Well... 4th of July again... Or, at least yesterday was in my timezone. So... I guess that makes this story... what? 3 years old now? Crazy to think that when I started writing this, I thought I could get this entire thing done in a year. And here we are, 3 years later... And... we're... maybe... coming up on a third of the way through this story. Somewhere between a half and a third I guess? Maybe a fourth since I intend for the later chapters to be more detailed and drawn out!

Anyways, I'm really sorry, but I'm super duper busy right now. So, I think I'm going to do review responses next time. But, I did at least wanna thank all of you who've stuck around this long. I know it's taking awhile to get to all the spicy stuff. But... we're getting there! Please look forward to it! PLEASE LOOK FORWARD TO IT! I BEG OF YOU! SWEET AND SPICY THINGS ARE BOTH COMING! I PROMISE

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Text Guide

Standard Wording

"Spoken Dialogue/Speech"

'Internal Dialogue/Thoughts'

(Flashbacks)

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[Slash denotes scene transition for the moment; this may be changed in the future so as to become more visible.]

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Disclaimer: I do not own or profit off of Neon Genesis Evangelion, End Of Evangelion, or the Rebuilds of Evangelion. I do not own Shinji Ikari, Rei Ayanami, Asuka Langley Sohryu, or any of the other characters/ideas from the Evangelion intellectual property collective. All licenses remain with the proper license holders. If asked to, I will formally remove this story from the hosting website.

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*Cruel Angel's Thesis and Eva intro starts playing*


Neon Genesis Evangelion

A Journey of Hate, Power, and Love

Chapter 30

Who Reaps The Storm

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Ritsuko was reading over some scientific documents in her room. She was fully prepared to go home and was currently idling to pass the time until she could log her hours and leave work for the comfort of a hot shower, a savory dinner, and a soft bed.

She squelched her cigarette in her office desk's ash tray before pulling another one out of the pack in her lab coat and quenching it with flame.

She took a deep breath before puffing out a plume of fresh smoke, trying to wind down as the work day slowly ended. Among the research papers on her desk where were finding from every branch of the scientific world.

Though Ritsuko was officially an engineer for the Evangelions, she did indeed require knowledge from every corner of the world and every family of science to fulfill her job description as well as the other curious responsibilities Gendo would lump on her, like her being the unofficial mascot medical doctor and therapist of the Geofront. And that was on top of her being one of the foremost computer science and electrical engineering wizards that people of the Geofront would come to for help concerning just about anything they could think of.

Indeed, generally, if someone had a question, Doctor Akagi had a well informed answer, as was the word around the Geofront. Truly, NERV could not have asked for a more renowned genius of their time.

Chemistry, physics, biology, and even the occasional geology were all on her list of subjects that interested her and had allowed her to secure her position at NERV. And each field of science had offered it's own contribution to her, allowing her to offer her own contribution in kind in the form of the Evas.

She sifted through the research papers on her desk, covering everything from SETI to tectonic plates, miraculous medicines to eldritch war machines, and even economics and theology. When she herself wasn't working herself to the bone on her own scientific endeavors, she was often reading up on someone else's efforts.

"Science is my salvation," people would often hear her say.

And it was true. Science, of course, allowed Ritsuko to preform her job. But, it was more than that to her. It was her duty, her responsibility, a tool that allowed her to do great and terrible thing. But, it was also her inspiration and comfort, her release, her knowledge in something sure. It allowed her to be content in this world full of things wild and uncontrollable both. It gave her great relief she could exert a small portion of control over the universe. A small portion to be sure, but a small portion that mattered to her and to everyone around her. Even if she couldn't change the universe, she could change her planet; her home. And maybe that was all she needed to feel safe and secure.

As she was looking through the myriad documents on her desk, waiting for something to catch her eye, she hear a knock on her office door.

"Uh, Ritsuko- Uh, I mean, Doctor Akagi?" said the whimpering voice of Maya.

"Hmm? Yes? Come in," Ritsuko said, her heart fluttering for a moment.

"Actually, doctor, we might need you out here! Like, now! It's the Evas!"

"What? What's wrong with them?" Ritsuko shouted as she rose from her seat and jogged over to the office door.

"They're… They activated themselves again!" Maya timidly said as the door to Ritsuko's office flung open.

"It's just Unit-02… right? Pilot Sohryu's A-10 connectors are the only ones that haven't been updated yet."

"No, ma'am… its all of them."

"But that's… that's not possible! The update installed a proximity activation radius. They shouldn't even be able to start booting up without the A-10 connectors being within twenty meters of them and the entry plug both! And you yourself installed the update on each of them, right? And we were all there when we tested Unit-00's and Unit-01's start ups and it all worked perfectly!"

"Yes, ma'am! I swear! But I don't know what's going on! We need you in the Eva cages right now!"

"But, how! I don't understand! Gah, whatever! Lets go!"

As was said, Ritsuko many times had the answers other people seeked. But, unfortunately, when Ritsuko had questions of her own, there was no one for her to fall back on. And the answer to her question usually ended up being only more questions; the consequences and curse of being the smartest person in the room. And, boy, did Ritsuko have questions now.

/

-Who Fights, Who Flies, Who Falls-

/

"Uh, Asuka! I'm not so sure about this!"

"Ah, shush, Shinji! No one's here this late at night! Besides, I think this is the NERV VIP area. They only treat NERV employees here, which is why it wasn't very busy earlier. So, just relax. It's not like I'm gonna fling you into someone. So, just hold on tight, alright?"

Shinji nodded and clung tightly onto the back of the swivel chair that Asuka had forced him on.

"Ugh! Not that tightly, Shinji. If your body is that close to the back, you'll disbalance it! And then it'll be no fun!"

"How should I do it then?"

"Ugh, why do you gotta turn every fun thing into a lesson!? Just make sure you're centered on it. If you fall, then you fall!"

"But, I don't wanna fall! It'll hurt!"

"You should stop letting pain get in the way of having fun every now and then!"

"But, Asukaaaaaaagh!" Shinji said before the girl furiously started spinning the chair around her body before letting go and sending the wheeled chair rolling down the hall at… only mildly alarming speeds. But, nonetheless, it was fast for a normally stationary chair, even if said chair did have wheels.

Shinji, failing to keep his balance, did end up tipping the chair over as it spun down the nearly empty hall. Landing on his hands and knees, he could feel a slight tingling sensation in his kneecaps and palms both, but it wasn't terribly painful.

The boy tried to get up, but dizziness pulled him back to the ground, at which point, Rei came and helped the boy up.

"See, isn't it great! The dizziness making you feel out of the world! Like you're weightless! There is no greater feeling besides being in an Eva." Asuka proclaimed.

"Heheh, I guess it is sorta nice," Shinji chuckled.

"Say, Rei! Why don't you set him down over there and I'll give you a spin next… uh… that might've come out a little wrong," Asuka said with a slight blush, her fever dream from earlier still burned vividly into her mind's eye.

Rei, doing as Asuka instructed, set Shinji down on the cool floor next to the door to their hospital room while Asuka skipped down the hall and retrieved the chair.

After setting Shinji down, the blue haired girl sat down on the chair and braced herself.

"Hmm, looks like you at least know how to keep yourself balanced," Asuka said with a smirk.

"I have had practice," was all she said.

"Hmm, so you say..."

Asuka leaned forward slightly and began spinning the chair around her before again sling shotting it down the hall.

As was expected, Rei has kep her balance rather masterfully.

"Hmm, not bad, Wondergirl. You always were pretty graceful."

"Thank you," was all Rei said as she accepted the compliment.

"Okay! Now it's my turn! Roll the chair back over, Rei," Asuka exclaimed.

Rei stood up from the chair and shoved it over to Asuka who immediately jumped on it, landing on her knees and almost tipping it over as it spun.

"Whenever you're ready, Wondergirl! Just lemme have it!" Asuka shouted as she tightly gripped the seat of the chair, waiting for Rei to send her down the hall next.

Asuka waited with anticipation for a moment before noticing she she wasn't going anywhere.

"Hey! What gives?! You can't just deny me like that!" Asuka scolded as she looked over her shoulder at the girl.

She saw that something has drawn Rei's attention further down the hall and around the corner.

"Hmm?" Asuka wondered as she perked her ears up and started listening.

"I don't care! I want this to end right goddamn now, Ritsuko!"

"What!? You think I'm not trying?!"

"I don't care if you are or aren't! They're my kids and I want this to stop now!"

"Misato, I'm only human, damn it! Quit being hysterical!"

"Can both of you just calm yourselves? We don't wanna scare them," the smoothe voice of Kaji said, carrying down the hall like silky chocolate, at least according to Asuka.

"Too late, Kaji!" Asuka shouted down the hall jokingly as the Misato, Ritsuko, and Ryoji rounded the corner.

"Agh, Jeez!" Ritsuko grumbled.

"You know, we aren't kids and we aren't gonna get scared that easily. We're Eva pilots, remember!?" Asuka teased, though she knew deep down she was very worried and was simply trying not to let it show by hiding her fear behind her bluster.

The three grown-ups silently made their way down the hall, obviously with much on their minds.

Asuka, as usual, was the first to break the silence.

"Hey, Misato! Where's food!? Is that our dinner!?"

"Here," Misato said, sounding emotionally exhausted as she raised up a bag full of bento boxes.

"Gimme!" Asuka said as she seemingly happily snatched the food from the older woman's hand before prancing back into the hospital room followed shortly by everyone else.

Despite how much Ritsuko didn't want kids, she couldn't help but smile seeing Asuka so fervently desiring of food. It almost made her want kids for a moment. Just the smiles and pleasure of providing for someone. But, Ritsuko had too much work to really consider having any kids. So she flushed the thought from her mind.

"Ack, this smells like steamed vegetables! This must be yours, Rei." Asuka said as she handed a box of food to the girl without even looking at her while she herself continued to dig through the bag.

"Ooh, and this one smells like barbecue, so it must be mine!" the redhead said as she pulled the meat filled box out and set it on the a small desk.

"It's honeyed ribs and rice. I'm sorry about the rice. I know you're not the biggest fan of it, but I was in a rush to pick up everything and get back here," Misato said, sounding slightly disappointing in herself.

"Eh, as long as the sauce is good, I'm sure it'll be fine," Asuka said nonchalantly as she pulled out the last box of food, seemingly stir fried pork and noodles, which must've been Shinji's.

Misato was slightly surprised. Asuka seemed a lot more mellow than usual. No screaming or bitching or shrieking. The woman was really starting to wonder just what had happened when their eyes had begun glowing.

"So, Kaji! What about you? Did you bring anything for me to eat?! Something sugary maybe?" Asuka asked sweetly.

Without saying anything, the man reached into the pocket of his slate colored dress shirt and whipped out a bar of food before tossing it Asuka, who promptly caught it with expert precision.

The girl examined at the packaging before looking up at Kaji like he'd just played some kind of joke on her.

"Eww! Granola!? Really?! I was expecting chocolate!"

Well, maybe Asuka wasn't quite as mellow as Misato first thought. But it was still an improvement over her past self.

"It's all I got. Deal with it. Besides, it's mango and yogurt flavored. What's not to like?!"

"What's not to like!? What do you mean what's not to like?! Granola is like… all you ate back in Germany! And I'm sick of it! Why couldn't it be a mango yogurt flavored chocolate bar instead of a mango yogurt granola bar!?"

"Well, I guess that explains why she's not that fond of rice," Misato jokingly mumbled.

"It's not that I don't like it! Its just that I don't want to eat only rice and granola! Why doesn't anyone understand that!?"

"Okay, everyone. It's time to get down to business!" Ritsuko announced, clapping her hands together.

The idle chatter ceased and all eyes were on Ritsuko.

"As I'm rather sure you're all aware, you three have had another… episode. I'm also very disappointed to say that the update we installed in the Evangelions to prevent them from activating without your A-10 neural connectors in the vicinity... has proven ineffective. They once again activated and it's likely it was all but at the selfsame moment you three began having your fits. So… Lieutenant Ibuki is currently busy reverting the changes so that… at the very least, we can battle prep the Evas in the case of another offensive by the angels."

"What does this mean for us?" Rei asked.

"I'm… still trying to figure that out. Surely there's something causing the Evas to activate. And, I'm relatively confident it's you three. But… I can't be sure. I was considering constructing an AT sensor array around the hangars but… I find it unlikely Commander Ikari would sign off on such a thing. It would take time and money. Time and money that could be spent on the Evas or rebuilding parts of the city. He has so far shown he's disinclined to explore that avenue any further, though I'm not sure if it's him making that call or his higher ups. Either way, it leaves me at nearly a standstill with almost zero means of identifying how to solve this problem. Of course, like I said, Maya and I were able to throw together a preventative measure in the form of an update and brand new sync limiters last time but… it seems to have done nothing. According to the records, all the Eva's achieved over a ninety percent sync rate, which shouldn't be possible. The old sync limiters were capped at eighty percent, and these new ones, I capped at seventy-seven percent."

"Well, goddamn it, Ritsuko! Isn't there anything you can do!?"

"Misato, please! I'm just as frustrated as you are! Quit chewing my ass off! I get enough of that from Commander Ikari!"

"Heheh, I bet you do," Kaji said under his breath.

"Ryo, this is no time for your perverted jokes! His son is right there!" Ritsuko scolded the man as she gestured toward Shinji.

"It wasn't perverted! I was just agreeing with you that you do happen to get your ass chewed off quite a bit around here despite all you do to keep this place running. You'd think everyone might be a bit more grateful."

Ritsuko scowled at him, knowing damn well he was playing his way out of her chiding. But, nonetheless, her scowl faded shortly thereafter. At least he was complementing her after a fashion, unlike Misato who was seemingly upset at her for things that were currently out of her hands.

"Look, everyone. I'm tired. I'm exhausted honestly. I was really looking forward to getting home early tonight and having a nice glass of brown sugar and chamomile tea. This is a serious subject and I'm tired. It's past midnight. If we could please just… get through this, I'd be very grateful if I could actually get some sleep tonight," Ritsuko said trying to regain her composure.

"What? You're just gonna go to bed!? After everything that's happened!?" Misato asked angrily.

"Damn it, Misato! What do you want me to do!? Work with no sleep! Make sloppy avoidable mistakes that put me further behind than I already am when I inevitably have to turn around and stop everything I'm doing to fix them? Look, I know you're worried. I know the pilots mean a lot to you and I know this must be horrifying for you. But, I'm not a machine! Geez! Just give me the time I need, and maybe, maybe, I'll be able to give you something far greater. But there's almost nothing I can do right now! The preliminary examinations aren't even done yet. And even if they were, there's no guarantee they'd yield any worthwhile information given our current resources. In which case, I may need to open up other avenues of inquiry. But, I can't do any of that tonight, damn it! So if you're done bitching at me, I have questions I need to ask the pilots so maybe I can start solving this puzzle!"

Misato cast her eyes to the floor, frowning and remaining silent as she scuffed the heel of her boot on the floor.

"Okay, you three!"

Rei, Asuka, and Shinji all looked up. It seemed they were mostly minding their own business as they ate their dinner and let the adults talk things through. But, they were now at attention, with Rei in particular chewing on a steamed snow pea pod that was stubbornly hanging out of the side of her lips.

"Would I be correct in assuming you all suffered from some ghastly pain from some unknown source again," Ritsuko asked as she lifted a spare clipboard off the desk in the room.

"Uh, yeah," Asuka said through a mouthful of rice and meat.

"Yes, ma'am." Rei said, finally swallowing the pea pod.

"Yeah, it was just like last time," Shinji mumbled, trying to enjoy his stir fry.

"Well, except for that voice," Asuka shivered.

"Oh, yeah. That..." Shinji mumbled.

"Voice?" Ritsuko asked with a raised eyebrow as her glasses started slipping down her nose.

Ritsuko then pulled a pen out from behind her ear and pulled the cap off with her teeth, producing a rather amusing sight where the pen cap was sticking out one side of Ritsuko's lips while the woman's barely lit cigarette protruded from the other side, giving her the vague complexion of a scholarly gentlewoman walrus.

"What voice? What's going on? This wasn't in the last case file," Ritsuko asked in astonishment as she flipped through a few papers on the clipboard.

Misato and Kaji both glanced at each other in confusion.

"That's because it didn't happen last time," Asuka groaned.

"Didn't happen? Where did it come from? Were you hallucinating?" Ritsuko asked as she pulled out another different colored pen from her lab coat pocket.

None of the kids answered. Perhaps none of them really knew the answer themselves.

Misato suddenly spun around and left the room.

"Misato?" Kaji asked.

"Misato, wait. Where are you going?" Shinji asked as he started to get up from the bed to go after the woman.

"No, Pilot Ikari! You stay there!" Ritsuko order as she pointed one of her pens at him, "Kaji, would you go get her?"

Kaji sighed and he too then spun around and jogged out of the hospital room.

"Misato!? Misato, get back here!" he called out as he saw her briskly walking down the hallway.

The woman said nothing and seemed to instead picked up her pace, presumably trying to find some place private.

"Damn it, Misato, would you wait up?"

She still said nothing but she did raise the sleeve of her red jacket up to her cheeks.

Seeing the woman had no intention of halting, Kaji sprinted up behind the woman and grabbed her by the hand, forcing her to stop.

"What the hell's gotten into you?!"

The woman spun around and Kaji could see tears pouring out of her eyes. She then slumped to the ground as though her soul has just left her body. She leaned against the pristine white walls of the hospital, here eyes once again cast to the ground.

"I don't know what to do, Kaji," Misato whispered lifelessly.

The man knelt down next to the woman, watching her tears fall on the back of her hands.

"Misato, I don't think anyone knows what to do right now."

"What am I going to do, Kaji? What am I going to do? I didn't want to be a mother. I never wanted to be a mother. I never felt like I was cut out for it. But… they're my kids. My kids are in there and I don't know what's wrong with them. Why is this happening, Kaji? Why? Their eyes are glowing. They're in pain. And now they're hearing voices and I don't know how to help them," Misato said emotionlessly as she rested her cheek on the cold hospital wall.

"Misato, all you can do right now is be there for them. And you aren't doing that right now. I know you're probably terrified right now. I am too. But, trust in Ritsuko. She's one of the brightest minds of our time and she's dedicated. If anyone can find a way to fix this, it's her."

"It's not good enough," Misato whimpered as she brought her hands up to her eyes, trying to cover her tears.

"Misato..."

"I just want it to stop. It's so fucked up. Why's this happening? I love them, Kaji. I love them more than anything. I know I suck at showing it. But, I love them. I want them to be okay. And when I sit here and I can't do anything-" Misato cried as she held her shaking hands in front of her face, "-I just want to burn the world down. I want to kill everyone!" the woman wailed as she buried her face back in her hands.

"You don't mean that, Misato."

"I hate it, Kaji! I hate it! I fucking hate it! It feels the same way I used to feel around mom. How she always used to cry because dad was away. And I did everything I could to make her happy. I gave her everything I could. I gave her my virginity. And it still wasn't enough. I couldn't make her happy. I can't make anyone happy."

"Misato… this probably isn't the place to talk about that. Even if it seems like we're alone, you never know what someone will over hear something. I did tell you that you need to start guarding your secrets better. But, besides that, they seemed… well enough at least. They're taking it better than you are. There might not be anything for them to worry about."

"I'm a mother now, Kaji! It's my job to worry for them, even if they don't! But they are worried. They're scared. Asuka would never admit it. And Rei just does a good job of hiding it. Shinji might try to hide it from me, but he can't. I saw it. They're scared. Do you know how that makes me feel? How am I supposed to protect them!? I never protect them! All I ever do is send them out to die! Oh, what the hell is wrong with me!?" Misato wailed, crying even harder than before.

"Misato, sometimes, our best is all we can give. I'm sure you tried your best with your mother and I'm assuming you're trying your best with the kids."

"And what about when our best isn't enough!?" Misato hissed sadly as she glared at Kaji with sad and angry eyes, tears still fiercely flooding out of them as they streaked her makeup down her face.

"Then that's that. It doesn't change anything. Like I said, our best is all we can give."

Kaji leaned over and wrapped his arm around Misato, giving her a much needed embrace. Misato hesitated for a moment, but soon found herself uncontrollably clinging to Kaji's shirt as she cried in his shoulder.

"Oh, Ryo! I just want them to be okay!"

"Don't worry, Kat. I'm sure they will be. We have to trust in Ritsu."

"My makeup is probably a mess."

"It is by your standards. But, I always thought you looked really pretty with those black streaks running down your cheeks."

"Thanks, Kaji. But, I'm sure it really is a mess and flattery isn't gonna make me any more presentable."

"Oh, no! It's not flattery. I really do think you look beautiful when your crying messes up your makeup. Its one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen... But, you're right. It wouldn't do for the kids to see you like this. You need to be strong for them. And sometimes, the first step to being strong is looking the part."

Kaji then picked Misato up and began carrying her to the woman's restroom down the hall.

"You have some makeup with you, right?"

"There's a bit in the front pocket of my jacket."

"Splendid!" he said merrily.

Misato huffed.

"As much as I hate it… I might be falling in love with you again."

"Even more splendid!"

"Hmph, asshole eating bastard," Misato grumbled indignantly.

"Hey, now! Gimme some credit. I might be a hit with the ladies, but we all know your ass is the only one that's graced my lips. I haven't eaten ass since back in college when we were still dating."

"How... romantic," Misato said sarcastically.

"Romantic indeed. Did you know that, according to my sources, they predict eating ass will reach it's peak popularity in 2017. That's only two years in the future, you know!"

"I dunno about that. You might wanna get Ritsu to fact-check however they came up with those numbers."

"Sharply rising the consensus said! Truly, there is no telling what the next generation will be capable of!"

"Yeeeaahh. Let's just hope they don't start eating tide pods within the next two years… It might be cool if girls started holding their boba tea with their boobs though. I'd like to see that become a trend; maybe in 2019 or something. Assuming we're all still alive, at least that's something I could participate in," Misato said with a wry but mischievous smile.

"See what I mean, Misato! Girls propping up their beverages with their tits! The future has so many magical things in store. And it would be remiss of you to throw all of that joy away in a fit of self pity.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Kaji rounded the corner and arrived at the women's restroom.

"So… how's this gonna work. You gonna set me down here or are you gonna bring me into the little girls' room?"

"Well, I could set you down here, but since your makeup is already ruined, I was hoping I might be able to convince you to deepthroat me, especially since things are going so well for us."

"Yeah. Not gonna happen."

Kaji set the woman down.

"Oh, and there I was, so sure you were about to offer me release a few hours ago back at my home while you were still drunk."

Misato leaned on the wall, her eyes downcast as she reached her hand across her chest to massage her upper arm guiltily.

"I know! I'm sorry, Kaji. I know. I did say some provocative things. But, that was before everything happened. And… I'm just not in the mood right now. And you know how blowjobs are. If she's not in the mood, they're no good. And besides, I was only gonna fuck you if you let me have your alcohol. And you declined that offer if I remember correctly!"

"Misato, I know! Stop feeling so guilty. I was playing off your own joke! I know it's not the time for that kind of stuff. Just go clean yourself up. Ritsu is liable to be done lecturing the kids by the time you're finished.

Misato smiled.

"You really are an asshole."

"And you really are beautiful with those lovely dark eyeliner stains on your cheeks."

Misato sighed.

"You only like it because it reminds you of how much I used to gag on your cock."

Kaji smiled a cheeky smile and rubbed the back of his head.

"You know me too well. But can you blame me? You're really something else."

"Just… wait for me out here. Maybe we'll do it some other time," Misato sighed as she slipped inside the restroom.

"Hmm," Kaji wondered as he massaged his prickly facial hair in deep thought, "now these are some interesting developments. I was only joking but she almost seems to be seriously considering it."

/

"Misato, wait. Where are you going?" Shinji asked as he saw Misato abruptly leave the room and started to chase after her.

"No, Pilot Ikari! You stay there! Kaji, would you go get her?"

Kaji turned around and glided out of the room, barely making any sound as his feet fell.

"Kaji will retrieve her. But you three need to tell me what's happening. And I expect you to do so with full disclosure," Ritsuko said as she slightly glared at Asuka, knowing that if anyone would withhold any information, be it out of vanity or embarrassment, it would be her.

"Mmmmgh" Asuka groaned uncomfortably.

"Uh, well..." Shinji said unconfidently.

"Would you just spit it out?" Ritsuko said, rolling her eyes.

Rei glanced at the other two pilots before turning her eyes to doctor Akagi.

"I do not remember very much. But… the voice seemed to be coming from… inside of me… but also from far away," Rei said, finally speaking up on behalf of the other two.

Ritsuko took down Rei's words as a note on her clipboard before looking back up.

"So, do you think it was an audio hallucination?"

Rei looked at the ground.

"I am unsure."

"No way! Now way something like that was a hallucination!" Asuka blurted out.

"So… you think someone is trying to make contact with you? Telepathy or some such?" Ritsuko asked, raising an eyebrow.

No one answered.

"Okay… What about this? What did the voice sound like?"

"It sounded sorta… I guess soft ...I guess. But… ominous," Shinji said as his hands fidgeted in his lap.

"Yeah… I couldn't really tell if it was friendly or hostile. It just sounded really powerful but calm… like the ocean," Asuka said as she gripped her kneecaps tightly in her hands.

"Yes… it sounded restrained… but of great strength," Rei confirmed.

"So… you mean to tell me, you all heard the same voice?" Ritsuko asked inquisitively and with slightly disbelief.

"Well, how the hell should we know?! It's not like we can hear each other's thoughts!" Asuka said with frustration before her eyes softened, "Though… I guess it does seem that way… I just wish I could remember more of what it said. There was so much pain, I wasn't really focusing on the words."

Shinji frowned.

"Yeah, I don't remember much either. But… I think it said something about the first child and the second child, so... I guess it was talking about Rei and Asuka. But… I just can't remember. I was too worried about trying to make sure Rei and Asuka were safe and then… all I remember is the pain," Shinji said, sounding disappointed.

Rei and Asuka both perked up and glanced at Shinji, though neither said anything.

"Hmm… this is starting to sound less like a hallucination… but I need more information before I can eliminate the possibility or draw any worthwhile conclusions… Do any of you remember anything else? Anything at all?" Ritsuko asked, hoping she could at least have some kind of starting point to begin working on a solution.

"I… almost remember, but I can not," Rei said, shaking her head.

Ritsuko sighed before writing something down on her clipboard.

"Well… what now?" Asuka asked.

Ritsuko shook her head as she gazed up at the ceiling.

"I don't know..."

/

-The Whimsy Afterhours-

/

"Commander Ikari?" Ritsuko asked as she stood outside the man's office.

The door gasped open and Ritsuko was greeted by the great abyss that was Gendo Ikari's office.

She walked in, the heels of her shoes the only sound she could hear echoing throughout the massive dark room. Ahead of her, she saw a candlelit desk and a pair of orange glasses and white gloves. On the desk, there appeared to be a plate of food, possibly steak.

Ritsuko finally arrived at the desk and nervously glanced around before trying to feign her confidence by speaking first.

"Sorry for interrupting your meal. I regret to inform you I've made very little progress on my investigation. But, if you could just approve the sensor array, I could get to work on it-"

"That will not be necessary, Doctor Akagi."

Ritsuko ground her heel into the floor of the office.

"Very well… But, I must inform you that not doing so will greatly hinder my ability to formulate a solution. The pilots, they-"

"I have already made myself clear, Doctor Akagi. Besides… I have no say in the matter. I was unable to secure funding for such a project. I already brought it up with… the committee. They declined. There is nothing further to say on the matter. We will just have to make do."

"I see… Well, before I go… you should know the pilots said they heard a voice while they were going through their episodes. I… haven't come to any concrete conclusions yet. But, from what they told me, it sounded like more than just a mere hallucination."

"Thank you. You may go now, doctor."

Ritsuko timidly turned around and left the office.

After the door shut, Gendo removed his glasses before opening the drawer of his desk and pulling out a microfiber cloth. He ran the dark gray cloth over his orange glasses and then returned the cloth to his desk.

"I suppose it begins in earnest now."

Gendo replaced his glasses on the bridge of his nose.

"They're coming."

/

Misato, Kaji, Rei, Shinji, and Asuka had just arrived outside the Geofront from one of the many elevators connected to the subterranean fortress. Obviously, unlike in other cities, where there were no massive elevators leading in and out of underground military bases, Tokyo-3's unique infrastructure required such things. And, as such, every elevator also usually came with their own reasonably sized parking lot as well. One could only wonder if the city planners who designed the place got payed enough for their services.

Of course, the geofront had inside parking as well. There were several massive downwards spiraling roads that led to the geofront in the case that emergency vehicles needed access or the power went out. And there were also cargo elevators that ran alongside the personnel elevators. But, most of the time, such things were left unused, mostly because of how long it took to arrive at the geofront using such things. It supposedly took twenty minutes for the cargo elevators to reach the bottom and then return to the top while the roads usually took no less than fifteen minutes either going up or down for a total of thirty minutes both ways.

The personnel elevators on the other hand where much faster. Starting out slow, they would gradually speed up until about a quarter of the way down where they would maintain their speed until reaching the last quarter where they slowed down. As such, they usually only took about 7 minutes in either direction. Admittedly, that was still a long time to be stuck listening to elevator music, but there was no better choice.

In the elevator parking lot was Kaji's metallic charcoal Rolls Royce. Seeing it, Misato glanced at Kaji with questioning eyes before checking to make sure the kids were far enough ahead of them to be out of earshot.

"Kaji?"

"Hmm?" the man questioned as he looked down at his old love.

"Do you think you'd wanna take Asuka to your place tonight? She might like it."

"You're kidding, right? Look at how much happier she is right now than she used to be."

Misato looked back at the kids, Shinji and Rei holding hands and Asuka poking and prodding at each of them while they all giggled and laughed, the events that happened earlier in the night seeming not to trouble them as much when they were all together.

"Yeah… She does look pretty happy now."

"I can't take her back to my place. I can't give her what she wants and it'll only upset her. She needs to be with Shinji and Rei."

"Yeah, I see. You're right... Y'know, I still can't believe I found them all sleeping together. Haha, Ritsuko really freaked out about that, didn't she?" Misato said with a small chuckle.

Kaji beamed back at her.

"Well, that does sound a little inappropriate. But… at least she's making progress. And, I suppose that's all I really care about… Ritsuko is right though. It wouldn't be good if either of them caught a pregnancy… Maybe you should talk to them."

"Ugh, maybe. I'm not sure. I was sorta intending to hide the fact I saw them. But… I dunno. I guess when the time is right, I'll talk to them. Just to let them know they can talk to me if they need birth control or something..."

Kaji raised an eyebrow at the woman's answer, which caused her to blush.

"Okay, okay! I know! Maybe I could try to talk them out of having sex at all. But, since when has that ever worked? If they're gonna do it, they're gonna do it." Misato tried to say dismissively as though there were nothing to worry about.

Kaji sighed.

"Well, it looks like you're gonna have your hands full. Why don't you catch up with the kids and be that mother you always wanted to be," Kaji said as he slapped Misato's ass.

"Hmph, maybe when you start acting more fatherly and less like a dirty old man," Misato said with a smug and aroused smirk.

"Ah, come now. I'm not that old!"

"Hey! Come on you two! I still wanna watch TV tonight before I have to go to bed!" Asuka called out as she stomped impatiently next to Kaji's car.

"Come on, lets go home," Kaji said as he smiled down at Misato.

/

"Mmmgh," Asuka groaned as she flipped through the various TV channels, nothing catching her attention.

She looked over her shoulder, seeing Rei and Shinji chatting in the kitchen.

"Hey, are you cooking anything!?" Asuka asked.

"Hmm, uh, no," Shinji said as he and Rei glanced at Asuka.

"Then why the hell are you always hanging out in the kitchen!?"

"Uuuuh. I don't know. Is there a reason I can't?"

"No! But, it's weird! Why don't you come hang out on the sofa where people are actually supposed to."

"Oh, well, we didn't wanna interrupt you is all."

"Ack! There's nothing any good on anyways. Just get over here!"

"If you insist," Shinji shrugged.

Rei turned off the light in the kitchen and followed Shinji to the couch.

Asuka turned down the volume on the TV. And Shinji gave her his attention, assuming she had something to say.

"Is… anything the matter, Asuka?"

For a second, Asuka didn't say anything, seemingly waiting for Rei to also be seated. Once she was, Asuka took a breath.

"So… I don't know about you two, but I had a dream after… the voice made me pass out."

Shinji and Rei both looked slightly alarmed.

"Oh… me too," Shinji said nervously.

"I did as well," Rei said, barely above a whisper.

"I… didn't say anything about it to Doctor Akagi because… it was sort of embarassing. I guess I just fooled myself into thinking it wasn't important. But… if both of you had a dream too… do you think they could have been the same dream?"

"Hmm…" Shinji wondered as a blush creeped over his face.

Rei cast her eyes to the ground instead of saying aything.

"Ah, I see how it is. Both of you are gonna leave it to me first then," Asuka grumbled, "Is Misato in bed?"

"Last I checked, she was," Shinji confirmed.

"Oh, okay, well, uh..." Asuka stuttered, trying not to blush, " In m-my dream, I uh… Oh, god, I can't believe I'm actually gonna say this. I was in my mother's old house… before I moved in with Misato and then Kaji. Before she killed herself."

Rei's eyes widened slightly.

"Asuka, I am sorry. That must have been… difficult. I have not had the same bonds with people in my life as your or Shinji… but, I understand that could not have been easy for you."

"Yeah… it doesn't matter. She wasn't herself when she did it anyways. I already told Shinji about it awhile ago but… Well, back to the dream. So, I was in my mother's house back in Germany. And… it was just really freaky at first because… it felt so real. I've never had a dream that felt that real. And, that's what confused me a lot at first because… I burned the house down after she killed herself. I just… hated it so much and so I burned it down. All the stupid memories. I just couldn't take it," Asuka whispered, trying to hold back her tears.

"I'm sorry, Asuka. I… know you already told me about her a little but… I didn't know it had that much of an effect on you," Shinji said, trying to comfort the girl.

"Yeah, well… I didn't think it was a big deal either at the time. And, I sort of avoid bringing it up. But, like I was saying, it seemed really real. Which wasn't right at all because the whole place is just a charred ruin now. And, so I'm sorta walking around and my mother is in the kitchen all of the sudden and… she was cooking something. I think it was cupcakes, but I can't remember exactly. But, I sorta remember I… think I started freaking out. And, she just… she changed and started looking all corpse-like," Asuka said with a shiver.

Shinji and Rei both looked at Asuka with sad but intent frowns.

"She started doing all kinds of disgusting stuff. She was sticking her rotting fingers in my mouth and she was telling me to bring her a knife so she could kill my father for cheating on her. And she was just touching me and it was disgusting. I-I tried to get her to stop but she like… she pushed me through a window with… I guess it was an AT field. And then she just shoved me up a wall and cut my clothes off with a knife and was trying to rape me… I guess… I guess that just happened because of what happened when I almost got rapped by that guy at the convenience store. Maybe I was just thinking about it in my dreams or something. I don't know," Asuka said as her entire body stated shivering.

"When did this happen!" Rei asked in alarm.

"Oh, it… it was a few m-months ago I guess. I already told Shini about it but… you and I weren't on the greatest of terms back then, so I didn't really have a mind to tell you, Rei. I'm sorry."

"It is fine..."

"But, after she started trying to rape me, she stabbed me with the kinfe she cut my clothes off with… I don't even remember when she got it from but… she stabbed me and… I just… I honestly have no fucking idea what happened. It's going to sound really stupid, but I turned feral. Like… my finger nails turned into claws and I just started loosing my mind. My clothes all turned into black smoke and disappeared. My entire body had like this red aura around it. And I had like… these fucking wings and a tail. Its so stupid. I know. But, I just… Hey, is everything okay?" Asuka asked as she saw Shinji and Rei both sitting very still and with odd fearful expressions on their faces.

"I… didn't have the same dream as you. Mine was about my father. But… I did have that same thing happen in mine. Where you started glowing, right? And the wings and your… clothes disappearing. It was purple for me. The flames or the energy or whatever it was I mean," Shinji said, slowly coming to some kind of realization.

"Yes, I experienced the same as well. It was blue for me. Though… my dream was of someone I do not know, an angel calling himself Tabris."

"You had a dream about an angel, Rei!?" Shinji asked in astonishment.

"Yes. He and I fought and I… underwent the transformation."

"What does it all mean? Why is this happening?" Asuka asked as she starred down at her quivering palms, "Blue, red, purple… why the same thing but in different colors? Rei?" Asuka asked.

"Yes?"

"When you get in your Eva, your AT field is light blue, right? It's always been blue."

"Yes, it is."

"And… Shinji, yours is purple?" Asuka asked shakily as she glanced at him.

"Yeah," Shinji answered with a slight frown.

"And mine is that orangey red… You don't think it's connected, do you?"

"I… don't have any idea, Asuka."

"But, think about it! It couldn't be coincidence! Doctor Akagi might saw we don't have anything to prove it's not coincidence, but even she said she admitted it seemed like more than just happenstance! ...what if they weren't dreams. What if it was some kind of message? What if the Evas are… trying to talk to us?"

"Asuka, I think we need to calm down!" Shinji said, putting his hand on the girl's shoulder.

"What!? You don't believe me!? You think I'm insane or something!? If I'm insane, then we're all insane!" Asuka asked accusingly as the hair on the back of her neck bristled.

"No! No, Asuka, of course not! I don't think you're insane! I just… don't think there's anything we can do about it right now. All we can do is… tell doctor Akagi about it I guess. But, she's probably in bed by now… maybe we should just go to bed too," Shinji said as he stood up and held his hand out for Asuka.

Rei too got up and grabbed Shini's other hand. Asuka examined them both intently, trying to make sure they weren't doubting her or thinking less of her due to her proposition. She saw Shinji genuinely smiling at her and even Rei was smiling what seemed to be a natural smile. After being satisfied with her judgment that both were being earnest, she took Shinji's hand and let him help her up.

"We can call Doctor Akagi tomorrow. Hopefully she won't be too upset with us omitting details," Shinji said, still smiling as he and Rei walked Asuka to their room.

"Yeah, I guess but… Shinji… there was something I wanted to do tomorrow. I already talked to Rei about it. But… uh, do you wanna go to the The Tokyo-3 Sanctuary Zoo tomorrow?"

Rei smiled at Asuka's words, happy the girl seemed to be coming out of her shell after everything she and Shinji had done to try to make her feel at home in their company.

"Oh, well, it sounds great, but isn't tomorrow a school day?"

"Oh, come on, Shinji! Please!? School's nothing but lies anyways! And they don't even cover the entire curriculum! All that dumb old man ever talks about is second impact! He never goes over anything else most of the time unless the academic dean or the principal is in the room setting him back on track! He never talks about biochemistry or astrophysics or language or any historical events that happened before 1999. And… I… I just… wanted to show both of you more of the world than what you're going to find in the class room. Please, Shinji! I'm sure Misato could call in for us! Give them some excuse to get us out for free! Please!" Asuka begged emphatically.

Shinji was speechless. He wasn't used to Asuka begging him for anything, much less to go out and have fun together of all things.

"I think it sounds fun and educational," Rei chimed in before nudging Shinji in his side, trying to get him to make the next move.

"Rei!? You too!?" Shinji asked nervously.

"Why not? Perhaps Pilot Sohryu-," Rei stopped herself and corrected her wording, "-Asuka is correct. Mayhap it would be good for us."

Shinji returned his eyes to Asuka.

"It… really means that much to you?"

"Well, of course it does!" Asuka said as she stomped and crossed her arms over her chest defensively.

Shinji sighed and then laughed.

"Well… I guess we're going to the zoo tomorrow!"

Asuka then held her hand out once more and Shinji took it in his and led the way for her. They then began walking to their rooms down the hallway and upon reaching the doors, all promptly stopped while continuing to hold each other's hands awkwardly.

"I… guess you're going to sleep with Rei and me again tonight?" Shinji asked slightly more seriously than before.

"Y-yeah! Unless… unless there's a problem with me..."

Asuka hung her head, trying to hide her blush with her bangs.

"Not at all. We would be happy to have you," Rei said happily.

"Thank you," Asuka whispered under her breath so quietly, even she didn't hear her own words.

They all entered Shinji's room together. As she'd already done once before, Asuka tore off Shinji's shirt while Rei held the covers suspended above the mattress, letting everyone huddle in underneath and get situated. And before long, both of the girls were resting their heads on Shinji's chest, their warm breathing helping to keep him at a comfortable temperature before they all lost their weary souls to sleep.

.


*Eva credits roll and Fly Me to the Moon plays*

.

"There they go again... sleeping together... without me. Why didn't anyone think to wake me up so I could join them!?

But, it looks like next chapter, I get to go with them on their trip to the zoo! Ritsuko's probably not gonna be happy about me skipping out on work again! But, hey! The zoo is outside the city limits and the Tokyo-3 loop line doesn't go all the way out there! So... someone has to drive them! I'll just tell Ritsuko it was for educational purposes. She'll understand, right? I just hope that Kaji doesn't come along and crash the party... though, I might just let him... WAIT! NO! WHAT AM I SAYING! Uh, fuck! Anyways! It'll all be in the next chapter of Neon Genesis Evangelion: A Journey of Hate, Power, and Love; Memories of Yesterday!

Stick around, there might be some fanservice! You never know!"