Lesson 3: SCHALE

The entire machine rumbled, shook, and then roared all around Ayanami Rei as another shot was fired. Thanks to the helmet she had been given, what should have been an ear-splitting explosion was instead heard as a loud yet dull thud even through the constant noise of the running tank. She turned her head slightly this time and looked out the tank's viewport to see the result of the latest shot. It was… unusual. She had expected to see the results of an explosion, mangled bodies, torn limbs, and red blood.

Red. The color of blood.

The color I hate.

Myself.

Instead, she saw completely whole bodies, no torn limbs, and not a single drop of blood. Scattered and unmoving, yes, but without any clear signs of injury. Without any clear signs of death. She did not care if these strangers died, but neither did she wish for it. But it was still unusual enough to warrant, no, demand her attention. It was puzzling and strange, like many other things about this strange city she had suddenly found herself in. Strangers in a strange land that took a tank shell and lived through it.

Children who do not bleed.

A human who is not a human.

Myself.

Rin had said that the enemy they were fighting against was called The Helmet Gang, and that they had recently become deeply embedded in this part of D.U., the capital district of the Academy City. A simple and descriptive name for a gang; aside from their diverse school uniforms, all the gang's members wore various kinds of helmets and face concealing gear. And like everyone else in this strange city, they all had halos of differing shapes, patterns and colors that floated either atop or behind their heads.

Halo. A symbol of divinity.

A symbol of Angels.

Myself.

Iroha's muffled voice floated down to her from the tank's hatch. The blue-haired girl could barely understand what the tank commander had said, but the intention was clear. Another shot. Rei watched as automated, mechanical arms retrieved and loaded another shell in response to Iroha's command, and, soon after, the entire machine rumbled, shook, and then roared once again. Looking through the viewport, more gang members scattered, unconscious and yet completely unharmed. Rei watched as their haloes winked out of existence and one delinquent's helmet dislodged and clattered away, smashing against the city sidewalk. A strange compulsion struck her at that moment.

What are you?

The first person she saw when she arrived here had peculiarly pointed ears, and a blue halo that slightly resembled a strangely shaped, three-pointed crown. Nanagami Rin. Someone who clearly wasn't human. It further added to the worries she'd had since her unexpected and mysterious arrival. Rei had known since waking up in that strange office that she was no longer in Tokyo-3. She couldn't tell where she was but the fact that she had not recognized any of the buildings in the city skyline before her as she looked out the window, and the fact that the sky outside had strange bands of light cutting through it in circular patterns unlike anything she had seen in her life confirmed to her that she was nowhere even remotely familiar. The building she was in at that moment did not resemble any NERV facility that she had ever been in either, not even the extremely classified ones. After Rin had fainted and she explored the rest of the building, she had seen more people who were clearly not human in the corridors of the GSC HQ: pointed ears, animal ears, wings, horns, tails… Every single one of them with haloes.

What are you?

Rei deftly clambered past Iroha despite the cramped quarters and exited the tank even as the red-haired girl shouted something behind her, clearly agitated. It didn't matter. She had to know. Two short hops later, and the blue-haired girl was off the vehicle, ripping off and discarding her tank crew helmet as she made her way towards the unconscious, uniformed girl who had lost her helmet. Rei heard other shouts coming from Rin and the other two who had accompanied them, but she ignored them. Some urge from within compelled her, moved her, and it was only a few brief steps over rubble and shattered glass before she stood in front of the downed delinquent.

What are you?

Are you… like me?

Rei realized as she carefully knelt down beside the unconscious girl, making sure not to dirty her uniform as she did, that this was the sensation that had stirred her to act. She felt a strange and inexplicable kinship towards all these girls. None of them were human. Rei knew she was not human either. Not completely. It marked her as different and isolated her from everyone in NERV, in Tokyo-3, in the world. She was not certain of her exact composition, only Commander Ikari and Doctor Akagi were privy to those details, but the pallid girl was aware of her unique nature. This nature was, after all, the crux of her own role as a tool, Commander Ikari's tool, for the sake of Instrumentality. So, what of these girls who looked, but were not, human then? What were they?

Are we… the same?

She slowly reached out a hand towards the unconscious girl. Had Rei been more cognizant of her own emotions, she would have described herself as anxious. The unconscious girl had short black hair with long bangs that fell over her closed eyes, and a face that could be described as cute were it not scraped and dirtied from an attack which should have rightly killed her if she were a normal human. Her breathing was even, confirming to Rei that the stranger was not in any immediate danger despite what should have been life-ending injuries. With a breath, Rei made up her mind and pale fingers reached out further, and she touched the unconscious girl's face and she felt…

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

We are not the same, she thought to herself dejectedly as she lowered her hand. They were similar to be certain, but they were not the same. They were not like her. The brief bond she had felt towards the people of this strange place shattered inside of her. She was alone.

Alone?

A strange emotion welled up from inside of her like frozen water that rose and spread to every limb and digit. She shivered. Rei had not thought about them since her arrival in this unknown city, but now they were first and foremost in her mind. Those others who were her. The empty vessels meant to contain her soul and safeguard Instrumentality.

They are not here.

I cannot sense any of them.

They had always danced at the edge of her consciousness, soullessly giggling as they existed without living. And yet now… She was alone with her thoughts. Rei felt nothing and no one, only the incomprehensible torrent of her own emotions and complete and utter silence.

Ayanami Rei looked at herself in the cracked reflection of the delinquent's lost helmet. She did not remember when she had stood and picked it up, but the smashed visor's black reflection dragged her out of her dazed state as she looked at herself reflected in a hundred tiny shards.

She shuddered.

The me who are me and not me are not here.

I cannot be replaced.

I am myself.

I am alone.

For the first time in her life, Ayanami Rei was truly terrified.

Nanagami Rin, more cognizant of fear than she had been hours prior, screamed in terror as she watched Ayanami Rei, the halo-less stranger who held all their hopes, exit the Gehenna tank, and walk towards one of the downed delinquents. A stray bullet would doom the entire city!

"Take them out!" she shouted hoarsely as she and Seminar's Ushio Noa opened fire on the remaining delinquents even as they both ran to defend the halo-less girl. Return fire, however, pinned them promptly and Rin cursed below her breath as they were forced to take cover while their artillery reloaded. Rei had seemed amenable to their plan so why had she stepped out? What was going on in that girl's head?! The bespectacled student muttered angrily to herself as she reloaded and took another shot, and then a brief flash of white danced on the edge of her vision.

Misono Mika.

One of Trinity General School's three Student Council Presidents had rushed out of cover and straight into the delinquent's line of fire. The Helmet Gang noticed her immediately, a dozen weapons roaring as they concentrated fire solely on her; her pure white dress making an enticing and easily visible target. Concentrated fire from that many guns, however, did not seem to slow Mika down in the slightest.

Rin could not help but stare. GSC intelligence had reported that Misono Mika was incredibly resilient even by Kivoto's lofty standards, but this was bordering on incomprehensible. That much concentrated fire would have knocked Rin and many others unconscious in an instant. Mika didn't even blink.

"I didn't!" the Trinity School President shouted as she slammed another magazine into her Lanchester Mk. I.

"Even!" she flashily spun the gun in her hands and the magazine locked into place.

"Want to be here!" the white clad girl opened fire one handed and burst of gunfire accompanied by a bright flash of violet light erupted knocking out a dozen helmeted combatants. Not a second later, Gehenna's tank opened fire again and mopped up the rest.

Mika clicked her tongue disdainfully towards the unconscious delinquents and walked towards the halo-less girl. Rei was standing still, ramrod straight, and seemingly ignorant of the fact that another skirmish against the Helmet Gang had just happened less than a dozen meters from where she was standing. She was holding one of their helmets in her hands and staring at it with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Get back inside, Sensei," the pink-haired girl said with a mischievous sing-song tone and a bright smile. Rei nodded absentmindedly while Rin and Noa were still running to catch up. None of them could note that the broad and happy smile never reached Mika's eyes at all.

The rest of the group's march through the outskirts of D.U. was mercifully uneventful. There were more skirmishes against the helmet gang, entrenched as they were in this section of the district, but they were quickly dispatched by their small group. Even the gang's trump card, their stolen Crusader I, was no match for Iroha and her Toramaru, as she called her Tiger I. Rin secretly hoped that the damage inflicted today would be enough to dislodge the gang once they had Sanctum Tower up and running once again. To have left the gang make inroads into D.U. itself was a shame that would haunt her the rest of her life, but such thoughts were better left for another time. The sun was barely beginning to set, and it would only be a few moments before they arrived at the SCHALE campus.

When they did arrive, Mika was the first to speak.

"What a dump," the winged Trinity student remarked dryly.

It had seen better days before.

The Residence Hall was dirty and abandoned, with walls covered in gang graffiti and a layer of dust and dirt. Even the gardens were unkempt and overgrown, but the Main Building itself…

"The Fox of Calamity attacked a little over a week ago," Rin explained lamely, an apologetic expression on her face as she turned towards the shorter, blue-haired girl following mutely behind. "We couldn't divert Valkyrie resources to protect an unused, empty building with everything else that was going on. By the time we could respond, well…"

A huge explosion had decimated the entire right wing of what was previously a pristine white building, leaving a gaping hole into the entrails of the complex. Even from a distance the small group could see shattered windows, rubble, charred walls covered with dust and soot, and toppled over bookshelves, cabinets, and lockers.

A derelict and abandoned wreck.

"This was meant to be your office and residence, but," Rin tried to continue her explanation but Rei cut her off.

"It does not matter. Where must we go?" she was still holding onto her schoolbag with one hand and the discarded delinquent helmet with the other. It had raised some eyebrows from the other members of the small group, but none had seen fit to tell her to leave it behind.

"The basement," Rin replied with a nod. "The explosion was mercifully far from the entrance so it should still be alright. Watch your step and keep an eye out for any gang members that might be lurking inside."

For a mercy, there were no helmeted miscreants lurking inside the abandoned SCHALE building. If there had been any, they had likely retreated at the news of the defeat of their trump card as there were signs of recent occupation and a hasty retreat. They found the basement door without issue and Rin opened the biometric lock and waved Rei inside, following behind the younger girl shortly after. Nobody talked about the bullet holes riddling the reinforced door and the concrete beside it.

And just like that, three of the most influential students in all of Kivotos were left by themselves, waiting for a miracle to happen.

Natsume Iroha was the first to break the increasingly awkward silence.

"Are we done yet?" Iroha complained, sounding utterly exhausted. "That girl is so quiet, it's unnatural. She gives me the creeps."

"I can't believe I'm agreeing with Gehenna, but, yeah… There's something really off about her," Mika nodded vigorously.

Noa laughed and smiled a friendly smile. "I don't disagree, but don't you think that she's… intriguing? Mysterious? I was expecting the GSC's rumored Sensei to be an adult, but a halo-less girl is a fascinating turn of events."

Iroha sighed at that, somehow managing to make her expression look even more exhausted than it already was. "I don't do well with intrigue OR mystery. I just wanna go back to the dorms and get some sleep. This unpaid overtime is killing me."

Mika, for her part, seemed to contemplate Noa's question for a moment before answering. "It's not just that she's mysterious and creepy, but…" she seemed to struggle with words for a moment before finally giving up and shrugging her shoulders.

"It's like she's a ghost," Iroha said with complete conviction and steely glint in her indigo eyes. She limply held her hands in front of herself. "OoOooOoo, watch out, you'll be possessed!"

Mika couldn't help but giggle at that, and Noa's smile widened a little further.

"You know, I'm a little surprised," the silver haired Millenium secretary said in a bemused tone. "I always thought that Trinity and Gehenna didn't get along at all. This has really been an eye-opening experience for me."

Mika stuck her tongue out and made a comical expression of disgust while gagging theatrically. The other two girls chuckled softly at her exaggerated expression.

"Yeah, the feeling's mutual," Iroha agreed with a wry smile, and Mika had to stop her theatrics to flash a quick smile in return.

"Well, you're not entirely wrong, Ushio-san." The friendly mood dampened slightly, but Mika pressed on regardless. "I don't like Gehenna, but I'm not a total idiot, you know? I can put aside those feelings if it means getting the city running again and that Nagi-chan stops nagging me so much over every little thing."

"Oh, geez, thanks for that positive reinforcement, princess. My self-esteem is through the roof right now."

Mika stuck her tongue out at Iroha again, and the small group shared a laugh.

"Besides, it's not like anybody is forcing us to hold hands and be friends. After this is done, we'll never meet each other again so there's nooooooo pressure."

"I suppose that's true," Noa conceded Mika's point with a small frown. She was about to open her mouth to speak again when all three of their phones rang in unison. Not a second later, the heavily secured door slid open to reveal Nanagami Rin with a small smile on her normally severe features.

"It's done," the white clad officer said, unable to keep joy and satisfaction out of her voice. "City infrastructure, locked accounts, revoked permissions, sealed off buildings...We've recovered everything. All of it. Kivotos is saved."

The miracle had arrived.

Four faces reflected elation and relief.

The remaining face reflected nothing.

She was alone.

Lesson 3: End

What did we learn today, class?

Yes, that's correct!

You are unique and irreplaceable.

Join us again next time for Lesson 4: All's Right With The World. We'll have: Paperwork! Depression and social isolation! And last, but definitely not least, a… wait, I'm keeping that one under my hat.

Don't be late!

AN: Tossed my first draft of this chapter because it was refusing to be written so this took longer than I would have liked. But it's done now and I'm happy with it despite having had to change tracks on a couple of things I wanted to do. You'll have noticed some further changes to what the regular and familiar BA Prologue would have been. It's a shame that Rei arrived late, but that's just how the cookie crumbles, I guess -Kero