IceBlade28: Wow . . . I didn't expect such a huge response! I guess there are more fans of Evangelion then there are of Fire Emblem.

Maya: Hey, you've updated quickly!

IceBlade28: Well, I like working on this story. BTW, I got a review asking about the time frame this is in- originally I didn't actually have one, but originally this was a one-shot, too, so . . . I've decided to put this in the frame after Gaghiel (the massive fish Angel that attacks during the episode where Asuka's introduced), but before Israfel (the Angel that can duplicate itself) and Sandalphon, (the embryonic Angel located within the volcano).

Serra: But what about Person's Unknown? The Blood Of Pride?

IceBlade28: What the- how'd you get back here!

Serra: Um . . . . bullet train?

IceBlade28: confused There's bullet trains to the FE universe?

Serra: Um . . . maybe . . .

IceBlade28: That can be easily remedied. Mana, will you do the honours?

Mana: Sure. calls on walkie-talkie. Kaoru, go have fun with the FE to Evangelion bullet train.

Kaoru: Bwah hah hah haaahh! lots of smashing sounds

Serra: Hey!

IceBlade28: Warned you.

Serra: But how am I supposed to get back!

IceBlade28: Author power. big puff of smoke and Serra disappears. Again.

Mana: That was fun.

Kaoru: I wanna smash some more stuff!

IceBlade28: Um . . . sweatdrops . . . Tell you what, Kaoru- if you're a good boy, you can go wreak havok in the GUNDAM universe.

Kaoru: YAY! zooms off.

IceBlade28: Stupid GUNDAM. I hate them.

Mana: Who's GUNDAM?

IceBlade28: A more high-tech, space-dwelling version of Tokyo-3 with a bunch of idiotic robots that an EVA could pwn. Even with the 5-minute time limit.

Mana: Oh, okay.

IceBlade28: Enjoy chapter two! (Crap. I just P.O'ed a lot of GUNDAM fans . . . not good . . .)

Do You Really Know Me?

Rei looked up from her book at the sound of footsteps. There were many footsteps echoing on the netball courts, but one pair stood out among the rest. A pair of high heels, clicking subtly against the pavement; obvious to those who knew what to listen for.

Rei liked listening to footsteps. Each person's footsteps were so blank; just noise on the concrete to others, but to this quiet blue-haired girl they told a story. One girl's footsteps across the first court were quiet and slow; she had been wronged. Another's was quick and rhythmic; perhaps a youthful boy dancing to music. There were so many stories to be told in a person's footsteps, so many paths to be walked.

But in the end, they were just footsteps. The meaningless scurryings of those she did not know. Rei expression softened, and she re-immersed herself in her book; though not for long.

Maya spotted the EVA pilot sitting confortably against a fence, reading a small red book. She began striding towards Rei, trying to ignore the interested looks she got from the soccer-playing jocks. Soccer on the netball courts; some people were just plain weird.

"Hello, Miss Ibuki," Rei said simply, without looking up from her book. Maya's hand flew to her chest, and she took a deep breath.

"Hi Rei," she said, a little startled. "You knew I was there?" Rei nodded once, still reading.

"Not many women dwell these courts," she said. "And fewer still wear high heels on concrete."

"Well done," Maya said cheerily. "Not many people would pick that up," she added, smiling at the fourteen-year-old.

"Is there a reason you're here, Miss Ibuki?" Rei asked slowly, closing the book. Maya nodded.

"Commander Ikari has requested the presence of every EVA pilot in Central Dogma. Ritsuko will be there too; apparently there's been some new breakthrough with the Angel's," Maya explained. "Shinji and Asuka are already en route; Misato was outside, she picked them up." Rei nodded, and placed her red book in the pocket next to her skirt. The two NERV employees began to walk towards the outside exit of the school, and Maya's simple Volkswagon Beetle. The raven-haired woman wasn't a fan of fast cars; she didn't know how Misato could stand them! Better the simple Bug to transport her around.

Rei lifted the handle and calmly slid into the passenger seat near the front, while Maya placed the keys in the ignition and turned on the engine.

"Commander Ikari's son . ." Rei said distantly. "Did . . he evade Asuka?" Maya almost took her eyes off the road, but she caught herself and kept the Bug steady. She wasn't too good at this driving business; she'd barely gotten out of her 'P' plates.

"Did he evade . . . oh! Right," she said, as she remembered what Rei meant. "Not really. He ran into Toji, and he was about to get pounded when I showed up. The strange thing is, Asuka saw Toji about to lay Shinji out flat, and she slapped Toji. Twice," Maya said in a confused voice. "I guess Asuka's a little posessive of Shinji. You know, like nobody gets to hurt him but her, if you get what I mean," she explained. Rei just stared at the young woman.

"You are a curious person," Rei said calmly, as though this were a completely normal thing to say. Maya's brow furrowed.

"Curious? Why do you say that?" she asked, unsure of the answer.

"You seem so . . full of emotion," Rei said. "I suppose I am not the best person at showing what I feel, and yet it comes so naturally to you . . . I find you curious in that regard," Maya wasn't quite sure how to react.

"I don't know . . ." she said at last. "I guess I'm just a happy person," She turned to Rei, taking her eyes off the road.

"If you'd like, I can give you some help," Maya said with a smile. "I know you and Commander Ikari are close; if you want, I'll help you so you can show your feelings just fine!" Rei pondered this for a moment, before smiling slightly.

"That would be nice," she said. "However, it's not particularly Commander Ikari- but Ikari Shin-"

They were cut off as the body of a young male careened over the windshield, thumping as it bounced over the top of the car and landing on the road behind. The horrific event was punctuated by the painful scream of the boy she hit.

-----

Shinji stared sadly out the window, his hazel eyes betraying some kind of sadness as he watched the steel buildings whiz by.

His expression was accompanied by a hefty whack across the back of the head.

"Quit looking like you've had your legs cut off and cheer up already!" Asuka screeched. Misato glanced briefly in the rear view mirror, and the German caught her gaze.

"You know Asuka, you don't have to be so hard on Shinji. He's just as good an EVA pilot as you, maybe even better. You've seen his synch ratio; he's beaten you at times, so leave the kid alone!" The driver said.

Asuka slouched back into the seat, muttering something in German under her breath. Shinji was willing to bet Misato wouldn't have been happy with the translation.

They eventually pulled up outside the entrance to NERV, where Gendo was waiting. Shinji opened the door and stepped out, staring into the face of his father. The middle-aged man was wearing a pair of amber glasses, with coarse stubble growing on his face. Clearly he hadn't had much time for personal habits, with the constant repairs on the Evangelions and the tracking of Angel movements.

"F-Father," Shinji stammered, a little unsure of how to react. Immediate disapproval flashed in the elder Ikari's eyes, and he frowned.

"You know how I feel about that title. You are a pilot, first and foremost; I have entrusted family matters to Misato. This is why you are staying with her. You will refer to me as Commander, no matter what you feel ties you to me," he intoned, the trademark subtle anger enriching every word. Shinji's heart sank, and he lowered his head, making do with a small nod.

"Yes . . . Commander," he said humbly. Gendo did not smile, but turned abruptly and walked for the doors.

"Hurry it up. We've located another Angel, and Professor Ritsuko is formulating a plan to capture it. Alive, if possible, after the mess you made with Shamshel," Gendo said coldly, glancing back at Shinji. The words stung, but Shinji wouldn't let him know how deeply.

The Commander paused as he placed his I.D card in the computer lock.

"Why isn't Rei with you?" he asked suddenly, turning back to Misato. The purple-haired Captain was mystified, until she picked up on his angle.

"Oh, right! Maya came with me; she's bringing Rei along seperately. She wanted to talk to her," Misato said with her typical smile. Gendo clearly didn't approve, but he didn't mention it and walked into the depths of NERV.

"Professor Ritsuko will need to do a final synch test on all of you before we commence this operation-" Gendo's cell phone suddenly buzzed, and he brought it to his ear without a second of hesitation.

"Commander Ikari . . . Yes, but Rei will be late . . . She's with Miss Ibuki . . . I know. What! Are you sure? . . . You realize what this will mean, don't you? . . . Very well; they'll be down as soon as possible," he muttered into the cell. Asuka shared a look with Shinji, and they both knew: Something had gone wrong. Clearly, the Second and Third Children would soon be in a fight for their lives against an unknown enemy.

-----

Maya, surprisingly, didn't scream. But her face turned bright white, and she stared blankly ahead as the car sped off.

Rei took one look at the NERV staff member and pulled hard on the car's handbrake, sending it to a juddering stop. Maya was visibly shaking, and tears began to pour down her face.

"I . . . I . ." she gasped, crying. Rei looked almost sympathetic as she climbed out of the car, and walked calmly back to the body of the young boy.

He was clothed in a school uniform, the male equivalent of the simple top and green skirt Rei was wearing now. His white top was, incredibly, unstained. There was no blood coming from anywhere on the boy's body, except for a steady stream from the nose.

He coughed hard, and Rei amended her analysis. Now there was blood on the boy's shirt.

"You . . ." he said, looking through teary eyes. "You're from my school . . . from my class." Rei shrugged.

"Perhaps," she said evenly, watching his face. "You should lie still; there could be internal haemmoraging."

"You're . . . you're- Rei, aren't you?" he whezed, spitting through the blood. "Ayanami Rei." Rei nodded in the affirmative. The boy smiled through the pain.

"Never thought . . . I'd meet you like this," he said. "I've seen you in class . . you're always so quiet . . . but if it takes me getting-" He erupted into a large series of coughing, his body shaking and blood flecks spraying everywhere. A few landed on Rei's shirt; she barely batted an eyelid.

"-getting hit by a car . . to make us meet . . . then I guess it wasn't quite worth it . . ." he rasped. Rei stared blankly through her crimson eyes at this pale boy, who had come into her life in such a bizarre way. He would probably leave in the same fashion too; and soon.

Maya had walked around to the front of the car, and was gaping at the bonnet. There was an incredible dent in the front; she'd almost think she'd run into a steel telephone pole than a teenage boy. It wasn't possible! The damage was so severe that Maya wasn't sure the Bug would run; despite the upgraded thick steel bonnet. Ir just didn't seem possible that a fourteen or fifteen year old boy could have almost crippled a Bug going at seventy kilometres an hour. Maya glanced over at Rei and the boy, who seemed to be talking despite the severity of the situation.

The raven-haired woman managed to recover from her shock and had run over to the two teenagers.

"Rei, NERV isn't that far away. We can take him in my car; he should be alright, providing we keep him blindfolded," she said quickly. Rei turned to Maya.

"Are you certain of your idea, Miss Ibuki?" Rei said quietly. "You know the rules of NERV; Commander Ikari will not approve."

"But I can't just let him die!" Maya wailed. Rei looked back at the youth.

"He may die anyway," she said simply. The youth let out a gross chuckle, and shook his head weakly.

"I won't die today," he whispered. "I am important . . ." His next words were barely audible.

"Important . . . to Third Impact . . ."

IceBlade28: Boom! Cliffhanger!

Maya: That poor boy! How could you make me run over him!

IceBlade28 pats Maya on back There, there. It was necessary to the story. And just a little trivia: The part mentioning the soccer-playing boys on the netball courts . . . raises hand guilty.

Maya: You play soccer on the netball courts?

IceBlade28: It's not like there's ever any netball actually played on the netball courts! So we just commandeered them and now we play soccer on them.

Maya: Weird . . .

IceBlade28: Well, that's Tasmania for you. Now tell the nice readers about the next chapter.

Maya: Well, Asuka and Shinji catch up with Ritsuko, and the author fiddles around with the plot and adds extra twists to the Angel attack. Maya and Rei are in a race against time to save the life of this boy who has crashed no pun intended into their lives, and what happened to Maya's car? And what did the boy mean, important to Third Impact?

IceBlade28: Hope to see you all in the next chapter! Reviews are much appreciated!