Chain Lightning Studios Presents
Together We Stand Book Two:
      Divided We Fall
       By T. L. Webb


Don’t look so frightened,
This is just a passing phase
               One of my turns
                   Pink Floyd, The Wall


[]=======================[]
   Book Two: Part Three
[]=======================[]


    Normally the students of Tokyo Three junior high school were not 
allowed to use their laptops for Internet access. This privilege had been 
given and taken away dozens of times during the year until finally the 
faculty decided to restrict it to class projects only. Kensuke knew all of 
this this, but he'd hacked an outside line anyway. Over the past few 
months he had been slowly drawn more and more into the chatroom 
culture, and through that, the hacker culture. This had not only 
improved his skills at writing and decrypting programs, but had gained 
him a girlfriend of sorts. He didn't even know her real name-- only that 
she was about his age, involved in a research and development team for 
the JSSDF, and really, really seemed to like him a lot. 

      He had always heard of chatroom addiction, but until it had 
happened to him he hadn't given it much thought. Now he couldn't go a 
day without talking to the girl he knew only as TetsuShojo without 
getting anxious. He was finding himself checking his watch constantly 
and counting down the minutes until he could get online again. He’d 
even gone nearly two days without sleep one week because he had 
spent every spare moment at his computer. 

     He had finally gotten it all under control, and now he was sleeping 
again, but he still spent most of his time thinking about the girl, and 
how much he liked talking to her. To that end he was now breaking a 
half dozen rules to talk with her at school.

      [TetsuShojo] So, they didn't show up today either?

      [TheMechSage] well I think I just saw Shinji walking in with 
Asuka, so at least he’ll be here today... I'm glad too. If nothing else, 
now I can find out what’s going on around here. BUT, Hikari hasn't 
shown up yet, and she’s usually one of the first ones in the door. The 
whole thing's just weird.

      [TetsuShojo] I hope it all works out Ken-- they both sound like 
good people.

      [TheMechSage] The best. Shinji can be kinda self-contained 
sometimes, but once he opens up he’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever 
met... the trick is looking under the surface. And Hikari is just plain 
sweet. She makes lunches for us sometimes, and I could swear the stuff 
is better than most restaurants I’ve been to. 

       [TetsuShojo] Hey, I gotta run-- we have a training class and I’m 
late already. Thanks for the poem by the way, it was cute.

       [TheMechSage] anytime ^_^ and have a good day... I’ll talk to you 
tonight.

      [TetsuShojo] later.

     Kensuke signed off just as Shinji walked into the classroom looking 
miserable. When he saw Kensuke however, he did manage a weak 
smile as he walked over to his friend.

      "Welcome back Shinji," Kensuke said as his friend slumped into 
his seat, "we were getting worried when you didn't show for three 
days."

       "I was just out for one, technically," Shinji answered in a distant 
voice, "they had me at the medical facilities under observation for the 
rest of the time."

        "Did you get hurt in the attack?"

      "No, but they thought it might have done something to my mind. 
Misato is giving a debriefing to let them know I’m OK right now 
actually."

        "What about the other day then?"

        "I’ll tell you at lunch Kensuke, it's a long story," Shinji told him as 
Yume, who filling in at Hikari’s class Rep duties, started giving 
instructions. 

           Kensuke adjusted his glasses and frowned. Something was most 
definitely afoot.


[]====[]
[]====[]


        "You _what_?" Touji shouted.

         "Shinji," Kensuke added with equal-- but less vocal-- shock, "tell 
me that you're kidding... please!"

        "I wish I could," Shinji said as he sat back against the guardrail 
and hung his head, "but I can't change what happened... I know that 
very well now."

        "Just wait a second here," Kensuke said as he rubbed his forehead, 
"lets put the fact that you kissed Asuka-- and I want to note for the 
record how repulsive the concept is to me-- aside for the moment. What 
happened on your date, and why does this have anything to do with it?"

        "Don’t be such an idiot Kensuke," Touji said from where he 
stood--looking away from Shinji, "Hikari obviously found out about it."

        "Is that what happened Shinji?" Kensuke asked

        "That is part of it, but I don’t think that’s why she’s as angry with 
me as she is."

          "So what is it then?" Kensuke wanted to know.

         "I tried to lie about it."

         "Why in the hell did you do that?" 

       "I was scared... that if she knew what happened she would be 
angry. Kind of stupid of me in hindsight."

         "Well, most times people don’t use what is ironically called 
'common sense'," Kensuke said sadly, "but that is a pretty dumb 
mistake."

        "What would you have done?" Shinji said, suddenly angry, "How 
do you explain something like that? You just can't!"

        "Why didn't you push Asuka away when she kissed you in the first 
place?" Touji asked.

       "Its... hard to explain."

       "Try," Touji growled--showing just how angry he really was, "try 
hard."

      "Well for one thing... she is pretty, and don’t try to deny it, I know 
you two made a mint selling pictures of her when she first got here. For 
another thing, and you might have a hard time believing this, but 
sometimes... when she lets that damn wall down she can be... kind of 
nice."

        "You're right," Kensuke said, "we don’t believe you... but keep 
going."

      "Well the thing is that she did just that-- she let her wall down. And 
there she is suddenly kissing me. Part of my mind shut down right then 
and there, I couldn't move for a second, but then..."

      Shinji trailed off and sighed. 

     "Well?" Kensuke urged, "what happened?"

      "Have either of you ever felt like there was no one on the planet 
who gave a damn if you lived or died?"

       Kensuke and Touji shook their heads.

      "Before I came here, before I met all of you... before I met Hikari, I 
felt like that. I was so hollow back then... then I suddenly had 
something like a family, and I had friends for the first time since I was 
a little kid. I guess I kind of got drunk on it. I can't think of a better way 
to describe it-- I got drunk and addicted to the affection from other 
people. When Asuka kissed me I wasn't thinking about how annoying 
she was, how much it might hurt Hikari, or if it was even a smart thing 
to do. All I could think about was that Asuka Langley Soryu didn't hate 
me. She actually didn't hate me and was kissing me. I got so swept up 
in it that it wasn't until after the kiss that I realized what had happened."

     Kensuke and Touji sat there and stared at Shinji for awhile, and he 
couldn't read their expressions in the least. Finally the bell rang and it 
was time to go back to class.

      "Look guys," Shinji told them as they gathered their trash, "I know 
you must hate me for what happened, and I don’t blame you, but I want 
you to know I regret what I did. Not just because it screwed things up, 
but because it was an insult to Hikari. I should have thought of what it 
would do to her the _moment_ Asuka tried that. I don’t expect you two 
to forgive me, but I am sorry."

       They didn't say anything, but something in the way the two nodded 
at him let Shinji know that they forgave him... at least a little.


[]====[]
[]====[]


      In the command and control center of Central Dogma, alarms were 
going off left and right. The tech’s and scientists were in a mad 
scramble to discover the source of the alarm. When the satellite in geo-
synchronous orbit with the Second American Branch of Nerv finally 
came back online, the entire bridge crew let out a collective gasp. 

     Miles and miles of Nevada desert that until moments ago had 
surrounded the underground instillation were gone. Leaving in their 
place a glowing crater. The destruction was odd, because there was no 
actual damage to the surrounding area. It had not been an explosion.

       Which brought up the interesting question... just what had 
happened to Nerv’s Second American Branch?

       "The actual cause for the disaster is still under investigation," 
Ritsuko said several hours later as she briefed the bridge crew on the 
situation, "but this is what we were able to recover from the satellite 
before it drifted too far out of orbit and began to burn."

        As Maya counted down the seconds, a red haze surrounded the 
second branch and quickly began to spread outward till the shockwave 
reached the satellite and the picture was lost. Moments later a fresh 
image from another satellite that had been called to replace it flashed 
on the screen, showing a hollow crater that was eighty nine kilometers 
in radius.

      There wasn't much to say... although a collective gasp was released 
from those who hadn't seen the footage previously.

      "The facility, Evangelion Unit Four and all installations within the-- 
well we’re calling it the blast zone for now-- have ceased to exist. No 
trace has been detected in either the remaining debris or in the 
atmosphere surrounding."

       "Including thousands of people," Ritsuko added bitterly.

      "From the last time table we received from Captain Wright," 
Shigeru noted, "the accident seems to have occurred during the early 
stages of the S2 engine’s instillation in Unit Four."

      "The possible causes for the incident range from inadequate quality 
of material in the engines construction to a flaw in its original design," 
Maya read from her chart, "and that's only two of the thirty-two 
thousand seven hundred and sixty eight possible causes."

        "Then it could have been sabotage?" Misato asked.

        "But it wasn't an explosion," Makoto put in, "it was more like an 
implosion. The base didn't blow up... it just disappeared."

         "In all likelihood it was swallowed by a sea of Dirac, similar to 
the one displayed by the last Angel."

     "Then the S2 engine..." Misato said, suddenly realizing what it 
meant to the project as a whole.

     "Gone." Ritsuko finished for her, "along with our hopes."

       "Damnit," Misato said bitterly, "why are we continually forced to 
use things we don’t understand?"

      As her friend and former roommate turned to leave the briefing 
room Ritsuko frowned,

       'You’re more right than you know Misato,' she thought, 'I thought I 
understood the Evas... but now I’m starting to wonder... starting to 
wonder if I’m any more or less a pawn than the Commander of the 
Second Branch.'

      A few minutes later in her office she and Misato were discussing 
some of the more interesting developments that had resulted from the 
day’s disaster.

        "Then when are they going to send us the damn thing?" Misato 
sighed.

       "Probably in a day or two, the US administration seems to have 
suddenly developed an allergy to all things Eva and is ordering the 
immediate dismissal of the first branch."

        "Figures," Misato said with a sharp laugh, "they bully their way 
into Project E demanding that they build Units Three and Four, and 
now that something goes wrong they push it all off onto us. Those 
arrogant bastards are really pressing their luck."

      "Give them some credit, they lost an amount of land that was larger 
than some of their states... That would make anyone nervous."

       "Ok, I’ll buy that... so how will we proceed with the activation 
test? Will we use Rei?"

        "We'll cross that bridge when we arrive at it."


[]====[]
[]====[]


      Shinji had been dreading this, but he couldn't put it off much 
longer. As he looked at the doorbell he tried to think of an excuse, any 
excuse to put this off a bit longer. He knew it hadn't been more than a 
week, but he felt he had to at least say something. Hikari wouldn't 
return his calls, and except for Nozomi no one would even answer the 
phone. As he reached out and pressed the button, he took deep breaths 
and tried to keep calm. It wasn't easy.

       After what felt like an eternity, the door opened and Shinji was 
face to face with Kodama. The look in her eyes immediately told Shinji 
that he wasn't going to enjoy the next few moments.

      "What do you want?" she demanded as she crossed her arms and 
glared at him.

     Shinji swallowed and answered, "I need to speak with Hikari..."

       "She doesn't want to speak with you Shinji, I’d just go home if I 
were you."

      "Kodoma... Please, I know I screwed up, but I need to at least let 
her know I’m sorry."

      "What did I tell you at the springs Shinji?"

      Shinji bowed is head in shame. He had no rejoinder to that, nothing 
he could think to say to convince her to let him past. Conceding defeat 
for now, he bid her good evening and made his way down the steps. 

    Had he looked back he would have seen Hikari looking out at him 
from an upstairs window.... 


[]====[]
[]====[]


      "This is the prototype of the dummy plug," Ritsuko said as she 
presented the device, "even with the help of the Magi we don’t have the 
capability to duplicate a human’s mind and soul. At best this is a fake... 
Think of it as rough pencil sketch compared to the Sistine chapel. In the 
end it is nothing more than a machine."

       "It transmits a signal to the Eva," Gendou Ikari countered, "if that 
signal is accepted and the Eva believes itself to be synchronized with a 
pilot then it will be sufficient. Install the data into Unit’s one and two."

       "I should point out that there are still some minor problems with 
the datastream."

       "I do not care, it will suffice for our needs."

       "Understood..." Ritsuko said as they made their way to the 
adjoining room where the programming for the dummy plug system 
was still taking place. Below an enormous mechanical and electronic 
recreation of a human brain was a slender tube filled with LCL. Inside 
this tube Rei Ayanami was busy concentrating on her task. 

        "The transportation of Unit Three is being left entirely to the UN. 
The Eva will arrive this weekend. I leave the planning and execution of 
the operation in your hands."

     "Very well," Ritsuko agreed, "we've already found a child who will 
be most suitable, the core data can be prepared almost immediately, and 
I believe we should have no trouble with the recruitment."

     "I will leave the details to you," Gendou said as the indicator lights 
signaled the transfer process was done.

      "There are a few hours before anything can be done," Ritsuko 
added, "would you care to join me for dinner?"

       "You are aware that this is the night I regularly dine with Rei are 
you not?" Gendou asked as he turned to look at her.

      "It is alright Commander," came a soft voice from the tube’s 
speakers, "I do not mind."

      Ever since Ritsuko Akagi had begun her strange relationship with 
Gendou Ikari, she had _never_ seen him looked so surprised... come to 
think of it the only time he had ever shown a stronger emotion had bee 
when Rei’s test with Unit Zero had ended in disaster. She wished 
cameras were allowed in Terminal Dogma, the look on his face was 
priceless.

      Alas it only remained there for an instant, and he quickly regained 
his composure. 

    "Very well. Doctor, I will join you in one hour. Have a nice evening 
Rei," he said to the girl as the LCL drained from the tube. As he left, 
and Ritsuko assisted Rei in climbing out of the device, she had to fight 
not to laugh as she remembered that look.


[]====[]
[]====[]

   
      That afternoon Shinji went out for what started as just a walk. He'd 
only planed to go as far as the park where he had run into Hikari way 
back when he had tried to run away, but somehow he found himself 
riding the light rail into the city. As he passed the theater where he had 
once slept restlessly, he realized that not only had he not been out here 
by himself since that night, but even then he hadn't felt as lost as he did 
right that moment.  

         Finding an empty bench he sat down and watched the people 
walk past. Some hand in hand, others alone-- all off to do something 
important to them. He had fought again and again against the angels for 
these people, but at the same time he hadn't. He had been fighting 
mostly for the small group of people who he cared for, and for himself. 
It was easier to fight for a person you knew and loved than this faceless 
mass of people who he would never know. 

     He didn't know what to do. if Hikari wouldn’t talk to him then for 
the moment he would have to take everyone’s advice and just wait it 
out, but at the same time that felt wrong somehow. If something was 
wrong, shouldn't he at least try to fix it? Was he wrong in looking for a 
way-- no mater how slim the chance of finding it? 

        He was still going over it in his mind when he saw a familiar face 
pause and look at him.

      "Pilot Ikari," Rei Ayanami said, apparently a bit surprised to see 
him.

         "Hello Rei," He replied as he stood and walked past a few people 
to where she was, "what brings you out here?"

          "Undergarments." she replied simply--raising a shopping bag.

          "Um... OK," Shinji said as he took in another of Rei Ayanami's 
overly blunt answers. He was about to let her go when a flash of the 
odd conversation he'd had with 'himself' came back his mind. He hadn't 
spent much time with Rei in general, and he hadn't spoken with her 
outside of work for days now. As she turned to go he walked after her 
and called out.

         "Hey R-Rei? If you're done shopping, would you mind if I join 
you for a while?"

        She didn't answer, but she nodded and he assumed that was a yes. 

         "Why were you here?" she asked him as they began to walk down 
the sidewalk together.

          "I needed to think," he told her

         "How does this place facilitate that?"

          "It's not so much the place... I guess I just felt I could think 
clearer if I kept moving. So I did, and after awhile I just ended up 
here."

        "Is this the origin of the term 'letting one’s thoughts wander'?" she 
asked.

        "Could be," he said trying not to smile, "would you like me to 
walk you the rest of the way home?"

     "... It is not necessary," she replied quietly, and if he wasn't crazy... a 
bit shyly.

        "That wasn't a no..." he pointed out.

        "Very well," she said as they continued down the sidewalk.


[]====[]
[]====[]


           "I've been meaning to ask, why do you live here Rei?" Shinji 
asked as she opened her door. They had made a couple of stops on the 
way back as nether of them had had dinner and Shinji wasn't exactly 
looking forward to going back to the apartment just yet.

         "I do not understand."

         "Don’t take this the wrong way," he said as he started setting out 
the cooking supplies, "but this isn't exactly a nice neighborhood."

          "Should that matter?"

        "I don't know, but I would think with our position in Nerv you 
could live in a cleaner neighborhood. Why did you move here 
anyway?"

         "I have always lived here," she told him as she set out a folding 
table and chairs.

        "What do you mean?"

        "I have lived in this building since I was a child."

       "... All by yourself? That doesn't make sense"

       "No, you misunderstand, I lived in a room two floors above with 
Commander Ikari. All the Nerv Staff lived in this section until Tokyo 
Three was completed."

        " . . . "

       "Did something I say disturb you Pilot Ikari?"

       "It's just that... you mean my father raised you?"

      "Correct."

      "I didn't know that..."

      "This disturbs you... why is that?"

      "When father left me with my uncle, I was very angry with him. 
But even... even though I suspected that it was because he didn't want 
me, I always tried to tell myself that he didn't take care of me because 
he couldn't. I convinced myself that it was because he had such a busy 
job and just didn't have the time... but Rei," Shinji asked as he bit back 
the tears,  "if he had time to raise you... then why did..." he couldn't 
finish, and he excused himself as he stepped into her bathroom, 
choking back the tears.  

     When he finally had everything under control, he stepped out and 
apologized.

      "Do not let it trouble you. I found it... instructional."

      "What?"

     "I find some emotional outbreaks such as the one you just 
experienced a mystery sometimes. To understand why you were upset 
by the information made understanding that much easier."

     "I don't understand what you’re saying Rei... but I guess you’re 
welcome," Shinji told her as he shook his head, "I think this rice is 
almost ready, are you set up in there?"

      "Yes."

     "Ok then, let's eat."

     "Yes."


[]====[]
[]====[]


      When Pilot Ikari left a bit later, Rei sat on her bed and thought 
about something she had said to him. After dinner he had offered to 
help clean up her small apartment, and that had surprised her. As they 
picked up the crumpled paper and other trash she had for some reason 
never thought much about, she had been somewhat confused. 

       She was aware from rumors at school and things said around her 
that he and Miss Horaki were having some type of argument. She did 
not understand in full the nature of their relationship, even after 
spending so much time talking to them as of late. She knew from 
observing Doctor Akagi and Commander Ikari that there were more 
types of relationships than she had yet experienced. She didn't know if 
she would ever understand it all, but for the time being she found it 
utterly fascinating.


[]====[]
[]====[]


       "Hey Shinji," Kensuke whispered as he walked into the classroom 
the following morning, "get over here, quick!"

     Shinji walked over to his friend’s desk and sat down beside him. 
Meanwhile Kensuke was so excited that he looked like he was about to 
burst.

        "What is it?" Shinji asked.

        "I just heard this a few minuets ago, you won't believe it!"

        "Calm down Kensuke. What won't I believe?"

       "They're sending over another Evangelion!"

      Shinji blinked a few times, trying to take that in. A new 
Evangelion. That would mean a new Pilot. That would make thing 
easier on them all, but it also meant more tests, and more things he 
couldn't tell the others. 

        "How did you hear that?" he asked, "Misato hasn't said anything 
about a new Eva."

        "Its kind of an emergency situation. There was some type of 
explosion that took out the Second branch in the US and their first 
Branch is freaking out. They just finished Unit Three and are going to 
send it over by the end if the week."

       "Have they found the Fourth Child?" Shinji asked.

       "I don't know... but could you do me a favor?"

       "Sure, what?"

       "Could you put in a good word for me with Major Katsuragi? I 
_really_ want to be an Eva Pilot"

       Before Shinji could answer this however, he saw something that 
froze him in place.

      Hikari had walked into class.


[]====[]
[]====[]

    
         To Hikari’s relief Shinji had been too surprised to say anything, 
and as she had planed, she had arrived moments before the start of 
class. Yume barely had time to ask her if she wanted to take the reigns 
on the morning duties-- to which she declined. She had too much on 
her mind at the moment to even begin thinking about class rep duties. 

     She was going to kill Nozomi for talking her into this. She didn't 
want to be here yet; she was still too angry and confused to think 
straight enough for school. She knew Shinji was hurting by just looking 
at him, but she still didn't think she could talk to him... yet 

      It wasn't a matter of not wanting to talk to him, the problem was 
that she _did_ want to. She wanted to run up, throw her arms around 
him and tell him it was all right... but she was also afraid. She’d never 
really had a lie hurt her like his had, and she was more terrified of 
feeling the way she had that night than anything.. 

       So she sat there and listened to the teacher’s morning monologue, 
she deactivated her laptop’s chat program.

          For the entire morning she could feel his eyes on her as she idly 
typed away at her tests. Was she being fair, she wondered? She knew 
he was sorry for what he had done, she could practically feel his grief 
from where she was sitting. But even so, she wasn't a hundred percent 
sure if he was sorry for doing what he had with Asuka and trying to 
hide it, or if he was devastated because he was being punished. She 
knew she was being stubborn about it, but the part of her that knew this 
was being over ridden by her own stubborn pride, and every time she 
reached down to toggle her chat program, something stopped her. 

      She knew that she wouldn’t be able to keep this up all day, she had 
seen Shinji’s eyes when she’d walked in. They had shone with relief 
when she had walked in, and just before he had turned to sit she’d seen 
the hurt register in them. 

        'Just get it over with Horaki,' she told herself, 'just because you’re 
still pissed at him doesn't call for this cold shoulder crap.'

       That was the logical part of her mind speaking. The part that 
wanted to drag him through the dirt and embarrass him was trying to 
outspeak it at the moment however. She was almost angry with herself 
for even considering it. She believed that two wrongs did not make a 
right... but at the moment it was hard to live up to that.  

        She didn't remember any time before when she had felt so 
confused. And as the lunch hour drew closer it grew worse. When it 
finally arrived she decided that she’d at least let Shinji say his piece... 
then at least she wouldn't feel as bad about it. From there on... she’d 
just have to see what happened.

     When lunch finally did arrive she stood and turned to look at Shinji, 
who-- just as she had suspected-- was watching her with a half-pleading 
look in his eyes.

        She took a breath, released it and was just starting over to his chair 
when a voice came over the public announcement system. 

       "Hikari Horaki, would you please report to the principle's office, 
immediately."

     'Damnit!' she thought as she looked back to Shinji. "I'll talk to you 
after school ok?" she asked him-- the warm, forgiving tone in her voice 
surprising even her. 

      He nodded in agreement, and she hurried off to the office. 

     Had either of them known how long it would be before they would 
speak again, they would have likely taken the time to say much more. 


[]====[]
[]====[]


         From the moment she opened the door, she suspected something 
odd was going on. The principle was in his deck, but he was not alone 
in the room. Standing next to him was Doctor Ritsuko Akagi. 

      Hikari only knew the woman in passing, she could count the 
number of times they had spoken on one hand, but she did know that 
the doctor was one of the highest-ranking officials in all of Nerv. For 
her to be paying a visit to the school, and asking to see her was, to say 
the least, strange. 

       "Good afternoon Hikari," Ritsuko said, "please have a seat."

       Hikari complied, and as she sat down, the doctor pulled out a set of 
folders and set them on the deck before her. She nodded to the 
Principal, who stood and stepped out of the room. Once they were 
alone, the doctor sat down in his chair and smiled at Hikari.

        "I imagine you're wondering why you’re here?"

         "Yes ma'am," Hikari replied nervously.

         "As you are no doubt aware from your admittedly limited 
exposure to Project E, the Pilots of the Evangelions have all been 
around your age. Have you ever wondered why this was the case?"

        "Sometimes."

       "Well part of the answer lies in genetics. We believe that 
something happened to human DNA as a result of Second Impact. All 
children born after that date-- while I am loath to use this term-- are 
mutations. Not in the sense that there is something wrong with you, 
from almost all tests there is only one detectable difference between 
you and I, and that is a higher chance that your generation has of 
synchronizing with the Evangelions. It varies from child to child, and 
we really only discovered it by chance during a test with Rei Ayanami-
- or as we sometimes call her-- the First Child."

       "Naturally once we discovered this there was a mad scramble to 
test all the children we could and we started with those of Nerv’s staff. 
Through that process we found the Second Child-- Asuka. I can't go 
into the entire process now, and I’m sure you are wondering why I'm 
telling you all of this so I will get to the point."

       "Evangelion Unit Three is due to arrive from the United States this 
weekend, and data we took during the battle with the Fourth Angel tells 
us that you will be capable of piloting it. You are the Fourth Child, 
Miss Horaki."

       Hikari sat in shock as that registered. An Eva Pilot... her. 

        "Do... do I have to accept?" she asked nervously, "do I have a 
choice?"

       "Yes, but to be honest I am surprised you’re not excited about the 
prospect. The entire novelty of it aside, it would be a chance to get 
closer to Shinji. I know how hard it must be sometimes to have gaps in 
the things the two of you can talk about and do together."

         " . . . "

      "Don’t misunderstand me, there are other candidates... but you have 
the highest chance of synchronizing with the Eva, and you would make 
the best Pilot out of the group we have to choose from. It is a very 
important decision, however... would you like some time to think it 
over?"

       "If I did this..." Hikari said slowly, "I wouldn’t have time for my 
school duties."

      "True, but on the other hand, you would be doing your country, and 
in fact the world a service to which the debt is incalculable."

       "Would the other candidates be in greater danger than I would be?"

      "Their synch ratio would be approximately three fourths of what 
your projected rate should be, so I would say the danger they would 
face in battle would be roughly that much more."

       Hikari sat there for several moments weighing the decision... and 
finally reached her choice.

      "Where do I sign?" she asked softly.


[]====[]
[]====[]


      Hikari didn't come back after lunch, and Shinji was worried. 

     Against his better judgement, he decided to make a stop at the 
Horaki house on his way home. Hoping that Kodama wasn't home, he 
rang the doorbell and waited for an answer. A few moments passed, 
and just as he was about to leave-- someone came running from around 
the back of the house.

     It was Nozomi.

      She put a finger up to her lips and glanced back at the windows to 
make sure no one was around, then beckoned him to follow her to the 
curb. They'd walked to a point where a shrub hid them from view 
before she finally said anything.

       "Did she talk to you?"

      "You mean Hikari?" Shinji asked, a little bewildered by the 
younger Horaki sister’s behavior.

      "No I mean Gamera," she snapped, "of _course_ I mean Hikari... 
did she talk to you today?"

      "We were going to talk after school, but she never came back from 
Lunch," he explained.

      "Crap. I was afraid of this... she won't be home till late Shinji, I got 
a call earlier, and no I don’t know why."

      "Why are you so angry?" he asked.

      "I'm just tired of putting up with people who make life harder for 
themselves by being stubborn jerks," she said with a sigh, "yourself 
included by the way. Don’t say anything, I'm not going to bite your 
head off now that I got it off my chest."

        "Um... thanks.... I think."

       "Look, she's feeling really lousy about ignoring you, but she's also 
mad at you for lying to her. Tell her that your sorry and try not to flinch 
too much while she chews you out and you two should be fine ok?"

       The only response Shinji could think of to that was to blink and 
mumble a startled 'thank you.'

        "Don’t worry about it... sometimes I think about how much 
trouble you older people cause yourselves and I wonder if I'm gonna 
turn out like that... bleuch!" she said as she made a face, "anyway, that's 
all I have to say other than try not to kiss any more redheads... OK?"

      "I’ll try," Shinji said with a grateful smile, "by the way, why are we 
hiding behind this bush?"

     "Simple. Just because I’ve forgiven you and Hikari is about to 
doesn't mean that Kodama has. I would watch it around her; she tends 
to get mean when it involves her favorite little sisters. In particular I'd 
be careful if you see her carrying any sharp, pointy objects."

     Shinji gulped and decided that he was going to try to avoid Kodama 
for a while.

       
[]====[]
[]====[]
       

     "The fourth child's been found?" Misato asked with no small amount 
of surprise.

       "Yesterday," Ritsuko said in that bored voice that was supposed to 
let Misato know that she was annoying her, but never worked.

       "How come I haven't received a report from the Marduk institute?"

       "It happened pretty fast, I would imagine the official documents 
are still in the mail. You’ll probably receive them tomorrow."

       "Whatever... so who's the kid?"

      Ritsuko did something with her computer faster than Misato's eyes 
could follow and a file came up on the monitor beside her. The face 
was familiar and Misato had to fight not to gasp.

     "Please tell me you’re kidding!"

     "It's not like we have much Choice Misato, we keep the potential 
candidates together to protect them. After what happened in Germany 
we take no chances of loosing any of them..." she trailed off with a 
frown as she thought of the dozen or so children that had been lost with 
the American Branch.

      "Ok... you have a point... but this is kind of hard news to break. 
Asuka will be fine; she’s totally committed to Piloting Eva. Rei is 
exceptional, I don’t think she’s given us a problem yet... but I don’t 
know how this will effect Shinji at all... He and Hikari are having a bit 
of a spat at the moment and if that doesn't clear up this might do him 
more harm than good."

       "As I said, we have no choice. It is this or our total destruction."

      "That doesn't mean I have to like it."  She told Ritsuko as she 
walked out of the office.
     

[]====[]
[]====[]


     There were times when Ryouji Kaji despised his job. He hated lying 
to those he loved and while he was skilled at it, he had no warm place 
in his heart for killing. Other times however-- he loved it. As he leaned 
into Maya Ibiki’s personal space and gave her his best ‘ladykiller grin’ 
he decided that this was one of the times his job wasn’t so bad.

     Flirting, he thought, was an art. Like most arts it took practice, and a 
touch of initial talent for the best results. Most people were at their best 
when they didn't actively try to do it, when they just relaxed and had 
fun. Those were the people with the natural talent for it. With some 
other people it took the exact right words at the exact right moment for 
maximum effect, and otherwise they floundered helplessly. 

         His personal technique blended a little of both. He knew all the 
right words to say at the right moments, but at the same time he ad 
libbed and had fun with it. That combination was putting Maya in a 
very tongue-tied state of mind, and to be honest he felt a little sorry for 
her. Like Misato she and the other bridge officers were merely pawns 
in the big game. If and when Seele got too fed up with Ikari... It would 
be a shame. He felt sorry for those who died without ever knowing 
why.

      At the moment however this was furthermost from his mind. If he 
could establish an ongoing dialogue with this young woman then he 
would be that much closer to the truth. She was Ritsuko’s apprentice in 
all things Magi, and was privy to secrets that possibly even the sub 
commander was in the dark on. 

        Unfortunately all his careful phrasing and planing were laid to 
waste as a voice cut across the break room.

       "Hi Kaji, how’s it going?" Misato Katsuragi said loudly and 
sarcastically.

      'Someone has got to do something about her sense of timing,' he 
thought wryly as Maya let out a high pitched squeak and edged out of 
the room faster than he thought a person could move sideways. 

       "Oh... its going," he noted as he watched his chances of an inside 
link make her rapid exit.

        "Far be it for me to say anything about your private life, but don't 
you think that it's a bad idea to be hitting on girls under certain chains 
of command?"

      "Who’s under who is not your concern... or would you rather be the 
one who was the center of my undying affections?"

       "Depends on how you answer this," Misato said as her voice 
lowered, "you have the inside dirt on Nerv’s secrets about the Marduk 
and that damned thing in the basement right?"

         'Shit,' Kaji thought, 'she does _not_ want to get too deep into this, 
she’s far to involved already...'

       "Um... What secrets?" he tried to pass off innocently.

      "Kaji, don’t play games about this."

      "It's not like you to be asking someone else for help... particularly 
me. What will people say?"

      "I'm not worried about that right now, and let people think whatever 
they damn well please. I just found out that the Fourth Child was 
discovered, and something stinks about how it happened just in time 
like this."

         Kaji looked around and stepped in close to her, whispering what 
he had to say in her ear.

        "I'll tell you this for now, the Marduk institute does not exist. 
Commander Ikari and Nerv are pulling the strings all by their selves."

       "But what does that mean? Why would they want to keep it 
secret?"
 
     "I'll give you another clue, code seven zero seven. Investigate that 
and you’ll be that much closer."

      "Seven zero seven... but that's the directory for Shinji and Asuka’s 
school!"

      Before they could say anymore, footsteps could be heard coming 
down the hall and the two sprung apart like they had touch a live wire.

      Shinji Ikari came walking into the room calling for Misato and Kaji 
almost sighed in relief. He’d been afraid it would be one of the bridge 
crew or Doctor Akagi.

      "There you are," he said as he saw them, "Misato, Ritsuko said to 
remind you that you need to be ready for the trip in the morning and to 
finish all the paperwork as soon as you can."

       "Thanks, um... I’ll talk to you later Kaji."

       "Ok," he said as she left. It took him a moment to realize that 
Shinji was not only still there, but also apparently not going anywhere.

      "Can I get you anything? Cup-o-tea?"

      "Kaji... I’m a boy." Shinji said dryly as Kaji realized he was still in 
'ladykiller' mode.


[]====[]
[]====[]


     They did end up going for a snack at a park that was along the 
walkway to Central Dogma’s pyramid. As the watched the mirror 
system kick on and the light shift in the Geofront, Shinji shook his 
head, "I thought you’d me a more serious person Kaji."

       "You’re saying that to someone as straight laced and reliable as 
me?" Kaji rejoined with a grin

        "Sorry, it's just that I always thought of most adults as serious and 
dull, and then I met you and Misato... and now I don’t know what to 
think."   

       "We are something of an exception to the rule, I'll admit... hey, let 
me show you something."

      He motioned Shinji as he walked off the path and into the small 
glen that made up that part of the Geofront’s surface. After a short 
walk, they came to the edge of the Geofront’s lake. In the distance, just 
past the trees, Shinji could see what looked like the medical building. 
Finally, as they stepped around some shrubbery, they came across a 
well-tended Garden. As Shinji watched on, Kaji picked up a watering 
tin from a small pile of tools, stepped over to the lake and filled it. A 
few moments later as he began to water the garden, Shinji took a closer 
look at what he was growing.

      "Melons?"

      "Aren’t they cute?" Kaji asked with a grin. He knew that the more 
amusing innuendo's he could make about his garden would probably go 
over Shinji’s head, "this is about the only hobby I have... um do me a 
favor and don’t tell anyone. I wouldn’t want them to think I was softer 
in the head than they already believe."

     "Um... ok," Shinji said as he watched him sprinkle.

       "I hear you’re having some trouble in the area of amore... is that 
why you wanted to talk to me?"

         "... Yes," Shinji, said reluctantly.

        "So what seems to be the problem?"

         Shinji began to talk, and a good while later, when he came up for 
air, Kaji couldn't help but be a little surprised, and impressed with the 
situation that the young Ikari had managed to get himself into.

         "And now I don’t know if she’s changed her mind or what, I think 
Nozomi is the only one who will even talk to me, and Hikari wont even 
talk to _her_. I just don’t know what to do..."

     "Its a strange position to be in, and not one that many handle 
well...were you to continue to call every chance and try to speak to her 
too much she might get angry with you, so I would advice taking a step 
back in that department. Shinji as hard as it sounds, you’re only real 
chance to see this through is to do as has already been suggested, and 
wait till she is ready to talk. She’ll let you know when that is. It's not 
fair, but that is the way life can be sometimes."

       His cell phone rang as he finished saying that and he answered it. It 
was Misato asking for Shinji to report to the lab for the latest synch 
test.

      "Keep your chin up Shinji, and don’t worry too much, I doubt she 
could stay angry at you forever."
   
       As Shinji walked back to the path, Kaji sighed... he'd thought the 
same about Misato and it had taken over seven years for her to come 
around... with any luck Hikari Horaki wouldn't take quite that long.


[]=====================[]
   To Be Continued...
[]=====================[]


Authors Incoherent babbling

And now for my longest babbling yet
 
    So Hikari's the Fourth Child... it's been pointed out to me that I made 
it rather obvious from the earlier chapters how this was going to go so I 
didn't feel the need to hike up the suspense on that. Not that the original 
timeline did much of a job of keeping it a secret (well from everyone 
but Shinji) ^_^ 

     A word about Rei and Shinji. The scene with them having dinner... 
was not a prelude to any romantic hijinks. I've said this before, and I'll 
say it again. While the kiss in part one may be debatable, I don’t have 
any plans for love triangles in this story. This may seem like spoiler 
material, but I feel the need to point that out. Shinji and Rei are friends 
at this point, and he was just trying to follow his own advice and spend 
some more time with her, he’ll be doing so with Kensuke and Touji-- if 
they get a chance to that is... 

     By now many of you have probably noticed some odd references 
here and there, some quotes, and some repeating dialogue... this is 
intentional. I’m deliberately using some lines from Eva, and tweaking 
them a little, not only to make it flow better (subs and dubs are 
inherently inaccurate because of time constraint and translation 
glitches), but because things have changed-- and while a persons 
response may be the same, their altered train of thought will bring 
slightly different phrases to mind as they speak.

    People who've read Moonlight Sonata have no doubt noticed the half 
dozen references to that story in this chapter, and I make no excuses-- it 
was a shameless plug. Feel free to read the story at my site if you want 
to find out what one of those 32768 possibilities for the Second 
Branch's disappearance might have been. The link will follow the 
babbling

   I’ve also snuck in probably a dozen lines from Buffy the Vampire 
Slayer so far, not because I’m trying to be cool or hip or anything by 
using trendy lines from a hit show, I just thought it was hilarious. So if 
you see people refer to 'love making them do the wacky', if you see 
people say that they 'laugh in the face of danger, then hide till it goes 
away', or if someone gets a wigens, that's just me being silly. 

      Next chapter is where the meat and potatoes are served, and I’m 
sure y'all are wondering what’s gonna happen with the 13th angel 
*grins evilly* and I doubt that the rest of the story is going to be 
anywhere close to being dull. This is where the story of Eva took a turn 
for the dark side, and I’m not going to say whether or not this will 
follow, you’ll have to see for yourself. 

         I’m gonna hop on my soapbox real quick about the topic of 
ACCs. I like 'em, and I've made no denials of this. I think that for some 
stories ACCs are necessary-- I could not have told the tale of 
Moonlight Sonata without them. And I’m not referring to supporting 
characters like Yume and Ichigo are in this yarn, I’m talking about 
ACCs as main characters like Terry St. John in Gospel of Malechel and 
Jennet Wallace from Sins of the Past. New characters in Eva are a 
touchy thing. Mostly this is due to the enormous complexity of the Eva 
cast. I think it may be worthwhile for writers to give any new Pilots a 
subtle mental problem so that they might fit better into the crew. We 
already have one with a death wish, one with a obsession with proving 
to her dead mother that she exists, and one who... well Shinji’s 
problems are a long list and my fingers are getting tired ^_^ just 
remember that these character flaws are part of what make the Eva cast 
seem so real. Ok I’m off the soapbox now.
 
      One last note before I go and grab some shuteye. I got to thinking 
and I realized a possible reason why Hikari is one of the few, the proud, 
and the sane in the Eva universe. I seem to recall someone mentioning 
that Anno was class president back while he was in school... 
coincidence? Perhaps it isn't Shinji that represents Anno in Evangelion 
after all... Just a thought.
        
      
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