"The target is passing over Tonosawa."

"Unit 1 is beginning launch sequence."

With the command centre, the tension was so thick it was practically muffling every sound. Misato stook, arms crossed and frowning at the holograms tracking the Angel. Today was supposed to be for testing, not combat. Unit 0 had finally been given the green light for sync testing but they'd barely had the time to turn it on. Their timing is always impeccable, she thought grimly. Still, at least Shinji had been ready for deployment beforehand.

"Releasing primary lock bolts."

In the hanger bay, Shinji felt the Evangelion shudder as it was released from its restraints. Not a second later, his heads up display came online. "Lock bolts released." He called out, now well aware of the proper procedure. As the command centre continued with its preparations, he failed to notice the inquisitive gaze of the blue haired girl on the railing outside.

Back in the command centre, the crew focused their attention on the moving image of their target. "The target is now intruding into Lake Ashino airspace."

"Eva Unit 1 is ready for launch!"

Misato steeled herself. Here we go. "Launch Eva!"

Immediately the ground beneath Unit 1's feet shot skywards with explosive speed. Shinji tightened his grip on the controls before him as the Eva rattled from the speed, the walls in front of him flashed to quickly for him to register.

Misato tapped her arm once . It's still some way off from Tokyo-3. We can intercept it there and eliminate it as quickly as possible. She tapped it again. Should we have contacted the Prime Minister? No, we didn't have the time. Bethel can't help us here. She went to tap her arm a third time, but didn't get the chance.

A shout came from behind. "We're detecting a high energy reaction inside the target!"

Misato spun on her heel, shocked. "What'd you say?"

"The energy source is accelerating and amassing upon itself!"

Ritsuko knew what that meant. "It can't be!"

At that very moment, Unit 01 emerged from the ground and stopped in place with a solid cluck as the Eva rattled against its restraints, its pilot completely unaware of the danger he was in. There was no time to stop what was about to happen, but Misato tried all the same.

"Look out!" She screamed, desperately trying to warn Shinji. "Duck!"

The boy only had enough time to look up and see the building before him have a hole liquified in it before the same attack exploded against the chest of his Eva, scorching through the purple titans armour and delivering onto him the sensation of a white hot drill passing through his ribs. His scream filled his own ears and those of the command team, the pain so sudden that he lost any control he had over the Eva as the LCL in his cockpit boiled around him. He vaguely heard the voice of Misato barking frantic orders before the Eva retreated back into the geofront, one last explosion of energy rattling him before he passed out.

Kazuki watched the footage play through. He finally saw what these "Angels" were. He saw it fire on the purple titan, and he recoiled when the pilot started screaming. There was a flurry of information before the footage cut out and started again, playing through the events all over again. He swallowed nervously. There's no way Atsuta or Dazai could deal with this.

"What the hell is that?"

"The fifth Angel," Dr Akagi explained grimly. "It's currently directly over Tokyo-3, drilling through the geofront. We estimate it will breach through in less than ten hours."

Kazuki turned to the woman, his expression difficult for her to read. "And you sent Ikari out there like that?"

"We had to deploy the Eva, and right now the Third child is the only one approved for combat."

"Sure," He murmured, looking forward. "You had no choice but to put fish in the barrel. How could you have known it would be shot at?"

Ritsuko narrowed her eyes, hardly amused by the lecturing of a seventeen year old. "You have no idea how the Angels work. Do you really think you could have done better?"

Kazuki's jaw clenched as he tried to stop himself from fumbling his words. He was never good with confrontation, but he couldn't ignore how Ikari had screamed when the Angel attacked. He had to say something, anything. "You sent him out without any protection, or- I don't know, doing reconnaissance or whatever. If you'd done that-"

"Everyone deployed would have died." Misato had snuck up behind them, eyes glued to the replay. "We tried that with the third angel, and aside from the Eva we had a 100% fatality rate. As badly as Shinji was hurt today, he's still alive."

"Exactly" Huffed the scientist. "The Eva is the most powerful tool at our disposal. Even after that attack it's still functional." She looked down at the boy, as if he was a student she had caught cheating. He hated that look. "You might have your heart in the right place but leave the strategy to people that actually know what they're doing."

Before he had the chance to defend himself, another voice cut through the control room. "That's quite enough." Koshimizu entered the room with Abdiel close behind. "Master Saito may lack the experience that you both have in this field, but it would be foolish to write off his thoughts."

"Director…" Kazuki was caught off guard, unsure if this praise was deserved. "That's not necessary… sir. I was just saying what I-"

"There is no need to be ashamed," He silenced the boy with a dismissive gesture. "Tell me, what do you think of this foe?"

Ritsuko scoffed. "Prime minister, this is hardly the time to humour a child. The Angel is-"

He interrupted yet again. "I want to hear what Saito has to say. Based on your experiences, what do you think of this enemy?"

Kazuki flicked his eyes between the expectant eyes before him. Koshimizu was cool, as if waiting for the input from one of his cabinet members. Ritsuko had an eyebrow cocked, waiting to see what the point of this all was. Misato was more expectant, maybe even a little desperate. And Abdiel… well, she was scowling at him.

Taking a moment to breathe, he looked back at the Angel on the screen. He thought a moment, then spoke slowly. "I think it's a difficult opponent." Ritsuko rolled her eyes, but a look from Koshimizu told her to be patient. "From what I can see, it's definitely stronger than the Hydra, but I don't think it's stronger than Nuwa."

Misato shot her friend a side eye. What is he talking about?

The doctor shook her head. I have no idea.

"So then," Koshimizu rumbled. "It could be bested?"

Kazuki shook his head. "It's range is too much. If I got close, maybe, but there's no chance of that. It's just… too big."

Ritsuko nodded with satisfaction. "That's exactly why we need the Evangelion. Any conventional weaponry at our disposal would do more damage to Tokyo-3 than the Angel." Abdiel couldn't help but glare at the continued use of the word Angel .

"A real flying fortress," Misato grumbled.

"Regardless of that, Commander Ikari has requested that Bethel work alongside NERV in the battle, though in a limited." Koshimizu looked to Kazuki. "You will be aiding Katsuragi with her plan. This is the time to prove the worth of this alliance."

"Me? What can I do?" His eyes widened. "Wait, are you saying…?"

The man let an uncharacteristically soft smile slip onto his face. "Indeed. Aogami has been restored to full functionality, and you will both be deployed on this mission."

The NERV staff were surprised by how much Kazuki's face lit up. They'd only ever seen it masked by dull expressions of apathy or discomfort. Even Abdiel's glare didn't seem to dull his mood. Then his brow creased. "I'm still not sure that we'd be able to defeat that…" He caught himself before the word angel passed his lips, glancing quickly at Abdiel. "Um, octahedron."

"Don't worry." Misato flashed him a smile. "The Evas will be the main focus of this operation. You'll mainly be providing us support."

"Support?" He pursed his lips. He didn't know how he felt about taking a backseat in this situation, but he kept his anxieties to himself. "So you'll be sending Ikari out again?"

Misato nodded, though there was a slowness to the action. "That's right. Unit 1 is the best chance we have against that thing, though clearly we can't get close to that thing. We'll need a different strategy."

Koshimizu looked to Abdiel, who remained silent, before looking to the captain. "I presume you have something in mind?"

The woman's face twisted into a smile, expressing a cunning that Kazuki hadn't been expecting. It was as playful as always, but there was something about it that made him uneasy.

"You want to use a sniper to shoot the target from outside its firing zone?"

"Yes sir." Misato spoke firmly, her voice carrying easily across the commander's office, or rather the empty void of the entire floor. "Instead of trying to neutralise the target's AT field, I believe a pinpoint shot with a focused, high energy beam is the only way."

"Hmmm." Fuyutsuki's response was robotic and entirely expected. "What did the MAGI say?"

"The responses from the MAGI supercomputers were two affirmative and one conditional affirmative." She couldn't help but muse over Koshimizu's comment from the other day about getting a machine to think for them. It was frustrating for him to have a point, even an insignificant one. She thought of this idea, not the machine.

"Our probability of success is 8.7 percent."

Misato's smile strained. "It was the highest value we could get."

Finally, Commander Ikari voiced his thoughts. "I see no reason to reject your plan. You may proceed, Captain Katsuragi."

"Yes sir." She didn't bother hiding her satisfaction.

"You know how crazy this whole operation is," Ritsuko prompted. "Don't you, operations director Katsuragi? " She couldn't help but tease her friend with her new authority.

"Don't be rude, it's not crazy!" Misato snarked back. "It can be done in nine hours, and has the highest chance of success."

"It does?" The blond cocked an eyebrow. "Really? But our positron rifle can't handle such an output." The two of them gazed at the massive weapon. Theoretically it could work for such an operation, but that would only be once and leave the one pulling the trigger in a small crater of their own design. "What are you going to do about that?"

"We'll borrow one."

" Borrow one?! " She couldn't believe how casually Misato had said that, like it was a request for sugar rather than a multi million dollar giant anti-tank rifle. And there was only one thing she could have been talking about. "You don't mean-"

"Mmhmm." Misato nodded with characteristically inappropriate confidence. "Yeah, the JSSDF's new prototype.

Inwardly, Ritsuko grimaced. As if they don't hate us enough .

The clock kept ticking down. Every second brought that blue, weird octahedron closer to the headquarters. Tentatively, Kazuki looked up, as if he would be able to see the creature through the building and twenty layers of armour plating in the geofronts ceiling. Actually, it was probably closer to fifteen at this point.

Tick tock.

Stupid clock .

He started pacing, finding his steps syncing with the clock. He had no idea what Captain Katsuragi's plan was supposed to be. He may have been new to all this, but he didn't like cutting things this close. He closed his eyes, trying to focus. With Aogami he'd be the most powerful option he had, but he needed to consider what else he could do. If he would be playing a support role, then that ruled out Aitvaras or Mokoi as summoning options. He would have to rely on demons like Angel or Mermaid to keep Shinji alive, but…

How is this all going to play out?

He sighed in frustration. He couldn't even try to strategise without Captain Katsuragi's input on what everyone was going to do. He turned around, kicking the floor slightly as he did so, and froze in place. There was a girl watching him, standing motionless, arms at her side. Her hair was short and blue, and her eyes told Kazuki nothing. But they were red. Crimson red. Instinctively he wrapped his hand around his right wrist, preparing for a fight. But he had no power to call on, and he realised that this girl was just that; a girl. He took a few breaths and released his wrist, returning to a more relaxed pose. He waited for the girl to say something, but all she did was look at him. He frowned slightly. Their eyes had met, but there was nothing else there. He had nothing to say, and neither did she.

Ayanami, he realised. This is who Shinji was talking about. Now I understand why he was so weird about it.

He waited for something from her, but after a minute of just looking at each other she turned and walked away, moving with a purpose but no urgency. Kazuki watched her go, his frown deepening. There was something about her that put a pit in his stomach. It was familiar, but worse. Like a neutral memory distorted through a kaleidoscope. He was feeling worse about this situation by the second.

"Aogami, I could really use you right now."

"But this is just… so ridiculous!"

Misato's smile didn't even waver. It didn't matter how much these stooges protested, NERV's authority meant that she didn't even need to bother listening to them. And so, their positron rifle was being temporarily commandeered. The only person there that expressed any sympathy towards this incredibly expensive weapon being taken away was Hyuga, but that was more from the perspective of someone that was used to dealing with NERVs tomfoolery than anything else. "We'll do our best to return this in as close as its original condition as we can. Thank you for your cooperation and have a nice day." She looked behind her back and called out "It's all yours Rei! Take it away!" And the poor man didn't even have time to rub his temples before the roof of the building was ripped off by a giant yellow cyclops. Everyone scrambled, panicking, except for Misato. I should do this more often, she smiled to herself. "Be careful, that's a piece of precision machinery." The Eva didn't respond, lifting the equally titanic positron rifle out of the building and placing the roof back on the rest of the building, which would take about a week before it was properly fixed.

"But ma'am," Hyuga spoke up, biting his lip slightly. "Our latest calculations show that it'll take at least 180 million kilowatts to penetrate that Angels AT field." He laughed to himself nervously. "Just where are you planning to get that much electricity?"

"Where do you think I'll get it?" She smirked confidently. "From all of Japan." And I'll be able to skip a lot of paperwork too, thanks to a certain someone on our side, She thought to herself. It's nice to have the Prime Minister in your back pocket.

"Absolutely not."

"What?!" Misato was aghast. Absolutely shocked. "What do you mean, no?!"

"It is the opposite of approving something." Koshimizu crossed his arms, shaking his head. "You expect me to simply shut down power across half the country?"

"Yes!" Misato pinched the bridge of her brow. "C'mon, what's the big deal?"

"Firstly," Koshimizu raised a figure and Misato immediately regretted her decision. "This would severely disrupt Japan's economic structure, alongside halting trade, transport, and communication in and outside of the nation. Secondly, the cost alone of diverting all that electricity could increase our national debt by 1% in a single night, which would affect taxation and current plans for infrastructure and other public commodities. Finally," His eyes narrowed. "If I allowed this to happen, it would be a gross abuse of my power and a conflict of interests."

"No it isn't. You're protecting Japan, that's your job isn't it? No one will care if you give us the go ahead."

"You're not very politically minded, are you?" Ritsuko joined the pair, removing her glasses from her nose. "If he gives us the go ahead, then that proves to the rest of the government that we aren't beholden to them, or worse still that we're running the show."

He nodded. "As well as the international community. As stated before, I stand here as a representative of Bethel, not the Diet, and I have no intention of letting the existence of the former public knowledge. If you wish to get the approval of the Prime Minister, you will have to go through the appropriate channels."

The captain started pouting. "This sucks!"

Ritsuko chuckled. "Better get started on that request then, Katsuragi." Misato cursed under her breath. She jabbed a finger at her friend to accuse her, only to screw her mouth shut and march off in a huff. The remaining two stood in silence for a moment. Eventually the doctor shot Koshimizu a glance. "How long is that going to take?"

"Given the urgency of the situation, I believe it will be fairly prompt to get approval. And if it exceeds two hours," He shrugged. "I'll say I heard of the situation and approve it myself."

"Handy." She looked at her watch. "All things considered then, I'm going to start preparations. Time's against us as it is."

"Indeed. I apologise for the inconvenience."

"You really couldn't speed things along yourself?"

Koshimizu rumbled. "Humanity cannot know of the threat demons pose. Bethel must be kept out of the light, for the safety of the organisation and those we protect."

Ritsuko looked forward. "Hmm. And will this… Aogami and the boy really be up to the task?"

"I assure you, Dr Akagi, I would trust them with my life."

You already are, she thought to herself.

Shinji didn't know what happened. The last thing he remembered was rising through the geofront inside of Unit 1, then there was a bright flash, an explosion of pain, and then… nothing. Slowly he opened his eyes, blinking as they adjusted to the light. He stared at the ceiling, a blank, white ceiling. Not long ago, he had considered it a stranger, but he was beginning to feel like he would know every inch of it before the month was over.

Every time he piloted the Eva, he ended up in the same place. Always hurt, always alone. What happened to the Angel, he wondered idly. Did he even care? If it wasn't dead, then he'd just be sent out, again, and get hurt, again, and end up here alone, again .

He heard the door slide open, followed by the sound of rattling metal and squeaking wheels. Roused from his rest, he opened his eyes and tried to focus, eventually making out the shape of the girl with blue hair and red eyes.

"Ayanami…" He mumbled, his mouth dry and unresponsive.

"Pilot Ikari." Her voice was flat, formal. A mere acknowledgement of him. "I've been sent to brief you on the operation Yashima timetables." She pulled a small notebook out of her pocket and read off it like a newscaster. "The operation will begin at midnight, zero hundred hours. Prior to that, pilots Ikari and Ayanami will arrive at the cage by seventeen thirty. At eighteen hundred Unit one and Zero will activate. At eighteen oh five both units will be deployed. They will arrive at the temporary base at Mount Futago at eighteen thirty. There they will await further orders." She returned the book to her pocket and reached into the trolley she had brought with her. "Here," she said, placing a plastic bag on his bed. Inside was a plug suit. "This is new."

Shinji sat up, looking at the clothing. So, it was still alive then. And he was going back out to fight it.

Rei watched him, eyes drifting south. "Don't show up looking like that pilot Ikari."

"Huh?" His brow creased, only for him to follow her eyes and settle on his very exposed crotch. In a panic he scrambled to pull the covers over himself, his shame completely lost on the girl who remained unflinching throughout. "Sorry…" He muttered into his knees, voice muffled by the fabric covering them. He stayed there, face buried in the blanket, until he slowly rose from them "I've been apologising since yesterday…" He looked over to Ayanami for a response, but she just offered the tray forwards. On it was bread, eggs, and other tasteless looking additions.

"Your meal."

He pursed his lips and looked away. "I don't feel like eating anything." It was true, his stomach all twisted up as it was, but there was still a part of him that wanted to reach out and accept it.

"We will be departing in sixty minutes."

Always so blunt, he thought to himself. "Do I… really have to pilot Eva again?"

No, he wanted her to say. It can be handled without you. But she would never say it. He knew that. Instead, she said "Yes you do."

He bit down, hiding his face back in the sheets. "I don't want to! You can be so cruel about it because you haven't had the kind of experiences I've had yet!" He saw it again, the flash of light, the burning drill in his chest, the pain, fear, all of it echoed on the inside of his skull. "I don't want to go through it again…"

"Then you can just stay here in bed."

Shinji sat up, a flash of hope clashing with confusion. He could? "What do you mean by that?"

Her response snuffed it out. "I will pilot Eva Unit 1." He stared at her. The face she wore was the same one as the first time they met, when she was bandaged up like a cripple. "Dr Akagi has already prepared to rewrite the personal data files for Unit 1."

"... Ritsuko is?"

"Captain Katsuragi and Doctor Akagi will be waiting for me in the cage." She turned and headed for the door. A new fear now bore down on Shinji as he sat up, calling out to her.

"Hey, wait!"

But she didn't not even turning to face him as the door shut behind her. "Goodbye."

And once again he was alone. He watched the door, hoping that she would walk back in, but when it was clear she wouldn't he settled back into the bed. He didn't need to do anything. He could stay there, waiting until everything was over. Maybe it was selfish, but hadn't he earned the right to look after himself for once? Hadn't he been hurt enough for the sake of others? Ayanami had told him… She had said he didn't need to. That she would bear it instead. She would get hurt instead of him. While he sat there. Doing nothing.

Nothing.

The sun had faded from the horizon, leaving only the lights of Tokyo-3 to illuminate the Angel, designated Ramiel, as it drilled through the geofront. Countless trucks lined the roads on the outskirts of the city, outside of the Angels range of attack, all connected by wires directing the entire nation's energy into a single point; the protrusion rifle. Koshimizu, true to his word, had sped things up to allow for all this to happen.

Standing in a clearing flooded by pure white light that cut through the entire area, Shinji looked up and down the massive weapon, mind clouded by a mixture of awe and apprehension. "This thing wasn't built for field operations… Will it really work?"

"Point taken," Ritsuko shrugged. "but we have no choice. This was the most expedient way of achieving our goal."

"Are you sure it's safe to use?"

For a doctor, Ritsuko was surprisingly bad at reassuring him. "Theoretically, yes. However, we're not sure if the cannon barrel accelerator will be able to handle the stress or not. This is the first time it's ever been fired with such a high power output behind it."

Misato placed her hands on her hips, voice switching to a calmer and more focused one than Shinji was used to. "Listen up, here are the battle plans for the operation. Shinji?"

"Yes?" He tried to match her tone, but he couldn't hide the meekness he felt. For her part, Misato paid it no mind.

"Your Unit 1 will be the gunner."

He nodded. "Right."

"Rei, you will cover him with Unit 0."

"Yes." Unlike the two of them, there was no change in her voice. Shinji looked over to her. If she was covering him, would that mean she would be putting herself in danger for him? And she had no issues with this?

"The reason for this arrangement," Ritsuko started, as if to answer Shinji's unspoken question. "Is because Shinji has a higher sync ratio with Unit 1, and this operation will require an exceptional degree of precision." She took a step towards the pilots and spoke slightly slower, making sure every word she spoke was understood. "Since the positron beam will be affected by earth's gravity, magnetic fields, and rotation, it will not fire in a straight line. You must remember to adjust for these deviations. You must penetrate the core precisely."

"But Ritsuko, I've never practiced with this before." While he had trained with the guns, this rifle was unlike anything he had ever seen before. He could already feel his nerves failing him.

"Don't worry. Just do what the manual says. As soon as the indicators converge, just pull the trigger. The computers will handle the rest. Also, be aware that before you can fire the rifle a second time, you will first need to wait for the unit to cool, then replace the fuses and reload." She locked eyes with him. "You've got to hit it the first time."

"What if I miss?" The image of a building being liquified followed by a bright light flashed again in his mind. " Or if the enemy shoots back?"

"Shinji, don't even think about something like that. You've got to destroy the Angel with your first shot."

No reassurance, no other options. So I've got no choice , he grimaced.

"I…" A voice to his left, shockingly from Rei. She sounded… uncertain. "I'm just to protect Unit 1 is that correct?"

Ritsuko barely thought about her answer. "Yes."

She stared at Shinji. "... Understood."

"You're not the only one," Misato added, her eyes drifting behind them. "He's here to help too."

The two youths turned behind them to find the figure of a young man behind them holding his left arm uncertainty. In the blinding light it was difficult to make them out, but from the shape of the hair Shinji realised who it was. "Saito?!" He nodded, walking closer to them. "What is he doing here?"

"Kazuki has been brought in by Bethel to lend a hand," Explained Misato. "He'll be providing support to the two of you."

Shinji was aghast. It was bad enough that he was being put in the Angel's line of sight again, but Saito? "But how?! He can't pilot an Eva!"

Ritsuko crossed her arms, still sceptical. "Best and brightest, remember?"

"Newest," Kazuki corrected quietly.

"Alright, that's enough." Misato scowled. "Honestly, we can't afford this right now. I've been told Kazuki will be able to help us, and while I don't know how the Prime Minister has assured me that he's up to the task." She turned to face him. "Is he telling the truth Kazuki? Or is he lying?"

He pursed his lips. "I don't know," He admitted. "But I'll do what I can. I've survived worse."

Ritsuko raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

He paused. "... Probably."

"Good enough for me." Misato crossed her arms triumphantly. "All right then, it's time. Everyone, get geared up."

"Right," The two pilots said in unison while the student of Jouin simply nodded. As the pair was led away to get changed, he watched them, observing them with a critical eye. He then turned to the enormous gun, so overwhelmed with light that he could see every detail on the machine. It was impressive to be sure, but was he ready to trust his life with it? He turned his head and walked away.

With a quiet hiss the plug suit snapped tight around Shinji's body, covering him like a second skin, and appropriately he felt just as naked as he would without it. It had done nothing to protect him from Ramiel's attack, and it reminded him that every time he put it on, pain was soon to follow. Behind him he could hear Rei undressing, taking longer to get ready since she never seemed to be in a rush. He leaned forward in his seat, allowing himself to contemplate just what was going to happen.

"Maybe…" He murmured to himself. "This will be our last day alive."

"Why would you say something like that?" Coming from anyone else, that sentence would have sounded arrogant or insulted, but not from Rei. She seemed to genuinely not understand. Shinji didn't reply, he hadn't really been talking to her. He heard a second hiss, indicating the completion of her suit up. They were ready. But what about Saito? Was he going to change into something? Or was he going into battle with nothing but his school uniform? He was going to die, Shinji knew it. We'll all die tonight.

"You're not going to die." He looked over to Rei's silhouette, shocked, too shocked to reply. "I'll be protecting you."

Something heavy formed in his chest. Something twisting and dark. The way she had said that, the way she spoke, it filled him with dread. The fear was worse than if she hadn't reassured him at all.

Misato marched forwards, leading the pilots back to the deployment area where their Evas waited for them. Everything was in place, even without Koshimizu's assistance, and even if Kazuki was useless after all she still had faith in her plan. She didn't like the idea of putting the kid in danger unnecessarily, but she felt that if she dwelt on that too long she would choke on the hypocrisy. As they neared the stairway that would lead them up to the entry points, she brought them all to a halt. There was something unexpected there.

It was a man. He was staring up at the Evangelions, completely motionless aside from the occasional adjustment of his head as he analysed the titans. He wore a bodysuit of white metal that clung to his skin as tightly as a plugsuit would with coat tails positioned stiffly at his hips. With the blinding light covering the area it was clear that his short slicked back hair was a rich blue, and throughout his suit lines of growing red liquid pumped at a steady rate. Whipping the gun out from her coat, Misato positioned herself between the stranger and the children as she took aim.

"Don't move!" She commanded, catching the man's attention. "This is a military operation. Identify yourself or I will shoot."

He turned to them without any urgency, drawing a gasp from both Misato and Shinji as he peeked out behind her. It was Koshimizu, the same harsh face and slicked back hair, except-

No, it couldn't possibly be the same person. The real Koshimizu was about as tall as Misato, yet she only came up to the nose on this one. The other hint was his eyes. Koshimizu had piercing grey eyes, but the ones now locked with Misato's were a fierce gold. They were inhuman, alien. No, not alien. Demonic . As if to further drive the point home, on his chest the glowing lines converged into a shape that would only be described as a magatama warped into the shape of an S , and from there it was clear to see that the glowing liquid wasn't just on top of his body, it was deep inside it, where there should have been organs. She scowled and prepared to fire.

"Captain Katsuragi."

She paused. That was not a question. "Who wants to know?"

He turned his head in acknowledgement. "I have been looking for you. I have been assigned under you for this operation." His voice was also different from the Prime Ministers. It reminded her of Rei; not quite monotone, but lacking something… human. The main difference was that there was more of an edge to every word out of his mouth.

"You work with Bethel?"

"Correct."

Her gun waivered slightly, before she tightened her grip. "You still haven't told me who you are."

He was about to answer her question when a voice called out the answer. "Aogami!" The man shifted instantly to the approaching Kazuki, ignoring Misato completely. The boy came to a stop in front of the tall figure with a surprising smile on his face.

"Young man," The figure nodded. "I am glad that you are well."

"You too Aogami." It was surprising to see the usually reserved teenager be so open to interacting with this inhuman figure, the both of them completely ignoring the other three people.

Slowly Misato returned her gun to her holster. "You're Aogami then?"

"Correct." He turned back to the captain. "I am a Proto-Fiend of Bethel Japan, created to protect humanity."

"Nifty," She snarked, allowing her posture to slacken. "I don't suppose you're in the mood to tell me what you can bring to this operation then?"

Aogami looked back to Kazuki. "Our power will protect the pilots."

"That's not very helpful you know."

"My apologies. All you need know is that my power shall be at his disposal."

"Really? Why not do it yourself?"

"Because our power is great as one, and when that happens the knowledge is in control."

Misato frowned. "Knowledge?"

Any answer he may have given was interrupted by Ritsuko's approach. "What's the delay? We don't have the privilege of time on our side." She paused and frowned at the new addition. "And who are you?"

"I am Aogami, Proto-Fiend of Bethel Japan." Almost the exact same response that he had given them, Misato noted. Almost like it was programmed into him.

"You're Aogami?" The doctor looked him up and down. "I'll admit, you aren't what I expected." She expected him to respond, maybe to banter, but he didn't say anything. Actually, it was as if he expected her to say more. She coughed awkwardly. "Anyway, everyone needs to get ready to move. That goes for the pilots and for Bethel's additions."

Kazuki nodded. "All right." He looked up to Aogami and offered his hand. "Let's go."

Shinji frowned, wondering why they needed to shake hands. Aogami on the other hand shook his head slightly.

"That is not necessary."

Kazuki's brow creased. "What?"

"We have already established a connection in the Netherworld," He explained. "From that moment on, our souls were interlinked. You need only think it, and my power is yours."

"Really…" Kazuki looked at his outstretched hand, then pulled it into his chest and closed his fist and eyes. For a moment nothing happened. And then, both he and Aogami exploded into ribbons of light that converged into each other. The unraveled essences melded together, knitting into a singular entity. It took less than a second, far too quickly for those present to comprehend, so all they saw was the pair erupting into light and finding someone new standing in their place.

Shinji stared at him, mouth opening in awe. It was Kazuki, but aside from the body he was completely different. A skintight suit covered every inch of his body, but rather than the white metal of Aogami, his was black. On the left side of his armoured body were intricate swirls of white metal resembling stylised clouds, and on his right lines of glowing blue liquid ran down his body and arm like a river, and down his arms and legs the white and black metal interlaced together to form slim gauntlets and greaves. Over his shoulders rested a collar of dark blue metal fused to the neck and chin, framing his face and hiding his ears behind metallic fins. While his bangs remained uneven and messy, the hair itself had changed from the colour of an onyx to that of a sapphire, and where the back had once been short now flowed beautiful locks down past his knees that swayed not as if moving through air, but instead as if underwater. His clenched fist tightened, his fingers now composed of the same glowing liquid that pulsed in his chest, and opened his eyes. Gone were the place blue of the uncertain teenager, and in their place shone irises of pure gold. He lowered his arm and shifted his posture. He stood taller than before, focused.

"Well now," Misato muttered. "Aren't you full of surprises?"

Ritsuko said nothing. Two entities as one? What is this? Her mind was racing, trying to understand what this could mean. Is this some form of synchronization? No, fusion. Does that mean like the Evas…

Misato interrupted her train of thought. "Alright, clearly there's more to you than we expected. But I need you to tell me this; will you be able to support the Evas? Can you promise that?"

Kazuki regarded her for a moment, just as Aogami had been only moments before. Then he turned his attention to the pilots. And finally, he spoke. "Don't worry." It was surprising to hear such strength behind a voice as soft and delicate as his, almost as if someone else was speaking with his tongue. "I will protect you."

Yeah so I was planning to have this out by early March, but funny thing is that my computer fucking died right in the middle of it. Then I had to send it off and thankfully it was still under warranty (just barely like less than a month left thank god) but it took over 2 months for me to get it back, meanwhile its literally the first week of uni and I'm without my computer and I've started working for at this new place until mid May and I've got to make do with this crappy little tablet with a keyboard fused to it. Great fun. But it's back now and I'm very happy, because I love this heavy thing and also has my games on it.

This was another annoying chapter because a lot of it is just me transcribing the show and that's just... bleh. Feels like cheating, you know? I try to add flourishes or something to make it more interesting but it's still just the same thing as the show at its base. Also, it's the fact that all the scenes are so short. That REALLY feels like cheating, like I'm just padding the chapter out. I think it's pretty clear I have more fun when I can do my own thing. I don't know, it'll get more fun the further in we get since I can really fuck around with what happens. I've been itching to introduce Aogami because I know he's going to be hella fun to write with. And now we've got Kazuki Nahobino'd up, so the next chapter is going to be fun. Though don't expect it any time soon. I also want to write some other stuff thank you very much.

EDIT: Also, if you're going to comment or review this fic, please actually... comment on the fic. I don't need people to summarise the plot of the series or give away spoilers that I MIGHT ACTUALLY HAVE PLANS FOR IN THIS FANFIC THAT YOU MIGHT RUIN IF YOU JUST GIVE IT ALL AWAY. Also, don't start arguing about who's the strongest SMT protag or whatever, that also has nothing to do with this fic. I'm being a little harsh but please, just have some decorum, alright? Thanks.