Chapter 41 - I Know What Happened

Misato tiredly rubbed her face with both hands. On the other side of the desk, Ritsuko typed away at her computer, smoking a cigarette like it had offended her. Her key presses were not at their usual speed; having to deal with a dozen things at once thanks to this latest Angel attack had drained her energy to the point where she kept having to delete and retype misspelled words and commands.

"Wanna take any bets on what weirdness they'll be suffering from this time?" Misato asked after ten minutes of typing.

"Hmm?" Ritsuko looked up from her computer, her eyes haggard and slightly unfocused. "What was that?"

"Asuka and Shinji," Misato clarified. "After what they just went through, you know there's going to be some strange synchronisation thing happening again."

Ritsuko blinked slowly, before Misato's words finally sank in. "Oh," she belatedly said. "Well, after we gave them both a muscle relaxant so we could separate them, we put them into two rearranged rooms so they don't match. For now we can only hope that'll be enough to break them out of any synchronisation they might be stuck in."

"And that was a hell of a sight," remarked Misato. "They seemed a bit awkward around another recently and suddenly they're hugging like-"

"Like you and Kaji having a week off." Ritsuko accompanied the interruption with a knowing look. "Look, until they wake up it's impossible to know what they experienced while the Angel was messing with their heads. And you can bet that has the Committee all stirred up; that the Angel might have been trying to communicate with them."

Misato looked worried. "...Do you think it did?"

"Impossible to know," Ritsuko repeated, bringing up a hand to rub at her eyes with a thumb and forefinger "But something happened, and the Committee is going to want to talk to them as soon as they're awake.

Misato opened her mouth, but then paused, eyeing up her friend. "...How long have you been awake for?" she asked. "You look about ready to collapse."

"I don't know," Ritsuko replied, turning back to her computer. "Are we finished with all the after-action reports yet?"

"...No?"

"Then I haven't been awake long enough." One of Ritsuko's hands grasped for the cup of coffee on her desk. Only Misato's reflexes, not that much better than Ritsuko's, managed to stop it from spilling as she absently knocked it over.

"Coffee may be a great drink, especially the rocket fuel your machine puts out, but even it has limits." Misato worked to gently pry the cup out of her friend's hands. "Look, just take a nap for an hour or so. You're making mistakes; you don't want to end up sending off a bad report do you?"

Ritsuko's eyes darted between her computer screen and her office door, the fingers of one hand tapping on the edge of the keyboard. Finally, she sighed. "Fine, I'll take a break."

The remains of her coffee were just enough to get her to the bunkroom.

XXX

He opened his eyes, staring up at the depressingly familiar ceiling. Yet again an Angel attack had managed to land them in the medical wing, but at least this time there were no injuries. None that could be seen at least.

But at least she was alright, all things considered.

She groaned, feeling the ache in her skull from the Angel's attack. Running a hand through her hair turned the groan into a grumble. Whoever had delivered them to the medical wing had done little about the LCL in her hair, and it was now a mess of tangles that would take forever to fix.

But at least he was alright, all things considered.

He went back over what he had inadvertently learned of her past, grimly noting the similarities to his own life. Both lives had been horrible, but thankfully she hadn't been forced to watch her mother disintegrating.

She recalled the traumatic events that had happened in his past, and how it had left him in a state disgustingly familiar to her own. Both lives had been horrible, but thankfully he hadn't walked in on his mother dangling from the ceiling.

The problem now was... who else could they turn to but each other? Something was suspicious with NERV; their mothers were trapped in the Evangelions, without any word to the pilots, and if Mama's memory was accurate somebody had interfered, ensuring she had supposedly committed suicide.

Hands clenched into tight fists. Somebody was going to pay for that. Nothing could be done for the moment though, since there was no clue where to start looking, and nobody to turn to for help. Even Misato wouldn't be of much assistance; despite being the head of Tactical Operations she likely wouldn't have access to those sorts of secrets.

...No. Wait. There was one person. Mister Kaji was... detached enough from NERV to be trusted, but at the same time he seemed like the sort to be able to find certain things out. Unfortunately, when they had last spoken he had said he would be gone for a while. It would just have to wait until he returned.

He got out of bed, not desiring to spend any more time sitting around on his own than necessary. The door was directly opposite the bed, and he headed out into the corridor, turning left to see a certain red-haired girl.

She got out of bed, sick of sitting around doing nothing when she felt fine. The door was to the right of the bed, and she headed out into the corridor, turning right to see a certain brown-haired boy.

No words needed to be spoken. It took only a second for their arms to be around each other again, as each did their best to console the other. There was no embarrassment about their situation, it was simply a means of emotional support. Any ideas about... seeing how things would go between them could come later, once the ripped open scars of their past were given time to close back up again.

Besides, they were already thinking... together... now?

They slowly came apart, staring in shock into each other's eyes as the last few minutes finally caught up with them. They had both woken up at the same time, had identical thoughts, walked out of their rooms at the same time, and despite not having said a word they both knew that the other had thought the exact same way as them.

An incredibly appropriate German curse forced its way past two pairs of lips.

Alright. No. Let's relax. Considering what they'd both been through previously, was it any real surprise that their synchronisation had reached this point?

Well, not really, come to think of it. The last time this had happened, they'd both almost been one mind in two bodies after being trapped inside an Angel for far too long, and that had been quite confusing until they had been put in separate rooms with different layouts. But this time, even that seemingly had no effect.

So what? They both knew what the other person was thinking now. It could only make them even better pilots if they were this synchronised without needing an Evangelion. This could be freaking awesome.

But it was... kind of invasive wasn't it? Now they wouldn't have any secrets between them.

They were already as close as it was possible to be without being... well... romantically involved. And they had both already seen the darkest times of each other's lives.

...Speaking of romance-

A polite cough came from down the hall. "Um, excuse me. Ms Soryu? Mr Ikari?"

Belatedly, they both realised that somehow they had just had what seemed to be an entire conversation without words or even what would probably be considered thoughts. Thoughts still took time to actually be made, while this... whatever it was had happened almost in a flash. Was there even a term for it? Or were they just imagining things?

"Er..."

The person was still waiting for them to respond. They both turned to see a vaguely familiar nurse. It took them a moment to realise why she was familiar. She was the nurse that hehad upset the last time he had woken up in this place. This was the bland nurse. The one he had probably scared by acting weird upon waking up after the Fourteenth Angel.

"Ye-" They stopped, carefully checking themselves to ensure they were speaking Japanese and not German, and tried again. "Yes? What is it?"

The eyes of the nonplussed nurse flicked back and forth between them for a few seconds before she gamely pressed on. "Um... I take it you are both feeling alright now?"

"We're fine now," they said. "Probably just tired. Can we go home yet? We don't want to spend any longer in here than we have to."

"Oh... um..." The nurse checked the chart she was holding. "W-well, there's nothing here about keeping you from leaving, but... oh! Apparently Doctor Akagi wants to talk to both of you as soon as you're awake. Which... would be now I suppose?"

They nodded. Of course something would get in their way. Something always did. "Alright, where is she?"

The nurse, after staring at them for a couple of uncomfortable seconds, bowed and said, "Please give me a few minutes to contact her."

Well. In the meantime, they could at least get dressed. A shower was going to have to wait until they got home, where she could fix her hair up.

...He was not ready to go that far with their synchronisation.

Good, because she wasn't suggesting that.

Their faces turning red, they returned to their rooms for the time being.

XXX

When Ritsuko was woken up by the call informing her that Shinji and Asuka were awake, she did what anybody else would when trying to catch up on sleep only to be rudely awoken: share the pain. After all, why suffer from inadequate sleep alone when she could wake up Misato and drag her along as well? Besides, once the paperwork was done Misato would likely end up back in the brig until the investigation was over. At least this way she could get her friend a little more time out in the open.

Ritsuko thought she knew what to expect from those two strange kids this time. They were already known for annoying people with their synchronised conversations; how could things get weirder than that?

As it turned out, there was still another layer to the weirdness. They were speaking in sync as they tended to, but this time it didn't seem to be out of a desire to irritate. Now they were doing it... because they had developed some sort of hive mind. Before, they would at least glance at each other occasionally, but now it seemed like they were literally on the same wavelength. Ritsuko briefly considered giving them both a brain scan, but she was fairly sure the results weren't going to properly explain a damn thing.

Last time, when they had woken up after being absorbed by Leliel, their synchronisation had caused problems when they couldn't work out who was Shinji and who was Asuka. Changing their room layouts and forcing them to do things differently had eventually broken them out of it. Now, though, they seemed fully capable of functioning as one mind in two bodies.

Ritsuko had sent Shinji and Misato into the next room over, and yet she could still essentially talk to Misato. Asuka heard her words, and Shinji would relay them to Misato, who would give her reply to him for Asuka to tell to Ritsuko. This would have been an incredibly interesting phenomenon to study, if only it was actually replicable and there wasn't the tiny issue of the Angels and Evangelions requiring all of NERV's scientific focus.

Eventually though, she had to get everyone back into the same room again. A much more important matter needed to be dealt with now: The Committee were almost desperate to talk to the pilots of Unit-02. They had made the request before, but the mental states of Shinji and Asuka would have only been worsened by their method of questioning at that time. This time, however...

Well, she dearly wished she could see the looks on the faces of the old men during the meeting.

XXX

Twelve grey monoliths ringed the circle of light they were made to stand in. Complete blackness surrounded them, making it impossible to know how big the room was. The monoliths themselves simply had a number from one to twelve and the words SOUND ONLY written on them.

"Second Child, Asuka Langley-Soryu. Third Child, Shinji Ikari."

It wasn't even clear which monolith was speaking. All of this secrecy immediately put them on the defensive. Whatever this Human Instrumentality Committee was, if they were this paranoid about two of the people charged to defend the planet from hostile invaders knowing anything about them, then they deserved no trust in return.

"Yes sir," they stolidly replied, choosing not to bother focusing on any particular monolith and instead stand at parade rest, staring at some invisible point in the darkness ahead of them.

There was a slight inhalation of breath from one of the monoliths, then a different voice said, "Do the two of you know why you have been summoned here?"

"No, sir."

There was a pause, and a suggestion that a quick hidden conversation was taking place.

"You have been called here so that we may question you about the latest Angel attack," said the second voice. "During that attack, it is believed that the Angel employed a weapon that affected your minds."

Another voice cut in. "What we want to know is whether or not the Angel attempted to communicate with you."

Yet another voice. "We had a similar concern when the Twelfth Angel absorbed Unit-01, but according to the recording of your debriefing nothing of the sort occurred."

"That's right. Nothing and nobody spoke to us besides each other."

There was a long pause, a voice that said, "What the he-" before being silenced. Again, the Committee seemed to be speaking to each other. If these people were unnerved by their synchronisation, then so much the better. They mentally grinned; it was the little things.

"And what about this time?" the second voice pressed. "Did this Angel attempt to communicate?"

"No, not as far as we could tell," they replied. It was time to see how vague they could get. "We both just experienced a bad memory from our past, There was nothing that we could definitively say was an Angel."

"That is all? A memory?"

"Hrm. Perhaps the Angel's attack was meant to destabilise its victim to help ensure an easy victory."

"Assaulting the mind, from so great a distance, with even an AT-Field unable to provide any protection..."

They remained silent while the men debated openly. Finally, one of them seemed to remember that they were still in the room. "One last question. Are you aware of how the Angel was actually killed?"

"No, nobody told us how the Angel died. Why?"

"You may not ask questions!"

Their eyes narrowed slightly.

"That is all, pilots. Dismissed."

The monoliths faded away. Turning around, they headed towards the emergency exit sign; the only indication that this black void had a door.

Out in the corridor, they were finally able to feel like they could breathe normally. The entire meeting had been a complete waste of time. But at least they could go home now.

No, there was still one more thing that had to be done.

...Did he want her to come with him?

The thought was appreciated, but this was something he had to do himself...relatively speaking.

Then in that case she was going to pay a quick visit to Glasses, to see if anything had changed. There was a momentary flash of guilt; they had not really thought about their fellow pilot in quite a while.

With a glance at each other and a nod -some physical gestures still felt necessary- they set off in different directions. No matter what happened, it would be alright. With such a strong synchronisation, moral support was always at hand.

XXX

The secretary behind the desk near the imposing double doors looked up from her computer as he approached, frowning as she seemingly tried to work out if the son of Commander Ikari was permitted to enter his office without being summoned. She stood up, but a voice from the intercom made things much clearer for her.

"Let him enter."

She glanced at the intercom, then up at Shinji and shrugged, waving him towards the door as she sat back down. Shinji gave her a slight nod, opened the door, and stepped into the most imposing room in the world.

From the door to the desk, Shinji felt like he had to walk a kilometre before coming to a halt a couple of metres away from his father. Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki was there as well, looking strangely worn out, and Shinji felt both pairs of eyes on him for his entire trek across the room. His stomach felt like it wanted to jump out his mouth and escape, but he swallowed it back down.

His father was leaning forward in his chair, hands interlaced in front of his mouth. Shinji idly realised that the only time he had not seen the man sitting like that was when he was standing up.

"Father," he said by way of greeting.

The elder Ikari's head tilted forward a millimetre. "Shinji. You have a good reason for coming here."

It wasn't a question. Of course, Shinji had never made an attempt to speak to his father on his own terms, and considering recent circumstances it would of course be more than just an attempt at a family conversation.

Then again, this was going to be a conversation about family.

"I know what happened," Shinji bluntly stated, not taking his eyes off his father.

There was a pause, then a slight inhalation of breath from Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki, presumably as he worked out what Shinji meant. He turned and bowed. "I shall leave you two alone to discuss this," he said before making his exit from the room. Neither Ikari took their eyes off each other as the old man made his exit. When the door closed, barely audible from this distance, Shinji's father did something he would never have expected.

Both gloved hands rose up to his orange glasses, removed them, and placed them on the desk. His hands then interlaced again, but his arms remained on the desk, encircling the glasses like a wall. "The Angel," he began. "It unlocked your memories of your mother."

"Yes," said Shinji. He paused a moment, then clarified. "Well... to be more precise, while we were trapped in its beam, I saw Asuka's memory of her mother's death, and she saw how mum died."

Father raised an eyebrow slightly. "Each other's memory. Intriguing, but at this point not exactly unexpected, considering your... unusual bond."

Shinji didn't know whether he should elaborate further just yet; if he should mention that he knew his mother was still alive, in a sense, in Unit-01. For now, he chose to play it safe. "I'm still not sure if it's a good or bad thing, to be honest. On one hand, I finally know what mum looked like. On the other..."

"You also remember precisely how she died," Father finished. "I was rather hoping you would never recall that detail, as someone who must relive that memory constantly; fresh as the day it happened."

Shinji fell silent, suddenly dreading the days to come. The mental presence of Asuka did little to ease his concerns, especially since she now felt worried too.

Father's voice cut through the gloom. "Do not fear, Shinji. That is but one memory you have. Remember that there are many more memories, many happier memories."

That... hadn't actually occurred to him, somehow. Even now, one of those happier memories slowly began manifesting in his head.

A hot, cloudless day. Himself and Mum, walking down the street hand in hand. An umbrella in her other hand giving much needed shade to the two of them, and an ice cream slowly melting over his free hand despite his efforts to finish it off quickly.

The tiniest of smiles broke out on Father's face, the mere sight of it enough to shove Shinji back to the present in sheer surprise.

"Yes," said Father. "If you find yourself beset by bad memories, force yourself to recall the good ones. That is what I do."

"I... yeah," replied Shinji. "Um... thank you, father."

"Hrm. Now then, is there anything else?" Father picked up his glasses, preparing to put them back on his face.

"Well... one thing maybe, but it's minor and you might already know by now."

The gloved hands paused, glasses halfway to his face. "...No, I cannot say I do."

Shinji nervously rubbed the back of his head. She seemed about ready to mentally slap him, but he pushed on. "Well, it's... mum's necklace. I found it not long ago, hidden among my stuff that was still packed from when I moved here. For some reason I kept forgetting about it, I mean... I would be holding it in my hand and somehow my thoughts would just... slide off of it."

Father's eyebrows rose. "That sounds like it may have been a side-effect of your... amnesia concerning your mother."

Shinji nodded. "I'm pretty sure that's exactly what it was. I do remember seeing a very brief memory of myself trying to grab the necklace when it was around her neck, but at the time I had no idea who the other person was." He took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. "Anyway, I managed to remember it long enough during Asuka's birthday party and I... kind of... gave it to her as a gift?"

A slow blink was the only response his father gave for several tense seconds. "I had wondered where that necklace disappeared to. I suppose I should have realised it was in your possession." That tiny suggestion of a smile returned as he put his glasses back on. "You were rather... obsessed with that sapphire when you were younger. Yui always had to keep taking your hands, and on one occasion your mouth, away from it."

Shinji's face reddened; Asuka's worry was immediately replaced with cackling laughter. At his expense no less. "Um... so... are you okay with me giving it to Asuka? It wasn't exactly mine to give away."

Father gave a small flick of a hand. "It is not mine to decide either. At the very least we now know where it is. As long as its new owner appreciates it and does not attempt to sell it, I do not mind."

One of Shinji's hands began to raise towards his collarbone, and he had to quickly turn it into what he hoped was a thoughtful chin rub. "Yes," he said. "I do believe its new owner does like it."

"Well then." Father shifted slightly in his chair, one hand reaching towards the keyboard on his desk. "With that matter settled, I must return to my work. And I believe you are still recovering from this latest Angel attack. You have already been cleared to return home, so I suggest you do so and get some rest. There is no telling when another Angel will strike."

Shinji nodded, turning it into an awkward bow. "Yes, father. Um... goodbye."

"Goodbye, Shinji."

Standing up straight, Shinji pivoted around and began to walk towards the double doors.

"Oh yes," he heard from behind him. "Pilot Soryu."

"Huh?" Shinji looked back over his shoulder. "Asuka? What about her?"

The glasses were back on his father's face, but Shinji could still feel those eyes boring into his head. "Pilot Soryu," he repeated. "You will not hurt my son. This is your only warning."

Shinji opened his mouth... but it immediately clicked shut as realisation struck him. Him and her. Finding words impossible, he simply gave a shaky nod of his head before swiftly heading out of the room.

Out in the corridor, with the secretary's desk behind him, they let out a breath they didn't know they had been holding. It should have come as no surprise that his father managed to see straight through them. And warned her.

He could only hope that her detour was much less eventful.

XXX

It was a long slog through NERV's corridors. She knew she was going the right way, and yet still felt like she had doubled back on her path at one point. By the time she reached the door plastered with biohazard symbols, his meeting with his father was already over. That was kind of a good thing, as it would have been rather awkward for both of them if, say, she had been surprised by Commander Ikari talking directly to her.

"This is Pilot Soryu," Asuka said into the intercom next to the airlock door, doing her best to focus on one thing at a time for now. Fortunately Shinji was simply wandering through corridors as well, heading for the NERV motor pool where they would meet once she was done here. "Can I come in for a few minutes to check on Pilot Aida?"

The response was quick. "Doctor Akagi cleared all three of you pilots to visit whenever you wish, so come on in."

After going through the airlock, Asuka saw the same white-haired young man as last time manning the station. Or rather, standing at the window looking into the next room with hands clasped behind his back.

"I know that this is a very bad situation your friend is in," he said without turning around. "But I cannot help but be intrigued by it."

"What, you mean scientific curiosity?" Asuka stood next to him at the window, eyes locked on the box in the next room containing her fellow pilot.

"Indeed. The remains of an alien species, attempting to consume a human for... what reason? The Angel itself is gone, destroyed along with Unit-03, but its... flesh I suppose, continues on." The man moved over to his station, leaning over to tap on the keyboard. "There has been a change recently, though we can't tell at present if it's a good or bad thing.

A screen lit up, showing Kensuke still mostly covered by the pulsating bluish mass. His head was the only part seemingly unaffected, but there were hints of blue lines beginning to travel up his neck. Asuka frowned; something seemed different compared to the last time she was in here.

"I believe you may have already noticed a change," said the man.

Asuka quickly glanced at him... and had to stop herself from recoiling in surprise. The man was looking back at her... with his red eyes.

His shock combined with hers, and her eyes shot wide open. This person... were they like Rei?

The man blinked several times, then shook his head. "Ah. Sorry," he apologised. "My eyes always seem to get a response like that, so I try not to look at people too much."

"N-no," Asuka stammered, some of him coming to the forefront. She cleared her throat. "I should be apologising for reacting that way." After all, Wondergirl looked just as strange as this person and they were just fine with her. "I... guess I'm more surprised that there's someone else at NERV with red eyes."

The man tilted his head slightly. "Another person? Well, you have me at an advantage there, as I have not met them. Just my shift supervisor and the others who work in this room, really."

Asuka could now sense the burning question that he was curious about, and to be honest she wanted to know too. NERV was full of strangeness, as well as suspicion lately, and two different people with odd hair and red eyes associated with the organisation seemed to be too much of a coincidence. Now didn't seem to be the right time, however. She did take a moment to check the name tag on his uniform, which proclaimed him to be one Technician Nagisa.

"Well... anyway," she said, turning back to the screen showing Kensuke. "You were saying something about a change?"

"...Ah, yes!" Nagisa replied after looking at her for a second longer than was comfortable. He tapped on the keyboard again and the view on the screen zoomed in slightly. "As you perhaps noticed, the mass covering Pilot Aida has decreased. Not enough to signify that it is dying off, but it is still a visible change."

Asuka leaned in closer to the screen. Indeed, there did seem to be less of the hideous goop... or was there? "Is it a decrease in its mass though?" she said out loud. "Or could it be that it's dissolved those parts of him it's covering?" Even as she said those words, he and she had to repress a shudder. Nobody deserved a fate like that.

Nagisa snapped his fingers, the gesture ending in him pointing at her. "Precisely. Either it is consuming your friend for sustenance, or it is slowly dying off, perhaps as his immune system adapts to it."

"...Wait." There was, unfortunately, one other possibility. "It could be one of those two. Or... it's now being absorbed into his body."

"That... hrm." Nagisa cut himself off, looking thoughtful. "So now we're looking at a two-in-three chance that something bad is happening, rather than the fifty-fifty I was thinking of."

Asuka folded her arms and growled. It already wasn't going to be long before NERV decided to pull the plug on Kensuke, and now things looked to be getting even worse.

But then a surprisingly optimistic thought came from him. "Oh, but it could still be fifty-fifty," she said since he wasn't around to say it. "Either it's eating him, dying off, being absorbed... or maybe the absorbing is part of how the immune system is fighting it off."

"Well now, that is a surprising thought," said Nagisa, sounding impressed, but then his tone turned sombre again. "We really don't have much time left though. Either things start improving for him very quickly, or NERV will go ahead and euthanize him."

"...So how long does he have?"

"Six days," Nagisa grimly replied. "Six days for a massive improvement in his condition, or NERV gives him the mercy of a swift and painless end."

XXX

He was slouched against a wall in the motor pool when she arrived. Misato was apparently going to be busy for quite a while, so they had to get home on their own, in a manner of speaking. It was too late for public transport, so now they were waiting for a couple of Section Two agents to sign out a car and take them home.

She leaned on the wall next to him, and together they let out a tired sigh. This entire day just seemed to be conspiring against them; an Angel attack, being mentally melded together even more thanks to said Angel attack, mounting suspicions about NERV's motives, and now learning that their friend and fellow pilot had less than a week to live. What could two teenagers do?

A left hand hesitantly moved sideways, soon meeting with a right hand. They clasped firmly onto each other, and their owners drew some comfort from the physical interaction. If anybody had been paying attention, it would have probably looked very much like two shy teenagers awkwardly flirting, but that was pretty much the furthest thing from their linked minds at the moment.

The agents came out of the motor pool office and waved at them; the men would have noticed the linked hands, but professionals that they were the agents did not even so much as quirk an eyebrow as they got into the car without releasing their hands. They sat down as close as was physically possibly without one sitting in the lap of the other, their hands resting on the point where their legs met. They did not so much as twitch for the entire journey to their apartment.

Only when they finally entered the apartment did they break apart, but it was with great reluctance. She had a lot of work to do to scrub the dried up LCL out of her hair, after all.

Fate seemed to be conspiring to keep her hair looking hideous, however. The moment she entered the bathroom there was a knock at their front door. Confusion flooding their minds, as who would be so bold as to call at this hour, they both went to the door together. Opening it, they were greeted by the concerned face of Rei, who bowed slightly, opened her mouth to speak, but then paused and tilted her head, staring at them both.

"If you're seeing anything weird," they tiredly said, "it's because the Angel's attack has done more synchronisation stuff to us."

"...I understand," Rei replied, blinking several times. "My apologies for calling at this hour, but a message came for Misato on the home phone while we were fighting the Angel. I..." she glanced away, looking... upset? "I believe that... the two of you should hear it."

Twinned expressions of puzzlement on their faces, they followed Rei next door to the kitchen where the answering machine sat on the edge of the bench. With an unreadable expression on her face, Rei pressed the playback button.

"Katsuragi... it's me."

The voice, though slightly distorted by the speaker, was clearly Kaji's, but he didn't sound like his usual cheery self. What was he doing calling Misato's home phone during an Angel attack?

"By the time you hear this message, you've probably gone through quite a bit of trouble thanks to me. Sorry about that. Oh, and please tell Rits I said sorry too. Make sure Shinji and Asuka get the chance to regularly tend to my garden. I'd hate to think those cute little watermelons would shrivel up and die. Cuteness should be preserved."

Unease returned to their stomachs like an old friend. This wasn't a simple 'sorry I missed you' message. It sounded more like...

"Katsuragi, the truth is with you. Do not falter. Press on. And... if I see you again, I'll say the words I couldn't say eight years ago."

...Last words...

"Goodbye."

XXX

"Major Katsuragi, thank you for your patience during this time. Our investigation has been completed and you are free to go."

Misato stepped out of the cell once more, side-eyeing the man who had unlocked the door. She couldn't read anything from his face other than stoic professionalism, and there was little doubt that any questions she had would simply be rebuffed or ignored outright. A second man was there as well, holding out her HK USP and the magazine that had been loaded into it before she had been... asked to submit to time in the brig. Misato collected both, checking that the safety was on before inserting the magazine.

Misato then chambered a round out of habit, causing both men to give her nervous looks that only faded when she holstered her weapon. .45 ACP certainly packed more of a punch than nine millimetre, but that came at the cost of reduced magazine size. And for all she knew, that extra round could make all the difference one day. She would just have to remember to replenish the magazine when she got home and could access the small stock of ammunition she was permitted to keep as the pilots' guardian.

"Is there anything else, or can I finally go home and try to get some sleep?" Misato asked in an imperious tone. All her paperwork was done for the time being; there was still more to come but that depended on other people sending her what she needed. Even NERV had to sleep at some point.

Both men saluted, now that her rank once again held meaning. "No, ma'am," one of them said. "Section Two has nothing to report concerning the pilots either."

Misato huffed. "I would damn well hope so." Without another word, she set off down the corridor.

Half an hour later, her Alpine A310 roared out of the NERV surface access point into the early morning sun, heading for home. The damn vehicle train seemed especially slow today, like it didn't particularly care how much she needed some proper sleep in a proper bed. Misato could feel her tiredness gently making itself known in the heaviness of her eyelids, and decided this was one of those times to play it safe on the road.

She managed to make it safely to her apartment building just before the sun was able to reach that awkward spot in the sky where she couldn't use the visor to shield her eyes from its glare. As she stepped into the elevator and stabbed at the button for her floor, she sighed heavily. At this rate she was likely going to be asleep all day, unless she tried to make do with a nap to get through until a more reasonable bed time.

Misato stepped into her apartment, and immediately paused; the kitchen light was still on for some reason. Did Rei forget to turn it off before going to bed? It seemed odd, considering the First Child was probably more dutiful than the average technician at NERV.

After taking off her shoes, she headed into the kitchen and gave the answering machine its usual half-second's worth of attention, and then did a double take upon realising there was actually a message this time. Just as she was about to check it, she heard a sound from the lounge room that might have been a snore. Now things were starting to get odd; Rei hardly ever watched television, and certainly not in the middle of the night.

A thought occurred, and Misato relaxed slightly. Of course; he had decided to sneak in again. She ruefully shook her head and headed towards the lounge room to confront him, one hand rolling the flash drive about in her pocket, ready to shove it back into his hands.

"Alright, Kaji, wh-" was as far as she got before stopping in surprise. Rather than one person on the couch as she had expected, there were three. Three very familiar mops of hair; blue and brown, resting on the shoulders of red.

In any other circumstance, Misato would have quickly pulled her phone out to snap a photo of an adorable moment. That urge still made itself known as she crept around to the front of the lounge chair and saw that Asuka was holding the hands of both Shinji and Rei. The only thing that stopped her from immortalising this moment on her phone were the expressions on all three sleeping faces; they were not the expressions of three peacefully snoozing people. And were those... tear stains on Asuka's face?

Now completely baffled, Misato stealthily retreated to the kitchen where she withdrew a beer from the fridge and did her best to open it quietly, wincing slightly at the hiss that sounded as loud as an explosion in the silent apartment. She took a thoughtful swig, trying to fit all these puzzle pieces together. The problem was, all she had were edges that showed nothing but sky.

Another sip of her beer didn't make things any more clear, and then her eyes landed on the answering machine. After one more mouthful, Misato set the can down next to the answering machine and covered the speaker with one hand to muffle the sound before pressing play.

"Katsuragi... it's me."

A minute later, her arms shaking as she leaned over the bench, tears began to fall from Misato's eyes onto the traitorous machine.