The Children's Crusade

by IA Seldon

Reimagined, redefined. The old work unearthed and given new form, new life. "They fight for our sins, so that we may continue to destroy ourselves. How noble! How beautiful! Those selfless children fighting our crusades!" -IA Seldon.

2. A Taste of Things to Come

IA Seldon Presents

An Etherworlds Studio Production

For Alexei

He had run away from everything. Pathetic, but...they wouldn't find him again. They wouldn't make him fight again. No one would put him into that horrible machine again. Yet, no matter how far away he ran, no matter how many trains he caught -- he could always hear it. That dark, siren song that snuck up on him right before he was going to sleep. A song that haunted him, hunted him, no matter how far away he got.

Three weeks, and he still heard the song. It was driving him mad. The words -- insubstantial. Just a melody. Sounds that were whispered into his ear, as though someone was just behind his back breathing down against him. Three weeks, and he knew that something would break. His mind or his soul, though, he did not know.

"Attention, please! This will be the last stop for this train. Attention, please! This will-"

They were slowing down. But to him, everything was just speeding up. The doors opened and the few remaining people left. He went with them, taking the solitary bag he had arrived with and exiting onto a dull, empty platform. Night was falling. He checked his pockets, but he knew there was nothing in them. The last of his money was spent trying to escape that damnable song.

When he felt the first whispers creep against his ears, he knew he hadn't gotten far enough away.

'Leave me alone.'

The young boy staggered away from the station. The song was growing louder.

---

"Where's the other one?"

Misato Katsuragi looked away from the road. "Who?"

"The other one! You know, the Third Child?"

"I don't know who you're referring to." Misato snapped her eyes back on the road and swerved around a street cleaner. The young girl beside her, the latest addition to her Pilot roster, frowned.

"What do you mean, you don't know? I read the reports about his fights with two of the Angels! How can't you know who he is?"

"Shut up, Asuka."

Asuka Langely Sohryu's mouth clicked together. She'd known Misato, her newly appointed guardian, for a few years now, and never had she heard such a frigid, hostile sentence come out of her mouth. For a moment she debated whether or not to continue the questioning, or to get angry for being told to shut up.

In the end, she decided to do neither.

"Well, here we are." Misato said later, with something approaching happiness in her voice. Asuka shrugged. The complex wasn't especially stunning. A simple concrete and steel shell that had a few tapering ends near the top. Nothing special at all.

When her guardian opened the door, however -- "Dear God, Misato! How can you...live, like this?"

"Hey!" Misato yelled, slightly put-off by her new charge's reaction. "You want to go find a place to live on your own?"

Asuka gingerly tip-toed her way past the pile of reeking garbage sitting out by the front door, "Well, I just might if the rest of the place looks like this."

Misato stuck her tongue out at Asuka, slid off her shoes, and vanished around a corner. Asuka hesitated. 'Should I really walk around this place without shoes? God knows what might be crawling around in here.'

"Hey! Asuka. Where the hell are you?"

"Coming!" She resigned herself to fate and kicked her shoes off. Regret was immediate as one of her socks stuck to the carpeting. "Uughh..." Soon enough, though, the nausea rumbling in her stomach passed as she came into the living room.

"Oh," Misato poked her head out of a hallway. "There you are. Okay, let me show you your room."

It was small and cramped. And not at all to her liking. Opposite her doorway she spotted another room, "Hey, what about that one?" she asked, pointing at the closed door.

Misato's face fell. She turned away and stared out of the windows just above the bed. "That one's...occupied."

"Oh! Have a boyfriend?" Asuka sang. 'I hope it's not Kaji. Though...living next to him!' A whole barrage of scenery drifted through her mind. A steamy bath, a misted figure reclining in the tub, a face and a voice. Would you like to join me, Asuka?

But Misato's cold, hard voice shattered the idea. "No. Someone else."

"So when do I get to meet him?" More images. 'Not Kaji, but maybe someone just like him? Mature, handsome, intelligent...'

"You won't." Misato turned and walked out of the room, leaving Asuka in confused silence. After a moment she heard a door slide shut, then the distant sounds of a beer fizzing open.

'The hell?'

Asuka slid across the dark hallway and tugged the door opposite her's open. At first all she could do was gape furiously at the size of the room. It was nearly a third again as large as the one she had been given, and a little more lavishly furnished as well. The bed here was big enough for at least two people, the closet large enough to hold an entire wardrobe. But it was bare. Every inch of it. Well -- not every inch.

A small, heart-shaped plaque rested on one corner of a desk set caddie-corner to the door. Intrigued, she crept over and studied it. The first words were unfamiliar, not surprising as they were in Kanji. The rest of it said something about a lovely room, or suite perhaps. Asuka hurried back into her own room and rummaged around through some of her bags. The rest of her stuff would show up in a few days, but she had brought enough to last her until then.

"Here you are." She lifted up a small yellow book and went back to the empty room. After a few minutes of searching she found what she needed. "Shi-n-ji...Shinji? That's the name of the Third Child, isn't it?"

Asuka closed her dictionary and looked back across her shoulder. Somewhere in that vast gulf of walls and barriers, someone was trying to forget.

---

"What are our other options?"

Ritsuko Akagi winced at his tone. When did he become so cold? So indomitable? Did he care not at all for what happened to those around him? Did he care for no one except...except her? "Well, there is always the other candidates. But our success with them is uncertain, especially with Unit 01. Should I activate the next pilot?"

Gendo Ikari, her lord and master, considered. With a casual movement he pushed up his glasses and nodded. "Yes. Activate the next pilot, and do it quickly. We need an operational pilot for Unit 00."

"Unit 00? What about Unit 01?"

"Rei will handle Unit 01, as she was originally supposed to. The next pilot will be tasked with handling her current Evangelion." He turned slightly to face her, "By tomorrow, Doctor. I expect this to be over with soon."

"Yes sir."

---

Asuka rubbed wearily at her eyes as Misato gunned her car through a mountain tunnel. "So, what exactly do you need me for at this early in the morning?"

Misato groaned, "You know, I said that same thing when I was called. Apparently they've found another pilot in the area, and they want us to pick him up on the way in to start him through Synchronization Tests."

"Another pilot? So soon?" Asuka woke up a bit with that. "Who is it?"

"Some kid. It always is some kid."

The younger of the two looked sideways at the comment, then turned away. They arrived at a school moments later. Misato pulled in sedately and parked her car near the entrance. "You can come in if you want."

"Sure. Why the hell not?" Asuka grumbled.

They were met by a wizened secretary with a bow and an extended hand leading them to the door of the Principal. Asuka elected to wait outside on a nearby chair while Misato went in. The silence stretched for what seemed forever, broken only by the occasional phone call to the secretary's desk and the low mumblings coming from behind the closed door of the Principal.

Asuka was about to nod off into sleep again when she heard someone screaming from behind the door, "Yeah? Well you can take your offer and stick it! I'm not gonna deal with anything you pricks have to offer!"

She sat up and turned around just in time to see a tall boy rip the door open and storm out, stopping only long enough to slam the door shut again. Asuka barely caught a glimpse of Misato's stunned face before it vanished again.

The boy turned on his heel and stormed away from the office, pausing only to glare at the Secretary as he passed. The old woman squeaked with fright and hurried away to attend to some important papers in the teacher's lounge. Asuka didn't, quite, squeak as the boy suddenly stopped in front of her and glared down the length of his nose.

"You're one of them, aren't you?"

Asuka, flabbergasted at having been recognized as a pilot so easily, could only nod.

"Stupid bitch, you don't know what it's like, do you?" The boy spat at her feet and walked away. "You'll just get fucking killed in the end. If they don't dump you aside like they did Ikari..."

"Wait!" Asuka leapt up after him. 'He knows about the Third Child?' The boy was gone though, disappearing around a corner like lightning. "Wait!" She chased after him. It was nearly four halls later before he finally slowed down enough for her to catch up. "Wait!"

The boy stopped. She ran up beside him, panting a bit from having to run so hard. "What?" he asked brusquely, his mood still foul.

"You know the Third Child?" Asuka gasped.

The boy nodded, folding his arms over his chest and leaning against a locker. "Yeah. I knew him."

"Well, why isn't he...you know, here? What happened to him?"

The boy tsked. "Didn't tell you, did they? Not surprising."

"Why?"

He rounded on her, dark eyes glaring again as a spark of rage flared up within him. "You want to know what happened? Lemme tell you what happened. He saved my fucking life, and they kicked him outta NERV for it. That's what happened!"

"Hun?"

The boy sighed and sunk against the locker, sliding down until his butt hit the floor. "Still don't get it. Fine. Here, I'll tell you something -- My sister, she's four years old, see? When the first Angel, or whatever the hell they are, attacked? She got crushed by some rubble."

Asuka felt her body chill with the words, slowly freezing over as the boy before her suddenly looked older than he every possibly could. 'Someone...someone had been hurt? None of the reports said anything about civilians being hurt in the attacks!'

"He was the one who did it, see? But it wasn't his fault. I didn't know then, but my friend, Kensuke, he found out about it later. They sent him against the Angel without any training at all. Probably hoping that some sort of miracle would happen. I guess it did...but, some shitty miracle that was. Half the city ruined, thousands hurt. It coulda been worse, I suppose.

"Anyway. It wasn't long before we figured out that he was the pilot. They stuck him in my class with the other one, Rei. I...I was mad. So mad at him." The boy looked like he was about to cry. "I kicked his ass. Hard. He didn't even lift a finger to stop me either. Just took it without a word of complaint. Then, another one of those things came."

Asuka knelt beside him, he turned away.

"Kensuke convinced me to come outside with him. 'It might be our last chance to actually see a real live battle!' Heh. Morons, the both of us. We nearly got killed when that machine he piloted landed right beside us."

Asuka nodded, she had seen the deep impression on one of the mountainsides on the drive over.

"He ejected something from the back of the machine and told us to get in. It was..." he shook his head, a solitary tear rolling down a sunburnt cheek. "You've never had to fight one, have you?"

"No."

"Then trust me, get out while you still can."

"...I can't."

The boy scoffed. "Of course you can't. He did though. They threw him outta NERV, put him on a train and sent him away."

"They sent him away?" Her chance. She could feel her chance rising up. 'He isn't here anymore. That means that I'm the only one left! I'm their only pilot!' She discounted Rei Ayanami of course, of whom she'd heard nothing of importance.

"Yeah," the boy stood up and started walking away. "He used to live with that woman. The one back in the office. She didn't even come by to see him off at the station. No one did. Except me and Kensuke."

He vanished again, and this time Asuka didn't follow. When she returned to the main entrance of the school she heard her guardian yelling into her cell phone. "Yes I offered to put his sister into NERV's best medical care! Yes I offered that too! No! Fine! What do we do now? Another..? There's another one? Well why didn't you tell me! ...Fine."

Misato lowered her phone, staring at it in her cupped palm. Asuka was about to ask her something, but before she could, Misato screamed and threw the phone against the nearest wall with all the strength she could muster. The plastic device shattered.

"M-Misato?"

Her guardian turned and looked at her. "I assume you heard that?" Asuka nodded. "They've found another candidate here. We've got to stick around for another hour or so." Misato went over to the Secretary and spoke softly to her for a moment. The old hag nodded once or twice before reaching over to a large microphone system.

"Attention! Would Mr. Aida, Kensuke please report to the Principal's office. Mr. Aida, Kensuke, please report to the Principal's office right away. Please excuse the interruption." The deafening PA system clicked off.

'Kensuke? Wasn't that the friend of the other boy?' Asuka thought to herself.

Misato dropped wearily into one of the seats littering the lobby and hunched over. Asuka sat nearby. It didn't take long before she spotted another boy walking down the hallway. This one was shorter than the last, with lighter and longer hair, glasses. His shirt was untucked and somewhat rumpled, his face one that looked as though it had been made for happiness. The expression it wore now, though, was anything but happy.

He came to a halt in front of Misato. "Hello again."

'They've met before? What kind of place is this?'

Misato looked up, blinking at the young man with desperation and fatigue. "You know why you're here, don't you?"

The boy nodded. "If I say no to you, how many more do you think will be called up?"

"What?"

Asuka looked over to Misato and cocked her head.

"How many more?" the boy, Kensuke, pressed. "First Rei, then Shinji, then Touji...and now me. How. Many. More?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Misato was nervous, afraid.

Kensuke sat down beside the dark-haired woman and stared at the floor. "...you people. You don't even know, do you? I'm no idiot, Ms. Kasturagi. Though I am sometimes less than perfectly intelligent. All of the pilots, even your recruits, coming to or from the same class?" He looked up over at Asuka. "She's one of them, too?"

Asuka replied before Misato, "I am."

Kensuke nodded. "The school mainframe had listings of a new foreign exchange student being transferred into my class."

"You're saying that..."

"I'm saying, that if I refuse, someone else is going to get picked. Touji...doesn't understand that, yet." Kensuke stood up and looked down at Misato. "I'll do it. I don't want my friends to get sent through this meat grinder. Not until I've been there first."

"T-thank you."

Before they left the school, he turned to Misato again and said something that chilled Asuka to the core. "I want you to know; three weeks ago, I would have danced for joy at being accepted as a pilot."

"And now?"

"Now I'm wondering how long it's going to be before I get killed."

---

"His aptitude tests are not optimal, but it will suffice until we can find a more suitable candidate." Ritsuko lowered her clipboard and offered it to her superior. "It's the best we could do on short notice."

"Then it will have to suffice. I've already sent word through our sub-branches to find a more suitable replacement for this pilot." Every word was chiseled, precise. "It shouldn't take too long before another candidate is sent to us."

"I see." Ritsuko was possibly one of the very select few who really did see. That made her all the more dangerous, and all the more necessary. "Here are the latest rounds of testing results that we did on Units 01 and 00. Rei's scores are down a bit, but that is probably because of the unfamiliarity. The Fourth Child did well enough; he passed the bare minimums by a hair-"

"If he can pilot, he can pilot. That is all that matters for the moment. Unit 01 is the real key. Without her, we are lost."

"I understand." Ritsuko took the charts with her and left.

---

Asuka was stepping out of the shower rooms, relieved at finally having finished the testing and looking forward to going back home to rest when she spotted him. He, like her, was leaving a shower room and looking around with some confusion.

"Hey! Kensuke."

The boy jerked. "Yeah, Asuka, right?"

She nodded, "You didn't do too bad out there today. Not great, mind you, but not bad." Magnanimous today? Well, it didn't hurt to help the new kid. After all, who better to lead the Evangelion pilots than her?

"Do you think so? They didn't sound happy about the numbers..."

Asuka came up beside him and slapped him hard across the back. "Don't worry about it! Even my own test scores weren't much higher than yours when I first climbed into the Eva. Of course, I was nearly nine years younger then!"

Kensuke sighed, then nodded. "I guess I've got some catching up to do then."

"They'll make sure you do. I remember going weeks without seeing much else except LCL and Eva before they finally let me have a break. Don't worry about it, I'm sure you'll do fine. And if you don't, well, they have me of course." She grinned at the boy.

He smiled back, "Glad to see at least one person excited about all of this."

The pair walked off through the confusing halls of NERV. Asuka talked animatedly about her years of training and preparation, of how the enemies they faced would fall, one-by-one, by her own hand. Kensuke listened to all of this, and smiled and nodded at what he thought would be the correct times. For the most part, Asuka did not notice him, focused as she was on her topic of discussion. Though, secretly, she wondered about him.

'So quiet...are all Japanese like him? What about that other boy, Touji? He seemed so serious. Are they all so serious?'

"Um, Asuka?"

"Hm?" she started, having not noticed that her flow of conversation had dwindled off into silence which prompted Kensuke to speak. "What?"

"You just seemed so, so quiet all of a sudden. I was just wondering what you were thinking of?" Kensuke blushed, he'd never spoken to a girl like this before. But, then again, the things he had seen in the past month. The things he had learned -- Shinji had not left him without some insight.

"Oh, it was nothing. Just...remembering something." She quickly covered her thoughts and looked around for one of the infrequent directory signs. Not seeing one, she took the lead again and took a different passage she thought promising.

Kensuke followed along, filing away the pause for later questions. It was this quality that many people who knew him since childhood never understood nor saw in him. The ability to step back and examine things aloof from the world. For the most part, everyone, even his friends, viewed him as something of a dork. A child still yet to grow apart from his toys. Kensuke knew that he wasn't especially liked by other kids his age, mostly because of how he acted in class and because of his friend Touji; who was not the subtlest of creatures when it came to his feelings and thoughts.

Asuka's thoughts were also upon Touji, and the words he spoke to her in the hallway. She turned to Kensuke, "Say, you knew the Third Child, neh?"

Kensuke nodded.

"What...what was he like?"

"Shinji was...retarded." That took her aback. Kensuke, recognizing the confusion, quickly spoke up again. "No, not mentally. Emotionally. We didn't spend too much time together, but, he told me that he had some problems with his father. See, his mother died when he was young, leaving him alone with his father."

"You mean the Commander?" Asuka had heard some talk about the Third Child being the son of NERV's commander. "No wonder he became a pilot."

"Not willingly!" Asuka was taken aback by the sudden anger she heard in Kensuke's voice. "He never wanted to do this."

"How do you know?" Kensuke stopped. "I mean, you said you didn't spend much time with him..."

Kensuke shrugged. He would have to tell someone, and Touji wouldn't understand. "After the last Angel, he ran away. This was before NERV kicked him out and sent him packing. I don't think that he would have left, but it certainly scared Section Two into a small panic. He showed up in the hills one day when I was out..." Here he stopped and glanced at Asuka from the corner of his eye. He certainly wasn't going to tell her what he was doing out there! Not when he was finally talking to a girl!

"Anyway, we spent some time together then. He needed a friend, and I'm the kind of guy who's good at being there when needed." Kensuke sighed. "Section Two found him the next morning. The last time I saw him was at the train station. He looked...happy."

They were on a moving floor now, which slowly took them through a vast opening within NERV itself. Warm drafts of air brushed against them as they were borne across. Kensuke bit the inside of his cheek to push away his thoughts and looked around.

"Um...Asuka?"

"Yeah?" Asuka was lost in her thoughts.

"Where, exactly, are we?"

"...I have no idea."

---

Night had fallen. Actually, it was well past nightfall. Asuka had found a phone stashed away somewhere in the vast labyrinth of halls and called the number Misato had given her if she needed to reach her guardian. They were told to wait, as Misato thought she was familiar with the location they had described.

Of course, she hadn't been. Misato was soon lost herself, and called the bridge to get someone to find her. The strange thing was, though, that those sent to find her became lost too. By that time, hungry and somewhat in need of a restroom, both Asuka and Kensuke started wandering around again, and found the bridge. Misato, in a surprising spate of awareness, also found her bearings soon after the children found the bridge, and so found them.

They were still searching for the others when Misato took Kensuke and Asuka home.

"Good God Misato! Three hours and you couldn't find me? Am I so unimportant that you couldn't bother to come and rescue me from that horrible place you call an office?"

Misato, drinking from a can of beer, glared at her ward over the rim. "I happened to get lost trying to find you, Asuka. If you would care to remember that."

"So?"

"And, so. What do you think of the Fourth Child?" She herself was interested in what the temperamental girl would say. Her time in Germany with Asuka had taught her many things about the red-headed child. She was very vocal then about her dislike for boys, and from what she understood from her previous guardian, vocal even more after puberty hit.

So it came as a shock when Asuka shrugged and said, "He's fine. Quiet, but okay."

It was fortunate that the beer can was mostly empty when it hit the table. Asuka cursed at her friend and tossed Misato a small rag to clean the mess up.

"So," Misato tossed the rag into the sink. "Kensuke isn't...that bad, then?"

"No more than anyone else. Shy. Boring."

Misato opened the refrigerator and popped the tab on a beer. "Well then, I suppose I should tell you..."

"What?" Asuka eyed Misato lazily, having plopped herself down at the table and opened one of the magazines she'd found there.

"NERV strictly prohibits relationships between co-workers."

"WHAT!" Misato giggled. "Y-You pervert! How dare you think of such a thing! And then to suggest it to a child!" That made her giggle more, which didn't help her swallow the beer. Foam gushed out from her mouth and nose, infuriating Asuka even more. "Ewww! Misato! Did you have to shoot that all over me!"

"I couldn't help it!"

"Just like you couldn't help saying such inappropriate things to a child!"

"Well I wasn't the one who snuck off with him and got lost."

"W-What!"

"I mean, it certainly is a good way to get what you want without anyone noticing it. But, really, to do it the first day? Honestly, I expected better of you than that."

They kept at it for a while, with Misato giggling and Asuka blushing and yelling, which only made it worse for her. Finally, when Asuka could take it no more, she ran to the door and yelled back, "Well what about you! Taking some young kid into your home! I bet you had the purest of intentions-"

Misato ran from the table to Asuka's side. And slapped her. A delicate hand tremulously reached up to a reddened cheek, wide blue eyes stared without comprehension. Misato was no longer giggling. "Don't...you...ever, say that to me, again. Do you understand? Never."

Asuka nodded, then retreated to her room. Misato watched her go until she could no longer be seen, then she retreated back to her beer and then her room. The apartment was very quiet that night.

---

It had been a week since she had arrived in Tokyo-3, and every day, day-to-day, had been filled by the monotony of tests. Test, test, test -- it never ended! By the eighth day, she was almost ready to strangle the bleach-blonde doctor who stared at them so unkindly. Asuka soon came to despise the doctor. Looking down at them with her white coat and cool intellect, she saw them not as people or children but rats.

Poke them with this. Watch them run. Feed them this, give them that. Watch them squirm. On and on and on it went, with almost no relief at all except to sleep and occasionally eat. Kensuke bore it well, considering. Asuka certainly admired that much in him, she had been doing this sort of thing for nearly all of her life after all! Of course, the pace hadn't been exactly as frantic in Germany as it was here in Japan.

Maybe that was because of the Angels.

But, finally! At the end of this hellish week she had a furlough. Time to herself! Time to spend catching up on all of the sleep that she had been deprived of. Time to relax, watch television, read...

She had quite forgotten what Kensuke had said when they first met.

So when she woke up that fine, wonderful Monday morning, it was not to the bright noon sky but the dim, barely-morning light that trickled in through her window with the incessant squawk of her alarm clock.

"Asuka! Are you ready yet?"

She batted a hand at the clock, knocking it off the desk.

"Asuka!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Urgh..."

Kensuke was waiting outside of Misato's door. "Hey."

"Hey."

"Come on, I'll show you to school." Kensuke lead her out of the apartment complex and into the vast, hot streets of Tokyo-3. Even this early in the morning Asuka found the oppressive weight of the air smothering. Like a blanket of heat had been thrown across the entire city, choking it. Kensuke seemed not to notice the heat, but then again, he'd been living here for some time. Asuka, just fresh from the colder climes of Germany, was sweating before they had even gone a hundred meters.

"Not used to the heat?" Kensuke had noticed her wiping at the sweat on her face.

Asuka shook her head, droplets of sweat spraying everywhere. "How you people manage to live here I will never know. Don't you dry out eventually?"

Kensuke laughed, "You get used to it. Here." He handed her a bottle of water, which felt deliciously cool in her hands. "Everyone carries a bottle if they have to walk anywhere. Trust me, the school will be colder than this; though, a lot more boring."

"Ah!" Asuka had finished most of the bottle. "That was good! Thanks Kensuke. You're pretty useful, neh?"

"Hm," he took the bottle back and stowed it away in his pack.

"Honestly, I don't know why I'm being forced to go to school." Asuka was feeling much better now. The cold water had done wonders for her.

"Why?"

"Well, I did graduate from college, you know."

Kensuke shook his head, "No, I didn't. Really?"

"Yeah. About a year ago. I've a degree in Engineering Physics. I was working on my master's when the orders came in to transfer here."

"Cool! When did you start?"

"College? Oh, about four years ago. I wanted to originally do mathematics, but it's so boring! Nothing to do but variable equations and non-linear computations. Boring! And the teachers! Most of them weren't even real professors, just TA's told to do one thing over and over again."

"So, you decided to go into Physics instead?"

"Well, it was much more appealing. More hands-on. I remember, about two years ago we had to design scale models for our final projects. I built an entire series of interconnected bridges to span over a river. Of course, my project was the best of them all, so naturally I had the best score out of the entire class!"

"We have to turn here," Kensuke interrupted, pointing up a steep, narrow staircase cut into the side of a mountain. They climbed the staircase easily, though Asuka had to stop and rest for a moment at the top as the heat started pressing against her again.

After another dose of water from Kensuke's bottle she was recovered well enough again to continue on. Kensuke assured her it wasn't much further, and much to Asuka's relief it was only another four minutes or so until the school she had seen last week appeared.

"Well, here we are. Home away from home."

Asuka groaned.

---

He was sleeping in the train stations, showering in one of the janitorial closets. Food from the vending machines, water from the fountains. It wasn't that bad of a life, though his clothes were starting to get a little ragged. People were starting to notice him too, that was a bad thing. A sign that it was time to move on. So he did.

Hokkaido.

Here there was no easily accessed station filled with whatever he needed. He had to move on and out into the streets. That was fine with him. He supposed that he could have gone back to his Uncle and Aunt. But, they never had liked him. They hated him. He couldn't go back there, just as he couldn't return to Tokyo-3. Impossible. So he wandered around the streets of whatever city he had landed himself in. Uncaring, unwanted, useless.

That was fine.

He didn't care.

Anything to get away from that damnable song.

---

"So, how was school?"

"Bo-ring! Misato, why do I have to go to school?"

"Because the government says you do."

"But I've already completed my degree!"

Misato snorted, "In Germany, not in Japan. You're not getting out of this Asuka. So just bear with it. Besides, from what I've hear, you need the practice with your Japanese."

"Pfft! I can speak the language fine."

"All right then, how about this?" Misato sketched out a complicated glyph on a scrap of paper nearby and passed it over to Asuka. "What does that mean?"

Asuka glared at Misato, then at the paper. "Happy."

"Bzzt! Wrong, Asuka. It means medicine."

Asuka threw the paper at Misato, "So? At least my language doesn't include thousands of words that almost nobody can understand!"

"Oh, now that's not true. We only have two thousand or so in common use-"

"And about another hundred thousand that aren't!"

"Asuka, the point is that you should have known what that kanji was, and you didn't. That's why you're attending school here. And, if you do well in the classes here the Government will also fund your tuition and expenses at any of the colleges here in Japan. One degree is fine, but you've got the chance to obtain more!"

"So? It's not like I'm going to need any of my degrees anytime soon. So why not just let me relax and do things that I want to do rather than attend some boring classes that I'd already taken when I was seven?"

"Because. Now, lemme alone about it, kay?"

Asuka grumbled a bit more, then vanished back into her room to work over the unfamiliar words of her latest homework assignment. Nearly a week had passed since Kensuke had started taking her to school every morning, and each day brought her new frustrations and a growing sense of rage at being forced to attend something she considered childish.

Still, it did give her a chance to talk to Kensuke. The small kid was shy, but not hesitant to speak with her. And he actually admired her! Something which gave her no small sense of satisfaction. The other students were much the same, though -- unlike Kensuke -- most of the boys seemed to want to get into her pants. The girls had shown her tremendous respect at first, but when their boyfriends wouldn't stop talking about her, they started getting snotty.

Except for the Class Representative, a mousy little girl named Hikari, nearly every girl in the class had gone from talking to her to shunning her. Hikari did what she could to make Asuka happy and comfortable, which was nice, as she was rapidly finding out just how utterly foreign she really was in this land. Kensuke also did what he could to help her, but he was having problems of his own.

Touji, the tall boy who'd refused Misato's offer, was no longer speaking to him. He'd even gone as far as moving his seat away from Kensuke and refusing to make eye contact with him during the breaks. Even Asuka, not the best with empathy at any time, could see that Kensuke's acceptance of becoming an Evangelion pilot had deeply wounded a friendship that had begun when they were just toddlers. Maybe irreparably.

That bothered Asuka, though she would never admit it. 'How can becoming a saviour of the world be anything but admired?' she would ask herself. But, then again, they had already experienced some things here that she, herself, had never dealt with. Fighting the Angels, for one.

Back in her room, listening to music, tapping a pencil against the paper of her homework, she moaned and rubbed her eyes. "When am I going to see some action around here?"

---

Kensuke tugged at the uncomfortable form-fitting plastique that comprised his plug suit and sighed. He was just leaving the briefing that Dr. Akagi had given about the activation trials they were about to undertake regarding the dual activation of Units 00 and 01. Kensuke was slotted to be in Unit 00, his first time in the actual Evangelion and not a simulation plug. Rei Ayanami was slated to be in Unit 01.

Asuka's Unit 02, a monster of crimson and black with four glowing eyes, was set on stand-by. Asuka herself would not take part in the tests, but she was on hand in case the high command decided to put her in the tests as well. She looked on disinterestedly from the control room in the Pribnow Box as the plugs were inserted and the room came alive in a twinkling of lights and the hum of computer interactions.

"Approaching termination line. Thirty-two. Thirty-three. Forty. Termination line crossed. Evangelion Unit 01 activation acquired. System...stable." A sigh of relief broke out from the room, none more so than that of the blonde doctor's. Asuka wondered at that, but did not quite dare ask questions of her guardian, who'd been sitting beside her and studying a console of her own.

"Good." Ritsuko turned to her short-haired assistant and nodded. "Now, let's try Unit 00. Activate the synchronization matrix. Beginning test!"

"Synchronization underway. Twenty-seven and rising. Approaching Termination. Thirty-two. Thirty-four. Thirty-seven. Termination line reached..." the long pause was pregnant with tension and baited with a hanging breath, as though no one dared breath. Then the assistant, Maya was her name, spoke again. "Termination line crossed. Holding steady at three point twenty-six above line and holding."

The room cheered. Beside her, Misato let loose a long-held breath of tension. Now they finally had a full roster of pilots again. It was a wonderful feeling. Asuka glanced over her shoulder and studied the matrix. "Holding, ja, but there's something-"

Ritsuko's voice overrode her own ponderings, "Release Unit 01 from the restraints and have Ayanami move it back into the stasis chambers. Unit 00 will follow after Unit 01 is stationary again." Then she came over to Misato's console and leaned in close.

"There are feedback problems with Unit 00. It may be something inherent within the system programming itself, and I'll run tests to determine where it is. But, right now...I don't think Unit 00 can be considered combat-capable in any respect."

"What about Unit 01?"

Ritsuko shrugged. "No abnormalities discovered so far. Rei's synch number is a little lower than projected, but well within operational parameters. That's why I'm having them move the Eva's back to the stasis cages on their own. We'll see if Kensuke's feedback error is within the programming, and we'll let Rei have some practice moving Unit 01 around."

"Rei is combat capable though, right?"

"From what I see, maybe."

"That's something at least."

Ritsuko nodded and moved away to oversee Rei's movements into the stasis cage, letting Asuka lean in to whisper to Misato, "So, if Kensuke isn't combat-capable, and Rei isn't one-hundred percent with her Eva...this means that I'm you're guys one combat-ready pilot, ja?"

"Ja."

Asuka smiled at the news. 'Finally! I'll be able to show these people just exactly who they are dealing with! That other pilot, Ikari, might have been hot stuff -- but I'm better than he ever was. I'll show them!' She had to clench her hands together to keep them from shaking with excitement. 'Now, if only there was an Angel...'

She didn't have to wait long. Rei had just settled her Eva into the stasis chamber and Kensuke was obtaining final releases for his safety locks when a warbling alarm sounded throughout the entirety of NERV's headquarters. A PA system clicked on.

"Attention! Attention! Blue-pattern detected ten kilometers north-west of city perimeter! Attention, this is not a drill! Blue-pattern wavelength detected ten kilometers north-west of Tokyo-3 proper! All NERV stations report and upgrade to status two!"

"Okay people!" Misato stood to her feet and started bellowing orders. "Get Unit 01 locked down into stasis and hustle Unit 00 there as well. Asuka, get changed and report to your Eva. Dr. Akagi, Lieutenant Ibuki and all secondary Bridge personnel report to battle stations on the double. Tertiary crews remain here to oversee Unit 00's transfer. Let's move people!"

Asuka hustled out of the room ahead of Misato and the larger train of people following her. She rushed through the hallways, praying that her sense of direction didn't fail her and that she could find the pilot's ready-room without fail. Misato turned and pointed to a technician. "Follow her, make sure she doesn't get lost."

The woman rushed off to follow the red-haired pilot. Ritsuko hurried her pace. "Of all the times, to attack us now! Only one of our pilots is combat-ready, Misato. I hope you can pull this one off."

"We pulled it off before, we'll do it again."

"They're getting stronger. Tougher. What if we can't destroy this one with a single Evangelion?"

Misato bit her lip. "Then...then we activate Rei and Kensuke."

Ritsuko shot her a dark look. "That wouldn't be wise, Misato. Rei could be ready for deployment, sure. But sending out Kensuke would be a disaster. He would be a liability and a hindrance to any other pilots we put in the field with him!"

"If we can't bring down this Angel with one Eva, then we have to send out more!" Misato's words brought the rest of the men and women behind her to an embarrassed halt. Ritsuko and Misato continued on to a bank of elevators and hit one of the buttons.

"Captain, I won't allow you to do it," Ritsuko hissed.

"Major, ultimately, you have no say in this matter. I do. The Commander does. If he overrules me, then so be it. Until then, confine yourself to following my directives." Ritsuko glared at her, but she ignored it.

The lift deposited them a hallway down from the Bridge. The rest of the staff arrived on separate elevators and hustled to their controls. Misato took up position behind to very nervous-looking technicians, Aoba and Hyuuga. They looked very relieved to see their commander arrive and assaulted her with a dozen reports simultaneously.

"Target appeared six minutes ago-"

"-JSSDF and Government officials have been notified-"

"-target is proceeding at a speed of 120 km towards the city center-"

"-Government officials are demanding the release of an Evangelion-"

"-JSSDF fighters are scrambling for intercept-"

Maya broke in with her own reports, "Defense grid is activating."

Ritsuko leaned over her protégé' and keyed up a secondary screen. "Evangelions Unit 00 and 01 are in the stasis chambers. Unit 02 is being prepared. Terminus is being removed and entry plug activated. LCL dispensations cycling towards maximum."

"Defense grid status report!" Misato shouted into the confusion.

"Defense grid reports...no effect. Repeat, no effect on the target."

Unnoticed by the crew below, two shadowed figures arrived above them on the watch tower. Gendo sat calmly and folded his hands contemptuously. His subordinate Fuyutski took up station behind him and cleared his throat.

"I know, Fuyutski."

"And I'll tell you again. It's a waste of our budget. Defense grid, nonsense."

"It's there for other eventualities."

Fuyutski cocked a salty eyebrow, "To halt a possible takeover? A coup?"

"We'll discuss that later. For the meanwhile, let the Government see that we do put it to use. After all, the entire grid itself costs only a fraction of the money it takes to activate one of the Evangelions. If we don't use it, they'll take it away."

"And that isn't at all part of your plans, is it?"

Gendo chuckled. "Plans are like dominoes. Structure them too tightly, and any disruption destroys them all. My plans aren't dominoes, Fuyutski."

'Really?' the old man thought. 'Then why do we seem to be always on the edge of collapse?'

"Okay," Misato said down on the bridge. "As soon as Asuka is in her Eva we'll send her up to deal with this new target. Designate it as the Fifth Angel, and for the love of the gods, tell those JSSDF fighters to clear the area!"

"JSSDF Bravo this is NERV control, please respond-"

Ritsuko tuned out the chatter from below the primary bridge and focused on getting Unit 02 prepared for combat. Already she had diverted most of the non-essential buildings in the city center underground, leaving only the essential supply and protection buildings standing. These were dummy towers that were elevator-delivered weapon dumps or densely made buildings sheathed with layers and layers of Evangelion-quality grade armor throughout the entire superstructure. Already most of the supply buildings were being filled with any and every kind of weapon at NERV's disposal, ready for any eventuality.

"Primary target is settling in above us!"

"Above us?" Misato asked.

"Directly above NERV headquarters! Calculation errors are less than point zero-three percent."

"Where's Asuka?"

Asuka was just now rushing out to her Evangelion. She hopped into the plug and strapped herself into the chair, keying up her comm system. "I'm here Misato! Activating entry sequence now." The plug slid into the Eva, LCL flooding the hollow tube quickly. Asuka relaxed and let the foul-smelling liquid flush itself into her lungs, overriding her natural instinct to gag and relaxing into the sticky embrace of the orange coloured fluid.

"Synchronization at sixty eight point three-three seven percent. Combat ready, Captain." Ritsuko looked across the rim of her glasses with the last words, emphasizing her earlier point. Misato grimaced and looked away. The two other children were far below Asuka. Rei was barely into the low fifties, Kensuke was starting off in the low thirties. Asuka was truly their only combat-capable pilot, and she was going into her first battle, alone.

Misato hoped that she could pull it off. "Is Eva Unit 02 ready?"

"Final locks are disengaged. Moving to elevator...she's ready."

"Launch!"

Asuka nearly bit her tongue as the extreme g-forces gripped her. A startled yelp escaped from her lips, but got no further. Nearly a kilometer later, and through dozens of twenty-meter thick armor plating, her Evangelion neared the surface. From a hazy read-out she could see that she would arrive nearly four hundred meters behind the Angel, behind several armored buildings. Well protected.

Down at the Bridge, long-haired Aoba Shigeru stared at his targeting read-out with a dawning horror looming across his face. "E-Energy reading! From the epicenter! It's gathering around the periphery!"

"No!" Ristuko shouted, struggling to bring up contingency plans from the Magi.

"Recall the platform!" Misato order.

Hyuuga shook his head, "It's too late!"

"No, Asuka!"

For Asuka, it was too late as well. Her Eva shot through the last opening and stopped on the surface, snapping upright and into attention, facing her enemy. For one horrified second she could hear the confusion of the bridge blast out into her plug. Then the building in front of her melted into nothingness.

"Get her back! Recall the lift!" The comms had disintegrated into uncomprehending screams. Misato pounded on Hyuuga's back. "Get her back. Bring her back, goddamnit!" Finally, after what seemed like hours, the lift started back down. It hesitated once, then fell. The beam cut a swath through the earth, hitting a gas main and rocking the city with a gigantic explosion.

Misato ignored the looming fireball and turned to Maya. "How's Asuka?"

"Uh- vitals weak! EEG abnormal. Heart rate fallen."

Ritsuko reached over and punched three buttons, "Cardiac infarction! Starting emergency heart defibrillation." On-screen they could see a limp, red body jerk inside of the bubbling orange liquid. Then again. And again. Misato bit her lip hard enough to draw blood when she saw twin trickles of life flowing out of her young ward's nose.

"I'm heading for the cages!" she ran towards a lift. "Ritsuko! Take charge here. Evacuate all civilians from their bunkers and send them outside of the city limits! Send them to the Matsushiro complex shelters."

"We can't send them there! That's a top-secret testing facility Captain!"

"Just do it! Put them into company housing or stuff them into non-military warehouses if you have to, but get them out of the city!" Misato hit the lift button and descended from the Bridge, leaving Ritsuko no option but to turn her attention to the quiet commanders above her.

"Sirs?"

Fuyutski bent down and whispered something into Gendo's ear. The Commander nodded, then walked away to his own lift. Fuyutski nodded to Ritsuko, "Do as she says. We can store them in the A-12 facility. It's currently inactive, so it'll have plenty of space for the refugees. However, make sure you tell them to bring along something to sleep on."

"Yes sir." Fuyutski left. Ritsuko flicked a hand at Maya, "Give the necessary orders. Aoba! Start damage estimations on Unit 02. Hyuuga! I know this is a little out of my experience, but since Katsuragi decided to leave it to me...I want you to start running scenarios through the Magi. Battle plans, contingencies, probabilities."

"Yes ma'am."

"Maya, when you're done with the orders, start running estimations on the strength of that particle beam. What we have to counter it, how long it will take to penetrate-"

"Attention!" Hyuuga shouted. "Activity from the Angel!"

"What?"

The holographic display shifted, showing a remote view camera focused on the strange, diamond-shaped creature. A long protrusion was extending down from the bottom of the creature. It crashed into the asphalt of the road and started grinding through it. Clouds of blackened dust started kicking up through the hole.

"What's it doing?"

"It's drilling through the ground!"

Ritsuko cursed. "Do we know at what speed it's moving?"

"Uncertain. Remote sensors in the first armored layer are being activated."

"Understood. Continue observation remotely. Now start working on those battle plans. I want you to have options for Captain Katsuragi when she returns from the Evangelion cages."

"Yes ma'am!"

Half a kilometer away, Misato was urgently talking into the remote wireless phone in the open lift she was in. "Come on, come on! Open the plug already!"

"We're working on it ma'am!"

"Fucking work faster!"

"Captain! The Evangelion has sustained major damage to the central nervous area! We can't just crack the fucker open like a can of beans! We need to be very careful about this or we'll end up damaging the unit."

"To hell with the Eva! Your number one priority is rescuing the pilot. Is that understood?"

"You'll take responsibility then?"

"Do it!"

Over the line she faintly heard the technician start talking to someone else. "Do it."

Through the lift's grill she saw the plug slowly twist out of the Evangelion. It looked warped, melted. Emergency openings slid away and violently purged the heated LCL from the tube. Two repair techs were thrown over the walkways they were on and plummeted forty meters into an ocean of LCL. Others rushed towards the plug, including an emergency medical response team. Misato pushed her way through the gathering crowd and moaned when she saw Asuka being carried out of the plug by four of the medical team.

"Oh, Asuka..."

Blood was pouring down her face. Streaming from her nose, her ears, her eyes. Her hair was limp and tangled. The medics yelled at everyone to clear a path. They rushed Asuka over to a stretcher and gently arraigned her body. They rushed their charge out of there as quickly as they dared. Misato latched onto them as they dashed away, her hand reaching out and grasping Asuka's limp fingers desperately.

"It's okay. It's okay. Everything's going to be okay."

Kensuke watched them leave from beside his entry plug. Unlike Misato, he had doubts. "Attention! Evangelion pilots on standown. SGS-13 to report on Evangelion status by 1400 hours. All pilots will report to briefing room six in thirty minutes. FalSaf teams to Stasis Cage 3 for sit-rep."

Kensuke heard the words, but they had no meaning for him. He looked around in confusion as more men and women in orange coveralls rushed by carrying equipment and toolboxes. Hesitantly he stepped down from the entry plug platform and glanced around for an exit. He didn't find one, but he did see Ayanami step down from her own Evangelion.

"Hey, Rei."

"Pilot Aida."

He winced at the frigid tone. This was a girl who kept herself tight and in control. "I, uh, well..."

"Follow me."

She understood. Kensuke smiled weakly, "Thanks."

---

Misato tapped a pen against her cheek and gnawed at her lip. "These reports are accurate?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am. We've conducted two tests so far. One with a dummy balloon and one with a Type 12 German Self-Propelled Mortar. Both targets were neutralized. However, it was noted by our analysts that neither targets were eliminated until they displayed hostile intentions towards the Angel. They're of the opinion that we can commence operations of whatever sort necessary as long as we remain four kilometers outside of the Angel's primary vicinity. However, once we begin activities..."

"We should expect a reaction, neh?"

"That is their opinion."

She nodded. "Bring up the display. Let's see exactly what happened."

Hyuuga ticked a finger at Maya, who nodded once and entered in a line of command text to the Magi interface. A small holographic display appeared a few meters away from Misato and began a recording playback of a 1/1 scale Unit 01 balloon being shuttled across the Tokyo-3 bay by a remote-manned tugboat. The Balloon raised a dummy weapon at the Angel, then vanished as a high-intensity particle beam vaporized both balloon, tugboat, and several cubic kiloliters of water into smoke and mist.

"Next."

A small line of text was displayed underneath the next recording. Type 12 German SPVM, Distance: 5 KM from Target. Initiating in 3...2...1.The weapon, borne on an automated train, fired a high-intensity beam. It traveled the distance in a matter of seconds, but did not explode against the target. It was deflected away instead when an overlapping shield of a hazy, iridescent orange appeared scant meters away from the surface of the Angel. Two seconds were counted off before the Angel retaliated and obliterated the mortar, the train, and a quarter kilometer of the surrounding area.

"Hm," was Misato's sage response to the video.

"I know. Tricky."

"What about an N2 response? It may gain us some time?"

Hyuuga shook his head. "If it was in the countryside or the outskirts, I wouldn't hesitate and would have had JSSDF Air Command on the line an hour ago with the orders. But...as it is indeed in the very center of the city proper. Well, I think it would be highly inadvisable to detonate any sort of weapon with the destructive capability of an N2 device right over our head."

"Probably a wise idea." Misato tapped the pen against her cheek again, scouring her head for an idea. "What about a mass assault by SPVMs?"

"Possible, but unlikely. You saw how easy the first mortar was deflected. I doubt that more would have any effect, even if they were timed to a mass assault. We need another option, Captain."

"What about the Angel?"

Hyuuga flipped a page on his clipboard, "The drill extending down from the Target is approximately seventeen point five meters in diameter, and as of yet has reached the second armored layer between the surface and us. At the current rate of progress the Magi have estimated approximately ten hours, call it...0006 hours tomorrow morning, until all layers have been penetrated."

"Ten hours isn't a lot of time," Misato bit one of her nails.

"No ma'am, it isn't."

Misato turned to a console and keyed up a comm line. "Ritsuko, how badly damaged is Unit 02?"

"Damage was extensive. We've got penetration down to the third layer of armor. There is some large scale tissue damage as well, but signal tests through the nervous system seems to be optimal. We have replacement units for the chest on the way, and expect to have it fully operational within three hours."

"What about the pilot?" Hyuuga asked.

Misato frowned. "They've got her in the Third Ward. We don't know when, or if, she's going to make it. The doctors are not exactly optimistic." She keyed up a second display, this one of heart rates and brain patterns. "They're reporting some failure within the nervous system that they usually don't see except in case of massive electrocutions. They're working as best they can."

"System feedback from the particle beam must have been hell."

Misato ground her teeth together. "They're saying that if she'd been synchronized any more that the damage would have been irreparable. In a way, it would have been better if we'd sent Rei or Kensuke up there. They wouldn't have been hit as badly as Asuka."

Hyuuga reached over to Maya's console and keyed up a slow-motion image of the Angel deflecting the Type 12 Mortar. "Ma'am. An idea. We know that the Type 12's shot can be deflected. And we've already determined that use of an N2 is out of the question, as is multiple mortar shots."

"Yes?"

"Well, what if we used something else?"

"Like what?"

Hyuuga held up a finger, then went to his console and started accessing the database archives. "I read recently about a new rifle the JSSDF was testing out for the Evangelion program. A sniper rifle."

"Is it viable?" Misato was astonished.

"Unknown," he shrugged, throwing his hands up in wonder. "But if it can be hustled along, built by our Section Three, and put into active use...well, it may give us a shot."

"Drawbacks?"

Hyuuga scrolled through the document, finding what he needed quickly. "Apparently the power draw is incredible. We'd need..." he shrugged. "I don't know. A lot of power. More than what we've got locally."

Misato shook her head. "Look, we need to know, and we need to know now! One: can we do this? Two: is it a plan with which we can expect any amount of success? Three: how long will it take? Four: do we have the manpower on hand, or will we need to draw from abroad? You have twenty minutes, and I needed an answer half and hour ago."

"Yes ma'am!"

Misato left Hyuuga in the Bridge where he picked up two phones and started dialing every number he could think of. She went to the nearest lift and took a moving floor over to NERV's medical division. There she found Kensuke, waiting on a bench and reading some book. He looked up at her approach and set the book aside.

"Hey, Kensuke."

He smiled. "How is she? The doctors won't tell me anything."

"Asuka's...she's going to be okay."

Kensuke chuckled, "Those are the words of someone who's scared, Ms. Katsuragi."

Misato laughed, "Okay. I suppose I am." The words were a great relief to her. It was surprising, how much those words of doubt helped relax the stress that had been cinching itself tighter and tighter around her chest. All of a sudden she could breath easier, smile, hope.

"The doctors aren't optimistic. Asuka is our best pilot. Her synch rate...you know about all of that, right?" Kensuke said he did. "Well, it isn't just a measure of how well a pilot can move their machine. It's also a measure of how much the pilot can feel what their Evangelion can feel. Pressure. Heat. Pain."

"Yeah. I remember the pain." Kensuke's eyes had a glaze to them, his mind remembering the distant taste of agony with Touji and Shinji. "Is that why its so bad?"

"Her synch ratio is much higher than anyone else's. Even...even his." She swallowed, the words distasteful to her tongue. "The attack on Asuka was too fast for us to do anything but recall the platform. We couldn't cut the nerve links in time. So, she caught the full brunt of the attack."

"That's bad."

"Yeah. That's bad. The doctors are doing all they can, but it doesn't look good. I was just on my way in to get a report." She shifted and looked at the double doors, then glanced back over to Kensuke. "Have you seen Rei?"

"Ayanami? No. Haven't seen her since the briefing."

The briefing had been abysmally short and uninformative. Mostly it had been a repeat of their previous orders. Stand down to Alert 3, wait for new mission orders. Remain within the base and get some rest. You'll know more when we tell you.

"Well, we'll find her when we need her." Misato stood up and walked into the medical ward, but turned back before the doors closed. "Kensuke, there's a cafeteria two floors down. Get something to eat, hm?"

"Okay, Ma'am?"

"Hm?"

"If she doesn't recover in time, me and Rei...well," he hesitated. "We're going after it next, right?"

Misato couldn't answer that. So she turned away, and vanished into the hospital. Kensuke looked away and stared at the far wall for a long, long time. He picked up his book and headed for an elevator, heading for the cafeteria.

He found it easily enough, but did not feel like eating. Instead he opened his book again. He struggled with the words, as they were in English, but understood them well enough. They were simple, easy. Their meaning was just as simple, but moving.

Forward the Light Brigade!

Was there a man dismayed?

Not though the soldier knew

Someone had blundered.

Their's was not to make reply,

Their's was not to reason why,

Their's but to do and die.

Into the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred.

He closed the book and set it aside.

---

Misato strode into the Bridge looking like she'd eaten something that disagreed with her. Hyuuga was not oblivious to this but decided instead to continue on as though nothing was wrong. "Captain," he hung up his phone and handed her a clipboard. "I've got confirmation from the JSSDF and from the Energy Commission in Tokyo-2. The rifle is test-ready and we've obtained a release for it. I've sent men to collect the necessary equipment from the JSSDF Research Facility."

"This power estimation...it can't be correct!"

"That's, what I said. But they confirmed it. We're going to need to discuss this with the Commander." Hyuuga smiled when Misato started cursing at the top of her lungs. "How was Asuka?"

That calmed her down. "Not good. Still unconscious. The doctors are starting to say that there's a chance she'll pull through, but they aren't optimistic about her participating in the mission."

"So we'll have to use Rei and Kensuke?"

"We will." Misato pursed her lips, then exploded in another long line of foul words that astonished Hyuuga. "Okay. How long until we get the rifle?"

Hyuuga looked at his watch, "Half an hour there, half an hour to load, half and hour back. Add in another half for fuck-ups, two hours. Should we find the Commander now?"

"Yes. Bring everything you have. We'll need to be very convincing with this. Did you get an estimate from the Magi?"

"They report it at a thirty-two percent chance of success. That's six percent more than any of the other options already run through by the Magi. And, in comparison to another full-out assault by our remaining two Evangelions, there is a twenty percent difference with our least favorable option. I'd say that this is our best chance yet explored."

Misato nodded. "Make sure to mention that to the Commander. But leave out the 'Yet explored' part. We need to sell him on this now, or we'll waste two more hours chasing possibilities that won't yield the same chances."

Hyuuga pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Misato as they hurried along to the private lift that would deposit them at the Commander's office. "Report from Dr. Akagi. They've removed the damaged armor plates and are starting to recover spare plates from storage. They're also examining some materials they think may give us a few more seconds against the particle beam."

"Like what?"

"From what they said, I think they were exploring the D-27 storage areas."

"D-27! That junk?"

He snorted, "I suppose it could be called that."

"What are you talking about! That stuff is junk! What are they considering?"

"Last I heard, they were looking at the bottom of one of the old Space Shuttles, if you can believe that," he chuckled. They arrived at the lift and showed their ID cards to a guard on duty. He phoned ahead to the office, asking if they were to be allowed in, then hung up the phone and summoned the elevator.

"Okay, here we go."

They left ten minutes later. Misato was giving order after order with Hyuuga hastily jotting it down in rapid shorthand. "Get the Energy Commission to stream-line everything. Magi will assist. I want everything in place an hour before expected breach time. We need this done quickly. No fuck-ups either! I want everything to work exactly as it should. Get on the phone to Section Three and tell them to drop whatever they're doing and get ready to build JSSDF's rifle as soon as it arrives."

"Some of them are working on Unit 02."

"Tell them to drop it. For now this has top priority. Asuka isn't in any fit condition to pilot anyhow, and won't be for some time. Get Ritsuko to hurry up her inspection of D-27 and then report over to CNC. We'll have to cook up a targeting program to mesh the rifle with our Evangelions. Have Maya continue the inspection if necessary."

"And the pilots?"

"We'll get them when we have a plan finished. For the moment we'll call this mess Operation Yashima. Get someone to start locating a suitable site from which we can base our operations."

"Requirements?"

"Clear line of site for the target. Accessible roads wide enough to handle our APCs. Located it as close as you can to a major road. But, first things first! Make sure that the Energy Commission has enough converters to handle the power load or we'll be screwed before we can even fire a shot."

"Roger that!" Hyuuga took off at a run heading for the Bridge and his phones. Misato stopped at a connecting hallway long enough to watch him vanish into an elevator, then smiled and dashed off herself. It was going to be a long day, and it wasn't even half-finished yet.

---

Asuka woke up to the wane light of a late afternoon sun and a pounding headache. A nurse taking her vitals rushed off immediately to find the doctor. Ten minutes and four doctors later she was approached by a tired-looking Kensuke, who gave her a paper cup.

"They said you should drink it."

"Ugh." Asuka swallowed the cool water and nearly vomited. "How long?"

"About five hours. Misato should be here soon."

"What...what about the Angel?"

Kensuke pursed his lips, unsure of what he should tell her. Actually, he didn't have much to say. All he knew is that the Angel was boring down through the earth towards the Geofront, and that there was some sort of plan in action to attack it. So, he told her, "It's still there. Misato will know more."

Asuka nodded, then regretted the action as her head exploded into a white pain. Air hissed through her teeth as she gently lowered herself back down to the pillow and clenched her eyes shut. Kensuke looked for a doctor but didn't see any.

He saw Rei instead.

"Rei!"

Asuka opened one teary eye. "Rei?"

"Pilot Sohryu, you are unwell."

Asuka laughed, ignoring as much as she could the pain that followed. "Yeah, isn't that the understatement of your lifetime. Tell you what, First Child. Next time, you can get shot in the chest, and I'll come and visit you."

"I do not think that would be advisable, for you or myself."

"Rei, it was a joke," Kensuke tried to explain.

Rei blinked her crimson eyes. "I do not understand?"

"Nevermind. Jesus. When can I get out of here?"

Kensuke hesitantly patted Asuka on her hand. She jerked at the touch, but didn't withdraw from it. Moving was too painful for her to consider. "You'll be released soon, Asuka. Don't worry. Then you can go and kick that Angel's ass, neh?"

"Heh. You bet. Give me an hour and I'll be running laps."

"I do not think that running would be advisable, either, Pilot Sohryu."

Kensuke sighed, "Rei, that was another joke."

"I see."

Asuka laughed. After a moment, so did Kensuke. When they both saw Rei's puzzled look they laughed even harder. Misato came in soon afterwards to find two of her pilots almost rolling on the floor, holding their sides and laughing at a confused Rei. She laughed as well, but uncertainly, unsure of what exactly the joke was.

"Misato!" Kensuke stood up at attention.

"Asuka, I see you're up."

"I sure do hope so, otherwise my dreams are getting worse." Misato cocked an eyebrow at that, but Asuka waved the silent question away with her fingertips. "Some other time. What's the situation? Am I going out after the Angel again?"

Misato shook her head. "Not this time Asuka. You've been hurt pretty bad, the doctors are strongly against sending you into the Evangelion again."

"What! What are you saying? I can still fight!"

Kensuke slid away from Asuka, who was now sitting up and desperately clutching at the sheets of her bed. He came up next to Rei and glanced at her, embarrassed. She returned his look coldly, though that was hardly a surprise for him.

Misato crossed her arms underneath her breasts, unwilling to compromise. "No, Asuka, you can't. Look, you took some serious nervous damage when your Eva was hit. You go back in, the damage could spread and disable you. Maybe permanently. We've lost one pilot already, I'm not going to risk loosing any more. Especially not combat-ready pilots like yourself. You're too valuable."

"But I can still fight! And what about them?" Asuka flung an arm out at the two standing behind Misato, forcing her to look at them. "They aren't even close to being as good as me, and you're going to send one of them against that Angel?"

"No, not just one of them. Both of them. Kensuke, Rei, grab a seat. I might as well brief you now." The two found chairs around the room and listened intently as Misato described the basic idea behind her new idea. It was risky, a point that Asuka did not hesitate to point out every chance she could get.

Kensuke leaned forward in his seat, his fingers rapidly drumming against his kneecaps as the first flutters of anxiety started rumbling through his belly. "How long?"

Misato hesitated, then pressed her lips together until they were a thin line. "There have been delays. The latest estimations have us starting the operations at midnight tonight. Six minutes before the Angel breeches the last armor layer into the Geofront."

"Six minutes! That's cutting it rather close."

"I know Asuka, but it's the best we can do. Now; Rei, Kensuke -- the both of you will report at 2100 hours for transportation to the operations site. We'll have a last briefing at 2200 and then we'll get you into your Eva's. Operations will commence at 0000 hours. Understood?"

"Yes."

Kensuke nodded.

Asuka didn't look at all happy, but she'd run out of objections. It hurt to move, and it wasn't getting any better. A few doctors were waiting outside of her door for their chance to come in, probably to dose her with enough medication to drop a horse. Misato waved at them, then gave everyone in the room a final look.

"This isn't something I would do, given any other alternative. But we've run out of time. Desperate times call for desperate measures; and believe me, this is desperate. Rei, Kensuke, I expect to see you soon. Asuka, rest. You'll get another chance soon enough."

"I wanted this one," she mumbled petulantly.

Kensuke smiled, "We don't always get the things we want, Asuka." Misato nodded at them and left, Rei trailing behind. Kensuke waited a moment, reaching over and patting her on the hand again. "You get better now, Asuka. I don't feel half as confidant about all of this without you there."

"Heh. As well you should. I'm the best, after all!"

Kensuke laughed, then headed for the door and the impatient doctors beyond it. Asuka called to him before he could open it. "Hey Kensuke!"

"Hm?"

"Before. When I met you, back at the school...you said, you said you were wondering how long it would take you before you were killed." Kensuke's eyes crinkled, wondering where this was going. Asuka's mouth twitched in a smile for the young man, a rare smile filled with nothing but beauty. "Nevermind."

Kensuke chuckled, but only for a short time. "I'll see you tomorrow, Asuka." Then he left, letting the swarms of doctors rush in and start waving needles and syringes around. She watched the tawny haired boy walk away through countless doors, slowly vanishing behind walls of pristine, sterilized white.

That was the last time she saw him alive.

---

Someone handed Misato a flask. She took it and poured the liquid within past numbed lips into a dry, raw throat. The liquid, clear and tasteless, burned its way through her body and exploded in her gut. She gagged, coughed, and spit. "What the hell is this?"

"Vodka," a ragged Hyuuga said. "The only thing I could find."

"Vodka..." Misato threw the empty flask away and watched it bounce down a ruined hillside. Past shattered trees and torn earth. Past the smoking remains of Evangelion Unit 00. Further off, in a blackened city, dozens of small fires burned in testament to the latest death of an Angel.

"Ritsuko..." Hyuuga began.

Misato looked up at him, then away. "Yeah?"

"She finally found the entry plug."

Suddenly Misato found herself regretting the lost flask. "And?"

"They're still trying to find his remains." Hyuuga felt his eyes water. "For fuck's sake..." he pinched his eyes closed, his body shaking with silent sobs. Misato reached an arm around him, pulling him close.

"It's okay. It's okay."

It wasn't okay. The mission had been a disaster. The Angel, through some omniscient prescience, had gleaned their intentions before they were fully prepared. Rei had been the gunner for this one, her synchronization being higher than Kensuke's. He'd been outfitted with a modified shield made out of the bottom of one of the old space shuttles. Their first shot had gone wide, vaporizing an entire city block of buildings. Before they were ready for the second shot, the Angel had fired again.

For a moment, it looked as though everything had failed. That Rei would die, or at the very least their weapon would be lost. But Kensuke -- Kensuke had surprised them all. He jumped in front of the blast, shielded Rei from the brunt of the attack. But the shield didn't hold. Nor did the armor of his Evangelion.

The Angel's particle beam pierced Unit 00 straight through the chest. They lost contact with Kensuke immediately. But it bought Rei the time she needed. The second shot was dead-on, coring the Angel. Afterwards, after the medical response team charged down to Kensuke's Eva, after Ritsuko had pronounced it destroyed, she forced herself to watch through the last transmission frame-by-frame.

The second after Unit 00 had been hit by the Angel, she saw a blaze of fire sweep up through the entry plug. She saw Kensuke's terrified expression, and how he held up his feeble arms to protect him from the wall of fire that rushed for him through the LCL.

The transmission failed after that.

She stumbled out of the control vehicle and found a log to sit on and watch recovery crews crawl over the downed machine. Hyuuga had come for her then, she sent him away to find something for her to drink.

Now she had her drink, and nothing had changed.

She felt so hollow. So empty.

"Someone needs to tell his father," Hyuuga said, wiping at his tears.

Misato closed her heavy eyes, "Someone needs to tell Asuka."

---

"The reports from Tokyo-3 have come in, and..." On the television the handsome reporter paused, gathered his thoughts. It was rare to see someone pause in the news business. Even rarer to see them do so without it being scripted for them. But some things, some tragedies, were so terrible that they needed no script. No rehearsal.

This was such a time.

"The latest Angel attack has been repelled by NERV and its experimental weaponry, the Evangelions. However, reported to us at five this morning, and confirmed by seven o'clock...one of the pilots, one of the Evangelion pilots, an Aida, Kensuke, aged fourteen years old -- died in combat, at twelve oh eight this morning."

The reporter paused again and leaned his head down to his hands. The pause continued for a long time. Then the man stood up and waved at the camera, tears glittering in his eyes. "I can't. I can't." He walked away. No one took his place.

Shinji Ikari turned away from the crowd gathered around the television. Like so many others nearby, he too was crying. He went back to the bridge he'd been sleeping under and gathered up his things. Quickly he counted the spare money he'd begged off the street in the last few days. It would just be enough.

It was time to go home.

---

Intermission

Hey, take a break. Relax. Go eat something. Have a soda, some cheese and mustard. Relax a bit. Or, depending upon when you've started this story, have a nap! Make sure you're taking care of yourself.

-Seldon

---

He was back. Back in a city of lies and deceit. This would be painful, that much at least was certain. In a way, it was already painful. That boy, that innocent kid Kensuke. He'd sheltered Shinji in his time of need. He'd given him succor and hope, encouragement where none would lend him a helping hand or a kind word. He did this even though his best friend had nearly broken his jaw. He did this even after he was nearly killed.

Now that bright-eyed kid. That boy so eager to fight, to be a part of NERV. Now he was dead. He died fighting in a war that he didn't understand. For reasons that were less than honest. He was given a weapon that he didn't know how to use and told to fight an enemy no one could comprehend.

He died a hero. Saving the life of another.

He died in Shinji's place.

Shinji would never forgive himself for that.

"Attention! This train will arrive at Tokyo-3 Municipal platform in two minutes. Doors will open on the left side of the train. Thank you for using Tokyo-3 Loop Line! Attention! This train-"

Shinji looked up, his face streaked with dirt and his clothes reeking of sweat and filth. He was alone on the train, it was fairly late at night. Probably for the best, as he was sure the stench from his clothes would have drawn many an unsavory glance.

He leaned his head back against the glass and stared out at the ruined landscape he was passing through. Many buildings still did not have power, and more than a few were melted, or destroyed. In the distance he could see the shape of the Angel lying against a block of buildings. There were scaffolds all across the hulk, cranes and heavy equipment strewn all about. Pieces of it were dismantled near the apex.

'Like little ants slowly ripping apart a corpse. One piece at a time...'

"Attention! Tokyo-3 Municipal Platform! Please watch your step over the gap, and thank you for using Tokyo-3 Loop Line. Please enjoy your stay in Tokyo-3." The train was slowing down. Shinji gathered his bag and slid his arm through the looped handles. The doors opened and he stepped out onto an empty platform.

"Here I am again..."

The train slid away. Shinji Ikari, formerly the Third Child and designated pilot of Evangelion Unit 01, strolled out of the train station and started a leisurely walk towards the last place he could call home. It would take him a while, but he would get there all the same.

Just a little bit more tired, a little bit more hungry than before.

It had been three days since Kensuke died.

---

For the last few days, Asuka couldn't sleep. Every time she tried to close her eyes she saw him, walking fearlessly through thousands of white doors, strolling forward to his doom without even so much as a single glance back. Misato had withdrawn from the world, retreating into a numbing haze of alcohol and duty. She'd brought Asuka back the night before from the medical ward, then left her in her room while she went out to the nearest bar and drank herself into a stupor.

The next morning Asuka heard her come in, take a shower, and leave without moving. Neither one wanted to speak to the other. Some things were just too painful to confront immediately. So they kept their distance.

Hikari had called Asuka's cell phone. She didn't answer, though.

So when she heard someone banging at the front door of Misato's apartment at two in the morning, she figured it was a worried Hikari coming to check up on her, despite the lateness of the hour. She considered not answering the door, but relented after the banging became more and more insistent.

"All right, all right! I'm coming. Geez." She walked through the living room, tugging down the hem of her thin nightshirt and brushing her hair into a semblance of control. When she opened the door she looked out and recoiled.

"Where is she?"

"W-who are you!"

"Where is she?"

Asuka backed away, her hand groping for the door controls. 'My God! I'm going to get raped and killed!' She slapped at the controls, activating the door. It jammed half-way through, stuck open by an out-thrust foot from a dirty pair of pants.

"Where is Misato?"

That grabbed her attention. "Who are you?"

The boy, he couldn't have been more than fifteen, reached over and started pushing the door back into the wall. It went with no small resistance, and with no small effort. He stepped into the hallway and looked down at the floor. "She's out, isn't she?"

When Asuka didn't reply he shrugged and slipped the bag off of his shoulder. "I need to take a bath." She let him slip past her without protest. He walked into the living room and took in the mess with a sniff. "Still doesn't clean up after herself, does she?"

Asuka crept in behind him and watched as he silently went about the room gathering the trash and tucking it away into a small trashcan that Misato kept near one corner of the couch. He was quick and efficient in his movements. As if he knew exactly where most of the litter would be gathered and how much effort he would need to clean it up. That done he moved into the kitchen.

"Tsk. Worse than when I last saw you. Ah, well...I'll clean it up later."

Asuka leaned past the corner of the wall and watched the strange young boy set his trashcan down before he went into the bathroom. When the door slid shut she rushed back to her room and hit the speed dial for Misato's personal phone.

"Katsuragi here."

"Misato! Some strange man just broke into the house!"

"What? Are you okay? I'm coming home right now! Just get out of the house and into somewhere public, okay?"

"Misato! He hasn't done anything...well, that's not true. He started cleaning up the house! I think he knows you."

"...Did he give you a name?"

"No."

"What does he look like?"

"Uh, a little shorter than me. Black hair, I think his eyes were blue-"

"Asuka, stay there. I'll be back in a minute. Don't let him leave, understand me?"

"Who is he?"

The phone went dead. Asuka held it away from her ear and stared at it for a moment before setting it aside. Across the apartment she could hear water running. The strange pet Misato kept, the warm water penguin she named Pen-Pen, came ambling up to her door and croaked at her. She shrugged. 'I guess all I can do is wait.'

Pen-Pen croaked at her again, then waddled off.

Ten minutes later he stepped out of the bathroom, looking a good deal cleaner and smelling much better. Asuka was waiting for him by the kitchen table, which was covered with the remains of a dozen microwave meals and crushed beer cans. The kid was wearing a light blue T-shirt and black slacks that looked a bit worn. his hair was long and shaggy, obviously it hadn't been trimmed in some time.

He brushed a lock of hair away from his eyes, which Asuka saw were of a blue much deeper than her own, and stared at her. She squirmed underneath the scrutiny, all too aware that she hadn't changed out of her very thin shirt and short pants. She still didn't know who he was or why he was here, the thought was uncomfortable to say the least.

"You haven't had to eat any of her cooking, have you?"

Asuka blinked, "Well..."

He laughed bitterly, "Consider yourself fortunate she stuck to those awful meals." He dropped his large duffel bag on the floor and picked up the trashcan again. Slowly but surely he scoured the table clean of debris, scooping it up and depositing it in the can without any fuss. "Believe me, do not, under any circumstance, let her cook the food. You'll thank me later."

"So...you do know her. Misato?"

"Yeah," he laughed, setting the trash aside and opening the fridge. "Still full of beer. Oh, some milk." He cocked an eye at her. "I take it this is your contribution?" he held the half-full liter of milk up for inspection.

Asuka nodded.

"Well, good to see that someone has some sense in this house." He twisted around and looked at his legs. "Ah! Pen-Pen," the boy's face cracked from its impassive study of the house when he saw the penguin. He bent down and picked him up, rubbing a finger across the bridge of his beak. "She treating you okay, boy?"

He croaked.

"Well, I suppose that's a yes. What do you think?" he turned Pen-Pen to face Asuka and cocked his head. Pen-Pen also cocked his head in a mirror to the strange boy's. Asuka couldn't bear it, she laughed.

He set the bird down on the table and sat in a chair across from her. "I'm Shinji," he extended a hand.

"Shinji? Ikari, Shinji?"

"The one and only. What?" Asuka was gaping at him. Of all things she could have expected to see from the already famous Third Child, cleanliness was not one of them. He looked calm, focused, yet -- in the depths of his eyes -- she saw sadness. A pain that he hid away behind a facade of neatness and a desire to bring order to wherever he went.

"Hello?"

Asuka returned to him with a jolt and hastily took his hand in her own. His palms felt rough, ragged. "Asuka. Asuka Langely Sohryu."

"Like the aircraft carrier?"

"Hm."

"Unusual last name." He looked around at the apartment and petted a lazy penguin who had stretched himself across the table belly-down. "I take it your with NERV? A pilot?"

"The Second Child. You haven't heard of me?"

Shinji shook his head. "I wasn't here long enough..." He lapsed into silence, his face falling into a motionless mask that was broken only by the content moans from Pen-Pen. After a few minutes of this monotony, he shivered and smiled at her. "I imagine that I woke you up. Sorry."

"No, I wasn't asleep."

"Hm. Well, how about something to eat then?"

Shinji didn't wait for her to reply but opened up the refrigerator and started pulling out odds and ends of various leftovers. He discarded some into the trash, kept others, pulled out assorted pots and pans and started the stove. The kitchen started to come alive with wonderful scents. Asuka let herself relax. He wasn't going to hurt her.

Though, why he was here was a mystery.

Shinji had just set out a plate of food for her when they both heard the door open. "Asuka!"

"We're in here, Misato," she called.

Misato entered the kitchen, but she didn't wear the smile that Asuka did. Her face was contorted into a grim twist, her arms raised up and her hands holding a pistol. Asuka bolted up from her chair and flattened herself against the wall.

"Misato! What the hell-"

"Shut up and get behind me Asuka!" The girl did what she was told without any fuss. Misato ignored her and concentrated solely on the unconcerned boy she held in her sights. "Raise your hands above your head and slowly turn to face the wall."

The boy snorted. "Welcome home, how've you been? I'm fine. Took a little trip, met some people. Oh? That's good. How nice to see you."

"Shut up. Put your hands up and face the wall, slowly." Misato was pointing now with one hand, the other still rock-steady in its aim. "You've illegally entered my domicile. You will be placed under arrest. Do you understand me?"

Shinji sighed and slowly raised his hands away from the pots on the stove. He turned towards the wall and waited. Misato reached behind her and drew a pair of silver handcuffs from her belt and swiftly came up behind the boy. She roughly jerked one arm down behind his back and deftly slipped the cuff over his wrist. When she was sure of her grip she holstered her pistol and took his other arm.

Both hands secure she guided him to a seat and pushed him down into it. "Stay there and be quiet. Move and you'll be hurt. Understand?"

"You'll want to take the pot off the stove."

Misato hesitated.

Shinji inclined his head towards the aforementioned pot. "It'll boil over if you don't move it soon. Don't want to make a mess."

She didn't move. 'Who is this? This isn't the scared, disobedient child who left two months ago. What happened to him? What changed him?'

When Misato still didn't move Asuka rushed into the kitchen and grabbed the handle of the pot. The water slowly bubbled still after she moved it away from the heating elements. She moved up beside Misato and touched her on the shoulder.

"Misato?"

"Go to your room Asuka. Now!" When she was gone Misato pulled out a seat opposite Shinji's and sat down. She laid her issue sidearm out on the table and gently removed her finger from the trigger. Shinji stared back at her without the slightest hint of concern. Neither one of them said a word for a long time. Minutes passed.

Finally, Misato broke. "Why are you here?"

"Kensuke died."

"You...you saw that?"

Shinji smiled, though rightly it was more a grimace than an expression of happiness. "I saw. How did he die?"

"I don't have to tell you anything," she snapped back at him. Shinji's smile widened, his eyes bored into her own. Tugged at her soul. She felt something for him well up deep inside of her. Pity. "He was killed during the last Angel attack."

"I know that much. How did he die?"

Misato sighed, "It doesn't matter. He's dead. If I could bring him back, I would, but I can't. It was my fault in the first place for putting someone so inexperienced in the cockpit of an Evangelion."

"You can't use that excuse, Misato."

"What?"

Shinji glared at her. "I was inexperienced. You cannot use that excuse. Not for Kensuke."

"Well...what do you want me to say! It's the truth!"

"So what?"

A silence descended again. Shinji looked down at where Pen-Pen had run after Misato came home and sighed. "Do you have another candidate to pilot in his place?"

"I can't discuss that with you."

"Misato...it doesn't matter, you know? Eventually we'll learn who it is. Probably after they get killed because NERV thought it expedient to put them into a battle they were never ready for. So, tell me, who's the next pilot?"

Misato chewed on her nails for a long time before she answered. "Ritsuko has settled in on Hikari Horikai."

"The class rep?" Shinji nodded, understanding crossing over his face. "Kensuke, Hikari, Rei, myself...the new pilot, Asuka, she's in that class too?" Misato didn't answer. "Well, if she is, then that says quite a bit, doesn't it?"

"When did you become like this?"

"What?"

"So...cold. Detached. You sound like your father."

Shinji's lips thinned. "I am not my father." He looked up at her, a dangerous glint in his eyes. Misato instinctively reached for her pistol. "You remember that." He laughed, a dry thing that held not a trace of humor. "I'll be your next pilot."

"You can't."

Shinji smiled, "I will be. Section Two caught up with me three hours ago coming off of the last train from Hokkaido. My father...he's already approved." Shinji twisted around in the chair. "Can you take these off now?"

"Commander Ikari, approved?"

Shinji shifted back around, a calm look on his face. "Call him if you like."

Misato did.

When she took the cuffs off he was smiling at her fondly. "Misato, you were so kind to me-"

"Stop it!" she yelled, throwing the handcuffs onto the table. "I don't want to hear it." She started laughing hysterically, "You're so eager to blame, you know that? Shinji, let me tell you something. It wasn't my fault that Kensuke died. It...it wasn't NERV's fault. It wasn't even your father's fault! It was your fault that Kensuke got killed. Your's. No one else's."

Shinji's fond look didn't falter, but it became something a little more -- sad. "...You say that like I didn't already know, Misato. I do know. It is my fault he died. That's why I'm here. I'm not going to let anyone else get killed because of this."

He stood up and walked to the door of the kitchen. "I'll understand if you don't want me back here. I just wanted to drop in and say...I don't know. Hello, I suppose." She watched him hesitate. "I'll be moving into the NERV housing facilities in the Geofront. Apartment D-203," he pulled out a scrap of paper and set it down on a counter. "The new phone they gave me."

Shinji glanced over his shoulder, pursed his lips and nodded. He gathered his bag and left. Misato stood for a long time, then pulled out a beer and cracked it open. When Asuka came back into the kitchen she hadn't taken a drink from it.

"Misato?"

She stirred, taking a deep breath and rubbing at her reddened eyes. She looked at Asuka for only a moment before pushing away her chair and heading into her room. Pen-Pen waddled up to her door and scratched at it with his beak, but she didn't open it. He turned to Asuka and waved his flippers around, the closest thing she'd seen him do to emulate a shrug.

Asuka picked him up and absently petted him until the sun came up.

---

Fuyutski tossed a manila folder onto Gendo's desk. "The Government calls."

Gendo, unamused by his older friend's comment, set aside the document he was reading and opened up the folder. The document was short, brief, and very direct. Gendo put it down and closed the folder. "A waste of NERV's time and money."

"True, but they were fairly insistent about this. And, one can hardly begrudge them this, it will look rather nice on CNN."

"Absurd," Gendo shook his head.

"Well, he's the first Eva pilot to die in combat. It's created a sensational stir throughout the world." Fuyutsuki paused, then pointed to the document Gendo had been perusing before he entered. "How is the construction progressing?"

"Slow. The other nations are being obstinate. They'll follow along eventually. There's a meeting scheduled for later this month on one of the Scramjets."

"Is it my turn?" Fuyutsuki gave Gendo a wry grin.

"No, I'll go to this one. Now, what about Unit 03?"

Fuyutski walked over to a window and stared out at a beautiful, artificial sunrise. "They're giving me some resistance. The good professors at our Arizona base are reluctant to release their test subject."

"Send them Unit 00. That should assuage some of their concerns."

"Understood. Is...is it that unsalvageable?"

Gendo looked up from his reports, his glasses perfectly illuminated into two silver circles. "Dr. Akagi said as much. The specifics mentioned a possibility of recovery, but not until a dedicated repair facility worked on it."

Fuyutsuki nodded, then took a breath. 'Now or never.' He turned away from the window, "What about your son?"

"What about him?"

"Well..."

"You think it strange of me, don't you? To take him back so easily?"

"The thought did occur to me," Fuyutsuki begrudgingly admitted.

"One Evangelion disabled for a prolonged amount of time. One pilot killed in action. Nearly a billion in damages...tell me Fuyutsuki, what would you do? Train another candidate, one who may be a worse problem than our last? Or re-admit a pilot who's success rate against the Angels is marred by only the occasional quibble?"

"So it's not because he's your son, then?" Fuyutsuki asked.

Gendo shook his head. "Any relation to me is immaterial. The Third Child is successful. That's all that matters. We can't afford to loose another Evangelion. And we can't allow the Angels to defeat us."

Fuyutsuki sighed. "Of course. Do you want Captain Katsuragi to handle the funeral details?"

"No. You handle it. If the Government and the UN want us to proceed with this farce, I want it done quickly and with a minimum of fuss and expense." Gendo paused to steeple his hands beneath his chin. "Katsuragi has behaved erratically in the last few days, I'm not certain that she's in the correct frame of mind to head up our Control Room anymore."

"Commander, not everyone can accept the death of the Fourth Child as calmly as you can. The Bridge crew, some of the technicians...a lot of people are taking it hard."

"...Fine. But I want the Second Child to be removed from her care immediately. Issue the orders today. She'll move in next to the Third Child in the housing blocks."

Fuyutsuki left. Time passed. Gendo had ordered lunch sent in, chicken and rice with a light soup, no seasonings. When the door opened he looked up sharply, ready to berate the kitchen staff for being so impudent as to not knock first, but it wasn't his lunch at all. It was the Captain.

She slammed the door shut and boldly strode up to his desk. "Why is Asuka being taken from my home?" she yelled at her superior.

Gendo leaned back into his chair. "Captain, you've been through quite a lot recently. The death of one of your subordinates. The strain of fighting the Angels. You should leave now and attend to your duties. I'll overlook this...incident."

"Oh, no! You're not doing this! Tell me why she's being moved."

Gendo Ikari was normally a very calm man. A patient man. Patience, he believed, was the key that unlocked all problems. If one was patient, then nothing was beyond reach. Of course, he was also patient because of his terrible temper. A temper that rarely surfaced because he was always patient.

He wasn't feeling very patient today. Instead of relaxing, taking a breath, and calmly ordering Section Two to come in and remove the Captain from his office, forcibly if necessary, he stood up and slammed a hand down on his desk.

"Wake up! This is not a game, Captain! That girl is a pilot of a machine designed for war. People get killed in war, and it's your duty to send her into that war. You can't afford to let emotions cloud your decisions. A day will come when you must send that girl, and any other pilots with her, into a situation where they will be killed. And you must do that without hesitation!"

Misato stared at the Commander, horrified.

Gendo didn't care. "The day I see you refuse to do that. The very minute I even think that you're hesitating, I'll relieve you of command and appoint another to take your place." Slowly his ire ebbed, letting him release his tense muscles and relax back into his chair. "Letting the Third Child stay with you was a mistake. It set a precedent. Well, we'll have no more of that. Now get out of my office!"

She saluted and fled. There was nothing more that she could do.

Gendo closed his eyes and took three deep breaths. He could feel himself calming down. He kept his eyes closed until a knock at the door heralded the arrival of his lunch. He greeted the staff with his customary indifference, then settled in to his chicken and rice.

---

Asuka was eating when Misato came home that night. She came over to the red-headed girl and gave her a hug. Asuka, never very comfortable with close contact, shrugged out of the hug and turned to Misato, "What the hell was that for?"

Misato smiled, "Just...well."

"What?"

"You're moving out. Tomorrow." Asuka didn't say anything. "They're putting you in an apartment near...near Shinji Ikari. I'll help you pack up tomorrow morning." She opened a beer and downed it in a single go. The aluminum crunched quite satisfactorily in her hand. For a moment, she imagined it to be the Commander's throat.

Too bad it wasn't.

She had something else to tell her, "They've got a ceremony planned, probably next week or so. Kensuke's funeral." Asuka was attentive. "We'll have to get you a uniform to wear. Though, I'm sure someone will be by to collect you for that."

"Why? Won't you come by?" Asuka quietly asked.

"No. I'm no longer your guardian, Asuka. I'm just your commander."

She left the kitchen after that, leaving Asuka alone to think.

---

Her new home was big. Bigger even than Misato's. Though, that might have been the emptiness. True to her word, Misato had helped her pack up everything she'd unloaded and get it sent over to her new apartment, but she hadn't stuck around after that. So Asuka was left with a dozen or so boxes lying around the entrance to her place and wondering just where she was going to put it all.

'At least they gave me a T.V.' she mused. Truthfully, Asuka was delighted to move out of Misato's place. 'At last! I'm finally being treated like an adult, not some snotty kid!' She didn't say anything to Misato about this, she didn't want to hurt her feelings.

"Now...where are you going to go?" she asked the boxes.

A bemused laugh from the door startled her out of her contemplations. "I don't think that NERV's psych evaluations would like to know that one of their pilots was talking to boxes."

She looked up to see that boy, Shinji Ikari, standing in her doorway. "You don't say?"

"Well, I suppose it wouldn't matter. I heard you were moving in." He looked around the entrance and cocked his head. "I think this is bigger than mine."

"Well, naturally the best pilot gets the best apartment!" she smiled at him.

Shinji stared at her for a moment, then started laughing. "Heavens aren't you full of yourself!"

"Hey!"

Shinji dodged the first fist that flew at him, but couldn't avoid the second. Asuka's fist connected soundly with his shoulder. He yelped at the surprising force she put behind the punch and jumped out of the apartment, holding his shoulder tenderly.

"That wasn't very nice."

"Hmph. I'm not a very nice person," Asuka stuck her tongue out at Shinji.

He laughed. "I suppose not. Well, I don't suppose then that you'd want some help unpacking?"

Asuka rolled her eyes, "Is that the way you Japanese kids try to hit on girls?"

"What? Where did that come from?" Shinji looked genuinely startled by the insinuation, which took Asuka aback.

"Nevermind. I suppose you could lend me a hand. But I'm warning you!" she held a finger up near his nose. "Any funny stuff and I'm kicking your ass."

Shinji held up his hands. "Sure, sure. No funny stuff."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Asuka held her finger on him for a second longer, then smiled. "You can start with that box over there."

"What's in it?"

"The heavy stuff."

Shinji peeled back the tape and took a look inside. "Oh, nuts."

Asuka giggled.

It was nearing three in the afternoon before Asuka leaned back on the couch that had been furnished with her apartment and said, aloud, that she was satisfied. Shinji just nodded wearily and relaxed into the comfortable embrace of the plush armchair across from the couch. He'd nearly been run ragged by the strong-willed girl, who seemed incapable of making any lasting decisions about the placement of her things.

In truth, she'd been quite satisfied with the first arrangement that she'd put everything into, but had decided to play with Shinji a bit to see how he would react. After all, she reasoned, it wasn't every day that a guy walked around in a girl's room -- or house, in this case -- helping her out without some expectation of compensation. So she moved everything around. And around, and around. All the while constantly shadowing her diligent little helper to see when and where he would make his move.

Much to her disappointment, he didn't do anything. He was the perfect gentleman, although after the third or fourth re-organization he did start to whine a bit. He stayed away from her clothes, he was careful and considerate with her things, he was...boring. At least, that's what Asuka finally decided to call him. Boring.

A boring little boy. Perhaps that was just her nature, though. On one hand, Asuka really didn't want anyone taking advantage of her, let alone someone whom she would have to live next too for what might be months, years. On the other, she honestly wanted someone to want her. To desire her. To hang onto every word she said, every movement she made.

Paradox.

Shinji, sitting in a fog, considered the girl who sat nearby. 'She's eager. Full of energy. Full of hope. Too bad.' He leaned forward and clapped his hands against his knees. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm starved. You?"

"Sure."

Shinji gestured, "There's a phone over there, I don't know if you saw it earlier. I'm pretty sure there's a phonebook nearby."

Asuka pouted, "Aww, leaving me to fend for myself? How cold!"

"Well, I suppose I could cook a meal..." Shinji blushed. 'What the hell am I doing? Sure I helped her out, but she doesn't know me! And I don't know her...'

"And he can cook!" That was interesting. From what Asuka had seen in college, and on the base in Germany, not many men could cook. Well, not really. Most men she knew in Germany could grill sausages and hamburgers and steaks, but that was about it. They called themselves cooks all the same, though. "Do you really?"

"What, know how to cook? Well, I'm not exactly a chef," Shinji shrugged. "But I can make a decent meal, I suppose."

"Good!" Asuka hopped up from the couch and waved at him to get up as well. "Come on. It's not like I can cook something for myself, you know. I didn't exactly have time to buy food before I got thrown down here."

"Okay, okay! I'm moving."

Asuka followed him over to his own apartment next door, which, as he'd said earlier, was indeed a good deal smaller than her own. It was a good deal more plain than her's as well. Where Asuka had filled the blank spaces of her walls with posters and pictures, Shinji had opted to leave his walls bare. The apartment looked cold, uninhabited. The only thing of note that she saw in the brief tour was a cello standing in a corner beside a chair.

It was the only colour not standard-issue in the entire house.

"You play?" she pointed at the instrument.

Shinji shrugged. "A little. Make yourself at home, I'll go start the food." He vanished through a door while Asuka walked over to the cello. Distantly she heard some movements in the kitchen, the clatter of pots, the running of water from the tap.

'What am I doing here?' Inviting him to help her was one thing. But going into his home? Alone, with no one for kilometers around to help her if need be? Madness! But she was here, and she was hungry. 'Maybe that's reason enough,' she reasoned, reaching down to pluck a string on the cello.

She turned away to look into the kitchen. Shinji had his back turned to her, his hand busy with ladles and bags. Into one pot he put a few vegetables, then poured in a fine powder. 'Maybe it's because he's so boring..? I don't know, I just feel...safe, around him. Heh! He's such a fine gentleman, he probably hasn't even thought about this fine, magnificent body that's in front of him.'

She smiled at the thought, silently shaking with hidden laughter. Oh! The ways she could tease him with this. Already plans were forming in her mind. "Hey, Shinji?"

"Hm?" He put aside the knife he'd picked up and looked across his shoulder.

Asuka had an arm behind her back. "Do you mind if I play?"

"T-the cello?"

"Mh-hm," Asuka nodded, her bottom lip bit beneath her teeth in a childishly alluring sort of way.

"Uh, I guess? Do you know how?"

"Of course I do! Watch." He came forward to the door and watched her slide the tall instrument in front of her. She picked up the bow and set it on the strings, then carefully placed her fingers.

Shinji cringed when the first squealing, horrendous notes warbled into his ears. Asuka jerked the bow away, her face frozen in terror. She timidly looked up from the strings, "S-sorry. I guess I'm a little out of practice."

Shinji dared enough to open one of his eyes, which he had clenched shut. When he was certain that nothing more would assault his ears he opened up wide and blinked. "I guess," was his sedate reply. "If you want," he stumbled to a halt, his mouth dry. He licked his lips and coughed. "I should get back to the kitchen."

Asuka slumped a bit. "Okay. Sorry, about that." Shinji smiled at her before retreating back to the more comfortable sight of boiling water, dried rice, and fresh vegetables. 'Shit. So much for that idea...'

---

It'd been a week since Shinji had returned. Ten days since Kensuke had died fighting the Fifth Angel. The sun dawned bright and clear and hot over Tokyo-3, it was a Sunday, and an official day of mourning throughout Japan, if not the World. Today was the day that NERV would hold the official funeral ceremony for Kensuke.

Asuka was already hating it.

"Come on, Shinji!" she kicked at his apartment's door. "We're going to be late."

"Coming, coming!"

"You said that ten minutes ago!" she kicked the door again. "Now hurry up, goddamn it!"

The door slid aside. Asuka started laughing. "My god! You look like some Hitler Youth dressed up in that mess!"

Shinji frowned, his brows gathering together in a dark line. "Like you're any better."

Asuka's eyes took on a dangerous glint, "What was that? You dare to insinuate that I am looking like anything but the perfection of beauty?" Shinji rolled his eyes, accustomed to her flights of megalomania even though he'd only met her a short time before. She wasn't all too hard to read, after all.

"No, Asuka. I'm sorry. You don't look like some neo-nazi fanatic. You look absolutely wonderful in that trussed-up military garb they've given you."

She punched him in the shoulder. "Damn straight! Now come on, we don't have much time."

A car was waiting for them nearby. The driver gave them a crisp salute as he held the door open, dropping it only after they both had entered. The drive was a short one to NERV headquarters. Misato met them there with one of the Bridge crew.

Hyuuga smiled, "I'm surprised we found uniforms to fit you two! Or did the factory make them especially for this...occasion?"

Misato didn't reply, giving Asuka a weak smile as she came close. "Not bad. You either, Ikari." Shinji twitched his head and smiled at his former guardian. "Let me have a look at you two. We don't want anyone looking like a fool on television."

Both Eva pilots were dressed in very conservative military dress, embellished with silver thread and other oddities that most military parade dress contained as a matter of fact. Both wore the insignia of warrant officers, a rank that Shinji had been surprised to see when his uniform was delivered. Asuka had explained it to him.

"We're not technically part of the military, but we still have to be included in the chain-of-command in NERV. Since we're pilots, and not really allowed to command anyone, we're listed as warrant officers."

"What are those?" he'd asked.

"Well, warrant officers are sort of in-between officers and non-commissioned personnel."

"So...we're above sergeants?"

"Yes, but below even the lowest officer."

Shinji nodded sagely, but then screwed up his face, "I still don't understand."

Asuka groaned, "Look, it really doesn't matter. Misato commands us, we pilot the Evas. That's all that really matters. Okay?"

That much he could understand.

Misato paused for a second to adjust a medal pinned on Asuka's left breast pocket. Shinji had no such medals. "They finally gave it to you, neh?"

"Yeah. Is it in the right place?"

Misato nodded, "Just fine." She didn't linger much longer on Asuka but turned and visually inspected Shinji. "You've got lint on the jacket. Hyuuga, find a roller. Move the armband up another three centimeters. Hm, you've got creases on the sleeves! What the hell did you do to this, hun? Sleep in it?"

Hyuuga reappeared with a lint roller and passed it across Shinji's shoulders. The few specks of lint he saw there were quickly and easily removed. The creases he saw on the sleeves were nothing more than hang lines that most jackets assumed after sitting in a closet for a few days; and the black armband, the same one that every NERV personnel was wearing today, had been moved up too high!

Misato snatched Shinji's hat out of the cusp of his elbow. It was an archaic thing, hard and peaked, with a polished brim of black leather. She examined it minutely, then handed it back with a cold fire in her eyes. Hyuuga cut her off before she could speak, though.

"Captain, we really need to be going."

Misato's mouth clicked shut. She looked at her watch, "Well, we wouldn't be so late if Mr. Ikari here had taken the time to dress himself decently. Fine. Let's go."

Asuka exchanged a troubled glance with Shinji. He shook his head and waved her ahead of him. Hyuuga put a hand on Shinji's shoulder and let Misato gain some distance before bending down and whispering in his ear, "I know it's not your fault, but try not to antagonize her today. Okay?" Quickly he re-adjusted the black armband, setting it at the proper level.

He meant it kindly. That much Shinji could see. But it wasn't true. "Hyuuga, was it? You're wrong. It is my fault. And you know what? It doesn't matter." Shinji put his cap on and set off at a brisk walk. Hyuuga watched him go with narrow eyes and a firm jaw.

'Poor kid.'

---

Rain is always a somber reflection upon an occasion. Perhaps, then, it was fitting that the day of Kensuke's funeral was dark, grim, and wet. Despite this, thousands filled the quiet, battle-torn streets to pay their respects to this, the first casualty of a war no one understood. Hundreds of uniformed NERV personnel stood firmly in neat ranks. A full division of JSSDF armor had been parked in the main square, their tanks muzzled and their division colours striped with black.

For nearly an hour they waited, the rain misting down and soaking everyone to the skin. Then they heard it. A solemn, slow staccato; the liturgy of the dead. A single lieutenant, commissioned especially for the ceremony from the military academy in Tokyo-2, appeared atop a rise in the street. Her pace was slow, a forced sixty steps per minute. Her dress impeccable. She passed through the waiting crowds alone, a herald of sorrow.

After she passed, a horse appeared on the rise. It was lead by another fresh lieutenant. The horse, which was black, was tacked and bridled as though someone would ride on it. But there was no rider, only two boots stuck through the stirrup backwards. The horse passed with the same, slow, sedate pace as the drummer.

More horses followed, a team of four who were hitched to an old, archaic wagon. The wagon was draped in black velvet. Atop the wagon, a caisson, rested a white pine coffin. There'd been no body to recover. A single lily had been set on the coffin's lid.

Thunder rumbled overhead.

The caisson made its way through Tokyo-3 towards the burial grounds. Only a handful of people were waiting there for it. The drummer had ceased her beat the moment her foot entered the graveyard, the horse-guide had turned his charge aside before the gate. The caisson rumbled through, passing row after row of black gravestones until it reached the appointed place.

Waiting there was the entire High Command of NERV, and a few other generals besides from the JSSDF and the UN. A single, rolling order brought the entire group to attention. The caisson was turned around to face the incendiary chamber. Hyuuga, Shigeru, and two others stepped forward from the ranks and lifted the empty coffin from its rest.

An orange-robed monk came forward and lifted his hands. A necklace of stained wooden beads clicked together as he prayed. The pallbearers lifted the coffin onto the conveyer and stood aside. Somewhere, a bell began tolling.

"Namu," the priest bowed deeply to the coffin. A white-gloved captain started the conveyer.

"Kirei!"

Two dozen hands snapped up to polished brims and held. The coffin vanished into flames so hot they reached even the furthest attendant. Overhead, four fighter jets roared into view and passed overhead, one peeling off and climbing into the misty clouds above.

Asuka, standing next to Misato in the gathered, had to blink to keep the tears out of her eyes. Beside her, Shinji found that he couldn't cry at all. His tears would not come. He wanted them to come, but they wouldn't.

Behind them all, a camera crew was filming.

---

Fuyutsuki shrugged out of his wet dress uniform and loosened the black tie around his neck. "The newscrews seemed to be enjoying themselves."

"Hm." Gendo opened a small closet and put his own coat on a hanger. He withdrew his customary attire and slipped into it. "They've had a wonderful opportunity handed to them. Death always generates profits."

"Rather steep price to pay, wouldn't you agree? One pilot, one Eva...not to mention the expenses of the funeral itself."

Gendo waved it off and closed the closet. He dropped into his seat and leaned his chair back to stare at the hypnotizing patterns of the ceiling. "Relatively inexpensive, considering. The UN fronted most of the costs...besides, NERV now has an image."

"Dead children?"

"Terrible odds. They've seen our successes, but they've never tasted lost." Gendo leaned forward and smiled. "The participating governments will be falling over themselves to meet our budgetary requirements."

Fuyutsuki found the idea amusing, if sardonic. "They don't want us to be able to point a finger at them, hm?"

"Indeed. I'll bring it up on the Scramjet." Gendo pulled out a file from a drawer. "Pass this along to Dr. Akagi."

Fuyutsuki opened the folder and scanned the first document he saw, "What is it?"

"Transfer of Unit 00 and Unit 03. Transports are being arraigned."

Fuyutsuki slid a finger into the folder and closed it. "By the sea? These names...they're all of UN naval vessels. Over the Rainbow, Halsaff, the Renown..."

"The new transportation jets are being finalized. Something to do with structure stress tests and mass-to-thrust failures." Gendo shrugged. "Minor problems. Until then, we'll use the UN's navy to finalize this."

Fuyutsuki saw he wasn't going to change his commander's mind, so he shrugged and tucked the folder underneath his arm. "Are we going to send the Third Child to America as well?"

"What for?"

"Well, we should make sure he can actually use the Eva before wasting money to bring it back."

Gendo's lip twitched, "Very well then. Send him and Captain Katsuragi along."

---

"Good morning, Sir! Do you have anything to declare?"

The long-haired, slightly Asian-looking man smiled and lifted up a briefcase handcuffed to his arm. "Maybe. But, if I told you," he leaned in close to the pretty blonde girl behind the counter, glancing from side-to-side conspiratorially as he whispered, "I'd have to kill you."

The girl, taken by the well-framed face and the slightly rough shape of his clothes and hair, laughed wildly at the joke. The man across from her smiled, but didn't laugh. He passed over a small leather booklet.

"Diplomatic attaché. that's it."

The girl took the booklet and studied it, then shrugged internally. She couldn't speak German or Japanese, but she was sure that this man wouldn't lie to her about such a thing. She took his passport and stamped it once. "Welcome to Nevada, Mr. Kaji!"

"Thank you," Ryouji Kaji said warmly as he tucked his passport and the fake Diplomatic pass away into his coat. "Be seeing you then!" His warmth melted as he strode out of the cool terminal and into the blazing desert light. Subtly he looked over the milling crowds that airports always seemed to attract, seeking out the lingering ghosts he knew would be floating about.

'Three...probably four, can't see behind me without giving it away. Ah, well. Nice to be wanted.' He raised a hand, "Taxi!"

---

Shinji set down the letter he'd been reading when he heard something slam into the door. "Who is it?"

"Open up idiot!"

Asuka. Shinji snorted and lifted himself up from the sparse living room to go open the door for his somewhat tempestuous neighbor. She blazed past him in a huff and started pacing around his small apartment without a single word. Shinji, confused, closed the front door behind him and leaned against a wall to watch Asuka fume.

Finally she noticed him, and the glare she leveled at his body made Shinji's knees watery and his stomach flutter. "What the hell are you looking at!"

"N-Nothing!" Shinji held up his hands, warding her off.

"The stop staring." Asuka turned away and dropped herself unceremoniously onto his couch, harumphing as she did. "Stupid jerk."

Shinji pursed his lips, shrugged, and turned into his kitchen. Asuka deigned not to notice the sounds emanating from his activities, but after a while could not ignore the somewhat tantalizing smells coming from whatever he was cooking. She pushed herself away from the couch and lazed her way to the doorway, where she saw him pushing something around in a skillet.

"What are you cooking?"

Shinji's head cocked, "Talking to me now?"

"Smartass. Seriously, what's cooking?"

He turned to her with a smile and held the pan up for her to see. Her mouth watered instantly. "When did you learn to cook those?"

"I looked through some old books I had. Since you seem to come over here so often, I thought you'd appreciate something different." He lowered the pan back onto the stove and rolled over the thick, plump sausages within.

Asuka, however, took slight at the comment. "Are you calling me a freeloader?"

Shinji, not entirely accustomed to her changes of mood, quickly considered several options he had to reply with. The first two he discounted as unsuitable, the third questionable. So, he went with the fourth, "Fine, then. No food for you," and walked the pan and sausages over to the trashcan.

"No!" Asuka practically leapt at him. Shinji was watching for that, though, and so twisted the pan aside. Luckily for Asuka, he did it in time, otherwise she would have run hands first into the hot dish. So, instead, Asuka just slammed headlong into Shinji and knocked him bodily into the wall; and one of the sausages onto the floor.

"Oh! Look what you did!" Asuka pouted, mourning the loss of what might have proved the best meal she'd had since arriving in Japan. "Idiot!"

Shinji, for his part, said nothing. He could not find anything to say, really. Not for the sausage, that is, but for the fact that Asuka had exceptionally large breasts for someone so young, and at that moment the both of them were pressed against his arm and chest quite heavily.

Red-faced, he backed away from Asuka stammering an apology. She looked cross at him for a moment, then her face relaxed and she shrugged. "Ah, well. As long as that one happened to be your's, I'll forgive you."

"Well...certainly." Shinji hadn't the heart to tell Asuka that he didn't think the sausages appetizing in the least, and had eaten earlier. Setting them over the heat once more he checked the centers and found them still red and rare. The heat went up a little.

"So," he asked, "why am I an idiot?"

"As if you didn't know."

Shinji did know. He'd been rudely informed of what he suspected had Asuka in a tizzy this morning by a frowning Misato. "My trip to America?"

"Boy! A wondrous intellect you have, to arrive at it so soon." Shinji flinched at the scathing words, but a glance over to her stiffened his back. She wasn't truly angry with him, just angry that he was the one going and not her.

"Well, I doubt it will be very interesting over there," Shinji sallied.

"What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "It'll just be more of the same. Test, test, test. LCL and plugsuits and staring out through some Eva. Not very interesting. Misato said I'd only be there a week before we loaded the Eva onto a ship and left."

"So? At least you'd be out of this boring city! My God, I swear just about all I do is work at NERV and go to that stupid school."

The School. Shinji hesitated, but screwed up some quivering courage and asked, "H-how is Touji?"

"Touji? Oh, that tall kid. Suzahara? I haven't seen him in a week."

"I see."

Asuka lifted her head from her arms and stared at Shinji's back. 'What was that all about?' She was tempted to ask him, but, the idea -- frightened her for some reason. As though the asking would unleash some terrible dark beast best left hidden from sight.

Shinji examined another sausage. Satisfied with the colour, he pushed the links out of the pan and onto a plate, then set it in front of Asuka with a small portion of sweet cold rice and some bread he'd bought earlier. She smiled at him.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

---

Ryouji Kaji sighed and tugged at the collar of his shirt, fanning himself fruitlessly in an attempt to cool himself. "Of all the bases NERV has, I cannot for the life of me understand why Nevada had to be host to one of them."

"Your presence here is unexpected, Mr. Kaji. My employers grow uneasy at this strange turn of events. Would you care to explain?"

Kaji shifted on the bench and pulled an American cigarette out from the crumpled pack he had tucked away in his shirt pocket. "I'm here because here is where I am needed. And you shouldn't have contacted me anyway. It's dangerous; for both me and your employers."

"You shouldn't smoke those things." His contact flipped open a newspaper and perused the sports column. "Anyway, there have been some rumblings from my employers. They're questioning the decision to publicly advertise the Fourth Child's funeral."

Kaji took a long drag and exhaled slowly into the hot air before chuckling. "Turned against them, didn't it? I told your German friend that it would go against you if your employers insisted upon it. But you never listen, do you?"

"My German friend offered your opinion on the matter, it was debated, and refused."

This time Kaji laughed through the smoke. "Meaning that the old women on the Council stopped up their ears when Helen started speaking, and didn't open them up again until one of their minions told them what they wanted to hear. Stupid!"

"Fine. It was stupid. It didn't work. Now, can we get back to the matter at hand?" the contact tossed his paper away and turned to face Kaji directly. "Your being here has set some on the Council to asking dangerous questions. Questions that might alert the wrong kind of people."

Kaji shrugged. "Not my problem. Tell those magpies who employ you to keep their teeth closed."

"What was in the case you arrived here with, Mr. Kaji?"

Kaji lowered his cigarette and looked at the contact out of the corner of his eye. "You know what it was. And you know that you shouldn't ask such things. I am being watched."

"By NERV?"

"NERV, and some others. The thing I carry is worth more to them than any Evangelion, and so they will not hesitate to kill anyone they deem worthy to bear the title Threat. Don't contact me here anymore. Tell Japan that I should be present before too much longer, and to arrange some sort of meeting for me there."

"Fine, we'll play it your way for now." The contact stood up and stretched, displaying prominent swathes of sun-browned flesh. "Before I go, one last question. What are you doing here?"

Kaji smiled, flicked away the spent cigarette and stood himself. "Taking in the sun. Holidays in my profession are so hard to come by, y'know?"

---

"Special Flight 13 now arriving at Gate 4. All attendants to Gate 4 must present their badges for examination before being allowed to pass security checkpoint. Special Flight 13 now arriving at Gate 4-"

Shinji's first impression of Nevada was that of oppressive heat. After a long and exhausting flight across the blue wastes of the Pacific and then the browned landscape of what the pilot called California, the yellow sand of the desert seemed unusual. As he left the cool air conditioning, it just seemed bright, and hot.

"Ah! Welcome to Hell, I mean, Nevada. It's sometimes hard to distinguish between the two, though I imagine that Hell is somewhat cooler during the summer." The slightly red man waiting at the end of the stairwell descending from the fuselage had a big, lopsided grin plastered onto his face. "Nice to meet you, I'm Ryouji Kaji."

"Shinji Ikari."

"Sent you alone?" Kaji asked.

Shinji half-heartedly turned back into the airplane. "No, Misa-"

"Ahhh! Why the hell did we have to build a base in a desert?" Misato whined as she stepped out into the brilliant sunshine, pushing past Shinji to start descending the short distance to the ground. "Why couldn't we have built this up north, in Canada, hun? Much nicer up there. Forests and rivers and- Ahhh! What the hell are you doing here!"

Kaji grinned and picked up one of the bags that she'd let tumble at his feet. Shock was very evident on her face, hatred too. Maybe more hatred than shock. Actually, it was hatred, not shock. "I'm here to collect you." Shinji and Kaji both winced when a cry of utter desperation clawed its way out of Misato's strained throat.

---

Nearly an hour later they still hadn't left the airport. Tied up as it were by Misato's constant belligerence over one phone line or another as she ripped successive NERV officials apart for their choice of representative. Which left Shinji and Kaji alone in relative quiet off in a corner of the terminal.

"Feisty today, isn't she?"

Shinji clasped his hands together, "No more than usual."

"I heard that you're living with her. My condolences."

"Not anymore."

"Moved out? Good choice. She'd run you ragged just trying to keep the place livable."

Shinji shook his head. "Oh, that wasn't a problem."

"Her cooking, then?"

"I did the cooking."

Kaji lit a cigarette, even though he could see at least a half-dozen no smoking signs. "All right, I give. Why'd you move out?"

"She didn't want me there anymore."

That was news Kaji hadn't heard. Though, he had been absent from the newsmill for some time. Shinji looked uncomfortable at the subject, so he didn't ask any more questions. 'Something for another day.' Instead, he brought up another topic. "I take it you met Asuka?"

"You know her?"

"I worked with her in Germany. Active little girl, isn't she?"

Shinji chuckled. "I suppose. How she can love the Eva's as much as she does boggles my mind at times. Always ready to do anything they want."

"Not a fan?" Kaji blew a streamer of smoke away from Shinji.

"...I do what I have to."

'Now that's interesting.' He lowered his cigarette, "So, how was your convalescence?"

"Convalescence?"

"Sick leave," Kaji answered with a laugh. "They said you were injured fighting the Fourth Angel."

Shinji was quiet for a very long time. "So that's how they explained it."

"It?"

"My running away."

Kaji lowered his cigarette slowly, the smoke curling around his face, masking his eyes. "I see."

Shinji's curt, sarcastic laugh was not comforting. "I tried to get away, see? Tried to leave it behind."

"So...why'd you come back?"

The words were on his tongue, and he so desperately wanted to say them. To tell somebody what he heard in the long, quiet hours of the night. That song, the one that haunted him every single waking moment of his life. But he couldn't say that! Anything but that! So, he told this strangely likable man, Ryouji Kaji, a lie of a different sort.

"...Kensuke died."

---

Movies of the Twentieth Century lauded the submarine. A bustling place of activity engaged in silent wars and mutinies that no one ever heard about or saw. The truth, however, was far more boring. And quiet. Submariners like quiet. It means that nothing was wrong, that the situation was normal, but not fucked up. A great deal of time and effort went into the men aboard submarines, and a good portion of that went into teaching the men how to be silent in even the most stressful of situations.

But today, of all days, was not a time for quiet aboard the U.N.S. St. Patrick. Today was a day for noise, for lax. Today was the day of its Captain's birthday. The St. Patrick was an old ship, unusual for submarines because age meant danger, and danger always lead to tragic consequences. But there was no thought of the submarine's creaky, twenty-nine years of service. After all, it was one of those old Soviet workhorses, the Alfa. Nigh-indestructible. So no one worried at all aboard the St. Patrick today. Especially not the Captain, Elthel Klein.

Captain Klein was, today, thirty-two years old. Well seasoned for a submarine skipper and on her way out of the service for a nice, relaxing desk job as she awaited her eventual promotion to Admiral in some airless corner of the U.N. headquarters in Geneva. Knowing this, the crew of her boat decided to host a grand and elegant party for her. There was a three-layer cake baked in the shape of the ocean, the St. Patrick, and the rocky Pacific floor. Several of the crew banded together and assembled an impressive collection of songs from their personal hoards that suited all listeners. A group of crewmen (who'd secretly rehearsed for over two months) set themselves up and acted out an abridged version of Klein's favorite play, Hamlet.

Only a bare few were left out of this grand party. Those being the helmsmen, the lowliest Ensign who had command of the bridge, and the sonarman, Mr. Davies; who astonished his other two companions by jerking up right out of his dazed stupor and pounding away furiously into the keyboard by his elbow.

"Mr. Davies?" the Ensign asked, nervous at such furious action from a man who'd been so calm and sedate in every single watch they'd worked together.

Davies held up a finger, indicating his need for silence. The finger retreated and fiddled with a knob. Then came a horrified, breathless whisper. "...mother of God."

The helmsman didn't wait for any commands. Anything that had Davies spooked was something that he didn't want to be around! He yanked backwards on his dive plane and hit the ballast. Then came a terrible sound. A screeching, warbling cry that rumbled through the two-meter thick titanium hull with terrifying aclarity. The sound of something sinister.

The Ensign, being of that highly-acclaimed school of nautical training in England, forced himself to push a tremulous command through his fear to the helm. "All ahead flank!" The helmsman did not hesitate. Needles along the right-hand side jumped full over and climbed into the deep crimson border of their gages as the reactor was opened up and let loose.

A black box bleeped near the Ensign's head. "What the fuck is going on up there?"

There was no time to answer. The Ensign reached for the enunciator, but never reached it. The St. Patrick suddenly bucked. As though a giant swell in the sea had caught it and tossed her aside. When he woke up, the Ensign faintly remembered flying across the length of the bridge and crashing into something hard. There were a good deal of people in the bridge now, more than he remembered before.

"Oh! Hey, hey, hey! No, don't move your head."

The Ensign winced, someone was shining a bright light into his eyes.

"Okay, pupils look fine. Can you feel your fingers?"

Talking was hard. His tongue felt thick and sandy. So he nodded, ever so slightly.

"Okay. What about your legs?"

He almost nodded again, but then he stopped. He couldn't feel them. He couldn't! The medic, only a medic would be probing around on him so, apparently saw the terror seep into his eyes because he reached over and stuck a very large needle into his arm and depressed the plunger. The Ensign quickly succumbed to the numbing soporific.

"Well?"

The medic turned to Captain Klein and shook his head. "His back is broken, he's bleeding profusely into his stomach, and one of his eyes is filling with blood. He'll die, probably before too much longer."

Klein, herself swaddled around the head with a blood-stained bandage, shivered. "Understood. There's others who need your help."

"Ma'am."

"Status report?"

"Christ, Ma'am...four compartments forward are open to the ocean. Another sixteen are flooding. Internal damages all throughout the hull, radio and ELF is looking pretty sketchy...Sickbay is filled up with the wounded."

"Are we combat capable?" Klein folder her arms beneath her breasts.

The chief studying the constant flow of damage reports held his breath, then slowly let it out as the last reports came trickling in. "Yes, Ma'am! Torpedo tubes functional. Missiles functional. We are combat effective."

"Sonar!"

Davies, shaken and pale but uninjured aside from his nerves, leaned out of his compartment. "Target is forty-five degrees relative, Captain. A few meters higher than us as well."

"Helm, bring us about to two-thirty-seven. Dive Master, drop us down to three hundred."

"Three hundred, aye!"

"Helm coming about to Two-Three-Seven, aye."

Klein limped across the bridge to the sonar room and slid in to observe the intent Davies. He started when she grew impatient and laid a single finger on his shoulder. "What was that we hit?"

Davies wiped at his lips, his hand coming away sticky with sweat. "I don't know, Captain. But it was big."

Klein absorbed this idea for a moment, then returned to the bridge. She'd made up her mind. Follow this...thing, for however long it took. Figure out what it was, where it was heading. Destroy it if necessary. No one rammed her ship and got away with it! No one, no thing.

"Engage silent running!"

---

Strange as the desert had been, the military harbor at New Paolo was even stranger to Shinji. It was nearly devoid of any life or people, quiet and empty in a way that the desert had never been. His week of tests had finished yesterday, and now he and the new Evangelion were to board some sort of ship and depart across the Pacific for Japan. Misato had flown back the night before, deeming her task completed with the end of the testing, and leaving Shinji in Kaji's care (though she was loathe to do that). Kaji was fine company for the young Shinji. He didn't seem to mind that Shinji had practically abandoned NERV for the most selfish of reasons. He didn't mind that that selfishness had killed another pilot.

"Everyone has limits, young Ikari. People are not robots, to be pushed until they break apart from the strain."

Hollow, but comforting. Shinji dropped down from the armoured car and looked around at the dockside he had arrived at. It stank of rotting seaweed. "Nice place."

"Indeed!" Kaji said lightly as he walked up behind his smaller charge. "Though, personally, I'm sure you get used to the smell after a while." He looked around. "I suppose that man over there is the person we need to talk to."

"I guess," was Shinji's laconic reply.

Behind them came a train of vehicles, the largest of which barely fitted through the somewhat narrow buildings and rolled up near a heavy lift crane that hung over the solitary ship docked at the harbor. It was a thick, puggish thing; a cargo ship with little romantic attractiveness to it by the name of Ethelen Gras. The long line of vehicles came to a squealing halt, the largest of which slowly wound down near to the largest crane, the thick, heavy brown tarp over it barely shifting with the movement. A dozen men jumped out of the convoy's vehicles and swarmed over the hundreds of ties that secured the tarp.

"Okay!" Kaji was jogging back over, a cigarette burning in his mouth. "Two more hours, and we're off. Though, it'll be another three weeks before we show up in Japan." He tapped the cigarette, speckles of ash floating away towards the sea. "The best thing I love about this job, Shinji - All the opportunities to travel."

---

"Ma'am?"

Captain Klein jerked awake, then wiped at her gritty eyes in a vain attempt to rub some wakefulness into them. "Yeah, I'm up. I'm up. Oh, Chief, what can I do for you?"

The Chief was an old hand at submarines. Nearly twenty years of service, before and after the Second Impact. He knew almost all there was to running one, and could have probably kept the St. Patrick in order even if there wasn't a single officer aboard her. Which meant, subsequently, that whenever something went wrong, he was the first to know and the first to bring it to official attention.

Today was no exception. "Ma'am, the technicians have finished in the radio room. Everything is banged up pretty bad."

"How bad?" she was tired. Three days with two-hour catnaps caught here and there while her boat shadowed that thing. It had left her in a banged up shape herself.

"Well," the Chief sidled up close, his voice dropping so that only she and him would hear. "ELF is shot, completely. The housing for the electronics is in jumbles, the wiring is pretty sketchy too. More than that, the transmitter itself is damaged somewhere between the hull. We can't get to it. Long-range transmitter is in the same state. There's an interruption of the command circuit, they're trying to pin it down...but there's a lot of wiring to work through."

"Wonderful," Klein remarked darkly. "Any good news? Or is this coffee black?"

"No, I do have some cream and sugar. Short wave is working fine, and with some modifications we can push the range to about fifty kilometers."

"A lot of ocean for us to transmit into, Chief."

He nodded, silver-brown hair flashing in the light. "Yes, Ma'am. That's why we're still trying to find the circuit interruption in our long-range unit. We'll keep trying, Ma'am."

"Thank you, Chief."

He shuffled off, stopping for a moment to speak to a junior technician on his way out the hatch. As soon as he left, Davies the sonarman slid up beside her and coughed. Klein turned to her skinny, wired-looking sonarman.

"Any signature change?"

"No, Ma'am. Silhouette is constant. Two hundred meters below the surface, speed constant at fifteen knots heading northwest." Davies, if at all possible, looked worse for the wear than Klein herself thought possible.

She patted him on the arm, "Okay, Davies. Take a break. Get a shower and a meal and sack out for twelve hours. Put your second-best man on the phones."

"Understood." Davies stumbled, actually stumbled over the deck plates, out of the bridge. Klein watched him go with no small jealousy. Maybe she should follow Davies and sack out herself. Oh, well. Hell with that. Maybe later.

Or never.

"Shift change, Ma'am. Orders?"

Klein shifted, crossing her arms beneath her breasts. "Continue on current orders."

---

Asuka leaned back into the overstuffed and uncomfortable armchair and sighed. It'd been three weeks since Shinji and Misato had left for America, and over two weeks since Misato had come back in what was becoming her customary gloom. And ever since then there'd been nothing but test, test, test and school, school, school. All of which was boring. Well, maybe just the tests. It'd been some years since Asuka actually attended school with a group of kids her own age, and she was finding their antics amusing.

Most of the boys at the school were in love with her, or, at least in lust. Hardly a single day went by without some love confession or another interrupting her day or filling her locker; and hardly a single boy passed her by without making those sickeningly cute puppy dog eyes at her. Though she was fairly sure that after she turned her back on them, they were staring at her ass or daydreaming about her breasts. In an odd way, the attention was stimulating for her. She never had this kind of attention from any of her other classmates, even at college.

Pedophilia, she surmised, had turned a good many wandering eyes off of her when she was in the University. Not true any longer. Of course, with the attentions came enlightenment about other matters. Mainly, the intense ignorance and crass stupidity of many of the boys. They were almost like sacks of meat driven by chemicals, with little overarching intelligence left to give them any direction or motivation.

Repulsed by this, she turned to the female portion of her school for refuge from the males. That proved to be a mistake. Spite, hatred, envy, rumor - these were what she found in those she sought for solace. One girl even had the cojones to say to her face that she was a Slut. Only the class representative of 2-A, her own class, Hikari Horikai, stood up against the masses and befriended Asuka.

From there it was only a matter of assuming the standpoint of morality, and threatening everyone who gave her the evil eye in passing. That didn't make her any new friends, but she'd already tried to make friends, and had been rebuffed. Now it was about getting revenge. Well, that and mocking the other students.

She took special delight in mocking a trio of kids in 3-B, a class one year higher than her own. They were easy targets, too, which helped fuel Asuka's sense of the ridiculous and general humor. Pudgy, pale, nerdy; the few times Asuka had actually cared to listen in on their conversations they spoke mostly of the latest anime series being released on NKH, or their exploits in some fantasy role-playing game. Once, she'd reduced the entire school yard into laughter by miming one of the kids playing as a great and valiant warrior swinging around a sword, killing demons and rescuing a beautiful woman from the evil villain's clutches.

She ended that spontaneous play-acting by hoisting up the kid and moving in close to him, as though she would kiss him; and then kneeing him swiftly in the balls.

'Fun times,' she thought, lazing away in her apartment.

It had been fun times, but it was growing old. She wanted something to do! Something to fight against! She wanted to jump into her crimson-and-black Eva and romp about Tokyo-3, blowing holes in expensive public works and damaging the Japanese countryside. But, more than anything, she wanted Shinji to be back.

"...Shinji..."

Now that was a mixed bag of emotions. She still didn't know what to make of the slight, under-developed boy. Granted, she hadn't seen much of him before he vanished over to America, but what she had seen wasn't terribly imposing. Distant, indecisive, at times a waffler, and at other times he shone with a strange steel.

'A mixed report, to be sure...but, Gott can he cook!'

Maybe that was why she missed him. Every day for the past three weeks she'd been living on instant soup, T.V. dinners, and soft drinks. A real meal was something hard to come by for someone who didn't know how to cook (no time to learn between physics and electro-chemistry), and a creature comfort like that was always appreciated in any circumstance.

"Hmm..." Her stomach rumbled, provoking a frown. Thinking about Shinji's cooking - well, if she hadn't missed him before, she certainly missed him now. "Maybe some takeout?" she reached for her cellphone and poked about her kitchen, which was quite messy, for one of the many menus she knew was there.

"Pizza? No. Sushi? No. Chinese!" She keyed her phone up.

---

The U.N.S. Over the Rainbow...what a name! What a ship! Shinji had spent his imprisonment aboard the old, creaky aircraft carrier well; poking in this, prying in that, asking questions and learning what things did. He wasn't normally an inquisitive person by nature, but after a few days aboard the ship watching the crew go about their routine - well, he had to do something, and there wasn't anything really interesting to read. It wasn't terribly difficult to communicate with the crew, either, which had been one of his concerns when he first started nosing around. Some of the mechanics were native Japanese, and eager to help him scour the ship for amusement. Others knew a smattering of Japanese, or, when that failed, Shinji's fumbling English helped him through. A week in America had definitely helped polish that, and by the beginning of the third week of the trip he could speak simple sentences without a stutter.

Of Mr. Kaji he had seen little. The strange, charismatic man spent most of his time locked away in his room, claiming that he was a poor traveler on the sea. Shinji accepted that at first, until he saw someone who was definitely a poor seafarer. Then he started noticing the very blatant differences between that unfortunate soul, a doctor traveling with his new Evangelion, and the aloof Mr. Kaji.

But here his new-found inquisitive sensitivity failed him. Half a dozen times at least he started to ask Mr. Kaji, who insisted he be called just Kaji instead, about his seasickness, or lack thereof. But every time he failed to follow through. Or Mr. Kaji would turn that disarming smile on him and stop Shinji short. Eventually, he decided to drop the matter, and concentrate on his explorations.

One day, he found out that he could travel over to other ships by signing up on a roster. The next day he was on a small motor pinnace scuttling away from the Rainbow over to the Ethelen Gras. The big, lumbering transport smelt faintly of rancid oil and what Shinji had learned were the bilges; tanks in which waste water was accumulated and vented into the sea when they became full. There were only a few sailors on the Gras, and most of these looked mean and surly. Shinji avoided them entirely, and headed towards the main hold, where his Evangelion lay.

There, his nose filled with the blood-stench of the LCL, he gazed out over the massive black-and-green weapon and contemplated it's form. Sleek. Lithe. Dangerous. Very different from the purple-and-green Unit 01. At least, with that Unit, there had been some form of...comfort, perhaps? In this one, named Unit 03, there was only the feeling of cold menace. Of a barely-contained rage held down by thin rope ties and synthetic plastics.

He left the Gras after only an hour. Very suddenly, he couldn't stand being on the same boat as that thing. The pinnace returned him to the Rainbow with certain efficiency. Kaji met him with a customary cigarette stuck jauntily in the corner of his mouth.

"Having fun?"

That charm. That disarming charm. Shinji wondered, half-heartedly, if he was a homosexual. That thought was short-lived, but so was the confidence that had blossomed within over the past week. Still, he found courage enough to smile at Kaji, and say a half-hearted, "Yes, I have."

"Good! It's been a nice trip, neh? Not too much longer now, and it'll all be over."

Shinji leaned up against a railing and stared out at the churning froth that billowed out in the wake of the Rainbow. "Yeah." He let his feet slide out over the edge of the ship and dangled there for a moment as a new thought creeped into his consciousness. "I wonder what Asuka's doing?"

---

"Hello?"

"Asuka, it's Misato."

"Hey, Misato."

"I was about to head out, and was wondering if you'd like to go with me?"

Asuka cocked her head, wondering what this was all about. "Go out where?"

"Oh, no where in particular. The Pacific."

That got her attention. "When? How long?"

"Well, not right away, the day after tomorrow. The UN fleet should be within range by then. Wanna go?"

A sly, mischievous note crept into Asuka's voice, "Well, now that you mention it, I'd really rather not go...What the hell am I saying, Yes! Like you'd have to ask if I wanted to get out of Tokyo-3!"

Misato was laughing, she seemed in good cheer today. "Okay! Okay! Pack up three day's worth of clothes and be ready to leave at nine a.m. sharp, understand?"

"Three days, nine sharp. Got it!"

"See you then."

---

Klein blinked wearily at the squiggly lines of the sonar readout, her mind translating their data inefficiently as she struggled to wake up. Davies, looking better than he had in days, tapped at the screen. "Here. Two hours ago the target's profile changed. I can't figure out what it changed into, though. Then here," the screen shifted to a grid, with a rough, amorphic blob designated Echo-1 centered and pointed more-or-less north. "Here it changed direction, and speeded up."

Davies keyed in a command and the screen jerked to life. The blob suddenly heeled around to the west and darted off. A number appeared next to the designation and gave a reading for the speed. Twenty-three knots.

"That's a fast fucker, as big as it is," Klein muttered.

"Yes, Ma'am."

"How far out is Echo-1 now?"

Davies turned to a second screen and consulted the incomprehensible gibberish it was spitting out. "About five kilometers. The OW ordered a corresponding speed and course change right after the target's speed accelerated."

"Okay. Where's this bastard heading, then?" Klein reached across Davies and entered a command of her own into his keyboard. The grid shifted again, projecting a course for both Echo-1 and her own St. Patrick. She studied the line, then zoomed the map out, and out again. When they saw the termination point both Klein and Davies took a sharp breath.

"Tokyo-3."

"...Jesus. Jesus! Ma'am, that means-"

"It's an Angel." Klein took a deep breath, then snapped upright and bolted for the bridge. "Sound General Quarters!" she bellowed, her voice surprisingly deep. "Engines ahead flank! Load and arm torpedo tubes one through eight and bring us up to periscope depth!"

A brazen, harsh alarm began banging through the length of the St. Patrick. Hundreds of feet rang out against steel catwalks and men and women shoved and pushed their way through one another to get to their stations. In the engine room, two bewildered officers stared at their consoles as the temperature of the reactor began to climb dangerously. At the aftmost section of the submarine, the single solid-cast propeller began churning the water of the deep ocean into a froth of bubbles. Slowly at first, then with a rising alertness, the St. Patrick forced its way through the blue sea at nearly forty-three knots, the fastest any submersible had been known to travel.

On the bridge, Klein paced anxiously beside the periscope, waiting to hear that the proper depth had been reached. 'An Angel. It was an Angel. Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ! WhatthehellisanAngeldoingouthere?'

"Thirty-three meters, Captain!"

"Raise the 'scope."

There was nothing. Nothing for miles around. That relieved her tensions somewhat, but others began invading. 'Almost three weeks we've been following this thing around. What the hell was it waiting for? Was it just playing around? Waiting for some signal to attack? Does anyone else know about it?' At the end of it all, Klein knew only one thing: She had to warn Japan that an Angel was on the way.

"Somebody get me the Goddamned radio mechanics. Now!"

---

The dark. The cold. The deep. There is purity in the open ocean. It was to this purity that she had gravitated to. In the depths, there was no corruption, only serenity. At least, that was what she'd thought. The reality was far, far different.

Pollution, death, rot. There were no creatures left in this ocean. They'd all perished, or run away. The only things left in the deep were herself, and the Other. That Other. The one that had been trailing her for time immeasurable. She knew of it, she'd run against it earlier in her span of time. It had never left her since.

Like a dog, it had followed her faithfully over hundreds and thousands of miles of the deep. So she had lingered, delayed and delayed her destiny. All to prolong her contact with the Other. But she'd delayed as much as she could. Instinct could not be overridden. Instinct drover her onwards towards her destiny.

Her dark fate.

So it came as a surprise to her when the Other not only continued to follow her, but leapt ahead with some great speed.

Perhaps the Other knew her fate? Perhaps the Other would follow her into every danger, to aid and abet her?

Perhaps.

This thought gave her great warmth. A feeling that she'd long since forgotten in this barren deep.

She too rushed towards the inevitable.

A glorious future awaited!

Perhaps the Other would be with her, even to the end and beyond.

She went towards her fate with hope in her heart.

---

Asuka felt her heart leap into her throat when Misato pointed out the window of the F-002a fighter/bomber towards the distant horizon. Faintly she spied several dozen white streaks, the tale-tell white froth of surface ships.

"Another forty-five minutes!" Misato shouted into her microphone. It was much too loud to hold a conversation in the plane without wearing a headset and microphone. Asuka turned and nodded brightly, her excitement rising to a fever pitch as she slowly counted the remaining minutes off.

"Excited?" Misato asked, seeing Asuka's legs jump about.

"To get away from that boring school and the endless synch tests? I'd jump off of a cliff if someone told me I'd get out of those for a day!"

Misato laughed, then relaxed back into her seat and contemplated the cloud-strewn sky. Personally, she was a little jealous of Asuka's excitement. For she herself could not muster up that eagerness, not when she knew who would be on the ship they were to land on. 'That chickenshit...and Ikari.' Neither option was appealing.

Still, she was committed now.

Not like she could turn the jet around and head back home.

'...shame, that.'

---

Klein was sure that she'd sweated out at least seven pounds in the past two days. Two days of worry, fretting, shouting, yelling. Two days of frantic haste, two days of constant danger as she red-lined her reactor time and time again. Two days of coffee, cigarettes, and sandwiches. Two days of blindly rushing about at nearly forty knots for hours at a time, slowing only long enough to re-check the bearing of the Angel and its course.

It had sped up almost at the same moment the St. Patrick had blazed off at flank speed towards Japan, and it had not only kept the pace, it had outrun them as well. Every time they slowed to check the bearing, it had forged ahead at a speed and endurance that Klein could only marvel at and curse vehemently.

They were slowing again, a necessity for sonar checks. The sensitivity of sonar was very great in this wonderful day and age, and it could pick up many different things like whales, fish, dolphins, seagulls, other ships; but once a submarine went over twelve knots that sensitivity declined. At forty, it vanished entirely. Hence, the need to slow down enough to allow the sonarmen time to learn where their quarry was.

"Speed at twenty-two knots!"

"Sonar?" Klein turned to the cubbyhole where Davies was ensconced.

"Contact profile same-same on all counts!"

Klein turned back to her helmsmen. "Okay, we've got what we need. Bring us back up to-"

"Conn, Sonar, new contact!"

Klein whirled. "Where? How many?" she shouted.

"Difficult," came Davies pleading response. "We're still going too fast."

"Helm, drop us down another ten knots!"

"Engine reverse one-third," one of the Helmsmen answered.

Twenty minutes. Twenty agonizing long sweeps of the clock's long arm. Momentum must be overcome, even when an opposing force was exerted. Finally, after Klein had bothered him for what must have been the thirtieth time, Davies responded.

"Mother of fucking God! It's a Goddamned fleet, Captain! At least sixteen ships, and I'm fairly sure I'm reading two battleships, one aircraft carrier, eight cruisers and a half-dozen fucking destroyers!"

Klein turned to her second-in-command, a nondescript little fellow with dark skin and unassuming eyes. "Harry? Was there some sort of training schedule?"

Harry shook his head, which dripped with sweat. "No, Ma'am."

"Then what the hell is a fleet doing out here!" Klein leaned forward, catching herself on a railing so that she could stare at the ground. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Conn, Sonar! Echo-1's target profile has changed!" Klein's head snapped up. "Echo-1 is accelerating towards the fleet. Speed is at forty-seven knots...and rising."

Harry, unassuming and placid and slower than some on the uptake at some times, hit upon it first. "Holy mercies. The Angel's going to attack the fleet."

Klein reached up and pulled down the enunciator. "Engine room, Conn."

"Engines, aye?"

"Bring the reactor up to one-hundred and twenty percent."

The bridge stilled. No one could believe what they'd just heard. Most of the crew aboard the boat had heard of submarine captains, in dire circumstances, who pushed their engine reactors beyond the one-hundred mark. Some had even served aboard ships who'd gone to one-hundred and ten percent; a situation which lasted only for an hour, or less. No one had heard of a submarine pushing their reactor to twenty percent above the hundred.

It was suicide.

"Ma'am, I have to object-"

Klein cut her second's words off with a scowl and repeated herself into the enunciator. "One-hundred and twenty, engines. Now."

A deep rumble began in the bowels of the submarine and rattled its way through the entirety of the boat. Within seconds, everyone in the St. Patrick knew something horribly wrong had happened, and the shit was most definitely about to hit the fan. The real question was: Where would that shit land?

One old hand, a veteran of fifteen years in the naval service, handed a scented handkerchief to a fresh ensign and said, "Put that over your nose, lad. Press your nose against it hard enough, and you might just avoid the smell."

---

The past few days on the Rainbow had been calm, quiet, peaceful. Which worried Admiral Deering quite a bit. Nothing went smoothly in the Navy. Nothing. At least one minor catastrophe happened every day in a fleet this big, and the past few days had seen none. So Deering sat alertly in his chair and scanned the horizon for the umpteenth time. Nothing new, nothing new. Just that damnable F-002a bringing what he liked to call "Interference" aboard.

"Well, I suppose our idyllic peace is about to end, sir."

"Perceptive as ever, Commander." Deering sighed and relaxed his binoculars, his hand stealing up to rub over his grey mustache. "How long until the Interference lands?"

The Commander of the Rainbow glanced at his watch. "Another five minutes."

"Wonderful. Ah, well, I suppose we should get together some kind of greeting." A sadistic grin spread over his wrinkled features. "Find some ensign, and make sure he's a bumbler."

"Ooh! That's nasty, sir."

"I'm feeling testy today."

"Of course, sir."

"Ah, before you go, anything unusual in the fleet reports this morning?" He hadn't even looked at his copy yet, a thing that he found less and less appealing as his tenure of years went on. This command had been refreshing, a nice holiday away from his desk, but the nuisance of paperwork followed him even here, and it never seemed to go away completely.

The Commander, an intraship phone pressed against his shoulder, cocked his head and wondered for a bit before shaking his head. "No, sir. Just the routine."

Deering grumbled, sinking further into his chair. "Bollocks. Well, carry on. Four minutes."

---

Klein wiped a damp hand at her damp forehead. "How far was the fleet from our last sonar position?"

Her navigator did some rapid calculations, rushed off to consult with Davies, then came back in and double-checked his conclusion. He was a competent man, and very good at his job. When he looked up, his face was dead-set. "Fifteen kilometers."

"Current speed?"

The helmsmen jumped, wiped a hand at her forehead, and quickly glanced at the proper indicator. "Forty-six knots, Ma'am."

"Conn, Engine!"

Klein pulled the enunciator down. "Conn."

"Ma'am, you've got another twenty minutes before the fuel core melts and burns its Goddamned way through the hull! Let me reduce power, please!"

"Give me nineteen more minutes. Then vent the fuel core into the sea and flush the system with coolant. Not a minute sooner. Is that understood?"

The reply was slow in coming. "Yes, Ma'am."

Klein replaced the enunciator and glared levelly at the bridge crew. They all looked away. 'A few more minutes. Then we run on the battery. Come on, baby. Just a little longer.' She contemplated the plan she'd worked on while the St. Patrick flew through the light Pacific sea. She scrutinized it, tore it apart, and built it back together. It was suicide, and she knew it.

But it would work.

"If..." she coughed, drawing everyone's eyes towards her again. "If any of you pray...I would start now."

---

"Captain Katsuragi!"

Misato held a hand up to her hair, holding it in place as the backwash from the engines tumbled over the windswept deck. Asuka, wearing a bright yellow sun dress, folded her hands in front of her hips to keep the skirt from flying high above her waist. The both of them turned to stare at a very young-looking man who's face and cheeks were shaved blue. There were even a few bright red pustules on his chin in the cleft between the protrusion and his lower lip.

"Who's morning coffee did you piss in?"

The ensign blinked, "Ma'am?"

Misato sighed, "Never mind. Just smile, nod your head, and take me to the Admiral." She cocked her head over to Asuka, "You coming with me?"

"Sure!"

"Lead on, ensign."

The young man, not entirely sure what else he could do, smiled, nodded, and held out a hand towards the flat, gunship grey island set to the right and center of the aircraft carrier. Both Misato and Asuka followed along behind the man, then into a tight, stuffy, and slightly agoraphobic staircase that ascended steeply.

They entered the bridge and were greeted coolly by an elderly man in a crisp white uniform wearing the golden epaulettes of a short admiral. The man beside his chair, probably in his early forties, didn't speak at all, but watched both Misato and her golden-red haired charge intently.

"Admiral," Misato saluted.

"Captain." The salute was not returned. Misato dropped her hand and reached into her red leather coat for a folded slip of paper. She handed it over to the Admiral and leaned back against a nearby console while he unfolded the document and scanned it.

The Admiral cursed in a language Asuka did not understand, then glared at Misato from underneath the polished brim of his peaked cap. "What is this bullshit?"

"Transfer documents, a receipt for NERV. We're assuming command of the Ethelen Gras and her cargo."

He passed the papers along to the Commander and folded his fingers together. "Assuming command? Nonsense. NERV has no authority here."

Misato bristled, "You're transporting NERV property, Admiral. Expensive cargo. NERV's authority does extend outwards to cover her equipment. And you have some of ours."

"Captain, may I remind you that as the commander of this fleet, it is my right to kick you off of this ship and leave you floating in the Pacific, NERV notwithstanding! I suggest you remain civil, and accept that your...property, will remain under my care and jurisdiction until we reach harbor. Is that understood?"

Asuka heard Misato's teeth grind together, "Yes."

The Commander tucked the transfer papers away into a pocket. "Don't concern yourself Captain. The Admiral will sign these papers with all due propriety when we reach New Yokohama, and transfer the responsibility of the Evangelion to you and yours. In the meantime, I suggest that you and your friend enjoy our hospitality for the next two days. Relax, kick your feet up."

Misato smiled sardonically at the Commander's pretty words, but didn't say anything. She didn't have time to say anything before Asuka saw a head poke through the hatch and smile, a curl of blue-grey smoke wafting up from the end of his cigarette.

"Am I interrupting anything?"

The Admiral turned his formidable, mustachioed scowl on this new interruption. "Mr. Kaji! May I remind you that civilian presence on the bridge is not allowed! This means you!" Kaji smiled at the Admiral, brushing off the comment with ease as he turned to wave at a growling Misato and a bright-eyed, smiling Asuka.

"Hey you two! Long time no see, Asuka."

"Kaji!"

Misato harrumped when Asuka bolted at the spy and tackled him with a hug. "Jerk."

---

Shinji smiled when he saw Asuka come bouncing into the mess hall, then he frowned when he saw her dragging Kaji along with her. Kaji didn't seem to mind, though, if he even noticed at all. He was currently engaged in a mocking verbal war with Misato; another sight that provoked a frown on his face.

'Oh, no. Here we go again.'

But the expected tirade from Misato, or her more natural cold shoulder that he had experienced for nearly a month before she left and he started this voyage never materialized. She concentrated instead on haranguing Kaji, who did nothing to ease her temper and indeed seemed to be doing everything he could to fuel the fire. It was interesting in a way. Educational. He was almost at the point of relaxing into the background and becoming a disengaged spectator when he felt a warmth wrap around his hand.

He looked down and started a bit when he realized it was Asuka's hand. He looked up into her blue, smiling eyes. "So," she said, "Let's go see this new Evangelion, mn?"

"Sure."

Misato didn't seem to notice the pair of them leaving, but Kaji detached himself from his argument long enough to wave a hasty goodbye to them as they left. He led Asuka down a hall and onto a steep elevator leading down to the disembarkation point. There wasn't anyone signed on today for intra-fleet trips, he'd seen that earlier on one of his wandering trips through the Rainbow, so it wouldn't be too much of a hassle to get the pinnace crew to take them over to the Gras.

Indeed, the idea of coercing the pinnace crew chief to take him out to the cargo ship wasn't bothering him half as much as the soft feeling of Asuka's hand in his own. It was - disconcerting, to say the least. Once, as they neared closer to the pinnace bay, he tried to disentangle his hand from her's. She only gripped tighter.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

Shinji swallowed noisily. "N-nothing! Just, well...nevermind."

Asuka smiled at the back of his head. "So, Shinji, did you have a good time over in America?"

He shrugged, "I suppose so."

"Hardly an enthusiastic response."

"Well, there wasn't much to see. Just a bunch of desert."

Asuka chuckled, "Don't tell me that a boy like you didn't look at anything more exciting than a stretch of desert." He shrugged again. "Not even one cute girl?"

"Just desert and NERV employees."

"Hm. How boring."

It wasn't what she said, it was how she said it. Like she was amused and disappointed with him at the same time. But her hand didn't ease off, and she wouldn't let him let go either. They arrived in the bay joined at the hand, a sight which several of the pinnace crew smirked about. The pinnace captain, a youngish man going bald, waved to Shinji.

"Hey, Shinji!"

"Captain," Shinji said with a fluency that surprised Asuka. "We...ah, well, she wanted to go see the Evangelion."

The man shrugged. "Sure. Not like we've been doing anything here anyway, right boys?"

Several of them groaned. There went their precious day of relaxation. Now it was work, work, work! But their grumbling was good-natured, and over the past few weeks they'd grown to know and appreciate Shinji as a passing friend. So they threw their backs into it, and before too long the small craft was in the water and a ladder extended down to its deck.

Now Asuka dropped Shinji's hand, though she hesitated for a moment to savor the contact before she swung herself over the side. "I'm going first," she informed the crew. "I don't want anyone peeking up my skirt, y'know." She finished this scathing line by glaring at Shinji, which had the entire crew laughing and Shinji's face hot and red.

"I w-would never-"

Asuka waved a hand at him, "Yeah, yeah. Never, ever. How dull." His blush deepened, provoking more laughter. Before she vanished below the deck she paused long enough to flash Shinji a beautiful smile, one that stirred something within his breast. And before he could stop himself, he smiled back at her.

As she descended the ladder, a thought crossed Asuka's mind. 'Maybe not so boring after all.'

---

"Purge the reactor!"

Alarms were going off all throughout the St. Patrick. Every sailor aboard the submarine was tense, frightened. Two men already had collapsed from nervous strain. Klein surveyed her bridge crew with a calm that she knew for certain wasn't felt by anyone other than herself. A few of the crew were trembling uncontrollably, one was crying.

"How far?" she asked into the air.

Her navigator mopped at his forehead with a handkerchief and did some rapid calculations. "We're two kilometers and change out from the fleet's last known position. Approaching rapidly."

"Sound collision alarm."

Another alarm, this one high and tremulous. All across the submarine men and women raced for the double-sealed, watertight hatches and slammed them shut. Klein waited thirty seconds for her crew to seal the boat up, then walked over to her diving control officer and dropped a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Surface."

"Yes Ma'am!" the man reached for the trim controls, the devices used to apply positive and negative buoyancy to the length and width of the St. Patrick's hull. She stopped his hand before it could touch the controls, though, and shook her head.

"No. Vent the tanks. All of them."

For a moment, the diving officer could only stare at his captain. The maneuver she was suggesting was something that no officer, no sane one, contemplated more than once or twice in their entire careers! Performing an emergency vent of all the ballast tanks put enormous strain along the entire length of the hull; strain that might crack and rupture the submarine. Or break it in half.

"Ma'am, are you sure?"

Klein smiled, "Yes."

With a shaking hand, the diving officer reached for the seldomly used command button that would vent their ballast. A second passed. He pushed the button. The world went mad. No one standing remained so. Even some in their chairs were thrown aside to the ground as wild bucks and gyrations shook the St. Patrick silly.

From somewhere, some scared voice called out: "Three hundred meters and rising!"

God help them now.

---

The Admiral leaned back into his chair and pulled his cap off to fan himself with. "Bloody nuisance."

"NERV, you mean?"

"NERV. Bunch of kids." He pointed his cap out of the window towards the cargo ship. "And a bunch of overpriced toys."

"Well, it isn't like they aren't risking their lives, sir. One of them has been killed."

The Admiral snorted, "We don't know that for sure, Commander. You aren't old enough to remember some of the things the USSR did in the Seventies, but I am. It's called brandishing the martyrs, an old political trick to get everyone's attention focused on what the government wants them to see."

"So...you don't believe the reports from NKH?"

"NKH? Pfah! Puppets of the Japanese government, and, consequently, NERV. Listen, Commander, and listen well: NERV is necessary to this world, perhaps. But the moment the necessity of their existence is removed, NERV will no longer be an asset to this world. It will be a liability. One that even the Japanese will be hard pressed to defend from outside opinion."

The Commander tugged at his lip. "I see your point, sir. But I don't agree about some things."

"Like what?"

"That kid, the one that died. NERV has never paraded their pilots in front of the cameras before, it just doesn't make sense for them to change their minds when one of them died."

"Au contrair, but it does!" The Admiral held up a bent finger, "Consider, the last Angel attack came perilously close to success, you can learn that much by reading in-between the lines of their 'official' reports. Now, if you're a country who's invested a great deal of money into the Evangelion project, and suddenly you have an opinion that your funds are going to waste in the hands of incompetent fools over in Japan, well...you'd begin withholding funds, now wouldn't you?"

"Yes, so?"

"Well, remember what I said about government agencies brandishing their martyrs? NERV paraded around a corpse, claimed it was the pilot, and got the World's attention by reminding people just what they believe is at stake. A none-too-subtle message to funding governments that any withdrawal from the project will lead to denunciation and incrimination in the eyes of their people and other countries. See? Very clever bastards over there. Very clever." The Admiral broke off and stroked a finger over his white mustache.

The Commander didn't see it as cleanly. Something was bothering him. "Sir, a question."

"Hmm?"

"You said that NERV trotted out that kid's body to remind the World what was at stake. Well...what is at stake?"

"What do you mean?"

The Commander looked troubled. "I mean, what are we fighting for? Why are we fighting?"

The Admiral opened his mouth, but couldn't find any words. He thought about it, then thought some more. "I...I honestly don't...know."

And that bothered him.

"Sir! Sonar reports high speed screws and hull popping sounds coming from the south!"

---

Asuka and Shinji were boarding the Ethelen Gras when they heard it. Like a subtle roar that trembled into their feet and through their bones. Shinji looked around the empty deck of the cargo vessel and wondered if it was something wrong in the ship's engine room. Asuka knew better, and grabbed his arm to turn him about roughly.

"Look!" she pointed.

Half a kilometer out into the sea, a white wave was rising. It seemed as though a patch of the ocean itself was boiling over, frothing like a pot of water waiting for the stew. Then a giant spray of seawater shot up high into the air, heralding the advent of something terrible. A great, hammering pain slammed against Shinji's temples; knocking the wind out of him and throwing him to his knees.

"Shinji!"

He couldn't hear her. The song, the song. 'This isn't like the other!' he shouted to himself through the red haze of pain. It was deeper, darker, more menacing. The other had been light, demanding but reassuring, even if it was persistent to the point of insanity. This song was like a frenzied anger, ripping and roaring, twisting his insides into knots.

"Shinji!"

On the bridge of the Rainbow, the Admiral and his Commander stared in horror as they saw a sight they'd seen only in movies. Rising high out of the water like a cork held under too long came a length of shining, wet titanium hull. It was crumpled and bent near the bow, its mast sleek and rectangular. Two-thirds of the submarine rose high into the air, then it came crashing down.

"What in God's name?"

"Conn, Radio! Emergency transmission from the USN St. Patrick! Attention unknown fleet, attention unknown fleet. There is an Angel following close behind; believe it will attack. Message repeats!"

The Commander turned, "Sound General Quarters! Get the fleet into combat formation. Signal the Ethelen Gras, have her positioned in the center of the fleet, just behind the flagship. Have the two battleships drop back to provide cover for the flagship and the cargo!"

"What's going on?"

The Commander lowered a intra-ship phone and scowled at a worried and breathless Misato Katsuragi. He turned slightly and tapped the Admiral on his shoulder, directing his attention to the newest intrusion.

"What are you doing here, Captain?"

Misato came forward to peer out over the side of the island and at the fleet. "There weren't any submarines attached to the fleet. What's going on here?"

"Captain! This is a military situation, now kindly remove yourself from my bridge!"

"Piss off!"

Aboard the Gras, Asuka faced a different situation. Shinji had lapsed into a seeming coma, his eyes glassy and staring fixedly off into space. Every so often he would murmur something too quiet for her to hear, and tremble horribly.

"Come on, Shinji. Come on!" she shook him by the shoulders, his head flopping limply. She grimly frowned and thrust her hands beneath his armpits to drag him away from the edge of the ship. She wasn't staring straight at it when it happened, but she heard it, and felt it, well enough. One of the destroyers, small, light ships that surrounded the perimeter of the fleet, exploded in a ball of consuming fire.

Asuka turned to watch nearly eight-hundred men and women perish, and felt herself go numb with fear. A wave of churned water shot out from the fire and raced across the fleet towards a cruiser; this time, she saw the grand ship perish. It broke apart near the bow, it's spine snapped by some malevolent thing beneath the water. It was only then that she knew what it was.

"Dear God in Heaven, now?"

Stanching the rising tide of fear that was working its way through her body, she bent down and lifted one of Shinji's arms around her neck and pushed up with her legs. Fortunately for her, he didn't weigh much at all. Alone in this, she raced off towards the nearest hatch, praying that she managed to find her way to the cargo hold before it was too late.

---

Author's Notes

---

Well, lads, I'm afraid this was all I had time to write. Now, don't get me wrong, there is an ending to this, somewhere. I promised the people over at Evamade that I would write them a WAFF fic (...well, as close to WAFF as I can possibly get) and I do intend to finish it for them. Now, obviously, this is a very different version of Evangelion that we're all used to, and it certainly isn't exactly the normal sort of fare that people see from me (Note: Swords, Demons, Magic, etc...), so I hope you'll bear with it and enjoy it on its own merits.

On another note, the reason why I couldn't finish it completely was, in part, due to the fact that I wanted to publish this on the 16th of this month, August 2006. There are several reasons for this; the first being that it's my birthday! YAAAAAY! (Proceeds to get as drunk as he possibly can.)

The other reason is that four years ago, under this penname (Which changed, by-the-way, from The Seldon Planner to IA Seldon, the name I'm planning on using for my books) I wrote another little story and published it on my birthday.

Birthday of a Pilot was the first story I wrote that received really positive appeal to the readers here on FF.N. It was a romance story that heralded the beginning of my works. Which aren't all romantic, nor happy, nor even expected. So, in honor of this moment, I decided some months ago to attempt to write a romance story that fell more-or-less in line with the Eva Canon.

Well, anyway, I hope you enjoyed the first section of this story, and I hope you eagerly await for more to come. Oh, and for those readers of Eternities Wars: Piss off and hold it. I'm busy. Or drunk. Or working. Or working drunk.

Anyway, until next time. Oh, and before I forget: If you liked or didn't like the story, let me know. Reviews help shape the story.

Chill.

IA Seldon

---

Post-Editing, March 29, 2008:

It's been a while.

Hopefully, I'll have another chapter up soon. A real chapter, too, for all those interested. This is just an editing revision to help refamiliarize myself with the work. Some things have been added, but not very much. More like word selection and whatnot.

Be seeing you soon.

IA Seldon.