Unknown location
September 29, 2041
0236 hours

The footage of the battle played again. Every observer was silent, their forms digitally obscured by an artificial light-source-behind-body visual effect within the holographic monoliths that served as their avatars. Not one word was said; the images of one giant battling another spoke louder than any words they could've possibly said.

Only when it ended and the form of Unit-00 was isolated and enlarged for everyone to see did those assembled start to discuss what they have witnessed just now.

"It appears our plans may be realized, after all."

"Indeed. The evidence is clear: what transpired today is a sign that the Scrolls were right all along."

"Do we have the resources needed for the project?"

"Yes. Circumstances are different but die scriptures are open for interpretation." – announced the monolith marked 01, immediately muting the others. – "Nevertheless, what they say is clear: die Others will descend to seek out die Source and die Children rise to meet them in battle."

"Do we know their identities?"

"Not yet. Our prime candidate is useless, but the Scrolls are clear: the First One is the key. We must wait until we know more before making our move."

"Our numbers have been reduced in the past years. The premature Second Coming has interfered with our plans... and we paid the price for our unpreparedness."

"Yes. Any unexpected eventualities must be dealt with. We must not fail this time... for Breen made sure we will not have another chance."

"Ah, yes... our prodigal son. He wanted to use the Union in our plans. Yet the interference of Gordon Freeman made his efforts useless in the long run: if the Union returns, they will want retribution for our defiance. And if the Scrolls are right, we will be more than prepared to deal with those blasphemers on equal terms."

"There is one unknown factor: the Scrolls told us that Lilith the All-Mother will be residing within the Black Moon. Yet our explorations before Second Impact revealed nothing. Can we complete the project without her?"

This sent the council into quiet deliberation. Finally, 01 spoke again. – "Die Scrolls are open to interpretation. Our intervention at this time is unnecessary; we will have to make sure die Evangelions can fulfill their task as it was foretold by those who came before us."


Geofront, AEL Headquarters
0851 hours

"So... don't want to sound like nagging, but when are you guys going to let me go home?" – Kaworu asked as he walked out of the locker room he was directed to twenty minutes ago.

"That's up to doctor Ikari to decide, not me." – the female technician he saw at his impromptu interrogation session yesterday replied. – "Did you put the suit on properly?"

Kaworu looked down at himself and tugged at the skintight white fabric completely covering his body from the neck below. – "I think so."

Now he understood why his medical examination included a measurement of his exact body proportions. He could tell even from just looking at it that the suit was custom-tailored for him – which wasn't a bad thing, considering that he wasn't sure Rei's suit would've fit him. The girl wasn't overly busty but her chest size was still surprisingly generous compared to what her trenchcoat allowed to be seen; Kaworu didn't have a very masculine build yet but his body still wouldn't have fit something designed for hers... to say nothing of him not having the intention to try crossdressing anytime soon.

He also didn't know whether the suit was only to avoid soiling the pilot's clothes with the breathing fluid, or whether it had some other function as well. Considering it had some electronic equipment integrated into it, he guessed the latter. Not that the former would've been unwelcome, considering that he just got his normal clothes back.

"So, what's the next thing you want me to do?"

"Sync test. We uploaded your profile into Unit-01 but we need you to sit in him to make sure we got everything right. Follow me."

The boy was slightly puzzled at her wording. '...him?'

As he hurried to catch up, Kaworu couldn't help but notice how young she was. While he wasn't exactly skilled at telling someone's age, she looked squarely in her early twenties – which gave her away as one of the post-Occupation generation, like him. Due to the presence of the Combine's reproductive suppression field interfering with the formation of certain protein chains essential for early embryonic development, there were no children born during the Occupation itself (except for remote areas too far from the Citadels for complete coverage, mostly some Pacific islands). Nowadays, everyone was either below 24 or over 43, with none between.

After another trip through the maze of corridors that was the facility's interior, the technician dodged into a side room. – "Wait here."

When he heard the door open a while later, Kaworu expected to see the technician come back out and continue leading him to wherever they were going.

Except it was Yui who was standing in the doorway, looking at him with an unreadable expression.

Once again, Kaworu felt like he was being examined. It was by one of his fellow humans this time – and yet, it felt just as uncomfortable. There was something in her stare that wasn't there before; what it was, he couldn't tell. But it was definitely there.

"I see your plugsuit measurements are correct." – she finally said, turning away and walking back inside. – "As soon as you board the entry plug, we can get started. Maya, show him to the plug."

"Yes, ma'am." – the technician's voice replied a second before indeed she came back out.


A minute later, the teen found himself in the largest room he had seen in the facility yet, aside from the hangar where he arrived to yesterday. More specifically, glued to a catwalk overlooking something he didn't even know existed until a day ago.

The helmet was generally of the same size, except it seemed less angular and more streamlined. It also appeared less like a robotic head and more like... well, more like a helmet: instead of the cyclopean mono-eye of Unit-00, this Evangelion had two well-defined eyeholes in roughly the same place a human's eyes would be. Two of its eyes, that is; with the catwalk at neck-height, Kaworu could see see a third eye at roughly forehead-height.

But what grabbed his attention immediately wasn't the eyes.

"...is that hair?"

Hanging from the rear of the Evangelion's helmet and over its back was a large bundle of white, exiting the helmet through the seam around the neck. Coupled with the armor's dull metallic gray color, it slightly reminded Kaworu of an image he once saw in a children's book; an image of a long-haired woman in a helmet. A valkyrie, he thought she was called.

"Don't worry about it; we were going to cut it off after doing these tests."

Kaworu put his hands on the railing and peeked over, spotting the end of the Evangelion's hair at around knee-height. – "I never would've thought these things need haircuts."

"They don't. Normally, an Evangelion is scalped right after construction so that the hair doesn't get in the way, but we haven't gotten around to doing that with Unit-01 before it was frozen." – She looked over its entire length. – "It also seems to have grown further in cryo, so we probably won't put it off for much longer. Like I said, don't worry about it."

"And the color?" – he asked, motioning towards the rest of the body. Also unlike Unit-00, the entire body was dull gray.

"That's the armor plating's normal color. It hasn't been painted yet. Speaking of which, doctor Ikari told me to let you know that you can pick the color, as long as it's not too garish."

"What exactly is garish for her? I mean, you guys already have an orange one."

"That's different. Unit-00 has high-visibility painting on purpose, to make it easier for cameras to track it during mobility tests."

That he didn't expect. – "Oh... okay. Didn't know that." – Inwardly though, the boy wondered. 'Why is she even letting me pick the color in that case? Wouldn't it make more sense to just paint this one like that too?'

"Anyway, you might want to board the entry plug now. Doctor Ikari is not the kind of person who likes it when people are wasting her time."

Kaworu pushed himself away from the railing. – "Thanks for the warning. I'll keep it in mind."

"Also..." – She unexpectedly lowered her voice. – "Listen, I'm sorry if I came across as rude or anything. I've been a little stressed out lately. We all are."

"Lots of work?" – Kaworu guessed with a slight smile.

She sighed. – "Like you wouldn't believe. I'm Maya Ibuki, by the way."


"Good morning, mister Nagisa. How are you feeling?" – came Yui's voice from the speakers.

"No problems... I think. I can't really tell."

He didn't really pay attention last time but now that he was piloting, Kaworu couldn't miss the various holograms surrounding him, all of them blue instead of Unit-00's orange. Aside from the windows projected onto the walls of the entry plug – including one with Yui's image –, there was also a diegetic HUD that kept moving around as he turned his head, always staying in front of but a bit to the side of the direction his head was facing. It didn't obstruct his vision but he only needed to move his eye to look at it.

It was a bit dizzying.

There was also a tiny crosshair-shaped cursor that tracked his eye movement. No matter where he looked, the crosshair followed his glance like a shadow.

"Understandable. This is your first time in Unit-01, after all; we detect no problems on our end but due to certain peculiarities regarding Evangelion technology, there is always a certain degree of uncertainty involved."

"Meaning?"

"The telemetry link we have between the Evangelions and our equipment can only account for so many variables. Still, it does not hurt if you know at least the basics about what you are sitting in. Do you have any questions before we begin?"

"Um... that girl who's been escorting me around? She told me you want me to pick a color for this thing."

"Only within certain limits. This is a war machine, not a fashion statement."

"No, I mean... I don't really have a preference, so... how about we just leave it as it is for now?"

"Indeed?"

"And the hair... can you keep that too?"

Yui's eyes narrowed at that. – "Mister Nagisa, I already said it: an Evangelion is not a fashion statement."

Kaworu threw his hands up defensively. – "I know, I just don't want to give the crew too much work."

"The crew's job is to work on the Evangelion. That is what they get paid for." – She sighed. – "But if you insist, I suppose we could keep the hair. It needs to be cut back, however; it will more likely than not get in the way during both movement and entry plug insertion."

A sudden idea flashed into Kaworu's mind. – "That works both ways, isn't it? I mean, whoever is watching from outside might not be able to see the hatch if it's covered by hair."

"I see your point, but the hair is still in the way."

Kaworu pondered on that for a bit. – "I never had long hair so I wouldn't know, but... long hair is heavier, right?" – he asked after a while.

"That is correct."

"Can you cut it so that it's long enough to extend past the hatch, but short enough so that the hatch can push it aside when opening? Best of both worlds."

"That... is actually a sound proposal." – Yui replied after a short pause, audibly thoughtful. – "It will put additional strain on the motors of the mechanism of the hatch, though."

"Didn't you just say that the maintenance crew's job is to work on this thing?" – he pointed out.

Yui visibly raised an eyebrow at that comeback. – "Touché. Did you read the primer Lilith gave you yesterday?"

Kaworu nodded uncertainly. – "I think so. You want to quiz me about it or something?"

"We're not in school anymore, mister Nagisa. This isn't an exam. You are now aware of what an Evangelion is and how it works, correct?"

He nodded again. – "Yeah. Flesh and blood body with a shitload of cybernetics."

"Language, mister Nagisa."

"Sorry."

"Let us continue with the basics. First and foremost, all Evangelions are equipped with an onboard artificial intelligence for managing subsystem control. You might not always have access to a ground crew and doing everything by yourself would be too straining, not to mention distracting. Multitasking is something an AI does much better than a human, hence why we use one instead of a co-pilot."

"I've never worked with an AI before." – And it was true. The boy never had all that many opportunities to use a computer either; he was familiar with the basics, and that was about it.

"Now you will. He is there to help you; if you have any questions about the Evangelion, feel free to ask him."

There was that pronoun again. – "Him?"

And that's when a new window opened to the side. – "Platform ready to process queries." – The teen was slightly startled at the electronic voice coming at him from every direction at once.

"You already met Lilith; now meet Adam. He will be your partner from now on."

"So... get along and everything?"

"Yes. You can second-guess him, but you would do well to listen to what he says; helping you pilot Unit-01 is the very reason he exists. Never forget that."

"Understood." – He glanced uncertainly at the walls of the entry plug, suddenly very much aware of a third person (?) watching his every move at all times. Especially since said person was an AI and thus, completely unknown territory to him. – "And, um... Adam? Nice to meet you."

"Acknowledged." – The window winked out but Kaworu knew better than to assume he was alone now.

"Next, power systems. Main power is provided by a backpack-mounted dark fusion reactor that can provide continuous output for a maximum length of sixteen hours in combat mode or slightly more than five days in life support-only mode."

Kaworu let out a quizzical hum at that. – "Dark fusion? Isn't that stuff illegal?"

"It is. However, there is currently no legal alternative that can provide comparable power output at the same size."

"Why do you need that much energy anyway? Doesn't this thing have muscles?"

"He does. However, an Evangelion's size and mass means its muscles are incapable of harnessing enough energy from metabolic processes alone to provide any meaningful motive force. Therefore, the required energy has to be provided by an external source."

"What happens if you pull the plug?"

"There is an integrated backup battery system, composed of the best available graphene-based macro-scale supercapacitor design. However, it will not last for more than ten minutes."

"And if that fails too?" – he pressed further.

"You mean the effects of a complete loss of power on the Evangelion?" – Yui asked back.

"Yeah."

"Immediate paralysis. There is a tertiary backup battery for the core systems like life support, communications and AI processing, but everything else will shut down. I believe I do not have to stress the importance of keeping the reactor undamaged... especially since we didn't fully work out the integrated shock dampeners yet, so the reactor is somewhat fragile."

That most definitely didn't sound like a comforting thought. – "So if I so much as fall on my ass, this thing will blow me sky-high?"

Yui gave him a look at that. – "We're not stupid, mister Nagisa. A weapon that can kill its own user so easily is worthless; the reactor cannot explode on its own unless we make it explode. Turning off core containment to artificially trigger a dark energy flare functions as the self-destruct system, with a variable yield depending on the amount of reaction mass remaining. A fully-loaded reactor will detonate with the force of a nuclear weapon; the estimated blast yield is on the order of twenty kilotons, maybe more."

"So... that'd be bad. As in, real bad."

"If you're anywhere within one kilometer from ground zero, expect to be tossed around by the shockwave. That is, unless you're within about two hundred meters, in which case you will be instantly vaporized, armor or no armor. It's designed to completely destroy an Evangelion that cannot be recovered by friendly forces and is in danger of capture." – Her look hardened into a glare. – "Which brings me to a warning: the Mode-D switch is located in your seat. Do NOT put your hands ANYWHERE near it, are we clear?"

"If you don't want me to touch it, why are you even telling me where it is?" – the teen asked with genuine puzzlement.

"Because I don't want you to go poking around the entry plug, find it and 'accidentally' turn it on without actually knowing what it does." – she shot back with an edge in her voice. – "Especially not inside this facility, with hundreds of people inside the blast radius. If I catch you putting your hand anywhere within the general vicinity of that switch without a VERY good reason, there is going to be hell to pay. Being fired on the spot will be the least of your concerns."

"...point taken."

She nodded at that, expression softening up a bit. – "Also, based on your previous statement, I presume you understand that utilizing dark energy for power generation is outlawed by governmental decree; accordingly, I expect your discretion regarding what I just told you."

"Considering that I didn't refuse to sit in this thing even after being told what it runs on, I have a feeling I would be locked up too." – he mused, idly shifting his glance around to draw into the air with the eye-tracking crosshair. – "So it's not like I have much of a choice."

That seemed to be a satisfactory answer for the woman. – "Very good. To further reduce power usage, we have plans to outfit the entry plug with cryonic suspension to conserve power on long-duration missions, although it's still in the design stages."

"Why bother with that much? Shouldn't it be easier to only sit in this thing when you need it?"

"Evangelions are, as of now, dependent on a human pilot. Seeing that no known sniper rifle can penetrate the external armor, let alone retain enough energy to enter the entry plug and cause lethal injury to the pilot, it is far safer if the pilot never exits the entry plug at all during a mission. Hence the cryonic subsystem, which would also take care of the issue with supplying rations that aren't spoiled by LCL."

Kaworu had to admit he never even thought of that. – "Okay... sixteen hours seem kind of long."

"In a one-on-one engagement, perhaps. But in a war zone, you might not have access to a support crew, or you might be operating in a hostile environment like the atmosphere of another planet, in which case you need a long-duration power supply to keep life support running. Only sixteen hours puts a serious constraint on operational range, but there is only so much reaction mass the Evangelion is able to carry."

"Have you thought about refueling on the field? Like, I don't know, a giant tank with a hose that hooks into the reactor or something?"

Kaworu could've sworn he'd seen the hint of a smile in the corner of her mouth. She looked almost... proud. – "Already ahead of you there, mister Nagisa. We have a preliminary design for a compact dark matter plasma capsule that can refuel mid-sortie, although it is currently not ready to be tested yet." – And just as suddenly as it came, the smile disappeared. – "Anyway, moving on. Have you memorized the loadout packages from the primer?"

He sighed. – "High Mobility Type, Area Defense Type, Heavy Weapons Type, Sniper Type, Flight Type and Commander Type. B, C, F, G, A and E. Did I get that right?"

"You did."

"You know, it would be easier if you were to just give me a copy and have me read it at home or something." – he pointed out.

Yui shook her head. – "No can do, mister Nagisa. This is classified information, eyes only. It may not leave the facility under any circumstances."

"Fine. Why did you guys skip D, anyway?"

"We didn't skip it. Development on the Hazardous Environment Type was indefinitely postponed, as we do not have the means to test it at this time. We also came to realize that it is unneeded, as no currently settled planets require such specialized equipment to operate on the surface."

"Where do you get all this, anyway? Because I don't think you have some kind of hidden manufacturing plant here." – After a brief pause, he uncertainly added – "...or do you?"

"I was expecting you to ask, considering that we indeed lack the industrial capabilities to produce armor and equipment for the Evangelions. That part of the project we subcontracted to Gehirn Heavy Industries, although it is seriously straining our budget."

He decided to risk the question. – "Out of curiosity, how expensive are these things anyway?"

"Including the total costs of research and development, slightly into the eleven-digit range." – Yui replied in a matter-of-fact tone, as if she wasn't talking about several orders of magnitude more money than he saw throughout his fourteen years of life combined. – "I won't lie to you, mister Nagisa: the Evangelion project is draining the overwhelming majority of our company's resources all by itself. If it were to fall through, the AEL is guaranteed to go bankrupt, there is no question about that. This is why I expect you to perform to your utmost at all times. It is not just the company's future that is at stake here, but the employment of hundreds of people."

"No pressure, then..." – the teen muttered under his breath.


Chapter rewrite complete on 15/05/25.

Unit-01's helmet is shaped the same as in canon, minus the horn. The third eye is just below the spot where the horn would jut out from. The inspiration for the Eva's hair originally came from the ponytail-like heatsink fiber of the Plan1056 Codarl from Full Metal Panic; since then however, I found out that one of the Evangelion games – NGE2 for PS2 and PSP – already had a visual depiction of Unit 01 with hair coming out of its helmet (to say nothing of the Eva's final appearance in EoE), so I decided to roll with that one instead. No Eva in this story will use its canon visual design; while the designs of the new Evas in Rebuild will be used, they won't be on the same Evas.

Also take note of the different spelling above. Unit 01 without a dash refers to the Eva's canon incarnation, Unit-01 with a dash refers to the one in this story. The two are not the same Eva, so this distinction is deliberate on my part. This notation will also be used for all the other Evas with canon counterparts.