Hi guys! Quick unexpended update time!

This will be a relatively short compared to the other chapters I've released so far. My roadmap is that im planning to do make important key events short while I make the fight scenes really long. It'll help me pace out the story.

Review time!

Ian Greene: It's definitely not the Cryogs. I'm keeping my lips shut about who it really is. And yeah, Gendo's scenario is completely down the tubes.

Guest #1: Thanks!

Gokaimaster100: oh, unbelievably.

Ultron Master: Thank you so much for the support and im debating on whether I want to use Mechagodzilla 2 or Kiryu.

Kaiju Alpha: It's not Kakaro or his race and im thinking about the Trilopods.

RyuujiVantek: Sorry I kept you waiting; I had a lot of stuff to deal with.

Guest #2: Yup. The jolly green badass!

DivineBahamutXZ: You got me thinking about the fighting styles you talked about and im going to try to balance it out with animalistic brutality, wrestling and bare-knuckle brawling. Thanks for the advice and don't worry; im not going to use anything from the showa era. Those were way too silly.

Believe me, the mystery alien on Pluto will be a big surprise…

You're absolutely right, while im using the Rulers of Earth Godzilla in terms of looks and strength he will be a naturally evolved alpha predator and guardian of earth.

He and Mothra (who will appear sometime in the story) will be friends due to the fact that they both share the same role. Same goes for the other earth allied kaiju. Also, you have a very good point concerning the sequel and I think you may be right.

Zilla will definitely appear in later chapters and he will be a combination of Zilla Jr. and his ROE incarnation. You can also expect some of the other kaiju from the TV series to make an appearance.

Mythfan: I know, right?

Dark Avenger874: Im currently thinking about it.

Drakefire: Trust me; there will be lots of kaiju to come.

Ani89: It was only a joke, bro! Im glad you love my story though.

Gustauve-Drakenhime: Thanks and I'll try to get more chapters rolling but they will be very slow updates.

Gold1992: I will gladly answer your questions but due to certain plot points I don't want to spoil, I will only be able to answer some of your questions.

I'm really happy that you like my version of Shinji Ikari. To me, this is basically the Shinji we should have gotten a very long time ago. One who doesn't let the past drag him down, knows when to stand up for himself and isn't afraid to question authority. That's the Shinji we deserve.

About your comments concerning the entry plug, it would have been safer for him to exit the plug rather than get inside it because he was too close to the battle and the plug would've gotten stepped on. Also the plug was empty because in some cases in the series when they weren't inside an Eva, the plug wasn't full of LCL (after Rei's incident with Unit-00, after the battle with Ramiel and the ending scene of 3.0) so I assumed it had some kind of automatic draining system. Shinji could see the inside of the plug because the hatch was slightly wrenched open because of the force of the impact when the transformed Angel backhanded him.

The reason why Sachiel was getting his ass kicked before Godzilla arrived was that the Shinji in this universe knows Muay Thai extremely well.

While I do respect your opinions on the Angel transforming, keep in mind that this sort of thing has been done in billions of different anime and it never gets old. You can actually expect the Angels to do this a lot but I will try my hardest to make them interesting and mix them up a little. I will also try to not make the EVA's seem completely useless but that was my original intention. I want to show NERV that they are in way over their heads. But like I said, I'll try. Besides, Im just making this story for fun! Just relax and enjoy the insanity!

Thanks for the compliment about Misato. I want to make her more aware of her actions. She genuinely wants to protect the human race but hates that fact that they are using children and openly voices her displeasure about it. Basically, she will listen to her conscience more for a majority of this story…not implying she didn't have one.

Thanks for the notification and I have already corrected it.

Thanks but to be honest, I can't really get a good bead on Mari's personality so im just imagining her as some kind of hyped up adrenaline junkie. If you have some pointers or suggestions about her I'll be glad to listen.

Thanks for the support and your opinions are greatly appreciated.

Hercules8: You are quite possibly the most enthusiastic reviewer I've had and that means a lot to me. I'm glad I was able to entertain you this much!

Godzilla's arrival to Tokyo-3 was largely inspired by the 2014 movie. I had a lot of fun doing it.

To answer your questions, Yes. Shinji will retain his heroic personality throughout the rest of the story and he will be friends with Rei. I feel like his canon counterpart didn't do enough to help her with her anti-social problems around other people and this Shinji is going to remedy that.

Also if you want to read a really good Evangelion/Godzilla story, you should check out Hail to the King by Thuktun Fishithy. That's a good read!

Evangelion and Godzilla belong to their respective owners. I do not own either of them.

Enjoy!

Chapter 3

Aftermath

NERV-HOSPITAL WING

Shinji's eyes instantly snapped open, a small gasp escaping his lips. He was looking at an unfamiliar ceiling with a single overhead light. He slowly sat himself up to see that he was in a hospital room with a large window showing a serene forest outside as the chirps of cicadas filled the silence. He lifted up the covers and saw that he was wearing a hospital gown. He looked around for his clothes to see that they were neatly packed on folded on a chair to his left.

As Shinji struggled to remember what happened he felt two stinging sensations: one on the side of his head and one on his right arm. He looked at his arm to see that an IV needle was jabbed into his wrist with gauze wrapped around it. The tube that was attached to the needle trailed up to a blood packet hanging from an IV stand.

He touched his head to feel medical bandages wrapped around his head. This confirmed his suspicions. The events last night was not some vivid dream, it was real. He let out a long sigh and relaxed into the bed.

"Well…that happened."

TOKYO-3

The city had definitely seen better days. Dozens of buildings were toppled over or flattened, some sections of the city were partially flooded and massive footprints dotted the streets. Construction crews worked vigorously to get everything back up and running while air crews transported the battered form of Unit-01 out of Tokyo-3 where they could put it on a loading platform to the Geofront so it could be repaired.

In a tent located a few feet away from the blackened corpse of the Angel, Misato Katsuragi stood still as a statue. She gazed at the buildings, vehicles and storefronts that were utterly demolished in the colossal melee. A combination of the Angel transforming, the appearance of a gigantic dinosaur and the sight of almost seeing Shinji and the little girl die had rattled her to the core.

"Still shaken I take it?" She heard Ritsuko say behind her. She glanced behind her to see Ritsuko and several other technicians dressed in orange Hazmat suits (Misato wore one herself) fiddling around with various technological instruments.

"I just can't believe that actually happened." She mused. "That was all real right? Like, all of us weren't spontaneously tripping balls at the exact same time?"

Ritsuko rolled her eyes. "I can assure you we were not."

Misato let out a sigh and headed back into the tent. She sat down in front of a portable television and watched a news report showing the fight between the dinosaur and the Angel. It was on all of the channels and some of them had a very flustered Nerv official trying to placate a sea of frenzied reporters who were rabidly hounding him for answers.

"How in the hell did this get out?"

"We don't know. I have Maya and the others trying to find out how. We're working on it as we speak but so far, we've got nothing."

"So much for keeping this under wraps." Misato groaned. She turned off the TV and looked at the charred remains of the Angel. Crews were cutting apart pieces of it and loading it onto massive flatbed trucks. "Any chance we might be able to get samples?" Misato asked.

"Unfortunately, no. There's literally nothing left that we can analyze. It's all been burnt into oblivion so were going to dispose what's left of it." Ritsuko informed, disappointed she wasn't able to get a good sample.

"What about that tongue thing the dinosaur ripped off? Is that still salvageable?" Misato inquired.

"It was near the area where the creature roasted the Angel. The heat was so immense that it caught fire and we can't get a genetic sample from that either."

"About that first part…what in the hell was that thing? A new species of dinosaur or some kind of flightless dragon?"

"I don't have the slightest clue Misato and dragons don't exist."

"Then how do you explain the Angel?" she countered.

"We're getting off topic. We all know that dinosaurs are extinct and there is no way any of them could've possibly survived the KT Extinction, which was basically the First Impact. Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki thinks it might be some kind of mutant and he may be right. Dinosaurs don't stand upright, know how to fight or even grow to that size." Ritsuko elaborated.

"They certainly don't breathe fire either." Misato reminded.

"Actually, it wasn't fire. The MAGI analyzed the video feed and the readings coming from it. It was pure atomic energy."

"You're kidding…" Misato gasped.

"I'm afraid not. That beam was capable of vaporizing the Angel's cellular structure atom by atom and the S2 engine was completely boiled inside out. An effective yet frightening weapon." Ritsuko revealed as she began to take off her Hazmat helmet.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Misato shouted as she leapt out of her seat.

"What?"

"Don't you remember the radioactive field that Shigeru mentioned the night before!? This whole area is contaminated!"

Ritsuko silently took a Geiger counter from the table and handed it to Misato. Misato looked at it and saw that the radiation readings were at a perfect 0. For a second, she thought it was broken but it was working just fine. She threw a confused look at Ritsuko.

"It's completely clean. There isn't a single speck of radioactive contaminants for miles. The nuclear energy readings that the MAGI recorded were so high, that even if we did wear these suits there would still be 100% mortality probability. Tokyo-3 would've been turned into an irradiated ghost town for decades to come."

Misato let that fact sink in. "…Holy shit. So why isn't the city irradiated now?"

Ritsuko motioned Misato over to her laptop. She keyed up a map of Tokyo 3 with an orange blip inside a large circular area that was green. "This represents the creature." Ritsuko said as she pointed at the dot. "The area around it represents the nuclear radiation. Watch closely."

The tapped the Enter key on her laptop and the orange blip and the green circle move towards Lake Aishi. "This creature has a radioactive field around it. However, the real shocker is that it doesn't leave behind any lingering radiation. This thing is essentially a living nuclear reactor that doesn't contaminate everything around it." Ritsuko explained.

"At least that explains how all of our systems went kaput. But that still doesn't explain how it got here."

"We discovered that it burrowed all the way from the other side of Japan straight to Lake Aishi. It now has a direct route straight to Tokyo-3." Ritsuko said as she motioned her head towards the red stained lake.

Misato slumped into her chair as she weighed the gravity of the situation. If this creature ever wanted to attack Tokyo-3 or if another Angel arrived, it had its own personal highway straight to the city. 'I wonder how the Commander is going to handle this new development…' She thought.

NERV-CONFERENCE ROOM

It was completely pitch black within the room, save for an illuminated table witch provided the occupants the only source of light. Gendo Ikari sat at the far end of the table as he faced a group of men who called to him for an important meeting. They were known as the Human Instrumentality Committee, Nerv's financial backer.

But in reality, they were known as Seele.

Only 5 of the 12 members had come to this meeting, the rest were either unavailable or couldn't come.

On the left side of the table was Seele 6, representative of the American branch who was illuminated blue and Seele 11, representative of the London branch who was illuminated yellow.

On the right side of the table was Seele 4, representative of the Russian branch who was illuminated red and Seele 8, representative of the Scotland branch who was illuminated green.

At the other end of the table was Lorenz Keel, representative of the German branch and the leader of Seele. He was illuminated white, just like Ikari. Out of the group, he was the most intimidating due to the large visor that covered his eyes and ears.

One thing that every one of them had in common was that they were not happy.

"You have a lot of explaining to do Ikari." Keel said venomously. "The scrolls said that Unit-01 was supposed to destroy the 3rd Angel not this…thing!" He slammed his fist on the table and a holographic projector popped up in the center and showed a 3D representation of the giant dinosaur.

"The scrolls also didn't mention the Angel transforming into a stronger variant!" Seele 4 shouted as another 3D hologram of the armored, hunched over Angel appeared next the dinosaur.

"The repair costs are already in the billions and worst of all, the footage leak has spread to the whole world! There's no way we can cover this up!" Seele 11 griped.

"What do you have to say for yourself Ikari?" Keel demanded.

Gendo had a stony, unflinching posture on the outside but on the inside, he was pissed. It was bad enough that damnable lizard showed up but now he had to listen to the Old Men's bitching and moaning.

"Gentlemen, I am just as surprised and shocked as you all are. There are many unsolved mysteries and undeciphered texts within the Dead Sea Scrolls. Perhaps this event wasn't mentioned at all or mistranslated." He explained.

"Hmph. A plausible yet pathetic excuse." Seele 8 scoffed.

"But rest assured that we will do everything in our power to determine the exact origins of this creature as well as working on several countermeasures in the event the following Angels transform." Gendo continued, ignoring Selee 8.

"See that you do. The leak is also a troubling issue as well. In the mean time you will have to give a press statement later but do not tell them any sensitive information that could jeopardize us." Keel ordered.

"Understood." Gendo said stoically. "I will have my best technicians working on how this became public."

"Good. Now there is the concern regarding your Evangelions..." Lorenz began.

"Quite. The repair costs for Unit-00 and Unit-01 are enough to bankrupt an entire country." Seele 11 said.

"We also understand that you gave one of those toys to your son." Seele 6 revealed. "Nepotism aside, he showed incredible skill against the Angel. Had that oversized reptile not interfered, he could've destroyed the Angel before it could transform."

"But keep in mind that our resources are not infinite, Ikari." Seele 8 lectured. "Your main focus should not be on the Evangelions, but rather The Human Instrumentality Project. That should be your top priority."

"Precisely. Under these desperate circumstances, that project is our one and only hope." Seele 4 noted.

"In any case, we cannot excuse any delays in that project's schedule due to the reappearance of the Angels as well any future interference from this...interloper." Keel said as he "eyed" the hologram of the dinosaur. "We will consider the issue of the budget."

"Now, the rest of the meeting only concerns the committee. Your presence here was most appreciated Ikari." Selee 11 said.

The men disappeared, having been holograms themselves. Only keel remained with Gendo.

"Ikari…there is no turning back" He warned cryptically. He then disappeared, leaving Gendo alone.

"I know. Mankind has no time left."

Gendo got up and walked out of the room only to stop at the foot of the door and glance behind him, looking at the 3D representation of the dinosaur and the transformed Angel. His main focus was on the dinosaur. 'It's still in the early phases of the scenario…perhaps this thing won't completely derail it. There is still time to salvage this.' He thought as he left the room.

NERV-HOSPITAL WING

Despite the blood loss, Shinji still had some energy left in him to get up and leave his room. He went over to the window and looked at the scenery, his IV stand next to him (the transfusion needle was still in his arm). He gazed at the lush forest before him and looked up to see the numerous buildings hanging from the roof of the Geofront. 'This is really going to throw off my depth perception.' He thought as he scratched the back of his head.

He began to think that this was a good time to see if Sakura had been admitted here and check up on her. Of course the odds of that were slim since this was a top secret facility and she was an unauthorized civilian but then again, wishful thinking.

He walked down the hall while wheeling his IV stand along when he saw a nurse pushing large hospital gurney to where he was. A girl lay across the gurney in front of him, her arm, eye and head were heavily bandaged. One of her most striking features was her light blue hair, creamy white skin and her iris was colored red. She appeared to be around the same age as he was. They briefly locked gazes for a moment before she was wheeled down the hall.

As Shinji began to wonder who she was he spotted the medical clipboard hanging from the edge of the gurney and made out her name: Rei Ayanami.

He suddenly remembered that name!

Misato had mentioned that name last night in the Eva cages. She was one of the designated pilots. But she was so young, why-

His eyes widened.

No.

It couldn't be.

TOKYO-3

"Ahhhhh~. Air conditioning truly is Humanity's greatest achievement!" Misato sighed as she and Ritsuko relaxed in the front seat. The two had gotten into a massive truck that was carrying equipment for the armament buildings within Tokyo-3.

Ritsuko was talking with someone on her cellphone and once the call was over, she slipped it back into her pocket and turned to Misato. "I have good news. Shinji's awake."

Misato instantly bolted up in her seat. "Is he okay!?" She frantically demanded.

"He needed some stitches for the side of his head and a blood transfusion but other than that, he's fine." Ritsuko reassured her.

Misato sunk into her seat and buried her face in her hands. She let out a sigh of relief. She had been anxiously waiting the news of his condition ever since the rescue crews recovered him and the civilian. "Thank god…he and that little girl come this close to dying Rits. I don't think I'll ever forget it." She said wearily, remembering the sight of the two embracing each other as the Angel was about to smash them into red colored paste.

"None of us will." Ritsuko stated. No one in Nerv could ever forget the heartbreaking sight that would forever be etched into their minds.

Misato quickly remembered another topic that she wanted to speak to Ritsuko about. "Got any theories on how that Angel transformed?" She asked.

"Despite the radioactive interference, the MAGI managed to scan the Angel as it was transforming. We think it may have been some kind of forced, spontaneous evolution. It felt threatened when the unknown creature came and it essentially evolved into a second stage. In order to do that, the S2 engine has to go into overdrive and quadruple its energy output. The end result is a bigger, stronger and tougher Angel. But there's downside to it: the S2 engine burns though its energy so quickly that it's unable to generate an AT Field."

"Oh, I get it! It gets more power in terms of offense but it loses its only defense!" Misato deduced.

"Exactly…but it gained a new form of defense." Ritsuko remembered.

"Do you think we could've beaten it?" Misato wondered.

"I honestly don't think we could've stood a chance. You saw those armored plates it was covered in. I doubt any of our weapons could make a dent. We were lucky that dinosaur arrived otherwise none of us would be here right now."

"I can't help but feel thankful for that thing. Do you think it came here because of the Angel?" Misato said.

"It's an animal Misato. Don't go counting it as a good guy. We don't know if it will turn on us and even if it doesn't, it's still a threat." Ritsuko chided.

'You say that…but I might be thinking otherwise.' Misato thought to herself.

JSSDF HEADQUARTERS-KATAGIRI'S OFFICE

All the way over in Tokyo-2, Mitsuo sat in his chair while looking outside his office window. He could see the smoke coming all the way from Tokyo-3. His current mood was that of elation and worry.

He was pleased to see Nerv get knocked off their high horse. While he admitted that the robot put up a good fight, it got bitchslapped halfway across Tokyo-3 and the footage leak of the fight afterwards had now tarnished their reputation. The media wanted answers and the Pope was lambasting them for calling one the creatures an "Angel". This was the payback he had wishing for and it was a win-win situation…for him.

But then that super-sized T-Rex came along and then the Angel started transforming into something that could only be described as a demon. Then things descended into a raging shitstorm when the creatures began fighting each other and the dinosaur came out on top by barbequing it with its fire breath.

This situation made Katagiri uncomfortable. What if there were more monsters out there? What if that wasn't the only Angel? What if they kept coming, only bigger and stronger? The mere thought of that was enough to fray his nerves. He reached into his desk and pulled out a half full flask of whisky. He was just about to take a swig when his phone rang. He let out and agitated groan and picked it up.

"I'm not in the mood right now, what is it? OH! Commander Murasaki! My deepest apologies sir, I didn't know it was you! If you're calling about my actions yesterday then I fully accept my resignation and subsequent court martial…huh? I'm not going to be dishonorably discharged? You want me to what?"

TOKYO-3

The air was filled with the sound of construction equipment. Rubble was cleared away, footprints were filled with cement, armament buildings were brought online, sections of the city were drained after being submerged in tainted water and various Eva weapons and utilities were flown into the city. Misato had gotten out of the truck and looked on at the construction while Ritsuko remained inside.

"If the Evas and this city operate at their full potential, we may be able to make it through this."

"Are you going to defeat the Angels? You're always such an optimist."

"Hey, sometime you just need a little wishful thinking just to keep on living!"

"…I see your point. It helps to hear things like that from you. Are you going to see Shinji?"

"You betcha. What about you?"

"I'll have to meet Commander Ikari later and notify him that we may need to upgrade our weaponry as well as invest in radioactive protection for our equipment in the event that dinosaur comes here again. I'll probably be seeing you tomorrow."

"Same here. See ya!" Misato chirped as she made her way to her Renault.

HOSPITAL WING-WAITING ROOM

Shinji sat in the waiting area of the hospital, dressed in his regular clothes and feeling a little bit dismayed. He was hoping that he might be able to see Sakura and make sure she was okay but the receptionist at the front desk told Shinji that she had been transferred to another hospital topside but she assured him that she was recovering very well.

After that, the doctors removed the needle from his arm now that his blood transfusion was complete. They removed the bandages around his head and informed him that he needed 6 stitches to close up the wound on the side of his head and that he would still need a patch to cover it up until it fully healed and they could then remove the stitches. They also advised him not to anything strenuous for the next couple days.

He sat in the waiting room watching the news report about the events of last night when he heard a familiar, cheerful voice call to him from behind. "Looks like the sleeping hero has finally woke up!"

Shinji turned around to see Misato walking over to him, a bright smile on her face and wearing her signature black dress and red jacket.

"Oh, hi Misato! What brings you here?"

"I came here to check up on you of course!" She said as she put a hand on his shoulder. "How are you doing?" She asked in a concerned tone of voice, her features softening.

"Well, I needed some stitches for my head wound and a blood transfusion but I'm alright."

"Thank god…we were all really worried."

"Eh, no worries. I'm still standing aren't I?"

Misato smiled warmly. "That's great to hear. Sub Commander Fuyutsuki wishes to shake your hand for a job well done. He requested me to take you to his office."

"Really? I didn't really do much, all I did was clobber the Angel and then that dinosaur showed up and killed it-"

"But you saved the life of a little girl. We all saw you with her Shinji. It was the bravest thing anyone could have ever done in a situation like that."

"It's no big deal. My aunt always said I had a heart of gold." He said, grinning broadly.

"No argument here." Misato agreed.

JSSDF HEADQUARTERS-KATAGIRI'S OFFICE

Katagiri put the phone down. The call he received from General Murasaki had completely changed his position in the JSSDF. While he was thankful that he wasn't being discharged, he was astounded when he was informed that he would be commanding a newly formed, specialized task force that would function similar to Nerv. It was known as CCI: Crisis Control Intelligence.

When Katagiri asked the General why they selected him, he told him that they had asked other people like him in the JSSDF but they all refused. He was the only candidate left so naturally, he couldn't refuse. He also told him that he had more experience and more moxie than the others but he also told him that this was a chance to make up for his failure in stopping the Angel.

He would be given funding and experimental technology but only if he could promise that he wouldn't go completely overboard like he did last time. He swore that he would control himself from now and assured the General that the next time he used an N2 weapon, he would ask for proper authorization first. After that was made clear, General Murasaki promoted Katagiri to Head of CCI.

Katagiri smirked victoriously. This is just what he needed to put those upstarts at Nerv in their place. But before he could begin his fist day in an entirely new position, he needed to make some calls. He pressed a button on his phone which connected him to his secretary.

"Yes sir?"

"Mika, I need to give me a direct line to the Director of Japan Heavy Chemical Industries."

"You mean Mr. Shiro Tokita, sir?"

"Exactly. Tell him that I've got a big project for him."

"Understood sir. Anything else I can do for you?"

"…Yeah. Call Ms. Kirishima and her two friends. I've got a job for them…"

NERV-ELEVATOR HALLWAY

As Shinji and Misato walked down the corridor, the boy couldn't help but marvel at how clean the hallways were and just how expansive it was.

"It must've taken a very long time to build this place." Shinji mused.

"Offhand I'd say at least 8 years but sometimes I think it's more than that." Misato guessed.

"I hope the janitors here get paid extra for cleaning this whole facility."

"I know, right? Their paychecks are probably in the millions!"

However, Shinji was really just softening Misato up for a very serious question he wanted to ask her ever since his startling revelation about Rei. Now that they were in a section of Nerv with no one around, this was the perfect time to interrogate her.

"I saw Rei earlier today. She looked pretty banged up."

Misato frowned sadly. "I heard what happened to her. I really hope she's doing alright. I had no idea the Eva's could just suddenly lose control like that."

Shinji stopped in his tracks. "Yeah… that actually pertains to something I want to ask you."

"What is it?" Misato inquired as she turned around. She saw Shinji standing in the middle of the hallway with his arms folded and a dark look on his face. She was taken back by how much he almost reminded her of the Commander. "Shinji, what's wrong?"

"You tell me. When you guys first told me that there was no one else who could pilot the Eva, I thought that I was just a last minute, desperate choice since there weren't any available pilots. I had thought that those pilots were trained professionals. But then I saw Ms. Ayanami and I noticed a very clear, yet disturbing fact about her…she's the same age as me."

A bead of sweat ran down Misato's forehead. Her heart skipped a beat and a cold chill ran up her spine. She had always feared the day that someone would confront her about this. The worst part is that she wouldn't know how to properly explain it.

"Misato…is Nerv using children to pilot dangerous, unsafe and possibly untested robots!?"

Misato withered at that. She knew full well that what they were doing was inhuman but the way he was talking to her made it sound like she was the bad guy. "Shinji, listen…I know how this looks-"

"Why!? Why are you allowing this to happen!?"

"There's nobody else!"

"Don't lie to me! Why-"

"Shinji! There is literally no adult who can do this! It has to be you kids!"

Shinji started to calm down as he began to realize that Misato was really telling the truth. It was written all over her face. "You're being serious aren't you?"

"Yes. I asked Ritsuko a dozen times why it has to be you kids. She told me that it has something to do with the pilot's brainwaves or something. Any adult who's tried has either died or gone insane. There's nobody else." She explained her expression forlorn.

Shinji could tell that Misato wasn't as comfortable with the idea of it as he was. This was really troubling her greatly and it showed. He began to think that maybe he shouldn't have been so harsh on her but he needed to know the reason why they were doing this. He walked over and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "You really don't like doing this, do you?"

Misato's face saddened considerably. She turned to face the window, unable to look Shinji in the eye. "I hate it so goddamn much. We should be the ones risking our lives to save the planet. It should never have to be children. Every day I wake up in the morning wishing that things would be different. That we wouldn't have to use kids anymore. When I saw you so heavily injured last night I was reminded of how much I hate myself for being a part of this. Sometimes I wish I could pilot the Eva myself so that kids like you, Rei and the others don't have to be hurt so badly. If could give up everything I own just to get a chance to pilot and give you kids a better life…I would accept it without a second thought."

For a while the two of them did nothing. Misato looked at the ground expecting Shinji to tell her he quit and walk away in disgust. She probably deserved that. But the she felt a hand gently hold her own. She turned to her right to see Shinji smiling.

"I believe you. You may not believe yourself but you're an incredibly honest woman, Misato. I'm happy that you told the truth."

Misato felt a wave of relief and joy course through her body. She instantly enveloped Shinji in a tight hug. Shinji was surprised at first, but returned the hug since she obviously needed it.

"I didn't know Shinji." She whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. "I swear to Christ I didn't know they were going to force you into this. I thought-"

"It's okay. It's okay." Shinji said delicately while patting her back. They stood like that for a full minuet when Shinji reminded her about something important. "Don't we have to meet with the Sub Commander?"

"Oh crap! You're right!" Misato said as she quickly wiped the tears forming in her eyes. She hurried over to the elevator and pressed the up button. The two stood side by side waiting for the elevator in silence.

"Thank you." Misato said a heartfelt smile on her face.

"Anytime." Shinji assured her, giving her a smile as well.

An audible dinging noise got their attention as their elevator started to come down to their level. The doors opened…

revealing Commander Gendo Ikari.

Shinji suddenly found himself locking gazes with his father. His intimidating, emotionless gaze seemed to bore into his soul. But Shinji didn't cower or look away. Instead, he stared at him with a hard, steely glare of his own.

The two of them stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity until the doors closed with Commander Ikari still inside and the elevator went down to the lower levels.

"Miserable prick…" Shinji muttered.

Misato had stayed completely silent during the whole encounter. She had no idea what to make of this but one thing was very clear to her.

There was absolutely no love between them and there never would be.

To be continued…

Lots of huge developments for this chapter!

Katagiri will manly play as a foil to Nerv when they screw the pooch and you can expect a lot of huge "projects" coming from the newly formed CCI.

What do you guys think about the major tweak I did for Misato?

One other thing I should inform you guys before I close this chapter is that Shinji and Misato's relationship in this will differ greatly from canon. Since Shinji is more courageous and caring, he and Misato will have a sort of brother and sister relationship as opposed to the mother and son relationship they have in the anime.

Don't forget to review but please don't flame!