Disclaimer: I don't own Evangelion or Star Wars. Just this story.

Authors note: alright here it comes! My longest chapter yet, a.k.a super-chapter! Do-do-doo!

P.S: once again, thanks for all of the reviews!

Oh, and lots of POV changes. But by POV, I just mean that the narration is more focused on that character. I just don't have a term for it. Yet...

And, I gotta say something for the OOCness in this chapter. Shinji: a little bit braver in social situations, what with the being shot at constantly. That'd make me braver. Rei: a little better at expressing emotions because she wasn't born to be a tool. She still doesn't show too much emotion yet though, don't worry. (subject to change)

But hey, OOC is nothing more than character development.

And if the chapter seems kind of rushy, just imagine it slow. Works for me.

Let the chapter commence!

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Derren Zakdam was growing impatient. This new client of his had said to be here at ten sharp. It was pushing eleven. He looked down from his perch on top of the building at the busy Coruscant traffic. 'Don't these people ever sleep?' he thought to himself. The building he was on was right across the street from an apartment complex. Normally it wouldn't stand out to him, but since it was an apartment complex for exclusive use of the Galactic Senators. He began to wonder why his client had wanted to meet him here for. "Where is he?" he asked out loud.

"Right here," said a menacing voice. Derren spun around and came face to face with his new employer.

"Why are you so late?" asked Derren angrily.

"I was here the whole time," answered the hooded figure. "I was testing you. I wanted to see how dedicated you were. Now, let's discuss this job." Derren was an assassin by trade. His first job had been to take out a Mandelorian. He had succeeded and he had even taken the Mandalorians armor, which he had painted black and red. He was known all over the criminal underworld, as one of the greatest assassins ever. He wasn't the best, true. But he was by no means the worst.

"Alright," said Derren, "Who is it you want me to kill, and how much are you paying me for it?"

"There is a certain senator who is disrupting my plans," said the robed man. "Her name is Rei Ayanami. Her room is right there." The man pointed to a window. Derren looked, in time to see a blue-haired girl falling asleep.

"Her?" asked Derren, surprised.

"Yes," answered the man. "She's dangerous to my plans. Everything she says goes against me. Every time she speaks, I see my plans start to come undone. I want her eliminated." Derren looked back at the girl. He thought for a moment.

"Alright," he said, "How much are you going to pay?"

"For her death you shall receive one hundred thousand Republic Credits."

"Alright," said Derren. He took aim with his sniper-rifle.

"Not yet!" exclaimed the hooded man. "I want you to watch her for three days. You need to see her daily routine, to try to see when the time is best to strike. You must also learn the holes in the building's security systems. Also, if you can make it look like an accident, I will pay you fifty thousand credits more."

"One hundred fifty thousand," said Derren.

"Yes," said the man. "I will pay you a grand total of two hundred thousand if you can pin the blame on someone else."

"Two hundred thousand!" exclaimed Derren. "That's more than I've made on a single job in years." Derren stood quietly, thinking it over. Then, the hooded man reached inside of his robe. He pulled out a black circular thing. "What's that?" asked Derren.

"It's a collar," said the man. "It has a camera and microphone. I want to be able to see the job done. It will activate in exactly 72 hours. With it, I can monitor your progress." He handed it to Darren. Darren looked at him curiously.

"You want me to wear that?" he asked.

"Yes," said the man. "Like I said, I want to see it. And hear it."

"Alright," said Derren, taking the collar. He slipped it over his helmet and on to its neck. He tried to adjust it. "It's a little tight," he said.

"Doesn't matter," said the man. "At least it won't get in the way." He began to walk away.

"Wait!" called Derren. The man stopped. "Before you go, I'd like to know the name of my employer." The man was silent for a moment.

"... Call me," he said, "Darth Sidious." At that, he disappeared into the shadows.

'Oh great,' thought Derren, 'I'm working for a nut-job who thinks he's some kind of sith. Still money's money.' He looked back at the apartment window, and saw Rei's sleeping form. 'Shame she has to die, pretty young girl like that.' He walked away and went to go make his plans. At that same time, Ki-Adi-Mundi was only a day away from joining the clones on Mygeeto.

8888

Shinji was happy. They were almost to Coruscant after a daylong trip. He was glad that they no longer had to stay cramped up in that little LAAT. The capital ship they were in was much roomier. He was looking forward to his two weeks off. He needed a break from being shot at. Plus, he wanted to see Rei again. They were able to communicate once in a while, but it wasn't enough for him. When he got home, he was finally going to do it. He was going to ask her out. And not just on an outing, like going to the zoo or seeing a play. He was going to ask her to dinner, dancing, the works. Oh how he hoped to the Force that he wouldn't chicken out of it.

'I'm pathetic,' he thought. 'I can go into dangerous battles, in which I could die five different ways in a matter of seconds, but I'm afraid to ask a girl out? Ah, man.' Over the next few minutes, he wondered and worried over how he would ask her. Luckily He didn't have to dwell on it to long. He was soon distracted by something else. The alarm started blaring! An announcement came over the intercom.

"All pilots and marines to your ships!" the voice said. "Repeat, all pilots and Marines to your ships! We've just received word that the Supreme Chancellor has been captured by General Grievous! There is a large fleet of CIS capitol ships. All pilots and marines to your ships!" Shinji ran to the hanger. He looked around for a moment, found his Starfighter, and hopped in. He gave some orders over the intercom, and then took off. Shinji flew out of the hanger, and into the battle. He was amazed at what he saw. He had never seen so many capitol ships, neither Republic or CIS, in one place. Especially not when they were all shooting at each other.

Now, Shinji was a little bit unorthodox when it came to flying, or even fighting in general. He held a high rank but refused to wear the equipment that came with it, such as special helmets, or the kama (battle-skirt). He owned these things, but insisted on using the average clone armor. He reasoned that if he didn't look like a commander, the enemy wouldn't come after him like one. The same thing applied when he was piloting, albeit a bit different. He refused to wear the pilot outfits. He just didn't like them. However he would still take a pilots equipment, such as a fusion-cutter and time-bombs. He had also developed special strategies to take down capitol ships single handed.

Shinji flew through the battle-space. His on-board computer received all of his mission specs. His mission was to help Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi get aboard General Grievous' ship, the Invisible Hand. He was to do this by distracting droid fighters and possibly draw capitol ship fire. Luckily, Shinji knew how to do both in one motion. He spotted a CIS ship he liked, and started heading for it. Suddenly, red lasers shot past him. It was a vulture droid. Shinji turned around and gave chase. He fired at the droid narrowly missing. The vulture suddenly looped around and got behind Shinji. It fired, hitting Shinji in the left wing. The wing began smoking. 'Perfect,' thought Shinji. He wasn't being sarcastic.

The smoke blocked the vulture droid's field of vision! Shinji looped behind the droid and fired two missiles at it. They slammed into the vultures rear, and it went spinning. It went spinning, spinning, and then... BOOM! It exploded, leaving nothing more then floating scrap metal. Shinji got back on track and made his way to the droid capitol ship. He reached the ship, but then two large auto turrets began firing at him. He started spinning his ship around, causing the lasers to miss. He fired missiles at them. He destroyed one, but missed the other completely. Ironically though, he only missed because a tri-fighter had flown in front of it. 'Whatever works,' thought Shinji.

The droids couldn't have been more surprised when they suddenly saw an enemy Starfighter, not only boldly land in their hanger, but also open its cockpit. Shinji jumped out, and the cockpit closed. Shinji had made some modifications on the Jedi Starfighter. Whenever he was out of the vehicle a powerful shield (based on the ones he had seen on Mygeeto) covered the ship, protecting it from harm and hijacking. Unfortunately, it only worked when the ship wasn't flying. Shinji ran across the hanger. A droid marine was near a door on the other side. It tried firing at Shinji but couldn't get a clear shot. He kept zig-zagging. 'His movements are completely illogical,' thought the droid. 'Why must humans be so difficult!' It kept firing, hoping to stop him. But before the droid knew it, Shinji had reached him, and swung his gun like a clup at the droids head.

The droid went down, and Shinji entered the door. Inside was a room he was familiar with. It had a column in the middle (which was actually the computer controlling the auto-turrets outside) along with four chairs with control panels that controlled more turrets outside. There were also three doors in the room, each leading to a different vital system. And, as usual, it was crawling with droids. They saw him, but at first they didn't do anything. They hadn't expected such an intrusion, so they had no idea what to do. But some of the more sensible droids started firing, while the others just got back to work. Shinji fired right back. He took out three droids, then headed for the door on the right. He ran in and found the engine cooling system. He placed a time bomb on it, and ran like hell. He rolled through the door, which shut just in time to shield him from the explosion. He fired at another droid, an engineer, and made his way to the next door, which was located at the far side(compared to the entrance) of the room. He ran in, and found the shield generator. He set two time bombs, one on each side of the generator, and ran out of the room.

Now by this time, all of the droids had figured out what to do. As soon as Shinji came out of the room, at least forty blasters were turned on him. They fired. Shinji quickly rolled...Forward!

The droids were taken aback by the illogical maneuver, and even more surprised that it worked. Shinji rolled forward, placed a bomb on the auto-turret computer/column, and ran for the last door, which was on the left side of the room. He got inside just in time to avoid the explosion. He stopped to catch his breath. He knew he would need it, because this was the last critical system that needed to be destroyed. It was the life-support room. He knew that after he destroyed it, he would only have minutes to get out of the ship before he ran out of air. He had always wondered why these ships even had life-support, its not like the droids needed air.

He set a time bomb on the large computer at the other side of the room, and ran out. He just dodged the explosion. True, this strategy was risky, but it always worked. Shinji re-entered the main room, which was now a scorched mess. 'Those time bombs are small,' thought Shinji, 'But they get the job done.' He ran out into the hanger, nine minutes to go. Meanwhile, during Shinji's sabotage, a couple of super battle droids had been attempting to destroy Shinji's Starfighter. They were almost ready to give up from sheer boredom (yes they can feel that) when Shinji showed up. They shot at him. 'Only two?' thought Shinji, 'Usually there's a lot more. Oh well.' He took them down no problem and hopped into his ship (well, he stopped to mfix his wing first).

He flew out of the hanger, and headed straight up (up relative to the top of the CIS ship). As he went, he radioed some nearby ARC-170's. "Pilots," he said over the communicator, "This is Commander Shinji." He gave him his position. "I need you to take out the communications array," he said. "I'm going after the command bridge, but I won't be able to take it out fast enough. I need you to take out the array to keep them from calling reinforcements. Alright?"

"Sir yes sir!" answered a clone, the squad's leader. They flew over to the ship and locked on to the communication array. In the meantime, Shinji was flying at top speed several hundred meters above the control bridge, and still going higher. He was about to perform a move that the 501st had patented and named after him: The Shinji. He flew to over 1,000 meters above the control bridge, and then made a sharp u-turn. He locked onto the control bridge and slowed his ship down considerably. He began firing missiles at it. However even with the shields down, it still took several shots. He slowed down so that he could get several shots in before having to pull up. He fired round after round at his target, but it refused to be destroyed. He pulled up at the last minute, and made another pass around. He took one last shot, and the bridge exploded! The whole ship was shaken by the impact and the explosions. It started slowly moving down, towards two droid-control ships.

Shinji fired at the ship some more, helping to add to the speed. The nearby squad of clones who he'd asked to destroy the communications array followed his example, and began blasting the ship as well. The ship built up considerable speed, and kept closing the distance between it and the two droid-control ships. Shinji fired at it one more time, then pulled back to watch. The ship went ramming into the other two, causing a large explosion that destroyed all three ships. Several nearby droid fighters suddenly shut down, and some capitol ships lost most of their crew. That provided quiet an opening for the two jedi. They flew into General Grievous' ship. After a long while, The Invisible Hand was shot in half by a Republic ship, and started its decent towards the planet.

8888

Shinji stood by, listening to Mace Windu and Chancellor Palpatine talk. "General Grievous will run and hide like he always does," said Mace Windu, "He's a coward."

"But with Count Dooku dead, he is the leader of the droid army," said Chancellor Palpatine, "And I assure you that the Senate will vote to continue the war as long as Grievous is alive."

"Then the Jedi Council will make finding Grievous our highest priority," answered Mace. They began walking down the Corridor. Shinji followed them, hoping to speak to Master Windu. He had landed shortly after Anakin. As he was leaving, he saw Anakin and Padme in the shadows. He smiled. He and Rei had known their secret for a while now. Shinji was just glad that they were happy together. Soon enough, Master Windu took his leave of the Supreme Chancellor and headed for a transport that would take him back to the Jedi Temple. He saw Shinji following him, and stopped. "Oh, Shinji," said Mace. "Could you come with me to the Temple?"

"Um, okay," said Shinji. He wondered what Master Windu wanted. He got on the transport, and they were off. Minutes later, they arrived at the Temple. Master Yoda was there to greet them. "Ahh, Shinji," said Yoda. "Finally back you are, hmm?"

"Yes master Yoda," said Shinji, bowing respectfully.

"Something we have for you here," said Yoda, handing Shinji a bundle. Shinji opened it up curiously. It contained a lot of metal parts, a bit of leatherlike stuff, and a blue crystal.

"What's this for?" Shinji asked perplexed.

"A test it is," Yoda said. He lead Shinji to a table.

"What kind of test?" asked Shinji.

"We just want to see what you can build with that stuff," said Master Windu. "It's a test of your ingenuity."

"Um, okay," said Shinji, still confused. He laid the contents of the bundle down on the table. He stared at them for a while, wondering exactly what he was supposed to do. He kept staring at them. Then suddenly, blueprints seemed to form in his mind. As if in a trance, Shinji began to build. He just started putting parts together, as if on instinct. Yoda and Mace watched with interest as Shinji worked. In a matter of minutes, Shinji came out of his trance. He was holding a shiny metal cylinder, that looked somewhat familiar. It was all metal except for a black handgrip, and a red button. "Is this what I think it is?" asked Shinji.

"Think it is a lightsaber do you?" asked Yoda. Shinji nodded. "Then correct you are." Shinji stared in wonder at the weapon he had just created.

"Go one," said Mace, "Try it out." Shinji activated it. A brilliant light-blue beam shot out of the silver handle. The feeling it created in Shinji's hand was incredible.

"Why did you have me build a lightsaber?" asked Shinji, still gazing at the blade.

"Well," explained Mace Windu, "We felt that you deserved this, as a sign of appreciation from all of the Jedi. You've been a great help to all of us."

"But why did you have me build it?" asked Shinji, deactivating the lightsaber.

"A jedi tradition it is," explained Yoda. "Build their own lightsabers, a padawan must. If handed down the lightsaber is, then taken apart and rebuilt it must be."

"A lightsaber is only as good as the one who makes it," said Mace. "We had you build it, because that is the true way to earn a lightsaber." Shinji admired the lightsaber again. "But," warned Mace Windu, "It must be kept a secret."

"From everyone?" asked Shinji.

"Not everyone," answered the Jedi Master. "You can tell other jedi, that's not a problem. But keep it a secret from the clones, the Chancellor, and the public in general. It must only be used in emergencies, is that understood?"

"Yes sir!" said Shinji.

"Good," said Yoda. "Dismissed you are! Go on!" Yoda waved him off. Shinji saluted again. He saw Anakin down the hallway, and ran over to greet him, and show him the lightsaber. The two Jedi Masters watched him go. Yoda sighed. "If only sensed him sooner we did."

"Do you think we should tell him?" asked Windu.

"No," said Yoda. "If know he does, then training he will want. Far too old he is."

"It's a pity," said Windu, watching Shinji and Anakin talk. "He could have made a pretty good jedi."

8888

Shinji had a lot of things to get ready. He was planning on asking Rei to dinner. He paced the floor, thinking about how he was going to ask her. After a while, he figured he had the best way of asking her. He was going to take it slow, start up a conversation first. Then he was going to ask her. He picked up the phone, and dialed her number. After a few rings, she picked up. "Hello," she said, in her usual monotone. At hearing her voice, Shinji's plan went right out the window.

"Um," he started off nervously, "H-hi Rei."

"Shinji?" asked Rei. "You're finally back?"

"Yeah," answered Shinji. "I, uh, I w-was just wondering, uh..."

"Yes?"

"W-would like to have dinner with me tonight?"

"..."

"If you don't want to, then-" Shinji began, his hopes dashed.

"Yes."

"What?" asked Shinji.

"Yes," repeated Rei. "I will have dinner with you."

"Really?" asked Shinji.

"Yes," answered Rei. "That sounds most... Pleasant."

'Yes!' thought Shinji happily. "What time should I pick you up?"

"I have a meeting today in the Senate," answered Rei. "It lets out at 7:00."

"Alright," said Shinji. "See you then." Shinji was relieved. He had managed to ask Rei out without totally screwing up. Plus, 7:00 left him plenty of time. He still had a lot of things that needed to be done. For example: when he looked in his closet, he realized that he didn't have any clothes that hadn't been part of his school uniform. Plus, the fridge was almost empty. 'Why doesn't he ever go shopping?' thought Shinji. He also had a couple more things he needed to take care of.

He left his apartment and called a taxi. "Where are ya' headed mac?" asked the driver.

"Weapons shop," said Shinji.

"Weapons shop?" asked the driver, "You aint plannin' on robbin' a bank or somethin' are ya?"

"No," said Shiinji.

"Whatever," said the driver. He drove Shinji to the nearest gun shop.

"Could you stay here?" asked Shinji, "I have another stop or two."

"Ok," said the driver, "Just hurry up, I aint your personal driver." Shinji walked into the store. During the war, Shinji had primarily fought droids. However, he had been sent to planets were he was fighting living things. Shinji couldn't bring himself to fire on a sentient being (except for Geonosians. His first impression of them had been, 'giant bugs who want to hurt and/or kill me.'). So he was here at the weapons shop, looking for a weapon that wouldn't kill his opponents. To his luck, he found three different guns, all tranquilizers. One resembled his DC-15A, and the other was very similar to the new DC-15S. The last one was a lot like his DC-17m. He purchased all three and headed back to the cab. "Where to next?" asked the driver.

"Any mens' clothes stores around here?" asked Shinji.

"Sure," said the driver. He drove Shinji to the store and once again, waited as Shinji did his shopping. He didn't buy much, just a few shirts in different colors, a couple pairs of jeans, and two jackets. Shinji got back in the cab. "Anywhere else?" asked the driver.

"Just back to my apartment," said Shinji. The driver took him home, Shinji payed the man, and then he started back towards his room. Once he got there, he realized he had forgotten to go grocery shopping. 'Oh man,' he thought. 'There goes my plans for making dinner.' He thought for a while, wondering if he should head out again. He pondered for a while. Just then, the mail arrived. Shinji sifted through it. 'Bill, bill, magazine, bill, you've been selected for our sweepstakes, bill, and-' Shinji stopped as he came to the last item. 'Hello, what's this?' It was an add for a new restaurant that had just opened up. Shinji had heard about this place. It was supposed to be pretty good. 'Alright!' thought Shinji. 'And it's close to here too.' He called the restaurant and made a reservation. He managed to get a spot, which was fairly lucky. With the worry of food now out of his mind, Shinji relaxed a little, and wondered what he should wear.

8888

Shinji waited outside the Senate building. It was almost 7:00. Shinji was still nervous. After all, he hadn't seen Rei in a while. Plus, he was still socially inept. His time on the battlefield had given him an escape from the fact that he was still the shy, awkward boy that he had always been. He really hoped he didn't do anything stupid. He waited for a bit longer, staring at the sun setting in the distance. "Wow," said Shinji out loud, "It's beautiful."

"Yes," said a voice behind him. He turned around to see none other than Rei, staring into the sunset as well. Shinji couldn't help but notice how pretty she looked in the sunlight.

"Hi Rei," said Shinji.

"Hello Shinji," said Rei, giving just a hint of a smile. "Where will we be eating?"

"Some new restaurant just opened up," said Shinji. "I'd make dinner for us myself, but I forgot to go grocery shopping today. Is that okay?"

"Yes," said Rei. Shinji called a taxi. The cab pulled up and they were just about to get in, when Shinji saw the driver.

"Not you again!" said the driver.

"Oh, uh, hi," said Shinji.

"Whatever, just get in kid," said the driver, not believing that he was stuck with this guy again. "Where are you heading to this time?" Shinji told him the restaurants name. The man started driving. They got there in about ten minutes. Shinji payed the man, again, and he drove off. The inside of the restaurant was very nice. It was neatly decorated, with a lot of plant life and intricate carvings here and there. There was a man standing behind a podium near the entrance.

"May I help you?" the man asked.

"Uh, do you have a table for two?" asked Shinji.

"Do you have a reservation?" the man asked.

"Yes," said Shinji, "Under Shinji Ikari." The man looked down the list.

"Ahh, yes," said the man. "Right this way." He lead them to a table that had a particularly nice view of the city's skyline. "A waiter shall be with you shortly." The man left and walked back to his podium. Shinji and Rei just sat there silently for a while. After a few minutes, Shinji decided to try starting up a conversation.

"So," he said, "How have you been?"

"Fine," said Rei. "How have you been?" Shinji actually had to think about that one for a minute.

"Generally fine," he said.

"...?" Rei gave him a look that said, "What do you mean 'generally?'"

"Well," said Shinji, "I mean I've been fine besides, you know, being shot at."

"Oh," said Rei quietly. The waiter arrived to take their drink order. They both just ordered water. The waiter handed them each menu's, and then went to go get their drinks. Shinji looked in the menu. It contained a large number of soups and salads. It had other items as well, but it primarily served soup or pasta. The waiter came back, delivered their drinks, and took their orders.

"What will you have?" the waiter asked Rei.

"I'll have the Saimin," said Rei.

"With or without meat?" asked the waiter.

"None, thank you," said Rei.

"And what will you have?" the waiter asked Shinji

"Miso Ramen," he replied, "With black pepper if you could."

"Alright," said the waiter, jotting their orders down. "And will either of you be taking a salad?"

"Watercress," they said in unison. The waiter nodded and walked towards the kitchen. Shinji looked at Rei. "You like watercress too?" he asked

"Yes," answered Rei. Shinji made a mental note of it. They sat their for a bit, neither of them knowing what to say. Rei noticed that Shinji was still wearing his jacket. "Aren't you hot in that?" she asked.

"It is kinda warm in hear," answered Shinji, taking the brown jacket off. Underneath that, he was just wearing a short-sleeved white polo. Rei couldn't help but notice Shinji's arms, which had grown a bit more muscular during his time at war. Shinji saw Rei staring at him.

"What are you looking at Rei?" he asked.

"Oh, uh, nothing," said Rei, blushing slightly. Luckily, the awkward situation didn't last long. The waiter arrived and served their food. "If you would like anything else," he said, "Feel free to ask." The waiter walked away, leaving them to their meals.

8888

'Where is she?' thought Derren. 'This job's supposed to go down tonight.She's usually home by now. I hope she didn't have an accident on the way over here. I won't get paid for that.' He looked impatiently at the time. 8:30. Well, he still had a few hours. Might as well go over the plan. Step 1: wait until she falls asleep. Step 2: Sneak into the room, using his electronic disrupter to knock out the security systems for a few minutes. Step 3: kill the girl and plant false evidence on someone. Anyone would do. It would be hours before anyone had realized what happened. By then he would be paid, and figuring out a way to spend the money. 200,000 credits. That was a very healthy sum of money.

8888

The meal had been delicious. Shinji and Rei had made some light conversation, mostly concerning the war. Rei had told Shinji that with only General Grievous left, the war would soon be over. In fact Palpatine had said so himself. She usually didn't trust him to much, she didn't know why. But at his cheerful prediction about the war, Rei forgot her feeling of unease towards him. At hearing Rei say all this, Shinji had grown quite happy. In exchange for her news, Shinji told her about his adventures on the battle-field. He tried to leave the more gory bits out. She was particularly interested in his two most recent battles. She loved how he told her about how he had brought down a capitol ship by himself. And she knew he wasn't bragging, because the Shinji she knew seemed incapable of thinking much of himself. And despite his time at war, he was still the shy awkward boy that she had harbored a crush on since middle-school.

After they were, done the waiter showed up. He handed Shinji the bill. It came out to one hundred and fifty credits. Well, the food had been good. Shinji payed the waiter. But the waiter saw his name and stopped him. "Wait," he said, "Are you the Shinji Ikari?"

"Um, yes," said Shinji, confused.

"Commander Shinji Ikari?"

"Yes."

"You sir, get your meal for free!" exclaimed the waiter.

"What!?" exclaimed Shinji.

"I'm from Mygeeto you see," the waiter explained. "When you were there, you saved my family! Just yesterday, they called me and said how you and the clones helped Ki-Adi-Mundi to push the droids out of the part of the planet where they lived. This meal is on me!"

"No, no," said Shinji, "I can't accept that. I'll pay for the meal no problem."

"No," said the waiter firmly. "It's the least I can do to repay you. Besides," he began to whisper in Shinji's ear. "I'm sure you could use that money on something nice for your date." Shinji blushed slightly at the suggestion, and the fact that he was so obvious, even to a total stranger. However, Shinji wouldn't accept a free meal, and payed half price (the waiter wouldn't let him pay anymore than that.). After he had payed, he and Rei left. During their time inside, they had grown used to the warm air. However, outside it had gotten a bit cold. It was this part of Coruscant's winter season, and while it never got too cold, it was cold enough. They were only outside for a minute before Rei began to shiver. She had unfortunately believed that day's weather forecast, which had said that the lowest that the temperature would get would be 80. Never trust the weatherman.

Shinji noticed Rei shivering and without really thinking about it, chivalrously put his jacket over her shoulders. "Hm? Why are you giving me you jacket?" Rei asked.

"Because you're cold,"explained Shinji.

"But will you not be cold?" she asked.

"No," said Shinji. "I've been in worse. That armor we used to have, at the start of the war, wasn't insulated to well. I found that out on Rhen Var." She smiled at him, and hugged the jacket closer around her. Shinji hailed a cab. Ironically, it was once again the same man that had been driving Shinji around earlier that day.

"Again?" he asked.

"Looks like it,"replied Shinji good-naturedly. They got into the cab.

"Where to?" asked the driver. Shinji directed him to the Senate apartment building. They rode in silence for a while. Rei cuddled up next to Shinji, just a little, to try and shake of the cold. Shinji didn't mind. In a few minutes, they were there. Rei got out and Shinji followed, just to walk her up to her room and say goodnight. But before he got out, the driver stopped him. "You know what kid? I got this strange feelin' about you." Shinji looked at him questioningly. "Now don't take it the wrong way," the driver continued. "It's a strange feelin', but it's a good feelin', like luck or something. Well back to the point. Us cab-drivers have got a little superstition, that doubles as a rule. If we get the same customer three times or more in a week, and we get that feeling, we introduce ourselves to 'em." He extended his hand. "The name's Steve." Shinji shook his hand.

"Shinji," he said. He got out of the cab, telling Steve to wait for a few minutes for him to come back. He walked over to Rei with a cheerful look on his face, what with the night being a success, and having made something of a friend out of the cab-driver. He walked Rei upstairs. They got to her apartment and he was about to say goodnight, when Rei stopped him.

"Shinji," she said, a strange tone in her voice.

"What?" asked Shinji, Perplexed.

"Could you, maybe, stay here with me tonight?" she asked.

Shinji looked at her, confused and sensing that something was wrong. "Sure," he said. "I'll be right back."

"Okay," she said, Pulling Shinji's jacket just a little bit tighter around her. He went downstairs to where Steve's car was waiting.

"Uh, Steve," he said, "I'm actually going to stay here tonight, so you can leave." Steve gave him a suspicious look.. Shinji saw it and said, "No! No! It's nothing like that!"

"Okay then," said Steve. "I'm just curious then. Why are you staying here?"

"I don't know," said Shinji, "She asked me to."

"Alright then," said Steve. "Just don't try anything, you know..." Shinji just gave him a look that said, "What kind of person do you think I am?" Steve laughed, "Don't worry, I don't really think you'd do that sort of thing. You seem like a nice kid." Shinji payed him, and then he drove off. Shinji quickly returned to Rei, who hadn't entered her apartment yet. She saw him, and a relieved look broke across her face. They entered the room, and Rei locked the door. Shinji looked at Rei, and could see that she was distressed.

"What's wrong Rei?" asked Shinji, sitting down on the couch. Rei sat down next to him.

"I've felt like someone has been watching me for the last three days, including today," she explained. I felt very uneasy. Tonight was the worst. After having such a nice evening with you, I came back here and felt it again. It feels like someone's right there, watching my every move." She leaned up against Shinji. Shinji was shocked. He had never seen Rei like this. Whatever was going on, it had to be bad. "And it's not the watching part that frightens me," Rei said. "I feel like there's something behind it. Not the thing watching, but the thing controlling it. I feel like something terrible is going to happen tonight." Shinji hated to see Rei like this. He put his arms around her, trying to comfort her

"Don't worry about it," he said. "I'm here, and I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you, alright?"

"Thank you Shinji," said Rei. They stayed on the couch for a little while. Rei felt very safe in Shinji's arms, and Shinji was glad to be helping her. After about ten minutes, Rei was relaxed again and feeling much better. Then she noticed something shiny on Shinji's belt. "What's that?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh this?" said Shinji. "Masters Yoda and Windu gave me this today. I must have put it on my belt and forgot about it. They told me not to tell anyone what it was though. Sorry."

"That's okay," answered Rei. She had never seen a lightsaber handle up close, so she had no idea what it was. She figured it didn't matter though, so she didn't question him further. After a while, she yawned. She decided that it was time to go to bed. She got up and walked to her room. Shinji followed. We went in to her closet and started changing into a nightgown. Meanwhile, Shinji looked in the hall closet for an extra blanket and pillow. Then he 'changed' into his sleeping clothes. All he really did was take off his shirt. He never wore a shirt when he went to bed. He began making a makeshift 'bed' on the floor next to Rei's bed. Just then, Rei walked out of the closet and saw him.

"What are you doing?" asked Rei.

"Making a place for me to sleep," answered Shinji.

"You can't sleep there," said Rei.

"Oh," said Shinji, "I'll just make a place on the couch-"

"No Shinji," said Rei. "I meant that I wanted you to... sleep up here. With me." Shinji looked at her. Did he just here her say that? Was he dreaming? He must be dreaming. He pinched himself. Nope, not dreaming. "Is that alright?" asked Rei.

"S-sure," said Shinji nervously. She got into bed and he followed.

"Shinji?"

"Yes Rei?"

"Thank you for staying with me tonight." She cuddled up next to him. Once again, he didn't mind. He put his arms around her.

"No problem," said Shinji.

'He's so nice,' Rei thought. 'Inviting me to dinner, offering to pay for it even when it was offered to him for free, staying with me just because I asked him. Yes, he's nice." Soon enough Rei fell asleep, a peaceful look on her face. Shinji just watched her for a little while, until the night wove its spell on him as well, and he fell asleep.

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'Who's that now?' thought Derren as he looked into Rei's window. He couldn't see him too clearly. He could see Rei just fine, because the moonlight was directly on her face. But the boy with her was covered in shadow. He wondered who it could be, his mind coming up with a few theories. Finally, he came up with on that he figured was correct. This guy was probably her boyfriend. That also meant that he had a connection to her. Which left him in the perfect position for Derren to get payed the full 200,000 credits.

It had been 72 hours since he had received his job. The collar activated. "When are you starting?" asked Sidious' voice over the speakers

"In a few minutes," answered Derren. "I want to make sure they're definitely asleep first."

"They?" Sidious' camera zoomed in on the window. "Who is that?"

"Isn't it obvious?" asked the assassin. "He's the boy who murdered Senator Rei Ayanami and then committed suicide." Sidious took the hint. Derren watched the sleeping couple for a little while, then commenced his operation. He shot a grappling hook at the wall just above the window and swung over to the building. Luckily he was high enough above traffic so that no one could see him. He landed on the wall, right next to the window. He activated his disrupter, and waited for a minute or two. He used a scanner built into his helmet to check if it had worked. It had. He opened the window quietly, slipped in, and then closed the window. He looked around the room carefully, trying to find the best angle for the shot. He found a good spot, a patch of wall next to the window.

He pulled out his blaster, and attached a special silencer to it. He looked at his target. It was a real shame that she had to die. She would've had her whole life ahead of her. Then he looked at the boy sleeping with her. Too bad about him too. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Well, at least they could die together. He took one last pitying look at them, and then aimed. Business was business. He aimed directly at the point where Rei's spine met her skull. She wouldn't feel a thing. He began to pull the trigger. Suddenly, the boy jumped up and a blue beam appeared in his right hand!

8888

Shinji woke up, feeling like something was out of place. He looked out of the corner of his mostly closed eye, and saw a man in black armor attaching something to a gun. The man moved next to the window, and started to take aim. Shinji looked to where the gun was pointing. It was pointed straight at Rei. Shinji saw the man pulling the trigger and jumped up and ripped the lightsaber off of his belt. He activated it, blocking the shot. The laser deflected back and almost hit the stranger's head. He ducked to avoid it. He got up, and Shinji rushed at him. He tried to fire, but Shinji got there to fast and sliced the gun in half. He elbowed the man in a pressure point on his left shoulder, and then delivered a kick behind his left knee. The man almost lost his balance. Shinji then pinned his right shoulder to the wall, and held the lightsaber up to his neck.

"Who are you?" Shinji demanded. "Why are you here?" The man didn't answer. He tried to move his left arm, but he couldn't. It was completely numb. He tried to move his right arm, but it seemed locked in place. 'He must have me pinned by a pressure point,' Derren thought. Shinji repeated his question. "Who are you?"

"I aint tellin' you anything," said Derren.

"That's a shame," said Shinji, "Because I really don't feel like chopping limbs off." He moved the blade just a little closer to the assassin's neck to emphasize his point. 200,000 credits wasn't worth this.

"Alright," said Derren "I know when I'm beat. My name is Derren Zakdam. I was hired to kill Senator Rei Ayanami." Shinji heard a small gasp behind him. It was Rei. She had been roughly woken up when Shinji had jumped up. "I was going to get paid a large amount of money, and larger too if I could make it look like someone else did it. I was going to kill you both, then make it look like you'd killed her and then committed suicide." Shinji was appalled at the man's cool demeanor. He sounded like he didn't care at all about what he had been trying to do.

"Who hired you then?" demanded Shinji. Derren was silent for a moment, trying to recall the name.

"Oh," he said. "It was some nut saying that the senator there was interfering with his plans or something."

"The name?" Shinji asked.

"He said his name was Darth Sidi-GACK!" The man suddenly gave a violent heave. Shinji backed away immediately. Derren fell to his knees, and grabbed at his throat.

"Are you alright!?" Shinji asked, forgetting what the man had been trying to do.

"Ch-choking!" exclaimed Derren. 'I aint goin' down alone,' he thought. "His name was- was Darth-" The choking grew stronger. "Sidi-Sidiou..." He slumped to the floor. Shinji checked for the man's pulse... Nothing. Shinji looked back to see Rei, her hand over her mouth and on the verge of tears.

"He just- he just," Rei was speechless. She'd never seen someone choke to death. It was horrible. Tears began running down her face. Shinji ran over immediately to try and comfort her. She burried her head in his chest and cried. Shinji just held her there, trying to be strong. He was trying to keep from reacting the way Rei was. He had seen men die before, but this had been different. This was the most gruesome death he had ever witnessed. So he just stayed there, holding the crying blue-eyed girl, wondering what to do next.

8888

Sidious watched the whole scene in his lair. He kept wondering who that boy was. He was about to just shrug it off, when he saw the boy's attack. Was he a jedi? The way he had handled the assassin was incredible. Sidious was infuriated that his plans were still being interfered with by the jedi. He tried to get a good look at the mystery man but couldn't. The lightsaber was in the way. And the hum it was giving off made it a bit difficult to hear, let alone recognize the voice. But, as soon as he heard Derren about to give away the name of his employer, he pressed the button. The collar was for more than merely watching and listening. If the assassin failed, it was also a punishment. Sidious pushed the button, and the collar began squeezing. 'Oh well,' thought the Sith Lord, 'At least I can keep those credits. I didn't really want to waste them on that girl anyway.' He sat there, plotting. The girl was probably going to be under jedi guard for some time now. Oh well. His plan could succeed, even with interference...

8888

Shinji had called security up to see what had happened. Security came up, and Shinji told them exactly what had happened, omitting nothing except for the lightsaber bit. Security began investigating. They contacted the Jedi Temple. Mace Windu arrived shortly. Shinji told him exactly what happened. Master Windu listened to his every word. He wondered what to make of it all. After a while, he questioned Shinji. "Did the man say who he was working for?"

"Yes," said Shinji. "He was telling me his name when he started choking. The most he could tell me was Darth Sidiou."

"Hmm. Interesting," said Mace. "I wonder if that could be the Sith Lord we've been looking for. You said that the assassin called him 'Darth Sidiou'?"

"Yes," answered Shinji. Mace thought about this for a moment.

"Senator Ayanami is not safe here," Mace finally said. "I will escort her to the Jedi Temple." Rei hugged Shinji closer.

"I'm going to come with her," said Shinji. "I need to be there for her."

"Alright," Mace agreed. Shinji covered Rei with a blanket and picked her up. Mace led Shinji down to the main lobby of the building. They went outside and entered the transport that Master Windu had arrived in. Shinji got in and sat down. He looked at Rei, who was hanging onto him tightly. He hated to see her like this.

'Poor Rei,' thought Shinji. 'This whole thing must have sent her into shock. She isn't used to seeing people just die like that. I'm not like that just because I've seen death more. I don't know which is worse.' He hugged Rei tightly. "Don't worry," he said, "I won't let anything happen to you. Ever." Rei held onto him just a little bit tighter.

They arrived at the Temple and Mace Windu lead them to a guest-room. He bid them good night, and left to go discuss the night's events with Master Yoda. Shinji lay down on the bed, and pulled the covers over Rei and himself. She had calmed down a bit by now, and no longer seemed to be in shock. She still held onto Shinji tightly though. Shinji saw that she was still shaken though. "Rei?" She looked up at him. "Rei, don't worry," said Shinji reassuringly. "We're in the safest place in the galaxy. We're in the Jedi Temple. And I'm right here for you." He caressed he cheek softly. She looked at him.

"Thank you Shinji," she said. She fell asleep a few minutes later.

Shinji, however, had a difficult time getting to sleep. He wondered who could possibly be after Rei. He wondered why it was a Sith Lord of all people. And what plan could Rei possibly be disrupting. He stared up at the ceiling. After a long time, he too managed to get some sleep. But he had a nightmare. A nightmare of Derren choking. It was a nightmare that would haunt his dreams for years to come.

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ok! That was the longest chapter so far, and maybe, just maybe, the longest one in this story. Like I said, I'm putting all of the events that happen on one planet in the same chapter. I hope you liked it. That was the first space battle, and first date-themed thing that I've written, so sorry if it wasn't to good. And sorry if it felt a bit rushed while you were reading it. Sometimes I'm not so great in the detail department.

And I know, Rei very OOC. Here's a heads up for you: She will always be a bit OOC when she's around Shinji. And she reacted to Derren's death the way a lot of people probably would. I know I would if I saw someone being choked to death by an unseen force.

definitions:

DC-15A: standard clone assault rifle, from episodes II and III

DC-15S: new assault rifle in episode III, often mistaken for a simple blaster. Close to the storm-trooper type

DC-17m: commando pistol. I finally found the real name!

Happy New Year!