Chapter 31: A New Threat

I just found out that I made a typo below, so this is it fixed. Anyway, just to remind you, I'll be doing a seperate oneshot for the Christmas Special

Disclaimer: I do not own NGE, Gainax does. I do own all original characters, and if there are any resemblence to people real of fiction, it is merely coincidental

Preread by YouarenotasrandomasI

Nerv

"The First Branch is okay. The data from the recon plane will be confirmed by Magi"

Loud klaxons blared throughout the complex as people scrambled to their posts to receive the incoming information. Many people worried about what the cause was, and were very much surprised by the information that they were receiving.

"The Second Branch just vanished?"

Fuyutsuki was talking into the phone in Gendo's office, shock coursing through his body at the incredible news.

"It has just been confirmed," the man at the other end said in a breathless tone,

Avatar Base

A small shrine was erected in the corner of the rooftop. It had no resemblance to any known religion upon this planet, and all of the Avatars had gathered around it. All of them had their heads bowed, even the wild Shara. They prayed for forgiveness in not being able to save the lives of those at the Second Branch in the U.S.

Lifting his head, Iak broke the silence, "It's time"

Behind him, the man hidden in the cloak nodded and told everyone, "Begin preparations at once"

"Understood"

Nerv

"The Administrative and Investigative sections are going crazy," Makoto said as he looked at his screen

Flashing all the way across, filling the screen in its entirety was the word VANISHED

"And General Affairs is in a total panic"

Misato asked, "Cause?"

"Still under investigation," Ritsuko replied, entering the room

The faux-blonde typed a few keystrokes and pulled up an aerial view of the site that was once the Second branch. The only thing there now was an enormous crater.

"There's nothing else left"

Everyone looked at the picture in awe as Ritsuko continued, "This is the only clue we have"

Maya counted down as the video from the geo-synchronous satellite played, "Three, two, one…Contact"

The video showed a massive shockwave followed by a dome of fire blasting across the land from the center of origin. After seven seconds, the video cut out, and they were left with a static filled screen.

"This is horrible," Misato muttered to herself

So this is the tragic event that preludes the Thirteenth Angel, she thought to herself

Maya listed the total damage assessment, "Evangelion Unit 04, its support group and all other facilities within a 90 km radius was destroyed"

Looking up from her report, she continued with some good news, "There were only about four hundred people in that area, the rest had gone away on vacation, so the facility was being run by a skeleton crew"

ONLY four hundred, Misato thought bitterly, that's still too many deaths. I thought the Avatars were supposed to prevent more loss of life

Shigeru interrupted her thoughts by telling them, "According to the timeline, the facility was field testing the S2 engine from Germany"

Maya added to it by saying, "Possible causes range from insufficient structural integrity to a calculation error. It's also possible that due to the many delays to its activation may have caused problems. There are other 37,000 possible explanations, not including sabotage"

"But," Makoto asked, "It wasn't an explosion, was it? It just disappeared"

"It might have been swallowed by a Sea of Dirac," Ritsuko theorized, "Like Unit 01 was"

Misato wanted to know about the S2 engine, "What about the restored engine?"

In a matter of fact tone, the doctor told her, "Gone"

Later

After the emergency meeting, Ritsuko and Misato were talking as they walked together

"So what'll happen to Unit 03?" Misato asked

"We are to receive it here"

When the purple-haired woman turned to the doctor with a question on her face, Ritsuko explained, "The US Government didn't want to lose the First Branch as well"

Snorting, Misato asked, "Didn't they insist to the rights of building Units 03 and 04?"

Rolling her eyes, she continued in an annoyed tone, "Making such a fuss over that and now they're pushing it all on us when it seems too dangerous? What babies"

"Wouldn't you feel nervous after something like that?" the doctor retorted

Turning to Misato, Ritsuko asked, "Do you think that the Avatars expected this to happen?"

"They must have known," the purple-haired woman said angrily, "They told us that the next Angel would happen after a disastrous event"

Flipping through her notepad, Ritsuko replied, "I know what you're thinking, and I think that they did their best. Were it not for their intervention, there would have been thousands of lives lost"

Sighing at the doctor's cold logic, Misato said, "Still, they should have told us more"

Taking a deep breath, the doctor told the other woman, "There's nothing else to do, we must begin preparations for the Thirteenth Angel"

Shaking her head, the purple-haired woman asked, "So are we using Rei's dummy plug?"

"I am working on that," Ritsuko answered, looking out of the corner of her eye

School

Lunchtime and Touji was preparing to chow down on his meal of store bought food. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Asuka and Shinji sharing a seat in the back, talking as they ate their lunch.

"This is great," the red-head said as she sampled the lunch her boyfriend had prepared

Smiling, Shinji replied, "I'm so glad you like it, I was trying something new and was a little worried you wouldn't like it"

Pecking him on the cheek, she replied in a reassuring way, "Everything you make is delicious; you shouldn't have to worry about things like that"

Rolling his eyes, Touji shouted, "Hey, newlyweds, why don't you take you're flirting outside?"

Sticking her tongue at the jock, Asuka retorted, "We happen to prefer having lunch inside, especially on such a hot day"

It was true, despite it being winter, the weather due to the cataclysm fifteen years ago have made the world into a year-round tropical retreat

"Besides," the red-head continued, "I bet you're just jealous that you don't have a girlfriend"

Amidst the laughter, Touji retorted, "Like I'd want a girl like you"

Flushing, Asuka opened her mouth to retort, but was stopped when Shinji popped a piece of fish into her open mouth.

"Come on Asuka-chan," he said, "Don't be so mean"

Pouting, the red-head swallowed and then said, "I was only playing Shinji-kun"

Making gagging noises, Touji told the two, "Geez, take your lovey-dovey talk and take it outside before you make me hurl"

"Suzuhara, leave them alone," Hikari said, interrupting the insult war, "And Asuka-chan, please try not to make too big a scene"

The jock turned away as he ripped open a bun wrapper, "Sure"

The class representative sighed as she sat with Shinji and Asuka, "I don't know what to do with him sometimes"

"Why don't you ask him out?" the red-head asked, "We know you two like each other, so why don't you just ask him directly?"

Flushing deeply, the brunette replied, "I know, but I get so flustered around him"

Sighing, Hikari looked back up and asked, "Have you seen either Sensei?"

Knowing that she was talking about Rikku and Iak, Shinji replied, "No, not really, and the others have been coming and going a lot lately"

In fact, neither Sai nor Keevan were seen in class that often. They were becoming like Rei, where they'd disappear for days only to appear in class for one day. The pilots and Hikari were becoming more worried as they refused to tell them what was going on. Even the usually talkative twins were tight-lipped as they went about their mysterious duties

"I'm sure they'll tell us when they want to," Shinji said in a reassuring tone, "It's probably just some private business"

Unknown Avatar Location

Kaitos was working on a console with Sai when Cairn popped up, "The new unit's been delivered, and is awaiting pre-checks"

"Thanks," the cripple wheezed, "But how were you able to transport it, it's too big for you to use your personal shadow gates"

Waving his hand dismissively, Cairn told him, "I carried it here, called up a couple of shadow fliers and airlifted it here"

Not looking up from his monitor, Sai asked, "Did you at least make sure nothing could see you?"

Rolling his eyes, the dark man nodded his head and said in a tired tone, "I did"

Walking away, Cairn muttered under his breath about having more experience. He passed by Iak, who was being fitted for his plug suit.

"It's quite restrictive," the Aerolan commented

A measuring tape in her hand, Rikku told him, "It would be a lot easier if you just wore the one I made from Cairn's cloaks"

Taking off the skin-tight suit, Iak told her, "In battle, I'd rather have all of my skills open to use, including my ability to fly"

Sighing loudly, the female Aerolan retorted, "You're going to be in a gigantic biomechanical robot with a meter of metal armor surrounding it, and another two or three meters of biological robot between you and the outside, what could possibly happen?"

On the catwalks above them, Shuri-Shara and Keevan were looking at the new Eva.

"Kaitos went all out on this one," Keevan noted, "It looks really deadly"

Nodding his head in agreement, the ninja replied in his doubled voice, "The next Angel won't stand a chance, but I'm sure Iak will fall flat on his face on his first go. Our unit is going to be the one to finish it"

Shaking his head, the mage told him, "The others will be there too, and we're not supposed to destroy it, remember?"

"Oh, right"

School

Class was ending for the day, and everyone was looking forward to a relaxing little break. This was not so for the pilots, who had to spend most of the weekend with testing at Nerv.

"This stinks," Asuka grumbled, "A beautiful weekend and we have to spend it underground with tests"

A chiding look on his face, Shinji responded, "I know it seems bad, so how about we go do something together as soon as it's finished?"

Linking their arms together, Asuka leaned her head against his shoulder and said, "That's a great idea"

The red-head noticed that Rei was trailing behind them and felt that she might be lonely.

"Hey, Rei!"

Looking up, the blue-haired girl asked, "Hai?"

"I was wondering if you'd like to join us."

Smiling, Shinji felt proud that Asuka wasn't so headstrong and was more willing to open up to other people. Gone was an arrogant self-centered brat, and at his side was a more caring girl.

Surprised at Asuka's suggestion, Rei took a moment to think before replying, "I would like that"

Smirking, the red-head then asked, "Then come on over, we're all friends right?"

Nodding shyly, the girl joined the pair as the headed for Nerv. Conversation was subdued for a few minutes before Rei began to take a slightly more active conversation. The blue-haired girl had opened up, but was still shy. Shinji wondered if that was because of the effect of being with the Avatars.

Nerv, Ritsuko's Office

Leaning on the doctor's desk, Misato asked, "How much time do you think we have until the next Angel?"

Not looking up, Ritsuko replied, "Why don't you ask Iak or the others, they must know more than I do?"

Sighing, the purple-haired woman said, "I haven't seen them a lot lately. They seem to be busy working on something"

"Then that should be an indicator of when it's going to attack," the doctor told her, "If they're so hard at work, then the next Angel will be coming soon"

Ignoring the subtle dig at her observation skills, Misato turned around and asked, "So what are we going to do about Unit 03?"

"The dummy plug has a few problems," the doctor told her, "So we're using the Fourth"

"The Fourth Child's been found?"

Nodding, Ritsuko added, "The Marduk report will come about tomorrow, this is just the unofficial announcement"

"So," the other woman asked, "Who is it?"

The doctor typed a few keys before she turned the screen to face Misato. When she looked at the screen, the purple-haired woman had a look of surprise

"Him?"

"Not only that," Ritsuko added, "But we have also found the Fifth Child"

Scratching her head, Misato asked, "Why do we need the Fifth, we only have three Evas"

Continuing to work on her computer, the faux blonde told her, "The Commander thought that we needed a spare pilot in case of emergencies"

Ritsuko tapped in a command and another file opened up over the previous one, "It's very unusual, finding two Children, but we mustn't look a gift horse in the mouth"

Sighing, Misato replied, "I guess so, but I just wished that we didn't have to use children to pilot those things"

"I understand what you're feeling," the doctor responded, "But those kids are the only ones capable of piloting the Evas, and I don't want to put too much of my hope with the Avatars"

"I know you don't," the purple-haired woman said in a despondent voice, "I guess that this long interlude has me feeling a little out of practice, being used to never knowing when the next Angel would appear always kept me sharp. Now that we knew when this Angel would come gave me time to relax"

"When do you not relax?" Ritsuko joked

Chuckling a little, Misato toned down as she asked, "So, when are we going to tell them?"

"We'll wait until we can see if this pilot is compatible with Unit 03 first," the doctor answered, "If he can't pilot, then there shouldn't be any reason to tell the pilots, unless he tells them himself"

"I see"

School

"Suzuhara?"

The jock jumped in his seat as he sat up, "Hai?"

The teacher told him, "You are wanted at the office"

"I didn't do anything!" Touji shouted, to the amusement of the others

"Nonetheless," the old man continued, unfazed by the boy's loud tone, "You are wanted at the office"

Many of the other students were mumbling little rumors about what Touji might have been called in for. Ignoring them, the jock stooge just waltzed out of the room and to the principal's office. Once he entered the office, he noticed that a blonde woman with a white coat sitting in front of the principal's desk.

"Konnichiwa," the woman said upon his entrance, "My name is Doctor Akagi Ritsuko"

Thanks again for your patience, send your reviews and I'll get back as soon as possible

Later