Apotheosis Echo: Beyond the Gates of Heaven [NGE/Worldsea OC]

[StriderInCosmos]

Interlude 3: Ponderings in Paint

Hyuga Residence, Tokyo-3

Major Makoto Hyuga sat comfortably at home in the morning, reading a mystery novel that he had been meaning to get to for a while.

It was a calm, quiet, somewhat empty space, quite befitting of the usual image of a single man's somewhat lonely residence. And yet, there were hints of intrusion into the space. A spare bottle of wine sat in a rack in the cupboard. A few treasured cards and photos decorated the fridge and were scattered around the space. And one perfume, in particular, seemed to linger in the air still, even so long after its owner had left.

But that intrusion was slow, and even Hyuga did not entirely notice it some days. But it was there, nonetheless.

His mind wandered, as it sometimes did, to the exotic, mysterious beauty that was Adira Faez. She was… a complex person. That intrigued Makoto even still, even after many of her secrets had been laid bare before him in the days and weeks after that fateful hospital visit. Those were treasured memories, even as he blushed slightly recalling them.

But she was hurt, still, in a way that he was unsure of how to help with. He'd helped some, that much was certain, but he hadn't helped enough for her to be comfortable being around him. Was it the military part of her that squirmed at a relationship with a superior officer, however hollow that title was outside of combat? Or was it something else?

He pondered on the questions, turning them in his mind as he silently studied the implications and possibilities when the ringing of the doorbell caused him to jump slightly. 'Who could that be?'

He stood, putting his book on the arm of his chair as he made his way to the door and opened it. His eyebrows rose slightly in surprise as he found the green-haired clone of Rei standing before him. 'What was her name again? ...Ah, yes.'

"Hello, Ichigo." Makoto said. "What can I do for you?"

"Hello, Major Hyuga." Ichigo replied, her mannerisms not entirely divorced from Rei's usual reservedness. "I would like to ask a question concerning Captain Faez. Commander Katsuragi said that you would be the best person to ask."

'She did, did she?' Makoto wondered. 'Seems I'm a little too slow for Misato's liking, aren't I?'

"I mean, I don't know why you aren't asking her," he said aloud, "but I'll answer as best I can."

"I am currently in the process of exploring my creativity, and one of the methods which I have most taken to is painting. I have also heard that Captain Faez paints as well. Is this true?" Ichigo asked with an inquisitive look in her eyes.

'Well, then.' Makoto thought as he blinked in surprise. 'Can't say I entirely expected that.'

"Well, yes, she does, actually." Makoto said after a moment. "She's quite good at it too. Why do you ask?"

Ichigo was silent for a moment as her expression became unreadable. "Would she, perhaps… be interested in teaching me about painting? I am only somewhat familiar, and feel I need a teacher to help show me more."

It was silent again as Makoto processed the question. 'It's her day off too, right? Hold on…'

Makoto sighed quietly as his questioning produced an affirmative answer. "Well, how about we go visit and you could ask her yourself?"

He suspected such was to be the true end of this conversation, and silently congratulated Misato on her skills of perception and deception. 'That is, probably, what you've wanted me to say, isn't it, Misato?'

"That would be amenable." Ichigo replied, a slight smile on her face. "Thank you."

- - -

Faez Residence

Captain Adira Faez watched the television on an American station, letting an old science fiction movie she remembered from her childhood play out in front of her.

She didn't quite know what had driven her to seek this out. There were, after all, plenty of actual aliens to go out and just talk to, an eminent possibility given her position at NERV. And, with the things that she had learned recently… of Major Theisman dying then coming back to life during the Angel War… she had questions.

But that still didn't answer why she was watching this movie. It irked her, like a thorn stuck just deep enough to resist picking out…

Her father. He had always enjoyed these sorts of movies. Even the cheesiest, most boring ones. A memory sprang to mind.

She had watched a portion of one of the more cheesy sci-fi movies that he watched and had rolled her eyes once again. "Oh, come on, father," she had finally said, "how do you enjoy these dumb old movies anyway?"

He had paused the movie then, looking back at her with a patient look. "Well, Adira, they are just fun to watch and sometimes laugh at, for one." he said in an equally patient tone.

Then, his gaze softened, and his eyes began to gleam with wonder. "But it also shows that we still dream. That we look beyond ourselves and try to see what is out there."

He shifted on the couch to face her, then poked her in the center of her chest. "You are a dreamer, Adira. I can see it in the paintings you make. Don't stop dreaming." he said with a smile.

'I'm sorry, father.' Adira thought, silently despairing at the distant memory. 'I don't want to dream anymore.'

The ring of a doorbell shook her from her reverie, and she shook her head. 'Who the hell could that be?'

She stood, making her way to the door, not particularly caring how presentable she was. It had been a hard few days, with little in the way of sleep, and much in the way of painting. And burning.

She opened the door and fought to keep her eyes from widening as she saw Makoto on the other side. Beside him was Ichigo, the clone of Rei Ayanami.

"Oh, hi." she said after a moment, a shade awkwardly. "Can I help you two?"

Makoto was similarly somewhat uncomfortable. "Well, Ichigo here came and asked me a question, and I figured you would better be able to answer it."

"And that would be?" Adira asked with an arched eyebrow, turning her gaze to the thin, pale young lady standing beside her.

Ichigo looked back at her with those deep red eyes that honestly creeped her out a little. "I have been told that you paint as a hobby. Is that correct?"

Adira blinked. "Well…" she said slowly after a moment. "Yes. But-"

"Would you be willing to teach me?" Ichigo interrupted, her eyes now gleaming with what Adira thought might be excitement.

"Uh…" Adira replied, her mind spinning as she considered things, her eyes darting back and forth between Ichigo and Makoto. 'If I let her in, then I'm likely letting him in. No! Don't let him in! But…"

Adira sighed after a moment. "Well, I suppose I could." she turned, nodding into the apartment. "Come in."

Ichigo stepped in, taking off her shoes and slipping on the slippers before advancing down the hall.

Adira looked over at Makoto and nodded again. "You too, Hyuga."

Then she turned and walked after Ichigo, leaving a wide-eyed Makoto on the doorstep.

Makoto blushed slightly but followed her lead after a moment. As he entered the living room, Adira turned off a television and walked into her bedroom, emerging after a moment with two easels and a package of thick paper.

"So, what do you know so far?" Adira asked as she set up the easels, putting the paper on the easels as she walked over into the conjoining kitchen and opened up a cupboard.

"Well, I have a decent grasp of color theory," Ichigo replied, as Adira returned to the living room with brushes and pots of paint, "as well as an understanding of capturing inanimate objects. However, I have only had about a week's worth of practice in terms of painting."

"I see." Adira said, setting the paints down and cupping her chin thoughtfully as she pondered. "Well, you have as good a start as any could ask for, I guess, but it could always be built on."

She looked around, then her eyes landed on Makoto, and she nodded slowly. "Take a seat, Hyuga." she said, in a voice that brooked no argument. "And get comfortable. You might be here for a while."

Hyuga's eyes widened, then he nodded, sitting down on the chair and shifting slightly for a moment as he became uncomfortably aware of himself.

"Good." Adira said, a slight smile on her face that lingered on Makoto before turning to Ichigo.

"Alright, I hope you're ready for your first lesson," she said to Ichigo, "because we're going to be starting with a live subject."

. . .

Makoto sat carefully in place, watching as Adira and Ichigo sat behind their easels, peeking past them every once in a while as they spoke quietly to each other.

Thus, he was left alone with his thoughts. 'I wonder what Misato was thinking we could get out of this. I mean, I'm glad Ichigo is getting some help with painting, but as for Adira… I don't know. She hasn't done anything but tell me to sit still whenever she's glanced over at me. I wonder what she's thinking.'

Adira was similarly solitary in her thoughts, though she pulled herself out of them from time to time to offer direction in the mixture of paints for skin tones, proper shading, and a few other areas where Ichigo was somewhat lacking in.

'I'd almost forgotten what painting just for fun was like, really. I mean, there's one,' she thought, sparing a glance towards the portrait of the city skyline, 'but… everything else has burned. Even the pictures with him in it. With… her.'

The hours passed by, and eventually, Adira nodded. "Alright," she said, looking over at Ichigo's progress. It was rough still, which was to be expected, but surprisingly decent for someone who had only been painting for a week, "I think we'll call it for today. Would you like me to keep your piece here so you can come and finish it?"

Ichigo regarded the paper for a moment, then nodded. "Yes. I would appreciate that. Thank you."

They all stood, Makoto stretching slightly as Ichigo and Adira walked over. "Thanks for being a calm model, Hyuga." Adira said.

"No problem." Makoto replied. "It's a change of pace, that's for certain." he said with a slight chuckle.

Adira snorted softly. "I'm sure. Well, you probably need to get Ichigo home."

In Makoto's mind, alarms began to ring. 'If I'm going to say something, it has to be now!' he thought with no small amount of alarm.

Before he could open his mouth, however, Ichigo spoke up. "There is no need for him to take me. We are close enough to my home that I can walk home without issue."

She smiled at Hyuga slightly, knowingly. "Thank you for your assistance. It is much appreciated." she said levelly.

With that, she walked towards the doorway, disappearing from sight.

Adira then looked at Makoto with a raised eyebrow. "Alright. I guess I'll be seeing you later, then." she said levelly.

"Well… actually…" Makoto said, a blush coming to his cheeks. "I wondered if we might be able to talk. It's been a little while."

It was silent as Adira's other eyebrow joined its sister. "What is there to talk about, really?" she asked quietly.

Makoto sighed. "You… you're hurt. And I want to help. I don't know if it's something I said or did, or if I'm even the problem, but…" he trailed off for a moment. "I care, Adira." he said simply, quietly.

It was silent again, as Adira's eyebrows lowered, and her eyes narrowed at the now furiously blushing Makoto who, nevertheless, stood his ground, meeting her gaze with no small amount of courage. 'Damn it. He's right.'

Adira sighed quietly. "Yeah." she said, equally quietly. "You do, don't you?"

She nodded over to the kitchen. "How about we open that whiskey you got for my birthday and talk, then? It's a better way of spending the evening than going back to the TV."

Makoto smiled slightly after a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. That sounds good right about now."

 

[StriderInCosmos]

Interlude 4: Spirit, Suffering

Australian Outback, Another World, 2019

Far above the now silent, desolate wasteland, now starting to see the crimson crystals of core material intrude in its domain, four tilt-rotor aircraft, once belonging to NERV, flew over the landscape.

Within the lead aircraft, Tavis Farhaven looked out the window, gazing intently at the core material, and the ways that it grew. 'Some of them are starting to take shape into… something. I could have sworn I saw a horn jutting out from a head and pair of shoulders.' he shook his head silently as he turned away from the view. 'Probably just my imagination.'

As he looked back at the passenger compartment, he saw the faces of his companions, his security team. Most were drawn from the mission at Matsushiro, given some basic combat training and an initiation into Interfacing. All were drawn from the ranks of the faithful, some recently initiated from the growing non-Scion population that had coalesced in the time after Near Third Impact.

Thus, the hold glowed slightly with the upturned hands and dots of initiates. However, they were not the only marks to be found. Aaminata, whose upturned hands held up four whisps, outwardly showing her status as a Spirit-Keeper, looked back at Tavis with a worn expression.

And hers was not the only one. The marks, glowing dimly as they were, still showed the bags under their bearer's eyes, as some rubbed at them or yawned. It had been a hard push, that last year. Searching and searching, combing through everything they could find, finally finding a data entry deep within the depths of NERV-Matsushiro's computer system that showed where the first three MP-Evas were being held, deep within Australia.

With that, they had left, and the first Mass-Production Evangelion they had found, its caretakers fortunately absent, had been secured over the course of three restless, nearly hectic days.

Tavis sighed. The memory of what they had accomplished exhausted even him. So, he made his way over to Aaminata and sat down.

"We'll be reaching the next base soon, Aami." he said quietly to Aaminata, who nodded slowly. "Are your Spirits ready?"

"Yes. Always." she replied in a clipped tone. "Are the rest of the team ready?"

"They have to be." Tavis said with a sigh. "We need to make sure that we take the Evas as quickly as possible. Then we can get started on putting this world back together."

Aaminata looked at Tavis skeptically, more than aware of what those words might mean. "We need to rest, Tavis." she said matter-of-factly. "We can't be assured that we can just walk in like we did last time."

"We're ready." Tavis replied firmly. "Every one of us has the faith and the training necessary to make this work. The Guides have spoken. And it will come to pass."

"One way or another." Aaminata said mulishly.

"Aami…" Tavis started.

"I am as faithful as you are, Tavis." Aaminata interrupted with a serious look in her eyes. "I just seem to not have my head in the clouds. Two days. That's all I'll ask for. Just so we can be absolutely ready."

It was a tense silence that hung between the two of them for a moment.

"One day. We can't waste a second more." Tavis finally said firmly.

Aaminata sighed. "Well, I guess we'll take what we can get." she said quietly.

"Good." Tavis said, smiling slightly. "Because you're right."

He continued past the surprised look that Aaminata gave him. "I do expect at least some of them to be guarded. To not think so would be stupid. So I'll give us a day, make sure we're in top fighting shape."

. . .

One Day Later

Tavis looked out the window again. This time, the four aircraft in his retinue circled a very well hidden aircraft port as its roof doors slowly opened, the pilot on the radio offering some seemingly valid reason or another for there being four of them above the base. Then he looked back at the dozen or so that were with him and smiled slightly.

A day's rest had done wonders for them. Sure, there were still a few somewhat drawn faces to be seen, but for the most part, everyone seemed ready.

"Alright," Tavis said, drawing the attention of the group from preparing their weapons and checking armor plates, "remember what we trained for. If this goes south, capture and subdue if you can, but kill if you must. We can afford to lose this base's security detail in exchange for keeping you all alive."

They all nodded, and Tavis's smile grew a little wider. "For the Unity, my friends."

"For the Unity." came the echo from the group, and it thrilled Tavis to hear them all say that to him.

. . .

Tavis's thoughts back to a few hours ago, to that silent thrill, were blasted away by the peppering of rifle fire coming down the corridor, as he crouched a little further behind the hallway wall.

'And it had all started so well.' he thought bitterly.

The barrage soon silenced, and Tavis's Grip was in his hands in an instant, a swirling grey rifle in his hands swinging into the corridor and firing, energy rounds from the other's Metos Rifles following his shots.

In short order, the corridor was clear, and Tavis and his squad of six began to cautiously move forward, sweeping the branching hallways on either side as they did.

Tavis linked his soul to Aaminata and Kauri, both elsewhere in the facility securing the scientist and technicians, and holding off the security forces. "How goes it for the two of you? I'm just about to reach the Eva bay."

"Smooth so far." Kauri replied, professionalism and calm lacing the words across the link. "Mostly scientists and technicians where I'm at. Though some damned sneaky security downed two of my men before they were put to bed."

"Lucky." Aaminata replied sardonically. "I think I found the main guard post, where most of the security was centered. I've lost four so far…"

She trailed off, and anger and sorrow jolted the link. "Make that five. Damn them and their resistance."

"Very well. Aaminata, try to find a map of this place and find the command center. The sooner we take that, the sooner we have control of this place. Kauri, when Aami lets us know where it is, start making your way towards it." Tavis said, the expectation of obedience evident in his tone.

"Will do." Kauri replied firmly.

"I'll see what I can do." Aaminata replied more levelly.

Tavis cut the connection off, and as the team came to an elevator, he let his mind wander for a moment. 'We're securing the Evas, but what do we do with them? They need a soul in order to operate. Or…'

The thought that came to him stuck with him through the rest of the hectic, dangerous day.

. . .

Soon enough, the base came under their control, and Tavis found himself at the command center, staring up at the main screen as it showed the pale white form of the Mass-Production Evangelion.

It was a familiar sight, bringing back memories from another world. Bitter memories. 'But now, no one will stand in my way.' he thought. 'Especially when I can use these.'

"Tavis." a familiar voice said behind him, snapping him from his thoughts.

He turned to face Aaminata, whose expression was serious. "We're performing last rites on the seven who died today." She said quietly. "We need you there."

"Okay." Tavis said quietly. Seven. Seven that had been killed by what became the assault on the base.

A part of him scoffed. To lose less than a quarter of their number taking one of these things was a trifle. He had seen worse happen to those that didn't make the harvest on time. Or for even more trifling matters. But a part of him wondered. Could another day have seen those seven alive instead of needing their last rites? He didn't know. He likely wouldn't.

"Alright. Let's go." Aaminata said, gesturing to an exit.

. . .

With muttered words and moments of silence for the fallen behind them, Tavis and Aaminata made their way back towards the command center. They reached an elevator, descending in silence as the elevator marked its passage with a ticking meter.

"So, Aami," Tavis began, pausing for a second as she looked at him quizzically, "I have a question for you."

"Go ahead." Aaminata replied.

"Can you put some of your Spirits in the cores of the Evas?" Tavis said, forthrightly.

Aaminata gave him a hard, cold look. "No." she said unequivocally.

"Aami-" Tavis began as his brow furrowed.

"You have put my children through the grinder before, Tavis. Why should I let you do so again?" Aaminata asked, turning to face him.

"Because it's your children, Aami, or someone else's soul. Someone we know we can keep a good leash on." Tavis nearly spat back.

They stared at each other for a moment. "I will not lose more of my children, Tavis."

Tavis turned away, scoffing in disgust. Aaminata shook her head. "Do you really know so little of loss?"

Tavis went still. His hands clenched at his sides, and mist began to fall from between his fingers.

"Loss? Loss?" Tavis said with quiet venom. "I know perfectly well of loss."

It was silent again, the tension in the air seeming to weigh down on both of them like millstones.

In that tension, however, Aaminata's hard glare began to gleam with questioning. "How do you know?" she asked quietly.

After a moment, Tavis sighed, unclenching his fists as the doors opened, ankle-high mist spilling out of the elevator. "How about we go find somewhere private to discuss that?" he said.

Aaminata nodded, and the two walked through the hallway, coming upon a spare rec room that was sufficiently out of the way for Tavis's liking.

Tavis walked over to a chair, sitting down and gesturing to another chair. "Take a seat. We'll probably be here for a little while."

Aaminata slowly walked around the card table, taking a seat kitty-corner from Tavis. She regarded him silently, waiting for him to begin.

"I was a slave, once." Tavis said with little preamble. "A worthless creature known on the world I was raised on as a skaa. We toiled for noble-born farmers, sifting through ash that fell like rain to ensure that crops were picked. The noble-born that I worked under were evil. Capricious. More than willing to kill an entire family of skaa just for one servant spilling tea on the lady's dress accidentally."

"But we had a hope, us skaa." Tavis said, smiling grimly. "A man known as the Survivor. A man by the name of Kelsier. He was a rebel and a criminal, stealing from and killing noble-born, and setting us free into the mists. He even started an army of skaa. Snuck us into the city of Luthadel, one by one. He was a legend among us. Untouchable, some said. One with the mists."

Tavis went quiet. "Then the Survivor met the undisputed master of the world. The Lord Ruler. And that's when we all found that he was just a man. Right when the Lord Ruler pulled a spear out of his chest and shoved it into Kelsier's."

As Aaminata's eyes widened slightly, Tavis chuckled softly. "The skaa army was slaughtered after that. I went into hiding. I had lost my friends. My family. I had lost faith that I, or anyone, could ever be saved as the Survivor promised."

"Then a passing Receptorist picked me up. Saw my potential in my state of despair. Showed me that the Guides were greater than the Survivor could ever be."

Tavis trailed off for a moment. "So, yes, Aami. I do know quite well what loss is like."

Silence came between the two of them, but it was a pensive thing, now, as they considered one another. "How do you know?" Tavis asked quietly.

In Aaminata's mind, images flashed of a wide-open savannah, of little food and water. Of friends and family passing their spirits on to her, to keep safe. Of a long, long walk, and a hot, beating sun. Of staring at the sun on her back, as darkness intruded in her vision. Of the sight of the sun being blocked, her face cast into shadow by another.

"Death was a familiar face before I found a Receptorist." Aaminata said simply with a shrug. "That's all there really is to it."

Tavis nodded. "Fair enough." he leaned forward. "So, do you think you could summon some Spirits to occupy the cores of the Evas?"

Aaminata sighed. "Well, it's going to take a few weeks, at least. But I'll see what I can find."

"Good." Tavis said, leaning back with a slight smile. "We'll be able to really get things going once you're ready. Along with everyone else."

 

[StriderInCosmos]

Chapter 9: Image Within

… The soul is, as we have come to recognize, a delicately balanced machine, operating in tandem with the body and the mind to allow an individual to exist. The AT Field is simply a portion of what allows Humanity to exist as individuals.

The AT Field does not only keep individuals separate, however. The AT Field has been found to manipulate, and be manipulated by, the body and mind of a given individual...

- Confidential Report on the Theory and Application of Long-term AT-Field Manipulation, Abstract

Aida Residence, Tokyo-3, Mid-August 2016

It was a calm, quiet end of the day today. Kensuke appreciated it, especially being his day off, as he dipped his spoon into his ice cream and took a bite.

He looked out the window of his second-story apartment, taking in the sunset. For now, the few model kits he had gotten out of storage were scattered about the room and the rest of the apartment. Other than that, it was empty. Living alone was… empty.

"Kensuke, this is quite an interesting food. Do people regularly consume this ice cream?"

Empty was a touch strong, Kensuke thought as he jumped slightly, then looked over at Ichigo, who looked back at him with a quizzical look.

"Oh, not all that often, really." Kensuke replied after a moment to process the question. "It makes a nice summer treat, though."

Ichigo nodded, understanding in her expression. "I see. That is good to know."

Kensuke nodded as he took another bite of ice cream.

This wasn't a date. He'd made that much clear to himself when he'd invited Ichigo over. It still stung to think of Sayaka and Kyoko some days. So they were just talking together about work and life. Alone. Over ice cream. But it still wasn't a date.

"So, how're things going for you?" Kensuke asked after a moment. "I think that I remember you talking about starting some training thing recently, right?"

Ichigo nodded. "Yes, I did. With Quelaan. I'm learning about Spirits, and how to control myself and them."

Kensuke's brow rose slightly above his glasses. "Sounds like a lot of work."

"Perhaps." Ichigo replied. "But there is something… fulfilling in it. Like… I am completed by it."

Kensuke nodded. "Good. That's something I could certainly use. What's it like?"

"Well," Ichigo started, "so far I have only had a few lessons. Most of them have focused on what kinds of Spirits there are, and what kinds of forms that they are able to take when they occur naturally. A rather rare occasion for this world, from what I've been told."

Kensuke nodded. "So… what are Spirits then? I know Shinji and Toji and the others talked about those spooky Daemon Revenant things. Are they all like that?"

"Oh, no." Ichigo said, shaking her head slightly. "There are many, many different types of Spirits. Far beyond categorization. Most are ranked on a rather useful scale, from orderly to chaotic, and from noble to ignoble. Revenants, as I have asked, happen to fall on the chaotic and ignoble ends of the scale. Daemon is simply a useful shorthand. And Spirits are much like souls, save that they can be destroyed. They can think and feel, but they cannot last forever."

Kensuke shrugged. "Makes sense. So…" he said trailing off for a moment. "What's learning it like?"

Ichigo smiled slightly, her eyes glimmering with wonder. "It is… beautiful, somehow."

Thus, she began to describe her training, what Quelaan did to showcase the different forms Spirits could take, using wisps of flame to draw the diagrams in the air. She described the exercises that Quelaan had her undertake and their purpose in helping her control herself and the Spirits around her. What it all felt like.

When Kensuke next dipped his spoon into the bowl, he found himself sipping from his spoon. What Ichigo had described to him… called him somehow. The way that it could make someone feel complete. And… Ichigo seemed to light up as she talked about it, smiling slightly in a way that reminded him of his first date, long ago.

"Wow…" he finally said, quietly. "Sounds like you enjoy it."

"Yes." Ichigo said with a small, contented smile. "That I do."

Kensuke looked down at their dishes, both remaining scoops of ice cream now completely melted. Then he looked out the window, into the nighttime city skyline, awash with halogen stars.

"Well, we should probably finish up." Kensuke said, looking at Ichigo as he stood. "I've got a long day at work tomorrow, what with the Frame Plug getting close to having a working prototype."

"Very well." Ichigo said, standing and bringing her dish over to the sink with Kensuke. "Then I will see you later."

As she turned to walk to the door, Kensuke stood there for a moment. "Wait." he said quickly, causing Ichigo to pause and look back at him.

"Do you…" he said, trailing off as he blushed slightly. "Do you think you could talk to Quu...Que… your teacher? Maybe see if I could start learning from her too?"

It was silent between them for a moment, then Ichigo's smile widened. "I think I can arrange that." she said quietly. "I'll hope to see you in training in the future."

"Yeah." Kensuke replied, equally quiet. "Thanks. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Kensuke." Ichigo said, then turned, and left Kensuke standing silently in the kitchen.

Kensuke continued to stand there for a moment, silently thinking. 'Man. Complete, huh? If I can find that… maybe I can feel complete. Maybe I can finally look the others in the eye without feeling useless.'

He shook his head slowly as he smiled. Toji would object to that line of thought. They all would. They were still his friends after all.

'But it isn't you guys.' he thought. 'It's me that I need to convince.'

- - -

Fabrication Plant 1, Geofront

Ritsuko leaned against the rail of the catwalk and looked out over the pit that was the Fabrication Plant, the birthplace of the Dummy Plug, and could not help but wonder at how quickly it had changed.

Robotic arms that once held welders and grippers now were fitted with Frame Extrusion tools, filling the air with a shower of bright, but not blinding, prismatic sparks. Where conveyor belts and cranes once were, mobile platforms for the arms and hover fields for lifting and moving what was being worked on were now installed. It had opened up a surprising amount of space within the room, too, she idly noted, within which a group of about a dozen figures, led by two women who stood a little taller than the rest and distinguished by deep black hair, operated the machinery.

And nestled within the cocoon of machinery, a long, trapezoidal machine, about 25 meters long, was getting closer and closer to being complete. The Frame Plug.

"Man…" Maya said as she came up from behind Ritsuko. "It's crazy seeing how much this place has changed already." she continued, eyes wide and voice filled with wonder.

"Yeah." Ritsuko replied quietly. "That it is."

Maya looked over at Ritsuko, her eyes narrowing slightly as concern filled her gaze. "Is everything alright, Ritsuko?" she asked quietly.

Ritsuko took a deep breath. "Well… Have you ever heard of Sigmund Rascher?"

Maya blinked. "No… not really." she said slowly.

"Can't say that I blame you." Ritsuko said. "He was a German scientist in the 1930s and 40s."

She paused, chuckling grimly at Maya's dawning horror. "Yeah. You can guess where this is going."

She held up a hand as Maya opened her mouth. "And please, let me say what I want to say before you answer."

Maya closed her mouth, but the concern in her expression remained as Ritsuko sighed. "He operated in the Nazi death camps, doing horrible experiments on human beings. And there are things we use today as a result of his evil, depraved work. We know about the effects of high altitude on the human body because of him, and he made advancements in blood coagulants and treatments of hypothermia. His work is a major part of what allows us to fly as high as we do safely."

She paused for a moment. "But he was still a monster."

"Ritsuko…" Maya said softly.

"He and I aren't so different, really. We've both done things that have helped save lives. All at the cost of our own humanity. Our very souls." Ritsuko said. She scoffed slightly. "He was a monster. And I… I am still a monster. I will always be a monster. For what I've done to Rei. To make the Evas a reality. And all the world knows it."

Ritsuko paused. "I still haven't really apologized to her. To any of the Children." she nearly whispered. "How… how do I even begin to do that?"

Maya slipped her hand into Ritsuko's, leaning against the rail and then against Ritsuko's shoulder. "That's a good question." she said quietly. "But… I think you can start by actually talking to them. Even if it's… frightening."

Maya looked at Ritsuko. "And I'll be on your side. Every step of the way." she said, with utter conviction in her voice.

It was silent for a moment as they regarded each other. Then, Ritsuko smiled slightly. "Well, it's a start, if nothing else."

"Of course." Maya said, with a small smile. "And sometimes, a start is all you need."

Ritsuko smiled softly. "Maya… thank you."

"Always." Maya said quietly.

After sharing a silent gaze, they turned back to look at the Frame Plug. "And hey, at least you have one thing on this Rascher guy." Maya said after a moment.

"Oh?" Ritsuko said, a slight smile on her face as she looked back over at Maya.

"You're trying to make things right." Maya said, nodding slightly at the Frame Plug, the sparks of the Frame Extruders reflecting in her eyes. "I mean, look at what's in front of us right now. That, the work you've done, the work we've done, is going to make sure that the pilots can see their mothers again. You started this. You say you're a monster, but…"

Maya trailed off for a moment. "I think that's changing. Quickly."

"You're right." Ritsuko replied after a moment with a small sigh. "As you always seem to be."

"Well, I learned from you, Senpai." Maya said with a slight smirk. "I can't help but be right."

The two shared a quiet chuckle, then watched the Frame Plug come to fruition silently together.

After a moment, another voice, deep and unmistakable, came from behind the pair. "And how goes the birth of our creation?"

Ritsuko and Maya straightened up, turning around to see Izalith a few feet away, looking at them with a small, knowing smile.

"Well," Ritsuko said, pulling out her clear-pad, pinching two of the sides, and stretching the device into a larger screen before activating it, "we're in the final stages of construction. I'd estimate a few more days before we can roll it out of here and start filling the reservoirs with LCL. That process, in and of itself, is going to take at least a day, if not several."

"And why is that so?" Izalith asked, curiosity glinting in her eyes.

"Well, we are talking about enough LCL to constitute an Evangelion. That comes out to hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions, of gallons of LCL. That's going to take time. The Theisman's floated the idea of submerging it in the LCL lake in Terminal Dogma, which would shave a fair amount of time off of the process, but the point still stands."

"Good, good." Izalith said, nodding as she looked out at the sight. "I can certainly hope that such constructs as will stem from this will be up to the task of defending this world as you need them to."

"We'll know once we start doing field tests on it." Ritsuko said matter-of-factly. "But I have a good feeling they'll be what we need."

Izalith smiled. "Good." she said simply, and they stood in silence for a moment as Izalith regarded the Frame Plug.

After a moment, Izalith blinked, looking back at Ritsuko and Maya. "However, a status update on the Frame Plug, while appreciated, is not the only reason that I sought you out, Ritsuko."

Ritsuko's brow arched slightly. "Oh? What else do you need me for?"

"Well," Izalith said, a smile coming to her face, "I have been working on something that I wish to present to you, as a show of gratitude for allowing me to assist you in your work."

She turned to the side, revealing a floating tube about 2 feet long, with a single white dot of light near its top.

"Hello, little sakura bloom."

Ritsuko's eyes widened. "Mother?"

"Yes, indeed." Naoko Akagi said with no small amount of satisfaction in her voice. "Izalith, darling that she is, decided to whip up this nice little surprise so that I'm not chained to the monitors in the base anymore. It's terribly pleasant being able to walk around the place again."

"Walking might be a strong word for what you're doing, mother." Ritsuko said, an exaggerated air of patience in her voice even as she smiled.

"Well, that's where I've got you, Ritsuko." Naoko shot back.

She fell silent as a field of shimmering prismatic light enveloped the tube, expanding somewhat slowly and forming a recognizable shape, Ritsuko's eyes going wide as arms and legs formed, then a head.

Finally, the body resolved into the image of… Naoko Akagi. As Ritsuko had known her before she died. A white lab coat, her favorite green turtleneck, a black skirt and flats, her usual outfit, looked as though they were real cloth, and she looked, for all intents and purposes, alive again.

Naoko smiled, walking towards a Ritsuko with tears in her eyes. "Oh, Ritsuko…" she said quietly. "I'm so proud of you."

"Mother…" Ritsuko said, and embraced Naoko as words failed her.

The two held each other for what felt like forever. As they did, Ritsuko began to notice things. Small things, really, but they piled up. There was little give when she squeezed. Her mother didn't breathe. She was colder than anything alive should be. It was all… off.

After a moment, they stepped back from the embrace, Naoko's eyes flickered up to Ritsuko's hair, lingering for a moment. "It's been a while since you've dyed your hair, I see."

Ritsuko instinctively reached up. It had escaped her active notice whenever she looked in the mirror, but her roots were starting to show their natural brunette color.

"So it seems." Ritsuko replied, shrugging slightly. "I… honestly might stop."

A sad smile crossed Naoko's face. "Wouldn't that make you more like me?" she said softly.

"I have other ways of showing who I am." Ritsuko replied, a small smile of her own appearing for a moment.

"Oh, good." Naoko said simply. She tilted her head, looking over at Maya as her smile widened.

"Ah, Maya." she said, stepping over to her and taking one of Maya's hands in hers. "It's a pleasure to meet you in the flesh. As it were."

"And it's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Akagi." Maya said with a small smile. It faltered slightly. "Your hands…" she said trailing off.

"Are cold?" Naoko replied, her smile dimming.

Maya nodded wordlessly, and Naoko sighed. "Yes. It's not perfect. Frankly, it's not designed to be. But it will do until I actually get a body again."

"Something which, I remind you," Izalith said, drawing everyone's attention, "is eminently possible."

"Perhaps." Naoko replied, a serious look on her face. "But not yet. I want to be sure the Magi can stand on their own two feet and keep things safe when I'm gone. And that's going to take some work."

"So, for now," Naoko said with a melodramatic sigh, "this'll have to do."

She turned back to look at Maya, her smile returning. "As I was about to say," she said patiently, "thank you for looking after my daughter. I don't think I've ever properly told you that."

"It's not a problem, Mrs. Akagi." Maya replied, a warm smile on her face. "I love her. It's as simple as that."

"Of course." Naoko said.

With that, she turned to look at the Frame Plug. "So, this is what I've seen you all puzzling over for the last few weeks. Amazing that it's come together this fast." she murmured.

"It has to." Ritsuko said, following her mother's gaze. "Otherwise, we're stuck with the Evangelions. With the Children having to pilot them into harm's way."

"And doesn't that just stick in the UN's craw?" Naoko mused.

- - -

Uluru Blacksite, Australian Outback

Mariah Marlowe tapped on the controls of the Simulation Plug, tapping her foot in time. The in-between time in the sims was boring her, as they usually did. But there was anxiety under that boredom. Not enough to really pay attention to, but enough to be noticed. As for what it was about? She wasn't sure. And she usually wasn't, not until she saw what was making her be so damn anxious.

She tried to skate around the formless anxiety by keying up the other two pilots, their faces intruding on the presently blank screen.

"Hey, hey." she said with a slight smile. "How are my battle buddies?"

Mana, dull as ever, looked back at her with a level expression. "I am stable, Pilot Marlowe." she said, in a deadpan voice.

"Oh, cheer up, Mana." Mariah said with a roll of her eyes. "Do you ever think of anything else?"

"There's the mission-" Mana began.

"And there's not the mission, or the Evangelion, I know." Mariah interrupted nodding. "Do you have anything else to do beyond piloting an Evangelion? Any hobbies?"

"No, Pilot Marlowe. I have my status as a pilot. That is enough." Mana said, a slight arch in one of her brows the only indication of a change in mood.

"Well, alright then. I'll need to take you and have us do something together, then. It'll be fun!" Mariah said with a smile.

"Perhaps, Pilot Marlowe." Mana said levelly.

Mariah sighed dramatically. "And I've told you, please, just call me Mari. I'm your battle buddy, not your superior officer. Major Howard fills that role just fine."

"I will, as always, take that into consideration, Pilot Marlowe." Mana said.

Mariah rolled her eyes. "Well I'll take what I can get." she looked over at Mayumi's screen, her long hair in a ponytail. "And what about you, Mayumi? How're you doing?"

"Well…" Mayumi said slowly. "I'm actually doing well. I like being in the Entry Plug."

"Really?" Mariah said, tilting her head slightly. "And how's that?"

"I just like being by myself in here." Mayumi said with a shrug. "Being around people gets… tiring."

Mariah's face dropped. "Sorry about that." she nearly mumbled.

"It's not your fault." Mayumi replied with a slight smile. "I just… don't like being around that many people. There are exceptions, of course. You might even become one of them."

"Indeed there are, Mayumi." Mana said, and Mariah could have sworn that she saw the slightest smile crack the stone mask that was Mana Kirishima's face.

"Now wait a minute," Mariah said with a pout, "how come I'm 'Pilot Marlowe' this, 'Pilot Marlowe' that, and Mayumi gets called by her actual name?"

"I took it into consideration." Mana said simply.

"Alright, you three," Major Howard cut in with a sigh, preventing Mariah's carefully constructed counter-argument, "that's quite enough. We'll be starting the simulator back up again. We only have a few weeks before repairs get finished on the Mass-Production Evangelions. You're going to need all the practice you can get, so don't waste this time."

As he said that, Mariah pursed her lips as she felt the anxiety grow. She normally was perfectly fine with the simulators, but something about the last one, a careful go over of their plan to breach the Geofront, felt off. And she still couldn't put her finger on it. Damn.

She gripped the controls as Mana and Mayumi's faces disappeared, and the boot screen for the simulators flashed across the tube of the Plug.

In a moment, she was above what she presumed was the city of Tokyo-3, the grey of the city nestled quite nicely in the green of the rolling hills that surrounded it. It looked pretty nice, as she felt herself being released from the transport uniwing, a pair of clipped on wings unfurling and allowing her to glide towards the ground.

The digital breeze chilled her slightly, and she had to, once again, give props to the engineers that made this so accurate. The view was just like what she would have seen within her Evangelion.

'Speaking of Evas…' she thought, scanning the group of mostly white MP-Evas to try and find the others.

She found Mana's first, as tracer fire and missiles began to explode uselessly against deployed AT Fields.

Unit-06 was sleek, navy blue and teal broken up by white and bright green highlights, with a head crowned by what looked like a shark fin that Mariah caught as Mana seemed to swim through the air with her wings, twirling and dodging fire as much as just taking it with the AT Field. One of her Unit's hands was larger than the other, gloved in Mana's signature weapon.

'And here I thought I was handy in moving around. She seems to have it down to a science.' Mariah thought with a slight smirk, content with letting her AT Field take the shots that came her way. 'A rather rote little dance, though, once you see the pattern. But a dance nonetheless.'

She resumed her search, finding Mayumi's Unit-07 in short order. It was a golden and deep orange, with greenish-yellow highlights. Its head sported two ridged horns that curved back over the Unit's head, sticking close to the Eva's skull.

Mayumi, unlike Mana, dived as fast as she could, almost overtaking the MP-Eva's flight as she tried to get to the ground, the massive box containing her weapon the only thing that overtook her. 'She's timid, at least from what I've seen. More prone to letting a dance partner take the lead. But there's something under there, I'm sure of it. She just needs a little pushing from the right place.'

Mari, of course, had no need to look for her Evangelion. She was in it, after all, and could picture it perfectly in her mind. Kelly green and tan, with deep, crimson highlights. Four eyes curving up and away from a central fifth, and three spikes curving up and back from its head like a faerie crown.

And, of course, she thought as they finally hit the ground, the wings on her back popping off with muffled explosions and revealing the sheath for her chosen weapon, she knew perfectly well how good she was at dancing.

As the last of the MP-Evas touched the ground, the three manned Evas dashed towards what they knew was the closest Main Access Shaft into the Geofront, and to their targets.

Mana pulled a massive shaped charge from a belt around her waist, slapping it onto the doors and stepping back while turning away, the explosion causing Mariah's slightly clenched jaw to buzz.

The smoke had barely cleared before Mana jumped in, Mayumi and Mariah jumping after her as the MP-Evas followed in tow.

Their AT Fields slowed their fall as they hit the green ground of the interior of the Geofront, and before them stood the Evangelions of NERV.

After a moment to pick out her dance partner, she nodded. "I've got the red one!" she said, a grin on her face as she dashed forward. The crimson Unit-02 crouched in a defensive stance, a Prog Knife in its hand.

As they joined the dance, move and counter-move flowing back and forth, Mariah felt the Thrill coursing through her, sharpening her senses to a razor's edge fineness. There was something about dancing with this one. Whoever was supposed to be in it was quite the skilled puppy, if the data wasn't lying to make it harder on her. Maybe even a little better than that Kaworu lad. But only a little.

As she ducked under a slicing right hook and pushed back the Unit with a two-handed strike to the chest, she reached for the sheath on her back, a long blade sliding away from the open edge behind her as the Progressive element heated its edge. 'Alright. Time to take the lead.'

She settled into a ready stance, testing the Unit with a mild kata that she usually used to warm up when practicing dancing with blades. The Unit dodged and ducked, blocking with its AT Field every once in a while, only using its Knife if it got within her sword's reach. It was a simple, easy dance. Too simple.

Then, it clicked. She wasn't dancing with the pilot of Unit-02, or any of the others. Not quite. She wasn't truly understanding their dances. It was like she was dancing with a person in a video. Or a ghost.

Even as the revelation struck her, it both relieved her and irked her to know, at least somewhat, the source of her anxieties. At least she knew what she was dealing with. And really, they'd cross that bridge when they came to it.

So, for the moment, she just enjoyed the Thrill guiding her moves, Unit-02's knife hand coming off in short order, followed by a quick stab to the core, the Eva slumping over as Mariah pulled out her sword, scanning the chaos of the battlefield.

Mayumi led a duo of MP-Evas against Unit-04, her massive Positron Gun-Lance keeping the Unit at a distance, while a trio of MP-Evas took on Unit-03. Mana and the last MP-Eva took on Unit-01, pressing it back further and further as Mana swiped at it with her Progressive Claw gauntlet.

That left… whatever kind of Unit was harrying Mayumi's attack.

It was a strange thing, seemingly made up of the night sky on a clear night, swinging around a sword blade at the end of a long stick. As she decided to get its attention by unholstering a Pallet Magnum at her hip and shooting it in the back, it turned, regarded her with intense white eyes set under four fanned horns, miniature suns that seemed to almost burn through her.

She hadn't danced with this one yet. This would be fun.

The star one (and it would ever be the star one) swung its weapon in a wide arc, forcing her to jump back as she holstered the Magnum. It pressed its attack with a series of swings and jabs, and she continued to backpedal, observing the dance for a moment before charging forward.

Now, the star one stumbled back as she got within the reach of the sword-spear-thingy, as Mariah aimed a swipe at the Unit's torso.

Its stumble proved to be a benefit, the blade glancing off an armor piece as the star one took the thingy in both hands and shoved her away with the handle, swinging at her as she stumbled back. She ducked at just the right moment, the blade clipping one of her horns and sending a piece flying off somewhere.

Mariah's brow furrowed. The computer was giving her a good dance, she had to admit. A close shave did wonders for waking you up, after all.

She stood as the star one turned its backswing into a mighty chop, and again Mariah darted into the thingy's reach, the handle clattering against her Unit's shoulder and shaking Mariah slightly inside the Entry Plug. She deactivated the Progressive element of her sword blade, wrapping her hand in an AT Field as she grabbed it, the Field sizzling slightly as she aimed the tip of the blade towards the star one's core.

Just before it impacted, though, the rainbow field of the star one's AT Field sprang to life, sparks flying off the point of impact.

As the star one's thingy somehow disappeared and it gripped her hands to try and pull the sword away, Mariah got a hungry look in her eyes. She was close. So close. Just a little more…

The Thrill in her sang the answer for the final flourish of this dance, and Mariah obeyed, flipping on her sword's Progressive element and pushing.

The sparks intensified as the sword blade glowed pink again, and despite the star one's best efforts, its AT Field began to bulge more and more.

Mariah began to feel the blade in her hand, a prickling, burning sensation. But it was a distant thing, thanks to both the simulation not wanting to actually burn her and the singular focus of the Thrill.

Unit-05's arms shuddered with effort, but with a last push, the blade broke through, a shower of sparks flying off the chest of the star one as she heard the satisfying crack of the core preceding the star one slumping down, powerless.

She took her hand off of her sword blade, barely noticing it smoke as she kicked the limp Unit off of her sword, then looked around.

The other three had made quick work of their respective foes, and three of the MP-Evas had moved towards the glass pyramid, smashing it to pieces and sweeping it aside to reveal the shaft down into Terminal Dogma.

After that, it was a few hops and AT Field-assisted falls before they found themselves in front of the massive Heaven's Door.

Mana stepped forward again, unlatching another shaped charge from her belt, placing it on the door, and stepping back, turning away slightly.

The shaped charge went off, and with a thin AT Field, Mayumi cleared the smoke away, revealing their objective.

The massive white giant stood, or hung, in the center of the room within a lake of LCL, legless and impaled through its chest with the bright crimson Lance of Longinus.

Mariah didn't even blink as a bar with the words 'Simulation Complete' blinked into existence, and the world disappeared as the Thrill began to lessen its grip on her mind.

She keyed up the other two pilots, whose faces appeared on the screens once again. "So," Mariah said with a slight grin, "how were your dances?"

Mana blinked, the slight tilt to her head the only indication of puzzlement. "I do not believe I danced with anyone during the combat simulation."

"Neither did I." Mayumi said, her confusion far more evident.

"Maybe not literally." Mariah replied as she rolled her eyes and pouted slightly. "It's something one of my old sensei's used to talk about whenever I was training in Muay Thai. Or was it savate? Maybe Jiu-Jitsu…"

Mariah shook her head after a moment of pondering. "Anyway, he said that combat is like a dance. You and your partner, or partners if you're feeling adventurous, follow each other's moves. It's all a matter of you taking the lead and finishing the dance on your own terms."

"Well…" Mayumi said slowly. "I've never danced with somebody before, so I wouldn't know."

"Well then, maybe we should dance, sometime." Mariah replied with a smile. "It's a lot of fun. Even if I'm not a fair gentleman lover."

Mayumi's mouth opened and closed silently for a moment. "Uh… thanks?" she finally said, her voice unsure.

"It is a strange way to see combat." Mana said simply. "But it does hold its merits."

"Maybe you should go dancing too, Mana." Mariah said with a slight smirk. "Might loosen you up a bit."

"Your invitation is appreciated, Pilot Marlowe," Mana said, "but I am not interested."

"Alright." Mariah said in a dramatically sullen tone.

A tone sounded, and the Test Plug began to empty as Major Howard's voice cut in. "Alright, ladies, good work so far. We'll go ahead and take a break before we go into the next round of simulations."

The Thrill, that flame in Mariah's chest, flickered out as the door for the Test Plug opened up. "Good timing. I've been dying to go to the bathroom." Mariah said, mostly to herself, as she stepped out of the Plug and accepted the proffered towel.

 

[StriderInCosmos]

Chapter 10: Definition: To Commune with the Incorporeal

… The soul is a defined unit, unable to be fully measured by current methods, that grows and projects an AT Field to define its individuality. However, its existence cannot be denied, and through the research efforts of Metaphysical Biologists such as Professor Kozo Fuyutsuki, it has also been shown that, without a doubt, the soul is most often found within the body of a sentient, usually sapient organism, such as a human being.

As for a soul's location when not present in a body, such a place, physical or metaphysical, has not been found, and studies conducted on the recently deceased show that even the specialized Fuyutsuki detectors created specifically to detect the presence of a soul fail to function in the absence of an AT Field…

- Confidential Report on the Theory and Application of Long-term AT-Field Manipulation, Section 1: "A Reiteration of the Known Mechanics of Souls and the AT Field"

Theisman Residence, Tokyo-3

Rei sat on the couch in the living room with Kaworu next to her, his hand in hers as they contemplated what they planned to do.

Shinji and Asuka, visiting from next door, looked at them with no small amount of concern, having heard what the two Nephelim, as Daniel had called them, wished to do.

"Kritzeln, I gotta tell you, even with all that you two have said has happened with Adam and Lilith, or Kadmonel and Suriel or whatever they want to be called, I still don't have a good feeling about this." Asuka finally said frankly.

"I understand." Kaworu replied. "But even still, I have had… questions. Concerning what I have been seeing, recently. About the clear views into others worlds, or even one other world, which I have been having."

Asuka pursed her lips, then looked over at Rei. "And what about you? We all saw what happened in that End of Evangelion thing. How you got swallowed up by Lilith. What if that happens again?"

Rei nodded slightly. "There is a chance, that is sure. But with how things have changed, not just for us, but for Kadmonel and Suriel, I would put the chances of that being very minimal."

Asuka nodded slowly. "Alright then… I trust you guys' judgment. But…"

Asuka sighed quietly. "If you need somebody to talk to after it… we're here. And we'll try and understand. Right, Shinji?" she said, glancing over at him with a meaningful look in her eyes.

Shinji nodded once. "Always." he said firmly. Then, he looked over at Rei with a questioning look in his eyes. "So… what are you going to talk to Suriel about, Rei?" he asked quietly.

Rei looked down at the coffee table silently, her brow furrowed slightly in thought. What, indeed? Kaworu had his reasons, but… what matter did she have that only the creator of humanity could solve?

"I am unsure." Rei said quietly. "But… it feels like the right thing to do. And," she continued as a slight smile turned up her lips, "I am sure she would appreciate having someone to talk to again."

"After all the hanging out she's been doing?" Asuka said with a slight smirk. "I can't say that you're wrong."

A quiet chuckle rippled through the room, breaking through the tension for a moment.

Asuka sighed quietly. "And are you going to be taking Ichigo too, Rei? I wouldn't be surprised if she has some things to iron out with her… creator, I guess."

Rei shook her head slightly. "No. She will be studying under Quelaan in order to become an Animist. And…" she smiled slightly. "I believe Kensuke is beginning his studies today, as well."

Shinji and Asuka's eyebrows rose for a moment, then Shinji closed his eyes and sighed. "Another friend that might be in the line of fire…" he muttered.

Asuka put her hand on Shinji's shoulder, a sympathetic look in her eyes. "Hey. If Quelaan's as good as I've heard Ichigo say, what little I've heard her say at least, then Ken's going to be fine. And besides, he won't be jumping into an Eva with us. We can keep him safe. You know that."

"Yeah." Shinji said. "Yeah. But…" he trailed off and left something unspoken in the air. His face was drawn, yet it betrayed no explicit emotion other than a deep weariness.

After a moment, Shinji took a deep breath, his face relaxing as he looked over at Asuka, a slight smile on his face. "Do I ever tell you thank you enough?" he asked quietly.

Asuka smiled back. "I would say not. But…" she leaned in for a quick kiss. "Then I would be lying."

Shinji snorted softly as a slight smile turned up his lips. "Maybe."

After a moment of silence, Rei and Kaworu stood. "We'll be going now." Rei said quietly. "I will have to go to Terminal Dogma, and Kaworu wishes to speak with Daniel and Eleanor in order to prepare." she paused for a moment. "We'll see you later."

Shinji and Asuka offered their goodbyes, and soon, they were alone.

Asuka looked over at Shinji with concern in her eyes. "There's something you haven't told me." she said softly as she nudged his arm. "So spill it. What's eating at you?"

Shinji blinked as Asuka said this, then nodded silently as he gathered his thoughts. "Have you ever…" he said, trailing off for a moment. "Have you ever wanted a normal life?"

Asuka sighed quietly after a moment. "Define 'normal'." she said, equally quiet.

Shinji took a deep breath as he held his hands out in front of him, palms up. "To be what we saw on the screen so long ago, of another world. To just worry about schoolwork. About what sort of job you might get after you graduate, or having how a date turns out to be the most important thing in a day. To live quietly and die peacefully, surrounded by the people you love. That kind of normal. No Angels, no Evas, no Interfacing or Scions or anything… just… normal."

Shinji looked up from his hands to Asuka's face. "Have you ever wanted that?" he whispered.

It was silent, a long, wanting silence, waiting for a desperately needed answer.

"Honestly…" Asuka said. "No."

Shinji's eyes widened at Asuka's determined expression. "Why?" it was a strangled whisper that escaped his throat.

"Because we would have never met." Asuka said firmly. "Because you would have been here alone and I would have been in Germany waiting for all the tears I never cried to shatter me. But we aren't alone, because we aren't normal, Shinji. And I am so grateful for that."

"But," Asuka continued as Shinji opened his mouth to reply, "I do like those little moments of normal that you make."

Shinji's eyebrows rose as Asuka counted on her fingers. "Our dates, your cooking, your baking, your music—our music—… that's our little island of normal here."

She drew herself up with a serious look. "So don't stop!" she said with a faux haughtiness. "For your sake and mine."

Shinji continued to stare wordlessly at Asuka, then closed his eyes and sighed. "You're right." he chuckled after a moment. "You're right," he repeated, "that is our normal. But even still…"

He sighed quietly. "I just want to be normal with you."

Asuka smiled slightly as she put an arm around Shinji's shoulder, pulling him close. "Yeah. Me too. So let's not waste this moment."

. . .

Quelaan's Residence

Kensuke walked by Ichigo's side as they approached the door of the otherwise normal apartment, and tried not to fidget.

Even with Ichigo's help in prepping him for this, he still felt unprepared for what lay ahead. He was, by all rights, an upstanding, modern Japanese citizen, but there was a part of him, old as his grandparents, that still cringed slightly at the concept of dealing with spirits. They were often wily, capricious things in the stories that he had heard growing up, liable to turn on you as grant you favor. But if he could master them…

"Kensuke."

He jumped slightly as he looked over at Ichigo, who gave him a slight smile. "It is very easy to tell when you are worried." she said, glancing down at a hand whose finger drummed on his pants leg.

"Oh, well…" Kensuke replied, chuckling as he scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess it is."

Ichigo's smile widened just a fraction. "Do not worry. Quelaan would not put us in any unnecessary danger that she could not protect us from."

Kensuke gave a slightly wavering smile and an equally slight chuckle in return as Ichigo knocked on the door.

After a moment, the door slid open, and the pale-haired form of Quelaan, in a t-shirt and sweatpants, looked down at the two of them with a warm smile. "Well, hello again, Ichigo." she said quietly, in a voice that matched her smile, then looked over at Kensuke as she slightly arched an eyebrow. "And this must be young Kensuke who you've been telling me about."

"Uh, hi." Kensuke said somewhat bashfully. "I, uh… I hope what you've heard about me is good. I mean, coming from Ichigo and all, I'd be surprised if it wasn't, but…"

Quelaan cut off Kensuke with a quiet chuckle. "Yes, Kensuke. I've heard nothing but positivity concerning you. Both from Ichigo and from my mother."

Kensuke nodded. "Makes sense."

Quelaan stepped aside. "Please, come in."

As Ichigo and Kensuke entered, Quelaan looked back over at Kensuke. "Would you happen to have a Locus yet?" she asked.

"Oh, no, not yet." Kensuke replied, again somewhat bashful.

"Do not worry overly much," Quelaan said, reaching into a pocket of her sweat pants, "I have one for you. A gift to start your tutelage on the right path."

Kensuke regarded the iridescent frosted glass-like handle that Quelaan presented to him with wide eyes. He'd seen the ones that the others had, some of them slowly turning into something else, like metal or wood or light. But this… this was his.

He accepted it reverently. "Thank you, sensei." he said, equally reverently.

"Of course, Kensuke. Now," Quelaan said with excitement gleaming in her eyes, "let's begin."

- - -

NERV-HQ, Geofront

Kaworu and Rei waited patiently in an elevator as it descended into the depths of the Geofront, towards Daniel and Eleanor. Towards Lilith. Towards Suriel.

It was an odd feeling, Rei thought, as she got closer and closer to the being which was at least partially responsible for her existence.

The Call, once pulling her away from her current existence, now seemed to urge her to live to her fullest, to take each moment and make it the best it could. A far cry from wanting things to end.

It did make things difficult, however, when those moments included Kaworu in positions decidedly away from their private residence. She fidgeted for a moment as she took Kaworu's hand, and found that she was getting quite warm. She'd need to take care of this later tonight, or it would leave her decidedly… put out.

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened to a hallway that led down to Ritsuko's lab, the last line of defense between her and Suriel.

They walked slowly, appreciating the time that they had together silently. As the Call became more urgent, Rei's mind turned back to when she had first met Kaworu, and the far different urges that she had before certain things had come to light. She snorted softly.

"What is it?" Kaworu asked, breaking the companionable silence as he looked over at her.

"Oh, nothing really." Rei replied. "Just remembering things."

"Ah." Kaworu said with a nod.

After a moment of silence, Kaworu scratched the back of his neck as he began to blush.

"You feel it too?" Rei asked, her own blush appearing.

"Yes." Kaworu replied in an awkward tone. "Even with my relation to her being distant, I can feel her presence."

"She is awake, then." Rei said quietly, looking ahead. "She is waiting for me."

With that cheery comment, a door swished open, and Rei and Kaworu stepped into the lab proper. Ritsuko and Maya, naturally, were present, standing in the middle of almost a dozen carefully sorted floating holograms as they looked up at the entering pair. Another was there, however.

Rei's eyes widened slightly as Naoko Akagi turned around and regarded the pair. Unbidden, painful memories flashed through her mind, and her hand twitched as she kept it from going to her throat.

Naoko's eyes widened as well, a sad, forlorn look in them as she recognized Rei. There was even a little fear in them. Then, the image of Naoko became a swirling rainbow of light before collapsing, the colors fading away to reveal a small floating tube.

"Well, hello, you two." Ritsuko said, stepping outside of the rings of diagrams and images. "What brings you down here?"

"We're looking for Daniel and Eleanor." Kaworu replied.

"Oh." Maya chimed in. "They're handling some Eva maintenance issues right now. They'll probably be around in…" she bobbed her head from side to side. "About 20 minutes?"

As the two Children walked into the circle of holograms, studying the displays and diagrams, Rei caught out of the corner of her eye the mechanism that was once Naoko Akagi drifting away.

After a moment, Ritsuko looked back at the two of them. "So, what has you looking for Daniel and Eleanor, Kaworu?"

"I wish to speak to Kadmonel." Kaworu replied with a slight smile. "As Rei wishes to speak with Suriel."

It was quiet as Maya and Ritsuko regarded the pair with no small amount of shock. "I must say," Ritsuko said, an edge of caution in her voice, "I can't entirely recommend trying that. We have no idea how either of them will react to you. Especially to you, Kaworu."

"Perhaps. But that is part of why I am seeking out Daniel and Eleanor." Kaworu replied.

"And circumstances are far different from what we have seen, Doctor." Rei said. "We are both far different people. If there is any call to unify with our progenitors, we are more than likely able to resist it."

"Well…" Ritsuko said slowly. "As long as you're certain."

. . .

It was a quiet few minutes more before Rei watched Maya put a hand on Ritsuko's shoulder and whisper in her ear. Rei was tempted to sharpen her senses, to even use the Sight to look into their souls, but it would have been rude to do such.

But Rei didn't need such things to see the shock, the fear, the quick glances to her.

Then, Ritsuko breathed deeply, and stepped forward. "Rei?" she asked plaintively, quietly.

"Yes, Doctor Akagi?" Rei could already guess at where this was going.

"I…" Ritsuko took a deep breath. "I've needed to apologize. For what I've done to you. For quite a while now. Can we step aside for a moment?"

Rei nodded slightly. "Of course, Doctor."

They walked over into a side room of the lab, where the massive Magi backup was stored. As the door swished shut, Ritsuko sat down in the chair in front of the monitor for the backup with a heavy sigh.

"I don't need to explain to you what I've done to need this. You know that perfectly well." Ritsuko said morosely.

"Perhaps." Rei said as she found another chair to sit down in. "But I am glad that you feel that I should be apologized to. I understand that you, at least once, saw me as… an obstacle."

Ritsuko scoffed. "And I am guilty of that charge. But… with everything that's happened…"

"Yes. We now know far more than we once did. We have the benefit of hindsight as well." Rei said quietly.

"And with that," Rei said after a moment, "I forgive you."

Ritsuko gasped quietly as tears began to prick her eyes. "But… how can you…" she said in a hoarse whisper.

"Because you were broken. I was broken." Rei said simply. "And now… we are on the path to making ourselves new."

She looked towards the door with a slight smile. "With no small amount of help."

Ritsuko followed Rei's gaze, and a smile of her own began to form. "Yes." she said simply.

"She is good for you." Rei said matter-of-factly. "I can tell. So can the others."

Ritsuko nodded. "That she is. Too good for me most days. I've tried apologizing to her, too, but…" she chuckled softly. "She always just brushes it off."

"Because you have no real need to apologize to her." Rei replied. "She understands, if only somewhat, what you go through. And her soul is pure, and willing to help those she loves."

"Yes. But there are still people I need to apologize to." Ritsuko said, the smile disappearing. "The other Children, for instance, are probably not going to be so forgiving as you are."

"Perhaps." Rei said quietly. "But they will understand, even if they do not forgive as easily as I do. We were all broken in some way here. It seemed to be a prerequisite to working for NERV."

Ritsuko chuckled. "That seems about right."

She paused for a moment. "So… your other bodies. What do you want me to do with them? I would simply destroy them, but… they are copies of you, even without their souls. So, I want to leave the choice to you."

Rei blinked at the non-sequitur. "I… am unsure." she replied slowly. "I will have to think on that."

"Okay." Ritsuko said with a nod. "Let me know what you decide. I'll make sure it happens."

It was a quiet moment between them, perhaps not relaxed, but now somewhat relieved by what they had both said to each other.

"Thank you." Rei said quietly.

"It's the least I can do, really." Ritsuko replied.

As she finished, Ritsuko looked around and found a familiar-looking cylinder hiding in the corner. "Mother…" she said, standing and walking over to the device. "Did you hear us?"

It was a long moment of silence before Naoko Akagi answered. "Yes." she nearly whispered. "Yes, I did."

"Would you like to apologize, too?" Ritsuko asked quietly.

"How could she forgive me for what I did?" Naoko replied. "How could anyone?"

"With patience," Rei said, Ritsuko turning to see that she now stood behind her, "and understanding."

It was silent again, then the device floated forward slightly, and began to glow with a rainbow light that resolved into the form of Naoko Akagi. She looked down and away, shame clear to read from her posture.

"I… I killed you." Naoko whispered. "I killed you for such a stupid reason. And…" she chuckled softly. "Here we are, two different versions of the people who died because of it. We may as well be entirely different people..."

"Mrs. Akagi." Rei said firmly. "That we are not who we were is not an obstacle. It is a fact of life. Even if we had not died, such would be the case. Much has changed. I have changed, been given the gift of choice. And you have received the gift of hindsight. So, as I have forgiven your daughter, I now forgive you."

Naoko looked at Rei now, eyes so much like her daughter's, wet with digital tears.

"Thank you." she whispered.

"You are welcome, Mrs. Akagi." Rei replied.

. . .

Ritsuko, Naoko, and Rei emerged from the room to see Daniel and Eleanor conversing with Kaworu and Maya, as they looked up and noted their entrance.

Rei smiled slightly at Maya's expression of happiness, and quietly thrilled at Kaworu's smile.

"So," Daniel said with little preamble as the three approached, "you two are looking to talk to your progenitors."

"Yes, Daniel." Rei replied. "We would appreciate your assistance."

"Well, I can certainly tell that you won't be easily dissuaded, either, so I guess we'll help." Daniel said with a wry grin.

That grin shrank slightly as he continued. "We've talked to Kaworu already, and we're going to be present when he talks to Kadmonel. Call us somewhat paranoid, but we're still not entirely at ease with him."

"You, on the other hand," Daniel continued, "should be fine on your own. If something starts happening, let one of us know as quickly as possible. We won't be outside of time, so we'll be able to help in an instant."

Rei nodded. "Very well. Thank you."

"Of course, Rei." Eleanor replied. "So, what do you want to talk to Suriel about?"

It was quiet for a moment, the whir of machinery the only sound that accompanied Rei's pondering.

"I wish to simply speak with her, answer her questions." Rei finally replied. "She has been isolated within Terminal Dogma for some time now, and… I doubt the souls under her stewardship are exactly conversationalists." she said with a slight smile.

A quiet, somewhat grim chuckle rippled through the room. "No, I suppose not." Daniel said.

He looked over at the Akagi's. "We'll only be away for an hour or two, most likely. We'll let you know if anything changes."

Ritsuko nodded. "And we'll keep an eye on Rei."

"Good." Daniel said, nodding in turn.

He looked over at Rei again. "Good luck." he said quietly.

"Thank you. I may need it." Rei replied.

- - -

Quelaan's Apartment

Kensuke sat next to Ichigo on the couch of the apartment, the living room dim with the shutters closed and the main lights turned off allowing for a greater amount of focus.

It had been a slightly unsteady hour and a half, as Kensuke caught up with the basics, such as training in using his Sight to look into a place Quelaan called the Conceptual Realm, the realm of thoughts and dreams, along with tuning his Locus (Grip, whatever) to attract certain Spirits. Thankfully, both Ichigo and Quelaan had been patient with his many questions.

Now, under Quelaan's watchful eye, they focused and waited.

Kensuke continued to look into the Conceptual Realm that surrounded (or overlaid? Underlied? He wasn't sure) the apartment, and almost felt like he would get a headache. The space within the Realm stretched beyond the confines of the apartment walls, spilling into the streets surrounding them and even into some of the neighboring buildings, a compression of distance that Quelaan said continued into the Pneumaic Realm, where all things existed on a singular point.

Snatches of thought and emotion, ethereal, twisting things that pulsed and flared and dimmed into nothing, floated across his vision. It felt… strange, getting a peek into people's innermost thoughts. Thankfully, most of them were pretty boring.

But out there, floating in the distance, twinkling lights, each a different color, began to draw nearer.

"Remember," Quelaan said quietly, "try only to catch a single Spirit. Any more at once becomes… difficult."

Kensuke didn't even nod as he focused on one, a brilliant scarlet thing, and slowly fed more Metos into the Locus, brightening the beacon it had become in the Conceptual Realm.

It drew closer and closer, and Kensuke slowly created a Frame, the structure not unlike an opening flower, the different ways his mind saw it could be constructed flickering in and out of sight like ghosts.

It lit up with active Metos, and the Spirit drew closer and closer. 'Almost there…' Kensuke thought, then fought to still his mind. Any errant thoughts, Quelaan had warned, could frighten away the Spirits they were trying to catch.

The crimson Spirit backed away slightly, then slowly began to advance closer and closer.

Then, it tumbled into the Frame, down into the Locus, which Kensuke closed with a gleeful feeling. He'd done it. He'd done it!

His Sight faded, and the apartment itself came back into view as he turned to look at Ichigo with an ecstatic look in his eyes and a wide smile. "I did it!"

Ichigo smiled in turn, a warm thing that made Kensuke feel warm in turn. "Congratulations." she said.

"Yes, indeed, congratulations are in order." Quelaan said, drawing both of the children's attention back to her, a small smile on her face.

"Now," she said, "the true start of your learning has passed. Let's see how we can work with the Spirits you caught."

- - -

Infinity Box, Theisman Residence

Kaworu descended down the familiar stone steps with no small amount of trepidation. He had been confident with Rei by his side, almost overly so. Now, her absence, both physical and spiritual, weighed heavy on him as he passed into the long bare room of the Box itself.

"Again," Eleanor said as a pedestal holding a rainbow-colored orb rose out of the ground, "we're here if you need us to be."

"Thank you." Kaworu said as he stared into the swirling lines of the sphere, pieces of memories and feelings that were not his floating to the surface. Peace, within a blanket of darkness. Repose. Curiosity, as something tried to touch its shadow. Others? Others, within the blanket?

Kaworu pushed the memories aside, a backed chair appearing a few feet away from the pedestal as Kaworu sat down.

Kaworu took a deep breath, then closed his eyes as his Sight allowed him to see the souls in front of him.

Sight was not the only gift given to him. The souls all hummed and sang, their individual pieces unique, but the unified tone showing their heritage. He took a moment to listen to his own soul. The tone was there, but muted now, since Eleanor's ministrations after Arael.

He began to reach out a frame towards the soul at the center of the mass of Angelic cores, the others floating aside as they sensed his presence, heard his song.

After a moment of trepidation, looking on the swirling black, red and white soul, he connected with it.

"Ah." Kadmonel said. "Tabris. The prodigal son returns."

"Hello, Kadmonel." Kaworu replied. "It has been a long time since anyone has called me by that name. Please, just call me Kaworu."

"The name… the name SEELE gave you." Kadmonel growled. "Why keep it?"

"Because there are those I love that call me by that name. And so, it has become free of the taint of SEELE." Kaworu said, satisfaction and happiness in his tone.

"I see." Kadmonel said after a moment of peering into Kaworu's soul.

"I see." The words were quieter now, and Kaworu could hear the envy, slight as it was, in his voice. "You are quite esteemed among your brothers and sisters."

"Perhaps." Kaworu replied. "But that doesn't mean I do not have questions. For I have many."

A subtle impression of a nod. "Yes. I am not surprised, given your limited form, that you wonder at your potential. It is limitless. If you decided to shed the shackles that you wear, leave Suriel's creation behind, and truly step into your birthright…"

"That is not what I would ask." Kaworu said levelly. Firmly.

There was a moment of silence. "Of course." Kadmonel said morosely, the envy more evident in his voice now. "What would you ask of your father?"

"Why… why can I see other versions of me?" Kaworu asked. "Why, especially, one version of me in particular?"

Kadmonel turned the question in his mind—as it were—along with the memories, limited though they were, of what other worlds that Kaworu had seen.

"Ah, yes." Kadmonel said quietly, and Kaworu could almost hear resignation. "This part of your nature couldn't be tampered with, could it?"

"What is it?" Kaworu asked, anticipation building within him.

"It almost wasn't to be, before we left our home." Kadmonel replied. "But then, the backup plan was proposed. And we thought to reach beyond even what we could dream of."

- - -

Terminal Dogma, Geofront

Rei sat in a padded folding chair and regarded the white giant that stood crucified in front of her. Lilith. Suriel. Either name belied a deep power, the power that created this entire world.

And now, she would speak to her.

Rei took a deep breath as she closed her eyes, and opened her Sight.

It was like looking into the sun. The gathering of souls was tremendous, putting off a spiritual light that, even for its brightness, could not blind her.

Rei pursed her lips slightly. This was going to be somewhat difficult.

But, she thought as her view seemed to lift from her body, picking up speed as it headed towards the mass of souls, at least it would be an interesting journey.

The view of the massive globe of souls became larger and larger until she was stopped by… something.

Rei focused, pushing mentally against whatever was stopping her. She was… almost through…

Then she seemed to tumble through the barrier as she distantly heard a wet pop. as she looked around, she found herself within a clear sea with a flat bed of white sand.

As she stood, she found herself surprised that the action came to her, and looked down. She found herself quite naked, and looked around again, putting together the answer to her current predicament.

'Those must have been the Doors of Guf I was pushing against.' she realized. After a moment, she also realized what the wet popping sound would have been. 'Ah. I hope that Ritsuko and Maya aren't too alarmed by my sudden conversion into LCL.'

She forged ahead, looking up at the rippling surface of the water, and the source of light that shone down on it. After a moment, she tried to open up her Sight again.

The world was awash in the bright glow of souls and the Frames that connected them again, and the light that they emitted covered everything, making the Sight useless.

The Sight faded, and the water greeted her once again. This was going to be more difficult than expected.

So, Rei closed her eyes and listened. Kaworu had tried to teach her how to hear the songs souls sang, and she thought she was picking it up decently. But now, it would be put to the test.

Nothing, at first. The silence stretched on for a long while… wait.

Just out of hearing, a droning noise, like an orchestra just beyond the horizon. Rei focused, straining her senses as she began to charge her body's—soul's, really—Frame.

And then the music exploded to life, seeming to nearly bowl her over with its complexity and breadth and depth.

Rei took a moment to simply take in the music of humanity, how even in its chaos, there was unity, underlying motifs, and chords. She would have to thank Kaworu later. This was… entrancing.

But it was not why she was here. She turned her head from side to side, calling on every last scrap of her training in music to pick out… there.

She began to move towards the ancient melody she heard, and she dared to peek through her Sight again. The number of souls had gotten smaller and smaller, and she found that they were all connected by Frames. Frames leading to…

She had a destination now, and she willed herself to go faster.

She did not know how long she traveled, only that the souls became scarcer and scarcer until she came upon the source of the Frames. Upon Suriel.

Her soul hung in the air as her body did, linked all across her back with Frames that seemed to form a pillar that stretched into forever. She was pale and thin, almost skeletally so, naked as Rei was, and her face was gaunt, seeming to stretch across her skull as her eyes seemed to bulge beneath closed lids.

'She bears the weight of all these souls…'

"Suriel?" Rei asked tentatively.

The eyes snapped open. They were like hers, with red irises. But they were utterly empty. Or were they utterly full?

"Suriel…" the figure seemed to rasp.

"Yes. I am Rei Ayanami." Rei said, taking a step forward. "I've come to speak with you. Answer questions. Ask some of my own."

"Rei… you've come..." Suriel replied, and Rei saw a flicker of understanding in her eyes.

Then, Rei's eyes widened as Frames began to slowly grow from the pillar, reaching out towards her.

"Come home…" Suriel said quietly. "To Lilith…"

 

[StriderInCosmos]

Chapter 11: G-O-O-D-B-Y-E

… there are, or were, however, several prevailing theories about where souls are located when divested of a body. Most are only speculation, but perhaps the most plausible one is that Lilith, the counterpart to Adam, acts as a storage unit for souls, until such souls are either able to manifest AT Fields again or, as per the Human Instrumentality Project, utilized to create the Instrumentality.

Such is the nature of the soul. With such information in mind, the true purpose of this report can now be presented.

- Confidential Report on the Theory and Application of Long-term AT-Field Manipulation, Section 1: "A Reiteration of the Known Mechanics of Souls and the AT Field"

Within Lilith, Terminal Dogma

Rei stepped back from the slowly approaching mass of Frames, creeping towards her through the water like the tentacles of some eldritch sea beast. "I do not wish to join you." Rei said levelly, fighting to keep concern out of her voice.

"Eldest…" Suriel rasped. "Please…"

The Frames continued to advance, writhing and snapping at her. Rei dodged as best she could until one of the Frames brushed her arm.

The alarm clock rang, and Rei opened her eyes slowly as she looked over at it. 8 o'clock. An early start.

She stretched, yawning cavernously as she sat up in bed, scratching the back of her head.

"Well, good morning, love."

Rei looked beside her as Kaworu sat up and stretched as well, the ring on his finger glinting in the light the crack in the blinds allowed through. He ran a hand through black hair, then rubbed at his eyes and turned on a lamp, its light casting his face into a shadow his black eyes gleamed in.

"So," Kaworu said as he got out of bed, "excited for the recital tonight?"

"Of course." Rei replied, itching at her arm as she too got out of bed, picking out some appropriate clothing for the practice that they would be doing.

She went into the bathroom to wash up, running a hand through her brown hair and rubbing one last time at her brown eyes as she prepared for the day.

"Well, well, Wondergirl. How was sleeping? Or was there?"

Rei glanced through the mirror at the door, smiling at Asuka. "There was plenty of sleep, thank you very much." she said with a smile.

Her college roommate sniffed even as she smiled. "Says you, miss private life. Well, when you get done, the rest of us will be waiting out in the living room."

She turned and left, allowing Rei to finish getting prepped. She walked from the bathroom to the closet. There, she took down the case for her viola, opening it and taking in her well-worn instrument before closing it and taking it.

The living room was a small, comfortable thing, taken up usually by a couch and coffee table. Those were pushed aside, the room made for four chairs with music stands in front of them. Three of them were already occupied by Kaworu, Asuka, and Shinji, their instruments ready and waiting.

Shinji smiled. "Alright, now that everyone's here, let's go over the piece."

As they talked quietly, Rei felt the itch on her arm again, like her skin was reacting to something. But really, it didn't matter. As they put bows to strings and began to play, Rei reveled in the music they made. It was… perfect.

Too perfect.

- - -

Infinity Box, Theisman Residence

"What is the backup plan?" Kaworu asked quietly. No such thing came immediately to mind in his memories from Kadmonel.

"We understood there was a great risk in sending the Eggs, both White and Black, into the void. I, especially, worried for the safety of our work, that the Soul Arts would be lost from existence with an accident." Kadmonel replied.

"Then, one of my assistants, a fairly odd, but intelligent sort, proposed a radical idea." Kadmonel continued. "He posited that should our understanding of the Soul Arts be combined with the possibility of the multiverse existing, that such potential problems could be foreseen and forestalled, by etching a scripture onto the soul of a willing participant."

"He was dismissed out of hand by the others." Kadmonel said, and Kaworu could almost see him shake his head slowly. "But these were desperate times. He turned to me, and I decided to accept his proposal."

"It was a harried, terrified rush, those few weeks of research and development of the necessary scripture. But in the end, his dedication and my knowledge proved to be fruitful. It could be done. But only once. Time had run out, and the process of creating the Vessels and their Eggs was almost finished. So, my assistant offered himself up to be the testbed for the scripture."

It was silent for a moment. Then, Kadmonel sighed quietly. "That was the hardest thing I had ever done in my life. Then, our souls boarded the Vessels, which in turn were entombed in the Eggs. And… it seems my assistant's scripture works."

Kadmonel chuckled. "Would that he were whole to hear that. He would be… ecstatic."

"I see." Kaworu said after a moment. "And a part of his soul makes up my own."

"Yes." Kadmonel said quietly. "And beyond that, I am unsure if that soul shall ever fully exist again. You, along with young Miss Ayanami, are oddities. Particular cases. Ones which I have no idea how it works."

"I see." Kaworu replied. "I am sorry you may not get to see your assistant again."

It was silent again between them for a moment, Kaworu taking in the quiet grief that Kadmonel felt at the fact. "What was his name?" Kaworu asked quietly.

"Karathen." Kadmonel said simply. "It was Karathen."

"Thank you." Kaworu said quietly. "I will remember that."

It was silent again between them for a moment. "So," Kaworu said, "even with such an explanation, there are still questions I have. I have seen flashes of other lives, but there is one which I have begun to view more clearly than the others. Why?"

"An excellent question." Kadmonel replied frankly. "Karathen was the one who decided upon the final form of the scripture. I simply gave him direction and etched it on his soul. Its powers were generally known to me, but it seems the scripture has grown beyond what I have perceived. Fascinating."

Unbidden, an image of a stern-faced man with pointed ears came to Kaworu's mind, an artifact of a rather schlocky (such was the term Asuka used) science fiction television show. It took some effort not to have it cross the link.

"So, Kaworu," Kadmonel began, "as you have come to know both sides of Suriel and I's story, you may recognize that I was a… bachelor, shall we put it."

"So…" Kadmonel continued, trailing off. "What is it like? Being with Miss Ayanami?"

Kaworu couldn't help but smile at the wonder in Kadmonel's voice. "It is… beautiful. She is beautiful."

- - -

Quelaan's Apartment

Kensuke listened attentively to Quelaan as she gestured to his and Ichigo's Grips. "What you have captured is what is known as a Seed Spirit. It is…" she tilted her head slightly. "A nascent Spirit, one might say. Able to be very easily influenced by your direction as it grows under your stewardship."

"Really?" Kensuke said, looking at his Grip with his sight. The Spirit was a tiny thing, a mote of red light that pulsed every so often. "So this is just a baby Spirit. They don't just kind of… pop into existence?"

"As with all things that concern Spirits and being an Animist, it depends." Quelaan replied. "There are many different Spirits, especially those connected to strong emotions and events, that do simply step into existence. But most start their 'life' in the Conceptual Realm as Seeds."

Quelaan smiled. "You have an interesting journey ahead of you both, and I will remind you that raising a Seed Spirit is no easy task. There is no shame in coming to me throughout your time raising the Seed with questions, however trivial. Do you have any now?"

"Uh…" Kensuke replied. "How do we feed these things?"

"A wise question." Quelaan said. "They will only require Metos for now. Depending on how the Spirit develops, other means of sustenance, rarely physical in nature, may become needed."

"Oh." Kensuke said, nodding. "Makes sense."

"And will we be able to know what kind of Spirits these will grow into?" Ichigo asked.

"There will be indications in the coming weeks." Quelaan replied. "For now, be patient. Establish a connection with your Spirit. Respect is a vital part of the bonds you will make. I, like many, err on the side of trust and positively bonding with the Spirits one comes across. Others," she said as her smile dimmed, "are less scrupulous."

Kensuke and Ichigo nodded slowly, a serious look on their faces.

Quelaan chuckled. "Of course, I would be hard-pressed to think that you two, of all people, would stoop that low, as to domineer over the Spirits under your care."

The two children chuckled, one more nervously than the other.

"Now," Quelaan said, "Let us begin to discuss what different kinds of Spirits, broadly speaking, you might expect from your Seeds."

- - -

The itch in Rei's arm became a burn, and she blinked as she looked around, a mirror in the entryway showing her that her eyes had become red again, her skin pale, her hair bright blue.

'I am in an illusion.' she realized. 'One where I'm happy. Where I'm… normal.'

She stopped playing, the others carrying on without her as she activated her Sight. On her arm, she saw a tether of Frames, felt a pull towards… something.

'No. No. I can be happy without this illusion.' Rei thought, setting the viola down and wrapping her free hand in her own Frames. She grabbed at the Frames that bound her arm and pulled.

The world around her shattered after a moment, and she found herself back in the blue depths of the sea, standing before Suriel as the Frames reeled back, then started to advance on her again. "Suriel, I simply wish to speak with you." Rei said firmly.

Suriel's brow furrowed as if she finally registered the use of her name. "Suriel…" she said again, and her voice sounded… sad. The Frames stopped moving towards her.

Then, the slightest movement of her head. "No. There cannot be Suriel."

Rei blinked. "Why can there not be Suriel?" she said slowly.

"There can only be the Black Egg, and the Vessel. There can only be survival."

"Survival." Rei repeated. "I remember. I understand. But circumstances have changed. You know this, on some level. You reacted to the bodily death of Kadmonel. To the knowledge that Kaworu and I had safely achieved the Forbidden Union."

Finally, Suriel looked at Rei. The look in her eyes was inscrutable. "Kadmonel… Kadmonel…" Suriel said quietly.

Rei nodded. "Yes. But we have his soul. It is safe."

The shimmering light above the water caught Suriel's face as a tear welled up in one eye. "Safe…" she whispered.

The Frames began to recede, and Rei nodded again. "Yes. Safe."

She looked up at the canopy of Frames, then filled their path back to the pillar Suriel was encased in. "You hold the weight of all their illusions on yourself." she said with a dawning realization. "You power the dreams that Instrumentality gives to those who enter here."

"I must." Suriel said, a hint of insistence in her voice. "My children…"

It was silent for a moment, save the muffled lapping of the surface waters far above.

"Can they not continue should you release yourself from this duty?" Rei asked softly.

"No." Suriel replied, her voice heavy and quiet. "I must endure."

"Is there any way in which Interfacing could, perhaps, free you from this duty?" Rei asked quietly.

"Free…" Suriel replied. She was silent for a moment as she seemed to ponder the concept.

"Perhaps." she finally said.

Rei waited for a moment longer for Suriel to elaborate. When no answer was forthcoming, Rei nodded. "Very well. I can't promise that whatever we try will be quick, but I can promise that we will try."

Rei waited for a moment as Suriel slowly dipped her head.

- - -

Kaworu continued to smile as he described his relationship to one who had never really had one before. The wonder and joy, the anxieties and fears, all of it was… miraculous to him. To both of them.

As he paused for a moment, Kadmonel sighed. "It's been a… well, a long, long time since I've had a body that is anything like yours. Not since before we left our world. But…"

"You would be interested in perhaps taking up a physical body again." Kaworu finished.

"Yes." Kadmonel admitted. "But there is still the matter of the last child. A matter which I believe you are acutely aware of."

"Camael." Kaworu said quietly.

"Is that what you all call him?" Kadmonel said with no small amount of bemusement. "I didn't know pieces of our language would survive the trip. I'll have to look into that more."

"Indeed." Kaworu replied. "There are a few prevailing theories amongst Doctor Akagi and Captain Ibuki if such might be the case and why."

"I'll have to hear them at some point. They'll likely be interested in speaking to me at some point soon."

"That they will." Kaworu replied. It was silent for a moment. "Well, father… thank you. I know that you've answered my questions as best you could. And I appreciate that."

"As I appreciate being able to speak to, in a sense, one of my friends again. Thank you." Kadmonel replied.

"Farewell. I hope to speak with you again soon." Kaworu said quietly.

And with that, he severed the connection between him and Kadmonel, opening his eyes as he sighed quietly.

He stood from his chair as it disappeared into the floor, turning to see Eleanor standing alone, looking at him with a grave expression. His eyebrow arched. "Has Daniel gone to attend to other matters?"

"Yes." Eleanor said. "Rei turned into LCL 45 minutes ago. She still hasn't returned. We'll be joining Daniel now that you're done."

A quiet fear came to life, nestling in Kaworu's chest. 'Suriel… don't take her.'

- - -

Quelaan's Apartment

"There are two different types of Spirits most Animists will encounter on their paths." Quelaan said quietly, a tiny pilot-light flame snapping to life in both her upturned palms. "The first of them is Motive Spirits."

The flame in her right hand flared up, trails of fire following an unseen path as they coalesced into a roughly humanoid form.

"These Spirits, while certainly not confined to a human form, are capable of independent movement, whether they walk or fly or swim. You've likely heard of at least one form of these Spirits." Quelaan continued, her voice hardening slightly as she said the last sentence.

"Revenants." Ichigo whispered, and Kensuke suppressed a shudder at the mention of them.

"Yes." Quelaan said softly, her expression one of concern. "Terrible creatures. Few have the skill or the willpower to try at taming them. Fewer still succeed. Whomever this Aaminata that I've heard that Daniel and your friends faced is, she is quite powerful. I would that you be careful should either of you meet her."

"However," Quelaan said after a moment of silence, "that is not important as of this moment. The other type of Spirit you will encounter is Static Spirits."

The flames in her left hand came to life, outlining a sword. "These Spirits often inhabit objects or can make the objects themselves. Regardless, they must be wielded for their powers to come to the fore."

"So, like, talking swords, magic amulets, and all that?" Kensuke asked.

"Yes," Quelaan said with a smile, "those and far far more. Every object you can think of and more than a few that you can't can either be recreated or enhanced in some form or fashion by Static Spirits. Their need for their Animists to channel their power through them makes them usually more docile and subservient than Motive Spirits, but there are always exceptions."

Kensuke nodded. "Oh… I get it." he said, smiling slightly as the possibilities whirled through his mind.

"There are, of course, many different sub-categories under those two broad terms, but for now, all you need to really worry about is the Seeds that you now possess." Quelaan said with a slight smile of her own.

Quelaan stood as the two diagrams floating over her hands winked out, making the room dim again. "For now, our lesson is over. Go home and rest, and I will see you in the coming weeks."

Kensuke and Ichigo both stood, and Ichigo looked over at Kensuke. "Then I shall see you then unless we meet again sooner."

Kensuke nodded after a moment, somewhat grateful that the dimness hid his blush. "Uh, yeah. I'll see you then, Ichigo."

Ichigo smiled slightly, then turned and walked out of the living room.

Before Kensuke could follow, Quelaan spoke softly. "Kensuke." it was a simple word, but it stuck him to the spot as he slowly turned to regard his new teacher. Had she grown… taller, somehow?

But then, she smiled, a warm smile that reminded him of a campfire at night during one of his campouts, and the apprehension he felt diminished.

"You fancy her, I see." Quelaan said, her voice equally warm as her smile.

Kensuke blinked for a moment as he processed what Quelaan said, then his blush deepened. "Well, no… at least, not like that, I mean. I mean…" he trailed off after a moment, then sighed.

"Perhaps I was somewhat presumptuous." Quelaan said. "But it is clear that you like her."

"Well… yeah." Kensuke admitted. But did he like her like that? The closest he had gotten with someone, anyone really, was with Sayaka and Kyoko. It had been all too brief, but he had cared for them, enough to provide a cover for their relationship with each other from their rather strict parents. Just as, in time, they had come to care for him too. And now… they were gone. Could he do that again?

"But… I already tried doing that whole relationship thing once, ma'am. It… didn't exactly pan out." Kensuke said quietly.

Quelaan nodded. "I see." she sighed quietly. "I… may not be the best source to find inspiration when it comes to matters of the heart. I have remained a maiden, and never given my heart so fully to another. But… she thinks highly of you. She values the time that you spend with her. From what I've heard her tell me about you, and from watching you two as we undertook this lesson."

She sat back down, and Kensuke followed her lead. "But what I can do," Quelaan said, "is share some wisdom. Any relationship, as my mother would say, is like a spark that lights a flame."

"She does seem to enjoy the whole fire thing, doesn't she?" Kensuke said idly.

Quelaan chuckled softly. "Well, when one of your names is 'The Mother of Fire', I could see how one could say that."

She continued after a moment. "But, as my mother was fond of saying anyways, a relationship is like a spark. Full of possibility. It could flicker out, which I do not see happening here, or it could spread. How far it spreads depends on how much fuel the flame has."

Kensuke nodded. "Alright." he said slowly. "So…"

"I would personally say feed the flames." Quelaan replied. "Explore your relationship with Ichigo. Who knows," she said as she smiled again, "it might lead somewhere exciting. For such is the nature of flame."

Kensuke nodded again, more sure of himself this time. "Alright. I'll keep that in mind. Thank you, sensei."

"You're welcome, Kensuke." Quelaan replied.

- - -

Terminal Dogma

Kaworu and Eleanor stepped through the wall of seawater onto the stark white floor of Terminal Dogma, Eleanor carrying a fresh change of clothes for Rei. By the artificial shore, two similarly white changing stations were set up near the edge of the deep orange sea of LCL, the limp form of Suriel hanging ominously above them.

Daniel looked over in front of the stations as he, along with Ritsuko and Maya, noted their arrival. "How was the chat?" Daniel said to Kaworu as they stopped in front of them, a flippant tone only slightly covering the anxiety in his eyes.

"Well enough." Kaworu replied levelly. "What are you planning to do to retrieve Rei?"

"Being foolish is what he's doing." Ritsuko interjected. "We still have no idea-"

"So we'll just have to find out." Daniel said, his brow furrowed in annoyance as he looked over at Ritsuko.

"Daniel…" Eleanor said, stepping forward.

Daniel took a deep breath. "Yeah. I'm going in after her."

. . .

Rei looked back at Suriel. "Is there something that you wish to say to Kadmonel, that I can carry out of this place?

Suriel looked back up at Rei, seeming to stare through her silently. "I…"

Suriel sighed quietly, as another tear rolled down her cheek. "I'm sorry."

It was silent again for a moment, then Rei nodded. "I will make sure that he hears that."

She turned to walk away, then paused as she looked back. "Suriel… thank you. Even if this was not what I expected. We will free you from this duty. We will help you to rest." she said with growing conviction.

Suriel simply looked sadly back at Rei. "Perhaps."

Rei nodded. "Goodbye, for now, Suriel."

She turned and began to walk away from the steward of her soul.

. . .

Daniel entered the changing booth, drawing the white curtain closed as he began to strip down. After all, the process of turning into LCL would stain his good work clothes if he didn't.

As he sat down in the adjacent basin, recoiling slightly at the touch of bare skin on cool metal, he looked up through the opening above him at Lilith.

He'd be entering Lilith, trying to find someone and get them back. The look of Lilith may have—or, rather, might not have—changed, but the memories of how he failed Shinji so long ago, a world away, came crashing back regardless as he drew his knees to his chest.

He took a deep breath as he marshaled his thoughts and fought against the memories. Then another… then another…

"Daniel? Is there something wrong?" Ritsuko called, and Daniel flinched a little as he heard a gunshot in his mind, saw the splash of LCL at the shore of this very room.

The curtain rustled behind him, and he felt the touch of Eleanor's soul on his as she crouched down beside him. "Daniel," she said patiently, "it's going to be okay. I promise."

"I know." Daniel replied quietly. "I know. And yet…"

"I can go if you want." Eleanor said softly. "You don't need to-"

"No." Daniel said firmly. "I need to do this. I need to. To… to be able to tell myself I can do it without screwing everything up."

Eleanor looked at him silently for a moment. "Alright. I'll be with you as far as I can go."

"Thanks, dear." Daniel said gratefully.

Daniel took one last deep breath as he closed his eyes, grateful for the support and understanding he felt through his link with Eleanor. Then, he opened his Sight.

He couldn't have missed Lilith if he was trying. The mass of souls that hung in front of him was like a main-sequence star, the light of the souls that hung there unmistakable.

Daniel took one last breath as his soul moved away from his body, slowly moving towards the entrance to that realm of souls. After what felt like forever, he bumped up against… something. That must have been the Doors of Guf.

"Good luck." Eleanor said through their link before she severed it.

'Thank you. I'll need it.' Daniel thought silently as he began to push against the Doors in front of him. He struggled for a moment and wondered idly if he'd feel it in his muscles when he got back.

Then, the doors gave way, and Daniel tumbled into a familiar ocean of blue and white sand as he heard a distant wet pop.

Daniel looked around at the empty water around him, looking up at the harsh white light that shone down on him. He opened his mouth to call out, then shut it as no sound came out.

He swallowed hard, then looked down at his naked body and shook his head as he closed his eyes as he focused.

When he opened his eyes, he wore one of his t-shirts and a pair of jeans. It would do.

He gathered his wits and his courage and looked forward as he began to advance. "Rei! Rei, if you can hear me, follow the sound of my voice!"

. . .

Rei walked back the way she came slowly and felt… disappointed.

It felt strange to be disappointed in the being who was, at least in some part, responsible for her existence. Certainly, she was sad, and sympathized with her plight, but… she had expected deeper conversation, a look into who the woman Suriel was when all she found was a shell weighed down by the dreams and desires of the souls in her care.

And yet she was also grateful that she could even do this at all, find a degree of separation between herself, her personality and soul, and Lilith, from whence she came.

She shook her head. How she could feel both emotions simultaneously and deeply was still somewhat… confusing to her. Even with all the time she had spent free of the numbing effects of her medication, the mysteries of emotion continued to surprise and fascinate her.

So, she simply listened to the sound of the souls that surrounded her, the symphony washing over her mind and sweeping out the confusion for just a moment. It was a somewhat soothing sound, now, almost familiar to her.

She walked on as she listened, until a far more familiar sound split the spiritual air.

"Rei? Rei! Can you hear me?"

Rei looked around her, straining to hear the voice as she sped up. Was it…

After minutes of searching, Rei saw the small figure of Daniel approaching, clothed and concern etched on his face.

Confusion at his appearance in this place turned to wondering, then her mind helpfully brought up the fact that if Daniel was able to clothe himself, she did not have to go about naked as well. She focused, and a dark t-shirt and jeans manifested on her body as she nodded in satisfaction, looking back up at Daniel as she waved. "I'm here!"

After many minutes of moving more and more quickly towards each other, they finally came to a stop in front of each other.

Rei saw the relief in Daniel's eyes as he examined her silently for a moment, then jumped slightly as he nearly engulfed her in a hug.

"Daniel… I'm okay." she said, her voice somehow muffled despite only being a representation made by her soul. "How long have I been gone?"

"Long enough to worry, but not anything dramatic." Daniel replied. "I'm just… glad I found you."

Rei reached out to Daniel's soul and saw the memories. Familiar memories from many months ago. She understood his relief, now, and hugged Daniel back, squeezing gently. "I am too."

After a moment, they stepped back from the hug, Daniel taking a deep breath. "Alright, then. Shall we go?"

Rei nodded. "Yes, father. We can go now."

. . .

Eleanor stood silently by Ritsuko, Maya, and Kaworu as they waited. And waited some more. Ritsuko stole a glance at a watch every few moments, and even Kaworu began to tap his foot slightly.

Then, a hollow slurp came from within the two changing stations, and Daniel called out from the right stall. "Oh honey, I'm home!" he said in a singsong voice.

A sigh of relief rippled through the collected group. "Oh, good, it was getting late." Eleanor replied. "You're just in time for dinner." she added sardonically.

The rustle of clothing for a moment presaged the slide of the curtains revealing a far more relaxed Daniel and a slightly smiling Rei.

"So," Kaworu said with his slight smile, "how was your conversation with Suriel?"

Rei's smile faded, and Kaworu's faltered. "It was… not much of a conversation." Rei replied softly.

"Oh." Kaworu said quietly. "What… was it then?"

Rei took a deep breath as she waved off Ritsuko and Maya's close study of her and began walking towards the door, the group following her. "She is... burdened by her duty. Shackled to it. Not dissimilarly to how the Vessel she resides in is crucified. She gives life to the illusions that those souls currently within her possession."

Ritsuko nodded, looking back at the pale giant with her Sight. "That would make sense, based on what we've been Seeing. Is there something she can do to… free herself?"

Rei shook her head. "Not without our help. As for whether she will accept it… I am unsure."

As they proceeded through Ritsuko's lab and Ritsuko and Maya bid their farewells, Rei looked over at Kaworu. "Suriel also had a message for Kadmonel." she said quietly.

Kaworu arched an eyebrow silently as he looked over at Rei.

"She wants to apologize." Rei said simply.

Kaworu nodded. "I see. Perhaps I will have the chance to tell him soon."

 

[StriderInCosmos]

Chapter 12: Reflection, For the Future

… The AT Field is responsible for many things, far beyond simply retaining individuality. For example, with the proper tools, one can strengthen an AT Field far past its regular limits, the resulting sympathetic connection with the body causing dramatic changes to strength, speed, perception, and memory, depending on the area.

However, with the right tools and a proper understanding of not only what an AT Field is, but what it is not, there are other effects that can be achieved…

- Confidential Report on the Theory and Application of Long-term AT-Field Manipulation, Section 2, "Manipulation of the AT-Field"

Commander's Office, NERV-HQ, Mid-August 2016

Commander Misato Katsuragi sat at the long, imposing desk that was still, she noted with no small amount of surprise, still hers, listening intently to Deputy-Commander Fuyutsuki as he gave his report, pausing to type notes every once in a while.

"... and as for the environmental conference, the League has promised to keep Russian crop fields in Siberia arable when Earth returns to its original axial tilt. Doctor Vinis put forth several fascinating proposals. In the end, the Russian diplomat decided we'll be seeing massive domes over the Siberian landscape in the coming years. The UN diplomat brought his own laundry list of environmental disasters to correct, of course, from drought issues in Africa and South America to radiation cleanup in India and Australia."

Misato looked up at Fuyutsuki from her notes. "I can imagine. And did you propose anything?"

Fuyutsuki sighed quietly. "Just reaffirming our desire to see the world restored to its former beauty."

Misato nodded. "Alright, then. That's the environmental conference. What's next?"

Fuyutsuki nodded in turn, cupping his chin thoughtfully. "Well, there's a rather worrying report in about the Lone World movement."

Misato's brow furrowed as she heard the name. "Great. What have they done now?"

"Well…" Fuyutsuki paused. "The home minister of England threw in his lot with the movement when it first started. And now, citing concerns to the economic stability of Great Britain, he's managed to get NERV-5 shut down far earlier than we predicted. And the movement is beginning to gain traction here. We've started hearing of NERV employees who are being harassed on their way to work, and we've started to see acts of vandalism at a few of the Geofront entrances."

Misato's brow furrowed a little deeper. "Well, I can't say that I'm entirely surprised that they used the budget as a lever. I almost had a heart attack when I saw the exact trillions we were using for the Evangelion."

Fuyutsuki smiled slightly. "There's a reason the Jet Alone project got as far as it did. Regardless of the almost numberless other projects that tried to replace the Evangelion."

"No need to remind me of that one." Misato replied with a grimace. "I got far too close a look at Jet Alone when I was trying to stop it from going nuclear."

Memories flashed by Misato's mind of a stocky, seemingly headless robot barreling towards a Tokyo-2 that could not be evacuated in time, the heart-pumping rush of trying to physically push the control rods for the nuclear core back into position before it shut down unexpectedly in Unit-01's arms. Japan Heavy Chemical Industries, its creator, had gone under in the intervening year.

Misato shook her head slightly as she shook herself mentally from her musing. "And there's something about this Lone World movement that bugs me. It feels like it's… building up to something. I'll have Ryoji keep an eye on them. He needs to stay busy anyway."

Fuyutsuki nodded. "I'm sure he'll appreciate the puzzle." he paused for a moment, then sighed. "And… there is one last thing you should know."

Misato's brow rose. "Oh? And what would that be?"

Fuyutsuki smiled softly. "This is among the last reports I will give as your Deputy Commander."

Misato's eyes widened as she straightened up, and Fuyutsuki chuckled. "It certainly won't be immediately. I'll give you time to consider a replacement. But my time in this position, I feel, is coming to a close."

Misato nodded after a moment. "Well, I can't say I entirely blame you for feeling like that. It'll be quite the loss when you leave."

"That's the thing. I may well not. At least, not entirely." Fuyutsuki said with a chuckle.

"How so?" Misato asked.

"Well, as oft-forgotten as the fact may be, I was a professor before Second Impact, and at the forefront of Metaphysical Biology." Fuyutsuki replied. "And with so much that has expanded the understanding of that field…" he smiled softly. "I think it may be time to brush up."

Misato chuckled. "Well, there's no time like the present."

It fell silent for a moment, then Misato sighed. "Who knows. Maybe we could all leave this behind at some point. Let NERV pass into history. Let the Children be… children."

Fuyutsuki's slight smile dimmed. "I'm afraid it's far too late for that last one. We have stolen their childhood so they could defend the world from us. The only way to cleanse that sin… would be to let them move on from the Evangelions."

His look became serious. "Speaking of the Children and the Evangelions, I can tell you still haven't told them yet. They'll need to know soon."

"And they will." Misato replied, her tone equally serious. "Once we've completed the Frame Evas. Then we can replace the current Evangelions, train adults to use them." she paused for a moment, then sighed. "They deserve being able to feel useful here. Even if it is just sitting around waiting for the MP-Evas to come back around."

"Perhaps." Fuyutsuki said after a moment. "But they deserve a moment's rest, too. To be free of the burdens of the Evangelion. Something that the order you withhold from them can help with."

It was silent again. Then, Misato sighed quietly. "I'll let them know when we do the Frame Eva test in the next… week if I recall. Then, they'll be able to take it better, I think."

Fuyutsuki snorted softly. "And to think that is, perhaps, the best reasoning I've heard for withholding information coming from a person sitting in that chair."

They chuckled for a moment, and the room perhaps seemed at its warmest for when NERV's Commander and their right-hand man occupied it.

"Thank you, Deputy Commander." Misato said after the chuckling trailed off into silence. "Thank you for caring. For being here."

"Oh, no, Commander Katsuragi." Fuyutsuki replied. "I should be the one thanking you. Without your help…" he looked around the office slowly. "We both know this would have ended far differently."

- - -

Test Plug Area

"So, you can do it, right?" Asuka asked a waiting Ritsuko, Shinji, Hikari and Toji in tow.

Ritsuko shrugged. "It'll take a few hours to sort out the coding, make sure replicated movements and reactions are exact, but you'll have your person-to-person Evangelion sparing by the end of the day, at most."

Asuka nodded sharply. "Good. I'd hate to be unprepared for whenever the MP-Evas make another pass at getting past us. To say nothing of this Marlowe chick."

Ritsuko pursed her lips. She had nearly forgotten about the name that seemed to cast a shadow over them. Another Child, and no paper trail for mother to really follow. They had only gotten two other names in the months that they'd spent looking: Mana Kirishima and Mayumi Yamagishi. If they were at the same skill level Kaworu had purported this Marlowe child to be… then they were in far greater danger than even the other Children might have expected.

"Very good point. We'll expedite the programming. Get ready in about 4 hours, and the Test Plugs will be waiting for all of you."

Asuka nodded, then looked over at the other. "Alright. See you guys then?"

Toji and Hikari nodded. "Of course." Toji said. "We've been needing to get some practice in any way."

Toji and Hikari turned and left, and Shinji turned to follow them. Then, he looked back at Asuka. "Not coming along?" he asked.

"I'll be leaving soon." Asuka assured Shinji as she looked over at Ritsuko. "I just have a few words I want to say to the good doctor."

It was silent for a moment, then Shinji nodded. "Alright then. See you in a few minutes."

Shinji passed through the doorway and out of sight, leaving Ritsuko and Asuka alone to look at each other intently.

It was a somewhat tense silence that sat between them, almost felt, almost seeming to push them back from each other.

"So," Asuka said, finally breaking the silence, "I hear Rei forgave you for drugging her."

Ritsuko blinked, then sighed as she nodded. "Yes. It was more than I expected. More than I deserved, really."

"Yeah. It is." Asuka said frankly. "You'd never have gotten that out of me. I'm still angry about what you did to her. Making her into a… a doll." her lips twisted with the disgust that entered her voice with the last words.

"All I'll ask is… would you have done the same to the rest of us?" Asuka asked after a moment, seeming to stab into Ritsuko with her stare.

"No." Ritsuko answered immediately. "I had no reason to, and…" she looked down and to the side. "The reasons I had for doing it to Rei were… complicated. Messy."

It was silent again. The silence was different this time, though, as Asuka processed what little about Ritsuko she had gleaned from her time watching the show, and from Rei. It was complicated. And very, very messy. Ridiculously so.

"Alright, then." Asuka finally said. "Well, I guess I'll be seeing you in about 4 hours."

"I'll let you know when it's ready." Ritsuko replied.

As Asuka turned away and walked towards the door, Ritsuko raised a hand. "And…"

As Asuka turned back to look at her, Ritsuko lowered her hand as she sighed quietly. "I'm sorry. As head of Project E. For… everything we've put you through. I know it isn't much, but…"

She trailed off, and Asuka regarded her with a strange look.

"Thank you." she said tonelessly. Then, she stepped out the door and left Ritsuko alone.

- - -

Theisman Residence

Shinji sat at the dinner table silently, Daniel sitting across from him as the setting sun shone its last rays through the veranda window, throwing their shadows onto the wall behind them as they regarded each other.

"So," Daniel began quietly, "what did you want to talk about?"

Shinji leaned back in his chair, taking a deep breath, then sighing. "Do you… do you remember what it was like for you to feel normal?"

Daniel was silent for a moment as he pondered the question, looking down at the table with what slowly became a forlorn stare. "Honestly, it takes some thinking. But… I do."

He smiled slightly as he looked back up at Shinji. "You'd probably be surprised at how much of that normal has stayed with me. My guitars, my music, a few too many video games and movies sitting on the Val…"

Shinji chuckled softly. "Yeah. Makes sense. But…" a sad look crossed his face. "What did you leave behind? When you got into the Worldsea?"

Daniel's smile vanished as he considered the question. It was a long moment before he answered, barely above a whisper. "My family."

"What were they like?" Shinji asked.

Daniel looked down. "Well, I had a mom and dad. A brother and a sister. Alex was into sports and movies, Ayanna was into books. Dad was an insurance agent, and Mom was a publisher." he said quietly.

"And I…" Daniel gave a choked chuckle. "I was a dishwasher. Paying my way through college, dating Eleanor… it really was as close to normal I think I've ever had."

It was silent again for a moment. "Do you think… you can ever go back?" Shinji asked slowly.

Daniel shook his head slowly. "I've changed too much for that to work. Or at least work well. And… even with the Narnia effect, life has surely moved on from when I left. So…"

Daniel took a deep breath even as a tear rolled down one cheek. "This is my normal now." it was a statement filled with an old resignation, a finality that could never fully be argued against.

He looked at Shinji and smiled slightly. "And honestly… I wouldn't give it up for the world."

Shinji smiled slightly. "That's good to hear." he said quietly. Then, he looked at the clock. "Asuka's probably going to want me for virtual Eva sparring tonight. We've got it set up now, and..."

Shinji paused, then sighed. "And this is my normal for now. Getting into the Eva and saving the world. Not even worrying about schoolwork much anymore. After all," Shinji said, chuckling slightly, "who needs school when I have Asuka to learn from?"

Shinji sighed quietly as Daniel nodded. "I assume I wouldn't be wrong to say Asuka already talked to you about making normal where you can?"

As Shinji nodded, Daniel smiled. "Good. I gave her that same talk after a rather soul-searching developmental psychology lecture. So, I won't belabor the point. But…"

Daniel reached out and put a hand on Shinji's shoulder, squeezing gently. "Let's make our normal the best it can be. How about it?"

Shinji smiled slightly as he nodded. "Yes." he said, simply and with conviction.

Daniel's smile widened as he patted Shinji's arm. "Good. Now," he said, standing up, "let's not keep Asuka waiting too long, shall we?"

- - -

Test Plugs, NERV-HQ

Asuka sat back in the seat of the Test Plug, gripping the controls in her hands and almost savoring the slight squeak of the Plugsuit. As much as she enjoyed spending her time away from a Plug—or, more accurately, how she spent her time—she was most comfortable here, holding the controls of an Evangelion, digital though it may be.

She looked out across the stunningly detailed view of the Geofront interior, rendered by the most powerful computer in the world. She especially noted the three Evas standing across the way from her, Unit-03, Unit-04, and another Unit-03 looking back at Unit-00, Unit-01, and her digital Unit-02.

"Not bad, eh?"

Asuka jumped slightly as she heard a voice eerily similar to Ritsuko's in her Plug. A screen to her right appeared, showing a woman with shorter brunette hair, wearing a green turtleneck and a white coat as she stood against a blank background. "It helps when the Magi has something that's actually seen what something looks like in order to properly render it."

Another screen popped up beside it, showing a clearly puzzled Shinji "Uh… I'm terribly sorry. Are you a new scientist here?"

The woman chuckled. "I guess some introductions are in order. I'm Doctor Naoko Akagi. I'm Ritsuko's mother, and I also happened to create the Magi that allows you to not have to physically pummel each other in your Evas."

Naoko's smile faltered slightly. "Rei…" it was the briefest of pauses. "Already knows me, somewhat."

"Oh." Asuka said. "Well, it's nice to meet you, then." she tilted her hair. "I thought you would be more… blonde."

Ritsuko's face popped into existence. "It's a personal preference." she said levelly.

Asuka squinted somewhat at the image of Ritsuko and began to pick out the brunette roots. "Ohhh. Okay." she said as she nodded slowly. "Well, Mrs. Akagi… nice to meet you, I guess."

"But!" she continued as she opened up the channels to the other Children, "we've got work to do. After all, we can be sure that this Mariah chick, and whatever friends she has, would certainly be training their butts off if they're going to plan on coming up against us."

"So..." she said, looking between the two Unit-03s and squinting after a moment. "Uh… which one is Kaworu?"

The Unit-03 to Toji's left calmly raised its hand. "That would be me. My apologies. It seems I'll need to distinguish myself in some way in the future. Perhaps a visual indicator of some kind."

"Or maybe you could get a different Eva, like that one from your vision that you said was yours?" Shinji chimed in.

"Wait a minute." Ritsuko interrupted. "Kaworu is having visions?"

"We'll discuss that later, I promise." Asuka replied quickly. "Right now," she said to Kaworu, "I'm going to take you on first. I wanna get a good gauge on how skilled Mariah is."

Kaworu smiled slightly. "And she is quite skilled indeed."

Asuka rolled her eyes. "She can't be that much better than me, can she?" she said flippantly.

Kaworu's smile widened slightly, but he said nothing more.

"Alright. While we're doing that, Shinji, you can go against Toji, and Hikari can go against Rei. We'll switch off every so often. Simple as can be." Asuka said, a satisfied tone creeping into her voice.

Nods and agreements presaged the two pairs began to move away from Asuka and Kaworu. "So," Asuka began, "what did Mariah usually have you go to whenever she trained you?"

"First one to shatter the other's core was the winner of the spar." Kaworu replied as his Unit-03 settled into a ready stance.

"Oh, good." Asuka said as she settled into a ready stance of her own. "I thought this was going to be boring."

. . .

Daniel walked into the Test Plug chamber, looking over at a large screen that showed an overhead view of the pilot's current sparring. Labels for clarity hovered over the different Units as Daniel came to a stop beside Ritsuko and studied them.

It was a familiar sight, elements of the Children's martial arts training under him on display as they pushed the digital Evangelions to their theoretical limits.

Asuka and Kaworu in particular went full tilt, the simulated ground shaking as they fell to it tangled together for the briefest of seconds, then one or the other kicked their opponent off as they stood looking at each other.

"You did a good job training them." Ritsuko said simply. "It's clear that physical training is going to have to figure into the training regimen for the Frame Evas."

"I'm not surprised in the slightest." Daniel replied. Idly, he manifested his Grip, the hum of the soul within it a soothing thing as Daniel began to twirl it in his fingers.

"How's Kaworu holding up?" Daniel asked after a moment of watching Unit-02 and the copy of Unit-03 that the boy in question piloted go to the ground again as Asuka pulled Unit-03 through an expertly done judo flip.

"Like he was made to pilot an Evangelion." Ritsuko replied as they watched Kaworu shove Unit-02 off with an octagonal wall of prismatic light, deploying its Progressive Knife as it flipped onto its feet. "Which, in a sense, he was."

It was a silent moment as they watched Kaworu charge across the distance between him and Unit-02, closing it breathtakingly quickly as he rammed the Prog Knife into the chest of Unit-02, the Unit spasming before going limp as a buzzer sounded over a string of annoyed German.

"Speaking of Kaworu," Ritsuko continued as she gave him a questioning glance, "he apparently has visions now?"

Daniel looked back over at Ritsuko as he blinked, missing Asuka standing back up and deploying her own Prog Knife. "Yes, actually. It's part of his Angelic nature, to see potential futures. Other universes." he looked back at the screen. "Why do you ask?"

"Because apparently there's a universe where Kaworu has an Evangelion of his own. One unique enough to stand out from the others." Ritsuko said, shaking her head slightly.

Daniel looked back over at Ritsuko with no small amount of surprise. "You mean he's seeing into a Rebuild Echo?" he asked.

Ritsuko's brow furled as she looked back over at him, her gaze sweeping away from the close-up, knockdown fight between Asuka and Kaworu. "Rebuild Echo?" she asked. "There's a different kind of universe than the usual Echo?"

Daniel blinked, then nodded slowly. "Yes. Something happened at some point in time to the World Engine for this place, something that split the different kinds of Echoes that could be produced. Some are like this general timeline of things, the timeline you've watched in the television show."

Ritsuko suppressed a shudder. "No need to remind me of that."

"I didn't think so." Daniel replied. "And now, there are universes that follow a different series of events. But that isn't important right now."

"What is," Daniel continued as he looked back at the screen, "is making sure that the kids are ready to face whatever comes next."

Ritsuko nodded after a moment, glancing at Shinji and Toji's spar, then Rei and Hikari's fight, before finally focusing back on Kaworu and Asuka.

They circled each other slowly now, their glowing Prog Knives slowly waving back and forth as they sized each other up. Nicks and cuts adorned the arms and torsos of the Units, all just barely missing the ever vital core of the Unit.

Asuka stepped forward, slicing at Kaworu as she advanced. Kaworu met blade with blade as he stepped back, a star flashing into existence and vanishing as the Prog Knives collided.

Suddenly, Kaworu stepped forward, his off-hand coming up suddenly and batting Asuka's knife hand aside as he stabbed at Unit-02's chest. Unit-02 stepped back, gripping Unit-03's forearm with her own off-hand as her knife flashed down towards Unit-03's wrist.

In an instant, Kaworu's off-hand flashed up, catching the downward swing and stopping the knife as it shuddered inches from his wrist.

The two interlocked Units stepped back and forth, back and forth, until Unit-02 began to kick savagely at Unit-03's shins. The kicks forced Unit-03 back one step, then another, then another.

As Asuka's fourth kick came flying towards Unit-03's right leg, Kaworu surprised everyone as he raised it up, wrapping it behind Asuka's leg as he shifted his body, sending the two Units to the ground again as Kaworu forced Unit-02's Prog Knife into Unit-02's neck, Asuka yelping slightly as Kaworu plunged his knife into Unit-02's chest, the crack of the digital core preceding a harsh buzzer and yet another stream of rapid, angry German.

Daniel smiled slightly as he keyed up Asuka's Test Plug. "So, how's it going?"

[Whoever this Marlowe witch is that trained our scribble, I will wipe the floor with her, I swear it!] Asuka replied in German. [Kaworu also happens to be a hell of a ground-fighter in his Eva compared to out of it. Real risk-taker, too. More than I would have ever expected.]

Daniel's smile became a smirk. [At least you know that much now,] he replied in German, [and that should tell you something about who trained him, too.]

Asuka nodded slowly as she rubbed at her sternum and Unit-02 got to its feet again. "True, true." Asuka said in Japanese. She looked over at Kaworu. "Kritzeln, I think it's time to switch up dance partners. Let the others get a taste of Marlowe die Hexen von Evangelion's training."

Shinji and the others began to appear on screens, nodding as they began to disengage and make their way back towards Asuka and Kaworu.

"Indeed. All of us are going to need to experience at least what she taught me. To say nothing of what she might not have taught me in our all too brief time together." Kaworu said. "And… perhaps I should have a more distinct Evangelion."

"And maybe some more weapons in these things." Toji interjected. "I'm all for hand to hand, but I'm not exactly raring to go charging in with just these Prog Knives, y'know?"

Ritsuko nodded. "True. That might take a few minutes if you want access to as vast an armory as I think you want, but you'll be able to get at whatever we can program in. While we work on that…" she paused as she thought. "Go ahead and take the night, stretch out and get anything stiff worked out. We'll be ready for you tomorrow."

- - -

Theisman Residence

The dining room of the Theisman's was far busier than it was a few hours ago. The quiet clanging of pots and pans, the scrape of chairs, and the low murmur of conversation filled the air, as Shinji and Eleanor prepared dinner for the rest of the Children. Ichigo and Kensuke also sat at the now extended table, the length added to it a project of Toji testing the precision of his woodworking Interfacing. It now also had a few more completely natural wooden chairs, twisting in interesting patterns even as they offered what some considered a more comfortable seat than the chairs that originally came with the table.

There were absences, of course. Misato's duties as Commander meant that she would be home late again tonight. Ryoji was out of town, likely something to do with his duties as an intelligence agent. But tonight would still be warm. Tonight, even for only a moment, things could be somewhat normal.

Daniel idly continued to spin his Grip, chatting idly with Kaworu and Rei as Kaworu explained the process of how he helped make the Mark.06, the name that Kaworu gleaned from scraps and flashes of further vision, into a digital representation, sending the image into Ritsuko and Naoko Akagi's souls as they worked to model the Evangelion.

After a few moments, their attention turned elsewhere, and Daniel leaned back in his chair, alone with his thoughts, as he stopped spinning his Grip, looking at the handle for a moment.

'Oh, Nynrya. Whoever you were… I think you'd probably like this. Happiness and calm, even in the midst of uncertainty.'

He looked back up, glancing around the table at the Children laughing softly and smiling. He smiled slightly at the sight. 'I wish I could have protected you like I have them.' he thought as his smile dimmed. It was an old, well-traveled line of words that tumbled through his mind and into the bare crystal in his hands. 'I wish we could have gone our own ways without this madness connecting us.'

'I'm sorry.' he thought, the words seeming worn with their use and uselessness. He looked at the Grip for a moment, then sighed quietly.

"Thank you."

A dull thunk as the Grip hit the table, Daniel's fingers and face numb with shock as the room went silent and looked at him. The silence held for a moment as Daniel picked up the Grip, studying it intently.

"Daniel?" Asuka said, causing him to jump slightly. "Is something wrong?"

Daniel looked down at the Grip, then back at the Children.

Before he could answer, Ichigo spoke up. "It's the soul within your Grip, isn't it? Nynrya, if I remember correctly." she said softly.

"Wait a minute." Toji said. "A soul? In your Grip?"

Daniel nodded after a moment. "Yes. An old sin from my days as the Hollow Saint." he said quietly.

All eyes turned to him as he began to speak. "I wasn't simply singularly chosen for the position. I was among a large group of "candidates". Test subjects."

"The things we saw… that we felt…" Daniel said in a whisper. He shook his head after a moment of haunted silence. "Anyways. We were whittled down, slowly but surely. Eventually, it was just me and one other woman. She was… a stern sort, with a proud bearing. Obviously a warrior."

Daniel chuckled slightly as he shrugged. "Other than that, I knew little else. She seemed to have taken a vow of silence before coming into the care of the Scions. All I ever got was a single word from her. Her name. Nynrya."

"We survived together." Daniel continued. "Right up until the very end. We went through one last trial together. Even without being able to communicate, we did exceptionally well. Made it to the end with barely a scratch."

Daniel paused for a moment before he shook his head. "But the rest of the story is a very poor dinner topic." he looked over at Shinji and Eleanor. "It smells delicious, Shinji!"

"Delicious and ready!" Eleanor replied as the food came to rest on the tabletop, the Children digging in with no small amount of gusto. And for a moment more, it was normal again. A family eating dinner.

But the moment passed all too soon, as the remains of dinner were swept off the table and a contented silence fell over everyone. The silence was broken after a moment when Shinji looked over at Daniel with a curious, somewhat somber expression. "So… what happened to Nynrya to have her soul be in your Grip? Or…"

"No, it's ok, Shinji." Daniel replied. "I've needed to actually talk about what happened then. This is… a start."

He took a deep breath. "We went through a gauntlet of different combat trials, ranged weapons, melee weapons, hand to hand combat. Had each other's backs. An unspoken bond. We were the last two left after all. And I promised…" his breath hitched for a moment before he chuckled grimly. "I promised that, whatever happened, we'd both make it out."

"And, we did. We survived to the end of the trial. It had become a race at the end. One that… I happened to finish first."

Daniel's smile, slight as it now was, vanished. "I was declared the Vessel for the Guide of War. To be hollowed out fully, down to my soul, and the room made for the will of the Guides. And to start… I had to kill Nynrya."

Daniel looked down at the table. "I don't care to remember the moments that happened next. But what I'll never forget was her eyes. For the first time since I had met her however long ago our internment started, there was fear in them. Fear in those eyes like melted chocolate… until the light went out from them."

It was silent again for a moment as Daniel called his Grip back into existence, the quiet hum that everyone had gotten used to filling the air again and taking on new meaning. "Before I lost myself, I did one last thing. I drew her soul into the Grip." he scoffed. "Some way to fulfill my promise. But, in a way… I did."

Daniel shook his head. "And now, she's begun to speak again. Why, I'm unsure, but… she is."

Daniel took a deep breath as he leaned forward and dismissed his Grip yet again. "So, that's what's been going on on that front. Thank you for listening. I… I feel I don't say that often enough."

"Don't sweat it, Daniel," Asuka piped up, "it's the least we can do at this point, after what you've done for some of us. We broken toys have to look out for each other, after all. Fix each other up as best we can."

Daniel nodded slightly as a small smile appeared. "That we do. That we do."

- - -

Test Plugs, 3 Days Later

Shinji took a deep breath, still readjusting to the familiar smell of LCL as he adjusted his grip on a Lance copy as he eyed the Mark.06 across from him.

It was a striking figure, a deep navy blue with yellow-orange accents, its curving shoulder pylons framing a head with two crests above a red visor, a split horn not entirely unlike Unit-01's showing its profile from time to time as it tested its grip on the Spear of Cassius, now a bright crimson like the true Lance of Longinus.

The others had already started the next round of sparring as Shinji glanced around, the harsh reality of what one had to do to beat an Evangelion having settled on all of them as it drove them to both greater risks and greater lengths of protection.

Asuka and Hikari went at each other with longsword and glaive, Asuka's greater skill winning the day most of the time, but Hikari's sheer tenacity had surprised her more than once. Rei and Toji, on the other hand, were, in the beginning at least, a study of contrasts. Rei had begun with her trademark sniper rifle, pelting at Unit-04 from a great distance. Toji had stood fast, using his AT Field to deflect away the shots. Now, Rei had engaged at far closer range, as they traded blows with Lance copies transformed into their heavy double-ended blades.

"Are you ready, Shinji?" Kaworu asked, causing him to turn his focus back to the waiting Mark.06.

"Yeah." Shinji replied, shaking his head slightly. "Just had my mind wander for a moment."

"Very well." Kaworu said with a slight smile as he brandished the Spear. "En garde!"

Shinji chuckled softly at the cinematic jab as he readied his own Lance copy without another word.

Kaworu surged forward, and Shinji stepped back on instinct, batting the oncoming strike to the side before jabbing back at the Mark.06's core. Kaworu maneuvered the handle of the Spear, the base of the Lance copy's tines clanging against it even as the tips of the blades stopped inches away from the Eva's chest.

Kaworu stepped to the side, the handle of the Spear throwing up sparks as the Lance slid up its length, the twisting short blade of the Spear's base swinging towards his arm. Shinji disengaged, the point of the Lance copy coming up slightly before he slammed it into the blade, driving both into the ground as he used the Lance copy's handle to batter the Mark.06 back, swiping up at it as it stumbled back.

Kaworu deftly dodged the strike, the Spear clashing with the Lance yet again as he maneuvered the Lance away before jabbing at Unit-01's core, Shinji ducking and tilting to the side as the Spear scraped over his armor and dangerously close to his face.

Shinji grabbed at the Spear with one hand, a tight grip keeping it in place as he shifted his grip on the Lance copy closer to the blade, striking wildly at the Mark.06's chest once again.

A sigh of relief gusted past Shinji's lips as he heard the crack of the core and the buzzer, his eyes flicking down to a counter with his name and Kaworu's divided by a line, a number underneath his changing from a 3 to a 4 to stand against the 6 under Kaworu's name.

"Well done, Shinji." Kaworu said with no small amount of satisfaction in his voice as he smiled, stretching out a hand after a moment as Shinji took it to help the Mark.06 back to its feet. "You may have lost to me in the end, but you've definitely shown improvement."

"Thanks." Shinji replied as he looked around. "I guess we got done a little faster than everyone else." he checked the other scoreboards and found everyone still had a few points to go until that 6 point limit.

"Indeed. We have at least a little time to relax, it seems." Kaworu replied, sitting back in his seat and purposefully putting his hands behind his head, something that Rei had shown him, which Asuka had shown her.

It was a companionable silence as they watched Asuka and Hikari start their next spar. Then, Shinji looked over at Kaworu with a questioning glance. "So, Kaworu?"

Kaworu looked back over. "Yes, Shinji?"

"So… this Eva you're… in, technically." Shinji started after a moment. "Would you actually pilot it if it existed?"

"Undoubtedly, Shinji." Kaworu replied without hesitation. "I made a promise to Rei to protect you. If it meant getting into this Eva and going into battle by your side, I would do it without a moment's thought."

Shinji nodded after a moment. "Is that all that motivates you, though?" he paused as he gathered his thoughts as best he could. "I know you consider me a friend, at least somewhat. And we both watched what we did all those months ago." he blushed as he paused again. "So… do you… do you…"

"Do I love you? Is that what you ask?" Kaworu replied patiently.

Shinji answered with a silent nod as Kaworu sighed. "Well… yes. But I do understand that your heart lies with Asuka. Just as mine now is given to Rei. There are other worlds I've seen, though. Most are like the series that we watched. Some reflect our current situation to some extent. And some few see us together."

Kaworu seemed to stare off into the middle distance as he continued. "But there is always one constant. I care for you. Deeply. As soon as I learn of you, I wish to help. To make you happy. You fascinate me, Shinji Ikari. Like few ever will."

Kaworu focused back on Shinji as he smiled slightly. "And yet, even knowing all that, you still managed to surprise me. Even if I do not play the part I think most universes wish I play, I am still thankful that you are my friend. Thank you."

Shinji smiled back at Kaworu. "You're welcome, Kaworu."

. . .

As the Children talked and fought, Daniel, Ritsuko, and Misato watched from within the observation room quietly. It was a silent watch, the quiet occasionally pierced by a quiet tone as a digital core shattered.

"So…" Misato said, causing Daniel and Ritsuko to look over at her. "I've been thinking."

"I would certainly hope so, seeing as you are our commander." Ritsuko said, a deadpan voice hindered slightly by a wan smile.

Misato rolled her eyes as a smile tugged at a corner of Daniel's mouth. "Thank you for your vote of confidence." she replied sardonically. Then she paused as her expression became thoughtful. "I've been thinking… about moving on. What that means."

Ritsuko and Daniel's expressions grew serious. "And what does that mean, Misato?" Daniel asked quietly.

Misato took a deep breath. "I've been thinking about the Evangelions, and the Frame Plug, and calling it a Frame Eva."

"I mean," Misato continued after a moment, "why do we call the thing that's supposed to replace the Evangelions an Evangelion?"

"Well," Ritsuko replied, "because they are a copy of the Evangelion platform, simply created using a means that isn't one of the Progenitors."

"Well, is that really an Evangelion, then?" Misato shot back. "I mean, like you said, it isn't made out of Lilith or Adam, it isn't powered by a human soul in a core…"

She looked over at Ritsuko with narrowed eyes. "You did solve that issue, right?"

Ritsuko nodded patiently. "It turns out that cutting down on the Frames that made it up was the easiest solution, so yes, we did, in fact, solve that."

"Good." Misato said. "And like I was saying, if it doesn't have those two core traits… is it really an Evangelion?"

The question hung in the air for a silent moment as those in the room pondered it.

"Well… I can't say you're wrong." Ritsuko finally said with a sigh. "Maybe… it's time to move on from the Evangelion."

"With that lofty goal in mind," Ritsuko continued after a moment, "what should we even call the Frame Evangelion instead?"

It was an altogether different silence that now filled the air, as names were silently considered and discarded, some more ridiculous than others.

"How about Frame Titan?" Daniel said. "It's a little on the nose, but…"

"Perhaps." Ritsuko replied. "Even so, that doesn't make it any less… fitting. We'll probably need a special designation for it, just in case we run into any more 'Titans' out there."

"Maybe…" Misato said, her brow furrowed in concentration. "E-Type?"

Ritsuko shrugged. "Sounds good to me." she sighed quietly as she rolled her eyes. "Well, 2 days before a presentation isn't the latest I've had to change file naming conventions."

"Speaking of 2 days to go," Misato piped up, "do you have a test pilot in mind?"

"You're looking at him." Ritsuko replied as Daniel gave a knowing smirk. "He was the one to give us the inspiration to start this whole thing in the first place." she shook her head slightly as she smiled. "We even have a new Plugsuit design ready to go."

"With some notable changes." Daniel interjected.

Misato smiled slightly. "Good. Good."

They all looked back at the screen after a slightly awkward end to the conversation, and watched the Children as they prepared themselves.

Misato smirked slightly after a moment. "I wonder what Shinji's been blushing about."

 

[StriderInCosmos]

Chapter 13: Titan's Initiation

An Anti-AT Field is a surprisingly simple construct. It is quite simply the result of an AT-Field being dismantled, usually by a living being's death or more specific circumstances. Most times, natural death creates so miniscule of an Anti-AT Field that there is no physical change.

There are, however, ways to make it so an AT Field is produced and destroyed, creating an Anti-AT Field. The Human Instrumentality Project is an example of such production on a large scale, but smaller-scale recreations have been successfully replicated due to advances made possible by the discoveries made at Arqa, that have been synthesized into the proper tools for the process that will be covered in the next section of this report.

- Confidential Report on the Theory and Application of Long-term AT-Field Manipulation, Section 2, "Manipulation of the AT-Field"

Tokyo-3 Evangelion Port, Late August 2016

Daniel stood somewhat superfluously in the locker room of the port and toyed somewhat with the bracelet that now sat on his wrist, the first of a new, improved line of Plugsuits. It took full advantage of what was being dubbed 'Frametech' by Ritsuko, as he tapped the black metal oval situated in its center.

As he did, two rings of light sprang into existence on the back of his hand. Two smaller rings were positioned within them, slightly above the plane that the larger rings hovered over. Daniel raised his arm and pressed the smaller rings with his index finger and thumb.

The rings gave a familiar click as a dark, almost diaphanous substance spread across his body and over his clothing, seeming to wave gently in an unseen wind. Then, with an even more familiar hiss, the fabric formed to his body, portions of it sitting over a now skintight layer and hardening into armored plates.

Daniel checked himself out in the mirror, looking around himself and noting the 'FT-00' on his sternum. 'Why waste a good designation?' Daniel mused as he flexed and jumped slightly.

'Not bad.' Daniel said with no small amount of satisfaction. 'Ritsuko's proven her word when it comes to flexibility and breathability. Well, considering she and Maya test-fitted the Plugsuits themselves.'

Daniel smirked. 'The fun they must have had with that…' he shook his head as he cleared it and chuckled softly, walking out of the locker room and into the hallway towards the helipad.

As he walked into an open elevator, he turned to see Asuka jogging up to his side, completely comfortable in her own crimson Plugsuit as she inspected Daniel's suit.

"I gotta say," she began with a nod and a slight smile, "you almost look like one of us now. All you need to do is get rid of some of the armor, shave the beard, and you could be the Seventh Child."

Her smile became a smirk as she prodded at Daniel's stomach. "You could also stand to lose the gut, too."

Daniel looked back at Asuka in mock indignation as the doors opened and they began to walk to the exit. "Excuse me. This," he said, tapping one of his armor plates on his chest, "is an armor plate that would put most any other personal protection that currently exists in this world to shame. And this," he continued as he put a hand on his similarly armored stomach, "is collision cushioning."

"Collision cushioning." Asuka replied, faux derision dripping from her voice as she rolled her eyes. "Don't know what kind of collisions you'll be preventing, seeing as you'll be kept in your seat by some tractor beam whatevers."

"Maybe." Daniel said with a shrug. "But it never hurts to have an extra layer of protection. You know that all too well from a little jaunt into a volcano."

"And hey," Daniel continued as a sly grin grew on his face, "at least I don't have to worry about turning into a cranberry."

Indignation flashed across Asuka's face for a moment, then a grin of her own settled in under a gleam in her eyes. "Alright, then! You say this armor's better than anything around? Let's test it right here!"

She turned and began sidestepping, throwing punches at Daniel's armored shoulder as he began chuckling. The chuckling soon turned into laughter, an infectious laugh that threatened to break Asuka's zealous facade.

As they emerged into the open air, Asuka threw one last solid punch, earning a playful "ow" from Daniel as they looked towards the two helicopters waiting for them. One was the transport for the Frame Plug, a big, boxy tilt-engine reminiscent of the strike craft that NERV had used against the Angels.

The other was a personnel carrier, and Daniel and Asuka both waved at Misato, Ritsuko, Maya, Eleanor, Kensuke, and the rest of the Children who waved back at them.

As they all boarded the aircraft, donning headsets, Misato looked over at Daniel with a smirk. "Well, you fill out the suit quite nicely."

Daniel chuckled. "Thank you. I've been told I'll need to get rid of the beard if I want to fit in with the rest of the band, but…" he cupped his chin in an over-exaggerated display of thoughtfulness. "I think the group needs the variety."

A chuckle rippled through the cabin as they settled for the trip to Matsushiro.

- - -

Matsushiro Testing Grounds

The reinforced test bunker was abuzz with activity as cameras situated around the area where the test would begin showed the clear, open air of the rolling hills, and in the center of the cameras, the Frame Plug hovering suspended 70 meters in the air.

Ritsuko looked intently at the monitors displaying one of the camera feeds, alongside a feed of Daniel sitting comfortably in the cockpit. "We'll be beginning the test soon." she said, all business. "How are things on your end?"

"Looking nominal, and feeling quite comfortable, actually." Daniel replied, looking around at a few of the display windows that were invisible to the camera's eye. "All the current mechanical things are running smoothly on this side, and it's ready to start forming the Titan mode whenever you're ready."

Ritsuko nodded, then turned to look at Misato. "Permission to begin the test?"

Misato nodded in turn, her expression serious. "Permission granted. Let's get this show on the road."

Ritsuko turned back to regard Daniel. "You heard the commander. Begin initialization."

Daniel began to tap at some of the screens in his vision, narrating the start-up process as he went. "Pneumaic booster relays coming online and spooling up. Mental-Haptic-Pneumaic feedback system initializing, showing full connection to pilot brain and soul. Handshake pulses transmitted and accepted. Pilot Frame connection fully formed, and Pilot-to-Titan synchronization rising. LCL containment chambers opening, pumps to full. Beginning Titan formation."

As Daniel finished speaking, Frames began to sprout from the Frame Plug with a prismatic glow, an AT Field-like tree taking the form of a massive humanoid outline. Then, almost invisible to the cameras, black strips opened up on all sides of the long trapezoid, orange transparent LCL gleaming in the sunlight as it flowed impossibly from within the Plug, following the outlines of the Frames as it congealed, soon covering the Plug entirely as it made up the form of the Frame Titan.

Then, the orange liquid glowed, as if an oil slick had appeared over top of it, and bone and muscle and skin and armor began to form, the armor covering the Titan's flesh completely as it became the opaque, iridescent form of Plasm.

As the body of the Titan finished forming, two pylons of pure energized Metos sprang to life on the Titan's shoulders and the outsides of its forearms, framing a head that bore a striking resemblance to Unit-03 and 04's.

Daniel couldn't keep the smile off his face, or the satisfaction out of his voice as he spoke next. "Process is complete. FT Unit-00 is ready to go. And it even shaved a few seconds off the predicted formation time, too."

"Good." Ritsuko said, no small amount of satisfaction in her own voice. "How does it feel?"

Daniel looked around the view of the outside world that could be seen around the edges of the display he sat in on the monitor. "Not much different from when I piloted Unit-04. But…" he narrowed his eyes as he hummed, tapping at an unseen screen. "Synchronization is showing at 145%. Somewhat overtuned, so…" he shook his head with a rueful smile. "I'm really going to be feeling the part of the test where Asuka comes in."

"Oh, no." Asuka said sardonically, a screen showing her, and Unit-02, waiting a fair way across the valley. "I was almost afraid you wouldn't be able to feel what's coming."

"Well, when we get there, Asuka," Misato said, "try not to rough him up too much. He doesn't have any LCL in there to cushion the blow, after all."

Asuka sniffed as Ritsuko shook her head slightly. "Alright, anyways. Let's begin the general mobility portion of the test. Daniel, go ahead and walk to the designated area."

Daniel suppressed a quiet, patient sigh. 'And so, the video game tutorial begins.' he thought, as the Titan took its first step forward.

. . .

As the test progressed, Shinji looked on at the sight of FT Unit-00 being put through its paces, and his mind wandered. As it did, his focus wandered to a slightly warm presence in his pocket. His father.

After a moment's deliberation, he connected his soul to Gendo Ikari.

"Oh. Hello, Shinji." Gendo said in surprise. "Why do you connect to my soul?"

Shinji said nothing, simply feeding the view he saw of the Frame Titan to his father's soul.

"Oh, my." Gendo said after a moment's consideration. "A new Evangelion unit being tested?"

"No." Shinji finally replied. "Something new entirely. Something that will replace the Evangelions."

Shinji paused as he let the implications of such a project sink in. "I see." Gendo said, a quiet tone to his words. "Then we can begin the process of freeing the Evangelion's resident souls from their cores soon. You can see your mother again."

Shinji could almost feel the envy hidden behind his father's words. To be in such a state as to likely never see his wife again, continue to at least try at mending relations with everyone else as he was doing before his death…

"Yes. I'm looking forward to it. More than I think I've ever looked forward to anything." Shinji said after a moment. "And… you can look forward to it, too."

Shock rippled through Gendo Ikari's soul. "You mean…" he said, a quiet hope lacing his words.

"Yes, father. You'll receive a body alongside mother." Shinji replied. "I've made my choice."

"Shinji…" Gendo said, trailing off at a loss for words. "Thank you." he said simply.

"You're welcome, father." Shinji replied, equally simply.

. . .

Soon enough, the movement of the Titan Unit had been tested to its fullest. Now came the fun part.

FT Unit-00 stood across from Unit-02, the crimson Unit hoisting a Pallet Rifle as alarms sounded throughout the valley.

"So, I get to shoot at Daniel to see if he can put up an AT Field, then we get to have a little spar. Sounds fun." Asuka summarized to Ritsuko, trying and failing to hide the hungry look in her eyes.

"Yes, Asuka." Ritsuko said with no small amount of exasperation. "Please, try not to damage FT Unit-00. We're still somewhat unsure of whether the connection between pilot and Titan allows for regenerative abilities."

"Yeah, yeah." Asuka replied as Unit-02 shouldered the Pallet Rifle. "Alright, Daniel. Ready whenever you are."

"Rasing AT Field." Daniel replied simply, as FT Unit-00 stretched out its arms towards Unit-02, and a hum filled the air as the Titan's AT Field unfurled.

"AT Field is up. Let me have it." Daniel said with a sure smile.

Asuka's reply came in a stream of 330-millimeter rounds as they rocketed towards FT Unit-00. As they shot towards him, the telltale prismatic octagons sprang into sight, sending the shots plummeting into the ground as they made plumes of dirt shoot up into the air, the tips of the geysers reaching FT Unit-00's calves.

Asuka kept her finger on the trigger until the Pallet Rifle clicked empty, the new ammo counter display in Unit-02's Entry Plug showing '00/35'. She unshouldered the Rifle with a nod of approval. "Good. I'd hate to have made too many holes in you."

"And at least you helped dig up the ground for whatever Ritsuko and the rest of the Science Division would want to put into it." Daniel replied with a smile as his AT Field disappeared from sight. "Look at you being terribly helpful."

Asuka rolled her eyes as she walked over to a transport container and set the Rifle inside. "Yeah, I'm sure I am. Now..."

Unit-02 rubbed its hands, a low rumbling sound not unlike an earthquake, as its pilot's eyes gleamed. "Let's see how well the student has learned from the master."

Daniel settled FT Unit-00 into a relaxed ready stance, legs grounded shoulder-width apart as he presented an angled body and low, somewhat outstretched fists to Asuka. "I can only hope I've taught you well enough. Otherwise, this might be a rather boring spar."

"Oh please, Daniel." Asuka replied as Unit-02 settled into an aggressive stance, one leg forward as she presented the Unit's front to Daniel, arms raised as its eyes looked out from under its angled fingers. "This'll be anything but boring."

Misato stepped forward, a slight smile on her face. "Alright, contestants, I want a nice, clean fight. First one to the floor loses, and it's best two out of three. Everyone ready?"

"Yes, ma'am." both contestants said, taking a step towards each other.

"Begin." Ritsuko said calmly.

. . .

Asuka groaned, only somewhat in pain, as Daniel got her in an armlock, stretching her arm behind her back as he stopped her fall to the ground, then setting her down gently.

"Alright, I yield." she grumbled, and FT Unit-00 released Unit-02 from the lock as Asuka rubbed her shoulder from the sympathetic pain.

It had been a surprisingly even match, each finding some way to surprise the other as the ground rumbled under their feet from their attacks. Daniel had gained his two wins by surprising Asuka with techniques that would have been (would have been) nearly physically impossible anywhere else.

Asuka, however, gained two wins of her own by sheer tenacity, bulldozing through Daniel's sometimes intricate defenses to bowl him over.

And as Unit-02 began to stand, Asuka considered the Unit seemingly composed of frosted glass that walked away and turned to face her. As much as her Unit-02 was a comfortable, familiar sight, one that she had looked forward to getting back into (for a variety of reasons), she couldn't help but be a little envious of the new model.

"Oh, I see, liebling." one of the reasons she loved being in the Entry Plug here said. "You've grown tired of spending time with your dear old Mutter, and want to go off somewhere else and only visit on occasion." she heard a sigh from Kyoko Zeppelin-Soryu. "They grow up so fast, I suppose."

Asuka rolled her eyes. "Very funny, Mama." she replied sardonically. "But… I'll be able to see you in the flesh again. Get that hug that we promised each other."

"Yes." Kyoko replied quietly. "Like we promised."

"Alright, Asuka. Tiebreaker round." Misato said, unknowingly interrupting their conversation. "Ready to go, Asuka?"

After a moment's deliberation, Asuka shrugged her shoulders. "Well, unless Doctor Akagi really needs the data, I'm ready to be done. I've been sitting here all day, and as much as I've enjoyed the time with Mama, I'm hungry. Besides, if we really want to settle this, we can do it digitally, keep from tearing up the ground any more than we already have."

Misato looked over to a Ritsuko that was off-camera, then nodded as she looked back at Asuka. "Well, Ritsuko says we're all good to end the test. Good work, both of you. Go ahead and come home."

Asuka nodded and turned Unit-02 towards one of the waiting gantries as FT Unit-00 became LCL again, slowly shrinking as the liquid was drawn back into the Frame Plug's reservoirs.

Asuka felt a familiar presence as she docked with the gantry and slowly began descending. "Walking away from a fight, Jünger? Kyoko must be giving you some sort of grief about it." Daniel said with a playful tone.

"I ought to. All that fire, just to walk away? You really have changed, liebling." Kyoko said, her tone obvious in its sarcasm.

"Har, har." Asuka replied as she rolled her eyes. "I'm sure the others will agree with me. And besides, I am getting hungry, having sat here and watched you walk around and stretch for most of the day like you were going through a video game tutorial."

She could almost feel it as Daniel rolled his eyes. "Oh, good. I'm not the only one who got that impression." he paused, as a muted excitement became distinguishable. "And now that the tutorial is done, and we've proven this works… we can get Kyoko out again. And I can properly meet your mother."

Asuka nodded as a slight smile crossed her face. "Yeah. That'll be great."

- - -

As the sun set, and the aircraft that ran through the air across its face became shadows crossing through, Misato took a deep breath as she steeled herself for what was to come next.

"Misato?" Shinji said, causing her to jump slightly. "Is there something wrong?"

All eyes turned to her, and their growing concern told Misato that she couldn't keep the resignation from her own expression,

"It can't be the test, can it?" Asuka asked. "I mean, it went off without a hitch. We'll be replacing the Evas in no time." she rolled her eyes. "Of course, we still need to be ready to get in the Evas for whenever Marlowe shows up."

"And… that's the thing." Misato finally said quietly.

"Misato…" Daniel said slowly. "What don't we know?"

Misato took another deep breath. "The UN issued an order a month ago, stating that the Evangelions are UN property, and revoking your status as pilots. We're to fix them up, then have them sent to America in working order by the end of the year. They were also very clear about what would happen if you were to set foot into the Evangelions again." she shook her head. "It was a small miracle you were even allowed to pilot Unit-02 for the test, Asuka."

It was silent as the Children stared at her with disbelieving eyes. Misato sighed again. "I'm sorry I kept that from you. You didn't need the added stress of this order looming over you. I wanted to make sure that we had something ready for when we let the Evas go before I hit you with that."

It was silent again, then the Children all slowly started to nod their heads. "Alright, Misato." Asuka said levelly. "Please, keep us in the loop next time. It's a real slippery path you're on."

"And don't I know it." Misato replied ruefully. "I just… I just wanted to make sure you all were happy."

There was silence for a moment as Daniel dipped his head. "Say," he finally said, drawing the other's attention to him, "how explicit is it that the Children are not to pilot the Evangelions?"

Misato blinked. "Extremely so. Why do you ask?"

"Because we may have a loophole." Shinji said softly, drawing surprised looks to him as he nodded slowly.

He looked over at Ritsuko. "Are the Frame Titans considered Evangelions?"

A dawning realization grew in Ritsuko's eyes as she shook her head. "No, not technically. The classifications that we have for considering an Evangelion an Evangelion don't apply to the Frame Titan."

"Then what happens if we become Titan pilots instead of Eva pilots?" Shinji said with a slight smile.

"You don't technically fall under the order." Misato said with a mischievous grin.

Asuka lightly punched Shinji in the arm as a smile grew on her face. "Look at that. You got all your dad's deviousness, and the sense to actually put it to good use."

"That means we'll have to get started on production quickly if we want to have enough Titan Units." Ritsuko said, her serious tone dispelling the small smiles that had spread among the rest of the passengers.

"And how quickly can we assemble a new Frame Plug?" Misato asked.

"If we start now and go as quickly as we can…" Ritsuko trailed off for a moment as she did the mental math. "About one and a half to 2 weeks. But that's pushing it, and it will likely have the same synch overturning problem that FT Unit-00 experienced."

"We can worry about that when we get the Units up and running." Misato replied. "As long as it doesn't overly impact combat performance, then having them there will be what matters."

She looked over at Daniel with a questioning glance. "Do you think the overtuning will get in the way of anyone else piloting?"

Daniel shook his head. "It shouldn't be too much of an issue, as long as we're careful about how we take hits." he reached for a tender spot on his shoulder, a bruise beginning to peek out from the t-shirt that he wore that came from a particularly solid punch from Unit-02.

"And what kind of 'working order' do the Evangelions need to be in?" Hikari piped up, concern evident in her expression. "Do they need to be able to activate them? Be able to put other pilots in them?"

"I don't know." Misato said frankly as she shrugged. "But I wouldn't be surprised if they wanted that."

"We're not sending our moms back to them, Ms. Misato. Period." Toji growled.

"And we have no intention of it. However, we can't afford to extract them now, especially with the Mass-Production Evas and Marlowe hanging over our heads." Ritsuko replied.

A somber expression rippled through the cabin at the mention of their absentee enemies, and the wild cards that might come back calling with them.

"So," Ritsuko continued after a moment, "the next Frame Titans will likely go to Rei or Kaworu, depending on who wants it."

"I will take it." Kaworu said calmly. "After all, I am perhaps the one with the most experience fighting against Mariah. My presence on the battlefield will be a balancing factor, perhaps a key one if there truly are multiple Children as Mrs. Akagi has surmised there might be."

Misato and Ritsuko looked over at each other and nodded after a moment as the transport aircraft touched down on the tarmac and began to spin down its engines. "Alright then. I'll get in touch with the Engineering Division, get them on that immediately." Ritsuko said as she looked back at Kaworu.

"Don't worry about it." Daniel interjected. "Eleanor and I will take care of it."

Misato nodded as she took off her headset and opened the door to the aircraft. "Alright then." she said as she stepped out of the door, the rest of the occupants following suit. "Let's get to work then."

As they walked into the building, the others chatting quietly about simulator time and what kind of training they needed to be doing, Misato appeared deep in thought for a moment before she turned to look at Daniel. "Did the delegations arrive in ships, like you did?" she asked quietly.

"Of course." Daniel replied. "For delegations like these, a Seabreaker is the only sure way to travel. It probably helps that they're at least somewhat well-armed."

"Good to know." Misato said levelly, then paused for a moment. "Will you get in touch with Izalith? I'll get in touch with Mr. Rastaff." Misato said with a nod and a determined, thoughtful look. "I have some things to ask them tonight."

- - -

Commander's Office, NERV-HQ, 5 Hours Later

Izalith and Rastaff sat calmly in the now somewhat cluttered office as wireframes of their two ships spun slowly on the desk that Misato sat behind, the two guests far closer than the previous commander ever would have allowed.

The League ship, a display showing that it was the Victory-class ISV Cataphract, was a long, grey, spindly thing, a bulb on the front end and three sweeping wings at the rear of the ship, two angled down and one pointing up, the ends forming a broad triangle, in the center of which nestled the bridge of the ship.

The Tellan ship, its display calling it the TSNV Sonne, was a sleek, almost fishlike vessel, rounded on its top and flat on the bottom, sporting four small fins, two in the middle and two in the back.

Misato regarded the two vessels silently for a moment before looking at their masters. "So you'll be able to track them?" Misato asked.

"Yes." Izalith replied simply. "Most all Seabreakers, even those that are retrofitted to be able to enter and exit the Worldsea, contain the necessary Pneumaic sensors to track the movements of life native to the Worldsea. These sensors should be able to track your Mass-Production Evangelions without issue."

"Good." Misato said simply. "I know I'm asking a lot, calling on you to help us fight our battles. But we need a solid advance warning system. And most of the sensors we have aren't able to keep an eye on them until they're right on top of us. Especially if they're using some sort of AT Field trickery to hide themselves."

"If it contributes to the safety of this planet and its people," Rastaff replied, "no effort is too great. Already, the souls of this world have suffered much. To be able to ensure that they need not suffer more at the hands of those who do not have their best interests in mind is a blessing and an obligation Valen would expect of us who follow him."

Misato nodded. "Thank you, both of you for this. And for all that you are doing to help this world." She chuckled softly. "Heaven knows, this world has needed some help getting back on its feet."

"Of course." Izalith replied with a patient smile. "In fact, my daughters are getting… excitable, as they sometimes do." she said the last words with a soft, rumbling chuckle. "They understand that this is a fortress-city, that a great emphasis is placed on its defenses. And they've asked me to offer their services in improving them."

"I'll accept that, too." Misato said with a small smile. "Again, thank you for your daughter's assistance in pulling the Frame Plug together."

Izalith gave a deep chuckle. "Of course. Quelaag and Quelana have relished the chance to put their engineering skills to the test, just as they will relish the challenge of upgrading the city's defenses."

Misato nodded. "Good. I'm glad they're up to it." Misato's smile slowly disappeared. "Because I can't help but feel like we're getting close to something. Something big." she paused for a moment. "The Numberless Children are coming. And soon."

"Prophetic insight is a familiar concept to my people, Commander Katsuragi." Rastaff said after a moment of tense silence. "It can sometimes be particularly cruel. Often, we find, it comes upon those who will either be ignored… or those who see it coming too late to fully stop it."

- - -

Uluru Blacksite, Australian Outback, 9 Days Later

Mariah jostled her leg as she furrowed her brow, focusing intently on the video game that she played, the sound effects filtering through a headphone in one ear, and buzzing out of the one that dangled free. She, along with Mana and Mayumi, waited in the conference room for Major Howard.

Mana, as always, sat straight and looked at one of the walls, an inscrutable look on her face. Mayumi, on the other hand, seemed to shrink down in her chair, fidgeting only slightly as she flipped through an ebook on her tablet.

Even with their different methods of waiting, there was a relaxed feeling between the three of them. The simulators had done wonders in breaking down the divides between the three of them, and, Mariah noted with no small amount of pride, Mana finally called by her first name, once, 6 days ago. It was a small victory, she had to admit, but it was a victory nonetheless.

The door to the conference room swished open, and one by one, all of the Numberless Children stood to attention as Major Howard walked in with a tablet in his hand and a surprisingly grim look on his face.

All the Children saluted, sitting down as he saluted back and sat at the head of the table.

"Well, ladies…" he said. "This is it. The Mass-Production Evas at the Indian site are preparing to transfer over to us. They'll be here in 2 days. Once they arrive, we'll load you and the Mass-Production Evas onto the transport uniwings, and begin the mission."

He paused for a moment. "Do any of you have any questions? Comments? Concerns?"

Mana shook her head. "I have none, Major."

Mayumi nodded. "Neither do I, sir."

Mariah shrugged. "Nope. Not a one that hasn't been thoroughly squashed by the simulations."

She looked at the other pilots. "I think we're ready to go, sir."

Major Howard nodded. "Good. A few last words before you get ready. Use your AT Fields to cover yourselves from the sensors going into Tokyo-3. Your most important task is to escort the Mass-Production Evas to the target. They all need to make it there. The Human Instrumentality Committee has made it very clear that they all need to survive this mission. Then, Protocol Megiddo will kick in, and you won't have to worry about anything else."

After a moment, Major Howard shook his head and sighed. "Stay safe. Once this mission is done… we'll meet back up. Have a little party." he said with a small smile.

Mariah nodded. "Well, yeah. That's the only real way to celebrate anything after all."

Major Howard nodded in turn. "That it is. Dismissed."

As the girls filed out of the room, Mariah and Mayumi chatting idly as Mana interjected once before the doors closed, Terrence Howard sighed quietly. 'And whatever happens… please, truly, stay safe. After all this, after Instrumentality has fixed the world… I'll try and find you three again. I promise.'

 

[StriderInCosmos]

Chapter 14: Numberless, They Stride Forth

The process outlined here is one that, even with its uses, requires great precautions. Like nuclear power, the creation of an Anti-AT Field is a delicate operation that requires precision and careful tuning to ensure that the area targeted is the only part of the subject's AT Field that is affected.

However, with such precision, a portion of the AT Field can be stripped away and, with the aid of other tools, "sewn up" in order to change how the AT Field interacts with the body. These operations have been shown to make the strengthening of an AT Field far more effective than on a non-altered AT Field, with gains increasing as much as 75%.

- Confidential Report on the Theory and Application of Long-term AT-Field Manipulation, Section 3, "Procedures for AT Field Manipulation"

Uluru Blacksite, September 1st, 2016

Mariah Marlowe, Evangelion pilot, sat waiting in the specially made Long Range Entry Plug, which in her honest opinion, didn't really feel much different than usual besides the cramped facilities in front of her, waiting to be attached to her automated transport uniwing, and tapped her foot to a beat that only she could hear, listening to the Thrill sing a song that only she could understand. It was a wordless song, more a tune really, a jaunty march that called her to the fight ahead like a trumpet to the charge.

The Thrill sang. So she decided to sing along with it, give words to the tune.

We're off to go and fight, inside our shiny mechs,
We're kitted to the nines, in all the latest techs,
There's nothing that can stop, our great and awesome charge,
And so we'll save the world, and have a party, large!

It was a passable little ditty, she thought, as the Unit finally locked into place, latching on to the transport uniwing with a sharp series of clicks. It was one way, strange though it was, to end a song. And it left her with a smile on her face. 'And that is what really counts when it comes to my songs. How they just make me go! I can't wait to start now!'

She keyed up the other two pilots as the doors above their hangar began to open slowly, the light filtering through and casting receding shadows in the bay. Mana looked over at her silently with a level look, as she always did, and Mayumi gave her a questioning glance.

"Is something up, Mari?" Mayumi asked, and Mariah smiled just a little wider as the puppy used her nickname.

"Oh, just wondering if either of you is excited to finally pilot your actual Evas. And on an important mission, no less!" Mariah said with an excited, almost hungry gleam in her eyes.

"It is just a mission, Mariah." Mana said patiently. "We go in and we get it done, then we get out and come home."

"Yeah, I got to agree with Mana on that one." Mayumi said softly with a singular nod. "I don't think I'm excited about it. Just… ready to do it."

Mariah shrugged. "Oh, well. That just means I get to be excited enough for both of you! Cause, I mean, even our dear grumpy puppy Mana has to have some of it laying around somewhere in her super-serious brain, waiting for the right moment to strike us unexpectedly."

"Perhaps, Mariah." Mana said after a moment, and Mariah grinned as they took off.

After a moment, the Evangelions that flew into the sky unfurled their AT Fields above the transport uniwings, surely fouling up anything that might be able to track them, and Mariah leaned back in her seat, putting her hands behind her head as she settled in for the flight. 'Well, glad they packed us some snacks for while we're on our way there. And gave us special Plugs so that we didn't have to worry about doing anything to mess them up.' her nose crumpled slightly at the thoughts that came along with being in a regular Entry Plug for three days.

'And hey,' she thought as she absentmindedly grabbed at a pouch that would be her meals for the next little while, 'at least we're getting to be all sneaky too. That's fun. We get to throw a surprise party before we even start the mission!' Mariah's smile returned as she took a sip from the meal packet.

Central Dogma, 2 Days Later

It was nearly silent in the cathedral-like command center. No alarms wailed, no voices spoke above a whisper in the massive, crowded room filled with technicians and support staff, leaving a muted rustling that filled the space like the shifting of sand from an ocean wave.

And yet, the tension could be cut with a knife as they all intently watched the main screen that showed a brilliant blue ocean, the view marred by nine black triangles that held the center of the view as they slowly made their way across it.

"How far out are they now?" Commander Misato Katsuragi said, her words slicing through the tension as they made their way to Major Hyuga.

He put a hand to a headset and repeated the question, then paused as he listened intently. "Cataphract says that they're now approximately 8 hours out from us. Sonne is corroborating."

"Any other movement? Troop deployments of any kind from other nations?" Misato asked.

Hyuga relayed the question again. It was a moment before an answer came and Hyuga turned back to Misato with no small amount of relief on his face. "No, ma'am. Not that they can pick up."

Misato nodded, sharing in Hyuga's relief under her professional exterior as a wave of exhales swept through the command center, washing some of the tension out like a wave of water. "And how are evacuation efforts coming along?"

Faez looked back from her monitor. "Cities and towns have been evacuated out to 48 kilometers of the 50-kilometer limit. All NERV personnel are in the Geofront, and the city has entered defense mode."

Misato nodded. "Good." she continued to ponder at the triangles on the screen, wondering how she would stop them. Or even, a small part of her fearfully whispered, if she could stop them.

"And what are your thoughts, Commander?" Fuyutsuki quietly asked, looking over at her from the side of the commander's desk, as it seemed he always had been.

Misato continued to stare silently for a moment. "We aren't going to be able to use our conventional defenses on the surface. We'd just be wasting ammunition against their AT Fields. The question then is…"

"How far do we let them go before they reach the Evangelions?" Fuyutsuki finished for her, and Misato nodded.

"We need to keep them as far from the entrance to Terminal Dogma as possible." Misato said, then looked up at Fuyutsuki. "Is the pyramid clear?"

Fuyutsuki nodded wordlessly, and Misato nodded in turn. She looked at a hologram display of the city, the wireframe representation becoming filled in by her mind with the details of concrete and steel almost by instinct. This was her city. This was the bastion of humanity she looked at. She blinked in surprise as an errant thought passed through her mind. She hadn't been on a meditative getaway in a while. Hadn't truly seen the city that was in her charge. But that was beside the point right now, she thought as she shook her head.

"Maya, what's the status on FT Unit-01?" she asked.

Maya turned from her station to look up. "Ritsuko says they're almost done piping the LCL into the reservoirs. It'll be another 4 hours until it's ready to deploy."

Misato nodded. "And the Evangelions?"

"On standby, ready to launch whenever you want them to." Aoba replied.

Misato leaned back in her chair as she sighed quietly. "And what about the reinforcement of the shaft to Terminal Dogma?"

Hyuga looked back up at her. "The pace is slow. We've only covered about a third of the way up the shaft with steel, if that. The Frame Extruders we've moved in are currently recharging. We won't be able to cover the entire shaft before they arrive."

"Alright, then. Don't worry about continuing, then. We'll work with what we've got." Misato said as she nodded, and the tension entered the room again. "Now… we wait."

. . .

T-6 Hours to Contact

Misato, Ritsuko, Daniel, Eleanor, and the Children clustered around a display table that was the greatest source of light in the dim, nearly dark briefing room, the screen showing the same image of the ominous triangles cutting across the open ocean as the group studied them intently.

"So," Asuka said after a moment, glancing over at the timer in one corner of the screen that ticked down without regard for the dread it caused, "what's the game plan?"

"We'll be deploying you to the city surface." Misato said without preamble. "We'll be throwing open the doors of the arsenal to you, as well. Pallet weapons, Positron Rifles, everything with a Progressive element. Pick your weapons as the situation calls for it. And if you can, use your Interfacing. That's probably one of our biggest trump cards when it comes to matching up against the enemy."

"And what if they breach the Geofront?" Shinji asked, no small amount of anxiety in his expression as he said it.

"Give chase, pin them against the newer defenses inside." Misato replied. "They should hold out a little longer than traditional weaponry. Pack more of a punch as well." she smiled slightly at the last fact.

The Children smiled with her. But after a moment, one smile faded slightly. "We can't afford to be overly confident this time, though." Hikari said after a moment. "We aren't just facing the dumb, digitally driven brutes that are the remaining MP-Evangelions. We're up against human pilots also. Three of them, who have trained specifically to take us down."

An air of unease settled over the Children as Hikari finished. Then Daniel nodded slightly. "Maybe so. But as a wise soldier once said, experience outranks everything. They may have more time in the simulators than you do, but you know far more about how Eva combat actually feels and works. I have faith we can come out on top of this."

Misato nodded. "Daniel's right. I trust that you all can take these guys on and come out on top. We've faced worse odds before."

Slow nods answered Misato after a moment before Toji spoke up. "So, what's the policy on the other pilots? We can smash the MP harpies all we want and be fine. Hell, I'm looking forward to it, but… can we just disable the other piloted Units? I'm not looking to murder some poor shmucks who might not know why they're doing what they're doing."

Misato sighed quietly. "Disable them if you can. But if it comes to it…" she trailed off, and the room's atmosphere was all the grimmer for it.

Ritsuko blinked after a moment of silence was interrupted by a muffled buzz, then dug in one of her pockets for her clear-pad. She pulled it out and activated it, and an image of Naoko Akagi appeared. "Am I interrupting anything? I have an idea when it comes to the Mass-Production Evangelions."

"Well, no need to be shy, Mrs. Akagi." Misato piped up as all in the room looked over. "Hit us."

"The Dummy Plugs controlling the Mass-Production Evas will be getting their signals from somewhere." Naoko continued. "If I can intercept that signal, I can at least have a moment to confuse them before SEELE regains control, if not take one over entirely for a few minutes before SEELE shuts me out."

Ritsuko shrugged. "We'll take any advantage we can get. I'll get to work on a program with you as soon as this briefing gets done."

Naoko nodded. "Alright. See you then." Then the screen went blank.

Misato took a deep breath as she nodded. "And that, so far… is the general plan. If something changes, I'll let you know. In the meantime, get ready."

. . .

Infinity Box, T-4.5 Hours to Contact

The last cardboard box slid into place as Daniel and Asuka stepped back, wiping their brows as they turned to look at an anxious Kensuke. "Well, that's all the important stuff from your apartment." Daniel said with a nod and a small smile.

Asuka nodded as well, giving Kensuke a sly grin. "Unless you've forgotten something that you'd rather possibly explode and cover your tracks? Something you wouldn't want poor Ichigo to see?"

Kensuke sighed heavily as he rolled his eyes. "No, Asuka. This is everything that's from my apartment. And, uh..." he trailed off as he scratched the back of his head. "Thanks for helping me get my stuff down here so quickly. I appreciate it."

Asuka shrugged. "Not a problem. We did it last time things were about to get messy with the MP-Evas. Now that you live here, it's just smart." she paused for a moment. "And you gotta count yourself lucky we were talking about it too."

Kensuke nodded gratefully. "Oh, don't worry. I do."

Asuka nodded assuredly. "Good." she said with no small amount of satisfaction.

It was quiet as they exited the room, one of many now branching from the main room. Then, Kensuke looked over at Asuka and Daniel with a worried look on his face. "Do you guys really think that it'll get bad enough to make this necessary?"

They paused at the doorway out of the Box, and Daniel sighed quietly. "Well… maybe. You never really know. Better safe than sorry after all."

Daniel looked over at Kensuke, saw the anxiety in his eyes. "You ready?"

Kensuke was silent for a moment before sighing as he shook his head. "Honestly, no. I'm… I'm scared." he said, growing quiet at the end.

Then, he jumped slightly as Asuka put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't sweat it. We all get scared before we go out there." she said reassuringly. "And besides, it's not like you won't be sitting twiddling your thumbs. You'll be helping the Akagi's and Maya with hacking into the MP-Evas. You'll be helping us out."

Kensuke looked over at Asuka with no small amount of disbelief in his eyes as he saw Asuka's confident smile. "Well… thanks for the vote of confidence, Asuka." Kensuke finally replied after a moment.

Asuka gave Kensuke's shoulder a gentle smack. "Eh, it's what I'm good at. Don't sweat it."

. . .

Rei and Kaworu sat quietly in Kaworu's apartment, simply enjoying each other's presence for a moment.

Long gone were the days when it was a bare, somewhat somber place. It was usually rare to see a wall that didn't have some artwork on it, a now immensely detailed inking of something or someone, or to find his violin hanging proudly from the living room wall. Granted, he'd moved in with Rei in the last few months, but the trappings had remained, and the room was hardly always empty.

Now, though, the walls were empty, and the violin was in its case, all of Kaworu's earthly possessions secure within the Infinity Box. Now, the apartment seemed to hold a tense, somewhat apprehensive air, a deep breath held as it and its occupants waited for the inevitable.

Rei decided to break the somewhat somber silence as she looked over at Kaworu, a worried expression in her eyes. "I should have been the pilot of FT Unit-01." she said with little preamble.

Kaworu looked over at her with a raised eyebrow for a moment before his expression became understanding. "You fear for my life." he smiled softly. "I know. I understand."

Rei shook her head. "Not entirely. Kaworu, changed or not, you are still the last Angel. If you go into combat and…" her breath hitched for a moment as tears began to well up in her eyes. "And they kill you, they won't just retrieve and awaken Lilith. They'll be able to truly begin Instrumentality. SEELE will wipe away everything, everyone, we love."

It was silent for a moment as Kaworu nodded slowly. "Yes. There is certainly that risk, should we fail. We have Kadmonel, however, and Adam is secure in a new vessel. And as I said before, if they were to deploy without me, the enemy would have a succinct advantage."

"So," Kaworu continued, giving Rei his slight smile, "I will be as careful as I can. We'll get through this together."

"We'd better, scribble." Rei replied quietly as their faces inched closer to one another.

Then it was silent, as they shared a tender, long kiss.

. . .

Terminal Dogma, 1 Hour Later

Ritsuko walked across the blank, empty space of Terminal Dogma, her footsteps echoing off of the massive walls and back towards her, seemingly louder than they were before they left. Her footsteps were not the only ones that echoed, though. Maya, Naoko, and Kensuke all walked with her, towards what, by all accounts, looked like a blank section of the wall on the shore of the deep ocean of LCL.

They came to a stop in front of it, and Ritsuko placed a palm on the wall in front of her, concentrating as she did so. The wall rippled, and what was once a side of gleaming stone almost no different than the metal that surrounded it parted to open the way in.

Ritsuko nodded once, smiling slightly as she took a moment to marvel at the stone Aspect Core she had recently procured. It was… odd, to say the least, certainly not entirely what she was expecting to begin with, but again, science was taking leaps and bounds as the foundations of the Earth had a new light shone upon them.

A pointed cough from somewhere behind her stirred Ritsuko from her internal verbosity, and she took a step forward into the new chamber.

It was a surprisingly large room, the Frame Extruder's material breakdown function clearing out the space in only a day and a half. Nestled within, hanging on a massive wall mount, was the Lance of Longinus, the crimson bident gleaming in the harsh glow of the halogen lights.

Ritsuko and the others made their way to a platform that silently lifted into the air as she turned to Naoko. "Anything new that you've gleaned from the Lance, mother?"

Naoko shook her head. "All I can really tell so far is that it has a lot of power that's leaking out from the cracks in the Flux lacing. What kind of power, what its source is…" she shrugged. "That's still beyond me. All I know is that it's enough to end the world. And that's without even looking at the Lance."

Ritsuko nodded slowly as silence fell over the group for a moment before Kensuke piped up. "And we're sure this new wall we have covering the Lance is strong enough to stop an Eva from going through?"

Ritsuko looked towards the far wall as the platform stopped, integrating itself into a larger platform that held computer banks and holograms of the Lance. "Honestly, Mr. Aida… I hope so."

They made their way towards the bank of computers, the four scientists typing quickly as pylons at the two corners of the far wall thrummed to life, the etched kanji on their surface glowing as a prismatic glow made the colors swept from one hue to the next like a wave. Inscription Interfacing was yet another branch of Interfacing that had piqued Ritsuko's interest as Izalith had mentioned it, seemingly simple yet surprisingly delicate. Each of the kanji had special Frames held within their margins, dictating how the words would use the Metos that now traveled through the pillars and into their passive Expressions.

"Power flow is nominal." Kensuke said. "Inscriptions are activated and should be scrambling sensors now."

Ritsuko nodded. "As I said, I don't know if they'll be able to break down the false wall we've put up. But…" she trailed off as she smiled slightly. "They'll have to find it first."

- - -

Evangelion Bay 5, T-2 Hours to Contact

Daniel kneeled on top of Frame Plug-00, a panel open as he physically connected a clear-pad to the Plug with a length of glowing cable. He studied the screen intently as it showed an outline of the Frame Titan. Daniel pressed a stylus to the screen, stretching and adding Frames slowly, but surely as he kept an eye on the display which showed the projected estimated time to formation.

He made a few more adjustments, then tapped a few buttons as he finalized the now-familiar design, glancing back down at the timer with a discerning eye. 'Oh, well. I think Ritsuko will be fine with it. 30 seconds can be spared. Especially with us being deployed ahead of time.'

"I see you are making some last-minute adjustments." a calm, quiet voice called out.

Daniel looked up and behind him as he saw Kaworu, dressed in his new navy blue and orange Plugsuit, looking at him with his slight smile. He chuckled as he unplugged the pad from the Plug, the glow of the cable cutting out as he stuffed the cable in a pocket and turned. "Well, I'm just making some cosmetic changes, really. We can't all be as lucky as you to be able to customize your Titan from the keel out."

Kaworu blinked as he tilted his head, a slight confusion gleaming in his eyes. "From the… keel?"

Daniel blinked, then chuckled as he shook his head. "It seems we have to teach you some nautical terms sometime, Kaworu. So, what do you need?"

Kaworu's smile disappeared, replaced by a look of unease. "I have… concerns."

Daniel's own smile lessened as he walked over to the front of the Plug, sitting down with his legs over the edge and knocking on the space beside him as he nodded. "Alright then. Come on up. We'll talk eye to eye."

Without a sound, Kaworu lifted off the floor, floating into the air and coming to a gentle stop in front of Daniel before turning and sitting down next to him. It was a silent moment before Kaworu spoke. "Have you ever had to… fight someone who you think is a decent person?" he asked, surprisingly plaintively.

Daniel sighed quietly as he looked out into the bay and nodded. "Yeah, actually. A lot of times. It's… hard. Especially when you think that you could possibly get through to them."

He paused for a moment, then looked back over at Kaworu with understanding in his eyes. "You're worried about Mariah, aren't you?" he asked softly.

Kaworu simply nodded. Daniel nodded in turn.

They simply sat next to each other for a time, one taking in the understanding of the other, until Kaworu broke the silence again. "As… as I've said before, Mariah Marlowe is… off somewhat, or at least her soul is, but every interaction I've had with her, limited though they may have been, was positive. Were it not for the looming Instrumentality, the part I knew I had to play in it, I feel we would have been… friends. I feel we might be, in her eyes."

Kaworu paused, and the contemplative silence returned.

Daniel sighed again, a weary, knowing thing that seemed loud in the mostly empty bay. "That's the thing about seeing both sides of a war. Knowing both sides of a war. At some point, you have to fight someone you might know."

"But," Daniel said, his changing tone drawing Kaworu's gaze to look at him, "that doesn't mean that we can't do something to try and stop them. We have the go-ahead to try at disabling them from Misato. And who knows. Maybe Mariah will be surprised enough to see you that we can get a shot in quick and easy."

Daniel put a hand on Kaworu's shoulder as he smiled slightly. "We're going to do the best we can. Promise."

After a moment, Kaworu smiled back, and Daniel softly patted his shoulder.

"Well. Speaking of doing our best," Daniel said as wings that seemed to hold the night sky within them sprang into existence on his back as he pushed off from the edge of the Plug to slowly float down to the connecting bridge of the bay, "Asuka's getting all the pilots together to go over the nitty-gritty of the strategy for the battle before we sortie. She's probably expecting us by now."

Kaworu smiled slightly, pushing off as well as he floated down to join Daniel. "Indeed. Let's go save the world."

- - -

Tokyo-3 Surface, T-25 Minutes to Contact

Shinji Ikari took a deep breath before the launch platform rocketed up, a familiar weight settling on his shoulders as he sped towards the surface in the now-familiar Entry Plug of Unit-01, his mother's soul a comforting presence within the confines of the steel tube.

'So, this is it.' he thought to himself as he emerged onto the surface, the now setting sun in front of him causing him to narrow his eyes slightly before a glare filter descended on his screen. 'We're fighting other Children for real. No simulations, no sparring. Real combat.'

He couldn't help but feel more than a little apprehension as he walked over to one of the weapon buildings and picked up a Positron Rifle, getting a feel for the unfamiliar weapon. 'This is the most dangerous day of my life.' he realized with no small amount of fear.

"Hey, Shinji." a familiar, comforting voice said, as a panel showing Asuka's face appeared in his view. "I'd say that's one of mine, but I'll let you have it this once." she continued with a slight smile.

Shinji felt a smile of his own growing on his face. "Well, I've been needing to expand my horizons when it comes to my weapons skills. I've never actually held the miniaturized version of this before."

Asuka's brow furrowed for a moment, then her eyes widened as she nodded. "Oh, yeah. Operation Yashima and Ramiel." she scoffed quietly. "Back when the Positron Rifle was bigger than the Evas."

"And needed all of Japan to power it." Shinji replied as he shook his head slowly. "That was… an experience. Even before Rei jumped in and protected me."

"Yeah." Asuka said, her smile dimming. "It's a good thing she's a tough Wondergirl." she said quietly.

Shinji nodded, turning his gaze out to the long, flat plane with few buildings for cover that Tokyo-3 had become. "It's so… barren when the city's like this. It's kind of sad." he sighed quietly.

Asuka nodded. "Yeah. It is, isn't it?"

They looked around themselves as the others began to walk towards other weapons buildings, grabbing weapons and setting them aside for later as they all took one ranged weapon or another.

Daniel's Frame Titan, a dark splash against the sun, turned to look at Shinji as he approached, a strange weapon in his hands. It looked like a massive crossbow, except... the arms were massively thick, nearly a third of the length of the weapon.

Asuka looked down at the weapon as she stopped at Shinji's side, Unit-02 hefting a rocket launcher. "I uh… I hate to break it to you, Daniel," she said with no small amount of skepticism, "But I'm not entirely sure that's going to reach. I might be wrong here, but…" she trailed off with a quizzical look as she shrugged.

Daniel's face appeared in a panel beside Asuka's, a small grin on his face. "Oh, don't worry. It's just not deployed yet."

He turned towards the direction that the attacking force would come from as he shouldered the weapon. "I've had this one on the backburner for a little while. Based it on a design I saw ages ago… somewhere during my travels."

As he finished, he aimed into the sky, and two rectangular plates slid out from the center of the weapon, then another pair, then another as the arms began to shrink inward. In a few moments, a slowly rotating barrel nearly half as tall as the Evas was aimed skyward. "This," Daniel said dramatically, "is my Stellar Accelerator. It should reach just fine, and with the accuracy you're hoping for with the first part of the plan."

Asuka rolled her eyes even as she smiled wryly. "Nerd. I'd almost be tempted to say you're compensating for something if I didn't know you so well."

"Why, me? Compensate?" Daniel said in mock surprise as the plates began to slide back into place once more. "Perish the thought."

The three shared a chuckle as Daniel turned FT Unit-00 to face them. Then, Asuka nodded. "Speaking of the plan…"

She glanced to the side, and all of the Children's faces appeared. "Everyone knows their positions? Where we'll need to be when everything kicks off?" she said, her expression and tone now deadly serious.

The other Children nodded. "Yes, ma'am." Toji said, only somewhat in jest.

Asuka nodded as Daniel turned FT Unit-00 towards the position he had claimed in the northeast section of the city. "Alright. Command, is everyone ready downstairs ready?"

Hyuga's face appeared on a panel as he nodded once. "Yes, they are." he said firmly. "Popup plates and defense stations are tied to your controls, and we'll keep an ear out for whatever you need."

"Good." Asuka replied, and she smiled grimly. "Then let's set the stage, shall we?"

 

[StriderInCosmos]

Chapter 15: Numberless, they Strike

There is, of course, a great deal of fine-tuning that has been done to the AT-Edit system. Again, such is simply a matter of adjusting the power of the Anti-AT Field to the needs of the Field in question. Minor variations on the strength and tuning of the Field are not enough to prevent catastrophic cellular transformation, as all AT Fields are unique to their soul. Thus, the process is a long, somewhat difficult one to successfully identify what adjustments are needed to the system to edit a particular AT Field in the way that the Committee desires. We have, however, several notable successes, both in animal testing and human testing.

- Confidential Report on the Theory and Application of Long-term AT-Field Manipulation, Section 4, "The AT-Edit System and Its Successes"

September 3rd, T-5 Minutes to Contact

Mari was positively jittery with excitement as she saw the coast of Japan grow larger and larger in her view. It was almost time! She drummed on her controls as she hummed along with the Thrill, the flame inside her chest roaring and crackling, the heat almost a physical thing as the blue ocean beneath her Unit-05 became the green ground.

She watched intently for the telltale signs of people realizing they would be coming their way. Namely, the missiles and bullets that they shot at them. And yet… "Hm. That's odd." she mused aloud. "Usually I'd think that people are a little more… excited we're coming."

After a moment, the city itself came into sight, except… it was a lot emptier than the simulations made it seem. And were those…?

Several pinpricks of light blew her train of thought off the tracks, as one of them became a howling bolt of… something that slammed into the underside of the transport uniwing carrying the Mass-Production Eva beside her, shearing off the wing and causing it to begin spinning madly out of control before the MP-Eva extracted itself and unfurled its own wings.

The shot was soon followed by a barrage of missiles, positron shots, and rods of tungsten-carbide that chewed through the transports, and Mari released herself just as one of the rockets caught the left side of her uniwing, her clipped on wings unfurling as she glided down to the ground, throwing an AT Field up in front of her.

Mari opened a general channel to the other Evas. "Well, it's all gone tits up! I'm setting down outside the city to keep an eye on the Evas that have gone down there."

Mana's face appeared on a screen beside her. "We will gather outside the city and enter on foot. The approach from the air seems to be covered quite effectively."

"See you down here!" Mari replied as she pulled her knees to her chest, touching down and standing up as the wing assembly was blown off her back, revealing the sheath to her Progressive Sword.

They were in between two lakes, maybe three, and the top of the city that they needed to get to now seemed to peer over the trees at them.

'Well, then,' Mari thought as she felt the crate carrying Mayumi's Positron Gun-Lance slam into the ground several dozen meters away from her, 'it seems we have some willful dance partners.'

The Thrill glowed a little brighter as she realized that. This was going to be even more fun than she'd first thought it would be.

. . .

Asuka lowered the rocket launcher as the last of the transport uniwings went down, its occupant floating towards the ground with the assistance of its AT Field, and couldn't help but grin. "Man, if we can catch them off guard this easily, this is going to be less fun than I thought."

"Now, don't get too cocky, kid." Daniel's voice chimed in as she set the rocket launcher aside and picked up a dull grey-blue Lance copy. "We may have stopped their dive into the center of the city, but I doubt a few potshots at their carriers will dissuade them easily."

"Yeah, yeah." Asuka nodded as she keyed in the command center. "Hyuga, do you have a lock on their position?"

"One moment." Hyuga replied as he looked away from the screen for a moment. He looked back. "Scans are showing them on the far side of the second Lake Ashi, about 25 kilometers from the city limits."

Asuka nodded. "Good. Get the pop-up plates up on that side. Focus on where they might head if they go in a straight line."

Hyuga nodded. "Will do."

Hyuga's face disappeared from Asuka's sight as she pulled up the rest of the pilots. "Alright, we know what to do. Daniel, get your butt up here with me and Toji. Hikari, Shinji, stay behind us and catch the Units that try and get behind us. Kaworu, keep having fun with Rei's anti-material rifle and offer long-range support."

A chorus of affirmations preceded the Evas and Titans shifting towards the direction of the far-off billowing pillars of smoke.

As they shifted, Kaworu's face appeared in Asuka's view. "Actually, I have a question. More of an idea, really."

"Oh...kay." Asuka said, trying to hide the skepticism in her eyes. "What is it, Kritzeln?"

"I could try opening a channel to Mariah's Unit." Kaworu replied.

Asuka blinked as she got to her position. "I mean… I guess? Not much to chat about in the middle of a combat zone." she said, her uncertainty now far more open.

"Perhaps, but I could try to get her to see reason before we come to blows. I have perhaps the most immediate relationship to her in this place. If anyone can do it, it's me." Kaworu said with utter conviction.

It was a silent moment before Asuka shrugged. "Well… as much as I'm spoiling for a good fight, if we can tone down the number of enemies we have to worry about, I'll let you try. If you can even get a connection to her."

Kaworu smiled slightly. "I have a few ways I can try to open a channel to her. I was a part of SEELE, after all."

"You know, I don't doubt it." Asuka said. "Will you need to move closer?"

"It would probably help if I established a visual contact with her Unit, Unit-05." Kaworu said after a moment's thought.

Asuka sighed quietly. "Alright, then."

She pulled up Daniel, and his eyes darted over to look at her as she spoke. "Daniel, you're switching with Kaworu. He's got an idea he wants to try out, see if we can take Mariah out of the fight without needing to punch her."

Daniel nodded, and FT Unit-00 began to step back as the swordspear in its hands disappeared. "Sounds good." he said before his face blinked out of existence.

Asuka nodded slowly. "Yeah. I sure hope it is."

. . .

"Targets are beginning to advance!" a technician called out, his voice echoing up to the command platform as the screen showed an overhead view of five of the Evas, one colored bright green, one dark blue, the rest the bone-white of the Mass-Production Evas as they split off from a group of four, a gold unit flanked by three more MP-Evas.

"Can we get a better look at the advancing force?" Misato asked, and after a moment, a long-range drone camera view showed the fronts of the approaching Units, the green one seeming to be refraining from skipping towards them as the navy blue one, its right forearm encased in… something that was matching its color, marched in front of the three MP-Evas, two disk-shaped forms striped with caution markings clacking against its left hip. The MP-Evas each carried copy Lances, not bothering to hide them as the double-ended blades the last MP-Evas wielded.

Rei looked up at the sight with trepidation. She had heard—felt really—the plan that Kaworu had come up with. It was… bold, what he had proposed. But if it worked…

A coal of fear in her chest burned a little hotter at the thought of what could go wrong. Then, a soothing presence almost, but not quite, put the coal out as Eleanor put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at her, a grateful expression on her face.

Eleanor smiled and nodded silently. She'd gleaned what Kaworu planned to do, and silently passed it along to Misato and the others here on the command bridge as well. Everyone was waiting for Kaworu's plan, to see if reason would win the day before weaponry.

"Alright, Ritsuko, Maya, Mr. Aida, Mrs. Akagi." Hyuga said, turning to look past both of them. "You're up. If there's any time to do this, it's now."

Eleanor and Rei followed Hyuga's gaze to look at Ritsuko, Maya and Kensuke hunched over three laptops, typing madly as Naoko looked over Ritsuko and Maya at their progress, seemingly unaware of the hands she had on both their shoulders.

Ritsuko didn't even look up as she spoke. "We're beginning to search for the transmission now. We'll piggyback off it once we find it."

Hyuga nodded as he turned back to the screen. "Good. Let us know when you start."

Eleanor and Rei looked back out over the wireframe hologram of the city that showed the green arrows, marked with E for the regular Evas and FT for the Frame Titans as they shifted towards what Rei assumed was the direction their enemies were coming from.

'Kaworu… stay safe.' she thought, not for the first time. Then, annoyance flared up for a moment. 'That idiot scribble. I should be out there. At least I know I can still get replaced for the moment. Him, on the other hand… unless…'

She managed to hide a blush at the rather odd, somewhat uncomfortable thought of Kaworu's soul in one of her bodies. It would work, no doubt, at least in the short term. But it would make things… difficult.

. . .

Kaworu, only somewhat aware of the feelings and thoughts of the woman he loved, furrowed his brow in concentration as he pulled up a console in his cockpit, typing madly as he came to a stop beside Asuka and Toji. Hopefully, the backdoor that SEELE had taught him about when it came to accessing the Evangelions of NERV, should the need have arisen, worked on these others as well…

As the enemy group came into sight, Kaworu smiled slightly as a UN logo flashed on the screen for a moment, followed swiftly after by a SEELE logo that was only there for a fraction of a second, before a list of Units he could contact spooled out before him.

'Perfect.' he thought, as he scanned the list of Units before him. His brow furrowed for a moment as he saw the names of the Mass-Production Units listed as able to contact as well. 'That's odd.'

He shook his head slightly. They were getting close. And Mari had gotten out her Progressive Sword. He knew what that meant when he was in the simulators with her. He quickly tapped the name of Unit-05, and the list disappeared from the panel, Mariah Marlowe's face appearing in it.

Mariah blinked as she glanced over at the new panel, then blinked again as she turned her head to look at it fully. "Oh, my. Puppy? What are you doing talking to me?" she said, surprise evident in the wide eyes behind her red-rimmed glasses.

Kaworu smiled slightly as he caught Unit-05 stumbling to a stop out of the corner of his eye, the other Evas stopping as well. He felt a simmering... something on the other end of his connection with Rei, and resolved to explain it to her later.

Mariah's gaze flicked to somewhere else. "Yeah, yeah, hold it, Mana, I've got some catching up to do." she looked back over. "So, where are you?" her eyes narrowed slightly. "You wouldn't happen to be in our way, would you?"

"Unfortunately, Mari, yes." Kaworu replied with a sigh. "I do happen to be standing in your way. But I do it because what you are about to do will not save the world. It will end it."

Mari blinked and tilted her head slightly. "Really? Why do you say that? Because of all the people I expected to try and hack into us and give some impassioned plea to not get on with our mission, it wasn't you."

"Because I have seen what will happen if you attempt to follow through on your, on what was my mission. It will not save the world. It will dissolve humanity, all of humanity, and fulfill a cult's desires to ascend to godhood." Kaworu replied, his expression nearly grim.

Mari actually drew back slightly as he finished. "Uh… wow. That's kind of a stretch, puppy. Not gonna lie."

"Oh, don't worry. It won't be, once I show you." Kaworu said, his soul reaching out and connecting with Mariah's soul, then with who he presumed was Mana, then his brow furrowed as he stretched out to try and find the soul of the third pilot.

As he brushed past the souls of the Mass-Production Units, his interest was piqued for a moment as he found… knotted clumps of Frames in the Entry Plugs. He shook his head as he stretched a little further, then found the last pilot's soul.

He linked them all together. "Look and see." He said, and he saw Mari's eyes widen for the briefest of moments as he channeled all he had seen and experienced of Third Impact, and pushed it through to their still off-tune souls.

It took only a moment, but Mari's face slacked as she experienced the truth of what she was about to do. "Oh…" she said quietly. "Oh, my."

"You see what can happen. What will happen if you succeed." Kaworu said after a moment, his voice tinged with sorrow. "Please. Stand down. We can stop this from ever happening. We can save the world in other ways."

"But…" Mariah said after a moment. "We have… a job…"

"Do you really?" Kaworu asked softly. "Or are you simply being used, as I once was?"

. . .

Far away, hidden from the world, Lorenz Kihl sighed. He'd placed such hope in the Numberless Children, and in the process that made them what they were supposed to be. It had been a daring means to ensure Instrumentality could be achieved, that the Children tasked with ushering it in would be utterly loyal. If they truly could be undone with simple words, with an impassioned plea from the last Angel…

"I'm disappointed." SEELE-4 said, sighing quietly. "Arqa was supposed to make this such an easy thing. And yet, they hesitate. The Children always seem to hesitate when the need is greatest."

"But their Evangelions will not." Kihl, SEELE-1, said with a finality born of knowing. "Activate their Dummy Systems. They will take care of the rest."

. . .

Mariah tried and failed and tried again to process what she had just… seen? Heard? Felt? She wasn't quite sure what she had done, but Kaworu had made her do it. Somehow.

"Puppy?" she said quietly, Mana's own slack face in the other panel all but forgotten, "what… how did you do that?"

"I can explain that, I promise. But you'll ha-" Kaworu said.

Then, the panel with Kaworu's face disappeared as the plug went dark. Then a red light filled the space as a banner with the words 'NuDummy System Initializing' stretched across her vision.

Mari looked around with a brow furrowed in confusion. "What the hell?" she murmured.

Two clamps suddenly flashed over her controls, trapping her hands in the joysticks. She tugged, then tugged again, but her hands stayed fast wrapped around the handles. "Hey. Hey! This isn't cool!" she shouted into the plug.

Suddenly, her head was jerked back by her now humming A10 connectors, slamming her head back into the headrest and pressing her braided hair into the back of her neck. "Ow! Stop it!" she yelped, straining to pull free of whatever force held her in place.

She heard the back of her seat whir, and she looked up as best she could as she saw… something swinging down to cover her face.

"Aw, man." Mariah muttered. "All this for a spot of conversation…"

The thing covered her face, and she felt something click into place on her A10 connectors as a pinprick of light came into being in the center of her vision. Then, thought, emotion, was swept away as the pinprick of light became a rushing rainbow of colors, swamping her vision and becoming all.

. . .

As the Numberless Children's Evas dipped their heads and the lights in their eyes went out, the panels with the Children's faces disappearing, Kaworu's eyes widened as he opened a channel to the other Evas and Titan and to command. "The Numberless Children's Evas are now being controlled by a Dummy System!" he nearly shouted.

"Well, then let's get them out of there now, while it's still activating!" Asuka replied, breaking from the line to dash over to the dormant Unit in front of her.

Before she could get far, she slammed into a wall of prismatic octagons, and her eyes widened as she was forced back by the now advancing wall, narrowly parrying a falling strike from one of the MP-Eva's Lance copies as she caught Kaworu stepping forward and parrying another strike from another of the MP-Evas, swiping at its head as he did. The pale Unit leaned to the side, the slash cutting nothing but open air.

"Verdammt! These things are starting to properly use their AT Fields now!" Asuka shouted as she finished her stumble back, readying her Lance copy as the MP-Evas moved forward to cover the Numberless Children's Units, Lance copies bristling out at the three of them as the pale Units moved forward.

She pulled up three screens with the press of a few buttons. "Shinji, Hikari! Move up! We're going to need all the help we can get. Daniel, start taking shots at the harpies! If you can do something with Interfacing, do it! Their AT Fields need to be breached."

Affirmations preceded the screens winking out, but Asuka never saw it as her focus lasered in on one of the white Evas that advanced towards her, its geometric smile seeming to leer at her without any eyes. She never saw the other Units splitting off to deal with Kaworu and Toji.

'Alright, you harpy freak. You want to try and eat me? Come on, then. Try it. Let me break those pearly whites you like to show off." Asuka thought as she shifted her grip on her Lance, then drove the point towards its chest. The MP-Eva batted the Lance copy aside, turning its backswing into a series of slashes and jabs.

Asuka's brow furrowed in concentration as she began to intercept the strikes, parrying and slicing and stabbing as she got the chance. 'Man, these things got a hell of an upgrade. They actually put up a fight now.'

Asuka gave a grim little smile as she gave a little more ground, then a little more, then a little more. 'But even still, we've got a trick card up our sleeves.'

As she batted away one more overhead chop, a dark wedge of metal appeared in between Unit-02's head and right shoulder pylon, glowing with prismatic light as it rocketed forward, punching through the AT Field that the MP-Eva put up like it was wet cardboard and going for the Unit's head.

It leaned to the left, and the metal wedge tore through the Unit's right "cheek", shattering teeth and sending a stream of blood into the still present buildings behind her and into the air. Even as the Eva reeled back, the skin around the wound began to bubble as it covered the wound, the grin appearing in full again in moments.

Asuka felt a near-feral grin spread across her face as she created more wedges of metal, another two flying towards the MP-Eva. It batted away one of them as the other shot through its shoulder, bursting out the back and embedding itself into a building in a plume of ash and smoke.

"That's right. Come on!" Asuka shouted, leaning forward in her chair as two more wedges flew out, one batting away the Lance copy as the other buried itself in the Eva's stomach. "You can't touch me!" she continued, as she raised her Lance copy over her head and swung down.

Then, a flash of purple, almost pink slammed into the Lance before it struck, the impact vibrating in Asuka's hands as she flicked a glance to the side, and her eyes widened.

The green Unit, its once green eyes now glowing a baleful orange, slid its Progressive sword down the shaft of the Lance copy, throwing up sparks as it sliced towards Unit-02's chest. Asuka jumped back, swinging the Lance copy down, causing the sword to slide off of an armor plate.

Asuka shifted her grip up the handle of the Lance copy, shouting wordlessly as she jabbed for the Unit's head. The green Unit stood still, its only motion to slap at the blade of the Lance copy as it approached. It hit one of the tines with the back of its hand, and Asuka's eyes widened as the fork of the bident passed cleanly around its neck.

In a flash, the green unit grabbed the handle of the Lance copy and swung the sword in a horizontal slash once again, and Asuka stifled an angry yelp as she let go of the Lance and jumped back.

The tips of the Lance copy swung up, and in a smooth motion, the green unit twirled the Lance copy into a one-handed grip, the handle rising from behind its back as it launched into an intricate series of attacks, handling the Lance copy and sword as if they were extensions of its body.

Asuka continued to jump back and dodge, trying to make a break for a weapons building with a melee weapon, but getting corralled back by the green Unit's attacks. 'Dammit.' Asuka thought, increasingly desperately. 'I need a weapon. I need a weapon. Can I make one?'

Asuka set her jaw as she ducked another slice by her former bident. 'What am I thinking? Of course I can.'

She reached out, into the core of the monster that she had tamed, that held the beauty within the beast. "Mama!" she shouted.

"Coming right up, liebling!"

Asuka planted Unit-02's back foot as a handle of dark metal appeared in both her hands and she swiped up as the green Unit made another swipe at her with the Lance copy. In a flash, a massive blade flowed out, the strike slamming into the base of the Lance copy's head. The strike shattered the Lance copy, sending the head of the weapon flying away before it slammed into the ground.

Asuka barely caught the sight of the MP-Eva's unfurling its wings and floating off somewhere from the corner of her focus. All that mattered was the sight of the green Unit dropping the now somewhat useless haft, and taking its sword in two hands as it settled into what a tiny portion of her mind whispered was an ox guard, the glow of the Progressive element putting a pink hue on the parts of the face and neck the light touched.

Asuka settled into a fool's guard, the blade of her sword beneath Unit-02's hips, the tip almost touching the ground, seeming to invite whatever came next. 'You like to play with swords?' she thought with a small smile. 'That's fine. I love playing with swords.'

. . .

The blades of the MP-Evas came quick and heavy, jabbing and slashing at Unit-04 as the setting sun glinted off its chrome form dodging and jumping back, the Lance copy in its hands gleaming dully as it flashed from side to side, batting the strikes away.

Toji spared a glance for the dark blue unit behind the MPs that seemed to just… stand there, before he batted away another series of strikes. 'Well, alright, then. If you're just gonna stand around menacingly, the least you can do is stay out of the way.'

The attacks somehow became more fierce, more pressing, and Toji began to struggle to keep up with them. "Uh, guys…" he said into a hastily opened general channel. "I'd appreciate a little help here."

As he finished speaking, the MP Units were bathed in a bright yellow light from behind him, as a massive blade swung down from above, only slowed by the AT Field that the MP-Eva to his left put up before jumping to the side. To his right, a series of glowing bullets slammed into the AT Field of the MP-Eva they targeted, pushing and tearing at the Field for a moment before breaking through, pushing the MP-Eva back a step as the rounds riddled its body, pockmarking its armor.

Toji took another step back, falling in between Unit-01 and Unit-03 as he sighed loudly. "Man. Thanks for saving my ass."

"Not a problem, Toji." Shinji said, and he could hear the determination in his friend's voice.

Toji nodded, focussing for a moment as a massive, sharpened stake of wood grew between the tines of his Lance copy, transforming it into a familiar trident. "I've got shark-girl here in the middle." Toji said, the surety of oak in his words. "If you guys keep the harpies busy, I can take her."

"Got it." Hikari said, her Progressive Glaive batting away a Lance copy as it probed their defenses. "Stay on your toes. We don't know what her combat style is."

"No need to tell me twice." Toji replied as the deep blue Unit stepped forward, raising its right arm, its hand and most of its forearm covered in a sleek, geometric block. The block began to hum, and from the top and the two sides, claws that glowed the purple-pink of the Progressive element slid out, and the Unit settled into a wide, powerful stance, its claws out towards Unit-04.

"Alrighty, then." Toji muttered to himself as Hikari and Shinji drew off the MP-Evas. "Don't let her get close. Should be easy enough."

Then, the Unit seemed to fuzz around the edges, and Toji leveled the Lance Copy as he gulped slightly.

After a moment, the Unit moved almost impossibly fast, blurring for a moment as it seemed to streak diagonally to his right, coming to a stop well within the reach of the Lance copy he wielded as it swiped down at his left arm.

Toji yelped as he jumped to the side, his synchronization allowing him to feel the heat of the claws as they passed within inches of Unit-04's arm. 'Alright, too close!' he thought as he frantically backed up and swiped at the Unit in front of him. It swiped at the blow with its claws, sending the blade into the air as it blazed forward, stopping dozens of meters in front of him before drawing back and punching with its claws.

Toji brought the haft of the Lance copy between him and the attack, the two middle claws missing the handle as the glove slammed into the haft, the claws stopping meters away from the Unit's chest.

Toji shoved the claws away as he brought the trident down in a vicious hammer blow. The Unit leaned back as the blades barely missed her, slamming into the ground with a rumbling crash.

And yet, Toji still smirked as wood, tougher than metal, grew and spread over one of the Unit's feet, locking it in place. "You're quick on your feet, shark-girl, I gotta give it to ya." he muttered. "Now let's see if you can actually fight me or not."

. . .

Daniel squeezed the trigger again, and another rod of tungsten-carbide broke the sound barrier as the anti-material rifle bucked against FT Unit-00's shoulder. He again stopped himself from rubbing his now rather tender shoulder or healing it with Interfacing. He had a feeling he'd need all the Metos he could get soon.

Off in the distance, another plume of dust and smoke marked the impact of the rod, and four figures lifted into the air as they sped towards him. In his scope, the figures resolved into three of the MP-Evas surrounding another Unit that glinted dully in the setting sun, the golden figure wielding a massive rifle, almost as big as the one he aimed at them.

He took a deep breath as he cleared the bolt, racking another round. The Titan didn't breathe, but he still followed the old sniper's way as he began to exhale, FT Unit-00 slowly squeezing on the trigger as he kept as still as possible. As his chest stilled for the briefest of seconds, he could almost hear the click of the trigger before the massive thunderclap that heralded another rod of tungsten-carbide flying out the barrel.

It flew through the sky in seconds, and Daniel only spotted the telltale orange-white glow of the round as it splattered across a bright, powerful AT Field. He sighed quietly as he set the rifle aside and stood from kneeling, the scope falling away, but the figures becoming clearer to discern by the second.

'Whoever you are…' Daniel thought as he stretched out his hand, the ever familiar crystalline swordspear flowing into existence as he grasped it, slowly settling into a stance. 'I hope I can help you. I'll do my best.'

The wind whipped below the descending Evas as they touched down several dozen meters away from him. The MP-Evas leveled their Lance copies at him as they slowly spread out into a semicircle, and the golden Unit shifted a portion of the grip of its weapon within a vertical ring. As it did, the barrel closed, and two grey-blue blades extended from top and bottom of the weapon, extending past the barrel's end.

'A gun-lance.' Daniel thought as he nodded once, FT Unit-00 slowly scanning around it to keep the semicircle from shrinking further than he wanted it to. 'Neat, I'll give them that. Now, come on, then. Closer… closer...'

The semicircle continued to restrict, the blades getting closer and closer to the point of Daniel's weapon. Then, as the blades began to cross, Daniel swept the swordspear in a wide arc, batting the gun-lance and Lance copies aside as he drove forward, smacking the top of the gun-lance with the flat of his blade as he stabbed at the golden Unit's arm.

Before the tip of the blade reached its mark, two Lance copies slammed into his blade, the tines slamming against the crossguard of the swordspear as they shoved him back, the lone MP-Eva on his left jabbing at him as he stumbled back.

He swiped the Lance copy's blade away as he regained his footing, keeping his swordspear in front of him as his opponents began to press forward, slowly but surely as they slashed and stabbed. As FT Unit-00 took a step back, then another, Daniel furrowed his brow in concentration. 'Man, I wouldn't mind a little help. I can likely handle two or three, but four? That's a stretch.'

He parried and jabbed, but the only things he struck were the Lance copies or the blades of the gun-lance, and he suddenly became uncomfortably aware of how close he was to one of the main access shafts as he opened a channel. "If there's anyone available, I could use assistance." he said levelly.

"I'm on my way." he heard the equally level voice of Kaworu reply. As Daniel glanced over to see the MP-Eva raise its Lance copy for a mighty chop, he saw a dark spot appear behind it in the air, glinting for a moment as it moved towards him.

FT Unit-00 quickly stepped back as the deep black and blue form of the Spear of Cassius slammed into the pale Eva, blood creating a geyser as the tip of the blade emerged from the right side of its chest as FT Unit-01 leaped above it, an outstretched hand drawing the Spear back to it as it tore through the shoulder of the pale Unit, and Kaworu's Unit landed far more lightly than anything its size should have, leveling the Spear of Cassius at the MP-Eva that he had run through as its chest bubbled and came back together.

"I hate to say it, Kaworu, but I think you might have missed." Daniel said as he kept a careful eye on the enemy Units as they drew back for a moment.

"I wish I could say that's where I wanted to aim." Kaworu replied. "But they have AT Fields protecting their Plugs. Their cores and S2​ Organs as well."

"So, they did a far more major upgrade to the Dummy System than I thought." Daniel said as the enemy Units seemed to gather their courage as another MP-Eva joined their ranks, and they began to step forward again.

"I don't think it's the Dummy System." Kaworu said simply. "As to why will have to wait for later. As you can see, I've brought company. We'll need to split them up, somehow."

"I'll take three of them, including the Child's Unit." Daniel said. "If you can keep the other two off me, I can manage."

Kaworu simply nodded. "Will do."

Kaworu charged forward, batting aside the Lances that stabbed at him as he put himself between two MP-Evas and the rest of their group, and began to heard them off, leaving Daniel to face the two pale Units that flanked the golden Eva as it twisted the handle of its weapon again, the blades remaining as the barrel opened up again.

Daniel nodded slowly as the swordspear in FT Unit-00's hands became a simulacrum of a Pallet Rifle, save for the short, stout blade that seemed to sprout from the end of the barrel. 'Okay. Let's see who's the better shot in CQC.'

. . .

As the battle went back and forth, Ritsuko's brow continued to furrow, and her eyes continued to narrow, as she ran tool after tool, wrote lines of code, in search of something that would give them an edge. Let them access the Mass-Production Evangelion and give one of the pilots a winning shot.

But there was nothing. Beyond the standard encrypted communication line, which mother had been able to crack with almost contemptuous ease, there was… nothing. No inputs or outputs, none of the telltale signs of the Dummy System she had a hand in creating.

Maya shook her head as she ran her hand through her hair. "Are they using another OS?" she asked, a frustrated tone edging on exhaustion dripping off her words.

"We've already gone through 3." Lieutenant Aida replied. "Maybe they built a proprietary system just for the Dummy Plugs?"

"In the time between the first time we've engaged them and now?" Naoko chimed in. "It's a stretch, but it's certainly not impossible. But there's something more than that. I can discern the architecture of the system, making some inferences of course, but…"

She sighed somewhat explosively. "It's just that there's nothing for the system in the Plugs themselves! There's enough for piloting the Evangelion, but… no… further…"

As Naoko trailed off, the others' eyes grew wide and unnoticed by them, many of the others on the command bridge looked over at them. "They aren't Dummy Systems." Ritsuko nearly whispered. "They're… they're being piloted."

 

[StriderInCosmos]

Chapter 16: Turnabout

In animal testing, we were able to increase obedience to demands by more than 50% of the baseline. However, it must be noted that animal brains, even ones as similar to humans as chimpanzees are, are far simpler than the human brain. Thus, editing the AT Field to manipulate the human mind without running the risk of affecting vital functions ensured that several test subjects went through the process before we arrived at the desired results.

- Confidential Report on the Theory and Application of Long-term AT-Field Manipulation, Section 4, "The AT-Edit System and Its Successes"

Tokyo-3, September 3rd, 2027 Hours

Asuka shook her head, seeming to try at physically shaking out the Flux she had gained from making her sword in addition to the Vent Frames she made as she jabbed and swiped at the green Unit in front of her, parrying the blows that tried to slip past her defenses as she lunged into a strike, stabbing at its core. The green Unit parried the strike away, striking up at her with its downturned blade.

Asuka tsked as she batted away the slash, stepping back to gain some breathing room while leveling her sword. 'Man, she really has sunk some time into the simulators. Have they really got ones that much better than ours?'

As the green Unit rushed forward with an overhead swing, Asuka took another step back, the chopping blow away and swiping at an exposed arm. The Unit twisted out of the way, and Asuka drew back as a swipe came up towards her left side, and she blocked in the nick of time, both blades getting into the bind as Asuka tried to maneuver her blade to jab at the Unit's head and shoulders and chest.

She stepped back as the green Unit stepped forward. Then again. Then again.

Asuka's brow furrowed as the bind continued, the tips of the interlocked blades tracing snake-like paths through the air as the Progressive sword threw out almost blinding sparks along the point of contact with her blade. She took another step back, and her eyes widened as she felt her lower back bump against one of the buildings.

In a moment, the bind was broken by the green Unit as it drew its sword back, switching its grip on the handle as it grabbed the still glowing blade with a bare hand that glowed with an AT Field, stabbing down at Unit-02's chest.

Asuka's eyes widened as she threw the flat of her blade into its path, holding the blade with one hand as she pressed against the forearm that slammed into the blade, the Progressive sword's tip humming and shuddering slightly as it stopped what must have been mere meters away from piercing her chest. 'Are we sure this is still the Dummy System doing this?' Asuka thought incredulously. 'This is insane!'

As the green Unit pressed harder, Asuka felt herself begin to lean over the top of the building, her back almost flat against it after a moment's struggle. She began to kick out with one foot, trying to keep her balance while searching for a nice target. Like the shin she just found.

She kicked, then kicked again as she pushed back at the sword, the tip of the blade slowly lifting from over her chest as she straightened up, Asuka's own muscles quivering from the effort she put into Unit-02.

'Gotcha!' Asuka thought triumphantly as Unit-02 fully straightened up, then stepped forward, putting a foot behind the green Unit's left leg as she shoved forward. The green Unit stumbled back, falling on its back with a mighty crash as Asuka let loose a wordless shout of triumph.

Asuka turned the blade of her sword down and stabbed at the green Unit, but all she hit was concrete and steel as the green Unit deftly rolled away, jumping up and taking a few steps back as she slowly raised her now empty hands.

Asuka blinked, then looked down near her feet as she saw the still glowing Progressive sword, then looked back up at the Unit as she smiled, pulling the sword blade from the ground and slamming it into the hilt of the Progressive sword, shattering it in a shower of sparks as the blade's light dimmed and died.

"Alright, warrior princess." Asuka muttered under her breath as a shoulder pylon deployed a Prog Knife that the green Unit took and brandished as it glowed. "Let's see if you can fight without your fancy sword."

. . .

Toji eyed the deep blue Unit in front of him as he continued to jab and swipe at it to disable it, rooted to the ground as it was. It was a surprisingly stalwart foe, batting away most of the blows that came at it, using its AT Field as best it could for the rest. But its defense wasn't perfect, Toji noted with grim satisfaction. Every once in a while, he would nick an arm, make a shallow gash across its stomach, slice the leg that was trapped. But that was all he could accomplish. And there was a pattern in there, somewhere, he could swear...

As he continued the series of attacks he had settled into, he heard a buzzing sound from below, glancing down for a second to see the Unit's left leg fuzzing, vibrating the wood that encased it. Toji's eyes widened when the wooden trap shattered, the leg of the deep blue Unit rocketing up before it kicked out at him, slamming into Unit-04's stomach and sending it falling back to the ground with a crash.

Toji winced at the stamp of pain that blazed across his stomach as he wildly swung the Lance copy in the air and tried to make his way to his feet again. His progress was stopped by the Unit, which seemed to blend in with the twilight as it started slamming its foot onto his chest as it batted aside one of his swings.

As Toji swung again, the deep blue Unit grabbed at the Lance copy, holding it firm as it began to stomp on Unit-04's chest, again and again and again.

Toji hurriedly opened a channel as he felt the armor of Unit-04 begin to dent into what seemed like his own chest. "Hikari! Shinji! If I could get some help, I'd really appreciate it!"

Across the way, Unit-03 shoved a Mass-Production into its compatriot as Hikari glanced away from Shinji making a valiant effort to stab one or both of them to the dark blue Unit continuing to stamp Unit-04's chest in. "I'm on it!" she said. "Shinji, keep them busy for a moment!"

She didn't hear Shinji reply as she leveled her Progressive Glaive and charged, the deep blue Unit looking up as she closed the distance with breathtaking speed. The Unit swiped at her as she approached, but Hikari batted the claws out of the way as she slammed bodily into the other Unit, sending it toppling to the ground.

Toji rubbed his chest as he slowly got Unit-04 to its feet. "Thanks, Hikari. I-" he blinked, then looked down at his now empty hand, then back at the deep blue Eva as it hefted Toji's former Lance copy. "I need a weapon." he sighed quietly.

"There's a weapon's building a few kilometers away." Hikari replied coolly. "I can keep it off your back while you make a run and get something."

"Something that'll stand up to a Lance copy by itself?" Toji said. "Hmmm. Nah. This needs… a personal touch. I've got shark-girl still. You keep helping Shinji."

As Hikari nodded silently and started to move back, Toji reached out with his soul. "Hey, mom. I've got an idea that I'm gonna need a little help on."

As Hayase Suzuhara took in what Toji had in mind, he heard her chuckle almost evilly. "Oh, Toji, I like the way you think, darling. Let's do it."

Unit-04 stretched out a hand, and a rod of dark wood began to sprout out of the air, twisting and overlapping itself as it grew long enough for Unit-04 to take it in two hands. At one of its ends, the wood became a tangle of roots that grew larger and larger, one end becoming like a twisted knot, the other growing out and sharpening into a deadly spike.

Finally, Toji energized it with Metos, the energy seeming to become like a bright bioluminescent moss that traveled up and down the weapon, casting an almost ethereal green light that reflected off Unit-04's chrome.

"Oh, yeah. Hammer time, baby." Toji said with a cocksure grin as he slowly began to move towards the deep blue Unit.

. . .

Another pop-up plate vanished in a storm of glowing blue positrons as FT Unit-00 dashed out from behind it, throwing a few shots towards the golden Unit as it dived to another, then another. Daniel shook his head as he waited, keeping an eye on the sky as best he could as he slowly moved towards another plate. 'She's good at keeping someone away enough to use that thing. Then again, when a stream of positrons able to melt your face off by getting close to it is what you have…'

As he heard two sets of feet hit the ground on either side of him, he instinctively jumped back as the two Lance copies jabbed down at where he was and almost collided. 'Then again, having company helps.'

FT Unit-00 charged forward, its rifle-blade firing miniature stars at the Mass-Production Evas as Daniel got in close, slamming the butt of his rifle into the chest of one on his left to shove it out of the way as he stabbed at the one on his right, squeezing off a few shots as the haft of the Lance copy it wielded jostled his weapon away from the core he aimed at.

Daniel tsked softly as he disengaged, then his eyebrow rose slightly as he watched the MP-Evas fly to the sides instead of into the air as they usually did. Then his eyes widened as his gaze landed the golden Unit, its gun-lance aimed directly at him.

He dropped FT Unit-00 to the ground with a crash as another stream of positrons roared and crackled over his head, the heat of it seeming to nearly sear his back even as far away as it was from him.

'Wait a minute,' Daniel thought with a mounting sense of dread as it continued to fire, 'if it's not aiming at me, then where is it aiming?'

A panel appeared, showing Hyuga's harried face that told him everything before he had even said a word. "Main Access Shaft 3 has been breached! Recommend you all fall back to that position and defend the entrance!"

"Dammit!" Daniel bit out as he came back to his feet and pulled up Asuka, her face drawn with concentration as it appeared in the panel. "Alright, Asuka. What's the play?"

"Get to that Access Shaft!" Asuka replied as she opened a channel to all of the Evas and Titans. "We'll do better against these idiots if we're not all split up. Disengage your targets and meet up there as fast as you can."

"I'm on my way." Daniel replied as the panel disappeared and was replaced by a map of the city marking his position and that of the Access Shaft a little over a kilometer away. As the positron stream stopped, Daniel got FT Unit-00 to its feet and began to dash as best he could towards the shaft, dodging between what few pop-up plates there were left as he felt the gun-lance fire for a moment, then fire again, this time grazing his arm for just a moment.

Daniel's jaw clenched as he stifled a shout, managing to not stumble and fall by sheer force of will. It felt like his arm had been nearly blown off, and he could almost feel the bruise that would blossom across his bicep. But there was no time for that. He pivoted FT Unit-00 on its foot and aimed up, sending a wave of scintillating starlight screaming through the darkness towards the golden Unit. That would cover him. For now.

. . .

As Kaworu acknowledged the order Asuka gave, he slowly began to step back as he glanced down at the display to find where they would be converging. His brow furrowed in concentration as he focused back on keeping the two pale Units he had engaged in front of him. He also, however, used his Sight, waiting for the moments when they waited just before attacking. There was something about them, beyond the glowing fragments of Camael's soul held within the cores. There was something beyond the simple brains and spines that went into the Dummy System in the Entry Plugs of these Units, something that he hadn't ever seen before.

As one of the MP-Evas stilled for a moment, he caught a glimpse of it again. A tangled mess of Frames, knotted at its center in a way that seemed eerily similar to…

Kaworu blinked, and the MP-Eva charged forward, FT Unit-01 batting aside its strike. 'They must have found a means to create simulacrums of a soul to pilot an Evangelion with. That explains… a lot.'

He had little time to ruminate on it, however, as the Eva he examined lashed out at him, and Kaworu stepped back as he parried. He was going too slow, he realized as he continued to parry and jab. He wouldn't be able to meet up with the others in time to form a solid defensive line. He needed-

He blinked as one of the MP-Evas disengaged, opening its wings with a low snap and floating into the twilight air. That made things a little easier for him, he thought as he narrowed his focus down to the single pale Unit in front of him. He still needed his Interfacing. And with a single target…

He smiled slightly as he leveled his Spear of Cassius, focusing as he took hold of the power of his soul, and created an Expression. The deep blue and black ink that made up the tip of the Spear seemed to swirl and bubble for a moment before shooting out, the torrent of dark liquid splashing around and through the Lance copy that the MP-Eva put in front of it to defend itself. But the ink-covered its body regardless.

The ink, however, did not drip down to the ground. Instead, it seemed to pull the Unit that it bound back, one step at a time, until it strained to lift itself free from the side of a building, the ink continuing to flow and bind its arms and legs, until the flow stopped and Kaworu smiled at an almost spreadeagled Unit.

"Finally." he whispered, holding the Spear high as he poured energy into it, the broad blade going from blue and black to a gleaming crimson as he thrust the spear right into the MP-Eva's core.

The pale Eva twitched and spasmed for a moment, then went limp, and Kaworu could almost physically feel the jubilation in Central Dogma through his link with Rei as his vision blurred for a moment and he took a deep breath at the surprising amount of effort that the Expression took. He took only the briefest of moments to savor it, then turned to make his way towards Main Access Shaft 3.

- - -

Far away, deep within a secret complex, Lorenz Kihl's jaw slowly clenched as he, and the rest of SEELE, watched yet another new Unit gore one of the Mass-Production Evangelions. He silently stewed in his wrathful anger. If only he were a younger man. Then… well. That time might yet come.

Others in the conference with him were far more vocal in their displeasure. "So, this is it. Our grand setback is complete." SEELE-04 said. "Now, we must resort to the Final Scripture."

"Not yet, Four." SEELE-02 replied. "Though the perfect means of control is 12, and 9 is an acceptable margin, we will still be in control with fewer Evas. It will simply be a… less efficient process."

"And how many more can we afford to lose here? We can't possibly afford to lose any more than this." SEELE-05 interjected. "I think it would be wise to pull back."

"There is no retreat this time." Kihl said, his voice silencing all. "There is only the beginning of Instrumentality, and our rise to godhood, or there is the Final Scripture. Should the Numberless Children and the golems fail, then we shall return to the depths of the shadows and prepare."

"For now," he continued, "let us simply see."

- - -

Hikari kept her eyes on the two Mass-Production Evas as she leveled her Progressive Glaive and manifested four diamonds of hard light near the blade, sending them off to harry the pale Units, two to an Eva, as Shinji began to fall back, his now broken Pallet Rifle now replaced by a Lance copy.

The diamonds gave off a brilliant glow, casting shadows across the dark streets that otherwise were lit by the streetlights and the dim rising moon. They made the fleshy Mass-Production Evas almost gleam in the night, and their light glinted off Unit-01 as it moved back past her. But for all they did, piercing the pale Eva's skins and causing rivers of blood to flow, they could never seem to hit anything important. Always, they were turned away by the seemingly nigh-unassailable might of their AT Fields. 'I wish I could pour the energy I need into piercing their AT Fields. But I need the focus. Besides, if they didn't misbehave so much, maybe my weapon could actually get through them.'

She risked a glance at where Toji was. He was hard to miss now, his massive hammer seeming to glow almost as much as her floating projectiles, tracing the weapon's path as it slammed into the dark blue Unit he dueled with, sending it into a building as she caught the purple-pink glow of the enemy Unit's claws flash in the darkness before becoming covered by a plume of dust and smoke.

But she refocused on the advancing pale Evas as her light diamonds disappeared, cloaking them in shadows as they started to advance again. Before they could get far, the air around them seemed to fuzz, and Hikari felt a buzzing in her slightly clenched jaw. She didn't quite know what Shinji was doing, only that it involved making a wall of sound that seemed to stop them dead in their tracks.

She began to back up Unit-03 slowly, keeping an eye on the two white figures frozen in place, keeping the blade of her Progressive Glaive sweeping between both of them. 'Now, you two be good boys and just stay frozen.'

She heard the whooshing sound of something passing overhead, catching a glimpse of white above as it flew behind her. In a moment, Shinji's defense dropped, and Hikari stifled a shout of surprise as they charged at her, jabbing their Lance copy's at her.

It was almost on instinct that she batted away the oncoming attacks. "Shinji!" she nearly shouted into an open link as the MP-Evas pressed forward. "I could use some assistance!"

She heard no reply, only a few grunts of exertion as he kept what was presumably one of the other MP-Evas at bay.

'Looks like I'm on my own right now.' Hikari thought with a growing sense of dread. They were getting faster. Or was she getting slower? She was more tired than she had any right to be. Was it the Interfacing? 'I wish this wasn't such a drain. But if we don't do anything with it, we lose. All or nothing. So let's give it our all, mother.'

She slashed and jabbed at the Mass-Production Evas with a renewed intensity, catching and cutting them in arms and legs and torsos. On one of her targets, she slashed across the open chest, the blade of the Glaive throwing up a shower of sparks as Hikari shouted wordlessly in triumph.

Triumph turned to frustration as she saw the deceptively shallow cut heal, and the Unit just keep going as it slashed and stabbed at her with its Lance copy. Time seemed to blur for a moment as she began to simply react, parrying, swiping, jabbing, trying to do something. Anything, to get just one of these damnable monsters to die.

Then, Hikari blinked as one of the MP-Evas stepped back and unfurled its wings, lifting into the air out of sight. She tried to follow its movement, but its compatriot kept her focus squarely on itself as the pale Unit vanished from her sight.

Her eyes began to gleam with a driven fury as she pressed forward, her attack coming faster, slipping through more and more, cutting deeper and deeper with each strike. She was almost… there…

Then, pain. Pain that almost eclipsed all else blossomed from the center of her chest. She fought the darkness that encircled her vision as she looked down, and saw the two prongs of a Lance copy emerging right where her core was. 'It's a miracle my Plug wasn't hit.' she thought numbly, as what felt like her entire body began to go numb as well, Unit-03 slowly sinking to its knees as the Lance copy's blades slid out.

"Hikari! Help me!"

Hikari blinked as she focused on her mother. She was slipping away, seemingly pulled by some force that she couldn't see. "Mother!" she shouted aloud, a moment of clarity cutting through the darkness as she reached out almost on instinct, drawing her mother's soul back to her. As it got close, close enough to almost touch, a mote of prismatic light came into physical existence just above Hikari's cupped hands.

"Mother…" Hikari said. "I've got you."

. . .

Toji looked over for just a moment as he turned and caught a glimpse of Unit-03 falling on its face, and legible thought fled him, replaced by a torrent of seemingly unending rage. A rage the Evangelion, and the soul within, were more than happy to channel and amplify.

Toji screamed, and Unit-04 growled audibly, its jaw shuddering until the restraints clamping it shut shattered, and the Evangelion howled along with its pilot.

The dark blue unit in front of him stepped forward, slashing at Unit-04's exposed back. Its swing was stopped by an AT Field that wrapped around the forearm of the Unit as Unit-04 turned, swinging its hammer in a wide arc as it roared.

As the swing connected with the Eva's armored chest, the AT Field around its arm disappeared, and the deep blue Unit was lifted off the ground as it went flying back, dark wood spreading across its body at a lightning pace as the Unit slammed into a building, going almost halfway through in a cloud of smoke, ash and rubble as the wood finished its work, encasing the enemy Eva from head to toe.

Toji never saw it as he wheeled on the two Mass-Production Evas standing over Unit-03, and charged at them, Eva and pilot shouting wordlessly together as they ran.

The pale Evas looked towards him as he reached them, and he swung his greathammer at the closest one's head, sending it jerking into the side of a building as its companion jabbed at Unit-04. He batted aside the strike, thrusting his hammer into the Unit's stomach, shoving it into another building.

"Come on, you white bastards!" Toji shouted. "You focus on me! I'm not gonna let you eat Hikari if it's the last thing I do!"

. . .

Central Dogma watched on in stunned silence as Unit-04 stood above Unit-03 and lay about itself, its hammer's head almost a force of nature as every impact, hit or miss, sent plumes of dust billowing from the buildings around it. The tension in the room ratcheted up as another MP-Eva flew into the fray. Then another.

"We need to get Hikari out of there." Misato said, her brow furrowed in annoyance. "If only Toji would actually respond instead of screaming his head off…"

Hyuga shook his head after a moment. "We can't eject Ms. Horaki's Entry Plug into that." he muttered. "It'd end up crushed."

His brow furrowed for a moment, then a determined gleam sprang into his eyes as he keyed up the Cataphract. "Cataphract, this is Hyuga. Can you get a lock on the pilot of Unit-03 and teleport her to our position?"

"Yes, we can." the cool voice of the Cataphract's comms chief replied. "Stand by."

All eyes turned to Hyuga as he turned around, looking at an empty spot of ground and willing Ms. Horaki to be uninjured. A dull, quiet thrum filled the air for a moment, and as he watched, an outline fuzzed for the briefest of moments before resolving into Hikari Horaki, who took a choked breath before she began to cough out the LCL in her lungs, her body spasming as she expelled the orange fluid onto the floor.

Eleanor and Rei were by her side in a moment, and Eleanor began to gently hold her as she retched as Rei took her hand.

In a few moments, Hikari began to dry heave, then took several deep breaths, clutching something to her chest with her remaining hand.

As Hikari's breathing began to normalize, Eleanor used the Sight to quickly look over her. She was shot through with a worrying amount of Flux, no small surprise after creating the sorts of Expressions she did, and Vent Frames laced up and down her body, desperately trying to clean the Flux out.

'You're lucky you didn't suffer any Flux Crush, even with…' Eleanor thought, then her gaze landed on what was in Hikari's hand as she began to link her Vent Frames with Hikari's to lighten the load.

"What is that in your hand?" Rei asked softly before Eleanor could speak.

Hikari looked down, opening her fist to reveal a mote of softly glowing prismatic light. "Mother…" she whispered.

Eleanor nodded in understanding as she helped Hikari to her feet. She turned back to the main screen, and Hikari looked with her, as they watched the dust begin to settle as Unit-04 continued to clobber at his four opponents, the buildings around them now little more than piles of rubble.

Faez shook her head slightly as she sighed. "We're still not able to get through to pilot Suzuhara. He's not responding to anything anyone says." she said in exasperation as she turned to look at Hyuga.

"Let me try." Hikari said quietly, her voice rough and phlegmy. Then, she cleared her throat. "Let me try to get through to him." she repeated a little louder.

As Hikari made her way over towards Faez, a technician called out as a camera view opened up on the main screen, showing the Unit that Toji was dueling with as its right arm broke free, a vibrating mass of pink light pawing at the rest of its tomb. "Enemy Unit encased by Unit-04 is breaking free!"

The tension ramped up as Hikari leaned over Faez, taking in Toji's face filled with rage. "Toji. Toji!" she said, and the boy finally stopped shouting as he looked over for a moment.

"Hikari! You're alive!" he shouted, his face slack with relief as he swept the legs out from under one of the Mass-Production Evas.

"Yes." Hikari said, her own voice echoing Toji's relief. "And…" she paused as she glanced up at the main screen, and her eyes widened as she saw the blue blur racing towards Unit-04. "Look out behind you!"

Toji's eyes widened, and Unit-04 began to turn. Then the blur was behind him in the blink of an eye, and the enemy Unit slammed its claws into Unit-04's back.

Hikari's eyes went wide with horror as Toji and the Eva's scream of pain echoed through Central Dogma. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she saw a flower begin to wrap around the bicep of Toji's dull silver Plugsuit, blooming with multicolored petals as the enemy Unit pulled its claws out of Unit-04's back with a screeching peal.

The enemy Unit stepped back as Unit-04 began to lean forward. Then, Central Dogma's silence was broken by Toji's gritted voice. "No… no… no!"

Maya looked at the alarm that beeped on her computer as her eyes widened. "The Unit's still active!" she shouted, and a gasp went up around the room as Unit-04, impossibly, took a step to stop its fall as a hand clenched at the hammer that it held.

Unit-04 growled in synch with Toji as deer-like horns of wood began to sprout on his head, and he took his greathammer in both hands, raising it above his head with a wordless shout as he turned.

But the enemy Unit was faster, raising its claws as its image began to fuzz again.

Misato stood from her chair, eyes wide and full of fear. "Get Toji out of there! Now!" she shouted, not bothering to keep the desperation from her voice.

As the deep blue enemy Unit blazed forward, Toji fuzzed out of sight on the screen, and fuzzed back into existence on the floor of the command bridge, his wordless shout becoming a choked gargle as the enemy Unit slammed home the claws into Unit-04's chest, raking them back and forth across it as the chrome Unit spasmed.

The deep blue Unit drew its claws out, and the shredded Unit-04 fell onto its back, bouncing off Unit-03 with a thunderous crash and sliding to rest beside it.

It was silent in the command center for a moment, then Misato spoke again. "All remaining Units, pull back to the Geofront surface. Don't worry about Toji and Hikari. They're safe here in Central Dogma with us."

As one, the allied Units began to draw back to the mangled Main Access Shaft, Kaworu jumping down first as Daniel kept watch for Shinji and Asuka.

And as Eleanor tended to Toji, Hikari by her side, Rei's mind whirled with possibility. She didn't have a plan yet. But she had an idea.

. . .

Shinji bit back a curse as he saw Unit-04 fall to the ground out of the corner of his vision, shoving off the MP-Eva that had kept him from helping Hikari as he heard Misato's order. 'I should have been there. I... focus. Beat yourself up later, beat the harpy up now.'

He needed a way to keep it down, even if he couldn't kill it. Shinji's brow furrowed as he wracked his brain for ideas, the pale Eva bearing down on him not helping matters. Then, Shinji's eyes widened as he reached out to his mother. "Mother, I have an idea to buy us some time!"

As he relayed the idea to Yui, Unit-01 again pushed back the MP-Eva, and the restraints around Unit-01's mouth began to shudder as it growled. As the MP-Eva got back to its feet, the restraints shattered, and Unit-01 roared, the voice's power amplified as the wave of sound slammed into the MP-Eva, causing it to take a step back as it raised its hands to try and push back the crushing weight of noise.

Yet its roar warbled, rising and lowering in pitch and tone until it settled out of range of the human ear, and the MP-Eva's flesh began to ripple after a moment. Soon, its skin began to peel away, chunks of muscle flying off as the sound stripped its arms and legs nearly to the bone, its massive chest and torso faring little better.

Shinji took a deep breath as he shook his head slightly, woozy at how much effort and Flux it had taken to make the MP-Eva stumble and fall on its side, its limbs twitching every so often. 'Okay then.' Shinji thought as he turned away towards the Main Access Shaft, his stomach nearly rioting at the sight that he had made. 'We'll be saving that for last resorts.'

As Shinji made his way to the wrecked shaft doors, he stopped for a moment, looking over his shoulder to see Unit-02 racing towards them, the rather bright green Unit in hot pursuit. Shinji smiled slightly at the sight, then jumped into the shaft as Daniel fired something at someone.

The fall was dark, and as the shaft opened up into the Geofront itself, it didn't get much brighter, lights from the buildings he fell past and the HQ itself throwing deep shadows into those places that they didn't touch.

As Sinji slowed his fall with his AT Field, he landed with a soft thud, making his way over to FT Unit-01 as it stood in front of the NERV Pyramid. Flanking the pyramid were two sharp spires of dark metal, the only upgrades to the defenses that the daughters of Izalith were able to make in time. They loomed over him, and he felt the thrum of an almost otherworldly power in his jaw as he came to a stop beside FT Unit-01.

"So," Kaworu said calmly as a panel opened in Shinji's field of view, and they watched Unit-02 and FT Unit-00 dropping down, "these are dire straits we're in."

"Yeah." Shinji replied quietly as their friends touched down and began to run towards them. They watched in silence for a moment as the first of the Mass-Production Evas began to glide in, their wide wings almost but not quite covering the more colorful Evas that followed behind.

As the other two Units on their team reached their side and turned to face the enemy, Daniel and Asuka's faces appearing in two new panels, Kaworu chuckled softly. "Crom…"

Daniel's brow rose slightly. "Crom? When did you watch Conan the Barbarian?"

Kaworu shook his head as he chuckled, noting the confusion on Shinji and Asuka's faces. "With Rei one night. It was… not entirely to my taste, but Conan's prayer to Crom was… striking."

He looked away from the panel, staring out at the forces that assembled against them as he continued. "These are dire moments, and if we fail, the world will not remember how we do so. But all that matters is that four stood against many."

"And if you do not listen," Daniel interjected quietly with a slight smirk, "then to hell with you."

He, too, looked out on the Units that had begun to advance on them as the thrumming under their feet began to build in intensity, and the swordspear he seemed so at ease wielding appeared once more in FT Unit-00's hands. "Well… I've heard worse last words if it comes to that."

. . .

As Central Dogma watched the main screen with bated breath, Rei turned to Eleanor. "I have an idea." she said simply, drawing Eleanor's gaze to her as she linked herself to Eleanor's soul, speaking without words as she laid out her hypothesis.

Eleanor's eyes widened after a moment. "Well… that's not the craziest thing I've tried to do, by far. But we'll need time to figure it out."

"Figure out what, Eleanor?" Ritsuko asked as she looked up from her laptop.

"Lilith is a vessel, a biological starship powered by the souls it carried to Earth within itself." Rei replied. "If there is a Pneumaic mechanism for beginning Instrumentality, then there is likely a way to sabotage it from the inside."

"If you're going to do that," Misato interjected, "then you two need to get down to Terminal Dogma now. We're probably running out of time as is."

Eleanor nodded as she took Rei's hand. "Will do. We're on our way then."

A roughly humanoid bundle of coral appeared in Eleanor's hand, and her hand became water as a swirling circle of water sprang to life on the floor, carrying with it the smell of the clean sea.

Rei looked back at Toji and Hikari, who held each other's hands as they sat and watched her, and she waved as the rising cyclone of water obscured all from view, the rushing water soon slowing and falling away to reveal Terminal Dogma, and the white giant of Lilith.

They stood and looked up at it for a moment, and Rei took a quiet, deep breath.

"You ready?" Eleanor asked softly.

"Not really, mother." Rei replied. "But we have to do it anyway."

The silence that followed was only broken by the wet pops of their bodies transforming into LCL.

. . .

Asuka adjusted her grip on her greatsword and tried to quash the fear that she felt as she watched their opponents get closer.

'Lot of enemies, backs almost literally against the wall, the end of the world hanging over our heads. I guess I kind of know how I felt facing those MP-Evas alone from the show.'

She chuckled grimly as she watched the enemies spread out, taking advantage of their two to one numbers to encircle them, slowly constricting the semicircle as they moved closer and closer.

"Alright," she heard Daniel say, "whatever we decide to do comes second to keeping this entrance safe. Pick your targets, press forward, and… I'll see you in Valhalla."

She picked out the green Unit as it advanced, its Prog Knife glowing as it passed through the lights and into the shadows again. It seemed to be making a beeline for her. 'Still enough of that pilot in there, huh? Must be looking for a challenge.'

The semicircle continued to shrink, then the Units stopped, little more than half a kilometer away. 'Alright, Misato… any day now…'

The hum that they had felt building reached a crescendo, and Asuka saw their enemies lit up with a multi-hued light as a foghorn-like blare filled the air. Then, the two towers fired, streams of pure energized Metos, crackling like barely contained lightning, zeroing in on one of the MP-Evas as its AT Field sprang to life.

As both Metos Lances bore down on the pale Unit, its compatriots began to advance again, their pace picking up as they bore down on the four defenders. Behind them, the MP Eva's AT Field slowly began to bow in, then, after almost agonizing minutes, it shattered, and in a flash of light, the top half of the MP-Eva disappeared, its legs and hips crashing to the ground.

Asuka never saw the triumph, nor the Metos Lances separately targeting other MP-Evas to keep them busy as the others engaged their chosen targets. She saw only the green Unit, and felt her sword held high as she swung with a wordless shout.

The Unit ducked under her blade, charging in to get close as it jabbed at her Unit-02's chest. Asuka held the blade in one hand as she countercharged, shoving the green Unit back as she stabbed at its core.

The green Unit stumbled back just out of the reach of the lunge, then jumped forward, grabbing the sword blade as it began to pull back, and Asuka's eyes widened as the purple-pink blade flashed past whatever meager defense her instincts had set up.

She felt the biting, burning blade carve through her right hand, and a scream tore its way past her lips as the sword became an awkward weight in her one remaining hand.

Before the green Unit could do anything more, Asuka shoved it away with the sword, tossing it aside as her enemy stumbled back, a shoulder pylon opening as Asuka grabbed the deploying Prog Knife.

"Alright, then. Old school it is!" Asuka shouted as the green Unit charged back in, its Prog Knife flashing as it slashed and stabbed at her. She ducked and dodged, slashing back, the two knives throwing up brilliant sparks as they collided every few blows.

After a moment, they disengaged, circling each other as each tested the other's defenses. So, Asuka had a prime view of the Pyramid and the Metos Lance tower she and her opponent stood in front of as both received a torrent of blue-white positrons at their base.

Asuka's eyes flicked up as the bright rainbow beam of the Metos Lance stopped, then the pylon shuddered and slowly began to lean towards them.

She looked at her opponent, then dashed to the right, the green Unit looking back and diving to the left as the pillar crashed down between them, throwing up a plume of dust even as it made the earth shudder with its impact.

Asuka shook her head to clear it, then began to use the Sight, scanning through the cloud before zeroing in on what she assumed was the form of the green Unit getting to its knees.

She wasted no time, deftly reversing the grip on her knife as she took one bounding step, then another, leaping onto the side of the fallen pylon, then up into the air, shouting as she plummeted towards her target.

The green Unit, highlighted in the otherwise obscuring dust by the blade of its Prog Knife, jumped aside as Unit-02 landed with a crash, stabbing down into thin air before flipping the knife blade back up as she pressed the attack, slashes and stabs flying between both of them as they went back and forth.

Time seemed to blur, seeming to slow down and speed up as Asuka focused completely on the enemy in front of her. She saw only the attacks and defense of her enemy, felt only the action and reaction that she gave as the tide of the fight rolled back and forth like waves on the shoreline. The explosions that surrounded her, the voices in her ear, all were white noise as she made a shallow cut, receiving one in turn before batting away the next strike.

She stepped forward, then back, then two steps to the side, then back again. Then, her eyes widened as, for the second time today, she found her back pressed against a wall as the green Unit bared down on her, almost in her face as it slashed down towards her chest.

In an instant, Asuka brought her blade up to block, and the two knives collided, lighting up the space with their shower of sparks as the green Unit took Unit-02's handless right forearm, the limb shuddering with the effort it put forth to stay in place. And the knife got ever closer, slowly… surely…

Asuka's jaw clenched as her brow furrowed, her mind racing from possibility to possibility as she tried to find a way out of this bind, let alone subdue the green devil. Finally, as the knife came to be mere meters away from Unit-02's sternum, Asuka found, if not the perfect solution, then a serviceable one.

Asuka's arms shuddered harder as she willed them in the directions she desired, her left slowly guiding the knife away, her right coming ever closer to the green devil's sternum. Then, as her stump came within millimeters, she poured in power and will, felt something within her change, and magnetized the metal armor of her stum to the green devil's sternum.

The devil, seemingly taken aback, faltered for a moment, and Asuka made her move, pressing with magnetic power against the green Unit's legs, sweeping them out from under it and sending her flipping into the air.

"Have a nice flight!" Asuka shouted as she heaved back, letting go of the green Unit as it went sailing over the massive pillar behind her.

Asuka's vision blurred for a moment, and a spike of pain erupted in her head as she felt the flood of Flux crash into her. 'Oh, that was… a lot. Wow. And Mein Gott, that was corny as all hell. Maybe put a cap on those for now.'

"Asuka!" Shinji's voice cut in, and Asuka shook her head as she looked up. Then her eyes widened at the nigh apocalyptic sight she took in.

The other tower had fallen, and the bottom of the pyramid was carved away, the remaining portion hanging over like a jaw, and she saw a deep hole where the center of the pyramid once was, exposed and leading deep into Terminal Dogma.

In the distance, Unit-01 and the Frame Titans stood at the entrance that led from the surface into the same location, fending off the four remaining Mass-Production Evas. "Asuka, come on!" Shinji said, his face appearing on a screen. Or was it always there? "They're about to breach Terminal Dogma!" Shinji continued. "Hurry!"

"I'll keep this green devil off you guys and catch up when I can!" Asuka replied. "You'll need to focus on as few of these idiots as we can make it."

She could see the fear in Shinji's eyes as he took in what she said. "Asuka…"

"Don't worry about me, Shinji." Asuka said. "I'm the best Eva pilot in the world, after all. And…"

Tapping into her mother's soul, she linked her soul to Shinji's, a slight smile coming to her as she saw his eyes widen. "Together, Shinji." she said softly.

"We win." Shinji replied, a smile of his own beginning to grow.

"Always." Asuka finished, then dismissed the panel, tightening her grip as she turned to where she had thrown the green devil.

Her brow furrowed as she found her grip closing on empty air. 'I must've thrown the Knife, too. Damn.'

Her other pylon snapped open, and she somewhat awkwardly grabbed the last Prog Knife she had, the blade beginning to glow as she jumped up onto the pylon, scanning the area in front of her for the Unit.

There it was, off in the distance, sprinting towards her, Prog Knife in hand. 'I threw her farther than I thought.' she mused as her smile turned to a wry grin.

Then, her brow rose as the green devil jumped into the air, making a graceful arc in the air as it came closer and closer. Asuka fell into a ready stance, knife in front of her, as it landed precisely in front of her, the pylon shaking slightly, and swung at her, forcing her to step to the side to make room as she ducked and countered.

They circled each other as the platform they stood on allowed it, one sometimes lunging into the other and getting pushed past. Again and again, brilliant stars flashed and faded away as blades collided, the blades beginning to chip as the duel wore on.

And Asuka found herself giving more and more ground, slowly, as her focus began to waver. 'No.' she thought with single-minded fervor. 'I can't lose focus now. Not when I'm so close…'

She soon found herself back where she had started, and she slashed at a brief opening in the green devil's chest. Her eyes widened as it disappeared, and she instead saw the devil's knife flash towards her.

Then she felt the burning slash across the inside of her left wrist and shouted wordlessly as she felt the Prog Knife slip treacherously from Unit-02's hand.

Then, a stamp of pain across her stomach, and Asuka found herself on her back, her vision blurred by tears of pain that she wiped away to reveal the green devil standing over her, knife ready to strike down at her.

On instinct, as the knife began to plunge, she brought Unit-02's hand in the way, the blade burning through the palm and out the back of her hand as the green devil began to push.

Asuka shouted wordlessly as the knife came closer and closer, her muscles screaming almost as much as she did in effort as she struggled to keep the glowing blade from reaching its target. But the knife drew closer and closer.

"Mama! Get ready!" Asuka shouted into the connection with her mother.

"What?" Kyoko said, a startled tone to the only word she got out before Asuka strengthened the connection between them, and pulled with all her might.

The soul of her mother slowly drew closer to her, and as it exited the core, Unit-02 went limp, and the blade of the knife slammed down into Unit-02's chest, Asuka hearing the dreadful crack of the core shattering.

It was over. Asuka Soryu-Langley, the greatest Eva pilot in the world, had lost. But her mother was still close, she thought, as a pill of dully gleaming metal floated through the LCL towards her outstretched hand as she sighed deeply. "At least I still got you, mama."

Yet even with that, she couldn't quite fight the despair that surged up from the pit of her stomach, forcing its way out of her eyes as tears began to silently roll down Asuka's face.

. . .

Central Dogma was silent as the grave as they watched their enemies begin to breach Terminal Dogma. On one screen, the remaining Units raced the remaining Mass-Production Evas to Heaven's Door. On another, they watched as the golden Unit and the deep blue Unit hovered above their plug of solid steel, a distant camera showing the bright glow of the golden one's positron cannon as it carved through the steel like butter.

And one monitor showed Unit-02 as it went limp, the green Unit shattering its core with a harrowing crack before extracting its knife and running over to the shaft that accessed Terminal Dogma.

Misato took in the seemingly hopeless situation, and a storm of emotions roiled within her. They'd been pressed this far. The kids could win though. Could they? Could they really, after Asuka, one of their best pilots, had been downed?

All these and more swirled in her like a hurricane, and at the eye of the storm, she found a decision that she hated. But it would be the only way to keep everyone else safe.

"Hyuga." She said with a heavy voice, sighing quietly as he turned to look at her. "Have the Cataphract and the Sonne begin teleporting NERV staff still here to Matsushiro as quickly as they can. Have Hikari and Toji sent to Tokyo-2 with their families."

Hyuga nodded into the shocked silence as he turned away, and Toji looked up at her in shock. "But, Ms. Misato! What about Rei and Ms. Eleanor?"

Misato took a deep breath before she spoke again. "They're probably in the safest place in the world right now. They can ride out whatever comes our way. We, on the other hand, might not survive if the base gets torn apart. And really, if we lose here… it might not matter where we are."

Toji and Hikari both looked at her silently for a moment, Hyuga's words a muted rumble, then took each other's hands as Toji nodded.

"Thank you." Misato said softly as she caught the command center staff beginning to disappear in batches. "Stay safe, both of you. And Hikari…"

She paused as she felt the transporter lock on to her. "Tell Penpen I say hi." she said with a quiet smile and tears in her eyes.

Then, she was gone. And soon enough, NERV-HQ, and the Geofront, was very nearly empty, the only sounds found within that of desperate combat for the fate of the world.

. . .

Shinji's mind reeled as he felt Asuka's emotion at her defeat. Shock and sadness and confusion seemed to batter at him as he reached the already open Heaven's Door, and saw the golden and deep blue Units burst through the ceiling in a storm of positrons. Hyuga's update that they were teleporting away, and his admonition to stay safe, was registered only in passing.

And within him, a coal of anger, of deepest rage, glowed, then ignited.

As Shinji watched the two colorful Evas touch down on the shore of the massive room, followed behind by the green Unit, his sight almost literally seemed to turn red, his focus solely on the three Units that had plagued them from the beginning.

Then he roared. And the Evangelion Unit-01 roared with him, as they charged at the three enemy Units.

"Shinji! Shinji!" Daniel shouted after him, but to no avail, as Unit-01 slammed into the blue Unit, knocking it off its feet as it slapped away the barrel of the golden Unit's positron cannon, stopping the green Unit's Prog Knife with a stupendously powerful AT Field.

But he couldn't focus on that now, his gaze drawn back to the opponents that now outnumbered him and Kaworu two to one as he batted aside their strikes, one of them glancing off his shoulder.

A now-familiar pain blossomed in his left shoulder as he gritted his teeth. Already, several bruises had bloomed under his Plugsuit, and his right eye was red where once it was white, a Lance copy getting just close enough to put FT Unit-00's eye out.

'We need another pair of hands. We need someone. Anyone.' he thought, increasingly frantically.

"Very well."

Daniel's eyes widened as the next strikes were intercepted by two massive curved blades of gemstone, their tips making a hook that slid down and caught the tines of the Lance copies that they had slammed into, dragging the spears down as Daniel swiped at the two pale Evas in front of them, the Evas jumping back as they extracted their Lance copies. "Nynrya." he said in utter shock.

"Yes. I am a protector. You are now a protector. So let us protect this world. Together." Nynrya said, a melodic voice echoing in Daniel's perception.

"Yeah." Daniel replied, old but good memories of their time together dashing through his head as he started to slowly press the two MP-Evas in front of him, in front of them, back. "Together."

. . .

"Asuka. Liebling." Kyoko said quietly. But Asuka didn't respond, the tears flowing down her face as she silently waited for the inevitable end.

"Don't lose hope, please." Kyoko pleaded. "For me. For Shinji. For Daniel."

"Daniel…" Asuka finally said, and Kyoko couldn't suppress the joy she felt as her daughter responded, feeling the hope within her grow. "Daniel… Daniel. That's it! Mama, you're a genius!"

"Of course I am." Kyoko preened for a moment. "What's the context for such a statement?"

"We're going to do what Daniel did!" Asuka replied, her wet eyes now filled with determination. "Can you still connect to Unit-02's S2 Organ?"

"Let me see if I can try." Kyoko replied, reaching out into what was her body. After a moment, she found the now dormant organ and grabbed hold of it, the organ coming to life. "I've got it, liebling!"

"Perfect!" Asuka replied, and Kyoko felt her reach out as well.

"Alright, you soulless hunk of flesh and metal. It's time to get up!" Asuka shouted as she willed a connection through her mama to the Eva, a pair of gleaming metal horns not unlike her Eva's coming into existence on her brow. "You heard me! Get up! Aufstehen! Aufstehen!"

Slowly but surely, Unit-02's right hand rose and fell, metal flowing like water and becoming a new hand pressing down on the ground as the left hand did the same, metal filling in the gaps that the Progressive Knife had made.

The Unit pushed and impossibly flew to its feet, reaching out its right hand as its sword came flying towards it hilt-first, the metal hand closing around it with a sure grip.

A furious triumph seemed ready to overflow from Asuka's body as she turned and ran towards the shaft to Terminal and reached out to Shinji, feeling his rage and grief. "Shinji!" she shouted as Unit-02 jumped into the darkness. "I'm coming!"

. . .

A flame of hope and joy roared to life in Shinji as he heard the women he loved. "Help Daniel and Kaworu when you get down here! I'm keeping the other three busy!"

"What are you, stupid?" Asuka shouted. "Be careful, you idiot! I don't want to lose my rookie now!"

Shinji smiled at the fire with no burn that Asuka threw at him, then focused back on his brawl. He had gotten in close, rendering the golden Unit's weapon nearly useless. The others, on the other hand, had gotten more deadly. They were his main targets, two Prog Knives in his hands as he became a whirlwind of blades and AT Fields.

He felt the song of battle in his bones, and a part of him… actually liked it. He could see what Asuka found in this dance with death within the Eva, that drew her to it like a moth to a flame. But it was only a part of him that liked it. All else was focused solely on keeping these foes occupied for long enough that the others could deal with the other MP-Evas.

As he felt the impact of Unit-02 crashing to the ground and joining Daniel and Kaworu, he dipped under a swipe of the Progressive claws of the blue one and bull-rushed into the green one as he unfurled his AT Field behind him, senses far beyond any human's alerting him to the powering up of the positron cannon behind him. He felt its heat blooming behind him as he bear-hugged the green Unit, nearly picking it up as he drove towards the far wall.

He slammed into the wall with a thunderous crack, the green Unit in his embrace splaying out as he distantly heard the hiss of something very, very hot hit the LCL beside them. He set his jaw as he drew back, then slammed the green Unit into the wall again.

He stifled a yelp as the wall impossibly gave way, then a dagger of fear stabbed into his heart. 'The Lance's hiding place. Damn it! No!'

As both Units tumbled to the ground, Shinji tried to extract his arms, and the blades that he had deactivated, but the green Unit's hand clamped into place around Unit-01's bicep, holding it firmly in place as it leaned on Unit-01's other arm, Shinji catching a glimpse of it reaching for the Lance.

Shinji gritted his teeth as he pulled, his own muscles straining with the Evas as he desperately tried to free himself. He was almost there, and he saw his left arm slowly starting to slide free…

Then his vision went white as he jerked to the side, Unit-01's head slamming into its shoulder pylon as it collided with the wall. Then, as Shinji's vision cleared, he saw the familiar rainbow wall of an AT Field as it pressed on him, launching him into the air as he saw a flash of crimson. Aimed directly at him.

As he flew into the air, Shinji braced for the impact of the Lance as he put an ineffectual AT Field of his own up, and true to what he guessed, he felt the searing pain of the Lance as it gored him, sending him to the ground as he landed on his back, biting off a shout of pain.

And yet, he did not feel the pain of the Lance disappear. Shinji blinked. Unit-01 was still active, much to his amazement. 'The Lance must have missed the core.'

As he watched the green Unit walk over to him and take the Lance of Longinus in its grasp, Shinji did the last thing his instincts screamed at him to do and laid still. 'What is it that Asuka and Daniel liked calling this? Lying doggo?'

He waited patiently as he watched the green Unit took the Lance in both hands as it pulled up, Shinji wincing as he felt the blades sliding out of him. Then the Lance was free, and he saw the other two Units he was fighting standing over him as well.

'Well,' Shinji thought, 'that complicates things.'

. . .

Lorenz Kihl felt triumph in his old bones as he watched Unit-05 pull the Lance of Longinus out of Unit-01's body. Now was their moment.

"Gentlemen, our ascension begins." his voice rumbled, and he could feel the excitement of the others reflected in his own. "Activate Protocol Megiddo."

. . .

Deep within the vessel Lilith, Eleanor and Rei raced towards its center, finally arriving at the massive trunk of Frames that was Suriel's prison/command center.

Eleanor wasted no time, Frames sprouting from her hands and arms as she went to one side of the trunk and plugged in. "Now I'm not going to be sure what I'm looking for, and I need all my focus to make this quick. Link up to Suriel and try and find where any sort of mechanism like the one you're thinking about might be in here."

Rei nodded, her gaze turning to Suriel as she made a Frame of her own, reaching out towards Suriel. "Hello again." she said softly. "I wish the circumstances for our reunion were much more positive than they are, but we need your help."

With that, she linked herself to Suriel and went to her knees as she took in the weight of all the illusions that Suriel powered for the briefest of moments.

Then she shut them out and found herself looking at a new world. A grand hallway stretched out before her, and as she turned to look, Suriel stood beside her, dressed in a long, black robe. Her hair was black with streaks of blue, and her far less pale skin framed piercing grey eyes.

"Suriel." Rei said, and the woman looked over at her with muddled surprise. "Where is the key to retrieving the souls of humanity? Where does one start Instrumentality from?"

As Suriel opened her mouth, the hallway began to glow a deep crimson, crosses of bright green lining the walls as a pit of fear opened up in Rei's stomach.

Suriel's eyes went wide with horror. "It begins." she whispered. "It begins!"