"Geographic disturbances, Dr. Akagi," Makato Hyuga answered before Maya could, swiveling around in his chair.

Maya narrowed her eyes at him, but nodded to Ritsuko that he was correct.

"Where?" Ritsuko asked, leaning down over Maya�s shoulder.

"East, about one hundred and thirty kilometers. It's moving slowly, but steadily towards us," Shigeru Ayobi answered, his longer hair swaying slightly as he looked across a few screens while his hands typed rapidly across the keys.

That got Ritsuko's attention. "Can you do a blood scan yet?"

"Negative. It's too far away," Hyuga answered, the light off the screens casting a glare across his glasses.

"Tell Commander Ikari. As a precaution, call in the pilots," Dr. Akagi ordered.

"Yes, ma�am," Ayobi answered and started on the job.

Ikari narrowed his eyes over his clasped hands at the main screen. They had gone to first stage alert when he'd heard of the disturbance. It could only be another Angel. He was in the command center of Central Dogma with Fuyutsuki at his side. The screens and main consoles lay across the expanse before and below them, as it had so many times before.

"Fuyutsuki, what do you think?" he asked the Vice Commander.

"Perhaps we should dispatch Unit 14, see what Cirus is capable of," Koso offered.

"SEELE might take that as a slight on him."

"Not if we tell him what we�re doing," Fuyutsuki explained.

Gendo raised an eyebrow. "Very well then. ...Major Katsuragi?"

"Yes, sir?" Misato replied, looking up at him from the command center.

"Launch Unit 14, and tell Cirus we're seeing how well he handles himself in a real battle," Ikari ordered.

Misato tilted her head at the oddity of the order, but quickly responded: "Y-yes, sir! Hyuga, launch Unit 14!"

"Yes, ma'am. Unit 14, prepare for launch!" Cirus chuckled on the other end. "Want to see what I can do? As you wish, Commander Ikari," he replied. "Launch!"

The black Eva locked firmly into place, light glistening across its black metal skin. Beginning with the massive hatch above, each security door flashed open while Maya�s data-screen grew a segmented snake of green overlaid across the layer-map of the Geo-front. "All green. Unit 14, launch!" With an explosive rush, it screamed along the vertical tracks, snapping to a halt at the surface of the crater, where some buildings from Tokyo-3 had been reconstructed for NERV employees.

"He's got no qualms about battle, that's for sure," Ayobi commented.

"It's the actual moment that counts, not the glory charge," Misato reminded him.

Unit 14 scaled the crater side rapidly in two bounds of its legs, and then started running along the ground towards the geographic disturbance.

"Major, if he is hit once, launch the other Eva Units," Ikari ordered.

"Yes, sir."

Maya looked down at her screen and noticed something suddenly. "Oh my gosh! His AT field isn't active!"

"What?" Misato asked in surprise.

"It's not. He's charging in there with no protection."

Misato turned back to the screen. "Cirus, your AT field isn't activated. Are you aware of that?"

"Yes, ma'am. I'm not used to using it in this kind of fight. Would you like me to activate it?"

What is he doing? "Yes, please do."

Maya looked up at Misato with a nod. "Activation confirmed... The phase-shift is quite weak, however."

Suddenly Unit 14 stopped and stood still.

"Cirus, what are you doing?" Misato asked.

"I have a plan, but if you have more specific orders I will comply," he answered, but the second comment was a forced one.

Misato looked up at Ikari. He raised one speculative eyebrow. "Let him try. I want to know what he can do," he said finally.

"You can use your idea, Cirus. Just don't kill yourself," Misato relayed.

He chuckled again. "Thank you for the consideration, Major."

"Geographic disturbance within point five kilometers of Unit 14, Major!" Ayobi shouted urgently.

"Blood scan blue!" Maya shouted.

Misato looked on tensely as Unit 14 continued to stand completely still. In a violent explosion, the ground immediately before the dark Evangelion erupted into the air as a geyser of rock and debris. Mandibles from a three-part mouth tore through the rushing cloud of dust as they rushed straight toward Unit 14 in a rising arc.

"Cirus!" Misato shouted.

An unearthly howl came over the sound system as the screen was blocked with dirt and flying rock.

"Agh... Was that the Angel or Unit 14?!" Misato asked quickly.

"Unit 14 is undamaged," Maya reported in a distant tone, looking up at the screen.

Misato looked up and saw at what Maya was gawking. She raised one eyebrow and smiled wryly. "The kid�s got talent."

Unit 14 was standing still again, but its position had changed. It was holding one arm out in front, vertical at the elbow. The other arm was held back, out of the way, and its legs were spaced to absorb shock. Its feet in the ground left two trails, and to either side lay a sticky mess of Angel remains. It looked like it had once been a pale, white worm, but had sliced itself in half as it flew at Unit 14. A long blade went back into the forearm, and Unit 14 was back to normal.

"Instructions?" Cirus asked back calmly.

Asuka, Shinji, and Rei had been watching and listening to the fight from their Evas.

"Just come back, Cirus. We'll handle clean up." "Aw, you mean I don't get to keep the head...s," he made it plural, "as a trophy?" he asked in a slightly mock annoyed tone, but generally cold.

"Just come back, Unit 14. Good work," Misato�s voice rejoined.

Asuka�s face appeared on Shinji�s screen. "He took it out without even trying." "I know. Maybe he is an Angel also," Shinji replied.

"No," Rei said suddenly. "If he was an Angel, he would have acted by now."

Shinji noted Asuka's surprise at Rei's sudden verbal communication. "Are you sure, Ayanami?"

"Yes," she answered.

"Units 00, 01, and 02 may disengage and exit entry plugs," Misato's voice came over their own communication systems.

"He may have just put us out of the job," Asuka commented.

If he did that, I�d owe him a great deal, Shinji said to himself as his plug came out of the Eva and the hatch opened.

As he hopped down, Unit 14 arrived again, and walked over to its own dock. It backed in, and then locked itself into place peacefully. Its glowing eyes faded like it was going into a deep sleep, accompanied by a subtle, fading hum. The armor behind the slightly angled neck split apart and slid out, letting the plug spin up.

Cirus hopped down, and walked over to the main plank that led out of the cages. He wasn't smiling, he wasn't walking funny, nothing about him showed that he'd just killed a massive, planet-rending beast.

Shinji watched as Rei started to leave her own Eva just as Cirus was walking past. She hopped down right in front of him, making him divert course abruptly. But Rei must have landed badly, and she faltered. Shinji started to hurry over to help her up, but Cirus had stopped and whirled around, catching her.

Cirus caught her as she tumbled in his arms. She was incredibly light, even for her petite size.

"Is your foot alright?" he asked calmly.

"Yes. You can let me up now," she answered flatly, eyeing him.

He instantly stood up straight and backed away from her, bowing his head. "My apologies, Miss Ayanami. I should not have intruded," he said quickly and continued on his way.

Shinji was still approaching Rei's dock, and so Cirus had to brush past him. He did so rather quickly; he was almost running away. Shinji walked up to Rei. "What happened?" he asked.

"He thought I was injured. He was mistaken," Rei answered, calm as ever.

Shinji looked back at the apparently fleeing Cirus with a new realization.

Once Cirus had changed out of his Eva suit, he closed his locker, and then rested his head against the hard metal. He pounded the locker door with his hand once, but it was enough to dent the surface. "I shouldn't have grabbed her," he said quietly to himself.

"Shouldn't have grabbed who?" Shinji asked, feigning innocence as he entered the locker room.

"Sorry. Nothing," Cirus answered distractedly as he again brushed past Shinji to leave, his coat fluttering behind him.

Misato was going to love hearing about this. If Shinji decided to tell her. He didn't dislike Cirus, and he knew that even if he did have some sort of feelings for Rei, he wouldn't want them broadcast to the biggest mouth in the entire NERV organization, but Shinji had no one else to talk to at home aside from the second biggest mouth at NERV.