Title: Happenstances
Supervisor: Silpelit7

Author's note: So, finally something besides praise. Excellent. gunman, feel free to be critical! You're stuck as my #1 reviewer now. If you're interested in pre-reading the releases before they appear here, definitely email me. Also, there appears to have been some confusion about Mitamura looking very similar to Shinji. This is my fault, and it will be rectified in this chapter.

---

"We will now commence the re-activation test of EVA Unit 00."

The bleach white walls which surrounded the orange EVA resonated the announcement. The Commander, his Vice, Project-E Technical Supervisor Akagi Ritsuko, and Operations Manager Katsuragi Misato waited anxiously. The technicians all began to busily peck at their keyboards as various screens jumped to life.

"Rei, are you ready?" Ikari asked slowly. Her image, which was projected through the plug's camera system, was unmoving.

"Yes, sir." Her voice, too, was solid.

"Shift format to phase 2!" Akagi stated. Shinji watched and tried to keep his face cold. He was nervous...

'Why am I so worried about someone else?' he wondered silently as the activation continued. 'Is it because of what happened today? For once she didn't seem so cold. Eating tea, talking with Mitamura and myself... She almost seemed like a normal, shy girl. But she thinks so highly of my father, while I... I...'

Shinji stole at glance at NERV's Commander, who intently watched the progress as the list items began to climb downwards toward the absolute borderline. 'I absolutely cannot stand him.'

"Borderline cleared!" Lieutenant Ibuki exclaimed with relief heavy in her voice. "Unit 00 has been activated." No sooner than those words had been spoken did a phone ring. The Vice Commander picked it up, but quickly slammed it back down again.

"Ikari! There's been an unidentified flying object seen headed this way." The younger man wasted no time pondering over the news.

"So, the fifth one... Abort the test! All personnel, level one battle stations!" Ikari commanded.

"Can we use Unit 00?" Fuyutsuki asked.

"No, she's not really for battle yet. What's Unit 01's status?"

"It can be ready in 380 seconds!" Akagi exclaimed.

"Good. Get ready to move out." As the bridge staff and other technicians hustled out of the room, the Commander's gaze found a prone Shinji. "What's the problem? Move out!"

'He can't even wish me "good luck" or say "do your best"

"Yes, sir." It was all he could say. As he ran to the changing room, he was plagued by such regrets.

Only minutes later, everyone had settled into their positions in the Announcement Room. "Target is now over Lake Ashino!" The main holoscreen flashed on, displaying the image of the fifth Angel. It was a dark blue diamond which seemed to float by some unknown means over the land. It was a strange sight against the country scenery and cloudless sky.

Shinji awaited as Unit 01 stood on the launch pad, ready for battle. "EVA Unit 01, launch!" Misato's shouted. Shinji swallowed hard as the G-forces affected his body. No matter how many times he practiced fighting, the thought of facing off against an Angel was still frightening.

By this time the Angel had reached the edge of Tokyo-3, coming to a slow halt. "I'm getting a high-energy reaction from inside the target!" Aoba shouted as warning signs popped up all over his console.

"What!" Ritsuko asked in shock.

"The energy is acceleration in the periphery, merging into a single point!"

"No, it couldn't be... a particle beam?" Misato shouted. EVA-01 reached the surface just as she realized what was about to happen. "No, recall Unit 01 now! Shinji, move!"

Shinji tried to comprehend his orders as the beam pierced out of the Angel's body directly towards EVA-01. He had enough time to yelp before the weapon hit his unit, which was still held in place by the locking elevator.

The pain which Shinji felt... was too horrible to imagine.

---

Subcaption 1:
The Toughest Heartbeat

---

Mitamura Kunihiko was caught between ecstacy and heartache. After EVA-01 had been recalled into the Geofront, Shinji had been quickly rushed into the emergency ward. His heart had stopped beating for seventeen seconds, but he was saved by the plug suit's built-in life systems. Captain Katsuragi had rushed off to check the Third Children's condition.

The Angel, rather than blasting its way into the Geofront, had lowered a kind of drill into the surface. By midnight it would pierce into the Geofront from its position directly above Central Dogma. Mitamura felt lost in the shuffle. After all, he had no real place in the current situation. He was merely an observer. Because of this, he had decided to simply remove himself from everything. He tried in vain to take his mind off things by getting a hair cut. Shorter and shorter the blade got, until a military-style shave was all that remained. He slightly regretted the decision afterwards, but felt that it was of no consequence.

---

Six hours later... 1700.

Shinji had not yet recovered from his unconscious state. Although he had been examined and found to be mentally undamaged, the stress of such an event had taken an heavy toll on his soul. Mitamura was awoken from a nap by his ringing phone. It was the Commander's number.

"Yes, sir?"

"It is time. Get ready." Mitamura's still-sleepy brain didn't quite understand the commander's words.

"What do you mean?"

"The Third Children has not recovered. You have been designated as Unit 00's pilot for this mission."

"OK." The line closed. Kunihiko was lost somewhere else. Finally... His time had come! Now would be his chance to prove his worth to everyone, to all those who wondered why there was a Fourth Children. No longer would he sit and watch as everyone else fought to save Mankind.

Minutes later he appeared in the cage and was met by Dr. Akagi. "Are you nervous?" she asked casually.

"No, not really."

"That may change. Get into the entry plug; activation is scheduled for 1800."

"Right!"

Misato walked up besides Ritsuko as the tall boy literally ran towards the plug. "He sure seems excited," the doctor sighed.

"Are you sure he can do it? His synchro-rates are relatively low."

"But his harmonics are amazing. You've seen the numbers. There's no explaining it. The enthusiasm he has for piloting far surpasses our two other pilots. The Commander has high hopes for that boy."

"He might die. Did you tell him that much?" Katsuragi asked coldly.

"He hasn't been briefed yet. He's jumping in without asking any questions, without any concern for himself."

"Just as the Commander said he would." The pair stood, looking up at the prone form of Unit 00. "If he wants to prove himself so badly, why didn't he just speak up before? It was obvious that Shinji was reluctant to pilot."

"Doesn't that seem rather selfish? I have to go; I'd suggest you brief him personally. Closely watch his reactions. You don't know him very well, so this is a good chance for you to get an general impression of his personality."

"What do you mean?"

Ritsuko raised a single brow before turning and walking away. "He's an interesting kid," she explained over her shoulder. Misato frowned, trying to understand why the Commander and Ritsuko were so caught up in this kid... Especially when Shinji was the one who had shouldered all of the load thus far.

---

Happenstances
Chapter 04: Save or Be Saved

---

At 1805 EVAs 00 and 01 were launched. Kunihiko had a bit of trouble walking at first, but quickly adjusted to the feel of an actual Evangelion, rather than a simulation. He had trained for nearly three years for these moments.

Kensuke and Touji had snuck out of their shelters, again, to see the EVA once more. As television reports blared warnings of the imminent nationwide power outage, Kensuke tired of the repetitive messages. "Alright already, we know! Jeez!" he complained.

"Hey, Kensuke, are you sure this is the right time?" The two boys stood on a bridge which provided them with a great view of the supposed launch site. "We need to be back at the shelter pretty soon."

"I memorized the data I saw on my dad's screen. This is the right time." Suddenly, alarms started ringing out from the mountains just outside the city. The sound of giant mechanical things grinding against each other followed. "Oh, here it comes!"

The purple and green EVA-01 rose majestically out of the mountainside on a huge elevator, taking its first steps into the night a few ticks later. It paused, seeming to wait for something. Then the alarms rang again, and the orange EVA-00 was revealed, much to the delight of Kensuke.

"Ah, that's Unit 00! Beautiful! I wonder if Ayanami or Mitamura is accompanying him?" Of course they both assumed that Shinji was inside EVA-01, like always.

"Go kick some ass!" Touji yelled as he threw a fist in the air.

---

EVA-01 and EVA-00 reach their destination at the exact scheduled time. "That positron cannon there is the only weapon which is predicted to be able to pierce the AT Field of the target from a distance," Misato explained to the pilots. "However, it is only a prototype and isn't meant for field use. Plus we threw it together rather quickly. The shield," which was currently being held by Unit 00, "was pulled from the bottom of the STS rocket. It's covered with an ultra-electromagnetic coating which is supposed to last seventeen seconds of the enemy's beam.

"Rei will be the gunner." The girl's normally cold eyes shown no more emotion than usual.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Kunihiko will handle defense in Unit 00." Misato noticed an unusual aura of alertness which she had never seen in the boy. Standing head and shoulders above Rei, it was obvious that he was really quite tall. Just under two meters, she recalled from his file... which she had recently reviewed. "Anyway, this is because Rei's synchro-rates are higher, and we need absolute, precision control."

"I understand," the Fourth stated.

"Rei, because positrons are affected by the earth's gravity, the shot won't fire in a straight line. Don't forget that fact."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Don't think about it too much, though, since the computers are programmed to make the necessary corrections," Misato added quickly. There was a long moment of silence as the two women waited for the question... which never came. "Also, if Rei misses... there is a twenty second gap while the barrel cools down. Then the charge has to be replaced."

"And the shield lasts seventeen." Kunihiko's voice was steadfast, to the surprise of Misato.

'Am I just used to Shinji's misgivings?' she wondered.

"Right," Ritsuko responded after Misato stayed silent. "We expect the enemy to counterattack at some point. Hopefully, the counterattack takes place after that three second gap."

"It's time. Both of you, get ready."

"Understood," the two pilots stated in unison.

---

Both Mitamura and Ayanami sat suspended in the air on the improvised EVA cages as the lights of Japan went out.

"Ayanami-san, do you think we'll succeed?" His voice wasn't unsure at all; it was simply a question.

"Why do you say that?"

"To answer a question with another question... Makes it hard to respond sometimes. I'm not afraid of being killed here, so long as you make your shot and defeat our enemy." Ayanami slowly looked over towards her counterpart, but he didn't really notice. "If I died defending you, I think it would be OK. I think you understand what it means to be connected to people, to have a purpose, ya know?"

"To pilot... That is my purpose. It feels like I was born to pilot EVA."

"Really?"

"Yes. If I stopped piloting, I would have nothing else. It would be like death for me."

"Ayanami..." He finally looked away from the full moon towards the girl. In the moonlight he found her looking particularly... beautiful. "I understand what you're saying, but... If we make it through this, I'd like to help you find some purpose outside of the EVA."

Rei looked away from the boy, blushing ever-so lightly. The softness and caring in his voice... Only the Commander had ever spoken that way to her. "It's time to go."

"Right." They both stood and headed towards the EVAs.

"Mitamura-san..." He stopped suddenly. "I was meant... to be the defender. Ikari should have been in the position I find myself forced into. I was ready to die, just like you are... But you won't die. I won't miss."

"Ayanami..."

"Do your best." She disappeared into the entry plug.

---

Meanwhile, Ikari Shinji suddenly awakened from his short-term coma. Looking at the clock next to his hospital bed, it was already almost midnight. He pressed the call button soon afterwards. A nurse appeared and turned on the lights.

"Oh, you're finally awaken, Ikari-kun," she said in a kind tone.

"Excuse me, but could I have my cell phone? I need to call my guardian-"

"The Captain is away from headquarters on a mission."

"A... a mission?" The memory of being attack hit Shinji like a brick wall. "They're fighting that Angel right now!" The nurse checked her watch.

"Not quite yet. The mission commences at midnight."

"But that's only a half hour from now!" Shinji exclaimed. He paused for a moment before jumping out of bed and grabbing his school uniform, which was neatly hanging across the room.

"Ikari-kun, please wait for the doctor to examine you before leaving!"

"I can't! I need to know what's going on!"

Fuyutsuki watched with reserved anxiety from Central Dogma at the progress of Operation Yashima. A small staff of relief bridge workers accompanied him in the huge control room. The Geofront was running on reserve power, since all other power sources had been diverted towards the attack. He was surprised when the elevator began bringing someone up to the command level. Ikari Shinji, face as serious and worried as ever, burst towards Kouzou's chair.

"Vice Commander!" he panted as he doubled over for a minute, catching his breath.

"Shinji-kun, are you alright?"

"What's going on!"

"Eh?"

"The Angel! Where's Misato... and Ayanami and Mitamura! Where's Dr. Akagi and my father?" The Vice Commander pointed towards the main screen. Shinji's eyes widened as he surveyed the situation.

"This is Operation Yashima, devised by Captain Katsuragi to defeat the fifth Angel using a long-range, high-power attack." Unit 01 was on its belly on the ground, looking down the sight of a huge gun. Unit 00 stood behind a mountain, holding some kind of shield in its hands.

"Unit 01! Who's the pilot?"

"Ayanami Rei." Shinji's eyes buldged even more.

"So that means-"

"Yes. Mitamura Kunihiko is piloting Unit 00, as a backup. Using that shield, he'll defend Rei's position as she fires the positron cannon."

"But if she misses...?"

"The enemy will definitely counterattack. The shield can stand approximately seventeen seconds against the enemy's beam. If the first shot misses, it takes twenty seconds before a second can be attempted."

As Shinji added up the difference in his mind, the clock struck midnight.

000.

Shinji listened in horror as the countdown to attack began. Unit 00 came out from its hiding place and took its place straddling over the cannon and Unit 01. As the cannon powered up, the young Ikari couldn't help but wonder.

'What if Kunihiko and Rei... are killed... because I wasn't there? It's my job to pilot Unit 01. If they die... It'll be my fault.'

"High energy reaction spotted within the target!" Ibuki's voice rang out over the speakers. On the opposite side of the huge screen, the Angel began to glow on its leading edge.

"No, it's going to attack first!" Shinji cried out. Fuyutsuki furrowed his brow. The end of the world could be just moments away...

"Two... one..."

"Fire!" Misato's voice rang out.

Shinji, slack-jawed and helpless, watched as the particle cannon fired its blue beam towards the Angel. At the exact same moment, the fifth Angel fired its own beam towards EVA-01 and EVA-00. The two beams raced towards each other and met over the lake. Rather than speeding onwards, the odd nature of particle beams cause them to interact with each other. They became tangled and paused for just a second before flying off on different trajectories.

The two resulting explosions sent shockwaves for miles around. Communication was cut off from the mobile base. Alerts suddenly blared across headquarters. The Angel's drill had pierced into the Geofront.

"--hurry for a second shot!" Misato's voice exclaimed as the comm link came back on.

"Exchanging fuses!"

"Get the barrel cooled down, now!"

As fires raged from the two explosions, Unit 01 moved to fire again. EVA-00 remained motionless. For a few tense seconds there was no action, only silence. Then just as quickly...

"Second high energy reaction detected in the target!"

"No, its too soon!"

---

In the entry plug of EVA-01, Rei began to sweat. Thoughts raced through her mind too quickly to make any sense of, besides the overall sense of impending death. She tried to remain collected as the Angel readied to fire once again. The positron cannon still had nineteen seconds before it was able to fire again.

It was like a dream as the enemy's beam approached her. Rei watched in slow-motion as Unit 00, the Evangelion she had so much seat time in, stepped in front of the beam. The shield held steady as the second shot came closer, but began to melt around the edges.

Unit 00 moved, trying to make itself hide behind the ever-shrinking area which was protected by the shield.

As the shield finally gave way, the second shot still wasn't ready. Seconds seemed like hours as Rei watched, helpless, as Unit 00's armor began to melt as well. In a small corner of her mind, she realized that Shinji had been pushed to the edge of death after only five seconds of exposure to the enemy's weapon.

Prototype EVA-00's arms, which had been held up in some attempt to dissuade the attack from its core, were finally blown off. Behind the shielding head unit which housed the aiming computers, a single tear welled up in Rei's eye and fell slowly down her cheek before dissolving into the LCL. For a mere fraction of a second, almost too quickly to be detected, an AT Field halted the Angel's attack.

Ayanami fired immediately after she was ordered, piercing the exact center of the Angel. Things came back to real time quickly as she watched the decimated Unit 00 fall to the ground, its broken body steaming. Rei quickly acknowledged the fact that the LCL inside Mitamura's entry plug was boiling. His life was in her hands as she ripped the plug casing armor off the EVA's back.

The entry plug ejected, LCL automatically evacuating from the plug's interior. She grabbed the plug, feedback from the EVA burning her hand. She set the plug down and ejected her own, scaling down EVA-01. The emergency access panel burned her hands further as the twisted the tabs open with all of her remaining strength.

Rei burst into the plug with unexpected urgency. "Mitamura-san!" The boy lie prone in the pilot's chair. His eyes were closed. Was he... dead? She grabbed his hand with one of hers, using the other to press softly against his shoulder. He still had a pulse. "W-... wake up... Mitamura-san..."

The first thing he felt as he regained consciousness was the gentle grasp which held his hand. 'This touch... is this a mother's touch? But I don't know what such a thing feels like...'

Then her voice slowly grew. A woman calling his name...

He blinked his eyes open. They slowly focused in on the source of these feelings. Ayanami Rei.

"Ayanami..." he said with a ragged voice before coughing up some residual LCL.

"Mitamura, you're alive," she responded, her voice moving back towards its usual tone.

"You saved me..." Her head suddenly dropped.

"I... I don't know why... but I'm crying..."

"You're sad?"

She took a moment to consider the question. "No, that's why I don't understand. You said... you would help me find a purpose beyond being a pilot, if we survived. Given such an option... I did not want you to die." Kunihiko chuckled just a little, although it was painful to do so.

"Sorry I messed up your EVA. I'm glad you're OK." Neither one of them seemed to realize how tightly their hands were clenched together.

-
End Chapter 04.

Author's Notes: Don't read too far into the apparent "pairing" I had brought into the light. Remember, this is still Ayanami Rei. I realize she probably seemed a bit OOC in this chapter, but one must realize that no one really reached out to Rei in the series. Sure, Shinji was kind of "close" to her, but maybe she just needed that one extra person to help strengthen that bond she shares with Shinji. Oh well. This is the direction I had planned to take this work.