"We wiped out the militant force's base and all of the members we could find there, but that does not guarantee their destruction," SEELE 01 explained calmly.

"Beware, Ikari, this force is better informed than you realize. They gave us trouble before being destroyed at their headquarters," SEELE 09 warned slowly.

Remaining still, his hands clasped before his face, Ikari calmly responded, "I understand. NERV will keep its eyes open."

"Be certain it does. We do not wish to fund another organization such as yours," SEELE 01 stated firmly before cutting the signal, leaving Ikari and Fuyutsuki alone.

With a light flick of one eyebrow higher than the other, and a side-long glance, the Vice Commander focused on Gendo. "They appear to have settled back into our role also," he commented.

As usual, the Commander did not turn to address Fuyutsuki. "It would appear so, yes."

"Whoever this force is, they may strike at us more directly next time."

"Correct, which is why we need to be prepared." The light shone off Ikari's glasses, obscuring his eyes as he sat there, patient and calm.

The next day, at approximately ten o'clock in the morning, Cirus was summoned to Ikari's office along with Major Katsuragi and Dr. Akagi. The three of them met coincidentally before actually arriving at the office and so continued toward it as a group.

"Any idea about what this for?" Cirus asked calmly as he looked ahead of them.

Ritsuko shook her head with a slightly weary expression on her face. "It is hard to say what the purpose behind his actions are, Cirus."

Cirus caught the oddly emotional tone in her voice, but did not comment on or react to it. SEELE had informed him of a possible relationship between her and Ikari, but considering how cold Ikari was, and Ritsuko as well to a lesser extent, he doubted it.

"Maybe he's worried that Cirus might turn on us?" Misato suggested with a wry smile.

Cirus' hairline pulled back in agitation. "Not something to joke about, Major," he said quietly.

"Eh, sorry," Misato apologized in a somewhat meek tone.

They reached the office shortly thereafter and the three of them entered at once, walking up to Ikari's desk. Fuyutsuki was standing up and behind Ikari's left flank as usual, and Ikari himself had his hands clasped before his face, hiding most of it.

"Ah, thank you for coming so soon," Ikari said calmly if not flatly as he unclasped his hands and stood up, walking around the desk in a slow manner.

The three of them waited patiently for him to get to the point.

"I called the three of you to inform you of certain events and plans so that you are aware of what is to be done," he explained, walking over to the window and looking out of it. "First, SEELE has informed me that the militant force Cirus helped destroy may not be completely dead yet. Because of this we need to be wary."

When he did not continue Cirus spoke up. "I agree for one, now what else is there to do?" he asked calmly.

Ikari turned and adjusted his glasses, one hand clasped behind his back. "Ironic you would ask. Since, thus far, you are the only person to synch with Unit 14, I wish to conduct activation experiments with the other three pilots, in case of emergency."

Cirus narrowed his black eyes beneath his glasses. Making me less useful so he can get rid of me... "I must recommend against that action, Commander. All do respect," he added with a tip of his head.

Ikari's head raised, and he noted Misato and Ritsuko's rather disturbed expressions. "Explain your disagreement."

"I am not at liberty to disclose certain information, but I can guarantee that none of the other pilots will have a synch ratio above ten with Unit 14," Cirus explained calmly and steadily.

Ikari narrowed his eyes in a thoughtful manner. "Never the less, I wish to see this for myself," he continued.

Cirus swallowed hard. Another pilot even being near Unit 14�s plug would cause problems for him, yet alone a full activation. "...I must recommend against such action," he repeated, aware of its futility at that point.

Ikari raised an eyebrow at the young man. "What do you have to fear if you are correct, Mr. Trent? I simply wish to verify such information. Understandable if there is a slight chance you are wrong, and we have an emergency."

Cirus couldn't argue the point in this situation without disclosing information he would be killed for releasing. He clenched his jaw and nodded. "Understood, Commander."

"That is all for now," the Commander addressed all three of them. "We will conduct the experiment tomorrow afternoon with Shinji first, then Asuka, and Rei will be last," he explained and then turned his back to them, looking out the window again. "Dismissed."

Once the three of them had left his office Cirus clenched his fists and bared his teeth. Misato noticed this of course.

"What's got you so upset? If you're right, why will there be a problem?" she asked him quietly.

"Will your Eva be damaged by this?" Ritsuko added with concern.

Cirus shook his head at both questions. "I can't tell you right now. Just call me when Shinji's activation experiment starts, I want to be in the lab," he explained, and then split away from them down another hall, his coat flapping behind him.

"There is something very serious about this that he's not going to admit. Perhaps we should advise Ikari against it also?" Ritsuko asked.

"I would love to, Ritsuko, but you know he wouldn't listen," Misato answered, looking back at her friend. Then her expression changed to an insinuating smile. "That's the first time I've heard you go against him verbally, you know that?"

Ritsuko raised one eyebrow at her companion and shook her head. "It's a wonder anyone can tolerate your presence for five minutes, you're so nosy," she dryly replied, and then went on her own way.

Misato's face slackened as she looked back down the hall down which Cirus had disappeared. She frowned just slightly. He hadn't seemed too worried when Ikari mentioned Rei�s name so obviously the test pilot wasn't going to have a problem, but Cirus was worried about something, that much was painfully obvious to anyone there. Since she had so little to go on, though, Misato decided to wait and see. She continued down the hall at a fairly smooth pace; she needed to tell Shinji about the experiment anyway.

"Why does Shinji get to go first?!" Asuka roared irritatedly.

Misato, who was sitting on the other side of the kitchen table in her apartment across from the two younger roommates, winced as Asuka's shouting hammered at her ears. "Eh, Asuka, it was Commander Ikari's idea, not mine," she explained, still cringing.

Shinji did not seem as excited about the idea as Asuka possibly would have been. "I'd be more than happy for you to go first," he said quietly, looking down at the table.

Misato looked at the young man with a warm smile. "Don't worry, Shinji, I'm sure it will be fine. You probably won't even synch with it at all," she added with a shrug.

"I bet I will," Asuka said with a mischievous smile.

"I doubt it, Asuka. Cirus' Eva is a very special case," Misato replied plainly.

Asuka turned her head up and to the side with a, "Hmph!", before looking back down at the others. "Well if I get no synch I�m willing to bet Rei will get negative numbers..."

Disgruntled by Asuka's attitude slightly more than usual, Misato's expression turned sour at her comment. "That's not even possible, Asuka,� she reminded the young girl. "And that's not nice to say about Rei behind her back."

"Hey, at least I'm not saying it to her face."

Which only annoyed their legal guardian further. "That's even worse," Misato retorted, looking at the red-haired girl sternly. "If you don't like her, don't pretend to like her."

Casually shrugging, Asuka looked off to the side. "I don't pretend to like her, I just don't say it to her face.�

"I wonder what Cirus would say to that?" Misato asked, her lips twisted sardonically.

Asuka's mouth dropped, but then set back into a firm frown. "Like I would care!"

Misato shook her head and sighed. "...Well anyway," she looked back at Shinji, "the experiment is tomorrow morning according to your father's orders, so be ready, alright?"

Shinji nodded. "Yes, Miss Misato."

The next morning, about twenty minutes before the experiment, the four pilots, all in casual dress, Ritsuko, Misato, Maya, and Commander Ikari were in the activation test lab station, looking out the window at Unit 14.

Cirus had a noticeably unsettled air about him, and had so for whole morning thus far. At SEELE this had never been an issue, Unit 14 was what he was designed for, so no one else would pilot it. They had never even bothered testing what would happen if another pilot were to enter into the nerve matrix and try to pilot it. Cirus himself wasn't sure where the Eva ended and he began aside from the physical separation.

Ritsuko looked up from Maya's screen, and looked over her shoulder at Shinji. "You can go get ready now, Shinji. We'll be finished with prep-work by the time you're done."

"Yes, ma'am," Shinji replied calmly and left the lab, heading for the locker room up the hall.

Rei was looking out at the Eva itself. Its black armor--or bindings--was a stark contrast to the sterilized white walls of the containment room in which it was bound to the wall. Its head was indeed wolf-like, with pointed ear-like sections near the top of the back, long snout-like structure at the front with perpetually bared teeth, and, now dormant, slanted eyes that gave it an endlessly fierce expression. The head was lolled down against the chest, no power being sent through its body at all.

Rei stepped through the computer consoles and up to the window, looking out so that she could see the entire Eva if she wished to. She put her hand on the glass, and looked down to its legs, her body somewhat turned away from the window.

"Starting initial restraint activation," Maya reported calmly as she stroked a few keys in front of her.

The sound of something activating could be heard as a building hum somewhere off in the facility and lights activated on the bindings holding the Eva to the wall. Near the top of the wall the Eva was attached to, a plug could be seen moving into position.

"Pilot ready for entry," another techie reported from the console across the isle to Maya's left.

Ritsuko looked back at Ikari and he nodded. She turned back to the techie who had spoken, and gave a nod of her own. "Insert entry plug."

Misato watched with a creased brow and a slight frown as the plug started to descend. The plug housing on Unit 14 opened, tilting its head farther forward.

Cirus swallowed hard. He'd felt a tingle in his lower neck area as the plug housing had opened. It wasn't much, and hopefully that would be it.

"Beginning initial activation," Maya reported and the plug housing closed.

Her screen lit up with icons showing the nerve centers starting up. Cirus felt more tingles rush up his arms and legs, down from his head and shoulders, and converge at the base of his own neck. SEELE wouldn't want him to reveal this, so he could not report what he was going through.

The Eva's eyes activated with a bright flash, and the head raised itself up.

Cirus almost gasped. His vision had cut off, and he was now seeing through his Eva's eyes. The white walls of the containment room were almost blindingly bright.

"There's an error in the activation program; the eyes won't connect with the plug system," Maya reported.

Ritsuko looked down at her screen with a creased brow. "Odd, the nerve centers refuse to connect." She looked over at the comm and activated it. "Shinji, what is it like in there?"

"Nothing really, I'm just waiting for the experiment to start," he reported.

Ritsuko, and just about everyone in the lab, reacted to this.

"Like I said, Commander, no synch," Cirus said, though his voice was somewhat tense.

Ikari ignored the young man's comment, and adjusted his glasses. "Proceed, Dr. Akagi."

Ritsuko nodded, and then tipped her head to Maya. Maya hit the appropriate keys and watched her screen light up.

The restraints on Unit 14's arms suddenly shattered, the Eva and Cirus grabbing their heads. Cirus fell to the ground, his face twisted in pain as he writhed, and the Eva looked as if it was screaming, its eyes bulging.

Rei and Asuka quickly ran over Cirus as Misato got down beside the young man.

"I don't know what's wrong! According to this everything is fine!" Maya reported quickly.

"Cirus, can you speak?" Misato asked him quickly.

Cirus couldn't hear a word she said. His brain felt like it was being ripped apart in every direction at once, the containment room walls were blinding him still, and he couldn't get away from them. He suddenly stood up, continuing to hold his head. Misato stood up and away from him, as did Rei and Asuka.

Both he and the Eva appeared to relax, and they both let their arms down. Misato, Rei, Asuka, and just about everyone, looked at Cirus and then to the Eva. They were both in the exact same position. Maya looked up and saw the Unit 14's eyes were focusing in on the lab through the window.

"It's looking at us," she said quietly.

Rei looked up at Cirus with a creased brow and then stepped up to him. "Cirus? Cirus, can you hear my voice?" she asked him calmly. His lack of response told her the answer.

His head turned to the right, and the Eva's did the exact same, turning to stare down at the lab through the window.

Maya looked down at her screen and saw that one control was being blocked, and she could see how to override it. "Dr. Akagi, I can send the signal through to Shinji, should I?" she asked, her eyes remaining on Unit 14.

"No, don't-"

"Do it," Ikari cut Ritsuko off.

Ritsuko, Misato, Rei, and Asuka spun to look at him.

"We don't know what it could do to either of them!" Ritsuko warned desperately.

"I gave an order, do it," Ikari repeated calmly.

Asuka and Misato looked at Ikari in mute shock as Rei's eyes widened slightly. She shook her head. "You can not do that."

Ikari turned to her. "You are out of line, Rei. Do not interfere." He then turned to Maya. "Activate it."

Maya looked at Ritsuko with fear in her eyes and Ritsuko nodded. Ritsuko reached down herself and hit the control to override the block. Forgive me...

At the same instant, Unit 14 grabbed its head again and Cirus screamed in pain, grabbing his own and falling to his knees.

Unit 14 suddenly lunged forward, ripping itself out of the wall and gripping at the wall in front of it. It wasn't going after the lab at all. Suddenly the Eva's left arm stopped and quivered, its other arm raising up to stop itself from breaking out.

"It's Shinji!" Maya shouted. "He's gotten a synch ratio of twenty!"

Cirus' mind felt like it was being torn apart piece by piece. He couldn't even fully control his own body as he tried to claw out of the containment room. He could feel Shinji's mind trying to gain control and he was just conscious enough to not attack the boy's mind. He finally let his mind relax and tried to pull himself back to his own body.

It felt as though he slammed into his mind like a brick wall, but he was suddenly back in the lab, his vision a disconcerting mix of sterilized white and the lab.

"...Stop!" he shouted through a hoarse voice.

Ritsuko's hand flew over the keyboard, deactivating the experiment and letting Shinji's control die. Cirus fell back to the ground limply. He hadn't seen, but Rei had already been down beside him, and had just leaned down over him.

Cirus' vision was still the strange mix for a few moment, so he couldn't see clearly enough aside from seeing a form above him. "Get the plug out... now..." he croaked.

Maya started to pull the plug out of the Eva and just as it finished doing so, Unit 14 collapsed down limply, its head slamming into the wall just before falling to the ground. The last thing Cirus felt before everything went black was a shattering impact to his forehead.

A fading moan and shifting hydraulics filled Shinji�s ears as he waited for the plug hatch to open before starting to climb out. Asuka and Misato ran up to him.

"Are you alright, Shinji?" Misato asked quickly.

"Yes, fine," Shinji answered, hopping down. "What happened?"

"Cirus had some kind of seizure because of the experiment, he's in the medical bay," Misato explained.

"What?" Shinji asked again, his eyes widened.

"He's attached to his Eva, you idiot," Asuka said sourly. "You might have fried his brain."

"Asuka," Misato said firmly, "not now. What happened in there Shinji?" she asked, looking back at the young man.

Shinji shrugged. "The cockpit lit up and the Eva was trying to claw its way out of the chamber. I tried to stop, and it was really hard to control."

"Nothing else?" Misato asked, tilting her head forward.

Shinji shook his head vigorously.

Misato nodded, apparently relieved by the negative answer.

"Is Mr. Trent all right?" Shinji asked quietly.

Misato looked up at Shinji with a sad expression. "We don't know."

Rei looked down at Cirus quietly, her eyes staring down at his own, which were closed. Monitoring equipment beeped every few seconds in background and he breathed rhythmically.

They'd told her he wasn�t harmed physically at all; it was an unknown cause for his condition. They had detected a faint signal echo at the base of his neck in the nerve endings, but aside from that, nothing was wrong with him. He just wouldn't wake up.

Rei slowly reached out with her hand and took his left hand in it, brushing the back of his with her thumb. "Please wake up," she said in a quiet whisper. "I don't like seeing you like this," she continued quietly. He always listened to her request.

No response came except for his breathing and the beep.

She got down beside the bed and pulled his hand out to her face, touching the back of it to her cheek. "...Please wake up."

But he didn't wake up and smile at her like she wished he would. She finally took his hand and gently rested it back down at his side. She stood up and turned, leaving the room silently. She walked down the hall and then took a left, taking one of the moving walkways to another hall junction. She took a right at this one and went down the hall until she came to the doors for which she was looking. She walked up to them and pushed them open, stepping through and into the office that waited in their wake.

Ikari turned his chair around to see her approach him. Fuyutsuki was away on a small errand for him, so Ikari was alone in his office.

"Why did you do that?" Rei asked suddenly, her eyes beaming down at him.

"It was done with every Eva and pilot we could. I could not just ignore him," Ikari answered calmly.

"You saw what was happening to him, why did you not stop it then?" she persisted, cold anger in her voice.

"Someone should have sent for the medical personnel. That was no reason to stop the experiment."

"You knew that would happen to him, you knew he would suffer!" Rei raised her voice slightly.

"You are out of place in this matter, Rei," Ikari responded coldly.

"Bring him back," Rei ignored him.

"I can not."

"I know you can."

"What are you willing to do for his life, Rei?" Ikari asked her finally.

Rei stopped short and her brow creased slightly. "...What do you mean?"

"An exchange. Your loyalty for his life," Ikari answered.

Rei's mouth opened slightly and she stepped back. "...Y-you... did this..." she said slowly, barely able to cope with her horrified shock.

"Correct, now what is he truly worth to you, Rei?" Ikari continued. "Your home? Your life? Your soul? What are you willing to sacrifice to keep him alive?"

Rei shook her head numbly before turning and running out of the office, and then down the hall away from it.

Ikari smiled faintly. Either way she was his. He would break her loyalty to Cirus, or her loyalty to him would be assured. Both paths led her back to him in the end.