Author's Note: I would just like to remind everyone that as Second Impact occurred in the year 2000, anything that happened in the real world after that did not happen in the world of Evangelion, or in the world of this story. And, of course, we know from Evangelion that the UN is somewhat different in their world than in ours.

At World's End

S-Michael

Chapter the Third

The Eighteenth Angel

The next angel attack was big news. For one thing, it was confirmation of what Kowaru had said. For another, it was nowhere near Japan. Misato had only turned the television on by force of habit, but now she and Shinji were glued to the couch.

"It seems that the question as to Tabris' honesty has been answered, as something that seems to be another angel commenced an attack on the city of Kabul in Afghanistan at six hundred hours this morning, Japanese standard time," the female anchor said. "So far, the Talliban are refusing all offers of UN assistance. Here with a response is HALO chief Jose Valaskas, from Chile."

Then it was the surprisingly blonde HALO chief on the air, sitting at a desk somewhere in Chile in a suspiciously Gendo-like pose. "I regret the decision that Afghanistan made in this instance, but, unfortunately, there is nothing we can do about it, as Afghanistan is a sovereign nation which does not owe allegiance to the UN. Unfortunately, the UN does not have the legal authority to compel membership, in spite of the best efforts of some noble ambassadors. I have issued an order for the Evangelions, their pilots, and assorted personnel to be moved to Pakistan so that they're ready for use, if Afghanistan should change its mind or if…more extreme action should have to be taken."

Something seemed familiar about the thickly American accented dub… "Hey, that's Browne's voice," Misato realized.

"I don't get it…why won't they take our help?" Shinji asked.

"Well, if you want UN aid, you have to abide by UN law, which means things like democracy, equal rights for women, minimum wages, freedom of religion, and other things the Taliban don't want any part of," Misato said.

The phone rang, and Shinji picked it up. "Hello?"

"Is this Shinji Ikari?"

"Yes."

"And is Misato Katsuragi with you?"

"Yes." Where else would she be? We're under house arrest.

"Protective quarantine has been lifted. You—"

"That's good." He hung up.

"Let me guess…we're no longer under house arrest," Misato said. Shinji nodded. "Well, there were no prizes for guessing that one," she commented.

I'll give you a prize. Shinji tried to make the suggestive comment, but couldn't bring himself to do so. After about five seconds of internal struggle, he gave up.

"So, now that we're free, what should we do?"

Shinji, who was all in favor of doing what they had been doing for the last week, shrugged.

"Let's go visit Asuka in the hospital."

"We are overdue," Shinji agreed.

-

They walked into the hospital room, but someone was already there. "What are you doing here?" Misato demanded.

Browne held up a hand to silence her without looking up. He was staring unblinkingly at Asuka's face. "Waiting."

"Waiting for what?" Misato asked.

"REM. No one here knows what caused this coma, apart from the blindingly obvious part, but after reading her file, I have a theory…" Browne trailed off in the middle of his explanation.

"How long have you been waiting?" Shinji asked.

"Too long. But we need all the Eva pilots we have, to fight the angels…"

Misato nodded. Browne held up his hand preemptively, and then went around the bed, and whispered something in Asuka's ear. Then he stood, stretched, cracked his back, and looked at his watch. "Damn! I've been here since five!" Browne left the room at a fast walk. Something about his last statement seemed a little off to Misato, but she couldn't put her finger on what, and it didn't seem like something he would lie about. She tried to figure it out for a few seconds, and then gave it up.

"Hey, Asuka. Sorry we didn't come back sooner, but we were under house arrest. We brought flowers," Misato said.

Shinji put the flowers on the table by Asuka's bed. "Hey, what do you think that was about?" he asked.

"I don't know. REM-sleep is when you dream, and they say that if you talk to someone who's dreaming, on some level they can hear you, though," Misato said.

Shinji nodded. "Whatever he said, it must have been important."

"Maybe. Then again, it's not like he had anything to lose trying," Misato said.

Shinji nodded. Rei came in.

"Hello, Rei," Misato said.

"Misato. Shinji." It was honestly impossible to tell if she were being cold or normal, Rei was just that unemotional. Shinji, however, was curter with his response, which in this case was something that just barely qualified as a nod, than was normal. Rei put a pale blue flower in a vase next to the flowers Misato and Shinji got. Misato noticed that it was the same color as the girl's hair.

"So, you hear that we're going to Pakistan?" Misato asked, making conversation.

"Yes," Rei said. That was it.

"That sucks. None of us speak any Arabic," Misato said.

"She does," Rei nodded at Asuka.

"Oh, yeah, that's right; Asuka is multilingual. She speaks German, Japanese, English, Arabic, and, uh, Mandarin, was it?" Neither Rei nor Shinji answered. Well, I've tried everything I could to engage them in conversation. Only thing left to do is… "I've got to go use the bathroom. Wait for me here." She left, hoping that, left to their own devices, they'd do something other than stand around in silence. With these two? Fat chance.

For two minutes, it seemed that that prediction would come true, but then Rei broke the silence. "I'm sorry," she said in her monotone.

Shinji looked at her, and then looked away. Then he was looking at Asuka when he said, "It's not your fault. You can't help being…what you are."

"Which part of what I am is it that drives you away from me? Is it the part that is an angel…or the part that is your mother?" This was downright talkative, for her.

Shinji didn't speak for what seemed like forever, but in reality wasn't longer than ten seconds. "The latter," he said finally.

"I see," she said.

Does she? Shinji wondered.

"At the risk of driving you farther away…" she kissed him on the cheek, and left the room, leaving Shinji wondering what the hell just happened. This is so fucked up. It was apparent, however, that she did understand that the reason that her having his mother's DNA disturbed him so was because he was attracted to her. The time between that moment and when Misato returned could have been a single second or it could have been forever.

"Rei's gone?" Misato asked. Shinji nodded. "Let's go, then."

-

Shinji had the aisle seat, and pulled his legs in so that Misato could get to the middle seat. Shinji heard a familiar voice. Could it be?

"I can walk perfectly fine on my own, damn it," Asuka scolded a concerned-looking physical therapist as she came on board. She made her way down the aisle, gripping the chairs on her left and right as she did so, until she came to where Shinji was. "Stop gawping at me and let me in, idiot."

"Right," Shinji said, pulling his legs under him so that she could get in.

"And don't stare at my ass," she said when her butt was about a foot in his face. Reaching her chair, she said, "Alright, what the hell is going on, Misato? What happened to NERV? Who are these new guys? Where's Kaji? Why are we going to Afghanistan?"

"Because the angel's in Afghanistan. And we're going to Pakistan, actually," Misato said.

"So those Taliban assholes think they can take care of the angel all by themselves?" Asuka snorted. "I hope it wipes them from the face of the Earth."

"Asuka! Don't root for the angel over your fellow human beings," Misato sort-of-scolded.

"These people are scum, Misato. Trust me," Asuka said. "So, anyway, what's with all of the new people? What happened to NERV? Or did it just get a makeover?"

"No, this is a whole new organization…" Shinji turned on his SDAT in order to not listen to Misato explain to Asuka everything that had happened while she was out.

Some parts, were a bit hard not to hear: "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, KAJI'S DEAD???"

-

They got off the airplane in Islamabad, which was about two hundred miles from Kabul, so if the Evas were going, it was going to be an air drop. Normally, pilots rode with their Evas, but as they weren't going to be able to use them right away, HALO figured that the pilots might as well travel like human beings (if flying coach could be considered "traveling like a human being"). Asuka had a sinking suspicion that they were waiting on her to recover, and she hated the idea. She did not like the idea of being weak. She especially did not like the idea of her weakness being rubbed into her face by people waiting on her.

She hailed a cab and they all hopped in. "The UN base," she said in Arabic. The cabbie briefly glanced at Shinji. "Hey, asshole, I'm the one who speaks your fucking language. Don't look at him; look at me. What do you think we are, his fucking harem?"

"Little girls shouldn't speak like that," the cabbie scolded patronizingly.

"Little girl??? I'm the pilot of Eva Unit 2. I've saved the world at least half a dozen times, while you're a pissant cab driver, so shut the fuck up!" Asuka retorted.

"Whatever you two are fighting about, stop. Lets hurry up and get to base camp so we can do nothing while the Afghanis throw their lives away against that monster," Misato snapped.

"Fine," Asuka said. "Just drive," she told the cabbie. She looked at her companions. "Hey, what's the deal here? You're almost in Misato's lap, Shinji."

"Uh…"

"What did you do to make it so that he doesn't even want to touch you, Rei?" Asuka asked. Was it just her, or did Misato and Shinji visibly relax? Interesting…

"I'm a clone of his mother and Lilith that Gendo Ikari created," Rei said.

And with that, Asuka forgot all about her previous train of thought. "No shit?"

"Yes." Rei said.

"This isn't your incredibly deficient idea of a joke, is it?" Asuka asked.

"No."

"I always knew you weren't normal, but…damn," Asuka said, shaking her head.

-

"He says he's an envoy from the Resistance," the interpreter told Browne. They were on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border, and a young Afghani man of about twenty had crossed it. "He says, the Resistance rejects the government's suicidal independence, that they want UN protection from these monsters."

"Tell him that I wish we could help, but there's nothing I can do at the moment," Browne said. The interpreter did so.

"He says, he doesn't understand," the interpreter said. "The UN has stepped into civil wars before. How is this any different?"

"Well, for one thing, we only have your word that this Resistance even exists, and for another, Whatever we do, it will undoubtedly involve the Evangelions, and even though their target will be the angel, they will have to defend themselves against…human enemies, and using them as a weapon against people…well, there's a legal nightmare waiting to happen," Browne explained through the interpreter.

"You care more about your…legal mumbo-jumbo than saving human lives? God damn you! You monster!"

Browne grimaced; those words had stung. The truth was, he was ultra sensitive to human suffering, and had never been one to care much about the rules (unless he got caught breaking them), but the sad reality of life was, sometimes you had to do what you had to do. "I wish I could help you," this was true. "I know a few good lawyers," this was also true. "I'm going to call them, and see if they can't find a loophole, or something that can justify us invading Afghanistan," this was false. As he turned away, before the interpreter could finish the statement and so he couldn't see the look on the young man's face, and as he walked away, he felt every bit the monster he had been accused of.

-

"Good news, Asuka, your sync ratios are almost normal and climbing. Congratulations, you're pilot material again," Ritsuko said.

"That's not good enough," Asuka said. "Let me try again. I can do better."

"Save some for the angel, Asuka," the scientist said.

"We won't be meeting that thing until it crosses the border. The Afghanis aren't going to give in," Asuka said with confidence.

"Are you sure?" Shinji asked.

"Of course I'm sure, Shinji!" Asuka snapped. Was she always this snappy, or did the coma change her? Shinji wondered again what magic words Browne had wispered in order to bring her back to the world of the living.

"Alright, we'll go again, Asuka," Ritsuko said. "Do you want to go again, too, Shinji?"

"No. I'd better go find Misato so I can find out where we're staying," he said. Also, it'll be the first time to ourselves we have had since leaving Tokyo 3. As much as he was glad that Asuka was back, he couldn't help be resentful of the fact that she was going to cut into his and Misato's alone-time. He exited the building. Theoretically, there were dorms, with electricity, heating, and air conditioning, but all the building space was being taken up by Eva equipment and supplies. The personnel had to sleep in tents.

"Wait, so the four of us are going to share a tent?" Misato asked.

"We don't exactly have a surplus of tents," a female HALO officer was saying.

"But…one of us is a boy," Misato protested.

"I fail to see how that'll be a problem, as long as you don't nude up," the other woman said matter-of-factly.

"Americans," Misato muttered.

"Actually, I'm Canadian."

"Whatever. Tell me, is anyone else going to be in a co-ed tent?"

"Probably not, but the pilots and their commander are an integral part of this operation. We want you in a convenient location. Now, take your tent and set it up over there."

Misato sighed, gathered a tent and four sleeping bags, and walked to the assigned location. "Hey, Shinji. Help me set this up." Shinji did as he was bid, and then they went in to unroll the sleeping bags. Misato zipped up the flap. "You know, Shinji, this will be our last chance to fuck for a while."

"Asuka could return at any minute," Shinji protested.

"I know," Misato said, undoing her pants. "That's what makes it so dangerous." She unzipped him, put the condom on for him, and then started to ride him. Shinji opened his mouth, and then she put her hand over it. "Shh. We can't make any noise; there's people all around us," she whispered. She continued to ride him until she climaxed, which caused him to climax…and then she was hit with a terrible realization. As she was getting off of him, she said, "Oh my god, you didn't enjoy that, did you?" The possibility of getting caught had been exhilarating for her, but for Shinji, it had just been scary. He had protested, or at least came as close as he ever did to protesting anything, but she hadn't listened. She had had her way with him, irresponsive to his intentions, and, in fact, in direct defiance of them, or in other words, she had had sex with him against his will. She had raped him. "I'm so sorry, Shinji."

Shinji considered taking the condom off, realized that there was no trash bin in here, and he did not relish the idea of walking through the camp with a handful of used condom. (At the very least, people would take notice.) He zipped himself up, planning on disposing of it soon in the bathroom, hoping that Misato's juices wouldn't stain his underwear. "It's alright," Shinji said.

Asuka came in. "What happened here? To look at you two, you'd think someone had died."

"I've got to use the bathroom," Shinji said, leaving.

"Why doesn't he ever stand up for himself?" Misato asked forlornly.

"I don't know. I'm not him," Asuka said. "Anyway, I hear that you, me, Rei, and Shinji are all bunking together. That's a load of shit."

After a moment, Misato nodded. "They want us where it's convenient, like putting your favorite food in the front of the refrigerator."

"Well, that's fucked up," Asuka said.

"Don't swear so much, Asuka; I am your guardian, after all," Misato said.

"Yeah, like you're a good role model," Asuka snorted.

"True," but they were thinking of different things.

-

Asuka woke up in the middle of the night three days later, and looked at her tent-mates. Rei was asleep with her arms and legs straight, and something about her posture reminded Asuka of Dracula in his coffin. Shinji was also asleep, but was clinging to Misato, almost on top of her, his face buried in her chest. Jeez, what a little pervert! She opened her mouth to say something, but Misato glared at her, and put an index finger to her lips. Asuka closed her mouth. After a second, she decided that Misato was right, and that she should cut Shinji a little slack, so she nodded. "I'm going to go get some water," she whispered. Misato nodded, and she left the tent, making sure to close the mosquito netting behind her.

She never made it to the water. An alarm went off, and everyone climbed out of their tents, in their underwear. Browne stood at the entrance to the compound. "Eva pilots, to me," he barked. "It's time for you to earn your keep."

Asuka jogged over, Rei and Shinji, who hadn't of been going in the opposite direction a few seconds ago, just walked. Misato followed. "Did the angel cross the border?" Asuka asked.

"No, we are invading Afghanistan. Just got the order ten minutes ago," Browne said. "We've practiced this scenario, so you know what to do, but I feel the need to reiterate, anyway: You'll be entering a three-way fight, with the angel on one side, the Afghani military on the other, and ourselves on the third. Now, I'm not going to tell you not to retaliate if and when the Afghans attack, but remember that your actual purpose is to take down the Angel. Let the UN security forces deal with the human enemy. Now, as you'll end up powering down in the middle of a war zone, do not leave the entry plug until after we have reclaimed your Evas. Remember the strategy we had for taking this monster down, and it should be a piece of cake. Now, suit up and get in your units."

-

Unit 00 was the first Eva to land. Rei landed in a defensive stance, drew her knife, and charged the angel. Her knife hit AT field, and then the angel grabbed her hands and started to grapple with her. Next, Unit 01 was dropped, but he landed bringing his heel down on the angel's head. The AT field weakened, but still held. The angel grabbed Shinji's foot and tossed him on his back. It lashed at him with another tentacle, and Shinji stabbed it with his blade. He made some headway, and ended up scraping it. But it wasn't enough. Then 02 was dropped. The angel tried to move out of the way, but it was being held taut by Shinji and Rei at either end of it's body. Asuka landed on it with the full force of her kinetic energy and then stabbed it besides, cutting open its core. The entire operation went exactly as in simulation, and lasted exactly 18.3 seconds.

"Congratulations! Now get the hell out of there to somewhere it will be easier to pick you up from," Misato said. The Evas fled to the east, making several miles before powering down, and having to hope that the UN peacekeeping forces could claim them before the Afghanis.

In mission control, Browne sat back in his chair, with his hands behind his head. Well, the angel was destroyed. Now for the hard part.