<Lavender mists...>

Tora: They *know* this already, dammit! Get to the point. 

Lurker: <sweatdrop> Yarou teme...

Tora: <smirks>

Lurker: Okay, let's get down to business...

	From within the entry plug of Evangelion Unit 01, the only thing one 
could have seen was the LCL. But, if one could look beyond the mere 
substance, they would see infinitely much more. 

Lurker: Aha! I see it!

Hikaru: See what?

Lurker: ....MORE LCL! 

Hikaru, Tora, Ushio: <facefault>

	In an endless void, Shinji curled his unclothed body into as much as a 
sphere as possible. The only thing he could hear was his own thoughts.

	<Where am I?>

	<The Entry Plug?>

	<EVA Unit 01?>

	<The Geofront of Tokyo-3? >

	<Japan?>

	<Earth?>

	<Nowhere?>

Lurker: Oz?

	In response, Shinji wrapped his own arms around his mother. He looked 
up to see her smiling face. She bowed her head down until both their 
foreheads touched.

	<My son� Now� witness the past through my eyes� and understand. >

Lurker: (Yui voice) Thousands of years ago, I was the queen of the Moon...

<various thrown objects, and a few Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss attacks
hit Lurker>

Lurker: Ahem...nevermind...

	Shinji then saw everything. From the moment he was conceived. It was 
she and Gendou discussing the name of the baby. Shinji, if it was a boy. 
Rei, if it was a girl. Then, time sped forward. He saw a moment when a 
one-year old Shinji being held by his mother. Gendou felt sorry for the 
child that he had to grow up in a hell that the world had become. In 
response, his mother said that anywhere he goes and anything he does can 
become Heaven. 

Lurker: <sarcastic> Boy did she ever nail *THAT*...

	The lights on the screen were lighting up slowly, but steadily. Yui was 
excited. If this was successful, just think of the other advancements 
they could make in other areas. That was when it happened. The screens 
overloaded and the alarms screamed their warnings. 

Lurker: <imitating alarms> RUN FOR IT! HAPPOUSAI'S COMING! GAINAX IS
DOOMED!! AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!

	Within, Yui screamed. She felt the emptiness of the EVA's mind invade 
her body. She only looked down for a minute to see her body was coming 
apart. 

Lurker: <sings> ...breaking up is hard to do...

Like in a computer image, small bits of her body tore off and started to 
swarm around her. More and more of the small pieces of her body sped up 
to the point where she could barely see them. She let out a final scream 
before the last of her body was lost. The swirling pieces dissipated 
within the EVA.

Hikaru: eeeeeeeeeeeeew.

	Three other minds soon came into the void.

	<As are we. >

	Shinji turned to see three other beings. They appeared to be less human 
than he and his mother were. The first was a woman made of glowing blue 
ice, her cool demeanor generating a frosty haze about her. The second 
was a woman made entirely of fire, wearing a scowl. The third was a man 
with a black aura surrounding him, darker than the surrounding void.
 
They were souls, like Shinji and his mother were.

Lurker: Evangelion souls. Cool.

	"Thank you Sera-chan. And I got your reply. I thank you for letting me 
stay for a while." The taller of the two said as she stepped inside. 

	"Oh, it's no trouble at all. Besides, I do not get that many visitors 
around here." The smaller of the two said as she gestured to her 
somewhat messy apartment. Well, somewhat messy to her. Seeing the mess, 
Nodoka would have fainted were it not for the strength she had acquired 
over the years. 

	"I can see why." She said with a nervous expression.

All: <ROFL>

	In Central Dogma, several days had passed since the battle with Zeurel. 
Still, there was no sign of Shinji inside or out of the entry plug. 

Lurker: You didn't look hard enough. Kinda hard to see for all the LCL, but
he's smeared into a fine paste on the inside of...

Hikaru: <whaps Lurker> That's sick!

	Ristuko held Maya's shoulder and gave her the same look and the same 
question. Maya shook her head. No success. The news made the chief 
scientist sigh in resignation. She rubbed her tired eyes with her hands. 
Ever since the loss of Shinji, Ristuko had barely gotten a few hours of 
sleep each night. To be quite frank, she was reaching the end of her 
rope.

Lurker: Oh no....don't tell me she hanged herself...

	  At school, Touji found Kensuke's usual jabber to be almost 
transparent. He couldn't figure out why, but he couldn't get seeing that 
empty entry plug out of his mind. Shinji, one of his newest friends and 
fellow pilots, was gone. Just like that. He turned to see Rei staring at 
a paper on her desk. That was something definitely worth looking into. 

Hikaru: You know you're bored when the most interesting thing you can find
is a piece of paper on Ayanami Rei's desk...

Lurker: <nod> No kidding.  ...I'd much rather look at Ayanami Rei.

Hikaru: Lurker no baka! <bashes Lurker with her sword>

	"You miss him?" he asked taking the desk in front of her.  

	She looked surprised momentarily, but then sighed in resignation and 
nodded. 

	"So do I," he admitted, "who did that? Doesn't look like anyone that 
Kensuke or I would know about would it?" 

	She blinked and replied, "I drew this."

All: O_O

Hikaru: Whoa...ice girl has talent. Who knew?

Lurker: Turk 182 knew. That's who.

Hikaru: <sighs> Mooouuuuuu...that joke is getting *really* tired,
Lurker-kun.

Lurker: <grin> Sorry. I just happened to like that movie...

Hikaru: Has anyone besides you even actually *seen* that movie?

	A long pause answered his question. Until, "Hai. He is the first 
person, other than Ikari-san, to show that he cares for me. I think� I 
think he is my first friend. So, I can not help but worry for him."

	Touji couldn't help but smile after seeing this. "Well then," he said 
while standing up and bowing formally, "if it would please you 
Ayanami-san. Since you are a friend of Shinji, any friend of his is a 
friend of mine." He ended with a smile, making himself look not too 
serious. 

Lurker: Corny, corny corny. 

Hikaru: <nods> Kinda like you, Lurker-kun.

Lurker: <starts to nod, catches himself> ...anou ne...!

Hikaru: <giggle>

	Returning to his seat, Touji smirked and whispered, "Ok. Once Shinji 
gets back, I am going to make sure you two stay together for as long as 
I can."

	The comment made Rei's eyes expand to a size she never thought possible 
as she lost balance on her chair and fell over. The only sound after 
that was Touji's mirth-filled laughter.

Lurker: <snicker>

Hikaru: <giggle>

	  In the darkness, five figures conversed in secret. The figure at the 
head spoke up.

Figure at the head: I say we get Chinese take-out.

Other figure: No. Pizza.

Other figure: Burger King.

Other figure: McDonald's.

Figure at the head: <looks at the last figure> What about you?

Last figure: I think maybe Jack in the Box.

Others: It figures.

Last figure: <leans out of the shadow...it's Jack.>

	The other members of the meeting deliberated about the action, and 
found it to be very worthwhile. A spy that would see Ikari's treachery 
firsthand and who was loyal to them. In fact, the agent they were 
referring to was already in Tokyo-3. Simply waiting to be activated. All 
they needed was the correct occasion to replace one of the pilots. And 
they all knew that one time or another, it would happen.

Lurker: Ooooh....Kaworu time.

	Koorichi added in, "We all had pasts that we would prefer to change had 
we the chance. I was the first pilot of the prototype. My past has 
nothing much to speak of, because I only lived for less than nine years. 
The woman, Ristuko, her mother killed me. She placed me into the plug of 
this and increased the pressure to the point where I died. The only 
consolation is that cruel woman killed herself. Yet, I cannot help but 
feel sorry for her."

Hikaru: <quietly> That's sad...

	"Shinji� Ninohi� never really had a past. The first pilot of Asuka's 
EVA was Kyoko Sohryu Langley. During the trial stages, she suffered a 
mental breakdown. What they didn't know was that while she was in the 
plug, her mind began to break and the shards created Ninohi. She always 
felt incomplete, which is the reason for her behavior. Also, it has a 
certain influence on Asuka as well."

Lurker: That explains a *hell* of a lot.

Hikaru: <nods>

	"Not only do you have to defend mankind, but you have to be there for 
Rei. She likes you, you know." Koorichi spoke smiling. Shinji was 
shocked, Sanshi's addition to Koorichi's words didn't help any. 

Lurker: Anou...you have to wonder why Yui didn't comment on that...

	"Thank you�" With that, the light became blinding to him and he emerged 
from the heart of the Unit 01 EVA, naked, warm, and alive.

Lurker: And promptly got bashed by Asuka for being naked in the EVA.

At first, I as going to have Rei look at a photo of Shinji. But since we 
basically know his track record for being happy, it wouldn't work. Also, 
it would also say that Rei can just be more than just a pilot for the 
EVA. She can draw too. The Eternal Lost Lurker even said it was a nice 
touch! Man, being complimented by one of the big boys really can inflate 
your ego.

Hikaru: Gotta watch that though...don't want your ego getting as bad as
Lurker's.

Lurker: Anou ne...!

Now, the Tekno portion of the fic was VERY minimal. As it has been with 
most of the fic. But rest assured that there will be more of it in the 
future. [looks over the outline for the fic and looks worried.] I hope�

Lurker: Che...doesn't really matter, IMHO. Tekno or no Tekno...this is
already one hell of an EVA fic. I think that's how it's going to be seen,
regardless. Good chapter, nice revisions and additions. 

<lavender mis....ah, the hell with it. Saraba da.>

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Another Not Gonna Do It production...

"Senshi....Sailorize!"
"Anima-mates...Terrorize!"

Transformers: Sailor Wars
Not gonna do it...wouldn't be prudent.

---
The Eternal Lost Lurker
EternalLostLurker@worldnet.att.net

"Ore wa bakemono? Che...ore wa akuma da."
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