Apotheosis Echo: Re(verb - it)erations

by StriderInCosmos

The end has passed, and a storm looms over a broken world. At its edge, a Captain who cannot fully chart her course plunges in regardless. Within the lightning, a Priest sees his gods, and hopes to draw them to the dying Earth he wishes to gift to them. Against the rain, a Soldier and his family seek to dispel the tempest. The storm looms, and the End is nigh. But what End?

8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Connections

I do not fully understand Commander Ikari's hesitation to retrieve Shinji Ikari. He and I both know that he is the lynchpin to all that will happen. I far more so than he.

Evangelion Unit-13 is complete. Waiting for us. Waiting for him. I am waiting for him. It is not my place to try and pressure the Commander of NERV to hasten his efforts. He has a plan. What, I cannot divine now. Whatever he has done to himself has made him… inscrutable to me. I can no longer see him in my already limited visions of what could be for this world.

Does he hide himself from me? Or does a part of me simply not wish to intrude upon him now? I am unsure of the King of the Lilin Gendo Ikari. Something which should not be.

- From the personal journal of Commander Kaworu Nagisa of WILLE

New Balikpapan, Borneo Safe Zone, February 17th, 2028

Daniel sat in a room that was rather spacious, a fan and an air conditioner keeping the air cool as an open door to a veranda let in the sound of the ocean.

His focus, however, was on the large table, cards spread across it as seven people sat at it, several more scattered through the room either making light conversation or commentating on the game.

The poker match, a 5 card draw game with wild cards, was going into what was likely its final deal, Aoba holding most of the pot while Koji, Hyuga, and Sokka were changing second place in almost every deal. Sumire, on a rather poor streak of luck, was now sitting with a nearly empty pot, Midori and Hideki sitting at the table with empty hands and simply watching as the game grew closer and closer, tenser and tenser.

Toph, who'd been designated the dealer this time around, shuffled the deck and dealt out the hands. "Alright, then, let's see if someone can snatch victory from Aoba's jaws, shall we?" she said with a grin.

'A tall order.' Daniel mused as he took Eleanor's hand, idly sipping at the not-exactly cherry soda that he'd found as the players took their starting hands, looking at them intently.

To the remaining player's benefit, they were rather hard to read. Each kept a steady face as they all regarded each other. "Small blind, big blind, go ahead and begin the bets," Toph said.

Hyuga, the small blind this time, threw in two black chips. "200," he said levelly.

Sokka, the big blind, threw in four. "400." was his equally level rejoinder.

"Nagara, what's your bet?"

Sumire, who sat on a relatively meager pot of 5,000 points in chips, threw in a purple one, a pink one, and an orange one. "Raise 800."

Toph nodded. "Aoba?"

"I'll call that 800." he tossed a few of his many, many chips into the pot.

"Takao?" Toph asked as she arched an eyebrow.

Koji tossed a burgundy chip in, and Daniel thought he caught the briefest twitch of a smile. "I'll raise that to a thousand."

"Alright," Toph said, the first round of betting now done, "trade-ins, anyone?"

It was silent again as the players once again regarded their hands. "I think I'll trade in two." Aoba finally said, taking two cards from the middle of his hand and passing them to Toph.

"I'll trade in three," Koji said.

"One here." Hyuga passed his single card.

"Four," Sokka said, a quiet murmur rippling through the room as he passed all but one of his cards to Toph.

Sumire was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly. "I'll stand pat."

A slightly louder murmur came as Toph nodded. "Alright. Next round of bets, then. Hyuga, go ahead and start us off."

Hyuga tossed a burgundy chip in. "I'll call that thousand."

Sokka considered the table and his cards for a moment, then nodded slightly. "Check."

The turn passed to Sumire, who purposefully put her hand down, and slid all her chips into the pot. "All in."

More than a few eyebrows were raised as a gasp went up around the room. "You must have a hell of a hand." Esmeralda, Ymris, called from behind Toph.

"We'll see about that," Zuko replied, a slight smile on his face. "I'm confident in Soren's."

"No spoiling," Toph said firmly, not for the first time, as she looked over at Aoba. "You gonna call that?"

Aoba looked at the pot, then his hand, then back at the pot, and Daniel caught the most subtle gleam in his eyes as he pushed his own stacks into the pot as well. "I'll go all in as well," he said with a slight smile.

Toph nodded, looking over at Koji silently, the question hanging in the air without her even needing to open her mouth.

Koji shoved his relatively large number of chips in as well. "No reason to not make this fun. All in."

Hyuga looked at his cards, then shook his head as he slid them towards Toph. "I'll fold. I don't think I'm winning with this hand."

Sokka, sighing quietly at the dilemma he found himself in, looked at his cards for a long moment, then slid his chips into the pot. "All in," he said with as much confidence as he could muster.

Toph looked around the table, then at the massive pile of chips that now constituted the pot. "Showdown time, ladies and gents. Let's see who all walks away from the table."

As one, the cards were flipped over, and more than a few people away from the table, Daniel and Eleanor among them, approached to get a good look.

Hyuga, if he'd kept it, must have had a bad hand if all he'd managed to get with four cards were a pair of clubs. Koji was better off, a three-of-a-kind of 10s in his hand. Sokka had gotten away with two pairs of hearts and diamonds.

Aoba, unsurprisingly, had a full house now, 9s and Jacks.

And Sumire, finally fully smiling, sat pretty on a straight flush of spades.

A round of polite clapping followed Toph scooting the pot over towards a surprisingly smug-looking Sumire and an excited Midori.

Aoba, for his part, shrugged. "Hell of a hand, Nagara. I guessed you'd had a good hand when you didn't trade. I didn't think it would be that good."

Other scattered congratulations made their way to Sumire, along with wishes of better luck to those players that lost their entire pots to the play before Toph calmed them down. "Hyuga, you want to play and see if you can take it? Turnarounds seem to be in style tonight."

Hyuga considered it for a moment before shaking his head. "Not this time. Even luck and bluffing can only go so far against a bank that big. I'll concede this one."

Some playful ribbing passed towards him before Toph looked up at Daniel. "Care to try your hand? I haven't seen you play before."

Daniel nodded slowly. "I was planning on it at some point. However…"

He cupped his chin, stroking his beard thoughtfully as he looked around the room. "Has anyone here ever played Texas Hold'em?"

Aoba put up his hands as he stood from the table. "Oh, I have. I'll bow out this time. I have the worst luck in Hold'em type games."

Everyone else in the room either shook their heads or shrugged. "We've only ever played 5 card draw," Koji said as he too stood from the table, allowing Zuko, Zane to everyone else here, to take a seat in his place. Hideki and Midori stood as well, making room for Ymris.

"It's not that hard to learn," Daniel said as he walked around the table with Eleanor. "If you know 5 card, then Hold'em is only a little different."

He looked over at Eleanor. "Would you like to be the dealer, dear?"

Eleanor nodded, and Toph stood from her seat with a smile. "Oh, good," she said as she took a seat by Ymris, "I've been itching to play for a little bit."

Sokka looked back at Aang. "You haven't played a game yet. Want to try your hand at this one?"

Aang looked over at Katara, who shrugged slightly, then looked back at Sokka as he stood. "I suppose it's worth a try."

With that, the table was set as Daniel explained the rules and Eleanor dealt out the cards, and the game began in earnest.

"So," Toph said as she placed a bet, "how are the kids doing? I know putting them together was something you knew was going to be interesting."

Daniel considered the question for a moment as he checked. Remembered emerging into the hallway this morning to… well it could have been considered an argument if Mari wasn't dying on the floor laughing while Asuka shouted at her, Shinji simply cringing away in the corner with a lovely shade of red on his face and seemingly near death.

"They're doing better than I expected, frankly," he replied with a slight shrug as he checked his cards again, a 6 of spades and a Jack of hearts.

"Alright," Eleanor interjected, "that's initial bets. Now, I'll reveal the flop."

As she revealed a 7 of spades, a 2 of clubs, and a 10 of hearts, she looked back at Toph. "I'd agree with Daniel. As… explosive as they can be at times, they've come far from where they were. Do you think you could spring for a bunk room for them to stay in?"

Toph considered the question as she considered the cards on the table. "Maybe. I can certainly try if nothing else."

Daniel nodded. "I can't ask for much more than that." he cast his bet as the small blind of 100, Zuko doubling the bet as the big blind.

As play progressed, Toph looked over at Ymris after Aang raised Hyuga's bet from 300 to 600. "So, you said you met with some new faces yesterday. Are you going to tell us who they were now?"

Ymris nodded. "I mean, it wasn't anyone special. Someone called ahead and told me there were volunteers making their way here to the island from Japan. I met them, and then I talked to the XO to get them squared away."

"Oh?" Hyuga arched an eyebrow. "Where from in Japan?"

"They said they were from Matsushiro," Ymris said nonchalantly.

The name raised more than a few eyebrows around the table, and beyond it. "Matsushiro?" Aoba asked rather incredulously. "You mean the place that everyone who's been near it swears up and down is now haunted by post-Impact ghosts? That Matsushiro?"

Daniel's brow furrowed as he and Eleanor looked at each other for a moment. "What happened to Matsushiro?" he asked.

Hyuga leaned over the table to look at him. "Well, for one, the entire area is covered in mist. A mist that you can't see anything in, that never goes away, and that confuses anyone who goes in there for too long. Apparently, if you go deep enough, you get to see these menacing jagged stone spikes, like claws or teeth jutting out of the earth."

He paused for a moment as Eleanor revealed the turn card, an 8 of spades, then continued as Daniel made his bet. "And then there's the post-Impact ghosts Aoba mentioned. They don't even look like people anymore, I've heard. They look more like… something out of a horror movie."

The table went silent for a moment, save for the "Raise." proffered by Sumire, along with the clatter of 1500 in chips hitting the pot. Then, conversation resumed, diverging to the progress that Doctor Akagi was making, and lamenting the fact that their shore leave was ending tomorrow morning.

Daniel, however, dwelled on the description that Hyuga had given them. 'Mist, stone, and spirits…'

He looked over at Ymris for a moment. She simply stared at the table, the cards, and the pot, calling Sumire's raise and tossing the chips into the middle of a growing pot.

. . .

AAA Wunder, The Next Day

Daniel, now back in the air and with New Borneo behind them all, opened the door to Bunk Block 375 and stepped aside to let Shinji, Asuka, and Mari into the empty room.

All scanned the rather spacious room, some more critical than others of the grey space, six bunks inset into the far wall across from them, the other three containing storage for clothing and a few personal items.

Mari immediately went towards one of the far bunks, hucking a bag that was full of books onto its surface. "Look at all this shelf space! I'll have loads of it if I ever find any more books!"

She paused, then looked back at Daniel. "Unless anyone's going to be joining us, of course."

Daniel smiled slightly. "I only intend on having Rei move in here once she's out of Doctor Akagi's care. Anyone else will have to go through me."

Asuka nodded as she stepped towards the furthest left of the bunks, throwing her bomber jacket on the top one to claim it as her own. She looked over at Mari, who looked back at her as she paused unloading her books. "So, Specs, which bunks are you going to be using for bookshelves?"

Mari looked at the bunk on which she piled her books, then pushed up her red-rimmed glasses as she looked up at the bunk above it. She glanced only for a moment at the top bunk that was above the one she had claimed. "Seeing as Ms. Blue Sky's going to be joining us… just these two for now."

Asuka nodded, then looked at Shinji, who gulped as she continued to regard him silently for a moment. "Mari took the bottom center. Rei's likely going to be on the top center. That leaves just one bunk in here that's not taken."

Shinji connected the dots as Asuka stepped forward, her eye narrowing as she pointed under his nose. "So no going and being a pervert. Got it?"

Shinji nodded quickly, and Asuka looked over at Daniel. "Speaking of preventing perversion, we're going to need a curtain or something in here for privacy's sake. Wouldn't want our poor washout to faint from the blood loss."

Daniel nodded patiently as Shinji claimed the bunk by setting his carefully maintained origami tiger in the shelf space inset into the bunk's wall.

"Well…" Shinji said, looking around. "Unless Asuka managed to find some of her stuff from our apartment after Near-Third Impact, I guess we're done."

Daniel smiled slightly, and Asuka arched an eyebrow as she gave him a thoroughly unamused glare. "Please. If I'd gotten that stuff, we'd be taking up at least another bunk room."

"Maybe so." Shinji shrugged.

He opened his mouth for a moment, then closed it, shaking his head. "I guess it doesn't matter what was in them now, either."

Asuka looked down for a moment. "You'd be surprised," she said, surprisingly quietly.

Shinji blinked, then looked over at Daniel after a moment. "Can we go… walk somewhere? I just feel like… I don't fully know."

Daniel nodded, then looked at Asuka. "Okay with staying here, or do you want to come along?"

Asuka shrugged. "I'm sure you two aren't running away. You'll be back. Besides, being alone with Mari isn't exactly a world-shattering development."

"Alright, then." Daniel stepped aside from the open door and gestured into the hallway. "Shall we?"

Then they were alone, walking side by side along the vast hallway that had begun to become somewhat crowded with personal items.

"Do you think this is a bad idea?" Daniel began after a moment.

Shinji looked up at him with a startled expression. "What?"

"If it's a bad idea for all of you to be together," Daniel continued, "I can find another solution that will make you guys happy. Most of this was getting you and the others out of your confinement, after all."

Shinji considered the offer for a moment. It was somewhat tempting if nothing else. But then he remembered that night that Asuka and he had shared a bed. Back to back, like so many years ago.

"That's… a better answer than last time, Shinji."

"I think… I'll try and make it work." he finally said.

Daniel nodded. "Very well."

They continued along in silence for a little while before Shinji looked up at Daniel, studying him for a moment before he spoke again. "You know, you finally remind me of someone."

Daniel looked back at him. "Who's that?"

"A man I knew back in 2014. His name was Kaji. He was… well, I don't fully know if he was a part of NERV or not, but… he was a decent man. He had his oddities, but he was kind."

He looked down the hallway. "But I don't know what happened to him after everything."

Daniel nodded silently, wondering how much he should tell him. And how much of it might be true on this world.

Finally, he sighed quietly. "I don't know much. But from what I can tell, after you became interned and launched into space, Mr. Kaji went with Captain Katsuragi and the others who would form WILLE. Then, he went back to the ruins of Tokyo-3 and…"

He shook his head slightly. "Well, I'm not sure what he did, but he stopped the rest of Third Impact from happening, at the cost of his life."

Shinji sighed quietly. "Another person I know is gone, then."

The boy shook his head. "There are so many strangers here. Not that there weren't any at NERV, but… I at least thought I'd know the familiar faces."

Silence fell upon them as Daniel considered the boy's plight. 'So many strangers… I can at least do something to help fix that without magic.'

"I can't magic the world back to what it was," Daniel finally said aloud, "But strangers, as my wife is keen to remind me, are simply friends we haven't met yet. So you may not have the familiar faces of the past. But there's always time to make some new faces familiar."

. . .

Ymris found herself tense as she settled into her usual job, something that hadn't happened in years, as she kept Takeshi close by, making their way across the gantry platforms of Unit-08 as they puzzled out a lagging armor piece on the torso.

Takeshi looked around herself as Ymris stopped, finding the first of what was likely many connector ports that were disengaged. "Isn't this a task that would take a team?"

"Usually," Ymris replied as she got several tools to begin disassembling the mechanism. "But that's in a perfect world. Even with your group's timely arrival, we have maybe half the people we need to service two Evangelions. Most of them are on the Arm Bar."

"The… what?"

Ymris glanced back as she removed one of the clasps to get at the data access port. "Unit-02's mechanical arm. Most of the work in this line of work goes to making sure that damned thing functions whenever we put the Eva into combat."

She reached out a hand. "Give me the diagnostic tablet, please."

Takeshi handed the tablet in question to her, then looked up and down the length of the Eva as Ymris began to run a check on the armor piece's locking system. "So… do you know when we might be able to preach to these people?"

"Likely never," Ymris replied absentmindedly.

"What?" Takeshi said, clearly taken aback. "But… we have hope to offer them. Hope that can-"

"They don't need hope, Takeshi," Ymris interjected as she turned to face her fellow acolyte. "If they didn't have that, they wouldn't be on this ship in the first place. What they need is the strength to use that hope effectively."

It was silent for a moment as they stared at each other, Takeshi flinching first, looking down and to the side before Ymris went back to studying the diagnostic tablet.

"Well… we can offer power as well," Takeshi said after a moment.

Ymris frowned as she felt something on the edge of her senses, then turned to look at Takeshi smiling, holding in her hand what must have been an Expression of pure Metos.

Ymris' eyes went wide with shock as she put a smothering hand over the glowing image. "Put that out!" she whispered, looking around the bay to see if anyone had noticed them. Most everyone was focused on their work, while two people who must have been off duty closely followed a lumbering White Cell, doing… something to it.

She looked back at Takeshi and saw the fire in the woman's eyes. "Do you know how many Pattern Blue detectors are in here? How easy it would be to blunder into a situation we can't explain ourselves out of?"

"What is there to explain out of?" Takeshi retorted as she jerked her hand out of Ymris', the Expression gone. "We have a power beyond the comprehension of this world, and an obligation to use it to unify the people of this world. Why do you shirk away from that duty?"

"I don't," Ymris replied bluntly. "I simply have the wisdom to realize that my part, and the part of this ship, in the Great Cause is still to come. You lack the foresight for such a thing, it seems."

She took a deep breath. "Be patient. I know as an acolyte and an Interfacer that this is all… exciting at first. But part of going to other worlds, whether it be across the Worldsea or across an ocean, is in learning to see when to act, and when to blend in and build trust. You are new. If you wish to convert anyone on this vessel, build their trust first."

Takeshi stared at her silently for a long moment, then nodded stiffly. "Very well."

Ymris nodded, sighing quietly as she turned back to the clasp, which now told the diagnostic tablet what, exactly, was wrong. 'Note to self: don't let her near the Arm Bar any time soon.'

That it was where she'd placed Daniel to oversee things was only part of the reason. A large part, but only a part nonetheless. "Alright. We know what's wrong with this one. Help me take it apart, and we'll get started on getting this armor back on."

. . .

February 19th

Daniel walked down the hallway towards the mess hall that Shinji was waiting in, Eleanor waiting along with him. Walking with him today was hopefully the first of those who would come to know Shinji as more than the boy that nearly blew up the world.

Of course, it wouldn't be too hard to get Midori Kitakami to that point, Daniel mused, seeing as she was already on her way there.

"So, does he like the tiger I made him?" Midori asked, a hopeful gleam in her eyes.

Daniel chuckled softly as he nodded. "Yes, actually. He appreciates the thought put behind it."

He paused for a moment. "He's still a little unsure of the whole 'meeting people' thing, but it'll be good for him, in the end."

Daniel slowed down as the smile that was on his face dimmed. "Do you have any hangups about meeting him? I understand you lost family in Near-Third Impact."

Midori stopped in the hallway, looking down at the floor. "Well… I think I would have more than I do now. If I hadn't heard what you said after we lifted off for the first time…"

She shook her head. "The poor boy had no idea what was going on, after all. There was only so much he could do. And…"

She chuckled softly. "All to save one person. For all that happened, to go to such lengths to save even one person he cares about…"

"It takes a big heart," Daniel interjected as they started walking again. "But it can be a blessing and a curse under the wrong circumstances." he continued, a somewhat hollow tone to his words.

"I guess you would know, wouldn't you?" Midori said quietly.

They went silent for a moment, approaching an intersection as they heard a White Cell lumbering towards them from the other hallway.

Looking to his right, Daniel saw the White Cell as expected. However, it now sported several blue stripes on its arms and torso, a square of blue on the 'face' of the Cell surrounding a black circle.

Daniel stumbled to a stop as it passed by them. "What the hell…" he said aloud.

Midori's eyes, on the other hand, lit up as she began to laugh. "They did it! I'll get a nice little meal soon!"

Daniel looked over at Midori as they began to walk again. "What do you mean?"

"There were two crew members, Polters and Yagami, who were mouthing off to everyone that they were going to make the White Cells more friendly-looking. A bunch of people said they couldn't do it, and a bet started."

"And how did you come to be on the side of favoring such a wager?" Daniel asked as he arched an eyebrow.

"I went up and touched one once. It didn't even flinch." Midori said, her chest swelling slightly with pride. "Everyone else thought I was lying."

Daniel shook his head in amazement as they reached the door of the mess hall. "I wonder what will come next. I'm sure there's going to be copycats if nothing else."

"That there will be," Midori replied with confidence as the door opened, and they stepped through.

The hall was a little more occupied than Daniel expected, a few dozen people who must have been off of their shifts taking their dinner here. In the back, Eleanor waved them over to a table she'd kept thankfully empty, poor Shinji hunched over and trying not to look at anyone else before he was nudged, looking up to see the duo approach.

"Sorry for the crowd, Shinji," Daniel said as he and Midori took a seat. "It looks like my betting skills are a little rustier than I thought."

Shinji shrugged. "I'll manage," he said, not sounding terribly convincing.

"Sorry to hear about that," Midori said sympathetically before she extended a hand. "I should introduce myself. I'm Midori Kitakami. I made that origami tiger that Daniel gave to you."

Shinji slowly took the hand and shook it. "Good to meet you, Ms. Kitakami."

Midori folded her arms as she looked at Shinji intently. "So, what do you like to do when you're not piloting anything, Shinji?"

Shinji looked down at what Daniel guessed was the SDAT player he now carried with him nearly everywhere. "Well, I listen to music mostly."

Midori's brows rose. "Neat. What kind of music?"

"Whatever's on the tape I have. It's mostly old rock songs from when my dad was young, I guess."

Midori nodded sagely. "Rock is a good go-to. Which one's your favorite?"

Shinji was silent for a moment as his brow furrowed slightly in thought. "It's… I don't even know the name, really."

"Okay. Is there a way I could listen to it?"

Shinji looked back down, then pulled out the SDAT player, the headphones wrapped around them coming off slightly as Shinji placed one in an ear. "One moment," he mumbled, pressing the rewind button a few times, then passing a headphone to Midori. "It's this one."

Midori put the headphone in and listened. As she listened, a smile slowly grew on her face as her head began to nod to the tune. "Oh. Oh, this is good. I'm going to need to find this somewhere so I can sample it."

"Sample… it?" Shinji asked as Midori continued to listen.

Midori blinked. "Oh. I make electronic music when I have the time. Usually, I make my own, but sometimes I like to dip into tracks that other people have made."

She pulled out her phone, tapping on it a few times before handing it over to Shinji. "Here. Plug your headphones in and take a listen."

Shinji regarded the phone with raised eyebrows before he unplugged his headphones from his SDAT player, plugging them into Midori's phone and pressing play on the audio file on the screen.

He crossed his arms, leaning on the table as he listened with a level expression. The gleam in his eyes told a different story from his blase look.

Finally, as the audio file finished, he unplugged his headphones and took them off. "Well, it's good. But… it's not on my tape, sadly."

"Yeah…" Midori chuckled uneasily. "I don't really have a way of making cassette tapes." her eyes brightened. "But you do admit it's good, right?"

Shinji smiled slightly as he nodded. "It is." he paused for a moment before he looked over at Daniel. "Have you tried asking him for some samples? He plays guitar."

Midori looked over at Daniel with laser-like speed. "You do?" she asked with no small amount of excitement.

Daniel chuckled as he raised his hands. "Guilty as charged. I'm not the only one at the table that plays an instrument, however. Shinji plays the cello as well."

Midori looked back at Shinji with a gasp and a wide smile. "Oh, I love taking samples from those! They're my favorite stringed instrument for that. They have such a beautiful sound."

Shinji chuckled somewhat uneasily. "I can't be that good. I only picked it up because I needed to learn an instrument on Sensei's say-so, and I didn't stop before getting to Tokyo-3 because no one told me to. Surely you can find better players somewhere else on this ship."

Daniel shook his head slightly. "Don't be so hard on yourself, kid. I've found that the people who are the most modest about their talent are the ones that get to be masters of them."

He pointed at Shinji. "Which means we need to get you an instrument soon. I would like to hear you play sometime."

"I would too!" Midori piped up. "We could even have our own recording group here on the ship!"

Shinji opened his mouth, then closed it wordlessly as he nodded. "Okay, I guess."

"Don't feel pressured into doing it just because we'd like you to, Shinji," Eleanor said. "You have every right to say no."

Shinji nodded slowly, then shrugged. "Well, I can at least give it a shot once I have a cello."

"Thank you!" Midori said. "We're going to make the coolest tracks together, I just know it."

. . .

2 Days Later

Daniel found himself walking up another hallway, towards a different Child with different people this time. "I know this is probably a little odd for you both, but thank you for bearing with me. Mari can be… a little eccentric."

Hideki Tama shrugged. "It's my day off. And besides, I've been hearing from Ms. Kitakami about 'the topside retreat'. It was really only a matter of time before I checked it out."

Sumire Nagara nodded. "I hope she isn't planning any daring escapes topside. We're in the middle of the Pacific, after all."

Daniel chuckled. "I don't think so, at least. No, she wants to meet you about inducting you into her little club."

"She has a club?" Hideki asked, tilting his head. "Wasn't she… a little isolated to form a club with much of anyone?"

"Well, yeah," Daniel admitted. "Her first member was me. Then she heard you read, Mr. Tama."

"And," he said after a brief pause, "through Midori, that you write, Ms. Nagara."

Hideki looked over at Sumire with a curious gleam in his eyes. "I didn't know you wrote. What do you write about?"

Before Sumire could reply, a massive thump from behind a wall that slid open signaled the arrival of a White Cell from the system of tubes and tunnels only they seemed to be able to access.

As it emerged, however, the trio all saw that it was painted in purple and black marker, with trimmings of metallic gold in some spare places as it lumbered past them. On its left shoulder was attached a sticker of a stylized raven's head with a B in the center.

As it walked away from them, they turned to look at its back, a golden '96' scrawled across it.

"So…" Daniel said as they turned to walk again, a thoroughly confused look on his face. "Anyone know what that was supposed to be?"

Sumire and Hideaki were similarly mystified. "I think it might have had something to do with sports?" Sumire said with a shrug.

Hideki shook his head as they made their way to the hatch up to the hatch to the outer hull.

As they stepped into the open air, they saw Eleanor and Mari, sitting on the hull and chatting amicably a few meters away, their entrance drawing Mari's attention to them as she smiled and waved.

"Hello there!" she said as they stood and the trio came to a stop in front of them. "Glad to see you two."

She reached out a hand. "Mari Makinami Illustrious, if you didn't know already."

The two bridge crew members took her hand and shook it in turn. "I'm Hideki Tama," Hideki said after a moment. "Nice to meet you."

"Sumire Nagara. Likewise."

"Great!" Mari put her hands on her hips. "So," she continued after a dramatic pause, "I hear you both like reading. Would I happen to be mistaken in that?"

"No, you wouldn't," Sumire replied. "So, what's this club I've heard about?"

Mari's face became a picture of dramatic shock. "A club? A club? Dear madam, the Illustrious Book Reader's Society is far more than just a mere club. It's about learning what books have to teach us and applying it to our lives while talking about it! The very essence of why we make and consume literature in the first place!"

She took a breath to continue before Daniel put a hand on her shoulder. "Mari," he said patiently. "Let's not go too overboard."

Mari began to pout slightly. "Aw, man. I was kind of waiting to give an impassioned speech, Danny boy. Shame on you for cutting it short."

She shook her head as her expression cleared up. "So, what do you say to joining? We've got a nice group chat, we meet weekly, and even though we're in the middle of something that isn't really a book, I imagine that we could catch you up on Kingdom Come fairly quickly."

"What is that if not a book, then?" Hideki asked, a confused gleam in his eyes.

Sumire's eyes, however, held a different gleam. "Wait a minute… Kingdom Come… where have I heard that before?"

"It's a comic book," Daniel replied. "A DC one from America. If you don't read English, it might be a little difficult, but it's well worth the read."

Sumire nodded. "My dad introduced me to DC. It's part of why I know English."

She paused for a moment. "It's part of why I write about superheroes."

"Is that what you write about?" Hideki asked, clearly curious as he regarded her.

"Well, for the most part, yeah." Sumire shrugged. "Heaven knows this world could use a few of them, with the state it's in."

'You have no idea, Sumire.' Daniel mused with a slight grin. "So, are the two of you in, or not?"

Sumire and Hideki looked at each other, then shrugged. "I don't see why not," Hideki said.

"Great!" Mari said, sitting down and inviting the rest of the group to follow her lead. "Let's get you two up to speed. Ms. Eleanor, I know you aren't officially part of the group, but this is a good story."

Mari spread her arms slightly, dramatically, as she began. "The tale of Kingdom Come starts with a pastor who begins having worrying visions of a future where heroes are little better than the villains they fight…"

. . .

February 22nd

Ymris walked down the hallway leading away from Unit-02, wiping an arm across a sweat-covered forehead as she finished her shift for the day. The Arm Bar had proven especially punishing today, as nearly two dozen synthetic muscle strands from a faulty batch had either snapped or were remarkably close to it, rendering the whole damn thing nearly useless. It would be a solid several days before they could replace them with new ones that they had begun to synthesize. A period of time in which their combat effectiveness was drastically down.

"I don't know. She seems… scared, somewhat."

The voice was muffled, but she could pick up the words just fine regardless. Ymris paused in the hallway, looking around…

"I mean, we have all this power, and she wants to dance around on eggshells for fear of scaring the crew."

There. The electronics shop. Ymris crept closer and closer, ensuring the hall was empty, as she came to a stop beside the closed door and continued to listen to who she was sure was Takeshi talking to another of the acolytes.

"We have so much to offer them! And here we are, repairing circuit boards in between shifts, looking at the door every few minutes to make sure we don't… get…"

Takeshi trailed off, and Ymris took that as her cue to open the door and step into the rather cramped space.

A single light, hung from the ceiling with a series of hooks that snaked a long cable to a socket in the wall, shone down on a table and several chairs, shelves of spare electronics nearly hidden in the darkness that the light didn't touch.

Takeshi, as expected, was sitting at the table, a glowing microchip in her hands as three of the other acolytes stood or sat gathered around her.

Ymris closed the door slowly, purposefully, then stepped towards the group, stopping to regard Takeshi intently. "Acolytes," she said quietly. "I believe you three have other things to do on your off shift."

The three, getting the message, funneled past Ymris and out the door, the last acolyte shutting it behind her.

They regarded each other silently for a moment before Ymris sighed quietly. "Well, at least you're practicing some level of discretion. I can admire that you're a quick study."

"It's how I got into NERV in the first place," Takeshi replied with a rather clipped tone. "Tavis said you would be reliable. That we could depend on you to have the right judgment for our situation."

"I'm touched that he said that," Ymris said as she took one of the chairs that had been previously occupied and sat opposite of Takeshi. "It was often his hotheadedness that forced me to hone my better judgment. He has a passionate soul that he applies to every aspect of his life. It is part of how we've gotten this far. He simply lacks a brake to keep him from overextending himself."

"That's interesting, seeing as going forward without a care for the obstacles seems to be exactly what we need right now. It's why I…"

She caught herself as she began to blush slightly, and Ymris wondered how long Tavis had been courting the young woman in front of her. Or how long she'd been courting him.

Takeshi shook her head slightly. "Even still, 14 years here, and what have you accomplished in your caution that can match what Tavis has done for the Great Cause?"

Ymris' jaw clenched slightly before she sighed quietly. "Have you ever wondered why we're here in the first place?"

Takeshi was taken aback for a moment. "What?"

"This is not the first time we've been on a world like this. The last time we were here, we followed Tavis' lead, bounding from one plan to the next. And we had the distinct displeasure of standing against NERV and its Evangelions. Along with someone more powerful."

"The heretic," Takeshi said levelly. "Tavis has mentioned him before."

"He's not just 'the heretic', Takeshi. He's the former Hollow Saint of War. One of the most powerful beings to stride through Reality. Even without the direct power of the Guides, he is absurdly powerful. If you ever come across him, do not risk his ire as you risk mine."

Ymris paused to let the implication set in, then continued. "The only reason we came to this world is that it is the fallback position I designated, just in case everything had gone to the Hells. And it did because Tavis took on more than the four of us could handle after spending everything trying to kill the former Hollow Saint, and we had to retreat."

"That is why we're here, Takeshi. Because this is the second choice." Ymris regarded the shocked woman silently once again. "Or did Tavis not tell you that?"

It was silent for long moments, then Ymris sighed and stood. "I'm sorry you had to find out like this. I hope what I've said teaches you to have some measure of patience. We can afford to take things at a measured pace if it guarantees our success."

Ymris turned to the door. "And thank you for repairing the electronics in here. You're saving us a fair amount of time and scavenging. Allowing us to get back into the fight faster. It does matter. Just… when the time is right, we will reveal how much we've done to help the others."

With that, Ymris exited the electronics shop, leaving Tomomi to ponder on what was said and hoping Tavis hadn't referred to Daniel by name.

. . .

2 Days Later

Daniel walked down the hallway slowly, a tiring day's work of beginning to recreate the muscle strands for Unit-02's mechanical arm now behind him and hopefully paying off within the next few days. That Hamar'ramah had begun to visit again hadn't helped matters, worlds that he had visited and destroyed playing through his mind even now.

He distracted himself by looking over at the woman who was walking with him today to go meet Shinji and Asuka. "Lieutenant Ibuki, thank you for your time. I'd hate to keep you from whatever else you might want or need to do."

Ibuki waved him off. "It's no problem. My presence in the XO's tests is mostly to verify data. There isn't anything happening there until later tonight."

Daniel nodded. "And how are the tests going? Is there any indication of when Rei might be ready to be let out?"

Ibuki considered the question for a moment before sighing quietly. "We're getting close to something, I'm sure. Besides her vitals and physical capabilities being somewhat elevated from 14 years ago, there's something… more about her. Something that seemed like it was missing back then."

'Her soul coming back together, I would think.' Daniel mused. "Any idea of if it had to do with being inside Zeruel?"

Ibuki looked over at him, confusion in her eyes. "What?"

Daniel cursed himself silently for the slipup. "It's a name one of our techs in Boston gave the 10th Angel… just before he died. Supposed to mean something like 'the Arm of God'."

"How fitting," Ibuki said darkly.

Daniel nodded wearily. "Real weirdo to name the Angels, that Chris… but he was a decent sort."

After a moment, he shook his head. "Anyways, if it doesn't have something to do with her time in the Angel, would it perhaps have something to do with being in Unit-01 for so long?"

Ibuki shrugged. "We've narrowed it down to after Unit-00 was destroyed. Something to do with that event led to Rei changing somewhat."

Daniel was silent for a moment, his suspicions nearly confirmed. "Okay… so what was the deal with Unit-00?"

"I don't know. The XO does." Ibuki's eyes narrowed. "And she hasn't told me, or anyone."

She shook her head. "After all we've learned about how the Evangelions work… she still hasn't given up who rests inside the cores of any of them besides Unit-01. Why?"

Daniel shrugged as they reached the door of the mess hall that he now knew would be clear of anyone else. "That seems to be her secret to keep right now."

Daniel put an arm across the door. "Before we enter… did you hear about what I said on the bridge concerning Shinji after we lifted off for the first time?"

Ibuki nodded. "I heard from the XO, yes. And…"

She sighed. "You certainly aren't wrong. I never really got to know any of the pilots well. I saw them in combat, perhaps. But I had a life. I assumed they did as well."

Ibuki shook her head as she looked down and away. "If I'd known, then perhaps…"

"There's only so much we get from what could have been, ma'am," Daniel interjected. "Right now, we change what the future looks like."

He smiled slightly. "And besides, we're on a giant floating battleship. It's not like there's terribly much else to do while we're all here, is there?"

Ibuki chuckled softly. "You're certainly not wrong, Mr. Theisman."

With that, they entered the rather empty mess hall, occupied only by Eleanor, Shinji, Asuka, and Sakura, who talked with Shinji somewhat animatedly as they approached.

"Could you ever get him to shut up about basketball back then?"

Shinji chuckled. "That was something not even the Class Representative could do. And she tried. What was her name again?"

"Hikari." Sakura grinned. "She managed to get him to think about something else eventually, seeing as she's my sister-in-law now."

Shinji nodded, then looked over at Daniel and Lieutenant Ibuki as they took a seat. "Oh, hello Daniel. Ms. Ibuki."

"I'd hate to interrupt a conversation in progress, Shinji," Daniel said. "I imagine you were talking about Mr. Suzuhara?"

"Toji, yeah." Shinji nodded. "I knew him briefly back in Tokyo-3. The way he introduced himself to me was… interesting."

Sakura sighed. "He always was a little hot-headed when it came to me getting hurt. You should have seen him after he found out about what you did to protect us back then, though."

Ibuki nodded. "Having met Mr. Suzuhara a few times before, I can only imagine."

A pause came over the table, and Ibuki looked at Shinji intently. "I must ask, seeing as I'm still unsure. Why have you called me here?"

Shinji blushed slightly for a moment as he looked down. "Well, ma'am… I wanted to thank you."

Ibuki blinked, clearly somewhat surprised. "Thank… me? What for?"

"Well, even if I wasn't fully paying attention at the time," Shinji began, "I still have access to the security footage of Central Dogma to remind me that even with my father doing what he did… you still did your best to support us. Yourself and Hyuga and Aoba and…"

Shinji paused, his face falling as he seemed to remember something. "And Misato too. And… we never really thanked any of you properly. I never really thought of it. So…"

Shinji looked up at Ibuki with a slight smile. "Thank you for your help, Ms. Ibuki. As much as I hated doing it, I could have never piloted the Evangelion without your help."

Ibuki looked somewhat shocked for a moment, then a soft smile crossed her face as she nodded. "Thank you, Shinji," she said quietly.

Daniel watched the exchange with a warm smile. He was glad that talking to Shinji about his time fighting the Angels had paid off like this, with the realization that, even though he had felt alone in his efforts, he most certainly wasn't.

"Like the washout said," Asuka interjected, "we all should have been thanking you for, you know, letting us know how to kill the Angels. So, yeah, thanks and all that. I'm sure Mari would be shaking your hand if she were here too."

Ibuki nodded at Asuka. "I'm glad I could do something for you, as small as it may have seemed."

Asuka nodded. "So, how's reading out little test results coming along? With Daniel here exercising us, I'm sure something's improved. If you can puzzle it all out, that is."

Ibuki's smile was replaced by thoughtfulness. "Well, with the breadth of data that you've given us, we've started to decipher the readings from the first times we started scanning you. They're… interesting."

"Yeah?" Asuka said as she leaned against the table. "How so?"

"Well, comparing your readings to the baseline for most of humanity, which is, in this case, me and Ms. Suzuhara here, they are… well, something of an oddity, as I'm sure you can ascertain. While Ms. Suzuhara and I's souls and bodies are in a relatively stable, constant state, your souls seem… unlocked, in some sense, from what we can assume is a lengthy period of time exposed to LCL and a sufficiently powerful object. Whether it is, in your case, the Evangelion, or…"

She paused as she looked over at Daniel. "In your case, Mr. Theisman, some form of mutagen that was exposed to LCL."

"Okay…" Shinji said somewhat uncertainly. "So… what does that mean?"

"Essentially," Ibuki began as she leaned on the table, "from what we've been able to gather through studying your readings, the body, the mind, and the soul are all linked in a symbiotic connection, which determines physical and mental capabilities. However, it seems the soul can, with some sufficient 'power' that your souls are receiving, and the general public is not, become able to… overclock your body's capabilities, and prevent or repair whatever damage comes afterward. It's been… fascinating to study thus far."

"So…" Asuka looked intently at Ibuki. "That means I get to keep piloting, right?"

"Of course," Ibuki replied. "After all, you're the only one who could synchronize with Unit-02. Speaking of you, though…"

Asuka's brow furrowed as Ibuki paused for a moment before continuing. "There's still something weird about your readings. Something that isn't showing up on either Shinji or Mr. Theisman's scans. We're still figuring it out."

Daniel looked over at Asuka, who looked over at him for a moment before glancing at Shinji and Eleanor. He didn't need to look at her soul to know that she was tense. Scared, even as she tried to hide it. 'Names may change, but how very much stays the same…'

"Anyways," Daniel said, looking back at Ibuki as his words broke the steadily rising tension, "Seeing as you're here with us, perhaps you can tell us a little about yourself. Having worked alongside you often enough, I'm somewhat saddened that it's taken this long to do."

Daniel paused for a moment as he considered what to ask. Then, looking at Shinji for a brief moment, he began with a question he was fairly sure he already knew the answer to. "Is there an instrument that you play? Shinji here knows how to play the cello, and I know how to play guitar, so… perhaps you could add to the strange little ensemble this ship has?"

Ibuki nodded. "I do, actually. I play the piano. Or at least, I used to when I was younger. I don't know how good I am now."

'Ah.' Daniel thought as he smiled and nodded, recalling Maya Akagi playing a lovely piece for her wedding. 'Another constant between universes, it seems.'

"Then perhaps we should find a portable keyboard somewhere, and do some sort of practice together," he said aloud. "I always enjoy playing with other people, regardless of their current skill level."

Ibuki considered this for a moment, then nodded slowly as she smiled. "Maybe I should. With the world the way it is… we could certainly use something a little uplifting."

"That we do," Eleanor said. "With such an eclectic mix of instruments…"

She paused, chuckling after a moment. "Mari would likely suggest we put together a band."

Asuka glanced over at Eleanor with no small amount of skepticism in her expression. "That's gonna be a weird-sounding band."

"Not necessarily." Daniel countered. "With enough work, any combination of instruments can sound beautiful. It just takes… creativity."

. . .

Unit-02 Gantry, 2 Days Later

Ymris sighed as she opened up the last in a series of panels that allowed them access to Brachioradialis Strand D-16 in its entirety, the gray cable-like organ frayed and snapped about two-thirds up the strand near where she was standing, revealing protected wiring and coolant tubes that still leaked somewhat. Of course, it would reveal that if it weren't buried underneath half a dozen other strands.

The team that surrounded her immediately went to work disconnecting the muscles from their connector points, slowly revealing the destroyed strand. However long it might take to replace a strand as long as this one, it would at least be easy to get out.

With how some of them hadn't yet fully snapped, they had to be very careful removing them. Already, several people had to be sent to the medbay when an unlucky team or two looking down on one of three muscle strands had them snap on them, the cables lashing out, cutting and bludgeoning the crew members and sending some of them tumbling off the arm itself.

"I'm here to help, ma'am."

Ymris sighed quietly as she turned to look at Technician Takeshi, nodding. "I'm guessing you're here to replace one of the technicians who got injured."

Takeshi nodded. "Of course. I haven't worked on this much, but I'm sure I can figure it out."

Ymris sighed quietly as she nodded. "Alright. Stick by me. It is fairly simple if time-consuming and a little dangerous."

Takeshi followed her over to the next set of panels that they would need to open up to access Biceps-Brachii Strand H-45. They passed by many other teams, now mostly in twos and fours as they waited for more help to arrive from the contingent assigned to Unit-08. After a few minutes, they reached the first panel they would need to remove.

"Well, no sense in wasting time. Let's get you acquainted with why we call this the Arm Bar." Ymris said as she kneeled and began to disengage the panel from its brethren.

This was what they would do for the next several minutes, crews working around them to pull off others that hid the broken strands, many of them clustered here on the upper arm. "So," Takeshi said as they unlocked the third panel out of 47, "have you seen any of the new artwork that's been appearing on the White Cells?"

"I have," Ymris replied, casting her mind back to the growing cast of… eclectic re-paintings of the normally severe beings. "Having no real idea what most of them represent, I still find them far more fascinating to look at than the white void they were."

"Trust me," Takeshi replied, "all of them are way funnier once you understand why they're painted the way they are."

She paused as she seemed to consider something. "I have to say, Ultraman has to be my favorite. He's the red and silver one that just got finished a few days ago."

Ymris could recall the White Cell in question, striking even as she didn't fully understand what would drive the people around her to… dress up these things.

As they progressed, half of the panels on their strand group now off, they heard a snapping hiss as yet another nearly broken muscle strand finally gave way, Ymris and Takeshi looking over at several people shouting and diving away from a muscle strand wildly whipping through the air, buzzing and flashing every once in a while.

'Damn it, it must still be live!' Ymris cursed as the muscle strand continued to spasm and lash, those who tried to approach it, and the data port to connect to in order to shut it down, backing away as its still sparking tip swept the width of the arm.

"Someone catch it, quickly!" she shouted as she began to approach, he senses heightening as she pushed power and precision into her physical capabilities.

Before she could get far, however, she saw someone else dash past her, and watched as Daniel lodged a foot in the other exposed muscle strands and rested one on the lip of the panel hole, bracing himself as the live strand came swinging towards him.

It slammed into his outstretched arms, and Daniel stood firm in the face of a piece of machinery that could lift a truck by itself. "Shut it down, now!" he shouted to Rachel, who stood a little ways away from him. She nodded, scrabbling towards the data port and plugging in a diagnostic tablet as quickly as she could.

After long moments of tapping, the muscle strand went limp in Daniel's arms, heaving a sigh as he dropped the strand. The technicians who had scattered from the strand slowly came back towards Daniel, no small amount of shock and wonder in their eyes.

Ymris, however, was thoroughly unsurprised as she walked over towards Daniel, who motioned to the other technicians to get back to work before turning and facing her. "Someone wasn't following procedures," Daniel said as he wiped his brow. "We'll need to have a talk with whoever was supposed to shut this strand group down."

Ymris nodded. "Are you hurt?"

Daniel shook his head. "Other than a few sparks singeing me, I'm alright. Do you know if anyone else is hurt?"

Ymris looked at the technicians who were still on the scaffolding, or worse, thrown to the floor of the gantry, several medical staff taking care of them. "I'm sure Chief Med Aanderson will get them straightened out."

"How were you… able to do that?"

Both Daniel and Ymris turned to look at Takeshi, who regarded Daniel with wide, wondering eyes. "I haven't seen that sort of strength in… years. Well over a decade, at least."

Daniel inspected Takeshi for a second. "You're one of the new kids here, aren't you?"

As Takeshi nodded, Ymris felt Daniel's soul connect to hers. "One of yours, I assume?"

"Yes,"

she replied, no small amount of weariness in the word. "She's a handful, too."

"Does she know who I am?"

"Lords, I hope not. I've been keeping her away from you for a reason."

The exchange lasted less than a second before extending his hand. "I'm Vice-Chief Theisman, Ms. Tennison's second in command, as it were."

Takeshi shook Daniel's hand. "Technician Takeshi."

Daniel dropped the handshake and nodded before he continued. "I don't know where you saw something like this, but unless you managed to travel back in time, I haven't been around Japan for a good long while."

Daniel tilted his head quizzically. "Where did you see it, actually?"

Takeshi looked around herself, seeing that most of the technicians had returned to their work. "Well, it was at Near-Third Impact. And… it was one of the only reasons most of us made it out of the Geofront alive that day."

She shook her head. "It was an act of the Guides," she said somewhat absentmindedly.

Ymris succeeded in tamping down the jolt of instinctual fear that came with hearing that aloud in such a crowded space, but as she looked over at Daniel, he looked… unperturbed.

"The Guides, huh? A new religion's been springing up without me knowing it, I guess," he said with a shrug.

"Well, I've heard a lot of things about God or the gods or whatever granting physical strength to the faithful. I grew up a God-fearing Christian myself." he continued. "But if there's one thing I've learned about organized religion… it's that you should consider the reasoning behind the words of the pastor before you follow it wholesale. He may believe he's doing good, and some of them may genuinely be doing it. But more often than not, there's some sort of motive. And sometimes, that motive hurts others."

He gently slapped Takeshi on the shoulder. "Don't take it to mean I'm disparaging what you believe, young miss. I've seen how faith carries people through the worst times. I've just also seen people twist that faith into a weapon."

"Anyways," he said as he turned, "nice to meet you, Ms. Takeshi. I'm glad you're willing to help around here, working to save the world. We can use all the hands we get."

With that, he walked back towards his team, who began disassembling the muscle strand as Ymris and Takeshi returned to the strand that they were working on before. As they worked, Ymris caught Takeshi looking over at Daniel more than once. 'What does she see? And what will she do?'

If she reported this to Tavis, it would be… dicey. And that was putting it lightly. But really… she couldn't stop that, she realized, a slow, sinking feeling beginning to take hold in her gut.

. . .

February 28th

Daniel watched the door of the gym he and Shinji occupied and waited rather anxiously. The person that Shinji had asked him to help him meet was a busy woman after all. And he was rather surprised that the Captain had even accepted his invitation at all.

Their training had finished for the morning, and now, Shinji and Daniel sat and drank from water bottles against the wall, while Eleanor, Ibuki, and Sakura sat in chairs against the left wall from them and puzzled over the data that was slowly becoming more and more clear.

'Any minute now…' Daniel pondered as he continued to stare at the door and sipped at his water.

Then, the door opened, and Daniel, along with everyone else, stood to attention as he took stock of Captain Misato Katsuragi.

She still wore her red jacket and black pants, her hands still capped by white gloves. However, her jacket was unbuttoned fully, revealing a black shirt, and her cap and visors were gone, revealing hair pulled into a severe bun and those ever-familiar brown eyes that regarded the room until finally falling on Shinji.

Daniel raised a salute. "Good morning, Captain. Thank you for taking time out of a busy day to come and visit us."

"At ease," Katsuragi said, the room relaxing as much as it could as her gaze shifted up to Daniel. "What is the current status of Unit-02's mechanical arm?"

Daniel sighed almost silently. "Well, ma'am, the arm should be fully functional in about 3 days. Muscle fiber synthesis is on track, and we're installing the completed ones as they come."

As Katsuragi nodded, he glanced down at Shinji. "But, as I'm sure you remember, I didn't call you here just to give you a status update on Evangelion maintenance."

Katsuragi nodded. "I'm aware."

She looked at Shinji with a cool, unattached expression, and Daniel looked over at Shinji just in time to see the pang of sadness reach his eyes. "What do you want, Shinji Ikari?"

Shinji took a deep breath, glancing up at Daniel to see him nod slightly, then looked back at Katsuragi. "I wanted to apologize, Captain."

Daniel blinked, and Katsuragi raised an eyebrow. "What for?"

Shinji sighed quietly. "For not saying goodbye properly."

Daniel studied Katsuragi as she processed what Shinji had said, seeing the conflict she tried to hide behind her eyes. "How so?" she asked, a little more quietly than before.

"When the 9th Angel went as it did, and I quit…" Shinji looked down and shook his head. "I was lost. I barely knew what to do. And so… I ran. Facing everyone… hurt. Facing you, after everything I'd done… it felt wrong."

"So I tried to make it as painless as I could for everyone." Shinji paused for long moments, then looked up at Katsuragi. "But all I did was make it worse."

"So… I'm sorry, Misato."

It was silent for what felt like an age as Daniel watched Katsuragi's silent clash within her progress. 'Come on…'

Then, she closed her eyes and sighed. "I wish a single apology could make up for what happened 14 years ago. When you started Near-Third Impact. When you nearly ended the world."

"When I listened to you?" Shinji said, an unexpected challenge to his tone.

For the first time since he arrived here, he saw Katsuragi visibly react to Shinji's words, her eyes widening in shock before she clenched her jaw. "You what?" she said incredulously.

"Yes, Misato," Shinji said. "I listened to you back then. How you told me that I shouldn't try and rescue Ayanami for anyone else. How I should do it for myself. I saved Ayanami… and I destroyed the world to do it."

Katsuragi shook her head and turned away, her fists clenching. "You shouldn't have listened. You shouldn't have followed the advice of a foolish drunkard."

"I didn't," Shinji said. "I followed the advice of the one person I knew I could trust. That I knew cared for me."

It was silent again. "That woman is dead." Katsuragi finally said. "She has to be, in order to put the world right."

"No. I refuse to believe it." Shinji said. "I understand a lot can happen in 14 years, but there has to be something of the person I knew left in there. That you pulled us out of nearly impossible odds and lifted this ship into the sky, that you even have this ship in the first place… that couldn't have been if the Misato I knew was dead."

Katsuragi turned back to face Shinji, her brow furrowed. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, Shinji Ikari. But 14 years didn't pass for us as it passed for you. We had to grow up while you stayed a child. We had to grow up in the world you made for us."

Shinji nodded. "Yes. But I wouldn't have been in Unit-01 to make it if you hadn't encouraged me every step of the way. Every Angel we faced, I stepped into the Entry Plug knowing that you believed in me. Now, I can't even get into the Eva to try and fix the world. To try and make you smile again."

Katsuragi regarded Shinji silently for a moment, then turned towards the door.

Shinji spoke up as she took a step towards it. "You're still invited."

Katsuragi paused. "Invited to what, Shinji Ikari?"

"The dinner party that Rei and I are hosting after she gets turned over into Daniel's custody. The one Rei was planning to hold before the 9th Angel appeared. I would like you to be there, to get a chance to smile again."

Shinji shook his head. "I don't quite know what we'll do, with so little in the way of ingredients and cookware… but we'll make it work."

Katsuragi stood in front of the door for a moment, back turned to Shinji and Daniel. "We will be stopping at the West Coast Safe Zone's port in Burbank to load a consignment of ACC Pillars bound for quick transit to the South African Safe Zone in a week. The loading process will likely take the better part of the day. I expect you'll take advantage of such a shopping trip to gather what you require."

Shinji's eyes widened, then he closed his eyes and smiled ever so slightly. "Thank you, Misato."

She said nothing in reply, opening the door and stepping across the threshold.

Shinji stepped forward, putting out a hand. "Goodbye, Misato. I hope the rest of your day goes well."

Katsuragi paused in the doorway for the briefest of moments, and Daniel and Shinji both waited with bated breath.

"Goodbye, Shinji," Misato said, then walked out of sight, the door closing behind her.

Shinji's arm dropped, and he closed his eyes and sighed. "Well… I'm sure that could have gone better." he nearly muttered.

Daniel put a hand on Shinji's shoulder. "It's better than nothing," he said patiently. "We just…"

He trailed off as he considered just what, exactly, they needed. 'We need what we might not be able to get.'

He sighed quietly. "We just need some time, is all."

. . .

The Next Day

Daniel walked towards the reinforced examination rooms, looking over at the Child that accompanied him with some slight confusion.

Mari looked back at him with an arched brow. "Still a little confused on why I wanted to visit our poor caged bluebird with you, I'm guessing?" she said, a slight grin quirking her lips.

Daniel shrugged. "A little. I'm glad you want to meet your upcoming roommate, but… it just feels a little late in coming, is all. Seeing as you were in Tokyo-3 for a decent amount of time before Near-Third Impact."

"Maybe so," Mari admitted. "But I had a few other duties back then when the IPEC existed."

Daniel's brows rose at the mention of the organization that had had an all too brief stay in what he'd seen before. "Like what?"

"Well, back then, IPEC had an inkling of the idea that the Evangelions could be used to end the world. So, they started sending in infiltrators. Spies. One of them was Mr. Kaji. He was a real wily sort, that one. And then, due to special circumstances that allowed me to pilot the Eva while having previous knowledge of Gendo's mindset, they sent me in as well, as an Eva pilot. They were even in the middle of building an Evangelion just for me, my darling Unit-08. Before everything kicked off, at least."

"Special circumstances?" Daniel said, his interest now thoroughly piqued. "What kind of circumstances?"

Mari grinned as she chuckled. "Now, now, Danny boy, even at the end of the world, a girl's gotta have her secrets." she chided.

Daniel, somewhat aware of what those secrets were, put up his hands. "Point taken, Mari. Doesn't leave me any less interested."

Mari nodded assuredly, and they continued their walk down the hallway.

After a few moments of silence, Mari looked over at their third companion, and at the small bundle that he held. "So, Kenny, you planning on giving the bird a haircut?"

Ken looked over at Mari with a calm smile. "Once you see the length of her hair, you will understand. She's probably nearly tripping on it, at this point."

"Yikes." Mari was clearly impressed with whatever vision of Rei's hair that she'd conjured. "I'll probably believe it when I see it."

Mari's eyes narrowed after a moment as she studied Ken. "Your voice sounds… familiar. Have I talked to you before?"

Daniel and Ken looked at each other before Ken shrugged. "I've not met you before boarding the Wunder, at the very least. Perhaps…"

He looked up and down the hallway to ensure that they were alone. Satisfied, he looked back over at Mari. "Perhaps we met in another loop."

"No," Mari said as she shook her head, "your voice sounds more recent than that."

Ken shrugged." Well, I can say that I have no recollection of meeting you in this loop before recently."

Mari waved it off. "I'm sure I'll figure it out at some point."

As they continued to walk, Daniel felt Kaworu's soul connect to his own. "Do you think that she might have met me in this loop?"

"It's possible but highly improbable,"

Daniel replied. "After all, from what we've both seen, the Rebuild you was chilling on the moon before going and stopping Near-Third Impact."

"We only saw one part of the loop. And we missed 14 years in between movies. Who knows what could have happened then?"

Daniel ruminated on the question as they reached the door of the examination room. "A fair point. Either way, we can't keep you away from them forever."

They entered, Doctor Akagi turning to regard them. "Hello," she said simply.

"Good evening, Doctor," Daniel said. "How are the tests coming?"

Ritsuko looked back over at the monitor. "Frankly, they're going better than I expected. Every test I've run shows that she's going to remain stable, and there's no Angelic contamination that's sprouted up thus far. I'll want to do one more test with her and Shinji at the end of the week, but she'll be free to go then."

Mari smiled widely as she looked over at Rei, sitting patiently waiting for them. "That's awesome! You'll have your dinner party ready in no time!"

Rei smiled slightly and nodded. "And Doctor Akagi has been invited to the party as well."

Daniel chuckled softly as he stepped forward towards the glass. "And how are you, Rei? I certainly hope that you're looking forward to being with everyone again."

Rei nodded slightly. "I am looking forward to seeing my fellow pilots again. Their assistance will make putting together the dinner an easier task. Much like piloting against the Angels, in some respects."

Daniel nodded and was silent for a moment as Ken let himself into the examination room, introducing himself as Daniel turned back to Akagi. "I have an idea, but it would have to be on your say-so."

Akagi turned to look at him as Mari went into the room as well, chatting excitedly with Rei as Ken began to cut Rei's hair. "What would you suggest?" she said levelly.

"I would ask that if she is stable and not a threat to any of the crew, that she be released into my custody now. I'll make sure both her and Shinji return for the test you want to run on them, but I think it will have a positive impact on all of the pilots."

Akagi and Daniel looked back at the trio in the room, Mari excitedly revealing to Rei what, exactly, a comic book was while Ken calmly cut Rei's hair with a slight smile, long locks of hair falling into a specially prepared bag that Ken had Rei hold around her neck.

"Well…" Akagi said slowly, pausing for a moment. "I don't see why not." she sighed. "However, I'd like to keep her here for one more night. It will give me time to finish the tests I have running right now, and should give you time to get anything you need to in order."

Daniel nodded as he looked back at her. "Thank you, ma'am. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go and join the others."

With that, he entered the examination room, walking in on the conversation. Or, at least, Rei paying rapt attention to an animated Mari. "And man, let me tell you, the artistry at work is amazing. Seriously, you could go to an art museum and look at some old stuffy piece of classic art, but the comics contain action! Suspense, drama, heartbreak, all in a single page of…"

She looked back at Daniel as he waited patiently, and Rei took the opportunity in the newly created silence to nod. "It seems… interesting, and at least you are quite passionate about the medium. It seems I might have to at least sample some, now that my facilities have…"

Rei trailed off as she looked at her hands. "Expanded, somewhat, from what they were." she finally said.

Daniel nodded. "Did any of you manage to hear what the good Doctor and I were talking about?"

Mari arched an eyebrow. "What's the news?"

Daniel's smile widened slightly. "Well, and I'd appreciate it if you don't spoil it Mari, but Rei will be moving in with you tomorrow."

Mari gasped dramatically, turning back to Rei with a wide smile. "Oh, Puppy-boy Shinji is going to love that once he finds out! And Asuka…"

Her expression became thoughtful. "I think she'll be okay with it."

"That is good to hear," Rei said. "I remember our relationship before the 10th Angel being… somewhat strained, at least. However, after our time together, I believe we will be more… amenable to each other."

"I can certainly hope so," Daniel said, hoping silently that her presence would help things along even more.

'Whatever Commander Ikari thinks he's doing…' Daniel smiled slightly as Mari returned to her impassioned diatribe on comics. 'He's got another thing coming once we're ready.'

A part of him whispered a warning, however. This time was precious. Whenever Gendo moved, it was likely going to be soon. And when he moved, he would take Shinji. One way or another. He didn't know when. And he didn't like not knowing.