A/N: Well I definitely feel glad to be back in the game. With 72 up, I feel like a great weight has been taken off my back. Let's keep the ball rolling! Our heroes need to be prepared!

Sometimes, the very thing you consider your greatest asset is also your greatest burden.

NERV Berlin

"What? Are you kidding me?" Misato shouted at NERV Berlin's latest guest: Russian General Sergei Berezov. She was not pleased at all by his revelation. "How in the world can someone under any circumstance have a perfect sync ratio all the time every time?"

"I apologize Major," Sergei responded. "But I do not lie. I don't know how it happened or what Topolov discovered. But I can confirm beyond a reasonable doubt that Vladimir while in EVA always has a perfect sync ratio."

They were all in a meeting room in NERV Berlin. The parties present consisted of Sergei Berezov, Misato, Ritsuko Akagi, her assistant Maya Ibuki, Commander Joachim Henkel, and the four EVA pilots: Zack, Ivana, Rei, and Elly. Sergei had just revealed what had likely been the secret behind Vladimir's power. The likely explanation for Vladimir's combat superiority had been that from the start of the fight to the end of it was that for reasons not even Sergei could explain, Vladimir always had a perfect 100 sync ratio which made his EVA faster, stronger, and above all more powerful.

"So, you were saying he had our number right off the get-go and he was destined to kick our capitalist asses?" Zack chimed in.

"That apparently is correct," said Sergei. "But on the positive note, you kids now know at the very least that your opponent will always be more powerful than you. But just because something is more powerful, does not mean it is invincible."

"Oh that's just fabulous," Elly put in. "So in six or so days, we're gonna become bowling pins for a teenage nutcase who probably got rejected too many times."

"Don't be so pessimistic Elly," Misato countered. "General Berezov here is the one who trained Vladimir and taught him everything he knows. And I can bet that he will be willing to teach you everything he knows." Misato looked at Sergei, "Would you teach these kids? We could definitely appreciate any assistance you can offer."

"Ma'am, I came here with the intention of stopping my former student," Sergei answered. "He has become drunk on his power and ambition, and it's moulded him into a psychopath. Yes I will do my absolute best to prepare these kids for what they will have to face."

Joachim allowed himself a smile. "Hmm, then that will increase our fortunes somewhat. Anything you can do to improve our odds of stopping Topolov and saving the world would be greatly appreciated Sergei."

"Then I guess we have a lot of work to do, and very little time to do it." Sergei stood up. "Alright kids, we meet back in the training room within the hour. I'll see you all there." And with that, Berezov had left the boardroom.

"In the meantime, Maya and I will look over the data on Unit 10," said Ritsuko. "There may be something in the data that we don't know about that may reveal a weakness." Ritsuko took one look at the pilots. "Train hard kids, we're counting on you." She then followed Maya out of the room.

Misato then took charge and gave the kids their instructions. "All right, you four can rest for an hour, and then you're to meet back in the training room. Like Rits here, we're all counting on you and we believe in you. You're dismissed."

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Still catching her breath from the earlier experience she had to deal with, Asuka waited patiently with Lilith for Shinji and Kaworu to return. But her patience was unfortunately going to be running thin quickly. "Come on. How much longer is this going to take?" she asked no one in particular.

"It will take as long as it needs to take," Lilith decided to answer. "Perhaps it would do you some good to have faith in your love."

"I do obviously," Asuka countered right back. "But even for a guy he's sure taking a while. Well this IS Shinji we're talking about. So maybe it's understandable to some extent." She sat down on the clouded surface with a sigh. "Being dead is boring. There's nothing to do up here."

A flash of light caught the German girl's attention. To her relief, ten feet in front of her was the two people she was waiting for to appear: Kaworu and Shinji. "About time you got back," Asuka said to Shinji as she now stood back up.

"Sorry."

"Hey, just because you're dead doesn't mean you get to apologize like crazy. You'll drive me nuts." Asuka turned to Kaworu. "So now what do we do now that we've passed our tests? Do we sit tight until we're called upon?"

"That is the case," Kaworu stated. "In approximately six of your days, the time will be for you to return and carry out what needs to be done. In the meantime, enjoy what the Kingdom of Heaven has to offer you. If you're curious as how to explore, just imagine where you want to be, and that shall be done. For now, farewell." With that, he and Lilith faded out of sight.

"So, what do we do then Asuka?" Shinji wondered as the two stood alone on the open plains. "We've got six days to do whatever."

"Well then Shinji, maybe they got something to eat up here perhaps," Asuka wondered. "Do dead people even get hungry though?"

"We can probably eat as much as we want I would assume," Shinji put in. "I doubt eating like a glutton would really affect us since we don't really have bodies anymore." He bowed his head down at the thought. "It's been about a day and a half since we died. Our bodies are probably beyond use by now, let alone if they haven't been cremated already."

"Well instead of being so pessimistic, why not try being optimistic, and see if this place has anything to eat!" Asuka grabbed Shinji's hand. "Now like Fruityboy said, let's imagine a place to eat and we should find one."

Both of them closed their eyes and tried to imagine a high class restaurant where the highest quality food and beverages would be provided. When they opened their eyes, they quickly realized what Kaworu had said was true. In front of the two pilots was the largest, classiest restaurant the two of them had ever seen. "Bingo!" Asuka declared. "That's what I'm talking about!" Pulling Shinji along, they walked up to the restaurant in search of food.

Shinji was slightly hesitant. "Asuka, we don't have any money. How are we gonna pay for all the food we eat?"

"Come on!" Asuka bellowed. "I think the guy who runs the show up here is probably above cheap coin and tender. He probably just has to think about food and he can get it. So I don't think there's a problem. I'm sure it'll be fine." And without further complaint from Shinji, like he had a choice in the matter, the two dead pilots went inside.

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Russian Camp

Vladimir looked at the situation before him. Five grown men, each armed with a sword stared him down, aiming to kill the teenage pilot. Vladimir himself was holding his favourite weapon: his specially modified scythe. Rumours were going around that the EVA pilots he had beaten before, along with the two that intervened were going to make a stand against him, foolishly ignoring his demand for a global surrender. So it would be wise to begin preparing himself for battle. In the upcoming second battle he knew they would be ready for him, so he would begin seriously training himself to

"Alright," Vladimir said to the men, who were actually prisoners who had been rounded up by the army. "If you are successful at killing me, then you will be set free. And if you are not, you will die." He gave them a wicked grin followed by an evil laugh. He could see them trembling deep inside with pure terror. But this was just all fun and games to Vladimir. A simple warm-up exercise before he resumed his training. "Come and get me… if you dare." He twirled his scythe once and prepared to kill them all.

With a cry that sounded neither human nor animal, Vladimir lunged at the first person in front of him. Before the prisoner could even react, Vladimir had brought the long curved blade of his scythe through the man's left shoulder and out through the right side of his waist. As the man fell apart, blood spilled out everywhere, most of it falling on the floor, some of it ending up on Vladimir's face. In the minds of the others, he looked even scarier with blood on his face on top of his already insane facial gesture.

The prisoner off to Vladimir's right saw his opportunity and went for it. Bringing his sword up for an overhead cleave he was quickly stopped by Vladimir bringing the scythe up to block the attack. And now Vladimir had another one coming to his left closing in. Vladimir used his strength enhanced by his dark powers to kick the first person away to face down the third person for a quick kill. Using his left hand, he apparently looked like he was trying to twist the shaft of his scythe. A clicking sound was heard and a hidden spear emerged from the other end of the scythe. With another scream, he caught the third man by surprise and plunged the spear right into his neck, stunning and mortally wounding the prisoner.

Vladimir knew the second man would attack again. Wildly bringing his scythe back around him, he tucked away the spear and in the process decapitated the third man, turning his throat into a blood dispenser and attacked the second man in the same swing. Luckily the second man blocked the wild assault. Vladimir could hear the other two planning to surround him and cut him off. It was time to end this before it got out of hand. Concentrating deep within, he allowed his power which was fueled by his hatred, his anger towards those who he believed wronged him and those who simply got in his way, to consume him.

The prisoners became slightly hesitant and stepped back when a black and orange aura began to surround the boy. The look on his face became more and more maniacal with each passing second. Vladimir then suddenly jump up high in the air, and with another scream of evil, scythe extended out, began to spin rapidly. What was even more surprising was that he began hurtling black and orange ring shaped projectiles each and every way. The men had no chance against a power of this magnitude. The rings ripped and tore through their bodies like a hot knife through butter. Vladimir then ceased his attack and landed back on terra firma to observe his surroundings. The remaining prisoners, as Vladimir had hoped had been ripped to pieces. Blood, and pieces of human tissue had now littered the floor, and the room was beginning to smell like what was on the floor. But to Vladimir, that smell of blood and tissue made him want to keep on fighting. Continuing to look around, he noticed his dark rings had also ripped holes in the training room walls, signifying a powerful, merciless, widespread attack. Looking at his scythe, it was clearly covered in blood, the blood of the weak and pathetic. A guard who then walked into the room caught Vladimir's eye. Wishing to kill more people and increase his training intensity, he turned his attention to the guard. "You there soldier, Bring in some more prisoners."

"How many my lord?" the guard asked.

"Bring out ten this time," Vladimir answered. "Five men and five women. If you want to bring out any children as extras, that is up to you. And make sure they are all armed. Killing someone isn't fun if they can't fight back."

"It will be done my lord." The guard bowed and left to carry out his master's wishes.

Once the guard left, Vladimir removed the glove on his right hand and observed the mark on the back of his hand. The mark consisted of three sixes in the shape of a triangle. His master said it represented three important entities or something along those lines. To Vladimir's disappointment, only one of the sixes would glow. One of the points of this training was to try and get the other sixes to eventually glow. He could feel the power within waiting to be released. But unlocking the gate to achieving the power beyond was a mystery to him, as his master never told him how, nor was likely to tell him how. So Vladimir decided that through concentrating and mastering the power he currently had, that it would be the best way to unlock his hidden powers. He noted though, that he sometimes felt a little strange when unleashing this power. Sometimes he could feel the presence of something sleeping deep within him. He tended to brush it off as his human body getting used to using a divine power.

Unbeknownst to Vladimir or anyone else, another person was watching from the shadows, monitoring his progress with great interest. He watched as Vladimir prepared himself for another round of slaughter. More lives for him to feed on. The boy's ideologue was that all life would exist to feed his power. And that was exactly what the one in the shadows wanted to happen: for Vladimir to continue to feed his power by taking innocent lives.

'Soon my boy. Soon by your own hands you shall set him free.'

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The two teens Shinji and Asuka stood out somewhat amongst the other patrons and workers in the restaurant, them still being in their plugsuits while everyone else was apparently wearing golden coloured robes and having large white wings. But nobody seemed to care or worry that two different looking people were amongst them. Above all else, Asuka was definitely enjoying herself. "Now this is what I'm talking about!" Asuka stated right before she stuffed a piece of steak in her mouth. "Free food, free drinks, free… luxury period! If only people knew the benefits of being good back on earth! Maybe if we get the chance when we return we'll tell everyone why being good is better than being a dumb ass!" The two former EVA pilots had through the power of belief located a restaurant which was frequented by the other dead inhabitants of Heaven. Since there was no such thing as money in a divine world, food and beverage was free and one could have as much as they wished. Asuka was helping herself to a tasty striploin steak with mashed potatoes, a small assortment of veggies and vodka cooler to drink.

"Asuka, it's rude to talk with your mouth full," Shinji quietly reminded her. He had a sandwich of Angus steak and an assortment of veggies in front of him with a glass of orange juice. "And even if we told them, what would make them believe us?"

"Why are you asking me? Do I look like a preacher at all?" She took a sip of her cooler. "Whether they believe us, whether they don't believe us is up to them. If I ever got the chance to talk to the others, I'd say shape up because it's hot enough down below to make any sort of global warming look like a cold winter day. Heck if you ever get to see your father again, tell him to start doing his rosaries every night before he goes to bed."

"Rosaries?" Shinji had heard of a rosary and knew it was connected to a Western religion. But its purpose eluded the boy. And it was up to Asuka to do some educating.

"It's a Catholic ritual," Asuka went on. "My mother used to do this with me before the… incident. You repeat this short prayer about ten times or so. And if you want, you can repeat the process several times according to the amount of beads on the rosary."

"You were religious?"

Asuka sighed out loud. "I was yes at one time. But after I lost my mother, I didn't know what to think. I asked myself, what kind of a God takes a mother away from his child. And that altered my outlook on life itself. But now I realize my mother was with me the whole time, giving me what I needed to save the world from imminent destruction. And now this one in who knows what chance is more than enough to make anyone believe."

Shinji was listening intently, curious about his girlfriend's views. "So what do you think now Asuka?"

"Well it's still a bit of a shock, but now it's settling in. Perhaps all this certainty's helping my mind be at ease. Makes you think someone up here loves you indeed." Once she finished her lunch, she still wanted to eat. "So are you up for another round of food?"

"I guess so. It's not everyday we can eat food like this."

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NERV Berlin

Not having much to do, nor feeling any urge to eat, Zack Harper, the Sixth Child and the one likely leading the charge against Vladimir Topolov in less than six days found himself wandering the halls of the military facility, not totally knowing where he was going due to his inability to read German. Looking in front of him, he saw a sign that said 'Büro des Kommandanten'. Not in any way knowing what it meant, he began to wander down another hallway. He and the others had finished training with Sergei for the day. It was an intense session as it focused on knowledge of the scythe as a weapon and some basic defenses against certain attacks Vladimir was likely to make. As he walked past the people he would come across, he reflected back to when he first arrived. People observed him initially as a troublemaker who liked to crack crude jokes and make offhanded remarks. Instead of contempt and suspicion, in their eyes now he saw concern, fear and the look that says 'we're counting on you'. They had all the reasons to give those looks, because if the EVA pilots failed to stop Unit 10, there would be no stopping him. The world would literally be in Topolov's grasp. And he would enslave and likely wipe out mankind, or maybe even trigger some sort of Fourth Impact.

As he continued to pace, Zack thought to himself how he would differently combat someone who was statistically superior to you in every possible way: strength, speed, aggressiveness and endurance. According to what the Russian General Sergei Berezov had said, Vladimir's sync under any and all circumstances was always 100 percent. Zack himself could manage somewhere in the low seventies, while he knew Rei could hit 75, at least in her former half-Angel state, Elly kept her score around the high sixties, and Ivana in the high seventies. Since Vladimir would have the best synchronization, he would always be better as the EVA would be able to respond to him at its fullest potential. Zack, having experienced the 100 percent synchronization once in his life, knew what kind of power was there at the fingertips.

But then something hit him. When Zack attained 100 percent synchronization, it was powerful nonetheless. But Zack remembered when he fought the 6th Black Angel, having that much power was incredibly taxing on his body and mind. By the time he finished off the demon, he had felt physically and mentally exhausted. The question that rang in his mind, was how come Vladimir who fought constantly with a perfect synchronization not feel tired or exhausted after over an hour of highly intense combat? If Zack recalled correctly, Vladimir was still willing to keep going when Elly and Rei showed up to help. Being significantly outnumbered and outgunned seemed to be the one thing that scared him off.

Regardless of how many times he went over it in his mind, something still didn't feel right. And the more he thought about it, the more he tended to confuse himself. As he continued to pace through the hallways, he came across an open door. Looking inside, he his well endowed girlfriend Elly sitting down on the edge of her bed apparently lost in her own thoughts. Zack saw this as a good chance to apologize for the way he was speaking to her earlier and commenced his attempt with a knock on the door.

Hearing the knock, Elly looked up to see who it was and looked right into the eyes of Zack. "What do ya want?" she asked.

"Can I come in?" Zack asked right back. "I just want to talk."

"All right, come on in." Elly shuffled over to make room for him to sit down. Once he sat down next to her, she went on. "So what do you want to talk about?" Her tone was closer to monotone, as she was still hurt by his harshness from earlier.

"I just wanted to say…" he found his face looking at the floor, unable to look her in the eyes. "…I'm sorry for the way I was behaving earlier. I shouldn't have acted like that."

"Zack," Elly began as she put an arm around him, "It's okay. I understand why you're hurting inside. I can't begin to fathom how much pain you're in. But I want you to know something though. Can you look at me for a second?" He slowly met her demand and they locked eyes. "What you need to know is that you don't need to carry the burden of their deaths on your own okay? We're more than willing to help you and Ivana carry that burden. It's not your fault that Shinji and Asuka died. If anything, it's Vladimir's fault and only his fault."

"Are you sure?" Zack asked her with great concern. "It will be incredibly dangerous and I doubt I'll be able to protect you like I did against the 6th Black Angel."

"Hey I'm an EVA pilot and I've had combat training." Elly's face slowly showed confidence. "I think above all else I can at least look after myself out there and I won't go down without a fight. And I'll never live it down if I don't do what I can to save the world." She slowly brought Zack into her hug, leaning her head against his chest. "And best of all, is that we'll save the world together. With Sergei teaching us and telling us everything he can tell us about Vladimir, I'm sure we're gonna win."

Zack returned her feelings and wrapped his arms around her, caressing her hair gently. "Yeah. You're right. This battle is ours to win. And once Doc Akagi figures out his weakness, Vladimir's gonna regret messing with us and with capitalism!"

Elly pulled back to look Zack in the face again. "Now there's the Zack I know and love. The Zack that loves capitalism and will fight those that oppose it, and save the world doing so. And you don't have to worry about a thing, because you, me, Ivana and Rei are gonna help us. And with Misato and Ritsuko playing offensive and defensive coordinators, we've got everything we need."

"That's right," a voice interjected. "You should be a motivational speaker Elly. You hit it right on the button." Elly and Zack both looked over to the doorway to see Misato, Ivana, and Rei watching them. Misato was the one who had spoken and she went on. "We got some excellent news regarding how to defeat Vladimir Topolov and we wanted to find you first before we share the information.

Zack motioned to a bed opposite Elly and himself. "Well let's hear it then. If there's a way to mop the floor with that bastard, I wanna hear it."

Misato, Ivana, and Rei sat down on the other bed. Misato was holding some papers in her hand which likely held the answer all of them were seeking. Without further delay, she revealed the paper's contents. "With the research Ritsuko and Maya did all of today, they think they may have found a crack in Vladimir's armour."

"What? Really?" Elly seemed excited. "What is it exactly?"

Misato wasn't totally sure how to put this in an answer that would be easily explained. "Hmm, how to put this in easy terms, okay let's try this. Have you noticed that when your sync ratio was higher than normal, you felt more attached to the EVA than you normally would be?"

"That's standard," said Rei. "When one opens their mind to the EVA, it allows them to feel what the EVA feels. The more the mind is open, the stronger the connection is."

"That's about right," Misato went on. "Anyhow, we focused on the fact that Vladimir's sync ratio is always a perfect 100 percent. So Ritsuko deduced that at all times Vladimir's mind is always perfectly open to the EVA. So Vladimir will directly feel what his EVA is feeling at all times."

"So that means when the backup arrived, he fled because he could sustain serious injury?" Ivana inquired.

"Exactly," Misato answered. "Even with the argument that Vladimir has an AT Field, all Zack, Elly, or Rei had to do was raise theirs and negate his, and he becomes vulnerable. With just four EVAs, he had no fear of injury or damage at all. But with three EVAs and a squadron of fighters and bombers staring you down, you are in some degree of trouble. Hence why he had no choice but to abandon the battle and flee."

Zack had a question for Misato. "So every injury we manage to inflict on him, he feels every bit of it?"

Misato gave him the thumbs up. "Exactly. And that's how Sergei says we're gonna beat him. By making all the damage add up by applying counter attacks and defensive maneuvers. He's all powerful yes, but FAR from invincible. Last time, he had fear, surprise, and intimidation on his side. This time around, he has none of it. And he won't realize he's beat until it's too late. Then we got him."

Misato then stood up. "So kids, are we all ready to kick his sorry ass, and make him pay for what he did to Shinji and Asuka?" She extended her right hand into the center, hoping to get the others' support.

"The darkness that once lurked in our souls, has vanquished," Rei said. "We will take back our destiny." She placed her hand atop Misato's.

Elly went next. "It's time to even up the score, and then win the war!" Her hand went atop Rei's.

Ivana took her turn. "Time is short, but despite that we will not go down quietly and die. We will not be broken again." She put her hand in the center, taking its place on Elly's hand.

"Shinji and Asuka's death is what fuels us. It's our passion which shall be our weapon. We're gonna get justice for them, no matter what the cost!" Zack declared. And he put his hand on Elly's.

Now all of them had their hands in the middle. Misato then gave a big shout, "For Shinji and Asuka!"

The others responded, echoing what the Major had just said, "FOR SHINJI AND ASUKA!" and they all raised their hands into the air in agreement.

Each one's resolve and to save the world had all been restored. In their hearts lurked a fire, a fire that would rage on despite whatever would be lurking for them in just over five days. But they would be ready for it, and they were going to win. Losing was not an option, nor a worst case scenario. Losing wasn't even considered. And over the next five days, the four EVA pilots spent their hours eating, resting, and training with Sergei Berezov. Berezov, being the one who had trained Vladimir before, knew exactly what the teenage psychopath was capable of. He knew Vladimir's strengths, weaknesses, his persona, his combat capabilities, and combat movements. And so Zack, Elly, Rei, and Ivana would practice and train so they would be able to combat his deadly prowess. And not once during those five days did they shake or waver in their desire to win. They may have had problems during that time, but with all of them supporting each other, they would help the fallen with whatever problem they may have had. Their determination to win overrode all other thoughts and desires.

If Vladimir were to think at this very moment that their resolve was still broken, he would be dead wrong.

Translations

Büro des Kommandanten Office of the Commander

A/N: Woohoo! I got my groove back! Do not fret, for there will be no more delay. The moment of truth commences next chapter, where our heroes will attempt to exact their revenge for the deaths of Shinji and Asuka. But are they truly ready for what lies around the corner?

A/O/N: The song I used for inspiration in this chapter is John Cafferty's Hearts on Fire. I thank him for making such a cool song.

Until 74, be cool!