Unravel

by Homer's Disciple

Shinji rejected Instrumentality, but he made so many mistakes. He has one last chance to set things right, to unravel everything and save what matters. A retelling or altering of the series, an altered version of Shinji with an altered past. Life takes a different path, but do all paths lead to the same destination? Is Shinji doomed to never know happiness?

8. The Sample

Hey guys, I'm back. Thanks for everyone who reviewed.
This chapter is really long, maybe read in parts? My awesome readers have told me they don't mind so I didn't split it.
Note, some things are brushed over to advance the story.

Here's chapter 8 "The Sample"

---

"Even the best-laid plans can go wrong. Things you couldn't know. People that you didn't expect to see. All you can do is move forward. I hate how much I'm starting to sound like 'him' of all people."

– the Broken Man.

---

The dream.

Shinji watched as from afar, a silent observer unable to look away, he saw the world as if looking from high above. As if he was floating above the world like a ghost, intangible and detached.

A Giant of Light stood amid a harsh frozen landscape.

Shinji watched from above the scene as people in lab coats and jackets were shouting.

The Giant rose, seeming to float over the air defying gravity itself. The Creature, whatever it was, was huge, the size of an Evangelion, perhaps taller, and though it had no mouth it screamed.

A massive red spear was embedded in the torso of the Giant of Light. The titan roared soundlessly, silent agony in its rage, as it flew higher and higher into the atmosphere. The Angel loomed eerily over the expedition base below, strange and alien, like an Evangelion from some twisted nightmare.

It hovered in the sky.

Shinji couldn't see much, he didn't want to, his vision was blurry and out of focus. He wanted to look away but he had never learned how to.

Down below, the scientists started to panic. They ran for cover or else for an exit. All of them knew it was pointless.

The Giant exploded leaving almost no traces of its body, and an enormous wave of energy erupted in its wake. A blast that spread far beyond the base of panicked people stationed below. The air itself seemed to burn, the force of the blast moved faster than the sound of its boom. It produced rapidly accelerated charged particles, as a surge of electromagnetic energy caused electronic devices to go haywire. The blast didn't stop, it kept spreading and spreading up into the atmosphere where its effects would be felt across the entire planet. The power of the blast grew as the Giant lost more and more mass in the explosion.

"Second Impact..." the boy heard himself whisper.

He wasn't sure how he knew, but he did. He was watching the start of the Angel War, the beginning of it all, the global catastrophe that shaped the generation before his own.

Stop. Look away, boy. The thing in his head stirred.

Shinji gasped, feeling something or someone grab him by the shoulder and pull him back... back from the dream where his vision had blurred.

...

He woke with a start, panting heavily in his bed, a fresh layer of sweat on his forehead.

"Just a dream," Shinji muttered to himself.

He sat up, sheets falling to his sides as he did so. He raised a hand to his face and felt blood. Another nosebleed.

"Need my pills," he muttered to himself, a bad habit from having spent years in the ward. It didn't happen every night, but he'd been having bad dreams recently. In his nightmares, Shinji relived his seizure after having been shot in the eye. And other times he saw strange things that he tried to forget.

He rose glancing at his phone's display to check the time. 6:30 a.m. Early, but he was already up so might as well get the day started.

Shinji wiped the small trickle of blood off his face, popped a red pill into his mouth and swallowed it. He went to the bathroom, careful not to wake the others, and proceeded to wash his face.

I hate this... I hate that I'm still shaken up, Shinji thought at the sight of his trembling hand. His hands had started shaking, a kind of tremor whenever he was nervous or scared, it had started ever since Operation Yashima. Rei was stronger than him, she always soldiered on and did her duty as a pilot. But he wasn't like her... sometimes he wished he was.

He clenched his hand into a fist, opening and closing it slowly. He breathed, calming himself down. The tremor in his hand persisted, and then gradually it faded. Knowing his luck, it would be back sooner or later.

Shinji tried not to think about it. He should start making breakfast or else Misato would cook, better if he did it.

---

Present-day.
Nerv Germany.

"And how are we today, Asuka? Your sync ratio is looking good."

Kaji spoke via the intercom from the other side of the observation window in the testing room.

"Of course it is. Thanks, Kaji," Asuka said beaming. Her Japanese was almost perfect, Kaji noted.

"Careful now, Mr. Kaji. Princess will get the wrong idea. She's weak in the knees for you," the other pilot in the sync test said. The girl had a habit of chiming in even when no one asked her too.

Kaji shifted uncomfortably.

That girl is weird, not wrong, just weird.

He watched as Asuka's face turned red, and he knew a tantrum was coming.

"Shut up! Can't you stop talking for five minutes?!" Asuka shouted at her fellow pilot/rival.

The other girl sat across the room; seated in her own test entry-plug.

"Not when you're here, Princess. You're too easy to tease. Need to lighten up," Mari said completely calm.

Asuka proceeded to curse her fellow pilot out in German, calling her several things that Kaji was glad her parents didn't hear.

Kaji tuned them out and glanced down at the display. 40% for Asuka, and 41% for Mari, they're getting better, he thought.

From the expressions on the other German Nerv staff, Kaji could tell that this bickering was not an uncommon event. Last week, the Fourth Child, Mari, had arrived at Nerv's German branch along with Eva Unit 03.

Unit 03 was nearly finished and was considered operational just as 02 was. For that reason, Nerv had sent 03 to finish its development alongside 02 in Germany. Wherever Unit 03 went its' pilot followed.

The superiors claimed it was logistically easier when the time came to ship both Units to Japan, but Kaji had his own theories about that.

"Oh be quiet, Psycho! You're in Germany and don't speak German! Who's spoiled now?" Asuka shouted back.

Kaji looked up to see the two pilots still bickering.

Asuka is the one who gets angry. Mari never loses her cool, Kaji thought. He watched as the other girl hummed to herself mostly ignoring Asuka.

"You're just too easy to mess with," Mari said in that frustratingly cool tone of hers, nothing got to her, no insults, no teases, nothing.

"Alright, you're finished. Both of you are showing improvement. You're free to go," the German Nerv scientist said, speaking in Japanese so both pilots could understand him.

The man looked absolutely fed up with the two pilots, and he dared not say anything about Germany's Child Prodigy, but Mari was another story. "Pilot Makinami, please refrain from aggravating your fellow pilots," the man said glumly before turning away not waiting for a response.

Poor guy, Kaji thought. He chuckled to himself at the thought of the team having to deal with 'this' day in and day out.

"Good news, both of you, we'll be sending you two to Nerv's Japanese branch sooner than we thought. You should start packing. I don't know how long you'll be in Tokyo-03, but I'm guessing a while," Kaji said.

"I'm good to go already," Mari said still humming to herself. It was kind of true from what Kaji knew of the girl, she didn't seem to want or care for material things in stark contrast to Asuka.

"Great, I can't wait to see combat. You'll see, Kaji. I'll show the other pilots how it's done," Asuka said, beaming with a smug smile planted on her face.

I'm sure you will, Kaji thought. He shook his head. There was a reason Asuka was called a Child Prodigy, but she could get on people's nerves at times.

"Sounds like fun," Mari said flexing her fist at the idea of actual combat.

At least that's something they agree on, Kaji thought.

...

Making it back to his apartment in Germany, Kaji was glad that no one had followed him. Days now, and nothing had happened, no one had tried breaking in. He seemed to have successfully stolen the sample.

Locking the door behind him, he headed for his closet and he opened the hidden safe he'd had put inside the wall. Kaji breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the black suitcase still in its place. Honestly, doing convert work was prone to make one paranoid.

Plots within plots, roles within roles, it made things hard to follow. He couldn't be sure if he'd successfully stolen the sample, or if SEELE had let him take it after all.

Opening the case, Kaji tensed at the sight of the Adam sample, the strange embryo-like creature frozen in the dura-bakelite. The unnatural bundle of cells stood imprisoned in the same material used to contain an Evangelion Unit if need be.

Closing the case, putting it back in the safe, and locking it again, Kaji grabbed a smoke and breathed in a good amount to relax.

"Needed that," he said, grabbing his encrypted phone.

He made the call.

"I have the package. Everything is good to go. I didn't expect the Fourth Child and Unit 03, you know anything about that?"

"They are acceptable anomalies. You will be heading to Japan in three days, do not be surprised if something happens during transport. Nerv will be sending you an insurance policy in any case. Whatever happens, you will not lose the package," Gendo Ikari said over the phone.

"Roger that," Kaji said playing it cool.

Click.

Gendo hung up.

"Not even a goodbye. What a rude man," Kaji said simply.

---

Japan.
Misato's apartment.

Shinji Ikari stood in the kitchen making breakfast for his guardian and himself, watching the TV news report on the events of the Jet Alone incident.

"The engineers have not found the source of the malfunction which caused the enormous nuclear-powered machine to lose control. Devised as a possible alternative to the Evangelion program, Jet Alone has proven to be a major embarrassment to the United Nations," the reporter on TV was saying.

Shinji didn't know much about politics, he had only been outside the ward for a year before being brought to Nerv, but he thought the media was being a bit mean.

He knew Jet Alone had been a disaster, one that Nerv had had to fix, but the reporter seemed to really pick at the incident and praise the Evas.

They should really thank Misato. She's the one who stopped it, Shinji thought. He was glad Nerv had never released his identity to the open public, he didn't want the attention although he was pretty sure most of his classmates knew he and Rei were pilots.

"Wark!"

Shinji looked down to see Pen Pen glaring at him expectantly.

"Right, almost forgot. Sorry."

Shinji filled the penguin's food bowl.

"Wark," Pen Pen chirped softly, giving him a look that plainly said, you're alright.

I think he's starting to like me, Shinji thought.

He went back to cooking breakfast, listening to the news in the background. They only reported on the failure of Jet Alone and the successes of the Eva Units, before switching to the usual gossip that he didn't much care for.

"Morning Shinji! You're up early!" Misato called emerging into the kitchen.

"Morning, breakfast is almost ready," Shinji said, as his guardian opened the fridge and grabbed a cold beer.

His guardian was very unabashed about her love of alcohol, Shinji, however, thought it was unhealthy to drink so earlier in the morning. He frowned as she opened the can of beer, and took a long swig.

"Relax. I know what I'm doing," Misato said, not even needing to glance behind her to know that he was giving her a disapprovingly look.

"So you say. Try to take it easy. You stopped Jet Alone a while back, maybe cut down on the drinks?" Shinji said softly.

"Awe, you were worried about me? I'm flattered," Misato teased as Shinji set the breakfast table.

"Of course I was worried about you. You... you worry about me whenever I pilot, don't you?" Shinji asked nervously.

Misato looked at him like he was an idiot, a lovable awkward, and brave, idiot.

"Yes Shinji, I worry about you," she said.

"Oh. That's good to know." Shinji said, smiling softly without realizing it. No one had ever really worried about him before, it felt... nice.

"So? How are things going with Rei? You two haven't done anything I should know about right?" Misato said, giving him that look when she knew she was making him awkward.

Don't fall for it, don't fall for it, he thought.

"No. You shouldn't joke about things like that. I helped her clean her apartment, and we hang out because she's my only real friend. We're both pilots... we just have things in common," Shinji said knowing his face had flashed. Damn it.

"Oh, I don't know about that. I've known Rei longer, and she seems different around you. She waits for you after the sync tests are over, all so you can walk her home. Ritsuko told me. Well done," Misato said not entirely teasing him.

"... You're reading too much into it," Shinji said avoiding her gaze.

"Oh right, not like a woman would know these kinds of things. Sure, don't listen to me," Misato said mockingly.

"Very funny," Shinji said watching as she took another long drink of her beer. Not very ladylike, he thought at the sight.

"And what do you mean 'only' friend? What about your classmates? What do you do when you're not at home? School? Or at Nerv? I gave you a key, as long as you're home before nightfall I don't mind," Misato said oddly serious for once.

"I never go anywhere else," Shinji said with a shrug.

"Really?"

"Really."

Misato frowned at him.

Don't look at me like that. I know, I know what I am. I never got social skills. Too much time spent in a mental ward.

"Just so you know. More Eva Pilots and their Units are on their way to Japan. The UN Pacific Fleet is escorting them over. We've been invited to take a closer look. It could fun," Misato said mixing the truth with a small white lie.

The truth was that Commander Ikari had them delivering emergency power cables to the Eva Units in the paranoid delusion that something would happen during the transport. Gendo wanted an extra pilot on hand just in case, never mind that Shinji piloting a different Eva would likely result in a lower, if not zero percent, sync ratio. Hell, the last time Cross Unit Eva Piloting had been tried, it had ended badly.

"Huh, I never knew there were other pilots. Guess it makes sense. If Nerv wants me to go then I'll go. What do I have to do?" Shinji asked. He took a bite of his toast without really enjoying it.

He's been on edge around the Evas lately. Ritsuko reports his sync ratio's been lower since getting shot... Misato thought.

She knew something was bothering Shinji, knew that he'd been avoiding any chances to talk about it, even during the Jet Alone incident he'd been a little shaky with 01, but she didn't know what to do and she worried for him. So she chose her words carefully before she spoke.

"You don't have to do anything. Just meet the other pilots and check out the Eva Units onboard the ship," Misato said holding back the truth slightly.

"Okay," Shinji said not really caring, it wasn't like he had any real choice.

He's always doing that. He almost never questions orders... just goes along with whatever people tell him to do. Unless Rei's in trouble, then he steps up. Misato thought getting frustrated at him.

"Hey, whatever happened to those two boys you told me about! Your friends from school, you said you have gym class with them? Don't you eat lunch with them every now and then?" Misato said getting an idea in her head.

"Toji and Kensuke? I talk to them at school. Sometimes they walk with me, but Rei does too and I think she unnerves them," Shinji said slowly.

"Well, unfortunately, Rei has to stay here. At least one pilot in Japan at all times. You should invite your friends, they'll go crazy. What teenage boy doesn't love to see the military and their toys?" Misato said leaning across the table.

"I suppose... yeah. I think they'd like a free trip," Shinji said thinking it over.

"There you go. Damn it Shinji, you should be the most popular kid in the school? Why aren't you?" Misato said shaking her head at him. Hopeless.

"Don't know," Shinji shrugged glancing at his watch.

"School starts in a few minutes. I should head out. Bye," Shinji said. He got up from his seat and headed for the door.

"Bye," Misato called watching him ago.

…

Shinji's walk to school was rather uneventfully as usual.

He met up with Rei and together they made their way to school. Sometimes the two pilots would chat about whatever Shinji wanted, school or else the sync tests, but mostly the two of them just… enjoyed the other's company? Shinji didn't have a word for what they did, they just liked being around each other.

Rei never talked much on their way to school, so he was actually surprised when she turned to him asking "are you well?"

"I'm fine," Shinji said perhaps a little too quickly.

"I suspect you are not being truthful. You have been noticeably shaken for several days now. When piloting, I have watched your hands shake. This does not indicate you being well," Rei said never taking her eyes off of him.

The way she does that… that stare of hers. I get why she can unnerve people, Shinji thought, taking in the fact that Rei watched him enough to notice all that. She had seen the tremor in his hand when even Misato and Ritsuko had not.

"I've been having bad dreams is all," Shinji said avoiding her gaze. Even as he spoke, he felt his hand twitch briefly. The tremor. Damn it.

"About what?" Rei asked after a long moment of silence.

"… it's hard to explain. Rei, do you know about the Second Impact? Ritsuko told me the truth before Jet Alone malfunctioned," Shinji said. He wasn't lying, but not exactly telling the whole truth either.

"That what is written in the history books is wrong," Rei said speaking in a quieter tone. Her voice barely above a whisper.

"Second Impact. That it wasn't a meteor. It was when we found the First Angel… Adam, or at least that's what Nerv called him. He exploded before anyone could study him. That thing killed 2 billion people. And as far as anyone could tell, that's what the Angels are trying to do. Cause another event like that, a Third Impact," Shinji whispered.

His voice shook as he finished the sentence. Such things were difficult for him to understand, death on a scale like that. It had happened a long time ago, but he knew people who had lived through it. Misato, for one. And when it came to the nature of the Angels, Shinji didn't like to think about them at all.

"You have night terrors of failing. Of the Angels succeeding?" Rei asked.

"Something like that. And I guess piloting takes its toll on me. Heh. I'm not strong like you. Piloting, it hurts, and sometimes I relive things," Shinji said, eyes downcast as he walked with his friend.

Rei suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder and gently pulled him to the side. Shinji narrowly avoided walking headfirst into a signpost. He really had to stop looking downward when he walked.

"You are strong, Shinji. More so than you know. You will not fail… you will not die. I will protect you. And you will protect me. Because… because we are friends," Rei said avoiding his gaze now as the tables were turned and he stared at her.

She took a long time to let go of his shoulder, and he thought he could see her face turn red. He felt his own face flush too.

...

Luckily for Shinji, his school day was rather boring. More notes from the history teacher droning on and on about the Second Impact, not knowing that it was all cover-ups. He knew Kensuke would go crazy if he knew what Shinji did, but he had been told that such things were classified. Truthfully, Shinji was glad he had been forbidden to discuss it.

He ended up sitting with Toji and Kensuke for lunch that day. Rei, of course, followed after him. Somehow, the four of them managed to get along.

"So you were there! You stopped Jet Alone! It was on the news, Unit 01 was deployed when that walking nuke went haywire," Kensuke said speaking conspiratorially.

"It wasn't me. It was Misato who stopped it. I just gave her a lift," Shinji said truthfully. He didn't like talking about his piloting life. In contrast, Kensuke loved everything about it.

"Whatever you say, hero. Seriously, just man up and show some pride. You should be the coolest kid in school! If I was a pilot I'd be," Toji said smugly.

Why does everyone keep saying that? Shinji thought, sighing inwardly.

He'd gotten along with Toji a lot better in the last few weeks. Shinji knew Toji was still annoyed that he hadn't punched him, but he seemed to have let it go for now.

"Shinji is not lying. It was Captain Katsuragi," Rei said. That silenced the two boys, Rei almost never spoke in their presence. In truth, Rei rarely interacted with Kensuke and Toji, and only talked when Shinji asked her something.

"Well look at that. Misato is beautiful and brave. Damn Shinji, you are one lucky man," Toji said, daydreaming about Shinji's guardian again.

I wish they'd stop doing that. A bit immature... or is it? A lot of guys our age are like that... Shinji thought.

"You haven't had to clean up after her," he muttered under his breath.

Toji and Kensuke gave him skeptical looks, before letting it go.

"Oh, before I forget. Nerv wants Misato and me to get a look at the other Eva Units, and she said I could invite you two if you wanted to come. Sorry, Rei, Misato said you had to stay behind," he said suddenly.

"I am aware. I do not mind," Rei said as she continued eating her lunch.

Kensuke and Toij only stared opened mouthed at him.

"Are you kidding! We get to see the new Eva Units! Of course, we're going!" Kensuke said practically drooling at the thought.

"Misato's going. Count me in," Toji said smirking again.

"We'll be flying to the UN Naval Fleet that's escorting them to Japan," Shinji said,

He went over the details of what Misato had told him. The boys listened, much more excited than he had been. He thought it was kinda funny, to be honest, and then his mood soured as the thing in his head stirred.

You should not have invited them. You live a dangerous life.

Shinji flinched, his hand shaking under the table, just as he finished explaining. Toji and Kensuke didn't notice, but Rei certainly did. She watched him out of the corner of her eyes, watched his trembling hand, and she took his hand in her own for just a second before letting go.

Shinji blinked in surprise at the comfort.

Maybe Misato was onto something about Rei acting differently around him. But now Shinji had to worry about his friends tagging along.

I mean... what's the worse that could happen?

---

Three days later.
Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.

Asuka Langley Sohryu walked the main deck of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the 'Over the Rainbow'. A smirk planted firmly on her lips despite the fact the Kaji was too busy speaking with the Navy Officers to spend time with her.

That annoying psycho, that crazy girl who thought she was a better pilot than Asuka just because she was older, had been ordered to stay below deck. Confined to her room unless given permission by her temporary guardian for the duration of the trip.

"Serves her right," Asuka said grinning to herself.

Mari had a habit of wandering the halls and getting into places she wasn't supposed to, the Navy said the girl had a 'lack of respect' for the rules aboard their ships.

It was truly a shame that Kaji didn't have time for her, there wasn't much to do on this trip. Days on these slow boats and her glorious Eva Unit 02 locked up, she had even worn the new dress she'd bought to impress Kaji. But alas, she'd show him later.

Flac-flac-flac.

Asuka looked up to see a helicopter with the Nerv logo on its side hovering over the ship.

"The Third Child. Wunderbar, it's about time," Asuka said smirking at the sight. She'd been waiting for the whole trip for this.

…

Shinji could barely hear anything inside the helicopter. A part of him regretted agreeing to do this, but he had his orders. He kept his eyes straight ahead, he didn't realize beforehand but looking at the open stretches of the ocean unnerved him. He didn't know why... it made him uncomfortable.

Misato was upfront with pilots, while Shinji and his friends rode in the back. At least Toji and Kensuke were having fun, they lit up at the sight of the many ships and various aircraft stationed below on the carrier. The UN Pacific fleet and its flagship 'Over the Rainbow' was amazing to their teenage minds.

To Shinji, he found it interesting but not worth the fuss and excitement his friends showed.

"Calm down, guys."

He chuckled at their reactions, but they couldn't hear him over the roar of the helicopter.

Something inside him stirred at the sight of his friends' enthusiasm, something like envy. He wished he could have been as excited as they were. To be that 'happy' about something... anything. The boys were alight with youthful joy and like a wave that washed over him, he realized he didn't have that. Maybe he never had.

Whoa? Where did that come from? Shinji thought, shaking his head as they landed aboard the Over the Rainbow.

The moment the doors opened, Toji and Kensuke jumped out and rushed onto the main deck to the amusement of the Navy. Toji ogled over all the guns, and Kensuke filming everything he could with his camera.

Shinji chuckled at the sight, waiting for his guardian to get off before joining her on the main deck.

Misato grabbed him by the shoulder as they boarded saying, "hey? You feeling okay? You were really quiet on the ride over."

"I'm okay, don't like being surrounded by water I guess. Heh, I never did learn how to swim," he said telling a half-truth.

The truth, Shinji thought he had figured out why he didn't like the ocean. He thought that all this water brought back memories of his breakdown, of being submerged in the water, of the stretch of land he had landed upon... of things better left forgotten. His madness.

"Awe, worried you'll fall in? Don't worry, if you do I promise I'll save you. If you're lucky, maybe you'll need some mouth to mouth," Misato teased him.

"Very funny," Shinji said dryly. He should have known that was coming.

SLAP.

The sound made both Shinji and Misato turn their heads. They spotted a European looking girl arguing with Toji and Kensuke about something.

The girl was cursing in another language, German maybe? She'd apparently slapped Toji. Shinji was about to ask what was going on, but he stopped in his tracks at the sight of the girl.

He stopped breathing as the German girl shoved past his friends and strode towards him and Misato.

… You, Shinji thought not believing his eyes. His heart skipped a beat, and the tremor in his hands reemerged, he quickly stuffed them in his pockets, stepping away with wide eyes.

"Hello, Misato. How have you been?" the girl called walking towards them, and completely ignoring the glare Toji sent her way.

"Just fine. You've grown since we last met," Misato called back, a very controlled expression planted firmly on her face.

"Uh-huh. And I'm not just taller, my figure's filled out as well," the girl said smugly.

"Let me introduce you two. This is the Third Child, Shinji Ikari, he's the pilot of Unit 01. Shinji, this is the Second Child, Asuka Langley Sohryu, she's Unit 02's pilot," Misato said.

Asuka studied Shinji, and he fought to keep his composure.

"This is the famous Third Child? Mister 'wonder boy'. Commander Ikari's son? Doesn't look that impressive," Asuka said leering at Shinji.

"Shinji? What's wrong?" Misato asked frowning.

He took another step back from Asuka, almost falling over in his haste.

"Yeah, what's wrong, tough guy? Never seen a beautiful woman before?" Asuka taunted. She stared him down as he stumbled with wide eyes.

How? That's- that's not possible. I saw you... in my... my breakdown... Shinji thought.

He couldn't breathe, he was going into shock, the tremor in his hands refused to go away.

Memories of his breakdown came flooding back, images of Asuka in a red plugsuit, of his hands around her throat. Of cooking a meal for her and Rei. But that wasn't possible, that was all in his head. This wasn't possible!

He could feel the walls closing in around him, even here out in the ocean. The world around him threatening to contract until he imploded.

"What! Are you stupid?!" the girl exclaimed.

Wait... she said that now? Is 'this' another dream... or real? Shinji thought as she glared at him. This was confusing and terrifying all at once. He had heard her say those words to him before... but they only just met. Nothing made sense.

Could he trust his eyes and ears?

Breathe. You're making the others nervous. Just breathe.

The thing in his head stirred again. He felt it moving around inside of him, and he fought the urge to shudder.

This is not a dream. You're not having a breakdown. Breathe.

Shinji breathed and managed to stammer out an answer.

"Yes, I mean no. I don't know. Nice to meet you."

"Humph, what a weirdo," Asuka said coldly.

"That's enough you two. Come on, the Captain is waiting for us," Misato said. She had to physically pull Asuka back from the clearly shaken Shinji.

Misato kept a nervous glance on Shinji, watching as he seemed to recover from whatever had happened, but she was definitely worried about him now.

"Damn that girl's a bitc-" Toji was saying as he and Kensuke caught up with Shinji again.

"Wow, you okay man? You look a bit pale?" Kensuke interrupted seeing the look on Shinji's face. The boy's camera momentarily lowered, for him, that was pretty serious.

"I'm fine," Shinji said a little too quickly, his voice coming out in a hiccup.

He shook it off, turning to Toji saying "you? Why'd she slap you?"

"Doesn't matter. Girl is insane," Toji muttered.

The three of them followed after Misato and the others, Shinji calming the tremor in his hands.

---

They met the Captain of the ship in the command room surrounded by Navy officers and crew. It was clear the man did not like Nerv using the fleet to escort the Eva Units to Japan.

The Captain argued with Misato over the power cables for the Eva Units, but Misato apparently won, forcing Nerv's authority onto the Navy so they'd connect the cables to the nuclear reactor of their ship for the Evangelions.

Shinji hardly paid attention to the argument.

He kept glancing back at the Second Child, glancing back at Asuka.

She noticed him looking and shoved him in the shoulder hard, calling him a 'pig'.

I'm not a pig... why would she say that? he thought.

...

After the Navy had agreed to connect the emergency power cables to Eva Units 02 and 03, they left the command center and headed for the cafeteria. It would still take a while for them to reach Japan, so they decided to get some food before inspecting the new Evas.

At the elevator, a man was waiting for them and kind enough to hold the doors as they approached.

"Kaji!" Asuka beamed practically skipping on her way to stand beside him.

"Kaji! What?! What are you doing here!" Misato said her face growing red at the sight of him.

"Doing my job. I work for Nerv too, remember? You get the Navy to connect the cables? They wouldn't listen to me," Kaji said holding the door open for Shinji, Toji, and Kensuke while Misato stilled at the man's presence.

"I did. They're working on it," Misato said scowling inwardly as she entered the cramped elevator along with everyone else.

"You always did have the magic touch," Kaji said teasingly.

Only you could make that sound dirty. Misato thought, giving him a slight glare. She hoped Kaji and Shinji were never alone in a room together, she just knew he'd start telling 'her boy' things he shouldn't hear.

"We're heading for the cafeteria," Misato told him as Kaji pressed the button for them.

"Great, I was too," Kaji said inviting himself just as she knew he would.

---

The cafeteria of the Over the Rainbow.

Sitting at a table of the mostly empty cafeteria, Shinji kept his gaze away from his fellow pilot. He was still bothered by what had happened, and he couldn't explain it. He knew everyone in the group was having a conversation, so he forced himself to snap out of it and pay attention.

"So, you have a new boyfriend?" Kaji was asking Misato.

Now Shinji wasn't that good with people, but he knew his guardian enough to know that she was tense and that Mr. Kaji was the cause of it.

"None of your business," Misato said, her arms crossed.

"So cold. I'm hurt," Kaji teased leaning back into a more comfortable position. Toji and Kensuke watched the noticeable tension between the two adults silently, and Asuka only had eyes for Kaji.

Shinji didn't think he liked this Mr. Kaji too much right now.

Turning to him, Kaji spoke up. "So, you're the infamous Third Child. Nice to meet you."

"How did you know who I am?" Shinji asked, keeping his eyes away from Asuka as he spoke. He was still finding it hard to 'ground' himself for lack of a better word, it made his voice quieter than normal.

"Because of your reputation, idiot. The famous Third Child who got a 91% sync ratio. But they say you only did it once, I bet it was a fluke," Asuka said smugly.

Why does she hate me? Shinji thought offhandedly. He wouldn't look at her, she still unnerved him. She brought back memories of his breakdown.

"Now Asuka, calm down. I'm sure Shinji does his best. The kid who killed an Angel on his first-ever piloting run. No training what so ever. You've quite the reputation, kid," Kaji said.

Asuka seethed from the compliments.

He's doing that on purpose... he wants Asuka to be mad at me. Why? Shinji thought.

"I... I just got lucky," he said slowly.

"If you say so, luck eh? Pretty damn lucky if that's true. They say you fought two Angels at the same time and killed them both," Kaji said, clearly impressed.

"I had help from the First Child, Rei," Shinji said truthfully.

"Shinji never likes praise. He's a damn good pilot," Toji said surprisingly as he ate his food. Shinji hadn't expected him of all people to stick up for him, maybe Misato was onto something about having more friends.

Kaji nodded at Shinji's friends but turned his attention back to him, a small smirk on his face that Shinji didn't like.

"So, I hear you're living with Misato. Tell me something, is she still wild in bed-" Kaji began.

"Whatever happened to the Fourth Child?" Shinji said, interrupting Kaji a tad colder than he meant to.

He didn't know why he had done it, but he just knew this was somehow a way to tease Misato. So he stopped Mr. Kaji with the quickest question he could come up with. From the look Kaji gave him, he knew what Shinji had done.

'Clever devil' Kaji's look seemed to say.

"... She's onboard but she's busy," Kaji answered, frowning in surprise.

"Humph, busy being locked up," Asuka snorted smugly.

"You know, Shinji's right. We were supposed to meet the new pilots. Where is she?" Misato asked.

"She is in her temporary quarters aboard this ship," a new voice called. The words came in perfect Japanese as footsteps approached their table.

All of them looked up, but Shinji already knew who it was. He hadn't heard from or spoken to her personally in over a year.

"Dr. Page, how nice of you to join us," Kaji said, sounding like he didn't mean it.

The American woman pulled a chair from nearby and took a seat beside Misato.

"I'm glad you feel that way," Page said casually.

What is she doing here? Shinji thought reeling from the sight of her again after all this time.

Page held out a hand to Misato.

"Captain Katsuragi, I'm Dr. Page. Nerv hired me as a temporary legal guardian for the Fourth Child. A pleasure to meet you. I've heard good things."

"It's just Misato. And what have you heard?" Misato asked, surprised at the new visitor.

"Of your tendency for philanthropy. I've heard how you have gone above and beyond as Shinji's temporary guardian," Dr. Page said with a smile.

Before Misato could ask anything further, Dr. Page turned to Shinji.

"And to answer your question, Shinji, the Fourth Child has a bad habit of wandering into restricted areas. At the Navy's request, I have asked her to stay in her room until we reached Japan."

"Wait? You know Shinji?" Misato said looking between them.

"Yeah! She was my doctor when I was little!" Shinji said, nearly jumping from his seat as he spoke far too quickly.

Kaji gave him an odd look. Asuka muttered "weirdo", and his friends only shook their heads awkwardly at him.

Dr. Page spared Shinji a completely deadpan glance, not showing any noticeable emotion.

Please let me have this. Once people know everything changes, Shinji thought pleadingly as his old doctor met his eyes.

"Yes, I was Shinji's doctor. He was a sick child. But that was some time ago. He... recovered. I have had many patients, though I rarely meet them again," Dr. Page said offering Shinji another fake smile.

"Sick? What happened, Shinji?" Misato said frowning at him.

"Uh, I was a small kid. I had problems but I got better," Shinji said starting to calm down.

"Wimp," Asuka whispered to him. Strangely enough, Shinji noticed that his fellow pilot was glaring at Dr. Page. Why would Asuka hate Page?

"Huh. Small world," Misato said.

"Indeed. I'm sorry to interrupt, but I need to speak with Kaji. He has not been answering his phone and Nerv's German branch needs to speak with him," Dr. Page said smiling politely at the group.

She hasn't changed. Those smiles mean nothing.

Shinji fought not to flinch at the voice.

"You never change," Misato muttered to Kaji rolling her eyes.

"Oh, the reception is terrible out here in the water. What do they want?" Kaji said shifting in his seat coolly.

"Something about a possible security leak. There's a phone line open for you below, in the communications room of the ship. As you say, reception on the water is bad," Dr. Page said.

Kaji gave her a blank smile saying, "I better not keep them waiting. Asuka, I'll see you after I'm done. Nice to meet you, Shinji."

The man got to his feet, Asuka pining as he did so, and made to leave.

Dr. Page stood up as well saying, "I'll join you."

"That's not necessary-" Kaji began.

"I am sure Nerv will not mind a coworker joining you in a show of support," Dr. Page said. She gave another polite smile, then stood up saying her goodbyes to Misato.

She's always doing that. Cornering people into doing what she wants, Shinji thought.

"Bye Kaji," Asuka said as the man left with Dr. Page following closely behind him.

Misato breathed a sigh of relief once Kaji was gone. Shinji didn't know what history they had between them, but the man had made Misato uncomfortable and he didn't like that. He had too much on his mind right now, he wanted to get this over with but it would take hours to get back.

The others chatted about Japan, the size of the fleet, and the new Eva Units, Shinji sat quietly and ate very little. Once they had finished their meal, Asuka parted ways with them saying she would wait for Kaji.

...

Misato took Shinji and his friends back up to the surface for a breath of fresh air. Toji and Kensuke went crazy again at all the military gear, but Shinji stayed back. He'd been feeling very tired all of a sudden… not to mention everything else this strange day.

"Hey. Hey, Shinji?" Misato said, snapping him out of his daze and shaking his arm.

Shinji opened his eyes, he'd closed them and dozed off without realizing it.

"You okay? Is it the water again? You won't really fall in, just stay inside the railing," Misato said frowning at him.

"I'm fine, just tired is all. Haven't been getting good sleep lately. I… I sometimes have nightmares where I fight the Angels again. Nightmares where I get hurt," Shinji said avoiding her gaze.

"Really? I'm so sorry. Why didn't you say anything?" Misato asked concerned.

"It's not that bad, it comes and it goes. I think I'm gonna take a walk. Just need some time to myself, I'll meet up with you again later," he said.

Misato made a face.

"I have my phone if you need to reach me," Shinji countered.

"Are you sure?" Misato said, he'd finally said something about what was bothering him but she didn't want to force him to say more.

"I'll be fine. See you in twenty minutes," Shinji said avoiding Misato's gaze as he headed below again

"Bye," Misato said watching him go. She wished she knew how to help him, she wished she knew how to be a better adult for him.

…

"I'll be fine. See you in twenty minutes."

The Other Shinji spoke calmly, avoiding Misato's gaze.

His eyes always gave him away. Luckily, this Shinji looked at his feet when he was uncomfortable. Little things like that were a blessing in disguise, it made the boy's movements and mannerisms predictable. The voice was harder, but the boy was quiet and soft-spoken. That too was another gift. Easy enough to emulate.

The Other Shinji waved goodbye and headed below.

"Bye," Misato said watching him go.

He would have to be quick, if he stayed too long it would only hurt this Shinji. He did not want that, the boy was already shaken from today's events.

The Other Shinji waited until he was below the main deck before taking a breath, closing his eyes, and feeling outward with his palm raised. Feeling for what was on board. It was here somewhere, Kaji had taken it…

"Where are you?" the Other whispered in a low rasp that was his voice.

Other found what he was looking for, and opened his eyes.

He moved throughout the ship wordlessly, like a ghost, careful not to draw the attention of the crew.

---

Sometimes later.

Adam...

The thing in his head was stirring again.

"Wha-"

Shinji awoke, his lips moving of their own accord, a slur of surprise leaving his mouth, dazed as he opened his eyes.

He blinked groggily and noticed he was standing up. How had he fallen asleep standing up? He was in one of the temporary rooms assigned to Nerv personnel, but he couldn't remember how he'd gotten there. He was holding something in his hands.

Looking down, Shinji saw a plain black suitcase in his grasp. His right palm was pressed lightly on the center of the case.

"What?" he asked in a small panicked voice. How? He'd been with Misato and the others and then... and then this.

He put the suitcase down on the nearby bed and backed away.

Shinji raised a hand to his face and felt a small trickle of blood. Another nosebleed, but it was different this time. Small, not nearly as violent as the ones he'd had before.

Need my pills.

His hand began shaking as he hurriedly opened the door and left the room. He didn't even know who was staying there.

Shinji tried reaching into his bag, wanting to grab his meds, but then he remembered that he didn't have any. This was only supposed to be a single day trip; he hadn't needed to pack anything. He'd just taken his daily pills and left the rest at home.

No. I brought an extra one just in case, Shinji remembered. He reached into his back pocket pulling out the red pill, quickly swallowed it, then moved on along the hallways not knowing where he was going.

This was not good, it was like he was getting worse, not better, over time... it had something to do with piloting.

Eva piloting made him worse.

He turned a corner and almost ran face-first into an adult.

"Whoa there, kiddo. Watch where you're going, eh?" Kaji said suddenly.

"Mr. Kaji? I- what are you doing here?" Shinji asked awkwardly.

"Heading to my room. Question is, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Misato and your friends?" Kaji said raising an eyebrow at him.

"I… I got lost. And shouldn't you be with Asuka?" Shinji said, stumbling at first but thinking of a fast counter.

Kaji sighed, and Shinji considered how he could explain this or else find a way out of here.

"Good point. Asuka's bratty but she can take care of herself. More or less. That what you doing? Trying to hide from her? I don't blame you kid; she's got you pegged as a rival," Kaji said coolly.

The man leaned against a wall as he spoke. Kaji positioned himself so that Shinji couldn't pass until he moved aside. The Jerk.

"Why? What did I do to her?" Shinji asked just wanting to leave.

"You're a pilot. One with a reputation. For Asuka, that's enough. Although they say hate and love often mix, maybe she's into you kid. Just a thought, she could use a boyfriend. And you look like you could use a girlfriend," Kaji said smirking coolly at him.

Now he's just teasing again. Hate and love… ugh, he's talking about Misato. I just know he is. Ah, no! I don't want to think about that.

"No thanks," Shinji said. He didn't want to be in the same room with Asuka let alone a relationship. Besides, what the hell did Shinji know about couples? He barely even talked to girls.

"Suit yourself, kid. You better get back to Misato before she has a heart attack, she worries too much," Kaji said letting him pass.

"At least she cares about me," Shinji muttered as he moved on.

He didn't know or care if Kaji heard him, he didn't like the man for teasing his guardian like that.

…

"Two missed calls. Misato is going to kill me," Shinji muttered to himself.

He emerged onto an unfamiliar deck of the Over the Rainbow. He really had gotten lost trying to find his way back.

He was trying not to think about why he had been in that room before, but it was nagging at him. Why couldn't he remember?! How did he even get there?!

Am I going crazy again? Shinji thought frantically. He dialed Misato's number walking around the unfamiliar deck of the ship.

You are not crazy, the thing in his head stirred. He winced just as Misato answered his call.

"Shinji! Where are you! You said you were going for a walk! But it's been almost two hours! I was about to send the Navy out to look for you! Why aren't you answering your phone?!" Misato shouted into the phone.

Shinji flinched back.

"I got lost. I'm sorry. I just couldn't find my way back and I ran into Kaji," Shinji said. He wasn't sure what to do so he said the first thing that came to mind.

"Kaji?! Shinji, do not talk to that man. If he says anything about me… I want you to forget it immediately," Misato said sounding panicked.

"Okay, it's forgotten," Shinji said quickly.

"Ahhh, I'm just glad you're all right. I was only joking earlier about you falling into the water. Don't scare me like that!" Misato said over the phone sounding truly relieved.

"I'm sorry. Look, I'll find my way back I promise. If I need to I'll ask for directions," Shinji said over the phone. He looked around at the Pacific Fleet and back at the ship he was on trying to find a way back to the main deck.

"If you don't show up in an hour then I'm sending someone after you. Damn it, Shinji. You nearly gave me a heart attack," Misato said.

"I'll be there. Bye," Shinji said hanging up his phone.

Now to find a way back, he thought.

He still had no idea where to go. But he was glad Misato knew he was okay, his guardian wasn't perfect but she cared about him in a way that no one else had.

Whistle!

---

Whistle!

The sound came loudly yet softly through the ocean air and Shinji jumped in surprise. He looked up to see a teenage girl standing atop one of the ship railings above him.

"Hey there dummy!" the girl said smirking at him from above.

How long has she been there? Shinji thought.

The girl was older than him, a brunette with long twin pigtails and a pair of glasses. Dressed in a simple white shirt, a multicolored skirt and plain leggings.

"I'm sorry. I don't-" Shinji began.

"Dummy, do I have to throw pudding at you? Come on!" the older girl laughed at him.

"Pudding? Pudding… " Shinji said slowly.

He narrowed his eyes at the girl before he finally saw it. She was tall, obviously, but taller than him. Her hair wasn't falling over her face anymore, and she'd finally gotten some glasses, but it was her.

He knew her anywhere. He couldn't believe he hadn't recognized her at first.

"Mari?" Shinji said in barely a whisper, his eyes wide and teary at the sight of her.

"Shinji" Mari smiled back at him.

"Mari… Mari!" Shinji said slowly as if on repeat before shouting out her name. A flood of emotions came back to him at the sight of her. Memories of the ward, of his only friend, of stolen cups of pudding, of drawing together, of being all alone the day she left.

"Shinji… Shinji!" Mari parroted laughing at the look on his face.

He stepped forward unable to believe it. After all these years, she was standing above him on the railing. He could barely process it.

"Hey, do me a favor and catch me," Mari called to him.

"What?"

"Catch me," Mari called back.

Shit. She's really going to jump, Shinji thought, rushing over to catch her.

"I'm off!" Mari called. The girl jump from the railing as Shinji ran to intercept. He caught her… kind of. Really, she just fell on him and sent both of them rolling on the ground.

"Ah," Shinji groaned as Mari landed on top of him. She was still a bit taller than him, and it made things awkward when they landed. She got off of him and sat atop his chest with a laugh.

"Long time no see," Mari said, beaming down at him.

"Mari. I don't know what to say. I- how? What are you doing here?" Shinji said laughing for the first time in weeks as he sat up with Mari atop him.

"Well dummy, I'm the Fourth Child," Mari said grinning down at him.

"You're the Fourth Child? Mari, you're a pilot?" Shinji said dumbfounded.

"Same as you, Mr. Third Child. I'm jealous. You got to pilot before me," Mari said leaning in close and sniffing him. It was something she had done when they were little too.

"You smell like LCL. That's my favorite smell in the world" she said leaning back and smiling at him.

"LCL smells terrible," he said slowly.

"Then so do you," Mari said and Shinji chuckled. That was just… just something that she would say.

"I don't understand? Why didn't you show up earlier?" Shinji said.

"I was supposed to meet you alongside Asuka, but Dr. Page made me stay in my room. I got bored and went exploring again, then I found your scrawny butt outside," Mari said.

Her weight on his lap was starting to bother him but he didn't care.

"I can't believe this. Of all people… I thought I'd never see you again. After you left the ward I was so alone. I…" Shinji began not able to find the words.

Mari wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled him close, bumping their heads together just like on that day in the ward cafeteria so many years ago. She was close, pressing her forehead gently against his, he could feel her breath on him. Warm. A lost connection.

His first friend...

BOOM.

One of the ships in the Pacific Fleet exploded. A shock wave rippled throughout the water striking an adjacent ship. The second ship shook as it was struck by something unseen under the water, sending clusters of debris into the air and overboard.

Shinji and Mari looked up to see the remnants of the first ship, and the second ship, beginning to sink as the crew raced to their lifeboats.

"What was that?" Mari asked.

"An Angel. Just my luck," Shinji said bitterly.

His hand started to shake again, the tremor had returned. Damn it! He thought, his fingers twitching all the while.

Shinji gasped softly as Mari took his hand in hers, and it stopped shaking. He looked up at her surprised by the touch, he felt her fingers interlock with his. It was a familiar touch, a friend thought long lost.

"Don't be scared," Mari told him.

She got to her feet and pulled him up alongside her.

Shinji stared at her as she dragged him back inside the ship, where they broke into a run. His hand in hers the entire time.

"We should find Misato and the others," Shinji said as he ran the hallways with Mari. Alarms started blaring throughout the ship as the Navy took note of the attacks.

"The grownups will know by now. Come on, we need to pilot. Pretty sure that's why Nerv sent us those power cables and you, dummy. They wanted the Eva Units to have power and a pilot with combat experience just-in-case," Mari said smirking back at him.

"I... I never thought about it like that. Wait, what do you want me to do? I can't pilot your Eva?" Shinji said.

"No dummy, you're going to pilot with me. I know where they stored Unit 03. This should be fun!" Mari said.

"Fun? How could piloting an Eva be fun?"

"Shinji, we drive giant robots for a living. How could this not be fun?" Mari said shaking her head and laughing.

He blinked in surprise at her, before a smile worked its way onto his lips. That was just like her, she never held anything back, always excited for an adventure.

---

Meanwhile.

Kaji quickly made it back to his room and locked the door behind him. He triple-checked the black suitcase, making sure the Adam sample was intact and still present in its frozen container. He'd found the case sitting on the bed earlier, instead of where he'd left it last time, and nearly had a heart attack before checking that nothing had been taken.

He hadn't liked it, but he couldn't exactly report it without revealing he'd stolen it.

Kaji grabbed his encrypted phone and called Commander Ikari.

"Report," Gendo said in greeting.

"There's an Angel attacking the fleet. Is it after the sample? Or the Evas?" Kaji asked straight away.

"Your guess is as good as mine. I did warn you this could happen. There have two Eva Units and three pilots aboard for a reason. You have my permission to take an aircraft and head for Nerv, the sample must be protected. I will send the fleet whatever authorizations they need," Gendo said irritably.

"Humph, I'm flying out of here. I'll be at Nerv shortly," Kaji said.

Gendo didn't bother with a goodbye as the phone clicked and he hung up.

…

At the command center of the Over the Rainbow.

"You can't fight the Angel like this. We can help," Misato was saying to the Captain as Kensuke and Toji trailed after her.

The man ignored her and called to his men to fire when ready.

"That isn't going to work!" Misato shouted. The Navy fired their missiles at the underwater beast below. The shots made contact, sending waves of water shooting up onto the surface, but the Angel barely slowed down.

"Sir! Eva Unit 02 is up and running," a Navy technician said getting his Captain's and Misato's attention.

All of them turned to look and sure enough, the massive red machine, Evangelion Unit 02, rose from its transport ship. The massive tarp the Navy had draped over it slid off revealing the towering figure.

Misato hurriedly grabbed her comm, thankfully she brought it with her, and turned it on finding that it could connect to Asuka's Eva Unit.

"Hello? Asuka, good work!" Misato called into the comm.

"Of course, this is my chance to show everyone how it's done. My first combat!" Asuka cheered into her comm.

"Eva Unit 03 is activating as well!" another Navy officer called out suddenly.

Misato whipped around as elsewhere, Eva Unit 03 rose from atop its transport ship. Another heavy tarp sliding off as Mari's Eva Unit stood parallel to Asuka's.

"You! What the hell are you doing?! You were ordered to stay in your room!" Asuka shouted over the comm.

"What and miss all the fun? Come on, you know me better than that?" Mari called back into the comm.

"Fourth Child? Is that you?" Misato called, not knowing who the other girl was.

"I'm Mari. Shinji's here too, he has more experience than us so I dragged him along," Mari called into the comm channel.

"Hey Misato, I'm here," Shinji said via Mari's comm.

"Shinji! Damn, you're going to give me a heart attack one of these days," Misato said.

"Sorry. Misato, the Eva Units don't have the power cables attached. I don't think the Navy had time. Can you bring them to the main deck?" Shinji said.

The Navy Captain scowled seeing that his Battleships couldn't reliably damage the Angel, and nodded ordering his men to get to work with those cables.

"Will do," Misato called back.

---

Shinji stood inside Eva Unit 03 with Mari, both of them were wearing matching plugsuits. Unit 03 was not as completed as 02 was, and it showed. The Evangelion functioned, and although the plugsuits didn't quite fit, they did their job.

"Look at you bossing the adults around," Mari smirked at him.

Shinji laughed saying, "they would have done it anyway."

My... 'privates' feel cramped, he thought awkwardly as he tried shifting into a better position.

The plugsuit Mari had given him was designed for women, there were some areas where it didn't quite fit him. He was still a little flushed from having had to change beside Mari. The girl had had no sense of privacy as she had stripped and changed in front of him. Shinji at least had kept his eyes to himself, but Mari hadn't.

Mari had whistled as Shinji had awkwardly changed into the plugsuit, and he blushed so badly that she laughed at him. Shinji tried not to think about it.

"Third Child! Psycho! You two better not screw this up! This is my first combat and it needs to be flawless," Asuka called into their comm.

"Calm down Princess, we got this," Mari called back as the Eva Units started moving.

Moving carefully, both Eva Units literally jumped from ship to ship on the Pacific Fleet, the crews had smartly gone below the deck of their ships, and the Evas headed back to the Over the Rainbow to connect the emergency power cables.

They had limited range out here, the cables ran from the Over the Rainbow to both Eva Units. Shinji didn't like their power source being so exposed, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Mari and Shinji let Asuka go first, and Unit 02 attached its power cables before jumping to another ship and looking for the Angel.

"You're smiling? Why are you smiling?" Shinji asked, seeing the look on Mari's face as Unit 03 jumped aboard and connected its power cable.

"It's exciting. We get to fight an Angel," Mari answered looking at him like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Shinji look out!" Misato called into the comm.

The water stirred and the Angel leaped from the ocean heading straight for 03. The Angel was huge, larger than the Evangelions, a twisted abomination of shark and whale. Shinji flinched thinking they would get crushed but Mari acted almost immediately.

"He doesn't play nice!" Mari said gritting her teeth as she moved 03 and leaped out of the way.

They almost landed in the water, but Mari maneuvered Unit 03 in mid-air, grabbing onto the Angel and reeling herself onto the monster as it landed atop the main deck. Standing atop the Angel's armored back on the Over the Rainbow, Mari pulled out her Eva's Progressive Knife and stabbed the creature.

"Whoa," Shinji muttered as he almost threw up from the movements. Mari was fast.

"Trying to get the jump on me!" Mari taunted as she stabbed the Angel and twisted the blade into its flesh. Bright luminous Angel blood wept onto the main deck of the ship.

The Angel roared as it flailed trying to get 03 off its back, but Mari held on. It tried to shake her off but Mari was too good, she kept moving or else grabbing a hold of something, all whilst stabbing her blade into the monster's back.

Shinji shook from the movements almost falling over. He would never have done something so crazy, but then again he wasn't as fast as Mari.

"Get off that thing, you can't kill it that way and it's taking the ship down with it!" Misato called into the comm.

Misato's right. If this keeps up the ship will sink!

He turned to Mari saying, "there's a ship to the right, jump there."

Mari nodded and ran atop the Angel's body before jumping off. They landed with an enormous thud on a nearby ship in the fleet. Shinji breathed a sigh of relief now that they had some distance from the monster.

Running on top of an Angel... that's just insane, he thought, staring at his old friend in awe.

"What's wrong with you! Kaji and Misato are on that ship! You almost sank them!" Asuka called over the comm. 02 stood hunched over on another ship, prog knife in hand, watching the Angel as it slid off the Over the Rainbow and back into the ocean.

"Princess-" Mari began but Shinji cut in saying, "it just happened. Leave her alone."

Mari gave him a bemused smirk and patted his chest affectionately.

"Angel is on the move!" Misato called into the comm.

Shinji and Mari turned watching the display as the Angel moved under the water, sending waves wherever it went, and circling menacingly around the two Eva Units. Shark-like.

This is bad, the power cables are exposed like this. If they get cut, or if we get dragged into the water... can't let that happen, Shinji thought.

"Any ideas?" Mari asked glancing back at him.

"Huh? I've never fought in the water before. But every Angel has a core somewhere. If we destroy that then it dies," Shinji said keeping an eye on the display.

"Well, I didn't see it when I was cutting up its back. Where could it be?" Mari asked.

"Maybe the head. Every Angel is different," Shinji said thinking about the previous attacks.

"Asuka!" Misato shouted into the comm.

Shinji and Mari snapped to attention, Eva Unit 03 turning as the Angel emerged from the ocean. It flew into the air and soared for Unit 02.

"I'll show you how to fight an Angel!" Asuka shouted for them to hear in the comm.

The Angel barely missed, the monster trying to body slam 02 as Asuka sidestepped prog knife in hand.

It wasn't a perfect dodge and 02 stabbed the knife into the Angel's side whilst bracing against it to push back. Asuka grunted from the strain of holding the Angel back, the massive machine's armor denting from the tension as it faced off against the Angel.

Mari and Shinji watched as the ship began to sink from the combined weight of the Eva and the Angel battling atop it. Mari made to jump again but Shinji stopped her saying, "we'll sink the ship, too much weight."

"Little help here psycho!" Asuka shouted into the comm. A stark contrast to her earlier statements.

Shinji and Mari exchanged uncertain glances, what could they do?

Wish we had a rifle, Shinji thought.

Suddenly, the Angel's massive weight began to overpower 02 pushing it back.

"Can't. Princess, jump off," Mari said into the comm.

Asuka began cursing in German.

The Angel won, forcing Unit 02 into the ocean as together the two titans slipped into the ocean and sank below. The two figures slowly disappeared in the watery depths.

"Now!" Mari shouted, leaping off of the ship and landing atop the Over the Rainbow just as the ship had started to resettle itself.

"Not again!" Shinji heard Misato and his friends groan over the comm.

The ship wobbled dangerously close to sinking.

Mari moved quickly, lunging for the rapidly sinking power cables. As Asuka and her Eva sank, the cable was being whipped back and pulled down with her.

Eva Unit 03 grabbed 02's power cable tethered to the Over the Rainbow, and Mari struggled from the strain as she pulled on it. Shinji joined her at the controls, placing his hands over hers, adding what strength he could, as together they pulled trying to keep the cable overboard.

"Real smooth, Shinji," Mari teased him through the strain. Unit 03 reeled the power cable in just as Asuka screamed into the comm.

Shinji winced, knowing that if Asuka sank deep enough, the cable would take the Over the Rainbow with it or else be ripped off and leave Unit 02 powerless and at the mercy of the Angel.

...

Below the water, Asuka could barely move her Eva as the Angel nearly swallowed her. At the last second, however, her power cable tugged and she was pulled to the side. The Angel missed her by several feet, a close call for an Evangelion.

"You okay down there?" Mari asked. She and Shinji panted from the effort of reeling the power cable in and bringing 02 upward.

"I- fine. I had it under control!" Asuka stammered. Inwardly, she breathed a sigh of relief as her Eva was slowly being dragged back to the surface.

"Mari, the Navy radar shows the Angel circling back for Asuka," Misato called into their comm.

"I can't move! The type B equipment wasn't built for the ocean, it's too heavy!" Asuka said. She struggled to move through the water but found her Eva stiff and slow.

"Asuka, your Eva is strong enough to take a hit. Just brace yourself for now. We'll think of something," Misato called into the comm.

...

"We're not going to pull her up in time," Mari panted as 03 reeled in 02's power cable.

"We can try," Shinji countered.

They exchanged glances, Mari wanted to stop but Shinji didn't. Mari sighed as she kept reeling in the power cable with his help.

…

"Move faster!" Asuka said as the Angel came for her, swerving through the water with its mouth opened and teeth bared.

"We're trying," Shinji answered over the comm, his voice strained as he worked with Mari.

Asuka cursed in German as the Angel caught up to her Eva and slammed its mouth shut around Unit 02's torso.

"It got me!" Asuka moaned as she felt the phantom sensations of the Angel's teeth around her waist. Then the Angel pulled her along as it swam, dragging the Eva with it.

...

"Told you," Mari chimed in as the power cable ripped back from her Eva's grasp forcing them to let go.

Shinji and Mari looked at the display to see the power cable being reeled out. Once 02 ran out of cable then the entire ship would be tugged along too.

"Any ideas?" Mari asked glancing up at Shinji.

"... maybe. Can I talk to Asuka?" Shinji asked slowly. He really didn't want anything to do with the girl, but he couldn't just let her die.

"Hey Princess, your armor will hold out for a while. Shinji wants to talk," Mari called into the comm.

"What does that idiot want? I blame him for this! Famous 'Third Child' didn't do anything!" Asuka shouted back.

She's being dragged along inside the mouth of an Angel. Don't get mad at her, Shinji thought. Mari just rolled her eyes.

"Uh hello?" he asked awkwardly.

"What!" Asuka shouted back.

"Can you see the Angel core? Maybe in its mouth somewhere?" Shinji said feeling tense, any interaction with her freaked him out. Memories of his breakdown, but she was in danger and he had to help.

Asuka cursed in German, various phrases of idiot and Shinji, but she managed to turn and saw a massive red core inside the Angel's mouth. The core was deep inside where the uvula would be. Swallowing her pride for the moment, Asuka opened her comm again.

"I see it, it's further down where the uvula would be."

"Well, Princess you're already inside its mouth. Can you hit it?" Mari called.

"No, my Eva isn't equipped with guns yet. I'm stuck in between this stupid thing's teeth; I can't get close enough to destroy the core," Asuka said, grunting from the pain brought by the phantom sensations.

"Misato, did you get all that?" Shinji called into the comm.

"We did, the Captain and I have a plan. Sorry, you two, but we'll need you to get in the water as backup. 03 is lighter than 02, the water will damage it but you should be able to move for at least a few minutes. We've evacuated the sinking ships and we're going to remotely control them to self-destruct. If Asuka and you two can force the Angel to open its mouth and swallow the ships, then it will destroy the core," Misato said.

She always has a plan, Shinji thought with a sigh of relief.

"I like her," Mari said listening to the plan.

"We'll get it done," Asuka called growing angry at this stupid Angel trying to bite its way through her Eva's armor. There was nothing anyone could do to help yet, Asuka would just have to soldier on and deal with it.

---

Later.

The Over the Rainbow moved through the ocean using all the power its engine could muster, fought against the Angel below. At the same time, 02's power cable was reversed, all in all, it was a tedious battle, but the ship forced the Angel to turn towards them and rise slowly to the surface.

Shinji and Mari stood on the main deck of another ship in the fleet, they'd be diving soon. All the while the remotely controlled sinking battleships moved closer and closer to their target. Shinji only wished he could do more to help, Mari was the real pilot today, not him.

"Go!" Misato called.

"Yeah!" Mari shouted as Unit 03 jumped into the ocean, diving in and heading straight for the Angel. They followed 02's retracting power cable to the monster below.

"You're really enjoying this!" Shinji shouted through the shaking of Unit 03's struggle against the ocean currents.

"How can you not?!" Mari shouted back.

03 was lighter and faster than 02, it wasn't as tough but that fact made it easier to move through the water. Unit 03 passed the sinking ships and spotted Unit 02's feet poking out of the Angel's teeth. Mari made a beeline for it.

"Hey Princess, how's it going?" Mari called laughing at the sight.

"How do you think, Psycho?!" Asuka called back just as Unit 03 landed atop monster's teeth.

Shinji and Mari came to a stop beside the feet of Eva Unit 02.

"The battleships are almost here. We need to open its mouth!" Shinji called. He couldn't believe he of all people was having to be the mature one here.

Mari moved Unit 03's hands into the Angel's teeth and began prying them open. Shinji joined her at the controls adding his strength to hers again, his hands over hers. Slowly, the teeth parted bit by bit releasing the hold on Unit 02.

"Finally!" Asuka shouted, taking the opening to pull her Eva out and do the same.

Together the two Eva Units forced the Angel to open its mouth with the sinking Battleships ready to self-destruct.

"Almost there!" Misato called into the comm.

Something's wrong... Shinji thought just as the Angel fought against, not the Evas, but the pull of the tethered 02's power cable. Fighting against the pull of the Over the Rainbow.

The Angel let loose an enormous roar that reverberated under the water, sending waves of bubbles in all directions.

He watched horrified as the Angel almost closed its mouth, struggling against the Evangelions, and turned on its side dragging both Evas with it. The sinking Battleships didn't get into the monster's mouth, instead, they collided with the Angel's side.

The ships bounced off as the Angel kept moving, trying to fight against the Over the Rainbow.

"It didn't work! The stupid thing turned!" Asuka called struggling to hold on.

The Eva pilots watched crestfallen, as the ever sinking battleships pass them by. Too late to use them now, they sunk below the Angel in the wrong direction.

"What?! We'll have to try again. Just- just try to hold out for now," Misato called frantically.

"We can't stay here forever. The cables could break and the water is damaging the Evas," Shinji said. He held onto Mari's shoulder as they struggled to stay with Asuka on top of the Angel's mouth.

"I know, Shinji. We're working on it," Misato called back sounding tired.

This isn't going to work... we'll run out of ships in the fleet eventually, Shinji thought.

"I have an idea. Asuka, help me open its mouth again," Mari called suddenly. She called the German girl by name this time, that was how Asuka knew things were serious.

"Fine," Asuka said struggling as together, the Evangelions pried open the monster's mouth as wide as they could.

Mari... are you thinking what I think you're thinking? You can't... not really...

Shinji stared at his first friend, and she glanced back at him offering him a knowing look. A look that Shinji recognized from anywhere, that same look she had given him when they were kids about to do something adventurous.

"Oh no. You can't be serious?" Shinji said in barely a whisper.

Mari gave him an apologetic smile.

"What are you doing?!" Misato shouted as the Eva pilots forced the monstrous teeth to part.

"Diving!" Mari shouted. She flung Eva Unit 03 into the Angel's mouth, diving deeper in before Asuka was forced to release her grip.

We're going to die! Shinji thought in pure panic as Mari dived further into the creature's mouth, heading straight for the Angel core. Mari struggled against the water inside the creature's mouth, unsheathing her Eva's prog knife and grasping it tightly.

"Shinji!" Misato called into the comm.

Eva Unit 03 landed atop the Angel core with a thud that sent bubbles rushing through the area. The core by itself was almost the size of an Evangelion, and Mari plunged her knife deep inside.

Shinji's entire world turned upside down as the creature howled.

"Just die already!" Mari cried as she forced her prog knife deeper and deeper into the Angel core.

She's crazy! She's crazy! She's... Mari, Shinji thought. He slammed his hands atop her's on the controls adding his weight to hers. Unit 03 dived deeper, prog knife piercing through the Angel core entirely.

The Angel slowed, seeming to still for several seconds before the core exploded in a shower of Angel blood as the monster died.

"The psycho did it," Asuka said in disbelief. She let out a heavy breath as the Angel's mouth opened, the weight of its teeth easing off of Asuka as it died.

...

Shinji stared at the display and saw it covered in Angel blood that obscured their view of the surroundings.

Mari let out a relieved laugh at the sight of it all. Shinji stared opened mouthed at her, not knowing what to say, and that only made her guffaw with laughter more.

In spite of himself, Shinji started laughing too.

He guffawed as his shock left him and that only made Mari laugh harder, which in turn made him laugh harder too. It was just too much, they'd killed an Angel by diving into its mouth. Mari, Mari was crazy.

"My God, the idiots are actually laughing?" Asuka said, rolling her eyes as the Pacific Fleet began reeling in the power cables of both the Eva Units.

---

Reeling the Eva Units back up took time, but eventually, 02 and 03 were left out to dry atop the main deck of the Over the Rainbow.

Asuka landed first and thus was the first to leave her Entry Plug. She looked for Kaji but found only Misato, Dr. Page, Toji, and Kensuke waiting for her.

"Where's Kaji?" she asked stepping wobbly onto the main deck.

"He left us. Took off on an aircraft. He'll be in Japan by the time we get back," Misato sighed.

Toji ignored Asuka, he was just happy to be alive. Kensuke was busy taking more pictures of everything now that the danger was over.

Unit 03's Entry Plug was ejected, and Misato came rushing over to them as Shinji and Mari emerged onto the surface.

Both of them wobbled onto the main deck, Shinji helping Mari find her footing as they walked leaning onto each other. The plugsuits stuck to them like a second skin, some of the water had leaked into the cockpit.

"Shinji, are you okay?" Misato breathed, surprising him by clutching his shoulders tightly.

"I'm fine. I am," Shinji said getting over the shock.

Misato pulled Shinji away and whirled to Mari.

"And you! What the hell was that? You can't just go charging off without orders!"

"We killed the Angel. Why are you mad?" Mari said grinning.

"It matters because you almost got yourself killed! Shinji was with you; you could have gotten both of you killed!" Misato said glaring at the Fourth Child.

Mari narrowed her eyes at Misato saying, "I wouldn't have let Shinji get hurt. I wouldn't let him die. Back. Off."

Misato was about to respond in kind, Mari clearly ready to do the same, but Shinji stepped in between them.

"Stop it. We're alive. We're alive. Let's just enjoy that."

There were times when he spoke with more maturity than both older women on either side of him.

Mari sighed but let the matter drop. Misato did the same, keeping an arm around Shinji protectively.

"Indeed. We survived. Mari, you were told to stay in your room. Yet I hear reports of you wandering the railings before the attack. And during the attack, you rushed off on your own again," Dr. Page said emerging onto the scene.

"Oh come on. I saved the day!" Mari said.

"I think all our pilots deserve some bed rest. But you and I need to have a talk Mari," Dr. Page said as Shinji watched the exchange.

"You're not my mother, you know. Once we get to Japan, I'm emancipated. A legal adult," Mari said coolly.

"But until then, you are my responsibility. Go to your room," Dr. Page said simply.

Misato was checking on Shinji, but he only watched on sadly as Mari was leaving again.

Before she left with Dr. Page, Mari turned and slammed into Shinji embracing him in a clumsy hug. He stumbled but hugged back, his first friend. Someone he thought he'd never see again.

Kensuke was taking pictures on his camera as fast as he could, a beautiful older girl hugging Shinji? That guy got all the luck.

"I'll see you around. We'll talk later. I promise," Mari whispered into Shinji's ear.

"You're a pilot," he whispered back in awe.

"I am," she said stepping away and following after a disapproving Dr. Page.

You need to be careful around Mari. Keep your distance.

He almost flinched at the reemergence of the voice, but held it in frowning heavily.

No. I don't, he thought.

Asuka smirked at the sight of Mari being ordered away again. The girl had saved them all, but she was still a psycho.

"You know the Fourth Child?" Misato asked suspiciously, snapping Shinji out of his inner thoughts.

"It's a long story. I'll tell you later, right now I just want to lay down," Shinji said.

Misato nodded understandingly and gave him an affectionate pat on the head.

...

The rest of the trip to Japan was uneventful, thankfully.

Shinji wasn't allowed to speak with Mari much, punishment for her repeatedly not following orders. Misato kept a closer eye on him, she could tell there were things he didn't want to talk about, but she didn't push him.

Asuka still unnerved him, he just tried to forget the memories from his breakdown.

Shinji just couldn't believe the odds; his first friend was a pilot. One day, they'd have a lot of catching up to do, to say the least.

---

Epilogue.
Japan.

Kaji stepped into Commander Ikari's office, black suitcase in hand, and found the man waiting for him utterly expressionless.

"I appreciate the warning, but next time just tell me you're expecting an attack," Kaji said coolly.

When Gendo didn't respond, Kaji closed the door and set the suitcase down on his desk.

"You survived," Gendo said simply.

"I did. Though you should know, SEELE or someone is getting suspicious. They questioned me about a break-in and possible stolen property. I had an alibi, but Dr. Page kept an eye on me. I don't like that woman," Kaji said.

"Did they believe your alibi?" Gendo said showing no fear.

"As far as I can tell. All this trouble for a sample, hope it was worth it," Kaji said with a shrug.

Gendo nodded and opened the suitcase.

Both of them gazed down at the Adam sample frozen in its container. A strange embryo-like creature frozen in the dura-bakelite.

"Frozen, but alive. It's managed to restore itself this far, amazing. So tell me... is this what the Angel wanted? The Sample?" Kaji asked.

He found it hard to look at the creature imprisoned before his eyes. It was unsettling, knowing just what it was.

"I believe so. This is Adam. Adam, the First Angel," Gendo answered.

That thing caused the Second Impact, Kaji thought in awe. How he hated what remained of this monster, the enemy of mankind, but he had his orders. What he wouldn't have given to burn the small cluster of cells. But he let it slide, emotions were bad for business in his line of work.

"You did well, Mr. Kaji. You're free to go" Gendo said dismissing him without so much as a backward glance.

Kaji shrugged and took his leave of Nerv's Director, he didn't care much for the man and he knew he'd learn nothing more from staying. He'd been paid and there was nothing more to it.

...

Adam, Gendo thought staring down at the frozen sample as Kaji left.

The Director of Nerv frowned leaning down to get a better look as he saw it.

A small single crack along the frozen dura-bakelite, a supposedly indestructible material. That was not according to plan.

---

Really long, a lot of characterization and character interactions more than plot.
The plot is still there, but I really wanted to show this Shinji's relations with Kaji, Asuka, and Mari. The Other Shinji has different opinions.
The Adam sample always freaked me out but it's part of the story.
Thanks for Reading and please Review.