Broken Wings [NGE]

[Teen Spirit]

Chapter 11: A Matter of Trust.

Before Shinji was Angel cloaked in darkness, an Angel that promised answers, help, perhaps even a way to end this war. And here he was, sitting on his bed, in his pajamas, with no shirt. This was less than ideal.

"You said you would call us, not invade our hotel room," Asuka wearily protested.

"That I did. Apologies," Leliel replied, her Osakan accent thick. "But after Iruel's involvement in the last attack, I felt electronic means of communication would be unsecure."

"How did you know about our daughter?" Shinji demanded. That letter had unnerved him. Okito and whoever he had told knowing was bad enough. But Leliel seemed just as aware as Okito. How many others knew? How long before someone tried to blackmail them?

"A few years ago Okito was going around telling everyone he could find who Zeruel was," Leliel explained. "He had feared one of us was going to try and kill you two and either didn't want to see his friend hurt, and/or was terrified of how Zeruel would react."

"Scheiße..." Asuka muttered, summing up how both of them felt.

"Gaghiel tells me that Ramiel had actually hoped to ally with you using her. Thankfully Okito's actions made that incredibly unlikely," Leliel said, sounding far too pleased.

Shinji lowered his pistol.

"Ally with us?" That didn't make any sense to Shinji. Why would one of them, particularly one of the two who seemed to be behind all this, want to ally with Asuka and him?

"Ramiel's plan, to my limited understanding of it, doesn't involve the world ending, a Fourth Impact or anything of that nature. Our kind certainly would benefit the most from their plans, but Ramiel insisted humanity would survive, some would even profit. Ramiel bragged he already had numerous human allies and backers. Name dropping one Retired Officer Langley in particular."

Asuka flinched at the name, frowning in deep disgust.

If humans were working with the angels, that meant this wasn't just a group of teenagers and young adults operating in isolation, they could resources, allies around the world. Trust would become far more problematic.

"My father is working with Ramiel?" she said, deeply skeptical.

"Oh, I'm sure Langely will deny everything, true or otherwise," Leliel remarked.

"What the hell?" Ria's muffled voice came through the door.

The bedroom door shot open, darkness recoiling from the light off the hallway.

Ria stood in the door frame, her confused expression turning to anger at the sight of the other Angel.

"Ahh, speak of the devil," Leliel said merrily.

"Leliel," Ria growled.

"Relax, Zeruel, I've come to talk," Leliel assured her.

Shinji nodded in affirmation.

Ria calmed down, though her gaze never left the hooded form of Leliel as she stepped to her parent's side.

"So if you knew Ramiel and Okito were planning something, why didn't you contact us before, or Ria?" Asuka asked.

"I wasn't sure if you would agree with my goals, and frankly I wasn't entirely sure if I could trust Zeruel's loyalty."

Ria was incredulous. "My loyalty?"

"If our Progenitor were to be come back tomorrow and ask you to wipe out humanity, what would you do?" Leliel asked.

Ria glared at Leliel. "Adam's dead."

"Not an answer," Leliel retorted.

"They would not ask that," Ria snapped.

"What if he did?"

"What do you mean by 'agree with your goals'? What exactly are your goals?" Shinji interrupted.

If Ria was more loyal to them or Adam was really not a conversation he wanted to be having right now.

"Peace," Leliel replied. "Survival. We are not all Ramiel or Okito, many of us simply want to live our lives. Ramiel is banking on us having nowhere else to turn to. He attacked Seoul because he wants you to think all Angels are like that. Ramiel's plan is evil. It will not work and must be opposed. But the others are frightened, they think you will kill us all regardless of where we stand."

That was what Shinji had wanted to hear, for the most part. If they wanted peace he was more than happy to let them live in peace.

"What do you need their help for?" Ria questioned. "You seem to be doing pretty well on your own, what with dragging three Evangelions into the fight. Just wait for them to kill the idiots and keep your heads low."

"As I said, I had no role in that," Leliel insisted.

Shinji found that hard to believe.

"Really?" Ria shared his skepticism. "Because bringing the two in proved to be the perfect way of tricking Okito into exposing his conspiracy. Where you just going to sit by and let Ramiel enact his plan?"

"Well, no." Leliel's calm demeanor faltered as anxiety crept into her voice. "I won't deny the arrival of the Pilots was fortuitous in some regards."

"Fortuitous?!" Asuka repeatedly skeptically.

"In some regards," the Angel repeated defensively. "The damage Okito has inflicted on this city and yourselves is most unfortunate. I'm simply saying that the situation has allowed me to contact you directly and be honest in my intentions. If you were both still blissfully unaware of what Okito or your daughter were, any attempt to reach you would have failed just as badly as my first attempt."

"First attempt?" Ria questioned

Shinji realized why she sounded so familiar.

"You were the woman on the phone!" he said "You're 'Tsukiko Yamagishi'!"

The Angel nodded. "Half true. I was the woman you talked to. But Tsukiko Yamagishi is not my Lilim name. Apologies for the deception."

"You called right before Shamshel attacked," Ria said angrily.

"Because I was trying to warn them," Leliel stated. "I... lost my nerve at the last moment."

"How did you know Shamshel was going to attack me?" he asked.

"Someone close to Okito feeds me info from time to time. Israfel, Iruel... I don't know," Leliel admitted.

For a group that had seemed almost monolithic before tonight, it appeared the Angels were as fractious and conflicted as any human organization.

"I'm getting off point," Leliel went on. "I came to strike a deal. I don't know much about Ramiel's plan but I know someone who knows more and could even spy on Ramiel for you. But they need assurances. They want me to ensure that this cooperation won't be met with you killing them later when it's convenient."

"Who?" Ria asked.

"A certain spider; Matarael. He wants to speak with Sub-Director Soryu at WILLE and tell you what he knows. I'm here to ensure he is able to leave again."

"At WILLE?" Asuka said skeptically. "That's mad."

"He doesn't want it getting back to Ramiel that he talked with you. Coming here will no doubt be impossible even for me after today and with Iruel around, electronic communications are hard to trust. He assures me he can get himself to WILLE without being spotted with little trouble," Leliel explained.

"General Katsuragi would kill him the moment he set foot on the property," Asuka pointed out.

"That's why you're not going to tell her. Wouldn't be the first time in recent days you've lied to her," Leliel observed. "WILLE has an internship program. Matarael will apply to it under a false identity that says he was born before Third Impact. You will accepted his application and speak to him, alone in your office. He will tell you what he knows and leave. Coming back from time to time when he has more info. In exchange you will ensure he is allowed to leave and will work towards convincing your superiors that peace can be achieved."

"You're asking me to leave myself completely alone with an Angel I don't know," Asuka argued.

"He wouldn't make it out of WILLE alive if he harmed you, he knows that. He's willing to walk into probably the most dangerous place on earth for an Angel right now and risk crossing Ramiel. He's putting himself in far more danger."

They considered it. Killing only the angels that attacked them and leaving the rest alone would make this entire war far more simple and less violent. But could either of them trust Leliel, angels were by nature incredibly good liars. Even Ria had been lying to them every day for sixteen years, without either of them suspecting a thing. Leliel, or Matarael could be trying to pull something here.

But if Asuka could work with one of them, if they could convince Misato that not every Angel was a monster, that some were even willing to work with humanity. They would have a foot in the door, a way to tell Misato the truth about Ria without everything going horribly wrong like it had with his younger self and Third Impact.

"I'm willing to work with Matarael if he acts in good faith," Asuka said after a long pause. "If he crosses me, my family, or WILLE though, he's dead."

Ria bit her lip.

Leliel sighed, content with that. "Good, good. More than acceptable terms. Look for a letter from a man named Musashi Aoi. That will be Matarael."

"So out of curiosity, which Angels are willing to consider peace?" Shinji asked.

"Fair question," Leliel replied. "Let's see... Myself, Matarael, Gaghiel obviously, but Gaghiel's no longer in the country. Sandalphon, Armisael, Arael is on the fence, no idea where or who Bardiel even is."

Asuka tensed up at the mention of Arael.

"Oh, Zeruel, since you're here..." Leliel began, "I have a gift for you."

Shinji almost fired as he saw Leliel reach into her pocket.

"Relax, relax," she insisted as she tossed something white at Ria.

She caught it, holding it in both hands as she inspected it. It was a mask. An almost exact replica of the face of Zeruel, only sized to fit Ria's face.

"Matarael made this, and mine," Leliel explained. "It's some hobby of his. Apparently Okito commissioned this some time ago."

Ria's grip tightened on it, her eyes totally focused on the mask.

Leilel bowed, the darkness wrapping around her.

"Until next time, then," she said, before vanishing.

/

The three of them gathered around the kitchen table. None of them could even pretend they were going to get back to sleep tonight.

"The question is, can we remotely trust them?" Asuka asked, coffee cup in hand.

"The others have made it clear they don't have much interest in going after you two," Ria noted. "And for Matarael to be willing go into WILLE... I don't know, he might be honest, or they might be trying to win our trust as part of some elaborate ruse. I don't know. Maybe. I mean Matarael isn't a particularly dangerous Angel."

"Leliel's lying," Shinji stated.

The other two turned towards him.

"Not about the deal, I think she's being forward about that. I think she's lying about her involvement in Rei and the others being here," Shinji explained.

She had grown too hesitant at that topic, clearly nervous. She wasn't even subtle about it.

"She's the only one I can think of who could even attempt something like that," Ria agreed. "The question is, why lie about it?"

Shinji didn't have an answer, and that only served to further unnerve him. What did she have to lose by admitting the truth?

"So if we can't trust her fully, what do we do?" Asuka asked.

For a moment, he considered his options.

"We tell Misato." Shinji announced.

"How?" Ria asked.

Shinji sighed, he didn't like what he was about to say, it required even more deception. But it seemed the best solution all things considered. "We tell Misato that Leliel came in, unannounced, and made the offer. We don't mention the letter or Gaghiel at all. Then we just need to make sure Misato agrees to pretend she doesn't know anything when Matarael arrives. That way we don't spook him off but if it turns to be some sort of attack, WILLE won't be totally blindsided. I know the odds of Misato agreeing to it are remote but considering the unusual nature of the situation, she might."

"And if she refuses I can just warn Matarael not to come when I get the letter. No harm, no foul," Asuka agreed.

"Do you think she would agree to it?" Ria questioned. "Peace with half of the Angels?"

It was a deeply unlikely prospect. Even Shinji couldn't pretend otherwise.

"You never know," he said. "Anything's possible these days."

"And apparently humans are working with Ramiel and Okito after all," Asuka commented bitterly.

"Are you okay?" Shinji asked.

Asuka and her father were never close. The two hadn't really spoken in over a decade. Still, what Leliel said about him, that had to be tough to hear. It was like his father all over again.

"He's a miserable bastard," Asuka replied, "but this would be a new low even for him."

A deeply troubling thought entered Shinji's mind.

"Who else might be working with them?" he asked.

 

[Teen Spirit]

Rei stood in Misato's kitchen, the General having insisted that she have breakfast with them before school.

It was just the two of them now, and Pen-Pen. Asuka and Shinji were getting ready for school. Misato wasn't entirely sure how to treat the First Child. She wasn't one of her charges, one of her kids. She knew quite a bit about her, the Rei of this world that was. But this was an entirely different Rei, one even Ristuko didn't understand.

"I have a question, General," Rei said as she sat at the table.

Misato took a seat across the table, coffee in hand. "What about?"

"Asuka and Shinji, why don't they like their other selves?"

It was surreal how strange questions like that could become so normal.

"Asuka dislikes what the Sub-Director has become. And Shinji… he's upset over what his older self told him about what happened towards the end of the war," Misato tried to explain.

"But you're not. You know what he did, and you do not judge him," Rei observed.

Misato had been tempted at time. All the suffering she had to go through, the the chaos that engulfed the world in the early days... Blaming Shinji for it would been so easy. And yet, anytime where she felt like she was about to, she realized she could have prevented it. She had more power to stop Third Impact than Shinji ever did. She could have been a better guardian, she could been there for both of them, she could have gotten them therapy or something. There were so many thing she could have done, and one thing she really should not have but did. She had failed, utterly, and Third Impact could in part be laid at her feet for that.

Shinji had forgiven her, so she forgave him.

"Shinji wasn't in control of the situation, so I can't blame him for what happened," Misato replied weakly.

"I feel the same," Rei nodded.

Misato wondered how much Rei knew. If she was anything like the Rei of their world, she was in part... that thing. But considering how different this Rei had been so far, it was very possible she was simply just some clone that NERV had used to pilot Unit-00. Either way, Misato did her level best to treat her fairly.

"It's just..." Rei went on, "wouldn't they be happier if they got along?"

"Well, yes. But it's not that simple," Misato explained. "Ria's trying to smooth things over, though even for her that's going to take a while."

Ayanami frowned for some reason. A knock came at the door before Misato could ask why.

Misato opened to see the older Shinji, Asuka, and Ria standing at the door, unhappy expressions on their faces.

"We need to talk," Asuka said solemnly.

/

Both sets of Pilots, Misato, Ria, and Ayanami were gathered around Misato's kitchen table. Ria and Ayanami mostly stayed in the back towards the wall. Once or twice the younger Asuka noticed the wary look Rei gave her other self's daughter. But what was being discussed proved far too important for Asuka to give it much thought

"You can't possibly be considering this deal," Misato said, disgusted by the very notion being discussed.

"She came to us. If she wanted us dead we probably would be," Shinji pointed out. "And it involves a great deal more risk for them then it does for us."

"You don't even trust it," Misato countered.

"She knows more than she's letting on about the pilots being here," Asuka admitted. "But the deal... I don't see what they could gain by lying about it. If they prove false we risk little. But if they're telling the truth we could cut our enemies in half and have a source on what Ramiel is doing."

"How many Angels want peace?" Rei asked.

"According to Leliel, Matarael, Gaghiel, Sandalphon, Armisael, Arael maybe, and Zeruel for certain," Sub-Commander Soryu listed off.

Misato's anger grew tenfold at the name of the last Angel.

"You expected me to make peace with that monster?" Misato barked.

The older Shinji flinched.

"It hurt you, it hurt Rei! It directly tried to kill me!" Misato exclaimed. "It was moments away from doing so, in fact! Had Shinji arrived two seconds later it would have!"

"I know what they did," the older Soryu said firmly, staring directly at Misato. "I also remember what Arael did. Do you think you suffered more from Zeruel then I did with Arael?"

"Of course I don't," Misato sighed.

"I'm willing to make peace with that bastard," Sub-Commander Soryu spat, her words dripping with venom. "And believe me, I really would prefer that thing dead. But if its survival means peace, I'm willing to accept that. You should consider the same for Zeruel."

The younger Asuka found herself both terrified and curious as to what this Arael could have done to her other self to earn such hatred. That was probably a question best left unanswered.

The older Shinji stepped in again. "We have bigger problems. What Leliel told us fit Okito's actions. He had something to hide. They have plan, one that apparently involves humans. This isn't instinct for them, or just some mindless revenge. The Angels involved made a decision to do this, a decision that not all of them might have agreed to."

"She could be lying about that," Misato replied, clearly not wanting to believe humans could be involved.

"What do they have to gain?" The older Soryu questioned. "If they're lying to us we're going to find out sooner or later and then we have the name and face of Matarael. They'd be selling out one of their own."

"Assuming they don't send an imposter." Misato paused. "But that would just mean they are working with people. Godamnit."

"I wouldn't put it past the old bastard to do something like that," the younger Asuka dryly noted.

Hearing that her father was apparently involved with the Angels was depressingly not shocking to her in the slightest.

"What does he even do these days?" she asked.

"Retired due to a war injury," her older self said. "I really don't pay attention to him. Frankly I'm confused what he could get out of an alliance with the Angels, or what they could get out of him."

"If, IF I accept this deal from the Angels," Misato said hesitantly. "How can we guarantee they won't try something, twenty, fifty years from now?"

The older Asuka sighed. "Because they will all have to give us their identities. They're not getting a peace treaty unless we know who they are. We'll make a record of it. If they start something we'll have every means to track him."

"Every Angel?" Rei questioned.

She nodded. "Every Angel that wants to live."

Misato clearly hated every bit of the idea, but she seemed to actually be considering it.

"They're not asking for amnesty for any of the Angels who have attacked since this all began," Ria spoke up, her voice sounding surprisingly small. "Okito is still going to die."

That wasn't in question. Asuka was looking forward to the day she could wring that monster's neck.

"And what about everything they did before? They killed thousands, and would have wiped us out if they could. We're suppose to just let them off the hook for that?!" Misato snapped.

"They died, they all died for what they did…" Shinji began.

"And they should have stayed dead!"

Asuka recoiled slightly, Misato's rage twisting her face in ways the Second Child had never seen. It was frightening. Her counterpart and the older Shinji looked increasingly unhappy.

"Their existence mocks everything we struggled for!" Misato ranted. "Everyone we lost, everything we suffered! It threatens everything you've tried to give Ria!"

"And how much more is at threat if we add Six plus Angels to the fight?" the older Asuka countered. "If we don't make this deal, every Angel that would have made peace is either going to fight us or do their level best to hide and then we're looking at a war that will last for years, if not decades. Is that what you want? To be seventy years old and spending every night worrying what tomorrow will hold because you haven't been able to find one or two of them?"

The room went silent for a minute, Misato brewing over her options.

Asuka thought about it. She wanted to kill the Angels, sure. That was what she did, that was what she was. She was an Eva Pilot and a warrior. She had trained her entire life to kill Angels. But the idea of fighting an Angel that didn't want to fight, that had begged for peace... there was something unsettling about that idea.

Looking at Shinji, she could tell he felt much the same way. They were defenders, not aggressors.

To her surprise, Misato relented. "Fine. I despise doing this, but if they want peace I'm willing to come to the table. But I'm keeping security on high alert when this Matararel comes. If I think even for a moment that it's about to pull something, it's dead."

Asuka nodded. "Fair enough."

"And thank you," Misato added. "For telling me about this. I know it couldn't have been easy considering how much it put the plan you made with... that thing at risk. But I really appreciate the honesty."

For some reason the older Shinji only looked more upset at Misato's words.

/

Part of Ria wanted to punch the next person who made it clear just how much they trusted her. A strange feeling to be sure, particularly for Ria, who normally quite appreciated the trust and familiarity. But the trust Misato and the Pilots gave her recently was only causing her more and more guilt.

Their faith in her was not ill-placed. Even if the worst had unfolded, and Ria had to fight against them simply to survive, Ria didn't think she could ever physically hurt any of them. But if they knew the truth, they wouldn't trust her at all. They might hate her, despise her, think she had used them or worse.

But if this peace were to work, she would have to tell them, or they would never stop hunting for Zeruel. Peace would be great. It would mean she wouldn't have to live in fear anymore. She could be herself. Her parents, Misato, the Pilots, Mari, Kodama they would all be safe. But how much would she lose when the truth came out?

And if the peace failed. Misato would never give any Angel another chance. Ria would never be safe. At best she would spend the rest of her life in fear. Assuming Ayanami held her tongue for that long.

Regardless of what happened, she knew she would have her parents. But would that be enough if she lost everyone else? It would be so terribly lonely.

Ria sat at her desk, her hand resting against her hand as she looked out the classroom window. It was overcast today, the skies grey and dreary. The storms were suppose to blanket Kyoto for most of the week.

Homeroom was still pretty empty, save for Rei, Shinji, Asuka, and herself.

"Ikari, I have a question. Do you cook?" Rei asked suddenly.

"Um, yeah?" Shinji replied.

"Kind of have to when you live with Misato," Asuka snarked.

"Do you need me to bring you lunch or something?" he added.

Rei blushed. "I wasn't going to ask, but thank you."

Asuka frowned but said nothing.

Kensuke Aida walked in, books in hand.

For a second he and Rei looked at each other.

"Hello, Aida. It is good to see you again." Rei said evenly.

He nodded. "Thanks, uhh same to you? I wasn't actually sure if you would recognize me considering, you know."

"You appear identical to the Kensuke Aida of my universe," Rei explained.

"Oh," Kensuke replied awkwardly. "Well... that's neat."

Shortly behind him was Kodama, who looked much the same as she had since Okito attacked; absolutely miserable.

She stared at Shinji, who returned it awkwardly. They both knew what her brother had done, and what would more than likely happen in the future. Either Shinji would kill her brother, or be killed by him. Kodama wanted him dead, but even now, no matter how much she hated him, it was clear either option would only hurt her even more.

Ria sank further into depression. She didn't know how to help Kodama, and even if she did, what good would it do once Kodama knew the truth? She would hate her as much as she hated her brother, or even worse. After all, she had kept the deception up long after Okito revealed himself.

Kodama glared at Ayanami, saying nothing but clearly distrusting her.

The First Child looked back in confusion.

"Do you have an issue with me?" she asked quietly.

"Your eyes," Kodama growled. "They're the same as his."

"An unfortunate coincidence," Rei replied.

"And you're in his spot," Kodama added.

"This is the seat I was assigned," Ayanami explained.

Kodama huffed and took her seat.

"Freak," she muttered hatefully under her breath.

Asuka glared hard at her.

"Thin ice," she warned.

"You know, we were happy before you came here," Kodama snapped. "We had a nice, normal life. Evas and Angels were ancient history. And the biggest thing we had to worry about was school. But then you had to show up and drag all your past problems with you and create a bunch of new ones for us. The city's in ruins, my parents no longer trust me because they're scared I'm a monster and the news talks about my brother the terrorist."

"Because clearly that's my fault," Asuka deadpanned.

"Kodama, please calm down," Ria urged.

Kodama pivoted towards Ria.

"How?!" she begged. "How the fuck are you even remotely calm? For all you know one of the other students, even your girlfriend, might be one of those things and try and kill your parents! And you're just sitting here like it's a normal day! The Pilots aren't strong enough to stop them!"

Asuka glared angrily at Suzuhara.

Oh, if only you knew, Ria thought sadly.

"I'm as scared as you are, Kodama," she tried to comfort her. "But you need to have faith things will get better."

"How can you say that?!" Kodama was bewildered.

"It's classified," Ayanami spoke up. "But possibly significant progress was made this morning."

Kodama was more confused than relieved.

"Did you really just accuse me of being one of them?" Mari said as she stood by the door.

"I am so glad the rest of the class isn't here yet," Shinji muttered.

In truth there probably won't be many more students today. The school was only open due to sheer stubbornness and luck. Despite that though, many students couldn't get to school due to the damage to the city, while others were starting to move away.

"You know what? Yeah, I did," Kodama said, clearly in a mood to fight with everyone today.

"No," Ria said, harshly. As sympathetic as she was to Kodama she had her limits.

"It's fine," Mari insisted. "I'd probably be a wreck if I went through half the stuff she did."

She approached Ria's desk nervously, much to the annoyance of Kodama.

"So um... I know this is a bad time..." Mari said, ignoring Suzuhara's glare, "but can I talk to you, in private?"

"Uhh, sure?" Ria replied.

/

Ria followed Mari to the closest Girl's Restroom. Which briefly made Ria concerned that Mari wanted to do something that Ria wasn't quite ready for, and really didn't want to do in a bathroom. But Mari's nervous demeanor eventually made it clear that wasn't her intention.

Mari checked to make sure the restroom was completely clear.

"Is everything alright?" Ria asked, concerned.

"Oh it's fine, fine...at least I hope it's fine," Mari said nervously.

She scratched her head. "So... you know the other night, when we were at the clothing store?"

Ria did not like where this was going.

"Did I come across as too forward?" Mari asked.

Ria blinked in surprise.

"Uhh, a little, but it's fine. You were just stressed out," Ria assured her.

"Oh, good," Mari replied. "It's just... I was thinking about it and I realized what I said kind of sounded I wanted to elope or something and that's way way too soon. I just don't want to seem like I'm trying to rush or pressure you."

"It's fine," Ria insisted. Putting her hand on Mari's shoulder. "Honestly the way things are, moving to New England sounds like a pretty good idea right now."

Mari was surprised. "Really? What about your parents?"

"I'm not going to abandon them," Ria insisted. "I just…once things are settled down, I think I should leave. Find a new place to call home"

"Why?"

Ria was silent. Unable to give any sort of real answer.

"You would tell me if you could, right?" Mari asked cautiously.

"Of course," Ria replied.

"Well then, make sure to bring me with you when you decide to go," Mari said cheerfully.

"Really?" Ria couldn't hide her shock.

Mari shrugged. "Why not? We're both young, stupid, and incredibly hormonal. Might as well be those things together."

Ria leaned down and grabbed Mari in a passionate kiss, fear, lust, and joy overwhelming her. More than anyone, she feared losing Mari the most.

Mari wrapped her arms around Ria, grabbing her tightly.

"You mean so much to me," Ria breathless said after they finally broke apart. "Whatever happens, remember that."

"I know," Mari replied.

They looked at each other for a moment, unsure of what to say.

"Uhh, I need to powder my nose," Mari said nervously. "You should go back ahead of me."

Ria nodded and left.

Mari was all alone, joy filling her. Though she found herself doubting, worried. Her girlfriend's actions brought fears she had tried to repress back to the surface.

"What are you, Ria?" she asked quietly. "What are you really?"

 

[Teen Spirit]

Even between classes, the hallways were relatively empty today. Asuka passed by only the occasional student. Though almost all of them looked at her. Some looked at her with hope, others were looking for answers she could not give. A few, annoyingly, looked defeated. Like Asuka was some sort of failed savior.

She had not failed. Had things come close to defeat? Sure. But that didn't mean she had been defeated. The fight had been a learning experience. One Asuka intended to make the most of.

She spotted Wondergirl at her locker, staring at it quizzically.

"Why are you staring at it?" Asuka asked.

"My locker won't open," Rei said evenly. "It appears to be jammed."

She tugged at it to no effect.

"Here, let me do it," Asuka offered.

She pulled at the locker, grunting a bit as the stubborn thing refused to yield.

It eventually popped open, having taken far more effort than it should've.

Asuka and even Rei found themselves staring at what was inside the locker. Asuka was dumbfounded, Rei was simply confused.

"Gott in Himmel..." Asuka muttered under her breath, disgusted by what she was seeing.

Rei's locker had somehow been completely stuffed full of letters, every bit of possible space that was available in the locker had been filled. The letters so pressed together they became an almost solid white mass occasionally marked by red heart stickers.

"I do not understand." Rei said.

"Perverts," Asuka whispered. "This whole school is full of perverts."

/

"I think it needs more solar panels. The station is the heart of her empire. Considerably more care is going to be spent on it then the rest of the stations above Luna," Mari said.

"Yeah, the Grand Admiral would want a Capital that made her look like more than just some warlord," Ria agreed.

The two were seated at one of the Cafeteria tables, notebooks and sketches covering most of it. Kodama was sitting alone on a nearby table. Largely because she didn't want to share the same table with Mari for...reasons.

"Your school is full of animals," Asuka said angrily as she approached the table.

"This is news?" Mari questioned.

"I take it there were more letters?" Ria asked.

Asuka just grumbled in response.

"So what are you doing?" she asked, gazing at the table with a confused expression.

"Working on our light novel project," Ria said.

"Though at this point we're more building the setting," Mari explained. "It's post-apocalyptic. Earth has been rendered uninhabitable due to the "Flame Deluge". Humanity is barely surviving on Mars, Luna, the Belt, and the moons of Jupiter. The main focus of the story is on Europa at first but it spreads out from there and... you don't care in the slightest about what I'm saying, do you?"

"Not really," Asuka said evenly.

"The honesty is appreciated," Mari said dryly.

"Ria, can we speak in private?" Asuka requested.

Mari nodded and quickly made herself scarce, leaving the two alone at the table.

Asuka took a seat.

"Do you find me disappointing?" Ria asked suddenly.

Asuka was taken aback, shocked by the question.

"Why would you ask that?" Asuka asked, eyebrow arched.

Ria shrugged. "Just suddenly realized that of three generations of Soryus, I'm the underachiever. Grandma Kyoko was a brilliant, groundbreaking scientist, you have a college degree at 14, but I'm just a semi-professional writer who passed on a chance to go to college early because I wanted to hang out with my friends."

"You gave up a chance to go to college early for Kodama and Okito?" Asuka replied.

"...I don't make friends easily," Ria admitted. "Real friends." She frowned. "Or at least what I thought were real friends."

"I'm not disappointed in you," Asuka assured her. "I don't pretend I understand most of your life choices but I actually like you. You stood up to me when I was a being an asshole."

"Thanks," Ria smiled.

"What brought this on, anyways?" Asuka asked.

Ria shrugged again. "Don't know."

"Whatever." Asuka switched gears. "I have to ask, what's your opinion of this whole peace deal? I mean you were there when that Angel appeared. Do you think she's telling the truth?"

Asuka found this whole thing rather bizarre. If it worked it worked, but she had doubts.

Ria's face was unreadable. "I want to it to work, but I don't think it will."

"You want it to work?" Asuka was surprised. She didn't think it would work either but if anyone would have wanted the Angels dead as much as Misato, it was Ria.

Ria sighed, looking exhausted despite it barely being noon. "I want Okito dead. But I don't hate him because he's an Angel. I hate him for what he did to me and his family. I don't trust them but I want to believe they're not all like Okito."

That was a rather curious answer.

"Hopefully there's no one else we know that's an Angel. You're kind of screwed if Mari's one."

Ria looked pained. The idea had probably occurred to her before.

"She's not," she insisted.

"You can't possibly know that for certain?" Asuka pointed out.

"I suppose not," Ria admitted. "So what's your opinion on this? Do you think peace is possible? Do you even want it to be possible?"

"Personally I think it's a load of Scheiße," Asuka admitted. "Though if there's any truth to it, I don't particularly like the idea of slaughtering beat dogs. If they acknowledge humanity won I think I could endure their survival. Though I don't think Misato is going to accept any sort of peace."

"Who knows? She might surprise you," Ria said hopefully.

"True," Asuka nodded. "Just about anything's possible these days. We got the wrong Wondergirl back. I'm not surprised by anything anymore."

/

"So, the letter arrived," Shinji announced as Ria walked in the door, backpack in hand. "The meeting will take place day after tomorrow."

"Oh?" Ria said with little interest. She tossed her backpack onto a chair before taking a seat at the couch, burying her face in a book.

Silence blanketed the room for a minute.

"So I take it you don't want to talk about that?" Shinji asked.

"No," Ria said firmly.

Between the risk to Asuka and the risk to herself, he could understand why that would be a very undesirable topic of conversation.

Silence reigned once more.

Shinji wracked his brain trying to think anything to talk about, something to end the awkwardness.

"So... your mom and I are dating again," Shinji blurted out.

Why, brain, why do you do this to me? he wondered.

Ria turned to him, a puzzled expression on her face.

"I'm... quite aware of that," she replied.

Yes, Shinji. Remind your daughter of what she nearly walked in on. That was a smart move. Idiot.

"Are you okay with it?" Shinji asked.

Even if everything else went okay, this would be a huge change for her. If the relationship lasted, it could mean he would be living with Asuka and Ria permanently. It could mean a lot of things, big life changing things he probably shouldn't be thinking about just yet.

"Uhh, yeah? I mean, it makes you two happy. So that's great," Ria replied.

"It's just, it's always been you and your mom with me sort of coming and going," Shinji said awkwardly. "I just... I know it's going to be a big change for you. I want to make sure you're okay."

"Dad, I'm sixteen," Ria sighed. "Even if things were going perfectly, I'd probably be on my own in a few years. So it doesn't really matter what I think."

"We're a family. Of course it matters what you think," Shinji insisted.

We are a family. Shinji insisted to himself. She's not exactly human and I'm not a great father but we are a family.

Ria smiled softly. "Thanks. But really I'm fine with it. I'm happy for you two, really. You make mom happy and she makes you happy, so why should I have an issue with it?"

"That…" Shinji was at a loss for what to say. "Thank you."

Something suddenly clicked in his head.

"What do you mean, 'even if things were going perfectly'?" he asked. "You make it sound like you might leave sooner."

Ria turned away, her attention turned towards the door.

"I'm not going to abandon you," Ria insisted, but her tone was not something that gave Shinji confidence.

"It will be fine," Shinji replied. "Your mom's protected and we'll look after you regardless of what happens."

Ria stood up, still not facing Shinji.

"What do you think is going to happen if there is a deal made?" she asked. "I have to tell them or they will assume Zeruel is still rogue and I won't have that."

"They'll understand. It's you," he said confidently. "We'll tell them how you protected me and your mother from Okito."

Ria shook her head. "You heard what Misato said. You know the moment she realizes what I am she will never forgive me. Kodama still hasn't recovered. She's going to think I'm just as awful as her brother. I don't even know what Shinji and Asuka will think. Maybe Mari will understand, if I'm the luckiest person on Earth."

Misato's outburst had been tough to hear. He couldn't very well blame her for feeling that way. Zeruel had tried to kill her, after all. But Zeruel had died, and it was plain as day that Ria wasn't truly that Angel anymore.

"Misato will come around eventually. So will Kodama. So will the Pilots. They'll just need time. You're a good person. They know that," Shinji assured her.

"I lied to them," Ria replied. "I lied to all of them for years. They trust me implicitly and I'm lying to them every single day. Kodama will just feel betrayed and Misato will just see an Angel. And she will do everything in her power to make my life Hell even if there's peace."

She sighed, looking defeated and completely miserable.

"I just think it will be better for everyone if I leave once things are settled down. Mari already wants to leave. If she still does after the truth comes out, if she doesn't... I'll manage. I stay in touch, don't worry."

She had given up. She knew she had his and Asuka's support, but the fear of losing everyone else was driving her away.

"No," Shinji said firmly. "I won't allow this."

Ria stared at him, unsure if she should be angry or surprised.

"If you actually wanted to move, believe me I wouldn't stop you. But you're just running away from the problem." He pressed on. "Speaking from experience, there's only a few times it will work and even if it does you regret leaving in the long run. The third biggest mistake I ever made was leaving you and your mother. I should have stayed."

"You needed help. You've said that yourself several times," Ria argued.

Shinji nodded. "And I should have come back the moment I had said help. I missed out on years I could have had with Asuka and you. If you leave, any chance you have of any sort of relationship with the Pilots, Kodama, or Misato goes away completely. I won't pretend things will be easy if you stay. They will be hard, probably far harder than I imagine. But with luck they might see in you what your Mother and I do."

"I don't want to be alone," Ria said fearfully. "But if they all hate me, I might as well be by myself."

He grabbed her by the shoulders, staring her in the eyes.

"You will never be alone," Shinji assured her. "You have Asuka and me and we have you. We'll back you up no matter what happens. Even if this all falls through, even if Misato tries to put us away, we'll have your back."

"No!" Ria shouted. "I don't want you in danger. I'm supposed to protect you."

"And you have," he replied. "But it's my responsibility to protect you. I can't do that if you've fled to another country. So I'm begging you; stay, please."

"O...okay. I'll stay," Ria replied uncertainly.

Shinji pulled in, hugging her as tightly as he could, scared if he didn't he might lose her. Ria stood there, tears rolling down her cheek.

/

A boy approached the main employee entrance to WILLE. Misato, Ritsuko, and Asuka watched from a computer inside the General's office.

It looked almost like an adult, maybe eighteen years of Angel. It was tall, but thin. A mop of dirty blonde hair covered it's head. There was a slight bend in his nose, likely the result of some old injury, and the vaguest hint of a beard on it's chin. it's blue eyes looked around with calm interest. It was dressed in a dark suit with a grey tie, slightly overdressed for an interview but otherwise fitting. Curiously, Misato noticed, his fingernails were painted blue.

The other two stared at her, waiting for a reaction. Everything that was about to unfold depended on her next reaction. If there was to be any chance of any sort of deal, she needed to let it in. If she didn't, it would know Asuka had told her about this meeting and the deal would likely be entirely be over, tossed in the gutter.

War without end or peace with an enemy she loathed beyond measure? A storm of conflicting thoughts and emotions raged inside Misato. Every instinct was telling her she should kill this Angel. Yet Asuka, Shinji, Ria... they had all begged her for this deal. And she found herself increasingly doubting that this was some sort of trick, if the Angels behind this wanted to hurt WILLE , they clearly had the means. But could she accept this? Could she really endure a peace?

"Misato, we need to..." Ritsuko began.

"Let him in," Misato said suddenly. "And make sure he gets to Asuka's office."

She sat back in her chair, sighing as Asuka went to prepare.

Hopefully she wasn't making the biggest mistake of her life letting that thing in.

 

[Teen Spirit]

"State your full name, please," Asuka said evenly, pen in hand.

"Dmitri Ohta," the boy said, his voice thickly Russian accented.

Asuka wrote on the form in front of her, never turning her gaze fully away from the Angel.

Despite the situation, Dmitri seemed completely at ease, leaning back casually in his chair. She wasn't sure if this made her feel better or even more worried.

From what they could gather. This boy was the son of a Navy Captain and a Russian business woman. He had spent most of his life in Russia with his mother and siblings but they had moved to Neo Kobe some three years ago. Nothing they found could connect him to Okito or any of the known Angels.

"Just so you understand, this meeting is being recorded and can and likely will be reviewed by the rest of staff when I feel comfortable bringing it to their attention," Asuka explained.

Of course that was a lie, they were listening right now. But it was the best way of making it clear that he was not to talk about Ria without tipping her hand. This whole situation was a nightmarish balancing act between two lies.

Dmitri nodded. "Of course. Quite reasonable of you."

He smiled a bit, his left hand spinning a toothpick

"Now, Mr. Ohta," Asuka went on, bracing herself for the worst to happen at any minute. "You claim to be the Ninth Angel, Matarael."

"Quite correct," he replied.

"And yet you're here, at the heart of WILLE. Speaking to a former Pilot. Why is that?" she asked.

He sat up straight.

"Tell me, Madam. Do you remember my attack?"

"Quite well." Her voice grew icy. "The only reason it lasted as long as it did was due to SEELE causing a power outage."

It had been a fairly proud moment for Asuka. Shinji had the kill but the plan had been hers.

Matarael nodded in agreement "Quite so, quite so. I'm not vainglorious when it comes to my strength. If I were to fight, I would die like a rat in a typhoon."

"So you came here because you were afraid Sachiel and Ramiel would force you into the fight?" she asked.

Ohta's expression grew serious. "I came here because they are barking madmen who think they know better than the gods."

"Speaking of which, you're positive you weren't followed?" she asked.

If he was followed, his use as a spy was effectively gone. And Misato might just decide against the deal.

He gestured to his tie. "Do you think I wear this stuffy shit normally? No ma'am. I have a very particular look normally and Okito has never seen me wearing anything like this. Plus I used a fake ID to get here today. I covered my tracks as best I could."

"When you say particular look, what do you mean? I'm just curious," Asuka replied.

"My hair is dyed black, my pants normally have chains on them. Some dark matte shade of lipstick. Eyeliner occasionally." He counted each item off with a finger. "Vintage T-shirts, long black jackets, the occasional spiked bracelet. Dressing like this... well let's just say I nearly gave my poor mother a heart attack when I left this morning."

Well that was quite the mental image.

"On that note," he shifted in his seat, "I understand this negotiation may not go well."

One of Asuka's hands went towards the gun beneath her desk.

"I don't hold it against you," he went on. "Far from it, frankly I'm surprised I made it this far. But I must inform you there's an email, explaining what I am and what has happened, set to deliver to my family should I not return by tomorrow night or if I send a coded text. So if things go south, I don't want my family to be publically shamed by you labelling me a terrorist, say instead that I've gone missing or something. Also my brother and sister are not Angels. So don't bother them, if you please."

"Your family is important to you?" Asuka asked, leaning in closer.

"I don't claim to be a perfect son but I'm not Okito either." He frowned in disgust. "The boy shames all of us with his behavior."

He cared for his family, or at least put on the pretense of it. That brought her a measure of comfort.

"So Leliel mentioned you have information we may find useful," Asuka noted. "Though I'm curious, Leliel didn't seem to know what that info was. Why are you telling me something you wouldn't tell another Angel?"

Dmitri shifted nervously, double checking any shadows in the room.

"In truth, I do not fully trust that woman," he admitted.

That was surprising and more than a little confusing.

"But she was the one who arranged this whole meeting?" Asuka said skeptically.

He got defensive. "Don't get me wrong, I know she wants Ramiel stopped. But the problem is I'm pretty sure that's all she cares about. She only wants peace because that means there will be less Angels to fight. I felt it better to hedge my bets, just to be safe."

With the amount of distrust among the Angels, if nothing else dividing them against each other and taking them out one by one would be trivially easy if they played things right.

"You have to understand," Dimitri went on, "none of us really thought Ramiel was serious until the Pilots appeared. It was just idle talk after all. None of us, save Leliel. We thought she was a loon, ranting on and on about how Ramiel was tampering with things beyond his understanding. Then she disappeared for a few years, only appearing again some eight months ago, if Armisael is to be believed."

That didn't really fit what Leliel had told them, at the very least she had withheld quite a bit. Concerning, deeply concerning.

"So what was, what is Ramiel planning?" she asked.

This was by far the most important part. Having him as a spy would be useful, but what he could tell them now was of far greater us. If they knew what they were fighting for they might have some idea of how to stop the Angels.

"None of us truly understand what we are," Dimitri admitted. "We are Angels, we are Lilim, we are both, we are neither. In truth we are mules. Unnatural hybrids whose very being has been twisted and warped by forces beyond our understanding. So the question lingers, what happens to beings as unnatural as us when we die?"

"You fear death?" Asuka questioned.

"They fear oblivion," he corrected. "Third Impact at least brought clarity that there is something after death for humanity. We don't know any more. Our god is dead, our Heaven is gone. Do we go to yours? Do we reincarnate? Or do we dissolve into nothingness?"

"What does that have to do with the attacks though? What are they planning that they are so afraid of us finding out about?" Asuka grew impatient.

"I'm getting to that," he assured her. "Apologies, it takes a while to explain. You see, Ramiel believes he found a solution that would render that question moot and make us powerful again, combine the best aspects of our human and Angelic nature into a more perfect union. The two want to use that power to make us the dominant species on Earth again. Either ruling over humanity or replacing most of it with something of our own design."

"That's... awfully ambitious," she observed, trying to process what he was telling her.

"Tell me, ma'am, what do you know of the Eigenart Initiative?" he asked.

The name was completely unfamiliar to her.

"Nothing," Asuka admitted.

Dimitri nodded. "To be fair, few do. They were, or more accurately are a SEELE splinter group."

Oh, great. Just great. Because SEELE had to be involved in some manner, Asuka grumbled in her head.

"They started as a disagreement over the exact nature of what SEELE wanted for humanity. Most of SEELE choose Instrumentality. What would become Eigenart wanted Autoevolution. They were purged from SEELE and hunted down vigorously. The Initiative itself is dead but Ramiel was apparently able to uncover their work, and has a source who is quite knowledgeable about the hows and whys of what they were trying to accomplish."

"And this source is…" Asuka began.

He shrugged. "Sadly, that I do not know."

And more wonderful news. The list of people would could provide that type of info was rather small.

"You see." Dimitri went on. "Autoevolution is an interesting inverse of instrumentality. It's controlled evolution, instead of breaking down the barriers between people and turning them into so much soul goo. It refines the barriers, turning people into near god-like and varied individuals. Ramiel believes if we enacted their plans on our terms it would allow us to skate around the whole death thing and leave us in a position where your kind would never be a threat to us."

"'Gods among the Lilim,'" Asuka said, repeating Leliel's warning.

"Quite so," Dimitri replied. "With a few similarly uplifted human collaborators ruling the world in our name."

Asuka scowled. That would explain why people would work with Ramiel, and why they bizarrely thought that she and Shinji might work with them.

"As I said, none of us took it seriously. Until the Pilots appeared and Sachiel went barking at the moon. Then Ramiel gathered as many of us as he could and told us all know that WILLE would grant us no quarter. It was his either plan or a slow death. But I'm here now, so Ramiel's argument doesn't seem to hold much weight." Dimitri smiled.

He had been honest, as near as she could tell. He was here at great risk to himself. He was affable and and calm. Asuka even found herself liking the kid.

"I can't promise you anything yet," she told him. "But I do strongly appreciate what you coming here and if what you're saying is true, I will do everything I can to convince the General that you and the Angels that agree with you want peace."

Dimitri nodded. "Thank you, ma'am. That was honestly more than I hoped for. Now let me tell you what I know of Leliel."

/

Misato listened to every word of their conversation. Growing increasingly torn with each sentence. She didn't want to believe what it was saying. Why would they ever accept the word of an Angel? They had already proven themselves the greatest liars and deceivers the world had ever known.

Yet what it said made sense. It explained recent events and their actions. And it was too dangerous to ignore.

If it was right, if this Dimitri was not leading them on. The Angels had access to someone with incredible knowledge of SEELE. The Eigenart Initiative was something she'd only seen mentioned a half dozen times in deeply classified files.There were only a few people she could think of who would have the kind of knowledge. Most of them were dead or in prison. That left the core members of SEELE itself, Kozo Fuyutsuki, and Gendo Ikari. And as far as they knew all of them were still in instrumentality.

As far as they knew. Misato chewed her thumb, thinking hard.

In the end, it was humanity that caused Third Impact. it was humans who invaded the NERV and slaughtered most of the staff, nearly killing her in the process. Scratch that, she had died. She had died twenty years ago to the bullets of JSSDF troops, bleeding out in a hallway after shoving Shinji into an emergency elevator. She was little more than Revenant, brought back by having the sheer luck of having died just close enough to Third Impact to fall under its resurrection.

Maybe making peace was the lesser of two evils…

A alert appeared on her screen. The whole Command room snapped to attention.

Ramiel had appeared again, this time in Melbourne, Australia.

Every screen became filled with images of the coastal city burning, entire streets melted into molten glass. The glossy blue diamond of the Angel's form floating above what was once the Royal Exhibition Building. What wasn't burning was filled with desperate people trying to escape the carnage.

People started to scramble to their stations, but then paused. Realizing they could do absolutely nothing but watch. A city of over a million people was dying and they could do nothing to stop the monster assaulting it. Even starting immediately, it would take hours to get an Evangelion there.

Rage boiled inside Misato, She was helpless and worse, she had been played like a fool. The timing was just too much to be just bad luck. They knew, and they were taunting her.

And yet, that also meant the Angel currently speaking to Asuka had been played too. Ramiel must have been banking on her killing it in a fit of rage. Matarael clearly knew too much.

Dispicable fiends even to their own kind.

"Suzuhara!" she called out.

Touji snapped to attention. "Yes, General?"

"Escort the Angel to the holding cell in the Vault. That thing isn't leaving WILLE. Subdue it if it resists, but avoid killing it if possible."

Killing it now would be a waste.

He snapped a quick salute. "Understood, ma'am."

"I'm going to make sure Asuka is out of the room when you arrive," she added.

/

Okito stood outside of WILLE. A tan hoodie and sunglasses hid most of his features. Sweat ran down his neck.

"You heard what Iruel said. He betrayed us," Shamshel's voice said through his earpiece.

"I know!" Okito whispered.

"So why are you there?" she questioned.

"Because I'm fighting for all of us!" he barked sharply. "And Matarael is not going to get out of there without my help!"

He was fighting for all of them. If he stopped believing that, if he stopping trying, if he gave himself over to the cynicism that Shamshel and Israfel had embraced, he was truly lost. Then this was all for nothing. His... Liilm parents, his sister, his best friend, all forsaken for nothing. He could not bear to even think that.

"Besides, he might be the key to convincing the others to finally join the fight," Okito added with a hopeful smile.

He removed his glasses, his eyes glowing red. His hands flowed like quicksilver until they were reforged into black claws.

With a feral howl, Sachiel charged towards WILLE.

 

[Teen Spirit]

"So you think Leliel is behind the Pilots' arrival?" Asuka asked, jotting down notes as she spoke to Dimitri.

"It's the only explanation that makes sense," the Angel replied. "She was and is strongly determined to take down Ramiel. The amount of force sent is enough to scare Okito out of his wits. It's even enough to make victory probable, but not certain. Anything stronger would sent or done something that would have ensured victory, this was just enough to keep things competitive. And yet, the First Child's appearance makes it clear who's ever behind this wants you to win. This suggests they're limited in some way."

It wasn't the strongest argument, but he had a good point.

"Then why lie about it?" she asked.

Dimitri shrugged. "A good question. I don't claim to know Leliel's mind. She's an erratic one. Perhaps she simply does not want to be held responsible for the Pilots. Perhaps she has some sort of hidden agenda. Who knows?"

Well, that's not troubling in the slightest, Asuka mused to herself.

"What do you mean by erratic?" she asked. Having an insane Angel for an ally was less than ideal.

"There are three Angels that the rest of us were never quite sure of: Zeruel because well, no one ever met them. Most of us haven't met Bardiel either and those who did really don't like to talk about it. Leliel, though... besides the fact that she's been ranting about how evil Ramiel is since we were kids, there's always been something off about her. Her behavior is always rather... mercurial, for lack of a better word. Sometimes she's shy and quiet as a mouse, other times she's in your face ranting for hours. She always seems to know more then she lets on, and yet sometimes she's completely blindsided by common news. Most of us thought she was was nuts. That's probably why Okito or Ramiel didn't give her much thought when the Pilots appeared. I'm pretty sure that wasn't the smartest thing to tell you considering the situation but I feel honesty here is important," he replied.

They would certainly have to handle this on a case by case basis.

He could be slandering Leliel for his own gain but what would be the point? Besides, Dimitri didn't seem the type, so far he'd been nothing but kind, affable, and reasonable.

Her office phone rang.

"One second," she said to Dimitri as she picked up the phone. "Hello? But I'm in the middle of... okay, fine, I'll be there in a moment."

She hung up the phone with a frustrated sigh.

"There's been an incident. I need to go take care of something. I'll be back shortly," Asuka explained.

"Ramiel?" Dimitri asked nervously.

"Ramiel," she replied, nodding.

"Well... shit," he said. "You uh... might want to prepare yourself."

"For what?" Asuka asked.

As if on cue, deep bellowing alarms rang out throughout the room. They were under attack.

Asuka grabbed her gun.

"I was careful," Dimitri said sadly, barely audible. "I was so careful. How did they find out?"

"Worry about that later," Asuka said as she rushed to the door. "Follow me. We need to get you out of here."

Matarael quickly followed Asuka out of the room.

/

The entrance doors shattered as Okito plowed through them.

The few regular employees near the door, mostly lab assistants and computer technicians just starting or ending their shifts, quickly scattered in terror at the sight of the red eyed monster.

A dozen security guards opened fire on him. Only a few bullets struck before his AT-Field flared, sending the rest ricocheting off.

The guards retreated, disappearing down various hallways. Okito ran down one of them, his claws ripping through the security guard with disdain, the blood staining his hoodie.

Okito continued to change as he raced through the halls, his limbs growing black, ribs bursting from his chest, gill-like growths forming on his legs.

He found himself in an a large, wide open crossroads of sorts, an area mainly used for tours before the attacks began. Glass on four sides, it opened to the levels above and below it.

Tactics against Angels on a personal level were still in their infancy. But one thing had been learned from Shamshel; an Angel that wasn't paying attention to you was an Angel that could be wounded.

From across the hall a dozen guards appeared, their angry and fearful faces hidden by helmets and goggles. Some of them had kids who went to Okito's school, others had friends that were lost in his attack on Asuka's apartment. All of them wanted him dead.

They opened fire, their bullets smashing into his AT-Field. Okito charged towards them, not even noticing the two squads on the floor above until they opened fire. Their bullets struck home, ventilating his back and legs.

Okito's charge ground to a halt, blood pouring from multiple wounds as he howled in agony.

More guards appeared to his left and right, adding to the gunfire. The Angel collapsed, his body ripped by countless wounds.

"Target down!" one of the guards announced over the radio, "I repeat, the Third Angel is down."

A squad approached nervously, guns trained on the fallen Angel. One pulled out a pair of handcuffs while another pulled out a needle full of enough tranquilizer to put down a bear. Dr. Akagi and the General had wanted him taken alive if possible.

Okito was twitching, his arm clawing useless at the ground as he wheezed shallow, painful breaths.

They were on him now, the one carrying the needle preparing to jam it into the back of his neck.

Okito leaped up, one clawed hand wrapping the needle bearing guard's head, a savage smile across his face as he closed it.

Steam poured out him as his wounds started close.

He slaughtered the rest of the squad with teeth and claws, using the last one as a shield against incoming fire.

He turned towards guards on the floor above him, their shots smashingly harmlessly against his AT-Field, his eyes burning bright red.

The guards, and most of the walkway they were standing on, disappeared in a massive explosion.

The guards to his left and right suffered similar fates, filling the place with thick black clouds of smoke as powerful sprinklers worked to put out the fires.

Oktio wiped the blood from his claws onto the shirt of a fallen guard and ran off.

/

Misato watched in horror. Dozens of men lost in moments. Guilt and rage consumed her. I let this happen. I gave them the order, I agreed to this deal, the thought rang in her head.

Her mind raced.

They know about the deal, they probably knew about it from the beginning. Is that what they're going to do every time we willing let one of their own into our base? If this is the cost of peace, then why even bother? If Matarael was useless as a spy, what was the point of keeping him alive?

Misato scowled as her rage grew greater and greater. She grabbed her pistol and walked towards the door.

This was a mistake, Misato thought bitterly. It was a mistake from the start.

"Where are you going?" Ritsuko asked.

"I'm going to fix a problem," she replied.

/

"I must apologize, madam," Dimitri said as they ran down the hallway, "I honestly thought my arrival here had been undetected."

"I'm sure you did," Asuka replied. "Who knew you were coming here?"

He pondered, nearly colliding with a door. "Leliel of course. Maybe Armisael. I mean, Leliel had asked her first."

Asuka frowned. "Hmmm."

The door ahead of them slammed open, tearing from it's hinges and collapsing to tile floor with a metallic bang.

Okito stood in the door frame, his clothes in bloody, ragged tatters. He was manic, his stance hunched and feral, and his red eyes had this crazed look to them.

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Dimitri groaned.

Asuka leveled her pistol at Okito.

"And what exactly is that going to do, Ms. Soryu?" Okito asked, a fevered smile on his face.

"What do you want, Okito?" she replied sharply.

"A great many things," he replied. "But right now I wish to escort Matarael out of here. It's rather unsafe for him."

Dimitri laughed.

"Right now it seems like the safest place for him is right here," Asuka shot back. "I'm not out to kill all of your kind, just idiots like you."

Okito frowned, regret passing over his face.

"I'm sure you believe that. You're a rare woman Ms. Soryu, and if it were you in charge, I might have chosen a different path. But you are not Misato, you are not most of humanity. Even if we never raised a finger against your kind they would still be out there, calling for our blood, the moment they knew the truth. Humanity will never accept us," he said calmly.

Asuka rolled her eyes. "Really? Because Dimitri tells me differently. Tell me, how is my father these days?"

Okito was shocked.

"How much did you tell them?" he asked Dimitri, dismayed and shocked.

"As much as I could, you living embodiment of a dumpster fire!" Dimitri shot back. "Leliel was right about you the entire time!"

Okito took a step forwards, his claws snapping front of him.

"You kill me and you're dead, you know that," Asuka warned.

"I don't have to kill you to get you outta my way," he replied.

"Touch her and you're dead," another voice warned.

Asuka turned to see Toji standing behind her, assault rifle in hand. What little was exposed of his face was unreadable.

He pushed in front of Asuka and Dimitri, gun trained on Okito.

The father and son stared at each other, disappointment and pain playing across Touji's face.

"So this is it?" Touji said, anger filling his voice. "This is your grand plan, this what you used us for?! Threatened your mother, abandoned your sister?"

Okito, despite the situation, laughed heartedly at that.

"Does this really look like a plan?" he snarked. "My plan was up in flames the moment those Evas first arrived. This is just repeated failures and desperate flailing about while everyone insults me repeatedly."

"So why bother with any of this?" Asuka asked.

"Because I have to protect my family," Okito said solemnly.

Touji growled. "You HAD a family already!" he shouted at the creature that had been his son.

"Did I?" Okito snapped. "DID I?! You loved the person you thought I was, but if you had know, if you had even suspected I was one of the Angels, would you have cared for me at all?"

"I…" Touji hesitated. "You were my son. I would have tried."

Okito glared at him, clearly not believing a word. "No, you would not have. I knew that then as I know it now. Now move out of the way."

Touji put his finger on the trigger. "No."

"I'm not leaving here without Matarael and you can't stop me," Okito replied.

"I'm not coming with you," Dimitri insisted.

He turned towards Toji. "Sir, I would strongly advise you duck."

"What?" Toji replied.

"Duck," Dimitri insisted as his eyes turned red.

Touji ducked. A moment afterwards Dimitri spit out a big yellow glob.

The glob struck Okito square in the face, causing him to collapse and scream in agony as his skin blistered and melted off his face.

Four massive, stark black, spider-like limbs erupted out of Dimitri's back. His skin ran black, false eyes appearing along his arms

He spat again, melting a section of the wall, exposing a section of hallway.

"For the record, not running away," Matarael explained. "Just trying to get away from him."

He vanished through the hole.

Okito scrambled back to his feet, most of his face eaten away down to the bone.

With a wordless howl of frustration and rage he followed after him, leaping above Touji and Asuka.

/

Okito caught up to Matarael a few minutes later.

Okito's face was a mess of bone and newly grown skin. His body wracked by pain and sheer exhaustion.

Matarael looked down at him, his new legs easily making him twice Okito's height.

"What do you actually think you're doing here, Sachiel? You do realize Ramiel will kill me if I go with you?"

"I won't allow that!" Okito desperately insisted. "This is for all of us. I don't care what you did, or what you were planning to do. I won't let them do anything to hurt you. We're all in this together."

"Even Zeruel?" Matarael questioned.

"Even Zeruel," Sachiel replied.

Matarael shook his head, looking disgusted.

"What's sad is that you actually believe it," he said disdainfully. "We're not brothers. We're not even comrades. Everyone involved in this plan of yours besides you is just doing it out of self interest."

"We have to do this!" Okito insisted, not really hearing what he was saying. "It's the only way we will survive!"

"Because you put us in danger!" Matarael snapped. "Because you think being a Herald actually means something anymore. It doesn't! Our Creator is dead, and you abandoned them. Why should I feel any sort of loyalty or bond to you?!"

The hallways above them became filled with dozens of security guards, flanking them on both the left and right. Misato stood in the center of the right group.

Okito tried to fire at them but he was too weak, too exhausted. Healing from Matarael's attack had taken too much out of him.

They leveled their guns, Misato pulling out her pistol.

"You're a fool Okito. You always have been, always will. With luck, the good General over here will make sure this is the last day we have to deal with your idiocy."

At that moment, Sachiel realized the guns were trained on both of them.

He extended his arms out, pushing his AT-Field to the limit on both sides as a hail of gunfire came down on him. Not a shot got through.

Matarael was not so lucky, he had not seen the shots coming, and had been completely exposed.

He wobbled in place, blood pouring from his mouth, a shocked and confused look upon his face.

Two his legs snapped, weakened by so many bullets, sending him collapsing to the ground in a broken heap.

Matarael was the weakest of them physically. There was a very good chance this could actually kill him.

Okito rushed to his side, using his AT-Field to shelter him from any more bullets.

"...Unfortunate," Matarael said weakly, barely awake.

Okito glared at Misato, who looked down at him with hateful disdain.

He had come under a banner of peace, he had given her valuable information. And she shot him without hesitation, Okito realized with dawning horror.

This was his biggest fear brought to life. He had been right, in the worst way possible.

He clutched Matarael tightly to his chest.

Every instinct he had was telling him to to run up there and gut Katsuragi like a fish but Matarael took priority. He would have to sate his hatred another day.

He ran out of WILLE as fast as he could, carrying Matarael with him.

/

Asuka burst into the command center, every head in there turning towards her.

Misato met her with a neutral expression. She had been expecting this.

"You shot him! Why on earth did you shoot him?!" Asuka said, utterly bewildered.

"Melbourne is on fire and we've lost dozens of personnel," Misato replied, her eyes focused on the screen in front of her.

"That was Ramiel and Sachiel's fault!" Asuka exclaimed.

"And they did it because they knew it was here. It was useless as spy," she replied.

"That didn't mean you have to try and kill him!" Asuka argued.

"Nor did I need It alive!" Misato snapped.

Asuka looked at her in horror.

Misato sighed. "This peace was a good idea, but look at what happened, look at what it cost. I'm not willing to risk anymore people for a half dozen things I don't think should exist in the first place."

"So what now, we just tell the rest of them to go to Hell?" Asuka replied, looking increasingly unhappy with every word.

Misato nodded. "They all die, no exception, no mercy."

 

[Quadhelix]

You know I'm okay with people making crossover omakes if they want.

Click to shrink...

Not a crossover, but hopefully it still meets your approval:

Fan Omake: "Hard Bargaining"

Ria stepped into Misato's office.

"Thank you for taking the time to speak with me, grandma."

Misato scowled.

"I told you not to call me that."

Ria gave a soft grin and winked.

"Yeah -- but you love when I do it anyway."

Misato sighed and ducking to hide her smile, shaking her head as if to knock loose her amused thoughts. Taking a moment to compose herself, she looked back up at the daughter of her former wards.

"So, what did you want to talk about."

"The peace treaty with the Angels fell through."

Misato grimaced.

"You can't think they were really going to honor it."

Ria paused a moment before responding.

"I don't really know. I have to admit that I am worried that we've bitten off more than we can chew, but I can't help but think that I'll sleep easier once I know for sure that every last one of them is dead."

Misato nodded and smiled.

"I'm glad we can, at least, agree on that."

Ria nodded in return.

"However, I think your plan of hunting down the Angels has a fairly major practical problem...at least, from my perspective."

Misato frowned and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, what is that?"

Ria placed her hands on Misato's desk. Before Misato could really process what was happening, she found her desk sliced clean in two, the two halves thrown to opposite sides of the room. Ria stood in the midst of the wreckage, her arms replaced with what amounted to prehensile razor blades that had embedded themselves into the walls on the opposite sides of the room.

On reflex, Misato jumped out of her chair to avoid any debris. With her mouth hanging open, she stared into the red glow of Ria's eyes, taking in the nonplussed expression on her de facto granddaughter's face.

Ria responded in a monotone:

"Take a guess."

 

[Teen Spirit]

Chapter 12: You Can (Not) See.

Ria knelt at her bedside, hands held beneath her chin, fear and desperation driving her to a rare action.

"I don't know if you can answer me, I don't know if you can even hear me still. But I hope against all reason that you can. I have been faithful without fail, even when it seemed like everyone else had turned their back on you. But now it seems were are all condemned to share the same fate, innocent and heretic alike."

She struggled for breath, fighting tears.

"At first I thought this was punishment for our failures but to have Misato be the architect of our damnation? I refuse to believe you would be so cruel. So I ask of you now, I beg of you; send me a sign, send me guidance, send me... something, anything, please. I don't know what to do. If I fight I will be just as bad as them, but I can't just sit here with a sword hanging over me. Please, I need to know you're still there."

Only silence greeted her.

/

For nearly two days Matarael hung on the edge of death, in and out of conusiness, feverish, delirious, and in utter agony. His body struggled to knit itself back together. Finally, as dawn broke over Kyoto on the third morning, he awoke, almost immediately falling off the couch he had been laid upon.

"Oww..." he groaned weakily as he struggled to pick himself up.

"And so the traitor wakes."

Dimitri looked up to see Shamshel sitting on a chair across the room, staring at him with a bemused expression.

"It's hard to be a traitor to something you were never a part of," he spat as he sat back on the couch.

"What about your own kind?" she replied pointedly.

"Don't start gaslighting me you jackbooted thug!" Dimitri protested.

"None of that talk," another voice called out.

Okito walked into the room, a glass of water in his hand. He smiled warmly at the sight of Matarael awake.

Matarael only scowled further.

"So...I'm alive, thanks for that," he muttered. "Even though it's entirely your fault I was shot in the first place."

"She would have tried to kill you sooner or later regardless," Okito insisted.

A thought struck Matarael's hazy mind.

"Though I'm curious how you knew about the meeting. I'm actually starting to wonder if perhaps Ramiel was really just bad timing," he remarked.

Okito and Shamshel looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"If Ramiel knew about the meeting, that means someone had turned double agent. He wouldn't risk losing a possible inside source with so obvious a gambit. You on the other hand, are not that subtle. So who told you about the meeting?"

"...Iruel," Okito said hesitantly.

"And who told Iruel?" Dimitri wondered.

"What makes you sure Iruel didn't find out himself?" Okito countered.

"I'm careful," he insisted. Iruel was many things, but he wasn't everywhere and anywhere. If Iruel had spied on him that closely, it was because someone told him to spy that closely.

"What are you trying to get at?" Shamshel demanded angrily.

"Oh, nothing..." he said dismissively.

In truth he was pretty sure someone had played both Okito and General Katsuragi. The peace was screwed, but any chance of angel loyal to Ramiel and Sachiel's plan getting inside of WILLE freely was shot as well. But who?

A question Dimitri knew he had no answer to.

"So what happens now?" he asked dryly. "I suppose going home is out of the question."

"We need to strike at Misato," Okito said with bitter rage. "She attacked you while you were there under a banner of peace. I don't agree with what you were trying to do but what she did, that...that can't go unanswered."

I try for peace and find only violence, Dimitri mused sadly to himself. And now my 'brothers' want more. Lovely.

/

Ritsuko, Misato, Asuka, and Mana stared at each other in tense silence in the conference room.

"I'm willing to concede that I overreacted,"Misato explained. "But I do not believe it was safe to even consider the peace deal, and without the peace deal it was just going to be an eventual threat."

"He," Asuka corrected. "I don't have an issue with you calling Okito an 'it', but Dimitri deserves better than that."

Misato sighed. "He did give us good intel, I'll admit. But it was a choice between the safety of humanity and six lives. I did what I had to do. And I would do it again."

"We could have gotten the Angel's identities out of him if we had given him more time," Ritsuko observed.

"Who knows if it would have been any good?" Misato retorted, her frustration clear. "Someone leaked that meeting. In all possibility one or more of the Angels seeking peace could have been planning on giving us fake names and IDs. They've been lying for two decades. None of them can be trusted."

And what are you going to do when you realize what Ria is? Asuka wondered grimly to herself. Will you pull the gun on her? Is Ria going to end up killing you? Am I?

Asuka didn't hate Misato, not even now. What she had done was incredibly, unbelievably stupid. She didn't hate her for it, but it did put Ria at risk, and if it came down to her daughter or Misato, her daughter came first every time.

She had considered trying to remove her from her position, but Asuka knew she didn't have any sort of real support to do that. Most at WILLE thought Misato had jumped the gun a touch, but they cared little for the failed peace.

"What we need to worry about is the people allied with the Angels," Misato went on, oblivious to Asuka's plight. "We know they're allied with Officer Langley and have access to incredibly high level SEELE research and Intel."

Nothing like having freaking Okito of all people confirm that yes indeed, your father had betrayed humanity.

"I checked all the prison records. Anyone living who could have given them that info is still being held in lifelong solitary confinement. Which means someone came out of the sea," Mana explained

"Considering what we know of the people involved, that means the most likely suspect is…" Misato pinched her nose. "Gendo Ikari."

It made sense. SEELE itself would have found something close to what they wanted in instrumentality, whereas Gendo couldn't have gotten anything close to what he wanted.

Still, that was not a possibility anyone at the table really wanted to deal with. Asuka, Ritsuko, Misato, they all had different, personal reasons for hating the man.

Asuka was dreading the conversation she would have with Shinji about this. Ria too. That would be awkward, no matter what.

'Hey, it turns out both your grandfathers have betrayed humanity.'

"I don't see him working willingly with the Angels," Ritsuko commented, trying to hide her distaste for what she was saying. "He could very well be held captive."

"It's largely irrelevant unless we somehow get confirmation," Mana pointed out. "They have a source, whoever it is."

"Good point," Misato agreed. "We should worry more about the nature of this autoevolution and who else might have sold out humanity."

She was staring directly at Mana.

"...I haven't, just to be clear," Mana said awkwardly.

Misato nodded. "You've been totally honest with us from the start. Do you think the Prime Minister might be involved in any of this?"

Asuka tensed up at the idea. Oh good, because I totally wanted to slaughter soldiers by the hundreds again.

"Not to my knowledge," Mana replied. "He's admittedly most unhappy that you tried to make a peace deal behind his back."

"Dealing with the Angels is our domain," Misato firmly insisted. "He knows that, no matter what he tries."

Mana shrugged. She was just the messenger after all.

"How is the T-RIDEN-T project coming along?" Ritsuko inquired.

"Construction is almost 90% complete," Mana explained. "I suspect the project was further along before this started than anyone thought... Which admittedly does play into Misato's concerns. But they haven't been able to find a pilot, or more specifically, a pilot they can trust."

Though if they didn't trust their pilot pool, that did suggest they weren't collaborating with the Angels, or at least weren't stupid enough to give them access to weapons that powerful.

...Or wanted to find a pilot that would be willing to go along with their plans.

"We can't trust children because they might be Angels," Misato groaned. "Can't trust the government because they might be working with them. This just keeps getting better and better."

You are just going to snap when you realize what Ria is, aren't you? Asuka wondered with horror.

At this point she had to do everything she could to make sure that either Misato never found out the truth, or was at least powerless to do anything when she did.

"Our priority right now is getting the Evas into the Vault," Ritsuko declared. "Construction is finished and tomorrow they will be brought in. They will finally be secured. We need to make sure that goes off without a hitch."

No one wanted a repeat of the first attack.

She went on. "After that, I'll hand integrating the Kyoto security network and electronic defenses off to Ibuki and focus my attention into Auto-evolution, how it works, what it involves, materials needed... The more we know about it, the quicker we can work to stop it or use it for our own ends."

Everyone stared at her in surprise at her last words. It wasn't like they thought she was working with the Angels, Ristuko was far too guilt ridden and well... sane, to even consider such a thing. But her even considering using their plan was a tad concerning.

"Care to run that by us again?" Misato asked.

"I mean if it's too dangerous obviously we won't do anything with it," Ritsuko said defensively. "But from what Matarael said about it, it doesn't sound like there's anything inherently wrong with it. We might be even able to apply it to Instrumentality, get everyone out of it."

"Pretty sure tampering with your immortal soul is pretty wrong to begin with." Mana muttered.

"Well...I mean, you're not wrong," Asuka said hesitantly. "But considering it's a project cooked up by people too crazy for SEELE, maybe we don't want to open Pandora's Box?"

"Fair enough," Ritsuko conceded. "Still may be worth considering once we know more."

"Once we know more," Misato agreed. "Now, about the security detail for tomorrow…"

 

[Teen Spirit]

Shinji couldn't help but feel nervous. Later today they would be finally putting the Evas into storage, so they would stop standing outside awkwardly like giant statues. Of course, they all knew that it carried the pretty big risk of the Angels attacking. But none of it would happen until this afternoon so he, Asuka, and Rei found themselves at school. The fear of an attack never fully left his mind, though.

They had arrived early as usual. The three of them plus Ria, who was half asleep at her desk, and some other student who was sitting in the far corner away from them were the only occupants of the classroom so far.

He approached Rei's desk, bento box in hand.

"I..uhh, meant to give this to you early, sorry," Shinji said awkwardly as he handed her the box.

"Thank you," she replied with a small smile.

He began to walk back to his desk.

"Ikari..." Rei said.

He paused.

"There's a history museum reopening this weekend," she went on, strangely hesitant in her words. "I was hoping to learn more about this world... would you like to come with me?"

Asuka looked at Rei in shock. Even Ria looked startled.

It sounded fun. Rei in the past few days had been more open and caring in the past few days then Shinji had ever seen her. It had been great really; being around her had done a lot of her to take his mind off of things the last few days. And the way she always seemed happy to see him had… wait.

Wheels within Shinji's head turned. A light bulb went off above his head.

"Are you asking me out on a date?" he asked.

That was...surprising, to say the least. He had thoughts about her sure, a lot of thoughts, particularly since she showed up. But he didn't think her, or anyone really would have shown that sort of interest in him. He hadn't actually ever really entertained the thought of them being together. But it did interest him. After all... Asuka had made it clear they were just to remain as friends.

Rei tilted her head in confusion. "It's opening on Saturday."

Asuka groaned in frustration.

"No…" Shinji hesitated. "I mean... do you want it to just be the two of us going?"

She nodded. "Yes, very much so."

Well this was shocking. For a moment Shinji's voice caught in his throat, terror and unexpected joy gripping him.

"I... yes, that sounds like fun," he replied eventually.

His face turned bright red as she smiled again.

/

"So...according to dad... Apparently the fuckhead thought Mom and Dad didn't really love him and that's part of why he's doing all this," Kodama explained.

She and Ria were sitting on the roof, just the two of them. Ria had figured Kodama needed time to vent. The sounds of construction as WILLE worked to reshape the city did make the roof far less serene than it had been, but it was still a good escape.

She sympathized with Okito's fears. Ria had shared many of the same ones herself even before this all started. But his actions… just rampant stupidity and borderline madness.

How did I not see it? she wondered. All those years and I always thought of him as bright and reasonable. How does an utter moron and a fanatic hide either of those two traits for years? I thought I understood him so well.

Kodama laughed bitterly. "Frankly it's all bullshit anyways. Monster like him probably doesn't even have real feelings. He could no more care for something than a spider could."

Oh, great! MORE GUILT.

"Maybe he can, maybe he can't," Ria replied evenly. "He's an idiot either way and deserves to die."

"I hear that," Kodama agreed.

Ria took a bite of her sandwich, masking her pain and fear behind an even expression.

"Thanks, by the way," Kodama said suddenly.

"For?" Ria questioned.

"For being there for me." She smiled. "I know I'm not the best of friends, not now, not ever really. But you were there for me, and I appreciate that. I really, seriously, appreciate that."

Years of lying and faking her emotions made it easy for Ria to keep her expression one of calm understanding. Ever since Misato had pulled her gun on Matarael her face had felt more of a mask then one Leliel had given her.

"Well, we've been there for each since we were three. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't support you now?" Ria replied.

Images of how Kodama would react once she knew the truth danced in Ria's head, taunting her.

Kodama suddenly looked awkward and started fidgeting.

"Do you ever think that maybe... nevermind, forget about it," she suddenly dismissed whatever thought had been on her mind.

"What?" Ria questioned.

"Nothing, it's nothing," Kodama was greatly flustered.

"So to change the subject..." Ria said awkwardly. "You're going to be somewhere safe later today right?"

Everyone was bracing themselves for some sort of attack when the Evas began moving again. And as that last attack had proven, that could get incredibly messy.

"Getting stuffed in the vault. So is Aida, Kenny, and Mari," Kodama said with a huff.

"...Wait, what?" Ria was surprised. Considering Misato's general paranoia, she half suspected she had a shoot-on-sight order if Kodama so much as sneezed near WILLE.

"Ehh, apparently both dad and Mari's mom pushed pretty hard for it," Kodama explained. "Getting out of Kyoto right now is pretty much impossible with all the construction and WILLE is the safest place inside the city. So yay, I get to spend a few hours locked in a room with people who have orders to kill me if I start looking at them funny."

Kodama was less than enthusiastic about the idea.

"Oh come on, we could totally make a night of it," Ria tried to lift her spirits. "We could bring games, or books, or cards, or...or, okay admittedly I only had three. But I think three is good."

"Fine fine, just nothing with dice please. I still have memories of the last time we tried that." Kodama shuddered at a distant memory.

Ria nodded. "Fine, no dice, I promise."

However bad the future might be, she had to make the most of the time she had with Kodama and the others.

/

Rei had asked Shinji out.

Wondergirl had asked Shinji out on a date.

...And he had accepted.

Well it's an alternate Wondergirl, Asuka told herself as she ate lunch in the Cafeteria. The Doll we knew would have never done anything like this.

She had no idea how she felt about the situation. It wasn't like she was jealous. What would she have to be jealous of? That was ridiculous!

"Do you mind if I sit here?" Mari asked, pulling Asuka from her thoughts.

"Why?" Asuka said, looking at her warily.

"Ria's with Kodama and without her around...I don't feel safe in the cafeteria." The quiet, pitiful desperation in Kirishima's voice was unmistakable.

"Fine," Asuka sighed.

A thought occurred to her as Mari sat down.

"Why does this place have a cafeteria?" she wondered. "I thought Japanese schools all did lunch in the classroom?"

"I think it's some sort of health code thing. Been like this for as long as I can remember," Mari replied uncertainly.

Asuka looked over Mari. Personally, Asuka wasn't entirely sure what Ria saw in her. Though she never really looked at other girls like that, so she wasn't a exactly a good judge of such things.

"What do you mean by you don't feel safe?" Asuka questioned. Everyone in this school seemed like a horndog, Ria included, but no one had seemed that unrestrained.

"Most of the boys think me and Ria are just being immature and I'm blocking her from being in a 'real relationship'. Japan's not exactly friendly to people like us. Ria gets away with it because of her family...and she tends to verbally rip people to shreds when she's pissed."

"I've noticed," Asuka replied, thinking back to one rather regrettable punch.

Mari stared at her.

"Don't insult her mom. Trust me, it won't end well," Asuka added.

Mari looked even more confused "But..."

"Say I'm her mom and I will shred every drawing you have in that backpack of yours," Asuka snapped.

"Touch them and I will end you," Mari replied with shocking seriousness.

"Well, what do you know? There's a spine in there after all," Asuka teased. "Maybe you are an Angel."

"...I'm not." Mari said, her meekness returning.

Asuka rolled her eyes. "Well obviously. Either you would have tried to kill me by now or you would have fled the city after that whole peace thing fell through."

Asuka was pretty sure what Misato did was incredibly stupid, not to mention seriously unethical, but Ramiel's attack and Okito's actions made her strongly suspect that not as many of them were beat dogs like Leliel had told the other Asuka. Better safe than sorry in the end.

Hopefully that Dimitri found somewhere quiet to hide, though. She really didn't see any point in fighting that spider again.

"Yeah, if any them had any sense they would have…" Mari trailed off, looking distinctly horrified.

"Hmm... No... no, that doesn't fit," she muttered to herself.

"What doesn't fit?" Asuka questioned.

"Nothing, nothing," Mari said dismissively. "Just there's this cousin I have suspicions about."

"Huh," Asuka replied with disinterest. "Well, good luck with that."

/

"Hello, this the Langley residence, Elizabeth speaking."

Asuka hesisted. It had been well over a decade since she had said anything to her half-sister.

"Hi... It's Asuka," she replied, incredibly tempted to just hang up the phone right then and there.

"Hi," Elizabeth replied, just as awkwardly. "This is a surprise."

It wasn't that she hated her. Elizabeth had always seemed like a pleasant enough person. But she was a direct result of her Father's infidelity, and that tied her up with everything that had happened around that time and that was just too much for Asuka to deal with for the most part.

"Yeah, sorry, um... listen this isn't exactly a social call," Asuka admitted.

"Well yes, we don't exactly do that," Elizabeth replied. "So what do you need?"

"This is going to sound strange, but our father came up in some old SEELE files we just uncovered," she lied.

The man almost certainly knew already that he had been sold out. No harm in taking a more direct approach.

"Ohh. Nothing serious I hope?" Elizabeth said casually.

If only you knew.

"Not really," Asuka lied again. "But I was hoping he would clarify some points that were unclear. I don't have his number or email anymore so I was hoping you could get me in contact with him."

So I can ask him what it cost to convince him to sell out humanity, Asuka thought bitterly.

"You sure about that?" Elizabeth questioned. "I mean, you two aren't exactly on good terms. Maybe he could just have someone relay the info to you? Make it less uncomfortable."

"Thanks, but this is something that I really need to speak to him directly about," she insisted.

"Well, I'll give you his number, but he's been on a vacation in Australia for a month now and cell reception has just been terrible even before the attack."

"Australia?" Asuka repeated.

"Yes. Thankfully he and Andrew were in Perth when it happened. I've been trying to get Andrew to come home but the airlines have been in total chaos since the attack," her half sister explained.

"Well, that's annoying," Asuka sighed. "Wait... 'Andrew is with him'? As in your son Andrew?"

"Yeah. Man's not the best father but he's turned into a halfway decent grandfather," she said.

Andrew Langley, her thirteen year old nephew, had been with her known traitor of a father in Australia at the time of Ramiel's attack. Well wasn't that just utterly fantastic.

In retrospect she was kicking herself for not considering it earlier but she had never even met the boy.

"Well, I'll try to email him," Asuka said rapidly. "Thanks for trying. Bye."

Elizabeth was barely able to get out half a 'goodbye' before Asuka slammed the phone down.

 

[Teen Spirit]

"So, worst case scenario, your nephew is responsible for the destruction of Seoul and Melbourne and the deaths of tens of thousands of people.That's... sadly not too far out of the ordinary for our family, all things considered," Shinji mused as they watched the Evangelions move towards WILLE. "Plus the whole 'betraying humanity' part."

The hallway was quiet and empty save for Shinji and Asuka, leaving them free to speak. It would be a mad scramble back to the command center but she needed time to talk with Shinji.

Asuka gave him an annoyed glare. He was right though, as much as she didn't want to admit it. No one in either the Ikari or Soryu/Langley family was exactly normal, and most of them had blood on their hands in one way or another.

"If it's true, that really makes me wonder about why the Angels are who they are," she said.

Shinji turned to her. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it. Who the Angels are born to hasn't really been all that random." She explained "You have Ria, Okito, and possibly Andrew. Two to three pretty closely connected to us. Then you have that pretty much every Angel we've seen save for Shamshel, Gaghiel, and maybe Ramiel has been Japanese or part Japanese and all of them so far have been able to make their way here. I have to ask, have you had any more visions of Kaworu as of late?"

He shook his head. "Been completely silent since I told you about it."

Asuka sighed, having any hint as to why this might be happening would have been really helpful.

Things outside were transitioning peacefully so far. Though all three Evas had weapons at the ready.

Thankfully the Government had been able to speed up construction of the new facilities, the elevator and emergency ramp additions to WILLE by a considerable degree. Frankly a few more weeks of having to deal with the Evangelions so exposed would have driven most of WILLE nuts.

Still, everything was going fine.

"So are we going to tell Misato?" Shinji asked.

"Already did," she replied. "Besides having every flight from Australia heavily watched she doesn't think there's much we can do at this point."

Shinji looked at her in shock.

"What?" sShe asked.

"You told her about that even after what happened with Dimitri?" he bluntly asked.

"Either the kid is in serious danger or he is a huge threat to us," Asuka rebutted. "Either way she needed to know."

A pregnant silence filled the hall. They both knew what Misato's words meant for Ria.

'No exceptions' made it pretty clear what Misato's policy would be, so any attempt at slowly approaching the idea was out the window.

"You know she's only saying that because she's certain Ria isn't one of them. She might soften her stance once she realizes the truth," Shinji argued.

It was desperate hope. Misato's hatred for Zeruel in particular was painfully clear.

"She won't find out," Asuka insisted. "There's no reason for her to find out. Misato will just have to accept that one or two Angels escaped."

Shinji's hand tensed up. "We can't put Ria through that. She already wanted to run away when it was just a peace treaty. Our daughter shouldn't have to spend the next few decades in fear for her life."

"Gottverdammt, I know!" Asuka snapped. "But what I am supposed to do?! As far as the rest of WILLE is concerned, what Misato did was short sighted but understandable so there is no chance of her being forced to step down anytime soon. And if she does find out the truth there's a good chance she will try and kill her. And that would force us to do something absolutely horrible."

The both paused, struck hard by Asuka's words.

"You can't actually be considering that. That is Misato you're talking about." Shinji said, looking utterly horrified.

"And she said every Angel dies, no exceptions," Asuka's voice was barely more than a whisper. "I don't want to do it, believe me I don't. I even understand where she is coming from. If Ria was Arael... I don't actually think I could remain a parent."

A painful, horrifying situation she was entirely grateful she did not have to endure.

"Zeruel hurt her, Ria isn't that same being anymore but I understand why Misato might not be able to look past that. Everything went to hell after Zeruel. But if she can't look past that and it's a choice between Ria's life and Misato's... we both know what choice we will have to make."

"It won't come to that. We'll talk her down, convince the rest of WILLE to remove her or something. " Shinji insisted, refusing to even consider the possibility.

You idiot, Asuka wanted to say.

"And if we can't?" she questioned.

Shinji struggled to find the words. "If it comes to that, there's no going back. We're going to have to do a lot more just to stay out of prison. Things we're going to hate."

Killing Misato would effectively be a coup. Even if the other members of WILLE sided with her, the Government might turn against them. Admittedly Ria herself was probably enough force to make them reconsider.

Asuka was stunned by the things she was considering now.

"I know," Asuka replied. "But it's or daughter, what else could we do?"

If it took a coup or two to keep their family alive, well then that was what they were going to have to do.

Shinji nodded, agreeing despite his horror.

"But you're right," she added. "It probably won't come to that. Mainly because she won't find out"

She wasn't sure if she believed that or not.

Unit-01 was being lowered into WILLE by elevator. They were in the home stretch and so far no sign of an angel, at least something was going well.

"Next week we need to take a vacation. As a family," Shinji said suddenly. "Get Ria's mind off things, remind her that we're here for her."

Through Hell or high water, it would seem.

"Yeah," Asuka nodded. "That sounds nice."

/

Ria closed her phone.

"Well, the Evangelions are safely stored away," she announced to everyone gathered.

The room let out a collective sigh of relief. The past few hours in this room had been close to a nightmare. Waiting for an attack everyone had assumed would come.

And now it seemed they were in the clear.

Kensuke and Hikari were in the middle of a game of Go. Or rather Hikari was teaching him how to play. Kodama was busy keeping her younger brother Kenny entertained while Mari worked on a sketch.

"I'm going to go to bathroom," Ria announced before disappearing out the door.

"So Kensuke, been meaning to ask," Hikari said casually as she prepared the board. "How's school going?"

"Well, the Class Rep isn't nearly as terrifying," Kensuke snarked.

Mari spoke up, "In my defense, I was forced into the position."

Hikari felt slightly at ease despite the situation. The threat of attack had passed for the moment, leaving her mind free of a certain subject.

"Oh, come on, I wasn't that bad," she insisted.

Kensuke stared at her, one eyebrow arched beneath his broad glasses. "I nearly slammed my head into the desk every day because of you. You earned that title of 'pigtailed tyrant'."

Kodama broke out into rolling laughter, much to the confusion of her brother.

Hikari stared at her, slightly annoyed.

"Sorry," Kodama said between gasping laughs. "I'm just not sure what's more absurd. The name or the image of you with pigtails."

Hikari laughed slightly. It was a silly nickname to be sure.

With an audible snap, the power went out, plunging the room into total darkness. Dull red emergency lights kicked on two seconds later.

"Well, that's bad..." Kensuke said.

/

The lights came on a minute later, only to go out again some thirty seconds after that, then switching on again. Asuka was starting to get a headache.

She, Shinji, and Rei had barely gotten out of the Evas and were just preparing to get changed when this happened.

They were standing outside the changing room, flanked on all sides by guards.

"Anyone else reminded of the Ninth Angel's attack?" Asuka said grimly.

Rei looked at her quizzically. "I don't see how this is anything like an Angel hijacking an Evangelion Unit."

"What?" Asuka said, confused and fustrated. "I mean when the power went out and that weird spider Angel Misato shot was crawling through the city."

"Oh," Rei replied evenly. "I never encountered that Angel or any major power outage associated with an attack. Do you think we're under attack now?"

"Well, nothing's exploding yet," Shinji commented. "That's a good sign, right?"

At least WILLE was designed to handle a manual launch if they were under attack. Misato had certainly learned her lesson there.

"All the same," a beefy looking security guard said. "We need to escort you to your Evas, immediately."

"Why?" Shinji questioned.

"We just lost Radio Contact with the Command Center," the guard announced.

/

It had started shortly after the Evangelions had been secured in their new docking cradles. It started out small, virtually unnoticeable. An elevator frozen. A few security cameras shorting out or displaying the wrong footage. But it grew quickly, more and more security cameras going offline, entire floors of WILLE losing power and regaining it in bizarre cycle before plunging into darkness.

Something was very very wrong.

"What's the status of the MAGI?" Misato called out.

The Command Center was trying desperately to gain control of the situation, so far to no avail.

"MAGI is fully operational, no signs of corruption on any of them," Ritsuko replied, sounding more confused than anything.

So why don't we have control? Misato wondered. As long as MAGI were operational, they should have had complete control.

Misato watched the outside cameras. No sign of any Angels or Blood Pattern Blue signals. So far, so good on that regard.

"Initiate lockdown!" she ordered. "Seal all emergency bulkheads!"

"We're trying!" Ibuki and Hyuuga called out at the same time. "There's no response."

Ritsuko began feverishly typing at her own computer.

"People of NERV. This is Third Angel, Sachiel. I have come to seek justice," a familiar voice boomed out of every speaker insider the Command Center.

Misato stiffened, the pit of her stomach growling icy cold.

/

Okito's words echoed throughout WILLE, filling every corner of the complex from the depths of the Vault to the very top of the pyramid.

"The one known as General Katsuragi has attacked someone who had come here under the banner of peace. She has betrayed those who wished her no harm. She has spat upon ancient articles of conduct in war. Whatever my feelings, this behavior cannot be tolerated. She must answer for her crimes. Stay out of my way and no harm will come to you, stand against me and share her fate. Only one needs to die to tonight."

He pulled the radio away from head. There were four of them here, five if you counted Iruel, who Okito had helped slip in during his retrieval of Matarael. All of them wearing masks stylized to look like the beings they once were.

To his left were Shamshel and Israfel, who was wearing some sort of ballroom dress, standing in sharp contrast to the Axe in her hands and the machine gun strapped to her back. He wasn't sure why Israfel had agreed to join this. He very much doubted it was because she agreed with him, but he wasn't about to turn down the offer of help.

To his right was a newcomer, Sahaquiel. Her mask a Stylized eye colored orange, green and pale yellow. Sahaquiel had gotten in contact with Shamshel after they had spread word of what had happened to Matarael and was eager to join Okito in his mission of vengeance.

Matarael himself had spat on Shamshel when she told him of the plan, calling her an idiot and things in Russian that Okito was fairly positive were entirely obscene.

Okito looked down at his rifle. They were all armed in someway, at Shamshel's suggestion. A good way of ensuring they didn't get tired on their way to Misato. He had never held one in his hand before. It felt strange, heavier than he had expected.

The hallway was dark and empty save for them. Good, they hadn't been spotted yet.

"Everyone remember their route?" he asked.

They all replied back in affirmation.

"Good, cause chaos but only kill if you have to," he insisted. "And do not go after either set of the Pilots. We're here to send a message, not make martyrs."

For a brief second he thought he saw Sahaquiel and Shamshel exchange a look but he could not be certain.

He sighed, hopefully if they had their own agenda it wouldn't screw with his too much.

Matarael's words played in his head, and for a moment, Okito found himself beset with panic. What if Iruel was leading them astray?

He pushed the thoughts aside, Iruel was too deep into this to even consider screwing with them like that. He had to move forward, push ahead. No looking back

"If I look back I am lost," he whispered to himself as the four separated. Each taking their own path to the General.

 

[Teen Spirit]

Chapter 13: What's Done is Done.

Ria pounded her head against the tile lining the bathroom wall. So it had come to this.

"Okito you damned idiot," she muttered.

He was invading, along with who knew how many others. They just couldn't let things go, give everyone else a chance to freaking rest.

What do you think you're going to prove? Ria thought bitterly. Do you think getting revenge for Matarael will make the others love you?

Anger grew inside her. Only one path seemed left.

And yet...she hesitated, fear gripping her.

If she fought, WILLE had cameras and people everywhere. There would be little chance of her preventing the truth from leaking out. And then Misato, Mari, Kodama, the Pilots, they would all know the truth. She would be exposed, at the mercy of WILLE. And Misato had made it very clear there would be no mercy for Angels.

But if she didn't fight, she would be allowing four Angels to have their run of the place. Everyone she loved, everyone she cared about would be in danger, including Misato. This whole situation might have been because of her, but she was still family, her own 'grandmother'.

If she didn't fight, if she stood by and watched as Okito killed Misato...was she any better than the rest of them?

Ria pounded her fist against the wall repeatedly, cracking the tile, ceramic shards littering the floor.

If I must be damned, let it be for what I really am!

She steadied herself, pushing out the fear, letting the anger take hold.

There could be no half measures here, she needed every ounce of strength she could muster.

She pushed herself, trying to draw up what she once was to the surface. Her body felt like it was on fire, her arms started to lose all color.

Give me back my strength, give me back my fire, make me your servant once more, she prayed

Ria closed her eyes, collapsing to the ground in agony, new muscles growing and remodeling her body.

Her hair grew longer and became something else entirely. Every second was absolute agony, her body and her Angelic nature warring against each other in a brutal struggle.

Come on come on. Just a little more. Nothing ventured….Nothing gained!

She dug deep, focusing on her rage. Focusing on everything Okito had ever done, every lie he told, every person he hurt.

Something inside her clicked...

...And Zeruel opened her eyes.

Wasting no time, she immediately tore out of the room, running down the hall as fast as he body could handle.

/

So the brat was coming to kill her, lovely.

Fitting in a way. It's actions had been the start of this after all. Though Misato found it bitterly ironic that it was trying to avenge a problem he had caused. If it had left her alone, she might have just left it alone.

It was her fault too, she had created this situation. But despite everything, this still felt like the safer course of actions.

"Just once I would like to go a week without my life being indirectly threatened by a monster mislabeled as Divine," Mana said as she pulled an submachine gun out from under her desk.

Ritsuko and Maya were desperately scrambling to stop as the rest of the Command Center either evacuated or armed themselves. What orders could be given had been. She simply didn't have enough control to do much right now. She could run, but that would just give the angels an excuse to go on slaughtering staff members. No that would not do at all. She would stay here, regardless of what came.

Misato sat in her chair, loaded pistol in her lap, and waited.

/

The room was dark and quiet, Okito's words hit every Suzuhara in the room hard. Kenny had been reduced to tears. Even now the wound was still raw for them.

It had been ten minutes since his declaration. Ten minutes, and Ria still wasn't back.

Mari grew nervous. What if something had happened, what if Okito had found her?

And what would happen if they did? Various fears filled Mari's head.

Despite how stupid it was, Mari's curiosity got the better of her, and she went to towards the door.

She opened the door slowly, it creaking slightly with every centimeter it moved.

She looked out, it was almost pitch black, most of the emergency lights having failed to come on for one reason or another.

She gingerly took her first step when suddenly something large rushed past her at inhuman speeds, hot air striking Mari in the face.

It paused at the end of the hallway, whatever it was. Mari couldn't see anything beyond the vaguest hint that something large was there. She felt eyes upon her.

Terrified, Mari retreated back into the room, getting as far away from the door as possible.

"What the hell was that?!" Kodama exclaimed.

The entire room braced itself for the worst. Thankfully, nothing came.

After a long, painful silence, distant shaking confirmed it had moved on.

Whatever it was had no interest in them.

/

Asuka and Shinji had been making their way back to Misato when they encountered her.

"Well well well, what do we have here?"

Her features may have been hidden beneath a solid red mask and a lavender hoodie, but Shamshel's voice was unmistakable. Shinji's mind went back to the garage, that security officer.

They froze, terror hitting them for a moment. Then calm realization took over, and Shinji found himself smirking.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned, his voice a little smug. "You know you're not supposed to go after us. I thought Sachiel specifically said not to?"

Shamshel snorted. "Yeah, like I actually listen to Okito. I mean, I like the idiot, don't get me wrong."

"Why?" Asuka blurted out.

"He's funny when he's not being a zealot," she replied. "But Ramiel told me to take you guys captive so... well, orders are orders."

And a kidnapping, of course. What the hell did Ramiel want with them?

Asuka pulled out her pistol and leveled it at the Angel.

Shamshel gestured to her own gun. "Please, don't insult me."

"If you think you're going to take us easily, you're very mistaken." Asuka's voice was barely more than growl.

Strangely, Shinji wasn't afraid. He was enraged and annoyed at having to deal with this smug snake of an Angel, and that he had been so powerless to stop her in the garage.

"Oh, please, try me," Shamshel warned. "Ramiel wanted you alive. He said nothing about keeping you intact. Losing a limb or two might do you both a little good."

The wall to Shinji's left exploded in a fury of screeching metal, sending massive shards of metal and plastic flying towards Shamshel, smashing against her AT-Field.

Both the Angel and humans turned towards the massive hole. The room beyond was cloaked in darkness, save for a distinct red glow.

A single milky white hand reached out, bracing against the edge of the hole.

It was Ria, only it wasn't. What emerged from the wall was unmistakably Zeruel.

She stood almost a foot taller than normal. Her face covered in bone mask that was almost a perfect mirror of what the Original's face had looked like. Her hair replaced by a wild black mane that covered her armored shoulders and stretched behind her, strips of it swaying like they were caught in a breeze.

Her body was androgynous, though her arms and legs bulged with muscle. All of it was starkly alabaster in color, save for the pulsing red core the size of a softball at the center of her chest.

She stood there in a feral hunch, gazing directly at Shamshel.

They all found themselves gripped by terror at the sight of her. Shinji and Asuka knew intellectually that underneath all of that, she was still Ria. But that understanding only served to sharpen the fear. The idea that their daughter, their little girl, turned into this was frightening in a way they had never expected. Knowing your child is an Angel was one thing, but it wasn't until now that they even came close to comprehending what that fully meant.

Asuka recoiled, memories of her defeat at Zeruel's hands flooding her mind. Shinji tried to fight off memories of his battle with them and Unit-01's subsequent berserker rampage.

"Well...I didn't realize we could do that. Interesting," Shamshel was fighting hard to maintain her composure. "Now I know what you're thinking. But considering the General's whole reaction to Matarael, maybe you and your parents here might want to consider rethinking your…"

In a fraction of a second, Zeruel's left arm transformed into a broad, flat, prehensile razor. The razor launched towards Shamshel, punching through her AT-Field before slicing into her side, cutting deep into the Angel.

The arm recoiled, transforming back into a pale limb.

Shamshel staggered, crimson blood pouring from her wound.

"My mistake," she muttered before breaking into a charge, both arms rapidly transforming into long, glowing whips.

Zeruel met her charge, running on all four limbs.

Shamshel lashed out with one of her arms, trying to strike her across the face.

Zeruel stopped and caught the whip with one hand, grabbing a tight hold of it.

"Oh," was all Shamshel could utter before she was violently slammed against the wall and floor repeatedly. The metal buckled and broke under the repeated blows.

The fight was utterly one sided. Zeruel was simply too strong and too quick for Shamshel to deal with. And it was clear to both Asuka and Shinji that their daughter was basically toying with her at this point.

Shamshel was quickly a ruined mess of broken bones, cuts, and rapidly forming bruises, her mask shattered on the floor. In desperation she cut off her captured arm, and immediately broke into a mad dash towards Shinji and Asuka.

Or rather past them, cursing the entire time.

Asuka began firing her pistol. Shamshel ignored the multiple rounds that struck her back as she ran.

Shamshel sliced at the window, cutting the armored glass apart before she slammed her body against it, propelling herself outside, and tumbling some thirty stories down to the ground.

"Ohh," Asuka winced. "She bounced."

Still Shinji doubted the Angel was dead.

They turned to their daughter, who was looking scanning the room, looking for some sort of threat.

Shinji pushed back the part of him that was screaming to run away and approached her.

There was no getting around how inhuman she looked; the color of her skin, the bone mask, the core, the slightly off proportion of her limbs, the paper-like mane that seemed to be ignoring gravity. It was actually uncomfortable to look at her.

"You're... tall," Asuka blurted out.

That was putting it mildly. She was taller than both of them. It was intimidating.

She seemed reluctant to leave.

She must have been scared that another Angel would show up.

"We're fine," Shinji insisted. "The one who needs you right now is Misato. Go to the Command Center. Stop Okito."

Ria nodded and ran off at a blistering pace.

Hopefully Misato won't try to shoot her. Shinji thought grimly.