Wow, picking up followers quickly now. Thank you all so much your reviews and encouragement. More training scenes this chapter with some exposition. I feel lazy writing some of the training, because I know after the first time you do something it is just repetition, so don't expect to get a detailed break down of their week.

Fun game: When the bold text of The Voice shows up, imagine it has the voice of Brian blessed when it speaks like that, and Rowan Atkinson when he quiets down. I cannot decide which is more amusing. I do know that to me he has a refined, but snarky, British accent.

Trigger warnings: Snakes. Not that bad you might say, but I'd like a damn warning about them.

Chapter 13

Shinji chose to forego the spoon and tossed it aside. He brought the hot bowl of hearty soup to his mouth and drank it all down in a matter of seconds. During their first meal break he had only a single bowl and that smelly tea. Now his body screamed for fuel. This was his third helping. It was the damn tea.

Vitali had explained to them that they were not drinking tea for the stimulant caffeine, but because this tea would improve their digestion. When Shinji asked why that mattered, he had gone on to explain that they were going to be pushing their bodies such that they were going to need every bit of energy they could get, so the more they could take from their food the better. In reality, between the exercise and the tea, their bodies were eating through every calorie and craving more.

As he drank the broth, the burning in his arms and legs eased and the soreness dulled. They had spent several more hours on the knife hand after their first meal. Remo-sensei was only satisfied that they understood the basic movement once they could strike ten out of ten balls thrown at them. First with their strong hand, then again with their off hand. He said it was important because this technique was the basis of a more advanced technique he called "the floater" which could injure the user if done incorrectly.

Remo related the story of having done just that with a low level hit man for the mob (he explained it was like the yakuza except Italian) when the mook (Shinji found Remo liked that word for bad men) fainted in surpise and his attack over traveled. That had led to telling them about the mystery he had been investigating when the incident happened and so on and so forth. Shinji was convinced now that unless one had seen his teacher in person and heard him tell his tales, which he continued as they practiced, nobody would believe them. Shinji liked best the ones about Remo's own teacher, who sounded like a very wise man.

Shinji had been satisfactory, but Remo-sensei had applauded Rei's precision and speed. To strike all 10 targets had felt like a single long action for Shinji, with no time think in between, only to do as he caught a glimpse of the next target. When he watched Rei do the same exercise though, each strike was a precise movement and she was already sizing up the next target before she had finished her strike on the first.

Shinji's confidence had been renewed by the mace and the spear hand though. Both required the entire body to move at once for maximum power and his coordination was very good. Of course, he thought to himself as he asked for another helping, his body had been the same size for a good long time. Rei was tall and all the tall girls Shinji knew his own age had only gotten that way recently.

Both the mace and spear practice had used the same apparatus, a thick wooden stake mounted atop a coiled spring. They were told that when they hit the stake, either from the side with the mace or head on with the spear, it should come back and strike them in exactly the same spot. This would show their energy was directed into a single direction. If the target wavered or swung away, it meant their energy had scattered.

It had looked simple when Remo and Vitali showed them, but they quickly found that if struck improperly, the thick stake could easily swing out and take them off their feet.

Shinji found his injuries offered some advantage as they continued with the exercise. After a while, Rei would wince in pain even she did the strike correctly as her knuckles bloodied. Shinji could see the blood on his own hands the same way, but he did not feel anything more than a moment of pressure when the target snapped back after a good hit. Rei began to shy away from the pain and it took frequent correction from the instructors to keep her correct. As Shinji began his third helping, he could see her wrapping her hands in tape as his were.

Misato had joined them for lunch, but not this meal and Remo began to brief them on their next lesson as they finished up and drank more of the odorous tea.

"Alright, next lesson is going to be movement. While one would think the strike is the most important skill of the assassin, movement is far more…" He paused when the blue haired girl raised her hand. "Uh, yes Rei, got a question?"

"What about the sword hand technique?"

"We will get to that later. Probably not this week though. Its not like just striking with the side of your hand. Without conditioning, you'll just slice the flesh of the palm open. Now, when we move…" Remo continued on his point.

"But…" Rei interrupted.

Remo turned and looked directly into her red eyes. He usually paced as he spoke, so standing straight on and looking straight at her was something that immediately made Rei feel uncomfortable.

"Ordinarily, this would be the point where I would feel it was a good idea to teach you a lesson in humility, first daughter of Sinanju. Where I would stop teaching you with my voice and my heart and teach you instead with my hands. However that would require us ceasing instruction. As you may have noticed, we are in the midst of an attack by forces beyond our understanding and we have no idea how long we have to prepare. As such, I do not want to waste time bringing you in line. So you get off with a warning today when I should have taught you a valuable lesson. Accept my deepest apologies, for if I truly loved you as my master loved me, I would not spare you knowledge. Are we clear on that, Rei?"

Rei lowered her head between her shoulders and looked away from his eyes, then nodded.

"Do not cow like an animal, speak!" Remo snapped

"Yes Sensei!" She replied quickly.

"Good. Now where was I… Oh yes, movement is far more important a skill than the strike. We move to approach our target, we move to deceive our foe, and we move while engaged. In all cases, the ultimate goal is to have as little impact on our surroundings as possible. When done correctly, that is perfectly, we leave no signs of our presence in the past, make no sound in the present, and give nothing away about the future. Now watch me…"

Remo's demonstration went on for some time before he set them on a new exercise. Almost an entire mat had been taken up by a structure of pipe and fittings. They were told to try and shake it and found it easily moved and each movement very noisy thanks to bells attached at every fittings.

"Go ahead and play for a while, get used to moving on it. Once you are comfortable, we will begin." Remo told them. It took about 5 minutes to get past that awkward teenage concept whereby acting like a child was somehow embarrassing, and they were swinging around the nearly twenty foot high grid and making a lot of noise doing it.

The exercises were as follows. They would each begin at a starting point and told to move to an end point, each denoted by a colored cloth that Vitali would place and move. The challenge was they were to do so without making any noise.

It was some time before they were even able to move amongst the metal without ringing bells and even longer until they could be silent to Remo's satisfaction. By the time their sensei finally told them to stop, they were exhausted. Not hungry, just tired like neither could remember being before.

The pilots rested and stretched with Remo as Vitali removed several sections of pipe, both horizontal and vertical. They would no longer be able to rely on a perfect three-dimensional grid. After they could move as quickly as they had before, the instructors turned off the light, only showing them their new goals in short flashes of spotlight. When they could do it silently, blind, from memory, they were finally allowed to sleep.

They were given rolled up mats and told they may sleep where they wish. The overhead lights were turned off and only smaller lamps near the kitchen area were left on for Remo and Vitali to do their own exercises. Rei and Shinji found a suitable corner amongst empty crates. Shinji didn't even bother to sit up and both fell asleep as soon as their bodies touched the ground.

I would speak with you.

I am not in the eva, I am trying to sleep. It can wait.

No, it cannot. I apologize my lord however because you are not within your chariot we are limited by the passage of time.

My lord? Who are you anyway?

I have brought your mind into my own realm, so that we may meet again as we have a thousand times before. Open your eyes, my lord.

Shinji opened his eyes. Great, he thought, mad Americans by day, spooky voices by night. The light was bright and he had to shield his eyes for a moment before he could see his surroundings. Shinji was surprised to find himself in a grassy courtyard surrounded by ruined stone. Behind the stone in every direction were tall, straight trees. Sunlight shown through the trees onto the square courtyard, keeping it lit brightly while the thick canopy cast beyond the stones in shadow. Shinji rose from where he lay and sat with his legs crossed.

First he noticed he was still wearing his white training robes.

Second, he saw something moving in the trees then enter the courtyard. As it came closer, Shinji realized it was an enormous black snake. Shinji tried to rise to his feet, to run away, but the gigantic serpent encircled him. As its head rose above him, at least three times his own height, its great cobra-like hood unfurled. Light passed through the flaps and geometric designs covered the ground where it struck, the patterns etched upon the great snake's skin.

He had spent the day training with the deadliest man alive and Shinji was terrified. This is of course the most socially acceptable reaction to being confronted by a gigantic cobra. Conversely, it is generally considered rude to quote Dr. Henry Jones regarding the reason for the presence of the serpent.

The great beast lowered its head, touching its snout to the ground. Upon its head was a great jewel, a ruby as big as Shinji's head set in gold, and as it again raised its head, the gem and setting looked like a crown.

I am Vasuki, first of the great kings of the Naga, the serpent folk who are as to the snake as the gods are to a man. I am, as ever, at my lord's service.

Shinji shook where he stood and tripped as he tried to step back, falling on his rear. He scuttled back across the ground until he met the snake's flesh at his back.

"Y-y-you're the voice, t-t-t-t-the one who t-t-talked to me? In the eva?"

Yes

"You are very scary in person."

The naga dramatically shrugged and sighed, as best as a being that lacks shoulders can.

Would it please you if I were to take a less impressive form, my lord?

Shinji nodded quickly. In the blink of an eye, the snake was before him, still huge but in a scale he could deal with. Shinji brought himself back to sitting and the naga held his head level with Shinji's with many coils still on the ground.

Better?

"Maybe tone down the voice a little?"

"This lacks a certain gravitas, but if it pleases you I will not complain… much." Vasuki said, actually moving his mouth for the first time Shinji had seen. The serpent unraveled itself and moved closer to Shinji, who started to back away again.

"Why do you fear me? I am here to help you." He said as he circled the boy.

"I'm sorry, you are a snake, it's a natural reaction." Shinji replied, twitching away from Vasuki's head

"Do you think I am going to bite you or harm you in some other way? Have I not helped you every time we have spoken?"

"well no, er yes, I mean… No I don't think you are going to hurt me and I am really thankful that you helped me. I don't know what I would have done without you."

"Your gratitiude is as honey. Have you been bitten by one of my kin or subjects before? I will find the perpetrator myself."

"Well, no. Actually you are the first snake I have ever met, well I mean. You know what I mean."

"Then why are you afraid?

Shinji thought about it for a minute. The naga had a point.

"I am sorry."

"Do not be, many never learn the lesson you have just taught yourself. Trust in your experience, not in your conceptions."

Shinji nodded.

"I am sure you have questions, but as I said we have a limit on our time together and I have many things I wish to tell you."

"Okay."

"This entire process has been somewhat slapdash. Normally all of this would have been prepared in advance, you would have been informed much earlier, had a suitable mentor right from the start or at the very least a good family life. This is what we get for rushing things. I know it was the best course of action available but to have the entire trimurti occupied like this is just asking for trouble…" The naga had begun to sway as he prattled on. Shinji supposed it was like Remo-sensei pacing as he talked. The serpent stopped and looked at Shinji, who had a look of blissful ignorance on his face.

"You haven't the faintest idea what I am talking about do you?"

Shinji shook his head. "Sorry. Does it have to do with dharma?"

"Yes yes, it has everything to do with dharma! Mine, yours, the universe!"

"I think I understand dharma. It is like what we are meant to do, our purpose. Everything has a dharma, and when I fight the angels, I am fixing something wrong with it. Like they represent a wound or something and by killing them, it is removed. So my dharma is to protect the dharma of the universe so that all the things living in it can fulfill their dharma. Right?" Shinji's explanation was rapid, but his question was rather timid.

The naga raised an eyebrow. Well that's what Shinji thought it was trying to do or something. It actually looked more like when a dog cocked its head. "That is surprisingly astute actually. Mostly correct too."

"So if you could explain what is going on, can we start with that? I think I understand that."

"Alright, I suppose it is as good a place to start as any." Vasuki adjusted himself, settling into a figure eight with his head rising from the intersection. Shinji wasn't sure why but it made him think of someone sitting cross-legged. Must be how you do it without legs, he thought.

"As you said, we each have a dharma, a purpose. All things that exist, animate or inanimate, spirit or mortal, have dharma. Dharma is not only an end, but also a means. It is living righteously, honoring the good, avoiding the wicked, that sort of thing. Even the supreme reality, Brahman, in which all exists, fulfills a purpose in this way. The mahadevas, the spirits tasked with such power as to be gods, each have their dharma in overseeing and guiding their particular sphere of power. The most powerful of these beings are the three known as the Trimurti. Is that clear so far?"

"Yes Naga-sama."

"Please, we have known each other far too long for that. I have served you for the better part of four Yuga, please call me Vasuki."

"How long is a Yuga, how come I don't remember you?"

"I will get to that. Now then, there are spirits in charge of things like storms, fire, wind, water, animals, everything. But the Trimurti and their wives watch over the big things. Brahma, not the same as Brahman human language is so limiting… oh right Brahma is the lord of creation. Vishnu protects and preserves creation. Now here is where you come in."

"I am created…"

"Indeed, you are, my lord."

"Are trying to tell me I am a god?"

"Heavens no, you are a 14 year old boy with issues to make an asura blush. Above that though, you are a hastily arranged incarnation…"

"An avatar?"

"Quite. You see this business with the event humanity calls impact and the angels, it is embarrassing to say, we didn't see coming. The gods and spirits had become complacent and assumed what they predicted would happen would happen and that would be that. Lord Vishnu was prepared to incarnate one more time this cycle in another half a million years, wrap it all up, end on a golden age and start the whole thing over. Nobody had conceived that there was something actually working against us. Now I don't mean the asuras, they were always part of the plan."

"What's an asura?"

"Your less pleasant relations, I will explain another time. Back to business, we didn't see it coming and the chaos that followed led to something of a problem. You see, Brahman simply is, without beginning or end. The spirits and beings that keep it working though, a certain amount of attention helps them do their duties. The vast majority of those who supplied that attention perished when pale imitations of divine weapons were used."

"When India and Pakistan nuked each other in the impact wars?"

"Indeed. So Lord Vishnu had already begun preparations for his final incarnation. For him to take mortal form now would destroy the cycle as bad as not doing anything at all. This is where the events of your life come into play. Normally an avatar is a grand operation with centuries of planning and preparation. We did not have that kind of time in this case and with a billion believers dead we couldn't have done it anyway. You yourself had the most experience in a mortal body recently and volunteered to be incarnated, even if we knew there would be complications." Vasuki paused here. "it was also decided to try and co-opt humanities own efforts at repelling the invader, thus why the child of Yui and Gendo Ikari was chosen. Nobody really thought that man would go to the lengths they have in their depravity."

Shinji nodded. He felt mad, the familiar anger he had nursed for years. In this case though, his anger seemed so small against what was out there. Problems that worried gods troubled him more than his stupid father.

"We-… I should have been there for you, my lord. Normally by your age an avatar has been educated, achieved moksha, and had some time to reacclimatize to their abilities. Their vassals and kin help them. But this time none could reach you. You were attacked, and buried in samsara, the cycle of karma." Vasuki said. Shinji could hear the sorrow in his voice.

"But now that we can talk, I can use like, I don't know god powers or something to end this, right? Nobody else has to get hurt, right?"

Shinji had never considered what a snake would sound like laughing. Turns out it is unpleasant, like rubbing sandpaper on a chalkboard.

"I am sorry, but I had thought every possible thought had passed between us over the eons, but that was the first time I have heard that. No, right now without the conduit of your chariot, the eva as you call it, accessing your power would burn your body to cinder. Both your mind and body are impure, unrighteous, and bogged down and blocked up with petty attachements and pain."

"Oh…"

"It is good that you have become student to Remo. He will help to purify you. You will learn to release yourself of that which restrains you. As you travel down the road to true wisdom your power will become available to you. We have little time remaining."

"True wisdom… Wait a sec, if you are the voice, who is the nurse?"

"The nurse?"

"The one who comes and sees me in the hospital, she knows about you, so who is she, really?"

"She told you her name, didn't she?"

"Yeah, but I mean like I thought you were the evangelion, but you are a snake king…"

"Naga."

"Whatever, if you are something else, then what is she?"

"A very wise woman, those who know its worth would give their world for her counsel. Goodbye my lord, until we speak again."

As the trees and the courtyard began to fade around him, Shinji got up and tried to grab the serpent as he slithered away.

"Hey, I have questions!"

"Oh, like?" Vasuki said, just a gleam of color from a gem in the shadows to Shinji now.

"I am created, that's all I know! Whats the rest?"

Sorry, not allowed to spoil that one for you my lord. It is part of your journey. See you again when you figure it out.

Shinji awoke with a start. His body did not ache, but his still felt tired. Stupid dreams about stupid snakes. He rolled over on the woven sleeping mat and came face to sleeping face with a pleasant sight that nonetheless made him nervous. Rei was still sleeping. Like him, she lay on a mat in the space they had found between crates. They were in the open, too tired to go through the procedure they shared of finding defensible corners.

Shinji was not sure what did it, perhaps just his breath, but Rei began to wake. Her eyes fluttered open and when she looked at him she smiled.

"Hey." She said softly.

"Hey." He replied and they lay like that for a moment, smiling and looking into each other's eyes.

"Hey you two are up, good!" Vitali interrupted what he was sure was a scene in preparation for romantic moment. Can't have that shit, nope, not when there was killing to learn.

They both groaned. "Good morning Vitali-sensei." They responded on unison.

"Morning? Hell no, midnight exercises, lets go!"

Stretching and running laps through the halls followed. When they began to slow, Vitali stopped them and showe them a long piece of thin retan.

"Y'all know what this is?" he said with a truly disturbing grin. Shinji thought it looked like he had too many teeth… for a shark.

Rei shook her head but Shinji recognized it. He knew not what possessed him to speak.

"It's a beating cane Vitali-sensei."

"Beating cane huh? I was just going to call it a cane but you had to go and make it perverted. Gonna have to watch you around him Rei, he's a dirty pervert."

Shinji blushed in wide eyed embarrassement.

"And?" Rei replied and Shinji turned nearly purple. Vitali's laughter echoed up and down the hall.

"Anyway, this is the slow student stick. See you are both out of shape, so we are going to work on your endurance. I am going to run with you, at a slower than acceptable pace. If I catch up to you, I will stimulate your legs with this stick to tell you that you need to pick up the pace. Nice and easy right?"

Twenty minutes later it occurred to Rei Ayanami that their younger sensei had been correct in ways that she had not anticipated. Vitali did in fact speak in a very nice and polite manner. It was in fact very easy to fall below the acceptable speed. Rei was in fact happy. Happy that the narrow halls prevented Vitali from swinging that damned stick any harder at her calfs.

"Darling sister, you re falling behind again!" Vitali called, right behind her

WHACK!

Rei yelped and pumped her legs as hard as she could. Vitali's idea of lower than acceptable speed was her idea of a dead run. She sprinted to catch up with Shinji. Shinji was an expert at running away from pain and was putting his experience to good use.

"Ikari-kun…" Rei checked over her shoulder before continuing. "I am very sorry."

"For what? My fault to get embarrassed." Shinji said as they rounded a corner, putting Vitali out of sight for a moment.

"No, this." Rei said and threw her hip into him, causing Shinji to trip. While he was still regaining his footing, have avoided going to the floor, Vitali came around the corner and Rei was 50 yards ahead.

"She tripped me sensei!"

"Likely story, lazy pervert."

Shinji thought he would get his later, in the real morning. After midnight was not the real morning, it was still the night before. Shinji thought it was just after 0500 now, so real morning. Remo-sensei had just finished teaching them how to fall and throw after giving up on them on the jungle gym for the day. The former was far more difficult than one would think, while the latter was none too simple either

The students were, for lack of a better word, wrestling. Nominally they were to be taking turns throwing and being thrown to practice, but this had quickly devolved into competition. Remo saw nothing wrong with this.

While they had learned several technigues, Shinji had begun to favor shooting for the leg, while Rei preferred over the shoulder. She had already grabbed him by the wrist and elbow and ducked beneath his arm, pushing her back against his side when he made his move. Shinji pulled his arms together, swinging him off Rei's back and around to her front. He wrapped his free hand about her shoulders and swung out with his leg. The effect was powerful and the look on Rei's face absolutely priceless to Shinji. They fell together as she had intended, but turned as they did so that Rei was the one to land on her back, pinned beneath Shinji.

"Sorry about that." Shinji quipped before Rei growled and used one leg to grapple him and the other to shoot for the reversal, flipping their positions.

"For what? Your fault to be embarrassed." She said with a grin, straddling him with her hands bracketing his head. Shinji reached out and shoved her left knee back. There was not enough weight to keep it down. Shinji grabbed her around the small of her back with his left arm then shoved with on open palm on her right shoulder, flipping them again.

He had watched her make that mistake no less than five times so far. He did not make it himself, keeping his weight low in his body.

"Well I-" Shinji began before being cut off by Vitali's bellowing.

"No no no, one more flirt out of you and I am getting the fire hose!" Vitali said then lifted Shinji off Rei by the back of his collar.

"It wasn't flirting, it was getting her back for tripping me in the hall earlier!" Shinji pleaded uselessly as he struggled, hung hy his own jacket. Vitali put him down then squared off across from him.

"Alright then, lets see you do it again. It wasn't a bad move if you weren't just trying to cop a feel." Vitali said , cracking his knuckles.

Rei stepped back and said with complete deadpan: "Oh thank you Vitali-sensei for defending my honor." It was fun to test herself against him, but she imagined watching him with another opponent would be just as nice. Less pain for her.

And more pain for Shinji apparently. Shinji tried every approach they had learned and each resulted in a new and different way for him to end up bouncing off the mat with limbs bent ways they should not be bent. He even ended up reversed the same way he had done Rei, but without the possibility to switch it again as Vitali summersaulted over his body and tossed him forward. Legs closed around Shinji's chest and his arm was pulled taunt.

"This is called the guillotine!" Vitali said as Shinji slapped the mat for mercy.

"That is also not a technique of Sinanju my foolish apprentice." Remo said as he approached. He swore he was turning into his own master dealing with Vitali all this time. Vitali quickly released the boy and got to his feet.

"Aw Ssem, just having as little fun."

"Do I have to give you the same lecture I gave Rei?"

"No Ssem, but…"

"Choose your next words very carefully, most honored son, lest a lesson become necessary."

"…Buuuuuut what if they have to fight something with a lot of tentacles or a snake, or something else that can grab them like that?"

"Hmmmmmm, okay." Remo said. "Go ahead and get a hold like that on him again. Shinji, go ahead and let him, you are going to learn something.

When they were thus situated again, Remo crouched beside them so he was face to face with the younger man.

"So lets say someone or something has you in a hold like this. First you should not have let them get you like that in the first place. But if you are, knife hand strike just forward of the heel. Go."

Vitali blanched and tried to let go of Shinji as quickly as he could, but he did not pull his foot away fast enough. Shinji struck and Vitali's entire leg cramped up, immobile.

"Vitali here would have done better to remember his pressure points, and he would have known that was coming. He also should have known I wouldn't fall for some stupid excuse like that. Ain't that right Vitali?"

"Yes Ssem, of course." He groaned, rolling on the mat holding his leg.

This was how their days went. Brief periods of rest between continuous physical activity and rich food that never seemed to be enough to stave off the hunger for more than a few hours. Misato had balked at training schedule when Remo had proposed it initially. Four hours of sleep a day and eighteen of instruction and exercise, the remainder being used for food and muscle rest breaks.

Starting on the second day, at a reasonable hour, Dr. Akagi had begun giving them lessons on how the evangelions functioned.

Day three they were eating six times a day as their bodies burnt through fuel like a wildfire. Chemically accelerated metabolisms left little fat on their bodies and the stringy but toned muscles began to show.

Day four, Shinji and Rei were allowed to spar with striking, but only after learning several defensive postures and only at less than half speed. The pilots were separated for private lessons. In a short period of rest, Shinji had another dream.

On the fifth day, NERV went on lockdown. Blue Pattern Detected.

End

Told y'all ya you might get a double update this week.

Next chapter starts with those private lessons. For those of you who are familiar with The Destroyer series and/or Hindu mythology, you probably have an idea of what is going to happen soon. Destroyer fans, next chapter is the first time we get to hear it. Don't know what "it" is? Tune in next time.