At World's End

S-Michael

Chapter the Fifth

The Far Side of the World

"This is going to suck," Browne murmured.

"Pardon?" Misato asked.

"I can't sleep on airplanes," he explained as they boarded the twenty-two hour flight. "It's partly the chairs, but mostly the noise of the people around me. I simply can't tune it out, try as I do to ignore people."

"Here," Shinji said, handing him his SDAT. "I recommend putting track 26 on infinite repeat."

"Thanks. Is it loud, fast, and barely intelligible?"

"Yup," Shinji said.

"Perfect. If the people to whom the language is native can barely understand it, I have no chance. It'll make excellent white noise," Browne said, heading for his seat.

"That was nice of you," Misato commented.

Shinji shrugged. "It's no big deal."

Shinji, Misato, and Asuka took their seats (window, middle, and aisle, respectively) and settled in for a long flight. Asuka did some mental calculations. It was now 6:00 PM in Japan; in twenty-two hours it would be 4:00 PM tomorrow in Japan. Their destination was eleven time zones east of Japan, thereabouts, so they should arrive at about 5:00 AM. They watched a couple of in-flight movies to kill time, ate dinner, watched another movie, and then tried to go to sleep. Asuka got up to use the bathroom, and noticed Browne talking to Kensuke in hushed tones. He was holding a globe that was at least fifteen years old (Asuka could tell the age, because the real Earth looked nothing like that anymore).

"…I'm not surprised you don't recognize this, but it is the Earth, believe it or not," Browne was saying holding it with his index fingers at the traditional locations of the poles. "The thing is that with Second Impact, this happened." He shifted the globe about forty five degrees, so that the north pole was now in the middle of Canada and the south pole was to what had been the southeast of Australia's southeast coast, about halfway between it and the shore of Antarctica. Japan was now at the equator, which was why it didn't have seasons any more. "Look familiar?"

"Sort of." Kensuke said.

"Well, I can hardly make swaths of land disappear, so you're going to have to pretend," Browne said. "Second Impact even reversed the planet's polarity. You know what polarity is, right?"

Kensuke nodded. "Magnetism flows out of the north pole and into the south."

"Well, before Second Impact, it used to be the other way around. That's why all compasses that are more than fifteen years old point in the wrong direction," Browne said. "My home was suddenly a thousand miles north of where it had been, and we had to get south before we all froze to death, but the problem was, the compasses were all pointing the wrong direction, and nobody realized that yet, so when we thought we were heading south, we were actually heading north…"

Asuka was sorry to end up out of earshot just as the story was just getting interesting, but she didn't want to look like a snoop. Post-SEELE, there was no tolerance for secrecy, and so there were news teams with them, both here and in Pakistan. She was actually surprised that Aida hadn't been in Pakistan, now that she thought about it, as he was training to be a cameraman on a news crew. There was only so much that a kid who wasn't an Eva pilot could cut school, she guessed.

Asuka used the bathroom, and then she headed back to her seat, passing the conversation yet again. "…stumbling into Lake Superior, and that was how we realized we were heading the wrong direction. But by that time, Chirac was behind us," Browne said.

"Chirac?"

"A would-be warlord. From Quebec, originally. There were a lot of them in North America at the time, until the United States government reasserted itself and stamped them out," Browne said.

"So now we had to turn around and go south, which, like I said, the compasses were calling north, and somehow manage to do it without being caught and enslaved by that goddamn frog," Browne said, looking haunted. He sighed. "We didn't make it. Chirac 'conscripted' us into work gangs. The men, at least. The women, he…well, it's best not to think about. We rebelled, eventually…"

Asuka was once again out of earshot, and returned to her seat. She looked at her companions. Shinji was asleep, and Misato was just sort of gazing at him. After watching her watch Shinji for a while, she gave up trying to guess and asked, "What is it?"

Misato jumped. "Huh?"

"You were staring at Shinji," Asuka said.

"Oh," Misato said. And didn't elaborate.

"Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Well, why were you staring at Shinji," Asuka asked.

"Oh, I was just thinking about stuff," Misato said vaguely. She yawned, and put on a sleeping mask and earplugs. At times like these, Asuka felt sure that they had a secret that she wasn't a part of, and it irritated her. She sighed; well, she wasn't going to get anything else out of Misato, short of using excessive force. She went to sleep herself, waking up in time for breakfast.

She reread the report about the nineteenth angel. It had been spotted in the pacific by HALO's newest experimental satellite, and was headed for Chile, specifically, Santiago 2. Santiago 2 was the home of HALO's main branch, she remembered, which specialized in something to do with angels, she hadn't been paying attention when she was told. Too busy dealing with the real angels. She'd ask somebody after they land. Analysis showed that it looked a lot like Sachiel, the angel Shinji fought his first day on the job. Estimates said that it would take the angel until 11:30 PM Chilean time to reach Santiago 2, when factoring in things like how steeply the South American coast jutted towards the bottom of the ocean, etcetera. They were to stay on Japan time so as to avoid jetlag. Besides, that was more convenient, anyway, as the time they were scheduled to fight the angel was about half past noon by their watch.

A couple of bad movies, lunch, and another bad movie later, they had landed. When they got out of the plane, it was false dawn, which was eerie, as her internal clock was saying that it was afternoon. The natives looked like they just got out of bed, and she couldn't blame them. It was probably a lot earlier than they were used to getting up.

"Eva pilots," one said in broken Japanese. "With me. Eva pilots with me." They did as they were bid. Asuka already knew what was going to happen. They were to train in the scenario until 9AM local time (10PM Japanese), then sleep, then they were going to get up at five, and then train some more. Hopefully, the Evas would arrive before the angel did, because otherwise they were all dead.

-

"Hey, this is kind of boring," Browne told Kensuke, who was filming the sync test. "How about I give you the grand tour?"

"Are you sure that that's okay?" Kensuke asked.

"Sure," Browne smiled. "After what SEELE did, there's no such thing as 'top secret' anymore. Besides, we love to brag about what we do here."

"That sounds great," Kensuke said.

"Follow me then. Let's start with the most showy and impressive of our projects," Brown said as he walked into the elevator. He swiped an ID card and started to punch a number. He paused before touching the first numeral. "Turn the camera away; this part is secret." Kensuke lowered the camera as Browne punched the code, and then resumed filming when he had finished. "We're headed for the top floor."

"Isn't that…?"

"Oh, so then you've heard of our satellite program," Browne said. The door opened, and Kensuke's jaw dropped.

"That's…that's…"

"Sahaquiel? No, not quite," Browne said. "You see, while dozens of other organizations were vying for control of what was left of NERV, we took the bodies of the angels to study, and this is the crowning achievement of our research. Or it will be. You see, once we get it into space...well, just imagine it. Imagine another Sahaquiel in orbit, except that this one, we control, and when an angel decides to terrorize humanity again, we can use one of its unique AT-Field bearing 'missiles' to smash the menace. We think we even know how it got into space in the first place."

"How it got into space?" Kensuke asked.

"Well, someone would have noticed if there was this big fucking…thing in low-earth orbit for fifteen years," Browne said sensibly. "We think it came from Canada, originally, and that it rode the north pole's magnetism out. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that its flesh seems receptive to magnetism. Can you imagine what that would mean if we can harness this? A cheap, ecologically friendly way to send shit into space!"

" 'Send shit into space'?" Kensuke asked dryly.

"Okay, so those aren't the words that the scientists working on it would use, bite me," Browne said. "The point is, this is revolutionary. No more spending millions of dollars—or however many yen that is—to send satellites into space. The space race is going to go commercial, and before you know it, there will be cities on the moon and shit." It was easy to see that this subject excited him.

"Cities on the moon?" Kensuke asked.

"Well, resorts. I doubt anyone would want to live on the moon full-time," Browne conceded. "Mines, too, though. You know how it is. The point is, once we're in space, there is no stopping us as a species."

"Wars, too, though," Kensuke said. "With all the world's nations staking claims to parts of the solar system, there will be wars.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah. There is that. Well, look on the bright side, with Unification looming, we're probably be one united people when we start to expand into space for real," Browne said.

"People will never agree to Unification," Kensuke said.

"Yeah, people can be stubborn dicks sometimes. Hell, most of the time. A wise man once said that the only thing that could unify humanity was a threat from the stars…but what do you think the angels are?" Browne said. "We will unify as a species. I know we will. Because, if we don't, we will die."

"Has anyone ever told you you're an optimist?"

Browne smirked to himself. "Never. In fact, I'm often accused of the opposite." He gazed at the Frankenstein's-Monster version of Sahaquiel again. "You know, it looks the most like the tenth angel, but it's composed of parts from others, as well. Ramiel's AT-Field, for example."

"That's the pyramid-looking one, right?"

"The octahedron, yes," Browne said. "We wanted to make this weapon as powerful as humanly possible. After all, we can't have an angle be limping away after being attacked by this thing. We want to kill it."

"Anything of Arael in it? I mean, it is a space monster of some sort."

"Arael's body is still in space. But once we retrieve it, we'll see what we can do. Also, I think the Lance of Longinus actually landed on the moon somewhere, so that's worth looking into," Browne said. "Anyway, if you'll come with me, I'll show you our research with the S2 engines, and where we're training chimps to see if they can be Eva pilots…"

-

It was only ten o'clock at night (Japanese time), but a day of training had exhausted the Eva pilots, so they weren't listening when Ritsuko congratulated them on the good jobs they did. They were driven to their apartment (somehow Misato, Shinji, and Asuka were all roommates here, too), which had its windows covered with heavy drapes so that they could sleep in spite of the fact that it was the middle of the day, ate some ramen (which tasted like crap, because Misato, being the least tired of the three, had cooked it), and crashed. There were two beds. Shinji got one, the females got the other. Asuka would have complained, but any other way you did it, someone was on the floor or in bed with Shinji. Besides, she was too tired to complain. And then it turned out that she was too tired to sleep! Fucking a, can you believe that? Some higher being up there was a real bastard, and she hoped he could feel her scorn.

After about twenty minutes, Misato got out of bed. Asuka cracked her eye open, and saw in the dim light that permeated into the room in spite of the heavy curtains that she was going over to Shinji's bed. What the hell? Misato bent over and—was she kissing him??? She was. She was kissing him. Misato was kissing Shinji. She got on top of him, and then she pulled out of the kiss. "Do you want to do this, Shinji? Yes or no?" she whispered. After a few moments, Shinji nodded. "There's no shame in wanting to wait until Asuka's not in the room, you know."

"I know. It's alright. Let's do this," Shinji whispered. Misato kissed him, and then hopped under the covers. Shinji reached for his discarded pants and pulled out—was that a condom? Misato was busy under the covers, presumably removing their undergarments. Asuka could not believe what she was seeing.

"Hey, Shinji, what position do you want to do it in?"

"You decide."

"Nah, lets mix it up a little. I want you to choose."

Shinji thought. "Reverse missionary."

"Our usual, then."

"I'm not very daring."

"Why don't you try being on top?"

"…I don't like being on top."

"How do you know? You've never tried it."

"Do you want me on top?"

"I think it's worth a try."

"Alright, then."

They shifted their positions, and though the blanket obstructed Asuka's view, she could tell from the bulges that Misato's legs were wrapped around Shinji's torso as he pumped. He went at it for an impressive amount of time, and even from a few feet's distance in very low light, Asuka thought she saw him sweating, and Misato was biting her lip to keep from making noises.

On that first night back in Pakistan, Asuka had noticed a faint odor in the tent they had shared. She had filed it away and forgotten about it, not recognizing it. Now she smelled it again, and this time she knew what it was. The smell of sex. More specifically, the smell of Misato and Shinji's sex.

Shinji collapsed on top of Misato. "Well?" Misato asked.

"I still prefer you on top," Shinji said.

Misato smiled at him. "I don't doubt it." She sighed. "As much as I don't want you to move, or pull out, I'd better get back to Asuka's bed so she won't suspect anything when she wakes up. And you'd better flush that condom."

Shinji nodded, getting up, and Asuka was treated to a full front and back view of him. She hadn't meant to be looking, she just…hadn't looked away in time. Hadn't realized the danger, as it were. Misato put on her nightshirt and panties. The toilet flush, and Shinji came back into the room, more naked than before. Misato kissed him, and then went and laid down next to Asuka. Who was having a harder time getting to sleep than before.

-

Misato woke up in a good mood, as she usually did after having sex with Shinji. While half-asleep, Misato mistaked the warm spot next to her for Shinji and almost groped Asuka, but then she got out of bed, showered, dressed, and entered the main room to find Shinji cooking. Looking at the bed to make sure Asuka was still asleep, she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him, resting her chin on the top of his head. It was the simple pleasures in life that made it worth living.

She was remembering the feel of his body on top of hers, after the sex. She had had many men in that position, and usually they had to get off soon, but Shinji was light. Really light. Almost alarmingly light. She could have let him lay there all night. Except that they couldn't be caught like that by Asuka in the morning. Shinji

They were almost done with breakfast when Asuka awoke half-dead and scarfed down her cooling breakfast. "Give me coffee."

"You don't drink coffee," Misato said.

"Yeah, well, now's as good a time as any to start," Asuka said. Shinji poured a cup and handed it to her. "A regular domestic goddess, aren't you?"

"ASUKA!" Misato said.

"Sorry, I'm just a little cranky this morning. Had a hard time getting to sleep last night. And the show you two put on didn't help, either." Asuka sipped at her coffee in direct defiance of the horrified stared the room's other two occupants were giving her. She made a face. "Blech! How can you grown-ups drink this stuff?"

"It's an acquired taste," Misato said absently. "What do you mean…the show we put on?"

"You know. Statutory Rape Theater. Honestly, Misato, what the fuck? If I had known you were into teenagers, I would have mentioned something when Toji and Kensuke offered," Asuka scolded.

"It's not like that," Misato said.

"So you're in love, are you? How touching, except that it's Shinji, and we both know that he has all of the force of will of a bowl of oatmeal," Asuka said. "So, Shinji, did she coerce you into this? What am I saying? She didn't need to. You're the good boy, who wouldn't think of disobeying orders."

"Actually, I initiated," Shinji said.

Asuka snorted. "Will wonders never cease?"

"Enough, Asuka," Misato commanded, punching the table. "Yes, Shinji and I are lovers. Believe it or not, I actually love him and am not trying to take advantage of him," she hoped this was true. "So, are you going to rat us out?"

"Not just yet. But before you get your hopes up, it's just because I realize I'm too cranky and pissed off at you to make an objective decision right now," Asuka said. "We will talk about this later."

-

11:30 in Chile. The nineteenth angel was making its way up the mountainside towards Santiago 2.Three Evas stood to block its way. They opened fire on the monster. AT-Field. Well, that was to be expected. Then the thing lifted it's "head" towards the sky and let loose a vaguely coyote-like howl. Rei's gun went to the left momentarily, spraying bullets uselessly.

"Rei, are you alright?" Misato asked.

"I'm fine, I just…felt a little queasy for a moment there," Rei said.

"Good, because its time to get serious," Misato said, making a mental note to send Rei to the doctor as soon as their lives weren't all in immediate mortal peril.

"Yes, ma'am," Rei said. She dropped her gun, and so did the other Evas. Rei charged.

They had a plan, a plan that they had trained for all morning. A plan they had trained for all last night. Rei would hold it. Shinji would force the AT-Field to weaken. Asuka would gut the thing. Alright, "gut the thing" wasn't word-for-word what she was ordered to do, but it was what she was going to do, more to prove that she could than out of absolute necessity. The stupid thing carried its core on its chest, exposed to all the world, after all.

It howled again, and Unit 00 let go of it, dropping to its knees clutching its hands to its ears in a pantomime of its pilot. This was not part of the plan.