AN: Well, here's chapter six. I don't have much to say this time so we're just gonna jump in. Thanks for the reviews people. Now then, ready?

Let's get on with the show!

Different Worlds

"And he claims he does not know how his teleportation onto the Seraph's back occurred?"

"Yes, Commander," replied Ritsuko. She'd just finished briefing Gendo on the mystery that was his son. Ever since he returned from piloting Unit 01 on his first mission, the boy had been showing some inconsistencies. His personality had seemingly done a 180 from the time he entered his Eva to the time he left it, he displayed extraordinary abilities while in his Evangelion too. The boy simply said that he felt comfortable in his Eva and gave no further explanation. When they questioned him on his use of sound waves against Shamshel, he'd said he didn't know how he did it – they could tell he wasn't lying then, but when he was questioned on how he appeared on Gaghiel's back? They knew he was lying right away. Was he bad at lying? Not at all, but when they had him hooked up to the most state of the art lie detector without his knowledge, well…

If all that wasn't enough, there was one more inconsistency with the boy and this one set off more red flags than any of the others. Misato had told Shinji that she and Kaji were married hours before he'd gotten into his Eva to fight Sachiel, but she'd told Ritsuko after the defeat of Gaghiel that her marriage to Kaji had come up while they were aboard the Over the Rainbow and he'd reacted as if the news was the most shocking thing he'd ever heard. Something was severely off about Ikari Shinji and now they had to find out what.

"Watch the boy closely," said the commander, "and if he proves to be a threat – have him eliminated."

Shinji cooked his breakfast for the day with a sigh. He hadn't had a very good night's sleep. He and Leliel had been up the whole night talking. Was he tired? Yes. As if not getting any real sleep wasn't already bad enough the subject of their conversation had left him in a rather foul mood. He hadn't been back to school since the battle at sea; today would make day three. The first day was spent making it back to Tokyo-3 and yesterday was spent with testing at Nerv – testing and interrogation. They'd grilled him on everything they found suspicious about him, but he'd thought he'd done decently at removing some of their suspicions – he was wrong.

Not trusting his father at all, Shinji had Leliel eavesdrop on them after he was dismissed and that's what last night's discussion had been about. He learned that they'd had him hooked up to a lie detector and he'd never even known. Furthermore, he found out that he was supposed to have known about Misato's marriage already. He'd been too careless and now his father was prepared to – eliminate him – as he'd put it. Following his discoveries, he and Leliel discussed what sorts of actions they would need to take in the future to make sure no one discovered his angelic status. The only good part about talking to his kin last night was her explaining how his powers worked, not that it would be easy to pull off.

Yes, Ikari Shinji was in a foul mood this morning.

And it would only get worse from here.

His cell phone vibrated in his pocket. Assuming it was Misato, Shinji answered without thinking.

"Hello?"

"Hey there, cutie," replied Mari, sounding as if she was purring into the phone.

"… How – how did you get my number…?"

"A girl has her ways… especially when her mother is so important in Nerv."

"I see," replied Shinji, frowning. As he laid his breakfast out on the table, he continued.

"So… what's up?"

"Misato told me to call you. Said it was important," replied Mari. Shinji immediately wondered why Misato couldn't have called him herself.

"Oh, okay…? So, what did she want to say?"

Mari told him.

Shinji dropped his phone.

Toji, Kensuke, Hikari, and Mayumi stood at the front of the school with the rest of their class as they waited for the bus that would apparently be taking them to the location of their field trip. They hadn't been told where they'd be going; the teacher's had only said it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity and that no one should miss it. In fact, attendance was mandatory. Despite that, the four friends weren't thinking about the field trip.

"Today makes five days," said Mayumi, closing her book with a frown. She'd tried reading to keep her mind off unsavory subjects, but it wasn't working.

"So what?" grouched Toji, crossing his arms, "He's just a lyin' asshole anyway."

"He saved our lives," retorted Hikari.

"It's his job," Toji argued, "an' just cuz he got it right that time doesn't erase his mistakes from before."

"Toji, I'm not exactly happy with him either," replied Mayumi, "but we don't really have the right to judge his performance. We have no idea what it's like to be a pilot."

Though Mayumi made sense, Toji – ever stubborn – refused to back down.

"It can't be all that hard," scoffed Toji, "I bet I can do a better job than him."

You guys," said Kensuke, finally doing more than just listening to the argument unfold. "Let's save this for later? The bus is coming," emphasizing his statement, he pointed down the street. The four of them waited as the bus came to a stop and opened its doors. They were at the front of the line, so they were the first inside. After finding seats to settle into, a new conversation was started.

"Why do you think it's just our class on the field trip?" asked Kensuke as he fiddled with his camera.

"Maybe they think we're awesome?" wondered Toji as he leaned back into his seat, his hands behind his head.

Mayumi snorted.

"With your grades? Yeah, our class is awesome." Mayumi's voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Hey! One person doesn't decide whether or not our class is awesome! 'Sides, I did pretty good on the last test."

"In your own words, Toji, just because you got it right that time doesn't erase your mistakes from before," replied Mayumi as she opened her book again, hiding the smallest of smirks now present on her face.

"Also, it's 'I did pretty well,' not 'good.'"

"This and what he did are different!" growled Toji, choosing to ignore her correction of his speech.

"Not really," replied Mayumi as the bus began to move, "a mistake is a mistake, Toji. We're human, we all make them. Maybe it's about time you accept that."

"Uh…" started Hikari, intent on defusing the situation, "Does it really matter why we were chosen? Let's just be happy about it…" Toji continued to glare at Mayumi, but after a moment – in which she didn't even glance at him – he grumbled and looked away. The rest of the ride was spent in silence for the four of them until they came to a stop at a large wall of sorts with the number 7 written on it in red.

The wall began to open, sliding apart as the seven split down the middle. Soon enough the wall was gone all together, leaving only a hole that seemed to lead into a black abyss. At this point, some of the students were creeped out, especially when the bus continued to move forward. Many of them expected the bus to go over some sort of ledge and fall, leading to their deaths. They were very relieved when there was no fall.

As the wall closed behind them the bus began to move downward, carried by an elevator of sorts. As they proceeded down the shaft, which had been lit up by lights on the walls at their sides, Toji asked where they were.

"Dude… I have no idea," replied Kensuke, "but it's awesome! Feels so military!"

He didn't realize how right he was.

Misato was trying (and failing) to occupy herself with some mindless phone game as she waited for their guests at gate seven. Personally, she didn't understand why the commander was allowing this to happen (though she'd volunteered to chaperone their guests so she could get out of her paperwork, but that didn't change her displeasure at all of this). Nerv and its inner workings were supposed to be secret, but now he was just letting a bunch of kids in?

"Don't we have enough problems?" wondered Misato aloud. Shinji (if the boy she'd been watching over really was still Shinji) had just been flagged as a possible threat, Kyoko couldn't determine how to replicate the sound and teleportation abilities Unit 01exhibited, and Kaji had called her yesterday saying that it may be a bad idea to trust the commander. What did that even mean? Did her husband realize what he was implying? If she couldn't trust the commander then who the hell could she trust? Everyone was under his control.

Misato Sighed.

"I'm getting too old for this kind of shit… and I'm not even old, damn it…" Just as those words slipped passed her mouth, gate seven began to open. Straightening herself up, Misato put on a small, yet welcoming smile. Once the gate opened completely, she was greeted by the sight of a bus. Waiting a few moments longer, the doors on the bus opened and Shinji's class flooded out.

"Hello," called Misato, beckoning the children and their teacher's over to her. The students complied, curiosity written all over their faces.

"I bet you're wondering where you guys are, huh?" asked Misato, smile still present. The students nodded, some even agreeing with her vocally.

"Well, I guess it's about time you guys found out. My name is Katsuragi Misato and today I'll be the one guiding your tour throughout these facilities," she said as she led the class to a door down the hall. It opened up to reveal a few section 2 agents.

"Welcome to Nerv."

Kensuke almost peed himself, he was so happy. He never thought he'd have an opportunity like this.

"Guys! We're actually at Nerv!" he cried to his friends gleefully. Toji, Mayumi, and Hikari – while not as excited as their military loving friend – were still pretty hyped.

"Let's get started then," said Misato as they headed down the hall, "first, I'll take you to Ritsuko's. She's our resident tech genius as well as quite the doctor. After that, we'll be visiting the Eva cages. You guys will get to see the Evangelion's – the giant robots who fight the Angel's – and we'll let you guys ask Dr. Soryu a few questions. She was instrumental in their creation. Following that, you'll see our command center, Central Dogma. You all will get to try out one of our battle simulations and you might get a glimpse of our pilots during one of their sync tests too. After that you'll have lunch in the cafeteria and if the commander hasn't changed his mind by then, you might actually get to see the footage recorded from our battles. That'll be the end of the tour here."

The class was abuzz now.

"Pilots?" asked one of the students, "I thought there was only one."

"Not at all; we'd all be dead by now if we only had one pilot. The pilot you all have seen recently has just been taking care of things by themselves for a while. Our other pilot had been too injured to help out and we only recently got two more. Considering the number of Evangelion's close to being completed, we'll probably be able to take about four more."

"So Shinji's not the only one, huh?" said Kensuke, drawing a look from Misato.

"How do you know he's a pilot?" she asked, a certain edge in her voice.

If this kid's managed to get info he shouldn't have, Nerv may need to do something about him. I read up on all of them and if I remember he's pretty tech savvy... his name was Kensuke, I think…

The identities of the pilot's weren't particularly secrets, but they weren't announced or anything. If Shinji hadn't told him personally or something like that then Kensuke would have to have found out in some illegal way.

"Uh… an Angel attacked one day and Shinji was with us when Rei came to get him…"

"I see," Misato replied. Misato would have questioned how they knew Rei was a pilot, but she'd already known the girl had spilled the beans long ago. Not that Rei wanted the attention or anything. Misato knew that would be the day pigs flew, but Rei also wasn't much for keeping secrets. Usually if you asked the girl something, she'd answer.

Misato and the group of students were nearing Ritsuko's workplace when she almost bumped into Rei whom was walking down the hallway to her left.

"Lieutenant Colonel," greeted the First Child.

"Hello, Rei. Where are you coming from?" asked Misato as she heard Kensuke freaking out about being escorted by a Lieutenant Colonel. Misato didn't get why that was exciting, but who was she to judge? To each their own.

"I was conversing with Dr. Soryu. She wished to have my opinion in regards to Shinji's first battle." Misato nodded, already having an idea as to why Kyoko would want to look into that.

"Ah. He did pretty well for his first time, huh? Though, his fights seem to get more destructive with each sortie. First it was just a building or two that broke down, then he breaks apart the roads, flattens cars, and cracks glass in his second battle. His third fight probably would have been even worse if we hadn't been at sea." Rei merely nodded, finding that Misato's facts were agreeable.

"So, where are you headed off to now?" asked Misato

"To join the other pilots in combat training; Shinji and Pilot Soryu are exceptional fighters," replies Rei, monotonously, "The commander believes it is in my best interest to learn from the two of them. After attending some of their sparring sessions, I find his decisions to be agreeable." Misato nods.

"Yeah… I hadn't expected Shinji to be so good. He's kind of merciless about it sometimes; makes me wonder how he got beat up that one day… anyway, get going. I'm taking these kids to see Ritsuko." Rei nodded and was soon on her way. Turning the corner and heading down the hallway Rei had come down, Misato and her group soon found themselves in front of Ritsuko's door.

Shinji wiped his face with a towel, sweat running down his face, chest, and arms. Today's sparring session with Asuka, Mari, and Rei had gone fairly well. Asuka was a good opponent, even if he had to hold back on her considering he was much stronger than her now. Mari was a crafty fighter too – whenever she wasn't just trying to cop a feel of his butt. As for Rei, she was coming along nicely. Shinji knew she'd probably never really have to be good though. He didn't remember her having to do some real hand-to-hand combat in his dimension – then again, neither had he.

Dismissing past experiences, he knew that they might very well need to know hand-to-hand combat this time around. With the Angels being different from his dimension and some of them even being able to become Seraphs, there was no telling what they could all be in for. Shinji just hoped he could protect them all this time around, even if everything was different.

As Shinji became lost in his thoughts, Asuka eyed him. To be honest, she'd expected something different out of the Third Child. When she first met him, she'd assumed that he was just some annoying prodigy that couldn't do anything outside of his Evangelion. The way he'd ignored her had pissed her off too. To say her first impression of him was horrible would be an understatement.

That changed though. After the defeat of Gaghiel she'd had to hang around him since then. They'd been at Nerv so much and their only free time was usually spent with the other pilots – not to mention, even when they didn't have free time they spent most of that time together too. There was really no way for them not to get to know one another. They'd talked a lot – well – he'd talked to Mari. Asuka would usually listen in while they conversed, throwing in remarks (that were usually snide) when she saw an opportunity.

Though she never did anything particular nice to the boy, he didn't seem bothered by her personality. It was almost as if he knew exactly how to handle her – which annoyed her. She couldn't manage to hate the boy though. Asuka noticed he worked hard, which she liked. Furthermore, he was a decent sparring partner. The thing she respected about him the most though, was that he didn't back down in her presence. He wasn't out-right challenging or hostile, but he certainly had a spine. Shinji was – as much as Asuka hated to admit it – a pretty good guy.

With that in mind, she wondered if Shinji would be okay today. She'd never admit it to anyone, but she was slightly worried about him. He'd told her and Mari about the friends he'd made in school and how he'd messed up their relationship. Personally, she didn't think Shinji was in the wrong. Those who didn't pilot an Eva would never be able to understand what it was like for a Child of Evangelion. They had no right to be angry with him. He'd done his best and that's all anyone could really ask of them.

They risked their lives every day. Sometimes, Asuka just didn't think any normal civilian realized that.

"Isn't he cute? And he works so hard too – which only adds to his cuteness, of course."

"Yeah…" replied Asuka, absentmindedly.

"Don't you just want to go over there and get a good grip of his butt? He has a nice ass."

"Yeah… he – wait a fucking minute!" Screeched Asuka, now aware of her surroundings once again. Rounding on her cousin, she glared as the bespectacled girl smirked.

"Stop being so dirty, Mari!" hissed Asuka, her voice just barely above a whisper.

"Why? You agreed anyway." Asuka's face reddened, a mix of anger and embarrassment being the cause.

"I fucking hate you." Mari smiled before wrapping Asuka up in a hug that the redhead struggled to free herself from.

She did not succeed.

"I love you too, cousin. I love you too."

"Nerv is so cool," gushed Kensuke as he slid into the seat next to Toji. They'd thoroughly enjoyed their tour up to this point. They'd seen a lot of the facility so far, but of course Kensuke was happiest about being able to get another close up look at the Evangelions and being able to fight the Angel's Nerv had already encountered thanks to the battle simulator they had. The fights had been insane, but the hardest by far was definitely Gaghiel. It's second form was powerful and even in groups of three, none of them had defeated the beast. Kensuke wondered how Shinji and the other pilots had pulled it off. That thing was a beast.

What made the day even better is that the person guiding them around was a Lieutenant Colonel – and totally drop dead gorgeous. Misato and Hikari seemed to get along pretty well too for some reason. He wasn't complaining though. Thanks to that, the Lieutenant Colonel had actually decided to sit with them during their little lunch break.

"Yes, Kensuke, we heard you the first 15 times you said it," sighed Mayumi.

"Oh he's just excited," said Misato, "let him enjoy it. The odds of you guys getting in here again are pretty slim," added Misato before taking a bite. If they didn't become pilots or land a job here after they managed to get through college (which by then the Angel's should all be dead anyway – if the human race isn't killed first… or if the Angel's didn't take another long break from attacking…) their chances were, in fact, zero.

"Yeah, don't spoil my fun, Mayumi." Mayumi rolled her eyes before getting back to her food.

Just as Toji was about to say something, a voice cut through the low chatter of the cafeteria.

"Mari, I swear if you don't shut up!"

"Oh," said Misato, smirking, "looks like they finished combat training." Unbeknownst to her, the four students she'd been sitting with tensed.

"Come on, Asuka. She's just hungry. No need to yell at her for it," replied Shinji as the four of them walked into the cafeteria, to engrossed in their argume – conversation – to really notice the extra people.

"You stay out of this, Third! That's not an excuse for her complaining all the way over here."

"Aw, Cousin. Don't be such a spoil sport. Don't you like hearing my voice?"

"No." Mari's mock hurt look made Shinji snicker.

"I believe we are being watched," interjected Rei. At Rei's words, her fellow pilots actually cast a look around the cafeteria. All eyes were on them.

"Oh, well that's awkward," said Shinji, fighting back the slight embarrassment that wanted to turn his face red. Their argument over hunger stopped there and the four of them went to collect their food. Once they had everything they wanted, they looked for an empty table to sit at – until Misato called them over.

"This is going to suck," groaned the Third Child as they changed course to sit with Misato.

"Why? They're your classmates aren't they?" asked Mari.

"I believe they are the friends he made at school," replied Rei flatly, "It is understandable why he would find this to be a less than desirable meeting." Rei had, of course, been present when Shinji had told Asuka and Mari what happened with his friends. She did not exactly know how to feel about it, but she did note that she was not particularly happy to see them.

"Oh… I dare them to say something," growled Asuka as they neared the table, "I don't really care that they're so pissed with you, Third," she lied, "but they're taking what we do for granted and I won't let that pass."

"Of course you won't," replied Shinji, rolling his eyes as they finally made it to the table. After the four pilots took their seats, Misato spoke up.

"How was combat training?" asked the Lieutenant Colonel.

"Cutie here," smiled Mari, motioning to Shinji, "and my cousin threw down as usual. They're fine now, but I'm betting they'll be sporting a few bruises tomorrow."

"Oh please, he's good, but Shinji can't really hurt me," gloated Asuka.

"Not what you said yesterday, cousin dearest. Weren't you limping just this morning too?"

Asuka's eyes met Mari's, a fierce glare making her blue pools seem like the coldest ice. She didn't understand why her cousin had to make her seem weak in front of a bunch of students.

"He can't be that good," remarked Toji, his tone aggravated. Misato caught onto this and now she wondered if she'd made a mistake with getting the pilots to sit here. She didn't understand though. Weren't these four Shinji's friends?

"Pilot Makinami is correct," replied Rei, "Shinji is an excellent fighter," she defended. This action earned her a look from Misato that went unnoticed. Rei didn't often defend people – in fact, now that Misato thought about it, the few times she had defended someone it was always the commander. This was noteworthy… and probably something she'd have to bring up with Ritsuko when she had the time later.

Toji sneered and before he could think better of it, he replied.

"Then why couldn't the bastard save my sister?!"

The table was silent and Misato started putting the puzzle pieces together. Pissed off friends that (now that she thought about it) had avoided talking about Shinji; they'd found out about him being a pilot in an unexpected manner from Rei – and right before the angel attacked. Which would line up with the injuries Shinji had when he came to pilot and why he'd even got hurt in the first place. Of course he wouldn't fight his friends – especially if he felt he was in the wrong. It all made sense now.

"You're the kid that beat up Shinji, aren't you?" asked Misato, doing what she could not to glare at the jock. Whether she completely trusted Shinji now or not, that didn't mean she could just let people beat on him. He was still a pilot of Nerv and his safety was important. Still, she couldn't really punish Toji. Not right now – besides, she had another target. A lot had been happening lately so she'd put it off, but now she wondered.

Where the hell had Section 2 been while Shinji was getting beat up by this brat?

"He deserved it," replied Toji, glaring at the boy all his anger was focused on, "He's supposed t' be a pilot and he can't even protect one girl? Pathetic."

"Toji!" chastised Hikari. Did he seriously think now was the best time to insult someone who protected the city? In their own base? She knew the boy was angry and impulsive, but this was just stupid.

"Look here, idiot," growled Asuka, the glare she'd given to Mari now directed at Toji, "You don't know a thing about what it's like to pilot an Evangelion. You don't know what we go through. Don't make light of what we do just because something bad happened to your family. Get over it!"

Asuka's yell had rendered the whole cafeteria. Students, teachers, and Nerv personnel alike had all ended their conversations abruptly to watch this argument unfold. As for Toji, he just glared at Asuka, his rage radiating off of him in waves. Clenching his fists, he yelled back.

"I've been inside your little simulators! I fought through your battles an' they were easy! I bet you're just tryin' to make yourself look good, actin' like piloting is all hard," Toji Scoffed, "None of that even matters though, I have a right t' be angry! It's his fault my little sister got hurt!" growled the jock, his glare shifting from Asuka to Shinji.

"What, you think fighting in a simulator means anything?! Those don't even require you guys to be able to sync with an Eva!" exclaimed Asuka as she heatedly rose from her seat, slamming her hands on the table and making the plates jump.

"Furthermore, you incompetent little twit, it was the Angel's fault your sister got hurt, not the Third's. If anything, you should be thanking him because if not for him she'd likely be dead! And if you think your sister getting hurt makes you special or something, you're sorely mistaken. Your story isn't new - in fact you're one of the lucky ones. Worse things have happened. So don't come here and insult our ability to pilot when you don't know the first thing about a real fight!"

Once again, Asuka had left everyone silent – including Toji. It's not that he was admitting she was right – no, the boy was too stubborn for that – but she'd left him so angry he couldn't form words. She'd even said what happened to his sister was nothing special.

How dare this bitch!

Growling, Toji was about to retort.

And that's when everything went to hell.

The sirens blared across the base and Misato immediately stood to her feet, making a dash for the door so she could get to Central Dogma as she barked orders to her pilots.

"Mari, follow me and make sure Shinji's classmates and teachers don't get lost on the way to Central. They'll be safest there since we might not have enough time to get them to a shelter. Rei, Shinji, Asuka, suit up and get to the Eva's!"

Shinji, Asuka, and Rei hadn't even needed to be told. They'd already abandoned the argument Toji had started and much like every other Nerv personnel that had been eating they were now rushing to their proper stations as the final confirmation for their haste rang true through the base.

"Pattern blue," rang an automated voice through the intercoms, "Sixth Angel confirmed."

And so Shinji's class is trapped at Nerv while an Angel attacks. Toji and company have taken a peek into Shinji's world and they're about to discover how hectic it can be to pilot an Eva. I wonder how this will all turn out? Anyway, see you guys next time! I'll try to have a new chapter out before or on Christmas. Oh! And leave a review? They make the world go round and make chapters come out faster.

Also, with the release of this chapter a poll is going up. I've got a question I want to ask everyone.