From: eltf@hotmail.com (Eliot Lefebvre) Subject: [Eva][FanFic] Neon Epoch Evangelion: Episode 10 X-Original-Date: 21 Oct 2002 05:12:50 -0700 You wash over me, you wash over me like a PRE-STORY WARNING: This fanfic is an original take on GAINAX's "Shin Seiki Evangelion." It contains alternative characters, plots, and a different overriding internal logic. It is intended, from the beginning, to be different. This includes different Children and different histories. In short: if the mere thought of someone other than Shinji in the cockpit of EVA-01 makes you queasy, you are in -entirely- the wrong place. Any and all flames stemming from this alteration will be mocked mercilessly. You have been warned. Lostfactor.net v5.0 is online at this point, and includes a big long blog entry about the future posting habits of this series. Now, all of this depends on me finishing the final episode before I've posted everything, but that looks almost 100% likely. So it goes. For those lazy: you'll just have to fly by the seat of your pants. Sorry. ]++[ ]+ ELECTRONIC TRANSCENDENCE PRODUCTIONS +[ presents ]+ NEON EPOCH +[ ]+ E V A N G E L I O N +[ ]+ EPISODE 10: STRUGGLING TOWARDS DIVINE +[ By Eliot "Lostfactor" Lefebvre Based off of "Shin Seiki Evangelion" by GAINAX ]++[ I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. - ECCLESIASTES 2:10 ]++[ Despite the innate grayness of Ryo's apartment, Niobe had found that keeping the window of the largely-unused living room open did wonders for making the place seem less drab, and as she laced the ribbons of her old ballet shoes up around her calves she took a moment to stare at the pool of light streaming in from outside of the apartment. She'd woken up early, but Ryo had already left, presumably because he was needed for tests down at Central Dogma before school started. She planned to go to the facility herself before she was scheduled for synch testing, to try and get some actual practice in the Geo-Front with EVA-05, but there were other things that she needed to do first. With a smile of satisfaction, she tied the pale yellow ribbon on her left leg, the light color in stark contrast with her dark chocolate- colored skin, and she shifted her legs slightly, grabbing the other shoe from off the couch and slipping her right foot into the remaining shoe. Though she'd disposed of nearly all her personal belongings nearly a week prior, her shoes had remained, a gift from her mother that had strictly utilitarian purposes. She'd tried actively to forget about the day that her mother had given them to her, knowing that the memory was ascribing importance to them where they should have none. The ribbon pulled tight on her other leg, and Niobe stood, feeling perfectly comfortable in the tight fabric of her outfit, almost more comfortable with the skintight material clinging nuzzling her flesh underneath than in looser clothes. It reminded her of the plugsuit, though the fit was slightly different, and the thought of her Eva made her feel better about her actions, reminding herself that she was doing nothing for her own gratification, simply to become a better pilot. "I have to be better," she whispered to herself as she stepped over to the small black boombox that she'd set up at one side of the room, smiling as she said it, comfortable with the rate at which she was progressing and simply stating the words as a mantra. "I have to be the best." Leaning over, she pressed the small white play button on the top of the device, then glanced around the room as the disc began to whir inside of the machine, looking at the bland and colorless furniture, all shoved up against the walls to give her enough space to move. Taking a deep breath, she slowly arched her body into a ready position, toes poised to move as soon as the first note came from the instruments on the disc, arms held loosely but capably, only waiting for the song to start. A lone trilling note came from the dusty speakers of the box, and Niobe closed her eyes as she began to move her body slowly, letting her legs arch and step in time with the music, feeling the warmth of the sun on her body. The music was beginning slowly, and it was perfect, the notes simply hanging in the air and letting Niobe gradually step her way into the routine, the sun embracing her as her movements slowly became faster with the beat of the music. A violin quickly joined the flute, and the tempo increased ever so slightly, a change that Niobe noticed immediately and shifted her pace to accommodate, focusing only on what she needed her body to do as the two instruments were joined by more and more. "Keep focused," she muttered, trying to call up memories of her old classes back at home. "Let the music take you." Stepping softly around the room, tensing her feet and balancing on the absolute edge of her toes as the music proceeded to increase its speed slightly, Niobe felt her muscles tensing beneath the fabric of her leotard, her body gradually becoming less and less affected by what was outside of it, the music taking her along with it. It was a wonderful sensation, but she knew enough not to focus on the exhaltation of the growing dance, instead keeping her mind on the music, knowing that focusing on the feeling ensured that it would vanish. Her legs moved in slow, sweeping paths, stepping around the room in prefect time, her motions all but silent, hair swinging behind her as she danced. Then the music began to increase in tempo once again, still moving slowly but now enough for Niobe to know that it was nearing the end. More instruments joined the piece as Niobe opened her eyes, moving quickly enough that she only distantly registered the shapes of the furniture in the room as she twirled about, the only truly prominent feature the bright stream of light from the window. It seemed almost approving as she let herself move in and out of it as the music demanded, her position pulling away from the sunlight for a moment, then back towards the beautiful spot where it hit the floor, then away once again. Still, she kept her mind on the music, moving her body back towards a ready position as it trailed off, feeling the thinnest film of sweat covering her muscles, her chest heaving only slightly. One foot was arched high, the other tapping slowly, counting out the beats until the next piece, one she knew was far faster, began. Then the short, staccato noise of a violin cut through the air, and Niobe thrust herself once more into action, feeling as she moved a second too late, knowing that if she had reacted just a half-second earlier she would have been able to do more before the deep oboe joined into the melody. She gritted her teeth, closing her eyes and once again focusing entirely on the music, whirling her legs and arms in patterns that she knew by heart, letting her feet pull her up to the tips of her toes before letting her back down, the muscles in her thighs shifting and tensing with trained perfection, thrusting her into the air a few inches at a time, then letting her legs react smoothly to the landing, no abrupt stops or awkward returns to the ground. Opening her eyes once again, she continued to focus on the music as she twirled around, her breathing coming heavily as her body moved in intricate loops, arms brought up to her chest to keep her balanced as she spun. The room had been reduced to colors, for her, meaning that it was an indistinct blob of gray broken only by a pure white stream of light, a stream that nourished her even as it seemed to threaten her already-warm body with overhearting. Her thoughts didn't stray for an instant, however, ignoring the warmth of the sun and the colors of the room, hearing only the music and feeling only the direction her limbs needed to move, the world around her seeming to move in slow-motion as she calmly concentrated and wove her way around the room, focus unwavering. "What are you doing?" The voice was unmistakably Ryo's, and it managed to cut through the music, distracting Niobe and leaving her unbalanced in the middle of her movements, Ryo's form swinging in front of her vision for a moment as she felt herself start to fall. Gritting her teeth, she shifted her weight and slammed her feet down, forcing herself to remain balanced. It seems for a moment as though she would fall regardless, but a moment later she felt herself balance as the room slowly returned to normal in her eyes, Ryo standing in the hallway staring at her, wearing what looked to be purely functional clothes, a plain white shirt that hung loosely around him couple with light tan jeans. "I was dancing," replied Niobe after a moment, regaining her breath slowly, glancing down and realizing how tight the fabric around her chest was stretching. Blushing, she glanced over at Ryo to see if he was looking, but his eyes were simply fixed blankly on her, something that seemed relatively unsurprising considering what she knew about him. "Ballet." She stepped over to the chair pressed against the wall, snatching the white cotton towel from it as she pressed the stop button on the boombox. "I didn't think that you'd be back so soon." Ryo didn't reply immediately, simply watched as Niobe wiped the thin film of sweat off her body, the small droplets of water glittering against her dark skin in the sunlight. "Why do you do it?" he asked at length, cocking his head slightly to one side as she rubbed the liquid off of her legs. "Because it helps me focus," she replied, grunting slightly, untying the knot that held the ribbons of her shoes on her legs casually and letting out an inward sigh of relief at the relaxation of pressure on her feet as she slipped out of them. Closing her eyes momentarily, she arched both feet, enjoying the cool air against them for just a moment and taking a deep breath, her chest still heaving. "It's a great way to practice without actually being in the Eva. You learn to react to things in a whole different way, to just drift along with what's going on around you and not worry about the little details." Once again, Niobe received no immediate response from Ryo, and she grimaced slightly, feeling as though she'd done something wrong. Turning her back towards him, she paused for a second, then drew the towel against the exposed part of her skin, arching her back as best she could, doing her all to look alluring. He still didn't seem to notice, and she suppressed a twinge of anger, wondering if something was wrong with him. "You dance to be better in the Eva," he said flatly, the slightest hint of emotion in his voice suggesting that it was more of a question than a statement. She turned her head slightly towards him and nodded, resisting the urge to look hopeful. "Why?" Smiling, she turned fully towards Ryo, trying to push her chest outwards slightly, knowing that it would make her at least look temporarily more attractive. "Because I plan to be the best," she announced defiantly, slinging the white cotton towel over her shoulders, taking a few steps towards Ryo and swinging her hips as best she could. She felt a bit ridiculous, but with a minor pang of resentment she reminded herself that she was dealing with a very pale man, someone who probably wasn't naturally attracted to her skin. "So that I can get the job done. So that we're successful, no matter what." She paused, staring into his blank eyes, wondering if he hadn't gotten the point of her statements. "You want that, and I want that too." Ryo simply stared back at her, and Niobe felt something between frustration with him and frustration with herself knot up inside of her gut as she stared at him. "That's good," he offered at length, turning around and heading back down the hall. Niobe glared at the boy for a moment, and before he reached his room he stopped and turned halfway around. "I'm going to go change for school. If you need me, I will be in my room." The door to Ryo's room shut, and Niobe found herself staring blankly at the space he'd occupied a few moments before, eyes wide and her mind struggling to figure out what was going on with the boy. Sighing heavily, she walked back to her room, grabbing her ballet shoes and dragging them along behind herself half-heartedly, unsure of what to do. She knew that she was attracted to him, but it seemed rather certain that he still wasn't attracted to her, that for whatever reason he still didn't think she was good enough. "What am I not doing right?" she muttered, shutting the door to her room and staring at the gray wall, then slumping against the door and tilting her head towards the full-length mirror against the wall to her left. An idea began to surface in her head, and after a moment's hesitation she flicked the lock on her door, tossed her shoes on the bed, and took a deep breath, staring at herself intently in the mirror as she removed her leotard, peeling the sweat-soaked fabric off her body, examining the skin underneath. She frowned and took a step closer to the mirror, looking herself over, certain that it had to be something about the way she looked, that there had to be some reason why he didn't seem to be returning her affections. Turning to look at herself from the side, she tried tracing over her body, trying to find any flaws, any stray bits of fat that might be blossoming up like tumors. "Nothing," she muttered to herself at length, walking over to the bed and flopping against it, feeling somewhat refreshed by the cool air wafting over her back. "I'm fine. I'm thin. I'm pretty. Even Joseph tells me that. Why doesn't he like me?" She pushed her head against the pillow, letting the soft darkness envelop her eyes as she sighed heavily. "What am I doing wrong? We've even fought the Angels together now. What else does he want?" Something stuck in her mind, and after a second her eyes widened, the reason for his continued ignorance of her painfully obvious. "It's the Angels," she mutterd, smiling and pushing herself off the bed, feeling a sudden sense of relief. "I've only had a little time to prove myself, and he can't be certain yet if I've just been getting lucky. I just have to keep working harder, to be more innovative." She smiled more broadly, rolling onto her back as she flopped back on the bed, clutching her hands together and folding them over her chest, feeling the soft spandex of her bra brush against her bare arms. "How silly. I of all people ought to recognize a challenge when one is given to me." Laughing at herself, Niobe felt as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders as she resolved to do still better, standing from the bed as she resolved to do all she could against the next Angel. Stepping over to her closet, she thought for a moment before grabbing a light yellow blouse and a short tan skirt, unfastening her sports bra as she stepped back towards the bureau to fetch another one. "I'll make him like me," she breathed, shutting her eyes slightly as she opened a drawer and began to feel for the underwear. "I know I will." ]++[ Glancing around the dusty entrance to the schoolyard, Neil suddenly found himself feeling very lost, wishing that he'd been able to try going to the school before. He and Eiko had planned to have lunch on the Thursday after the war games with the JSSDF, but Neil had forgotten the fact that his schedule at Central Dogma prevented any such activity until the following Monday. And with Nieve's various advances, he hadn't found the time to check out the school, leaving him surrounded by Japanese children without any distinct way of finding Eiko. "Excuse me," he said to a passing group of girls, receiving no acknowledgement as they walked past and giggled, though Neil couldn't tell whether it was at him or something else. Frowning, he turned towards another group, but they were already past him before he could even get a word out. "Um, excuse me, anyone," he asked again, trying to draw attention to himself as the Japanese children flowed past him, their uniforms identical, none of them even giving Neil a sideways glance despite the fact that he stood out like a sore thumb. "Excuse me, does anyone know where Eiko Suzuhara is? Eiko Suzuhara. Anybody." He paused. "Anyone know where the -ground- is? Anybody? Do you even see me?" Neil still received no response, and sighing he stepped over to the nearest bench set up along the dusty walkways in front of the school, the sand surrounding the concrete sidewalk scuffed into the sidewalk as students continued to take shortcuts through the sand towards their destination. Tilting his head back, Neil tried to think of another way to find Eiko, having little success as other thoughts filled his head. He was still trying very hard to understand why Nieve had seemed to fall so completely for him, especially considering the context of their first meeting. It wasn't that he disliked the attention, or even that he disliked her, but it was a little bit baffling to him. "Suppose it's looking a gift horse in the mouth," he muttered, closing his eyes to the blue sky above him, trying to free his mind from thoughts of the red-haired girl. "Over here!" Neil recognized the voice, and leaning forward he could see Eiko standing at the edge of what looked to be a garden, standing on her tiptoes and waving towards the bench where Neil sat, a small bag in her left hand as she waved with her right. Waving back, Neil shaded his eyes from the sun for a moment, then stood and walked over to the place where she stood, smiling at her and waving gently as she returned to a normal standing positiong. "I'm sorry. I should have known that you wouldn't know I was." "It's okay," replied Neil with a shrug, following closely behind Eiko as she walked through the garden-like area towards a series of benches, a few other students sitting around them underneath the cool shade of the trees. "The other students here were particularly helpful." Eiko took a seat at one of the benches, and Neil, feeling the slightest bit uncomfortable, took a seat on the same bench, trying to put the right amount of distance between the two of them so that they could talk normally without looking as though they were an item. "Doesn't Vash usually have lunch with you?" Eiko shrugged, opening the small bag and drawing out what looked to Neil like an old Chinese takeout container. He stared for just a second, then went about opening his own lunch, a simple turkey sandwich with a few crackers and a soda. "It depends on whether or not he has something else to do at lunch," Eiko explained, taking a bite out of the takeout container of something that Neil couldn't identify. "This time he was meeting with Kensuke to settle some game dispute. I think Vash was in the lead, last time I checked." Neil took a bite out of his sandwich, watching the girl as she ate, noting involuntarily the slender curves of her neck, the almost delicate way that her jaw moved as she chewed her food. He wanted very much to be thinking of her only as a friend, especially with Nieve in the picture, but something about her appearance made it seem impossible. "Don't you like video games?" he asked after a moment, trying to distract himself as he turned back towards the white-bread sandwich in his hands. "Oh, you wouldn't believe me if I told you," replied Eiko, winking slyly at Neil and making him grin despite the guilt that was starting to swim through the boy's thoughts. "But I'm not nearly as competitive as those two are. As far as I know -" She paused for a moment, then leaned over towards Neil's ear, sending a minor electric rush through his body. "I think it's their way of trying to decide who has the bigger penis." Almost choking on his sandwich, Neil had to jerk forward and cough as he started laughing, completely thrown by Eiko's remark. She looked concerned for a moment, but he held up a hand as the coughs faded, replaced entirely by laughter that she soon joined in. "I didn't think that you were allowed to say things like that," breathed Neil, his throat stinging slightly from the brief moment of asphyxiation, eyes tearing just enough to glitter in the sunlight. "I'm -not-," replied Eiko with a slight giggle, taking a small bite of her lunch once again before turning back towards Neil, still smiling. "If my parents knew that I said something like that, they'd have a heart attack. Heck, they'd have a heart attack just from learning that I knew that word." Her eyes shut lightly, and her smile seemed to shift ever so slightly to bitterness. "But, hey, that's the way things work over here. You're not supposed to learn about these things." Taking another bite of his sandwich, Neil stared over at Eiko, searching for the right words to say. He knew that the girl was letting him into something deeply private simply by her tone of voice, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to be let in, if that wouldn't complicate things even more. Sighing slightly, he edged closer to her, feeling a rush of guilt but happy to see that she didn't seem upset by his movement. "You sound bitter," he noted, trying to sound as non- judgemental as possible. "Yeah, I guess I am, a little," replied Eiko, leaning back against the bench, the fabric of her blouse tightening against her body and producing a hard lump in Neil's throat as he looked almost involuntarily. He almost wished that Nieve was there, that if he had the girl by him he wouldn't feel so guilty about his proximity to Eiko. "It never comes down to what I want, not with my parents. Heck, I remember how proud I was when I..." She trailed off, then tilted her head slightly away from Neil, almost as if she felt guilty as well. "Never mind." Neil frowned for a moment, then reached over and put his hand on her shoulder, prompting her to look back at him immediately. "You can't tell me that much and then expect me to 'never mind,'" he said, grinning even though he felt slightly bitter about her sudden recalcitrance. She smiled a little at the statement, and Neil found himself feeling ever so slightly better about himself as he edged a little closer to the girl. "Come on. Please, let me know." Eiko's face began to turn a deep crimson, and glancing around the garden for a moment she leaned her mouth back towards Neil's ear, the same shock running down Neil's spine as he felt the warmth of her breath. "Vash and I... we almost slept together," she announced, trying to sound as decisive as possible, her eyes turned in such a way that she couldn't see Neil's right fist clench involuntarily. "I know that's probably not as big a deal for Americans, but... well, it's really not supposed to happen here. Frowned upon." She leaned away as Neil's hand relaxed, his eyes flashing for just an instant with anger as he looked back towards her. "My parents would have been so angry if I'd gone through with it. It would have been like setting the house on fire." "But you didn't," offered Neil, feeling instantly relieved by the knowledge that it hadn't happened. He felt like a horrible person for it, but still, he was reassured to know that Eiko was still a virgin, even though he knew academically that it shouldn't have any bearing on him. "Why?" The blush on Eiko's cheeks deepened, and Neil opened his mouth to retract the question before Eiko sighed deeply, shaking her head. "It's really kind of embarassing," she breathed, staring towards the ground for a moment. "I wanted to do it, but... I just couldn't go through with it." She smirked, staring over at Neil, an odd sort of look resting behind her eyes that Neil couldn't quite understand. "You know what's really weird? I couldn't stop thinking about you. We were getting started, just fooling around, and then I just suddenly couldn't stop thinking about you." She blushed more deeply, as though she was afraid Neil would be angry. "Weird, right?" Neil simply stared at the girl for a moment, her statements unlocking a tumble of emotions within him that he couldn't even start to sort out as he swallowed hard and tried to figure out what to say. "I don't know," he said after a moment, wiping away a thin layer of cold sweat on his forehead, his words slowly piecing themselves together in his mind. "I don't really have a frame of reference with this sort of thing." He paused for a moment, then swallowed again. "If this was a movie, that'd be a sign that we were going to wind up together in a really bad romantic comedy, though. You know, you'd think about me when you were with your other half, and I'd think about you when I was with my other half, and... it'd be funny to somebody, I guess." He swallowed hard once again, remembering the awkard feeling he'd gotten the night he and Nieve had first kissed. "But we're not in a movie." Both Children stared at one another, something sparking between their eyes as the sun filtered through the trees onto them, a certain tension hanging in the air that neither of them wanted to approach. "We weren't talking about me before, though," Eiko said at length, edging slightly away from Neil and blushing a bit more. "We were talking about video games. You like video games?" Part of Neil had wanted to pursue the previous topic of discussion, but the more conscious part of his brain knew that nothing lay down that path, that they'd gotten as far in that discussion as they were likely to. "They're okay," he replied, shrugging somewhat absently and taking another bite of his sandwich, reaching into the depths of his lunchbag and drawing out his soda, opening the carbonated drink and letting a small mist of the foam out of the top. "I never really got into them too much. My mom was always way better at them than I was." "Heh. My mother wouldn't touch the thing with a ten-foot pole. She said she grew up thinking they were moronic and never saw any reason to change her opinion." Taking a deep breath, Eiko smiled at Neil again, both Children fully aware that they were avoiding the tension between them, grasping at straws for any topic that would keep them off of the obvious one. The two stared at one another for a moment, then went back to their lunches, almost as if the lunch had become too painful from subtext to continue. Then Neil heard footsteps on the concrete walkway, the sort of organized military clicking that simply didn't come from students walking together. Glancing over, Neil saw the unmistakable uniforms of NERV's intelligence division, the immaculate black suits and reflective sunglasses, three agents glancing around with obvious intention. Neil reached over and tapped Eiko on the shoulder just as they seemed to notice the Children, and Eiko and Neil both took one final bite of their lunches as the agents walked over to them, expressions neutral if not stern, the trio moving out to flank the Children as though they expected the two to try and escape. "Neil Richelieu and Eiko Suzuhara, correct?" asked one of the agents standing directly in front of the Children, a large white man with slick brown hair, built like a football player and taller on top of that. "Yeah," replied Neil, standing up a moment before Eiko, dwarfed by the agent. He'd gotten used to looking at people at eye level or lower, and the size of the man combined with the sheer height difference was enough to give Neil a sense of distinct unease. "Is something wrong? We didn't know that there was any -" "Come with us," said the man, apparently unwilling to listen to the end of Neil's statement. He turned on his heel, then gestured with one hand towards the two Children as they exchanged a quick glance, the other agents moving to block off any possible exits as best they could. "Something important is happening down at the base. You're needed." With that, he started walking, and both Neil and Eiko followed, having no doubts that they would not have been given any choice about the matter, the tension between them finally replaced with something else by the sudden arrival. ]++[ Niobe's arms were folded across her chest, her irritation evident as she sat towards the back of the room, the other Children mostly grouped slightly further forward in the otherwise-empty conference room. She'd wanted a chance to practice in her Eva, to get some more hours clocked at least trying to improve her abilities, and instead she'd been pulled from Ryo's apartment and taken to the bland teal room, waiting for the Children to arrive. All it meant to her was that she was wasting time, time that she knew could be spent in many ways, all of them infinitely better than the present. "This is a waste of time," she muttered, trying to keep her voice low enough that the other Children couldn't hear her. "If they're not going to have us actually do something, they might as well let us get something done on our own time." "Probably another formal event," noted Nieve, sounding a bit more relaxed and leaning her head back towards Niobe. She smirked at the other woman, and Niobe returned the grin, having some identification with her simply by virtue of their mutual experiences as long-standing pilots. It was something that Niobe assumed the other Children simply couldn't quite understand, that the environment of NERV was different for those who had spent so much of their times in the organization. "NERV has to keep up appearances with the outside, and we'll get dragged along in the interim. It's useless, but at least we usually get free food." Almost without thinking, Niobe glanced towards Ryo as she nodded to Nieve, her eyes going wide as she saw the boy's stare actually fixed on something other than the empty space in the front of the room. Following his gaze with her eyes, she realized that he was staring dead at Nieve, and Niobe felt a minor twinge of jealousy, suddenly wondering if perhaps there was something more that she didn't know about Nieve. The other girl -had- been with NERV longer, and though she didn't know for a fact she was willing to suspect that Ryo had been with the organization at least as long, possibly even longer than either of them. Distantly, she heard Nieve still talking to her about one of the various formal events that she had attended in Ireland, but Niobe only nodded distantly, the new potential wrinkle attracting the breadth of her attention. "But Nieve isn't interested in Ryo," she whispered to herself, barely speaking loud enough to hear her own voice, much less for anyone else. As though on cue, Nieve leaned over to Neil, sitting a couple chairs away from her, grabbing one of his hands rather violently and planting a quick peck on his cheek. Niobe watched as discreetly as she could, then turned her eyes back towards Ryo, his gaze still on the other two Children. "I have to make sure that Nieve doesn't leave Neil," she muttered to herself, shifting somewhat uncomfortably in her seat, feeling slightly less afraid on one level while she felt even more nervous on another. The noise of the lone door of the room opening drew the attention of all the Children towards the side of the room, Vash and Neil both exchanging a glance of familiarity first. They'd expected to see Misato step through the door, but instead they saw Dr. Fuyutsuki step in, surveying the group somewhat sternly before walking down towards the front of the room, followed closely by Dr. Akagi. None of the Children knew what to say as the two scientists reached the podium at the front of the room, but as Kozou opened his mouth to speak Nieve finally seemed to find her voice. "Shouldn't Misato be down here?" she asked, a minor feeling of unease growing in the pit of her stomach. Fuyutsuki stared at the girl for a moment, a look on his face that almost seemed to be stern but was just the slightest bit too soft for it. "That's not fesable at the moment," he replied at length, gesturing for Ritsuko to step over to the podium as he made a quick hand gesture towards the back of the room where the projector was operated. Most of the Children glanced at least briefly towards the rear of the room at Fuyutsuki's gesture, but Nieve simply stared ahead at the projection room, feeling her disquiet compound as an image of a volcano appeared on the main screen. Vash muttered a question about what was going on too low to be heard reliably, but before he had a chance to raise his voice Ritsuko began talking, her voice quiet but forceful. "This is a picture of Mt. Asamayama, to the north. It's a volcano, but it's been dormant for years now. However, it recently seemed to begin undergoing some seismic activity once again, so a research team was dispatched to try and determine the cause." She paused for a moment, and the image projected on the screen behind her shifted. "This was the result." Niobe had to lean forward to even have the vaguest idea what she was seeing, the picture blurry and only containing the barest detail, largely a vast sea of black speckles covering a field of red. Towards the center, however, she could make out a fuzzy shape, something that looked as though it was more than simply a collection of the black dots in an unusual pattern. "That's impossible," she muttered, blinking and tracing over the imagined lines with her eyes. "Is that... an Angel?" "Yes," replied Ritsuko flatly, the image changing once again to a closer shot of the same shape. "We flew Captain Katsuragi to the site this morning to investigate further and confirm that it was, in fact, an Angel. Our scanning equipment revealed that it was, in fact, generating an AT field with the correct pattern, and it was registered as the Eighth Angel about half an hour ago." She paused for a moment, letting the implications of her statement sink in. "However, we do have one distinct advantage in this situation. The Angel appears to be in a dormant state, and from what little we've been able to observe of its physical structure, we've been led to believe that the Angel is in some kind of larval stage." Once again, she paused, and the display behind her switched to a picture of a wireframe model of the proto- Angel, various computer displays still visible around it. "The chance to study an Angel before it reaches maturity is unprecedented. We might even have a chance to develop weaponry better suited to destroying them." "Our goal is to capture it," Fuyutsuki said bluntly, arms folded behind him, his face stern without looking threatening. "Unfortunately, we do not have any robotic recovery equipment capable of performing the operation. Our best equipment could only take these photographs for five seconds before being destroyed by the heat and pressure of the magma, and it was still several dozen meters away from the target. There is no automated means of recovering the Angel." "What about the Evas?" asked Nieve, sounding particularly enthusiastic as she leaned towards the front of the room, a grin spreading across her face as her eyes sparkled with a sudden flash of inspiration. Fuyutsuki frowned at her as though she'd interrupted him, but she didn't seem to notice, turning towards Ritsuko instead. "The AT field can withstand the force of a nuclear explosion, and the machine itself is more than armored enough to keep itself alive down there. Why don't we use one?" Dr. Fuyutsuki sighed heavily, drawing Nieve's attention sheepishly back in his direction. "Because there is no other method, we planned on using an Evangelion unit to attempt to recover the embryo," he said somewhat curtly, the comment obviously directed towards Nieve as she began to blush a deep red. "Unfortunately, the conditions are poor for even an Eva. The AT Field will provide limited buffering effects, and as such we'll have to rely on extra shielding placed on the machine. It's a risky operation." Niobe's right hand twitched for a moment, then clenched into a fist as she stood swiftly, her stare resolute as all eyes in the room turned towards her. "I'll do it," she said flatly, no doubt in her mind as she remembered what she'd figured out about Ryo, knowing that she needed to make him respect her. "Equip my Eva, and I'll do it." She closed her eyes, feeling a slight rush of terror at the thought of diving but knowing that she couldn't afford not to. Kozou stared at Niobe for a moment, then turned back towards the Children as an aggregate, looking slightly irritated, in all likelihood because of the constant interruptions. "After some brief deliberation, we decided on the usage of EVA-02," he announced after a moment, Niobe's eyes snapping open and her mouth shaping into a small circle from surprise. "The Eva unit will be outfitted with -" "I'll do it!" snapped Niobe, stomping her foot slightly, realizing that she was making something of a fool out of herself but not caring. A deep red blush began to blossom on the surface of her cheeks, but she ignored it, knowing that she had to be involved in the mission, that she couldn't let Nieve gain any more ground on her. "Didn't you hear me? I'm happy to do it! Just give me the chance, and I'll..." She trailed off, realizing that she was hardly sounding as though she were the most responsible of the pilots, closer to a whining child. "I'm sorry. I spoke out of turn." The room remained silent as the girl sat back down, hanging her head slightly and folding her hands on her lap, eyes closing tightly and tears of embarassment seeping to the surface of her face. "EVA-02 is designed to operate under extreme environmental conditions," Ritsuko said after a moment, as though she were trying to placate Niobe, a thought that only made the girl feel worse. "The unit is equipped with additional heat and radiation shielding anyways, along with anti- corrosive agents and armor designed for higher integrity under extreme heat. It's built specifically for missions like this." Doing her best not to allow herself tears, Niobe still felt them dripping from her eyes out of sheer embarassment as she felt everyone look towards her for some kind of response. At length, Kozou cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the room back towards him. "According to the operation specifications, we'll have two other Eva units on standby in case something goes wrong with the operation. Captain Katsuragi has requested EVA-01 and EVA-04, taking into consideration the unique properties of both machines." Once again, Niobe knew that now was the moment to speak, but this time she stood slowly, drawing everyone's attention merely by virtue of her motion. Gritting her teeth, she forced the tears to stop, ignoring the ones that were still on her face with the knowledge that not acknowledging their presence would make them less noticable to others. "If I'm not assigned to the active spot, I'd like to stand as backup," Niobe said softly, almost as though she'd been defeated. "If it's fesable." An awkward pause followed, and Niobe could feel in the bottom of her gut that they were going to say know, could see Ritsuko and Fuyutsuki exchange a nervous glance before the woman opened her mouth to speak. "We'd planned on going with Misato's decision," she offered at length, sounding almost sheepish as Niobe hung her head once again. "Your enthusiasm against the Angels is noted, but -" Neil felt a lump of guilt forming in the base of his gut, and shutting his eyes for a second he forced himself to his feet, wondering for only an instant if he was doing something to be kind or simply to alleviate the sensation of guilt he felt. "Let Niobe go instead of me," he said firmly, drawing the attention of everyone in the room, Niobe included. "I'm forfeiting my spot on the mission. She wants it more than I do, so she'd probably do it better anyways." He paused for a moment, then shrugged, reminding himself inwardly that he wouldn't have to pilot his unit if Niobe went instead. The thought made him feel guilty once again, but he pushed the guilt out of his expression, forcing himself to stay indifferent in his appearance. "Fine," muttered Fuyutsuki, raising a hand and waving it idly in the air, sounding as though he was thoroughly exasperated by the whole situation as he rubbed his forehead for a moment. "We'll send 04 and 05 along. It's unlikely that they'll be doing anything, anyways." Sighing deeply, he folded his arms back behind his body, composing his expression once again. "The units will be airlifted as soon as possible. Ladies, please report to the locker room to change into your plugsuits." Still feeling slightly embarassed, Nieve stood as both Ritsuko and Fuyutsuki moved to file out of the room, followed closely by Niobe. She sighed, then leaned over to embrace Neil, a gesture which somehow managed to surprise him. "I'm going to miss you," she whispered, smiling at him with obvious meaning and planting a single finger on his lips before she turned away towards the exit. Almost unintentionally her eyes drifted towards Eiko, and she saw the sort of forlorn stare on the girl's face that she recognized from her own experience, the knowledge that a loved one wouldn't be around for something important. Instinctively, she grimaced, knowing without looking that the gaze was tracing directly at Neil. "But she's not going to get you," she whispered to herself, stepping past Eiko as she spoke the final few words, her mind whirling with ways to make sure that Eiko didn't pose any threat to her. ]++[ The nutrient bath for EVA-02 had already been drained, and so the red golem stood at its full height, unobscured by anything but the air as the technicians scrambled about, fastening large gray armored plates to various locations to ensure that the machine was protected against the heat and pressure of the volcano. Standing inside the observation booth, Ritsuko sipped a cup of coffee with mild disinterest, her job primarily restricted to simply telling the workers when they'd attached something incorrectly. "Ants," she muttered to herself, trying to decide whether to smile or frown at the thought as the workers scrambled about. "We're just ants next to the Evas." Another armored plate began to flash sparks around the edge as it attached itself to the existing armor of the Eva, and Ritsuko found herself frowning at length, the comparison between ants and humans feeling particularly apt. The expression on Niobe's face had been painful to look at, painful to even recall. "We've trained the Children to be soldiers," she muttered to herself, shaking her head at the sudden bubbling guilt, knowing that she'd only done what was necessary. "Enthusiasm like Niobe's is a good thing. It shows that she's willing to do what she has to." Something at the back of her head told Ritsuko that she was oversimplifying the issue, but she ignored the thought, focusing instead on the Eva in the hangar, watching as sparks flew from welders, human technology rising up to meet the frailties of humanity. Hearing the noise of the door into the observation room slide open, she turned slowly, staring across the banks of computers towards the door as Fuyutsuki stepped in, looking as though he was slightly embarassed merely by his presence in the observation room. "Dr. Fuyutsuki," Ritsuko said flatly, offering a slight nod before turning back towards the teal-gray hangar of the Eva unit. "You didn't need to stop by. I have the situation entirely under control." She paused for a moment, frowning. "Weren't you planning on leaving with the group for Asamayama?" "Other matters called," Fuyutsuki replied, sounding as though he were still more than a little irritated from the conference earlier as he stepped up besides Ritsuko, staring out over the Evangelion as it was modified. An awkward silence hung in the air for a moment, then Kozou opened his mouth, wanting to say one thing but knowing full well that it wouldn't come out of his mouth. "Gendou's hoping to step up the timetable on Ayanami again." Ritsuko only nodded, apparently unconcerened by the new development, as though she'd actually predicted it. Her normally rather stern expression shifted ever so slightly into something closer to a frown as she sipped her coffee, the only outward sign that she'd even heard Fuyutsuki until she spoke again. "I'm not sure if that's fesable. We've already accelerated the schedule far beyond what I'd consider reasonable." She paused for a moment, knowing full well that Commander Ikari knew the facts as well as she did. "The council suspects something, don't they?" "They'd hardly be keeping such a close eye on us if they didn't," replied Fuyutsuki flatly, his gaze softening somewhat as they avoided the topic that seemed glaring in his eyes. Beneath the observation deck, more sparks erupted from the Eva as an armor plate was welded into place, the once-red machine now looking as though it were wearing some kind of medieval armor. "They know that Gendou isn't going to simply sit back and watch as they try to carry out their plans, but I don't suspect they know any of the specifics about Ayanami. We did a good job covering up for what occurred with Gehirn." He paused for a moment. "Is there any way that we could accelerate the schedule?" "I'll look into it," replied Ritsuko flatly, the vaguest twitch in one of her eyebrows as she sipped her coffee once again, pausing for a moment before she leaned towards the microphone nearby and began to shout commands at the workers. Watching her, Kozou felt the vaguest hint of guilt, as though he was deceiving the young woman simply by his presence, that he should tell her everything that she needed to know. "Is there anything else?" she asked at length, raising from the microphone and turning towards Fuyutsuki. "Yes," he muttered under his breath, feeling very much the part of the fool, talking just softly enough so that Ritsuko couldn't hear him. For a moment, he allowed his face to relax slightly, letting the tension melt away to be replaced with sorrow, the knowledge that he was only peripherally annoyed with the conduct of the Children feeling numbingly obvious in his mind. Then he returned his expression to its prior state, composing himself flawlessly before offering one final glance down at the Eva. "Do your best, Dr. Akagi. Your mother always did." Ritsuko nodded as the older man stepped towards and out of the sliding doors into the control room, her expression remaining blanlkly professional as he walked away and as she turned back towards the Eva unit. "Mother hated the Ayanami project, though," she whispered to herself, feeling a sudden sense of dislocation as stared at EVA-02, as though she were one of the technicians scrambling across the machine's surface. "If she knew what I was doing, she'd probably hate me." Staring at the Eva, Ritsuko waited for a moment to feel resentful of the statement, but despite her expectations she felt nothing besides the cold existence of fact. Shrugging, she took another sip of coffee, the last few touches being put on the red golem in the hangar. ]++[ "This is a little cramped," muttered Eiko, glancing around the strictly functional belly of the plane before stealing a quick glance out the window. She'd rode in NERV's transport plane for the Evas, but this was the first time that she'd had to use one of the personnel transports, and she wasn't particularly taken by the accomodations. Combined with the relative chill of the high altitude and the lack of insulation compared to the skintight plugsuit she wore, it was proving to be a relatively unpleasant mission so far. "If we're so important to NERV, you'd think that they could afford slightly better planes." Nieve, leaning against the back of her seat and apparently taking the opportunity to enjoy the sweet nipping sensation of cold once again, glanced over towards Eiko with a rather surprised expression on her face. "You didn't know?" she asked, looking somewhat unsurprised by Eiko's weak shake of her head. "NERV's been in a financial crisis for a while now. They've only got a limited budget to begin with, but operating six Eva units at once, combined with all the damage that the city has incurred over the Angel battles... it's way beyond the ability of the organization to pay." She shrugged, acting somewhat nonchalant about the knowledge. "Misato bitches about it occasionally, but most of my information I've picked up from Kaji. Part of his job is to make sure that nobody's swiping money, and considering how tight NERV's financial reserves are he's been doing that more than anything lately." Eiko stared at the redhead for a moment longer, then glanced out the window, examining the scenery below her while Nieve made a show of seeming relaxed. In reality she was watching Eiko as closely as she could manage through half-closed eyes, trying to get a better sense of the girl. She understood why Eiko would be interested in Neil, but it still made her uneasy, the thought that somebody else would try to take him from her. Sighing, she tilted her head towards the still-silent Niobe, the African girl looking particularly stoic as she sat perfectly still in her yellow-brown plugsuit. "It's a shame that Neil couldn't come," announced Eiko after a few moments more, sounding more forlorn than her words would suggest. "He probably would have enjoyed the landscape." "Boy, you don't know Neil at all, do you?" asked Nieve, feeling a quick tightness in her chest as Eiko turned towards her, wishing that the other girl hadn't brought up Neil at all. "He's not into stuff like that. He said so himself." She smirked, folding her arms across her chest and feeling particularly secure in her assertion, glad that she had more leverage over Eiko than she'd thought. "I meant the view of Tokyo-3," Eiko said, sounding a little put off by Nieve's words and gesturing out the window towards the gleaming white city receding in the distance. "It's nice. It looks almost like the first day we met, with the sun being bright enough to reflect off all the buildings." Eiko smiled at the thought and pressed one of her palms against the window while Nieve blushed a deep red, and Eiko seemed to sense it a moment later, glancing back towards the other girl. "Is something wrong?" Nieve wanted to scream that there was indeed something wrong, that she didn't want Eiko to take Neil from her, that Eiko had someone to hold on to already, that it simply wasn't fair. But she knew that wouldn't fix anything, and taking a deep breath she shook her head, closing her eyes completely. "Not a thing," replied Nieve, doing her best to sound as though there were truly nothing wrong. "You've just known Neil longer than I have, but I thought that since I lived with him, I might have a better idea of what he's like. Sorry." Eiko nodded rather hesitantly, staring at Nieve a moment longer and then turning her gaze towards Niobe. Niobe only gave a quick glance in response, trying to remain focused even as she tried to alleviate the sense that she was being given the task of a backup unit as a way to keep her happy and cooperative instead of as an indication of her abilitiy. Eiko continued to look at Niobe, and at length Niobe flashed a quick smile, less out of actually being happy and more out of a desire to get the girl to look away. "Why did you want to pilot your unit so badly on this mission, anyways?" Eiko asked at length, drawing Niobe's attention fully towards her. "Piloting the Eva is what I do," she replied flatly, trying to take a page from Ryo's book, knowing that she had to stay detached in order to stay focused. She stared at the girl, beginning to wonder if perhaps Eiko had some kind of affection for Neil, her brain immediately figuring out how that would factor into her own situation. "I want to get more practice with the machine in real combat, to get more accustomed to its capabilities, how it moves, how it performs certain functions." She added the fact that she needed to be better at piloting it silently to herself, simply sinking her head slightly. "I never seem to use it to its full potential." "You don't trust it," offered Nieve, her tone sounding slightly harsh to Niobe. The young girl's expression darkened, and she looked towards Nieve to see that the girl wasn't trying to be condescending, a warm smile on her face as she looked towards Niobe. "That's your problem. I've seen it when you're in battle. You think that everything has to run on a script, that you can't deviate from it. But you've got to remember that you're in charge of the Eva, not the other way around." She shrugged, the blush from before fading slowly from her cheeks. "Sometimes, you just need to think about something for a second and take control of it, because even if you don't make the right decisions, at least you've got a handle on them. You've got to improvise." Niobe couldn't tell, for a split second, whether she wanted to smack herself or hug Nieve. The suggestion seemed so obvious, the clear reason why Ryo didn't seem to be impressed with her, because she simply didn't improvise enough. "Thank you," Niobe said softly, smiling at the other girl, who offered a slight blush once again along with a shrug. Nestling back in her seat, Niobe let her thoughts run wild, knowing that she'd have to wait until she got into another Eva battle before she could prove to Ryo that she was worth his attention. ]++[ It was a testament to the personnel who worked under NERV that what had been a geological survey site hours earlier had become an emergency command center for the operation in such a short time, at least in Misato's eyes. She took a moment to survey the room, the gray computers pressed up against every wall, screens wrapping around the length of the walls to display even more information to the group than Central Dogma's main screen. "This isn't so bad," she muttered to herself, crossing her arms over her chest and tapping her foot against the cold metal of the floor. "It's not the best facility we could be using, but it's as close as we'll get on short notice. Hearing the sound of the doorknob turning, Misato quickly turned her gaze towards the brown door to see the three Children assigned to the mission file in, Nieve first, followed closely by Niobe and Eiko. "We're here," Nieve announced, ignoring the redundancy of her statement as she came to a harsh stop and stood as straight as she could. "Have our Evas arrived yet?" "Before you did," replied Misato reaching over towards one of the consoles and hitting a few buttons to bring up a display of the three machines, all crouching slightly outside of the base. "The planes dropped them off a little while ago. We're ready to insert the entry plugs as soon as the last few preparations for the mission are complete." She glanced back towards Nieve, noticing the look of absolute horror on the girl's face. "What's wrong?" Nieve said nothing immediately, only stepped towards the display and stared at what she knew to be EVA-02, now covered thoroughly by gray plates that seemed to break up every smooth line of the machine's body. "My Eva," she whimpered, reaching over towards the screen and touching it gingerly. Misato frowned, not sure if the girl was being serious or just kidding around, hoping that it was the latter. Nieve stared for another moment at the Eva, then buried her face in her hands, shaking her head back and forth. "It was so young... so beautiful... and now it's got ugly gray plates welded all over it, no beauty whatsoever." She paused for a moment, then began wailing loudly, almost sounding as though she were screaming. Misato, no longer in any doubt as to the seriousness of the girl, sighed and turned away from the girl as Nieve slammed her fist against the top of the console, hitting it in mock melodrama for a moment before standing up once again. Flashing a smile towards the other two girls, both of whom looked utterly bewildered, Nieve turned her gaze back towards the now-awkward EVA-02, with some curiosity. "It is pretty ugly, though," she noted, folding one arm across her chest while the other thumbed her chin. "Wasn't there anything more graceful available?" "You should have seen the prototypes for this," replied Misato with a shrug, turning back towards all three Children with a mildly serious expression on her face. "Trust me, we could have made your Eva look a lot uglier than that." "Thanks, I'll pass," replied Nieve somewhat sheepishly, taking a couple steps back and nearly bumping straight into Eiko. She glanced back at the other two Children, pleased to see that they were letting her do the talking, then turned back towards Misato, folding her arms across her own chest in almost a mirror of Misato's position except for the very notable difference in proportions. "So we're going to recover the Angel. Do we have a plan for this, or is that something we're going to make up as we go along?" Shooting Nieve a quick harsh stare, Misato pressed a few buttons on one of other consoles, bringing up a wireframe dislay of the volcano itself, complete with a flashing red dot that represented where the Angel was supposed to be. "This is the last recorded depth of the Angel," she announced, gesturing towards the obvious position. "We're hoping that it's moved closer to the top of the volcano, but the safest assumption is that it has remained stationary. We've already set up a tether system for EVA-02 at the top of the volcano, so all that remains is to lower it in, grab the Angel, then hoist it back out. That's assuming that everything goes according to plan." "And what if everything -doesn't- go according to plan?" asked Eiko, trying to keep her voice as neutral as possible but knowing that the slightest bit of implication had probably crept into her voice anyways. Nieve snapped her head back and shot Eiko a glare, but Eiko simply shrugged, hoping that the other girl would realize that she hadn't meant it as a desirable scenario. Misato didn't bat an eyelash, hitting another pair of buttons and bringing up something that looked essentially like two gigantic railroad tracks mounted on some kind of glove. "We've taken along a pair of the technical division's prototype rail cannons for Eva usage," replied Misato, sounding as though she was a little nervous about the weaponry. "That's where the backup units come in. Both rail guns have a single piece of ammunition, and they should be able to propel it at high enough speeds that the lava won't melt it. If you can't destroy the Angel with that, we're planning on using them to fire in an N2 canister and detonate it once it reaches the Angel." Nieve gulped, feeling a minor twinge of fear at the mention of the N2 canister, knowing full well what would happen to her machine if she were grappling with the Angel when it went off. It was one thing when the machine was on land, but beneath a sea of lava she didn't doubt for an instant that the effects could be lethal. "So, am I just supposed to hold onto the Angel's tail or something?" Nieve asked at length, swallowing hard and reminding herself that she would keep the operation under control. "The technical division gave us a present to deal with that, too," replied Misato, drawing up another display, this of another awkward- looking device that suspiciously resembled a gigantic letter "I." "This is supposed to be an electrostatic containment cage. Once you get to the Angel's position, Nieve, you'll use this to contain the Angel until you return to the surface. We'll take care of restraining the beast once you've done that." She paused for a moment. "Everybody clear on what they're supposed to be doing?" A general nod seemed to rippled through the three Children. "All right. Report to the technicians downstairs, and they'll help you get your Evas started up." All three girls filed out of the room, and Misato turned back towards the display, listening only idly to the door close softly as she brought up the model of the volcano once again, examining the depth. She hadn't mentioned the fact that the Angel might have gone even deeper into the volcano, largely because she hadn't wanted to consider the fact, knowing that as it was EVA-02 was going to be hard-pressed to withstand the heat and pressure of the magma flow. She frowned for a moment, then her eyes went wide as she felt hands on her shoulders, a familiar gesture that caused her to whirl around, smacking Kaji's hands away. "Don't do that," she muttered, sounding angrier than she felt. "Sorry," he offered, holding up a hand in protest and smirking at her. She glanced over him quickly, noticing that he hadn't bothered getting in uniform for the operation, still wearing his normal wrinkled and untucked shirt with slightly dissheveled slacks. "I'd finished with everything that I had to do around here, so I thought that I would stop by. See how you were doing, how this new command post was treating you." He paused for a moment, glancing around as though it were another effort to make small talk. "It's a lot less... vertical than Central Dogma. And no global map." "We wouldn't -need- a map," replied Misato, turning away from him once again and staring intently at the volcano map, trying to act as though she were actually interested in it and knowing full well that Kaji knew her attention was on him. "The entire operation's taking place in the one location. It's superfluous." She paused for a moment, hoping that he would say something, that she wouldn't have to give voice to the thoughts in her head. Kaji remained silent, however, and after a moment she sighed, turning halfway towards him. "You didn't come by here to talk about the command center." "No," Kaji confirmed, taking a step towards Misato, his voice serious once again. Misato had always been slightly disturbed by that habit of his, the ability to go from superficial to deathly grave in a moment. "I came here to ask you something. You got to find out why I came to NERV, it's only fair that I get to ask you my own question." He stared into the woman's eyes as though he was waiting for a response, and at length Misato nodded, still wondering exactly what he was trying to do. Kaji coughed, then took a deep breath. "Why did you leave me?" It was the last question that Misato had expected him to ask, and she found herself blushing in spite of herself, recoiling slightly at the directness of the question. She stared up at Kaji once again, as though she was expecting him to retract the statement within a moment. "I..." She paused for a moment, unsure of how to respond, then turned away from him, staring down at the computer console that she had been operating, avoiding his gaze intentionally. "I had told you that I loved you, but you never said anything back. That was when I realized that it wasn't true, that I'd lied to you." She closed her eyes, dredging up memories that she didn't want. "I never really loved you, Ryoji. I loved whay I thought you represented. That's why I left. Because you deserved better." An awkward pause hovered in the air for a moment, then Misato felt his hand on her shoulder oncce again, as though he were trying to comfort her despite what she'd said. The thought made her want to be sick, and she shrugged her shoulder roughly, brushing the hand off and sending a clear message. "Misato, I think that -" "Just go," she said firmly, her voice devoid of emotion, not even the slightest hint of sorrow at the edge of her words. Kaji hesitated for a moment, but Misato could feel and hear that he'd taken a step backwards, that he was doing what she'd told him. "I have work that I need to do." There was another brief pause, then Misato heard the noise of his shoes clicking across the floor, the slight creak in the hinges of the door into the room cutting through the air as he opened it, returning just momentarily as he shut the door behind him. Misato continued to stare at the computer console for a moment, as though she was terrified Kaji would still be there if she turned around. "You lied," she muttered to herself after a minute, pushing herself to her full height, feeling slightly wobbly on her feet despite the fact that she'd been completely sober the entire day. Shaking her head, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to feel bettter about herself even as she reminded herself about what she had done wrong. "You lied to him." Hitting another few keys on the console in front of her, Misato tried once again to focus on the map of the volcano, but her mind wouldn't stop straying towards Kaji. She'd told him what she almost thought was the truth, what she wanted to believe, but she knew that it wasn't true, that she'd lied to him beyond a shadow of a doubt. And, even though she couldn't explain it, it somehow felt like his fault, as though he'd told her to lie to him for some strange reason. "Just like dad," she muttered to herself, grabbing the nearest chair and flopping down in it somewhat weakly, staring into nothingness forlornly. "Everything about him... it's like dad." Sighing, Misato leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands, trying to understand her own emotions and finding it more difficult than she'd expected. She wanted to hate Kaji for what he was. The moment that she'd realized she was falling for someone so much like her father, she'd wanted to hate him, and part of her did hate him. But as she glanced towards the door out of the room, she realized that she didn't truly hate him, not all of her and certainly not with much enthusiasm. "It's all your fault, dad," she muttered, wishing that the console technicians would arrive soon, that the operation could begin and take her mind off personal matters. ]++[ Niobe hated to admit it, but Nieve was right about EVA-02 looking ugly, especially at close proximity. It came into sight slowly, climbing up the ridge to the mouth of the volcano with labored movements due in no small part to the massive restrictions that the armor visibly imposed upon it, the electrostatic cage for capturing the Angel dragging limply behind it. The Eva looked for all the world as though it had fallen in a particularly large pool of cement that had dried a bit too quickly, and while she didn't doubt the functionality or the necessity of the armor she couldn't help but feel a little reassured that her Eva hadn't been chosen for the mission. "You look good, Nieve," she offered with a slight smirk, hoping that the other girl would be willing to take the joke. "Quiet, you," hissed Nieve, sounding slightly less than angry but still making it clear that she found nothing funny about her Eva's appearance. Inside her cockpit, she could already feel the coolant that was being pumped into the LCL, the slight chill to the liquid the only visible benefit to the bulky and restrictive armor around her machine. "So, I just jump in?" she asked, turning her attention towards Misato as she stepped to the edge of the volcano's mouth, orange-red magma bubbling within the circular mouth of brown stone. It looked disturbingly similar to LCL, a thought that made Nieve cought involuntarily. Misato glanced towards Maya quickly, and the console technician paused for a moment before flashing a thumb's-up, obviously unaccustomed to the equipment she was working with. "That's right," Misato replied, sighing at the fuzzy camera feed at the dive site, wishing that they were back at Central Dogma already. "The power cord that's acting as your tether will catch you about halfway down, and it'll lower you gently the rest of the way. Try not to do anything particularly reckless - it's capable of supporting your weight, but it is jury- rigged, and it might be a little more unstable than we thought." Glancing down towards the lava, Nieve swallowed hard, trying to remind herself that as long as she maintained her concentration she could control the situation. Closing her eyes, she moved her Eva forward, taking four measured steps before she stepped off the edge of the volcano and towards the center, the heat rushing up to meet her almost instantly. Mercifully, it only felt like a warm breeze as it reached up and struck her Eva, but she still felt a surge of terror as her machine hurtled towards the magma, then lurched to a stop with a loud noise of twisting metal. "What was that?" she shouted, knowing that the tether wasn't supposed to make noises that sounded so fatal. "Looks like one of the struts gave a little when you fell," replied Misato, trying to sound as calm and reassuring as possible just as she tried to feel as calm and reassured as possible. "That's better than we'd expected. We had prepared for as many as seven struts giving way." She was lying, but she was hoping that Nieve wouldn't pick up on that fact. "It should be perfectly capable of holding your weight. Besides, in the worst-case scenario, you've got your backup units to pull you back out of the magma. "Wow, lucky me," muttered Nieve, for the first time that she could remember feeling distinctly uncomfortable in the cockpit of her Eva. Sighing heavily, she forced herself to remain focused, gripping the electrostatic cage firmly as the molten rock came up to meet her, the similarity to LCL striking her more and more firmly and disturbing her even more with every passing moment. "You don't think it's possible to lower me any faster, do you? Get this over with?" "Not safely," replied Misato, sensing the young girl's fear clearly through the radio. She glanced over towards Makoto, who nodded a quick confirmation of her statement, then turned her gaze towards the screen showing the feed from the Eva's camera coming closer and closer to the lava. "Don't worry. There's a hot spring near here, and I'll take all you girls over afterwards. It'll be great." "The last thing I'm going to want after diving through molten rock is a -hot- spring," Nieve offered, angry that Misato was implying she could be bought into complacency. She'd known Kaji to do the same thing, but somehow it felt different with Misato. Feeling a rush of heat as her Eva's feet touched the magma and sank into it, Nieve gritted her teeth slightly before relaxing as the heat seeped into her body without harm. She'd known, academically, that her Eva would be all right, but the waiting had made it less tolerable. As the magma slowly eveloped her machine, she frowned at the heat, but her fears seemed far less near at hand as she sank through the red mass. "Are you guys guiding me? I can barely see a thing." "We've got your position up on our monitor," replied Misato, alternating her gaze between the display from EVA-02's camera as it descended and the small wireframe model of the volcano that was tracking her position relative to that of the Angel. Staring for a moment longer, she stepped over to Makoto's station, his fingers moving across the keyboard with slightly more hesitation due to his inexperience with the hardware at his disposal. "Any indication of how close she is to the target?" Makoto shrugged, gesturing towards the wireframe display somewhat weakly. "There's not a lot that we can do until the machine comes within visual range. NERV's detection systems don't reach out far enough to pick out details like that." He tapped a few more keys, checking the rate of descent for the Eva. "It'll be a few more minutes at best, though. We'd better relax while we've got the chance." On the surface, staring down into the magma, Niobe felt restless, shifting the weight of her Eva slightly from foot to foot, trying to get over her own fear of inactivity. She knew that her parents wouldn't be impressed by her task as a sideliner, and she doubted that it would do her any good with Ryo, either. "This is maddening," she muttered through a private channel to Eiko, stepping over to the spot next to the green steel crane that supported the tether line where the rail guns awaited usage. "There's nothing for us to do but wait. We might as well have stayed home." "Calm down, Niobe," offered Eiko, apparently relaxed in her cockpit, looking as though she still disliked the taste of LCL in her mouth but otherwise looking fairly composed. "Nieve's got the situation under control." She paused for a moment, her expression suddenly becoming somewhat wistful and bitter. "It's probably just as well that Neil isn't here. She'd just be flirting with him the whole time." "You sound upset by that," noted Niobe, remembering the odd look that the girl had shot towards Neil and the tone in her voice when she spoke about him. "Don't you and Vash ever flirt with one another? You can't expect that they'd do any differently." "Well, yeah, but..." Eiko shook her head, turning her eyes away from the private communication and looking somewhat upset by the question. "There's nothing wrong with flirting, it's just that..." She trailed off once again, as though she still hadn't figured out what it was that she wanted to say. "I don't think that Neil particularly likes it. He just doesn't seem like that kind of guy. Too moral." Eiko smirked at her own words. "He's different, that boy. Nice." Niobe frowned for a split second, turning her own gaze away from the private communication display, the words making her suddenly feel even more nervous about her prospects with Ryo. "I'm sure Vash would love to hear about that," she noted after a moment, hearing Eiko make a slight noise in response as Niobe cut off the transmission, already feeling a minor twinge of guilt. She knew that she should have to use tactics like that to get what she wanted, that her father had taught her better than that, but she also knew that her father would have wanted her to do her best no matter what the methods required, and she forced the guilt from her mind. In the command center, Misato gave a quick glance towards the wireframe display of the volcano and Nieve's position, then turned back towards Makoto's position. "Something's wrong," she noted, stepping over to the younger man and staring at the display on his screen. "Nieve should have the embryo within visual range by now. Could it have matured already?" The volcano's heat felt oppressive to Nieve as she continued to descend, hearing Misato's voice only distantly as she strained her vision to try and make out something that resembled the Angel. The entire world around her seemed to be a blurring black and red, as though nothing in the world existed besides those two colors, and the longer she stared into nothingness the more certain she was that she would never make out the Angel in such poor conditions. Then something tickled at the edge of her vision, and she forced EVA-02's head forward, struggling to make out the slowly-appearing shape. "Misato!" she shouted, feeling overjoyed as she leaned further forward, seeing something that she knew simply had to be the target. "I think I've found it!" Misato and Makoto exchanged quick glances, then Misato looked towards the main screen to see what looked like an egg with a tail hovering in the ocean of magma, coming ever closer to the Eva. "Looks like you did it, Nieve," she announced gladly, giving a quick look in Makoto's direction to confirm that the Angel's AT field was registering. "All right. Your display should have target crosshairs now, directing you on how you need to place the cage - it shouldn't be anything too difficult." "Of course not," replied Nieve, snapping her arms up and quickly moving them into place, letting the cage hover a few feet away from the Angel for a moment before it engaged. The I-shaped bar that she had been holding generated what could only be described as an electrical box, humming quickly shut as the Angel stirred ever so slightly. Nieve paused for a moment, curious if it was going to struggle any further, then breathed a sigh of relief. "The Eighth Angel is in my hands. Let's get back to the surface, okay?" Her tether tugged gently on her back, and Nieve felt a warmth of satisfaction flood her body as she stared down at the still-undeveloped Angel, pleased with her own control of the situation. The sweat slowly beading off her body was mingling with the LCL and enhancing the already nauseating taste of the liquid, but otherwise she felt quite comfortable as the tether pulled her towards the surface, trusting that it would hold until she reached the surface. "This was a pleasing change," she noted, glancing down and seeing the proto-Angel moving around slightly. "Hmm? Misato, the Angel looks like it's moving." "You're certain? Hold on a second, I'll go check on it." Nieve made a grunt of acknowledgement, then stared back down at the Angel, and her eyes widened in horror. The thing was growing larger, thrashing against the electrical walls of the cage, each hit expanding the wall out further and further as the beast grew. "My God! Nieve, it's waking up! Quickly, release the cage! Current objective is to destroy the Angel!" Nieve had already dropped the cage when Misato's order had came, and she stared in terror as the cage expanded for a moment before breaking asunder, the Angel uncoiling itself and taking just a moment to turn towards her before launching into motion. Nieve's eyes could only barely make out details of the beast as it turned towards her, a jumble of black shapes moving towards her with a sudden aggressiveness, a speed that her Eva couldn't begin to match in the sluggish lava. Forcing herself to remain calm, she popped open one of her shoulder flanges, retrieving the prog knife from the flange just as the Angel tore past her AT field without even wavering, claws and teeth sinking into the surface of her armor. Nieve winced, then drove the knife forward into the Angel, simply targeting the largest black shape that presented itself to her. The blade hit the Angel firmly, then twisted and snapped from the force that Nieve put on it, leaving her with nothing but the handle to a prog knife as the Angel backed off and then rushed at her once again. "My prog knife can't even dent the thing!" she shouted, trying desperately to move her Eva sideways as the thing slammed into her, then hurled her aside towards the wall of the volcano. Bits of searing heat were trickling across Nieve's skin, and as she slammed into the wall she felt the Angel attacking without any hesitation. Then she heard a terrifying hiss of static from the radio, and another blow from the Angel sent her nearly into unconsciousness. Above, in the command center, every gauge monitoring EVA-02 suddenly snapped off as though it had never been there to begin with, as though the Angel had found some kind of hidden switch and flipped it entirely by accident. "We've lost the feed to Unit 02!" shouted Shigeru, turning towards Misato from his seat across the room. "Communications, vital monitors... nothing's responding! The Angel has cut her off!" Misato shouted an order over the radio to Niobe and Eiko, but Niobe already knew what it was going to be and had already set her machine into motion, grabbing one of the railguns and tossing it towards Eiko, then grabbing the other and slipping it onto her Eva's arm. Glancing down, she saw two large metal spikes sitting in the same location, and she picked up one somewhat gingerly, then rushed to the edge of the lava, unsure of exactly how the weapon she was wielding worked even as targeting crosshairs. "Misato? What should I do now?" "Your targeting crosshairs are orienting themselves to the best estimate of the Angel's position that we have. Pull the trigger on the railgun for a second, then place the slug between the rails." Niobe frowned at the instructions for a moment, but she waited for the crosshairs to line up accordingly, then pulled down on the railgun's trigger, expecting nothing to happen. To her surprise, the two long rails began to crackle with electricity, and with a smirk she remembered the way that the device was supposed to work as she slammed the slug between the rails, letting it hover there for a moment before releasing the trigger. Suspended by the magnetic field between the two rails, the slug was suddenly propelled forward with incredible velocity, splashing a pillar of magma upwards as it raced down towards the Angel's position, Eiko's gun discharging almost immediately afterwards. Beneath the surface of the magma, Nieve pulled her Eva out of the wall of the volcano, then glanced up to see the Angel heading for the surface for only a second before the two rail gun shots zoomed past the Angel and into the depths of the volcano. Then the irritating static hiss died, and she could hear Misato shouting something, presumably to Niobe and Eiko. "This is Nieve! Both shots missed the target!" Staring upwards at the Angel, she felt the tether pulling her vertically too slowly, and gritting her teeth she began to force her Eva's limbs in a rythmic swimming patter, the bulky armor hindering the motion but her acceleration still higher than the tether. Staring at the display from EVA-02's camera, Misato looked towards Makoto, who offered her a grave nod. "We're left without alternatives. Eiko, you'll need to retrieve the N2 canister and shoot it towards the Angel's location. If an Angel with armor this powerful gets to the surface, we might not be able to stop it. Hopefully, Unit 02 will -" "No!" shouted Niobe, staring down into the depths of the lava, trying to figure out another way to defeat the Angel. She remembered Nieve's words, remembered how she'd ached when Ryo hadn't looked at her, and suddenly she sprang into motion once again, popping open the shoulder flange over her right arm and retrieving the knife with her free left hand. "There might be another way. Nieve, when you see the prog knife, if you have any chance of hitting the Angel's core, do it!" Misato screamed something over the radio to Niobe, but the young woman ignored her as the target crosshairs lined up and she pulled the trigger of the rail gun. She remembered the principle of the gun from some the advanced studies her father had forced her to take at school, that any metallic object would work as a slug without any need for gunpowder. Gritting her teeth, she slammed the progressive knife against the rails of the gun, then released the trigger, letting the knife start spinning down into the depths of the volcano. "Please last long enough," she whispered, feeling a growing sense of dread in her gut. Beneath the surface, Nieve's entire body seemed to be coated in warm blood and sweat as the kicked viciously towards the surface, only peripherally hearing Niobe's words as she struggled to catch up with the black blob of an Angel. Then she saw another projectile coming from above, and for a brief moment she wondered if the they'd already sent down the N2 mine, a thought that filled her with a momentary terror before the projectile tore into the back of the Angel. She watched as the largest flat part of the beast was torn open by the spinning blade of the prog knife, and her mind recalled Niobe's words as she saw the blade snap off, the hilt rushing towards the depths of the planet. "Got it," she hissed, grabbing the small handle and pressing her thumb against the almost unnoticable button towards the top, letting the remainder of the broken blade eject while a new blade forcefully popped up. Though the idea of having the blade being replacable had seemed silly to Nieve at first, she had to admit that it seemed like a much better idea than the alternative as she got a glimpse of the Angel's core, thrusting her Eva's body up to meet the beast. Already the armor over the core was knitting itself back together, but Nieve drove her weapon towards the pulsing red orb without hesitation, letting the knife break through the core forcefully. The Angel spasmed for a moment, then the red light from the core faded as she forced the point more deeply in. "We're detecting nothing from the target," noted Makoto, the relief obvious in his voice as the display from EVA-02's camera showed the now- sinking Angel. "The Eighth Angel has been neutralized." He paused for a moment, hitting the button to resume the tether's retraction almost as an afterthought. "The commanders aren't going to be happy about this." "Then screw them," replied Misato bluntly, breathing a deep sigh of relief. She knew that she had to have been willing to use the N2 canister, but despite that fact she still didn't feel sure that she could have ordered the dvice's detonation, knowing that Nieve would have probably been killed in the explosion. Pushing the thought out of her brain as irrelevant, she leaned into the microphone of the jury- rigged command center, the adrenaline of the situation slowly seeping into a dull headache. "Good job, guys. I'm -definitely- taking you to the hot springs now. You earned it." ]++[ Despite some rather noisy protests from Nieve, the hot springs had turned out to be fairly enjoyable, although as soon as she learned that you were expected to bathe naked Nieve proceeded to the deepest part of the springs that she could stand in comfortably and refused to move. The other girls and Misato didn't have the same problem, but aside from a few minor disputes everything flowed smoothly afterwards, Nieve extolling at length how her Eva would be restored to its crimson livery. Then Niobe had remembered that there was something more that she needed to do, and as soon as they had arrived at their chosen restaurant of the night Niobe had taken it upon herself to use the payphone outside, standing the the small glass booth while outside neon lights flashed eagerly to all those who happened to be watching. Another ring on the other end without any answer, and Niobe frowned almost involuntarily, beginning to grow slightly worried as well as slightly irate. She'd wanted an opportunity to talk to Ryo, to finally get his attention, and she was more than willing to stand in a phone booth that stank of liquor and urine to do so, but the thought of having done so for nothing was more than a little disgusting. "Come on, Ryo," she muttered, tapping her foot against the one spot of the phone booth that didn't seem to have used gum stuck to it. "Pick up the phone." Sighing as yet another ring came, Niobe shook her head and was ready to hang up the phone when she heard the unmistakable click of someone picking up on the other end. "Hello?" asked Ryo's voice, and Niobe smiled broadly, bringing the receiver back to her ear. "Who is this?" "It's me. Niobe." She paused for a moment, expecting some sort of recognition from the boy, then sighed and decided to simply move on. "I'll probably be back late tonight, now that we've completed the operation and everything. We're having dinner at a restaurant Misato won't stop raving about, but it looks kind of seedy to me." Once again, she received no answer from the other end, and she shook her head, reminding herself that she needed to try harder. "What did you have for dinner?" "Food," the boy's voice replied flatly, sounding as disinterested as he always did. "Were you successful in retrieving the Angel before it emerged?" "No," replied Niobe, leaning against the glass wall of the phone booth, smiling despite herself. "It must have been further along in its development than we thought - it broke out of the cage and disabled Nieve." Letting the statement hang in the air for a moment for dramatic effect, she took a deep breath, knowing that Ryo would have to notice her after he heard the whole story. "We were assigned rail guns from the technical division, but our first shots went wide. Misato was going to use an N2 canister, except I thought faster and used my prog knife as a projectile." She closed her eyes, waiting for Ryo to say something. "Creative, right?" The other end remained silent for a moment, and Niobe felt her smile start to falter ever so slightly, still waiting for the sound of approval from the boy on the other end. "I suppose," he said at length, his statement not even sounding bored so much as unconcerned. "Is Nieve all right?" A small twitch went through Niobe's free hand at the question, and Niobe could feel a red flush beginning to blossom across her cheeks. "Yeah," she replied weakly, her hope swiftly waning, smile now more of a joke than anything else. "She's fine. After I gave her the prog knife, she destroyed the Angel." "I appreciate that you let me know," replied Ryo, still sounding flatly emotionless. An awkward silence hung in the air for a moment as Niobe stood in the booth, struggling to control herself. "If you're back before 10:30, I will probably be awake. Otherwise, I will see you tomorrow morning." "Yeah. Great. Bye." Niobe didn't wait to hear the boy's response, hanging up the receiver on the hook gently, trying to compose herself and having limited success. Her body shuddered slightly as she stared at the phone for a moment, tears bubbling behind her eyes, simply waiting for the right catalyst to burst. "I did everything right," she muttered to herself, unsure if anger or sadness was growing within her. "I did everything right. What else could I be doing wrong?" Eyes shutting tightly as the tears began to flow, Niobe slammed her fist into the glass wall of the phone booth, wishing that she had the strength to break it, to feel the pain as a punishment for her failure. She had failed, even though she didn't know it. It was the only logical explanation for Ryo's continued ignorance of her in favor of Nieve. "I'm doing something wrong," she choked, body shuddering in time with the ragged breaths she drew, growing only more enraged with herself as she cried. "I'm crying. I shouldn't cry. I must not cry." Gritting her teeth, she forced the tears to a stop, taking a few more breaths as her respiration returned to normal, feeling as though she'd failed even worse because of her reaction. Sliding the door to the phone booth open weakly, Niobe stumbled out, the blinding lights of the city blurring into a montage of colors against blackness with her still-drying tears. "Calm down, Niobe," she muttered to herself, forcing her lungs to take slowly measured breaths, eyes shut and shoulders moving with the breaths she took. "This is just a problem. Just a challenge." She remembered the day that Joseph had destroyed her belongings before, remembered that she'd felt she was doing the right thing when she'd done the same herself. "I've got to overcome it. I can overcome it." The door to the restaurant pushed open with minimal effort, and Niobe stepped quietly over to the table where the others sat, eyes focusing on her. She knew that there were still tears fresh on her face, still the slightest bits of red around her eyes from the crying, but she refused to acknowledge them, instead simply picking up her menu and bringing it up in front of her face. "Niobe, are you all right?" asked Nieve, reaching over and trying to force down the menu. Niobe placed the menu gently on the table, forcing a smile despite herself. "I'm fine," she replied, trying to sound happy but winding up sounding simply blank. "Just had an emotional conversation with my parents over the phone." Pausing for a moment as she felt tears begin to well once again, Niobe forced herself to control her emotions, wondering only distantly why she'd chosen that excuse. "They said that they're very proud of me." Misato shot Niobe a look that made the girl wonder if she had convinced the older woman, but if Misato suspected something she said nothing, simply turning back to her menu as though nothing had happened. "Order whatever you'd like, girls," she said, doing her best to sound generous and smiling at the trio. "You worked hard. You earned it." Staring at the menu before her, Niobe felt as though she'd earned nothing, that she hardly deserved to partake in Misato's generosity. If she'd done anything worthy of a reward, she knew that Ryo would have taken notice of her, that he wouldn't be so fixated upon Nieve. Closing her eyes for a second, she remembered standing in front of the mirror and looking at herself. At the time, she'd been certain that there was nothing wrong with her body, that she was perfectly healthy and attractive. "But I could be wrong," she whispered to herself, staring at the menu once again, looking over the entire thing for something small. Folding it shut, she put it down on the able and crossed her arms over it. "All right. I'm having the chicken salad." A pause settled over the table, then Misato placed her menu down beneath her elbow, leaning over towards Niobe with a somewhat secretive expression on her face. "The chicken salad here isn't some huge dish, Niobe," the elder woman whispered, apparently trying to keep Niobe from looking as though she didn't know. "It's just a small bowl. About the size of a bowl of cereal. It's an appetizer." "I know," replied Niobe firmly, watching as Misato's eyes widened in shock, feeling that the other girls were staring at her as well. She managed to force another smile, hoping that she was being slightly more convincing the second time around. "I had a big breakfast this morning with Ryo. Just not that hungry right now. Besides, I told him to wait up for me, so we'll probably have something more to eat then, anyways." Eiko and Misato seemed to be satisfied with the excuse, but Niobe saw that Nieve was still staring at her, an odd sort of concern in her eyes as though the Irish girl was trying to figure out whether or not Niobe was telling the truth simply from staring into the other girl's eyes. "You're really not hungry?" she asked, waiting for Niobe to nod in affirmation. "Even though we didn't get to have lunch?" Niobe frowned, but nodded once again, not liking the direction that Nieve's questions were taking. At length, Nieve picked up her menu once again, glancing over the choices but keeping her menu angled just right to keep staring at Niobe. Under normal circumstances, Niobe would have been slightly disturbed by the other girl continuing to stare at her, but she'd forced herself to block those feeling out for the time being, focusing on trying to feel good about herself. She'd done something good, one more thing right on top of all the things that she'd done wrong over the course of the day. Taking a deep breath, she turned away from Nieve, staring off towards the waitresses, waiting for one of them to come for their order. "I'll make myself prettier," she whispered to herself, keeping her lips still enough so that Nieve wouldn't notice that she was talking. "Then he'll notice me. Then I'll be successful." ]++[ Outro: Neon Epoch Evangelion is based off of -Shin Seiki Evangelion- by GAINAX and company. It is not intended to be a straightforward fanfic, but it is building off the work of others, and as such it is done with the utmost respect for the original works and their authors. Basically, even though this is an original work, it's based off the work of others, and if you read this, you should go to see the original. Special thanks to all of the real Children - you know who you are. Extra special thanks to Joe Augulis for his consultation on the Japanese portions of the story. He might not know much Japanese, but that's more than I know. Copyright 2002 Eliot Lefebvre. NEXT EPISODE: Somebody has to take the power. Somebody has to take the chances. Somebody has to take responsibility. NEON EPOCH EVANGELION 11: AUTHORITY SONG "Maybe I couldn't have done anything to stop him." ]++[ We only have a little time in our lives to waste. Make the most of it. Electronic Transcendence Productions: http://www.lostfactor.net Producer of, um, stuff for an unspecified time-period. Rants: http://www.livejournal.com/users/lostfactor