The Child of Love 2
By David Templar

Neon Genesis Evangelion was created by Hideaki Anno. The characters and other things from the
series belong to Studio Gainax. The Child of Love is the creation of Axel Terizaki, and the story,
along with any character(s) created by him is as such his. As well, any character(s) created by me is
as such mine. If you plan to use any characters created in TCoL and TCoL2 in a fanfiction of your
own, please first contact Axel and me, thanks! This fanfiction is not intended to be profitable for the
author or his associates in anyway.

Don't sue me!

Warning: Some End of Evangelion spoilers within.

NEON GENESIS EVANGELION

Stephen was your average janitor, with your average dull and uninteresting life. He had very little
ambitions in life, nothing greater than simple materialistic desires, like acquiring a working VCR
(which is not very easy on Post-Impact era janitor's pay, I'll have you know).

So what made Stephen do what he did, which was to venture into the restricted area of his work place
on this day? What would drive him to hid a small digital camera, given to him by a total and foreign
looking stranger, on his person so he could take some highly detailed pictures of something even more
highly classified?

Perhaps it was an attempt to escape the mundane-ness of his real life?

You know, to act out a fantasy. There he was, a secret agent, having posed as a janitor to infiltrate this
highly classified facility. Avoiding security patrols, bypassing checkpoints, and showing his bucket,
mop, and janitor ID to anyone who doubted his presence. For a moment, he was something greater
than what he was; he was what he wanted to be.

Or maybe it was a simple act of defiance against his employers, who treated him like dirt, and paid
him about just as much.

And maybe, just maybe, it was because the nice Japanese man (who looked like he missed more than
a few shaves) offered him a hefty sum for his services.

Whatever the reason, it didn't matter to him at the moment, being busy taking pictures of classified
materials and all. And as he drove home from work that day, he couldn't shake some images from his
mind. Those massive towering beasts he saw and took many pictures of... But... Were they beasts?
They did have a human body after all, with thin and palely white limbs. But their heads and faces...
Those hideously long, eye-less faces...

Stephen shook his head, trying to clear away the monsters inside his mind. He checked his rear view
mirror, and let out a sigh of relief, as he saw no cars following him. Why would there be? He did
exactly as the other man had asked; he was very, very careful. So as Stephen drove home that night,
with German Techno blaring over the radio, he was quite at peace with himself and what he had done.
Tomorrow he would meet with the Japanese man to exchange the camera for some hard currency, and
finally be able to afford a VCR.

Did I mention that Stephen was an average janitor?
---
NEON GENESIS EVANGELION:
TCoL2

Chapter #8:0 Angelic Donut
---
Pen Pen laid on his side in front of the television set, alone in the apartment. The penguin let out a
breath of relief as he enjoyed the relative peacefulness of his surroundings. There was the sound of
the TV, currently showing a Japanese game show, in which some Canadian tourists were trying to
win return tickets back to their homeland. Then there was the sound of rain, of water drops clattering
against the window glass. But there were no sounds of actual human beings. Everyone was at NERV
headquarters, leaving the bird home alone, but he was very much used to it. He was briefly distracted
by the sound of the phone ringing, but his attention returned to the TV once the answering machine
kicked in.

"Katsuragi residence," on came the recording of Misato's voice, "I can't come to the phone right now,
please leave your name and message and I'll get back to you ASAP."

"Katsuragi, I'll be back in Japan sometime tomorrow," the machine recorded Kaji's message, "how
about you and me get together for a drink afterwards? I've got some interesting vacation photos to
show you."
---
This was not the first time Teri-chan had been inside one of NERV headquarters' EVA test control
centers. In fact, she had become something of a regular at headquarters. The small infant was always
accompanying her mother and father every time there was a test of some sort to be performed with
them, or on them. Today's test was being conducted at the water-filled chamber of the simulated body's
cage.

"Are you four ready?" asked Misato, standing beside Teri's baby carriage.

"Hai," responded the four pilots in rough unison.

"Ritsuko, take over please." The doctor nodded in response.

"Today's test involves a new close combat system designed to simulate hand-to-hand combat. As you
all know, hand-to-hand combat is the best way to defeat the Angels. Currently, well over half of the
Angels we've destroyed were killed with either the progressive knives, or empty-handed. This system
designed in America, combines aspects of the pallet rifle simulation, the simulated body, and various
other things. Control information from the simulated body is processed by the EVAs into movement
data, then MAGI takes that data and creates an appropriate simulation. By running the whole thing
through each pilot's EVA, we can simulate under very realistic synch ratio conditions, as well and the
unique way each EVA responds to their pilot. This is basically like having the EVAs actually engage
in battle with either computer generate opponents or each other, without sustaining damage
and injury..."

"Ritsuko," interrupted Misato, "are you done? The detail is nice and all, but..."

"Come on, come on," Asuka's video intercom window enlarged itself to maximum on the main view
screen, "enough with the techno-babble, let's get this over with! I wanna get back to Teri-chan! How
is she, Misato?"

"Sleeping peacefully, I think she likes the hum of the machineries."

"Well, I don't like her listening to those sounds. Who knows what they can do to her little ears? And
it's pretty cold in there, isn't it? Does she have enough covering? In fact, let me out, I want to check
on her one more time very quickly..." Asuka began trying to remove herself from her plug seat.

"Maya," Ritsuko said quickly, not giving Asuka a chance to escape, "begin the test."

"Yes ma'am, starting interface sequence." The young technician's hands performed a little ballet over
the keyboard. "Simulated body data are now being processed by PraCombat Matrix, program
commencing."

Inside the entry plugs, the blend and watery view of the simulated body cage was suddenly replaced
with a computer-generated view of the streets of Tokyo-3.

"Move around the city guys, how does it feel?" asked Misato.

The four EVAs looked around, then slowly began to move about the virtual Toyko-3. They were
distanced a fair bit away from each other and the center of the city.

"It's just like being inside Unit-01," said Shinji, tugging at his controls. He tried raising the hand of
the computer generated Unit-01. "I almost can't tell the difference."

"Same here," said Asuka, performing a few short leaps, "everything appears to be OK."

"Unit-00 is functioning normally," said Rei.

"I'm ready," said Takuma.

"That's because you're all actually hooked up to your individual EVAs," explained Ritsuko,
"in a way..."

"Well, let's begin. The first opponents will be computer generated Angels," said Misato, "you each
get one." As soon as she finished her sentence, a Third Angel appeared in front of each EVA.

"Wow," Takuma's eyes widened at the sight of the creature before him, "they're bigger than I thought."

"We'll need to test the force feed back calibrations slightly. Each Angel will now slap your EVA on
the shoulder. We'll use the data gathered to make sure you don't get unsafe amounts of sensory
feedback. Everyone ready?"

A resounding "yes" was the reply.

"Commencing feedback calibration test," announced Maya. Simultaneously, the four computer
generated Angel raised their right hand. Then they each struck the EVA in front of them on the
shoulder firmly. Accordingly, the simulated bodies containing the pilots shuddered, as if they were the
ones struck.

"Feedback within safety perimeter," declared Maya.

"How's everyone doing?" asked Misato.

"That was very real," said Asuka, "are we done now?"

"No, we are just starting Asuka," Misato turned her attention to the forth Children. "Well, how did it
feel, Takuma?" She looked at his bio-monitors. His heart rate was up slightly and his breathing was
more rapid than normal.

"I...um..." The boy was at a complete lost of words. Having very limited actual piloting experience,
he never actually felt anything like that before. Not only that, the sheer size of the monster which
stood before him was overwhelming. They looked a lot smaller in my dreams, he thought.

"If you're having any trouble, just tell us," Ritsuko said firmly. "We understand what lack of
experience can do to a pilot."

"I'm fine," Takuma took a deep breath, calming himself, "really."

"In that case," Ritsuko said, "let's proceed."

"In this exercise," explained Misato, "you are to engage and destroy your opponents. You'll only have
your internal backup power, and your progressive knife to destroy the Angel in front of you. The
simulation will begin with the enemy at a distance of 200m in front of you. Ready?"

"Hai!" called out the pilots.

"Begin!" Four power remaining counters appeared on the giant view screen of the control, and began
to count down rapidly.

Asuka was the first to finish, taking the Angel down 37 seconds. She had studied Shinji's fight with
the Third Angel, and knew what she was up against. She predicted that Sachiel's opening move would
be to use its beam weapon, and she was right. Quick reflexes and good timing allowed Asuka to
dodge the beam. And before the Angel could do anything, Unit-02 was in front of it, neutralizing its
AT-Field. The creature tried to strike at the EVA with the claws on its right hand, but Asuka blocked
it easily while drawing her progressive knife. And before Sachiel could bring its left hand around,
Asuka had already stuck the knife into the Angel's red core. Unfortunately, the design of Unit-02's
blade, which was based on an utility knife, meant that it was rather prone to snapping off. That
happened when the beast brought its left hand around and struck Unit-02's knife-welding hand. Rather
than striking again with the knife, the girl instead whipped her EVA around. In a perfect roundhouse
kick, she struck the already cracked core of the Angel with the armored heel of her EVA. The Angel
flew back several dozen meters, before exploding, illuminating the sky with a giant cross.

Shinji was 53 seconds behind Asuka. Having a rather foggy memory of his engagement with Sachiel,
he experienced some difficulty. Instead of the direct path, the boy snaked his way to the Angel. When
he got close to the monster, it lashed out with its arm beam saber, which glanced off Unit-01 head.
The experience was so real that Shinji froze temporarily. Memories of his real encounter with Sachiel
flooded back, but he managed to push it aside. Renewing his attack on the Angel, he used his
progressive knife to cut off the enemy's left arm. Then he proceeded to crush the bones of the Angel's
right arm with his hands. Sachiel tried bringing its cross beam to bear, but Unit-01's fist crashed into
its face shell before it could discharge its ray. The coup d'etait came in the form of the vibrating blade
of the progressive knife, deep into the Angel's core.

Rei's attack on the Angel was very similar to Shinji's, using buildings as cover while approaching the
Angel. She only struck the Angel once, putting all her strength into getting past Sachiel's AT-Field
and getting her progressive knife into the core. Her EVA came out of the fight missing both wing
pylons, one having been ripped off, while the other scorched off. Unit-00 was never meant for intense
actual combat.

And Takuma never really finished the exercise; his internal power failed before the Angel was
destroyed. Right from the start, he took the Angel's beam head-on. According to MAGI's calculation,
the beam would have bored through Unit-04's AT-Field and through at least foot of chest armor
before stopping, so appropriate damage was inflicted on the simulated EVA. It also threw the EVA
over a hundred meters backward into an apartment block. When he finally did get into hand-to-hand
combat range with Sachiel, he was able knock the Angel down in short orders. But he had wasted
valuable time and energy when he got hit by Sachiel's beam. By the time he had stabbed the Angel's
core, he was almost out of power. The knife failed to penetrate deep enough to kill the beast and
Unit-04 shutdown before it could force the knife any deeper.

"This exercise is now over," Misato said. She crossed her arms, "your usual great job, Asuka."

"Thanks, but can I get back to Teri-chan now?" the girl replied.

"Shinji-kun," Misato turned to the other video intercom window, "not quite as spectacular as the
first time, but still very good."

"Thanks, Misato-san... So are we done?"

"Very nice work," she moved on, "Rei."

"It was only a simulation," the girl responded impassively.

"Takuma-kun, not a bad first run, good job."

"...I messed up," the boy was very quiet, "didn't I?"

"What makes you think that? Your performance was exceptional, considering your limited actual
combat minutes."

"I guess your original training wasn't quite up to standard," observed Ritsuko coldly, "in this case, we
need to review 4th Branch's training program."

"Ritsuko!" snapped Misato; "this has nothing to do with training. He is inexperienced, what do you
expect from him?"

"The same I expect from all the other Children. Rei, your response time could be faster, and your
judgement is rather poor. Shinji, you need to work on your tactics, you're wasting too much time.
Asuka, you're good, but you can improve. Takuma, learn from everyone else. There's no second
chance on the battlefield for screw ups."

Inside Takuma's entry plug, a private video intercom window appeared. The window signaled for
him to close his link to the control room, and he complied.

"You pissed the bitch off, didn't you?" asked Asuka wickedly. "She isn't usually THIS annoying.
What did you do? You can tell me."

"Asuka," another private window appeared, this time from Shinji, "you shouldn't called Ritsuko-san
names like that, even behind her back."

"But she almost killed me and Teri-chan, what do you what me to call her?"

"How about 'old hag'?" suggested Takuma.

"Old hag?" Asuka thought for a moment, "that isn't too bad."

"Come on Asuka," said Shinji, "be nice, she did help us later on."

"Hai hai, ok fine." The windows disappeared, and Takuma breathed a sigh of relief. But before he
was even finished sighing, a window appeared again.

"I wanna know what you did to the old hag later," demanded Asuka. She then closed the window
before the boy could respond.

"But I didn't do anything to her..." he said helplessly.

"Can we get going?" Asuka asked Ritsuko. "I think Teri-chan is gonna be hungry soon."

"Why did three of you close your comm window to the control room just now?" asked Ritsuko impatiently.
"What were you talking about?"

"We were just giving some advice to Takuma," smiled Asuka innocently.

"That's alright Asuka," Misato cut in, "we're done for the day."

"Actually," objected Ritsuko, "there's one more exercise..."

"Slot it in for the day after tomorrow," Misato said firmly, "we're done."

"We can't stop in the middle of a test just because you say so!" Ritsuko proclaim angrily.
"Do you know how much?"

The blonde doctor was cutoff mid-sentence by the clamor of a wailing infant. The sound of Ritsuko's
voice had wakened Teri up.

"Teri-chan!" Asuka called out, "it's OK! Mommy's here... Everything's OK... Someone let me out of
here!"

"Now can we end the test?" Misato frowned, picking up Teri. "It's ok Teri-chan, your mommy and
daddy is gonna be here soon." But the baby just kept crying.

"Check her diaper," said Shinji.

"Maybe she's hungry," suggested Asuka.

Ritsuko's brow narrowed. She had no choice but to relent. "Maya, discontinue the program. Have
MAGI begin processing the data for analysis."

"Yes, ma'am."

Ritsuko glanced over her shoulder just in time to see Misato leaving the room with Teri.
---
"What was going on in there, Misato-san?" asked Shinji. The Children were accompanying the older
woman through NERV headquarters, towards one of the base cafeterias.

"Yeah, Ritsuko seemed edgier than usual," said Asuka. She pushed the baby carriage with the
sleeping child in front of her. "Maybe it's just that time of the month for her. But then, I've never
seen her handle it that badly. I mean, when it happens to you Misato, you just drink more."

"I need a beer."

"When it happens to me, I handle it fine."

"Yeah," Shinji whispered to Takuma, "sure."

"What was that, Shin-chan?"

"Um...nothing, Asuka-chan!"

"And with Wonder Girl, she doesn't even flinch."

"What is 'that time of the month'?" Rei asked.

"See what I mean? Something has to have seriously unnerved our dear Dr. Akagi. Maybe she isn't
getting enough from her man. Maybe she doesn't even have a man."

"Asuka..." warned Misato.

"If it wasn't that, maybe it was something the 4th had to do with."

"I already told you, I didn't do anything!"

"You sound pretty guilty to me. It could be something very small, did you get in her way or see her
act weird or something?"

"Um..." Calm down, the boy's mind screamed, don't make eye contact with Asuka or everything will
be over. Takuma elevated his field of view upward to try and avoid any gazes. Unfortunately, they
were on an escalator and Asuka was on the steps above him. "Oh crap."

"Don't swear around my daughter!" shot Asuka, with Shinji looking equally disapproved. "And you
did do something, I can tell by the look in your eyes!"

"You'd be better off telling her now," cautioned Shinji, "Asuka has a knack for getting what she
wants."

"Shouldn't you be defending me, as a fellow male?" asked Takuma. "Man, you are really henpecked."

"I prefer the term 'found my soul mate and happily engaged to her', thank you very much."

"So what did you do?" demanded Asuka. The group had arrived at the NERV cafeteria, and was
lining up to order their dinner.

"Asuka," scowled Misato, "you really shouldn't pry into other people's business like that."

"But Misato, I stay home most of my time taking care of Teri-chan, I hardly get out anymore! I miss
talking!"

"More like gossiping," said Misato.

"Well, that too."

"It looked like Ritsuko-san was gonna either choke or hug Rei," the boy took a can of carton of milk
and placed it on his tray, "but I interrupted her."

Misato was quite disconcerted with the news. "Rei, did Ritsuko actually attack you?"

"No," Rei replied, "Dr. Akagi never touched me." It was a half-truth, while Ritsuko did appear
openly hostile during that event, she never made physical contact.

"So Ritsuko tried to hug you?" Misato scratched her head, "that's even weirder."

As the table fell into a debate over why Ritsuko would try and hug Rei, much less another female,
Takuma made eye contact with Rei.

"I don't think she tried to hug you," the boy said by his facial expression.

Rei just kept eating.
---
It was a peaceful lunch break on a sunny day, when the placidness of the classroom was shattered
by one single cry.

"What?!" gasped Kensuke, "Dr. Akagi tried to embrace Rei?"

"Well," said Shinji, "that's what Rei said. Actually, she sort of implied it."

"Wow, a real touching moment that must have been..."

"Kensuke, I hope you're not thinking what I think you're thinking." Shinji suddenly realized that
strange tales involving two females is not something that should be told to unattached otakus, but
the damage was done.

"I never thought of her as 'that kind of person'," said Kensuke, busying fantasizing. Shinji gave the
other boy a rather cold stare.

"You are talking about Ritsuko-san, right?"

"Huh?" the boy snapped out of his trance, "yeah, sure."

"Anyway, where's Touji? He's never around during lunch now a days."

"..."

"Where's Touji??"

"Where he usually is," Kensuke said half-mindedly. He was quite occupied with the little world
inside his head. Shinji shook his head.

"We really need to get you a girlfriend."
---
"Thank God this is not a singles bar," Misato said to Ritsuko as she looked around the room. She and
her friend were waiting at a bar suspended above the Geofront, which had a spectacular view of the
underground city below. They were there to wait for Kaji, who had a habit of being fashionably late.
"If this was, we would have been hounded by half a dozen men by now."

"Why would that be so bad?" said Ritsuko, nursing her drink.

"Well, I just thought..." Misato focused on her friend's distant gaze. "It is about men! The way you've
been acting lately, your even shorter than usual temper, your harshness..."

"Even shorter than usual? I'm short tempered?"

"Well, we'll talk about that later. So what happened? Who is this mystery man? And how come you
never told me about him?"

"It doesn't matter, it's all over now."

"That would explain your behavior. I'm sorry, Ritsuko."

"My mother did say I was never very good with men." Not like she was any better herself, she thought.

"So how long did it last?" Misato looked at her friend with nothing but concern and compassion.

"Years, I don't remember how many years."

"And it ended just recently? The guy never committed or anything?"

"No, he never had any real intentions with me."

"And you stayed with him for years? Why didn't you tell me, Ritsuko?"

"..." Ritsuko just shook her head. "He..."

"Hey folks," Kaji finally arrived, putting an end to any further discussion, at least for the moment.
"Did I interrupt something?" he looked around with a worried expression.

"No," Ritsuko assured him, "sit down, we've been waiting for ages. Let's see the photos."

Kaji held up a brown folder, and laid it in front of Misato and Ritsuko. The two women quickly
opened it and shared the photos amongst themselves.

"These are incredible," said Ritsuko, astonished at what she was seeing. "You even got some picture
of the schematics!" The scientist in Ritsuko temporarily pushed the woman in her aside.

"The focus of the picture is rather poor," noted Misato.

"Well," Kaji took a seat next to her; "my source wasn't really train to spy. Give the circumstances,
I'd say he performed quite well."

"So can we get more information from your source?" asked Ritsuko, busy examining the pictures.

"I'm afraid not," Kaji took a sip of the drink he just ordered, "he's dead."

"What happened?" asked Misato, turning towards Kaji.

"SEELE caught up to him after he delivered the camera. For some reason, I think they wanted us to
have these photos."

"Where's the data disc?" asked Ritsuko.

"Copied and recopied into on to a dozen other disc, I personally delivered the original to headquarters
myself."

"Good," Ritsuko collected the photos and got up. "I'll get right on to analyzing these."

"Do you need a lift back to headquarters?" asked Misato, also getting ready to leave.

"No," assured Ritsuko, "I'll be fine. Good night, you two." The older woman turned and left.

"So," Kaji took another drink, "my place?"

"I..." Her cell phone rang, interrupting the conversation. She quickly opened it up, "Katsuragi."

"Misato-san," it was Shinji, "can you come home quickly?"

"What is it, Shinji?" The boy's tone was that of someone pleading for help, and that sent a chill down
her spine.

"Teri-chan is sick."
---
The apartment was filled with the cries of the child, despite the best effort of her parents. Asuka and
Shinji were taking turn cradling the baby in their arms, but it wasn't really helping. Teri was running
a high fever and crying nonstop.

And the worst thing is, there was nothing, absolutely nothing, her parents could do about it. The sheer
feeling of helplessness was unlike anything the two young parents had ever experienced before.
Asuka was on the verge of tears herself, while Shinji was at a total loss of words. Thankfully, Misato
came through the door a short time after Shinji made the call, and brought Kaji right behind her.

"How is she?" Misato asked, going over to Asuka, who was holding the infant.

"She's running a really high fever, Misato." The usual confidence in the girl's voice was all but gone,
having been replaced by utter fear for her child.

"Let me see," Misato held the back of her hand against the Teri's forehead, trying to get a sense of
her temperature. The baby just continued wailing.

"Should we call an ambulance?" Shinji said with a slight stutter.

"No, we can just take her to headquarters. We don't want to give anyone outside of NERV a chance
to find out Teri's uniqueness." Misato was referring to the child's genetic codes, which included those
of Lilith. "Ready, Asuka?"

The girl simply nodded. Holding firmly but gently on to the most valuable person in the world to her,
Asuka slowly followed Misato out the door.

"Come on, Shinji," Kaji placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Teri-chan is gonna be all right."
---
35 miles west southwest of Yaku Shima Island
Northern Ryukyu Island Group

The Japanese Strategic Self-Defense Force submarine Harado was on patrol beneath the vast Pacific,
searching out for potential threats to herself and her country. Her captain, a seasoned submariner, was
enjoying a cup of late night tea when a report came over the boat's intercom.

"Con, sonar," reported a young seaman, "we have a possible submerged contact. Bearing 35 degrees
off port, depth unknown, speed unknown, range unknown."

The captain responded by going forward to the sonar room, where he stood behind the banks of men
and sonar screens.

"Report."

"Sir, we have a really faint contact, I mean really faint. I'm only picking up noise of something big
travelling through the water. There's no blade noise, not even a caterpillar drive pulse."

"Biologics, perhaps?" asked the older man. "There are whales in the area."

"Yes sir, we have approximately three male and 4 female gray whales off the starboard bow. But
that's the weird thing, sir."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the whale weren't really singing much before. But since the sonar contact showed up, it's like
they're mood has changed. It's almost like they're greeting someone with songs of joy."

"Go active on the sonar," ordered the captain. Moments later, a dull "ping" was heard though
out the ship.

"The target is 700 yards off the bow... It's changing course... It's now on a collision course!"

"General quarters!" the captain went back to the command deck as the alarm was sounded.
"Right full rudder, all ahead flank! Make your depth 700 feet!" The deck of the submarine began
to angle and pitch. "Weapon officer, report!"

"Tubes one and two are loaded with Type 89s, tube three and four...!"

"Snap shot, tube number two, match bearing with...!"

"It's within the minimum torpedo arming range...!"

"Override the safety locks!"

"Too late, 5 seconds to impact!"

"Sound collision warning!" shouted the captain, bracing against a hand hold.

A moment later, something large impacted the submarine directly amidships. The boat's conning
tower was jarred loose, and her cigar ship body broke in half. All three sections flooded and sank
quickly.

Not even pausing for a moment to survey its handiwork, the 16th Angel continued on its way.
---
"You look like you've been through hell, Colonel," observed Commander Fuyutsuki. The meeting
room was rather empty at the moment, since most of the people haven't showed up yet.

"Sorry sir, but Teri-chan was running a high fever late last night," Misato rubbed her eyes and downed
half a mug of coffee. "Everyone stayed up all night taking turns watching her, and the fever has gone
down somewhat."

"The baby's first time being sick?" the old man asked.

"Yes sir."

"Hmm...Sometimes I wonder if I should have started a family."

"If you don't mind my saying so, sir, it's not too late."

"It is for me, I lost my opportunity over fifteen years ago."

Finally, Ritsuko arrived with Maya and Shigeru, followed by Kaji and Makoto.

"Let's begin," announced Fuyutsuki, after everyone was seated.

"We've gone over the data we've recently collected on SEELE's EVAs," reported Ritsuko. "Using
photographic data from Kaji's source and computer data from Makoto, we've been able to create a
computer model of our opponent." Ritsuko brought up a diagram of the white EVA. "From what we
can tell, it has an internal S2 engine, and it can fly."

"Fly?" asked Misato.

"Well, this attachment in the back says 'wings housing'," pointed Ritsuko, "so we think it might have
some sort of retractable wing for gliding in the back."

"Any chance it can be real wings, like those on birds?" asked Fuyutsuki.

"That is highly improbable, sir. The housing itself is too small to hold biological wings required to
lift something the size of an EVA. Creating the wings themselves would require tremendous work,
since there are no genetic codes inside the current EVA for wing growth."

"How come they don't have any eyes?" the Commander inquired further.

"We're still working on that, right now we think they use extra sensory perception."

"So we've got an enemy that might be able to fly, have their own S2 engine, uses ESP, and
outnumbers us over 2 to 1. How are we able to fight for something like that?" asked Fuyutsuki.

"This will require some very complicated tactics and coordination," said Makoto.

"And even more luck," added Kaji.

"We're running out of time. With only two more Angels remaining, SEELE will be ready to move
against us soon. Colonel, take any measure you see fit to prepare the pilots for this. Doctor, if there's
a weak spot on those things, I want to know about it."
---
"It's just the two of you today," said Misato, "I just spoke to Asuka and Shinji again. They absolutely
refuse to leave Teri's side for an experiment." Today's test was just a repeat of the one the day before,
but minus two pilots.

"I think I can beat the Third Angel this time," said Takuma, gripping at his controls nervously.

"Unfortunately, that's not what you'll be fighting today," said Ritsuko, thankfully less moody than the
last test. "You will be fighting each other."

"Me fight Rei?" gasped the boy.

"Sorry," said Misato, "but we need to refresh on the two-arms-two-legs vs. two-arms-two-legs tactics."

"No progressive knifes," said Ritsuko, but the boy still seemed hesitant.

"Takuma, Rei has been taking Aikido for over six years," said Misato.

"I'm ready," said the girl.

"Get ready you two," ordered Ritsuko, "we don't have all day..."

"Ma'am," interrupted Maya, "message from Central Dogma, 'unidentified object detected approaching
Owakidani, possible Angel'."

"Abort the test," ordered Misato, "go to first stage alert, all hands to battle stations!"
---
Children's clinic, ward C-13, NERV headquarters

Shinji was grateful to be getting the first bit of rest in almost twenty hours. Teri's fever had been
slowly dropping for the past day, until finally it was low enough for her parents to stop panicking
(but not worrying).

"It was just the flu," the doctor had told them, "nothing to worry about." But they were very worried.
Teri was almost half a year old now, but this was the first time she has been sick. Asuka and Shinji
knew this was going to happen sooner later, and had talked about before hand. However, when it
eventually happened, all their preparations went right out the window. The two young parents shared
a hospital bed nestled closely to their baby's crib.

"Asuka, are you asleep?" asked Shinji.

"No, are you?" she asked back.

"We need to sleep eventually," he said.

There was a knock on the door, and Misato stepped in.

"You two," Misato said with a quiet but urgent tone, "get up, there's an Angel coming."

Asuka's eyes widened at the thought of leaving her child's side.
---
"Target is currently hovering over Owakidani," reported Central Dogma's PA system.

"Is it an Angel or not?" demanded Misato.

"Most likely," said Shigeru, "but it's pattern changes periodically from orange to blue."

"As far as we can tell, this is not the Angel's final form," said Maya. On the main monitor was the
most bizarre Angel yet. It was like a long DNA strand that had been bent into the shape of a donut,
and it kept spinning over a single point.

"Unit-00 and Unit-04 has been deployed," reported Makoto. The two EVAs emerged from hatches
just outside of the city. Unit-00 began to setup a large sniper rifle, while Unit-04 drove a progressive
spear into the ground beside it, then picked up a pallet rifle and checked it over.

"How long before Unit-01 and 02 are ready?" asked Misato.

"Unit-01 is ready for launch," reported Shigeru, "there is apparently some problem with Unit-02."

"Launch Unit-01," ordered Misato, "what's wrong with 02?"

"Asuka refused to launch at first, they just finally got her away from Teri's side, she's entering the
entry plug now."

"Let's make this quick," Asuka's video intercom window appeared, "commencing startup sequence.
No stupid Angel is going to keep me from Teri's side."

"0.9 until absolute borderline, 0.7, 0.5, 0.3, 0.1, absolute boarder line..." The digital meter suddenly
shot backwards, "pulses are reversing, connection failed!"

"What?" screamed Asuka, "start you Goddamn machine!" She jerked violently at the control grips.

"Retrying startup sequence," said Maya, "no, it's not working!"

"Recheck all nerve connections starting from 230 and up," ordered Ritsuko, "reset the connection
sequence."

"Could it have something to do with Teri's illness?" asked Misato.

"Probably," replied Ritsuko, "Asuka's maternal instincts must be interfering with her normal thought
pattern. She can't concentrate or focus on the job at hand."

"What do I do? What do I do?" asked Asuka frantically.

"There's nothing we can do, we'll have to wait until Asuka calms down."

"Asuka, I want you to close your eyes, take some deep breaths, and meditate. We'll try this again in
a few minutes."

"Roger," the girl said reluctantly.

"Position of the Angel?" asked Misato.

"It's holding its position," answered Shigeru. "Unit-01 have joined up with the other EVAs."

"Have Unit-01 replace Unit-00 on the rifle and tell Rei to move back," ordered Misato, "signal
Unit-04 to cover..."?"

"There's no time," Rei pointed out, "it's coming."
---
The Angel stopped spinning, and reached out with its senses. It felt mainly for AT-Fields, those of
human beings, and those of something much bigger. There were three large fields in the area, and of
the three, the nearest was also the weakest. The Angel condensed and reformed itself into a long
stream, and attacked.

"Rei, dodge it!" screamed Misato, but it was much too late.

"No! It's too late!" shouted Makoto.

The string shaped creature lashed itself out like an attacking serpent, striking Unit-00 square in its
abdomen. The Angel burrowed through Unit-00's AT-Field, and drove itself into the EVA. The
impacted sent the giant crashing into the hillside behind it. Rei retaliated by grabbing the Angel and
firing her rifle point-blank at the creature. The shells impacted with a metallic clink against the Angel
with no effect. As the Angel drove itself deeper into the Unit-00, it pushed the EVA against the
hillside once again.

"The Angel has made physical contact with Unit-00!" reported Shigeru.

"Status of Unit-00's AT-Field?" asked Ritsuko.

"It's active, but the Angel is corroding it!" reported Maya.

"Is the Angel trying to merge with Unit-00?" Ritsuko asked out loud.

"Shinji, Takuma," barked Misato, "close to within 500 meters of the target. Neutralize its AT-Field
and engage with rifles once you're there! Keep out of its reach!"

"Roger!" Unit-01 and 04 surged forth, rifles in hand. As they close, they can see bulging veins
snaking across from where Unit-00 came into contact with the Angel. Unit-00 was trying to pull
the Angel out of itself, but to no avail.

"Danger! Unit-00's biocomponents are being perforated!" warned Maya.

"Open fire!" ordered Misato. The two charging EVA raised their rifles and opened out on the target,
sending continuous streams of shells into the Angel. But because of the Angel's size and shape, it
only took a few hits. The creature began wiggling around like a worm, making it a nightmare for
Shinji and Takuma to hit it.

"Damnit!" cursed Misato, as she watched Unit-01 and 04 trying unsuccessfully to stop the Angel.

"The Angel is continuing to penetrate and fuse with Unit-00's biocomponents," Maya advised.

"This is very dangerous," said Ritsuko, "almost 5% of Unit-00's biocomponents have been fused
with the Angel's."

"Rei," shouted Misato, "can you hear me? Rei!"
---
Like her EVA, a web of veins was radiating across Rei's body, starting at her abdomen. The
disfiguration crawled across her stomach, working its way to her upper legs, her chest, her shoulders,
and her neck. The pain caused the girl's muscles to spasm and her body arc upward, as her nervous
system was subjected to a completely indescribable level of shock and torment.

One moment, the agony was so great that the girl could barely make a whimpering sound...

The next, it was completely gone. And Rei found herself elsewhere, staring at herself standing in a
shallow pool of LCL.

A reflection?

"Who?" Rei asked out loud, even though there's only she herself present to hear the question.
"Me? Me within Eva..." But the figure before her wasn't herself.

"No, I feel someone else other than me. Who are you?" Rei called out. "An Angel? The being that
we call an Angel?"

"Don't you want to be one with me?" the other asked softly.

"No," declined Rei, "I am I. Not you."

"Hmm..." the other smiled slightly, "but you shall be. It's already too late. I give you a part of
my soul. I give you this emotion, this feeling. Pain, see? Your soul possesses pain."

"Pain?" asked Rei, sharing her other self's sensations. "No, this is something different. Loneliness?
Yes," Rei was certain, "this is loneliness."

"Loneliness?" Rei's other self asked gently, "I do not understand."

"Do you hate being alone?" Rei answered the question with another question, "We are many, but
you are one. You hate being alone," she explained, "that is called loneliness."

"That's your soul," the other pointed out, "full of sorrow. That is your soul."

Rei's eyes snapped open, and she found herself back in the entry plug. The girl looked around in
confusion, she didn't know how much time has passed since the Angel attack. Strange, Rei thought,
I can't see properly. It was then that she realized there was water streaming from her eyes.

"These are tears... It's me who is crying, but why?"

Outside her EVA, the fighting continued.
---
"Pallet rifle fire is completely ineffective!" reported Shigeru.

"The Angel is continuing to fuse with Unit-00," called out Maya. "It will soon reach fatal level for
the pilot."

"We can't engage it without risking the other pilots," said Misato. "Wait! Shinji, Takuma, fall back
to the nearest weapon hatch! I'm sending you the progressive spears, use it to attack the Angel while
staying out of its reach."

"Hai!" The two EVAs dropped their rifles, and dashed towards the weapon emergence hatch. The
progressive spears, which were nothing more than slightly enlarged progressive knife mounted on the
end of a composite material pole, were waiting for them. The EVAs grabbed the weapons, and dashed
back towards the target.

"Takuma, let's try and pin it down!" called out Shinji.

"Roger," replied the other boy. Unit-01 swung the spear at the Angel, hitting and knocking to the side.
Unit-04 brought its spear down on the Angel, sending it crashing to the ground.

"AAARGH!" shouted Shinji as he raised his spear and drove it down at where the Angel had fallen.
But the Angel recovered much quicker than the pilots had anticipated. Swinging to Unit-01's side,
the creature stretched itself out by over 30 meters, simply by reducing its own circumference. The
Angel swung itself at Unit-01's ankles, knocking the EVA off its feet and sending it crashing towards
the ground. Before Unit-04 could reorient itself towards the target, the Angel had wrapped the end of
its string-like body around the EVA's ankle. The creature lifted the EVA into the air like it was make
out of foam, and slammed it down upon Unit-01 like it was Thor's Hammer.

"We might lose this one," Fuyutsuki, seated high above everyone else, admitted to himself.
---
Asuka sat inside her entry plug with her eyes closed. She took slow and deep breaths, letting the LCL
release its cargo of nourishing oxygen into her lungs, before expelling the warm liquid.

"I know you here," Asuka said into the entry plug.

Silence was her reply.

"I know Shinji's mom is inside Unit-01," she continued, "and I know you're in here."

The only reply came in the form of the soft whirl of the LCL pumps, which turned on periodically.

"I tried putting you being in here out of my mind," Asuka admitted, "I tried pushing the thought into
the smallest, darkest corner of my mind, and I tried to forget. But I couldn't." The girl remembered
the apparition of a woman in hospital gown she saw at the arcade, and the many nightmares.
"I couldn't forget that you're still here with me."

"Shinji's mom is a very nice woman," the girl said casually, "and very beautiful, too. Kinda looks like
Wonder Girl. Did you two ever have a chance to meet?"

The flow noises of her own breathing was the only sound in response.

"All this time..." Asuka shook her head, "you were here with me all this time... I thought this was
just a toy... I thought you were just a bad mother..." She paused for a moment.

"After all, you left me, and then you killed yourself..."

The girl lowered her head, and her red hair gently swayed in the LCL current.

"I didn't want to be like you. Because...I was going to be a good mother, I was going to be always
there for Teri-chan, and for Shinji."

She paused again.

"But I was wrong about you...You've always been here for me...protecting me... So..."

"WHY AREN'T YOU HERE NOW?!" Asuka smashed her fists against the control grips. "Rei is
dying out there, and Shinji and Takuma are losing to a piece of string!!" She kept pounding at the
controls, over and over and over and over. "If we lose this time, it won't matter if Teri is sick or not,
she won't have a future!!" Tears poured down the young mother's face. She slowly stopped smashing
at the controls, her hands numb with pain and her strength and anger spent.

"I made a promise to my child," Asuka sobbed, "so don't you make me break it!"

The noise of the girl's anguish was only disturbed by the sounds of the LCL pumps.

"Don't you love me, mama? Why aren't you here for me now?"
---
"Fusion with Angel have exceeded fatal levels," reported Maya, "we're looking at data feedback from
Unit-00 and its pilot!"

"The Angel has also penetrated Unit-04's AT-Field and ankle armor," Ritsuko pointed out, "it's
currently fusing with the EVA's right ankle joint."

"Can we stop it?" asked Misato.

"No," replied Ritsuko, "we don't have time to come up with a way to counteract the Angel's
bio-fusing technique. The only thing we can do is sever the leg."

"Very well," Misato said angrily, "begin the necessary procedure, but don't sever the leg yet."

"Maya," Ritsuko leaned over her apprentice's shoulder, "begin severing Unit-04's left nerve
connections, but make it slow. We don't want the pilot to experience neural shock."

Misato looked at the main monitor and sighed. The disfigurement on Unit-00 now covers almost
frontal portion of the EVA. The Angel also continues to pound Unit-01 with Unit-04. Every time
Unit-01 tried to move or get up, the Angel smashes it down with the other EVA. Every time
Unit-04 tried to reach for the Angel entangled at its foot, the creature smashes it down upon the other
EVA. With two large chords attached to the silver EVA, the umbilical cable and the Angel, Unit-04
looked like a strung-up puppet.

"We don't have a choice..." Misato called up Unit-01's communications channel.

"Shinji, I'm going to unleash a covering barrage on the Angel. When that happens, I want you to pull
back as fast and as far as possible, understood?"

"Won...t...tha...hit...Re...and...Ta...u...m...?" the boy's radio message was barely coming through, the
pounding by the Angel was causing a great deal of damage.

"I've got a plan for Unit-04 to escape, don't worry," Misato closed the channel before Shinji could ask
about Rei.

"Takuma, listen carefully," Misato now turn her attention to the other boy. "We're going to lay down
cover fire for Unit-01's withdrawal, then we're going to sever Unit-04's right leg. When that happens,
you'll have to escape by the fastest way you can manage, got that?"

"I m...ght...take...fe...hits...esc...p...on...one...fo...t...copy...wha...abo...Re...?"

"We're getting ready to fire, standby." Misato closed the channel. "Shigeru, I want every arsenal buildings in that area targeted on that Angel."

"Yes, ma'am." The technician brought up the control for the buildings immediately, and began
inputting the proper commands. "All arsenal buildings in that sector have acquired the target and are
standing by."

"Thank God Rei is replaceable," Misato quietly admitted to herself. No matter how immoral the
thought seemed, it was true.

"FIRE!"
---
The massive swarm of rockets turned the green hillside into the lunar surface. Dozens upon dozens of
the deadly projectiles ripped into the area beside Unit-00, throwing the Angel into confusion, as the
explosions tossed it and its host EVA around the landscape.

"Shinji, move it!" yelled Misato. The purple EVA stumbled to its feet, and escaped the chaos of
explosions behind it.

The Angel, now regaining control, repositioned Unit-04 over itself and Unit-00 like a shield. Several
rockets smashed against the EVA, but did negligible damage.

"Eject Unit-04's right leg, now!"

"Ejecting!" shouted Maya. In a spray of blood, Unit-04's right leg was severed from its hip. The EVA
crashed to the ground, with the Angel still attached to its former right leg.

"Takuma, pull back!" shouted Misato. The silver EVA began to roll away from the Angel.

But suddenly, Unit-04 reached up and grabbed its own decapitated right leg, still in the process of
fusing with the Angel. The EVA continued to roll away while holding the leg above its head,
extending the Angel, until the Angel could stretch no further and tightened up like a clothesline.

"Unit...Unit-04 has immobilized the Angel!" reported an astonished Makoto.

"Now's our chance, Shinji, are you able to move?" asked Misato.

"Y...s...but...no...quickly..." reported the boy.

"Re-engage the Angel with the progressive spear, quickly! Your objective is to sever the Angel at its
point of contact with Unit-00."

"R...ger," Unit-01's radio crackled. The purple EVA began moving towards the battlefield once again.

"The Angel is continuing to fuse with Unit-04's severed leg," reported Maya, "without unit-04's
AT-Field to protect it, the leg will be completely fused with the Angel in less than 55 seconds.
Once it reaches Unit-04's hand, it'll began fusing with the EVA again!" As if it was demonstrating
Maya's point, the severed leg began to spasm wildly, almost causing Unit-04 to lose its grip on it.

"The Angel has gained control of the leg?" asked a bewildered Misato.

"No," Ritsuko corrected, "it's just random nerve impulse firing."

"Shinji, hurry up!" urged Misato.

"Tell Takuma to drive his progressive knife into the leg and pin it into the ground. It'll buy us more
time."

"Asuka?" asked Misato.

"Do it!" ordered the girl, "you can tell Shinji to pull back. Unit-02 is ready to engage the enemy."

"She's right," reported Maya, "Unit-02 has just been activated!"

"Launch it, NOW!" ordered Misato.
---
Asuka felt the surge in g-force as the catapult Unit-02 was attached to shot upwards at an incredible
speed. Taking a quick moment, she gently rubbed one of the control grips.

"Thanks, mama."

Asuka took the controls again, and a moment later, she was airborne. The girl had purposely
disengaged the final safety locks which attached Unit-02 to the catapult platform early, causing it
to hurtle the EVA hundred of meters up into the sky at the end of its journey. Asuka threw her
Unit-02 forward, causing the EVA to tumble in the direction of the Unit-00 and the Angel. Hurtling
towards her target at over almost a hundred meters per second, she drew her progressive knife.
Timing was everything. Asuka saw Unit-04 pass beneath her; the silver EVA using both of its
progressive knives to hold its own severed leg down. She saw her target coming up ahead, and a
second later, it was all over.
---
NEON GENESIS EVANGELION:
TCoL2

Chapter #8:0 Rei III
---
Rei sat almost naked on the cold floor, her only clothes were her bandages. She drew her knees
close to her for whatever little warmth and comfort they provided. It's actually only comfort, for the
most part. The room she's in, it's so bare, she thought. Besides the lab beaker full of water near her
feet, a metal cart in one corner, there was nothing else in the cell. It was also very quiet in there, kind
of comforting, kind of eerie. Then came the sound of footsteps. Someone was coming down the hall.
Coming towards this cell? Rei thought. There could be so many other cells in this block. She might
be left alone for another day. How many days has it been? There was no way to tell. No clocks, no
windows, nothing.

Just the glass of water, the cart, and herself.

The view port of her cell door slid open. "Good morning," said a man's voice.

"Good morning," the girl replied quietly.

"Do you know who you are?" the voice asked.

"My name is Ayanami Rei."

"And what's your designation?"

"I am the First Children, and the designated pilot for Evangelion Unit-00."

"Very good, thank you Rei," Gendo turned to Misato. "She's as ready as she'll ever be," he said coldly.

"Thanks, but was all this necessary?" she asked. "And why does she inflict those injuries on herself
like that?"

"We're not sure. We've had similar problems with previous Rei clones while working with the
Dummy Plug System," explained Gendo, "this process was devised to ensure that no replacement
for Rei is unstable. Having a soul jump from one body to another isn't very easy on the psyche, either.
It causes tremendous shock on the mind, and it takes days of isolated confinement in familiar
surroundings to calm it down." He peaked inside the cell once more; it was a replica of the
environment in which Rei was born. Cold, bare, and unappealing.

"It doesn't seem very humane," Misato said.

"I think you're forgetting who you're talking to," Gendo turned and walked towards the exit. Two
guards took him back to his cell from there on.
---
Five days ago

"Retrieval teams are moving in," the report came over the radio.

"Red-1, are you sure the bio-readings are negative?"

"Yes, the parts of the Angel fused with the EVA are completely inactive. It's also not responding to
all standard external stimuli's tests."

"Roger that, we're moving in."

"Entry plug shaft's armor covering has been removed, force ejecting the plug now."

"What the heck is taking them so long?" asked Takuma, "I could have retrieved the plug 20 minutes
ago." He and Misato were standing beside a large NERV truck. The boy had a cup of hot chocolate in
his hands, and a blanket around him. He could make out the flurry of activities around the fallen
Unit-00. Large floodlights were being set up, as the sun was fast disappearing behind the orange
horizon.

"Patience, Takuma, we have to do this by the book. Besides, you can't really move without your
EVA's other leg."

"But..."?"

"She'll be okay, I promise," said Misato, "let's get you back to headquarters first."

"But what about..." he protested. Misato simply ordered him into a waiting vehicle, and drove back
to headquarters.

"Opening plug hatch now..." back at the entry plug, the rescue was still underway. "Umm...
The pilot is still...alive..." As the suited team members crowded around the opening of the entry plug,
there was quite a bit of commotion going on.

"Oh my God," observed one team member, "what the hell..." And several team members were on
the verge of vomiting.

"Get a stretcher, now!" ordered the head of the team. He turned to the person inside the entry plug.
"You're going to be alright," he said gently. "Just rest..."

"This area is to be quarantined off right now, and all material recovered is now under level 10
classification," a female voice ordered. "Everyone clear the entry plug!"

"Yes, ma'am," replied the team leader, the man and his team proceeded to step away from the entry
plug.

Dr. Akagi, in a hazard suit, approached the opening of the plug and crawled in. She pulled out a
one-use hypodermic needle, and checked it against the light from her helmet. "This will help dull the
pain," Ritsuko said as she pricked the needle into the girl's arm, giving her an overdose of morphine.

"It's the only way, I'm sorry."

Rei merely looked at her sadly. It was her last show of emotion before slipping back into the
peaceful nothingness.
---
Asuka was cradling Teri gently in her arms and singing to her, when Shinji got the call from Misato.

"We're all fine here, Misato-san," the boy said into the phone, "yeah, we're still in our plug suits. We
didn't want to waste time changing...Teri-chan? The doctor says we can take her home tomorrow.
What about Rei?" There was a brief pause on the other end. "She's alive? That's great!" He covered
the phone receiver and turned to Asuka, "Rei's alive!"

"Phew," the girl let out a breath of relief; "I was worried that my cutting off the Angel like that would
have killed Wonder Girl. I should of known better, you can't get rid of her that easily."
---
Four days ago

"So... Rei has been taken care of?" asked Misato, walking down a secluded hallway with her friend.

"All physical evidence of what we knew as Rei II has been destroyed," Ritsuko had personally saw to
the incineration. "All we have to do now is to bring in a new Rei. But there are two questions, the
first being how. Only Gendo knew exactly how each Rei was revived. The second being why? My
preliminary examination of Unit-00 indicates that too much of the EVA was fused with the Angel,
making it unsalvageable. Without Unit-00, we have no need for another Rei."

"We already told the children that Rei was alive," said Misato, "and your judgement is only based of
an examination. I want as many tests run on Unit-00 as possible to make sure it'll no long work
before I throw it away. We need that EVA, and we need Rei, even if she's no longer a pilot."

"I trust the Commander will be the one speaking to him," said Ritsuko.

"Unless you want to."
---
The cell door slid open with a screech, and Fuyutsuki stepped in.

"Turn off the surveillance system in this room," he ordered the guard behind him. "We are not to be
disturbed under any circumstances short of an Angel attack." The guard almost objected, but thought
better of it. He quickly left to carry out his orders. A minute later, the cameras and microphones in the
room fell quiet.

"Hello old friend," Gendo said casually, "how nice of you to visit." He gestured to a vacant chair
beside his desk. "Care for a game of chess?"

"I'm afraid that this is a business call," Fuyutsuki said, taking the seat offered by Gendo. "I see that
Shinji was kind enough to provide you with a picture of Yui," Fuyutsuki looked at the black and
white photocopy taped on the wall. "Surprising, after all you've done to him."

"If this is a business call," said Gendo, "then let's talk business."

"We need your help."

"My help?" Gendo almost laughed.

"We lost Rei."

"You need me to replace Rei."

"That's correct."

"What makes you think she wants to come back?" asked Gendo.

"I don't really believe you actually care about what Rei wants," Fuyutsuki simply said. Gendo fell
quiet for a moment.

"We are prepared to offer you concessions for your help," added Fuyutsuki.

"And what if I refuse?"

"You won't. Even if you did, we'd still carry out own attempt."

"You'd probably fail." Most of the procedure involved in this task was from the Dead Sea Scrolls, and
Gendo had destroyed the scrolls shortly before his last attempt to reunite with Yui. "When did she die?"

"At 1734 hours yesterday," Fuyutsuki said, "the 16th Angel attempted to merge with Rei physically.
When the connection was severed, the Angel died. Unit-00 and Rei, however, suffered massive
injuries. There was no way she could have survived for more than a few hours, so Dr. Akagi
administered a drug overdose."

"How kind of the doctor," Gendo looked at his watch, "it's almost time, take me to the Dummy Plug
chamber."
---
"Why have you called us down here?" demanded Ritsuko, "Can't you do this yourself?" Beside the
contentious doctor, Misato and Fuyutsuki were also present. They split their time between looking at
Gendo, and staring at the countless Reis in the circular tank around them.

"You are right, Dr. Akagi," admitted Gendo, "I can't. I have almost no use my right hand. Also, we
can't have just anyone working in here, now, can we?" Having successfully silenced the doctor, he
turned his attention to the large circular tank. He had covered its glass wall with strange religious
writings, of which the significance was clear only to him.

"Well Ikari," Fuyutsuki was rather uncomfortable for some reason, "what's taking so long?"

"Patience, Fuyutsuki," he simply said. He surveyed the Reis closest to the wall. They were all the
same. They looked the same, acted the same... Except one. One of the Reis was curled up in a fetal
position, and its eyes were closed.

"That one," Gendo pointed. The group followed him to the open top of the tank, where they used a
crane and a net to hoist the new Rei out. Once removed from its warm LCL womb, the girl began
coughing and moaning.

"Slowly lower her down," Gendo said, "keep her in that net until..."

Too late. The Rei snapped its red eyes open, which burned with primal fire. With an inhuman speed,
she knocked down Fuyutsuki and Misato, who were huddled beside the net. The girl then leaped clear
of them, and tackled Gendo. He responded by grabbing Rei by her LCL slick hair and tried to keep
his right hand away from her. Rei grabbed his left hand and bite deep into it, drawing blood.

"Fuyutsuki!" called out Gendo, as Rei seized his right hand. Desperately, she tried to pull the glove
off of it. There was something underneath that she must get to...

Fuyutsuki jabbed Rei in the back with a taser before she could pry Gendo's glove off. The girl
slumped to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

"So that's why this was just laying around," the older man said, placing the device back on a nearby
cart.

"She was after Adam?" asked Misato as she covered Rei III with a blanket.

"There's no question about it," said Gendo, picking himself off the ground. "The instinct will wear
off as her humanity fully re-establish itself. Since it's going to take a few days for that to happen, I
suggest we proceed to phase 2. Follow me." With Misato carrying the unconscious girl, the group left
the Dummy Plug chamber.
---
"It's so nice to be back home, isn't it Teri-chan?" asked Shinji as he laid the baby into her crib. It was
the first time the family has been home since the crisis started.

The small child giggled as her father tickled her belly. After three consecutive bedtime songs, she
finally drifted into sleep. "Good night," Shinji thought about what fathers always say on TV, "my
little princess." He quietly left the room and closed the door behind him.

"Is she asleep?" asked Asuka, coming out of the shower.

"Yeah, finally." The two collapsed on their bed. "What a crazy two days that was."

"We've been through worst," Asuka said. "Remember that night Teri was born?"

"How can I forget?" laughed Shinji.

"Why isn't Misato home yet?" asked Asuka, "it's getting really late."

"She said she'd be working late today, something to do with Rei."

The two then fell into silence, doing nothing but staring at their familiar ceiling.

"Hey, Shin-chan?"

"Yes, Asuka-chan?"

"Do you ever think about your mother?" she turned to face him, lying on her side. "You know, when
you're piloting Unit-01, how her soul is inside and stuff?"

"I guess so," he said, "I think about how she's always protecting me. And how much she loves..."
He stopped.

"What is it?" Asuka asked.

"Well...Doesn't this upset you, talking about mothers and such?"

"Not anymore," Asuka said, snuggling up to him. "I made my peace with mine."
---
Present day (six days after the attack)

"Why can't I see Rei?" demanded Takuma.

"I'm sorry," the nurse said, "doctor's orders, only family are allowed to visit."

"But she doesn't have any family," the boy objected. "Can't you bend the rule just this once?"

"Look," the nurse was getting irritated. "You've been coming here day after day, and I've been telling
you the same thing. How long is it gonna take for you to get it through your head that..."

"It's OK nurse," Misato walked up behind Takuma, followed by Asuka, Shinji, and Teri. "We've got
clearance to see the patient from the doctor." The nurse simply nodded.

"Room 604," she said.

Of the four beds in the hospital room, only one was in use. But at the moment, it was empty. Its
occupant had abandoned it and was standing beside an open window.

"Rei!" The girl turned around at the sound of her voice, revealing her bandaged right eye.
Before she knew it, a bunch of smiling people surrounded her. One of the boys and one of the girls
offered gifts, while another boy held a small infant. It took a moment for Rei to take in everything.

"I brought you this Pikachu," said Takuma, offering a three feet tall stuffed toy.

"Me and Shinji brought you some flowers," Asuka held out a large bouquet of flowers, "we hope you
like them."

"Th... thank you all..." said Rei. She took the gifts and placed them on a nightstand beside her hospital bed.

"We're all very glad you're OK, Ayanami." Shinji held Teri up to Rei, who looked confused, as
though she didn't recognize the child.

"I was so worried," Takuma said, "when the Angel attacked your EVA, it was so frightening. There
was nothing we can really do to help."

"Yeah," Asuka said, "I hope I didn't cut too close to you when I shaved that Angel off of your EVA,
Wonder Girl."

"I don't really remember that event," Rei confessed.

"Oh no," Takuma turned to Misato, "did she suffer brain damage? Is that why her head is all
bandaged up? Don't tell me she forgot about me again!"

"No," Rei explained, "it's probably because I am the thir...."

Misato made a coughing sound, stopping Rei in mid-sentence.

"Never mind," Rei said.

"Look at the time," Misato suddenly spoke out loud, "how about lunch? I'm buying!"
She began pushing the kids out the door.

"But we just got here," Asuka pointed out.

"I'm not even hungry," Takuma objected.

"Rei needs her rest," Misato argued, "she's been through a lot."

"But...." Takuma retorted.

"That's an order," Misato said sternly, "out." Her mood softened slightly as they approached the door.
"We also need to start organizing a party for Rei when she gets out of the hospital," she told the kids
as she got them away from a confused Rei III.
---
"I really don't see what's the big deal about all this," Misato said into the phone. It was the first time
she's gotten to spend her night at home in over a week, and she was sitting in the kitchen with a really
cold beer.

"I got them away in time," she continued after a big gulp of beer. "All they heard was 'thir...'." She
laughed.

"Well I gotta hand it to you Katsuragi," Kaji said, "you've manage to cheat fate once again. Against
hopeless odds, you managed to defeat yet another Angel, and save the First Children, sort of."

"I did, didn't I?" she asked. "All I need to do now is keep the kids from finding out that this isn't the
same Rei that went into Unit-00 before the battle."

"Where are the kids?" Kaji asked, kind of amazed that Misato would just say these things out loud
when Shinji and Asuka could be around.

"They went out," she explained, "I'm babysitting Teri, lucky me."

"Drinking on the job, too, by the sounds of it."

"Hey, shut up," she teased, "you know, this Angel was like nothing we've ever seen. Its shape and
design was like nothing we've trained for."

"That just goes to show you can't train for everything."

"Ah, but we know about SEELE's Mass Production EVAs," she finished her beer, "so at least we can
train for that." She went to the fridge for another beer.

"That's if they don't also turn into DNA strands or strings, too!" laughed Kaji. There was a thump on
the other line.

"Katsuragi? Did you drop the phone or something? Are you drunk already?" There was no answer.
"Misato, are you all right? Misato!"

"I'm...I'm gonna have to call you back later," a shaky voice on the other side replied, then she hung up.

Slowly, Misato reached out to the fridge, and removed one of Teri's baby drawings.

"Oh my God..."


END of Chapter #8.0 version 1 (07/15/00)
Version 1 dated 07/15/00
Version 2 dated 00/00/00
Version 3 dated 00/00/00

You folks know what I always say here, so I'm gonna skip it this time. I dare you to read the rest of
his page without passing out from boredom!

Author's words:
Sorry about being so late! I was really busy the past months, trying to get into a good University and
dealing with exams and graduating high school and so on! Gomen nasai! *bows deeply* I was also
lucky enough to find time to attend the Anime Expo this year, down in California (yes, I flew down
there just for an anime convention =P). It was a most wonderful experiencing, AX being my first con
ever. I also had the good fortune of meeting Jim Lazar, the author of Garden of EVA, and a few of
my readers! The mention of beanie babies in this chapter is a joke on a friend of mine, I sure hopes
she never reads this fanfic ^_^' Now that I've graduated high school, I'll be attending a University in
another province (Ontario). Sadly, that means my current and beloved e-mail account will soon fall into disuse
(my family can't use it, cause I said so). So please address any comments to my new e-mail account
below, thanks. My ICQ account will remain the way it is.

Later folks!

My e-mail: [email protected]
My ICQ: 8155557
Also, please (very please) visit Axel Terizaki's wonderful, award-winning website,
at: http://www.asukanotebook.com.bi/
He great, he wise, he Axel.

My wonderful prereaders for this chapter:
Axel, Disaster, Rajen, Yousef Al-Shamsi, Nschinden, and Zenogears.

Retooled by:
DJ Lesser.

Preview of next chapter/episode:
An Angel among us