FicWad

NEON GENESIS EVANGELION: ASCENT OF THE FALLEN

By Sparky Clarkson

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A casual observer would hardly have noticed the old man walking along the road into Tokyo-3. Wrapped in alarge black cloak despite the heat, he ambled carelessly along, occasionally supporting himself with a large, crooked wooden staff. A chaotic mane of white hair framed his darkly tanned face, and spilled part of the way down his back. Though he hunched slightly over his cane, the walker appeared to be unusually tall a little over two meters, perhaps.

Few people paid the man any mind as he journeyed onwards, his eyes squinting in the late afternoon sun. Caught up in the commute from work to home, the citizens of Tokyo-3 drove by him on the highway as if he were not there. For his part, though, the old man paid no heed to the cars and buses whizzing by less than an arm's length away, strolling along as if the vehicles were butterflies, as if the ground beneath his feet was covered in grass and not asphalt. The proximity of the man and traffic seemed accidental two worlds thrown jarringly together for one brief moment.

That moment ended abruptly as the old man entered the city. He walked out into the middle of a main thoroughfare, sending cars careening away left and right. His eyes opened wide as a car slammed into an invisible, impenetrable barrier only a few centimeters in front of his face. The eyes were black, without iris, pupil, or white dark pits from which no light escaped. As people began climbing out of their cars to curse at the strange man, or stare in shock at the pancake remains of the car that had slammed into the force field, he stretched his arms and unfolded the black, leathery wings that had looked so much like a cloak.

In that instant, everything within 10 meters died.

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NERV personnel dove for cover as Misato came charging down the hallway, racing towards the command center. I can even be late when I'm in the building, she mused as she increased her speed. When the sirens began wailing, she had been down in the infirmary with Shinji. Even with her override key, the elevator had taken almost two minutes to arrive, and then another few minutes to reach the correct floor. She skidded around a corner, knocking an inattentive security officer into the wall, and then decelerated sharply as she entered the command center.

After taking a few deep breaths to calm down, she called out, "Status report!"

"An AT Field has been detected in the eastern section of town, pattern blue," Shigeru called."We are working on visuals now."

"Hold on," Makoto called, "I've got it..."

Several screens switched on to reveal a horrific sight. The road was filled with cars that had crashed. People were sprawled dead on the street, and all the plants had withered and browned. At the edge of the picture, Misato could see a small boy and his dog lying in the wilted grass, both of them staring at the scene with glassy eyes of death. The only moving figure was an old man, clothed in a white toga, with black wings and pure black eyes. A strange, blue glow surrounded him.

"Azrael the Cleanser," Gendo commented calmly. "He invites all the living to heaven. It seems that most people have accepted."

Misato restrained the urge to glare at him. "At least this one doesn't look as powerful as the others," she commented. "How's its AT field strength?"

"Don't even think of getting through that with ranged weapons," Makoto said, shaking his head."It's more powerful than anything we've ever seen before. It's radiating energy in visible wavelengths because gas molecules are rebounding off it so forcefully."

"Well, hand-to-hand combat shouldn't be too difficult," Misato said. "I think the correct course here is obvious."

"What is the status of the Third Child?" Gendo asked.

"He's still in no condition to go out at the moment. However, I doubt that the other three are going to need him. Their AT Fields combined should be sufficient, even without Shinji's help." Misato said.

"Very well," Gendo said."Sortie the other three units."

"Yes, Sir."

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"So we just have to beatthat?" Asuka asked incredulously. "I could probably beat it even without Eva."

Misato responded, "That's what we're hoping. Just move in cautiously. Azrael may have some tricks up his sleeve, so you need to be on the lookout for surprises."

"All right. Hey, I'm gonna take point," Asuka said.

"Okay," Kaoru said.

"If you want," Rei agreed.

The three Evas strode through the city, fanning out with Kaoru and Rei to either side of Asuka. Azrael had stopped moving, but the circle of death around it was growing. Judging from the damage to the vegetation, everything within 200 meters of the grim angel had died.

"Kids, initiate your AT fields now," Misato ordered when Asuka got within 50 meters of the edge of the circle. "We're not exactly sure how he's doing all that killing, but Maya thinks it's some sort of electromagnetic pulse. Your AT fields should be more than sufficient to keep it out."

Misato leaned back in her chair smiling as the children made noises of compliance and the sensors began to register their AT fields. Asuka's confidence had put Misato at ease, too."At least this one will be easy," she muttered, shuddering as the memory of the terrible battle against Gabriel intruded on her mind. She pushed that thought away as she watched the Evangelion units walking toward the ominous angel, who still had not moved. She began to wonder what she was going to do about dinner.

Those thoughts evaporated as the Evas reached the edge of Azrael's circle and stopped. Alarms started going off everywhere.

"Vital signs fading on all three children!" Shigeru shouted.

Maya shook her head. "Their AT fields are still up!" she exclaimed. "The weapon shouldn't be penetrating! I don't understand!"

"Get them out of there!" Misato yelled.

"Power umbilicals have disconnected," Makoto noted. "We can't reel them in."

"What?"

"Asuka and Rei only have five minutes," Shigeru noted, unnecessarily.

"Shit! Sever the neural links!" Misato yelled.

"Not effective. Evas are refusing all signals. We can't even eject the plugs," Makoto said. He began nervously gnawing on his lower lip.

Misato, frustrated, shouted"Dammit! We've got to do something!"

Gendo's voice cut icily through the chaos of the control room, bringing stillness, if not an end to the panic."There is one possibility," he said.

Misato's heart fell.

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The Eva had stopped moving, Asuka realized. Some part of her mind kept telling her that she should advance, attack, but the warm, motherly embrace of the LCL sapped her will. She wanted only to hover in the calm darkness of her entry plug forever. As she floated, avoice intruded on her mind, its mellifluous tones resonating sweetly in her head, almost as if its words were sung instead of spoken.

"Soryu Asuka Langley," it intoned, "I have longed to meet you for such a long time."

"Who are you?" she asked dreamily. She did not really want an answer, she just hoped to hear the voice's siren song again.

"I am called Azrael, Asuka. Ihave something wonderful to offer you..."

"What?"

"Joy, Asuka, the greatest joy that anyone can experience: Paradise. Can you imagine anything more wonderful than that? Everyone you hope to see will be there, and everything will be as you want it to be. Your Eva will be there, Asuka, and you will be the greatest of all the pilots."

At the word "Eva," the voice in Asuka's head that told her to attack grew louder for a second. Momentarily, the LCL seemed cold and lifeless instead of warm and comfortable. Though the feeling passed quickly, Asuka grew suspicious. More surely, she responded, "I can be that here. And if I'm in Heaven, what about the others?"

"Others?"

"Well, like Rei..."

"She will be there, of course. She will be a normal girl that you can talk and be friends with. You will have such wonderful times together..."

"Hikari..."

"Do not worry, child. Hikari will be there too, just like she is here a close friend and confidant. All your friends will be there for you, and none of them will ever leave you again."

"Kaoru? Shinji?"

"I would not dream of taking them from you. They will be so happy in Paradise, just as you will be. You can make sure Shinji's father never hurts him again, and you can return Kaoru to the grace he left. You will never have to be afraid that they will leave you. Just think how much happiness you will have!"

"But there are things I like here..." Asuka felt her will slipping away from her. Her hands fell away from the controls and floated freely in the LCL.

"You can have all of those things in Heaven, dear child. I sense, though, that you want to ask about something else..."

"Mommy..."

"Yes, Asuka, your mommy is already there. She feels much better now, and she so wants to see her darling Asuka, her real Asuka, once more. All you have to do is agree to die and go up to Heaven with me, and you will get to see her. You and mommy and daddy can be a real, happy family again. Imagine how nice that will be..."

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Shinji stumbled and fell, his weakened muscles unable to maintain his balance and keep forward momentum. Misato, hearing him fall, spun around too late to do anything but watch him lie shuddering on the floor.

"Misato," he whispered,"I... I can't..."

Misato signaled to a nurse and knelt down next to her young charge. "I know it hurts, Shinji," she said gently, "but they need you. There's nobody else who can save them, now." The nurse arrived with a wheelchair, which Misato quickly unfolded. With the nurse's help, she lifted Shinji into it, then began pushing it down the hall as fast as she could go.

"I know, Misato," Shinji replied as Misato sped into a waiting elevator. "I... I'll get in, again. But I don't know if I can do it."

"Don't worry about what you can and can't do, Shinji," Misato responded. "I've seen you fight enough times to know how strong you are. You'll do whatever is necessary to win. So just keep in mind that you must do it. That will be enough." She gently mussed his hair as she watched the numbers change. /This is so unfair,/she thought, We always force him into this position, force him to save us from our own foolishness.

The doors opened and she pushed the wheelchair out onto the catwalk. The entry plug awaited at the other end, its hatch open and ready to receive the young pilot. "No time to suit you up," Misato muttered, glancing briefly at the T-shirt and boxers Shinji was wearing. She would have preferred to have the enhancement of the plugsuit, but every second counted and she had decided to just pull Shinji out of bed. She took the neural interface clips offered her by a technician and slipped them on Shinji's head.

She helped Shinji into his spot in the plug, then stepped back. On impulse, she leaned forward just before the technicians closed the hatch and blew Shinji a kiss, saying, "That's for good luck."

Shinji rewarded her with a weak smile, and said, "Thanks, Misato-san." But Misato saw tears of pain gathering in his eyes.

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Kaoru knew the voice echoing in his head all too well, but this recognition offered him no protection from its influence. Fallen from the power that might have given him enough strength to resist the honeyed tones of that sonorous voice, Kaoru had no choice but to sit in his motionless Eva, listen to the words of Azrael, and feel his will to live slip away.

"Tabris, my brother... our Father has sent me to offer you something wonderful, something I know you want desperately."

"I gave that up."

"You did, I know, but you cannot lie to me. I feel your desire for it, your longing. You want to walk in God's glory again, and I have come to offer you an opportunity. All you have to do is die, and you will return to the light of Heaven. Do you not desire it?"

"Of course, but... Shinji..."

"You do not have to worry about him, Tabris. If you only give in, you can have him with you in Heaven. Everyone will die, and you two can walk together in Elysium forever. Can you imagine how wonderful that will be? You can return to the place you love most without leaving the one you love best."

"But he..."

"He will be so happy, Tabris. All the people he loves will be there: Misato, Rei, Asuka, his friends from the school. All his pain will be taken away, if you just agree. He deserves that, does he not?"

"He deserves to choose for himself..."

"Oh Tabris, you know you are far wiser than he is. And now, right now, he is in such horrible pain. You can heal his body and heart, and make him so very happy. His mother will be there to love and nurture him, and his father will be kept far, far away so that he never hurts Shinji again. You know that Shinji would choose that. Just choose for him, choose to die, and all his wishes will come true..."


"Status?" Misato asked as she entered the command center. Her throat and mouth felt dry, though she was sweating with anxiety.

"The pilots in the field are still alive, but their vitals are faint," Maya replied, her voice wavering. "Blood pressure, breathing rate, and pulse are marginal, and their temperatures are dropping. It doesn't look good."

"EVA-01 is launching... Now!" Makoto announced. "It will emerge in five seconds."

"Shinji's readings don't look so good either," Maya noted. "His breathing is irregular, and his heart rate and blood pressure are even higher than his usual. The pain must be pretty severe."

Misato nodded, then flipped on the communicator. "Shinji," she said, "You'll need to move quickly when you reach the surface. Can you do that for me?"

Shinji drew in a ragged breath, then half-moaned, "Yes."

"Okay Shinji-kun, the faster you do this, the sooner it will be over," Misato instructed, "When you come up, Azrael will be approximately 1.1 kilometers off to the east. As soon as you hit the surface, spread your AT field to maximum and equip your pistol. Start firing at the angel when you're about 500 meters away. His field will deflect the bullets, but hopefully they'll distract him enough to keep the others alive. I'll keep a close watch on you after you get within 350 meters of him-that's the fatal radius right now. Once you're in that radius, attack and destroy him as fast as you can. Got it?"

There was a long pause, another ragged breath, and another pained response. "Yes, Misato," Shinji said. Unit One reached the surface and took a slow step forward from the launch cage.

"Move out."

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Though the voice sounded very familiar to her, Rei could not recall ever hearing it before. The calm, dispassionate side of her personality tried to figure out how she could at once recognize the warm, sonorous tones, and not remember the person who produced them. The other part of her personality, the part that included her newfound understanding of emotion and love, had already been paralyzed by the beauty of the voice and the spell of its words. In her entry plug, unable and unwilling to move, she felt her will to resist slip away with every syllable.

"Ayanami Rei," the voice said, "I am so happy to finally meet you."

"Do I know you?"

"You will," it replied,"but right now I am speaking to someone I have never met before... someone whom I would like to know better."

"Why?"

"Because you are such awonderful, caring person..."

"You must know many of those..."

"True, but I always love to meet more. I would greatly enjoy spending time with you."

"I... I do not wish to go."

"But why not, Rei? Do you think I have not seen you, how you worry about the pain others feel? I heard you cry out for Asuka when she was wounded in her heart. I watched you with Shinji-how you held him in that car, how you tucked him in when he was weak. Ihave seen you withstand incredible agony so that humanity could continue. You understand mankind's pain. Do you not want their suffering to end?"

"Yes..."

"All the people could go into Heaven, and they would be so happy. And of course you would not be forgotten. Ifeel your love for Shinji I know how much you want to be a sister, a mother to him. In Heaven you will have that. You, the Commander, and Shinji could be afamily, just as you've always wanted. That would be nice, right? All you have to do is give in to me and die... then everyone else will follow. It will be so wonderful if everyone dies and goes to Heaven!"

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The first shots emerged from the pistol, striking and rebounding from Azrael's AT field. Misato held the table in an iron grip as she watched, praying that her tactic would pay off. She had confirmation after a moment, when Maya said, "Vitals are rising in units 00, 02, and 05 but not by much. They're still hovering just above borderline."

"Anything's better than nothing," Misato replied. Turning to Shigeru and Makoto, she asked,"How's Unit One?"

"Shinji is approaching the kill radius now," Makoto replied, "Condition holding steady."

"Keep it up, Shinji," Misato whispered. She watched tensely as Shinji entered the killing zone. EVA-01 slowed a little, but still moved forward. "Range to target!" Misato called.

"300 meters and closing," Makoto responded. "250... 200... 175... Misato, he's..."

"I know," she said. The view from the battle field showed that Unit One had slowed down a great deal, and the gun was no longer firing as frequently. The Eva lumbered forward one step, then another, fired the gun once, and stopped 150 meters from the angel. As a new round of alarms went off, Misato hung her head.

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"Greetings, Shinji."

"Who are you?"

"I am someone who cares about you. It breaks my heart to see you like this."

"Like what?"

"I sense so much pain in you, dear child. Your bones and muscles feel like they are on fire, and you are so exhausted. Who would not be moved by your sacrifice? Despite all that anguish, you still fight on. You deserve a reward, and I have come to offer you one. Ican take away all that pain, if you only agree..."

"Agree to what?"

"Agree to die, Shinji. If you do, then I will carry you up to heaven along with your friends. You and Rei and Asuka and Kaoru can all live together so happily. That would be so wonderful, would it not?"

"I don't understand."

"It is really very simple, Shinji. In Heaven, all your prayers are answered. Asuka will have her mother back, her mother whom she so desperately wants to see. Misato will be reunited with Kaji-can you imagine how happy that will make her? You can bring Kaoru back to God's grace, to repay him for the sacrifice he made for you. And Rei... in Heaven, she can have a normal life, away from your father."

"But..."

"Think of your friends, Shinji. Think of Kensuke, who will have his mother again. Think of Touji. In Heaven, he will have his arm and leg back; he will be whole again. I know you want that for him, to undo the damage your father caused. Everyone will be so glad that you did this for them."

"I..."

"Your own happiness, Shinji-do not forget that. Nobody will ever hurt you in Heaven, so you will never have to push them away. You will get to see your mother again, Shinji. Iknow you want to be with her..."

"Yes..."

"And your father you will never have to see him again..."

The voice continued to describe the wonders of Heaven, but Shinji's mind focused on that one promise. Over and over he heard that assurance that he would be free from his father forever-a guarantee that should have won him over immediately. Strangely, though, Shinji found himself getting angry about those words. They resonated unpleasantly in his mind, knocking aside the warm, comfortable blanket that the voice had created around his consciousness. Suddenly, Shinji's eyes flew open. He felt himself gritting his teeth in rage, trembling with pent-up anger. In a voice that seemed to rip itself out of his body, he screamed, "I'm not finished!" and lunged forward.

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"Shinji's conscious again!" Shigeru shouted. Misato jerked her head up just in time to see EVA-01 jump forward and raise its fist. The hand hesitated momentarily above the thin angel, and Misato briefly worried that Azrael had found some way to stave off Shinji's assault.

That fear was quickly dispelled as the purple giant brought its fist crashing down on the head of the angel, crushing it into the ground.

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Shinji willed the fist all the way down to the asphalt, then withdrew it. He watched as the remains of the archangel bled black fluid onto the ground, then evaporated. As the last traces of the angel's existence disappeared, Shinji suddenly felt an agonizing, piercing pain in the left side of his chest.

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"Sever his neural link!" Misato yelled as Shinji began making gurgling screams in his entry plug.

"It's not coming through the link!" Maya shouted. "The Eva's nerves are not showing any pain signals at all. And Shinji isn't showing anything that would cause that much pain either. It's just in his mind!"

"Shinji! Listen to me! It's not real! The pain you're feeling didn't come from the Eva or your body. It's all in your head!" Misato cried out. The words had no effect. Shinji continued to sob and scream in agony.

"Is there anything we can do to knock him out without injuring him?" Misato asked.

"Yes. The plugs have had asedative capsule in them since that mess with Bardiel. I'm activating his right now," Maya replied. For several seconds, there was no response, but then Shinji became quieter, until with a final whimper he stopped making any sound at all.

"How are the others?"

"Vitals are becoming stronger. They're unconscious, but they're okay. They don't seem to have suffered any injuries," Maya reported.

Misato sighed. "Eject all plugs. I want emergency medical teams on the scene immediately," she said.

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How can any man work in such afrigid room? Kouzou wondered as he entered Gendo's freezing office. As he walked across the large chamber, treading on the floor's inscribed tree of life, he spotted a glass of water on the Commander's desk. Abstractly, he began to calculate the probability that the cubes of ice inside it had formed after the glass had been brought into the room. He continued this exercise while he waited patiently in front of Gendo's desk, resisting the urge to tap his foot.

After a moment, Gendo looked up from his desk as if he had only just realized Kouzou was there. Gendo pushed aside the papers he had been working on, and said, "Kouzou, you wished to speak to me?" His breath made no vapor cloud in the arctic conditions of the room.

"Yes," the older man replied. "I am concerned about the command room staff."

"In what way?"

"I feel we need to make some changes if we are to prevent another near-fiasco like today. In particular, Ithink we need to move Lt. Ibuki away from the principal science position. She seems competent enough, and performed admirably as the main assistant for Dr. Akagi, but I think she has serious flaws that make her dangerous at her present post."

"Is that so?" Gendo asked.

"Today, she behaved overconfidently, making unjustified guesses about the nature of Azrael's attack. Her mistakes nearly cost us all four children, the Evas, and the war. We were lucky that Shinji's... unique ability was enough to save us," Kouzou explained.

Gendo's expression did not waver."There have been many times when we were saved only by Shinji's 'unique ability,'" he replied. "Dr. Akagi and Major Katsuragi were responsible for many of those incidents, yet I did not remove them."

Kouzou shook his head. "In those instances," he said, "we had no viable replacements. In this case we do it would be easy to call one of the senior scientists up from abranch office to take over her position. We wouldn't have to remove Lt. Ibuki from the command staff, just return her to her former post. Keeping Ibuki in her present spot needlessly invites trouble."

Gendo shook his head. "We have only a few more visitations to worry about," he replied, "So there is no need to shake up the command staff over this matter. Lt. Ibuki will be far more cautious after this experience, and I feel that this newfound sense will serve us well in the future."

Kouzou frowned, looking at the Commander's inscrutable face. "If you think so, Gendo," he said."I warn you, though... keeping Ibuki as senior science officer may lead to grave problems later."

Gendo's placid expression did not shift even slightly. "Your warning is appreciated. You may leave," he replied, dismissing Kouzou with a wave of his hand.

Kouzou turned and left the office.How strange of him to take this lightly, when he always worried about the staff before, he thought. Then it hit him. He's protecting her,/Kouzou realized. He sneaked a glance back at the stony-faced Commander as he left the room. /But why?

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Shinji woke slowly, as the light sensation of fingers tracing the line of his cheek coaxed him out of the land of sleep. He sighed softly as the stroking hand traveled down his face, but did not immediately open his eyes. The pressure of those gentle fingers lessened at the sound, as if they were pulling away from him. Shinji turned to follow them, not wanting the feeling to end. He sighed contentedly as he felt the hand cup his face.

"Shin-chan?" Misato asked. Shinji let his eyes flutter open. The lights in the room were dim, but he could clearly see Misato sitting on his bed. "Good to see you awake," she whispered. "How do you feel?"

Shinji closed his eyes for amoment. Most of the pain around the nanosplints had subsided, he realized. The sharp, burning sensation had faded away to a faint ache. The piercing pain he had felt in his chest after defeating Azrael had disappeared completely. Nonetheless, he felt cold and weak. The clammy air of the hospital room was on the verge of making him shiver. He cleared his throat and swirled his tongue around his dry mouth. "I feel okay, I guess," he told Misato."I'm a little thirsty, though... and it's really cold in here."

Misato shook her head. "The Commander ordered the temperature set to 15 degrees all through headquarters," she said, standing up and pulling an extra blanket over Shinji. As she sat back down she said, "You should feel his office. It's like a refrigerator in there."

"I'd rather not," Shinji sighed, then paused. After a moment, he asked, "How are the others?"

"They're fine," Misato replied, "They don't even remember what happened to them while Azrael had them in his power. Can you recall anything?"

Shinji nodded. "He promised me things... he said that if I agreed to die, he would make everybody happy and take away all their pain," he said. Shinji frowned and added, "I can't remember what made me reject him, though."

Misato grinned. "You made the right choice, Shinji. Pain, even though it's unpleasant, is an essential part of the human experience. Only by dealing with it ourselves can we truly become better," she said.

Shinji smiled wistfully."That sounds like something Kaoru would say," he said.

"It's something my... father told me," Misato said, looking away for a moment.

"I'm sorry," Shinji said. "I didn't mean to..."

Misato placed a finger over his lips. Then she leaned down and hugged her young charge. Shinji reached out to return the embrace, and found himself clinging to Misato with all the strength he could muster. The act of touching her, feeling the reality of her body, reassured and comforted him more than anything else could have. I might have lost her, he realized as he held on. "Misato-san," he whispered,"That last time... I thought... I thought I wouldn't come back. I just... I thought I would let you down all of you."

"Shin-chan, it's all right. You came through, everyone's safe now. You have nothing to worry about."

"That's not it. I... I never told you... something... and I could have lost my chance..."

"Shinji, you don't have to worry about that," Misato said, rubbing his back.

"No... I want to tell you... I..." Shinji struggled to get the words out. Here in her arms, he felt safe, protected, and he feared losing that comfort. Still, he knew he had to take the risk. Perhaps she would hurt him by accident, but he knew it would be safe to let Misato in. He just had to gather the strength to make his weak body do what he wanted it to. After a moment more, he managed to say, "I love you, Misato. I... I don't think I've shown it very well, but... since I've been here, for the first time I can remember, I've felt like I had a... family."

Shinji felt a little moisture on his cheek and realized that Misato's eyes had filled with tears. "I love you too, Shinji," she replied. She gently released Shinji and laid him back down on the bed, kissing him softly on the cheek as she did so. She stood up, reaching down to tousle his hair. "Do you want me to let the others know you're awake?" she asked.

"Yeah," Shinji replied, nodding. He snuggled down a bit under the blanket.

Misato smiled, and said,"I'll give them a call before I go on duty. I start in a couple of minutes, so I have to get going." She started to walk towards the door."I'll tell the nurses to bring you something to eat and drink," she added as she slid the door open. "Don't stay up too late, now."

Shinji laughed. "I won't," he said.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"How's he doing?" Makoto asked as Misato entered the command center.

"He's awake, and he feels much better now," Misato said, sitting down in her chair. "I guess all that inflammation has gone down for now. He thinks HQ is too cold, though."

Kouzou snorted, showing that he shared the sentiment. "Old men aren't the only ones who dislike this frigid climate," he pointed out.

"I tell you, I'm a big fan, man," Shigeru replied. "My apartment's a furnace 'cause the AC went out. I love this chill." Kouzou rolled his eyes and shook his head, typing something into his terminal.

Misato looked around the command center and realized that someone was missing. "Where's Maya?" she asked.

"She's off duty," Makoto said. "She had to go home and pack, remember?"

Misato nodded, saying, "Oh yeah, now I remember." After a moment, she added, "It's hard to believe she agreed to go on a trip to America with the Commander, of all people."

"Commander Ikari felt that she would be needed to explain various technical points to the Americans. Even though they no longer host a full Eva production facility, we still use them to produce spare parts, and the quality of their products has been substandard. He ordered her to go with him," Kouzou noted from his post.

"Do you think we might let the place warm up a bit while the Commander's away?" Makoto asked.

Kouzou shook his head. "He's been very specific. He'll probably check the thermostat every day," he said.

"What a waste of energy," Misato commented, giving the monitors a cursory glance. Seeing no warnings on them, she leaned back in her chair and readied herself for another boring shift. The more of those I have, the better, she thought.

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Ritsuko's fingers danced nimbly over the keys of her laptop, adjusting the program's parameters as it tried to pry into Ikari's private files. She could not keep her mind focused on the task at hand, though. The words Kouzou had transmitted to her earlier that evening kept running through her head.

"I feel that everything will come to a head soon," he said, his voice coming clearly across the secure digitized channel. "The Commander is protecting Ibuki for some reason I do not understand. It may be that our suspicions were justified. He also told me that only one more angel will come. I am doing everything I can here, but that will not be enough. We need to get his files."

"Come on, Mom, let me in," Ritsuko muttered as her program attempted to worm its way around the security protocols. I can't let him take Maya, too, she thought as she gazed at the monitor, He's ruined enough lives. She stared at the screen for a few more moments, then sat up as the response window opened. Two messages appeared one right after the other.

Magus Melchior: Access DENIED

Magus Balthazar: Access DENIED

In the brief pause that followed, Ritsuko felt her breath catching in her throat. If just one of the Magi would grant her access to the files, she would have enough of a foothold to work her way into all of the information. Her hopes were dashed, however, as one final message appeared on her screen.

Magus Caspar: Access DENIED

Ritsuko let her head fall into her hands. She took a few deep breaths to clear her head, then returned her gaze to the screen. She placed her hands back on the keyboard. "I'm going to get through to you, Mom," she whispered, "You can't protect him forever."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Hey, Nagisa, how's Shinji, huh?" Touji asked as he slouched down into his seat. The one-time athlete still wore his track warm-ups all the time instead of the regular uniform-the school administrators never told him to do otherwise. Kaoru suspected that they had no desire to force the issue against a cripple and a veteran of the war.

"He is all right," Kaoru replied. "He is weaker than usual this time, but he does not feel much pain. The doctors think he will be ready to leave in about a week."

"About time. I got to thinkin' he'd never get outta the hospital. Seems like he's there all the time," Touji replied.

"Yeah," Kensuke agreed quietly. At the mention of Shinji and the hospital, he had grown a little paler, and he looked slightly nauseous. After a moment, he tapped Hikari on the shoulder. "Horaki-san?" he asked in a weak voice.

"Yes?" Hikari said, turning around. Her eyes narrowed as she saw Kensuke's pallor. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "You look positively ill! You go home right this second I'll explain things to the teacher."

"Thanks," Kensuke whispered, and quickly grabbed his things. He hurried out of the classroom.

"What's up with him, Iwonder?" Touji asked. "He didn't look sick when we were walking here."

"Maybe he just realized what an idiot he was and couldn't take it," Asuka interjected.

As Touji returned an insult in defense of his friend, Kaoru leaned back in his chair. Perhaps he feels guilty because all of his friends have been so wounded by this war, while he has come through unscathed, he thought. Or perhaps, he added mentally, it is something more specific. Something about Shinji...

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Gendo absently checked the closet. His clothes were there, having been carefully removed from their hanging bag by the bellboy when the luggage first arrived. Gendo smiled. The boy had, of course, been in the employ of the CIA, and of course had found nothing. Gendo never kept valuable information in his luggage.

The commander of NERV walked over to the thermostat, turning it to the lowest possible setting. He grinned as the conditioner roared to life, pouring refrigerated air into the room. He relaxed into a chair, tapping out an order for a single glass of warm sake on the room service console. A beeping sound a moment later told him it had arrived. He sipped the alcoholic beverage carefully, his face now blank, his eyes expressionless behind the orange lenses.

Several minutes passed while the commander leaned back in his chair. Then he heard a knock on his door. He perked up and said, "Enter."

Then he smiled broadly as the door opened to reveal Ibuki Maya.