Well, hope my chapter quality has been progressing well chapter by chapter…I've been happy mass updating my fanfics, even this one, and I've got some good things planned for all of them.

Well, anyway, let's start the show.

Disclaimer: I don't own Evangelion or its characters. Gainax does, and they rock. Who else could create both Evangelion and FLCL!

Zankoku na tenshi no you ni
Shonen yo, shinwa ni nare...

Aoi kaze ga ima mune no doa wo tataitemo,
Watashi dake wo tada mitsumete
Hohoenderu Anata
Sotto Fureru mono
Motomeru koto ni muchuu de,
Unmei sae mada shiranai itaikena hitom

Dakedo itsuka kizuku deshou
Sono senaka ni wa
Haruka mirai mezasu tame no
Hane ga aru koto...

Zankoku na tenshi no te-ze
Madobe kara yagate tobitatsu
Hotobashiru atsui patosu de
Omoide wo uragiru nara
O-zora wo daite kagayaku
Shonen yo, shinwa ni nare

Zutto nemutteru watashi no ai no yurikago
Anata dake ga yume no shisha ni
Yobareru asa ga kuru
Hosoi kubisuji wo tsukiakari ga utsushiteru
Sekai-ju- no toki wo tomete
Tojikometai kedo...

Moshi mo futari aeta koto ni imi ga aru nara,
Watashi wa, sou, jiyu- wo shiru
Tame no Baiburu

Zankoku na tenshi no te-ze
Kanashimi ga soshite hajimaru
Dakishimeta inochi no katachi
Sono yume ni mezameta toki
Dare yori mo hikari wo hanatsu
Shonen yo, shinwa ni nare

Hito wa ai wo tsumugi nagara rekishi wo tsukuru
Megami nante narenai mama
Watashi wa ikiru...

Zankoku na tenshi no te-ze
Madobe kara yagate tobitatsu
Hotobashiru atsui patosu de
Omoide wo uragiru nara
O-zora wo daite kagayaku
Shonen yo, shinwa ni nare

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Episode 30

Taking Sides

Tokyo 3, Japan

NERV Headquarters, the Commander's Office

Ritsuko Akagi stood, hands binded behind her back, surrounded by three or four Section II Agents and wryly smiling at the excess in security.

That's classic Gendo for you, never taking any chances, he probably thinks I sharpened a toothbrush or something and snuck it in so I can kill him…

"Do you know why I called you here, Akagi?"

Ritsuko flinched at Gendo's commanding voice and then grit her teeth.

"I have some idea…You need me to do something don't you? Maybe I didn't train Maya hard enough…"

"Indeed, your entire career is full of mistakes such as that, but that is irrelevant now, woman. I need you to optimize our defense capabilities against a possible invasion, mainly the security around the MAGI…"

"Invasion! What are you talking about?"

Gendo frowned.

"That is none of your concern, I have certain sources, simply do as I say. And…"

Ritsuko raised an eyebrow.

"And what?"

Gendo motioned to the Section II agents.

"Leave us, I do not require your presence."

The agents nodded, quickly leaving the office through the way that they had come.

"And wha-"

Ritsuko was cut off as Gendo slowly wrapped an arm around her, softly caressing her behind.

Oh. That.

Tokyo 3, Japan

NERV Headquarters, NERV Infirmary

Misato sighed as she peered into Shinji's room.

The pale boy was practically lifeless on the bed, a mess of red hair covering his stomach.

Red hair?

Misato stifled her gasp as she noticed Asuka, asleep against Shinji's body, apparently having dozed off in her chair.

Heh. If Asuka wakes up, Shinji's dead…If Shinji wakes up, well, he will wake up…and he'll blush like he always does…

Misato sighed again, turning away.

"Come back, Shinji."

Shinji stiffened as Misato Katsuragi appeared in front of him, interrupting his sleep.

"Misato?"

"Shinji. This goes beyond yourself now. All of us…The only thing we could do was entrust them all to you."

Suddenly Ritsuko appeared as well, speaking.

"Yes. We can't lose you, we need you. Who will fight?"

Then Kaji shimmered up behind her, speaking in his familiar voice.

Shinji stiffened, not having seen him for ages since he had disappeared.

"Yes. You cannot run. You must stand. You must-"

Gendo Ikari appeared alongside him, his face grim as ever, continuing Kaji.

"Look reality in the face. Don't turn away."

Suddenly Asuka's voice, not like the one he had heard entreating him to return from the grayness, this one was old and bitter.

"The very existence of the human race rests on our duty as Evangelion pilots! A chosen being, a special person! We have to defeat the angels…"

Shinji remained silent as they talked, mingling voices.

"Yes…the angels…"

"…The Evangelion only…the…Eva can defeat our enemies…the 18th Angel…"

"The Third Impact must not occur…only the Evangelions…"

Shinji shut his eyes tight, angry and overwhelmed, shouting at the top of his voice.

"Shut up! I don't want to! All of you talking…I've done enough for you! I don't want to do it anymore! I'm going to stay here! I'm going to stay forever!"

His screams echoed in the nothingness, and he collapsed, a dull pain in his head as the figures around him shimmered and then disappeared.

And then, the grayness.

Shinji sighed as he floated in the gray nothingness, ignoring the dull warmth in his body and the distant voices in his head. They were simply annoyances.

"How long has it been? How long will I remain here? What does it matter, really?"

Suddenly, Rei's voice.

"There's a voice in me…It's…It's always there, empty and I feel like I'm made of straw…I remember being afraid of it…and trying to fill it up with other people."

Shinji sighed.

"It is fine."

He floated about, quite comfortable, comfortable with the nothingness, until he came upon a strangely familiar scene.

A young couple, a tall gruff looking man and a kind woman breastfeeding a small baby.

The man spoke, scowling.

"This is a shady spot to stand in. For our son. In Hell."

The woman looked down tenderly at the baby, smiling.

"No…If he has the will to live…As long as he lives…He'll find the chance to be happy…everywhere."

Shinji shook his head, tears running down his face as he heard that voice again, that urge to live.

"Shinji…Shinji? I'm not sure you can hear me, although I hope you can't…This is only for my ears, you can't ever hear this…I think…I'm sorry Shinji Ikari…Sorry for everything, but this is how life is…You have to learn to be strong, to not cry, to not let others in your life, to stand for yourself. You have to fight your way out of this…For all of us…"

"No…No…"

"Then do it for yourself. Do it for me."

For…you? For…myself…For…you…for…

Then a flash of blinding light, and Shinji could do nothing but scream.

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Episode 30

Familiar Souls

Tokyo 3, Japan

NERV Headquarters, NERV Infirmary

Asuka stumbled back as nurses and doctors flooded into the room, Shinji's screams growing louder and louder.

She had been sleeping quite comfortably on his chest when she had heard odd whispers and looked at him.

His eyes had opened up wide, and then the screaming and the shaking began.

He was still convulsing now, and she could see a nurse fumbling with a syringe and then injecting it into the Third Child's arm.

A few minutes later, the boy was calm once more, albeit unresponsive again.

A doctor turned to the Second Child before he left, noticing the worried look on her face.

"Don't worry, it's a drug-induced sleep to calm him down, it appears he's out of the comatose state he was previously in…Although we don't know what caused it or how he got out of it."

Asuka turned away, face listless and walked off with the others, leaving Shinji alone.

No one noticed the single tear running off Shinji's left cheek.

Unknown Location

Tokyo 3, Japan

Naota sighed as the final dark-suited, bespectacled Section II agent fell to the ground in front of him, a smoking hole in his chest.

"Dammit…I didn't want to rouse suspicion so early in the game…the series aren't even complete yet…"

Then he remembered something.

Running forward he found the old woman, a growing flow of blood coming from her chest.

"Dammit…Dammit. I don't know how they followed me. Give me your information, immediately, we don't have time for secrecy anymore.

The old woman choked, blood dripping out of her mouth and then spoke, her voice ragged and weak.

"…the…final…invasion…you…are…to report…your Evangelion is…prepared…ready…be ready…to lead the…produced…now…beware…predeces-"

Naota sighed as she gurgled blood and shook his head, removing his pistol from his jacket and unloading a bullet into her head, simply to put her out of her misery and to unsure she wasn't captured if she somehow survived. Simple protocol.

Wiping the blood off his clothes and gun, he sighed, surveying the carnage.

"Ikari will find out about this soon enough…Although looking at how well they ambushed us, he must have already known about it, must be a mole somewhere…I've better make myself disappear for the next few days, unless he decides to try to make me disappear his own way."

Unknown Location

Munich, Germany

The obelisks shimmered in the dimly-lit chambers, voices echoing about.

"Recent incidents are far too diverge from our original scenario"

"The true path must be redeemed."

"However, perhaps initiating the invasion is too early in the scenario…"

"Our original scenario has been toyed with quite enough."

"Was it not an error from the beginning to give NERV to Gendo Ikari?"

"Perhaps. Yet we could not have realized what we have without him; that is undeniable."

"This matter goes beyond the mass-produced units or the failure of Tabris and our loss of a conductor."

"Indeed, the damage to our reputation."

"The facilities greatly damaged, foolishness abound."

"The list goes on and grows long."

"We cannot even measure the amount of money and time that has been lost all because we did not keep a bell around Ikari's neck."

"Another conduit for the Coming shall be chosen, the other Child, and we have the perfect idea to raise her distrado to a suitable level."

Silence, then another voice, male and strangely familiar.

"So you still want me to get out there, huh? Again? They're under the illusion I'm dead, and I'd like to keep it that way."

"You will attend to them at once, remain as elusive as possible, Ikari can be wily."

"We have no pretensions considering your own ulterior motives and allegiances. What we need to be done must be done, then do as you wish."

"Indeed. You will be the bell around Ikari's neck, you simply will not ring."

A wry chuckle and then that same strangely familiar voice.

"Then what's the point of the bell then, eh?"

"Rather than ring…we shall have it strike."

Fly me to the moon,
And let me play among the stars.
Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars.
In other words, hold my hand!
In other words, darling, kiss me.

Fill my heart with song,
And let me sing forever more.
You are all I long for, all I worship and adore.
In other words, please be true!
In other words, I love you!

Fly me to the moon,
And let me play among the stars.
Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars.
In other words, hold my hand!
In other words, darling, kiss me.

Fill my heart with song,
And let me sing forever more.
You are all I long for, all I worship and adore.
In other words, please be true!
In other words, I love you!

Well, that was Chapter Seven, hope you liked it…All you FoD readers really should check out Darkness, Madness, and Stronghold though, since I don't really consider FoD to be my best fic at all…Not even close…

I still do like updating it though…

Well, until next chapter…

Later.