You know, it slightly annoys me when people read a fic just because of a particular pairing. I can say honestly that some Shinji/Rei or Shinji/Asuka or even Shinji/Mana fics suck, and people read them for those pairings, and there are other stories that are perfectly good but because it doesn't have the pairing they like people will ignore it. This is why lately I haven't put up the pairings in the synopsis. The idea of writing fanfiction is to explore possibilities, and sure some stories aren't very good, which is why we improve upon our writing style. However, I had thought that EVA readers were more devoted to quality. It is sad that the fan community has degenerated to picking favorites just because of the pairings. Be a bit more open-minded. It'll do you some good. Those that have been open-minded, I thank you. Note: Any Shinji/other character pairings that I did not mention above, I did so for a reason.

Another issue. Kaji's name. For the love of God, I do not care at this moment if it was wrong. Every reference I've come across states that Kaji is his first name. Misato calls him that, so does Ritsuko, and Asuka. They would have no reason to refer to him by his last name, as they are all very familiar with him, so give it a freaking rest.

Reprise of Humanity

Chapter 10: I Count Three Moons

Militarily, the UN fleet was outgunned but not outnumbered. Shinji hoped they weren't stupid enough to try an attack, as though they would lose, he could also end up losing a cruiser or two. Unfortunately there had only been enough time and resources to build four cruisers. Six would have been much better. The entirety of the UN space fleet was arrayed before them and Shinji yawned.

"I wonder if they even see the Guardian," he said to the bridge crew.

The other officers all chuckled as they watched. They were all tense, but knew to trust their skills and training.

"Status?"

"I'm detecting heat signatures along the weapons ports of the UN cruisers. They're ready to fire, but have been for several minutes now."

"So the question is what are they waiting for," Shinji mused. "Any satellites close by?"

"One sir," came the reply. "It's a US satellite. Belongs to the Lockheed Martin Aerospace Company."

Shinji nodded. "One would think they'd be more subtle. Lock on weapons and prepare to fire on that satellite."

"Sir?"

"After the Second Impact, several countries launched weapons satellites into space in violation of several international treaties," Shinji explained. "That satellite is very likely one of them."

"Very well sir."

As the lone satellite came closer one of the particle cannons on the Rei Ayanami warmed up. The moment it came into range a beam sliced through the vacuum and struck the satellite. In an instant the main section was vaporized and the missiles hidden inside exploded, tearing apart the solar panels and whatever else was left. Shinji nodded approvingly.

"Now we wait for their move. ETA?"

"ETA is now one hour, five minutes."

Mari leaned back on her own chair and sighed.

"It took them an hour to launch. I can't believe they're that slow."

"Before Second Impact, the shuttles that the United States used took days to prepare for launch. We've come a long way from those days. Let's see, right about now the UN is probably considering the use of N2 weapons against us. However, as their cruisers are not equipped with warheads, they'll have to launch from sites on Earth itself."

"I don't think even our shields could withstand more than a few N2 bombs," Mari said nervously. "The point-defense lasers better work."

"Have some faith in me," Shinji said.

Images appeared on the main screen, some announcements and such by the UN, others made by various governments around the world. Though the Japanese government was taking a lot of heat, their hands were more or less clean now as the general staff had ordered him to stand down when the UN demanded that the cruisers return to Earth. That was an order that Shinji and all of his officers disobeyed, though it was all part of the plan.

At the moment the broadcast they were watching involved the Secretary General announcing a plan of action to the contain the 'Ikari threat' as the UN was now calling it. But as much as they tried to vilify him, Shinji knew that there were always those that doubted the authorities. The good thing was that many of them were men and women of intelligence. The bad thing was by the time all this was over, the world might boil down into chaos once again. Shinji brought up an image on his own personal screen and the map of the United States appeared. Dots covered the map and Shinji sighed. Even with the expenses involved with feeding their own people, the Americans still maintained a ridiculously large amount of ballistic weapons. Though the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China also had ICBMs at the ready, he was almost certain they wouldn't fire before the Americans. And if he could prove such a course of action futile, they wouldn't fire at all.

Right now there was very little activity in their region of space and the moment the UN cruisers opened fire, he would know. For the time being Shinji turned his attention to his objective. The Black Moon, Lilith's egg. Though his memory extended all the way back to Adam, even the first Angel did not know how Lilith had created her children.

"Sir, I'm detecting increasing heat signatures from the lead UN cruiser," the tactical officer reported. "Looks like they're preparing to fire a missile."

"What yield?"

"Looks like a cruise missile. Seems to be a conventional warhead."

Shinji nodded. "All right. Let's demonstrate our defenses."

Sure enough a spot of light took off from the lead UN cruiser. It flew towards the Japanese ships and curved towards the flagship.

"Shinji, shouldn't we shoot it down?" Mari asked nervously.

"Well if you insist. I was thinking of testing the shield, but I guess the lasers need some calibration too."

"This isn't the time to develop a sense of humor," Mari shot back.

Shinji said nothing as he typed in a command line. The moment his finger depressed the enter key a beam of light shot out from his ship. The cruise missile almost instantaneously erupted into a small fireball. Shinji smiled approvingly and looked over to Mari.

"Now are you still worried?"

"The real test comes when they launch an ICBM," she said dryly. "And as your second in command, do I really need to remind you to err on the side of caution?"

"Of course, mother. Now if I remember correctly, you owe me dinner."

The other bridge members all looked over at Mari and Shinji. The young woman blushed and glared at Shinji.

"Fine, you win the bet. But I choose where we get dinner!"

As the others chuckled Mari felt like hitting Shinji for embarrassing her like this. Well, she had deserved it after doubting him like that. But still, what was she supposed to do? Though Shinji had developed the offensive and defensive systems on the ship, he was still just human. Wasn't he?

"If I win the next bet, I choose where we have dinner," Shinji replied with a smile.

Mari slammed her head against the back of her seat. She just knew that the gossip and rumors surrounding her and Shinji would take off the moment these officers were off their shift. Was Shinji doing this intentionally? Or was he just kidding around?

"Colonel, we are being hailed by the UN command ship."

"Put it on screen."

A new window opened and the face of an elderly man appeared. Shinji already knew who it was. Captain Gregory Rayne, an American.

"Colonel Ikari, that was a mere demonstration of our capabilities. At this moment the United Nations is willing to allow your men to go free if you surrender yourself to us. Otherwise, we will have to take action and none of you will survive."

Shinji chuckled. "Captain Rayne, we also merely demonstrated our capabilities. At the very least both of us are evenly matched. Your weapons cannot possibly hope to overcome our defenses, while ours have far greater reach."

"You underestimate us, Colonel Ikari. We have the support of bases on Earth, while you do not."

"That is only of consequence if this was a long-term operation, Captain. Once I finish my mission I'll be returning to Earth."

"No country in the world would allow you to land on their soil, not even Japan."

"Let's see how many countries will support the United States and the UN after all this is over."

Shinji terminated the link with a tap of his finger.

"Well I've heard enough from him. Are they opening fire yet?"

"Yes sir. I'm detecting flares from all of the enemy cruisers. Incoming missiles!"

Shinji activated another comm. signal to the other ships.

"All ships, activate defensive shields and PDLs."

Over a dozen projectiles streaked through space and raced towards the Japanese fleet. However, none of them would even make it to the force field. Lights flashed through the sky so quickly that they only stayed for a millisecond. However, the effect was spectacular. Explosions dotted the sectors of space as each of the missiles were detonated.

"Second salvo is approaching," the tactical officer reported.

"I'm getting tired of this," said Shinji. "I think it's time to reveal our ace. Awaken the Guardian."

"Yes sir."

As the second wave of missiles approached them, the Japanese ships did nothing to take them down. The officers on the opposing ships must have been wondering what was going on when the missiles all impacted upon some kind of field. Every point of impact revealed an orange hexagonal point that remained for a few seconds before disappearing once again. The majority of the UN personnel were at first mystified at what this was, but there were those that knew.

Slowly the blackness of space was replaced with a form of light. The darkness receded and light poured out behind the cloak of shadows. As darkness continued to retreat the shape of a massive creature appeared in front of the Japanese fleet facing off against the UN. Then two arms slowly came into view and the massive claws at the ends flexed. Strands of light condensed together to form massive wings, each one as massive as the creature itself. They spread out and blocked the view of both fleets but that no longer mattered. Finally its head materialized and it stared forward. The head was that of a massive reptile, with six eyes on each side and a long snot pushing forward. When it opened its mouth the powerful jaw and teeth were revealed, an image that would easily frighten anyone. Then it did the impossible. It created sound in a vacuum.

The roar that erupted chilled the spine of everyone in the area. As the shockwave swept across it floated down towards the Earth as well, carrying its unholy scream with it. The sound took a long time to die down but as it receded its effect still remained. Despite his advancements, even Shinji was affected by the powerful scream. However, he did snap out of it faster.

"Let's get a move on it," Shinji ordered. "The Guardian will only hold them off for so long."

That woke the others from their trance and they immediately added more power to the engines. The four cruisers sped off as the Guardian continued to watch over the UN fleet.

"Well, it's their move now," said Shinji. "I just hope they aren't stupid enough to engage Nephilim."

"Too late," Mari said.

More missiles raced forward from the UN fleet and a few even fired positron beams. These weapons impacted harmlessly on Nephilim's AT-Field but the Angel still didn't respond. The UN fleet continued to pound away until they had exhausted all of their missiles. At this point Rayne apparently decided not to stretch his luck and the UN cruisers started moving away. Shinji sighed and nodded to Mari and she typed in another command. Nephilim cloaked again and empty space replaced where it once was. However, the message was clear enough. The UN had no way of knowing where Nephilim was until it was too late. This would ensure that Shinji had a bit more time to move ahead with his plan.

UN Headquarters, New York

"Who would have thought Ikari would go so far," Hernandez said to Hayracks.

"We should have eliminated him the moment he began that blasted project," the American delegate stated coldly.

Hernandez shook his head. "At the time that would have been impossible. Shinji Ikari was too popular back then."

The Secretary General looked through the papers on his desk and sighed again.

"There is no way around that Angel Ikari somehow dug up," he continued.

"Actually, there is."

Hernandez frowned and looked at his subordinate.

"I cannot authorize the actual implementation of Project: Adam. It will require both your government and the German government agreeing and releasing the authorization codes."

"I think Mr. Luther will be cooperative."

A knock at the door interrupted Hayracks before he could finish.

"Come in."

As if on cue, Gerhard Luther walked into the room and sat down.

"This is getting far worse than we could have projected," he said immediately. "We've plotted his trajectory and it looks like Ikari is heading towards the Black Moon."

Hernandez couldn't hide his surprise at that statement.

"Lilith's egg?"

Luther nodded gravely. "He's as much trouble as his father. Unfortunately, our control over the Japanese government has slipped to such an extent that we did not even know about the construction of the cruisers or the creation of an Angel."

"But we aren't without other resources," Hayracks reminded his comrades. "There are other ways to defeating Ikari."

"What are you suggesting?"

"He is suggesting we activate Project: Adam," Hernandez answered for his American counterpart.

At first Luther's eyes grew wide but acceptance came almost immediately after.

"At the moment I have to say I agree," he said. "Ikari's pet Angel is far too powerful to deal with conventional forces. Also, I believe it's time we worked to wipe out his fleet."

"The US government is ready to utilize N2 warheads if need be," said Hayracks. "However, first the Angel must be neutralized."

Hernandez nodded. "His father failed to understand our strength, and now the son is making the same mistake. Seele will not fall so easily."

Earth Orbit, Approaching the Black Moon

"ETA, twelve minutes."

"Excellent. Are the shuttles ready?"

"Yes sir."

Shinji and Mari got off of their chairs and floated through the bridge towards the door. Even with the advancement of technology, artificial gravity without rotating sections was still beyond them. After taking the lift down a few levels they emerged in the main hanger. Besides a large number of JA-Gammas, there were three large shuttles designed to take teams to the Black Moon. As the pulled themselves down towards them Toji floated over.

"Hey, Shinji!"

The two stopped as Toji slowed down before grabbing a railing to stop as well.

"You know, I always knew you were insane, especially after you started piloting EVA. But to use an Angel?"

"Brother, give it a rest," said Mari. "You knew about Nephilim when Shinji had you promoted to Major and dragged you into the Directorate."

"Still, I think it's crazy."

Shinji sighed. "Toji, are you going to complain for the rest of the trip?"

"Of course."

"But you would have killed me if I hadn't taken you along but Mari was along."

"Even more so."

"And there is no chance of you getting serious and doing your job?"

Toji shrugged. "I'll get serious if we actually have to do any fighting. But I'd rather not fight the UN if we can avoid it."

"That's what I'm trying to do at the moment," said Shinji. "But you are in command of the Ayanami's JA wing, so do a good job as wing commander."

"Of course," Toji said and snapped off a salute.

He launched himself off once again back towards the JAs and winked at the two. Mari sighed and followed Shinji as they continued towards the shuttle.

"That brother of mine."

"Hey, it was either bring him or have him slug me again when I got back."

Once in the shuttle they strapped in behind the pilot and copilot. Though Shinji was well qualified to fly the shuttle, he preferred to put some trust in his subordinates. They all had followed him into exile more or less, so he could at least trust them to do the right thing.

"ETA, six minutes," a voice said over the intercom.

"Final flight check complete," the pilot said.

"All crew are onboard," said the copilot. "Security crew, engineering crew, and search crew all report go."

All that remained was to wait for the last few seconds to tick down. That didn't take long and Shinji felt the shuttle move.

"Shuttle 1 preparing for launch," the pilot reported.

"Shuttle 1, you are cleared for launch," came the reply.

The hanger doors opened and the shuttle was catapulted out. It flew through space on momentum before engines lit up. Soon enough the small fleet of twelve shuttles was all approaching the Black Moon. They veered towards the north pole and Shinji just waited. The fleet was already taking position around the Black Moon and would keep away any unwanted guests. Nephilim was also out there and would provide an extra layer of security.

As they cruised over the surface Shinji noted some of the damage the Moon had sustained. Now that it was outside of Earth's protective atmosphere, a few meteors had pelted the sphere. Though the amount of craters weren't large yet, it did show what even a short amount of time in space could do to anything. But these little bumps and bruises did nothing to prevent a smooth landing by the pilot. So far everything was going well.

"All right. Everyone suit up," Shinji ordered. "We're going EVA. And no jokes about it!"

Once everyone was in an EVA suit, they walked through the airlock and stepped out into the surface. With each step their feet crushed what little dirt was beneath them. A few mobile equipment carriers followed behind, being controlled by several other officers. Before too long they made it to the half-destroyed pyramid that had been NERV Headquarters. With part of its wall blasted away it was easy to get inside. From there they quickly managed to get to the primary command center.

"Are any of the equipment still working?"

"I doubt it," said Shinji. "All this equipment has been exposed to a good deal of solar radiation. It's probably all fried. I suggest we go deeper to the secondary command center."

"Yes sir."

Two of the soldiers broke out laser cutters and they began drilling a hole through the doors. When they finally blasted through a rush of air escaped and pushed them back.

"There's still atmosphere down there," Mari commented.

"Apparently," said Shinji. "Let's see if we can release the doors manually."

The next door they came upon Shinji tried the panel but it was unresponsive. He then nodded to two men that slowly turned the crank. Once the door was open more air escaped by the teams quickly ran inside. The equipment carriers also were brought in and the door was sealed behind them.

Mari checked her environmental sensor and nodded.

"The air is breathable and doesn't contain any contagions."

"What's the temperature?" Shinji asked.

"Approximately 4 degrees Celsius."

"Chilly."

Shinji removed his helmet and immediately regretted it. The others followed suit and soon enough all of them had a look of disgust on her faces.

"What is that smell?" Mari demanded.

"Smells almost like blood," another officer said.

That was when it clicked for Shinji.

"Decayed LCL."

"Huh?"

"LCL. It was what we used to synchronize with the Evangelions. LCL is actually Lilith's blood."

Mari's face whitened and she looked sick. The other members of the expedition weren't handling it much better than her and a few even started throwing up.

"Suck it in," said Shinji. "I've seen worse in my day, so let's keep moving. Unpack the equipment and we'll head towards the secondary command center."

The shuffle of activity started up once again as equipment was unloaded and unpacked. Computers and mobile power generators were broken out. However, the most important thing they had brought with them was a small, compact S2 engine. The unit was capable of powering the primary systems for the Moon and when the time came would also have another use. The teams pressed on and soon came upon a corridor that was partially flooded with LCL. Fortunately all of the equipment was on higher ground and nothing was damaged. They waded their way through the blood for a few more levels, opening more doors manually before making it to the command center. Another team was also making their way to the power generators to try to reactivate the entire base.

When they climbed up to the main control consoles there were puddles of LCL at three of the stations and at the center of the balcony. The LCL was wiped off the chairs and the officers sat down, waiting. They didn't have to wait for long.

"This is Yuki," the call came. "Power is back online. I suggest you activate the systems one at a time."

"Acknowledged," Shinji replied. Then he turned to Mari. "Let's get the basics back online. Life support only for now. We don't need the lights yet."

"Roger."

The screen blinked on and a single line winked on and off. Mari began typing and after a few lines of code they heard a rumbling sound as the life support came back online.

"What else?"

"The MAGI. Let's hope they're still operational after all this time."

"And if they're not?"

"Well, I would hope that the databanks are still intact."

After a few minutes of typing Mari only sighed. She turned to Shinji and shook her head.

"The MAGI system has completely broken down. Though the databanks are still intact, we'll have to go down to them and retrieve any information manually. I can't penetrate the security from here."

"Then go," said Shinji. "Lieutenant, take two men and accompany Sergeant Suzuhara."

"Yes sir."

"This place is abandoned," said Mari. "You really don't need to send an entire escort."

"No one goes anywhere alone," said Shinji. "This complex is massive and I'm not about to lose someone down here."

When the team had left Shinji took over Mari's console and typed in a few more commands. Though the main databanks were too secure for them to hack here, it didn't mean they couldn't access other things. Unfortunately with the MAGI's command and control functions gone, it would take much longer for the commands to filter down. The primary thing he needed to do was activate the sensors around NERV. Once that was done he left the station for another engineer.

"You three, come with me," he ordered.

The soldiers did so and they left the command center. They walked down the various corridors, opening doors as they went, and climbed down several more levels. Soon the team was in the hangers that stored the Evangelions. And there, in the center, was the only Evangelion that had survived. Unit 01.

"Sir? What are we doing here?"

"Merely confirming something," Shinji replied. "We'll head back to command now."

Shinji turned around and walked out of the room with the guards in tow. As the door closed, a single speck of light came forward from the exposed core of the Evangelion. A second later, it was gone and darkness returned to the room.

On another level of the installation Mari and her team were going through the last door. Inside red lights were blinking all over, designating the various databanks. Some were burnt out but that was hardly unexpected.

"Okay, let's take a look here."

A laptop laid on the floor connected to one of the servers and Mari bent down. It was obviously dead after being left in space for so long. She disconnected it and handed it to the officer.

"We'll take that back with us."

"Yes ma'am."

After pulling out the cable and replacing it with a new one, Mari powered up her computer and tried to access the mainframe. As expected, a firewall was active, and a powerful one at that. Fortunately, it wasn't the 666 firewall that she had run into in the command center. She used the codes that Shinji had supplied her with and was soon in. Mari smiled as she saw the data flow before her eyes. She connected the wireless card and soon that data was being transmitted to the command center, then to the shuttles, and finally to the waiting cruisers. If they found what they were looking for, then the UN would be unable to incriminate them of anything. Instead, the world might turn against the UN and the United States, possibly even Germany.

"Ma'am, are we ready to go?"

Mari nodded. "Yeah. I doubt anything is down here so let's go. Hopefully the battery will last long enough for the entire upload."

The team left the room and returned to the command center. They still had a lot of work ahead of them.

End of Chapter 10

Not as short as the last chapter, but close. I feel the need to make this clear first. After I finish this fic, the only other EVA fic that I will be working on for a while is Duet of Truth, which I will rewrite to match my current level of ability. After that, my attention will be shifting between a CCS fic I have and a Chrno Crusade fic, as well as an Animorphs fic. I've been rather productive in terms of EVA fics, spewing them out so quickly. However, after Duet of Truth, it might be a while before I return to the EVA fandom.

Z98