+++++ Maria's Market, Azabu-Mamianachō, Japan. (Thursday + 5)

Shinji decided the first place he needed to go was back to Maria's shop. He'd been unceremoniously ripped out of the store by whatever magic that had summoned him, and left two women behind who were probably very confused and potentially worried about what had happened. Keeping his pace to Ritsuko's, which wasn't terribly challenging as she was nearly as tall as he was, made the journey slower than he'd wanted it to be, but sacrifices had to be made with his secret exposed to someone as inquisitive as her.

"…which really, in the end, caused me very few problems." Ritusko herself had filled in the silence of their journey with anecdotes about teaching at a young age to students who were at times older than her. "Every time someone wants to pull the age card, I assign harder labwork to the class. My classes aren't optional within the degree programs offered, and the Dean of the College nearly killed six other Deans to make certain I landed as a Professor at his College within Todai."

During the walk, Shinji had wondered if the Ritsuko Akagi from his world was like this in her downtime. He'd never really spent time with her, beyond testing, and only once had seen her 'off duty' when Misato brought her over for one of the dinners he'd made. The casual way she spoke, retaining her unrivaled intellect while still remaining accessible to those who weren't nearly as brilliant, made it much easier for him to warm up to the idea of spending time around her. She was curious about him, about the world, and about herself. It made him feel a lot less like a research specimen and more like he simply fit into her perception of the world around them. She accepted his nods, or shakes of his head, for those questions she had, phrasing them in a manner that allowed him to communicate efficiently while still feeling like he was part of the discussion. It was…pleasant.

Once her guide turned down the appropriate alleyway, the brunette scientist frowned a touch. "You live down here?" Noting his negation of her statement, she took the next logical guess. "Is this your hideout?" The light snort of a chuckle that Shinji gave her was enough of an answer. When he opened the door to Maria's Market, Ritsuko looked around with a deeper frown. "I've been all over the place around here, never once seen this shop."

"Shinji, I swear on my sisters' blood I have never met a man with more ill luck than you!" Maria hurried around the counter, jogging over and jumping up to hug her one and only employee. With her face buried in his shoulder, she breathed out, "Please, let me mark you so that we can speak over greater distances. I was terrified!"

"…Doctor Namaha?" Ritsuko, in a first for Shinji, seemed completely at a loss. "You…you know Shinji?"

It's a real long story. She somehow got caught in a dome of…whatever that stuff was, Shinji gave by way of explanation to the now curious woman in his arms. I had to cut off my attack against Lithion, the bluish youma I was fighting, to get her where she could breathe. I took her to her apartment, and she insisted she had to come with me. I…I think she's the younger version of the Ritsuko Akagi from my reality.

I know she is, the proprietress thought unbeknownst to Shinji. Manipulating his arm so that she could sit on his forearm, Maria crossed her legs daintily and smiled at Ritsuko. "Oh, my dear Doctor Akagi…you've gone and done it now." Running one hand along Shinji's shoulder to calm him, she kept her focus on the other woman. "I told you that if you kept digging, you'd eventually find the hole was too deep to extricate yourself."

"The pursuit of knowledge does not complete itself," Ritsuko's voice showed the first signs of irritation. "I have seen far too much in this world that defies logic and reason, and I will not abide remaining ignorant when I can seek enlightenment instead." Gesturing to Shinji, she remained defiant. "He, at least, accepts my curiosity as genuine and not as a veiled attempt at exposing people to things that they aren't ready to accept."

"He, my dear, is both exceptional, and exceptionally naïve." Maria's voice gained some frost itself, "Do not presume to dictate terms and thoughts to me, child. It is Shinji's trust in you that has earned you entrance to my Domain, and I can very easily arrange for you to simply forget everything that's happened in the past five days. Do not push your luck."

Stop. Shinji himself was surprised when he set his free hand between the two warring parties. I don't know what's going on, and yes, I know I'm naïve, but I have enough sense to know when someone's lying to me. Doctor Akagi just wants to know how the world fits together. Besides, I need to speak to Usagi. Where is she?

"That will have to come later, Pet." The soothing motion became a light grip upon his shoulder. "The Rabbit followed the Beautiful Child and the storm cloud back to where you'd fought." She felt him tense, ready to leave to join them, and clamped harder with her hand. "I need you to let them be, for the moment. I do not have a complete picture of what happened, and I am loath to send you back out without any advice."

Maria-

"No." There was a cold fire in her eyes. "We are not operating with full knowledge, and that invariably turns fatal."

Ritsuko's eyebrow raised. "Pet? Are you two dating?"

Maria's ebon hair fanned out into a waterfall as her head rolled slightly to the side to face the irritant in her shop. "No. Because his life has been one of insanity and hardship. Bedlam and madness. Should he desire to join his banner to mine forevermore, I shall count myself fortunate indeed. But only after he has experienced more of what a life without pain can offer."

"Your loss, then," Ritsuko crossed her arms under her chest and stepped closer to where Maria was perched, "because I believe I'll show him what a life without pain can offer instead of waiting for it to magically happen on its own."

Firmly setting Maria down, Shinji applied as much strength as necessary for each of the two women in forcing them backwards from each other. With one hand on each of their shoulders, he mentally growled, Stop! His glare froze both women in place, though only one heard his statement. Looking between the two at the floor, so as not to appear to be choosing sides, he relaxed his arms anticipating them not wishing to go through him to the other. Maria, I have a duty to help them. Four of them got their faces kicked in against one of the two youma. If the other comes back, the one that I barely was able to hurt, three of them are not going to do much better.

"See? I told you he'd be here." A familiar voice sounded from behind Shinji, though with a richer timbre.

"We knew he'd be here," a very similar voice replied.

The third voice sounded much akin to the first two, "Just because you said it first doesn't mean you were the only one who was right."

Shinji turned his head, catching sight of what he was quickly able to determine was the human forms of the dappled Vixen Triplets. Bronze tanned skin and varicolored autumn-themed hair, each with matching hazel eyes of brown, green, and grey. It was no stretch of the imagination to declare them gorgeous. Their human forms appeared as slender young women with budding hints of curves in places that drew the eyes. …Hello?

"Hiya!" All three began speaking for, through, and around one another. Now that they were speaking to someone other than themselves, their voices were nigh indistinguishable. "We came to borrow him, Lover of Music. Great Granny thinks that there's a latent connection between him and the Unspoken Grief." Two of them worked their way under his arms, maneuvering everything so he held them close. The third jumped up and hugged him from behind, effortlessly resting with her chin on the top of his head. "She believes he needs a more thorough cleansing than the young mahou shoujo could offer him. You are, of course, free to attend. She greatly respects your counsel and your aid in guiding the Silent One."

Shinji struggled to get a word in edgewise, I need to go support-

"I think that's a good idea." Maria cut over his objections, shifting her torso so that she faced him fully. With her hands on her hips, she leaned forward to press the point home, "You are carrying a potentially terrible connection to things you should not be tied to, Pet. We," she gestured among the three youkai and herself, "are protected through who and what we are. They," she gestured in the direction of the NHK HQ, "are not. They are not like you, not like me. Even Doctor Akagi here," her hand made a dismissive inclusion towards Ritsuko, "is protected. This is a unique situation, and we need to get it under control before it further contaminates the situation."

Ritsuko motioned for everyone to slow down. "Wait, he's carrying a pathogen?"

"No," the Vixens responded all at once, before devolving to their traditional chaotic interplay, "according to our teacher, a pathogen is a bacterium, virus, or something else physical that causes disease. While his malady is caused by foreign bodies, it is not caused by their physical presence." All three looked at him. "Should we introduce ourselves? Is this a friend of yours?"

I…y-yeah, sure. Go ahead. The realization that the Sailors' supposition that he was carrying some sort of spiritual illness with him had now been backed by people he did not doubt were better versed than he was started his traditional anxiety to swelling in his gut.

The trio didn't miss a beat, "Hello, we are Mika, Misa, and Miwa Akigawa. It's a pleasure to meet you, Doctor."

Maria supplemented the introduction, "Yes. They are hyacinthum exemplaris. Rather powerful, as a team. Eventually each will be exceptionally powerful on their own, so long as they don't kill each other before they grow up."

Ritsuko frowned at Maria's statement, clearly contemplating a number of factors. "What do I have to promise you, to get you to allow me to come with you? Shinji has managed to both pique my curiosity and my interest."

"Oh, he does that to everyone," the triplets giggled as they toyed with Shinji's limbs and hair. "We asked to be assigned to help keep him safe because we think he's the nicest man we've ever seen!" Their heads all swiveled to face Maria as one. "We don't mind if she comes along. The Silent One is very worried over her safety and health."

Misa-san, Shinji asked the last to have spoken while Maria thought on the issue, is she going to get in trouble? The Ritsuko Akagi I know is…dogged, when it comes to learning more about anything. The Angel before the one that brought me here…she was in the middle of performing a test with all of the pilots nude when it attacked.

"Oooh," Mika cooed, "isn't that a rather lovely image to contemplate."

Maria smirked as Shinji's cheeks turned bright red, "It does have a certain charm, I will admit."

Ritsuko motioned again to draw attention to her confusion. "Ok, I get the feeling I'm only receiving part of this conversation."

"You are," the triplets agreed. "He hasn't approved of you having a deeper connection to his mind and spirit. Until he does, you can't hear him like we do."

The brunette Doctor gave Shinji an inscrutable look. "…And you have a 'deeper connection', do you?"

"They are not human, Doctor." Maria stamped firmly on whatever it was the triplets were about to state. "They do not require much by the way of assistance from him to hear his thoughts. As I am certain Shinji himself would attest, should he be asked, he does not have much by way of 'connection' with anyone. Some few can hear his rather impressively detailed and incredibly sweet thoughts, even fewer have the capacity to truly understand them. None of them have any more claim to him than any other."

"Oh, that," the triplets all rolled their eyes as one, "of course we don't have that kind of a deeper connection with him. This is the first time we've ever met him in this form. Normally, we're much different. Fortunately, he thinks we're all gorgeous." Their eyes all turned on him. "Unfortunately, he thinks we're beyond him. He thinks that of everyone. In his mind, there is nobody that he's good enough for."

I don't think that you're all beyond me. Shinji looked away from everyone, irritated at once more not having the freedom to do what was necessary in his mind. I know that you're all beyond me. Turning his body and moving to the door, he began to stop caring if anyone followed. If we have to do this, let's get going. If someone attacks again, I need to be ready to react.

+++++ Jinnan, Shibuya, Japan. (Thursday + 5)

Blending in with the crowd of onlookers, the trio of Sailors remained in their civilian attire as they attempted to gain any sort of useful intelligence regarding Tokyo's latest 'feature'. A roiling hemisphere of sickly purple repelled every attempt to enter it by local police units wearing makeshift hazmat suits. Every ounce of kinetic energy directed against it was redirected, conserving its momentum and velocity, back along the vector from which it came. This resulted, more than once, in something bouncing off of the person's head who had just thrown the something in question.

"There is less than no way we can sneak close," Minako spoke to the other two in a low whisper to avoid being heard over the crowd. "Even if we could, I'm not sure what we'd be able to do. If we use our magic against that, we might end up causing ourselves to be tied to it permanently. The youkai that was speaking with us earlier isn't here now, no shock there, so I'm kind of out of plans."

Makoto was having an easier time than the other two in observing the scene around them, her height gifting her a natural advantage. "I don't care if we have to change and rush it. If Shinji is in there, we need to get him out."

While Usagi's heart ached, and her head throbbed, dispassionate logic was firmly gripping the wheel for now. Her Knight was potentially trapped. The young man with a kind heart, who had come to fight by her side despite repeated trauma, who looked at her as if she were the air he breathed, might be less than a dozen meters away. He might as well have been orbiting the moon, for all the distance mattered. "And if any of us becomes tethered to that thing, we might never get him free. Hasty decisions and half-formed plans do not have a positive track record recently." The unsubtle rebuke of her tall companion was as 'gentle' as she felt at the moment. "We know we can't get in right now. Let's go back and see what we can do to get the other two up and moving about. They're the brains, and Luna has access to tools we can use to scan and analyze whatever this is."

If she were to be honest, though she could not fault the plan, the way it was decided and expressed worried Minako a great deal. She had not doubted that Usagi's head was not in a great place, nobody could go through what she had just gone through with a smile and a bounce in their step. She wanted to give her friend, her ally, her spiritual leader the benefit of the doubt on everything, but the more she interacted with her the more she truly worried that the slightly goofy, sometimes crybaby, but always warm-hearted young woman…was not there anymore. "Maybe we got lucky, and we'll find him there waiting for us."

"He doesn't have the password to get in." Usagi turned around, not really caring if the others followed her. "He wouldn't let me teach it to him, for fear of Rei."

Minako looked to Makoto, hoping to gauge the other woman's level of concern with their friend, only to see the statuesque stunner staring death at the miasma before turning away herself and following Usagi with her jaw and fists clenched. The Sailor for Venus did not take much longer to follow after, only long enough to wonder if perhaps urging Shinji to move out of the apartment might not be the best course of action. For all of their sakes.

+++++ Roppongi, Japan. (Thursday + 5)

Anger and worry for the safety of the Sailors only carried Shinji so far on the trip towards their destination. Eventually, the press of the crowd and the level of noise around him carried the threat of summoning Unit-01 with every step he took. It took the combined attentions of the Vixen Triplets, Maria, and Ritsuko to stop him from having a complete nervous breakdown. Any and all potential rivalries were swiftly set aside to make room for a lively discussion regarding a variety of intellectually stimulating topics. The three youkai proved to be exceptionally inquisitive and capably intelligent. Maria, as he knew, was far wiser than anyone else he had ever known. It was Ritsuko, however, that surprised him the most.

Holding a mobile impromptu lesson on the physical limits preventing travel forward or backwards in time, she neither disdained nor eschewed queries or criticisms of her viewpoints. The Doctor Akagi he'd known, by comparison, bristled at being challenged on anything. The woman walking ahead of him by Maria's side, on the other hand, reveled in the challenge. She seemed to take almost as much joy in seeing Shinji's eyes deliver the 'click' when he understood what she was talking about as she did when a point of hers was effectively attacked. The concept of a thesis defense was not foreign to him, but never had he heard of one being relished by the defender.

Misa, Mika, and Miwa rotated spending time hugging his side and whispering little joking asides as the other two forced people to take a longer path around the group to provide Shinji some breathing room. Not once had any of them looked overtly hostile, or even mildly annoyed, and yet everyone parted at their approach like fish in the presence of sharks. Charming smiles and sharp questions, silly laughs and mocking comments about their sisters, the trio worked as a single entity to give comfort to someone they knew could flatten the city around them if pressed into too great of a panic.

It was Mika that hurried ahead of the group as they rounded into a dead-end, and very empty, alleyway. Reaching the far wall with inhuman speed and grace, she knocked firmly on the metal surface of a door that looked like it would survive a tank driving into it. The loud banging, somehow not noticed by the citizenry at large, echoed in the tight quarters for several seconds. After a slight chuckle from Maria, and matching snorts from Misa and Miwa, Mika knocked louder the second time. "Hey! Open up! I'm here to save you."

A small slit, enough for whoever was inside to identify the person on the outside, slid open. A gravelly masculine voice asked with thinly veiled irritation. "Save me from what, kid?"

"Save you from what the Elder is going to do to you and your family if you don't open the door." Mika's smile never dimmed, making the threat all the more ominous. Stepping to the side, clearing the view so that Shinji was visible, she narrowly avoided being struck as the man threw the door open hastily.

"You was supposed to take him around front," the man, a short and stout bruiser, whispered tersely. Straightening his tie, his suit coat left inside in his haste, the man bowed with humility towards the approaching party. "Welcome, all a ya, to the best parlor in all a Japan."

Mika waved dismissively to the first part of the statement. "He doesn't do well in crowds. Bringing him in the front, where there are more crowds waiting to see him? I told you, I'm saving you from what he's going to do to everyone if you didn't open this door."

Ritsuko, maintaining the armistice for Shinji's sake as they approached the rear entrance, leaned over to Maria to ask the same question he himself was pondering, "What…kind of parlor?"

"Whatever kind of parlor you need, Doctor." Maria's tone too had tempered itself in the interests of not irritating the living weapon they were escorting. "Reliqui…is a place where you can find anything you want." Lowering her voice and leaning towards the brunette, she emphasized the important part, "Do not accept payment for anything without speaking with me first. I'd tell you to remain quiet, but I doubt you'll listen."

Her warning, meant for Ritsuko, did not sit well with Shinji. He knew that it was the Doctor's choice to travel with him, but the last thing he wanted was for another person around him to come to harm. Nodding once in polite greeting to the doorman, unable to bow because of Misa and Miwa holding onto his sides, he took note of the nervous energy in the man's eyes. Catching himself about to speak, he heeded Maria's warning to his guest and kept his mind from forming verbal thoughts.

"Don't worry, Silent One," Mika joined her sisters, regaining her place behind his head, the three speaking as one, "we swear that anything wishing to harm you will have to kill us first. You are our hope against the evils to come."

"I wouldn't mention that particular word around him, were I you." A familiar voice preceded a familiar face meeting them as he crossed the threshold. "At least, not if you're interested in Reliqui remaining intact."

Hygieia?! Shinji blinked, surprised to see the woman away from her patients.

"I gave my word, Silent One." The daughter of Epione bowed neatly in greeting to Maria, her voice framing her statement with hints of a diplomatic nature that he knew to be foreign to her, "Honored Mother."

"It is…pleasant to see you, Daughter of Cleanliness." Maria herself seemed just as strained to maintain diplomacy suddenly. "What 'word' have you given that compels you to leave the safety of Elysium."

Taking position alongside the shopkeeper, the healer kept them moving towards their apparent destination. "I gave my word to heal him of his wounds to the best of my ability, and to cleanse him of the dust from his travels. I managed neither before Her Majesty decided his path lie elsewhere."

The hallways, far taller, broader, and longer than he believed could possibly fit in the buildings they'd been surrounded by outside, were dimly lit. Instead of a dark or depressing atmosphere, the lighting seemed to be based on what was needed to see by and nothing more. Various sounds came through carelessly cracked doors, merrymaking and other less wholesome pursuits being indulged in within the rooms. Shinji noted that it was likely the hall was kept dark to prevent people from truly identifying those travelling along it. Which, of course, began to worry him.

"As one who has been given permission by his own decree to speak in his stead, I assure you he frees you from any oaths you believe yourself to have made." Maria's tone towards Ritsuko, when she'd entered the Market, had been frosty. This made Cocytus seem a tropical paradise by comparison. "Feel free to return to your salves and tinctures, and leave worrying over him to those better suited to the task."

Ritsuko had fallen back to walk alongside Miwa, sensing a better opportunity to learn by observing rather than engaging. Whispering to Shinji as an aside, she looked carefully up to his eyes to sense what his answer might indicate. "You…went to the Ancient Greek paradise?" The shrug that was his answer wasn't terribly illuminating. "I'm almost afraid to ask, since I kind of assumed you weren't, but are you really not dating anyone? I mean, you're kind of drawing women to you like flies to honey."

Shinji was not as adept at paying attention to multiple conversations simultaneously, and so he missed whatever it was that Hygieia had retorted to Maria's dismissal with, as well as whatever Maria had responded to that with. What he didn't miss, however, was the open-handed slap the former delivered to the latter, nor the reprisal blow that sent Hygieia sailing into the wall she'd been closest to. That alone caused his anxiety to spike, which triggered Unit-01 making an appearance once more. When the doorman, who'd been politely following, pulled out an absurdly over-compensatory pistol and aimed it at Maria, Shinji was glad that Unit-01 had done so.

How he'd managed to free himself of the Triplets was a mystery to everyone. What was perfectly obvious, however, was the power disparity between a mildly irritated Evangelion and a truly terrified doorman. The pistol, now a crushed ruin in the hand of Unit-01, had fired two rounds, both of which were safely deflected harmlessly to the ceiling by Unit-01's A.T. Field. The man's throat, moving closer towards being an equally crushed ruin in the other hand of Unit-01, was issuing a series of apologetic gurgles. Whether it was Shinji, or Unit-01, that was emanating a spine-chilling and predatory growl was fairly semantic. The Elder was pissed, and everyone knew it.

"Pet," the velvet smooth voice of the woman he worked for caressed his mind as her hand mirrored the task on his lower spine, "I need you to not kill him. It will be a terrible starting place for negotiations, and I really don't think you want to do it anyway. You're a good man, and good men don't kill needlessly." There was no hint of a smile on her face to match the brightness of her next statement, "I'm absolutely certain he's deeply sorry for believing that what used to be his weapon was capable of doing anything more than mildly inconveniencing me and startling the good Doctor Akagi. Aren't you?"

If he so much as breathes towards you in a way that seems like he'll hurt you, I'm going to do much worse than kill him. Shinji had finally been pushed too far. I am tired of failing to protect people. I am tired of people threatening others because they're around me. I am tired of people making decisions for me. Most of all, I am tired, he pressed the doorman a hair harder against the wall. It feels like I haven't slept in years. Every time I turn around, someone is trying to kill someone else.

"What in the Great Lord Ohokuninushi's name is going on?" A booming voice echoed down the halls, clear irritation and disappointment dripping from it. "Who is…oh for…." Appearing between heartbeats, a woman who looked exactly like an older version of the Triplets only without the ostentation and makeup gently gripped Unit-01's wrist. There was no force applied, nothing implying combat or discord. She simply held his arm as she spoke, "Please, Silent One, forgive my fool of a servant for whatever crime he committed. Allow him to be judged by Reliqui's laws, allow peace and order to rule around you so it may reside too within your soul."

Whatever it was that had possessed Shinji to snap radiated in his mind as he looked down towards the youkai that plead her case with even tranquility, This is twice that someone from your people has pulled a gun on Maria. The third time…I will not be so calm. Unclenching the hand holding up the doorman, he allowed gravity to deposit him at Unit-01's feet. After a quick check to be certain that none of the cartridges remaining in the pistol would or could fire, he let that drop too. Slowly lowering the arm the woman held, he fought for some of that calm he'd mentioned. Why am I here?

"Because I bartered for them to invite you." Hygieia had wobbled to her feet, a nasty bruise forming on her temple from where Maria had struck, and a significant gash on the other side of her head from where it had impacted the wall. "The Unbound Oath swirls around you, Silent One. Look me in the eye and tell me that what you just did came from the same heart that so gently cradled Queen Serenity."

"She spoke in your name," Maria spat out. "Used her own oath, and the offer of xenia unfulfilled, to compel them to bring you here. I have little patience for the charlatans in Elysium, and even less for those who meddle in my affairs."

"Enough!" The unnamed youkai once more commanded everyone's attention. Her hand remained on Unit-01's wrist, and he was not included in her demands. "If you can not, or will not, recognize her ambassadorial standing then I bid you farewell. I decide who is and is not welcome here in my Domain, not you, Pleasant One." Not sparing the other belligerent, she turned her ire on Hygieia, "And you. If I find you spoke false, I will demand blood price. If he did not authorize you to speak in his name, the least of your punishments will be memorable." Finally turning her eyes to Shinji, her voice softened, "And you…. Please," rotating with inhuman grace, she laid her arms around the one she'd held and gestured forwards, "at least allow me to inspect what cruelty has been done to you. Whether through machinations or of your own free will, I do not desire to see a heart such as yours continue to flounder in debasement and ignominy."

Everyone says that they want to help me, ma'am. Anger still had its place in Shinji's heart at the moment. I'm…losing my patience with it. Looking aside to see that the Triplets had moved to protect Ritsuko from harm, his jaw clenched within Unit-01's helmet. Thank you. I probably just frightened her acting like I did. He was angry, but he wasn't yet enraged. If one of you could pass along my apology to Ritsuko-san, I'd appreciate it.

Before any of the others could speak, the woman on his arm performed the task. "The Silent One, Last of the Elders, wishes it to be known that he regrets any impression that he lacked due control over his own actions. Especially and specifically those impressions given to his human companion, who comes from a far different world than he himself. He gives generous gratitude to my kin for their foresight in preventing potential tragedy, and hopes that all learn from their example of using our strength to defend those who lack it."

Ritsuko blinked at the formal intonation, then looked towards Shinji. "I'm fine. A little surprised, but nothing came close to touching me. It's ok." She gave him a smile that spoke of understanding and cautious hope. "I am glad you worry that I'm ok, though."

"Indeed." The woman on his arm regained control of any conversation, "Please, let's enter the Reliqui proper. We asked you to grace us with your presence to ease your burdens, not add to them."

+++++ Lunar Command Center. (Thursday + 5)

Luna was guardedly optimistic about Artemis. The other two patients she had were just in need of rest and painkillers, the scans showing nothing terrible had been managed during the fight. Resting her head against the monitor as the machines tending to her lover performed the next in a series of repairs, she gave some thought to ways to stop the metaphorical bleeding now that the literal had been stanched. It would be easier to deal with if we knew the motivations of these youma. Nothing they're doing seems to be coherent as a strategy, beyond attempting to kill the Queen or Shinji.

The plans they had, not one week ago, seemed to almost have been a fairy tale. A passing fancy instead of the map they'd used to guide their lives by. She could not bring herself to blame Shinji, despite his appearance seeming to herald everything else. He was a symptom. He was the volcano spewing lava all over the countryside. He wasn't the disease, the magma raging to be freed. Every time she'd heard of something he'd done, or seen him act, it was always with the same purity of intent that she'd once ascribed to Usagi. He wanted to save people. He needed to save people.

"We need something that can pierce that purple fog." Usagi's approach hadn't gone unremarked, it was her lack of even ambiguous concern over the welfare of three of her friends that truly startled Luna. The twin-tailed blonde hadn't even seemed shocked that people were lying in medical chambers. "It can't involve us casting magic, though. What little we know of this thing, we know it's capable of trapping anyone casting magic towards it."

They're fine, Usagi-chan. Just a little beat up, is all. The black cat's heart grew heavier, for having to speak harshly to her little sister again. "Three of your friends are-"

"My ally is potentially pinned beneath a barrier that nothing physical can seem to pass through." Queen Serenity cut off her servant harshly. "You have these three in your care, we still have someone in harm's way. We need something capable of piercing that purple fog. Do you have it, or do I need to start being creative?"

Minako, unlike Luna, was only loyal to Usagi out of collegial love and not bonds of servitude. The other blonde in the room stomped between rabbit and feline with anger growing in her own heart. "Ok, I get that you've had a lot thrown on you lately. I understand that you're worried about Shinji-kun. I even support going to help him over sitting here and worrying while Luna does what she can to bring our two brains back to us. But you are going to start treating your friends with respect again."

Usagi's crystal blue eyes had never seemed so hollow. "Are you done?"

Luna couldn't deal with so much at once. She wasn't a ruler, she wasn't royalty, she wasn't even a terribly powerful member of her own species. If for no other reason than to return to the morbid silence she'd been waiting within, she motioned towards a cabinet set into the bottom of one of the nearby computer consoles. "In there. There's a portable interferometer, be careful waving it about out in the open. It's based on technology that this planet doesn't have yet."

"Luna-" The Sailor for Venus cut off at a subtle shake of the black cat's head as Usagi moved with Makoto to grab the equipment. "…Let me know the moment any of them are awake, ok?"

There's a reason Artemis fights so hard for you. She nodded her assent before adding, "Let me know if you find anything about Shinji."

With a last look at her two unconscious friends, and her feline companion, Minako hurried to join the other two Sailors in returning to the scene of their last battle. She could not fail her friends and allow whatever madness that had begun to spread amongst them continue.

+++++ Reliqui, Roppongi, Japan. (Thursday + 5)

Shinji found himself sitting in a chair that was both intricately ornate and exceedingly comfortable. Unit-01 had been convinced to recede, through the combination of the Triplets and Maria soothing his temper by assuring him that everyone would be safe here. Surprising him, Ritsuko was placed directly at his side. He cautiously considered Miwa, the one who urged her to sit by him, curiosity plain on his face.

"The familiar helps someone suffering from great stress, Silent One." The lone Triplet picked up Ritsuko's right hand, placing it in his left and clasping them together. "Even if it is only reflected familiarity."

Before he could respond, there was more commotion at the other end of the room. His hostess, who he learned preferred to be called 'Denmother', but for him would answer to Toyouke, was looming rather effectively over several individuals that were taller than her. The one she was speaking to in particular, Hygieia, seemed deeply ashamed. "I cannot believe you would do that. Slap someone I invited here. You, a healer, acting akin to a common peasant!" Gesturing to a nearby cushion, settled in the corner, she dismissed the lady from Elysium. "Sit there and be silent. I will ask the Silent One for affirmation, and I will know if he prevaricates to attempt to spare you pain." Turning once more to Maria, she exchanged no words with the raven-haired Market-owner. Cautiously eyeing a scroll that the woman had somehow manifested and was holding out in offering, she raised a single eyebrow.

"I acted in haste, Denmother." Maria was not above admitting her faults, it seemed. "While I will not apologize for protecting the honor of my employee, the dignity of my friend, and the good name of a man I am rather fond of, I will admit that I erred in dispensing Justice while standing within your Domain. It is your place to do so, or not to. I was wrong."

A great deal of the anger seemed to flee from Toyouke at the statement. Gently taking the scroll, she tucked it into her belt and inclined her head with respect. "Thank you, Poet Lover. It does my heart good to know that you still hold me in sufficient regard to humble yourself even this much."

"It is a true idiot who spits on an ally before going to war, old friend." Maria laughed, a degree of fatigue showing in the gesture. "Let's not dawdle about. The sooner we can determine if something must be done for dear Shinji, the sooner we can be about doing it."

"Truth." The Denmother turned and calmly approached Shinji with a pensive frown. "Silent One, I seek your permission to hear your thoughts. My daughters, by your own hand accepting the talisman's protection, have been granted that permission. I, however, am a distinct entity. I swear to you that unless your life be in danger, I will speak nothing of what it is you say to another. I simply wish to speak with you. I pried into your thoughts without asking, before, because I did not want blood to be spilled. A matter of grave urgency, within these halls. Now, I ask formally so that we may share our thoughts freely."

Shinji briefly remembered what Maria said about accepting things, though this didn't seem like payment. He was worried about offending his hostess, but still looked to the woman that had helped him get his footing stable for advice.

"He's worried about offending you," Maria expounded. "He's looking to me because he wishes to know if he would be making a mistake somehow. He's naïve. Of his power, of his place in this world, and of why we title him as we do. If I may?" Receiving a gesture of assent, she stepped closer to Shinji herself. "I wouldn't have allowed you to come here if I thought it would hurt you, Pet. The Denmother may be many things, but she is no sneak-thief or assassin to strike from the shadows. If she wishes to fight you, or harm you, it will be while you are awake, armed, and facing her."

A ringing endorsement, if he'd ever heard one. I'm…I'm fine with talking to her. I'm kinda glad that she's worried about intruding on my privacy. I…never really had any. Now that I have people hearing my thoughts…I have less than I knew I did.

"A fact that brings sorrow to any good heart, Silent One." Toyouke looked down, anger hiding behind discontent. "I do not feel it breaks any confidences you might have, to share with everyone that your life, to this point, has been measured by suffering and not years. Discarded by your Patriarch, abandoned by your…Matriarch…." Her eyes narrowed. "That is an abomination!" Foxfire limned her form as nine tails sprang out from behind her. Her head turned towards Hygieia, her voice becoming dark, "How is it that your vaunted healers did not take note of what lay against his soul?" Her body followed her head, her wrath growing palpable. "That the Undying Taint has interest in him is no shock. That he is marked as he is, is no shock. That he does not exist alone within the most sacred of all spaces…and you did nothing?!"

"I'm sorry, dear," Maria took a cautious step between the woman and Hygieia, "before I ask you to allow me the favor of tearing her head off of her body, could you please share with me why you're suddenly scaring my friend and my colleague?"

A shuddering breath showed that the fight for calm was not close to being won. "I forget, at times, that you are not your sisters. They have a keener sense for these details, and would have noted them." Swallowing, clearly disgusted beyond words, she leaned towards Maria and kept her voice lowered past what Shinji could hear for the next portion of her statement.

Maria's face drew flat, then grew murderous. "Forgive me." Her fists clenched tight. "I believe I need to go have a word with someone else. Please do forgive my abrupt departure, I promise to return once I have answers." With that said, she disappeared from sight.

It wasn't immediately apparent who Toyouke spoke to next until they were already in motion. "I want her placed in one of the meditation rooms. I believe she needs time to contemplate her answers before I rip them free from her lying teeth." The Triplets moved as one, finding no trouble in restraining and removing a protesting Hygieia from the room. Taking a few more seconds to compose herself, Shinji's hostess slowly turned towards him, the subtle flicking of her tails the only indication that she was at all angered. "Forgive my…indecorous behavior, Silent One, Professor." She bowed to each in turn, then sat down on a misty cushion of air she created beneath her. "From what I see, you have little you wish to hide from the good Doctor, yes?"

…I…I don't know what's going on. Shinji was somewhat embarrassed that he was clasping onto Ritsuko's hand far harder than she was his. Why is everyone suddenly so angry? Did…did I do something wrong?

Her eyes showed pity. "Please, I must know before I speak if there is aught you wish hidden from your companion."

N-no. I-I think she might be m-my only chance of g-going home. He looked down in shame. I-I failed them. I need to go back and try to save them. Even if I just got in the way, I was another person for the enemy to focus on. I was another obstacle. If they were shooting at me, they weren't shooting at Asuka, or Ayanami. It's-

"Please," Toyouke held both hands out in a soothing motion, "do not denigrate your success." A few more calming breaths, and she turned to Ritsuko to continue to speak, "The Silent One, whom you refer to by a different name, has suffered in battles beyond the scope of any you might conceive of or have studied. He has fought, alone, against titanic beings larger than the greatest buildings Humanity has yet crafted. He has been bludgeoned, pierced, slashed, crushed, electrocuted and worse. He has been burned by magma, by acid, by flame, and by plasma. He has held up the sky itself as his foe attempted to destroy the Earth through sheer size and momentum." Tears gathered, unshed, in her eyes. "Despite what you may think…those are not the worst traumas he has endured."

It was now Ritsuko who held onto Shinji's hands with a stronger grip. Where there was sorrow in their host's eyes, there was anger within the doctor's. "His parents abandoned him. Left him…what, alone? How long did he have to suffer all by himself?"

"There are few that would argue against me when I say that his suffering has not yet ended." Toyouke held up a hand, silencing Shinji's retort. "No. You have not yet learned how to open your heart to those who would help you endure your life's tragedies. You look upon others with reverence for their intellect, for their wit, and for their beauty, but never once do you look upon them and believe yourself worth reaching out to them. Not as a friend, not as a companion, not as a lover. Fear, Silent One, Fear holds you deep in its thrall."

"Well, I can't say that I'll forever be your friend, we've just met and all…." Ritsuko leaned down a bit to get into his field of vision. "But I have to admit, since you showed up I've had opportunities to discover all sorts of questions I never thought to ask. I think I get what the Denmother is saying here, and so I'll reach out and take the first step so you don't have to." Giving him a warm smile, she crinkled her nose cutely. "Would you consent to being friends with a mad scientist who has a fascination with finding the difficult truths of life? She could really use a companion that's more grounded than she is."

Shinji blinked, politely ignoring Toyouke's chortle. I…no one's ever asked me to be their friend. I think…well, I think the ladies inferred…. Timidly, he nodded.

"Great!" Letting go of his hands and hugging him around the neck, she squeezed the warmth she'd rarely received herself into his being. "Then my first act as your official friend is to tell you that I would like to know more about what you've faced, so I can help you put it in your past where it belongs." Sitting back down on her chair, she again clasped his right hand with both of hers and looked to their hostess. "I think we should start with whatever it was that caused Doctor Namaha to leave."

Toyouke had to check one last time with her guest before speaking anything. "This is…very distressing. I can only imagine the pain the truth will cause. Are you certain you wish your friend to know?"

The concept of friendship wasn't completely lost on Shinji, he just simply had no real experience in the practical applications of that concept. Still, the Doctor Akagi he knew seemed to be a very strong woman. She stood up with two men that glowered others into groveling for mercy, never once reeling back. He'd seen her accomplish miracles. She'd even been the one to introduce him to the Eva itself. Turning towards her, he asked through the only woman that could hear him, Are you sure you want to know, Ritsuko-san? It's…it's ok if this is too soon. Too sudden. We just met, and all.

Following Toyouke reciting his statement, Ritsuko nodded with sincerity. "I told you how competitive I am with my own mother. I might make fun of her for believing it's possible to construct an infinite power source, but if anyone would manage it…it just may be her. I never mentioned my father because he's never been around. The only way I know what he looks like is a picture on the wall in the Physics Department at Todai." Patting his hand, she gave him a confident grin. "I know a thing or two about having issues with your parents. So whatever it is, I'm ok with the start of our friendship being unorthodox. Gives life flavor to do the unexpected from time to time."

Giving Shinji a moment to think, and accepting his bearing as he faced her as agreement, Toyouke folded her hands in her lap and gave him a truth that she knew would break even the strongest of hearts. "The woman who gave birth to you…her soul is…."

+++++ Jinnan, Shibuya, Japan. (Thursday + 5)

Minako watched as Makoto and Usagi tried to make any form of sense out of the machine they'd borrowed from Luna. Sitting with her back against the safety wall surrounding the rooftop of the outer building they hid upon, she imagined two of the types of monkeys that inhabited some of the outlying islands flailing without any coordination at an unknown puzzle placed in their reach. Muttered curses and angry growls, but absolutely no progress towards determining if Shinji was down below beneath a purple haze.

It was dark out, now. The sky having lost most of its color and trending towards the unnatural light of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. Too proud to just abandon her friends, but too bored to just sit forever and watch them fuss with something she'd only expect the two unconscious Sailors to truly have a chance at understanding, despite Rei's hatred of machines, she chose to ponder something that was more in-line with things that kept her thoughts 'happier'. There was too much darkness, and she had to stay above it.

What can I do to gain the same connection to Shinji as the other three have? The catalog of known uses of her abilities yielded nothing that she would consider even tangential to the concept of Healing, as she'd overheard Ami muttering about. I cut things. I explode things. I slash things. I'm a Warrior of Love, not a Healer of Love! That admission caused a sudden blink of confusion, her face narrowing in anger. Is that why nobody ever wanted to date me?! Because I was confident?! What a load of…. The look Shinji had given her in her volleyball outfit rolled through her memory. He…he likes that I'm confident. He blushed. I know he's interested.

Patting her cheeks, she stood up and began pacing to jog her brain into action. Her powers all focused around light and metal. She could forge one into the other, explosively or to create something harder than steel. Steel was used to help people heal…by cutting them open in surgeries or by holding bones together. She discarded that train of thought, as the last thing she wanted was his bones to break or him to need surgery. That left light, then. Her mind trended towards things her teachers had said about light. It could make lasers, she knew that. It was possible to project movies? Her eyes rolled.

I can't just beam interest into his head and say I'm healing him. That's stupid. Looking across the street to a billboard, she saw a picture of a woman posed to sell a tanning bed, aimed at women who couldn't leave the house but still wanted to look 'active'. Blinking several times, a biology lesson climbed up through the usual mess of nonsense that stopped her from absorbing actual information from her teachers. Ultraviolet light from the sun is necessary to produce vitamins and chemicals that make you happier. He's always so sad…and I can give him some light that won't harm him but will help him heal! Clenching her fists excitedly, she bounced twice while inwardly crowing in victory. I can connect myself to him, and even the playing field again!

"If you're quite done staring off into space and fidgeting," Makoto growled over towards her, "how about helping us figure this machine out?" Gesturing at the device with disgust, she snorted with contempt. "It says it uses the way that light reflects off of objects to measure something, but I'll be damned if I know how we're supposed to get a second source of light, like the diagram says we need."

Minako froze. Luna, you clever little bitch. Turning around, the blonde Sailor for Venus glared at Makoto. "You are also going to start being polite to your friends again. Nobody in our little group has done anything to earn the level of hurt you two are throwing at us. We are supposed to be friends! Sisters! I don't know what happened at your apartment, and I don't really care right now, but the two of you are doing more to risk Shinji's life than anyone else is by letting this anger and hurt fester in your hearts."

The silence stretched on for a few seconds before Usagi softly stated, "He makes the pain stop, Minako-chan. When I hold his hand, I feel like the rain has stopped. When he holds me in his lap, it's like the sun is out again. I'm terrified of losing…of losing someone else." She began making a few adjustments to the mirrors attached to the interferometer. "I lost the man I thought loved me. I lost my birth mother. I lost my adopted family. I lost all of you during the fight with Metalia." She looked over to her friend, her heart exposed in her gaze. "The thought of losing someone with a heart like his…. When you try, you'll know. You'll understand." Standing up and setting the machine on the edge of the building, she waved her over closer. "I wish you luck, and hope the attempt works. It's a beautiful thing, even as sad as it can be. Now, if you could please come over here and help me find our friend…I'd really appreciate it."

She wasted no time in approaching and hugging Usagi close. "I love you too." The message beneath everything was clear. Friends didn't need to spell everything out for one another, and more importantly friends forgave friends when they tried to make things right.

Neither woman managed to see Makoto turn to glare down at the dome. She had no trouble reading the subtext in Usagi's statement, and was quite capable of inferring that she was soon to be the only person who couldn't hear Shinji's thoughts. She was the first woman to try and understand him. She was the first woman to offer him comfort and shelter. She was the first woman to sit with him at night and help him calm down. Now, she would be the last woman that was unable to hear him. It's not fair.

+++++ Maria's Market, Azabu-Mamianachō, Japan.

Maria appeared in her closed Market store and roared out a name with the kind of rage few beings could hope to survive, "LILITH!" Forming a fist with one hand, she glared at the floor-length mirror they used to communicate. "Get your broken ass over here."

The woman many knew as the Second Angel, others knew as the Progenitor of Life, and precious few knew as 'Lily', appeared in the mirror, accompanied by a baby that was likely less than a year old. "Sister dear, I presume there's a reason you're risking frightening dear Ten-chan?"

While her anger hadn't shut off completely, curiosity did manage to overwhelm it for a moment. "Why are you holding a baby?"

"Because I won the rock-paper-scissors game for the rights to, today," she responded as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Now, again, why do you look like you wish you could kill me?"

Moderating her voice so as not to further disturb the aggressively cute child, Maria nevertheless glared daggers at her sister. "You didn't tell me that his mother would be attached to his soul."

"You didn't ask." Lilith was seeming to be less impressed by the second. "Dear…what precisely does it matter where his mother is? She's a soul. Pluck her out, dismiss her to whatever dark abyss you wish to, and be on with it. The woman could hardly be called a mother without provoking laughter, and so her loss will not long plague your poor Shinji."

She had to clench her jaw to stop from screaming invectives. Through her teeth, she hissed out, "Because this reality has magic, you dimwitted harlot." Her jaw creaked audibly as she began losing control over her temper. "Not the 'sufficiently advanced sciences' of your reality, or the backwoods superstitions of-"

The dark-haired, pale-skinned, immaculate picture of womanhood suddenly darkened with a rage that even Maria couldn't hope to stand in the face of. "Do not say her name in front of Ten-chan." Holding the gravity of her presence for a second longer, she then dismissed it back behind the walls of maternity. Toying with the wee babe's hands, she provoked giggles from the small child to soothe any possible harms done by the outburst. "I am well aware of the magic I urged my husband to allow, Maria," she stressed the name purposefully, "which is why I did not say to simply remove her from your Shinji. Remove her, then dismiss her. The sooner you do so, the better it will be for him. Now, if you are quite done wasting the time I could be spending with my favorite little bundle of joy, I believe you know all you need to."

Maria's nails dug into her own palms. "No, I most certainly-"

"You do not want to ask that question." Lilith was, save for eyes that raged with both disgust and anger, perfectly calm. "Yui Ikari was, in every reality I have ever seen, a thoroughly vile human being who used her only begotten son as leverage to drive her husband towards an end that would only ever benefit her." Her gentle play with the baby named 'Ten-chan' coexisted with her tone, but not her deeper meaning. "Again…you do not want to ask me that question."

"Is it that bad?" While they disagreed on much, of the three sisters she had she'd always felt she and Lilith got along the best. That was what had informed her anger, the feeling of betrayal that the lack of a warning had provoked. "Truly, is it?"

"It's worse." Giving the briefest of shrugs, she dismissed the topic firmly. "Once you have things settled, we'll talk again. I understand why you're angry, and believe me if I could warn you without causing terrible things I would…but there are some strictures that even I can't break. I am his equal, never his better." Her smile was the rising of the morning sun, a contentment that prompted jealousy in Maria's heart. "I never thought I'd be happy with equality, you know. After…him. My husband has shown me what it truly means to be an equal." That smile dimmed some, as she added, "You need to be ready to suffer. He's a locus for torment, wherever he is."

+++++ Author's Notes:

Guest, Blitzstrahl, 01mugot: RE: Other Eva Characters.

There will be a lot more Eva in coming chapters. I had to set up the world that he is now in, the way that it functioned before his arrival and the way the characters interacted with one another. With that mostly done, I've begun to show what bringing the...taint, if you will, of Evangelion has done to this poor Earth. There will be more mentions than cameos to start, because not everyone is in Tokyo just waiting for their cue to enter the stage. But they'll arrive.

JaceSterne: RE: Ritshinji.

It would be somewhat pleasant if a more level-headed version of a woman overshadowed by her forebear and abused by his forebear showed Shinji what it truly meant to live, wouldn't it? Almost equally unpleasant will be what Shinji has brought along with him. The Curse of Evangelion waits for no romance.

RE: Timing.

I'm still working on this story, and it's likely going to be "long". I wouldn't say as long as YA(N)C, because I'm not likely going to pace it the same (we've already had two Angels in five days), but it's going to be long. As of this chapter's posting, I have another 134k words written out. I'm marking this note "Timing" because I'm going to take my time and make sure everything is correct as much as I can before posting anything. The hospital I work at is...struggling. Lots of overtime, more than a little of it unpaid. This is my relief. My refuge. My escape from the misery of 2020. I appreciate everyone's patience, and I truly appreciate the many comments that I should not feel "rushed". I'm just trying to be transparent regarding what I'm doing and how I'm doing it. Y'all come here to read a man with messed up views throw characters at each other at superluminal velocities, and that's what you'll get.