The Girl Who Shouted I At The Heart Of The World

by A.F. Oliver

Few get a second chance at living, let alone two or three. Rei Ayanami never knew what to do with the lives she had until it was too late. Getting another chance at living could mean a world of difference. After all, life is an ever changing thing and even the smallest of changes can reverberate across the world.

22. A Human Influence

Chapter 22 – A Human Influence

Shinji couldn't see a thing as he walked across the grassy ground toward the destination Rei was leading him toward. This wasn't due to any sudden blindness or the low lighting within the geofront but rather due to the pair of hands currently clamped over his eyes.

Before Asuka, Rei, and himself had exited the lake, Asuka had insisted that he keep his eyes shut as not to get a good view of his fellow pilots in their state of total nudity. To ensure that there was no chance that he open his eyes, Asuka had insisted on walking behind him with her hands over his face. Needless to say he had no clue where he was actually going but thankfully Rei had him by his arm to guide him. As a side note, it was taking pretty much all of his mental fortitude to keep from displaying certain... physical reactions. Having Asuka behind him, breathing near him, and occasionally pressing up against him was making that quite a difficult task... Then again, the fear and anxiety he felt about displaying said reactions was helping to keep his body in check. He was pretty sure that if a certain appendage were to stand at attention that it would be swiftly removed by the girl who was presently rendering him incapable of seeing ahead.

So there he was, walking in the nude underneath the artificial moonlight of the geofront beside two equally nude teenage girls toward a grounds keeping shed of unknown distance that they hoped contained items they could use to cover themselves with. They'd been walking a while, or at least he felt that way. He had no way of discerning time and when anxious time always seems to go slower. He certainly hoped they were almost at their destination though. Walking around blinded was quite an unpleasant experience. At least he had Rei to help him along. Having her so close to him, holding onto his arm while the walked under the artificial moonlight in the nude... no! He cut himself off before he let any improper fantasies enter his mind. Why was he having those kind of thoughts about her, his best friend, anyway? "Are we almost there?" he asked nervously.

"It should not be much longer," Rei replied softly.

"It better not be," Asuka huffed. "It's so embarrassing traipsing around out here in nothing but my birthday suit. Not to mention my arms are getting tired."

Shinji frowned. "You know I could just... look up or away or just keep my eyes closed on my own..." he muttered.

"As if I'd trust a teenage boy to do that!" Asuka snapped back. "This is the only way to ensure you don't get any dirty ideas."

Saying something like that was definitely not helping his predicament... "I never thought I'd miss my plugsuit this much..." he muttered more to himself than anyone else.

"You're telling me?" Asuka grumbled. "No matter how skin tight those things are at least they don't show anything! Not to mention they're much warmer than being out here naked..."

"I share that sentiment..." Rei murmured.

"Also the suits have soles on the feet," Shinji added. "It hurts every time I step on a pebble."

"Oh, just be a man and suck it up!" Asuka whined.

Shinji scowled. He was getting a little tired of her constant complaining and critisism... "Well if I trip and fall because of then what?" he retorted.

"I don't care what you do so long as you don't turn around or open your eyes," Asuka hissed. "Even if you were able to keep your eyes off us during the walk to the plugs I still don't trust you."

Though he hated to admit it, he'd definitely wanted to take a gander at the both of them during the walk to the plugs before the aborted test... It had been perhaps morbid curiosity or perhaps some lustful impulse but he'd definitely felt that urge. A small part of him might have wanted to look Asuka, but he'd definitely wanted to glance at Rei out of the corner of his eye during the walk to the plugs... He felt insanely guilty about that, even though he'd resisted that base desire...

"I have your arm," Rei stated softly in response to his previous comment. "You don't need to worry about falling, Shinji."

Well that was at least reassuring however it also put certain thoughts in his mind. The idea of falling down and dragging Rei with him was quite embarrassing. If that were to happen he doubted he would ever recover from that shame and embarrassment... Shinji took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in his throat. "Thanks Rei..." he murmured in reply.

Moments later Rei stopped walking and he halted his stride as well. "We're here..." she said softly.

"Hopefully there's some extra maintenance clothes or something in this stupid shed..." Asuka grumbled. "Otherwise we walked out here for nothing..."

Indeed that would be a problem if there was nothing that could be used to cover up. Now that they were at the place Rei had guided them to, it would be nice if he could actually use his eyes again... "Hey..." Shinji murmured. "Asuka... can you let me see now?"

There was a pause before the redhead replied. "Fine," she returned. "But you better not try to peep on either of us."

He bit his lip. "I swear I won't..." Shinji murmured.

"Okay..." Asuka muttered.

The black veil of Asuka's palms lifted from his face and he could see the maintenance shack dead ahead of him. It was small concrete building with a steel door that he hoped had been left unlocked. The pressing matter now was deciding who would be the first to enter... "Who should go first?" Shinji asked nervously.

"You should," Asuka snapped immediately. "I don't want to risk looking at your junk for a second longer."

Somehow he couldn't help but feel just a little bit insulted by how she'd worded that... "A- alright," he replied with a slight stammer. Hopefully they wouldn't look at him while he walked to the door... "I'll go first then. I... I guess you guys will wait around back. I'll call out and face away while the both of you are in there..."

"That is agreeable..." Rei returned in a somewhat nervous whisper.

He hesitated before taking that first step toward the door. "Can you both... look away while I'm walking in?" Shinji murmured nervously, afraid to look over his shoulder as not to see something he wasn't meant to.

Asuka snorted. "No need to worry about that!" she retorted.

"We will turn away..." Rei murmured softly. "I respect your right to... privacy..."

Shinji took a deep breath. "Okay..." Shinji heaved as he stepped toward the steel door...

He thanked whatever powers governed the universe that the door opened when he twisted the handle. Slowly he stepped inside, shut the door behind himself, and felt around for a light switch. Thankfully there was one just beside the door. After turning the light on he surveyed the interior. It would seem that there were no spare uniforms to change into. That said... he couldn't just emerge while still in the nude. There had to be some way to... improvise some kind of covering.

Shinji began rummaging around in the shed trying to find anything that would work to cover himself. Soon he laid eyes on a box of large black trash bags... It wasn't much but it was something at least. Wearing a plastic bag was definitely better than walking around with his manhood swinging in the wind...

There was a banging on the door that nearly made him jump out of his skin. "Hey!" Asuka shouted. "What's taking you so long! Did you find clothes!?"

Shinji grimaced as he pulled a bag out of the box and opened it up. "Kind of..." he replied nervously. Well... it was partially a truthful statement at least...

"Well hurry up!" Asuka snapped back.

Shinji sighed... There was really no way around it. With great care he ripped head and arm holes in a black trash bag and pulled it over his body. He shuddered to think what Asuka's reaction would be when she saw him in this getup. Oh well... it was the best any of them could do after all. "Alright..." called back nervously. "I'm coming out..."

"Alright, I'll tell you when you can come out..." Asuka replied. There was a moment of pause before she spoke again. "Okay, you can come out now."

Shinji opened the door of the grounds keeping shed and took a few steps out into the artificial moonlight, making sure not to turn his head in any capacity. "I'm out..." he stated timidly. "Y- you two can change now."

He dared not turn around as he heard the two girl's footsteps across the grass behind him. The footsteps stopped just behind him and the came a derisive snort. "Are you serious right now?" he heard Asuka snicker. "This is what we're going to have to wear? Trash bags? Really?"

Shinji flinched at the comment. "I- it was the only thing in the shed..." he stammered.

"Jesus Christ..." Asuka grumbled. "This day just keeps getting better and better..."

"We don't have much of a choice..." He heard Rei state. "It is better than continuing in a state of total undress..."

Asuka sighed. "You have a point..." she muttered.

Shinji heard the door behind him open and close again and he breathed a sigh of relief. Now he could actually pay attention to his surroundings without having to worry about seeing something that he shouldn't. Not too far away he could see that NERV pyramid under the faint light. Most likely there was an entrance to headquarters somewhere nearby. The entire NERV complex was a maze that he was sure he'd never memorize the layout of. It was kind of amazing that Rei seemed to have done so, memorizing every hall and corridor.

It was only a moment before he heard the door to the shed open and shut. He turned around to see Rei wearing a black trashbag in the same fashion that he was. It was like a big plastic pillowcase draped over her. Considering how she shifted on her bare feet and wasn't making eye contact with him he could tell she was a bit uncomfortable. He smiled sheepishly. "At least it's something to cover up with right?" he said, trying to lighten the mood. "Also... it doesn't look completely terrible..."

Rei dipped her head and smiled awkwardly. "You flatter me..." she murmured in response. "But this is indeed not optimal clothing..."

Shinji chuckled nervously. "It's definitely not," he replied. "But once we get back inside we'll get our clothes back."

Rei nodded. "Most likely before that we'll be required to deploy," she stated. "So we should retrieve our plug suits first."

That was a point, Rei had mentioned before they'd started their walk to the maintenance shed that there was a possibility of an Angel attack of some kind. Considering how suddenly the test had been aborted so suddenly it was definitely a possibility. Still, the fact that there were no alert sirens going off made him question that. "Do you... really think that there might be an Angel closing in?" he asked softly.

Rei blinked and she pursed her lips for a moment before nodding her head. "I cannot be certain, but it is quite possible..." she replied, uncertainty dripping from her tone. "Despite it being unlikely, I do believe that is what's occurring... You might call it a... gut feeling..."

Shinji's eyes widened. In all the time he'd known Rei he didn't think there had ever been a time that Rei had banked something on a hunch. It was puzzling, worrisome, and also a bit humorous all at once. He chortled nervously. "What makes you think that?" he asked.

Rei shifted her feet once again and once more averted his gaze. If he wasn't mistaken it looked like she was trembling just a little bit, but that could have easily been chocked up to the fact that the both of them were still dripping with residual water from the lake. They hadn't had access to any towels after all... "I... It's strange," Rei returned timidly. "It... felt like there was something in the plug with me... a voice..."

Shinji felt a shiver run down his spine. Rei wasn't the type of person who would exaggerate something like that. "A... voice?" he murmured.

Rei nodded, her eyebrows knitting up and her lip quivering. "Yes," she replied. "Right be fore the plugs were ejected I felt something like a electric shock and there was this... voice. Though it was faint it... sounded like a chorus of voices screaming as one..."

Shinji's mouth fell open in surprise. That... that certainly sounded like a terrifying experience. It was almost unbelievable. Had it been anyone else other than Rei saying these things he would probably have dismissed it immediately but she had always been truthful with him... at least as far as he could tell. No, Rei wasn't the type of person to make up outrageous stories... "That's... terrifying..." he replied in a hushed tone.

Rei nodded softly. "It was..." she returned just above a whisper.

There was a pensive pause that fell between the two of them. Then Shinji happened upon a thought... It had been a while since Rei had exited the maintenance shed but Asuka still had not emerged. How long did it really take to change into a trash bag? "Hey... what do you think is taking Asuka so long?" he asked.

Before Rei had a chance to reply he heard the door to the shed open. Both he and Rei looked to see Asuka standing there with a scowl on her face. Instead of simply poking holes in one of the black trash bags it looked like she'd taken two or three of them and fashioned some kind of improvised fitted dress. "If I have to wear these things I should at least try to make them look good, right?" she huffed.

Shinji smiled sheepishly. He would admit it, what the redhead had devised was quite a bit more flattering than what himself and Rei were wearing...

---

Ryouji Kaji moved through the halls of NERV working his way toward the surface of the geofront. There was nothing that he could do to hold off the current Angel threat, that so much he knew. Besides, that wasn't his job. His job was to snoop around and be inconspicuous about it and spying while NERV central was on high alert was probably not in his best interests. Instead at times like this he usually went to the geofront surface to a place that he, perhaps in a fit of weakness or sentimentality, had planted watermelon seedlings during his stay in Tokyo 3. Though he hadn't been tending to them for long they were growing rapidly. It was a therapeutic experience, watering plants and watching them grow with time. It was some of the only peace he could find from dangerous life he led...

Though many of the bulkhead doors were locked down he had his ways of bypassing security, it was one of the many skills that he possessed that made him efficient at his chosen occupation. Still, getting from the lower levels of Central Dogma toward the surface had been a painstaking effort. Thankfully he'd managed to find an elevator that was away from any cameras that might notice him. Wandering about the halls of NERV in the middle of a lockdown didn't look good no matter how one viewed it. He couldn't help but snicker to himself. This time, for once, his reasoning for skulking around were completely innocent.

Upon entering the elevator he breathed a sigh of relief that as of yet he hadn't run into any personnel. As soon as he reached the highest floor there shouldn't be much in the way of prying eyes who would question where he was going. He pressed the button for his desired floor and waited the stretch of time until he was deposited there. The hallways looked completely deserted and he could hear his footfalls echoing down the hallway. Thankfully he was out of the locked down area of headquarters by now but he was also away from his post. That was still something he might have to contend with should he run into someone.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets as he walked down the hallway to appear casual, listening intently all the while for any signs of company. Seconds later he rounded a corner and stopped dead in his tracks.

He was face to face with one of NERV's security personnel who was leaning against the wall just around the corner from which he'd just come. Kaji put on a cheeky smile and scratched the back of head. He also noted to himself that this man seemed somewhat familiar... "Hey there," he sheepishly greeted the guard. "Sorry to startle you, I'm just a little lost."

The guard smirked and narrowed his eyes at him. "No you're not," he replied. "Ryouji Kaji of the Public Security Intelligence Agency..."

Kaji's carefree smile evaporated in the blink of an eye as his blood ran cold. Slowly he took a step backwards toward the corner and began to bring his hand toward his jacket. "How do you know my name and what makes you think that I'm working for the PSIA?" he asked.

The guard snickered wryly. Why did he look so familiar... "Relax, Kaji, we're on the same side," he replied. "The name's Tetsuo Fujita of Defense Intelligence Headquarters."

Well that was certainly a bit of relief that this man was also another agent of the Japanese government and not an agent of SEELE... but it did not explain how this Tetsuo Fujita, if that was really his name, knew who he was. His eyes narrowed. "The PSIA's operation at NERV is known between the agencies, yes, but what makes you think I'm an agent of theirs?" he hissed, unwilling to admit that he'd been caught. Perhaps he could press his position and intimidate this man a bit, he had after all revealed his true purpose... " You do know I'm working for NERV's intelligence department, right? With what you've told me I could land you in some hot water..."

"You and I both know you won't do that," Fujita countered with a chuckle. "As for how I know who you're really working for, let's just say after the blackout of Tokyo 3 a little while ago, our respective agencies had a little talk," he replied. "DIH was a little upset that someone beat them to the punch."

Kaji glared at the rival spy. His bluff had been called... "That still doesn't explain why you think I'm working for the PSIA," he spat.

Fujita laughed. "Process of elimination," he replied. "You were the only person out of place down by the power control servers the day of the blackout after all, besides yours truly that is."

Kaji's eyes widened. It would seem he'd been caught red handed. Suddenly he realized who it was that he was speaking with. "You're that guard, the one who stopped me by the elevator just before the blackout, aren't you?" he inquired.

Fujita nodded. "The very same," he returned. "I must say as a fellow spy I'm flattered you didn't recognize me initially. It means my role of blending in is succeeding."

Kaji frowned. Might as well come clean... mostly. Sharing secrets even between agencies on the same team was always a delicate act, not unlike dancing with a woman... "Alright, we're both spies for the Japanese government," he replied. "Why are you here?"

Fujita snickered for a moment and then his expression became deathly sober. "Let's just put it like this... The JSSDF is getting rather concerned about the power and influence that NERV wields. Should there ever be a need for it, it would be advantageous for the military to know the ins and outs of their defenses..."

Kaji let those words sink in. The reality of what those words implied were not lost on him. "I see..." he murmured, looking away down the hall. "Hopefully it never comes to that."

"Agreed," Fujita replied. "But everyone has been tense, and not just the Japanese government but just about every foreign nation as well. Lots of money is going missing, the Eva technology remains a total mystery, and there's whispers about some sort of human evolution experiments making the big guns nervous. People have died looking into it, sometimes violently. I'm sure you've heard about the CIA operator that was found dead in Chiba investigating the Marduk Institute, yes?"

Kaji's scowl intensified. Indeed he knew quite a bit about that incident. Thankfully the full truth of what had occurred there had been committed to total secrecy. If the Americans ever knew about what had really transpired then he was certain there would be no one in the various Japanese intelligence services who wouldn't hear about it. The embarrassment for all parties involved would be a real shit show... "I do recall hearing about that," he returned softly.

Fujita leaned back against the wall of the corridor. "Dangerous times we live in..." he muttered. "I certainly hope that whatever is going on comes to light one day..."

Kaji nodded. That was the entire reason he kept getting his hands dirtier and dirtier. His life's ambition was to uncover the truth behind NERV, SEELE, and Second Impact after all... "I hope for that as well," he replied.

Fujita moved away from the wall and checked the safety on his gun. "Well... I should get going, lots of hallways to patrol, choke points to make note of," he said. "Good luck on staying alive, Agent Kaji."

Kaji smiled somberly. "You too..." he replied. With how dangerous things were becoming, he would need all the luck he could get... Hopfully it wouldn't put him in too negative a standing with NERV once he informed both of the angencies he worked for about the Angel inside headquarters...

---

Despite having donned a piece of improvised clothing Rei still felt a tinge of embarrassment regarding the events of the evening. Though it had been quite ridiculous, having Asuka cover Shinji's eyes had lessened some of her anxiety during the walk to the maintenance shed, at least the anxiety directed toward maintaining modesty. As she led the group toward the nearest entrance to headquarters though, she found herself increasingly nervous and anxious to find out what was going on in the bowels of headquarters.

With every second that ticked by that she didn't know what was happening deep within headquarters the fear that she felt about the potential of an Angel attack grew. If this was indeed some kind of assault by an Angel then it was certainly one that hadn't happened in her previous lives. Though she'd already witnessed two attacks that had not occurred in that timeline previously the unfamiliarity was still fear inducing. Facing an enemy that she had no experience with was always something that sowed fear...

If what had caused the test to be aborted, if the source of the... screams that she'd heard was really an Angel, how had it gotten in headquarters? For that matter, if it was an Angel, why hadn't herself and her fellow pilots been promptly retrieved? The fact that they weren't was a decent indication that there really wasn't an Angel attacking. But... what else could explain the things she'd heard and the sensations she'd experienced during the test? It was truly a multifaceted conundrum, one that left her perplexed and confused...

In the distance through the small wooded path they were walking along she caught sight of the entrance she was looking for. There was an elevator very nearby to this particular entrance if she remembered correctly and that would take herself and her fellow pilots down to Central Dogma in short order where they could figure out what was going on.

"Looks like we've found the entrance," Asuka stated aloud. "About time too, I'm sick of stepping on pebbles with my bare feet."

"Hopefully it's not locked..." Shinji murmured.

That thought did not slip Rei's mind, if headquarters was undergoing a total lock down then getting the door open would be difficult. Thankfully she knew the manual override codes thanks to Commander Ikari making her memorize them in the previous timeline... Hopefully should the need arise to use them they were the same as she remembered them being. If they weren't then they might have to use the air ducts again. The comments Asuka had made about Shinij staring up her skirt during that whole debacle flashed in her mind... Though she was still certain he'd done nothing of the sort, at least intentionally, she could imagine that... unintentionally doing so with their current wardrobes had a higher probability. "I doubt it will be locked," Rei replied. She very much hoped that the door would be unlocked...

The three of them closed the distance to the entrance. Just as Rei moved to try the handle the door began to open outward toward them and causing her to flinch. At least that proved that the door was unlocked... All three of the pilots stopped where they were as Ryouji Kaji stepped through the doorway, his gaze landing upon them with a curious expression that faded into a playful smirk. Clearly he'd noticed their attire... "Do I even want to know why you're wearing those?" he asked.

Asuka let out a indignant squeal. "Kaji!?" she whined, bringing her arms around herself. "Look away! Oh this is just great..."

Kaji's smirk faded into a warmer kind of smile and he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "For what it's worth, Asuka, it doesn't look too bad," he said.

Asuka groaned and looked away from him and wrapping her arms around herself. "Still!" she spat. "I really wish you didn't have to see me like this..."

Shinji shifted on his feet. "What are you doing out here, Kaji-san?" he asked

the spy laughed. "I could ask the same about you three," he retorted.

Rei frowned. This was not a time to mince around with small talk. "We were undergoing a test that went awry," she stated firmly. "What is happening inside headquarters?"

Kaji's smirk fell away and he regarded them with a rather sober expression. "Ah, I see... looks like you three didn't get the news yet," he replied.

"What news?" Rei pressed.

Kaji's frown intensified. "Apparently there's an Angel invading headquarters," he replied. "That's about all I know."

Rei's eyes widened at the revelation. So her hypothesis had been correct, there was indeed some sort of Angel attacking headquarters. That meant that every second would count in getting to their Evas from here on out. They truly could not afford to waste any time. "I see..." she murmured. "We should best head to the cages then."

"This is kinda crazy," Shinji stated, shifting on his feet. "I thought the geofront was set up to prevent an Angel getting inside of headquarters and the Evas are pretty big... How are we supposed to fight it if it's already inside? It'll be hard for us to move..."

Rei felt stomach tie in a knot. He was right... combat within NERV headquarters would certainly be a difficult proposition. The design of the installation was certainly one that did not accommodate for combat within it's perimeters easily.

"Don't overthink it, stupid!" Asuka replied. "If we have to smash the place up then we will. Besides, what's it matter as long as the Angel is killed!"

Indeed they could do that, but the damage they would cause in doing so would certainly be a detriment to NERV's operational capacity. Regardless of how they were to fight this Angel threat, the most important thing they could do would be get in contact with the bridge and Misato. "Regardless of the battle plan, we need to head to the Evangelion cages," Rei stated softly, turning her head to regard her friends.

Shinji nodded his head. "I agree," he replied. "That does sound like a good place to start."

"Good, the decision's made," Asuka huffed. "We should probably get going before shit hits the fan, right?"

"Yeah, you're probably right," Shinji replied.

Rei heard Kaji starting to move and turned her attention back to him. She watched as he started walking past them, his hands still in his pockets. She found it just a little curious, he was NERV staff after all, shouldn't he be heading down to the bridge with them? "You're not coming with us, Kaji-san?" she asked.

The spy turned to her with a somber smile. "What good would it do?" he replied with a wry chuckle. "You three are the only ones who can make a difference right now. If I were to go down there then I'd just get in the way. Besides, if you guys screw the pooch on this one and the Third Impact occurs, there's a place out here I'd rather be..."

Rei let those words resonate. The long haired spy certainly had a point that he wouldn't be able to make a difference in any battle against an Angel. A part of her couldn't help but wonder what he meant about a place he'd rather be but that wasn't all that important. If it was, she could find out at a later time. She gave a respectful nod. "Take care then, Kaji-san," she returned.

Kaji mirrored her respectful gesture. "Take care, all three of you," he replied. "I wish you good fortune against the Angel."

"Don't worry, Kaji," Asuka replied. "We'll kick it's ass!"

Kaji laughed. "I know you will," he returned. "Take care." With that, he stepped away toward the woods behind them.

"So..." Shinji voiced softly. "We should probably head to the bridge right?"

"Yeah, Rei," Asuka seconded. "We shouldn't wait around, you gonna lead us there? You probably know the way better than either of us, right?"

Rei took a deep breath through her nose and tried her best to calm her nerves. Soon enough herself and her fellow pilots would most likely have to do battle against yet another otherworldly attacker, one that she did not have prior knowledge of. The best thing she could do was put on a brave face and lead then to the bridge. "Let's go..." she replied, stepping forward into the doorway.

She just hoped that she wouldn't be too late to make a difference...

---

Ritsuko stood in one of the numerous briefing rooms near the bridge beside Maya, Misato, and the rest of the bridge crew. Across from her stood Gendo and Vice Commander Fuyutuski. Since the Angel had managed to be halted due to her last minute intervention she'd managed to run some tests on it and she'd been able to deduce the nature of their current enemy...

"This Angel is composed of a group of nano machines," she stated. "These nano machines must be each the size of a virus. These nano machines group together to form colonies and in a very short period of time they group together to form a very sophisticated intelligence circuit."

"Evolution..." Vice Commander Fuyutsuki muttered.

The elder man had hit the nail on the head in his assessment of her statement. "Yes," Ritsuko replied. "They're continuously changing and adapting themselves to cope with any environment they might encounter."

"I understand," Commander Fuyutsuki stated, crossing his arms. "It's this Angel's survival mechanism, total adaptability..."

"The only way to eliminate an infection that continually adapts to it's environment is to eliminate the host," Misato spat. "If the Magi are destroyed then the Angel should die with them, therefore I propose that the best course of action is the physical destruction of the Magi system."

Ritsuko tensed up. That was an idea that she simply would not let take flight. So many systems that NERV utilized to function properly were dependent on the Magi running them that if that system were to be completely destroyed it would render headquarters crippled. Not only that, but despite her difficult history with the woman who built them, she was just a bit attached to those stupid computers. They were a way she could be close to her mother in a way that she never could when she was alive... "Impossible!" she snapped. "The destruction of the Magi would mean all operations would be irreparably compromised! It would destroy headquarters itself!"

Misato turned to her with a determined fury. "That's my recommendation as head of operations!" she hissed.

Ritsuko was not about to back down on this point, not when so much was riding on those computers, up to and including her pride... "You're out of line!" she spat back defensively. "The Angel has infected and assimilated into our computer systems, therefore this operation falls under my department!"

"Why are you being so stubborn!?" Misato shot back.

Ritsuko looked away. Deep down it was her fault, or at least that was how she felt. No... it was her fault. It was her carelessness to continue the testing despite the growing corrosion that led to the situation they were in now. "My carelessness is what ultimately caused this," she stated, staring down at the briefing table projecting the images of the Angel from inside the testing chamber.

Misato's tone softened. "Why are you always like this?" she asked. "You never share the responsibility... why don't you ever trust in someone else?"

Ritsuko said nothing in response to that comment, she let it pass over her like it didn't matter. It didn't matter, she was the only one who could figure out a solution anyway... Thinking about how the Angel was behaving, it would seem that perhaps they could trick it into integrating with the Magi and neutralizing itself. It was certainly a long shot but it was the only solution that seemed logical... "So long as our foe continues evolving, we still have a chance," she stated to the room.

"Do you suggest we influence its evolution?" Gendo asked.

Ritsuko met his steely gaze. "Yes sir," she replied.

"Can it be done?" Gendo pressed.

Ritsuko nodded. "I believe it is possible," she returned, trying her best to sound confident.

"If that is the case, we must orchestrate an evolutionary process that leads to self destruction, death itself," Gendo stated.

"So... we'll set up an evolutionary path so that absorbing the Magi leads to a dead end," Fuyutuski mused.

It would seem that the two commanders understood what she was proposing. "If this Angel believes that it's only practical means of survival is to coexist within the Magi system, then it will choose to do just that."

"But how?" Lt. Hyuga asked. "What's your plan for making that happen?"

The gears in Ritsuko's head were spinning wildly. This type of advanced computer work was her bread and butter, and already she'd devised a solution. If the situation wasn't so dire and she wasn't so sleep deprived she might have been a bit more enthusiastic in her response. It was certainly risky what she was proposing... "Since this Angel is functionally a computer system, we could hack into it by connecting it to Casper," she replied. "Once we've done that we can upload some kind of auto self-destruct program. But..."

"Doing that would remove the safeguards we've put in place to protect the final Magi computer..." Maya finished for her.

Ritsuko met Gendo's steely gaze once more. His eyes were boring holes in her as he spoke. She knew that he understood the gravity of the situation as much as she did. If she didn't know better, she could have sworn she saw a glint of nervousness in his eye. "But if Casper is faster than the Angel, then we'll be victorious," he stated flatly.

"Yes," Ritsuko replied.

"This program... can it be ready fast enough to be implemented?" Misato asked, sounding just a bit apprehensive. "If Casper is taken over first then it's game over..."

Ritsuko glanced over at her friend. It was certainly a daunting task that she was about to undertake and in her tired state from working on Rei's memory files incessantly, she was actually a bit worried that she would fail. She turned her gaze back to the images from the Pribnow box... No. She wouldn't fail, not now, not ever. She had to succeed, for the sake of everything and everyone. "I keep my promises..." she replied.

---

Misato stood beside Ritsuko and Lt. Ibuki beside the colossal frame that contained the final Magi computer, the one that was their last remaining hope against the Angel. She felt so powerless that right now she could do nothing but stand by and watch as her friend pulled off the coding magic that would deliver salvation. She knew that her recommendation to destroy the Magi computers had been a bit rash but it was the only thing she could think of in the moment. Hopefully Ritsuko didn't hold that against her... "So..." she spoke softly. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Ritsuko gave a wry chuckle as she knelt down to the emergency control panel beside the massive computer tower. "You can bring me a coffee, maybe, before we really get started, not much else though," she replied. "Thanks for asking though."

Misato smiled at that comment. Typical Ritsuko... "I can do that," she returned warmly.

She watched as Ritsuko lifted the access panel and flipped a release switch within. Casper itself began to lift up revealing the guts of the machine. Misato had never seen what the Magi really looked like beneath of their armored crowns and she would admit the sight before her was rather impressive. The base of the computer was a whole maze of coolant piping and snaking wires. It was at the same time futuristic and somehow... ancient, harkening back to the computers she'd seen in Hollywood science fiction movies from the seventies. "Wow..." she murmured. "Never would have thought they would look like this underneath..."

"Wait until you see inside then," Ritsuko stated, moving around to the narrow end of the thing, Lt. Ibuki following after.

Misato stepped in behind them with a curious expression. Ritsuko had been inside these things before? It would make sense, now that she thought about it, considering it was the faux blonde's job to maintain them. She watched as her friend jettisoned the large hatch door and peered into the small crawlspace that lay behind it. It looked cramped, and wiring and coolant piping wove all through it even more intricately than on the outside of the tower. Taped up in random places were a bunch of small paper squares as well.

Apparently Lt. Ibuki noticed that last detail as well... "What are those paper things?" she asked.

Ritsuko began crawling into the small tunnel. "These are the original creator's personal notes," she replied.

Misato watched as Lt. Ibuki picked one of the notes up. The younger woman's jaw practically hit the floor. "These are access codes!" she exclaimed. "These are the Magi's secret codes!"

Misato's eyes widened and a smile crested on her lips. No wonder Ritsuko had sounded so confident in her ability to execute her plan... She wasn't the best with computers, but she knew enough to understand that these codes were just what they needed to best the Angel. "This is like having keys to all of the Magi's inner workings!" she cried out with glee.

"Precisely," Ritsuko stated flatly.

Lt. Ibuki laughed nervously. "Am I allowed to see these?" she murmured before beginning to ramble. "I can't believe it! This is C array data! Schematics! Templates! Everything! With these notes we'll be able to program much faster than expected! Right senpai!?"

Misato watched as Ritsuko turned back to face her with a confident grin, nodding as she did.

"Alright!" Lt. Ibuki exclaimed. "Just let me know what you need me to do and I'll get to work."

"Same goes to me," Misato added. "Let me know when you want that cup of coffee."

Ritsuko shimmied so she could face out of the tunnel more easily. "Well... I'm gonna need a bit of help in here with some hardware and some tools," she replied. "I wouldn't mind if you helped me out, Misato."

Misato nodded, smiling warmly. "Right," she replied. At least, even if she couldn't command the combat team for this Angel showdown, she could at least still be useful. It had been a while since she'd had a chance to work side by side with her best friend. She kind of missed those days in college sometimes...

---

So far there had nothing hindering their progress through the corridors of headquarters in the way of locked doors. All the elevators they'd used had functioned properly and there had been no emergency shutter doors activated in the paths they'd taken as of yet. That was certainly a good sign considering they didn't have their key cards on them to access any area that was locked down. It would seem that if there was a lock down taking place it was relatively localized to the area where the test with the simulation bodies had taken place. At least... that was what Rei could assume all things considered.

Currently they were approaching the changing rooms nearby the Eva cages. Rei felt quite a bit of relief to round that final corner in the hall and see the locker room doors just ahead. Even though they'd passed only a handful of NERV personnel, Asuka had been complaining incessantly about the looks they'd been receiving. Though she'd remained quiet about it, Rei shared her sentiment. Despite having a piece of thin black plastic covering her, she still... felt naked. Never in her life had she been more eager to change into her plug suit.

"Thank God we're finally here!" Asuka exclaimed in a frustrated tone of voice. "I'm not sure what was more uncomfortable, the stares of those guards or these cold tile floors!"

"Honestly, I'm not sure I know the answer to that one..." Shinji murmured.

"Neither do I..." Rei added, though she was leaning on the side of the looks they'd received...

"So... after I get changed should I wait for you two before heading to the cages, right?" Shinji asked as they reached the doors to their respective locker rooms.

Rei shook her head. "Whoever gets changed first should head straight there," she returned. "We do not know how far the situation has progressed and we cannot waste time."

Asuka snickered. "Jeez, Wonder-girl, uptight much?" she said with a smirk. "Nothing's blown up yet, so we don't be too much of a rush, right?"

Rei knew that Asuka was simply speaking from her own experiences dealing with the Angels but the way the Angel had suddenly appeared, inside of headquarters no less, stirred great worry. Besides, Asuka had no way of knowing how dire the stakes were for and Angel to be anywhere near the being that Commander Ikari no doubt had in his possession by this point... "Just because something hasn't blown up doesn't mean we should waste the time we have," she countered. "We cannot afford to be careless."

Asuka rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Wonder-girl," she grumbled. "We're just going to end up launching together like we always do."

The fiery redhead certainly had a point on that count, Rei would concede. Most likely that would be the case...

It didn't take long for her to change into suit and she left the changing room while Asuka was still fiddling with her A10 clips. She swiftly moved toward the cages, her heartbeat quickening with every step. It was times like this where she felt a whirlwind in her mind, one that was now as familiar as it was unpleasant. Every time she went into combat she risked her life, a life that she very much wished to keep living. Fighting the previous Angel had been... easy since she'd faced it before but now facing yet another that she hadn't seen in her past life was quite scary. She couldn't help but wonder just how many more she would face that she hadn't encountered in that timeline. On that note, she wondered if, should it appear in this version of the war against the Angels, she wondered if she would actually be able to defeat the Eleventh Angel this time around...

She paused her walk and clutched her hands to her chest, trying to steady her breathing. No... she shouldn't think about things like that right now. She'd cross that bridge when the time came. She just hoped that time wasn't now. Then again... considering she'd heard a voice and felt the simulation body being invaded, it very well could be that Angel attacking...

All of this inner contemplation evaporated and was replaced with bewilderment when she saw Shinji standing in the entrance to the cages with a worried look on his face. "R Rei..." he stammered. "You're not going to believe this..."

The way he said that was quite unnerving. "What is the matter?" she asked as she continued to approach the doorway.

"Just look..." he replied softly in a nervous tone of voice, turning his gaze back to the Eva cages.

Rei's eyes went wide as soon as she stepped up beside him. She couldn't believe what she saw or rather didn't see. The Evangelions were... gone. The logical explanation was that they'd been launched without them, but why? Why? For what purpose had they been launched without them? She felt her hands begin to tremble. There was an Angel inside of NERV headquarters and she'd led her fellow pilots to the launch bays for nothing...

"Hey, what are you guys waiting for?" she heard Asuka ask as she came up behind them. "You said it yourself, Rei, time is of th- what the hell!? Where the hell are the Evas!?"

"I don't understand it either," Shinji stated. "Why would they launch the Evas without us?"

"There must have been a glitch or something," Asuka returned. "There's no way they'd send them up without us on purpose. Hope my Unit 02 is alright..."

"There's got to be another reason other than a glitch," Shinji rebutted.

Rei looked down at the tiles of the floor. She was also having a hard time contemplating the possible reasoning behind the launch. Desperately she pondered the answer. Could it be that... they were launched to keep the Angel from getting to them? That seemed to be the only logical conclusion. If that was the case then the situation was even more dire. The combat operations team had jettisoned their primary means of defensive action to what end? How desperate was the situation that Commander Ikari would have cleared that? Without the Evas, how did NERV possibly stand a chance against the Angel? The only way to find out was to make contact with crew on the bridge... "We should go to the bridge immediately..." she stated, her voice coming out in a nervous quaver.

"Yeah, sounds like a good idea," Asuka replied, huffing in annoyance. "I for one want some answers."

"I guess it's about the only thing we can do," Shinji muttered.

Rei nodded shakily. "Yes..." she replied. "It would seem so..."

Suddenly she felt a hand come to rest on her shoulder which in her current state of anxiety actually made her flinch. Rei turned to head to see Shinji looking at her with a concerned expression. "Are you alright, Rei?" he asked.

In stressful moments she'd always done her best to remain composed and now was no different. Had she really let slip control of her faculties to the point that her fear was visible? "Why do you ask?" she inquired.

Shinji let go of her shoulder and his frown grew. "You're trembling..." he murmured.

Rei turned her head back to face the empty Eva cages and closed her eyes. Slowly she drew in a deep breath through her nose. She had to get control over herself and be strong, not only for herself but for Shinji as well. Even though he'd been more accepting of his role at NERV in this timeline compared to what she remembered him being like, she still worried all the time that he might just... run from his duties. If he were to see her crack then she worried that he would too. She did not want to see that happen. He was too valuable of a pilot for that to happen. She... valued him too much as a friend for her to let that happen. She opened her eyes and exhaled. Slowly the fear began to recede, replaced with a fiery determination. Whatever awaited them, she would face it. They would face it together... "I'll be fine," she replied softly, turning back to face him. "This was just a bit... unexpected."

Shinji nodded. "I get it," he returned, a gentle smile replacing his frown. "I'm worried too... but we'll get through this, right?"

Why did he know just what to say at moments like these? She felt a familiar warmth swelling in her chest and after a moment she found herself mirroring his expression. "Yes," she replied with newfound confidence. "We shall."

Asuka let out an audible groan. "Jesus Christ, can we just get moving already?" she spat in annoyance. "You said it yourself, Rei, we're wasting time just standing here!"

Rei glanced over at her redheaded friend and nodded. Asuka was right, they were indeed wasting time standing here. She could keep trying to calm herself on the way to the bridge. Shinji's words of encouragement helped quite a lot... "Agreed," she replied. "Let's get moving then."

---

The preparations with the necessary hardware were almost finished and soon her plan could be put into action. Ritsuko sat inside final Magi computer that remained free of infection finishing up the final preparation. She had a rough idea of what lines of code to use and where to achieve her desired result but there was still a matter of boosting the performance of Casper to the point it could overtake the Angel's immense processing power. She'd been doing that with the various keyboard terminals she'd hastily installed within the enormous machine but it still wasn't up to her liking. She wanted every advantage she could get and the best way to do that was... honestly a little disturbing.

She shimmied on her back over to a small protrusion within the internal structure of Casper that she would soon go to work on. Just a few more boards to mess with and a and few more connections to other parts of the system to bolt into place before she could start that last little bit of work. "Misato, could you pass me that socket wrench, please?" she asked, extending her hand toward her friend as she finished connecting yet another series of wires to the mainframe.

Misato handed her the wrench. "Hey, doesn't this remind you a bit of our college days?" the dark haired woman asked.

Ritsuko mustered a small smirk as she undid the bolts on one of the heating insulation filters. Indeed she was reminded of some of the projects she'd worked with Misato on in college in that she'd always done most of the work while Misato got the credit for just showing up... Still, it was nice to have her assistance in this instance. "A little bit," she replied, extending her hand again without looking over. "Pass me board twenty five."

Misato placed the board in her hand and she set about carefully typing through a few exploits, making sure that everything was correct on the device's screen after each line of code. If she opened the case without adjusting the coolant flow it could overheat which would be a disaster... The fact that she'd memorized so much of her mother's back channel shortcuts was quite a feat, one that she was quite proud of. Maybe one day she could actually surpass that woman, perhaps in more ways than one...

"So.." Misato spoke. "Why don't you tell me about the Magi?"

Ritsuko sighed. "It's a long story," she replied as she finished with the keyboard. She reached up and pulled down the final cover over the most essential component of her plan. "Do you know about personality transplant OS?" she asked.

"I'm familiar with it," Misato replied. "It's a system for implanting personality data into a seventh generation computer with AI capabilities to allow the system to think for itself. The same type of OS is used to operate the Evas."

Misato's description of that system was accurate if a bit simplistic. Ritsuko smiled wryly. If only her friend knew what other things that had been made possible with such systems in action and in theory... Her grin evaporated. As soon as this was over it would be back to struggling to get Gendo's damned autopilot working again... "The Magi used one of the first test subjects," she replied as she unscrewed the outer bulkhead covering the Magi's darkest secret, the contents of its core. "So... since my mother was the one who developed the technology-"

"You mean it was her personality that was transplanted?" Misato cut her off in a tone of hushed surprise.

"Precisely," Ritsuko replied. She grabbed the small metal cutting circular saw that lay beside her and lifted it up to the casing. In a matter of seconds she'd managed to cut through the hardened steel casing and reveal the contents within, the synthetic neural synapse center that was Casper's core... "In a very real sense, you might say the Magi's brains are my mother's," she added.

"Is that why you want to protect the Magi?" Misato asked.

"I don't think so," Ritsuko replied as she grabbed the needle ended connectors she'd fashioned for the terminal she would be using when the time came for her to do try and influence the Angel's evolution. With precise moments she began to stick those needles into the synthetic brain in the machine. "Truth be told, I never really liked my mother. My decision to protect them was just a scientific and practical one."

"Oh, I see..." Misato replied trailing off for a minute. "By the way, that thing you're sticking those needles into... that's not?"

Ritsuko knew exactly where Misato was going with that question. "No, it's not. It's just a synthetic replica of a human brain." she replied. "One that was created via artificial cellular generation in a process similar to what created the Evas."

"Ah," Misato responded softly. "That's definitely less disturbing that if it was... y'know."

Ritsuko did indeed know what her friend was getting at. "Though my mother probably would have loved that, doing that kind of thing after the way she died wasn't possible."

There was a long pause. "I don't think you ever told me how she passed..." Misato murmured. "Wasn't it some kind of workplace accident?"

Ritsuko sighed. She couldn't let herself think about something like that right now, she needed her focus when it came time to fight the Angel. "I'd rather not talk about it," she replied, looking over at her friend with a sober look. "Perhaps another time."

Misato's brows knit up and she tilted her head apologetically. "I'm sorry," she returned. "I didn't mean to upset you."

Ritsuko forced a smile. "It's alright," she replied. "It's just a bit of a touchy subject, I'm sure you understand."

Misato nodded. "I do," she affirmed.

It was then that Maya poked her head into the crawlspace. "Senpai, we have about five minutes before Balthasar is completely compromised," she spoke, sounding just a little jittery. "Will you be ready in time?"

Ritsuko turned back to the screen and keyboard combo in her lap. Though the bypasses she was about to input were theoretically possible she'd never attempted them before. The critical phase of the entire operation was removing time and date parameters for all processes within the system in order to remove limitations for the Angel's auto evolution she was going to influence. This would allow for much faster calculation and bypass the limitations of date based programs down to the microsecond. Another issue was that she would be writing the code and programming to assimilate the Angel on the fly. This meant that not only did Casper have to be faster than the Angel, she did as well... Hopefully she could get some preparation done during that five minute window she had left. "I think so," she replied. She hoped so...

Misato began to shimmy out of the crawlspace within Casper. "I'll leave you to it," she said. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Ritsuko replied, beginning to type lines of code. She would definitely need a bit of luck for this operation...

Alright... she thought to herself. Let's get to work, Mother...

---

Asuka stalked behind Shinji and Rei with a scowl. It was a short two minute walk to the bridge but that did nothing to ease her annoyance. The whole day had been a disaster of epic proportions so far and from how it was looking it wasn't about to get any better. First the test had been embarrassing as all hell, then the naked walk across the geofront followed by Kaji seeing her in a trash bag dress, she was sure things couldn't get any more insufferable until the Evas were missing from the cages. That last part was truly infuriating. After the day she'd had, going out and kicking some Angel ass would definitely lighten her mood.

This all said, at present her gloomy thoughts were centered on the relationships she had with Kaji and her fellow pilots... After having seen her wearing that improvised plastic dress there was no doubt that any interest he may have had in her had been decimated. After that embarrassment she might as well just give up on the scruffy man. She hated that she was thinking like that but unless she could find some fool proof way to woo him then her prospects with him she surmised were effectively finished. But he wasn't the only male specimen that was on her mind at present...

She hated to think of him that way, but Shinji was... pretty damn good looking. She hated that she'd actually looked him over thoroughly during their walk to the maintenance shed. Thankfully the dim lighting and her hands over his face had prevented him from seeing how red her face had been during that trek. If she hadn't already had certain thoughts about him she certainly did now...

He was definitely a nice guy, he was a great Eva pilot despite how timid he was off the battlefield at times, he was a decent cook, and he had a very pleasant physique. She hated that she was thinking these things... To think that he was actually good enough for her, that she could settle, no, that she could actually... want him, was appalling for a multitude of reasons, not least of which that one of her closest friends in Tokyo 3 was obviously liked him. At least... that's the vibe she got from Rei. Then again, Rei was kind of emotionally constipated, she probably would never admit it.

But was Shinji into her though? That was the pertinent question that burned in the back of her mind, and she hated that. She despised that she honestly wanted to know, that she actually was thinking about... trying to beat Rei to the punch if she couldn't have Kaji. He probably did like Rei like that, considering how he acted with her, but... it couldn't hurt to test him a little.

The group rounded a corner and stood before an elevator that would take them to the floor that contained the command room's highest levels. From there it would be a very short walk to their destination. "Let's hope the bridge hasn't been evacuated..." she grumbled. Knowing their luck today, that was a real possibility.

"I doubt that it has," Rei stated. "There would be far more staff activity than we've seen if that had transpired."

"Well I guess we're about to find out, right?" Shinji replied, pressing the button that called the elevator.

"Indeed..." Rei murmured.

Asuka crossed her arms and stood between the two. "There had better be a good reason that our Eva's got sent up without us," she replied. "Otherwise I'm gonna have a lot to say."

"I doubt it will change anything," Shinji replied.

Asuka frowned. "I know..." she huffed. "But it might make me feel better after all this crap..."

The elevator bell dinged, the doors opened, and the three of them stepped inside.

---

"Not much longer now..." Fuyutsuki muttered. "I hope that Dr. Akagi's plan works, not that we'll have much time to fret about it if it doesn't..."

"I assure you, we have nothing to fear," Gendo replied. "My trust in Dr. Akagi's abilities are absolute."

"I certainly hope you're right," Fuyutsuki replied.

Gendo sat in his chair watching the graphic showing the status of the Magi computers on the central display in anxious anticipation. Though his words to Fuyutsuki were truthful it was still an all or nothing gamble what was about to be attempted. With the Evas at the surface of the geofront and the pilots stranded above in the lake there was little to nothing else that could be done to combat the Angel. To top this off, if Dr. Akagi were to fail then it was almost certain that the self-destruct mechanism within the Magi would be triggered, destroying the bridge and most of NERV headquarters.

He scowled. The only reason he kept that system installed was to prevent a hostile takeover via the other Magi pattern super computers should the three originals fail to fight it off. How ironic that such a thing might be his undoing should things go south. But they wouldn't go south, he had come to far and worked too hard for this to be the way things ended...

"Nervous?" Fuyutsuki asked.

Gendo's scowl deepened behind his gloves. "It doesn't matter," he replied. "All we can do is wait."

It was then that he heard one of the mechanical doors to the command center's upper level open with a mechanical whir. This was puzzling, as all of the bridge crew was accounted for. Who would be stepping in or leaving?

He turned his head to look and instantly shot to his feet and stood completely speechless. For the first time in a while, Gendo was truly and thoroughly surprised...

---

Shinji stepped onto the command deck beside Rei and Asuka. It was surprising just how calm the whole environment was. Misato was standing with her back turned just in front of them near where Lt. Hyuga and Aoba sat in their stations. There was an Angel attacking or so Kaji had said so... shouldn't they be... moving around more frantically or whatever?

"So what's the big idea of launching our Evas without us?" Asuka called out in an accusatory tone.

Instantly all eyes on the deck turned to face the three of them. Misato looked particularly surprised. "H- hey guys," she stammered. "How did the three of you get down here?"

"We swam to shore and made our way here, how else?" Asuka spat. "The better question is why did you leave us nude in our plugs in the middle of the geofront lake, launch our Evas without us in them, and now you're standing around on the bridge like none of that shit matters when there's an Angel supposedly attacking!?"

Misato blinked rapidly. "How did you know about the Angel?" she asked. "We canceled the alert..."

"Wait, so we came all the way down here for nothing!?" Asuka roared. "This is just great! You mean o tell me we wore those stupid trash bags for no reason!?"

Misato looked even more confused. "Trash bags?" she inquired.

Shinji sighed. "It's a long story..." he replied, not really wanting to explain that embarrassing naked walk from the lake in any capacity.

"Why was the alert canceled?" Rei suddenly asked. "The system would not have declared a pattern blue erroneously."

Misato's look of confusion evaporated and she took on a quite serious expression as she glanced up to the central computer display at the far end of the command bridge. "The Angel is some kind of computer virus from what I understand," she replied. "And it's infiltrating the Magi system as we speak. We launched your Evas so that they wouldn't get infected."

"What the hell does that mean!?" Asuka hissed, still fuming. "How are we supposed to fight it without the Evas?"

"You're not," Misato replied flatly.

Asuka tensed up. "Wait, we're not?" she asked, her anger tone replaced with one of utter confusion.

Shinji was puzzled by this. From what he'd been taught in his training and through his own experiences, an Evangelion was the only thing that could destroy an Angel. "Then what do we do?" he asked nervously. "How do we destroy it without the Evas."

"We don't," Misato returned. "Ritsuko has a plan to integrate it into the Magi's operating system with some auto-evolution program or something like that."

"Dr. Akagi intends to... assimilate it?" Rei asked, sounding quite uneasy. "How is that possible?"

Misato shrugged her shoulders. "Beats me," she replied with a lopsided grin. "But if anyone can make that happen, it's her. The commander seems to think it will work, so we're going along with it."

Shinji felt a knot twisting in his stomach. "My father is back from his trip?" he asked.

Misato nodded. "Yeah," she said, turning her gaze to the level above them. "He's right up there. He must have gotten back earlier today."

Shinji turned his gaze to the observation box on the level above where he stood. There was his father, standing tall and looking down on him. Though his eyes were concealed by those orange sunglasses of his, from his posture he looked just as surprised as Misato had been to see the three pilots on the command deck. So many thoughts spun inside his head as he looked up at the tall and imposing man there, the most important of which being... why hadn't his father informed him that he had returned from his trip? Worry began to fill his mind and sting at his heart. Would his father go back on his word of finding time to spend with him? Perhaps once the Angel was dealt with then he could ask him. "Oh..." Shinji murmured. "I didn't know he'd returned..."

There was no time for his thoughts to linger on the matter. Without warning, a loud alarm klaxon began to sound.

---

Ritsuko heard the alarm and knew that it was crunch time, it was do or die now. She had to be quick with her inputs otherwise she and the rest of the command center would be dead. Gritting her teeth, she started her work. She'd drafted up a pretty good line of exploits and inputs leading up to this, it was just a matter of implementing them.

"Balthasar has been completely compromised!" she heard Lt. Hyuga shout from the upper deck over the dull pulsing of the alarm.

"Ritsuko! It's starting!" she heard Misato yell.

"Good luck, senpai..." Maya murmured nervously, from her position just outside the crawlspace.

Frantically she worked her keyboard, guiding the pathways that the Angel was infecting, half a second ahead of it. The actual coding wasn't too difficult it, it was just matching the enemy's sheer speed! In reality, it was a deceptively simple plan that she'd concocted. If she hadn't had to implement this kind of programming on such short notice and in a situation that required the utmost speed she might have even found it laughably easy to implement.

The genius of her plan was to first remove all time and date parameters from the operating system and then setting those parameters to an infinite value. In theory, this would effectively trap the Angel in a loop of adaptation to the point where it should realize continuing to take over the Magi would be futile and it would then assimilate harmlessly. She was betting everything on that theory, her position, her life, and the lives of everyone at NERV rested on her ability to pull this feat of computer wizardry off. As she sped through lines of code, faintly she could hear the announcement that the Magi's self-destruct sequence would be initiated should Casper fall to the Angel...

"Senpai!" Maya cried. "We have twenty seconds until Casper is taken over!"

"I'll be finished in nineteen seconds!" Ritsuko called back sharply, trying not to let her trusted assistant distract her from what needed to be done.

"Only one second to spare?" Maya asked nervously.

"It's better than zero," she shot back. She grit her teeth as she flew through what needed to be coded. They had to finalize the program they were implementing with only a second to play with... She hoped it would be enough. Hopefully Casper would respond to her inputs and act accordingly. It should, after all Casper was the Magi based on her mother as a woman. The woman that was Naoko Akagi never would allow herself to be bested out of sheer pride...

"Ten seconds," she heard Maya call out.

She was almost finished, all time and date parameters were removed. Just a few more lines of code to input before she could trap it in an infinite loop.

"Five seconds!" Maya cried. "We can do this!"

It was down to the wire as Ritsuko made the very final inputs. With absolutely no time left to spare she finalized the program that would trap the Angel. Faintly she could hear the countdown to that Magi's self-destruct closing in on zero.

"One second!" Maya shouted.

"Finished!" Ritsuko shouted back as she entered the final line.

The entire command center fell completely silent. Ritsuko stared at the small screen in her lap watching the command screen flashed as if frozen, locked up. Then, after a moment the lines of code began auto generating. A loud beeping sounded and mechanical voice could be heard on the overhead speaker systems of the bridge. "Autonomous self-destruct sequence has been canceled," the voice called out. "Special command 582 has been canceled. Magi system returning to normal mode."

Ritsuko breathed a sigh of relief and slumped against the coolant piping behind her. Faintly she could hear the cheers coming from the upper levels. Maya poked her head inside the crawlspace with a huge grin. "Senpai! We did it!" she cried gleefully.

Ritsuko smiled and wiped the sweat of her brow, turning away from her assistant and back to the synthetic brain core of Casper. Though she was certainly proud of the feat she'd just accomplished she knew she owed a lot to her mother in being able to make it happen. No small amount of credit to her feat lay with that woman's undeniable will and the computers she dedicated her life to. It honestly made her feel just a little sentimental. "Yeah," Ritsuko replied softly, a somber smile working its way across her lips. "We did..."

---

Her heartbeat had begun to slow once the bridge crew had begun to let out raucous cheers and all alarms had been switched off. Everything that had happened during the last minute or so had been a mixture of confusing and utterly terrifying. The Angel had nearly caused the Magi to self-destruct, that so much Rei could understand but the aversion of that was what confused her She wasn't quite sure how Dr. Akagi had managed to do it but it appeared that the Angel had been... neutralized and assimilated into the Magi computers. When she'd been told the plan moments before it had been enacted she'd thought it impossible, only an Eva, or an Eva wielding a powerful enough positron rifle, could destroy and Angel as far as she'd known but... that was exactly what had happened moments ago it would seem. "Misato-san..." she spoke to the dark hared woman just ahead of her. "What... happened?"

Misato turned around to face her, a relieved expression on her face. "Ritsuko managed to assimilate the Angel into the Magi," she replied. "We're safe now."

She blinked rapidly as those words sank in, the reality that an Angel had been defeated without the use of an Eva entirelyRei found herself positively in awe of Dr. Akagi's abilities. It seemed like some sort of sorcery what she'd managed to accomplish... "Incredible..." she murmured softly.

"Yeah... it really is..." Shinji seconded her statement.

Asuka folded her arms and sighed. "Well Misato, I certainly hope this doesn't mean we're out of a job now that Ritsuko figured out how to kill one without us," she grumbled.

It was a relevant statement but Misato laughed as if the redhead was being absurd. "No chance of that," Misato replied. "I doubt we'll get another Angel in the form of a computer virus, y'know?"

"Let's hope not," Asuka shot back with a hostile glare. "And if we do, you'd better not leave us stranded in our plugs again."

"At least not naked..." Shinji murmured. Rei certainly agreed with both of those statements She did not want to get naked in public again or end up wearing a makeshift plastic dress...

"No need to worry about that," Misato replied. "I doubt that you'll be called for a test like that again, at least until we've managed to rebuild the B wing command station."

"Thank God for that then..." Asuka commented wryly.

"Hey, it wasn't that bad, was it?" Misato asked, sheepishly.

Asuka clenched her fists and exploded, stomping forward at their commanding officer. "How would you feel about being dumped in a cold lake in the nude!" she roared.

"Hey, take it easy!" Misato responded, putting her hands up defensively and taking a few steps backward.

As Asuka continued her verbal tirade, Rei noticed Shinji looking off and away. She followed his gaze to the upper level observation box to where Commander Ikari stood, still looking down at all of them. The gruff man no longer looked surprised but from his posture Rei could tell he was a bit tense. Despite this, his expression remained unreadable with his lips neither smiling or frowning and his eyes hidden behind those orange glasses...

She turned her glance back to Shinji who was looking up at his father with a pensive expression. No matter how intimidating the commander was and regardless of her own grudges against the man, he was still Shinji's father... Perhaps more importantly, and she hated to think such manipulative things, but he was also integral to her plans for the future. No matter how long the odds were of that plan succeeding, she shouldn't waste any opportunity to advance it. Besides, it might help with Shinji getting some much needed closure... "What is on your mind?" she asked him. "You seem troubled."

Shinji turned to her and issued a grin that she could tell immediately was fake. "It's nothing," he replied.

Rei frowned. Even now sometimes he would keep things to himself. How she wished he would trust her enough to tell her all his worries. No matter what they were, she would always listen... "I can tell you're bothered by something," she returned earnestly. "I wish to help."

He turned away, glancing down at the floor as that phony grin dissipated. "It's just... I didn't think my father was back yet."

Rei stepped a little closer to her friend. Though she wasn't completely certain, she had a good idea what was causing his distress in this moment. "Were you hoping he would inform you when he returned?" she asked.

Shinji's scowl intensified. "Honestly, yeah..." he muttered.

"Then you should speak to him," Rei stated flatly.

Shinji returned his gaze to her, his expression very clearly one of worry. "I know..." he replied, his eyebrows knitting up as he did so. "Thing's have been looking up but... it's still not easy."

Rei nodded and shared a small sympathetic smile. She knew all too well just how difficult it was to talk with that man for Shinji and herself for that matter... "I understand..." she replied softly. "But it wouldn't hurt to try."

Shinji looked downward for a moment before nodding his head slowly. "Yeah..." he muttered. "You're right..."

---

The atmosphere in the command center had mostly returned to normal and she'd finally managed to placate Asuka. Misato walked toward the three Magi computer towers with a coffee in each hand, one for herself and one for Ritsuko. Everyone had experienced quite a stressful day but her faux blonde friend had certainly had the worst of it, next to the pilots of course. Her friend was presently slumped back sitting in a folding chair beside Casper looking absolutely exhausted. Well... she was definitely going to appreciate the coffee, Misato supposed. "Hey," she said once she reached her, holding out the cup as she did. "You look like you need this."

Ritsuko lifted her head up and looked at her as if shaken from a daze before issuing a warm grin. "Thanks," she replied, taking the cup. "Tell you what though, these all night shifts I've been pulling have really been adding up..."

Misato returned her smile. "Still you pushed through," she said softly, taking a sip of her coffee. "What you accomplished today was no small feat."

Ritsuko sipped her own cup and chuckled wryly, her smile turning a bit sour. "The coffee here always tastes like paint thinner, but after all that I don't mind it so much," she returned, turning her gaze back to the exposed innards of the third Magi computer as if deep in thought.

Misato laughed nervously. "Hey, I don't make it that bad, do I?" she weakly countered.

Ritsuko's expression shifted into a rather pensive look. "Hey... you were asking about the Magi earlier..." she muttered. "Want to know a secret?"

Misato blinked. Ritsuko was rarely so open about information only she was privy to... "Sure, I guess," she replied.

Ritsuko sighed and took another sip of her coffee and her frown deepened. "The night my mother died she told me that the Magi represented the three aspects of her self," she said quietly. Misato watched with undivided attention as the faux blonde took a deep breath and continued after a short pause. "Herself as a scientist, herself as a mother, and herself as a woman... Those three aspects of herself are in constant flux within the Magi. She intentionally implanted the dilemma of the human experience into them, or at least her own... The three computers have slightly different operating systems as well to account for that."

It wasn't like Ritsuko to get so sentimental. Misato stood there and listened, not saying anything. She just waited for her friend to continue, not wanting to pressure her. Hell, if she was to open up like this, she definitely wouldn't want to feel pressured.

"You know... I don't think I'm the kind of woman who will ever have children of my own so I don't think I'll ever understand her as a mother, but as a scientist I respected her, admired her even," Ritsuko finished, a wry grin forming on her features. "But as a woman, I despised her..."

Misato smiled somberly. She could totally understand conflicted feelings toward a parent... "I don't think I've ever heard you be this open about this kind of thing before," she replied.

Ritsuko snickered, taking another swig. "About some things, maybe..." she mused. There was a loud mechanical whir as the chassis of Casper began to lower back into it's normal position. Misato watched as she faux blonde stared into the half empty coffee cup and continued speaking. "The aspect of my mother's personality inside Capser is the aspect of her as a woman, and she remained a woman down to the very last second... how totally like her," she muttered, standing up from her chair.

Listening to Ritsuko's issues reminded her quite about of how she respected her father but always hated him until the day of Second Impact. "I understand," Misato returned softly. "Completely."

Ritsuko stood up and began to walk away. "Oh well..." The faux blonde replied. "It's in the past anyway, no sense dwelling on it."

Misato frowned and watched her go, her frown deepening. It would seem like her best friend also had issues with finding closure. Her thoughts drifted to all the people and things that needed that word but probably would never attain it. Perhaps if she was more honest then one day she'd get that, at least with one of the two people she really needed it with. If only that person could just... not be a jerk for five minutes... "Yeah..." she murmured. "In the past..."

---

Gendo had watched stoically as everything had gone back to normal before heading back towards his office. Though he certainly was looking forward to hearing the explanation of what had led the pilots to leave their plugs that could wait. It had been a long day and certainly everyone deserved a rest. Besides, it was commendable that the three of them had attempted to sortie even if it was all a pointless exercise. So, as soon as Casper had been put back in usual running order he'd left the bridge and headed toward his office. What he hadn't expected was to run into his son along the way.

The boy had changed out of his plug suit and stood before him in his school uniform with a nervous expression. Gendo stopped his plodding march about a meter away from his son and stared down at him through his glasses. The boy didn't move, though he shifted on his feet and tucked his chin slightly. Outside of Gendo's control, his lip twitched... No doubt Shinji remembered the promise he'd made to him before the trip to Antarctica to retrieve the lance. Why else would he be attempting to confront him here and now?

"I didn't know you were back..." Shinji murmured softly.

Gendo stiffened. There was something about the way he said those words... "I returned earlier today," he lied, maintaining that practiced, even tone of his.

Shinji shifted on his feet and looked away from him. "So... about that promise you made..." he spoke, just above a whisper. "Is that still... happening?"

The way he said it honestly struck a chord within him. Still, he was determined to put that meeting off until the anniversary. He'd already concluded that would be best in order to keep things focused. If they had to... bond, it was best to do it over something like that where the topics of conversation would be limited by the occasion... "I'm very busy," Gendo replied. "The soonest I can make time is on the anniversary of your mother's death. I was hoping you would meet me at her grave. I cannot make time before that."

Shinji looked a him with a somewhat disappointed expression before looking away. "I guess that works," he replied softly. "Are you sure you can't... make time before that."

"I am certain," Gendo replied coldly.

Shinji stood there looking up at him for a moment before he broke his gaze and nodded. "Alright..." he muttered softly.

With that, Gendo continued his march toward his office. Even though it was necessary for his plans, even though it was necessary for the future of humanity... he couldn't help but feel just a bit of guilt for lying to his son like that.

---

Author's Notes

edit - did a miniscule tweak to Kaji's POV scene.

This one was certainly interesting. I certainly hope that reading the opening sequence was as fun and humorous for you to read as it was for me to write. Things are finally starting to deviate from the canon but not in any major way. Despite Rei's meddlings with things it would seem that certain events are just... destined to happen the way that they were in canon. Trust and believe though, this is going to change very soon. Though things may be similar, and continue to be similiar, the small deviations will begin to have meaningful deviation for the middle act of the story. Hey... at least Shinji and Gendo appear to be getting closer, right?

Next up is the cross synchronization test with Unit's 00 and 01. Expect some... interesting developments regarding that...

In other news, my life circumstances have been shifting. If all things go according to plan, I'll be able to devote a bit more of my time to this project and therefore perhaps increase my rate of output. Wish me luck on that.

As always, read and review!

Regards,

A.F.