Chapter 12: Gatherings

Watching myself, an older version trapped in a younger body, has been… disconcerting.

I know it should not be. All my life, I have grown in the shadow of my various bodies, always aware that I was one accident or battle gone wrong away from being stuffed into a new body, as Asuka says. Here, though, I see this Rei Ayanami go through conditions that are almost worse in some ways.

Knowing that, for both of us now, there is only one body we can rely on, is both liberating and somewhat sobering. Even with all my strength, and the abilities of my friends, I must be aware at all times. Must catch myself whenever I slip into the old habits of throwing myself into reckless danger. I hope I, and my friends, can help my double here do the same. It may mean everything, now.

- From the personal journal of First Lieutenant Rei Nagisa, currently Rachel Andrews

Medbay, AAA Wunder, March 5th, 2028

Katara looked down at Senior Technician Matthew Olsen, his eyes shut as though he were sound asleep, and sighed as she ran a hand through her hair.

None of the six people who had been carried here into her care had woken up. No dose of stimulants or medication, no physical methods, had even so much as caused them to stir. Even her moments when she was alone in the bay, at least as alone as she could be, and she used her waterbending to try and heal them, had done next to nothing.

She looked around herself and saw that everyone was beginning to leave. It must have been lunchtime.

'Oh, good. Maybe I can get some discrete bending done. However much that changes anything.'

She considered using bloodbending for a moment, but even with so many decades removed from Hama's teachings, she hesitated. It still felt… wrong, even when it could be used to treat someone.

"Doctor Aanderson?"

Katara jumped slightly as she turned to regard Sakura. "Yes, Ms. Suzuhara?"

"Do you… want something to eat?" Sakura paused for a moment. "Ever since these patients came in, you haven't taken any sort of break. I can go grab something and be back."

Katara smiled slightly. "I'll make do for now. Go and have your lunch with the others. Thank you for asking, though. I appreciate it."

Sakura nodded slowly. "Okay then. I'll make sure to bring you back something afterward. See you later."

With that, Sakura turned and left, leaving Katara alone, at least for the moment. She turned back to regard the man on the gurney in front of her and spent more than a few moments gathering the courage to try and tap into that part of herself she'd kept locked away for so long.

She heard the door hiss open and shut behind her, and she let out a breath that she didn't even know she was holding to turn and face who had walked in on her, her brows rising as she saw who had intruded the medbay.

"Oh hello, Eleanor. Have a good off-shift yesterday?" she asked as the woman in question walked over to her side with a slight smile. Katara hesitated as the smile turned into a grimace, and Eleanor came to a stop by her side, looking down at Olsen.

"Well…" Eleanor said after a moment, looking around herself to ensure that the room was empty. "That's part of what I wanted to talk to you and the others about. We have a problem. And it's able to wear this man's face."

Katara's eyes went wide as she looked back down at Olsen, then back at Eleanor. "So, something is… impersonating him?" she asked, barely above a whisper.

"Worse. It attacked us, along with five of its compatriots. All of them likely using the forms of the people lying here in the medbay. They're made of some sort of slime, and they slipped into the vent system when they retreated."

Eleanor looked around the bay again, walking from bedside to bedside. "We managed to kill two of them. At least, we're pretty sure we did. That leaves four of them to find."

Katara looked at the unconscious men and women in their section of the bay. "How do we begin searching for them? I've tried every method I can think of, native to this world or my own. Wherever they are, they picked a good place to hide."

"Then perhaps it's time for me to step in and take a look."

Katara quirked a brow. "Interfacing, I assume?"

"Yes. I'm something of a specialist on how to patch people and things up. With my experience, finding something that looks off should be a piece of cake."

As she spoke, Eleanor came to a stop by the bedside of another technician, Ms. Key if she remembered correctly, and looked down at her, her brow furrowing as she scanned her up and down with her gaze. After a moment she blinked, then looked back over at Katara. "Would you like to see what I see?" "Would you like to see what I see?"

Katara nodded as she joined Eleanor's side. "I don't see why not."

"Okay. Get ready, then. Everyone's first time is a little weird."

Katara wondered for a moment what she meant by that before she felt an almost too subtle brush against what felt like the entirety of her body and blinked. Then, her eyes went wide as she saw what must have been Danielle Key's soul.

It was a carefully constructed weaving of glowing branches, not unlike the path of blood vessels that she could feel as she healed. Toph had described the roots of the Great Swamp that she'd taken seclusion in after the end of the Hundred Year War a few times in a way that she thought might have looked like this, how she could almost see their outlines stretching into the horizon, waiting to be tapped into.

"Wow…" Katara finally whispered as she scanned up and down the body. "It's…"

She heard Eleanor chuckle beside her. "A lot, I'm sure."

The amusement went out of her voice as she continued. "Now, we're looking for something close to what we're seeing here, but not quite. There aren't many areas that it could be in. Likely…"

Eleanor leaned in, strangely whole in her view compared to the branches of Ms. Key. "It's either somewhere in the brain area, or it could be wrapped around one or more of the vena cava, near where the soul's core is Pneumaically located."

"Pneumaically?"

"Ah. where the core rests in the space souls take up, if you will. Tell me if you notice anything before me."

With that, they silently combed the branches of the woman's soul, Katara trying her best to not be too distracted by the gently pulsing ripples of color that flowed through them. Then, after what felt like ages of looking, she looked up to where Ms. Key's brain stem would be. And found that it was somewhat thicker and bulged than she knew now what most brain stems should be.

"Eleanor? I think I've found something."

"Where?"

"At the connection point between the skull and the neck. There's more there than I think should be. Whatever you're looking for…"

She trailed off as she saw Eleanor looking at the spot where she indicated, nodding slightly. "I see," she said quietly, humming to herself.

"How will we get it out?" Katara asked, an edge of anxiety to her voice. "We can't risk a surgery, and I'm not confident enough in my skills with bloodbending to use that."

Before Eleanor could reply, they heard the door hiss open, and a now familiar set of plodding footsteps approach from behind them.

They turned to look at the White Cell that had entered the room. This one was painted mostly black now, save for a 'shirt' of yellow with a black band across the shoulders, the neck of the shirt going up slightly to show two dots of solid gold behind a circle of gold surrounding black. On the head of the creature, two rather large bright yellow eyes, surprisingly detailed, were placed on its face, giving its usually discomforting grin a slightly goofy quality.

"Oh hello, dear," Eleanor said offhandedly before she looked over at Katara. "What's Data doing here?"

Katara shrugged. "Good question. White Cells have been wandering in, standing around here, then wandering back out for the past several days…"

She trailed off as realization came to her, and she looked back at Key, Eleanor looking back with her. "Ever since they arrived."

Eleanor nodded. "Makes sense, then. They are a security system for Unit-01's souls. I guess they've also got a side job eliminating any intruders."

They turned back to Ms. Key. "So, I'll go ahead and extract it, try to contain it. If it does any damage to her, I need you focused on healing whatever injuries it inflicts. Ready?"

Katara took a deep breath as she nodded. "As I'll ever be, I guess."

"Here we go."

With that, she watched Eleanor put out branches of her own, slowly reaching out towards the thing wrapped around Key's brainstem as Katara tamped down her anxiety once again and prepared the secret flask that she'd kept strapped to her side, the sound of the lid flipping open ringing out in the mostly silent space.

She watched with bated breath as the branches went past Key's skin, her hand hovering over the flask's mouth as she pulled the water toward her, feeling the liquid stop at the lip of the flask as she watched the branches touch the thing wrapped around her brainstem.

As they touched, there was a flurry of movement from the thing, Katara's eyes going wide as the water, now glowing softly, flowed toward the brain stem that was now getting several cuts on it, Key jerking slightly with each slash. As the water reached the woman's neck, she watched the stem healing as Eleanor's branches danced after the writhing mass like the legs of a spider-cat, her healing water flowing towards whatever damage the mass's escape made.

"Alright, Katara. Get ready, because it's going to be coming out." Eleanor's voice held an edge of tension, and she saw out of the corner of her eye both the tendrils of water that appeared on Eleanor's arms and hands and the White Cell taking one step forward, then another.

She returned her focus to the head of Ms. Key as she heard her… choking, the mass entering her mouth and nose as she shuddered more and more before finally, it was out.

Katara would have trapped it if Eleanor wasn't faster, the lashes of water that she made fast enough that she couldn't have blinked before the slime was wrapped up in a globe of water. The sight of the branches faded as she studied the ball in Eleanor's hands. "Wow. That's… impressive."

Eleanor smiled slightly as she turned towards the White Cell. "Thanks. I've had some practice. Maybe not as much as you have, but enough."

A slight smile tugged at a corner of Katara's mouth for a moment before it disappeared, her unease returning as Eleanor approached the White Cell. Its painted eyes seemed to follow her movement as she reached out the sphere of water containing the writhing slime towards it, the globe becoming a hemisphere as they both watched a point in the center of its red, crystalline chest begin to glow.

Within the hemisphere, what Katara was sure was an AT Field flashed to life, pulling the slime out of the disappearing water, and crushing it into nothing as it floated past its ribs.

Eleanor lowered her arms, and Katara returned the water to her flask, as they regarded the thing in front of them. "Well…" Eleanor said after a moment. "That's that, I guess."

Katara looked back at Ms. Key and saw that she was beginning to stir. "Maybe not. Maybe it's just starting."

Eleanor looked back with her as Key slowly raised a hand to her head and groaned. "It looks like we've got some talking to do."

"But how much do we explain?"

They both pondered the question as the White Cell turned and began to lumber out of the room.

. . .

New Pacifica, West Coast Safe Zone, One Day Later

Daniel looked out the opening door to the seemingly specially made dock for the Wunder as he, and the group that was with him, stepped into the terribly, terribly early morning. He was somewhat surprised that Shinji was willing to start their trip at 6 in the morning, much to Mari's grief. Rei was in his corner, though, and Asuka, for all her grumbling, seemed determined to carry it out. Eleanor and the others of his group were silent in whatever protests they had to the fact.

He smiled as he turned to face the assembled group. "Well, ladies and gentlemen, it's about 30 minutes to most of the shopping centers, we have a full-size van with a full tank of gas, a shopping list half a mile long, it's still dark, and…"

He paused dramatically as he pulled a pair of aviator shades from a jacket pocket and purposefully put them on. "We have sunglasses. Let's hit it."

He could feel Eleanor rolling her eyes as she sighed and chuckled as he turned, most of the rest of the group simply skipping to the good-natured laughter. Only Shinji, Asuka, and Rei were confused as they piled into the van and began their drive into the slowly rebuilding city proper.

"Alright," Daniel said as they drove, "here's the deal. The adults all have a copy of our list, and some of us have some knowledge of the culinary arts, as it were. We're going to park in a somewhat central location and separate into groups to pick up things and bring them back quickly. Shinji will be going with me and Anna, Asuka will go with Eleanor and Shawn, Mari will go with Rachel, and Rei will go with Ken. Sound good?"

Asuka shrugged. "I guess. Any rhyme or reason to what we're going to be buying?"

"I think my group will go ahead and work on the meat portion of the list." Shinji piped up. "Your group can focus on vegetables, Rei and Ken on drinks, and Mari and Rachel on cooking supplies and cutlery."

Asuka looked over at Shinji as she nodded. "Alright. Anything you want me and mine to focus on?"

Shinji cupped his chin in thought as he considered the question. "Well, we'll probably want to save the more perishable items for last, seeing as we don't have anything in the way of refrigeration easily on hand."

"I wouldn't worry too much about that." Eleanor piped up. "We're creative if nothing else. We can make it work."

Shinji nodded. "Okay, then. Even still, we should get those last. That way they won't spoil as we're cooking."

Asuka shook her head slightly as she continued to regard the boy beside her. "If you were as diligent about your piloting as you are about your cooking, washout…"

Shinji looked down and away. "I probably wouldn't have ended the world, would I?" he said quietly.

Asuka opened her mouth but was silent for a moment before Mari punched Shinji in the shoulder lightly. "Chin up, Puppy-boy. We all know the past is the past. You did your best under the circumstances. And besides, look out the window."

Shinji looked out after a moment and saw the busyness of the streets around him, the buildings whose lights were beginning to flicker out as the day approached. Life, he soon realized, had… gone on, without him. He wondered what they knew about how the world had been changed. If they would recognize his name when someone said it.

"We've scraped by the worst and made the best of it. Just like we did when the Second Impact happened. If humanity can manage all this by pulling themselves up by their bootstraps, then… what do you think you can do?"

Shinji pondered the question for a moment as he looked down, the grip of the Choker around his neck coming to the fore of his perception. 'What can I do, really?'

Before he could ponder the question too much, the van came to a stop. "Alright, ladies and gents, we're in our first parking spot, and we've got a full day ahead of us," Daniel said as he parked the car and opened his door. "Let's make the most of it."

. . .

Rei Ayanami's head almost hurt with the noise that surrounded her, the sights, the smells, the taste of the air, and the sheer stimulus that seemed to envelop her. She looked down at the glass bottle of coke in front of her and studied the thing with a clarity that she had never possessed before, the tiny imperfections in the glass that slightly warped the bubbles that floated to the top becoming utterly fascinating in a way that the calm, almost sterile nature of the ship couldn't fully match.

In turn, however, she felt the weight, the subtle grip, of the DSS Choker around her neck, a thoroughly foreign feeling to her as she resisted the urge, once again, to put a hand to it. She still wasn't entirely sure what kind of programming Doctor Akagi had put onto it. Or what she had replaced on Shinji's.

"Would you like to try that soda, Rei?"

She looked back at Ken for a moment, who regarded her with a slight, bemused smile on his face. It felt… odd, somehow. She couldn't quite place why.

"I…" she looked back at the bottle. "I think I would like to."

Ken nodded. "Good. Let's pick some up then."

They put a few cases of the cola into a fairly large shopping cart, and continued on their way, Rei looking around herself at the people that they passed by.

"It's a little overwhelming, isn't it?"

Rei pondered Ken's question for a moment before she nodded. "Yes. Besides school, I have not been exposed to so… open an environment such as this."

"I see." she could hear the quiet, almost weary sigh in Ken's voice. "I can hope, once this is all over, that you'll be more able to tolerate the outside world. I know it certainly took me some time to get… fully adjusted to it."

"Why is that?"

Ken was silent for a moment as he processed the question. "Well, after everything that I've gone through, after everything that my friends have gone through, intruding into the normal world… It was quite the change. Even something as simple as sleeping on a proper bed was…"

"Disconcerting," Rei interjected, thoughts back to her dingy old apartment and the thin, worn mattress that had been her due. Even the medical sections of the Wunder had more soft, full beds. She always felt she was… sinking. A familiar feeling, but still, as she said, disconcerting nonetheless.

Ken nodded. "Yes. Reconciling ourselves with what is usually known as 'normal' has been a continuous process."

He smiled as he looked back at Rei. "But it is a process I have learned to enjoy. Especially when it lets me contemplate the wonderfully small things in life as you seem to be doing now. I can hope you'll be able to do the same as you continue in our care."

Rei nodded, pondering as they exited the store, making their way toward the van which was now at least a few minutes walk away.

As they walked, they saw Mari and Rachel emerging from a store that they were passing, Mari smiling and waving at them as they made their way over to them. "Hello, bartenders! I hope you've got a good selection for the party."

"I would like to think that we do." Ken chuckled as they began to walk together. "I see you've made out with a fair amount of cookware. I hope that the expense wasn't too much."

Rachel shrugged. "It won't be too bad. The results, I think, will be well worth it."

Rei blinked as they continued their conversation. She knew that voice. The pitch and timbre of it, though slightly changed, couldn't mask the truth of it. And as the revelation clicked in her mind, a puzzle piece fell into place.

'Rachel is me. How? Am I connected to her somehow? Is that why I feel such a familiarity with Daniel? Am I somehow connected to… others?'

All these questions and more swirled in her mind as they walked back to the van. What should she do with such knowledge? And how would Daniel react to it if she asked him?

"Something on your mind, dear bluebird?"

Rei looked over at Mari as the girl leaned closer. "You're thinking real hard about something. Trying to impress Puppy-boy Shinji somehow?"

Rei blushed slightly as she shook her head. "No. I have no current intention of impressing Shinji. I simply intend to assist him as best I can, as I am sure he expects of all of us."

Mari chuckled. "You're a nice little sister, then."

"We are technically the same age, Makinami."

Mari chuckled at that. "Knowing what I know, I think little sister applies just the same."

'Does she know of my origins?' Rei thought as she took stock of the bubbly girl beside her. 'How so? It was clear to me that she was a stranger to NERV. Why did she come to Tokyo-3 then?'

Now, though, even as she thought about those questions… they didn't fully matter. Whatever timely answers she would have needed would have been required years ago now. For now, they simply approached the van, Asuka, Eleanor, and Shawn standing and waiting by it with their bags likely now in the van.

"Good to see you all," Shawn said with a smile, Eleanor smiling as she waved. Asuka nodded slightly, a single, curt wave her only greeting.

Rachel and Ken nodded. "Done shopping already?" Rachel asked. "You were quite quick."

Shawn shrugged. "Asuka has a keen eye and a quick hand. I just made sure she was picking up the right things and checking things off the list."

Rei nodded as she regarded Shawn. Looking closer at him now, his face seemed familiar as well. Almost like… the Commander's.

Years of keeping up a blase expression had trained her to not widen her eyes. 'Is this… Shinji? Where am I? What is going on?'

"So," Ken said, snapping her out of her reverie, "have you seen Shinji, Anna, and Daniel anywhere yet?"

Eleanor shrugged. "No. They're taking their time, it seems. It's likely Shinji just wants to be thorough."

Her smile widened, and a gleam entered her eyes as she continued. "And, Daniel's got a special surprise waiting for Shinji too."

. . .

Daniel and Anna looked over at each other in no small amount of bemusement as they considered Shinji's look of confusion. "Where else are we going?" he asked them. "We've got all the meat on our list. What's left?"

"Well, there's something extra that didn't make it onto the list. Don't worry though. We should be in and out with enough time to keep the meat fresh." Daniel's eyes, unseen by the boy, had a gleam in them as he made his way toward their destination.

Shinji shook his head slightly. They had passed most of the food shops a little while ago by now. What could they be looking for that wasn't on the list?

The answer soon became apparent to him, his eyes widening as he saw the sign for the music store that they approached. "Daniel… a cello… that's so…" he stammered for a moment. "It's… expensive, isn't it? And with everything we're buying…"

Daniel looked back at Shinji, who was already looking quite flustered even as blushed. "Shinji, don't worry about it. We want to hear you play, whatever the cost. And besides, music soothes the soul. It's even better when you make it yourself."

With that, they entered the store, a quiet place that nevertheless kept Shinji's eyes wide as they scanned the room, instruments and supplies that had been liberated from the core material that surrounded them lending to the store a somewhat musty smell, like an old treasure trove.

The manager of the store, an older man with a balding head of white hair who was its sole inhabitant, looked up at them from something he was reading and scratched at a somewhat white beard as he stood. "Hello there. I don't get many visitors inside my store. Are you looking for something specific?"

"Yes, actually." Daniel made his way over to a wall of cellos. "We're looking at getting this fine gentleman here a cello. He used to have one, but he lost it."

The man smiled as he nodded. "Ah, yes. A wonderful choice. These instruments are one of a kind, here at least. When the Impact thing happened, the store got sealed in, but it wasn't breached. And seeing as I'm a careful man when it comes to my instruments, I made sure they could survive without power. Climate controlled and sealed away from the elements. It made them age quite nicely. Granted, I'm sure whichever one you pick will need some tuning, but other than that, they'll sound beautiful."

Daniel looked back at Shinji as he came to his side, looking silently up at the instruments arrayed before him. "Wow…"

Daniel smiled at the near awe on Shinji's face. "Are you confident enough to pick one out yourself? Or would you like to ask the manager for a recommendation?"

Shinji looked over at the manager, who looked back at the both of them rather expectantly. "What would you recommend?" he asked somewhat hesitantly.

The man smiled. "Hold on. I know just the instrument."

He disappeared into the back of the store, and Shinji looked back at Daniel to find him sharing a bemused look with Anna. "I think he might have understated how rare business here is," Daniel said wryly. "Do you want a violin?"

Anna rolled her eyes. "I think I'll pass here, thanks. I've done enough playing for a while. I'm in the middle of a break."

"The break that's lasted for a decade and a half, you mean."

Anna waved him off. "Details. Details."

Before they could continue, the manager opened the door to the back room, carrying with him a cello case of metallic blue. "I've had this one for ages now. Probably one of the rarest pieces I have. I'll give it a tuning, and you can take a seat and try it out."

As he tuned the cello, sawing the bow across the strings for a moment and turning the pegs just so, Shinji stepped forward and looked at the instrument. "What brand is it?"

"Eastman Strings. A Stradivarius, if I recall correctly. It's probably one of the last of its kind in existence, now."

Shinji's eyes went wide after a moment as he recalled the brand. "Oh… that's… that's really expensive."

"Don't worry about it, young man." the store owner said as he finished tuning the cello and stood from the chair. "It's been too long since I've heard anyone besides me play. Have a go."

Shinji slowly sat in the chair, taking the bow and touching it to the strings. "It's been a while since I've played," he admitted. "I don't think I'll be terribly good."

The old man chuckled. "But you know how to do it. Trust your heart, young man. The music will flow from you when you do. Just take it slowly at first."

Shinji nodded, still obviously unsure as he took the bow, and looked down at the instrument he had played so long ago. 'What do I play?'

Then, a piece came to mind. One that was simple. Easy, if nothing else.

So, he set the bow to the strings and began to saw the bow slowly to the tune of Bach's Cello Suite #1. It was hesitant, much like he was, a few faults here and there passed over as Shinji, amazingly, began to feel… confidence.

The song began to pick up in tempo, and Shinji started to sway, heedless of the looks of contentment on his audience's faces. Now, the owner was right. It was flowing. And it felt… peaceful.

The song finished all too soon, and the three who watched him offered polite claps. "Good job, Shinji," Daniel said as Shinji, almost on instinct now, began to prepare the cello to go back in its case. "I knew you'd play beautifully."

"Thank you," Shinji said, scratching the back of his head as he finished sealing the clasps on the case. "I guess you were right, sir."

The shop owner nodded assuredly. "Son, that was the best performance I've heard in ages. I'm glad I got to hear it."

"Surely not…" Shinji said, his face beginning to flush slightly.

"Now," Daniel interjected as he turned to the owner, "about paying for the instrument…"

The owner raised a hand. "I've seen that scarf on your arm. You and he are in WILLE, aren't you? Then don't worry about it. With all you and KREDIT have done for the world, for allowing my granddaughters to have the chance to raise families my wife would have been proud of… take it."

He turned to face a shocked Shinji. "But that comes with a promise I want you to make, young man. Whenever you play… put your soul into it for me. More importantly, actually, put your soul into it for yourself. Make the best music you can make, and don't worry about the slip-ups along the way."

Shinji was silent for a moment as he considered the words, then he nodded. "Okay then. I'll try."

The old man chuckled. "It's all I'll ever want. Enjoy your music."

. . .

Daniel couldn't help his smile widening as they walked out of the store, Shinji carrying the cello with the sort of reverence usually reserved for a holy artifact. For him, perhaps, it wasn't too far from the truth.

He turned his gaze back out to the rest of the city, alive and thriving in the midst of the core material that surrounded them. It almost seemed… normal. The walls were even still, covered in graffiti, old art covered by new pieces that carried with them a tone of defiance against the core material that surrounded them, greens and blues standing stark against older marks of red.

As he appreciated the artwork, though, Daniel's blood ran cold as he spotted a particular symbol. It was cleverly hidden amongst the rest of the paint on the wall, enough so that if he hadn't recognized it almost on instinct, he would have missed it. But it couldn't have been anything else.

It was a pair of upturned hands, cupping an arrow that pointed down an alley. A symbol of a covert Scion meeting place.

"Hey Anna," he said as conversationally as he could, "why don't you take Shinji and the groceries I'm holding ahead? I need a bathroom real quick."

Anna looked over at him, a strange look becoming one of muted shock and understanding as he relayed what he'd seen to her over a soul-link. "Alright. Don't take too long."

Daniel nodded, slowing down as the two went ahead, Shinji looking back for a moment. He waved at the boy, then when he'd turned away, proceeded down the alleyway, his form fading away as he became starlight just out of the visible spectrum.

He followed the signs down the alleyway as quickly and cautiously as he could, circumventing the tripwire Expressions that had been put up to warn the congregation of any new arrivals. 'It doesn't look like they were expecting anyone with Interfacing to pass on through. Lucky me.'

His pace slowed as he heard a voice, deep and clear, past a barrier of muted sound. "My brothers and sisters, it is good to see you together. I understand that you've probably been anxious to meet your fellows in this great cause of unity. I understand you probably have more than a few questions."

Daniel slowed to a stop around a corner, peeking out to see a big, broad man, Kauri if he remembered Ymris once describing correctly, standing in front of a group of maybe two dozen men and women.

"So," one of the men spoke up, "we know you've been mostly in charge of getting people together here. Where are the others? And do you have a boss of your own?"

Daniel knew the answer to at least one of those questions, but he waited for the answer as Kauri replied. "Your other brothers and sisters are scattered around the world. Most are in Matsushiro, where our first mission was established here."

Kauri paused, and Daniel heightened his hearing as the man continued after a moment. "As for my superior, he is in another location, out in the wastes of the core material. We'll be heading out there to meet with him and the other technicians and engineers you've been called upon to bolster. He's securing our current prize. The lynchpin of our plans."

Daniel would have held his breath had he had any lungs as he waited for the inevitable question. "Well, what is it, then?" one asked.

"An Evangelion. One of a series of them scattered throughout the world. They have gone under the codename 'Herald Units', but we know them as the Mass-Production Evangelions."

A spike of fear slammed into his heart as the sensation threw lightning bolts into his brain, causing him to almost lose focus as Kauri continued. "They will be our tools to put this world right again. To free it of the core material, restore the oceans and the life of this world, and unite all people beyond their petty squabbles. We will get right what NERV and its masters couldn't."

Daniel didn't need to hear any more now. Thus, his hearing dimmed as he flew away from the meeting place, still cautious not to trip any of the sensors in his way. As he emerged from the alleyway, he became physical again, pressing himself against a wall as he took deep, gasping breaths to calm himself.

He didn't know how long it took for him to regain enough of his composure to start walking down the street, but it wasn't long enough for anyone to get out of their meeting. As he made his way to the car, his mind reeled. 'The MP Units? They exist here?'

The time slinky. It must have been the only explanation. Leftovers from a previous looping of time. Even still…

He pondered silently on the implications of such a thing as the van came into sight, the cluster of people turning to look at him as he put on a smile and waved. "Hey everyone! Sorry to hold you all up. Terrible time finding a restroom. Let's get going, shall we?"

As they piled in, and Daniel began to drive again, he connected to Eleanor's soul, linking up to his Shinji, Asuka, Rei, and Kaworu's souls as well. "Well, ladies and gentlemen, we know what Tavis is doing now. And, as expected, it's not good for us, this world, or Reality in general in the slightest. We'll talk more when we get back. But until then… I'll just say get ready for some familiar faces."