The Characters and concept of Neon Genesis Evangelion are property of Gainax. I created this "scenario" in the spirit of the TV series. I made it in the hope that it would open up people's minds and give something to a series that really touched me. This little series that I have created is a piece of fan fiction thought up by yours truly, so if you are going to copy or distribute this work, please give credit where it is due, k? Now enjoy!

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Background:

Okay, if for some reason or another, you have forgotten Chapter Five (you know who you are!) I'll try and bring you up to speed!

It all began with Shinji being caught in a dark padded room, seemingly alone and naked. In response to the boy's confusion a Voice came to him and informed him that Shinji had tried to destroy all that was important to him and NERV had abandoned him to the darkness.

As it turned out, during the most recent Angel attack, Unit 01 was absorbed by the Entity leaving the EVA team to believe the boy dead. Asuka was comforted by Hikaru, while Rei felt the silent need of revenge.

Unit 01 came back, but not in the form it had left. Possessed by the Angel, Unit 01 had been used as a tool of destruction against the remaining three EVAs. Through luck, skill, and the desire to protect those things and people that are most precious to the Third Child, Shinji had managed to spare his fellow teammates at the cost of his own body and mind.

When all seemed lost, so far lost that Ritsuko set things into motion to kill Shinji, Rei appeared and destroyed the Angel, allowing Shinji Ikari to survive...

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(The light of another day touches the modern-day fortress of Tokyo-3. While some are just returning home now from long shifts within the depths of NERV Central, others are just awakening...some quicker than others.)

Pen-Pen (happily): Squaw! Squaw!

(The wild sounds of the warm-water penguin makes a sleepy Shinji Ikari blink lazily as he pushes open his door.)

Shinji (scratching his head): What the hell is he up to?

(The boy walks slowly toward the kitchen, bent slightly over, not unlike an old man. His bare feet slap lightly against the apartment floor. Shinji looks around the kitchen and sees no Pen-Pen.)

Pen-Pen (along with some clapping): Squaw! Squaw! Squaw!

(The boy turns toward the main room of the apartment and walks into the daylight pouring in from the window behind the TV.)

Shinji (confused): Pen-Pen?

Pen-Pen (chiding): Squaw. Squaw!!

(Shinji looks down and finds the penguin sitting on one of the large, sitting pillows in front of the TV. The small creature has a pair of VR goggles strapped over his eyes and sensors placed on his flippers.)

Shinji: Pen-Pen! That is Asuka's!

Pen-Pen (waving a flipper back at him): Squaw.

Shinji (leaning down, peering at the penguin's face): Just how long have you been at that game?

Pen-Pen: Squaw.

Shinji: I'm sure that the designers of Fear Night VX didn't have penguins in mind when they made it.

Pen-Pen (disgruntled): Squaw.

Shinji: Did you get Asuka's permission before you started playing?

Pen-Pen (hesitant): Squaw.

Shinji (narrowing his eyes): Do you remember what had happened the last time you used her hair-dryer without her permission! Need I remind you that I get in trouble, too?

(The penguin shrugs.)

Shinji (snatching the VR goggles off the bird's head, snapping): Give me that!

Asuka (growling, very softly): Shinji...what are you doing with my Gaming Navigator?

(Shinji jumps and spins around to face the girl. She is still in her baggy, yellow night-shirt and her hair is sticking at strange angles around her head. Her hands are on her hips and she is leaning toward the Third Child. The boy follows the redhead's glare to the goggles and looks over his shoulder in time to see Pen-Pen scamper out of the TV room.)

Shinji (turning quickly back to Asuka): I-It wasn't me! I-I would never use anything of yours-

Asuka (her eyes blazing): My stuff's not good enough for the invincible Shinji Ikari?!

Shinji (waving in hands in front of himself): I-I never said that! I-I...oh, crap...help!!

(With that Shinji turns and bolts out of the TV room with Asuka hot on his tracks.)

Asuka (shouting): You had better run, Third Child! I'll teach you to use something of mine without permission!!

(The two Children rush by Misato Katsuragi's door. A second later, the Major opens the door, scratching her stomach through her loose shirt.)

Misato (yawning): Good morning...is breakfast ready?

(She blinks when she hears the water running in the bathroom, then shrugs.)

Misato: I guess it's my turn-

Asuka (calling from the bathroom): Misato, stay out of the kitchen! Baka Shinji is going to be making breakfast in a second!

(The girl's words are accompanied by a series of violent splashes. Misato shrugs and pads toward the TV room. It is only a few minutes later when Asuka comes into the kitchen combing water out her hair with her fingers.)

Misato: You're up early, Asuka.

Asuka (thumbing over her shoulder): Blaming it on that dork! He walks around the apartment making enough racket that I'm shocked the neighbors don't complain!

Misato (looking around Asuka's shoulder): Did you take a bath, Shinji?

Shinji (toweling himself off): Not voluntarily, that's for sure.

Misato (confused): What do you mean?

(The Major sees Asuka cast a burning scowl in Shinji's direction and he quickly turns away to wring the hem of his shirt into the kitchen sink.)

Shinji: N-Nevermind, it's not important.

Misato (thoughtful): Hmmm.

(Shinji begins moving around the kitchen efficiently while Asuka takes a seat at the table.)

Asuka (picking up one of the beer cans from the table and tosses it toward the trash can): Hikari and I will be heading over to that new skin-care shop that just opened up after school. So, don't wait up, Misato.

(A sly grin from Asuka.)

Asuka (coyly): Do you want to come with, Ikari?

Shinji (ducking his head at the mention of his name): Huh?

(Asuka braces her elbows on the table and folds her hands in front of her. Leaning forward, she rests her chin on her hands, batting her vivid blue eyes at the Third Child. Shinji feels the color flooding his cheeks even before Asuka opens her mouth.)

Asuka (sweetly): Don't you want to see how I keep my skin so soft and smooth?

(Asuka lifts up her right arm and caresses it from the back of her hand to her biceps.)

Asuka (her eyes flashing): Maybe I will even let you rub some lotion on me...

Shinji (shuttering): I...ah...I-

Asuka (grinning): Scared, Third Child? Afraid I'm too much woman for you?

(Shinji blushes brightly while Misato sips calmly at her beer.)

Shinji: I-I, well, that is...

(Suddenly, he remembers and he closes his eyes against the coming storm.)

Shinji: I-I'm taking Hikaru to the Museum of Traditional Arts-

Asuka (outraged): You're WHAT?!

Shinji: She asked-

Asuka (hissing): When?

Shinji: Yesterday. She said it's something she always wanted to see.

(Shinji keeps his eyes closed. He doesn't want to see the strike that is sure to come.)

Asuka (softly): I'm sure she did.

Shinji: ...

Asuka (sneering): And you were oh so ready to take her!

Shinji (opening his eyes): Why not? She's my friend.

(Asuka is stopped dead by that. She can feel the horrible rage building inside her and she wants to cut Shinji Ikari down.)

Asuka (thinking): How dare you do this to me?!

Asuka (snapping): Fine, then! Go on your date with that little bitch! You deserve each other!

Shinji (taking a step toward Asuka): Asuka, don't call her names. It's not a date-

Asuka (viciously): Liar! You are just like everyone else!!

(Asuka spins away from a speechless Shinji and a frowning Misato.)

Asuka (running out of the kitchen): I hate you, Shinji Ikari!

(Shinji pales, but he stands silently as Asuka stomps through the apartment and slams her room's door behind her.)

Misato (quietly): I'm sure she will be back to her normal self in an hour.

Shinji: ...

Misato (looking over at the Third Child): ...you really care about what she says-

Shinji (turning away): Would you like another beer, Misato?

Misato (after a long pause, gazing at Shinji's stiff shoulders): No thank you, I think I've had enough.

Shinji: ...

(The boy turns back to the sink and begins to make breakfast for three. Even as he does so, he knows one serving is going to be stored in the fridge for later...)

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(Knocking)

(Touji snoring)

(More knocking)

Touji (sleepily): Ugghh...go...away...

Young voice (shouting through the door): Touji!! I'm not your answering service! You have a phone call!

Touji (burying his face in his pillow): Tell them...to call back!

Young voice (sly): Even if it's...Hikari?

(The boy's eyes snap open.)

Young voice (sighing regretfully): Oh well-

Touji (jumping out of bed): Hidaka, don't you dare!

(Touji's feet get caught up in his sheets and he falls face down on the floor. His little sister's giggling mocks him as she walks back toward the kitchen.)

Touji (shouting): Hidaka! I swear to God I'm going to kill you if-

(Touji throws open his door to find his little sister on the other side, a big, innocent smile on her face, a cordless phone in one hand, held out to him. The boy glares daggers at the pretty, dark-haired girl as he accepts the phone and eases it carefully to his ear.)

Touji (nervously): H-Hello?

Hikari (calmly): Touji?

Touji (covering his eyes with a hand): Yes, Hikari?

Hikari (shouting): If you even touch a hair on your precious sister's head, I will murder you!

Touji (thinking): Hikari's been spending too much time with Asuka...

Touji (laughing nervously): W-Well, I was just playing around...you know how siblings are...right?

Hikari (skeptical): Humph!

(Touji walks down the main hallway of the apartment, coming to the kitchen. Little Hidaka is standing on a stool in front of the stove, making the siblings' breakfast and lunch. She looks over her shoulder, her eyes sparkling with laughter. Touji scowls at the girl and turns toward the kitchen window next to the table.)

Touji: Um...was there something you needed, Hikari?

Hikari: ...well, I'm not sure if I want to ask, now that I know what sort of person you really are!

Touji: Oh, come on, Hikari! I-

Hidaka (calling over her shoulder): Hikari, please forgive my brother! He really needs someone like you to keep him in line!

Hikari: ...!

Touji (growling, covering the mouth-piece): Thanks a lot, Hidaka!

Hidaka (her best cutie face on): No problem, big brother!

Hikari (sighing): She's right, you know.

Touji (collapsing into a chair at the kitchen table, groaning): Everyone is against me...

Hikari: Hmmm, maybe I will take pity on you this one time.

(Touji hears the softening of Hikari's voice and he whispers into the mouth-piece)

Touji (softly): Please do.

(There is a shocked silence on the other side of the line and Touji can almost picture that cute blush spreading across Hikari's cheeks.)

Hikari (sighing as if it is a great effort): Oh, all right! Touji, I was calling to see if you wanted to walk me to school. I mean...if it isn't too much trouble...

(Touji feels his heart pause and he closes his eyes.)

Touji (quietly): Sure, Hikari, I'll see you in five minutes.

Hikari (softly, but her voice obviously happy): Good...I'll be waiting!

(Touji nods and looks out the window. A black car sitting in the street below his window catches the boy's attention. He frowns when the car suddenly revs its engine and quietly drives away.)

Hikari (concerned over his sudden silence): Touji? Are you okay?

Touji (looking after the car, slowly): I...I think so.

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(Shinji sighs as he walks slowly behind Asuka. The girl walks with a queen's pride ahead of the Third Child, refusing to even acknowledge his existence. It has been like this since they had left the apartment. Shinji is sure that Asuka won't have even taken her lunch if she didn't like going hungry midday.)

Asuka (voice cool): What are you doing here, Wonder Girl?

(Shinji's head snaps up and he finds Rei waiting at the corner of the intersection ahead of the two. The sunlight plays delicately over the girl's serene, eternal features, her crimson gaze settling on the Second and Third Children.)

Rei: ...I do not wish to walk alone.

Asuka (blinking): You don't?

(Silence)

Asuka (shrugging): Humph! Do as you please! I don't care!

Rei: ...

(The three Children walk in complete silence. The sounds of birds chirping and trains running seem unusually loud to Shinji. He isn't used to Asuka giving him the silent treatment. Normally, it is all he can do to have a few quiet moments with her around. But this time...this time he is finding the silence louder than the noise. After a few moments, the boy can't take it any longer.)

Shinji (frustrated): What do you want me to do, Asuka?! Not go?!

(Ahead, Asuka blinks and her breath hesitates. Then, her brows draw together, her pride hardening her.)

Asuka: Rei, tell that idiot next to you that I'm not talking to him!

(Rei looks at Shinji, then around him, confused. Asuka's growl of annoyance makes the First Child look at her again.)

Asuka: I'm meant Shinji!

Rei (turning her head to Shinji): Asuka says that she is not talking to you, Shinji.

Shinji (face grim): Could you please tell Asuka that this is just a thing between friends! It is nothing to go wild about!

Rei (turning her head toward the Second Child): Pilot Soryu, Shinji says that this thing is between friends. It is nothing to go wild about.

Asuka (yelling over her shoulder): I don't care! Why should I care?! Tell baka Shinji that he can be with that bitch all he wants! I don't give a damn!

Rei (to Shinji): She said-

Shinji (quietly): You don't have to repeat it, Rei. I heard her.

(Shinji gazes at Asuka for a long moment.)

Shinji (softly): I don't want to hurt you, Asuka.

(Asuka stops in the middle of the sidewalk and is completely silent. She suddenly turns on the First and Third Children.)

Asuka: Rei, tell that dummkopf that I hate him! I wish he would just go away!

Rei (continuing walking while the Second and Third Children are still): ...I cannot...

Asuka (her fierce scowl turning from a stricken Shinji to a calm Rei): Why the Hell not?!

Rei (pausing beside the redhead, softly): Because it is not true.

Asuka: ...!

(Rei returns her eyes to the sidewalk ahead of her and continues walking toward school, moving past a stunned Asuka without a sound. Asuka blinks and finds Shinji gazing at her. Asuka grits her teeth and stomps her foot.)

Asuka (shouting): Don't look at me like that!!

(With that said, the girl stalks across the street to the opposite sidewalk. There, she storms toward school, leaving Shinji alone. The breeze stirs the leaves overhead and finally Shinji speaks.)

Shinji (sighing): I don't understand women.

(With that said, he makes his way after two of the important women his life.)

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Seele (softly): I'm not sure if this was a wise use of the last sample...what if the Project is a failure?!

Seele: We don't have that choice anymore. The woman has let emotions cloud her judgement. And we are running out of time.

Seele: It is dangerous...what if we lose control, especially considering where this one came from-

Seele: That possibility is one that just will not happen. The training was excellent.

Seele: The subject is perfect.

Seele: Still, there is the matter of the First. There are many similarities-

Seele: This mission will get us the answers we need on that matter.

Seele (cautious): What the Messager is detected? That is a very real possibility!

Seele: The Messager understands. The tests have been countless. The results are before you.

Seele: ...How the mighty have fallen-

Seele (firm): We aren't finished by a long shot. This little...outing is sure to shake Ikari a little bit.

Seele: We cannot go back now. This is the beginning of Man's Ultimate Destiny...

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Touji (grinning): You dog...

Kensuke (nodding, arms crossed, eyes closed): I respect your courage! I can't believe that you would have the nerve to rub Asuka's nose in it!

Shinji (shaking his head): It's not like that at all! Hikaru just wanted to see the Museum! No one else has ever wanted to go with me-

(The three boys are in the classroom. It hadn't taken long at all for Shinji's "date" to get around to all his classmates. The boy is positive that Asuka hasn't opened her mouth. It seems that she is taking this as an insult...for some reason. Shinji's brow furrows in thought as he tries to figure out who has leaked the "date" to his fellow students.)

Touji (sly): You just keep telling yourself that, Ikari. Just be sure that you give us all the juicy details tomorrow!

(Touji is sitting on top of the desk next to Shinji's, his grin almost savage. He still hasn't forgotten his bitter defeat at Asuka's hands in the Volleyball match. Kensuke is leaning against the desk beside Touji, a NERV VTOL craft model in his left hand, which he is now tapping against his thigh in thought.)

Kensuke: Trust us, you are far better off with Hikaru! Who wants to be with a girl who can kick your ass?!

Shinji (brows shooting up): What are you talking about?!

Touji (stunned): You don't know?! My God, you are dense, Ikari!

Shinji: ...?

Kensuke (eyes wide behind his glasses): You mean you don't know that you and Asuka-

Hikaru: Hi, Shinji!

(All three boys jump, since they hadn't seen or heard the girl come up on them. Hikaru's hands are folded behind her back and she is leaning down, smiling into Shinji's face. Shinji blushes.)

Shinji: H-Hi, Hikaru.

(Hikaru looks into Shinji's eyes and the boy finds himself dazzled by the amazing shade of violet that is the girl's irises.)

(Touji and Kensuke grin at each other like proud parents.)

Asuka (growling): Well, isn't this a sweet scene!

(Kensuke's and Touji's faces fall as they are surprised by the sudden appearance of Asuka. Shinji groans and lays his head down on the desk.)

(Hikaru narrows her eyes and straightens to meet the Second Child's burning glare.)

Hikaru (stiffly): What do you want?

(Asuka grits her teeth.)

Asuka: Don't take that attitude with me, Sixth Child! I am well aware of your kind! Don't think that you have won just yet!

Hikaru (stiffly): "My kind?"

Asuka (smirking darkly): Yeah, the loose kind, you slu-

Hikari (calling from the front of the class): All rise!

(The old, teacher is just making his less than grand entrance. If Hikari hadn't been watching for it, she would have missed it. She sighs in silent relief that the teacher's appearance, for once, has served some sort of purpose.)

Asuka (glaring at Hikaru as she returns to her seat): We will finish this later, Sixth Child...

Hikaru (her eyes flashing): I'm sure we will. I'll look forward to it!

(Asuka snorts and bows with the rest of the class to the teacher, per instructions.)

Shinji (his voice muffled, since he still has his face buried in his arms): Oh, God...

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Ritsuko: ...

(Unit 01's eyes seem to be watching her...as they had been so long ago.)

Ritsuko (quietly): We rebuild you again and again. When will it be enough? When will it be the last time.

(The eyes are telling no tales. They seem cold, observant, as if watching a bug under glass.)

Gendo: When it has served its purpose. That is when it will be enough, Dr. Akagi.

(Ritsuko starts, having not heard the Commander come up behind her. She looks over her shoulder.)

Ritsuko: When will that be?

Gendo: ...you are full of questions today, aren't you?

Ritsuko: Isn't it natural for a character to know when her chapter is over?

Gendo (softly): A character...

(The two are silent, the sounds of the EVA reconstruction echoing through the armored chamber.)

Ritsuko (turning to Gendo): You always seem so in control, yet, I feel that things are not as they seem-

Gendo: Things are moving forward, as they should.

Ritsuko: But as they were planned?

Gendo: ...

Ritsuko (softly): Rei has changed, hasn't she?

(Gendo lifts his head and gazes at Unit 01's grinning mask.)

Ritsuko: That's why she can't synchronize with the Du-

Gendo: There is...another.

Ritsuko (her breath pausing): Another?!

Gendo (his eyes hidden in the glare from his glasses): Yes.

Ritsuko: You can't be serious! After what happened with Rei, you are willing to try again?!

Gendo: ...it might be the only way that we can survive now.

Ritsuko (quietly): I didn't think that was an issue anymore.

Gendo: That man's evolution has come to an end? That we can go no further-

Ritsuko (fierce): I never believed you on that point! The human being may be many things, but we have never stopped changing!

(Silence.)

Gendo (softly): You are the last person I would have thought to say that.

Ritsuko: ...

Gendo (sighing as he turned toward the exit): Perhaps...in the beginning that was true. But no longer. Unless a time comes soon when we no longer need the Evangelions, we will all pass from memory and a new Eden will grow in this place.

(The door opens and closes behind the Commander. Ritsuko is once more alone. With a small shiver, she looks over her shoulder at the twisted vision of the EVA.)

Ritsuko (quietly): Some savior...

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(Shinji doesn't know what to do. Asuka has that glint in her eye and Hikaru merely grins in return. It has been the source of cyber-chatter all day long. It is something that holds back the instant boredom the teacher's continuous, monotonic ramblings about the Second Impact. Yet, it is also something that is making Shinji Ikari sick to his stomach. He doesn't want anyone to get hurt over him. The very concept of such a thing seems ridiculous to the Third Child.)

Shinji (bowing his head, sighing): ...

(Suddenly, his laptop chimes and he looks up. He has a message.)

To: S. Ikari

From: H. Horaki

"So, what are you going to do about this, Ikari?"

(Shinji blinks and looks over his shoulder at Hikari. When he finds her glaring at him, he turns quickly back to his keyboard.)

To: H. Horaki

From: S. Ikari

"What do you mean?"

Hikari: "About Asuka and Hikaru! God, are you as dense as Asuka always says you are?!"

Shinji: "No. What am I supposed to do about this?"

(There is a long pause and finally, Hikari writes.)

Hikari: "How about this. At the end of class, I will distract Asuka. In the meantime, you will get Hikaru OUT OF HERE! I've never seen Asuka so angry before."

Shinji (sighing): "You don't live with her."

Hikari: "Shinji! That's not nice!"

Shinji: "But it can be the truth sometimes."

(Pause.)

Hikari: "Well, are we agreed then? Will you do this?"

Shinji (nodding): "Yes. I don't want them hurt anymore than you do."

(A very long pause.)

Hikari: "I'm sorry, Shinji."

Shinji (thinking): So am I.

--------------

Teacher (droning): That was when I saw the light. If I had looked at it any longer I'm sure I would have been blinded-

(The last bell rang overhead, interrupting the teacher. He looks a bit confused by this, but then looks down at his students.)

Teacher: I suppose this is all for today.

(The old man stands and shuffles toward the door, unaware, as always, of the small celebration that erupts at the end of his lectures.)

Asuka (standing up): About damned time-

Hikari (loudly): Oh, there you are, Asuka!

(Asuka blinks and looks over at her friend. The other girl is a little flushed in the cheeks and her eyes are very bright.)

Asuka (confused): Hi, Hikari. What's up?

Hikari (coming to stand in front of Asuka): I was just wondering about how we were going to get to the mall?

Asuka (brows lifting): You are? Aren't you the one that pointed the place out to me?

Hikari (rubbing her lower lip thoughtfully): Now that you mention it...

Asuka (shaking her head): You're strange sometimes. Now if you will excuse me for a second-

(Asuka looks around Hikari's shoulder and her eyes widen in shock. Hikaru's desk is empty; the girl is gone for the day. Asuka's suddenly furious gaze turns to Shinji's desk and finds the same. Asuka's eyes finally turn to Hikari.)

Asuka (softly): What have you done..?

Hikari (clasping her hands together in front of her): Please, Asuka, don't be mad! It is my duty to keep people from fighting-

Asuka (snarling): Now that bitch has Shinji all to herself! Damn it!

(Asuka grabs her bag and runs out of the classroom. Hikari only hopes that Shinji had enough time...)

------------

(Shinji looks over his shoulder at the school nervously.)

Hikaru: Now, what is this about, Shinji? What was so important that you dragged me out of class, almost running the teacher down in the process?

Shinji (nervously): Well, you see...

Hikaru (looking down at Shinji's hand, which was wrapped around her wrist): I don't mind going anywhere with you, but I did have a thing to settle with Asuka-

Shinji (sadly): Hikaru, I dragged you out here because...I didn't want you two fighting.

Hikaru: ...!

Shinji: I really don't like fighting, especially when it is over me. I don't want either of you to be hurt. Please...don't be angry.

(Shinji comes to a halt when Hikaru stops walking. He doesn't look back at her, afraid of seeing fury in the girl's eyes. The shops lining the street around them are silent, despite the fact that they are all open. In the distance, somewhere, he can hear the sound of an airliner roaring toward some unknown destination.)

Hikaru (softly): Shinji...

(The girl walks around so that she can see his face. He looks up at her cautiously and finds her smiling brightly.)

Hikaru: Of the two of us, you chose to sneak me out with you, rather than Asuka.

Shinji (blinking): Huh?

Hikaru (taking his hand gently between her own): You are so sweet. I don't like Asuka thinking I'm a coward, but I will deal with it for you.

Shinji: ...!

(Smiling serenely, Hikaru begins to tow Shinji in the direction of the Museum of Traditional Arts. After a few steps, Shinji falls in besides the Sixth Child. Hikaru grasps his hand intimately at the palm and walks closely to Shinji. After a few moments, Shinji looks over at Hikaru's pretty face. The girl is smiling happily and he feels the knot in his stomach loosen. He sighs and allows himself to relax next to her, enjoying the walk for the first time since they had left school.)

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(A filled bath sits steaming before the blonde-haired Lieutenant.)

Natasha (growling): We couldn't just have a shower, could we? Had to go full Japanese, didn't we? What I won't give for an apartment with a shower!

(With a frustrated sound, Natasha slowly eases her lean, compact frame into the hot waters. She bites her lip to keep from howling. She has made her bath too hot...again!)

Natasha (pouting): Stupid bathtubs...

(FLASHBACK: Man's voice: But bathtubs are so much more personal! Intimate!

Natasha (sighing): But I'm used to showers. I shower every day, not bathe!

Man's voice (chuckling): Well, you had better get used to it. Plus...you can't put candles around a shower. You can't get...romantic in a shower...

Natasha (giggling): Well...I guess there is an up side-

(Present)

Natasha: I hate baths!

(She eases herself back and lays her head against the end of the tub. She turns her eyes to the pale ceiling over her and forces herself to relax in the heat.)

Natasha (thinking): All's quiet on the front...what are the old men up to now?

(Natasha reaches over and grabs a wash cloth from the side of the tub.)

Natasha (thinking): They are so impatient. Eccentric.

(An image of Gendo Ikari flashes in her mind.)

Natasha (thinking): Dangerous. I've been getting sloppy.

(FLASHBACK: Man's Voice: You are always so formal! So crisp! What, are you fresh out of military school?

Natasha (embarrassed): I-It's my job, sir!

Man: So, it's the uniform? What about when you are out of it? What are you like, then?

Natasha (outraged): I-I'm sure that's none of your business!

Man (chuckling): You are so fun to tease! You get the cutest blush that runs across your cheeks!

Natasha: I don't believe I'm having this conversation!

Man: You'll get used to it.

Natasha (shocked): What?!

Man (laughing): We have a long road ahead of us!

Natasha: That's one thing we agree on!

(Present)

Natasha (quietly): He never knew when to quit... Damn him. I have too much of him living in my heart...my soul. It'll get me killed some day.

(Suddenly, the woman growls.)

Natasha (darkly): I always get this way in the bath!

(She suddenly ducks her head under the water and begins soaping it up. Natasha comes to the surface with a gasp and red cheeks.)

Natasha (shouting aloud): Enough, already! I have no clue how Hikaru can stand this for more than a few moments!

(Natasha hops out of the bath and begins toweling off. Wrapping a towel around herself, she begins to make her way out of the bathroom. She pauses, however, when she sees that her ring is off. Turning back toward the bathtub, she sees it sitting on the rim of the tub. Sighing, she walks toward it and reaches out. Her fingers accidentally bump the eloquent ring and it falls into the tub, rolling toward the drain. With a shout, Natasha lunges for the ring. It dances through her fingers, bouncing off the steel of the drain.)

Natasha (wailing): No!!

(She stumbles into the tub again, banging her shoulder against the side. She grunts with pain, but her eyes never move from the spinning ring. Her hand snaps out just as it balances on the rim and slaps it against the bottom of the tub. Natasha's frantic breathing is the only sound in the bathroom as she gazes at the glittering ring resting beneath her fingers. With a trembling grasp, the woman picks up the ring and kisses it tenderly.)

Natasha (softly, choked): I thought I lost you...

(After a few seconds in her twisted state, Natasha pulls herself out of the tub and slides the ring carefully back onto her right, ring finger. She rubs her right shoulder ruefully as she glares at the bathtub, as if it is to blame for her pain. She finally turns with a snort and marches towards the main room.)

Natasha: Damned thing...

(Her eyes catch a glare from the red sun outside. She turns her head toward the computer sitting on a small desk in the kitchen.)

Natasha (slowly): I've been lazy in my duties, but I have more to worry about now than just myself... Maybe, it's time to go back to work...

------------------------------------------------

(The food-court is pretty crowded. People are laughing, talking, and calling to and at each other. The place is nice, with tables shaded by multi-colored umbrellas. The floor is made of weathered cobble-stones and it surrounded by a country-like, circular stone wall that comes to a person's waist. Children play balancing games and tag on the wall, giggling and shouting rare sounds of amusement within the boundaries of Tokyo-3.)

Hikari (thinking): Now where is that girl?

(The Class Representative looks at the crowds around her, trying to find a redhead in the crowd. It is pretty easy, since red hair is kind of rare in Japan. She hurries over to the Second Child, who has chosen to sit at a table under a big, sun umbrella near the edge of the court. She completely ignores the secret, admiring looks she gets from most of the guys in the area, content to stare at her can of green tea.)

Hikari (setting her cup of instant noodles on the metal-linked table): Oh, come on, Asuka! How long are you going to be like that?!

Asuka (quietly): I still can't believe you.

Hikari (sitting down across from her friend): I couldn't have you splattering a fellow classmate's guts all over the room! How would that make me look?

Asuka: It was none of your business, Hikari. It was between the Rookie and me.

(Hikari sighs and breaks her chopsticks apart.)

Hikari: What is it that she did?

Asuka (looking up, blue fire appearing in her eyes): What do you mean?

Hikari (sipping up a long noodle): Weren't you the one that told me, "I don't give a damn about that baka, Shinji! Why would I have any interest in that pervert?!"

Asuka (grim): ...

Hikari (peeking over at the Second Child): Have you ever told him?

Asuka: ...?

Hikari: About your...feelings?

Asuka (sipping her tea, calmly): What feelings?

Hikari (thinking): Was I wrong?

Hikari: T-The feelings that you have for Ikari?

Asuka (stirring her tea around with a flick of her wrist): Pure, unadulterated hatred?

Hikari (sighing): Asuka....

Asuka (looking away that Tokyo-3's bordering hillsides): I have no clue what you are talking about.

Hikari (softly): And you wonder why he goes on a date with the other girl...

Asuka (her eyes blazing to life): He's just like every other guy! A girl flashes him a smile and he heels like a goddamned dog!

Hikari: ...have you given him any other option? You haven't exactly been nice to him-

Asuka (taking a long gulp of her tea): Why should I?! So he can throw it back in my face?!

Hikari (whispering): Have you ever given him a choice?

Asuka (eyes snapping wide): A-A choice?

(FLASHBACK: Hikaru (slowly shaking her head): ...he will have a choice.

(Present)

Asuka (thinking): She couldn't have meant that! But what if...

Asuka (jumping to her feet): Hikari, where the hell is the Museum of Traditional Arts?!

Hikari (grinning up at Asuka, thinking): Good girl...

------------------------------------------------

(The Museum of Traditional Arts is located in a quiet district on the west part of Tokyo-3. Shinji and Hikaru walk slowly toward the large structure. Their eyes move over the simple eloquence of the museum grounds. The main gate that faces the street opens up into a well-kept garden. The building itself was done in a fashion that would remind one of an old fashioned Shinto Temple. Its sloping faded roof has seen better days. It hangs over the small, engawa [veranda] that wraps around the Museum building. The Cherry trees, that line the inner wall of the courtyard, are in bloom and their petals fall like tears to the ground. Shinji hears Hikaru sigh and he glances over at her.)

Hikaru (her cheeks pink): Oh, don't mind me! This is just so...romantic!

(Her eyes slant over to him.)

Hikaru: Don't you think so...Third Child?

Shinji (blushing, but trying to hide it): I-uh-well, um...yeah.

Hikaru (laughing as she claps her hands before her): I knew you were a romantic!

Shinji: ...

(Hikaru catches his hand again and pulls him toward the entrance ahead of them. As they come closer to the doorway, they can see old, metal statues standing guard on either side. The two Children climb the old, wooden stairs quietly, since they sense that the place demands respect.)

Hikaru (quietly, but her excitement bubbling): So, you've been here before?

Shinji (looks over at narrow-eyed, cast-gold dragon standing beside the door): Yeah...it was a long time ago. Just around the time I first came to Tokyo-3.

Hikaru (glancing over at Shinji, sensing a certain darkness gathering around the Third Child): Really? I didn't know that you had much free time on your hands when you first came. You had training and you had to get settled-

Shinji (sliding open the door for Hikaru, sadly): It was after...the Fourth Angel attacked.

(Hikaru blinks and remains silent, sensing there is more.)

Shinji: E-Everyone expected so much of me! I...I couldn't take it...

Hikaru (softly): You ran away.

Shinji: ...yes.

(The two Children walk down the main hallway. The corridor is dimly lit, except around the wall tapestries on display. Tiny, high-powered display lamps, hidden in the gloom of the ceiling- supports, glow down on beautiful, hand-made cloths. Some came from India, others came from China and Tibet. One particularly colorful tapestry catches young Ikari's eye. When he pauses besides the cloth, Hikaru stops as well and looks up at the artwork. It is a complex, twisting, sliding design of a Phoenix, screaming even as it is reborn in flames of red and gold.)

Hikaru: But you've gotten past it. You are stronger than you were...

Shinji (suddenly): Am I? Sometimes, I'm not so sure.

Hikaru: ...

Shinji: Sometimes, I'm scared as ever. I just want to get away from this place...and never look back.

Hikaru (softly): You won't be human if you didn't feel afraid sometimes. We risk our lives often enough...

Shinji (looking over at the Sixth Child): Hikaru...

(The two of them continue into the reception area of the Museum. An old, gnarled man sits on a stool behind the simple, curving desk.)

Shinji (tentatively): Um...excuse me?

(Snoring)

Shinji (taking a step toward the man): Excuse me?

Hikaru (smiling at Shinji, as she reached around the old man's arm on the desk): Allow me.

(With a quick flick of her wrist, she taps the bell on the desk. The old man almost falls of his stool at the sharp sound and blinks sleepily at the two Children before him.)

Old man (dazed): Huh? What's going on here?

(When the two continue to just stare at him, he scratches the back of his balding head and leans forward to get a better look at them.)

Old man (his eyes widening): Oh! H-How can I help you?

Shinji (reaching into his pocket for money): Er...we would like two passes, please.

Old man (stunned): You would?

(Silence)

Old man (slapping the table): Well, of course, you would!

Hikaru (smiling kindly): Business slow?

Old man (sighing as he took Shinji's and Hikaru's admission fee from the boy): Yeah, not that there are many people in the area to begin with. It's my belief that people just don't want to remember how it used to be.

Hikaru: Well, don't you worry. Shinji and I are a pair of romantics! We love this sort of thing!

Shinji (blushing again): Hikaru!

(Hikaru giggling.)

(The old man grins in understanding.)

Old man: Ah, to be young... Well, you two, take all the time you want. If you have any questions or need anything, just give a holler...or ding that bell again.

Hikaru (winking at Shinji): You bet. Come on, Third Child.

------------------------------------------------

(The halls of NERV Central can be unnaturally quiet at times. Misato looks about herself as she walks with Ritsuko.)

Misato (softly): You know, sometimes, this place gives me the creeps.

Ritsuko (looking down at her clipboard): Hmmm.

Misato: I don't think it's natural for a place to be so quiet.

Ritsuko: Go to a cemetery.

(Silence)

Misato (glancing over at her friend): Maybe that's the problem...

Ritsuko (looking at Misato over the rims of her reading glasses): Yeah...

(Silence)

Misato (looking ahead again): So...you're positive?

Ritsuko: That Shinji's all right? Yes, as impossible as it seems, once the Angel retreated, it retreated until it was nothing more than a mass of goo in the containment chamber.

Misato (trying for a smile): "A mass of goo?" Is that a technical term?

Ritsuko (sighing): I could give you a sample. It's like that stuff that you could to find in those antique lava lamps.

(Misato chuckling)

Misato: I'm not sure if you want to put that into your report.

Ritsuko (tongue in cheek): Um, no.

(Silence)

Misato (a pair of double doors opens before the two of them, revealing two parallel, sliding tracks): It's hard to believe...such a thing almost killed Shinji.

Ritsuko: ...

Misato (looking over at Ritsuko): Something wrong?

Ritsuko: ...

(Misato opens her mouth, but something blue catches her eye. She turns her head and sees Rei sitting on one of the metal platforms that look over the tracks. The girl is engrossed in a schoolbook in front of her. She does not notice the two women below her.)

Misato (waving a hand, calling): Hey! Rei! I've been looking for you!

(Rei looks up and gazes down at the Major as she jogs over to the platform, leaving a bemused Ritsuko Akagi behind.)

Rei (quietly): Then why didn't you call me on my cell-phone?

(Misato pauses for a moment, confused by the girl's softly spoken question. Then she laughs.)

Misato (waving the question away): Oh, it wasn't an emergency! Just something personal. I have something for you.

Rei (confused): Something...for me?

Misato (nodding as she pulls her purse around in front of her, a long, narrow, black box is sticking out of the top): I was in town the other day-

Ritsuko (calling from the place where she had stepped off the track to wait for the Major): To buy more beer, no doubt!

Misato (glaring over her shoulder at Ritsuko): You be quiet!

(Ritsuko smiles smugly.)

Misato (turning back to Rei): You see, I was walking along the sidewalk and this (pulling out the box) caught my eye!

Rei: A...box?

Misato (blinking): Huh?

(She looks down, then laughs again.)

Misato (shaking her head): Oh, no! It's what's inside that caught my eye!

(Misato loops her purse back over her shoulder and opens the box carefully. Rei's eyes widen and a soft gasp escapes her lips. A long, delicate flute lays within, glowing in the chamber's light.)

Misato (smiling up at Rei): You played so beautifully on Shigeru's guitar, that I thought you would like an instrument of your own. While you did great with the guitar, I think a flute is a lot more your...style!

Rei (staring at the flute with a strange, dazzled look in her eyes): ...I have a style?

Misato (nods as she takes the flute out of its case): Yes. You sometimes seem...very soft, almost fragile at times. A flute can reflect that. Yet, at other times, you show an indomitable spirit that makes others look on in awe... Flutes have also been known for making strong, beautiful music that doesn't easily fade from people's heart.

Rei (faintly blushing): I...see.

(Behind, Ritsuko sighs and shakes her head sadly.)

Misato (extending the flute to Rei): Here, it's yours now.

(Silence)
Rei: I...I can't accept this.

Misato (blinking, stunned): You can't?

Rei: No...it can't be for me-

Misato (her eyes flaring): Well, I'm not going to play it! It will just sit at my apartment and collect dust! I'm not the one with a gift for music!

Rei (her eyes widening): A...gift?

Misato: Yes! I once tried to learn how to play the clarinet. All I could make were a bunch of squeaks and honking noises!

Ritsuko: I had the bleeding ears to prove it...

Misato (growling): It wasn't that bad!

Ritsuko (grinning): ...

Rei: You can injure people with music?

(Misato waving her hands in front of her.)

Misato: No! No, it was a figure of speech, Rei. I was bad at playing...but I have a hunch that you would be able to play very...eloquently.

Rei: ...

Misato (smiling hopefully, raising the flute to the girl again): Please, take it. I got it for you. You can't turn down gifts, Rei.

Rei: ...

Misato: ...

Rei: Okay. I will learn this.

(Even as the girl's voice was steady, her fingers tremble slightly as they touch the cool metal of the instrument.)

Misato (relieved): Good. I know that Shinji plays an instrument, too. If you have any questions, I'm sure he could answer them.

Rei (blinking): Shinji?

(Her fingers caress the flute in her lap.)

Misato (nodding as she walked back toward the tracks): Yeah, from what Asuka said, he's good, too. I'll see you later, Rei! Have fun!

(Misato gets back onto the tracks, leaving a wide-eyed Ritsuko behind.)

Ritsuko (turning slowly toward Misato): I...don't believe it.

(The two women vanish into the next chamber, leaving the First Child alone once more. The girl stares straight ahead for a long moment. Then her eyes look down at the silver instrument on her lap. Almost against her will, she lifts the flute to her lips and blows a practiced breath through the mouth-piece. The note that comes out is clear, gentle, and sweet. Rei pulls the instrument slowly away from her and looks down at it.)

Rei (very softly): ...who?

-----------------------------------------------

(The picture before her is disturbing in a way that she can't quite explain. It is an extremely old painting from the Middle Age Europe. A man, with a halo of a Saint, is writing in a book, drawing from Divine Inspiration. The girl's eyes can't look away from the book.)

Shinji (softly): I think if you stare any harder, you are going to burn a hole in that Saint's head.

(Hikaru jumps and looks over at Shinji. Her eyes are vague for a moment and Shinji draws back slightly. She suddenly blinks and focuses on him.)

Hikaru (embarrassed): Oh, sorry, did you say something?

Shinji (shaking his head): N-Nothing, really. You just seemed...lost for a second there.

Hikaru (turning back to the painting): Hmmm. Maybe I was.

Shinji (brows lifting): Huh?

(Silence)

Hikaru (softly): This picture...specifically the picture of the book... I don't know. It reminds me of something. Something horrible.

Shinji (looking from the picture to the girl's face): "Something horrible?"

Hikaru (her eyes distant): Yeah, a dream. More of a nightmare, that plagues me night after night.

Shinji: ...

Hikaru (wrapping her arms around her shoulders): It...starts out normal... I am coming home, rather, to a place I have never been to, but I think "home" as I walk into the apartment. It is dark. My heart is racing for no reason whatsoever.

Shinji: ...no reason...

Hikaru (shuttering): I-I'm so...cold. I feel...dead inside...

Shinji (his eyes widening): God...!

Hikaru (her eyes turning to the picture once more): I...I walk though this place and I come to the kitchen. On the table, a single, leather-bound book is laying before me. I find myself...drawn to the book, almost as if I no longer control my body. I reach out and open the book. It is a picture album...a family picture album.

Shinji (worried at the girl's intensity): Hikaru-

Hikaru: I...turn the first page. A man, a woman, a young man, and me. They smile back at me. I turn the page. We are playing. We are picnicking. We are happy.

(The girl reaches up and covers her mouth as if to stop the words, but they still come.)

Hikaru: T-Then, I turn the page again and it feels moist to me. I look down and see blood on my fingers. At first, I think that I cut myself on the pages. Then, I realize that as the pages pass, blood begins to cover the paper, the words, the smiling faces... Soon, I can't see those precious...happy faces anymore... Oh, GOD!!

(The girl grabs her head and whimpers as if in great pain.)

Hikaru (hoarsely): God! Shinji, make them stop!

Shinji (frightened): Hikaru!

(He touches the girl's shoulder and she wraps her arms around his neck. A great sob comes from the girl and Shinji blinks in surprise.)

Shinji (slowly stroking the back of Hikaru's head): I-It's okay, Hikaru. It's okay.

Hikaru (softly): Why...?

Shinji: ...?

Hikaru: ...why did they have to vanish?

Shinji (shaking his head): I don't know...I don't know, Hikaru...

Hikaru (calming down a little): Please...take me out of this darkness...

Shinji (nodding slowly as he put an arm around the girl's shoulders): Sure...come on.

(The boy guides the Sixth Child through the Museum. The old man at the front desk is snoring again, his head resting on the desktop. The two ignore him as they move out the front door, into the sunlight.)

Hikaru (slowly taking a deep breath): I'm...sorry.

Shinji (looking cautiously at her): Are you okay now?

Hikaru (smiling wanly): Just peachy...

Shinji: ...

Hikaru: Thanks.

Shinji (blinking): For what?

Hikaru (her eyes glittering as some of her fire came back): For being there.

Shinji (smiling): That's what I'm here for...

(Hikaru stares at Shinji and the wind sends more cherry blossoms fluttering to the ground.)

Hikaru (slowly as her head turns to his): ...Shinji...

(Shinji's eyes snap wide as he feels Hikaru's lips press to his. They are soft, gentle, and undemanding. He can almost feel the her gentle smile against his lips. His heart is racing, yet his hands are limp at his sides. The world is spinning out of control...)

Asuka (choked): ...no...

(The word is a feather thrown into a hurricane, yet it hits Shinji with enough force to jerk his head away from Hikaru's. His eyes turn and he sees the redheaded girl standing at the Museum gate. Her hair is windswept and her face is red from running. She looks so stylish in her denim jeans and cut-off T-shirt. Yet, her eyes are blazing with fury...and agony.)

Shinji (thought echoing in his head): ...why...?

(Hikaru turns her head slowly toward the Second Child and her eyes widen.)

Shinji (thinking): ...why...?

(Asuka closes her eyes and her hands tighten brutally at her sides.)

Shinji (thinking): ...why does she...?

(Asuka spins about suddenly and her bolts away from the two. Shinji feels as the Third Impact has just occurred, ripping meaning from everything that could...)

Shinji (thinking): Why...?

(And then, the voice, deep within him, whispers to him.)

Internal Voice: Because you broke her heart...

----------------------------------------------

(Something is wrong. She can feel it. Beyond the static that has seemed to wrap around her mind, she can sense something is not right. That something is...she can't feel anything other than the static...)

Asuka (opening her eyes, thinking): Where...is it?

(There is silence around her and yet it seems like her mind is filled with white noise. She can't...concentrate.)

(FLASHBACK: Shinji kissing Hikaru, her arms wrapped intimately around his neck.)

(Asuka's hands tighten violently on the control handles before her.)

Asuka (thinking): ...he...never...

(She bows her head, feeling the darkness grow within her...)

-------

(Within a control center.)

Ritsuko (quietly): We have a problem here.

Misato (her eyes sad): I know...I see it.

Ritsuko (looking slowly over her shoulder at Misato): What the hell happened? The last time she was like this...

Misato: I know... She won't talk, but I have a feeling it has something to do with Shinji and Hikaru.

Ritsuko (turning her eyes to the monitors once more): Hikaru is up higher than she has ever been. Shinji...well, he's a little higher than normal. But, Asuka, my God...

Misato: How much longer is the test?

Ritsuko (softly): Two and a half hours...but...

Misato (firmly): You can't stop the test now. She will finish.

Ritsuko (looking back at the Major with surprised eyes): Misato, she's not-

Misato (grimly): She will finish the test or you take away what pride she has left.

Ritsuko: ...understood.

Misato (thinking): Asuka...

------------------------------------------------

(Misato looks over at the girl. She is still in her plug suit, wearing it like a suit of armor. Her eyes are like chips of deep, blue ice. She looks so distant, yet, Misato knows somehow that it is merely the force of her will that maintains this mask.)

Misato (quietly): You know-

Asuka (distantly): Know what? That I can't synchronize? That I'm as useful as a normal person in the cockpit?

Misato: Asuka...

(Asuka spins away from Misato and closes her eyes. They are alone in the control center. The soft hum of the computers is the only sound for a second. Slowly, Asuka opens her eyes and she finds herself staring at her scores.)

Asuka (thickly): ...21%...

Misato (reaching toward the girl's shoulder): Those ratios can easily go up-

Asuka (shrugging the kind hand away savagely, shouting): But I can't feel anything, Misato!!

Misato (her hand falling back to her side): ...

Asuka (pressing her palm to her eyes): ...I can't even...score high enough to move a finger on my EVA!

Misato: Asuka...

Asuka (screaming as she runs past Misato): It's so unfair!!

(Misato looks from the girl's back to the scores.)

Misato (softly): I'm sorry...

---------

(Shinji is stepping out of the men's locker room, shaking his wet hair out, when he sees Asuka running away from the control center.)

Shinji (lifting a hand in greeting): Asuka-

(She runs right past him, not even pausing at the mention of her name. Her rapid footfalls echo back at the boy who blinks in surprise.)

Shinji (thinking): It's...like I'm not even here...

Rei: She suffers...

(Shinji looks over at the girl. She is in her school uniform once more, red eyes gazing after the Second Child.)

Shinji: I...know.

Rei (turning her crimson gaze toward the boy): ...shouldn't you do something?

(Shinji bites his lip and looks from Rei to the direction Asuka had disappeared.)

Shinji: W-What can I say?

Rei (turning away and starting in the opposite direction): Perhaps nothing...perhaps everything...

(Shinji stares after Rei as she begins walking away, then looks toward the direction of Asuka's flight once more.)

Shinji (softly): Perhaps nothing...perhaps everything...

(Shinji begins running after Asuka. He doesn't know which way the girl went, but he doesn't question himself as he heads for the EVA containment areas. The double doors slid open and he gazes within. At first he sees nothing, but the EVAs resting in great pools of LCL.)

Shinji (thinking): Maybe I was wrong...

(Then he spots the girl standing on the metal platform before Evangelion Unit 2. She is silent and doesn't turn toward him as he begins walking toward her.)

Shinji (tentative): Asuka...?

Asuka: ...

Shinji: Asuka-

Asuka (distantly): What do you want, Third Child?

(Shinji's hand flexes at his side and he moves so that he can see Asuka's face. It is like a mask, cold and unrevealing. The eyes don't even turn toward him as he comes into view.)

Shinji: A-Are you okay?

(Asuka can't help the choking laugh that mocks the boy. His back stiffens slightly at the sound of it.)

Asuka: Why won't I be, Ikari?

Shinji (his brows drawing together): Y-You looked...hurt when you just ran by-

Asuka: Is that any of your business?

Shinji: Asuka, I'm your friend. If you are in trouble-

Asuka (eyes caressing Unit 02): I don't remember ever calling you my friend.

(Shinji makes a fist at his side.)

Shinji (shouting): Stop being acting so tough and tell me what's wrong!

Asuka: ...

Shinji: ...please...

Asuka (slowly turning toward Shinji, very quietly): You want to know what's wrong?

(Shinji nods, unsure now. Asuka begins walking toward Shinji, her eyes blazing and her face pale.)

Asuka: I just found out that my synchro-ratio is so low that I can't even synchronize with my EVA. On top of that, just a few hours ago, my "best" friend, tricked me and stuck her nose in business that had nothing to do with her...

Shinji: I-

Asuka (hissing, coming to a halt before Shinji): Finally, I come upon someone I thought cared for me kissing some other girl...it was such at romantic scene!

Shinji (quietly, his eyes searching): W-Why would it matter to you...?

(Asuka can no longer hold back the horrible anger within her. With a battle-cry that was more like a wail, she slaps Shinji across his face. He staggers against the guardrail at the edge of the platform, his face turned away, hand to his cheek.)

Asuka (deathly quietly): How dare you?! You have no right to question me! I feel nothing for you, Shinji Ikari...not even hate!

(She presses a hand to her heart.)

Asuka (choked): I...feel...empty...inside...

(She rips her eyes away from him and slowly walks out of the containment chamber. Shinji closes his eyes and bows his head over the rail...)

------------------------------------------------

(The Katsuragi Apartment is very quiet as night falls. Shinji sits at the kitchen table, quietly picks up his chopsticks, and begins to eat the instant noodles before him. The taste bites his tongue, but he doesn't notice.)

Misato (softly): Shinji...don't you think that these noodles are a little...too spicy?

Shinji (taking another bite): I don't know what you are talking about, Misato.

Misato: ...

(Pen-Pen waddles up and looks down at the noodle and curry mixture in his dish. He looks up at Shinji, who continues to eat Misato's cooking without turning belly up. The penguin slowly lowers his bill into the bowl and sips at the "food." His eyes snap open and he runs out of the room, heading for the bathroom.)

Misato (looking from the frantic penguin to the solemn boy): Either you have suddenly seen the genius in my cooking skills...or something has happened.

Shinji: ...

Misato (speaking over the sound of Pen-Pen washing his mouth out): You don't have to tell me...I respect your privacy, but now Asuka's having problems...

Shinji (quietly): I'm sorry...

Misato: So it is your fault?

Shinji: Somehow...it is...

(Silence)

Shinji: I-I never meant for any of this to happen... I can't...I can't do anything right.

Misato: Shinji, you can't please everyone.

Shinji (eyes wide, whispering angrily): I know that, Misato! It's just that...I don't want to hurt anyone...

Misato (gazing solemnly at the Third Child): You are going to have to ask yourself what you want out of this, Shinji. No matter what, I can't make your decisions for you. When it all comes down to it, it is all up to you.

Shinji (bowing his head): I...don't know if I'm up to that sort of decision.

Misato (reaching out and covering one of his hands): Well, it's a decision you are going to have to make. The lives of two unique, proud, and determined girls depend on it.

Shinji (looking up at Misato): I don't know if I trust myself with that...

Misato (smiling sadly): I know you will do what is best.

(Shinji looks up suddenly at Misato and gazes at her for a long moment. He finally sighs and stands up. He quietly walks to the refrigerator and takes out the fixings for a turkey sandwich. He makes it with silent skill and sets the finished product on a tray with a can of soda. Misato watches as the boy walks down the hall to stand before Asuka's door. The room has been silent since the girl had hidden away there. Shinji says nothing as he sets down the tray and knocks gently on the door. He doesn't wait for the reply that isn't to come. Instead, he turns, walks to his own room, and closes the door behind him.)

Misato: ...

(Pen-Pen finally comes back to the kitchen and glares up at Misato. She shakes her head and comes to her feet. She walks over to the refrigerator and gets out some leftovers from the party a few weeks ago. Pen-Pen eagerly walks over and begins downing the mixed rice, fish, and vegetables. She crosses her arms under her breasts and watches the penguin eat with relish.)

Misato (whispering): What a mess...

-----------------------------------------------

(It is sleek with a narrow pine-cone shape. It hovers over the small, blue planet below it, slowly moving toward the dark side. It has many small spines that coat the entire shell. They glint in the last of the sun's light. Almost lazily, the Entity comes to hover over the continent known as Japan. The lights of the major cities flicker across the landmass, pin-pointing the crowded human populations. It's focused only on one flickering beacon known as Tokyo-3.)

(Silence)

(Suddenly, a rainbow of lights ripple through the slits in the Entity's solid, outer shell and it begins to descend. It becomes one with the planet's shadow.)

------------------------------------------------

(Shinji comes awake with a start. His SDAT player is humming in his ears and his teeth ache. Why? Because he had a nightmare? One of many... He almost turns on his side to go back to sleep when he hears a sound over the music. He unplugs his ears and hears the phone ringing.)

Shinji: What the hell...?

(His eyes turn to the digital clock on his desk and it reads 2:14 A.M.)

Shinji (thinking): Who could be calling at this time?

(Suddenly, he feels the icy fingers of fear run over his skin and he sits upright in his bed. Just then, his door slides open and he finds himself staring at the silhouette of a young woman.)

Asuka (tonelessly): You are needed at Headquarters, Third Child.

Shinji (blinking): Asuka?

Asuka: Who else?

Misato (calling): Guys, it's time to go! We've got work to do!

(Shinji can see Asuka's eyes close and he can see the pain on her face.)

Shinji (hopping out of bed): Asuka-

Asuka (bringing up a hand): Don't come near me, Ikari.

(Shinji feels something much like anguish rise in him.)

Shinji (pleading): Asuka, please-

(Asuka turns away from Shinji and walks quickly down the hall. Shinji finds that he had actually reached out for the redheaded girl. He slowly draws the hand back and closes his eyes.)

------------------------------------------------

Misato (shouting as she enters the Command Center): Status Report!

Hyuga (turning to the Major): I've got one target, coming in fast from the upper atmosphere!

Misato (eyes wide): Dive bombing-

Ritsuko (coming up beside the Major): No, it hardly has enough mass to do much damage to us that way.

Misato: Then, what is it doing?

Natasha (gazing up at the video feed of the target): I would say it was giving us our wake-up call.

Misato (grim): Some wake-up call. Okay, how much time to contact?

Maya: At its current speed, I would say in about five minutes!

Misato (nodding): All right. Do we have a predicted LZ for our visitor?

Shigeru: The MAGI report that it is most likely going to land right over our heads.

Misato: Well, at least it is to the point. Okay, let's get our people out there. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can go home and get some sleep!

(Natasha gazes solemnly at Misato's back for a long moment before she peels away from the shadows and slips out the door.)

------------------------------------------------

(Asuka comes out of the women's locker room slowly, almost as an old woman would. The light is gone from her eyes and her hair hangs limply about her face. It is silent in the corridor, save the hum of life-support systems and unseen vents. Asuka closes her eyes and she can see Hikaru again, as she had been in the locker room. The girl had suited up swiftly, her lips pressed tightly together. Asuka had sat on the bench, staring at the concrete beneath her feet.)

(FLASHBACK: Hikaru (softly): Asuka...you mustn't be this way-

Asuka (whispering): Don't you have a job to do?

Hikaru (balling a fist over her heart): Please, don't... It doesn't have to end like this-

Asuka: You planned it all along. You came, you saw, you conquered. How does it feel, to destroy another?

Hikaru (wiping her eyes discreetly with the back of her hand): I-I know how much EVA means to you-

Asuka (sighing): Just leave...

Hikaru: Asuka-

Asuka: ...nothing you can say will set things right...

Hikaru (closing her eyes): ...I'm sorry...

(The girl quickly walks from the room, her hand pressed to her lips.)

Asuka (choked): ...I don't need your pity...

(Present)

(The redheaded pilot finally comes to the elevator that would take her to the loading platform for the Evangelions. The doors slide open, revealing the open, metal elevator and Asuka enters without looking up.)

Rei: You should not do this.

(Asuka gasps and spins toward the corner where the First Child is standing in her plug suit.)

Asuka (growling): What do you want?

Rei: ...a moment of your time...

Asuka: Leave me alone. Shinji set you up to this, didn't he?!

Rei: No.

Asuka (turning her head away): There's nothing you can say, First Child.

Rei: ...

Asuka: Take a good look. This is what a betrayed woman looks like...

Rei: Why do you care?

Asuka (looking sharply at Ayanami): What?!

Rei: Why do you care that Pilot Sohma kissed Shinji?

(Asuka opens her mouth, but nothing comes out. Those red eyes watch her and Asuka notices something she had never seen before.)

Asuka: How...?

Rei: ...?

Asuka: What is happening to you?

Rei: ...

Asuka: The Rei I know would never be here...

Rei: ...yes.

Asuka (tossing her head): It doesn't matter. You are still Wonder Girl. You still have no emotions...you don't give a damn...about anything...

(Asuka curses herself as she can feel the tears coming again, threatening to make her break down right in front of her. The elevator stops without Asuka noticing. Rei finally moves for the door, but not before she gently brushes Asuka's shoulder with her fingertips and walks on.)

Asuka (blinking): ...!

(Asuka reaches up and touches her shoulder.)

Asuka (softly): ...who are you?

------------------------------------------------

(The object hovers over Tokyo-3, silent. If it isn't for the fact that such things are supposed to be impossible, it could be said that the creature looks natural hanging in the sky.)

Misato: Is there any activity?

Shigeru (reporting): No, Major. There is no activity of any sort.

Misato: So...how is it just sitting there? With no propulsion, it should fall to the ground like every other natural thing!

Ritsuko (sighing): Well, that's where the Angels peel off from everything else...they aren't exactly natural.

Misato: Ah...

Maya (calling): EVAs 00, 01, and 04 are ready for launch, Major!

Misato (turning back to the matter at hand): Right! Launch EVAs!

(The floors lightly trembles as the powerful catapults rocket the three active EVAs toward the surface.)

Maya (looking cautiously over her shoulder): Um...ma'am?

Misato (turning her cool eyes toward the Lieutenant): Yes, Lieutenant?

Maya (quietly): Asuka's plug has been inserted...

Misato: ...any change?

Maya: No, ma'am. The connection is just above non-existent...

Misato: I...see. Put Unit 02 on...standby.

Maya (sadly): Yes, ma'am.

(Misato closes her eyes and tries to block out the knowledge that she is merely stalling...)

------------------------------------------------

(The Evangelions rise out of the earth quietly, slowly moving through the city toward the Entity. Unit 01 stalks with its body flush against a tall skyscraper. Shinji glances to his left and finds himself staring into a little boy's room. It is vacant now, but the toy robots are scattered about on the floor and the bed's sheets are thrown back.)

Shinji (blinking, thinking): People...live here...

(The concept has never really hit Shinji until now. Unit 01 pauses mid-step and looks silently about it. It sees offices, kitchens, and more bedrooms in the windows about it.)

Shinji (thinking): Why are they up here? It's almost like they are...shielding us!

Misato (sharply): Shinji, what are you doing?!

Shinji (blinking, turns to Misato's terrified face): What-?!

Hikaru (shouting): It's moving!!

(Shinji looks up and finds that he had maneuvered Unit 01 right into the middle of highway. Right before him, the ominous shape of the Angel is gliding toward him.)

Shinji (stunned): ...!

(A rainbow of colors pulsates through the gaps in the Angel's armor and suddenly one of the barbs on the creature's shell springs forward on a slender, guiding tentacle.)

Shinji (horrified): Agh!

(Unit 01 stumbles back off the highway and falls a story down to land on its rump. The barb hits the asphalt with enough force to collapse the center of the highway.)

Hikaru (calling): Shinji! Are you okay?!

Shinji (pulling Unit 01 to its feet): Y-Yeah...

Misato (frantic): Don't just stand there! Move to a better position, Shinji!

(Just then, the shadow of the Angel falls over Shinji and he backs Unit 01 around into a side street.)

Shinji (panting): It's...fast!

(The Angel glides so it gains sight of Unit 01 once more. The light flickers through the Angel's massive frame when it is pelted from behind by an assault rifle.)

Hikaru (shouting): Stop picking on Shinji, you bastard!

(The Angel pauses in mid-air, then three barbs fire from the main body. Unit 04 drops the assault rifle and draws its twin Progressive Blades a second before the projections reach it. The Blades defect the barbs and their respective guide "tentacles" with a singing scream. The barbs angle off into the buildings on either side of Unit 04, crumbling the faces of the structures.)

Hikaru (straining to hold off the unexpected power of the Angel, growling): I won't...back down...from you!

(The Angel is silent as it seems to study the red and black trembling EVA before it. Then, with an action that seems almost contemptuous, it retracts its barbs violently and catches Unit 04's Blades in the process. Hikaru lets out a startled scream as her EVA is thrown recklessly off balance and tumbles forward, toward the Angel.)

Misato: Hikaru, are you okay?

Hikaru (bringing Unit 04 to its feet again): I'm okay...

Misato: Rei! Are you ready, yet?!

Rei: Yes, ma'am.

(Unit 04 turns its head toward Unit 00's beacon and finds the Evangelion standing on top of a building, the NERV Positron Rifle in its grip. Hikaru can almost feel the attention of the Angel shift from her to Rei a second before Unit 00 fires the Rifle. The beam rips from the Rifle and lights of the streets of Tokyo-3 like it is day once more. The Angel's AT Field buzzes as the beam hits it, then passes through it. The Angel shivers at its shell is struck by the beam, leaving a smoking wound on its surface.)

Hikaru (confused, her violet eyes narrowed): Cockiness...?

(Suddenly, the Angel spins a quick full circle and Unit 04 staggers back...)

-------------

Hyuga (shouting): Major! We have a problem!

Misato (turning her eyes to Hyuga): What is it?

Hyuga (bringing up a hologram of the Angel on the Threat Board just beyond the Command Towers): The Angel has just cast three separate AT Fields about it! Unit 00 will not be able to reach the Angel again with the Positron Rifle with those three AT Fields up!

(The hologram revealed the logic behind Hyuga's words. The Angel's pod-like body is surrounded by three individual AT Fields that wrapped around the Entity like a closed rosebud.)

Misato: Okay, heads up, guys!

-----------

(The three Evangelions surround the Angel. Unit 04 is on the street level, gazing up at the Angel, while Unit 01 is back on the highway and Unit 00 is still on the rooftops.)

Shinji: I'm open to suggestions.

Ritsuko (her face appearing besides the Third Child's): You might be able to attack the Angel if you three use your respective AT Fields to neutralize the Entity's! Rei was able to get through the first time.

Hikaru (distantly): ...because it believed us...incapable...

Misato (sharply): Are you saying that the Angel is toying with us, Hikaru?

Hikaru (grimly): I won't leave that idea out...

Misato (firmly): Well, we are about to show it just how capable we are! Neutralize those AT Fields!

Shinji, Hikaru, and Rei: Roger!

(The three Evangelions brace themselves on their own levels and focus on that certain something that generates the AT Fields. The Angel becomes deathly still as the AT Fields clash, then begin to join...)

-----------

Shigeru (shouting): Activity!!

Misato: Look out!

-----------

(Shinji opens his eyes just in time to see it happen. The Angel's attention seems to be focused on him all of a sudden, then...a barb peels off from the main body. Shinji screams and raises a hand to shield Unit 01's face. His scream echoes when he feels a burst of incredible agony radiate from his right palm. He is only dimly aware of his Evangelion being propelled back into the building behind it.)

Shinji (straining to look over to his right hand, gritting his teeth): urrrgh....

(His eyes snap wide as he looks outside at Unit 01's hand. It has been pinned to the building behind it. His mind can't seem to understand that it isn't his hand that has been staked to the wall behind his EVA.)

Hikaru (screaming): Shinji!!

(Shinji looks up in time to see the second barb come, and pin his EVA's left shoulder to the building.)

Shinji (screaming): ARRGGH!!

(He doesn't see the third...or four...or fifth barbs coming, but he feels them...)

------------------------------------------------

(Asuka had flinched at the first scream from the Third Child. The second seems to make some wall within her shiver.)

Asuka (thinking): I-I shouldn't care...

(Screaming)
Asuka (thinking): He-He means nothing to me! He runs to that other girl without looking back! He leaves me behind without some much as a-a goodbye!

Voice: Who left who behind?

Asuka (whispering hoarsely): What does it matter?! He no longer...cares...

(FLASHBACK: Rei: Why do you care?)

Asuka: ...he can't...

(FLASHBACK: Asuka (bringing up a hand): Don't come near me, Ikari.

(Shinji feels something much like anguish rise in him.)

Shinji (pleading): Asuka, please-)

Voice: You walked away...when he reached out to you...

Asuka (trembling): I-I can't risk it again! I can't!

Voice: So you will let him die?

Asuka: I...

(Shinji screams again and it sounds as if something has been broken.)

(FLASHBACK: Rei: Why do you care?)

Voice: Why?

(Asuka blinks and suddenly she sees something in her mind's eye...something that had happened a week ago...after the "Incident"...)

(FLASHBACK: The night sky is clear of clouds now. Stars glow overhead like so many diamonds spilled against a black canvas. The storm has long since passed. Asuka is on the balcony of the Katsuragi apartment. Tokyo-3 is silent now and Asuka feels that if she were to think, it would be like speaking aloud. The world seems to be listening to her...and she doesn't have a thing to say.)

(Asuka leans her elbows against the railing of the balcony and gazes at the street below. Her eyes are attracted to some movement and she sees night insects playing about the solitary street-lamp under her.)

Asuka (thinking): They are drawn to the very thing that can kill them? They are so stupid...

(Silence)

Asuka (thinking): Are we so different? We never can leave...good enough alone. We continue to hunger and explore even if it means our deaths...

(There is a soft creak behind the girl and she jumps. Shinji had been stepping out onto the balcony, but stops when he sees the girl. Asuka turns so her back is to the railing.)

Shinji (very softly): I...I didn't know you were out here... Sorry...

Asuka (when Shinji turns to leave): Where are you going?

Shinji (not looking at Asuka): Back to my room...I'm sure you want your privacy.

Asuka (wrapping her hands around the railing on either side of her): When did I say that?

(Shinji blinks, but can't bring himself to look at her.)

Asuka (quietly): I couldn't sleep, so I came out here...

(She turns her face into the light, summer's night breeze, letting it play with her fiery hair.)

Shinji (his face lost in the shadows): Asuka...I...

Asuka: You know...when I was in Germany, I hated all the quiet. The countryside was beautiful, perhaps, but the constant silence couldn't cover up...the damned silence... That's probably why I make so much noise when I should just shut up.

Shinji: ...

Asuka (facing Shinji once more): That's why I laugh, shout, scream...cry...when most would remain silent.

(Asuka closes her eyes and again she can see that which had driven her to the balcony. A black, grinning mask sneering down at her...sucking her life away...)

Asuka (softly): ...even now...the silence threatens to...overwhelm me...

Shinji: Asuka...

Asuka (fiercely): That's why I can't understand you, Third Child. You are always so quiet! Why should I give a damn...

(Asuka opens her mouth and can't make that last part come...it is too much...

Shinji: Asuka...

Asuka (turning blazing eyes toward Shinji): What?!

(She is shocked to see him smiling for the first time since he had come back.)

Shinji: You can make as much noise as you want...I don't mind. Okay?

(Asuka blinks and stares at Shinji.)

Shinji (shaking his head, then yawning): Well, good-night. Don't stay up too late...you don't want me to have to come into your room, like last time, and wake you up...

Asuka (grinning): Jerk.

(Shinji flashes a weak smile at her, turns about, and walks back into the apartment. Asuka is alone again, but she is no longer gripping the railing so hard.)

Asuka (quietly): Welcome home...

(Present)

Voice: Why do you care?

Asuka (wrapping her arms around herself): ...

Voice: Why?

(Asuka grabs her head.)

Voice: WHY?!

(The answer comes suddenly...brutally...)

Asuka (throwing her head back, screaming): BECAUSE HE'S MINE!!! YOU CAN'T TAKE HIM FROM ME!!!

(That is when Unit 02 comes back to life...)

------------------------------------------------

Maya: Major!

Misato (deathly quiet, her eyes on the image of Unit 01): What is it?

Maya: Unit 02 has reactivated! Pilot Soryu is registering at 91%!!

Misato (gasping): What did you say?! Asuka! Can you hear me?

Asuka (quietly): Launch me...

Misato: Are you sure-

Asuka (hoarsely): He's dying!

(Misato closes her eyes and mentally whispers a pray to a God that she isn't even sure exists anymore. Then...)

Misato (shouting): EVA launch!

-------------------------------------------

(Hikaru can feel her heart breaking every time she hears another one of Shinji's screams. Unit 04 charges toward the highway and a barb swings down at her Evangelion. Unit 04 brings up one of its blades in time to block the killing blow.)

Hikaru (savagely): Goddamn it!!

(Suddenly, she feels the tell-tale shutter of a new arrival.)

Hikaru (gasping as she looks up at the red Evangelion snapping into place at one of the launch tracks): Asuka?!

(The EVA grabs the assault rifle that had snapped up on the track next to the mecha.)

Asuka (growling): You bastard...

(The assault rifle rattles in the EVA's hands as tracers fly toward the torturing guide "cables." The super-heated shells spray the "cables." The Angel shutters and the barbs retract from the slumping Unit 01.)

Asuka: Shinji! Can you hear me, Third Child?!

Shinji (his face appearing next to hers, smiling very weakly): ...I thought...you didn't...care...

(Asuka gapes at him and she feels a warm glow light within her.)

Asuka (thinking): Something...to fight for...

Asuka (forcing herself to remain composed): Can you go on?

Shinji (softly): I'm...not dead...yet...

(The Angel seems to be watching them all, waiting for them.)

Misato: Shinji...are you okay?

Shinji: I can...do my duty, Misato...

Misato (pressing her lips tightly together): I'm...glad...

Hikaru: We have to finish this...now!

Asuka (straightening in her seat): On that, we agree, Sixth Child.

Hikaru: ...Asuka...

Asuka: ...I have a plan.

------------------------------------------------

(The Evangelions move away from the Angel and it seems confused by this. It remains where it is, but it raises higher into the air as they become more distant.)

Ritsuko: It is a sound idea, but you will be putting yourself at great risk. How can you be so sure that this will work?

Asuka: My woman's intuition, of course.

Ritsuko (skeptical): Ha...

Shinji: But if we don't get the AT Fields down-

Asuka (glaring at Shinji's image): I'm counting on you, Third Child, to make this work!

Hikaru: Is that fair, with his injuries?

Asuka (her pause was almost non-existent): He has been through worse.

Hikaru: ...

Misato: Okay, it's a workable plan...now is our time to shine!

------------------------------------------------

(The three dust trails appear at opposite corners of Tokyo-3. The Angel lowers itself slowly and waits, its AT Fields shimmering around it. Units 00, 01, and 04 appear in opposing streets from the Angel, sprinting at their best speeds toward the target.)

(The Angel waits.)

(The EVAs continue coming, never slowing down even as they near their target. The Angel reacts violently to the Evangelions' obvious insanity. The barbs are launched at random, destroying buildings and streets in seconds.)

(The EVAs dodge around the projections that rip up the world around them, splashing them with dirt, shattered asphalt, and twisted metal.)

Hikaru (screaming): I will not be stopped!

(Her EVA slams into the AT Field with enough force to blow windows in. The Field wavers before the mad rush of Unit 04. Unit 01 hits a second later, hitting the Angel with enough force to make the Angel sway in the sky. Unit 00's strike is enough to push the Angel into a nearby building, showering the EVAs with yet more glass.)

Misato (shouting): Now!

(As one, the three EVAs draw their Progressive blades and slab them into the gabs in the Entity's armor. Pure energy splashes across the EVAs, sending arcs of electricity washing across powerful arms and torsos.)

Hikaru (wincing, thinking): I hope Soryu knows what she's doing!

(The Angel suddenly screeches and the bottom end of the creature comes to rest in the cracked asphalt of the street.)

Misato: Go, Asuka!

Asuka (nodding): Right!

(From behind a building several blocks away, Unit 02 skids around the corner and begins charging the Angel at full tilt. As Unit 02 comes within range of the Angel, it starts to take giant, hopping steps like a long-jumper.)

Asuka (shouting): Shinji!

(Unit 01 slams its palm against the hilt of its embedded Progressive Knife and turns on its heel. Shinji grits his teeth against the painful bio-feedback from his EVA, but he pushes that away from his mind. His eyes are only for the red EVA heading for him.)

Shinji (thinking): Please...!

(Unit 01 meets Unit 02 half-way and plants its feet wide, bracing itself. It then cups its hands between its bent knees.)

(The Angel seems to finally realize what is about to happen and fires two barbs at the purple and red Evangelions. The barbs strike, filling the street with gray dust, concealing the two EVAs.)

(The world seems to pause for a second...)

(Then, suddenly, the red EVA breaks free of the cloud of dust, rising high above the Angel. From a concealed launcher, a giant javelin leaps to the EVA's waiting hand.)

Asuka (screaming): Go back to where you came from!!

(The javelin slid through the weakened AT Fields and hit the Angel dead center, where the plates of armor connected. There is a crunch deep within the Angel and it seems stricken into silence. Unit 02 lands in a crouch on the other side of the Entity with its back to the Angel...it is no longer a threat. A second later, the southern district of Tokyo-3 is lit up as the Angel explodes, taking five city blocks with it.)

------------------------------------------------

(A silent shadow watches the destruction of the Angel with passionless eyes. Those eyes blink when the Angel explodes into a globe of fire, then turns away. Soft footsteps start for the access hatch of NERV Central...)

------------------------------------------------

(Natasha feels a shutter ripple through the modern stronghold of NERV Central and she knows that she will not have that much more time.)

Natasha (pausing as she gazes at the endless hall before her): ...

(Natasha pushes aside childish fears and continues silently through the level known as Terminal Dogma to the select few.)

Natasha (grinning cynically, thinking): All in the name of security. All in the name of power, more like it. The faces change but the ideals remain the same...thus, people like...me are born everyday.

(The Russian woman comes to the hard copy chamber door. This is the place that is much like NERV's personal diary. Every sin, every acknowledged mistake, is recorded here. It is almost amusing to the Lieutenant that the fate of the world really rests in a mere few hundred written files.)

Natasha (grimly, thinking): Let's get this shadow business over and done with.

(Her thumb brushes across her right ring finger and it takes her a moment to remember the reason she had taken her ring off.)

Natasha (looking down at her right hand, thinking): No traces, no remains... So why does it feel like someone is walking across my grave?

(The Lieutenant pushes away the strange, disquieting feeling and pulls the dummy card out of her pants' pocket. She swipes it through the card slot and the device chimes softly in the deafening quiet. Wincing, Natasha opens the door and steps inside the darkened room.)

(Within, she looks around and finds rows and rows of file cabinets. Some things remain the same even after all the advances in technology...or perhaps the Supreme Commander was just paranoid. As Natasha begins to move into the chamber, something catches her eye.)

Natasha (whispering in the silence): An cracked open drawer...

(Suddenly, the room seems to be filled with a tension that make the hairs on the back of Natasha's neck stand up.)

(Movement within the darkness.)

Natasha (mouth dry): Who-

(A slender, compact form appears around the corner of one of the file cabinets. The face is lost in the gloom. The two gaze at each other. In the woman's eyes, shock and fear. In the intruder's eyes, curiosity and cold calculation.)

Natasha (forcing her voice stronger): Who are-

(A small, curved knife seems to materialize in the intruder's hand.)

Natasha (growling): What is a boy doing down here?!

(The boy cocks his head to one side, as if trying to understand the question. Then,)

Boy: Death...

Natasha (eyes snapping wide): What-

(He moves so fast, she doesn't even see it coming. One second he was across the room, the next, he is right in her face...so close she can feel his warm breath fanning across her cheeks. With a shocked cough, Natasha feels the small knife bury itself in her stomach.)

Natasha (her eyes gazing into his): ...red eyes...?

Boy (quiet): Death...

Natasha (gritting her teeth as she feels the floor spin around her): You...little...bastard!

(Her hand comes up and back-fists the boy hard enough to throw him against the cabinets with a loud boom. He never let go of the knife. Natasha presses a hand to her stomach and staggers to the door. She can feel him following her, but he seems...intrigued by her refusal to collapse in a heap on the floor. Distantly, she can hear the drops of blood...her blood, dripping on the metal tiles, but she doesn't care. She...has to get to....Hikaru...one more...time...)

(The boy follows silently, almost companionably...waiting...)

------------------------------------------------

(The EVAs are lowered into their restraint harasses and the Children are unloaded from their plugs. Shinji limps on the catwalk, still feeling the effects of his encounter with the Angel.)

Asuka (sighing): Did you think I couldn't do it?

(Shinji looks up and finds Asuka standing before him, her hands on her hips, feet braced apart...her arrogance back along with her spirit.)

Shinji: I-I never said you couldn't-

Asuka (tossing her head): Well, don't be getting any ideas about this.

Shinji (confused): What ideas? What do you mean?

Hikaru: Yeah, what do you mean?

Asuka (turning on the other girl): You are probably thinking that you are hot stuff because you think you kissed Shinji under my nose!

Hikaru (surprised by the sudden change of subject, blushing): I-I never-

Asuka (shrugging as if no big deal): Humph...as I thought. Well, I'll have you know that I have kissed Shinji twice now!

Hikaru (her eyes burning as they turned on Shinji): What?!

Shinji (holding his hands up): Now wait a second-

Asuka: Children are so naive...

Hikaru: Naive?! If you are so close to Shinji, then how come you never went to the Museum with Shinji?

Asuka: He never as-

(Asuka could have bitten her tongue for almost revealing a weakness to her mortal enemy.)

Asuka (turning her gaze to her nails): Because, such things are beneath me.

Hikaru (grinning): Maybe you are just too much of a tom-boy to be interested in romantic things as art and-

Asuka (shouting): A "tom-boy?!" You bitch! A tom-boy, with this figure-?

Hikaru (shouting back): I have a far better...

(Shinji blocks the rest out as he limps out of the EVA containment chamber. Rei, who obviously had more sense than he, left when the argument first began. Shinji pauses a moment at the corridor leading to the Command Center, but he can't summon up the strength at the moment to head in that direction. He is tired and right now, all he wants to some place to sit down and relax.)

Shinji: ...

(He comes to a bench in front of a pair of venting machines. He automatically reaches for pockets that don't exist on his plug suit and he sighs. He lays down on the bench. He doesn't want to think, hear, or see anything. He closes his eyes and lets the droning hum of the venting machines clear his mind of shock and grief. The last thing he wants to think about is violence...or blood.)

(Dip...Dip...Dip...)

(The sound seems to be getting closer, even as Shinji tries to block it out. It doesn't sound like water...or even soda dripping on the floor. It has more body...more thickness that makes the sound...different and deeply penetrating. Shinji sighs, frustrated, and reluctantly opens his eyes. His eyes are slow to understand was they are seeing, but suddenly it all makes sense.)

Shinji (stunned): My...God...

(Lieutenant Karpov is staggering toward Shinji, her right hand slick with her own blood. A long trail of the thick liquid traces the Lieutenant's path behind her. Her face is pale and her eyes don't seem to recognize him.)

Natasha (very softly, reaching weakly for Shinji): ...help...help...please...

Shinji: Lieutenant-

(Suddenly, there is a warping, humming sound that flows through and past Shinji. The air seems to be dragged from his lungs and the venting machines quiver beside the Third Child.)

Shinji (blinking wildly, thickly): W-What the hell-

(The machines explode as the lights overhead shatter and crackle. The boy cries out as he is thrown from the bench and lands heavily on his side. Natasha is knocked against the opposite wall, unable to move on further. Her eyes are on him and finally,)

Natasha: Ikari...help...me...

(Shinji pulls himself to his feet and staggers over to the woman's side. He takes her arm and pulls it over his shoulders. Her weight almost drags the boy to the floor, but he adjusts her against his side and is able to support her. Then,)

Shinji: W-Who-

Boy: Death...

(The word, single and understandable, seems to freeze the air between them. The boy is standing down the hall, watching Shinji and Natasha. Shinji can't see his face except for the rare moments when an arc of electricity flashes from the ruined lights and only then is it a brief outline of the boy's delicate features. Dim back-lighting from down the hall make it impossible to see any real markings or styles on the boy's clothes.)

Shinji (shouting): Who are you?! Why did you do this?!

(Natasha's head is now hanging down, her body is dead weight against Shinji's.)

Boy: Death-

Shinji (screaming): No! You can't!

Boy: ...

Shinji: ...please...

Boy (softly): Why...?

Shinji (blinks): ...because I asked you to?

Boy: ...

(Suddenly, the boy begins moving toward Shinji and Natasha. Shinji grits his teeth and staggers back a step. The boy doesn't stop until he arm's length from the Third Child. Shinji feels a whimper in the back of his throat, but he forces it deep down and away. If he is about to die, then let it be with a little pride remaining...if nothing else he has that. His arm tightens around Natasha and she murmurs weakly.)

Shinji (whispering): ...I'm sorry...

(The hanging wires snap overhead.)

------------------------------------------------

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes:

Okay, that was a long one...sorry. There were just some things that I had to get out and there seemed to be no other way of getting it done.

For some of you, I know that this ending is a little annoying, especially since it ends with a cliffhanger. Does Shinji live? Does Natasha bleed to death in his arms? What about the boy that seems to intent on killing? Well, you are going to have to wait until Chapter Seven for the answers to those question! I'm not going to apologize for that.

There are a few issues I should probably go over for those of you still scratching your heads.

One, Hikaru and Shinji kissing...hmmm. Okay, I'm sure there are Asuka fans out there who are now hungry for my blood. I mean, how dare I?! Let me see...because it's my story? I'm going to say this now, I am an NGE fan. I love all the characters because of their depth and faults. They feel real, so they can stand on their own! I added Hikaru because she plays an important role in SBTA and I will treat her like another NGE character. She is the counterpoint to Asuka's fierce, aggressive nature. She also allows Shinji to be somewhat himself around someone else. I will not be rewriting this Chapter unless I feel there is something more that needs to be done. I make no apologies. I am not forcing you to read my work (though I do like having it read!) For those of you willing to give me a chance, then I thank you and hope that I will not let you down at the end! For those of you who cannot get past Chapter Six, then there are other fanfics out on the Net that will be more to your taste...

(My, my, what a rant! Well, on with the rest of my Author's Notes!)

Two, the scene with Rei and Misato and the concept of Rei's musical ability will be coming up again. It is a part of the story line, just like most other things that pop up and seem like totally random spots of detail to you all.

Three, during Asuka's period "pilot block," (a creation of my own brief encounter with the writer's form of it?) she had a flashback of a time when she was standing out on the balcony, staring out at Tokyo-3. It might not be that clear, but that scene occurred about a day after the end of Chapter Five. "How did Asuka react to Shinji return?" was a question I got some time back. Well, there you are. It was also a scene that revealed another side to the Asuka/Shinji relationship...

As for the mysterious boy that appeared in the depths of Terminal Dogma...well, it would appear that Seele is pushing toward the last chapter of the Dead Sea Scrolls... The death bell is tolling and it is all a matter of if the puppet is going to obey his masters' strings...

God, that was a little cryptic!

Now then, I would like to thank my two prereaders, Axel Terizaki and Adam Rosz, for all the input and advice!

Finally, "Chapter Seven: Square One, Dangerous Game..." is being pounded out as we speak, so watch for it! The now standard teasers: A past relived, a mysterious summons, and the shot of a gun...