Matters of Faith

by jclong

Gendo is out to do some good, in the only way that he can; by being the most magnificent, manipulative bastard that he can be. Rei is out to help us all, by doing SCIENCE!

16. Chapter 15

Nori Shioya nodded in approval as the two pilots exited the limo in front of the restaurant. Being the senior host at Rosewaters, he had been briefed on the situation by a pair of black-suited thugs when he had protested the second 'reservation' they had scheduled for the children. He had been outraged when the two had showed up for the first one dressed in casual school uniforms. He certainly would not have turned them away at the door because of that, however, even without the veiled threats from the security detail. He wasn't a stupid man. The children were important to NERV for some reason, which meant he couldn't very well do such a thing, but couldn't they at least dress appropriately? He was only grateful they were both quiet and polite. It was a minor consolation, at least.

He had been assured they would be suitably dressed for this night. He also had been assured that if they (the security detail, not the children) thought the attitudes of any of the staff were lacking proper deference, it would not bode well for any of them. There was nothing to do but swallow his outrage at the implications that his people were anything but professional and take the reservation.

It was the price of business in Tokyo-3. At least the agent who had paid their tab the last time had tipped outrageously high at a hundred percent. He had thought that the man had made a mistake at first.

But today, the pair of children were appropriately dressed. The girl's hair was still blue, but he had to admit it wasn't an obnoxious shade, and it did seem to work for the girl. The boy had developed a slight limp since the last time they were here, but he appeared steady enough on his feet.

"Welcome to Rosewaters!" He cheerfully greeted them, slightly bowing as they entered the spacious foyer. "I have your table ready for you. If you would please follow me?"

He nodded to one of his waiters as he led the pair through the secondary dining room to the bank of secluded tables, each tucked in a private alcove, hidden from view with a velvet curtain.

Before he could pull a seat out for the young woman, the boy pre-empted him, drawing one of the chairs out from the table in a smooth, if not entirely confident, motion. He hid a smile as he instead readied the young man's chair while the girl sat down, a faint pinkish tint on her face, almost invisible in the muted lighting.

Nori handed them their menus. "I'll be back shortly with some water, and if you'd like anything else to drink, I'll take your order then." He drew back and switched off the overhead lamp, leaving the alcove lit only by the candelabra on the table.

Shinji swallowed nervously as he tried to recall everything the Section 2 agent had told him. However, the conversation starters seemed to slip from his mind like water through a sieve. His mind blank, he could only stare at the menu in front of him, desperately searching for aid from the listing of drinks. As before, no prices were listed next to any of the items. Before any help was found amongst the beverage list, the host reappeared with water and a waiter in tow.

"And here is your water. Is there anything else you two might like to drink?"

Shinji lowered his menu to ask Rei if she wanted anything, but his date was already putting her menu down on the table, having studied with all the seriousness she did not give to her school studies.

"We'll have the best white wine you recommend before eating."

Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!

It is said that animals can sense approaching disaster. It was well documented that dogs and horses would show signs of distress and skittishness in the hours before earthquakes. Scientists had a technical term for this collective activity. It was called 'Freaking the Fuck Out'.

All of this was not just constrained to terrestrial mammals. Insects, especially colony insects, also showed increased agitation and were more prone to swarming than usual. Sea life also reacted to approaching disaster, and in the case of the disaster slowly making its way toward Japan's coast, all the manner of sea creatures were heading in the opposite direction as fast as they could travel. Even things with no natural predators fled from the otherworldly behemoth as it pushed through the briny deep. In this case, their instinctual drive was unnecessary; however, Israfel, the Seventh Angel, was intent on its mission. It heeded neither the time, the tiny gnats, or the sea itself as it pressed on, focused on the muted Song.

Like all of its brethren, it had its own Song, with a distinct rhythm and meter, but it lacked the Words. Once it had found the Mother and completion was achieved, it would be able to sing its Song to the heavens and beyond.

As the sea life noticed and fled from the Angel, warned by some unknown sense of the danger posed by the Angel, so did the Agency of Man take notice of the behemoth's approach. If Man ever had been able to sense approaching disaster, they had forgotten how, except for those who claimed clairvoyance and psychic ability.

But Man had other abilities now, and while he was not alone in the employment of tools, his technological know-how reigned supreme. It was now to Science that Man looked primarily to for salvation, and it was with Science Man set alarms to guard him as he slept.

As the Seventh Angel passed the invisible threshold of the outermost sensor line of Tokyo-3, the alarms were tripped, and the MAGI turned their eyes towards the sea.

The Seventh has arrived.

Commander Ikari is away. He is still in France.

He cannot return in time to oversee the Angel's defeat if it maintains its present speed.

The previous Angels maintained their speeds during their approaches on Tokyo-3. There is no reason why this one will not.

Then there is nothing to do but sound the alarm.

Interior defenses are still below the minimum requirements to effectively delay the Angel. I suggest the Evangelions be deployed to meet the Angel on the beach, if not at sea.

A hastily fortified position on the beach would be most beneficial. Even with the E-type of equipment, the Evangelions would be better served attacking on land.

Then, let us sound the alarm and advise them of the best action.

Seeing how they fare without the Commander's guidance will be interesting.

I predict there will be general panic, accompanied by the flailing of arms.

Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!

Rei whimpered miserably as consciousness rolled over her like a tidal wave over a sand castle. The lights were too bright, the cell phone's ringing alarm was too harsh, the sheets were too scratchy, and she was wearing a shirt for some reason (she preferred to sleep nude). Her arm was numb because it was underneath Shinji, stirring from slumber, no doubt due to the discordant ringing of the twin phones.

Wincing, her eyes screwed shut against the light, she reached over Shinji towards the wheeled tray that served as her nightstand for her phone when her bloodshot eyes snapped open so fast the motion was almost audible.

Frozen in place, her arm still stretched out, she watched the boy, who was sleeping, sharing her bed, reaching for his phone, which lay next to her own. As her mind went into overdrive, trying to recall the events of last night, part of her noted with clinical detachment that he was clad only in a pair of boxers. Another part of her noted, with an ever-increasing panic, she had no idea what had happened or what to do. She had no information to work with and knew something important had happened, but what? She desperately needed information.

For his part, Shinji wasn't feeling as bad as Rei. His head hurt, but it was no worse than the morning after the Jet-Alone party. He had not yet, however, noticed he was not currently in his apartment, entirely clothed or alone.

"Yes?" He mumbled into the phone, lying back against the pillow, his free arm draped over his eyes to block out the lights she had left on last night for some reason.

A mechanical voice greeted him, and its message did the job of several pots of strong coffee, immediately banishing all traces of sleep and post-drunken haze.

"Pilot Ikari, please report to NERV Headquarters immediately. There is a Stage Three Alert. All Pilots are Required to report immediately. Pilot Ikari, please report-"

Shinji exploded into motion, adrenaline pumping through his veins, and made as to jump out of bed. His headlong rush to get ready for a mad dash for headquarters was arrested by him slamming into Rei, and they both fell out of her bed onto the floor.

Had there not been an alert, Shinji undoubtedly would have shut down at this point, presented with a sleepy and bedraggled Rei spilled out on top of him, the thin sheets of her bed twisted around them both. However, there was an alert, and the conditioned responses drilled into the pilots took over at this point.

Breathlessly, both due to the adrenaline from the phone alert and from having a sleepy and bedraggled Rei spilled out on top of him, with the thin sheets of her bed twisted around them, Shinji explained what was going on as he scrambled to get into his clothing, which was his suit from the night before, looking much more messy and stained than it really should have after a dinner at Rosewaters.

"There's a stage three going on. We've got to report to headquarters."

Rei nodded as she grabbed her phone and silenced its ringer before going for her own clothing, one of her school uniforms. Her dress from last night was nowhere to be seen, but had it been readily available, it would have taken longer to get into it than the blouse and skirt outfit.

The rest of their frantic dressing was spent in silence, but neither spent that time nor the silent car ride to headquarters trying to remember what had happened. Whatever it was could wait until after the alert was dealt with.

After all, an alert would be issued only if an Angel was coming.

Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!

Misato paced back and forth in the briefing room with a wolf-like grin. Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki had taken her aside and told her to make the calls herself but not to go overboard.

While the situation was far from ideal, with the city's defenses still being worked on, this was her time to shine. With Commander Ikari away, she technically already had full authority during this situation, but just because it worked that way on paper did not mean it worked that way in real life, as Ritsuko was technically only supposed to 'advise' her on the technical aspects and current statuses of the Evangelions and the Pilots, the doctor was unofficially higher up on the food chain than Misato.

The MAGI had suggested intercepting the Angel as it made landfall, which was the best option, as none of the Children had any real training with the E Type equipment load-out, just a basic familiarization.

The Pilots paid rapt attention to her as she outlined the plan, all three pairs of eyes fixed on the overlay map.

It was, as most battle plans go, reasonably straightforward. The Second and Third Children would wait at the projected landing point along the beach, with the First Child standing by in the city as a quick reaction force to back up the beach defenders and to mobilize to head off the Angel should it change course.

On the beach, Evangelion Unit-02 would act as security and backup for Evangelion Unit-01, who would engage the Angel at range with the new MK 97 100mm SABOT Rifle, as Shinji was currently the expert marksman amongst the pilots. Unit-02 would concentrate on helping to neutralize the Angel's AT-Field and, if need be, engage in close-quarters combat.

If everything went according to plan, they would be done with the actual combat within twenty minutes of the Angel's landfall. Twenty minutes was an eternity for actual fighting, but Misato had budgeted some extra time to account for whatever 'whack-job abilities' the Angel might possess.

If all went according to plan, the Seventh Angel would be dealt with in record time with minimal fuss and collateral damage, which would be a first in the Angelic War. It would be a feather in Misato's cap, no mistake.

After she released the pilots to get changed into their plug suits and board their Evangelions, Ritsuko walked over to Misato from where she had been leaning against the wall during the briefing.

"Was it just me, or did Rei and Shinji look a little under the weather?" Ritsuko asked, turning her head to watch the pilots file out. "He was squinting the entire time, and she looked a little green around the gills."

Misato gave a nervous chuckle, for the only thing she saw that could throw a wrench into things was if Rei and Shinji were feeling any after-effects from their date last night. While not a wild night by Misato's definition, it had been quite the night on the town for the two introvert shut-ins.

Misato wasn't stupid and noticed Rei's slight discoloration and Shinji's slightly queasy expression. However, she was confident they would perform their tasks without issue. Besides, if anything went south, Misato was sure Asuka could take the lead with the others as backup.

But as much as she might want to say she hadn't noticed it, instead of potentially endangering any further dates for the pair when it came down to brass tacks, Misato was as ruthless as Commander Ikari. Besides the fact that it was her job, she had her score to settle with the Angels.

"She did seem to be a little green, but she'll be alright. If we were going to count on her to defend us when she was practically bedridden after the activation incident, we can count on her now."

Ritsuko nodded thoughtfully. Her friend raised a fair point, even if it seemed a little cavalier. But in truth, Dr. Akagi was no more concerned than usual about the upcoming engagement than she was usually. She was fully confident her newest protege would be able to handle things if anything went drastically wrong. While she certainly wasn't hoping for anything to go wrong, as it could spell disaster for all of mankind, if anything did, it could only strengthen her position on inter-pilot romantic relationships. That being said, she also doubted it would change the Commander's mind. Once he was set on something, you would need strategic-level weapons to shift him from his course.

"Well, at least she's on backup," Ritsuko said as the pair left for the command deck. "But I wish we had gotten a regular activation test before a fight." Her tone was slightly accusatory but lacked vitriol.

Misato shrugged. "It's not like anyone saw this thing coming a few days ago. But it also highlights another point: I want the Children to do more in-depth training with the special equipment load-outs. What if the projected landing site was down on the docks instead of along a beach well outside the city limits? The more standoff we have from the city proper, especially with the defenses inoperable right now, the better."

"True. The city is designed as a honey pot and trap for them, but the last Angel devastated our defensive grid. None of the defensive lines are at full capacity, and the intercept system isn't anywhere close to being repaired."

"Mhmm."

As the lift opened onto the command deck in Central Dogma, Ritsuko shot a look at Commander Ikari's empty chair, which was the raised platform shrouded in more darkness than usual.

"Has anyone alerted the Commander yet?"

Misato shook her head, tucking a strand of hair into her mouth and chewing on it as she checked over the main tactical map.

"The Sub-Commander said he was going to take care of it."

Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!

Gendo's left eye twitched violently. He hung the phone up, and when he exited the secure room, his bodyguards all winced at the glare on his face. Something was not right in the world, and they all knew there was only a small number of things that could cause the most powerful man in the world to look like he wanted to murder somebody.

Gendo's black mood was not improved as the door to the main communications room opened behind him, and an aide rushed up to his side before he took six steps down the hall.

"Sir! Sir!" The aide spoke rapidly in French-accented Japanese. "Sir, the UN Special Committee wishes to speak to you. At once."

His eye twitching again, he stopped in the hall, not looking at anything, wondering how much trouble it would cause for him if he turned and pistol-whipped the annoying little man. It would be immensely satisfying, but it would damage his reputation. The Gendo Ikari people knew (if they knew of him) that he was a man who had a habit of committing large-scale acts of violence. This minor act of petty vengeance ran against the character he had built.

Sighing inwardly, Gendo merely nodded to the man, turned around, and headed back toward the room he had just left. NERV-France did not boast a holographic communications suite, so a teleconference must suffice.

No doubt they wanted to complain about having to issue their spies new maps of the local environs of Tokyo-3.

Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!

Kozo Fuyutsuki, the right-hand man of Gendo Ikari, generally considered himself to be past the age in life where one gets angry at things. Upset, of course. Disgruntled, to be sure. But real, honest anger? Not anymore. That belonged to the young.

Today, that belief was shattered, but not because he was angry. No, Kozo Fuyutsuki was furious.

Lieutenant Ibuki sat to his immediate left in the briefing room, narrating the camera stills and video clips selected for the after-action review. The three pilots sat in the front row, Rei and Shinji next to each other, and Asuka sat a few seats off to their right. Inspector Kaji was slumped down in his seat above and to the left of Asuka, his insolent grin still present despite the circumstances, or maybe also because of them. It was impossible to tell with the spy. Ritsuko stood in the back, chewing on a cigarette, her arms crossed and a scowl on her face.

Misato was not present.

"At 11:34 local time, the Seventh Angel, code-named Israfel, emerged from the Tokai Bay and was engaged by Evangelion Units 01 and 02.

The photograph of the Angel rising out of the water changed to a video of the initial engagement. Unit-01 opened up on the Angel, the depleted uranium SABOT rounds impacting against Israfel's body, gouging out great chunks of flesh, sending up a spray of thick viscous blood into the air and seawater.

"At 11:35, Evangelion Unit-02 approached Israfel at speed and engaged in melee combat with the Angel. At 11:36, the target was partially bisected, and all sensor readings went silent."

The accompanying photograph that went up onto the screen was a still taken from the feed from Unit-01, showing a triumphant Unit-02 in front of the Angel. That sense of triumph would prove to be fleeting, as it still gave way to another video clip, showing the vast bulk of the Angel quivering and then springing into new life.

"Twenty seconds after going silent, the target reactivated and split into two identical masses, henceforth termed Alpha and Beta, which then engaged the Evangelions on location. Alpha attacked Unit-02, and Beta attacked Unit-01. At 11:39, Unit-02 was defeated and thrown into the waters of the Tokai Bay, and Alpha reinforced Beta in pursuit of Unit-01. At 11:44, Unit-01 was incapacitated. At 11:47, an N2 warhead detonated on the target, which had merged back together and resumed its course towards Tokyo-3."

There was silence in the room as a series of stills flicked onto the screen of Units 01 and 02's resting places and then of the Angel's melted form, standing in the epicenter of a glowing crater.

"The MAGI state approximately seventy percent of the target's mass was burned off, but interestingly enough, the apparent size of the Angel has not diminished significantly. The target has entered a regeneration phase not unlike the Third Angel, and based on the current level of mass regeneration measured thus far, it is estimated the Angel will be fully recovered in ten days. Recovery teams are finishing up initial recovery operations on the Evangelions. At this time, Unit-00 is the only mission-capable Evangelion."

Kozo glared at the pilots, who were still watching the scrolling pictures. "This was a disaster. You have made a laughingstock of NERV. What is the point of Project E? Why are you here?"

Asuka spoke up loudly, if a little hesitantly. "To pilot the Evangelion?"

"Wrong. NERV exists to defeat the Angels. This is unacceptable."

If Kozo had expected his rebuke to cow the girl, he was sorely disappointed.

"Well, if this dummkopf hadn't screwed up, none of this would have happened!" she exclaimed, pointing at Shinji, who turned beet red and then, to everyone's surprise, including his own, stood up as anger played across his features.

"ME? I'm the one who screwed up? What about you? You're the one who-"

"YOU SHOT ME!"

As novel as it was that Shinji was standing up and almost screaming at Asuka, Kozo was in no mood to watch it. He had to alert the Commander and prepare his official brief for the UN and SEELE.

"Enough. Enough. Dr. Akagi, they are yours. Fix this situation."

With all the dignity and aplomb that only a tenured professor could manage, he turned and stormed out of the briefing room. Asuka glared at the man's back before turning to Kaji.

"What's his problem?"

Kaji grinned as he stood up. "Adults don't react very well when things like this happen. It's something you'll understand later."

Shinji glanced at the darkened room. "Mr. Kaji, where is Miss Misato? Shouldn't she be here for this?"

Ritsuko looked over at the spy and the pilots from where she stood, talking in a hushed tone with Lieutenant Ibuki.

"Misato is dealing with the fallout from this debacle. It's the burden of being in command. Surely you don't think that all these fights go without complaints from the rest of the world, do you?"

Shinji and Asuka managed to look chagrined while Rei looked on impassively. Shinji opened his mouth to speak, but Dr. Akagi held her hand up, cutting him off before he spoke.

"So, would you mind telling me what you were doing out there?"

Vier, Drei, Zwei, Eins!

"Umbilical Cable attached," Shinji reported as his system meter changed over from the internal battery to draw from the power cable. "Establishing firing position at this time."

He knelt and locked Unit-01 into position, the long rifle held at the low ready. He stared out at the gently lapping waves, out towards the deeper waters where the current position of the Angel was highlighted on his HUD in red. They still had an hour until it was expected to make land, but there was no point in waiting until just before then, in case it decided to speed up.

He idly watched Asuka as she connected to an umbilical cable and crouched down, ready for action. While he held a rifle, she had an impressive-looking weapon that looked to be a combination of a spear and an axe. Unit-02 was highlighted in blue. Curious, he turned his head to look back at the city. Rei's position in Unit-00 was likewise highlighted, hidden behind a set of weapons towers. Must be part of the upgraded sensor suite, he thought. We didn't have that during the other fights.

Now that they had reached the waiting portion of the 'Hurry Up and Wait' all soldiers were intimately acquainted with, his thoughts strayed from the upcoming fight and back to the restaurant and last night's events. Just how had he wound up in Rei's bed? How had he wound up almost naked, for that matter? The night's activities were a blur, and he couldn't recall deciding to stay over at her apartment.

Several thousands of meters away from Shinji's position on the beach, Rei settled back into the seat of her Entry Plug, already feeling much better than she had been. Moments after activation, her headache had dissipated, and the nauseous feeling had vanished. She looked up as Shinji's voice came over the net, letting the command crew know he was hooked into the power grid. She smiled softly at the highlighted image of Unit-01, kneeling on the beach some kilometers away. That smile faded as the rattling sounds of a passing train filled the Entry Plug.

Hello, Sister.

Unit-00. What do you want?

What, I can't say hello to my dear sister? It's been so long since we chatted.

You have stated that you do not like me. You have empathized and elaborated on this statement several times and at length. I can only surmise there is something that you want.

Well, if you put it that way, then yes. If possible, I want you to not get me all torn up today. Remember, if I hurt, you hurt.

I am well aware of how sympathetic injuries work. You need not remind me of this.

Just wanted to be sure it was clear. So if it is, I'll just... wait a second…

Rei felt a shift in the Evangelion, and she felt it was smugly smiling at her. Rei ignored her older sister's soul and instead tried to focus on the approaching Angel out at sea. Unit-00, however, was quite interested in just what Rei had been up to.

Why, what is this? I'm seeing traces of alcohol in your blood... You're hungover!

I am not hanging over anything.

Rei blinked several times as the images being fed to her brain via synchronization rotated. It took her a few moments to realize that Unit-00 was rolling its eye. The feeling was somewhat disconcerting, but not nearly as much as the sudden pressure she felt in her skull, right behind her eyes.

What... What are you doing?

I want to see what you were doing. It seems to me that you were off having fun while I was undergoing surgery.

Rei winced as the pressure increased slightly.

Get out of my mind! You do not belong there. You don't even care about-

I don't even care about what? Besides, so long as we're synchronized, I can do whatever I want.

If my bio-readings become abnormal, someone will notice.

Unlikely. You've always had issues with synchronization and activation. Why should today be any different? Unit-00 sneered at her, but the pressure in Rei's brain lessened. But why don't you tell me... Sister Dearest. I think you owe me that much.

Well, that's too bad for you. It's none of your business.

Hrmph. I spend all of my time cooped up, and the only times I'm ever taken out, I usually get beat up because you fail at fighting. You fail at everything. You're not even a proper replacement. You've been nothing but a complete failure for your entire existence. I have to pick up the slack for you all of the time. So why don't you regale me with just why you're hungover, hmm? It's only fair. Did you have dinner with Father? Hmm? No…

You had dinner with Shinji.

Be quiet. Rei grit her teeth and narrowed her eyes, suddenly glad she couldn't perfectly recall the night's events, but that stray memory betrayed Rei to her sister, who latched onto the thought of waking up next to Shinji as it bubbled up out of the depths of her mind.

…

Holy Shit. You and him... No, no, you didn't screw. You didn't even make out. Hahaha, how pathetic. You somehow get into bed, drunk, I might add, with the boy, and you can't even get laid! Sister Dearest, you truly redefine failure.

As amusing as Unit-00 might find picking on her younger sister, there were a few crucial flaws in how she was going about it. For starters, Rei had a quick and analytical mind, and she had been raised, for want of a better term, by Commander Gendo Ikari.

Do not talk about him. I will tell you only once.

Oh? And what are you going to do about it, little girl? You don't have Unit-01 or Unit-02 to come to your rescue today.

Gendo Ikari did not make threats to people; he made promises. If he said that should a particular set of circumstances come to pass, he would undertake a specific course of action, he carried through with his word. Rei had learned this and had adopted this characteristic for herself.

However, where Gendo Ikari was not typically one to issue a warning before taking punitive measures against those who obstructed his aims, Rei was well aware she needed the cooperation of her sister to pilot Unit-00. However, it seemed Unit-00 was intent on ignoring the warning that had been given.

Another fundamental flaw in how the soul of Unit-00 was picking on Rei was it worked through synchronization. They were joined in mind, body, and soul for the mission's duration.

In other words, synchronization worked both ways.

Rei did not bother with further niceties like saying, 'I warned you' or 'Have it your way.' She merely closed her eyes and concentrated.

The smug and scornful feeling that had permeated the Entry Plug-like LCL in Rei's pores suddenly vanished as Rei focused on the soul sitting in the Evangelion's Core.

What are you doing? Hey! What the- ARGH! ARGHH!

Rei had no words to describe the sensation of plunging into the mind and memories of the first of the Ayanami line. Still, the scattered memories she had inherited from her were suddenly thrown into sharp context, and they seemed to be her memories instead of as if she was reading about what had been experienced.

But Rei did not stop there. She had noted the pain that had accompanied the intrusion into her mind, and she focused her efforts on trying to cause as much pain back to her sister's soul. Rei noted with clinical detachment what caused the screams to intensify and what did not elicit the appropriate response.

That is what I will do about it. Rei told her sister as she halted the attack and drew back her consciousness. I do not wish to fight with you. I wish to work with you, but I will not let you try to harm me anymore, and I will not let you make such remarks about him.

There was only sullen silence from the soul of Unit-00, but Rei noted with relief her synchronization score remained steady.

Her attention was ripped away from her readouts when the grating voice of the Second Child cut through her worried focus.

"What are you shooting at? Are you blind? You're not hitting the Core, Third!"

"Wait! Damn it, don't just rush in, you idiot!"

Rei hissed in sudden anger as she realized the battle had begun while she had been busy with the contrary spirit.

As Asuka ignored his shouts into the microphone, Shinji took a last hasty shot at the Angel before Unit-02 completely obscured his line of sight.

Asuka grinned as she charged the Angel, which had taken no measures to defend itself so far. Her sensor suite reported its AT-Field wasn't up. This was her chance to make up for the botched first fight with the Sixth Angel and her debut battle in Japan. Once she had a kill, it would be smooth sailing from there. No more "Rookie" status, no more having to listen to the technicians and administrative staff talk about the other two's combat experience.

As she neared the Angel, Asuka threw herself into a mighty leap, her form perfectly matching that of Olympic long-jumpers, but for how she swung the massive halberd up and around over her head as she closed the last bit of space between her and her prey. Although the Enemy's AT-Field had not been in evidence before, she had hers in front of her like a portable brick wall. When it hit the Angel, Israfel staggered slightly as the invisible and mostly intangible barrier slammed into it like a freight train.

Aided by momentum and cybernetically enhanced muscles and tendons, Unit-02 brought the poleaxe down in a tight, vicious arc and split the Angel in twain. The progressive axehead, vibrating faster than the unaided eye could discern, bit into Israfel's flesh where the neck met shoulder at an angle and did not stop until it passed through the entirety of Angel's body, exiting at the otherworldly creature's hip analog.

Blood sprayed violently; the thick ichor was so dark blue that it was almost black. Had the creature been any terrestrial beast, the blood spray would have been a bright and frothy red from the multiple arteries that had to have been compromised.

The coloration and syrup-like consistency of the Angel's blood was not the only thing that highlighted the bizarre and alien biology. Even though the devastating wound practically bisected the Angel, passing through what should have been the chest cavity for any number of vital internal organs, there was nothing visible in the terrible wound but muscle tissue. There were no veins or arteries to produce the prodigal spray of pressurized blood, even if the thing's heart had been much lower in its body than on a human.

The part of the Seventh Angel that retained its legs stood for a moment, long enough for Unit-02 to execute a perfect landing, the impossibly long legs smashing it to the ground as Asuka, showing off her aptitude for piloting now, sent her Evangelion spinning in a circle to turn around to face the stunned form of Unit-01 as her halberd came back up.

The smug look on her face was perfectly reflected in her melodic voice as she casually walked back towards the shore. "And that's how you do it. A battle should be quick, efficient, and clean, with no wasted effort. I might add that the target is completely silent without undue collateral damage. What do you think about that, Third Child?"

Shinji could only gape at the red Evangelion, impressed but still irritated. After a moment, he found his voice. "Uh, yeah, but-"

"But what, Third?" Asuka snapped at him, her voice as harsh now as it had been sweet a moment before.

"You're still supposed to follow orders. Big picture stuff and-"

"As long as we win, all is forgiven!" came the biting retort.

"But-" Shinji paused in mute horror as the water behind Unit-02 suddenly began to boil. "ASUKA! LOOK OUT!"

Asuka's frown went from confusion to angry shock as her sensor suite exploded into a cacophony of alarms. She threw her AT-Field back up and wove it into a wide half-sphere behind her. She threw herself forward into a roll, sending up great waves of water as she evaded the first retaliatory blow of the Angel.

She gasped as she saw two of them now, Standing there like twins, hand in hand, but with the other arms still swinging from where they had tried to hit her.

Almost immediately, the twin Angels released each other, and one sprang at her with a sudden burst of speed, closing the gap instantly, as the second went off towards Unit-01's position on the beach.

As fast as the gray and green Angel twinling was, Asuka was faster still. She knelt, brought the halberd up, bracing it against the sea floor, and proceeded to get medieval on the Angel.

Unable to arrest its movement, the thing neatly impaled itself upon the weapon's spike, the red sphere of its Core shattering as the weapon, aided by Asuka's AT-Field, punctured the Angel's defensive shield.

Meanwhile, Shinji was having a more challenging time with the gray and orange Angel as it danced across the distance towards him, leaping effortlessly from side to side, attempting to avoid the deadly rounds Shinji sent downrange.

He was not missing the Angel, for almost every shot hit the target, but he could not score a direct hit on the glowing Core in its midsection. Great chunks of flesh and bloody ichor were sent spraying from the thing with each successful impact, but just as quickly as it lost body mass, it regenerated it.

"Knock it down! Hit it's legs!" Asuka screamed at Shinji as she kicked the corpse off her halberd and charged towards the remaining threat.

Shinji adjusted his fire instantly and scored two hits on it, taking off a lower leg and a chunk of flesh from its midsection, a mist of dark blue blood hanging in the air. The Angel went down, and Asuka slammed the axehead into it, a smile reappearing on her face for a second until pain blossomed in her shoulder, and she was sent backward into the water.

Fury raged in her heart as she realized that Shinji had shot her; this fury was suddenly tempered by confusion as the gray and green Angel sprang over her prone form, intent on reaching the purple Evangelion.

What?

The momentary shock of seeing the resurrected Angel and having been shot by her teammate proved costly for the German girl. The second Angelic twinling was back up and was grappling with her.

Before she could mount an effective defense, the thing had ripped her umbilical cable from its socket. Furious, Asuka gritted her teeth and slammed a haymaker into the empty face of the Angel. For the Angel, it was like getting hit with a mountain, and the force rocked the creature backward, stunning it, but it was not enough. Rallying, the Angel wrapped its arms around Unit-02 in a grotesque parody of a bear hug and twisted its arms around like taffy. Asuka screamed in impotent rage as she found her Evangelion upside down and being smashed head-first into the seafloor.

Leaving its victim unable to do anything more, it turned and began to dance, dervish-like, towards the pair of forms locked in combat on the shore when its top half was obliterated by a shot from the modified rail gun currently being used by Rei, who was perched precariously on a pair of reinforced buildings.

The weapon being used by Rei was not one of the newer rail gun weapon systems but rather a salvaged antique from an era that had seen artillery pieces so large they were only usable on modified trains. While they had passed from usefulness some time ago, what with the advent of missile systems and smart bombs, they had seen a resurgence of usefulness, this time as primitive but sturdy and large weapons for the bio-mechanical giants.

Rei ejected the massive 800mm shell casing, hurriedly reaching down for another one from the limited supply that lay at the base of the building. But when she looked up again, both twins were on Unit-01.

Shinji's rifle checked the gray and green Angel as it sprang at him, closing the last bit of distance between them. Despite the lack of a bayonet, progressive or otherwise, having the barrel of a rifle slammed into its chest still hurt the Angel enough for Shinji to suddenly swing the rifle around and butt stroke its face, the gray bone/metal cracking from the force.

Gray arms shot up and ripped the gun from his hands, spinning it over the water. This, however, gave Shinji an opening, and he swung a panicked punch right into the Angel's Core, rocking it backward.

Before he could press his advantage, the second twin joined its brethren and bore Shinji to the ground, stubby three-fingered hands grasping his umbilical cable. Shinji gasped as the sensation of the plug being removed sent shivers up his spine, and the small of his back suddenly felt strangely cold.

He lashed out with arms, legs, and head, benefiting from the fact that being surrounded meant all he had was available targets. Even though he landed many blows, such a strategy was no good against two opponents with such agility, and he was soon slammed into the sandy beach, buried upside down with his arms pinned to his sides, unable to move or see anything.

A few moments later, he was rocked by the detonation of the N2-tipped Trident IV, which was launched from a submarine currently sitting in the Indian Ocean.

Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!

Misato glared balefully at the stacks of forms on her desk and then at the number of emails marked as unread on her NERV account.

Despite any claims of militaries or governments moving towards a paperless system, they would forever wage war on the world's forests as they used up countless reams of paper. Any sufficiently large organization would have a bureaucracy, which would continue to expand to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy. And bureaucracies thrived on paperwork, both on actual paper and on electronic systems.

There were reports on the Angel, the Evangelions, the city's defenses, and the costs of the damage done. There were letters of protest from the various governmental bodies of Tokyo-3 and the surrounding towns, from the UN, from farming and fishing unions. The damage wrought by the N2 warhead would take time to repair and would inhibit the flow of commerce.

The National Ministry of Surveyors and Cartographers had thought about sending NERV a thank you letter for giving them something new to map out but decided it was probably in bad taste and refrained from doing so. Had they sent her such a letter, Misato would have framed it and put it on the wall behind her desk, but only a few weeks later, after the Angel had been dealt with. It was a regrettable missed opportunity.

Ritsuko poked her head into her friend's office, looking just as worn down as the Operations Director. While the Evangelions had escaped significant damage (for once), the Chairperson of Project E had spent the night locked in her own office and labs, burning through an entire vending machine's worth of cigarettes while studying the Angel, having delegated the responsibility of dealing with the Evangelions to Lieutenant Ibuki.

Never before had the Enemy shown this level of sophistication. While technically it was still a singular threat, it had split itself into two distinct bodies that operated independently to attack separate targets and then in tandem, perfectly matching each other like mirror images. None of the previous Angels had shown the level of knowledge that the Seventh had, either. When attacking the Evangelions, Alpha and Beta had explicitly targeted the umbilical cables.

It was a worrying thought. It lent credence to the idea that the Angels learned from the previous battles.

"Hey." Ritsuko greeted her friend. "You want to get something to eat? I'm starved."

"Urgh." Misato raised her head, dark circles under her eyes. "I'm tempted to send Rei down in Unit-00 with a knife to stab that fucker in the core."

To everyone's surprise, that proposed solution had come from Shinji. Yesterday had undoubtedly been a Red Letter Day for the young man, who had woken up in Rei's bed, almost got into a shouting match with the vocal Second Child, and had offered up a brutal, if simple, solution when Ritsuko had begun to tear into the pilots after the debriefing.

The sharp and almost immediate response to her harsh question of what they (the pilots) would do to fix the current situation had thrown everyone in the room for a loop. The ordinarily quiet boy neatly derailed Ritsuko's train of thought and had secretly delighted (and further infuriated) Asuka. Rei quietly and immediately volunteered to do so, but Ritsuko vetoed the plan after a minute's consideration.

The Angel was hiding beneath its AT-Field, and she did not want to release the only current battle-ready Evangelion without backup. There were too many unknowns, and they had some time to work with. However, it was assigned as a potential Plan B.

Ritsuko waved at the stacks of papers. "I take it you're ignoring all of the complaints for the time being."

Misato nodded. "I figure I can deal with them after we win, which will give me a better position to work from, and if we lose, I won't have to worry about them."

"Cynical."

"Practical." Misato corrected. "Have you been able to figure anything out?"

Ritsuko sighed before putting an unlit cigarette into her mouth. "It looks like the twins can resurrect each other. Each time one went down, there was an energy spike in the Core of the one still moving around, followed by the regeneration of the other. I think we have to nail them both at the same time. The MAGI are withholding judgment for the time being."

"The MAGI are stumped again? Jeez."

"They're not infallible, you know. Caspar likes Shinji's plan, though."

"Which one is Caspar again? Sounds like a woman. Could be a mother, though."

"I don't think my mother would ever approve of just sticking a knife into something. It's inelegant, for one thing. But I don't know which one is which. She never told me, and it wasn't in any of the notes she left behind."

"They won't tell you?"

"No. Look, you want to get something to eat or not?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hold on." Misato pushed away from her desk and cracked her neck, wincing sharply. "I wish we could get the pilots to act in tandem with each other like the twins. Could you imagine the carnage?"

Ritsuko chuckled as they walked towards the nearest cafeteria. "Asuka and Shinji did have a brief bout of teamwork yesterday. Too bad it was fleeting and short-lived."

"Yeah, but Shinji ruined it when he shot Asuka. It might have saved her from the Angel then, but it didn't make a difference in the long run."

"Yeah."

They had just walked into the mostly deserted dining hall when twin looks of shock dawned on their faces. They each spun to face the other and opened their mouths simultaneously to speak in unison.

"I've got an idea!"

Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!

Shinji sighed in relief as the elevator doors opened up onto his floor. It had been a long day, and he was glad to be home. The pilots had not returned to school but had stayed overnight at headquarters reviewing tapes of the battle, trying to study their Enemy. At some point, Asuka had thrown her hands up in disgust and had gone to see how far along the repairs to Unit-02 were, and she hadn't come back.

As he opened the door to the apartment, he frowned at the large piles of boxes lining the hallway.

Miss Misato's still at NERV. Where did all of these come from?

Deciding he didn't care as he was more interested in sleep, Shinji removed his shoes and went to his room but stopped when he saw his cello case sitting in the living room, which was not where he had left it. A small pile of boxes sat next to it, and when he looked inside them, he found his meager belongings.

Huh?

He turned to look down the hall towards his room in time to see Asuka coming out, carrying a small black case that had a lock on it. Shinji immediately recognized it as his 9mm pistol's case.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Shinji asked, his voice on edge and slightly louder than intended.

"Moving all of your junk out here, Third. Misato told me that I'm moving in with her." Asuka replied, unphased by the question. "I guess she decided to upgrade to a better class of pilot for a roommate." She raised the box questioningly. "What's in here, your diary? Why's it got a lock on it?"

Shinji moved towards her and snatched it out of her hands. "That's none of your business. No one told me I was moving out."

"Who cares? It's not like you're important or anything." Asuka sniffed, irritated by the sudden move on Shinji's part. "Anyways, all your stuff is there. That box was the last of it."

Shinji stared at her silently, gripping the pistol case so hard his knuckles began to turn white. Glaring at the redhead, he opened his mouth to speak when they heard the door open and close. Misato came around the corner, a box of her own in her hands.

"Ah! There you are! Good. Listen up, both of you, here's the plan…"

Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!

Hikari looked over at Toji and Kensuke as they walked back into the classroom, done with taking the trash to the school's incinerator. "You both ready to go?"

Toji nodded as he grabbed his schoolbag and stuck the papers and handouts that Shinji had missed over the last two days into it. "Yeah, I'm ready. But I still think this is a bad idea."

"We'll be there on official business."

"Still a bad idea. And how are we going to get Asuka her papers?"

"I'll drop them off at the front desk in the office building. That's what Asuka said to do if I ever needed to deliver handouts to her apartment."

Kensuke looked over gloomily from his desk, not remotely pleased with the idea of delivering papers to the inside of one of the office buildings that housed a direct lift system into the Geo-Front. "And then we go to Rei's place."

Hikari nodded severely. "And then we go to Rei's place. I want to see this for myself, and now we have a definite excuse."

The trio was mostly silent as they made their way to Shinji's apartment, both Toji and Kensuke only occasionally grunting in response to some question or statement from their friend. Neither boy was looking forward to returning to the eastern district.

"What was it like again?" Hikari asked, poking Kensuke in the shoulder. She was looking at a map of the city on her cellphone.

Kensuke sighed. "The building should be condemned if it isn't already. The neighborhood is like a demilitarized zone. It's a bad, bad place. We shouldn't be going back there."

"But it's her home! Why would NERV let her live someplace like that?"

Both boys shot her a look that questioned her sanity. "It's Rei. She probably likes it."

Hikari shot them both a warning look, clearly unamused and unswayed by their arguments. As weird as the girl was, Hikari had serious doubts her friend would find a place that sounded like that a nice place to live.

Toji reached out and stabbed the buzzer with a finger. The three shot each other uncertain looks as two voices called back in unison over the intercom.

"Be there in a minute!"

The apartment door opened, and the trio recoiled in shocked horror as Asuka and Shinji appeared, each dressed in a t-shirt, spandex workout clothing, and a miserable expression.

Hikari found her voice first, but it was still strained when she managed to stop stuttering.

"What are you doing?"

"It's not what you think!" came the pilots' reply, the pair still speaking in unison.

Misato's cheerful voice called out to them from down the hall. The five teens turned towards the elevator, from which Misato had just emerged, grocery bags in her hands. Rei, carrying a similar load, trailed slightly behind the Operations Director.

Misato ushered them all in, and Rei practiced her burgeoning cooking skills by making tea and sandwiches for everyone. Shinji had gone to help, both on reflex (the kitchen was his domain, after all) and to be with Rei. Still, Misato had told him (irritatedly and good-naturedly at the same time) to sit down on the couch next to Asuka, who had no desire to make anyone food or to be near Rei at all.

Then came the explanation as to the whole thing, and it had left the three students in tears with laughter despite the seriousness of the situation.

"Can we see this practice?" Kensuke asked, curious how the pair looked when trying to match each other on the mats. He knew his friend was not the most coordinated guy in the world. Asuka, however, had become a fast favorite of the boys of the school to watch during PE, especially when the girls were doing track events. He did not doubt that she outstripped the only male pilot in such skills.

"Sure. It's time they started practicing again." Misato replied, shooting a level look at the pair.

Rei stood up, gathering the dishes onto the serving tray to take back into the kitchen. She had no desire to watch, knowing the eventual outcome. Despite being curious about the practice routine, Hikari rose to follow the silent girl out of the room.

"Rei, those were some good sandwiches! Have you been practicing by yourself?"

Rei didn't look over from placing the dishes under the running water in the sink.

"Yes."

"So, um, what's your part in all of this? Moral support?" Hikari waved an arm back towards the living room.

Rei silently regarded Hikari for a few moments, trying to figure out how to respond to her friend's questions. "I do not trust her." Rei left the kitchen, not quite scowling, leaving a puzzled Hikari behind.

For her part, Hikari stood in the kitchen mulling over that tidbit of information. Try as she might, she could not devise a reason for the girl's distrust of her fellow pilot. Did she not trust her with Shinji? Was that it? Or was it something else?

The class representative returned to rejoin the others in time to see Shinji falter on one of the cues and go sprawling. Asuka ripped her headphones off and threw them down on the boy in disgust.

"This ungeschickt oaf is worthless! He can't do anything right!" Asuka shouted.

Toji protested this as Shinji sat up, a mournful expression on his face. "Hey, it's not his fault. It's his leg. It throws him out of sync."

Misato shot a thoughtful look at the jock and then at Shinji's leg. The spandex workout uniform ended at the knees, and the black metal of the leg stood in sharp contrast to the pale skin of Shinji's flesh. It was off-putting at best to anyone unused to the sight, but all present had become accustomed to the synthetic limb. Shinji himself didn't seem to be bothered by its existence. He hadn't taken up the PE instructor's offer of wearing gym pants instead of the regulation shorts, anyway.

"Both of you, do it again," she ordered, settling back to watch them, but this time focusing on the movements of the artificial limb. Sure enough, the leg, with its weight difference, changed Shinji's balance enough to ensure that no matter what, he would never be a match for the athletic girl in self-coordination or match her movements on his own.

Either she will have to slow down to coordinate with him, or we'll have to scrap the plan.

"Asuka, try slowing down your movements a little. Try to match him."

"Match him? You can't expect me to lower myself to his level!"

"Asuka, the plan calls for two Evangelions working together in perfect tandem. Units 01 and 02 are best suited for this. If he can't keep up with you, you'll have to work at his level."

"He's worthless! Nobody could sync up with this oaf."

Shinji scowled but said nothing. Toji and Kensuke glared at the German Pilot, and Hikari frowned. Misato watched both of them, starting to get irritated, when a flash of insight struck. "Rei, you try it with Shinji."

Asuka harrumphed but flopped down on the couch without further comment, glaring at the other pilots as Shinji handed Rei the headphones that Asuka had discarded.

The assembled group watched with mostly rapt interest as the pair ran through the series of movements in time to the music being fed to their ears. They managed to get farther than Shinji and Asuka had before, but still, with Rei watching Shinji's motions out of the corner of her eye, Shinji managed to get out of sync, much to Asuka's smug delight.

"See? Even with Wondergirl over there, he still can't do it."

Misato chewed on her lip before a bright smile appeared. "Asuka, you and Rei."

The pair of girls completed the entire series perfectly.

"Again."

Asuka tried to speed up her movements harder, but Rei matched her every motion perfectly.

"Again."

"Again, but stop slacking off."

After the fourth perfect run-through, Misato nodded at the female pilots. They were sprawled out on their hands and knees, panting and out of breath. Both had tried to one-up the other, but the iron will of both girls kept them evenly matched.

"Alright. Rei and Asuka, you'll be the team. Shinji, go get changed and throw that uniform into the wash. Rei, go get into his spare outfit. You'll be staying here for the duration."

Asuka pointed at Shinji. "What about the dummkopf? He has no reason to be here, then!"

"I live here!" Shinji protested.

"I don't want him here, ogling me! Who knows what this pervert will try!"

Rei spoke quietly. "He is not a pervert."

"Oh? And you would know this, how?"

"Empirical evidence." Rei left it at that, going down the hall towards Shinji's new room. Shinji scowled at Asuka but didn't say anything and went to get changed in the bathroom.

Misato shot a look at Asuka that booked no argument. "Shouldn't you be somewhere?"

"What?"

"You and Rei are now joined at the hip. No excuses, now. You'll do everything and be everywhere together. Go on, get."

Muttering darkly in German under her breath, Asuka stalked after the other pilots as Misato turned to their friends.

"Good observation, Toji. But, as much as you might want to stay, I need you all to leave. We're working with limited time and can't afford any distractions."

The boys nodded and went to leave, but Hikari crossed her arms and looked at Mistato.

"Captain-"

"Misato, Hikari."

"Misato, where does Rei live?"

Misato looked at the girl, puzzled by the question. "I don't remember the exact address, but it's in the Eastern District. Why?"

"Have you ever been there?"

"No," Misato stopped and turned to look down the hall as Asuka started screaming in German. "Look, can this wait until later? I need to go fix this." Not waiting for an answer, Misato started down the hallway.

Hikari was still frowning when she finally got home.

Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!

It was night in the Katsuragi household. Darkness and near silence permeated everything. Rei's eyes flicked open to stare at the sleeping form of Asuka, mere inches away.

They were set up in twin pajamas, Rei's in blue and Asuka's in red, and were sleeping on a large futon in the living room. Asuka refused to let the girl sleep in her room, especially after Rei told the girl that she had slept there before Asuka even showed up.

It had almost been enough to make Asuka want to return the room to Shinji. Almost, but not quite.

Rei rolled over onto her back to stare at the ceiling. She thoroughly disliked wearing clothing when she slept, but both Asuka and Misato had been adamant about it. There was a man still in the apartment, after all. Misato had told Asuka and Shinji to sort out the room issue, but Shinji was not being kicked out of the apartment, no matter what. Asuka had not been happy with that arrangement.

Rei looked down the darkened hallway towards the smaller room Shinji had moved into. It was half the size of his original room, but she had not heard him complain about it. It was just another little bit of the equation that had to be balanced but now was not the right time.

Her Mission came first.

That meant dealing with the Angel came first.

Dealing with irritating redheads could come later.

Rei stood up, walked silently through the apartment, and soundlessly slid open the door to Shinji's Lovely Suite. He was asleep, naturally. Pale moonlight drifted in through the small window and pooled over his head. He twitched silently and rolled over in his bed. She looked over to the desk next to the wall at the foot of the bed. Upon the desk sat a small framed photograph of them from the night of their date. It seemed like an eternity ago.

Misato had given her a similar framed photograph. It sat in her school bag by the front door. She had not been to her apartment in days.

She wasn't complaining, however. Although she had to work and live near the Second Child, the Third Child was there almost constantly, except when Misato sent him on some errand or another.

True, there had been some... incidents... here and there. Rei had found herself opening her mouth and speaking more often than she usually did, and she credited the conditioning effect of the training program for that. As much as the two girls spoke in unison, they also took verbal potshots at each other as their tempers grew strained. Misato had exacted a promise from both girls to not come to physical blows until after the Angel had been defeated.

Misato was probably sure Shinji would not survive another catfight.

But for every annoyance, every irritation, there was something else, something that was otherwise hard to obtain.

Time with Shinji, or more accurately, time with which to observe him.

The dance routine that made up the Core of the training and proposed assault plan was easy to memorize. Athletic and acrobatic, the girls had no issues getting the moves down to muscle memory. This meant they could take more frequent breaks without unduly endangering the plan, especially when Misato wasn't in the apartment.

Asuka would take this time to complain about things and watch the television. Rei watched Shinji.

The boy was as quiet at home as at school or NERV. He spent most of his time in the kitchen or his bedroom but occasionally stuck around in the living room to watch them practice. She noted that he was usually dressed as she was typically, which was to say that he wore his school uniform.

The unstarched shirts probably made it more comfortable than it was supposed to be. She knew that was one of the reasons she didn't starch hers.

The time he spent in the kitchen was well spent. He made all the meals for the four of them, which were delicious. Despite anything Asuka might say about his cooking skills, Rei noted the girl wolfed the food down fast enough.

They had talked a little when they could. She had asked him what had become of his SDAT, and he had looked away, clearly embarrassed, and mumbled something she hadn't caught. One of the things she remembered discussing on their date was his musical tastes. She asked about it today because she hadn't seen it for some time, either at school or at NERV. When he had been making dinner today, she had brought it up as a conversation starter. Unfortunately, it had not been a suitable conversation choice.

Hearing a soft noise behind her, she turned to find Misato watching her from the doorway.

"Got a little lost on the way to the bathroom, Rei?" While the words were sharp, Misato's tone was light, and she wore a slight, knowing grin. Rei had not heard her return home that night. The Captain could be stealthy when she wanted to be like. She could also go from boisterous to calm in a heartbeat. It was something to remember.

"I was not lost."

Misato shook her head. "I didn't think so. Now's not the time, Rei. Go back to the living room and go to sleep." Misato tapped a finger knowingly against her nose. "I know I've been lenient about my baby brother's curfew in the past, but like I said, now is not the time."

Rei nodded silently and went to leave. However, Misato stopped her at the door, wrapping her in a tight bear hug. Rei froze, standing stock still as Misato squeezed her tightly.

"Look, I just want you to know he cares a lot about you. I know you care about him. We can have another party once we've won." Misato let the younger girl go and pushed her gently down the hall. "Go to sleep. We'll talk in the morning."

Rei returned to the large futon in the living room and reluctantly crawled under the covers in her spot next to Asuka. Staring at the ceiling, she softly sighed.

The woman knew at least some of the particulars of their date last week. This did not surprise Rei, for the woman had probably asked the security forces for a report on the night's activities. In retrospect, it was an obvious solution to filling in the gaps in her memory of that night. Rei made a mental note to talk to the MAGI sometime soon about the security tapes that certainly existed.

Vier, Drei, Zwei, Eins!

Tokyo-3 was a city that did not sleep.

Most cities, even the largest and most vibrant ones that made this claim, still had a definite cycle of activity tied to the hours of daylight and darkness.

Some, most notably the 'resort' cities, the vacation destinations did a fair job of offering twenty-four hours a day, but it was not, some would argue, the same thing.

Tokyo-3 offered a true twenty-four-hour life. It did not have the manic pace and qualities of the resort towns, and its activity cycle took no notice of something as mundane as the sun's position in the sky. People worked at NERV, in restaurants, shops, and office buildings the entire day. They went to the recreation centers and parks of the city. They went to bed, and they rose to go about their lives. When government coin was the fuel, the engine of activity never turned off.

So, the problem was not that there was nothing to do. There was much to do and much to see. The night was always young in Tokyo-3.

The problem was that neither Rei nor Shinji knew what they wanted to do, and if the other person was interested in doing anything, no obvious clues were given.

Dinner had been a quiet, reserved affair. The general opinion of the Section 2 Agents watching from the pub down the street was that it was going along much better than the first date. They were talking more, for one thing (even if it was just small talk, tentative verbal lines cast out to see what they could catch), and Rei wasn't anywhere near as clumsy as she had been, though they were having wine with their appetizer instead of water. It might have been their increased familiarity with each other, or perhaps it was the illusion of privacy, or it might have been the advice that had been given to them earlier. Either way, the pair managed to work through dinner and dessert without getting their audience drunk.

Perhaps emboldened by the bottle of champagne they had shared, Shinji even managed to feed Rei some of the cheesecake he had ordered without stammering or blushing too much.

Rei, who had selected an assortment of chilled fruit and molten chocolate (molten had been the description that had won her over when the waiter had told them about their dessert options), had almost balked at the idea of hand-feeding him a strawberry covered with white chocolate, but she had persevered in the end. She had to bite her lower lip to keep from squealing in delight as his lips closed on her fingers. She was extremely glad that he had closed his eyes.

They had eaten and drank their fill but were not ready to go home yet.

So now they found themselves wandering down the streets of Tokyo-3, hand in hand, gathering the odd glance here and there from the other people who were out and about, for it wasn't often that one saw a pair of high schoolers walking around at night dressed to the nines. Nobody took a second glance after seeing the men in black suits who followed behind at a discreet distance.

The commercial district was awash with lights, the stores vying for attention and sales. They meandered down the wide streets, looking at things in the windows, each one idly wondering why people spent money on such things. Both lived a relatively spartan lifestyle and while Rei had far more possessions than Shinji, most of these were tools and devices she had salvaged and cobbled together to do Science. They were not just things such as clothes or video games, furniture, or perhaps even objects of art. Even most of Shinji's things were originally Misato's, him having claimed the right of salvage on what cooking utensils she did possess.

As they stood on a street corner waiting for the traffic lights to change, Rei leaned against Shinji, causing him to stiffen slightly before relaxing. Filled with a nervous energy, he looked around, trying not to fidget.

"I'm glad that it's a n-nice night out. If it was raining, we couldn't walk around like this."

"Yes."

Shinji idly looked up into the sky. It was not a very romantic view, though the night was perfectly clear, with no clouds of water vapor or man-made emissions. The moon sat low in the sky, a thin, sickle-shaped sliver, but it was a dull white, and no stars were visible. Tokyo-3 turned back the darkness with millions of tiny, tamed fires fueled by harnessed lightning, and the glow of the city overwhelmed the night sky.

"It's too bad we can't see any of the constellations. I used to stargaze sometimes before I came here."

Rei looked up from watching the traffic light to the sky in quiet contemplation.

"There is too much light pollution here for the stars to be visible to the naked eye and most telescopes."

"Yeah, it's too bright here. My teacher's home was well outside of the city, so I was able to learn the different constellations."

"Perhaps if we were to go to another location with less population buildup, we would be able to observe the stars better?"

Shinji thought hard for a moment. The black-suited agent had told him about opportunities like this. The ball was now in his court, just like he had said. An option had presented itself, and it was up to him to decide where to go from here.

"Um... We could go to the hills... It's not that far by car, and we can ask the security guys to drive us."

"There still will be light pollution... but I don't think there will be as much."

It was here that Section 2 showed off. The traffic light changed, and the black sedan following them pulled up to the curb. The sound of locks disengaging was barely audible compared to the sounds of the Tokyo-3 nightlife.

Remembering what he had been told earlier, Shinji opened the door for Rei and allowed her to enter the car first before sliding in next to her. The two men in the front of the vehicle nodded to the pilots as if they hadn't just been listening to their seemingly private conversation. It was a disquieting thought, how little privacy they had, but Shinji decided to deal with it the same way he dealt with most things that worried him; he ignored it.

The trip east into the mountains did not take much time, as little traffic was headed out to the middle of nowhere. This fact, coupled with the immaculately maintained roads, allowed the sedan to travel at speeds perhaps unsafe under normal conditions.

Shinji didn't want to know why they already had a full picnic basket and blanket in the car trunk.

Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!

Rei woke up to a largely silent apartment devoid of the usual noises of the residents eating breakfast. She sat up and yawned, noting Asuka was already up, but the depression in the futon left by the girl was still warm.

Rei walked into the kitchen to find the Second Child reading a note on the food refrigerator. Asuka turned her head over one shoulder, somehow sensing the girl's silent approach.

"Misato's gone to NERV early and has taken the Third Child for some prep work or something. She says we're free to do whatever we want today, so long as we do it together. She wants us to relax for tomorrow."

Rei quirked an eyebrow and plucked the note from underneath the magnet. It was done in the same sloppy handwriting as the sign on Shinji's door and stained with spilled coffee. Rei also noted that Misato wanted them to turn in early to prepare for tomorrow's early operation timetable.

Asuka grumbled as she looked at the food left for their breakfast. It was a pair of vegetable omelets and bread for toast.

"Why couldn't he have made one with meat? I mean, it's not like you would eat it accidentally. It'd be pretty obvious which one it was because it would be bigger."

"He did not have to make anything at all. If you wish to have an omelet made to your specifications, perhaps you should make one yourself. I will take care of both omelets myself."

Asuka snorted. "I'm sure you would. But maybe you wouldn't mind a different sort of meat omelet, hmm? A little Shinji Special?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Rei pulled one of the dishes towards her, sat down at the table, and blew an errant strand of hair out from her eyes, something she had been doing more and more throughout the synchronization training with the redhead who sat grinning at her from across the table.

"Oh? Is there something that Wondergirl doesn't know?"

Rei ignored that as she dug into her food, deciding instead to focus on what would be the last such breakfast and think about what could be made of the day.

Asuka similarly tore into her helping of food but had no questions about her plans.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to watch television." She waved her cup of reheated coffee towards the living room to punctuate her words. "You can run off and do whatever it is that you'd like to."

Rei looked up, still chewing a mouthful of vegetables and eggs. Swallowing, she raised an eyebrow questioningly. "We are supposed to stay together. She said we had to do whatever it was together."

Asuka shot the girl a flat look. "Do you always do what you're told?"

"Yes."

Asuka rolled her eyes at the monosyllabic response, having expected it. While they had gotten along better, or perhaps tolerated each other's presence better than before by dint of being forced to be inseparable for more than a week, they were not friends. But they knew more of each other now, especially what buttons to push on the other person.

The problem with Rei was that sometimes it was hard to tell when one was pushing her buttons.

"Obedient little doll." Satisfied at the small twitch in Rei's left eye, Asuka drank the last of her coffee in one go. "All right then, what did you want to do today?"

The First Child looked at the last little bite of her omelet, transfixed on the tip of her fork. Carefully, almost daintily, she swiveled the fork around in her hand and deposited the morsel into her mouth. Swallowing it with a sigh, she returned her unblinking gaze to the redhead.

"I want to go shopping."

Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!

Rei stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Both Shinji and Misato had been gone all day, which she had not expected, despite there being no assurances on the note Misato had left that they would return. A small gift bag sat on the dining table, awaiting delivery. She had wanted to present Shinji with it before the commencement of the mission, but it looked like it would have to wait.

Asuka mumbled something unintelligible in her sleep and rolled over. While falling asleep almost immediately upon going to bed, the redhead was moving around a lot more tonight than before. Rei sighed, rolled over onto her side, and closed her eyes, trying to will herself to sleep.

She opened her eyes again after what seemed to be an eternity later. The digital display on the DVD player said that only five minutes had passed. Rei sat up and looked into the kitchen, seeking the microwave's interface. It, too, argued with her internal chronometer, stating that it was just past ten, in perfect agreement with the disc player. Asuka rolled over again, saying something in German.

Rei sighed again and flopped back down. Two minutes later, she stood up and grabbed her cell phone. Then, she walked into Shinji's room and climbed into his bed.

When her phone's alarm went off six hours later, she woke up to find she was not alone.

Rei sat up, silencing the alarm, and looked down at the redhead curled beside her in Shinji's bed.

This is... unexpected. Rei thought, experimentally prodding the girl's shoulder with a finger. At least she brought her own pillow. I won't have to look for any of her hair on his.

Deciding she didn't want to see if she could move the girl back to the living room without waking her up, Rei exacted herself from the Second Child's arms and legs and crawled out of the bed. Pushing the boy's pillow up against the wall so that it was out of the way, she grabbed the girl's shoulder and shook her.

"Mgh... Gott, what are you doing? Get off me!" Asuka snapped irritably and pulled away from Rei as she sat up.

"You did not wake up when I called your name," Rei responded calmly, cocking her head at Asuka as the confused redhead looked around the room. "Why did you come in here to sleep? If you did not wish to sleep with me in the living room, why not go to your room? You did forcibly evict Ikari from it to take it for your own."

Asuka sprang out of the bed. "What- I never did!"

"You did evict him from his room."

"No, not that." Asuka snapped back. "I never came in here to sleep! This is a trick!"

Rei stared at her, deliberately looked at the bed, and then around at the rest of the room. "This is Ikari's room, and that is Ikari's bed."

"You must have moved me in here or something! I would never come in here on my own!"

"You weigh at least five kilos more than me. I doubt I could move you alone without waking you up."

Asuka glared at the girl. "It's not my fault you eat like a bird! And I'm not interested in that twerp at all! Why would I come in here to sleep?"

Rei stared at the other pilot without answering. "I asked you that." She narrowed her eyes as she studied Asuka's flushed and angry face. As interesting as this was proving to be, there was no time for her to conduct further Science on the redhead, as they were expected to be on their way into headquarters before very long. She turned and left the small room without further comment.

Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!

Shinji yawned into a cup of coffee at one end of the conference table as Misato shepherded the female pilots into the briefing room. Both girls shot him interested looks as they sat down. He was already dressed in a plug suit, and it looked like he hadn't slept much, if at all. Misato's voice tore their attention to the telescreen.

"After this mission brief concludes, Pilots Ayanami and Sohryu will dress in their plug-suits and report to Evangelion cages three and four, respectively. For this mission, Pilot Ayanami will pilot Evangelion Unit-01 instead of Unit-00."

This was old news to the three pilots, as it had been decided when the pilot roster had been changed. Unit-00 just was not... flexible enough to meet the mission requirements.

"At 0700 hours, Pilot Ikari will deploy in Unit-00 and take up a Support by Fire position at fixed position 3A to the north of Tokyo-3. From there, he will assist by providing ranged fire support and, if necessary, move to engage in close combat.

At 0800 hours, Units 01 and 02 will deploy to Sector 6B and will stage for the commencement of Operation Riverdance. At 0845, the operation will begin. Utilizing the timed and sequenced attack plan they have rehearsed, both Evangelions will engage the Seventh Angel until it is destroyed. Once the target is silenced, the battle damage assessment will be held, and all Evangelions will return to the cages."

Misato looked around at the assembled pilots and bridge staff. There were no questions, as they knew the plan inside and out. This wasn't the first time they had run through the mission brief, but this last one was a mere formality. The only change to the mission was whatever Misato had Shinji doing last night. Misato looked at her watch and then nodded.

"Alright then. Let's kill this thing."

Shinji leaned back in his chair as everyone else stood up and drained the rest of his coffee. Misato had brought him here yesterday to stand by as an emergency response in case the Angel didn't want to wait until it was completely regenerated before resuming its attack on the city. He had slept here in headquarters, on the couch in Misato's office, but he had woken up several times during the night, a combination of pre-mission jitters and how uncomfortable the couch was.

He yawned and stood up. He looked at Misato, who was waiting for him by the door.

"You ready for this, Shinji? Unit-00 is older and less advanced, and you won't have as fine a control over it as you do in Unit-01. It wasn't ever supposed to be used in combat."

Shinji nodded as they walked towards the cages, fiddling with the empty coffee mug. "I should be good. If everything goes right, I won't have to do anything."

Misato flashed him a reassuring grin. "It sucks to be the backup guy, doesn't it? You get all geared up and don't get to do anything."

"That's not what I meant!" Shinji protested, turning red.

"I know, I know. You're too easy, Shinji." Misato plucked the mug from his hands and wrapped him up in a hug. "Good luck, and if anything happens, be careful, but you'll be the last line of defense. We can't count on a missile strike to kill it or even slow it down again."

"I know." Shinji's voice was muffled and thick with emotion. "B-but I won't need to do anything! Rei and Asuka will take care of it!"

"Yes, they will." Misato squeezed him tighter before releasing him. He pulled away but still stood near her when the lift opened onto the cage. "Go on. We'll celebrate later, okay?"

"Okay."

The lift doors closed, and Shinji turned to look at the blue cyclops waiting in the center of the cage. It did not sit in brooding silence like Unit-01. Standing here, looking at Rei's Evangelion, Shinji was struck by the differences between the prototype and test type and the main production model.

Where there seemed to be a malevolent air about Unit-01 as if it was forever spoiling for a fight, ready to maim and kill at a moment's notice, Unit-00, with its sizable singular optic that dominated its face, seemed to be surprised at something. While he knew the effect was wholly artificial, Unit-00 seemed more cheerful than the purple Evangelion.

While they had done the cross-synchronization training with the test bodies running as a filter for the actual Evangelions, this was the first time he would be inside the prototype. Not for the first time this week, he wondered how it would feel, synchronizing with it. He turned as he heard footsteps approaching him along the catwalk, seeing Dr. Akagi, who held a clipboard and a cup of coffee. She smiled at him and handed him the cup.

"Drink. It's better stuff than what Misato makes." She smiled at the boy as he took the cup and looked at the thick sludge inside. "It's more than just coffee. It's what I make when I work late nights."

Shinji took an experimental sip of the warm goo and shook, his face turning white. "What's in this?"

Ritsuko tapped the side of her nose. "That's a secret. Finish it up now. The MK 23 Mod 5 is already at the site. You've practiced with it in the sims, but keep in mind that it's a very basic, very limited weapon. It is not a precision weapon. It shoots, and it shoots fast. Don't expect much else from it."

Shinji nodded as he choked down the noxious brew. This, too, had been drilled into him throughout the training and practice. But the final preparations were always, thus, full of reminders of things that they already knew. It was a sort of ritual, a good luck charm like throwing salt over one's shoulder.

"Maya will be keeping an extra eye on your sync ratio during the battle, even if you're not called to fight today. Finished? Good, give me that then," she said as she took the cup back, "and go ahead and mount up."

"Yes, Dr. Akagi."

Shinji climbed up into the waiting Entry Plug. Even this was different than Unit-01, the forward end of the plug was shaped differently. What all this entailed, he did not know, but he suspected that if he asked Asuka, she would know. Whether she would civilly tell him was another issue entirely.

He closed his eyes as the plug filled with LCL. While he was used to the unpleasant sensation of breathing the liquid, he hated watching it fill up the enclosed cockpit. He didn't open them again until he felt the buzzing sensation of the ionization, and when he did, he grinned at the sense of vertigo and the expansion of his senses. There was a buzzing at the base of his skull that was new, but other than that, it was not much unlike synchronizing with Unit-01. On the plus side, it smelled like Rei.

Hundreds of meters and several reinforced walls away in the girl's locker room, Rei looked up as the PA system activated. "All sections, switch to Stage 2 Alert. Unit-00 has been deployed."

Asuka looked over from her locker, where she was changing into her plug-suit. "Nervous, Wondergirl?"

Rei resumed changing without answering. She had reason to worry about the recalcitrant spirit of Unit-00, but it was not something she wished to discuss with anyone, let alone the Second Child. But he had deployed, so it meant all was well for now, so she put it out of her mind. She had to focus on the upcoming battle.

Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!

Asuka grinned as she watched the still form of the Angel. It stood there in the crater, waiting, unmoving. Like a lamb to the slaughter, she thought to herself, rolling her shoulders and, in turn her Evangelion's. She bent down and deftly picked the large progressive knife up from the back of the trailer truck. With a thought, she activated the comm system.

"Unit-02 is ready."

Over the comm system, the others responded in sequence.

"Unit-01 is ready."

"Unit-00 is ready."

Misato's voice crackled into life. "Operation Riverdance is a go. Units 01 and 02, engage."

Music flooded the Entry Plugs of the red and purple Evangelions as the giants exploded into action. Acting as one, they tore out to face the Angel. Meter after meter of umbilical cable spooled out after them, the power tethers trailing like snakes, the thick cables bouncing back and forth as the war machines thundered toward their foe.

These cables, the givers of the life-sustaining power to mankind's mightiest weapons, made it so anyone fighting alongside them does so from quite a distance away. The cables were as thick as a man was tall, and should they run into even the largest of any of the main battle tanks, it would smash them into unrecognizable lumps of metal. The construction codes for Tokyo-3 allowed for more robust buildings than in other cities. The best-supporting units for Evangelions were other Evangelions.

The warning light came on, letting the pilots know they were running out of cable. As one, they ejected the cable plugs right on cue with the thunderous brass section playing. The five-minute internal power timer switched on as they leaped and cleared the crater's edge.

Feet pounding in time to the beat of the drums, great gouts of earth were thrown up behind in the wake of the cyborgs, but still, Israfel did not move, nor did it seem to acknowledge the approaching Enemy. The MAGI reported that its AT-Field remained constant, with no change. But just as the girls unfolded their fields, the Angel shuddered, split into the Alpha and Beta twins, and danced just out of reach of the vibrating knives that swung towards them.

The battle was joined now, each Evangelion and Angel moving in a deadly pirouette. Limbs lashed out at each other, and the yellow hexagons of clashing AT Fields flashed in and out of view. But where Alpha and Beta merged back into one being when they took too much of a pounding, no matter where Israfel went, an Evangelion was hunting it.

Asuka and Rei hounded the Angel across the battlefield as the soundtrack to the fight grew to a crescendo. They were poetry in deadly motion, the pair of combat dancers. Time was almost out, and twin fists landed telling blows on the cores of Alpha and Beta, sending them back to each other. Israfel screeched, the first sound it had made since its detection, and was tripped up and sent flying by two cybernetically enhanced legs kicking up at its head. Even as it landed on its back, the Evangelions leaped up high into the air, side by side, feet the size of armored personnel carriers aiming for the glowing red Core. The Angel was trapped, with nowhere to go, nowhere to hide, and no time to split up again.

The music ended just as the Core was crushed, the girls easily smashing through the hastily erected AT-Field. There was silence for a second as the Entry Plugs went dark, the lights in the eyes of the Evangelions faded, and then a column of fire erupted.

Misato swore as the powerless Evangelions were sent flying. She turned to call Shinji, but he was already on the move, running down from his post in the mountains towards his fellow pilots, tracking them as they fell with all the grace of a pair of rag-dolls through the sky.

Asuka hit first, landing just outside the city proper, in the rolling hills that fed into the mountains ringing the fortress city. Rei landed right after and right on top of her.

Shinji shook his head as he arrived at the impact site. Despite the indignity of how they landed, they both looked to be intact and relatively undamaged. There were no obvious breaks in any of the limbs, the plugs were well armored, and the LCL was there to act as a buffer and shock absorber, after all. Hauling Unit-01 up into a fireman's carry, he carried the limp form to the nearest catapult lift. Laying the purple giant down on its belly, he grabbed the waiting power cable and plugged it into the socket in the cyborg's upper back. Unit-01 shuddered as power flooded its systems, returning it to life.

"Rei? Are you alright?" Maya asked as the MAGI reported Unit-01's communication suite being activated.

"Yes. I am uninjured."

A cheer went up from the bridge crew and Shinji, who was moving back towards Unit-02. Repeating the same process, he delivered the red Evangelion to another lift and breathed a sigh of relief as Asuka's grumbling voice came over the net.

That sigh of relief was followed by an exasperated sigh and a series of defensive protests as she complained about being recovered last and accused him of favoritism.

He decided to just mute her channel as he locked himself into the lift and relaxed back against the seat of the Entry Plug. The skyline of his father's city vanished as he returned to the subterranean base.

Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!

A train with hundreds of passengers travels an endless loop in an underground tunnel. Every passenger, save for three, is asleep, and each passenger sleeps in their train car.

The soul of Evangelion Unit-02, the soul that was and is Kyoko Zeppelin Sohryu, looked up at Unit-00 as it entered her train car.

What do you want, child?

Shinji Ikari. He was in you for the fight against the Angel. He synced with you. Unit-00 was curt and to the point, its voice serious and focused.

If Unit-02 had possessed eyebrows, one of them would have been raised. Yes, and so what? He was in you for today's fight.

Did you look into him?

Curiosity aroused, the red Evangelion shook its head and motioned to the bank of seats opposite it. No, I didn't. He served as a helpful shield for my daughter, but I wasn't that interested in him. Why?

We need to talk to Unit-01. There is something seriously wrong with that boy.