the screens, the Second and Third Children nodded in perfect unison, their efforts in learning to synchronize plainly visible to even an untrained observer as they each gave a perfectly timed thumbs-up.

"As long as Wonderboy doesn't lose time," Asuka said sardonically, "remember – full power, maximum performance."

"I know that," Shinji said irritably, the stress of the situation starting to show through his normally even temper, "We'll be done in 62 seconds."

"Alright," Misato called, clenching her right hand into a tight fist, "make me proud. EVAs – LAUNCH!"

Music flooded over the tac-net as the two EVAs shot towards the surface.

Here we go, Shinji thought, trying to still his mind and listen to the flow of the song they had trained with over the past week and a half. Spin… throw… land… perfect. I go left, she goes right… back flip… back flip… pressure plate… shields… step around… fire… dodge… perfect…

Things went perfectly for 19 seconds – absolutely flawlessly.

Step… turn… Bella…

"IDIOT! Look out!"

Shinji's concentration snapped like a twig as the Second Child cried out a warning, his head whipping around as he realized he was not where he was supposed to be. One misstep became two… panic surged in his chest.

The dance collapsed.

"I'm hit!!"

"No," Shinji gasped, his eyes wide with horror as Unit 02 staggered under the impact, the loss of synchronization throwing everything into chaos and shattering the carefully designed overlaying cover fire design Misato had so painstakingly come up with, allowing the angels to focus on the red mecha and hammer it from two directions at once. "NO!!"

In a second, the tac-net exploded with shouting voices.

"Damage to left arm – functionality at ZERO!"

"Damn it, Shinji what-"

"Angel is advancing, MAGI recommend using buildings 132 to 216 as cover to-"

"Fall back – both of you, fall back to point 421 to regroup and-"

"I'm gonna kill you, you goddamn loser!" Asuka's voice rose above the others, fear and pain spiking her tone to almost supersonic levels, "THEY'RE COMING!!"

How much time? Shinji thought, casting a worried look at the timer as he sprinted towards Asuka's location. Not enough – not enough! My fault… it's all my fault!!

"What now, genius?!" Asuka demanded, hurling Unit 02 to the side as the angels pulverized the building she was behind. "You've still got both arms – cover me, you nitwit!"

"R-right!"

Twenty-eight seconds, Shinji thought, casting a quick look at the advancing angels, no time to fall back. Have to hit both cores… has to be a simultaneous attack. I can't do it alone! I…

"Come on," Asuka called, "we have to-"

"Give me your prog knife," Shinji cut in urgently, inspiration hitting him like a thunderclap as his timer reached twenty-five seconds, "hurry."

"What are you babbling about?" Asuka replied acidly. "Didn't you hear Misato? We have to fall back so we can-"

"NOW!"

Asuka jumped, her eyes going wide at the snap of command in the Third's voice. "Wh-what?" she stammered. "I… but Misato said…"

"Damn it!" Shinji roared.

Before the redhead could stop him, Shinji willed Unit 01 into motion, grasping Unit 02's shoulder housing and tearing it wide open.

"Unit 01 is attacking 02!" Hyouga's voice announced incredulously. "Minor damage to left fin."

Yanking Unit 02's prog knife free, Shinji said, "When I say go, I want you to throw up your AT field – full power, everything you've got! Do you understand?"

"But-"

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND??"

There was a long, deathly silence from Unit 02, broken finally when Asuka whispered, "I understand."

"Alright," Shinji said, watching the angels advancing through the street toward them, "wait until I say go…"

Three seconds, he thought, dropping Unit 01 into a crouch behind one of the reinforced buildings, after they fire, they take three seconds to build up another charge. At least… they HAVE – I've only gotten to see them shoot four times.

"Get ready…"

In perfect unison, the angels fired, leveling the building Shinji was hiding behind and rocking Unit 01 on its feet.

"GO!"

Desperately, the Third hurled his mecha forward, moving in agonizing slow-motion as he mentally ticked off the seconds it would take the angels to fire again. Three… he planted Unit 01's right foot hard in the middle of the street and kicked off, sending it straight at the angels. Two… Unit 01's arms went up, lifting its progressive knife, and the one liberated from Unit 02, high up into the air, the bright afternoon sunlight glittering almost blindingly off of their humming blades. One… the angels lifted their heads, their eyes glowing brightly as Unit 01 fell towards them, a ragged cry echoing over the NERV tac-net as the Third laid his wager and cast the die, praying for a miracle.

Zero.

Asuka cried out, covering her eyes as a monumental explosion erupted in the middle of the street. Unit 02, as heavy as it was, went skittering between the tall buildings, coming to rest three blocks from where it had started, its timer still showing operational power as the redhead shook herself and cast around for any sign of Unit 01.

"Shinji…?"

Smoke and flame billowed through the street, obscuring her vision, and she nearly flinched as Maya's voice announced, "MAGI confirm: the angel has been defeated… no readings from Unit 01."

Bringing Unit 02 to its feet, Asuka gritted her teeth. "Power," she whispered to herself, scanning the streets for an umbilical station, "need… there!" Hurrying over to the tower, she grabbed the plug, awkwardly fitting it into Unit 02's back and sighing with relief as the internal timer reset itself. "Where's Unit 01?"

Silence was her only reply.

Stepping around a mound of rubble, Asuka continued her search. "Shinji," she called, "hey, idiot! Where are… you…?"

She trailed off, her words petering out as she caught sight of the purple behemoth.

"Oh God…"

Unit 01 knelt between two smoking craters with its head bowed like a quarterback who had just thrown a perfect spiral to an incompetent receiver on the fourth down. The backs of its hands rested tiredly on its knees, and on the street in front of it, Asuka could see the ruined hilts of the two progressive knives, charred and blackened from the intense heat given off by the detonating angels.

"Shinji?" she called, advancing on the silent machine. "Hey, stop screwing around."

"Asuka?" Misato's voice buzzed in Unit 02's entry plug. "Asuka, are you there?"

Asuka nodded, forgetting that the woman could not see her. "Yeah, I'm here."

"Can you… step to the left a bit?" Misato asked haltingly, "All we have for a visual is the feed from your Unit and I can't… quite see Unit 01's torso."

Nodding once more, Asuka stepped around, getting a better view of Unit 01.

"Get him out."

Asuka barely heard the command. Blood was rushing in her ears as she stared down at Unit 01… her eyes lingering on the two smoking holes in its chest plate. I can see the street on the other side, she thought dizzily, they punched right through it. Where… where does the entry plug sit? I can never tell from the outside. Does it… even matter? How hot would-

"GET HIM OUT!!"

"…yeah."

Lurching forward, Asuka had Unit 02 grasp the back of Unit 01's neck, tearing the cover for the entry plug out and watching in horror as the plug slowly spun out. Emergency power must've gotten hit, she thought, remembering the breakdown of EVA Units quite vividly.

Even on zero power, the EVAs were capable of ejecting their entry plugs. It was a safeguard to prevent unnecessary death, should the Unit become incapacitated in battle. As long as the backup power operated, the plug would eject.

"I'm getting him out," Asuka announced, carefully wrapping her Unit's hand around the plug as it finally reached the top. "The, umm, the LCL didn't vent, Doctor Akagi…"

Again, that poignant silence.

Right, Asuka thought to herself, pulling the plug slowly out of Unit 01.

"Hhhuh!"

The gasp of shock escaped her before she could stop it, her vision doubling as she stared down at the cylinder in Unit 02's hand. She could see, immediately, why the LCL had not vented from the top of the plug.

"M-Misato…?" she stammered. "Misato, can you… s-see this…?"

"We see it," Ritsuko's calm voice replied. "Set it down carefully, Asuka… there's still a chance he's alive."

Nodding, Asuka carefully set the plug on the ground, trying not to notice just how much of it had been sheared off. There's a chance he's alive, she thought, turning her eyes away… but finding them inexorably drawn back. As long as the seat wasn't hit… as long as it didn't get TOO hot in there… there's… a chance.

"I'm getting out."

Before anyone could stop her, Asuka ejected her own plug. There was no doubt that a retrieval crew was on its way… but she had to see – had to see with her own eyes – if the Third had survived. It was strange, she thought as she scrambled out of her Unit and clambered down the machine's red hide, that she should care this much. She barely knew Shinji, after all – there was certainly no need to get all worked up… and perhaps, if she had not spent the last week and a half learning to breathe in time with him, it may not have meant so much.

But it did. For reasons she could not voice, it mattered more than anything.

So she went to him, calling his name as she sprinted to the shattered remains of his plug.

"Shinji!"

Grabbing the handles of the plug, she gasped, finding them unexpectedly hot. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she gave a mighty twist, wrenching the hatch open and thrusting herself inside.

With her heart pounding in her chest, Asuka stared at Shinji's limp body. Ok, she thought, climbing into the plug, breathe – come on, let's see that chest move! I'm not giving you mouth to mouth, you pervert, so stop pretending and wake the hell up! Steeling herself, Asuka approached the pilot's seat, glancing down at the gaping hole where the bottom of the plug should have been. How far is that? she thought, trying to gauge the distance between the hole and the bottom of Shinji's seat, Ten feet? Twenty? Hell, even if it's a hundred, it's too damn close.

"Shinji…?"

Carefully, she leaned over the seat, pulling her hair to the side and resting her ear against Shinji's chest. Closing her eyes, she let out a long, deep sigh. Thump, she thought, thump… thump… thump… that's right, you BETTER beat.

She sat that way for several endless minutes, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart, until finally, a softly whispered, "…did we do it?" forced her to open her eyes.

With a start Asuka glanced up, finding Shinji staring at the ceiling of the entry plug, his face almost entirely devoid of emotion. "Yeah," she replied, her voice remarkably subdued as she quickly lifted her head away from his chest, "they're both dead."

Slowly, Shinji's eyes focused on hers.

"Were you crying…?"

Asuka blinked, wiping her right eye and glancing at the back of her plug suited hand. "It's LCL," she said flatly. "I don't cry."

"Oh."

"…idiot."

Shinji nodded. "Yeah."

They stared at each other for several heartbeats. "I think I hear the retrieval crew coming," Asuka said carefully, "try not to be in the hospital too long, Third Child… gotta pull your own weight, you know."

Closing his eyes, Shinji whispered, "Thanks for coming to make sure I was ok."

"Yeah," Asuka murmured, "sure."

With the sirens of the retrieval crew drawing closer, Asuka found herself staring at Shinji's face. Too old, she thought, shivering slightly as she recalled the dullness of the Third Child's drained stare. Will I have that look after I've been doing this for a while? That 'I'm already dead and I don't know it' look?

Closing her eyes so she would not have to look at him, a final thought crossed her mind.

…do I have it already?

Continued…

Author's notes: a person's opinion forms over time. Asuka has only known Shinji for a couple weeks. Keep your OOC to yourself.

1 is not being pre-read.

Feedback is always welcome on any site with reviewing capabilities, or by e-mailing random1377(at-sign)yahoo(dot)com.