The train sped along the tracks, heading into a tunnel that took it through the city wall, and beginning to slow down as it came out the other side. Both Shinji and Misato were the only ones in the car, right next to each other. Shinji, who was seated right next to the window looked out of it to see that the train was heading towards a large open air structure. As the train got closer and continuing its deceleration, he saw the Wunder, wings folded and resting in the center of it.

"There she is," Misato said as she stood up and streached, followed by Shinji standing up a moment later. The train came to a complete stop, and the doors to the rail car opened. Misato and Shinji walked out of the car as several people, who Shinji assumed to be workers, boarded it, some of them saluting Misato as they went past her. They walked a short distance, and made their way onto the gangplank. When they entered the ship, Misato began to speak.

"The Wunder was originally designed by the Russians as part of their contribution to the fight against the Angels," she said. "Their philosophy was that if you have a mobile vessel that has as much firepower as Tokyo 3 in its prime, the angels would be defeated."

"So…why didn't we see it back then?" Shinji asked.

"The problem was getting enough energy to power the ship," she replied. "It would take so many fusion or N2 reactors to give it enough power, that it would become too top heavy to get it off the ground. So, it stayed for years in storage until we…procured and fitted it out, and even then, it was no better than a large ocean-going vessel. In the end, what we really needed was Unit 01. And as they say, the rest it history." Shinji was looking around the corridor, taking the sight.

"It's like were in a large building," he remarked.

"I know what you mean. It's easy to get lost in a ship like this. N-Not that it ever happened to me," Misato replied. "You should know that this ship is maintained by a vast cadre of support staff, it isn't just me and the bridge crew. It's technicians, engineers, even the people who mop up the corridors here. They're just as important as anyone directly involved in the fighting." The two walked into a large room containing massive pieces of equipment along with dozens of people manning workstations.

"Here is the ship's engineering section," Misato spoke in an elevated voice so she could be heard over the loud hum of the machines. "This is where we convert the energy from Unit 01's core into electricity to power the ship."

"It's huge," Shinji said as looked at one of the turbines.

"I know. I would like to give you a further explanation, but even being the ship's Captain, even I have some trouble with some of the technical details. They just go over my head." The two then saw someone head over to them. As she got closer, Shinji thought that she looked familiar, and that she had met her before, but he couldn't remember her name.

"Captain, I didn't realize you were here today," the woman said as she came up to them.

"Just came aboard," Misato replied. "I'm giving Shinji here a tour of the ship." She then turned to him. "Shinji, this Lieutenant Commander Ibuki. She was with us, back in the day with Nerv."

"A pleasure to meet you again," She said. "I would love to give a more detailed tour here, but I'm afraid I don't have the time."

"That's all right," Shinji replied, before turning his attention to a nearby machine.

"How goes the repairs?" Misato asked her.

"Excellent Ma'am," Maya replied. "We are running ahead of schedule in fact. We could be back in action as early as the day after tomorrow."

"That's good," Misato nodded as well.

"There was an interesting development earlier today though," Maya added, her voice dropping in volume, yet it could still be heard.

"Go on," Misato said, her eyes shifting her a brief second to see if Shinji was still distracted.

"Some people from the base in the city came with the replacement computer parts as scheduled. The interesting part was that they insisted on installing it themselves."

"Did they?" There was now worry in her voice.

"Not completely. They stopped when we confronted them about it. However, they managed to take some memory cores they replaced with them," Maya continued.

"That is an interesting development."

"Indeed Captain. I've already ordered an investigation. See what they did."

"Keep me posted. I'll need to discuss some things with the Vice-Captain. Thank you Commander." She turned to her guest. "Shall we get going Shinji?" Misato headed for the exit, Shinji giving a slight bow to Maya before following her. Once the two could use their normal voice volume, Misato turned to Shinji.

"So, what do you think?" She asked him.

"It's pretty amazing," Shinji replied. "I remember Commander Ibuki now, but she didn't seem so…stern. I could be remembering it wrong though.

"No, I have to agree with you there," Misato replied. She let out a small sigh before she continued. "These many years, they…they can change a person. But in her defense, those changes are for the better. She is still a kind person, just more of a no nonsense type these days."

"If you say so," Shinji said. The two made their way around to various parts of the ship, such as the workshops and Eva cages with Misato explaining unique facts about them. At the cafeteria, Shinji was taken back to the kitchen, with the head chef leading a grand tour of the storage areas, stoves, and various other kitchen equipment. Shinji even asked several questions about aspects of cooking from him.

After that, they went to sick bay. There were no patients, as every injured person had been transferred to the city, so they were looking at the rows of empty beds. Out of the corner of his eye, Shinji saw Sakura, who was in an adjoining room that was visible through a large glass window. She was jumping up and down and waving her arms in a wild manner, trying to get his attention. When Shinji waved back, she rushed out into the ward.

"It's been a while," she said as she grabbed his hand, and began to shake it. "What are you doing here?"

"Misato's giving me a tour of the ship," he replied. "I'm awestruck."

"She certainly lives up to her name," Sakura declared. "How have you been?"

"To tell you the truth, a bit bored," Shinji told her. "All the schools are closed considering what happened, and that means all the fun stuff too."

"That's a shame," she said. "I hope things will get back to normal for you."

"Speaking of things getting back to normal," Misato, who was leaning against a wall, now spoke up. "Have you heard anything about the crew members that are still in the hospital?" Sakura stood a little straighter at her words, at the same time assuming a more formal demeanor when she answered.

"No Ma'am. I do plan on heading over to the main hospital tomorrow to check up on everyone, and to speak with the doctors there. I'll have a better idea then."

"Very well," Misato replied. "I want those who are well enough to be moved to finish their hospitalization on the ship."

"Yes Captain, but I should remind you that there are still several crew members that are in critical condition," Sakura continued.

"I am aware of it, and I've made requests for additional crew, but I don't know if we'll receive them before we need to ship out."

"I'll give you an assessment before the end of the day tomorrow then," Sakura said.

"Thank you," Misato said to her. "We better get going, Shinji. Oh, one more thing Lieutenant."

"Yes, Captain?" A small smirk came upon Misato's face.

"You can let go of his hand now." Sakura let go of Shinji's hand, her face turning successive degrees of red. Shinji, blushing in his own right, gave her a wave and followed Misato out.

"Well, that was interesting," Misato remarked as Shinji kept his head down, his face still red.

"If…If you say so," he replied, rubbing the hand that Sakura held.

"You know, she often talks about you," Misato added as the two stepped aboard an interior monorail.

"She does?"

"Yes she does," she continued. "She told me stories about back when she was in the hospital after your first Angel battle, and how she lectured her brother over him hitting you. Toji had even told her over the years stories about you. She even told us once about the time the two of you and Makinami spent the day in the city."

"Huh," Shinji said to himself. The monorail moved them into a large open chamber, which they could see through a row of windows. In the center of the chamber was a large sphere, with wires, cables and other physical supports connecting it to the rest of the ship.

"What's that?" he asked Misato.

"That…That's Unit 01," she answered.

"What?" Shinji asked to no one in particular. As the monorail moved them past the encased Eva, he followed it with his eyes back a long as he could see it.

"Are you all right Shinji?" Misato asked him.

"I'm fine," Shinji replied. "I…was just saying goodbye." As Unit 01 left their sight, Misato put her arm over his shoulder.

"I miss her too," She told him. "Compared to Ayanami types I've seen, she was always the most human."

"The one that I've been talking to seem to be that way too," Shinji said. "She isn't like Ayanami, but she does appear to be more human.

"In what way?" Misato asked.

"Well, there's the art for one thing." He then explained to her about the art projects she has done, all the while the monorail took them to a junction where they disembarked and proceeded to walk to the bridge. Upon entering, Shinji saw the tree-like structure with all the bridge stations on their branches. He also saw the bridge didn't have the air of busyness about it like he remembered as there only were three other people in the chamber besides them. Aoba, who was sitting in the command chair, noticed the two and lowered the branch he was on, so he could step down.

"Captain, I didn't know you were going to be here," he said to her.

"I didn't think I'd be here today either," she replied, "but I'm playing tour guide for Shinji today." Aoba peered over her shoulder and saw him looking around. "How goes everything?" She asked him.

"Kind of slow Captain," Aoba replied. "The off duty members of the bridge staff are playing a volleyball game on the flight deck with some of the crew from the lower decks."

"That's nice. It's good that they can still have fun like that with all the repair work being done." While they were talking, the two other members of the crew looked up from their stations to see what was going on, which Misato noticed.

"Ah Shinji, this is our helmsman Sumire Nagara," she said as she gestured towards her.

"A pleasure," Nagura said.

"How do you do?" Shinji replied.

"And this is Kohji Takao. He is responsible for engine control."

"Good to see you," he said to Shinji.

"I…I remember you," Shinji replied. "You were there that day when-"

"Think nothing of it," Kohji replied, cutting Shinji off. "I was just glad I was able to help."

"Uh…sure," Shinji said, unsure if he should say anything else or not.

"If you don't mind my asking Captain, but did I hear you right in saying that you giving him a tour of the ship?" Sumire asked.

"Yes I am," Misato replied. She then began to show Shinji around the bridge, explaining in detail the Hirnstamm tower along with some of the unmanned stations. She then allowed both Summire and Kohji to show him their stations, explaining the nature of their duties. After they said their goodbyes and left the bridge, Misato led him out onto the outer hull.

"Where are we going?" Shinji asked her.

"I want to show you one more thing," she said as she started to climb up a nearby ladder. Shinji followed her, and climbed for a few minutes until they reached a small platform.

"This," Misato said when he finally came onto it, "is the ship's figurehead. Tell me, do you notice anything familiar about it?" How could he not notice the short squat shape of that old penguin, sculpted to look like it he was flying or swimming.

"Pen-Pen," Shinji said, a huge smile breaking out on his face.

"I don't think the metal sculptor got his proportions exactly right, but I'm not complaining," she stated. "I figured that as he was a sort of mascot at our home, that he would make a good mascot for the ship, even though he is no longer here." Misato took a long breath before speaking again. "Come on." She began to climb up the ladder again with Shinji following her. They reached the top and were walking down the flight deck, Misato explaining the various features on it.

"And that's the Wunder," she finished. "What do you think about it?"

"What else is there to say?" Shinji said. "To be honest with you, there's a part of me that still wishes I was here from the beginning." Misato put her arm around him.

"I can see why you feel that way," she said. "To tell you the truth, I wouldn't be against you coming with us in the near future. You could easily work in the galley with your cooking skills. Lord knows we could use the help there."

"Thank you," Shinji, replied," but…not now. All of my friends are here, and Joanna still needs me."

"I…I understand," Misato said. "That reminds me. There is something I wanted to give you. It's in my quarters. Is it okay if I run and get it? It would only be for a few minutes, could you wait here while I do that?"

"Yeah, sure," Shinji answered. "I don't mind."

"Great, I'll be back as soon as I can." She headed through a hatchway at a brisk pace. Shinji leaned on a railing looking out onto the city wall in the distance taking in the view. After a minute or so, he heard someone come through the same hatchway. He didn't think that it would be Misato, as he figured that not enough time had passed, and that she would have gotten his attention. The steps stopped only a few feet from him. He heard nothing from the source, though after a few minutes, he began to smell tobacco smoke drifting across his nose.

He turned in the direction of the smoke to find Ritsuko standing right next to him. She was leaning against the railing, lit cigarette in her mouth, not appearing to notice him. He straightened up a little while keeping an eye on her. He saw her eyes shift in his direction, and she then turned towards him.

"Didn't notice you in that jacket," she said to him after she took the cigarette out of her mouth, exhaling smoke as she did so. "You're looking well." Shinji said nothing, gripping the railing with his hand as tight as he could. When he formed in his head the words he wanted to say, he started to speak, but Ritsuko interrupted him.

"I…want to say I'm sorry," she said.

"Huh?"

"I said I am sorry," she repeated. "While you were deserving to know the truth, I gave it to you in such a way that was callus and cruel. I should not have done that."

"Then…then why? Why did you do that?" Shinji demanded.

"Because…" she took a breath. "Because I was afraid. Afraid for Misato, afraid for those who work under me. I still saw in you the potential for danger, and felt that I needed to deal with the threat. It turns out I was mistaken." Shinji stood there taking in all that she said. He wanted to say something, but never got the chance as someone yelled at him from behind.

"Look out!" Shinji began to turn towards the voice only to be smacked in the head with a volleyball. He fell back against the railing appearing for a brief second as if he was going to fall over, Ritsuko moving towards him to keep him from doing so. Once she was sure he was secure, she turned to two figures that were running towards them.

"What the hell is going on?" She demanded when they were in hearing distance.

"Sorry ma'am, it got away from us," the man replied.

"It's was your damn trick shot that got us into this mess," the girl added before she spoke to Ritsuko. "We really are sorry Vice-Captain. Is he all right?"

"I think so," she replied. Shinji now had steadied himself, rubbing the part of his head where the ball had smacked him. "Are you okay?" she asked him. "Do you want to see Suzuhara?"

"I'm okay," he said. The girl took a better look at him.

"It's…It's that kid," she remarked.

"He's wearing a Wille uniform," Tama declared. "I can also see a NewCon patch on the jacket. When did this happen?" By this time Shinji had recovered from the impact, though it still stung a little.

"It's a long story, "Ritsuko replied. "Suffice to say, that Shinji here is working with our organization." Shinji gave a slight bow to the two crewmen. After a minute, Tama took a couple of steps forward.

"I'm ships technician Hideki Tama. Pleased to meet you, and sorry for hitting you with the ball," he said to Shinji. He then turned his head towards his companion, waiting.

"Midori Kitakami, I man the sonar and radar stations on the bridge. A pleasure."

"Shinji Ikari. Liaison officer for the pilot of Unit 11. Pleased to meet you, and don't worry about hitting me. It was an accident." The four were interrupted by another voice.

"What's going on here?" They turned to find Misato standing at the hatchway.

"We just met," Shinji said. "I got whacked with their volleyball by accident."

"It was my fault Captain," Tama added.

"Really?" Misato walked up to Shinji, and looked at where he was rubbing his head. Shinji nodded with a slight smile on his face.

"Very well," she said. "I think that it is getting late for that sort of thing anyway. Perhaps it's best to put it away for the day."

"Yes ma'am," Kitakami said glaring at Tama. The two walked over to where the net was while Misato turned to Ritsuko.

"Ritz, I need to discuss something alone with Shinji. Could you give us some space? Don't stray too far though. I'll need to talk to you right after on some ship matters."

"Right," Ritsuko replied. "It was good to talk to you again. I hope we can speak again sometime."

"Yes, that would be fine," Shinji replied. "Thank you." As she walked away to where they were taking down the net, Misato stood next to Shinji.

"What was that all about?" she asked him.

"Oh, uh, she apologized to me for what happened…the last time we met." He winced a little. Misato put her arm around his shoulder.

"Huh…Well, that's good," she said. "Now, the reason I wanted to talk to you alone is that I want to give you something."

"Yeah, I remember you saying something about that," he said looking at her.

"That's right," Misato pulled out of her pocket a handkerchief, unwrapping it to reveal a cross-shaped pendant.

"That's…" he didn't finish his words, but Misato nodded that he was correct.

"My father gave it to me," she continued, "on the day of Second Impact."

"Kaji told me many years ago," Shinji replied. He picked it up by the string, and let it hang on his finger, the pendant twisting around in the light breeze.

"I don't know why he gave it to me," she said. "I know he said something, but I couldn't hear him over the noise and general chaos that was going around us. He might have wanted me to give this to someone, or maybe he wanted me to keep it for myself. I haven't been wearing it for a while now, I just had it in a drawer in my quarters. I thought maybe it was a good idea to give it to you."

"Are you sure?" Shinji asked.

"Positive," Misato replied. "I hope it'll be a reminder to you that we do have your back, no matter how far away we are."

"Thank you." Shinji couldn't understand why his eyes felt a little teary.

"I also want to add that if you ever find yourself in trouble, and you feel you can't go to those around you, you can always contact me. Even if I'm halfway around the world and you need my help, I'll do what I can. That's a promise."

"S-Sure." Shinji wondered why would she say such a thing. Would she abandon a mission or something just because he was in trouble? That wouldn't make sense. Misato spoke again.

"Well, I guess that's it. I would head out with you, but I have some matters that I have to attend to here. I see that Tama is still on the flight deck. I'll have him escort you out."

"Okay. Thanks again for the tour."

"Sure thing. And I'll want to talk to you again before we ship out," Misato said. "See you soon." As she watched Shinji leave with Tama, Ritsuko walked up to her.

"He seems happy," Ritsuko said.

"He does," Misato said. The two stood there in silence for a minute before Ritsuko spoke again.

"So, did you and Shinji talk things out?" she asked.

"We sure did," Misato replied, a smile on her face. "So, you did actually apologize to him?"

"Yes I did," Ritsuko answered. "What makes you think that I wouldn't?"

"I have my reasons," Misato chuckled. "You told him yours?" she then asked.

"Of course I did…for the most part." She flung her cigarette butt over the side before lighting up another.

"Huh…" It was a few moments before she began to speak again, the smile now gone. "You know while he was here, this thought kept creeping into my mind, tempting me. It would be easy. Just lift off, and run like hell away from here with him on board. But I couldn't do it."

"True, we wouldn't have a full crew compliment, and we can't afford to fight both Nerv and the rest of Wille," Ritsuko added.

"It's no just that," Misato replied. "If I did it, just take him, would I be any better than Nerv? Not from where I stand."

"Then what are you going to do?" Ritsuko asked. Misato had to think about that question. She was thinking about many things. She recalled that day when Shinji tried to kill himself. She had confronted her back on the ship, demanding why she did what she did. She remembered Ritsuko showing her the documents. When she asked how she got them, her exact words were 'they got sloppy with their security.' She remembered reading through them about something called the Arbiter Plan. It was so redacted, she couldn't make out what it entailed, but she did see that whenever the plan was mentioned, Shinji's name was always nearby. So far, they just let him be. There was no sign that whatever this plan was, it was ready to be initiated in the near term. But with Nerv stepping up their attacks, will that change? What if they start getting desperate?

"I don't know," she said at last. "But we'll need to keep one eye on this city while we're deployed. Can you monitor communications from the city?"

"It's not impossible, but I can't make any guarantees," Ritsuko replied as she threw a second butt over the railing.

"See what you can do," Misato said.

"And Shinji?"

"We'll let him live his life…until he no longer can."

Any large city in the world would have a portion of it dedicated to businesses engaged in various entertainments of the seedy kind, and New Constantinople was no exception. In the crowds that were passing through looking at the store fronts of various sex shops and brothels, a single figure made her way past the crowds. Covered in a hooded cloak, she proceeded down the sidewalk in quick silent steps. She looked up for a brief moment, and saw the tower at the center of the city in the distance. Her objective was in sight. It had been difficult for her in getting to this point. Hiding in the wreckage of the ship was not too burdensome. The problem was sneaking off and making her way through the wall, that took a few days to get through the correct passages and ventilation systems without detection. Even after all that, she encountered several problems getting from one ring to another. Now that there were more people around, she could spend more time in the open, go past security cameras without too much fear of alerting them. If all went well, she could be at her target as early as tomorrow. She had to keep moving. Her train of thought was interrupted when three men approached her.

"Hey there baby," the closest one to her called out. "What are you doing out so late at night?" She did not reply, and tried to maneuver past them, but was prevented from doing so.

"Let's take a look under that hood you're wearing," the man said as he reached for it. "Now, do we have to pay for your time like some of those places or can we get it for free?" he pulled the hood back a little only to discover a set of glaring red eyes staring straight at him.

"Step aside," she demanded. The man took his hands off her head and raised them a little.

"Whoa, whoa. I didn't mean anything," he said as he slid right beside her. "I was just thinking that all of us could go somewhere more private to get to know more about each other, to find out our…better qualities." She felt his hand on her sliding down until it reached her buttocks, an experience she found unpleasant. Before the man could do anything else, she grabbed the hand that was touching her, and squeezed, crushing it. She then pulled on the adjoining arm, and snapped it in three places, letting go while kneeing him in the chest, the man landing against the side of the building. The other two were in stunned silence for a few seconds before they moved in.

"You damn cunt!" one of them yelled as he raised a fist to strike her, but she responded with a roundhouse kick to his face, knocking him to the ground unconscious. She then turned to the third man, who seeing what had happened to his friends, ran past her as fast as he could. She then took off in the original direction she was heading at a full run as well. The first man, still slumped against the wall, looked down at his hand or the crushed remains of it, seeing the bones sticking out of skin. He began to scream in pain, repeatedly calling the fleeing figure a fucking bitch, the screams going into the night air.

After running for several blocks she came to a halt. She was not tired, but she did believe that she was no longer in danger of discovery and apprehension, so there was no longer any need to run. It would have been ideal to eliminate her attackers, but she was unable to due to the attention the incident was receiving from the surrounding crowds. She had stopped in front of a large store window, and she turned to see her reflection, confirming that she had taken no damage. She brought the hood back over her blue hair, and continued to walk towards the direction of the tower. She had to reach her objective. She had her orders.