Neon Genesis Evangelion and all characters from therein are the property of Gainax. They are used without permission and we beg the kind and benevolent creators of the glorious show not to sue us. ^_^ Chain Lightning Studios Presents Together We Stand By T. L. Webb Did you ever wonder Why we had to run for shelter When the promise of a brave new world Unfurled beneath a clear blue sky Goodbye Blue Sky Pink Floyd, The Wall []===============[] Book 1 Part 7 []===============[] It had been months since Shinji'd had a chance to see the sky like this. Living in the isolated area where his uncle's home was had few advantages, and he had missed out on a lot of things that most kids his age took for granted. He hadn't had many friends, and he had been too far away from the nearest town to go to middle school, his Uncle had arranged a tutor for those three years. However, there had been few things that he had actually enjoyed while living with his uncle. Despite the fact that the man had insisted he'd no talent for it, his first cello lessons had been one of his fondest memories-- but the one thing he had always loved more than that was the area where he'd lived had an amazing view of the night sky. Now, as he gazed up at the magnificent few above him he smiled as a slight wave of vertigo passed over him. The stars were so crystal clear without the city to dim them out, and he had almost forgotten what it was like. He had almost forgotten how grand a view there was to be had by merely looking up at the night sky on a clear night. Lying back against the grass he could almost imagine himself being back there, still a child, still unaware of all the awful things to come. It was almost a shame that the power would be back on in the city so soon. "You know," he said to Asuka and Rei as he watched the slowly rotating view above, "its ironic that without the lights, the stars are so much more beautiful." Asuka was laying a few feet away beside Rei. They had defeated another angel, and since their services would no be required until power was restored, they'd asked the person who had driven Makoto to HQ to drop them off here. "I guess," the redhead replied, " but its kind of creepy, I mean without the lights it's like there aren't any humans down there." Shinji started to reply, but was interrupted by the breathtaking sight of Tokyo Three coming back to life. "There," Asuka said with a smile, "I feel better now." "Mankind fears the darkness" Rei said speaking up, " and chases it away with flames." As Shinji pondered this, Asuka let out a little snort, " philosophy huh?" "I wonder," Shinji asked, " is that why the Angels attack? Because we're able to initiate change like that?" "Oh who cares what they think," Asuka told him, "it doesn't matter. They attack, we kick their ass, and that’s all you should worry about." "I'd still feel better if we knew what we were dealing with," Shinji told her. "Don't be an idiot Shinji. A solider who thinks too much is useless on the battlefield. Just follow orders and keep your head down." "That's your philosophy Asuka, I can't do that." "Then why are you even bothering to do this if you cant do it right?" "Because I have to." "What kind of lame-ass answer is that?" "A true one." "Anyone ever tell you that you're screwed in the head, Third Child?" "You, every day." "Ha-ha, I don’t know why Hikari puts up with you. It _can't_ be your sense of humor" "You'd have to ask her Asuka, I'm not going to start this argument again." "Wuss. Hey, what's the deal with your two? I mean, what do you even have in common?" Shinji was quiet for a moment while he thought about that. "Well, we both like to cook for one thing," he said, " we like some of the same music, and movies... she's loaned me a few of her books and mangas-- so far our tastes in that are about the same, but a lot of it is more subtle than that." "What do you mean?" "Well, a lot of the time it seems like we're on the same... well wavelength I guess you could say. I feel like I can--." "Puppy love," Asuka said, cutting him off with and smirking triumphantly. "What?" "Its nothing but puppy love, Shinji. You two don’t have anything that a thousand other teenagers haven't gone through... pathetic." "I don’t know why I bother talking to you sometimes," Shinji said as he climbed to his feet, "all you ever do is insult me." As Shinji walked down the hill, Asuka rolled her eyes and leaned back again. []====[] []====[] A few feet away, Rei Ayanami sat and pondered the conversation that had just transpired between her fellow pilots. Every day she learned more about them, and every day she wondered why she had never taken such an interest in the past. The interactions between the others were becoming increasingly fascinating to her, and she was paying far more attention to them than anyone would ever guess. It was also frustrating because other than a select few, she had no one to discuss these things with. Talking to Pilot Soryu was generally an exercise in futility. Doctor Akagi became disturbed when she brought up such matters, and she was hesitant to even broach the subject with Commander Ikari. She had the distinct impression that he would not only disapprove, but also order her to stop such interaction. This left Miss Horaki, Pilot Ikari and Captain Katsuragi. Of the three the former and later were her best sources of information. Shinji occasionally was of help, but he tended to be too reserved in his comments to be of much use. He did, sometimes, shed light on things that she did not understand, and hopefully her current problem might be one of those. As she climbed to her feet and walked down to where he was now sitting, he looked up at her and nodded a hello. "You are disturbed by what Pilot Soryu said," She stated as she stopped beside the tree he was resting against. Shinji let out a sigh and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I wish she' just lay off the teasing at least once," he told her, "I know she disapproves of me and Hikari seeing one another-- but she could at least _try_ to be a little more understanding." "I myself do not fully understand it," Rei said, "but I have through curiosity begun to try. Perhaps she is so abrasive because she has not made a similar effort to understand?" "Could be, but she still doesn’t have to be so blunt and rude about it." "How should she be about it then?" Rei asked. "I don’t know Rei... it's just that I'm having enough trouble trying to deal with school, Eva, and a girlfriend. Dealing with Asuka on top of it all is wearing me thin." "Have you told her this?" "I've tried, but she doesn't seem to ever listen." "I see," Rei said as she turned and began walking away. As Shinji looked after her, he made a note to ask Hikari to teach her how to end a conversation. []====[] []====[] "How is school?" Commander Ikari asked as he and Rei ate dinner several nights later. "There are no difficulties, Commander." "That is good, and is everything else in order?" "Yes." "Has the Second Child given you any more difficulties?" "No sir, she seemed to have lost interest once our test scores showed her synch ratio surpassed mine." "I see. Continue to avoid her when possible. Her skill for Eva is undeniable, but we must continue to treat her ego with kid gloves. Eventually the stress of piloting will overcome her-- show caution when this does finally occur. "And the Third?" "Hmm as long as he remains fixated on his classmate I see no danger of a similar breakdown, continue to observe, but report any apparent instabilities to the nearest Section Two agent." "Yes sir," Rei replied, privately relived that he had not ordered her to avoid Shinji as well. "Sub-Commander Fuyutski and I will be leaving soon for the Antarctic Dead Sea. We should be far enough along to begin the new transfer procedures during that timeframe, are you prepared for them?" "Yes sir." "Good," the commander said as he rose to leave. He did not say anything else, but he was deeply worried, the reports he had received as of late showed that Rei had taken a more active role in her fellow pilot's lives... and that could be problematic if not handled properly. Her social development was limited, and given his plans for the girl... that had been a blessing in itself. Her new interest in the other children was not a danger on its own, but it presented a potential stumbling block should certain plans come to fruition before the predictions of the Scrolls came to pass. But even this was not the worst of his problems. if Rei began to show similar instabilities as the other pilots then much of what he had planned would be placed in jeopardy. So much depended on keeping Rei stable... Hopefully when the dummy plugs were completed they would no longer need the pilots. Hopefully then he would no longer have to put Rei at such risk. []====[] []====[] "Thanks for coming Hikari," Asuka told her friend the next day, "I don’t think I'd be able to stand those two without help" They were in the middle of putting together a surprise party for Misato, who had just been promoted to Major. Kensuke and Touji had taken charge of the planning and construction, and had ushered the girls out of the living room saying that their presence was 'disturbing the flow of creativity'. Hikari knew the two better and suspected that Kensuke just wanted Asuka out of the room before another fight started between her and Touji. "It's not a problem," Hikari replied, "I promised Kensuke I'd bring over these extra decorations anyway." "So the gyms all set then?" "We finished up yesterday, it's all ready." "You mean, you even got chaperones?" "It was easy once we got Kodama signed up. She convinced Misato and Misato even talked Mr. Kaji into helping out." "I can't say I'm upset about that," Asuka said with a lecherous grin. "How's your costume coming?" Hikari asked- - eager to change the subject, "Will it be ready on time? You told me last week that it was kind of complex." "Oh, once I found the right shops it was easy." "You're having it made? Isn't that expensive? "Not with the pay we get as pilots." "Oh..." "What?" "Shinji only had his pay restored the other day." "Restored? When did he lose it?" "You didn’t know? After the second battle he got in trouble." "Hmmm, I heard about that... he tried to run away or something, right?" "Well he wasn’t actually running away... more like trying to take a breather. He told me he was actually about to come back to the apartment when they picked him up." "Right, like I said-- he ran away. Couldn't handle the pressure." "Asuka, that's not being fair, do you even know what he was going through then?" "No, but who cares? I mean it _is_ his job." "Asuka, did you chose to be a pilot?" Hikari asked, trying a different track "Sort of." "What do you mean?" "Well they picked me way back when I was around four, but I was honored to be selected." "So you're doing this because you want to." "Absolutely." "What if they hadn't brought you into it until a year ago?" "I'm not following you." "What if you had already decided what you wanted to do with your life, and then they forced you to pilot against your will?" "I'd probably be pissed but I'd go along with it, it is to save mankind you know." "Shinji is in that type of situation. In a very real sense he was drafted for the project. When he arrived he had no idea why Mr. Ikari had called him, and then they just kind of dropped everything into his lap. You had almost ten years to prepare yourself Asuka, he had maybe half an hour." "Never really thought about it like that... but if he hates all this so much, why does he stay? He could have left anytime once I arrived... couldn't he?" "I don’t know. I think he's getting the hang of it, and I think he prefers living with Misato to his Uncle." "Speaking of Misato, when are she and idiot boy due back?" "Stop that, and it should be another half hour. Shinji said that the store they were going to was in midtown." "I see, well... what do we do until then?" "We could help the other two stooges with the decorations..." "Yeah right," Asuka asked with a laugh, "why bother, I mean, what are men good for besides manual labor?" []====[] []====[] As Misato drove them back to the apartment, Shinji smiled at the thought of her face when they walked in to the condo. He'd never been a part of a surprise party before, and he had to admit it was fun. Of course, trying to keep a straight face was becoming more and more difficult as the night progressed, but he felt he could last till they got back... at least he hoped he could. He looked over at his guardian who was lost in thought. Strange to think that until recently he would have been enjoying the quiet between them. He was changing, and he couldn't honestly say he wasn’t enjoying it. Eventually he did grow too uncomfortable with the silence, and tried to spark a conversation. "Congratulations on your promotion," he said. "Thanks Shinji," She replied, her voice still distant, " but, to tell you the truth, I'm not exactly overjoyed." "I can sympathize with that," he told her, "being praised in public doesn't make me happy either. It only made Asuka mad back at headquarters.... Misato, why did she get angry anyway?" "You're still upset about that?" "Yeah, I guess I am." "You worry too much about what others think of you, Shinji." "Is that bad?" "It can be, for example; how do you define cool?" "W-what?" "Cool, how do you define it?" "Um... the opposite of hot?" "No silly, I mean like when a person is cool." "Oh... um I guess I don’t know." "ok, take Kaji for example. He's a jerk and he drives me up the wall sometimes, but would you say that Kaji is good at keeping his cool?" "I guess so..." "Okay then, we have a starting place. Now why is that? How does he keep it?" "I... well, I guess I'm not sure." "For one thing, he doesn’t care what people think about him. Especially about how he looks or dresses. That’s why he can get away with dressing like a slob around headquarters." "That doesn’t make much sense Misato." "Well its just part of it, but it’s a big part. You need to realize your position. I mean-- you're a vital part of Nerv, and get to pilot the most advanced war machine in the history of mankind. You have every right to play up to that, but you don’t and I respect you for it. However, your greatest problem is that you still worry too much about what others think. If you'd just realize all the things that you have going for you... you'd be that much closer to dealing with the hard stuff. You keep sweating the small stuff and its going to start getting to get to you like it did after the fourth angel." "You're telling me... that I need to decide what's important and what's not?" "Exactly." "But how do I decide that?" "Good question Shinji," Misato said with a grin, "figure that out and let me know-- I'm still working on it myself" Shinji frowned at that. Wasn’t this supposed to be an advice session? Or was that actually the advice? Maybe what Misato needed and what he did as well to follow the advice were different things entirely. If that was the case then he was a little better off... but not by much "Oh, thanks for the help," he said shaking his head with a chuckle. Maybe he should just stick to Kensuke and Touji for advice, he figured. At least they gave straight answers... usually dumb ones, but straight ones. []====[] []====[] Misato's reaction was worth the trouble. When she entered the kitchen and had five people jump out at her yelling "surprise" Shinji was glad that she didn’t have her service pistol handy. Misato jumped almost three feet backwards and hit her head on the closet door, then fell to the floor in a daze. For a moment Kensuke panicked, but once she saw the elaborate decorations that the kids had set up Misato had begun to laugh, and everyone relaxed. The party started out great, with Touji and Asuka providing most of the entertainment by constantly trying to insult the other. Unfortunately for Touji-- Asuka didn’t fight fair and most of their verbal sparring ended with him sitting down with an angry blush. Kodama had shown up just before Shinji and Misato and the 'evil twins' were planing a series of drinking games for later that evening. About half an hour after the start of the party, Kaji and Ritsuko finally arrived-- resulting in Asuka's face lighting up brighter than any of the decorations. As she made a beeline for the older man's arm-- where she would remain attached for most of the evening-- Hikari sat down beside Shinji and Misato. "Did you get your costumes selected yet?" Hikari asked. "We're going tomorrow to pick them up," Misato replied as she popped open another beer, "good thing Shinji here got his pay back, I only have so much cash on hand these days." "So, how did the tests go today?" "I'm up eight points," Shinji said with a smile, "I think if I keep it up then I--" "Ah-em." They looked up to see Ritsuko frowning at them. "Shinji," she said, " I don’t think its appropriate for you to be discussing such things. I would advise you drop that subject before one of the Section Two guards overhears and reports it to your father." "Now, now Ritsu, " Kaji said as he tried to take a sip of his sake-- a difficult task with Asuka clinging to his arm, "Shinji spends so much of his time cooped up with those tests that _not_ talking about them would leave him as quiet as Misato tells us he used to be. Surely you don’t want that." "Of course not Kaji," Ritsuko shot back, " but we can't very well have him mouthing off about classified tests." "Afraid someone will find out about your rubber fetish?" Misato piped in, causing Ritsuko's face to take on a shade of red even Shinji had never achieved. "I think we better go outside," Hikari whispered to Shinji with a giggle. "Huh?" Shinji asked, "how come?" "Because I think Miss Akagi is about to start using language that we're not supposed to know." Shinji took another look at the glowering Ritsuko, and nodded in agreement. They were about to make their escape when the doorbell rang. "We'll get it" Shinji said as he and Hikari made their escape to the front hall. Opening the door, Shinji was pleasantly surprised to find Rei standing there. Asuka had claimed to have invited her, but they had all expected her to be a no-show. It was nice to be wrong about that. []====[] []====[] "Don’t you love the view from here Rei?" Hikari asked as the three sat outside on the patio a bit later. Touji and Kensuke had just left and other than Asuka (who was still attached to Kaji's arm) it was just the adults. So while they proceeded to get drunk, the three teenagers had decided to step outside and talk for awhile. Rei looked out at the view of Tokyo Three, and nodded in agreement. "I wonder--I have seen this before," Rei asked, "why do I continue to find pleasure in the view?" "Because looking at something that's beautiful never gets old," Shinji said-- smiling at Hikari as he did so. "Shinji Ikari," Hikari asked with a laugh, "are you flirting with me?" "I think so, at least I'm trying to," Shinji replied with a blush, "am I doing it right?" "You're doing fine sweetie," Hikari told him as she kissed him on the cheek. "What is the purpose of that?" Rei asked "Of what?" Shinji said as he leaned back against the side of the lawn chair where Hikari was sitting. "Of a kiss. What purpose does it serve?" Hikari blinked, and leaned back in the chair thoughtfully. She was becoming used to Rei's odd questions. They were coming more and more often lately, but the girl could throw out a stumper like no one else. "That's hard to answer Rei. There are different kinds of kisses, some of them mean different things." "For example?" Rei asked. A playful grin crossed Hikari face and she reached over and took hold of Shinji's arm, pulling him up onto the chair with her. Shinji was completely mystified by her intentions, but went along. He trusted Hikari not to do anything embarrassing-- besides, he wasn’t about to complain about the proximity. Turning to Rei, Hikari smiled and began to speak. "Kissing can mean anything from a simple token of friendship to a display of love, to more...amorous meanings. For example, this one is just a sign of affection, it could be given between friends or just siblings," she leaned over and gave Shinji a light peck on the cheek, "I kiss my sisters and father like that to say hello or goodbye. It just means that I care about them." Shinji had caught on to what Hikari was up to by this point, and while he was blushing deeply, he couldn’t honestly say he wasn’t enjoying the demonstration. "Even men used to kiss back in old times, Romans would greet one another like this," she kissed Shinji lightly on both cheeks. "And they no longer do this?" Rei asked "Most men don’t... um, as for why, that's a discussion for another time," Hikari said, " now where were we? Ah, yes... couples tend to kiss a bit more intimately." She displayed this by kissing Shinji tenderly on the lips. When Shinji opened his eyes again he saw something that made him frown. He started to say something about it, but Hikari grinned and put a finger to his lips. "Hush, we're almost done," Hikari said with a giggle, "please hold all questions till the end of the demonstration." She looked back over to Rei who was observing with great interest. "Then there's the kind of kiss that the better romance novels spend three pages describing. I wouldn't try this with anyone you weren't already involved with-- it can be taken as a display of lust and tends to incite such feelings in the participants." Before Shinji could even try to read any deeper meanings in what Hikari had just said, he found himself swept up in the most amazing kiss he had shared with her yet. During their first kiss he had felt briefly like the rest of the world had faded back leaving only them. This was like that, except about twenty times more intense. When they finally came up for air, Shinji had forgotten what he had been about to say before that. It didn’t take him long to remember however. In fact, it only took one look back at the door to the living room. Hikari and Rei heard a round of applause and turned to the doorway to see Kodama, Kaji, Ritsuko, and Misato clapping and laughing from the glass door. After a moment's shock at having an audience for their little 'demonstration' Hikari and Shinji began to laugh as well. Rei watched all this and had anyone looked, they might have been surprised to see a small smile at the corner of her lips. []====[] []====[] "I'm glad no one has to work in the morning," Shinji told Kaji as he helped the older man clean up the mess. It was almost midnight, and just about everyone else was gone. Rei had left, and Hikari had taken Kodama home. Ritsuko had elected to sleep in Misato's room-- which, thanks to the efforts of Hikari and Asuka earlier that afternoon, was the cleanest it had been since Shinji had moved in. "They will no doubt appreciate that when the hangover kicks in," Kaji agreed as they placed more bottles in a box. "Um... Kaji?" "Yes Shinji?" "Where did Asuka go? I didn’t see her after the three of us stepped outside." Kaji grinned, " well, to tell you I must first swear you to secrecy." "I don’t understand, but alright." "She passed out after her third drink." "You let her drink?" Shinji asked, completely shocked. "It wasn’t a matter of 'allowing' her to do anything," Kaji said with a bemused chuckle, "she was determined to join in the game, and once that girl sets her sights on something its nearly impossible to change her mind." "But still..." "Don't worry Shinji, if she feels anywhere near as bad as some of and the others no doubt will tomorrow morning, I think it will prove a valuable lesson for her-- the girl just can't hold her liquor." "How come you're not drunk?" "Oh I am, but unlike the others I know a few little tricks to keeping my head about me." "What do you mean?" "Hmmm... take Kodama for example. She made the mistake of hitting the beer first thing-- then doing shots with the rest of us later on. Even so, she's not going to be the worst off of us all in the morning. Some people never did learn that you _don’t_ mix around your drinks. Misato didn’t do anything other than beer and tequila, and I stuck to the sake all night. While I will be feeling it tomorrow, I should be better off. Ritsuko on the other hand let the other girls pour her drinks for her... and with Misato that's a mistake." "I'll have to remember that." "Remember this as well," Kaji added, " drinking doesn’t change your mood, it enhances it. If you're in a bad mood when you start, you're going to end up in a worse one. On the other hand-- if you're in a good mood the reverse is true. Just keep that in mind when or if you ever decide to go out drinking." "Thanks Kaji" "Just giving you some of the advice I wish I'd had when I started out." " I appreciate it... um, can I ask you something else?" "Go ahead." "Well you know that I'm seeing Hikari..." "I believe it's been made obvious at this point." "Um... right. Well, sometime after the dance... I wanted to take her somewhere nice for dinner... but I don’t know anywhere that would let us in at our age." "I think I might have a bit of advice-- do you have your Nerv ID card?" "Yes." "Flash that at anywhere in town. If they don’t let you in after that-- tell Misato. I would wager that they will be kissing your feet the next time you show up." "That seems kind of dishonest Kaji..." "It's only dishonest if you abuse it Shinji. Just keep that as a backup plan if anyone gives you trouble. It’s an ace in the hole that you can bring out in emergency." "But how will I know if I'm abusing it? I'd feel bad enough using it to get my way like that in the first place." "That's a very good questions Shinji... and one I'm not really qualified to answer. For now lets just say that it depends mostly on your motives. Sometimes we have to do things that go against our ideas of right and wrong in order to survive. You don’t like to fight, correct?" "No... I don’t." "But you also know that if you don’t fight, then people you know will get hurt or killed." " . . . " "There is no easy answer to this Shinji. I can't advise you on everything, but I can say that you should try whenever possible to do what you feel is right. I had a friend in collage who was a walking encyclopedia of obscure quotes, and there was one I never forgot. 'You have to be one of the good guys, because there are way too many of the bad'. I always thought of that as a good philosophy to try and live by." []====[] []====[] Deep in the center of what had a fifteen years before been the frozen continent of Antarctica, an aircraft carrier sat in the crimson tide surrounded by stalagmite-like pillars of crystallized salt. Second Impact had killed off not only the life on land, but also rendered the sea for miles and miles uninhabitable. Now, a decade and a half later, Nerv had returned to the wasteland to reclaim the tool of it's instrumentality-- the lance of Longinus. "Fuyutski, what is the progress?" Ikari asked as he entered the command deck of the ship Nerv was using as it's base of operations. "The fifth recovery team has located the lance," Kozo replied, "and the other submersibles are on their way to assist." "Very well." "Incidentally, I've been meaning to ask you about something. Is there a problem? You've been distracted for the entire mission." " . . . You know me too well." "Of course, as I recall that _was_ one of the reasons you brought me into all of this. So what is it this time? Something to do with Adam?" "No, Adam's regeneration is, in fact, ahead of schedule." "Seele being a pain in the ass again?" "That is always the case... but no." "Rei then? I hear she has been spending time with the other pilots more often as of late." " . . . " "I see..." Fuyutski said with a nod, " Gendou, do you remember the first day that you saw the clones?" "Of course." "Do you remember what you said to me then? The warning about getting too emotionally attached?" "I remember perfectly. I may have been furious at the time, but I still believe it to be sound advice." "That was understandable, and I do admit that my decision to use Yui's DNA for the Nephelem was a personal one. I made it with no consent from you. However, remember that you did finally agree that my reasoning was sound. The scrolls told us what would be necessary if we were to upset Seele's schedule." "Rei's harmonic tests with Unit One do backed you up, but it was still quite a shock." "I do understand, and never think that it was a decision that was made lightly, but back to my point. I doubt that I need to remind you that Rei has a purpose, and if we are to realize our goal--we need to remember what she is." "As usual you are correct. It is difficult sometimes... she looks so much like Yui that I almost forget that she is not really my child occasionally." "Is that why you moved her?" "Yes and no. The primary motivation was that she was becoming self reliant and there was no longer a need for my constant supervision. We both know that I never did have much time for her, but you are correct in that guess, Professor... as much as she resembles Yui... it was becoming dangerous to stay in such close quarters." "I'm starting to see why her recent interaction with the others is bothering you so much." "Do you?" "Naturally. Remember that I knew Yui longer than you did, and I very clearly recall how full of life she was. The more Rei grows as a person the stronger the resemblance becomes, not to mention the harder it will become on us poor old men who so vividly remember her genetic benefactor." "Perhaps you are correct. However, if that is the case then should we halt it? She will follow the order if it is given, but the question remains-- is it necessary?" "For now I see no harm in it. As long as she keeps her control, and her AT field does not manifest then there shouldn’t be a problem. The scrolls do not warn of it, but we must still be wary of that possibility." "I'm forced to agree I suppose," Gendou said as he leaned back in his chair. Suddenly he broke into a smirk, "Perhaps this will help my image with the staff?" Fuyutski almost laughed aloud, "I doubt much could repair that, old friend. Besides, doesn’t the 'Bastard King' image work to your favor?" "That’s a new one, " Gendou said with a snort. He had no illusions about being loved by his subordinates, and it was a running joke between him and Kozo to try and keep up with the latest insulting pet names that they invented for him. "If I'm not mistaken it was the Second Child who started it," Fuyutski added, "I think it was just after the Eighth Angel." "Leave it to an American to produce the most entertaining insubordination," Gendou said sourly. "So, what are you planning to do about Rei for now?" "For now... I think I'll take your advice and let things be. After all, there is no reason to have _all_ of our pilots despising me." []====[] []====[] The following afternoon, while the residents of the Katsuragi household were dealing with the effects of a hard night of partying, Rei Ayanami was finishing her costume for the dance that night. She was just checking the final stitches when her cell phone rang. Removing it from her school pack she answered. "Yes?" "Good evening Rei," Ritsuko said, "we need you to come down to headquarters, the new module was completed ahead of schedule and we're ready to begin the transfer experiments." "I-- I understand..." Rei said sadly. Had Ritsuko not been still hung over, she would have heard the catch in the girl's voice. Rei hung up the phone and began to remove the Mutio costume she had been planning on wearing to the dance []====[] []====[] Shinji stood in front of Hikari's house and tried to calm himself. He had known to expect this sooner or later, but it didn’t make him any less nervous about it. He took another glance at the driveway where Mr. Horaki's car was sitting and reached out to right the doorbell. He had been surprised that it had taken this long to meet Hikari's father, but at the same time it was something of a relief. The few times he'd had to deal with his own father had _never_ been pleasant. Their yearly meetings at his mother's grave had been tense at best, and those had stopped almost three years ago. He didn’t know how to talk with his own father... how was he going to talk with Hikari's? As the doorbell rang he removed his costume's straw hat, and stood as straight as he could. He wanted to make the best impression possible. Thankfully his costume was a fairly simple one, and he wouldn’t feel too ridiculous. A few moments passed and finally the door opened. Hikari's father was about what Shinji had pictured from her descriptions. Outwardly he fit the typical absent minded scientist mold. Had he been wearing a lab coat the picture would have been complete. He looked at Shinji for a moment before breaking into a smile and inviting him inside. "You must be Shinji. I almost didn’t recognize you without your plugsuit." "Have we met before, Sir?" Shinji asked, a little confused. "hmmm, well not exactly," Mr. Horaki said apologetically, "they called me in to assist during after the injury you received from the Fifth Angel." "Really? Well then I should thank you, sir. I was told I nearly didn’t make it." "Oh, no thanks are necessary. I didn’t actually have anything to do with your rescue. My department was brought in to speed your recovery." "Then I still owe you thanks, Sir. I came out of that better than I had any right too. I still have nightmares about being boiled alive sometimes. I'd imagine they would be worse without your help." "Thank you Shinji, but lets not talk of work tonight. I get so few evenings where I can rest nowadays." "Fair enough Sir" Shinji said with a polite smile. There were no words for how glad he was that things were going so well. "Hikari will be down in a bit. While we're waiting why don’t we talk about what are your plans after this mess is all over?" Mr. Horaki asked as they sat down in the living room. "Its hard to say," Shinji said as he thought back to the last time he had been asked this, "I'm still fairly young." "True," Mr. Horaki agreed, "I didn’t really chose a direction for my life till after Second Impact, I was about twenty at the time. In hindsight that wasn’t a fair question to ask-- especially considering your position with Eva." "Well, its not entirely unfair...when Kodama asked me the same question, Sir, I told her that I'd like to learn to write music. I'm still interested in that." "I admire you for that... We have so few people nowadays that want to create, and I think we need it now more than ever." Shinji was about to agree when the older man looked up at the stairs. Shinji followed his line of sight and saw that Hikari was heading down to join them. Her hair was let down with a ribbon in it, and she was dressed in a black tunic and had-- of all things-- a giant spatula strapped to her back. "Sorry I took so long Shinji." She said as she gave her father a hug. "Don't worry about it hun," Mr. Horaki told her, "it's an old tradition for the young man to sit with the girl's father and be intimidated as she finishes getting ready." Hikari shook her head and took Shinji's hand as she handed her father a camera, "could you get a picture of us in costume before we go?" "Of course," he replied as they stepped against the wall. Once the picture was taken, they thanked him and headed off to the school. As they walked toward the party, Hikari asked Shinji why he had dressed as a samurai. "No offence, but I don’t see where that matches a part of your personality." "Well, when I picked it I had a specific character in mind. I got the idea when I was over at Kensuke's watching movies with him and Touji a while back." "Who is it supposed to be?" "The way they explained it, the character was based on an old legend in the first place, but the movie was called 'wind ninja chronicles'. It was about a Ronin named Jubei who got blackmailed into a war against an army of demons." "Oh, I think I see the parallel now." "Well there was that, but also at the end he decided to fight because he wanted to, not just because he was being forced... he could have taken the easy way out and left, but he stayed and fought." "And you want to be able to do that..." "Basically..." "And here I am picking my costume just because I like to cook" Hikari said--adjusting the bow in her hair with a giggle. []====[] []====[] They could hear the music from a block away, and when they arrived the party was already in full swing. Walking into the gym Shinji was impressed with the work that had gone into the decorations. Somehow they had found the time to transform the entire gym into a cave. It was impressive to say the least. Once they finished gawking at the room they started looking for their friends. They found Kensuke rather quickly. He was wandering around with his camera, dressed in his military fatigues. "Hey Kensuke!" Shinji called over the music, "over here!" Kensuke turned and waved as he made his way through the surprisingly large crowd. Knowing how few students they had, the dance committee had left an open invitation to the other Tokyo Three high schools and junior highs, and several had taken up the offer. "Glad you made it," Kensuke told them as he swept the floor with his camera, " can you believe this turnout?" "Wouldn't miss it," Hikari told him, "and what's the deal with your costume?" "What's wrong with it?" Kensuke asked. "Other than you wear it every other weekend anyway?" Shinji pointed out with a laugh. "Hey, don’t knock it--it was cheep," Kensuke said as he flashed a grin, "call me the ten yen costume king!" "So, why are you filming the party?" Hikari wanted to know. "For the memories, and for blackmail material-- you would never believe what some people dressed as!" A person dressed as a large yellow rodent danced past and Hikari couldn't help but agree with her friend on that one. The costumes some people were wearing didn’t seem to follow any rhyme or reason. Some were based on current movies and anime's, and some like Shinji's and Hikari's were based off of old classics. To their surprise there were even a couple of homemade plug suits. Kensuke finally wandered off and the two made their way over to the snack table where they expected to find at least one of the adults who were chaperoning. Sure enough Misato was keeping an eagle eye on the punchbowl. As the two approached, they saw that she had already confiscated several small bottles of alcohol. Shinji couldn't help but agree with her selection for that post. If anyone were an expert on that type of thing it would be her. Not only that, but any guys trying to spike the punch would first have to peal their eyes off her costume. She was dressed as a cat, and the skintight suit left little to the imagination. She waved them over and flicked Shinji's hat down playfully as they walked up. "Took you long enough," she said smiling, "man, I haven't been to one of these in years... I forgot how much fun they were!" "Have Asuka and Rei arrived yet?" Hikari asked hopefully. "Well Asuka's here, but Rei won't be coming. She had to head down to HQ for some tests." "Is something wrong?" Shinji asked, worried for his friend. "No, just something Ritsu had to take care of. I don’t know the details. Don’t worry though, she's fine" "That's a shame, I think she was looking forward to this..." Hikari said. "Don't sweat it. You guys can take her out or something and make up for it. For now don’t worry. Get out there and have some _fun_ already!" They grabbed some snacks and took Misato's advice. Finding an empty spot at one of the few dozen tables they sat down and watched the mayhem that typically unfolds from a good party. It wasn’t long before they saw Kaji and Asuka walking around. Shinji couldn't say he was surprised by Asuka's costume, but he was impressed with the work that had been put into its design. She was dressed as a Norse Valkyrie, complete with a metallic breastplate, a sword, and a winged headdress. Kaji' costume was harder to place; he was wearing a tuxedo and, to Shinji's surprise, had his ponytail tucked under his collar. "Why does the idea of her as a 'chooser of the slain' bother me so much?" Touji said as he appeared out of the crowd and sat down beside them, "glad I finally found ya, I wondered where you two were hiding." "Hi Touji," Hikari said, "what's your costume? I can't quite place it..." He was wearing a baseball cap and jersey, and was carrying a huge bat, but she couldn’t see any team identification anywhere. He also had a Band-Aid on his nose. "It's from an old fighting game my dad has. The guy uses all these sports attacks." "I think I've seen that at a oldies restaurant," Hikari said, "it’s a school themed game right?" "You got it," Touji replied as he took a sip of his drink, "anyone seen Rei?" []====[] []====[] "Good evening Rei" Ritsuko said as the young girl entered the lab. "Good evening doctor Akagi," Rei replied as she stepped up to the main bank of scanning devices and began to remove her clothes. "We'll be doing a test run on the transfer program tonight, Rei, so it'll be a bit different than normal. We should be done by midnight." "Yes, doctor Akagi," Rei replied, and had Ritsuko not know the girl for almost ten years, she would have missed the slight disappointed note in her voice. "Is something wrong Rei?" "No, doctor Akagi, " Rei said. Ritsuko was surprised to realize that Rei was looking away from her with a slight blush. 'Is she lying to me?' Ritsuko asked herself with a touch of amused shock. It was an interesting development, but not something that would stop the press-- so to speak. It also didn’t take much imagination to figure out why. Misato had been talking her ear off about this party for most of the week, and it was _all_ Asuka had been able to talk about at the previous night's celebration. "I'm sorry I had to call you in at such short notice," Ritsuko said-- testing the waters, "I know that the others were expecting you at the party." Rei's eyes widened a bit and her blush became more pronounced, and Ritsuko had to fight not to smile. According to Misato, Shinji had never developed his father's talent for lying either-- it must be something from the mother's side. At any rate it wouldn't do for the girl to think she was toying with her... "Rei, I really am sorry about this but we are under orders. We can't delay these tests, but-- tell you what, I'll see what I can do to make it up to you, okay?" "I-.... Tha-- thank you." Rei said with a startled look coming over her face. Ritsuko's feelings for the albino girl were complicated. Sometimes she pitied Rei, sometimes she envied her, and there had been times as of late that she hated her. This however, might have been the first time she had ever felt any kind of warmth toward the girl. It was an odd feeling-- considering what she knew. []====[] []====[] As Rei climbed into the large tube and it began to fill with LCL, she thought back to what she had just said to the doctor. 'Thank you.' They were words of gratitude, and they were words she had never spoken before to anyone-- not to Miss Horaki, Major Katsuragi, Pilot Ikari... or even the Commander. Why was that? It was not due to lack of opportunity-- many people as of late had gone out of their way to answer her questions about various things that befuddled her. Perhaps it had more to do with the degree of which she was grateful... That the doctor felt bad about her missing the gathering at the school had been a relief somehow, and she could not quite describe exactly why that was so. []====[] []====[] After awhile the DJ finally decided it was time for a slow song and Hikari turned to Shinji and smiled. "Can you dance?" she asked "Not to the fast stuff, but I think I could handle this." They got up and headed out onto the dance floor. After a moment's awkwardness, Shinji placed an arm around Hikari and they began to dance slowly. At first Shinji had to work hard not to step on her feet, but he soon got the hang of it. He had never done this, and he regretted that he didn’t have much practice. it turned out to be even more fun than he had expected it would. From the edge of the crowd, Kaji watched the two with a smile. He was glad that Shinji seemed to be holding up so well-- the information he had about Eva had indicated that the machines could create mental instabilities in the pilots after time. If Shinji had someone to help him through it, he might make it after all. Asuka was another subject entirely, at the moment she was out on the dance floor alone--and that summed up her situation best. She was alone emotionally and while she seemed to thrive on it, he suspected that her self- imposed isolation from others would be her downfall. He wasn’t always going to be there to look after her, and if she didn’t grow out of her obsession with him soon it was impossible to say just how bad things would get. She refused to let anyone in, and that was a shame. The difficulties the children would soon be facing were something that she would never be able to handle alone. With any luck the kids would make it out alive, but he wouldn’t bet on all of them being in one piece. As he made his rounds, had to grin at the thought of having been put in charge of policing the dancers. According to his instructions, he was to make sure that all the partygoers stayed at least a foot apart and did not dance lewdly. The idea was almost as amusing as Misato being in charge of keeping people from drinking. Obviously the planners of this event were not without a sense of irony. "Hello Mr. Kaji, " called a familiar voice from his left, he looked and found Kodama Horaki moving through the crowd to where he was currently standing. "Please, Miss Horaki, " he said, "the 'mister' is so unnecessary, just call me Kaji, Ryoji Kaji." "Very cute, I suppose you'll be asking me for a dry martini next?" "Nonsense, if I need alcohol then I'll ask Misato," Kaji said with a grin. "That’s a nice costume Asuka," Kodama added as the redhead appeared out of the crowd. Asuka took a look at Kodama's costume and started to laugh. She was dressed in a short back dress, a red beret, and a red jacket. Apparently she had decided to play up on her sister's 'evil twins' joke. "Thank you Kodama," once she got her giggles under control, "I spent a lot of time trying to find the right pieces." "It came out well, I think. Has anyone seen Hikari? I haven't seen her since this afternoon." Kaji broke into another of his trademark grins and pointed to a spot on the dance floor where Hikari and Shinji were currently ignoring everything but the music and one another. Kodama smiled as she saw the two, then let out a short laugh. "Aren't you supposed to be keeping them farther apart than that?" she inquired. "Ah, but if I actually enforced that rule, then Asuka would have to detach herself from my arm... and then she would most likely kill me. So, I think until clothes start being shed I'll ignore a little smooching on the dance floor." "Hey!" Asuka said loudly, realizing that she had just been pseudo-insulted, " why does everyone always think I'm going to be violent? I'm not _always_ violent . . . am I?" Kaji patted her on the shoulder and smiled, "The important thing is _you_ believe that." []====[] []====[] As the song ended, Shinji was about to say something to Hikari when a well-known and dreaded siren cut into the music. The crowd immediately began to panic, and rush the doors, and Hikari was almost separated from Shinji three times as they made their way to Misato's snack table. Asuka was already there, and when the room emptied they began to make their way to the door. As they reached the door and started to head toward Misato's car, Hikari stopped. She had almost forgotten that she couldn’t go with them. Shinji turned to her and frowned-- he was just then reaching the same realization. "Be careful," She told him as she turned to go with the others to the shelters. Before she got too far, Shinji grabbed her hand and stopped her. "Thank you," he said and kissed her. With one last longing look, he turned and joined Asuka and Misato in the car while Hikari watched from the parking lot. As the blue Renaut A301 screeched out of the parking lot, Kensuke lowered his camera and wiped a tear from his eye. "That was beautiful..." he said with a sigh before joining Hikari, who was already hurrying to the shelter. []====[] []====[] "You want us to catch it in our _hands_?" Asuka cried as Misato explained her plan to kill the latest Angel "Yes," Misato told her, " we will position the Evas at the estimated point of impact and use the AT fields to stop its descent." Shinji hadn't actually been listening very much to what Misato had to say. She had placed a projection of the blast radius on the monitor and his entire focus had been directed at one spot. That spot was the shelter where Hikari was right that moment. When the Angel hit, no matter which part of the City it struck-- the shelter was still in the blast zone. "What if the Angel hits outside the projected area?" he asked. "We're still toast," Misato told him, "even with an indirect hit the shockwave will destroy the city and the Geofront." Shinji tuned out again after hearing that. He had known from the beginning that he was fighting to save people-- it was the only way he had been able to keep from abandoning Eva entirely and going back to his uncle. As he looked at the location of the shelter covered in red on the screen, he realized that he had a much more personal reason to do it. "What are our chances of succeeding" he asked when the room went quiet again. "Haven't got a clue, not good though." "If we win, it'll be a miracle!" Asuka said, still trying to assimilate their assignment and keep from screaming at how insane it was 'Then we'll just have to _make_ one happen,' Shinji thought as he took one more look at the blast radius. []====[] []====[] "Hey Asuka?" Shinji asked as they rode the lift to the Cage. "What?" "Why do you do this? Why do you pilot?"" "To show the world how great I am!" Asuka declared with a fierce smile. "So it’s a way to prove to others you exist?" "You could say that," she said with a shrug. Shinji nodded and turned back to the front of the cage. After a moment the curiosity got the better of her and Asuka spoke up again. "Aren't you gonna ask Rei too?" "We've already discussed it" "What, have you been having secret meetings behind Hikari's back?" Asuka asked with a smirk. "Of course not!" Shinji shot back. "Yesh! Scuuuuse me for breathing, Third Child! Okay then if wonder girl is off topic then why do _you_ pilot Eva?" " I didn’t know for a long time, but I think I do now..." Shinji said softly. "Well?" "120 minutes until the estimated time of collision," Maya announced over the PA system. "I'll tell you later," Shinji said as the lift reached their stop. []====[] []====[] "I still hate this thing," he said aloud as he waited for the order to move out. He knew he probably always would too. Despite the fact that his control over the Eva grew daily, there was always a little part of his mind that knew that a beast was hiding inside the armor-- waiting to be let loose again. "The Angel has been sighted" Aoba reported. Shinji looked up at he sky. He could see the twinkling reflection of light off the Angel as its descent began. He remembered what Misato had told him the day of her party-- about her father... and the Angels "All Eva's to your starting positions," Misato called over the communications link. Her feelings toward her father surprisingly mirrored his towards his own. She had tried to hate him for so long, but still couldn't bring herself to fully despise him. She had tried to describe how she had directed all her rage towards him towards the angels. Shinji didn’t know if he could do that. Her father was long dead while his was a constant presence. As grateful as he was to Misato for trying to help him find his purpose... he wondered if he should tell her that it wasn’t necessary anymore. "On your marks," Misato began... 'I have my own reason now,' Shinji thought, 'I have someone I love who is in danger. If I don’t fight-- if I don’t do my best... then she could die. I can't let that happen as long as there is something I can do to prevent it.' "Get set," she continued... So he would hate it, he would fear it, but he wouldn’t run from it. As long as there was something he could do to keep the Angels from hurting anyone he would keep fighting. More to the point, as long as there was a way to keep Hikari safe, he would fight to his dying breath. "GO!" With a renewed sense of purpose, Shinji Ikari charged forward to meet his future head on. []====================[] End of Book One []====================[] Authors Incoherent Babbling: Well, we're at the end of Book One, and from the response I've been getting it looks like y'all like this little yarn! ^_^ One quick note about Hikari's pop. Hikari's about the only character in the cast who isn't screwed in the head somehow ^_^ so I figure her pop can't have been too bad. The costumes... well I tried to go with the classics, (hey you try figuring what's still going to be popular 15 years from now!) but it took me forever to decide on Touji's. its from a game called Rival Schools. I ended up going with it because a couple of the fighters are sports themed, and because one of the ultimate attacks looks like the 'dance like you want to win' sequence. For the record, Shinji was Jubei from Ninja Scroll fame (the costume was _not_ inspired by Jubei chan for the record ^_^ ) Hikari was Ukkyo from Ranma 1/2. (hey, I figured, why not?) In Rei's case the costume was kind of a homage to one of my favorite fics. Her costume- - the character Mutio from Blue Submarine #6-- was inspired by a comment made in Children of an Elder God. As I recall, someone says that Rei seems like a mermaid in one chapter. If you've seen that series (and read that fic) then you ought to see where I got the connection ^_^ I think I got most of the Waff out of my system, so expect things to get bad from here out. The Second Book of Together We Stand is titled: []===================[] Divided We Fall []===================[] Hotwire Chain Lightning Studios http://www.chainlightningstudios.com