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:

If you are one who forgets the past easily, let me see if I can catch you up on what has happened in Chapter Six!

Things exploded in the Katsuragi apartment when Asuka found out that Shinji was going out on a "date" with Hikaru to a local museum. Despite Shinji's claims that it was only a friendly outing, Asuka didn't believe him.

At school, things went from bad to worse when Asuka insulted Hikaru, creating a potentially dangerous situation. Due to Hikari's quick thinking and Shinji's concern for both girls, the Third Child managed to sneak Hikaru out of the school without Asuka realizing until it was too late.

While Shinji was sure that Hikaru would be furious with him, he was surprised that the Sixth Child believed him sweet for choosing to steal her away. They went to the Museum of Traditional Arts and the trip was uneventful.

That is, until Hikaru found herself remembering a horrible nightmare that has been haunting her for some time. Shinji's kindness shines through once more and is there for the Sixth Child. Asuka makes it to the museum in time to find Hikaru kissing Shinji.

This is a devastating blow to Asuka's ego and heart. Torn, the Second Child runs away. The terrible shock did more than simply hurt Asuka's spirit, it also blocked her as a pilot. Before she can even begin to deal with this loss, another Angel attacks.

With the Second Child unable to function as an EVA pilot, Misato puts Unit 02 on stand-by and sends the other Children up to do combat with this new enemy. Shinji suffered a vicious attack by the Angel while the other Children are held helpless by the Angel's power. Asuka's "Pilot Block" was broken and the EVA team was victorious once again.

However, Natasha, realizing that she had let her "obligations" to Seele go for too long, moved to take information to them. That is, until she is savagely attacked by a young boy in Terminal Dogma.

Last chapter ended with Shinji holding an unconscious Natasha in his arms, waiting for death dealt from this mysterious boy...

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Hikaru (thinking): Another attack...another recovery period...

(The girl has her chin braced on her palm and she gazing out the open window at Tokyo-3. Her violet eyes are drawn to the twisted cityscape to her left. Five city blocks...gone, never to be the same again. Sure, they would repair it to make them as good as new, but they would never truly be the same. Personal objects and landmarks were wiped from the face of the planet, never to appear in the same form again.)

Hikaru (thinking): Yet, people remain here. We continue to fight, people continue to get hurt, the world turns on. Something about that seems...chilling.

(The girl sighs and leans away from the windowsill. Her eyes turn to the tray sitting on the kitchen table.)

Hikaru (muttering): I shouldn't...have given in. This isn't healthy.

(The object of the girl's observation is the plate of scrambled eggs with grated, melted cheese, a generous serving of sausage, and two slices of crispy toast, drenched in butter. It was the Lieutenant's favorite breakfast, but that didn't mean that the girl had to make it for her...)

Hikaru (choked): Oh...Ms Natasha...what happened...?

(The girl picks up the tray and walks slowly down the hallway, toward the Lieutenant's room.)

(FLASHBACK: Misato (softly): I'm sorry, Hikaru...I-

Hikaru (suddenly gripped with horrible fear): W-What happened?!

Misato (taking the girl's arm): There was...an attack...

(Present)

Hikaru: That told me...nothing... Who...who would do such a thing?!

(FLASHBACK: Shinji: I-I hope she's going to be okay...

Hikaru (throwing her arms around Shinji): Why?! Oh, God, if she dies...

Shinji (gently, stroking the back of her head): She won't. She's too stubborn for such a thing...

(Present)

Hikaru (brushing at her cheeks, realizing that tears were coming again): He was such a sweetie...Shinji...

(The girl comes to Natasha's door and opens it without knocking. She doesn't want to wake the injured woman. Upon refusing to remain in the hospital more than a day, the doctor had given Natasha a small bottle of pain-killers. At first, the Lieutenant had refused to take even those, but when Hikaru had begged, pleaded, and threatened, the woman had finally given in...but not without something that still haunts Hikaru...)

(FLASHBACK: Natasha (her eyes dim, but desperate): Please...don't leave me...Hikaru...

Hikaru (stroking the Lieutenant's hair back from her face, laughing): Where would I go?

Natasha (softly, grabbing the girl's hand): Promise me...promise...

Hikaru (blinking, becoming concerned): Sure...I promise.

Natasha (her eyes rolling back): Thank...you...

(Present)

(The girl shrugs the strange mood of Natasha off to a side-effect of the pain-killers. She has never known Natasha to be so...clingy.)

(Hikaru comes into Natasha's room and finds the Lieutenant with her head thrown back, snoring loudly. Hikaru shakes her head.)

Hikaru (whispering, giggling): So...unfeminine...

(The girl kneels down beside the woman and sets the tray down next to her. Hikaru's eyes see something in the Lieutenant's hand and she frowns.)

Hikaru (thinking, reaching out slowly): It looks like a...photo...

(Hikaru grabs the edge of the photo gently and tries to pull it away from the woman. Natasha's grip resists the girl's efforts for a moment, then the photo comes free.)

Hikaru (frowning at the Lieutenant): What was so important-

(Her eyes turn to the photo and she feels like the world has opened under her feet to swallow her whole.)

(Two smiling faces.)

(Woman blushing)

(Man laughing)

(One uniform. One lab-coat.)

(Two faces too familiar...)

Hikaru (choked): ...no...

Natasha (blinking, confused): ...what...where...

Hikaru (shivering): No...

Natasha (turning her face toward the girl): What...Hikaru...?

Hikaru (screaming): WHY DO YOU HAVE A PICTURE OF YOU AND MY BROTHER?!!

(Natasha gasps and finds the picture clenched in the girl's trembling hand.)

Natasha (reaching for the girl): Hikaru...let me explain-

Hikaru (leaping away from the hand): No! No explanations!! None! Leave me alone!

(The Sixth Child spins away from Natasha and tears out of the room, the photo fluttering to the floor in her wake.)

Natasha (dragging herself to her feet, growling in pain): ...no...come back...

(The door of the apartment slams in response.)

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(Darkness shadowed by light. A single thought leads to others and soon consciousness emerges.)

(Thinking): Silence...horrible silence...

I see people...those people again.

Male.

Female.

I see fear. I sense it.

They fear me.

Why...

Why...?

These people...they build weapons...

Am I a weapon?

Who am I?

What am I?

(Eyes turn and study the container about its form. Solid, tinted, and clear, the entity is trapped within a cylinder of super-reinforced plastic.)

(Thinking): Those who created me now fear me.

Amusement.

Bewilderment.

....who am I?

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(He can hear a roaring in his ears.)

Misato: Shinji, there's nothing that could be done.

(He feels lightheaded. He opens his eyes and looks around. EVA. The ground is burning, sending walls of fire high into the sky.)

Gendo: The world will continue on with or without you.

(There are people screaming at him. Scolding...no, warning him. Warning him...)

Asuka (whispering): You can't hold out forever on your own... Who is blocking out whom now?!

(Its shape is twisted...humanoid...or a mockery of it. It has Eyes!)

(Blades...sharper than he can imagine... Rising... The blades are rising...)

(Screaming...he is screaming... The beast before him is making a horrible sound. Is it laughing...? The blades arc down, hungry for blood...)

(A shadow. Another. ...no...)

Misato (choked): ...I'm...sorry...Shinji...

Shinji (screaming): NO!!!

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(Shinji comes awake suddenly, violently. With the echoes of the nightmare still in his head, he is horrified when his eyes snap open and he finds himself looking into a face close to his surrounded by more red...)

Shinji (wailing): Oh God!

Asuka (shouting, falling backwards to the floor): Damn it!

(Shinji blinks and looks down at the floor. Asuka is staring up at him in shock.)

Shinji (bewildered): What-

Asuka (hissing): What the hell was that for?!

Shinji (blinking): S-Sorry! I-

Asuka (rolling to her feet, glaring at Shinji as she adjusts her uniform's skirt): You didn't peek, did you?

Shinji (blushing): Of course not!

Asuka (leaning down, growling): And what does that mean?!

Shinji (seeing the angry flush in the Second Child's cheeks): I-It means...um...

Asuka (grinning with a lot of teeth): ...Yes?

Shinji (hopping out of bed): ...um...I've got to make breakfast!

Asuka (looking down as he passes): Good excuse...?!

(There is a moment of silence as Asuka just stares.)

Shinji (pausing, turning his back to her): Uh...Asuka?

Asuka (her cheeks burning): Y-Yes?

Shinji (quietly): Can I get some privacy here?

(Asuka stands there gaping at Shinji for a full second. She can't stop blushing.)

Asuka (fisting her hands): Oh, sure! I am nice enough to wake you up and you kick me out of your room! Well, fine! See if I ever do anything nice for you again!

(Asuka pushes past Shinji and stomps out of his room. She stops at the doorway and spins on her heel so she is glaring right into Shinji's surprised face.)

Asuka (her eyes locked with his): Don't take too long, Third Child! I do not intend on going to school on an empty stomach!

(With that, Asuka slams Shinji's door with all her might for good measure. Asuka is silent for a moment as she listens to the sounds of Shinji getting dressed. Then, she turns and stalks toward the kitchen, her face grim.)

Asuka (thinking): He had better not have been dreaming about her!

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(Within the inner sanctum of Gendo Ikari, a battle of different sorts is taking place.)

Fuyutsuki (quietly): What do you intend on doing? No matter how...secure you may feel, you can not ignore this.

Gendo (gazing at the older man over his folded hands): ...

Fuyutsuki: Even with the Lance, you still have a duty to the rest of the World. NERV is not your personal military.

Gendo: I never implied that it was.

Fuyutsuki: So what are you going to do? If you do not obey their orders, they may bring the UN into this...then we would have a real mess.

Gendo: ...

Fuyutsuki: Commander, they are impatient...and the core sample-

Gendo: The Forsaken Project.

Fuyutsuki (growling): ...I always hated that name.

Gendo: Perhaps because you had a hand in it.

Fuyutsuki: ...we all have blood on our hands.

Gendo: ...

Fuyutsuki (pulling a hand out from behind his back and gazing down at it): They were dark times...

Gendo: ...yes.

Fuyutsuki (glancing stiffly over at Gendo): If you hadn't had that traitor bring the original to you, this, perhaps, could have been avoided...or at least ignored a bit longer.

Gendo: ...are you implying that it is my fault that the sample was used?

Fuyutsuki: You could have been more discreet and-

Gendo: And lurk in the shadows so much like a rat...is that what you were going to say, Professor?

Fuyutsuki (gritting his teeth): No. That was not what I was going to say. The Child should never have been born.

Gendo: On that matter, we agree.

Fuyutsuki (softly): How can you be sure of which path to take?

Gendo: ...

Fuyutsuki: ...Which part of your family are you going to abandon?

Gendo (calmly): ...you'll know when I know.

Fuyutsuki: ...and the Child?

Gendo: The Forsaken Project should never have been started outside these walls. If we are given the chance, we will terminate it.

Fuyutsuki: ...what about the passage in the Dead Sea Scrolls? We may begin something that we cannot control. I would advise you to use caution, sir.

Gendo (grinning under his hands): As always, Professor, your advice is duly noted.

Fuyutsuki (thinking): ...and ignored...

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(The Second Child is walking into the girls' restroom at her school. Her lips are tight and her eyes are blazing like two blue flames. It is this very face that caused several would-be admirers to look the other way...)

Asuka (pouting): I try and do something...nice for him and he reacts like I have a knife to his neck...

(Pause)

Asuka (grimly): The thought has some merit, though...

(Sniffling)

(Asuka stops dead in her tracks and she suddenly feels the tension in the bathroom. She had thought it was empty, but now, she is aware of another in the bathroom with her. Asuka pauses, then leans down to look under the stalls.)

Asuka (thinking): That one... Damn, I had better use the other bathroom down the hall-

(Sniffling)

Asuka (thinking): ...but no one was there when I needed someone... Mother...

(Asuka sighs and walks over to the occupied stall and leans her back against the door. She closes her eyes, then knocks on the door.)

Voice (choked, quietly): Go away.

Asuka: I need to use the bathroom.

(A shocked silence.)

Voice (softly outraged): There are three empty stalls!

(Asuka winces and looks down at the other stalls. She hadn't thought about that.)

Asuka: Well, maybe I like using the end stall!

Voice: ...Asuka?

Asuka (grinning): Ah, you know of me...

(The door is suddenly opened from the inside and Asuka stumbles back.)

Asuka (banging against the door as it comes to a stop, furious): What did you do that-?!

(Silence)

Asuka (whispering): Hikaru...

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(The rooftop is empty right now, as it should be, with classes in session. Asuka grimaces as she thinks about class.)

Asuka (thinking): I'm going to catch hell for this...

(The rooftop is an open area bordered by a high fence...to insure accidents didn't happen. The schoolyard below and the surrounding residential blocks are silent save the rising and falling whine of singing insects. The sun is high in the sky now, causing Asuka to shield her eyes as she looks around at the world about her.)

Asuka (sighing as the girl behind her remains silent): So, what's up with you? You don't seem like the type of go for a sobbing spell in the girl's bathroom, Sixth Child.

Hikaru (staring at her feet): ...

Asuka (her eyes cutting to Hikaru): ...maybe...you are having boy problems?

Hikaru (very quietly): It's not that.

Asuka (thinking): Damn...

Hikaru (lifting her face to the sunlight): ...I really don't know why I'm crying...

Asuka (blinking): "You really don't know..." What the hell is wrong with you?! You just go around in life, spontaneously bursting into tears?!

Hikaru: ...no...

(Asuka walks over to the fence and sits down with her back to it, folding her legs neatly under her skirt.)

Asuka (quietly): You really are a weirdo... Listen, you-you can't keep stuff bottled up inside. It just ends up...killing you in the end.

Hikaru (gasping as her eyes turn to the Second Child): What happened?

Asuka (leaning her head back against the metal fence, looking away): This isn't about me.

Hikaru: ...please?

(Asuka sighs and closes her eyes. She doesn't want to think about it, but the nightmares are always there.)

Asuka (softly): ...it was months ago...

Asuka (thinking): Why am I telling her this?!

Asuka: I was...attacked...

Hikaru (looking over at Asuka): What?

(Asuka opens her eyes slowly and she finds herself gazing up at the sun. It hurt, but the memories hurt more.)

Asuka (bowing her head slowly): I...was attacked by the Fifteenth Angel. It...seemed to rip me open...and look at all the horrible things in me.

Hikaru (her eyes slowly focusing on the girl before her): Asuka...

Asuka (her hands coming together in a desperate, double fist): I...could do nothing! It-It raped me of what I was...what I am! ...and I could do...nothing...

(Silence)

(Footsteps.)

(Asuka is shocked to feel Hikaru sit beside her and wrap an arm around her shoulders.)

Asuka (softly): I don't know why I'm telling this to a dummkopf like you...

Hikaru: Maybe because you needed to tell someone...

(Silence.)

Asuka (looking at the Sixth Child from beneath her bangs): Now...what the hell's wrong with you?

Hikaru (staring straight ahead): ...Asuka, I don't remember any of my family...

Asuka (eyes widening): That's it?! You can't-

Hikaru (whispering): I can't...remember anything about my past... My life began at the age of 13...

Asuka: ...

Hikaru: ...I...don't know who I am...where I came from...or where I'm going...

Asuka: ...that's sad.

Hikaru: Now...I find that a woman...I trusted as a...sister has been hiding my own past from me! My...family!

Asuka (slowly): Natasha Karpov?

Hikaru (softly): Yes... She knows about me...

Asuka: But that's stupid! Why would she hide such a thing from you?!

Hikaru (quietly): I don't know...but I'm going to find out. I just...don't want to hurt her-

Asuka (coming to her feet): Well, you are going to have to be strong, Sixth Child! If you want answers, you are going to have to grit your teeth, bear with it, and get what you want!

(Hikaru gapes up at Asuka. The fiery-haired girl has her hands on her hips and is glaring down at her expectantly.)

Hikaru (with a weak smile): Yeah...and Asuka?

Asuka: What?

Hikaru (walking toward the stairs): Thanks...

Asuka (blinking): ...sure.

(Silence)

Asuka (thinking): Mein Gott! I must be going soft!

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Kensuke (excitedly): It is completely working! See! The flaps extend and the landing gears even rotate into place when you open them with this switch! It is an exact replica of the new United States fighter, the F-145B!

Touji (yawning): I never could understand how you could be so interested in that stuff. Aren't kids supposed to grow out of toys-

Kensuke (shouting): This is a toy! It's a model! An exact model!

Touji (closing his eyes as he sipped the tea Hikari had prepared for him): Uh-huh.

(The "Three Stooges," at the moment, are sitting around Touji's desk, eating their lunches. Shinji is watching the by-play between his friends with wide eyes.)

Kensuke (turning pleading eyes to Shinji): You understand, right, Shinji? You understand that I'm a collector...and not some big kid!

Shinji (hesitant): Well...

Asuka (smirking): In my opinion, you are all just big, immature kids! It is only right that you play with little baaaby toys!

Touji (eyes flaring as he looks over Shinji's head): Hey!

Kensuke (bowing his head miserably): No one understands...

Shinji (turning in his seat, looking up): Asuka...

Hikari (growling): Speaking of immature...where were you at, Asuka?

(Asuka coming up short, dusting off her skirt to keep from meeting Hikari's glare.)

Asuka: Um...well, you see...

Kensuke (grinning up at the redhead): Wow, she's even starting to sound like Ikari!

Asuka (her eyes blazing): Just what are you saying, Little boy?!

Kensuke (crossing his arms across his chest): What does it sound like?

(Shinji looks away from Asuka, who continues to glower at Kensuke. The object of her rage grins at her, crossing his arms confidently over his skinny chest. It seems safe at the moment, especially with Shinji between him and the furious Second Child. Shinji senses movement a second before he feels it. Suddenly, Asuka braces her hands on the back of Ikari chair and throws herself forward over his chair, so that her face is right in a very stunned Kensuke's. Shinji's eyes snap wide when he feels Asuka's stomach pressing against the back of his head.)

Asuka (growling): It sounds like you are courting your death, Aida!

Touji (sneering): Well, well, isn't this intimate?  

Asuka (snapping her burning glare at Suzuhara): What the hell are you-

Hikari (timid, with a hint of laughter in her voice): Uh...Asuka?

(Asuka blinks then looks down. Shinji is staring up at her face, her hair falling on either side of his cheeks. Asuka's feels her face turn the color of her hair.)

Shinji (cheeks burning): Asuka...?

Asuka (closing her eyes): Shinji?

Shinji: Y-Yes?

Asuka (straightening violently): Don't get any ideas about this!

Hikaru: Asuka!

Asuka (sighing): Damn... What do you want, Sixth Child?

Hikaru (standing behind Asuka, her hands on her hips): And you accuse me of being loose?!

Asuka (spinning on the girl): Just a second! Don't tell me that you think that-

Hikaru (eyes narrowed): And if I do?

Asuka (growling): Then you can take your ideas and sho-

(The sudden, shrill ringing of a cell phone cuts the girl off and the children are struck into silence.)

Touji (whispering): Hey, Ikari, it's coming from your book bag!

Shinji (exchanging a glance with Asuka before reaching for the bag): It is...

(The Third Child reaches inside and opens the small cell phone and lifts it to his ear.)

Shinji (looking out the window at the cloudless, blue sky): ...hello?

(Asuka looks over at Hikaru and she sees something she was never expecting. Hikaru...understands what it is to get a call on the cell phone. Fear...is the only way to explain it.)

Shinji (blinking): Now?

(Pause)

Shinji: How will I-

(Pause)

Shinji (closing his eyes): I understand.

(There is no goodbye, no acknowledgement of the ending of the call. Shinji simply, quietly, closes the cell phone and stares outside.)

Hikaru (softly): S-Shinji?

Shinji (his hand balling into a fist at his side): I'm...needed at headquarters.

Asuka (scoffing): What is it that they only need you?!

Shinji (slipping his phone back into his bag): I don't know. I will see you all later.

(He picks up his bag and walks quietly toward the door.)

Asuka (thinking): What the hell?

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Misato (snarling): You bet I protest to this!

Fuyutsuki (shocked): Major-

Misato (shouting over the Vice-Commander): You can't tell me that this is all for the good of NERV!

(Gendo Ikari hasn't moved since the Major had stormed into his office a few moments earlier. The light from the Geo-Front glows on the lenses of his glasses. His elbows are braced on his desk and his hands are folded before his face, forming a subtle, but effective barrier between him and the enraged woman.)

Gendo (quietly): Are you implying that I would take the Third Child with me for personal reasons-

Misato (drawing herself up): With all due respect, sir, I don't give a damn about your "personal reasons!"

Gendo: I see.

Misato (chopping her hand away from her, as if to swipe away the lies): What I protest is the fact that you would take Shinji into such a hostile environment! Seele is no place for a child!

Gendo: Do you suggest I take some other Child...Pilot Soryu, perhaps?

(Misato finds her mouth open, but with no words to fire at the Commander.)

Gendo (lifting his head slightly so that his eyes flash beneath his glasses): Pilot Ikari is one of our best pilots. It is only right that he be used for this experiment.

Misato (her hands fisted at her sides): An experiment that could only be performed at an undisclosed location?

Gendo: Yes.

(Misato closes her eyes and struggles to regain control of herself. Her heart is pounding so hard in her chest, she is surprised the sound isn't echoing off the cryptic walls of Gendo Ikari's inner sanctum.)

Misato: What sort of protection is Shinji going to get?

Fuyutsuki: Are you saying that NERV cannot protect its people, Major Katsuragi?

(Misato opens her eyes slowly and Fuyutsuki draws back slightly at that which burns there. It reminds him too much of the young, tortured girl that had survived the horrors of the Second Impact.)

Misato (very quietly): I'm not saying that at all. However, I believe that the lies have gone on long enough. We all know the danger in this mission. You cannot tell me that you two are unaware of that factor.

Gendo (gazing silently at Misato): ...

Fuyutsuki (slowly): Seele would be foolish to attack in the eyes of the world. No matter what they believe, they still relay upon secrecy to operate.

(Gendo smirks under his folded hands.)

(Misato stares at the two of them...hard. Fuyutsuki turns his back to her, gazing out the window at the Geo-Front. Gendo continues to gaze at her, but his glasses seem to shield her from probing deeper than the surface.)

Misato (firmly as she turns away from the two, stalking toward the door): I will need a moment...alone with Shinji.

(She pauses at the door.)

Misato (softly): That is, with the Commander's permission, of course.

(She doesn't see Gendo's very, very slight nod. She didn't need to see it, for she is already out the door.)

Misato (very quietly, gritting her teeth): Damn it...

(She turns away and begins to stalk down the hallway.)

(Back inside Gendo Ikari's office)

Fuyutsuki (bowing his head slightly): ...God. 

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(Shinji is standing between two of the nondescript elite of NERV's Secret Service. They are both men, both in black suits and ties. They both hide their eyes with shades. They stand in one of the many briefing chambers within the confines of NERV Central. They had directed him there with no more than a simple "Come with us." Shinji is now leaning against the cold, metal wall, his head bowed with his handbag clasped between his hands. The Secret Service men are still and silent like a pair of statues on either side of him.)

(Shinji sighs and rolls his head back so he is staring at the shadowed ceiling over him. Surprisingly, the only light source in the room is aimed, not at the room, but at the symbol over his head. The blood-red symbol of NERV hovers over Shinji's head, almost like a twisted version of a halo. His eyes widen as his eyes read the words under NERV's emblem.)

Shinji (whispering): "God's in his Heaven, All's right with the World..."

(The word "God" flashes in the boy's mind.)

Shinji (thinking): If God is in his Heaven, then why are there Angels here-?

Misato: Shinji! There you are!

(Shinji jumps and looks over to find Misato standing right beside him, smiling brightly into his face.)

Shinji: M-Misato!

Misato (straightening, her voice chilling a few degrees): You two are dismissed. I will escort Pilot Ikari to the transport.

The Two Agents: Yes, ma'am.

(Shinji watches after them as they stride out of the chamber and close the door softly behind them.)

Shinji: I...never did like those guys.

Misato (resting a finger thoughtfully on her lips): Those guys in particular or the Secret Service in general?

Shinji (looking back into Misato kind face): I...don't know. They almost seem...

Misato (laughing): ..."Robotic?" Is that the word you were looking for?

Shinji (a hint of a grin tilting the boy's mouth): Yeah.

Misato (sighing as she began to guide Shinji toward the exit opposite of the one the agents took): Well, I guess it's their job to act like nothing can bother them, that they can handle anything.

(Shinji gazes up at Misato and he sees something that surprises him.)

Shinji (softly): You are...worried.

Misato: ...

Shinji: Misato...what is this all about? Those guys didn't tell me anything. I've got to admit that I'm getting a little nervous-

Misato (a little too brightly): Well, there's nothing to worry about! You are going to be all right!

Shinji (hesitant): You don't sound sure-

Misato (determinedly): Of course, I'm sure! I was born sure!

Shinji: Misato...

Misato (softly): You are going to be okay... NERV takes care of its own...all right?

Shinji (stopping, gazing up at Misato): I believe you.

Misato (a little wonder in her voice): ...you do...

(Misato bats her eyes once, to clear away some dust that got caught in her eye... Misato turns toward Shinji and places her hands on his shoulders.)

Misato: You will be fine. Before you know it, you will be home again, eating my famous cooking!

Shinji (grinning): "Famous" is right...but for all the wrong reasons!

Misato (scolding even as she chuckles): Oh, you are so mean!

(She gazes down at the boy for a long moment, then leans down and kisses his cheek very gently. Shinji's eyes snap open and he gasps.)

Misato (whispering into his ear): Be safe, my Shinji. You will be in my prayers.

Shinji (looking into Misato's teary eyes): Misato-

Pilot: Major, are we ready?

(Misato straightens away from Shinji and quickly wipes her eyes with the back of her hand.)

Misato (firmly): Yes.

Pilot: Good, because we are ready for take-off.

Shinji (blinking): "Take-off?" What's going on?

Misato (quietly): You are going on a little trip, Shinji. There's material on it in the jet.

Shinji (confused): Misato-?

(The pilot opens the door, revealing a small runway surrounded by an open field. The field is open, that is, except for the "No Trespassing" fences another several hundred meters away. On the runway is a small twin-engine, private jet. It wears no markings other than the red emblem of NERV on its tail. The entrance hatch is open and light is pouring out onto the runway's flattop.)

Shinji (walking hesitantly behind the Major and the pilot): Misato...I don't know-

Misato: ...

(The three climb the entrance ramp stairs and Shinji looks around the high-class cabin with wide eyes. The pilot takes his place next to his co-pilot in the cockpit and closes the door firmly. Shinji's eyes turn down the empty rows, searching for any other passengers. His eyes suddenly lock onto the last person he was expecting to see.)

Shinji (very softly): Father.

(Gendo Ikari has the overhead reading light on and is going over pages upon pages of text before him. If the older Ikari heard his son, he gives no sign of it. Misato grits her teeth.)

Misato (crisply): Major Katsuragi, delivering Pilot Shinji Ikari, as ordered, sir!

Gendo (without looking up): I am well aware of the fact, Major. You are dismissed.

(Misato balls her fists and is about to take a step toward the Supreme Commander when she feels a gentle hand on her wrist. Her surprised eyes turn down and she finds Shinji looking up at her with eyes too old and a smile that is almost too painful to look at.)

Shinji (softly): It's okay, Misato. I'm fine.

Misato (whispering): Shinji...

(Suddenly, the overhead PA system chimes and the pilot comes on.)

Pilot: Passengers, prepare for take-off.

Shinji: I will be all right. I will be back before you know it, right?

Misato: ...

(Misato reaches out and squeezes Shinji's shoulder gently before turning and stepping off the aircraft. Shinji glances over at his father and finds that the older man has not moved from his former position. The boy feels a wild rush of icy fear rake over his heart, but he forces it back. The boy slides into the front row and sits in the window seat.)

(The boy looks out and he can see Misato standing in the grass beside the runway, her arms wrapped around herself. Shinji can hear the roar of the jet's twin engines as it prepares to take-off. Even at this distance, Shinji can see Misato's eyes...they are very sad.)

Shinji (softly): Misato...

(The jet taxies to the end of the strip and the engines' collective scream is so loud that he can't even hear his last words.)

Shinji: Good-bye.

(He presses a hand to the view port and he knows Misato understands as she lifts a hand in response. It is then that he is pushed back into his plush seat as the jet thunders down the runway. When he cannot longer see his guardian, Shinji leans back in his seat and closes his eyes again...hoping the fear will go away. The NERV jet slowly slings east, toward the land of twilight.)

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

Ritsuko: He's gone, huh?

(The doctor has changed out of her usual lab-coat and into white sweater and dark green, knee-high skirt... She is about to go "home" for the first time in three weeks. The doctor is looking down at her best friend before her. Misato is sitting at a table by herself in the "Officer's Lounge." She is still in her sleek, black dress with her red flight jacket hanging over the back of the chair. She has a small, crystal glass of some tan liquor in her hand. According to the flush that is running across Misato's cheeks, she has been here for some time.)

Misato (quietly): Yeah...

Ritsuko (gesturing to the chair opposite of the Major): May I?

Misato (smirking darkly): It's a free country.

Ritsuko (blinking): It is? When did that happen?

Misato (taking a slow gulp of her drink): Be damned if I know.

(Ritsuko sighs and looks out the bay of windows besides the two women. The Geo-Front stretches out beside them. Night and day have no meaning within the artificial world, but the engineering team believed that it would give the creatures that lived there a sense of balance...of being normal. Ritsuko spots a railcar in the distance, jetting down toward the depths of NERV, sparkling against the darkness of the Geo-Front like a spider's thread.)

Ritsuko (looking slowly over at Misato): Are you going to be-

Misato (lifting her glass suddenly): A toast.

Ritsuko (cocking a brow as she glances down at her empty hands): Yes?

Misato (gazing with blurred eyes into the icy contents of her glass): To the Children... To those who may never return... And to those who we are too stupid to tell that we...love...

Ritsuko (quietly): Misato... 

Misato (gazing deeply into her glass): You know, Shinji once tried to break me of my drinking.

Ritsuko (bracing her cheek on her palm): Really? That must have been interesting.

Misato (her eyes glittering within her thick lashes): Yeah...he tried to change me over to orange juice. Me, drinking orange juice!

Ritsuko (grinning): Perish the thought.

Misato (looking closely into Ritsuko's face): That's just about what I told him!

Ritsuko: What happened?

Misato (swirling her drink around in her glass): I think he got the point when I had three beers after taking two sips of the juice.

Ritsuko (her eyes widening with mock amazement): You really downed two sips of orange juice? Wow, you must have cared about Shinji's feelings to make such an effort.

Misato (swaying a moment before regaining her balance): Yeah...but he looked so hurt before turning away to do the dishes. I didn't realize just how bad the boy shook me up until later. Then, I polished off the bottle.

Ritsuko (truly amazed now): I don't believe it.

Misato: ...

Ritsuko: Are you going to be all right?

Misato: ...

Ritsuko: Misato?

Misato (very quietly): Tell me he's going to be okay...

Ritsuko (sighing): I...I can't say.

Misato: Then, you got your answer.

(In the distance, Ritsuko can hear the sound of a railcar clipping back toward the surface.)

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

(The Sixth Child is walking slowly toward the door of her apartment. The sky is burning behind her in an explosion of reds, blues, and violets. She reaches out for the door, but her hand pauses just before the handle.)

Hikaru (thinking): I...

Natasha (very quietly): I'm over here, Hikaru.

(Hikaru gasps and spins toward the end of the outdoor hallway. Natasha has her hip braced against the concrete wall that keeps her from falling to the street five floors down. Her eyes are not looking at the girl, but rather at the sky.)

Hikaru (her arms straight at her sides): I-I'm sorry I ran away this morning, Ms Natasha. I-It was very cowardly of me-

Natasha (softly): You reacted true to your heart. I could never be angry with you for something like that.

(In the distance, a train's horn blares, breaking the silence that grew between the girl and woman.)

Hikaru (taking a hesitant step toward the Lieutenant): I-I'm not all right, am I?

Natasha (closing her eyes): No, you're not...

Hikaru (her hands balling into fists, shouting): What's wrong with me?! Why can't I remember my family?!

Natasha (her arms crossing under her breasts as if to hold back the chill that threatens her soul): You shouldn't have to remember those things-

Hikaru (shivering uncontrollably): You can't make those decisions for me!!

Natasha: ...

Hikaru (whimpering): Please...

Natasha (turning slowly toward Hikaru): You're right...

(Hikaru's violet eyes blink.)

Natasha (her eyes full of agony, from without and within): I have no right to hide your past from you...I never did.

Hikaru (bring a fist before her heart): Then why-?

Natasha (sighing slowly): Because you were almost my sister...

Hikaru: ...!!

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

(The land below him was icy, uninhabited by humans or anything else living. Rocky outcrops pierce the frozen earth, scraping the sky. The land folds upon itself, looking for the world like jagged, hungry mouths gaping up at him. Alaska is now a land of nightmares. Small, icy lakes of water cover the ground in spots, looking like pools of tears. Around him, cloud drift by like giant castles made out of marshmallows in a river of blood. The sky had taken on a reddish hue since they had neared the western most point of the United States. The jet is a mere speck amongst the strained, floating masses. His eyes turn back to the world below.)

Gendo: Man once tried to tame this land. During the Second Impact, this was one of first places to be effected. Once again, Nature showed Man His folly in the most blunt way possible.

(Shinji is still stares out the window, but he has become very stiff. He had not seen his father move from his place at the back of the plane. Now, the Commander was standing at his back, hand folded calmly behind him.)

Shinji (very quietly): Why did you ask for me? I know it was your decision in the end.

Gendo: You require a reason?

Shinji: Require? No, but, it would give me some comfort knowing why you chose me over...another.

Gendo: I chose you because I had to make a choice.

Shinji (gritting his teeth): That tells me nothing!

Gendo (eyes turning down to study Shinji's tense back): Have you read your briefing yet?

Shinji (quietly): ...no.

Gendo: You should do so before we reach out destination. Your life may depend on it.

Shinji (his eyes growing wide): M-My life?

Gendo (taking a seat next to Shinji): Yes.

(A strained silence fills the cabin of the aircraft. Gendo Ikari looks down at the files he has carried up with him while Shinji reaches out of the folder with his name on it. It is tucked in the pocket in front of his seat. Shinji's trembling hand slips and the folder flatters to the floor, dropping the papers in a heap at the boy's feet. Shinji grits his teeth and begins to quietly gather up the fallen papers.)

Gendo (not looking up from his files): You are afraid.

Shinji: ...

Gendo (turning a page): You have an hour to prepare yourself. You will not disappoint me.

Shinji (closing his eyes over his burning cheeks): Yes...sir.

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

Natasha (her body sprawled on the couch, her head laid back, eyes closed): Ryo Sohma was a very handsome, very cocky man.

(Natasha's dark eyes peek at the girl sitting in the chair across from her. Hikaru's face is pale, but her lips are very firm. Natasha feels her heart sink a little bit, but she closes her eyes and continues.)

Natasha: He transferred from Japan to Russia...I guess he found NERV's First Branch too...restricting. I heard rumors that he had a disagreement with someone higher up. I don't know. Ryo never talked about it.

Hikaru (softly): How did you meet...my brother?

(Rather than answer immediately, the Lieutenant turns her eyes to her right hand, which is draped casually across the back of the couch. The setting sun flashes off the polished gold and silver of her ring.)

Natasha (slowly): It was...about four years ago, when I met the arrogant new transfer from Japan...

[2011 AD, Spring...]

(It is raining hard. So hard that it is difficult to see more than a foot in front of your face. The train station is quiet except for the continuous roar of the rain on the rooftop. Young Sergeant Natasha Karpov stands alone on the platform. She is clad in a long, flowing overcoat that seems to swallow her up. Her sharp, eloquent features are shadowed by the black umbrella she is holding over her head.)

Natasha (thinking): It's late. God, it's cold out here!

(Natasha's dark eyes narrow in annoyance.)

Natasha (straightening up, taking on the gruff, stiff tone of her commanding officer): Don't put a bad face on the Russian military, Sergeant! Even if it takes all day, you wait for Dr. Sohma, understood?!

(Natasha sneezes and rubs her nose with her leather-clad glove.)

Natasha (muttering): Easy for you to say, you old bat! You aren't the one who has to sit out here in the wet and cold, waiting for some crotchety, foreign doctor!

(It is so subtle, Natasha doesn't notice the faint glow appearing down the tracks until she hears the train horn. Natasha jumps and looks toward the sound.)

Natasha (rubbing her hands against the chill): About damned time!

(The train's lights flash in warning as it begins to pull into the station. The hiss of airbrakes is so deafening that Natasha winces. The engine of the train rushes by with a bone-shuttering rumble, sending Natasha's overcoat flattering about her thighs. The train screeches to a halt before the woman. Natasha sighs and sets her free hand on her hip, waiting. The doors hiss open and tired-eyed passengers begin to file off, dragging suitcases and duffel bags with them.)

(Natasha feels like a idiot standing by the entrance to the train station with a handwritten sign that says "Sohma" held in her hand. Suddenly, a lanky, dark-haired man steps off the train and breathes in deeply.)

Natasha (thinking, smirking): What an idiot! Doesn't he realize that it is pouring?!

(The man sighs and slides his hands into his trench coat's pockets. His eyes spot her and she sees interest that she has seen so many times before.)

Natasha (thinking): Not only is he an idiot. He's also a pervert! Come on over here, pal! I'll give you a proper "Welcome Home!"

(Suddenly, the man picks up his simple, black suitcase and begins walking toward her. Natasha blinks in shock.)

Natasha (thinking): He can't be thinking of propositioning me! I mean, I will just have to break his nose, then!

(The man comes to stand before her and Natasha is more than a little annoyed that she has to tilt her umbrella back a bit to look him in the face. He is grinning down at her. He's got a nice smile...)

Man (sticking his hand out, his Russian very rough): Hello, I am Ryo Sohma. I believe you are my escort. It is so nice to meet you!

(Natasha finds that for the first time in her life that she doesn't have a thing to say for a whole heartbeat. Then,)

Natasha (wailing): You can't be!!

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

(Her footsteps in the gravel seem like vague, distant static to the Second Child. She is alone. A situation that was not entirely her choice.)

Asuka (her eyes staring at the gravel passing under her feet, thinking): Baka Shinji abandoned me again. Where the hell did he run off to?

(A gentle note from a flute whispers in the breeze, but Asuka doesn't really notice.)

Asuka (glaring at the lavender clouds drifting toward the horizon, thinking): And Heaven forbid that Hikari would want to walk her best friend home! Instead, she wants to waste her time with that pervert, Touji!

(Asuka sighs and stops on the gravel road. Her head turns and she gazes at the glowing, hushed city of Tokyo-3. The lights are starting to flicker to life as the sun begins to set.)

Asuka (thinking): I wonder if Misato is home, yet. Maybe she's worried about me...

(Asuka's lips twist bitterly.)

Asuka: Why the hell should I care?! She's not my mother!

(The Second Child seems to draw into herself.)

Asuka (quietly): I don't want...a mother...

(The flute sings on the wind again and Asuka blinks in surprise. She lifts her head and she finds Rei sitting on a bench, overlooking Tokyo-3.)

Asuka (softly, surprised): Rei?

(Rei is sitting with her legs crossed under her, her eyes closed, and her fingers moving with simple skill over her flute that makes Asuka's heart flutter. There is something about the girl's aura that is different. There seems to be more color in the First Child's face than before, but, perhaps, that is simply the light from the setting sun.)

(Rei continues to play a soft, simple song that seems to drift about her like a spell. If Asuka were the superstitious type, she would have said that Rei was a sorceress.)

Asuka (walking slowly up behind Rei, leaning against the back of the bench, thinking): Now, what's up with her?! One thing that has always remained the same was Wonder Girl! Now, she is sitting there, playing like she has known music all her life!

(The music stops suddenly.)

Rei (quietly): How long are you going to stare at me?

(Asuka gapes at the other girl for a moment, then shrugs her shoulders as if to drop her discomfort like a cloak.)

Asuka: Until I feel like stopping. I can't figure you out.

Rei: ...?

(Asuka walks around and sits beside the First Child, crossing one leg over another legs easily, while throwing her arms over the back of the bench.)

Asuka (muttering): Well, this is just a day of surprises, isn't it?

Rei: ...

Asuka (looking over at Rei expectantly): ...

Rei: ...

Asuka (snorting as she plants an elbow on her knee and braces her chin on her palm): Then again, some things always remain the same. You know, some people would say you are anti-social, Rei.

Rei: ...?

Asuka (growling): I mean people will think that you don't like to be around others!

Rei: ...should I care?

Asuka (eyes snapping wide): What?!

Rei (her eyes reflecting the color of the sky): Should I care...what people think?

Asuka (uneasily, shrugging a shoulder): Well...yeah! We are a social species! We depend on others to give us status and pride!

Rei (distantly): ...I care not for these things.

Asuka (jumping to her feet with a frustrated groan): I knew I should have kept walking! God, what was I thinking?!

(Asuka snatches up her school bag and starts stalking toward the gravel road.)

Rei: I care about...Ikari.

(Asuka staggers to a stop.)

Asuka (stunned, not looking at Rei): Y-You do?

(Asuka blinks and turns to face Rei with a smug grin on her face.)

Asuka: Oh, you mean Gendo Ikari! I almost forgot that you are his favorite!

Rei: ...

Asuka (leering, leaning down toward the First Child): Do you dream about him, First Child? Do you want him?

Rei: I don't understand.

Asuka (snorting): I would think not. A doll like you won't understand.

Rei: ...Asuka.

(Asuka blinks, shocked Rei said her name.)

Asuka (shaken): What?

Rei (wrapping her hands around the flute in her lap): I dream...of gold and red. I dream of Shinji. H...He is lost.

Asuka (her eyes snapping wide): What?!

Rei (her crimson eyes looking down at the instrument in her hands): I dream of grinning faces and a lost child. I see...many things-

Asuka (shouting): What are you talking about?!

(Asuka spins about and begins running away from the First Child. Rei continues to stare at her flute in her lap. The sun sets behind the foothills surrounding Tokyo-3 and the shadows cover Rei.)

Rei (very softly): I don't want...I don't want to dream this dream anymore. Because I dream of death...

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

(There is the crackling of something burning close by. For a second he believes he has been blinded, but then he lifts his head and finds that he can still indeed see. The world has stopped shaking and spinning, but now, nothing makes sense.)

Shinji (groggy): Where?

Gendo (quietly): We have crashed.

Shinji (eyes snapping wide as he turns his head slowly toward the source of his father's voice): What?!

(Gendo Ikari is standing in the aisle, or what remains of it, brushing his sleeve off. Somehow, his glasses are still on his face.)

Shinji: I don't understand-

Gendo (coolly): You are bleeding. Take care of that.

(The Commander begins walking toward the front of the jet.)

Shinji (suddenly desperate): Father! Don't leave me here!

Gendo (pausing): I am merely checking the cockpit.

Shinji (softly): For survivors-?

Gendo: No. For a working radio.

Shinji: ...

(Gendo disappears into the gloom of the cabin and Shinji pushes himself into a sitting position once more. His eyes turn about to look at his surroundings. The cabin is twisted like the interior of a crushed tin can. The windows are either shattered completely or covered with spider-webs of cracks. Several gaping scars in the fuselage reveal the burning, red sky outside. The wind howls like a tortured demon, making Shinji shiver.)

Shinji (whispering): A world of nightmares...

(There is something wet on his forehead and he reaches up. His hands comes away slick with blood.)

Shinji (distantly): I'm bleeding-

(A white, medical-aid kit drops into the seat next to the Third Child and he gazes at it for a long moment, not understanding where it had come from.)

Gendo: If you don't stop the bleeding you will be of no use to me. Handle it!

Shinji (not looking up at the Supreme Commander): Yes, sir.

(Gendo Ikari turns away again and comes to the cockpit door. His hand twists the knob and the door doesn't budge. Gendo frowns, annoyed. He takes a step back and slams his foot into the door. Unable to resist, the door caves in and Gendo pushes his way into the mangled cockpit.)

Gendo (his eyes gliding efficiently over the scene before him): ...

(The co-pilot is gone. Obviously, he had not been buckled in before the jet's unexpected "landing." The co-pilot's forward window was shattered outward with blood glistening on the shards. Gendo can see the twisted form of the co-pilot some five hundred meters away.)

Gendo (looking down): I see they have done their homework.

(The pilot's head was embedded in the control panel. The radio is...burnt out. Apparently, there had been a short-lived fire after the "landing.")

Gendo (his eyes flashing in the dark light as he reaches out toward the control panel): How thoughtful of them...

--------

(Shinji has never had to apply first-aid to anyone. The issue has never come up. He finally ended up with a thick bandage around his head. He had tied it tightly, hoping to stop, or at least slow down the bleeding.)

(Shinji looks up and finds his father standing before him, his eyes lost in shadows.)

Gendo: We are leaving.

Shinji (coming slowly to his feet): The pilots-

Gendo: That is irrelevant. It is time to go.

Shinji (balling his fists): If there is something we can do for them-

Gendo (moving toward the exit hatch): If you want to tend to the co-pilot, he is wrapped around an outcropping. It would seem that his heart has been displaced by a rather sharp shard of glass.

Shinji (bowing his head): My God-

Gendo (reaching into a small supplies closet by the door): If you want to help the pilot, I would suggest that you get something to wedge his head free of the dash-panel, first-

Shinji (quietly): Okay, enough.

Gendo: ...

(Commander Ikari pulls out a pair of thick, winter jackets, one backpack, and a box of flares.)

Shinji (softly): You came prepared.

Gendo: Correct.

Shinji: Did you know-

Gendo: That is not important now.

Shinji (his eyes cold as they stepped outside the down aircraft): Did you care?

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

(Fuyutsuki walks swiftly into the briefing room. The word on the Commander and Shinji's flight had come only a few moments before. He is shaking his head until he spots the dark form seated at the head of the table.)

Fuyutsuki (quietly): Major...

(The lights are turned so low that much of Misato's face is cast in shadows. The long, marble-top table reflects the indirect lighting aimed at the ceiling on its smooth, cool surface. The room is rectangular with dark carpet, so the light seems even dimmer. Misato is at the head of the table, her visible eye cold, composed...dead. Her hands are folded before her face.)

Misato (her head slightly inclining): Sir.

(Fuyutsuki gazing at the woman across the room from him and it feels like the temperature in the room had just pummeled.)

Fuyutsuki (clearing his throat uncomfortably): You got here quickly-

Misato (quietly): Did you expect anything else?

Fuyutsuki (folding his hands behind his back, determined to look the Major in her eyes): No. Your...feelings on the matter have never been in question.

Misato: Did he not believe me or is it his arrogance to blame-?

Fuyutsuki (softly): Misato-

Misato (her voice distant): Do you realize that I always believed that I would lose Shinji to the Angels someday? If you had told me all those months ago that it would be my own kind to rip him from my grasp, I would have laughed...

(Fuyutsuki looks away from Misato's level, dim gaze.)

Fuyutsuki: Major, I'm sorry for you.

Misato: ...

(The door of the room suddenly slides open. Ritsuko, Maya, Shigeru, and Hyuga walk in, talking quietly until they see Misato.)

Misato (gesturing to the empty seats): Take a seat, everyone. This will not take long.

(Maya blinks and shakes her head sadly.)

Maya (thinking): How many times? How many times does she have to go through this?!

(Fuyutsuki takes the seat at the other end of the table, his eyes cast down. The others gaze at Misato.)

Misato (looking over at Maya): Report.

Maya (clenching her jaw a moment before beginning): Um...at 03:56, local time, we lost contact with Commander Ikari's aircraft. There was not much warning. From radio transmissions, all seemed fine until 03:55, when we received this transmission.

(At Misato's slight nod, Maya clicks the button on the side of the table for the audio/video controls.)

(The voice comes from the speaker overhead.)

Pilot (calmly): We are passing checkpoint Alpha-Alpha-Tango. We have...um...open skies and are processing to-What the hell?! What is tha-

(Suddenly, there is a violent distortion in the radio frequency and the two pilots' screams echo within the chamber. Abruptly, the transmission stops. Thankfully, for some in the briefing room.)

Ritsuko: Were there any weather disturbances in the area? The pilot seemed surprised about something.

Hyuga (looking down at the files he brought with him): It would not be shocking. Here.

(He clicked on the video display at the end of the room. The silence is so thick that speech seemed impossible for a moment. Then, Hyuga clears his throat.)

Hyuga (gesturing toward the image): This is a satellite view of the area formally known as Alaska. Once, it was one of the United States. However, after the Second Impact, this area was mostly submerged...killing almost the entire population that lived in it. After a few...mishaps with people trying to bring life back to this section of the planet, the United States restricted access to this area to any civilians, renaming Alaska "The Second Impact Memorial Park."

(Silence)

Hyuga (quietly): Nothing...lives there anymore. A heavy blanket of red hued dust covers the sky. It is a very cold and hostile environment.

Misato (quietly): Thank you, Hyuga. Shigeru?

Shigeru (nodding quickly, glancing at Maya and Hyuga before starting): Due to that blanket of dust, any further use of satellites is basically useless. Optical scans can't pierce that constant cloud-cover.

Ritsuko (leaning forward on her elbows): What about infrared scans?

Shigeru (his mouth twisting sadly): That same cloud-cover has strange...properties.

Ritsuko (eyes narrowed): What strange properties?

Shigeru (coughing nervously): There are...shadows...

Ritsuko (blinking): "Shadows?"

Shigeru (shrugging his shoulders as if to relieve tension there): While I was scanning the area, I came across about twenty-five...(cough) million, individual "shadows-"

Misato (quietly): What are these..."Shadows," as you call them?

Maya: They are energy readings, Major... Readings of things that are not...there.

Misato (closing her eyes): I see.

Fuyutsuki: So, the only way we can verify...anything is by sending someone to check out this place, personally.

Shigeru (nodding slowly): Yes, sir. That is basically what I'm saying.

Fuyutsuki: What a mess...

Misato (lifting her eyes from the marble table, looking at everyone in turn): So we have missing people in the United States' "Second Impact Memorial Park."

Ritsuko (concerned): Misato, what are you-

Misato (coming to her feet, her eyes blazing quietly within the shadows of her face): Vice-Commander Fuyutsuki, with your permission, I would like to lead a team on a rescue mission.

(Silence fills the room as Fuyutsuki doesn't give an immediate answer. He gazes at the Major quietly, as if trying to measure Misato's heart. Should Shinji be dead...)

Fuyutsuki (softly): Request granted. Gather your team, Major Katsuragi, find our people, and get back here ASAP.

Misato (saluting sharply): Yes, sir. Hyuga, you're with me. We start now.

(Hyuga jumps to his feet and gathering up his papers quickly.)

Hyuga (quickly): Yes, ma'am!

(Misato glides out of the room, her eyes never turning from the door. Hyuga looks up at the satellite image still floating on the screen at the end of the room.)

Hyuga (quietly): Oh, man...

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

(It is night outside now. The lights of Tokyo-3 glow outside the Karpov apartment, but it goes unnoticed by those within the home. Lights seem unnecessary, somehow, and Hikaru lights a match within the darkness. Her fingers guide the burning sliver of wood over a wick. The newborn flame flickers in the girl's eyes and she seems lost for a moment. Then, she turns and looks at Natasha. The Lieutenant is still seated at the couch, looking pale despite the lack of true light.)

Hikaru (her voice aching): If-If you don't want to-

Natasha (closing her eyes): It is too late now. I can't stop here.

Hikaru: ...

Natasha (rolling her head back, speaking into the shadows of the ceiling): Your brother was a flirt, a bastard, and a clown.

Hikaru (starting to rise from her chair): What-?!

Natasha (quietly): Be he was also more than that. He had a kindness that he often hid from the eyes of others. NERV is hardly an organization that would recognize such an emotion as anything other than weakness.

Hikaru: ...

Natasha: He also had an indomitable spirit that, sometimes, I despised! He would never leave me alone! Most guys would take a hint! When not on duty, he flirted almost constantly with me! The bastard would do it wherever he felt like it. He didn't care!

Hikaru (softly): I don't understand-

Natasha (looking Hikaru in the eye): I told myself that my job was enough, that I didn't need a social life. I felt that I didn't want...a family.

Hikaru: ...I...see.

Natasha (smiling despite herself): No, I don't think you do. My family was rich. My father had been a man that had invested deeply into international stocks. After...the Second Impact, many of those shocks paid off very well due to the reconstruction effort.

(Natasha grit her teeth at the memories.)

Natasha (growling): I was my family's little princess! I always felt like I was some sort of dress-up doll to be showed off to the world!

(Silence)

Natasha (slowly, her eyes flashing in the candlelight): Maybe that's why I joined NERV. I wanted to do more than simply watch from the sidelines while my father got fat off of other people's suffering.

Hikaru: You felt that by doing anything other than acting for the good of the organization, you were going back on that...ideal.

Natasha (her eyes hidden by the fall of her blond hair, very softly): ...yes.

Hikaru (her eyes not unkind): So you resisted my brother.

Natasha (chuckling softly): For all the good it did me. Even while I thought he was a flirt, I realized when your brother was sincere. There was a...look that he got in his eye. It was like there was nothing you could hide from him.

(Natasha looks up at Hikaru, gazing deeply into the Sixth Child's eyes.)

Natasha: Perhaps, it is a talent that is hereditary.

Hikaru: ...!

Natasha: Well, it was a situation that could not remain the same forever. He was pushing and I was pushing right back! And then, it came to a point...and I could never go back to the way I was...

[2011 AD, Winter...]

(It is an isolated corridor within the facility of NERV's third branch. Young Natasha is dragging Ryo behind her. Her eyes are blazing with fury that she can barely contain. Holding in her anger has never been her strong point. The doctor is walking willingly behind her, an amused grin stretching his mouth. When she can go no further, she spins about on the tall doctor.)

Natasha (snapping): What the hell was that?!

Ryo (cocking his head to the side): What do you mean?

Natasha (lifting one of her hands before his face, a crumpled piece of paper peeking from between her fingers): What the hell is this?!

Ryo (contemplating the crumpled piece of paper deeply): Hmmm... It appears to be the little note that I handed to Ega to pass to you. Didn't you get it, sweetness?

Natasha (very slowly, between her teeth): You know damned well I got it! I also I know everyone else in the Command Center heard about it, too! Ega is one of the biggest loud-mouths on the entire base!

Ryo (scratching his cheek, looking up in embarrassed thought): Really? I had no clue! If I caused you any grief by it-

(Natasha suddenly launches herself at the doctor and grabs him by the lack of his lab-coat. Her attack sends Ryo back into the opposite wall.

Natasha (snarling up into his face): Now you listen to me, Doctor Sohma! You will stop this, immediately! I refuse to go out with a flirty, cocky, arrogant son of a bitch like you!

Ryo (grinning as he rests his hands on Natasha's slender shoulders): You forgot handsome as hell. Give the idea some time. I'm sure you'll come around.

Natasha (shouting): Don't you get it?! You aren't my type! You do your job and I will do mine!

(Ryo's eyes narrow and suddenly Natasha feels like she has walked into a minefield.)

Ryo (very quietly): That's not good enough. I'm not going to stop. Ever. You'd better remember that, my dear, sweet Natasha. I need you.

(Natasha can only gape at the man in front of her. His eyes are darker than they usually are. They seem to drink in the light around them. Suddenly, he smiles gently.)

Ryo: You'll come around. Trust me.

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

Shinji (lifting his head slowly, his features flicking in the firelight): Do you think they are looking for us?

(The wind is howling outside, threatening to break into the dubious protection of the shallow cave. Gendo and Shinji are seated opposite of each other. The tiny flame between them is like a baby chick without its mother; weak and sure to die soon. Commander Ikari's glasses flash in the firelight.)

Gendo (calmly): That is irrelevant-

Shinji (shouting): How can you say that?! Don't you care if we live or die out here?!

Gendo: ...

Shinji (dragging his medical blanket tightly about himself, softly): I don't even understand...what is happening anymore. With...with the Angels, it was easy to know who the enemy was. Everything was straight forward. I didn't have to wonder about what to do or who to trust.

Gendo: ...

Shinji (the fire reflecting in his eyes): But this isn't good enough for you, is it? There are...things out there...that shouldn't be-

Gendo: Things you don't have to worry about-

Shinji (his fists threatening to tear the blanket, shouting): Liar! You can't tell me that!

(Silence reigns in the small cave as father and son measure each other.)

Shinji (feeling that his mouth was moving against his will): Kaoru wasn't a mistake, was he? He was created, just like Rei!

Gendo: ...

Shinji (gazing at his father under his bangs): Don't you think that I don't understand some of it! You did something...horrible...didn't you?

Gendo: ...

Shinji (bowing his head): Did you think I wouldn't recognize those eyes?

Gendo (picking up a twig and tossing it into the fire): You don't know what you saw.

Shinji (softly): Don't I?

Gendo: You don't understand anything. You are chasing shadows.

Shinji: What is the truth, then?

Gendo: ...

Shinji: ...well?

Gendo (coming to his feet): It is time to go. We have spent enough time here.

Shinji (the blanket snapping about him as he begins to follow his father, softly): Coward.

Gendo (the wind roaring about him, quietly): Someday, perhaps, you will understand.

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

(There are two shadows on either side of him. He is sitting on one of the briefing benches, alone, staring at his hands between his knees.)

Voice 1 (softly to the other): I don't know about you, but this kid creeps the hell out of me!

Voice 2 (a little grim): Well, us Grunts don't really have a say in who can tag along on a mission. I mean, you are here after all!

Voice 1 (growling): You know what you can do with your ideas! Still, I'm not sure if he's even...human. I mean, he's been staring at his hands for the last two hours! If I didn't know better, I would say that he was a marionette or something! And those eyes...

Voice 2: As I said, we don't question orders. Just follow them. You would be wise not to ask many questions. We are dealing with some serious players here!

Voice 1 (stiffly): If you ask me, this doesn't seem like much sport! Are the targets even armed?

Voice 2: You and your "Code of Honor!" In some professions, it is best to leave those things at home!

(The light is growing dim. The lanterns hanging from the large survival tent's supports are running low on fuel. The two men in the tent had turned off the heater several minutes ago.)

Voice 1 (whispering behind his hand): We turned off the heater and still he sits there! I wonder if he will move when it is time to move out? Maybe, we can just leave him here!

Voice 2: You would leave a little boy to fend for himself in this wilderness?

Voice 1 (snorting): You might feel sorry for leaving the little freak-show out here, but not me! Did you see what he did-

Voice 2 (snapping quietly): There are some things that we are not supposed to talk about!

Voice 1: Yeah, yeah, the "I see no evil, hear no evil" routine. Don't worry, I'm not talking.

Voice 2 (firmly): See that you don't, because there's no second chance with these people!

(There is a soft chirping and one of the men looks down at his wristwatch.)

Voice 1: Well, it's about time! Let's get this thing down and packed away. If the boy doesn't-

(Just then, the boy stands and begins walking toward the exit of the tent. As it happens, the path takes him right in between the two men. The two guys step quickly aside, as if the boy is on fire and they don't want to be burnt. The boy pushes open the flap to the tent and the horrible cold rips by him and fills the tent. The boy pauses to zip up his thick jacket and then continues outside. The flap flutters in the wind and one of the men looks at his companion.)

Voice 1: And why the hell is he wearing shorts in Alaska?!

Voice 2 (shrugging uneasily): I've seen stranger things...

Voice 1: I'm sure you have.

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

(The door clicks softly as Asuka opens it. The apartment is dark and very quiet.)

Asuka (glaring at her watch): Where the hell is everyone?!

(Silence greets her and Asuka rubs her shoulders against the chill that is more than physical.)

Asuka (muttering): Some reception... Don't tell me that Misato is working late again!

(Silence)

(Asuka stiffens her back, pushes away aloneness as if it was a leper, and stomps through the apartment. Her fingers lash out at power switches randomly, flooding the home with light in several seconds flat. With that done, she rushes almost desperately over to the television and clicks it on. The senseless chatter of some news broadcast blares forth and Asuka doesn't feel so isolated.)

Asuka (setting her hands on her hips): That's better!

(The Second Child glares toward the kitchen.)

Asuka (stiffly): I guess it is too much to hope that Shinji would have made dinner this morning.

(Asuka is quiet for a moment as she remembers the image of Shinji at their school window, his eyes very tired as he takes that anonymous phone call.)

Asuka (violently shaking her head): Of course, he won't think ahead! Dummkopf!

(More senseless chatter from the TV.)

Asuka: Of course not...

(Sensing herself becoming depressed, Asuka stalks into the kitchen like a force of nature. Her eyes lock onto the refrigerator and she walks over to it and throws open the door. She quickly snatches up a can of soda and marches down to the bathroom.)

(Seconds later the roar of the bath can be heard through the apartment.)

Asuka (sitting down on the toilet seat): Nothing like a bath to wash your worries away.

(Her finger snaps open the can of soda and she tilts it to her mouth.)
Asuka (her eyes looking around at the tiled walls about her): I never noticed how quiet this place gets without the others.

(Asuka shrugs her shoulders and begins unbuttoning her blouse.)

Asuka: It's not like I need someone here, with me! I mean, I just don't like silence.

(Asuka steps out of her uniform and folds it neatly on the toilet seat. Then, she slides into the tub and sighs as the water's warm burns away the chill that had settled about her.)

Asuka (muttering): What the hell could have happened that they would only have needed Shinji? It's not like he's the best pilot! If anyone, I should have been called! The Third Child is such a wimp!

(An image flashes in Asuka's mind. Shinji's face. Troubled by bad dreams. Her thoughts echo back to her. As her head had lowered toward his, "Just one...just to wake him up...")

Asuka (her lips twisting bitterly): Of course, even in his sleep, Shinji screws everything up! It wasn't like I was going to hurt him or anything...

(Asuka lifts the can of soda to her lips and takes a slow gulp of it. She sighs deeply and lays back. Her hair floats freely about her face and she gazes at the ceiling.)

Asuka (as she lifts a lock of her hair before her eyes, her voice hard with insult): I happen to think I have a very beautiful hair color!

(Asuka closes her eyes and pushes her head back in the water so that all her hair is submerged.)

Asuka (thinking): ...idiot.

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

(The snow beneath Shinji's feet crunches rhythmically as he and Gendo make their way through the wasteland. There is no sun and Shinji can't see the stars. Somehow, his father seems to know where he is going.)

Shinji (thinking): He acts like he knows of a destination, yet, he looks at no maps and hasn't looked at his compass in hours! Could it be that he...knew that this was going to happen?

(There are trees surrounding the two. Rather, there are what remains of trees as they were before the Second Impact. Only now, the trees are charred black and stand like so many claws reaching for the blood-red sky. Shinji suddenly remembers why he has kept his eyes cast down for the last hour.)

Shinji (gazing at his father's back, softly): F-Father?

Gendo: What is it?

Shinji (forcing his eyes up): D-Do you know...why the sky is red?

(The question seems childish at first. A question a young child asks its parent when it is first taken outside and gazes at the sea of blue overhead. But the question seems to change into something else in a space of seconds. Where the hell are they where the shy is the color of blood and the land is like a corpse. What had happened here?)

Gendo: ...rather than blue?

Shinji: ...yes.

Gendo: ...

Shinji: ...

Gendo (not looking at the boy): You would not understand.

Shinji: Why do you say that?

Gendo: You believe that things are inherently fair and just. You believe that we live in a world that encourages life.

Shinji: ...

Gendo (his eyes flashing behind his glasses): This is false. It never was true.

Shinji (softly): Did we do...something?

Gendo: ...our hands are not clean.

Shinji (quietly): ...I see...

Gendo: You don't need to understand.

Shinji (looking at the back of his father's head): Why?

(There is a long moment where only the land around them speaks. Gendo continues to walk with his slow, gliding stride while Shinji gazes at him, waiting.)

Gendo (his voice very quiet): Because some innocence should not be destroyed...

Shinji (coming around a large tree, following his father): What-

Voice (shouting): Halt!

(Gendo Ikari stops in his tracks, his eyes invisible within the shield of his glasses. Shinji staggers to a halt a few steps behind his father, his eyes growing wide. The man before them has night-vision goggles on. His body is wrapped up in thick, white and black, heated-clothing. In his hands, he has an automatic rifle fitted with a laser-sight. At the moment, the laser point is flickering over Gendo Ikari's indifferent face.)

Gendo (calmly): Are you intending on shooting us on the spot? We are not armed-

Soldier (reaching to tap the comm unit attached to his ear, snarling): Shut up! I'm going to call this in!

(Gendo Ikari senses the moment young man's eyes turn away from him and he makes his move. A second later, a flare is spinning through the air, burning like a small sun between the soldier and the Supreme Commander of NERV. The soldier screams as he rips the goggles off his face. Suddenly, a handgun fires and young man is jerked back and lands heavily in the snow. The wound in his shoulder begins to ooze blood on the white fluff.)

(Gendo walks slowly up to the man and levels his handgun in the man's face. His finger tightens and pauses.)

Shinji (whispering, horrified): Father...

(Gendo's face is a stark mask in the burning night. Gendo narrows his eyes and cautiously holsters the handgun.)

Gendo (grim): He will call this in the moment he regains consciousness. We have to be gone before that happens.

(Shinji presses a hand against his pounding heart as he steps around the downed soldier.)

Shinji (softly): Thank you...

Gendo: Next time, I will have to shot him in his head. Then, we won't have this discussion.

Shinji: ...

(They move toward the other end of the clearing when Gendo hears the click of the rifle being picked up. Gendo turns his head to look over his shoulder.)

Boy (the rifle held with both of his hands): No more...

(Gendo slowly turns and Shinji spins about to face the boy opposite of him. Shinji's eyes widen in shock.)

Shinji (whispering): Y-You...

(In the dark light of the Alaskan night, the boy's white hair glows like spun moonlight. The hair is wild and unkept about the boy's face, but Shinji can still see those eyes that had haunted him since their last meeting. Red. Indifferent. Emotionless. ...Rei.)

Gendo (slowly): This explains a lot.

Boy: ...

Gendo: What are you intending on doing with that?

Boy: Death.

Gendo: I see.

(The boy lifts the rifle toward Gendo, but Shinji is suddenly in the way.)

Shinji (crying out): Please, no! Please, you spared my life before... You don't have to do this!

Boy: ...

Shinji: Y-You remind me of a girl I know... She is very special to me. When I first spoke to her...she was so cold, so distant that I felt like she was some sort of robot or puppet.

Boy (eyes slowly turning toward Shinji): ...

(Shinji begins to walk toward the boy. Shinji's eyes trace the face that is different, yet familiar. The boy's face is delicate, like Rei's and Kaoru's, yet there is something more. Something that he can't quite understand. The boy before him remind him of...himself.)

Shinji (reaching out to the boy): You don't have to listen to anyone you don't want to. You are your own person! With the girl I told you about...she is not a puppet. She has emotions... She doesn't always know how to repress them...but they are there! I know you are more than you reveal!

(The boy eyes lower toward the rifle in his hands. The laser point is now hovering over Shinji's heart. One pull of the trigger...the mission would be over. His head is hurting. All he has to do... All he has to do...)

Shinji: You are not a puppet. You can be more... Please, come with me. When we met last...your eyes they seemed so sad. You don't have to be sad anymore.

Boy (suddenly looking up, his eyes fierce): Third Child...

(The crack of a gun echoes through the wastelands of Alaska.)

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

(She is so tired. She wants to rest, but she can't. Not yet.)

Natasha (slowly): Your brother treated me like a princess, but this time, I didn't mind it so. It is kind of hard to get mad at such a handsome man for pampering you!

(Hikaru nods slowly.)

Natasha (her eyes suddenly sly): You understand, of course.

Hikaru (blinking, her cheeks heating): W-What do you mean?

Natasha (grinning at the girl): Don't think I don't know about that little side trip to the museum you made with Ikari.

Hikaru (her fingers fluttering nervously in her lap): Yeah, um...well, that was a thing between...friends! Yes, that's it, friends.

Natasha (chuckling softly): Yeah, right.

(Hikaru bows her head, blushing hotly.)

Hikaru: You're mean to tease me about that!

Natasha (waving that away): It's my nature! You should know that by now!

Hikaru (grumbling): That doesn't make it right...

Natasha (sighing): Well, you're brother introduced me to that demon. He had me speaking my mind when I should have kept my trap shut! If it weren't for the fact that he was so high in the order of things, I'm sure I would have been canned more than once!

(Natasha's eyes grow distant again and she folds her hands in her lap.)

Natasha (softly): Sometimes, when a person seems so strong and confident...it is easy to forget that they can hurt like everyone else. Have you ever seen a man cry? I mean, really cry? This was something new to me. I never felt so helpless...or so needed as when I had to comfort your brother over a devastating loss.

Hikaru (her heart pounding): "Devastating loss..."

Natasha (looking up, her eyes fierce): You will understand someday...I'm sure. As much as I wish it otherwise.

Hikaru: ...

Natasha: That is when you came to live with me. I had never lived with a child before.

Hikaru (quietly): What was I like?

Natasha (closing her eyes): You were very quiet, soft spoken. You were...recovering. At first, I wasn't sure that I could handle the duty.

(FLASHBACK: Ryo (setting his hands on Natasha's shoulders): I won't have it any other way. I am of no use to my baby sister right now. Please...my love.)

Natasha: ...

Hikaru (blinking): And...?

Natasha (looking up, her eyes steel in the candlelight): That's how I came to know your brother. That's why I have a picture of him in my room. That's how you almost become my sister.

Hikaru: B-But what about the rest of it?! What about my family?! Why stop now?!

Natasha (snapping): Because I will not have you hurt! That's why!

(A stunned silence reigns and Natasha looks away.)

Natasha: Life is full of those unanswered questions-

Hikaru (jumping to her feet, hands fisted at her sides): But not like this! How can you expect me to accept this?!

Natasha (her voice tired, choked): What do you want, Hikaru? Do you want me to rip out my heart just so that you can hurt yourself? Knowing the truth will accomplish nothing.

Hikaru (bowing her head): I-I want so much more...

Natasha (standing up slowly): I know. God, how I know, baby...

(Natasha gently grasps Hikaru's shoulders and draws her toward her. Natasha is so sure that the girl will pull away that she is shocked when she has the girl in her arms. Natasha can feel the girl's quiet tears on her neck and she kisses the top of Hikaru's head.)

Natasha (whispering): Someday, you will understand on your own. When you do, remember that I am always here for you.

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

(His breathing is jagged, but nothing that he feels shows in his face. The wind tears at him, but he continues forward. The dead woods rise on either side of him and the rest of the world stretches before him. In his arms, the Third Child lays his cool cheek against his neck. The boy's hand is hanging down, swinging limply with every step he takes. Blood coats the boy's hand.)

(Shinji's blood.)

(Shinji is bleeding to death and there is nothing he can do about it.)

(Except keep walking.)

Gendo (softly): When you were a baby, you were never one to sleep easily.

(Silence)

Gendo: You would cry. You always wanted to be held when you slept.

(Silence)

Gendo (his naked eyes looking down at the boy in his arms): Yui would get up, hold you, and sing you to sleep. It was such a simple, aimless song that seemed to change from line to line.

(Silence)

Gendo (staggering over a slippery patch of ice, then continuing on): I had important things to work on. The survival of Mankind depended on me then as it does now. I would work long nights while Yui cared for you.

(Silence)

Gendo (very softly, his eyes half-closed): She never knew. She never knew that I would come and stand outside your room. I would listen to her sing to you. Quiet your tears. Soothe your soul. And watch over you as you slept.

(Silence)

Gendo: Mankind was supposed to come first. Is it so wrong that I wanted something else?

(A humming in the distance.)

(Gendo Ikari looks up into the seething sky and like a metal bird-of-prey, a NERV VTOL craft hovers down toward them.)

Gendo (watching the NERV transport): Yui...would have been pleased...

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

(He is sleeping now. He looks so peaceful that it is hard to believe that she had come so close to losing him...again.)

Misato: You are a hard guy to track down...

(Shinji snores lightly.)

Misato (determinedly cheerful): Well, we are going to patch you up and you are going to be good as new! Soon you will be at home, eating my cooking!

(She looks over at the portable heart-monitor next to the field bed. Soon, they would be heading back to Japan and Shinji would be seen at the hospital. Misato is sure he is just going to love waking up there again. Misato looks around the field tent that they had set up. It isn't large, but it is tall enough to walk standing straight up. It is heated and it is secure. There is a medic sitting on a foldable chair by the entrance. He is kind enough to act like he hasn't heard a word.)

Misato (brushing Shinji's hair back from his face): You hang in there. I'll be right back.

(She stands up and walks toward the flap of the tent. The NERV camp is set up outside the notorious land of Alaska. She can actually see the moon hanging in the sky, bathing the frosted grass about her feet in a liquid white glow. Misato spots the man she is looking for after a second. The Supreme Commander is standing at the edge of the camp, gazing up at the pre-dawn sky.)

Misato (quietly as she is walking up behind him): He almost didn't make it this time.

Gendo (calmly): But he is still alive.

Misato (grimly): I will not let you drag Shinji into your personal wars! He has enough to deal with without you trying to use him as a human shield!

Gendo (softly): Was that what I was doing?

Misato (grabbing Gendo by the shoulder and spinning him to face her): Damned right...?!

(Silence)

Misato (hushed): What happened to your face?

Gendo: ...my glasses exploded.

Misato (blinking): "Exploded?" I wasn't aware that they did that.

Gendo: Neither was I.

Misato: Somehow, I doubt that.

Gendo: ...just how far are you going to try and push me, Major?

Misato: ...

Gendo (folding his hands behind his back): No matter what you mean to the Third Child, you are not irreplaceable.

Misato: You have to be accountable to someone.

Gendo: Are you my self-appointed judge and jury?

Misato (folding her arms calmly under her breasts): I told you before. I don't care about what you do. Except when it comes to the Children. You expect so much of them, yet just how far are you willing to go? Don't you have enough blood on your hands?

Gendo: ...

Misato: ...

(In the distance, the transport is revving up its engines.)

Misato (turning away): You may want to get your face checked, sir. There's no need for you to bleed all over the aircraft.

(Gendo Ikari remains behind, watching the Major walk away from him. When he is alone, he sighs and looks back to the moon.)

Gendo (to the moon): Is this supposed to be...a comfort?

(Gendo's eyes narrow as a cloud passes before the moon, casting him in darkness. Somehow, Gendo knows that this is something other than a good omen. The Supreme Commander of NERV lowers his head and turns toward the transport. He has work to do.)

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

(He is a sliver of a shadow against the nightmare backdrop of Alaska. The man is going away, to be transported back to his people. Soon, the observer will be taken back as well.)

(White hair stirs in the breeze and red eyes flash in the reappearing moonlight.)

Boy (whispering): Father...

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

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes:

Chapter Seven...ah, the chapter that almost sucked my life out of me! I know there are those who thought I would never finish it. Well, here it is, I hope it didn't disappoint!

First off, I am going to say this now. I hardly did Natasha's past justice. I needed to explain her connection to Hikaru and her brother. I'm not sure if I will ever tell that story completely, but one never knows with fan fiction.

I know that there are those who are confused about what happened after Chapter Six. I am a great believer in how the original NGE was told. When Kaji died, you were shown his face for a second, then suddenly he's gone. Obviously, the boy didn't kill Shinji and Natasha, but I never really explained what happened or why he let them live. I believe I will explain that in the last chapter of this series, so I ask for those concerned to be patient.

Another issue I would like to focus on is the fact that once again music was mentioned. Yui singing to a young Shinji when he woke up late at night. I think the musical side of this story comes from, in part, from the fact that I often write to music. Right now, my favorite CDs are Pink Floyd "Pulse" (yeah, I know it has been out for a while! Sue me for getting it just now!), a lot of movie soundtracks such as "The Rock," "Armageddon: the Original Score," (of course) "Neon Genesis Evangelion: Soundtrack Vol. 2," and "Tenchi Muyo in Love: Soundtrack" (one of my favorites!) If you ever notice a fast paced scene in any of my fanfics, it is probably because of the music I'm listening to!

The other reason I mentioned music (for those of you who spotted it, good for you!), it is a another plot point. It will make sense, perhaps in the next chapter, trust me!  

Last, I would like to go over the fact that I had Gendo Ikari playing a bit of a...kinder role in this Chapter. I ask you this: If the Commander doesn't give a damn about humanity, then who would he do all this for?

I would like to thank my prereader, Godsend777 (author of The Death of One) for all the great advice and C&C!

As always, any C&C is valued and can be sent to my email address at gargoyle64@hotmail.com.

What's coming up next, you ask? Well, "Chapter Eight: The Value of the Heart/ Specters of the Past" is being constructed, destructed, and rebuilt! It should be out in two to three weeks, complete with that new car smell! Teasers: Nightmares given flesh, a shattered entry plug, and the race of a lifetime! Hope to see you there!