Disclaimer: I don't own either of the shows in this 'fic. If you don't believe me, call my lawyer...Phoenix Wright, Attorney at Law.

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Having exchanged the proper greetings with his master, Shinji took the opportunity to look around the room surreptitiously. He was standing on a catwalk overlooking a vast pool of pink fluid. Off to his right was what looked like a gigantic door; to his left was an equally gigantic robot, a purple-armored monster that Shinji couldn't quite believe was real. Behind Gendo, for they had gotten turned around in the 'scuffle', Shinji could see Ritsuko and Misato staring with unmitigated shock.

Obviously his father hadn't shown off his martial arts skills for his employees.

Calling his master, the Undefeated of the East, 'father' was still something that Shinji was having trouble with. He had known the man for nearly his entire life without knowing their relationship...for some reason the old way seemed more comfortable to him, like a well-worn glove.

Gendo must have noticed his pupil's wandering attention, however, as the first words out of his mouth were said loudly and sharply, to cut through the mental fog: "How have you been, Shinji? I see I chose well when I named you my successor."

Shinji at least had the good grace to flush slightly at being caught so obviously. He bowed again. "I'm sorry, fath--master, my mind has been...troubled." He hadn't been directly chastised, at least, but his finely-tuned senses had no trouble detecting the faint note of disappointment in Gendo's voice. Either he had become much better recently, or his master had deliberately let that slip...ordinarily he couldn't detect /anything/ in his tone.

"There was a reason I never told you," Gendo began calmly, giving a faint sigh. Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by a low rumble from above. Ritsuko and Misato nearly stumbled...Gendo and Shinji, however, remained rooted to the ground as if their feet had been nailed down.

"Sir!" An unfamiliar voice rang out in the silence that followed. "The Angel has resumed its attack! It's approaching Entry A!"

Gendo turned to look over his shoulder. A young man in a NERV uniform was standing on the observation platform that he had previously leapt from. "Calm down! The pilot is here. Send Rei back to the infirmary and have Unit 01 prepped for launch." The man saluted upon receiving his orders from Gendo and dashed off to complete them.

This left Shinji thoroughly confused. "Pilot?" Though he was quite an intelligent boy, he felt like nearly half an hour's worth of knowledge had just been crammed into his head in the last five minutes. The best he could do was blink owlishly as his brain struggled to come to the obvious conclusion: "You don't mean..." He could feel his hand coming up to point at himself without any input on his part.

"That's right!" Gendo said as he turned around to face Shinji once more. "Not just anyone can pilot this Evangelion...only certain people can even get inside, and only a student of the School of the Undefeated of the East could possibly use it to its full potential!" Shinji noted with some amusement that as he was saying this, his master had raised his hand into the air and clenched it into a fist...he doubted that Gendo even knew he did that when he was delivering a particularly fiery speech.

Shinji had to admit that the knowledge this was something only he could do was heartening, but he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that there was something off about the whole thing. Giant robots? Monsters? He glanced over at the polished face of Unit 01, and then back at his master. "But, master, I..." He trailed off as he heard a flurry of motion in the distance, his eyes widening slightly as he looked over Gendo's shoulder.

"There's no time for this, Shinji! The Angel will--" Gendo apparently saw the look of surprise on his pupil's face, as he whirled around to investigate. What looked like a cocoon wearing a blue wig was rolled into the area on a gurney...to his horror, Shinji realized that it was a person. "What are you fools doing?!" his master roared, jabbing his finger accusingly. "Didn't you hear my orders? Get Rei out of here!"

The nurses manning the gurney shared a confused look; apparently they hadn't gotten the order. There was another rumble, a louder one this time. The lights overhead flickered briefly, and the impact was strong enough to throw the person in the gurney to the floor with an agonized cry. A girl's cry, a part of Shinji noted dispassionately.

Then there was a loud crack, and Shinji could see movement coming from the ceiling. He crossed the room in the blink of an eye, throwing himself over Rei's body heroically...but he could see that the debris that had fallen from the roof was more than enough to crush even him into a bloody mess, and it was fast...so fast...

Out of options, Shinji did the only thing he could. He closed his eyes to block out the outside world, and he let out a loud cry of anger and denial. It wouldn't end like this! It couldn't!

Because his eyes were closed, he never noticed the crest on his hand beginning to glow. Nor did he notice the eyes of Unit 01 light up in time with the crest.

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When he heard the inevitable crash, it took Shinji a moment to realize that he wasn't dead. At first he thought he had been saved by the Undefeated of the East...it wouldn't be the first time his master had saved him after he'd gotten in over his head. Then he saw his master come to a halt next to him, and heard him ask "Are you okay?"

His master hadn't been in time. Shinji should have been dead. He glanced down at his right hand...on the back of his wrist he could see the familiar emblem, the red-lined black heart with twin swords crossed before it. Beneath the swords was an unfurled scroll that identified the bearer as the King of Hearts.

Looking up, Shinji started as he noticed the massive purple-armored hand of the Evangelion looming overhead. Somehow the machine had protected him and Rei...that's right, Rei!

Briefly embarrassed at not thinking of her first, Shinji looked down at the girl he had attempted to rescue. Her skin was deathly pale, and her short blue hair was matted with sweat. She was wearing an odd rubber suit of some kind, and her body was covered in gauze and bandages. If it weren't for the fact that her body was spasming in obvious agony Shinji could easily have believed she was dead. "I'm fine," he responded distractedly to his sensei, before continuing: "Hey, Rei was it? Rei, are you okay?"

He felt vaguely stupid for asking. Obviously she wasn't. But as the girl opened her one unbandaged eye and fixed her red-hued gaze on him, Shinji couldn't detect any irritation from her...he couldn't detect /anything/. Only his master was that good at hiding his intent, and that was a disquieting thought. "I'm...fine," she managed to grit out, her voice hoarse with pain. Other than that her voice was unusually flat.

The nurses who had brought Rei seemed to find their feet at this point, and were quick to help Shinji get her back on the gurney (even if he didn't really need their help). They then hurried off back to safety. Shinji thought he had replied "I'm glad" too quietly to be heard over the bustle, but Rei's sudden sharp look in his direction hinted otherwise. She stared at him as she was wheeled off, until the doors closed behind her.

Squaring his shoulders, Shinji turned to face his master. "I'll do it. I'll show the Angel the power of our school, so that nobody else has to suffer like that!"

Gendo smiled, for he knew in that instant above all others that he had chosen his successor well. He couldn't see it from this angle, and he doubted his pupil could either, but he knew that on the back of Unit 01's hand, a glowing crest matching Shinji's had appeared.

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Getting inside the Evangelion was almost enough to make Shinji reconsider his offer. The Entry Plug that he was in had seemed like an ordinary enough cockpit...but when it was inserted into the Eva, the controls receded and he was instead forced to stand upon a platform surrounded by monitors that gave him a near 360-degree view of the area around Unit 01. The only gap was a band near the middle, where a metal ring held all the computers and other hardware, as well as the floor and ceiling.

Small clips in his hair were, he was told, intended to transfer nerve impulses to the machine...he was also told that in the future, he would be given a 'plugsuit' that would improve the connection. All he had to do was move his body as he normally did, and the robot would mimic his moves.

Nobody told him it was going to start filling with liquid, however. Whatever it was, it was amber in color and had a particularly foul odor.

Shinji started to get a little worried when it got to neck level and kept rising.

"H-hey! Are you guys trying to drown me or what?!"

A message window appeared in front of Shinji. Ritsuko's face took up the window, and she had that familiar bemused look on her face. "Don't worry, it's LCL." Shinji's face must have betrayed his confusion, because Ritsuko continued after a brief pause. "It'll oxygenate your blood. It's also shock- and heat-resistant. Just take a deep breath and you'll be fine." Then the transmission ended.

Shinji did as he was told, mostly because he had no choice in the matter...the liquid level had just shot over his head, and he could only hold his breath for so long. So he released the breath he had been holding, and took in a lungful of 'sweet' LCL. It tasted about as good as it smelled, which is to say, horrible. It reminded him uncomfortably of blood.

He was so focused on the LCL that when Unit 01 came to a stop, Shinji hadn't even noticed it was moving. He was starting to get a little irritated with himself for spacing out...he wasn't about to let that happen in the middle of a fight. He looked around, and the view on the monitors shifted in near-perfect synchronization.

Another message window appeared, this time with Misato. "Listen, Shinji. Using the Eva isn't too much different from moving normally...I'm told you're the best, so I'm expecting good things from you, okay?" She punctuated the question with a not-entirely-professional wink. Shinji nodded his assent. "Alright! Launch!"

There was a faint 'click' at Shinji's feet, and then he felt himself pushed down by gravity as Unit 01 was launched to the surface. It was a testament to his training that his knees didn't even bend under the strain.

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Unit 01 came up to the surface uncomfortably close to the Angel. It was fortunate for Shinji that Sachiel was busy attempting to burrow into the Geo-Front below and hadn't been paying much attention to its surroundings.

This gave Shinji a moment to analyze his opponent as it turned about, ponderously, to face him. The creature was even uglier now that he had a chance to see it 'up close'...its black flesh was mottled and burnt from the N2 mine attack, and it had somehow sprouted a second bony mask on its chest, giving Shinji no clear idea of where it was looking. Its arms had nasty-looking spikes protruding from the elbows, and it had what looked like armor plating on its shoulders.

"Shinji? Are you ready?"

Misato's voice almost caused Shinji to start. The moment when two fighters have acknowledged each other, but have yet to fight...it's an oddly peaceful moment. He hadn't expected the interruption. "Everything's fine," he responded automatically.

He felt a slight pressure on his shoulders let up as Misato's voice rang out: "Release the final safety lock! Evangelion Unit 01, lift off!" Shinji took that as his cue to begin. All he really knew about Unit 01 at the moment was that it was powered by an external power cable, currently attached to the elevator he came up in...other than that he was free to proceed as normal.

With a shout to raise his fighting spirit, Shinji charged. To his surprise, however, the Angel held out its hand as if to block...and the spike from its elbow shot through its forearm and out through its palm at a speed Shinji could scarcely have imagined.

He braced himself for the impact, and took a half-step back...the pile-driver struck Unit 01 right in the face, but merely threw its head back rather than knocking it off. Shinji felt a sudden sharp pain in his own face, and shook his head to try and clear the unusual sensation. "It's only feedback, Shinji! You're fine!" he heard Ritsuko shout, but he scarcely heard her. He was entirely focused on his opponent now. As he watched, the spike retracted back through the Angel's arm and into its original position.

Unit 01 shot back to its feet at Shinji's command, flexing its fingers as if daring Sachiel to make the first move. The Angel made a big mistake by attempting another blow with the pile-driver...Shinji was prepared for the move this time, and the spike flew wide. He took advantage of the opening by taking a quick half-step forward, balling his hand into a fist, and punching at the target.

The Evangelion mimicked the move, catching Sachiel in one of its chins with such force that the bony spur cracked. The Angel's arms flailed wildly as it fell back into a nearby building, catching Unit 01 in the side of the head with its claws as it passed. In the cockpit, Shinji frowned...the LCL was slowing his movements slightly, and the Eva was responding to them somewhat sluggishly as well. It was a matter of milliseconds, but it was still throwing off his timing.

"Well...I guess I'll just have to finish you quickly!"

With that said he stepped forward, interlocking his fists and attempting to bring them down on the Angel's head as it rose out of the building he had smashed it into. This time it was Shinji's turn to be knocked away, as his fists bounced off a hexagonal orange barrier meters before they touched the enemy.

Shinji vaguely heard someone on the bridge exclaim something about an "AT Field". He didn't quite know what that was, but managed to push off of the skyscraper before smashing through it. His fists still left a huge hole in the structure, but it beat completely leveling it.

"Shinji." The message window appeared out of Shinji's field of view (so he wouldn't be distracted), but he recognized the voice of his father. "That technique I forbade you from using? Use it on the Angel. It's the only way you can defeat it."

"Father?" Shinji raised his arms to block an energy blast from the Angel; the armor on Unit 01's forearms was more than sufficient to defray the half-hearted blast. "Are you sure?"

He almost thought he detected a note of amusement in his master's voice as Gendo replied: "You have been practicing it, haven't you?" Then he ended the transmission, leaving Shinji to fight on his own terms. Shinji took a step back to give himself the appropriate amount of space, and did his best to ignore the compact car he flattened in the process.

"Okay! That punch of yours is really something...but let's see how it matches up against these fingers!" Shinji clenched his right hand into a fist, holding it up into the air as Unit 01 repeated the gesture. The crest of the King of Hearts appeared on his hand, and with a flash of light it appeared on the Evangelion's as well. Unit 01 surged forward, holding its right hand at its side with its fingers spread wide.

Sachiel attempted to interrupt the charge by raising its hand and firing its pile-driver. Had Shinji continued he would have run right into the spike, but it never got the chance to reach him. His hand began to glow with an eerie yellow light, and a similar glow burst from the fingertips of Unit 01 before engulfing its entire right hand. Shinji thrust his hand out before him, and as it came into contact with Sachiel's weapon, the spike disappeared as it ground against the energy field surrounding Unit 01's hand and was vaporized.

"Here I go! SHINING...FINGER!"

Unit 01's hand didn't stop with the pile-driver. It continued on through Sachiel's forearm, completely obliterating it, before smashing into the Angel's chest and coming to rest with its core in the Evangelion's grasp. The monster froze as if in shock. Perhaps it couldn't believe that it was being defeated by a Lilim. Perhaps it was in too much pain.

The creature's thoughts were ultimately rendered moot, however. With a cry of "Heat End!", Shinji squeezed his open hand into a fist. Unit 01 followed, crushing the Angel's core into fragments before pulling free.

The Angel keeled over as if in slow motion. Its body had scarcely hit the ground before it suddenly exploded into a gigantic column of fire, vaporizing every building in a three block radius and destroying most of the cameras NERV were using to monitor the battle.

Shinji felt himself flying through the air once more. There was a loud 'crack!', and he felt a liquid that wasn't LCL oozing out of the back of his head before the darkness overtook him.

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There was chaos on the bridge as the NERV staff frantically tried to regain contact with Unit 01 and Shinji. Above it all, Gendo and his sub-commander Kozo Fuyutsuki sat stoically, observing the entire scene.

Finally, one of the technicians looked up and reported: "Backup sensors in district 3A are on-line! We have a visual!"

The previous tense air on the bridge instantly dissipated as the camera showed Unit 01, wedged into a building yet unmoving. Several technicians let out excited cheers before remembering their decorum, and Captain Katsuragi went so far as to hug Ritsuko before scurrying to contact their pilot.

The mood turned more serious when they got no response.

Fuyutsuki allowed himself a glance at his superior. "You taught him /that/ move, Undefeated of the East? You know the old men are unhappy as it is." The rest of the bridge crew were far too distracted to eavesdrop, thankfully.

Gendo's elbows were on the desk before him, his gloved hands blocking his mouth from view in his usual style. But he was smiling a faint, satisfied smile. "They'll manage. It's what the Shuffle Alliance does best, after all, isn't it?"

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A/N: I'm not going to get into the habit of responding to reviews because that's lame, but I figured you guys at least deserved a blanket description of where I'm going with this.

1) This story takes place in the world of Neon Genesis Evangelion. It's basically EVA cast through a certain filter. So while there may be certain familiar elements, there are no mobile suits or mobile fighters in this world, nor will Domon and crew be stopping by. Picture this as a giant-sized issue of 'What If?'. You will, however, notice that the Entry Plug is different in this story...

2) ...no, this isn't going to be a harem 'fic. Sorry.

3) There is, indeed, a terrible monster that the heroes will have to face in the end. Is it a devil? Is it a saint?

Starting next chapter, my Author's Notes will exclusively be used for data on things that have changed.