Chapter 1: From a Certain Point of View
You know, I don't think I've ever seen her this driven before.
When we were in college… ages ago now, she was light. Airy, almost, even when she'd gust you over by how much she talked.
Now, though, there's so much on her shoulders. It seems to have… pressed the light, all the air, out of her. Left only the side of her I'm sure was at the fore when she was in the SFG. Will it be what helps save us? Only time will tell. And I'm not sure how much of that we have left.
- From the personal journal of Koji Takao
Siberian Oblast Safe Zone, December 2027
Misato Katsuragi, bundled warmly in her scarlet coat against what chill there was left this far north, stood on top of her ship, the vast Autonomous Assault Ark Wunder, and watched two giants be made ready to reach for the stars, with the aid of some binoculars that she placed in front of eyes covered by dark shades.
It had taken a lot of scrounging about, much of it in what was formerly Russian territory, to find all of the necessary components to make her Idea work, some of them even having to be built from scratch, much to the chagrin of Tennison, such as the massive heat shields that would be covering the brilliant crimson Unit-02 and the rather eye-achingly pink Unit-08. But now, they were coming together on what would be the launch pad of their strike out into the edge of space, once the launch window was right. All in all… it would be 3 days before Unit-01, hopefully, was back on Earth, and able to power the Wunder.
'Unit-01…'
She fought to suppress a shudder that had nothing to do with the cold as she recalled without willing it a moment almost a decade and a half old now, the Evangelion, clad in purple and glowing a hellish red, rising into the sky, unfurling terrible, familiar wings of light…
She shook her head as if to physically throw off the thoughts. The words she'd said that inevitably came with them. She almost succeeded, as she had every time. She had other, rather more urgent things to focus on now, anyway.
She pulled out a smartphone, a rather rare commodity in this day and age, dialed the number for the woman that oversaw the construction of these frankly dangerous constructs, and waited for her to answer as she felt the wind blow past her, putting on an earbud to ensure she could hear and be heard.
After a moment, the screen became filled with the face of Chief Engineer Esmeralda Tennison as she stepped away from what was likely directing one or more engineers on the ground, as it were. "Chief," she began, "talk to me. Where are we at in construction?"
Tennison shook her head on the screen as she looked around, descending from one of the massive rockets she was working on as she set about finding someplace quiet to answer her after silent moments. "So far, we're on schedule to hit the earliest launch window that Doctor Akagi has calculated." she began. "The heat shields have passed their physical stress tests, and all of the connection points for the Evas are of sufficient quality that we can be reasonably sure they won't shatter on us."
She sighed quietly. "Unit-02's special arm for this mission is also activating as it should. The tensile strength of the wire has been proven sufficiently for our needs, and the locking mechanisms of the projectiles are primed and ready. It should be completely ready for use within the next few hours or so."
She bobbed her head from side to side. "Other than that, there's been a few minor hiccups here and there, but nothing that can't be fixed quickly and securely once it's noticed."
"Good. And the new volunteers?" Misato asked.
Tennison stepped out of wherever she was and looked back out at the work with a rather impressed expression. "So far so good. Nobody's gotten injured more than a few scrapes and bruises that take them out for a few minutes. Aanderson and Suzuhara get to kick up their feet today, for the most part, the lucky souls. This is a surprisingly good batch of newbies."
She paused for a moment, her face twitching for a moment as she seemed to remember something. "Some of them, I should probably bring to your attention," Esmeralda said, a somewhat grim look dispelling her satisfaction and settling on her face as she began to make her way somewhere. "Not only because they're former NERV, which already raised enough eyebrows around here when they mentioned it. But they also claim to have worked on Unit-03."
A spike of instant, instinctual anger stabbed into Misato's heart before she yanked it out, taking a quiet, quick breath before she replied. "Alright then. That's rare in this day and age," she said levelly. "We'll probably have to keep them away from Asuka for a bit once she finds out, just in case. What are their names?"
A ways away from the Wunder's bow, Esmeralda Tennison, Ymris, got to a point where she could see where they were and searched for where the people she had mentioned were located with a gaze that no mere human, at least none that immediately surrounded her, could ever possess.
She found them over on Unit-08, securing one of the heat shields to the front of the Evangelion, the shield itself locking to the Unit with metal beams that secured it to the body. One of the new engineers, in particular, directed the people around him, seeming to have stirred everyone to order only she could match with his wisdom and knowledge of the Evangelion's strongest points of contact.
The man had long dirty blond hair pulled into a simple bun, and a beard covered the lower half of his face. It was a face that was familiar to her. Who the people were that were with him were less so, but even still, she had her ideas.
"I know the name of the ringleader of the bunch, at least. Daniel Theisman," she said to Misato, not saying how, exactly, she knew the name of the man that she had faced before. "I'll make sure to get the rest of their names later when I next talk to him."
"Make sure that you do," Misato replied. "I'll want to talk to them sooner rather than later."
. . .
3 Days Later
Daniel Theisman, along with several dozen other people, stood atop the bow of the Wunder, watching the twin launch pads intently as the time counted down until launch.
He looked intently at the launch point as the two pilots, one in a rather familiar Plugsuits, one in one that was certainly not, both in distinct helmets, disappeared into the depths of the demented Christmas tree-like construct that he'd had a hand in creating.
'Of course,' he thought with no small amount of amusement as he glanced to the side, 'it was a group effort, thanks to my newly minted engineer friends.'
His gaze landed on Eleanor on his left, holding his hand, of course, but it also landed on those few who he'd made part of his advance element over to his right. Of course, with the rather inescapable fact that they also existed in this Echo as well, some changes were necessary.
Who was, for the moment at least, Shawn Ishihara stroked a dark, full beard, looking out in wonder at the work that was, in some small part, from his hands as Daniel connected to Shinji Ikari's soul.
"So," he said across their link, the words never reaching the open air as he smiled wryly, "how did you enjoy your first actual day on the job?"
To his credit, Shawn barely blinked. "I'm certainly glad you thought ahead to run us through an engineering course as part of preparing our cover story. It certainly gives me a new appreciation for what you and your team did for us." Shinji replied.
He looked over at Anna Sanders, Asuka's nom de plume, with her rather shorter hair, now cut to the shoulder and bereft of her usual clips. "I'm sure the others are as well."
Daniel smiled slightly. "Well, Shawn," he said aloud, causing him to look over at him, "if nothing else, this is going to be a hell of a show."
A smile tugged at a corner of Shinji's mouth. "I don't doubt it." he chuckled in reply.
"Mr. Theisman." a calm, rather deep voice said from behind them.
Daniel looked back and saw a woman standing a little ways behind them, looking expectantly back at him. She was a little taller than him and had short black curly hair done up in an equally short tail to keep it out of the way. Like everyone else here, her uniform was hardly uniform, rugged pants with many pockets over similarly rugged boots, with a shirt that had a jacket over it with a brilliant blue scarf tied around her arm, the one constant on all of them. Around her waist was a well-worn tool belt filled with the implements of her apparent trade.
She looked at him intently with hazel eyes that glittered in the sun that were… familiar, somehow. The name on her jacket read 'Tennison'. She must have been Chief Tennison of engineering then. His superior.
"Can we have a moment?" she asked.
Daniel looked at a watch on his wrist. "Can we spare the moment until after liftoff, ma'am?" he asked. "I'd hate to not be able to see our handiwork do what it's supposed to do."
Tennison considered it for a moment, then shrugged, walking over to come to a stop behind him. "I don't see why not."
They watched as the minutes became seconds, a link to the bridge, likely through Koji Takao's radio, providing an ear towards the goings-on inside that hallowed space.
"Ignition checks complete. System diagnosis complete. Stage couplings secure. 30 seconds to ignition. All programs are verified and running. Increasing power to ACS thrusters. 10 seconds to ignition. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1… ignition."
As the last word was spoken, a booming, constant thunder filled the air, drowning out the cheers of the crew even as far away as they were, as 120 rockets of the first stage of the massive towers, 60 to an Eva, pounded their way into the sky, billows of smoke and fire obscuring the rockets before they emerged, angling towards the point where the floating tomb of Unit-01 hung in the sky. "Operation US has commenced." they barely heard First Lieutenant Hyuga say.
Now nearly deaf, the crowd simply watched the two rockets continue out of sight before Daniel turned to Tennison, glancing over at Eleanor as the crew members around them began to file back into the ship, eager to get to the rendezvous point. "I'll be back. Chief Tennison wants to talk to me for a moment."
Eleanor nodded. "Sounds good. See you in a bit."
Daniel and Tennison walked through the crowd back into the depths of the frankly massive ship, feeling it shift as it, and the fleet that went with it, got underway to move towards the rendezvous point. They walked through the corridors, Tennison turning into an empty rec room and shutting the door behind them.
As the two took a seat, Daniel nodded to Tennison. "So, Chief, what did you want to talk about?" he asked.
Tennison simply looked at him for a moment, seeming to study his face before she chuckled lightly and shook her head. "You didn't even change your name, let alone your face," she said softly, wonderingly.
Daniel blinked. "What are you talking about?" he asked slowly.
"Daniel," she replied, barely above a whisper, seeming to turn the name over in her mind. "Heretic. Fallen one."
Daniel blinked again, then his eyes widened. 'Oh, shit.'
"Ymris. If I'm not mistaken," he said, his guard now up as he connected his soul to Nynrya. "If she tries anything, take her head off. Quick and quiet."
"Yes." Ymris nodded. "I'm somewhat surprised you remember me."
"Where's everyone else, if I may be so bold?" Daniel said slowly, a low and dangerous tone to his voice now.
Daniel hesitated as she seemed to hesitate in turn, a conflicted expression crossing the woman's face for a moment. "Elsewhere." she finally admitted. "I am alone here."
Daniel blinked, taken aback. "Alone?" he said, almost incredulously. Then he paused for a moment, his expression softening. "How long?"
Ymris opened her mouth, then shut it again after a moment. "I shouldn't say." she finally replied, a bitterness tinging her voice.
Daniel nodded slowly. "That long, then?" he said softly. Slowly, he began to let his guard down, bringing his senses back from the Third Peak of amplification. "What about Tavis? Is he off… proselytizing or something?"
A glimmer of flame flickered in Ymris' eyes. "You think I'll tell you simply because I seem to have your sympathy?" she said almost incredulously. "You must be far more naive than I thought."
"I just…" Daniel said, sighing after a pause. "I'd just hate for him to go on a warpath towards me if he were here. Hurt the crew on his way to me. They don't deserve his wrath any more than they need the false god that he champions."
Ymris was silent for a moment, looking down to the side. "Then it's a good thing he's not anywhere in the fleet, then," she said quietly.
Daniel nodded. "That it is."
He looked at her with new eyes, studying her for a moment. "You care for them," he said. "The crew I've joined."
Ymris simply nodded silently, and Daniel smiled slightly. "I can tell how much you care for them, from how much good they seem to say about you. I hope to be able to care for them as much as you do someday."
Ymris looked back up at Daniel, a wondering look in her eyes as they regarded each other silently for a moment. "Do you really believe that caring for the crew and working for the Unity are antithetical to each other?"
Daniel sighed quietly. "Having seen what you're working towards from the inside?" he nodded slightly. "Yes."
Ymris sighed quietly, tears welling up in her eyes before one rolled down a cheek that was still somewhat grimy from their final preparations. "Then… my life is a lie," she whispered.
"Hardly," Daniel replied. "Your life is what is true to you. And it seems, up until now, one of those truths was that the Scions you've thrown your lot in with were doing good. That truth isn't gone. Hell, Receptor Jameson proves you were with the right leader. It's simply changed with your perspective."
"So," he said after a moment, "what are you going to do about it?"
Ymris looked at Daniel with no small amount of shock. "You're…" she finally chuckled softly as she wiped her tears away. "You have a way with words." she settled on.
Daniel's smile grew somewhat sad. "When you've lived as long as I have, there's plenty of places to find inspiration."
Daniel took a deep breath. "Anything else you need from me?" he said.
"Who are the people you're with from 'NERV's Boston branch'?" Ymris asked.
Daniel's smile shrunk. "Besides Eleanor, my wife, I'm with Shawn Ishihara, Anna Sanders, Rachel Andrews, and Ken Nelson."
Ymris' eyes narrowed. "And who are they, really?"
"I'll not say and spoil the surprise," Daniel replied. "Call it a balance for me not knowing where Tavis is."
Ymris' jaw clenched slightly before she sighed. "Fine. Misato's still going to want to meet you all regardless. Probably at the next meal time after the operation. That means you'll be eating with the command and bridge crews. I'll be there."
Daniel nodded as he stood. "Good to know."
As Ymris stood in turn, Daniel offered a hand, which she hesitantly shook after a moment. "I look forward to working under you," he said. "And if Tavis asks, I'm Dave Thomason."
"Alright," Ymris replied.
With that, they went their separate ways, and Daniel made sure he was alone before he put a hand to his face and sighed. 'My name. Of all the things to forget, it had to be my name, didn't it?'
"That is a rather grievous oversight," Nynrya replied. "And I'm hardly well versed in covert operations."
"That bad, huh?" Daniel said as he made his way back to the shared bunk room he, Eleanor, and the kids had been assigned, one of the hundreds across the ship.
The others looked up expectantly at him, Eleanor first to fully notice his annoyance. "What is it?" she asked as he took a seat.
"Well, for one, someone recognized me from before we got on the Wunder," Daniel replied somewhat sullenly.
Asuka, their Asuka, tilted her head. "How could anyone do that? We only got here, what? A month, month and a half ago, this Echo's time?"
Shinji's eyes narrowed. "Unless…" he said uneasily.
Daniel nodded. "There's good news and bad news. The bad news is that it's Ymris of the Scions of Unity."
Everyone's eyes widened before Daniel put out a hand. "Now before everyone tests the limits of our noise dampeners, the good news is that… well, she seems more than a little conflicted over her loyalties."
"She has… gone native, I believe the term is?" Rei said, tilting her head slightly and letting the now rather longer brown hair slip off her shoulder as she regarded him with brown eyes.
Daniel nodded. "If not, then she's real close to it."
Kaworu nodded, blue eyes under brown hair glittering with thoughtfulness as he cupped a chin that was far more in line, like Rei's was, with a regular skin tone. "A good thing, too. She had proven to be a rather… slippery combatant in the past."
Daniel sighed quietly as he remembered the times he saw the glass of people's forms shattering. "Yeah."
He took a deep breath. "Other than that, I've got one more piece of news. We'll be meeting with Captain Katsuragi and the command and bridge crews at the next meal period after Operation US. It seems to be that saying we were former NERV has gotten her attention."
"After what we've seen of here," Asuka said somewhat wearily, "I'm somehow not surprised."
The Children collectively shuddered from the rather… bracing movie night they had undertaken just before arriving.
"How well is our cover story going to hold up under that sort of scrutiny?" Kaworu asked, his brow furrowed in concern. "For all our efforts to fly under the radar, as it were, we didn't elaborate much on the subject."
Daniel nodded as he looked at the rest of the people in the room. "I was thinking about that on the way back. I have an idea. But I'm going to need you all to trust me."
. . .
Dining Section, 10 Hours Later
Daniel took a deep breath as he and the others walked into one of the mess halls of the ship. The last several hours of retrieving both the Evas and Unit-01's tomb had been a matter of rushing and checking, making sure the tow ropes that would drag the coffin towards its destination in the Arctic were secure.
He, Eleanor, Shawn, Anna, Rachel, and Ken all took stock of the room. For all its power, both current and potential, that power had to be focused somewhere to be of great use to the ship and its crew.
And, for as state of the art as it might have seemed, it was clear this wasn't one of those places. It certainly had space for a good amount of the crew. What those crew members had to eat, as they'd come to find out, wasn't always the most appetizing.
Mostly it was scrounged-up MRE packets, a few out of date by an acceptable enough margin, supplemented with what little they could afford to take from the Safe Zones whenever they stopped by. It was a meager meal, by all means, but all had become used to eating as such. They were basically soldiers now, fighting to save the world. What was a little discomfort?
Now, though, they would continue past the several long tables that most ate at, empty along with the rest of the room, save for their current dinner party seated at a close grouping of round tables. 'All this for little old us?' Daniel mused.
"Daniel," Asuka said through a link between their souls as they approached the waiting tables, "I don't think I need to stress how stupid I think this idea is anymore."
"Thankfully, I seem to specialize in this sort of stupid," Daniel replied. "For right now, just trust me, enjoy your food, and roll with it, and we should be good."
"You and Misato both…" Asuka trailed off, a grumbling tone to her words as they retrieved their food and sat down in the space available to them, right in front of Captain Katsuragi, Doctor Akagi, who they now knew was Ymris, and another person, likely the head of security, what with the plate carrier she wore even here in the mess hall.
"Captain," Daniel said as they began to eat. "Thank you for having us."
"You're welcome, Mr. Theisman," Katsuragi replied. "There seems to be far more we have in common than I expected."
Daniel nodded. "Indeed so. I recall you were in command of operations at HQ in Tokyo-3 while we were finishing up Unit-03. Right before we handed it off to you."
Daniel paused for a moment. "For what little it's worth, now, I'm sorry for what happened when it reached you. My condolences to the test pilot."
"Pilot Shikinami survived the encounter with the 9th Angel," Akagi said, the tone of her words almost clinical.
Daniel, along with the others, shuddered slightly. "With all due respect, ma'am… I'm not entirely sure how much better surviving what we saw was."
It was silent as they all remembered, one way or another, watching Unit-01, possessed by the Dummy Plug, tear apart the suddenly seemingly powerless Unit-03.
Then, Katsuragi shook her head slightly. "So, how long were you in NERV's Boston branch? What was your rank when you left?" she asked.
"I was a Captain, actually." Daniel chuckled, a slight smile on his face. It disappeared as he paused for a moment. "As for how long we were at NERV, about 15 years. Since its inception, nearly. But… we were connected to what would become NERV, and its masters, long before that."
All eyes were on them now, and Daniel could feel the anxiety of the others through his link with their souls, projecting calm surety as best he could. It was somewhat hard to do as Katsuragi narrowed her eyes. "And what does that mean, exactly?" she asked quietly.
Daniel opened his mouth for a moment, then shut it again as he shook his head slightly. "You likely wouldn't believe me if I told you. Those few people we have told the truth to never do in the beginning."
"Well, Daniel," Ymris said, "we've been living through what is basically the end of the world for the past decade and a half. At this rate, we'll likely believe whatever story you might have, however wild it is."
Daniel looked over at Ymris, a corner of his mouth twitching up as he shrugged. "Alright then."
He paused for a moment, taking a breath before sweeping his gaze around the tables. He had everyone's attention. Good. "My story, at least, begins with my birth in Mesquite, Texas in the year of our Lord 1914."
Stunned silence was broken by a snort, drawing all eyes to one Midori Kitakami, covering her face. "Okay, nice joke, but come on, when were you really born?" she asked, lowering her hand to reveal a slight, amused smile.
Daniel regarded the woman silently for a moment before looking back at the rather skeptical looking, and in one case outright shocked, faces of the people he sat with. "When World War 2 broke out and America joined the war, the nation was desperately looking for some way to accomplish missions no regular soldier could. Virology and tampering with viruses and other mutagens, in the public eye at least, were relatively new. Not so in whatever black ops lab the government was cooking in." he continued.
"I don't know how many iterations of what they would eventually inject into me the government project I was selected for went through, or how many other people came before me, but when they injected whatever decoction they did into me, it… changed me. Things were sharper, I could lift more, run faster, react more quickly than even some Olympic athletes."
"Once the 'wonder bug' bit me, they looked for whoever else it could bite. That's how the second wave of soldiers came into being." Daniel paused as he glanced to his sides at the kids. "And it started to not matter who they found. Men, women, either one would be able to go into combat. So, these kids are among those that came under my command as we shipped out to the Pacific of what was rapidly becoming a two-front war."
"Oh, come on." Shigeru Aoba finally said, shaking his head as he looked at the woman with the plate carrier. "Toph, surely you can call this bullshit, right?"
Daniel looked over at the woman with no small amount of surprise as Katsuragi nodded. "Yes, Chief Beifong. Is this man telling the truth?"
Toph scrutinized them with clear, hard green eyes, narrowed as she stared at Daniel silently for long moments. "Well, he certainly believes he's telling the truth if nothing else," she said as she leaned back and took a bite of her meal.
Daniel nodded. "We bounced around the island chains ahead of the rest of the Army and Marines, specifically targeting Unit 731 and its… monstrosities."
Daniel shook his head slightly, looking down at his platter. "I can still see some of the things that they did when I close my eyes long enough," he whispered.
He shook his head after a moment of silence before continuing. "After the war, it was found that we aged much slower. Something to do with the way our genes were altered or something."
Daniel sighed quietly. "So they kept us fighting. Into Korea. Several other operations that were very much off the books. Then Vietnam."
"That's where that connection with SEELE comes in," Daniel said quietly, pausing and he saw everyone grimace at the mention of the name. "During the back half of the war, scientists we'd never seen before made their way to our FOB, a location which was very much not known to anyone beyond our command staff, to give us a 'booster shot' of the mutagens that used a different 'carrier agent' than before."
Daniel took a deep breath. "The syringes they pulled out had this deep red stuff in it that smelled like drying blood."
Doctor Akagi's eyes widened slightly. "They used LCL as a base delivery system?" she said somewhat incredulously.
"I wouldn't find that out until decades later," Daniel replied. "Whatever that decoction was, it hurt like hell after we were injected with it. And I, along with everyone else, went to bed looking like we were in our late thirties… and waking up looking like we were in our early twenties. They chalked it up to a neat side effect of the LCL interacting with the mutagens and left it at that."
"We got even stronger, even faster," Daniel said. "Our bodies, joints and tendons mostly, were finally able to keep up with it too, so we could actually go all out with it."
"And that's what we'd do for the better part of the next 2 decades. Bounce from place to place around the world for God and country. Never aging. Considered dead on record because dying in Vietnam was a simpler explanation than… whatever the hell happened to us."
It was silent as a grave as the rest of the room took the story in. Then, Doctor Akagi leaned forward. "If you wouldn't mind…" she said slowly, an intent gleam in her eyes. "I'd like to run some tests on samples from your bodies…"
"Pause and clench. Shinji, maybe shake a little to sell what's next."
Doctor Akagi paused, taken aback as Daniel's expression grew cold. "We spent 5 of those 20 years I mentioned 'having our capabilities tested'. All the way to their limits. And while the physical scars are gone…"
Daniel paused as Shawn dropped the fork that was in his hand. "Sorry," he mumbled as he picked it up again and began to eat, the others following suit.
"The mental scars remain." Daniel continued. "I know you probably mean well, Doc. But we won't be guinea pigs again. Whenever we die, our secret dies with us."
It was silent again for a moment before Daniel sighed quietly. "Anyways, our last mission was a long op in Soviet-occupied Afghanistan in the '80s. We all knew it was a suicide mission. So we just did the best we could."
"Then, in '89, the Soviets pulled out. And we were still alive." Daniel shook his head in wonderment. "We had a chance to live… well, as normally as we possibly could. But someone seemed to have other plans for us."
"And that's when you went back to America, then?" Koji Takao asked, now thoroughly interested as he leaned towards them, Hideaki Tama looking away from the novel he read to look at them as well.
Daniel shook his head. "No. We got detoured by whoever our mysterious patron was to Japan. It was a good thing that half of us were half-Japanese from the West Coast. We worked security for one of the institutes here. It's where we met Professor Fuyutsuki and a few of his students. Along with one Doctor Katsuragi."
He watched as Misato Katsuragi's eyes went wide with genuine shock. "You knew my father?" she nearly whispered.
Daniel nodded. "Not very well. But he seemed decent enough. Certainly was friendly to us. It wasn't long before something happened in his life. He got this… hollow look in his eyes. Like he'd lost something dear to him without meaning to. Some days he'd walk in looking utterly driven. And then… there was one time he had this… manic hope in his eyes. It was that day when he'd told us about his expedition to the Antarctic."
He paused for a moment. "Then, we go to go and wave goodbye at the pier."
Daniel's eyes narrowed as he looked intently at Misato. "I think we might have even seen you."
"I don't remember ever seeing you," Misato replied as she stared at Daniel.
Daniel shrugged. "It was likely a blink and you miss it moment nearly 40 years ago. I honestly wouldn't remember it either."
Daniel paused for a moment before sighing. "Then, we got shipped back to America before Second Impact happened. We got hired into NERV and decided to go into engineering. We'd done enough destroying things, and we'd been instructed in field mechanics during all our soldiering. We were remarkably quick learners of the rest of the essentials, and we were our own engineering team by the time Unit-03 started construction."
Daniel nodded slightly. "We all know how that went, so I'll skip ahead. Third Impact was a real doozy. But we toughed it out, found a vehicle and some protective gear, and made it to the West Coast Safe Zone where you picked us up."
Daniel looked around. "Congratulations. You now know our life story," he said simply.
"I almost still can't believe it." Sumire Nagara said, shaking her head in wonderment.
"I wouldn't myself if I hadn't lived through it," Daniel replied. Then, he shook his head as he turned back to his largely forgotten meal. "Anyway, you all can do with that as you will. We'll just keep working with you all."
"Well, I'm sure Chief Tennison is grateful for the expertise," Akagi said.
Ymris nodded slightly. "I'm sure I'll put it to good use. Especially once we've reached our destination and have to crack into this monolith," she said, an almost unreadable expression on her face.
Daniel nodded in turn. "That's going to be an interesting challenge." he mused. "After all, isn't that the same stuff that used to make up the shielding over the Geofront? Tungsten-carbide reinforced steel?"
Ymris nodded. "We're going to need some really heavy equipment to punch through that. There's not much of that to go around though. So this is going to take time. A lot of it."
"How much time are we looking at?" Katsuragi asked, a serious tone to her voice.
"Sometime into next year, at least," Ymris replied with a shrug. "If we had more equipment, we could certainly make it faster."
"Then we'll send out parties to search for whatever equipment you need," Katsuragi said firmly. "We need to get the Wunder in the air as soon as possible."
The meal wrapped up soon after, and Daniel regarded Captain Katsuragi intently. "Thank you for letting us share this meal with you, Captain."
"Thank you for sharing your life's story. It's… well, quite a storied one." Katsuragi replied.
"That it is. I've learned a lot while living it." Daniel said as he cleaned up his platter. "For example. You live long enough, and you pay enough attention, and you start to realize people have awfully similar eyes. Not just in how they look, but what's inside them. What most people trust is hidden."
Daniel stood, and the rest of his group stood with him. As they walked away, he remained for a moment. "You have your father's eyes, Captain," he said softly.
With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Misato to ponder what, exactly, he meant.
. . .
As he exited the mess hall, the others looked at him almost dumbstruck for a moment. "Did that just work?" Asuka said aloud after looking around to ensure that they were alone.
Daniel released a breath as they began to walk. "You know… I think it did, somehow."
Shinji shook his head in wonder. "No wonder you and Misato got along, then," he said quietly. "You may have had two wildly different kinds of crazy, but you still pulled it off somehow."
"I knew it."
The group, all jumping at once, turned to look back at Toph, who, it seemed, had followed them out. "So," she said in a rather accusatory tone as she approached them, "you're lying about the whole 'living for hundreds of years thing'? And that's just to start."
Daniel glanced at those around him for a moment before he stepped forward. "Well, to be honest, it was a bit of an understatement. You have quite the knack for figuring out lies."
"I come by it honestly," Toph replied almost acidly.
Daniel's expression became… impressed after a moment. "You must be a real rock star here then."
Toph blinked, then her eyes narrowed as she looked at Daniel. He could feel the others getting ready for something to cook off. But if he was right…
Toph's eyes widened, then she closed them and sighed before lightly punching Daniel's shoulder. "You know, it took me leaving my very universe to finally figure out what you meant by that," she said with a chuckle.
She opened her eyes again and saw the smile on Daniel's face. "Good to see you again, twinkle two," she said wryly.
"What, no 'Kin', now that you know my real name?" Daniel said, somewhat amazed that he could regard her eyes clearly.
"Come on. It's clear you were just being all mysterious and all that nonsense, even then." Toph shot back.
"So…" Kaworu said, and Daniel turned to look at him and see the look of utter puzzlement on his face, and on all of the others' faces as well, save for Eleanor. "May I ask what is going on? I'm unsure what kind of interaction this is."
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Toph Beifong," Daniel said, motioning for her to follow them as they walked back towards their pods. "Her and a few others are from another Echo over."
"I did mention they were looking for you," Eleanor said with a slight smile.
"Wait. When did you see us?" Toph asked Eleanor.
"Passing by on the Worldsea," Eleanor replied. "I just retraced your steps to find where you'd come from. Surprise, surprise, he had been there but gone."
"And we'd gone looking for him," Toph said, shaking her head slowly. "Funny how that works."
She looked at the kids again. "So… how close did we get to finding you?" she said quietly as they reached their bunk room.
"You managed to make it to the same World Engine as us," Daniel said. "Just different Echoes."
Toph looked at him, blinking in confusion. "What? I'm sorry, we're kind of new to this whole… beyond our world thing."
Daniel smiled slightly. "Don't worry. I think we have plenty of time to get you up to speed. It was good seeing you again."
"Wait till you see how everyone else reacts," Toph said with a scoff. "We're all gathered here on this ridiculously big flying boat. You can be sure everyone will want to see you in the next couple of days."
Toph nodded. "Well, I've got things to do. See you all later."
The group said their goodbyes, and Asuka looked over at Daniel. "So… what's their story?"
Daniel looked over at her and smiled as he opened the door. "Stay a while and listen, and I shall tell you a tale…"
. . .
Daniel found himself in an endless expanse of white. That he was cognizant of this fact was hardly a surprise to him. Lucid, or at least semi-lucid, dreaming was common for Interfacers.
He looked around himself, wondering for a moment what could be waiting for him tonight.
What he found was a familiar sight. It was himself, sitting on nothing. He wore his old Hollow Saint armor, the cape billowing in an unseen wind. He looked up at himself with a clean-shaven face, the mark upon his brow framed by short hair glowing with a golden light as it shifted from one shape to another, always a blade of some kind.
"Fascinating." the Image of him said. "You have changed much since we were last separated."
A feeling of unease began to grow in the pit of Daniel's stomach. "And why would you say that?" he asked, thankful that he could at least speak.
"Not only in your physical appearance." the Image continued regardless, standing up and regarding him intently. "But also in your mind. Our time together left seemingly indelible impressions, it appears."
Daniel felt a tightness in his chest. All his time after he had freed himself, the only way he had stayed sane was looking at the life he'd led, the person that he'd been, as overtly evil. Maniacal, almost, in his dedication to the Scion's cause. Something entirely apart from him. This was getting closer to… the truth.
"Daniel?"
Daniel turned, and blinked as he saw Nynrya, looking around herself, dressed in simple robes of brown and gold.
"Fascinating. The soul within our implement has become more outspoken."
Daniel felt a spike of fear stab through his now pounding heart as he came to the terrible conclusion. Nynrya simply looked past Daniel towards the Image, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Who are you?" she asked.
"A monster," Daniel said, his voice shaky.
"Hardly." the Image interjected. "I am Hamar'ramah, Guide of War, and foremost among my people."
Daniel looked back at him, desperately trying not to shake. "And what, exactly, are you doing here? I threw you into the Worldsea when I freed myself from you."
"Hardly. The realm of the Mind is no stranger to my passing." Hamar'ramah replied. "I simply bided my time there. The veil that separates this realm from the Mental is thin."
"You are…" Nynrya said in dawning horror.
"An abomination." Daniel spat. "Cobbled together and set loose on Reality."
"Again, hardly," Hamar'ramah replied with a quiet sigh. "We are pieces of Honor, bound together by the threads of the Greater Will and made strong by supping off of the darkest curses."
He paused for a moment as he regarded Daniel. "And yet, we also breed true. Would you call our progeny such?"
Daniel blinked. "I… I didn't know that."
"For all your knowledge, it seems there are still gaps," Hamar'ramah replied. "However, those gaps were not in any area that was useful, so I can hardly be made to complain."
"You did like to use my knowledge, didn't you?" Daniel said acidly. "Make me run your little 'simulations' for you. Even when they were real. Even when the numbers had actual people attached to them."
"And yet, you came to enjoy them, did you not?"
Daniel paused, his jaw clenching as Nynrya gasped, and he could feel the shock and horror coming from behind him. "Is that what you're here for? To remind me of the worst part of myself? Of how I numbed myself to the simulations and the violence and the death, not caring if they were real? Making myself complicit? Not caring enough to try and stop you before…"
He paused and found himself somehow heaving for breath. He could feel the eyes starting to open again, begin to weigh on his back. "Is that why you're here?" he finally managed to force out.
"No," Hamar'ramah replied. "I am here because I sense a champion awaits me here. Our previous connection simply favors you."
"No. No, I won't be your slave again. No!" Daniel shouted, clutching at his head. "Get out of my head! Get out! OUT!"
Daniel's eyes snapped open, and he gasped for breath. As he regained control of his body, he nearly bolted up in bed, stopping just in time to narrowly avoid hitting the bunk above him. His breath, as in the dream, was heaving. Closing his eyes, seeing the face that had once been his… it was out of the question.
He turned his body, and sat in the bunk with his body leaned over, his elbows on his knees and his hands in his face as he rubbed it for a moment. Getting out his clear-pad, he checked the time. 0337.
Daniel sighed quietly, rubbing his face once again.
"Daniel?"
He heard Eleanor's words, and felt the next ones die in her mouth as she established a connection—had it been broken in the night?—and climbed off her bunk and came to sit next to him. "He's… he's here?" he asked, no small amount of fear in her voice.
Daniel shuddered slightly as he nodded. "Yes," he whispered. "He is."
Eleanor put an arm around Daniel's shoulder, hugging him to her as he wept silently from the memories that poured back in.
. . .
Shinji, or Shawn as he had to remind himself he was supposed to be named here, stretched as best he could in the bunk, yawning cavernously as he got out. He looked up to his wife (his wife!) and jostled her slightly. "Wake up, Anna," he said quietly.
Asuka moaned and grumbled wordlessly as she took Shinji's hand, then brushed her lips across his fingertips. "S' a stupid name." she finally said, and Shinji couldn't help but smile slightly.
"Yeah, well… I guess we'd better get used to it." he chuckled softly.
Then he blinked, looking over at Daniel and Eleanor's bunks, weren't they usually…
He found the both of them slumped together, asleep and leaning against the back wall of Daniel's bunk.
"Uh…" Shinji said uncertainly as the others began to stir and make themselves ready.
Daniel's eyes flickered open, red and puffy and… tired in a way that Shinji wasn't sure he had ever seen before. Eleanor's eyes fluttered open only moments later.
"Mornin', Sh…awn," Daniel said as he leaned forward, rubbing his eyes before he stood.
"Daniel?" Shinji said almost incredulously. "Is… something wrong?"
"Yes," he said frankly, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. "But right now, we can't deal with it. I'll explain later."
He took a deep breath, rubbing his eyes and shaking his head. "Now, I hope you all are ready to don your protective gear. "We get to start cutting open the tomb of Unit-01."
"Start, perhaps," Rei said as she slipped on the jacket and tied the bright blue handkerchief around her left arm. "I feel this is a process we shall soon become familiar with, however."
"Yep," Eleanor said as she finally stood and stretched. "Of course, there's no reason we can't speed it up a little." she looked pointedly at Asuka, who grinned at the prospect.
"Not too much, though." Daniel cautioned. "No need to draw more undue attention than we already have."
Kaworu nodded. "I suspect that may take just as much work as the tomb will." he sighed quietly.
"Chin up," Daniel said, a slight smile growing on his face. "We don't need to disassemble the whole thing. Just open it up and slip the Eva out. It can't take that long, can it?"
. . .
4 Weeks Later, February 2028
Ymris stepped back as she helped fix the final connection to Unit-01's body, motioning the other technicians and engineers to do so as well.
Within the walls of the massive engineering deck, the Evangelion, encased as it was still loomed large over the whole space. Several levels alone were dedicated to the box that the rogue Evangelion would reside within, linked to the scavenged S2 Engines of the Mark.04As that they'd installed in place of the ones that Unit-08's aiding in their escape had burned out.
There was quite a crowd still around her, of course. Daniel Theisman had risen quickly to become something akin to her second in command, often delegating tasks and groups to him so that she could extend some portion of her organization over to them.
Behind them were Captain Katsuragi, Doctor Akagi, Major Ibuki of Evangelion deployments, and several others of the senior crew. Standing close to the Captain's side, even, were the Evangelion pilots who had gone to such effort to retrieve the thing in the first place, Asuka Shikinami Langley looking up at the purple giant with an eye that looked, for the most part, bored, but that swirled with a hidden anxiety. Mari Makinami, for the most part, just looked excited to actually get a look at the thing, her eyes wide with wonder.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen," she said, "let's go ahead and run the diagnostics on this, see if it'll work once we turn it on."
Daniel nodded as he and the others stepped towards the computers to begin a test activation process. Even if he hadn't seen the moment before, he could feel this was it. The moment when Shinji Ikari would come back to the world he'd had a hand in making.
He glanced up at the looming presence of Unit-01, his Sight showing three souls within the core. As expected.
He blinked the Sight off as he dove into his work, looking to the sides every once in a while to see his kids working as well.
He smiled slightly. They were doing better than he was expecting. Which was saying something.
As the S2 Engines within the bay began to glow with power, Daniel looked back up at Unit-01 as he finished his part of the process, the Sight flickering back on as he watched one of the souls within it stirring. It was almost time, now.
Suddenly, an idea came to him, and he looked around himself to ensure that all eyes were on the Eva. It was a quick look, considering the situation.
So, he focused, his soul diving into the core of Unit-01.
He found himself in the midst of a prismatic landscape, the colors shifting like waves on the ocean. As he got his bearings, he caught sight of Shinji, this world's Shinji, turned away from him and slowly drifting off, his pace increasing as he raced for the horizon.
What had set Shinji on his present course, Daniel must have missed. What he didn't miss, however, was the sight of Rei, her hair, now ridiculously long compared to when she was when she entered, draped over the Entry Plug controls she sat in, looking out at Shinji as he went.
"Ms. Ayanami," Daniel said, watching as Rei turned to look at him, the closest word he could put to the expression on her face, muted though it was, being surprise.
"I do not know you," she said, matter-of-factly.
"You wouldn't," Daniel replied with a shrug. "The world has changed since Shinji drew you in here 14 years ago."
Rei blinked. "That is… quite a long time," she said slowly.
"It is." Daniel paused. "But some things have stayed the same. Frankly, some things have gotten worse. Shinji will emerge into a world that bears no small amount of resentment, even anger towards him for his hand in its making. The other Evangelion pilots will be locked away, weapons in a war against a fallen NERV."
Daniel paused for a moment. "They could use your help. Your presence. For Shinji, it would mean he didn't nearly end the world for nothing. For Asuka, it would mean someone else that understands her. For Mari… well, I just think she would be happy to have a new friend."
Rei looked down. "I do not believe I have the social skills to be what you say," she said quietly.
"Maybe not yet. But you were getting there 14 years ago. There's no better reason to restart your learning than this." Daniel said with conviction.
Rei looked back up at Daniel, her head tilted slightly. "You are…" she trailed off, searching for a word for what she saw in the thoroughly odd man before her.
"Optimistic?" Daniel said with a slight smile. "I have my reasons to be so."
He paused for a moment. "Would you be willing to go? The last thing I want to do is force you into this. You, out of all the people here, deserve the chance to choose, and not simply be ordered."
Rei's eyes widened a fraction as she took in what Daniel had said. She was silent for a heartbeat. For another.
Then, she nodded. "Very well. I will enter the world. For the sake of my friends. For Shinji's sake."
Daniel's smile widened slightly as he watched Rei float out of her seat. "Good. I'll see you out there. I can't guarantee you'll remember this. But if you do… seek me out. I'll do my best to help all of you."
With that, he pulled his soul o
ut of the core, just as alarms began to go off, the screens flashing warning messages.
Doctor Akagi stepped to one of the consoles, her lab coat flaring dramatically behind her as she studied what the system was in such a panic about.
Her eyes widened after a moment. "Impossible…" she said quietly. Then she shook her head. "We have two biosignatures in Unit-01's Entry Plug!"
Daniel wasted no time as Ymris looked at him. "Anna, Ken, come help me get whoever's in there out! Eleanor, go grab some towels."
Anna and Ken nodded as they followed him up the ladder that led up to the platform that ran behind the Eva's neck, racing around Unit-01 as they watched the Plug eject from Doctor Akagi's ministrations, coming to rest in the center of a circular gantry a pilot could step out onto.
"The LCL in the Plug is draining," Akagi said through the radios they carried, the trio hearing the gurgling as they reached the Plug itself. "You'll be able to open the Plug in 15 seconds."
Those 15 seconds seemed to stretch into an unbearably long period, the air now filled with the susurrus of the rest of those within the engineering bay muttering before the gurgling ceased.
Daniel stepped forward, grabbing the handles of the emergency hatch and twisting them with an almost contemptuous ease, the door swinging open to reveal a dark interior.
"Flashlights," he said through a link to Asuka and Kaworu's souls, the two behind him clicking on the torches attached to their belts to make twin cuts of light through the shadowed interior.
Within, they found the slowly, slightly moving forms of the young Shinji and Rei, on top of each other and completely nude.
Asuka sighed quietly behind him. "Why can't these things ever naturally toss you out of their cores with some clothes?" she muttered as she rolled her eyes.
Daniel didn't answer as he took off his jacket, throwing it on top of Rei's limp form before putting his arms under her, gently lifting the girl out of the Plug and setting her down on the gantry.
"Asuka, your jacket," he said as he did a quick check of Rei's vitals. "Kaworu, go tell the others that we're going to need stretchers."
Kaworu nodded before turning and running off as Asuka slipped off her jacket. "Getting Rei out was you, wasn't it?" she asked quietly.
Daniel nodded wordlessly as he took the proffered jacket and covered Shinji's nakedness.
"Good," Asuka said as Daniel hoisted Shinji out of the Plug. "Wondergirl doesn't deserve to get stuck in there."
Daniel nodded again, looking over as Eleanor approached with some towels. "No," he said quietly. "No one does."
Eleanor handed Daniel a towel, and he began to wrap up Rei, getting her prodigious amount of hair out of the way.
"Wow," she said wonderingly as she shook her head slowly. "It's a good thing I decided to bring an extra towel."
"I know, right?" Asuka said as Daniel took the second towel to wrap up the young Rei's hair. "I hope our Rei isn't planning on going that long."
Daniel continued in silence as he took the third towel, beginning to wrap Shinji. Then, the boy stirred, moaning quietly as he cracked open his eyes slightly. "Whuh…"
Daniel put a hand on the boy's shoulder as he looked into his eyes. "Hello? Can you tell me who you are?" he said, as slowly and clearly as he could over the noise that was present in the bay.
The boy's brow furrowed slightly as he slowly shook his head. "Shinji… Ikari…"
"Good," Daniel replied with a smile. "Do you know what year it is?"
"20… 14?" was the clearly uncertain reply.
Daniel let out a long breath as his eyes widened for a moment. "Okay. We've got some catching up to do, clearly. Right now, though, let's just make sure you don't need any immediate medical help."
The boy's eyes opened wider, a drowsy haze covering them as he tried to get up. "But… Rei-"
"Is fine," Daniel interjected as he put a staying hand on the younger Shinji's chest. "Right now… just rest. Don't strain yourself. Breathe deep."
The boy, to his credit, lowered himself back to the gantry floor, taking deep breaths.
"Good man," Daniel said softly, connecting his soul to the younger Shinji's Frames to put him into a quiet sleep.
"Is this them?"
Daniel and the others looked towards the voice behind them, finding two women behind them, stretchers in hand, nodding as he did. "Yes, it is," he said as he took stock of the duo.
One was a younger Japanese woman, with brown hair under a beret that sat above brown eyes set within a sharp, defined face, wearing a brown shirt and black pants over white shoes, with a white apron over top of the shirt and a blue bandana around her neck capping off the affair.
The other woman was maybe only a little older, black, long hair flowing behind deeply tanned skin with two prominent loops framing a somewhat rounded face with deep blue eyes. She wore a white lab coat over a deep blue shirt with a pocket lined with pens and blue jeans, a necklace with an eye-catching pattern swirled into a glass disk around her neck.
The woman in the lab coat looked over at her companion. "Go and make sure that our descent mechanism is secure, Sakura. I'll run a quick check-up on these kids."
Sakura nodded. "Yes, Ms. Aanderson," she replied, waving to the trio with a slight smile as she set her stretcher down before she turned and walked back towards the ladder up.
As she passed out of sight, Ms. Aanderson, as Sakura had called her, looked intently at Daniel as she knelt next to him. "So… Daniel," she said slowly.
Daniel looked back at Ms. Aanderson for a moment before slowly smiling. "You know, Katara, I'd be surprised if you were anywhere else but in medical." he chuckled.
Katara smiled in turn and put an arm over Daniel's shoulder. "You know, Kin, I think you look better without the beard. I hardly recognized my big brother," she said with a slight smile.
"Oh, so the whole 'big brother' thing has a lot more history than I thought." Asuka said with a wry smile. "Makes sense."
Katara looked up at Asuka, her eyes narrowing for a moment. "Wait a minute… are you…"
"Yes, she is," Daniel interjected, "but that's a secret right now, Ms. Kiana Aanderson. As to why is a long, complicated explanation I'd rather do with everyone present."
Katara nodded slowly as she looked back down at the younger Shinji. "Alright. I'll take your word for it for now. Is there anything wrong with these kids that your spirit vision can see?"
Daniel shook his head. "Nothing more than some mental fatigue, but-"
"What's this?"
Daniel and Katara looked up at Eleanor as she leaned into the Entry Plug, emerging with a grey brick with a pair of headphones wrapped around it, dripping LCL.
"It's his SDAT player," Daniel replied.
"That's right," Kaworu said quietly. "Rei took it into battle when Ze- the 10th Angel consumed her."
Both Children suppressed a shudder at the memory as Katara looked at Daniel quizzically. "Where did you find them?" she asked.
"A few worlds over. I'll explain when we all get together," he replied. "Right now, though…"
He paused as he looked down at the young Shinji. "I feel like we're going to have a lot on our hands soon."