Struck below here, in 72 characters-per-line text, you'll find the first three
chapters to my (just now) completed draft of Eva Wasn't Built in A Day.

Read.

Enjoy.

And that's pretty much it.

Comment only if you feel like it, it does have a way to go.

I'd also like to give a shout-out here to Sam "Subi" Brown here on the FFML for his
most excellent formatting tool (wish I'd written that one first... one of these
days!), and help it gave me. Keep up the coding!
-- 
Later,
Rick Spiff

-- Attached file included as plaintext by Listar --
-- File: EWBAD1.txt

Neon Genesis: Evangelion

Eva Wasn't Built in A Day. v0.9

by Jared Waddell  :  rick_spiff@yahoo.com

Quick Disclaimer: Nothing in here is mine, except for the character Goku
Takagi, and BOTH of those names belong to the creators of DragonBallZ
(kick ass!) and Die Hard (kick ass!), and the character James Rahn
(wink). I am just using such things here for personal entertainment.

My first work of fanfiction, complete? Well, more or less. C&C on this
work is welcome, and I do C&C on request as well, so keep up the
communication!

                BE WARNED:   S P O I L E R S !!!

Yes, this is set in the world of Neon Genesis: Evangelion, immediately
after episode 18, so lots of stuff gets out here.

WARNING: This also means that issues not commonly found in works of
fiction will be poured out in the open. This can be very offensive work,
as it contains all of the following: Gratuitous violent bloody combat,
death, dismemberment, quoting, mysterious dark rooms, deranged thinking,
alcohol abuse... and strangely enough, no outright nudity of any kind (I
must be slipping). Well, that's the list.

And please, don't kill me...

Chapter 1:  Picking Up the Pieces.

---

Gendo Ikari sat behind his huge, short, totally bare desk reading a
holo-form floating in the air in front of him. Next to him stood his
second-in-command Kozou Fuyutsuki. Beside the holo-form, the two men,
and the desk, the room held nothing else of interest. Barren, like his
desk, Ikari's office held no superficial adornments. The space's owner
had no need for them.

However, in this empty space used only for work, there was a simple
beauty that was pleasing to the eye and enchanting to the imagination.
First was the desk itself. Except for a few lights and buttons on the
top, and the drawers behind, Ikari's desk was absolutely black. No
reflections of any kind could be seen in it's flawless surface.

The office itself stretched to dimensions bordering on the excessive
even for a large meeting room. The rectangular space was a good 10 by 6
meters in size, and was topped by a high 4 meter ceiling. The walls were
more or less bare, the indentations for the outer steel cross-bracing
forming a continuous pattern of X's across all four walls. Most amazing
of all was the floor, made of a hundred or more diamond-shaped openings
made of steel and each covered by a single pane of glass. Light coming
off of objects in the Geo-front provided most of the lighting. The whole
area was very unique and individual in a... creepy kind of way.

Ikari stared at the request laid out in front of him. The image seemed
to float in midair, and always brought a sense of surrealism to the
information contained therein. However, the information was very real,
and was certainly not a joke.

     Request Notify:  Gendo Ikari, High Commander, NERV.

     Official Request by:  Goku Takagi, Chief Design Engineer. 3rd
     Technical Construction/Maintenance Group. Cage 4.

     Nature of Request:  Construction/Project Authority Transfer.

     Subject:  Evangelion Unit-03 reconstruction and return to
     operational status.

     Body of message:  I, Goku Takagi, hereby request official
     control of Evangelion Unit-03 be transferred to 3rd Technical
     group for reconstruction in order to return Unit-03 to
     operational (battle-worthy) status.

     Other details of proposed work cannot be forwarded at this
     time; they are unavailable to this department.

Ikari peered at the unusually brief message and commanded the computer
to display Takagi's file.

It was not what he expected.

"Fourteen?!!" Ikari growled. "He's only fourteen?!!"

Fuyutsuki could only gasp and stutter "Maybe it's only a computer
error."

"Unlikely." Seethed a still fuming Ikari. After further investigation,
Ikari reached for his rapidly dwindling aspirin supply"

It was not an error.

Goku Takagi was indeed a fourteen year old engineer working for one of
NERV's technical groups (a bunch of people who do the grunt work of
making sure the Eva's were up and running as much as possible). The only
child of a genius AI engineer who died of a medical condition seven
years ago. Coincidentally, he was also a potential candidate for being
classified as the fifth child, though for some strange reason, the
Marduk report had overlooked him in making recommendations. With an IQ
of over 170, Takagi already held a masters and a Ph.D. in AI engineering
and Artificial Neurology, respectively. He also held two black belts.
One in Aikido, the other in Wing Chun Gung Fu.

The picture that was laid out with Goku's personal information was of an
easygoing boy's face with short black hair and equally black eyes.

_A child?_ Thought Ikari. _Strange, but this may be helpful._

Being mildly helpful, Fuyutsuki spoke. "This boy would've made one heck
of an Eva pilot. And repairing Unit-03..."

"Yes. If he can actually do it, we could have four working Evas...and we
may need Unit-03." The Commander mused.

"Overqualified, underemployed." Fuyutsuki remarked.

Ikari did not respond, but immediately ordered Takagi to his office.
Ikari and Fuyutsuki gleaned his file for more information while waiting.

---

As a knock could be heard from outside, Ikari pressed a button on his
desk and the main doors opened. In walked a short boy with close-cropped
black hair and dark black eyes. His build was muscular, and he was
wearing loose black cotton pants and a brown sleeveless shirt. Both
garments looked like they could stop bullets, the material looked so
tough. Any squeaky-clean image associated with engineers was totally
shattered by this short prodigy, however, as he was spattered here and
there was some dried material that may have been a purple goo some time
ago.

The figure came to a stop six feet in front of the desk and spoke. "Good
afternoon, Commander. Goku Takagi reporting as ordered."

At the mention of 'afternoon' the Commander winced slightly, but showed
no other reaction. "So you think it possible to return Unit 03 to
operational status."

"I do indeed, Commander. Nay, I promise."

"Oh really. How is it possible to put the Eva back together? You didn't
fully explain in your request." The Commander demanded more than asked
the question.

"The exact details will have to be worked out once the project is
approved and a more complete damage estimate can be made. However, even
with the extensive damage Unit-03 has sustained, it is not only
possible, but very probable to repair the Eva in about six weeks, ready
for combat."

Takagi's words were not exactly comforting to the Commander, but he kept
his doubts to himself, always preserving the calm exterior that the
Commander was famous for. "You promise?"

"Yes. On my honor."

"Hmm, all right. You have six weeks to complete work on the Eva. This
request is now officially approved. You may begin work as soon as Unit-
03 can be transferred to Cage 4. I will see that the appropriate
personnel are informed. You are dismissed."

The meeting was over.

---

Back at the newly appropriated construction area for Unit 03, Takagi was
heading for his office. The meeting had gone better than he had
expected, all things considered. Goku was anything but stupid. He knew
very well that he was an Eva pilot candidate, though he really didn't
care to jump in one and go off killing angels. He saw what kind of
damage those things sustained in battle. It was an unnerving sight.

Walking across an access way about the south wall of Cage 4, Takagi
looked up into the now-empty chamber, roughly square, but with a ceiling
high enough to fit an Eva. He now knew one would be in there soon.

The work crews were already out and about, preparing for the arrival of
Unit-03. _Excellent._ Thought Takagi. Despite his recent good fortune,
an upset look was on Takagi's face. As he passed the work crews, each
individual flinched slightly. This produced an unusual wave-like pattern
of convulsions throughout the chamber. Takagi took little note of this
and said nothing until he was in his office.

"MOTHER F&*#$@&!!!!!!!!" The walls nearby shook with Takagi's voice.

After a few minutes, Takagi was again becoming irritated. Some papers he
had set _right_ on top of his desk had _mysteriously_ disappeared.

_Must be Kalme and Ronga snatching documents out of here again._ He
thought as his anger built. In only two seconds, Takagi's legendary
temper reached it's breaking point.

If there had been any windows in Cage 4, many would have shattered in
concert with the sound of Takagi's 110kg desk hitting the nearest wall
at about 90mph. Instantaneously, all work in Cage 4 stopped. A voice
rang out.

"KALME, RONGA, GET YOUR WORTHLESS &#@$ #@$!!# IN THIS #@$& OFFICE WITH
MY #$#@!@ PAPERWORK BEFORE I HAVE TO COME OVER THERE AND PUT THIS @#@&S
DESK UP YOUR @#$#&@S!!!!!!!!" Everyone in Cage 4 winced in unison.

---

"He's doing _what?!_" Ritsuko Akagi exclaimed from the cramped remote
office.

Really nothing more than a tiny trailer for commanding the cleanup
operation, the tiny room was filled with one desk, one couch and enough
paperwork to sink the...well, you get the idea.

"Taking Unit 03 and rebuilding it." Misato Katsuragi said while sitting
down heavily. "Orders from the Commander himself. I wonder what scheme
he's brewing now..." Misato said the last part mostly to herself.

Ritsuko stood up in shock, and looked a little huffy. "Let me clarify
this one last time. He's fourteen."

Misato nodded.

"He's one of our best engineers."

Misato nodded again.

"He's going to _rebuild_ a complete Eva."

Misato, nodding again, was feeling bored.

"And he's supposed to _pilot_ the thing?"

Misato finished the last nod with a sleepy comment. "Yeah, well, he
doesn't know yet. Supposedly he's some martial arts expert, and escaped
the Marduk institute�s notice. He's got an IQ of, like, a hundred and
seventy or something..."

"A hundred and seventy?!"

"Uh huh. At least." Misato said with a yawn.

Ritsuko had to sit back down, holding her head in her hands "And one of
our own stupid engineers. How did we fail to notice this before?"

Hearing no response, Ritsuko turned to see Misato out cold on her couch,
snoring loudly. She turned and looked out of the vehicle's single tiny
window, seeing the destruction and gore wrought by the 13th Angel. Eva
Unit 03's remains...well most of them, anyways. _This guy is either very
arrogant, or a real genius._

Like it mattered.

---

Later that day, the final paperwork was cut, and equipment was run out
to transport Unit 03's remains back to Cage 4 under Takagi's control.
Upon seeing the massive being's arrival, Takagi merely nodded, and said
"Figured as much."

They set to work right away.

Work was not easy or fast, but after 19 days of slave driving, progress
was finally being made. Unit 00 was fully repaired after only two weeks,
but by that time, Unit 03 was only 84% operational. 'Operational' was a
relative word in this sense, since the angel's subversion of the nerve
paths had caused considerable damage to the Eva's nervous system. In
short, it could not work without the nerves being completely
regenerated. A difficult task at best.

The reconstruction completed in three weeks was motivating, but it was a
busy three weeks for Takagi. Late one night, Takagi and Akagi found
themselves without anything to do, after reviewing status reports in
Takagi's office. Ritsuko thought it strange, and more than a little
funny, to see a fourteen year old boy pace in his own office in NERV.
She had seen stranger, of course, but it was funny to her, nonetheless.

Hearing Akagi giggling behind him, Takagi turned and asked her what was
so funny.

"You seem out of place here." She responded, sobering quickly.

"A girl like you saying _I_ seem out of place here? Preposterous." He
laughed disarmingly.

"Well, you have to admit, a fourteen year old engineer running the
reconstruction of Unit 03 almost single-handedly." She lectured.

"And other fourteen year olds piloting them, possibly to their deaths."
He retorted.

"I see your point...Takagi. That name sounds vaguely familiar." Ritsuko
looked deep in thought when Takagi glanced in her direction.

"Perhaps you've heard of my father."

Ritsuko looked at him bleary-eyed. "Wait a minute, my mother _did_ say
something about a Takagi she knew...an AI researcher, if I recall..."

"Yes." Said Takagi wistfully. "He was a pioneer in his field, and I just
happened to fall in his footsteps. However, I got into a more...
physical aspect of AI bio-engineering. And here I am."

"What ever happened to him?" Ritsuko asked softly.

"Died about seven years ago. He got cancer in his stomach, a very rare
form, then caught pneumonia in the hospital. He just couldn't hang on."
Takagi trailed off, his eyes misting.

After a suitable period of time, Ritsuko spoke again. The office seemed
much quieter. "Your obviously learned a great deal from him. He would be
very proud to see you now."

"I do try to impress." Takagi said slyly.

>From her observation, Ritsuko felt that the boy's spirit was remarkably
strong, all things considered. "What about your mother?" Suddenly,
Ritsuko wished she could call back those words, for she was certain that
the mother of such an exceptional child would not abandoned him by
choice.

Takagi had other ideas. "Mom was something else." He replied slowly.
"She took sixteen slugs in a bank robbery, protecting four hostages.
After the shooting stopped, she picked herself up off the ground and
ripped the robbers to shreds before she blacked out from the blood
loss." Takagi sighed heavily. "She died in the ambulance." He finished
quietly.

Ritsuko was about to change the subject, as Takagi's words reminded her
of her own mother's death, but Takagi continued.

"She made me and dad promise to hold our honor above all else. Honor was
worth more than our very lives in our house. As much as dad and I both
constantly tried to disagree, we couldn't help but see her logic. Honor
was the only true bond in our family. It was a bond that kept us
together. That kept us alive. Her alive. Then her life in exchange for
four hostages in a bank robbery. I do miss her." Takagi had stopped
pacing, and was looking at the blank green wall to Ritsuko's left. "I'm
really sorry about keeping you here with my stories. You probably can't
stand listening to me babble about my problems."

"Not at all, actually. I assume you know what happened to my mother."

"Actually, I only heard rumors." Takagi remained silent and attentive.

"She-" Ritsuko wondered briefly why she was talking about this to...a
child? Perhaps it was because his diminutive size was disarming. His
anger was anything but, she had seen that in action. However, when calm,
he was a caring and sensitive person. He was all most too intelligent
for his own good as well. Perhaps he understands.

She sighed before continuing. "She killed herself. She jumped off the
control deck in Central Dogma to the MAGI access deck ten meters below."
Ritsuko heard her own voice devoid of all but the tiniest hint of
emotion. She swallowed hard and continued. "She was killed instantly. I
was never told why...but." Ritsuko almost continued. Almost. He was a
little _too_ disarming. Despite her increasingly morose mood, she smiled
slightly. _This kid would make a good therapist._ She didn't need to see
a therapist. "I really should be going."

"Of course." He said smoothly. "It's getting late. It was nice talking
to you, Doc."

Ritsuko smiled again. This time, it lifted her mood as well as her face.
"Anytime, Doc."

---

End.
10/24/98


Chapter 2:  This is Not What I Had in Mind...

---

In a large dark room - a room which was not real, as this was in VR -
six hologramatic men sat around a nearly invisible table. They were
discussing many things. Many dangerous things. Coincidentally, Takagi's
name was among them.

SEELE-4: So, Unit 03 is being rebuilt by this...child?

KEEL: A strange decision, to say the least. Ikari, are you sure he can
be trusted? He can barely be monitored.

IKARI: There is no danger, I assure you. He is concentrating solely on
the task before him. Even with his intelligence, it is quite a time-
consuming burden.

KEEL: Takagi is highly skilled for an engineer. It seems to me he could
even be a spy.

SEELE-3: And he throws himself deeply into his work. Remember, Ikari.
You do not know more than we do. Besides, what if he finds out something
he isn't supposed to?

IKARI: In that case, he shall be removed from the equation.

SEELE-2: This person was not in our schedule, Ikari. He could be
dangerous... to us. We would not be happy if he became a threat to our
goals because of your carelessness.

KEEL: If you can't remove him, Ikari, we will have to remove you. Is
that understood?

IKARI: Indeed.

The other five members of SEELE disappeared from the artificial room.
Ikari sat alone in the darkness for a moment.

IKARI: If I am careless, none of you will be in much of a condition to
do anything. And neither will I.

Ikari's departure signaled the end of the meeting.

---

In the well-lit open area of Cage 4, Goku Takagi looked up on the work
proceeding about the heavily damaged Unit 03. From his position (about
the Eva's waist) Takagi had to look almost vertically up at Unit 03 to
ascertain the work on the damaged chest. When the chest plate had been
ripped off by the berserk Unit 01, the damage to internals was not so
severe. However, with the subsequent blows landed upon the ribcage area,
most of Unit 03's insides were in pieces so small they had to be
vacuumed out of the cavity.

The arms were locked securely in place while they were grown back
together. Curiously, the arms' molecular structure had been
substantially changed when the angel was in control. As a result, the
arms apparently retained the ability to stretch to at least twice their
normal length at the command of the pilot. An obvious plus, and a
worthwhile gain considering the reconstruction difficulties thus far.

Looking up at the head, one part that had to be totally replaced, Takagi
suddenly felt weary. One of the two main problems in his project was the
head. The other was the damaged nerves. Without them, the EVA wasn't
going anywhere. Unfortunately for Takagi, a third problem was about to
make itself known.

"Dr. Takagi to deck 13 please, Dr. Takagi to deck 13." The female voice
rang out through the vast open space of Cage 4 seductively.

Takagi almost groaned, anticipating another snag, and began his ascent.
On the way up, he considered his options with the nerves. One was re-
growing the entire structure from scratch, but that had never been done
_in_ an EVA, and had only a small chance of working. The second option
was a long shot as well, but had a better chance of success. Takagi
wondered if the pilot would submit, and if he/she could be found in
time. Numerous problems persisted about the solution, but it was fast
becoming their only option. However, a large number of these problems
were about to be solved.

Arriving at deck 13, Takagi was directed to a catwalk extension into the
chest cavity. "What have we here?" He asked disdainfully.

One of the technicians pointed. Takagi didn't see anything.

"What? Where?" He persisted.

The shift commander edged closer to a small red sphere almost invisible
in the gory mess about the chest cavity. A network of small tentacle-
like structures spread out from the crystal orb, branching out and into
the Eva�s body.

Takagi cocked an eyebrow. "What is that?"

"From our scans, it's almost an S2 unit." Said the shift commander.

"That is _way_ to small to be an S2 unit." Stated Takagi flatly.

"That's what our scans showed. But that's not all. It's been growing."

"Growing?" Takagi seemed a little off balance.

"An hour ago, it was only half this size."

"Hmm, double size in one hour." The small sphere was about 5cm in
diameter right now. Doing a few calculations, Takagi showed his
displeasure. "If that's a volume increase, it could take months to fill
out!" Evan as the technician cringed, the fire suddenly died out of
Takagi's eyes. "Whoops, I forgot the energy/mass growth factor makes
those calcs useless. Hmm, it should be finished in a few days." Takagi
smiled, a rare occasion lately. "Excellent."

"There's one other thing, Sir." The shift commander caught Takagi, who
was trying to leave. "It's showing foreign matter inside. Biological
matter."

Takagi cursed loudly and profusely in three separate languages. "What
from?!!"

"It appears to be human."

Takagi's face went pale.

---

Ikari was back in his office, minus Fuyutsuki. A progress report was in
the holo-field in front of him at the moment. The report was short and
plainly to the point, as every piece of writing from Takagi was
(thankfully). Ikari read quickly right up to the end of the report where
he screamed.

   ...Human biological matter was found in the seeding S2 unit. The
   matter was composed mostly of Deoxyribonucleic Acid and...

Ikari quickly composed himself and looked for the explanation.

   ...Acid and appeared to be modified slightly by the S2 engine.
   Although the organ is not generating any really useful power, it's
   presence has somewhat increased the regeneration rate. The new
   interior components make up approx. 92% of the remaining work.

   Nerve regeneration is stopped for the moment, pending approval of
   the new pilot...

So that was it._ Thought Gendo. _He's done well so far, but-_ Ikari's
thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a blaring klaxon somewhere in
the compound. Ikari reached for the comm button and aspirin at the same
time...

---

Hyuuga had been out for a soda when it happened. This is not to say that
every time he left the room something went wrong, but that's sure what
it felt like. Dashing back into Central Dogma, he heard Maya shouting.
"We've got confirmed blue pattern!"

Hyuuga mentally cursed. It was going to be one of those days.

Hyuuga quickly made his way to his own console as other reports started
flowing in.

"We've got it located to block 27 east. The target is not moving.
Repeat, target is not moving."

"Not moving, then what the heck is it waiting for?" Hyuuga questioned no
one in particular.

The Commander spoke. "Designate the target as the fourteenth Angel, get
the pilots here on the double. Hyuuga, put that drink in the trash,
we're on alert here."

Hyuuga gulped and did as he was told. Things were not looking good.

"And someone find Major Katsuragi."

---

In situations like these, things tended to happen quickly. However, this
was not the ordinary situation. The Angel showed no direct signs of
hostility, but was taking a more defensive posture. None the less, NERV
was still on alert, as it had been for the past two days, trying to
figure out the Angel's weakness.

This is what they had learned so far.

First, the AT field they had detected earlier was remarkably weak,
nothing more than a proximity sensor for the Angel, which was apparently
blind. Conventional weapons could easily get past the field, but that's
were things started to get complicated.

The Angel's second trick was some sort of electromagnetic energy field
that could warp space, and easily time, so that projectiles fired at the
Angel passed through the space it was supposed to occupy without casing
any damage to the Angel itself. Close-up combat was all but impossible,
as the Angel had the virtue of hundreds of tentacle-like limbs that
could attack dozens, if not hundreds of times per second.

Lastly came the Angel's offenses. They were effective, if hard to
observe. The Angel had the ability to convert matter into energy to fuel
it's growth, and was using this technique to bore slowly through the
armor plating right into headquarters. Fortunately, it wasn't making
much progress - it was substantially slower than the fifth Angel.

After two days of preparation and testing the Angel's boundaries, it was
decided that only an Eva attacking hand-to-hand would have any effect,
since the Angel was completely invulnerable to any long-range attacks.
In that time, however, the Angel had more than quadrupled it's size, and
was now running an AT field about 35m in diameter.

---

The day of the attack came. Movement of the public had been restricted
so that the they were out of the Angel's way. It was about nine in the
morning the attack was to commence, because of optimal visibility from
the Evas.

"Asuka, Rei, are you both in position?" Inquired Misato over the radio
as the two Eva pilots set their sights the 14th Angel.

"Ready. Just watch my back, Wondergirl." Asuka ordered over her
shoulder.

"I am ready." Were Rei's only words.

"Okay, you two. Long-range weapons have no effect, as you already know.
You're going to have to close in for melee fighting with your weapons.
Good luck." It was the last part that made the pilots worry.

Asuka clutched her Sonic Galive tightly with the Eva, steeling her mind
for the coming battle. Shinji wasn't here, so there was no one to argue
with. Besides, what good would Shinji do in his current (stupid) state
of mind? Wondergirl seemed unfazed, even after her Eva had to loose an
arm when Unit 03 turned into an Angel. Now it was all up to her. She
wasn't going to fail.

In Unit 00 Rei watched the clock tick down to launch, then felt the G-
forces press her down as the Eva shot upward, joining Unit 02 up on the
surface. Rei quickly appropriated a pair of bladed sticks and took up
her backup position just behind and to the right of Auska.

Asuka neutralized the Angel's minimal AT field and charged in to slice
it limb from limb with her spear. The Angel, however, had other ideas.

Unit 02 quickly severed three limbs in a single slash and took another
step forward, as Ayanami held off (okay, chopped off) four limbs. Things
went downhill from there.

Asuka's Eva was hit simultaneously hit by the six tentacles she didn't
even see coming, slamming Unit 02 to the ground, and knocking loose her
spear before Asuka could even cry out. Unit 00 came out of nowhere, it's
arms more or less a blur as it hacked and slashed it's way toward the
injured Eva. At here, to say that things went from bad to worse would be
an understatement of a lethal degree.

In the next two seconds, the battle was over, and a stunned Rei Ayanami
and Asuka Sohryu lay in their respected Eva's some distance away from
their original target, with much of their armor missing or badly
damaged.

"What was that?!" Misato yelled.

"I-it looks like the Angel used that field to place the Eva's almost two
kilometers from the battle, and they're in sad shape too..." Ritsuko
finished the last sentence with more than a hint of disgust.

"Well, shut them down, for now. Is the Angel moving?"

"No ma'am. It's just burning through the armor as normal." Maya
answered, still a little in awe of the Angel's latest trick.

_Damn!_ Thought Misato. _That thing just took them both out like it does

it everyday before breakfast!_

"This does not look good." Commented Fuyutsuki unnecessarily.

"Get Takagi in here, now!" Ordered the Commander harshly.

---

Less than five minutes later, Takagi was standing on the Control Deck in
Central Dogma. "Yes, Commander."

"In regard to your earlier communiqu�, _you_ are now the pilot for Unit-
03."

Though Takagi had begun to suspect this, he could only gulp politely and
nod.

"In addition, I need to know two things right now. One, how you will
finish repairing Unit 03. Two, what are you going to do about this
Angel."

"I had no idea-" The Commander was angry. 'Nuff said.

"You are an Evangelion pilot. I'm asking for an idea from you. An idea
for what to do about this Angel. You are obviously not lacking in
intelligence."

Takagi slowly went rigid listening to the Commander's words, but he
spoke the truth, and had done nothing wrong beside waste time (something
which they now had a an embarrassing overabundance of). Takagi just got
caught in the middle of something bigger then himself.

Takagi wisely held his tongue in front of the Commander, and spoke.
"Give me one minute."

"You have _one_ minute."

Takagi quickly turned to Ibuki and Makoto and began gathering
information.

Ritsuko looked on, wondering how Takagi was going to handle _this_ one.

"Lieutenant, do we have data on the Angel's growth from the time it was
discovered until now?" He hastily questioned Maya.

"Umm...Yes sir." Maya said, a little confused.

"Plot it here." Takagi snapped, not really angry, just impatient. He
seemed deep in thought.

About ten seconds later, a plot appeared on a display at Takagi's elbow.
"Hmm, the growth is leveling off at what looks like a modified power of
two..." Takagi muttered. "Okay. How big will it be, according to this,
in... fourteen - no, fifteen days. Dawn, fifteen days from now."

Maya looked slightly puzzled, but did as she was told. A series of
numbers came up a few seconds later, replacing the graph. Takagi
furrowed his brow and did some calculations in his head.

"Commander, I have a plan, First, pull back and armor everything near
the Angel while repairing the Evas until Unit 03 is finished. It can be
ready for combat in just fourteen days. That leaves one day for me to
synch with it and get the basics down before we use all three Evas in
one simultaneous attack. If all three of us work on speed-reflex
training from now until the day of attack, and we add some additional
kinetic armor plating to give the Evas more endurance, we can put the
Angel in a more drawn-out slugging match. Tire it. Slow it down. Get it
into a rhythm, then pull something out of left field to destroy it
completely. Other little details can be worked out later, or course." As
Takagi went silent, so did the rest of the room. He understood the
consequences of losing. Hence, he wasn't taking any chances.

What was difficult to fathom was the method. The pilots would require
some exceptional training to take this one down.

Apparently the Commander had faith in Takagi's skill, not bothering to
confirm his analysis. It was not like they had much of a choice. "Very
well. Do as you must to finish Unit 03 and defeat the Angel. That is
your top priority. Due to your experience in martial arts, are you
prepared to accept the responsibility of training your fellow pilots?"
Takagi nodded. "You have oversight of this operation. You will work with
Major Katsuragi in this operation. Do not fail." With his final words,
Ikari had quite literally sealed Takagi's fate.

Takagi didn't even bother grumbling about how the Commander had just put
him under an awful lot of pressure. "Thank you, Sir."

Goku turned to Misato. "Major, please have those two report to the
pilot's fitness room on level twenty-four as soon as they are out of the
infirmary. And neither will be attending class for the next fifteen days
either." Takagi looked a little distracted. "I need to get Unit-03's
core synch replication data input A.S.A.P. I'll be somewhere in Cage 4
if you need me."

Then he just straightened up and left the room.

Ikari silently appreciated how quickly and ruthlessly Takagi handled the
situation. _He's not going to give up easily._

---

End.
11/05/98


Chapter 3: Training, What Joy!

---

The air recirculators beat a soothing stream of sound into Goku's ears
as he made his way slowly down a nondescript, gray corridor in one of
NERV's private hospitals. He had been searching for his fellow pilots,
Asuka and Rei, as they were supposed to still be in their room. His mind
had chosen to wander off some time ago, and naturally, his body had
followed suit.

Rei and Asuka. Asuka and Rei. Goku didn't know his fellow pilots all
that well, as he never had any reason to. Now, however, he needed to see
them, to hear their words. Life for Goku as an Eva pilot was already
complex, and he hadn't even _been_ one for more than six hours. He
hadn't even stepped inside the cockpit of Unit 03 yet, and already he
felt some kinship with the other young teens who had put their lives on
the line for him, for the city, for the world time and time again.

He just didn't know them yet, that was all.

But it wasn't like he was trying to anyways, work on Unit 03 had
absorbed him almost completely as reconstruction neared completion. Goku
sighed, it was such a nice night, a bit hotter than usual, but the Angel
was to blame for that one. The red megaton tentacle menace seemed to
just ooze maliciousness with every second it sat in it's 'territory.'
And there was that strange pink light that went along with it. What had
they named it? Immashamel? Immersionnaol? He really didn't care, he just
wanted it to go down.

Pounding the freakish thing into submission when the attack was launched
fifteen days from now was more and more on his mind lately. The pink
light flowed slowly through the hospital's double-pane windows with an
evil taint; lounging against the far wall of the corridor, eerily
bathing the hall in a hellish glow. Goku refused to look at it. It was
uncomfortable, really, as light reminded him of what it would be like
inside the womb. He walked onward, footsteps lost on the wall paneling,
made of God-knows-what; lost in thought.

Rei, he had heard, was a strange one. Quiet. No emotion, except around
the commander. He thought that fit nicely in his weird category, a.k.a.,
his 'NERV' category. But since that now encompassed most everything that
went on in his life, he hardly took notice. Therefore, Rei fit in
nicely. Ayanami. Yeah, nice girl.

Asuka. She was something else. Strangely, she seemed the odd one out
when put up against Shinji and Rei. The 'normal' one among them? Goku
chuckled. Asuka was full of spark, maybe a little to much... She was
more 'normal' than the others. And a royal pain in the ass, if
everything he heard was to be believed.

But nothing he heard could ever be taken at face value again.

Ever.

Goku idly glanced up at the sign labeling the junction he had wandered
across.

"Seventy three?" He wondered aloud, his voice strangely devoid of
inflection. Since when did he get to Seventy three? Taking a second
look, Goku determined that sign indicated he was at a junction of Seven
and Three. Maybe, never could understand all the signs NERV put up
anymore than he could all the Angel stuff. Blue Pattern? Just what the
_hell_ was that supposed to mean?

Goku's thoughts were about to wander again, with his body following
suit, when someone who was obviously not a doctor walked up to him and
started talking.

"Who" The figure began. "are you."

Smooth, handsome. Thought Takagi. Out loud. "Goku Takagi, Cage 4
engineer. I'm here to see Re - uh, Pilots Ayanami and Sohryu." Goku had
to fight back the urge to blush as the stranger smiled. He really seemed
like a nice guy, big though. Maybe six feet (Takagi was only five six
himself), short dark blonde hair parted on the right, light colored skin
with rouge cheeks. American. That explained everything. Everything
except the NERV Head of Internal Security badge he wore. Yeah,
everything.

"They're in wing four."

Huh? Oh. "Ummm, do you know how to get there?" Goku detested asking
directions, as all males of the species did, but he honestly didn't know
where he was at the moment. And of course, there was no way he'd miss
the girls because he'd been out wandering around and talking with the
'Head of Internal Security' like it was his lunch break or something.

"You're well on your way," Goku allowed a smile to rise a little at
that, he was going the right way! "but in the wrong direction." Goku
smile was crushed under his exasperation like a bouquet of daises under
a pair of tank treads. "But if you go back the way you came 'til you
reach the elevator, go down one floor and keep moving in the same
direction, it's not far."

Ah, good. Looks like he'd be meeting his teammates on time after all.
"Thanks... Mr.?"

"Rahn." The figure glanced down the corridor perpendicular to Takagi's
path of travel. "James Rahn. You haven't seen Mr. Ikari down here, have
you?"

Now that caught him off guard. "T-the commander? No sir." This guy was
_up_ there.

"Thanks anyway, kid. Later." Then he left.

Goku just stood in place for a minute, watching Rahn's receding form.
Who the hell was that? His mind wondered, but he was too tired to answer
many questions, especially ones with so many unknowns. He headed back
the way he came. What elevator?

---

Takagi stood in front of the double room, almost able to make out the
words belonging to a shrill voice on the other side, evidently unhappy
about something. He unconsciously picked at the wooden buttons on the
dark blue sleeveless tunic he had chosen to wear. Blue was calming, non-
threatening.

Of course, he'd forgotten these were Eva pilots. 'Blue pattern
detected.' His mind laughed at the joke, and as a small smile rose to
his otherwise peaceful (if confused) face and lifted his mood a bit. He
knocked. The smile melted like wax under a blowtorch.

His first impression was a veritable explosion of sound, red hair, and
something vaguely female. The latter was a little indeterminate, because
of the loose hospital smock she wore in the place of regular clothes. He
gathered his remaining wits. This must be Asuka.

"About damn time you showed up! Takagi, right?"

Duh. Who else would be stupid enough to disturb you two? Takagi bit back
the bitter reply, settling for a 'yes' instead.

"Well, what's so important?" The red head screeched. Yes, screeched.
Goku didn't think it was possible for a human voice to make that kind
of... of... _noise_, yet the proof was right before him. And she looked
pissed. "Couldn't you bastards at least give us our clothes back?!!"

"Listen you self-centered - Aargghhh! I don't have your damn clothes!"
Wait. That didn't come out right. Takagi drew a deep breath.

"My name is Goku Takagi, Chief Engineer of Cage 4. Designated pilot of
Unit-03," Funny how her face could freeze in place like that, the very
picture of vehemence painted across her skin, hand cocked back in the
requisite slap. "and personal trainer to pilots Ayanami and Sohryu."
Silence. This was not good.

"The fifth?" She breathed, still unmoving.

"Yes."

His world erupted in pain.

It was not the first time he had come to blows with someone and their
damn temper, but it was the first time a _girl_ tried assaulting him
like that.

Smack! The next hit wasn't so lucky. After all, he only had to pretend
to be helpless for so long...

"I see you two are getting along nicely." That had to be Ritsuko.
Luckily, for Takagi, she was carrying the other pilots' clothes.

"Mein Gott! Good thing your here! This, this PERVERT was trying to look
at us in the nude!!!"

Pervert? He'd show her... later.

"I'll be outside. Rei, Asuka, Doc." His steely gaze never wavered as he
let Asuka's hand drop free.

Well, all things considered, that could have gone worse. Not likely, but
possible. If it weren't for the good doctor's arrival, things would have
definitely gotten worse with time. Somehow, they always did.

---

Goku walked out of the door, containing his biting comments for a
moment. Once outside, he took a deep breath, focusing on the wall in
front of him. One hand defied his strict orders and rose slowly to feel
the growing red hand-shaped spot on his cheek.

"Damn the orders. She's _worse_ than everyone says. I have to be in
CLASS with that-" He bit his tongue. His body shook with barely
restrained fury. He swore he could see a big bull's eye form on the wall
in front of him. His fist itched to cause damage. He focused. Wait for
it...

"Goku, could you come in here, please?" Ah, Ritsuko. Breaking his
concentration. Always the calm one.

"Are they decent?" Stupid question, Goku. Stupid!

"Yes. Are you ready to talk without fighting?"

Well, he was ready to talk at least. "Yeah."

---

Asuka was sitting, but still glaring daggers at him. He could
understand, really he could. But that didn't change the fact that he
didn't keep them from getting dressed. Rei was her usual self,
apparently unperturbed by his entrance, and Asuka's subsequent outburst.

Ritsuko did the talking.

"Goku is the new pilot of Unit 03, due to some special circumstances. He
also is well-versed in the martial arts, a style that might increase our
combat effectiveness against this Angel. He will be training both of you
everyday, after school, in the pilot's fitness room. The attack will
commence in fifteen days, at dawn." She nodded at Goku. "The three of
you will have to work together to distract the Angel's attention among
you and try to strike it's core." Blank looks.

"Why?" As if she had to ask.

"Since long-range weapons have shown to be ineffective, and hand-to-hand
combat plans have been foiled, we have decided to try something new.
Each Eva will be equipped with special kinetic impact armor that will
reduce damage dealt by high speed blows from the creature's tentacles.
Goku has a lot of practice in high-speed, close-range combat, and we
feel that some training with him will adequately increase your skill to
the point where you will be able to effectively fight this new angel,
and defeat it.

Asuka looked about ready to say something, but Ritsuko pinned her with a
stare. "This scenario has the best chances of success, and for it to
work effectively, you all need to work as a team. Please." The note
wasn't pleading, but she was obviously asking from the heart.

Goku kept the questioning look off his face successfully. Asuka glared.
Rei said "Yes, Dr. Akagi."

"Like I need training in Eva combat from _this_ perverted jerk!" Ah,
that was Asuka.

"Asuka, if you can hit me, you don't need any training."

"Ha, I've already hit you once. You want some more?"

"Try me."

Takagi dodged the next few swift strikes with relative ease, then closed
in and made effective use of the best speed that his Wing Chun style
offered. Asuka flinched, yanking her head back an inch at the final
strike Goku delivered, which stopped short only a few inches from her
face. He held his fist there for a second to get the point across.

Luckily, the whole thing happened too fast for Akagi to do anything
rash, otherwise, they would be in for a monumental reaming. Maybe they
were in for a monumental reaming anyway. "I think I've proved my point."

Asuka was fuming. Rei had backed away a few steps. Ritsuko stared for a
second, her face the picture of shock.

Dr. Akagi quickly regained her composure, though. "If you two are quite
finished, perhaps we can start working _together._"

"Okay, If it'll make me a better pilot." Asuka? Relenting?

Goku bit back another scathing reply. Man, he hated doing that. "Of
course, Doc. Let's kick some Angel butt."

"And I have something to discuss with you." Goku nodded, and the pair
left the room. Outside, "Since you're now a pilot, and not an engineer,
you have to go to school now." Goku nodded, he'd been expecting that.
"And since you'll be in school, your work in Cage 4 has been pushed onto
me directly."

"Sure thing, Doc. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask...
and everything should be in order. Ronga and Kalme should be able to
help you with anything you need." A pause. "Um, Doc?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think we really have a shot at this?

"This _is_ the best we could come up with. If we shove an N2 mine in
it's face, there's no telling where it might end up when it detonates."

"No shit."

"Well, we just don't have any choice, do we?"

A look passed between them, a knowing glance of two professionals. Two
people, exchanging a shared thought. They just had to do their jobs, but
their jobs would decide the fate of billions. Takagi had another insight
in to life as an Eva pilot.

"Thank you, Goku"

"Thank you, Doc."

---

Diary of Goku Takagi. Wed, 8/12/14

      How stupid can one person be? Jeeze! That Asuka is something else.
Sometimes, maybe it would be better to let her go after the Angel
without an Eva. Maybe a loud-speaker... Heh. She's got fire though, and
potential. She just won't give up. I don't mind admitting that I'd
rather have her at my back than anyone else. And that fuckin' Angel...
that damn thing just doesn't stop. Minor earthquakes are starting to
wrack the area, tremors much like what Japan has seen before. As if we
didn't have enough problems.
      Hoo boy, and Ritsuko showed up just in time at the hospital today.
Man, I haven't been that angry in a long time. My apartment's suffered
dearly for it, too.
      God damn.
      What have I gotten myself into? Dad always said, 'fear is just a
warning for your safety. Use it properly, and it will keep you well.'
Personal safety was never much a concern for the Takagi family, I guess.
Is that why I decided to be a pilot? Is that the reason for putting
myself in harms way? Genetics?
      Unlikely. I'm a fool. I'm insane. I figure I'd have to be, to
fight virtually immortal three hundred foot tall aliens inside an
organic-mechanical war machine that MAKES YOU HURT WHEN THE THING GETS
HIT.
      You know, it's funny how the Evas are my life. I guess after my
father died, I took off in his footsteps with out being pushed that
direction. Hey, it's something I like to do. So shoot me.
      Ritsuko, now she's a different story. Damn smart, hell of a nice
person. But she's hiding something. Something big, something about the
Evas. Trying to hide something about the Evas from me? Ridiculous, but
then again, so is my life.
      Training Asuka and Rei?
      Tomorrow may be even worse than today.

---

Asuka sat in Misato's apartment alone. Starring at the wall was boring,
TV was even worse, the kitchen seemed empty, the bedrooms brought too
many memories...

She sat on the couch, not really focusing on anything. Blatantly
ignoring the fine, deep-red sunset that lit up Tokyo 3 like hellfire at
the front gate. The apartment was messy, as usual, but though the
apartment's cleanliness (or rather, lack thereof) was familiar, it
wasn't as comforting as it should have been. She was just sitting there
all alone.

All. Alone.

Shinji wasn't home. Shinji probably wasn't in Tokyo 3. Chances were, he
wasn't even in Japan still, but that information was classified.

Before, she'd been more than mildly annoyed with having to deal with
Shinji every day, the little twit. Always seemed like he was trying to
peep on her. Not that he could help it, being a boy and all. But as time
wore on, she kind of got used to his presence. It was comforting,
somehow.

Not that she would admit that to anybody.

Shinji was the kind of person who could be treated badly, and not expect
any backlash from. That was comforting. It was a homely constant in a
normally stormy world filled with angel attacks and NERV, and school,
and Rei, and...

Well, even if she was mean, Shinji was always nice. Nice until he was
pushed. Nice until some Angel came knocking, nice until things got
serious, then he... he changed. He became one of the most dangerous
fighters Asuka had ever seen. He was...

The young red-head suddenly bent double on the couch and choked back a
sob. It was a painful, wet, nerve-wracking movement that clenched every
muscle in her body in physical agony mirrored in her heart.

---

Why is he gone?

He did not wish to leave until Suzuhara was injured by Unit 01 under
control of the dummy plug system. Is such a system safe? It was
necessary. It did defeat the angel that he would not fight for the life
of his friend.

Why?

He would fight to save all of us, yet to endanger one life, that life
meant so much to him? Do friends really matter that much?

Why?

Why did he care? Care about others being happy? Why did he stay and
fight so, only to leave now?

The questions were quite beyond human ability to explain, even for
someone as exceptional as Rei.

Sometimes, the world just didn't seem to rotate smoothly. Most of the
time, existence itself seemed to be tearing apart all those on it,
pulling at their sanity. The world, simply put, was just a big confusing
place. A place where everybody, sometime, somehow, carved out a niche
for themselves where they could be happy.

With Shinji gone, and a new person treating Rei like somebody special to
him (though to be honest, he seemed to do that with everyone), Rei
finally understood this crucial facet of life.

She had found her niche...

If he was only here to share it with her.

---

Takagi drew in a deep, clean breath. One more day to put behind him it
seemed. Things had been like that lately. He no longer looked forward to
what was in the future with respect to what he could do, he now looked
upon the future with respect to what he had done. It was, he surmised, a
condition shared by Eva pilots. Thinking more of accomplishments more
than plans to be made.

Why plan for tomorrow when you could die today?

His revere was interrupted by a door opening. He turned to see Rei and
Asuka walking into the room from the main entrance. Both were wearing
loose cotton gi (at his request), with a slightly upset Asuka in a white
one, and Rei clad in black.

They were late, but there wasn't anything he could do about it.

'Class' began.

"You were both trained in basic hand to hand for being pilots, right?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, and I'm pretty good, too."

Ah, Asuka. He was going to enjoy this. "Well, loosen up, both of you.
You got five minutes. Then Asuka, meet me on the mat."

Five minutes later, Asuka and Goku stood facing each other on the mat in
the center of the training room. This particular room wasn't much to
speak of. About twelve by twelve meters, with a four inch foam exercise
mat covering a seven by seven meter square area in the center. Space was
left for some exercise equipment, but the pilots had neither the desire
or time to hone their physical skills, what with the constant Angel
attacks and all.

"Okay Asuka, I know you've been wanting to take a shot at me for some
time now. Here's your chance." Asuka smirked. "The rules are simple. No
death blows, no full-force blows to the face, anything else goes. Don't
hold back." Takagi returned the smirk as Asuka got into a simple boxing
stance.

"Go."

The redhead tore forward and snapped out a quick jab with an almost
instantaneous low right hook, trying to take out a part of Takagi's
midsection. The teen just stood there, pulling his head aside the jab,
and blocked the hook with his elbow. Stepping in closer, he let a
backfist come for Asuka's cheek. She blocked, but was far too slow to
stop his follow up blow to the stomach.

Things didn't go exactly to plan as Asuka just grunted an went for the
groin. Takagi jumped back out of grappling range and regarded his
opponent more carefully. Asuka charged again, but from the side this
time, and leading with a low kick to draw Takagi's guard. The fighting
continued.

It quickly became apparent that Asuka was ridiculously out matched
against Goku, who had a huge reserve of skill, and a slight edge on
strength. Asuka was smaller, faster, and seemed to take blows much
better than the boy, but just didn't have the skill or experience to get
in and do any real damage. This only served to anger Asuka, who couldn't
imagine she was being beaten by some number-crunching engineer.

Goku was loving every minute of it.

Asuka was, of course, full of steam. She would probably be able to
easily take him out if he didn't posses reflexes that years of training
had granted him. His Wing Chun style was even well suited to fighting
someone like Asuka. Adapted for close combat with small individuals. She
was clearly fast, strong, and fairly skilled for her age. He stepped
aside a cunning kick that narrowly missed his head, ducked a jab, threw
a low counter, and stepped into her next movement with a kick to the
ribs. She drew back for an instant, breath hissing through her teeth,
sweat dotting her flushed face.

Unusually strong. He wondered what kind of sport she had practiced in
school, as she was obviously well conditioned.

After ten minutes of sparring, Asuka was drenched in sweat, spraying
salt water with every blow. Her strength wasn't sapped, but her
concentration was, and Goku was laying blows on her with unerring
regularity. They had already worked around the mat pretty thoroughly,
keeping just within the bounds, exchanging blows at every range they
could. Goku called a stop.

"Rei, it's your turn."

Asuka went down the hall outside in search of something to drink, having
not expected the workout to be so thorough.

Rei and Goku faced off. Rei got into a fighting stance, and moved in
closer. Goku suddenly exploded forward, letting loose three rapid side
kicks, drawing Rei's guard out. She was all over the place, and Goku
winced. "Keep your hands under control when blocking." He said as he
stepped into punching range with a blur of jabs. Rei dodged easily but
stepped back, and Goku launched a kick to catch her unawares. Rei
surprised him, however, when she caught his foot, and shot forward for a
flawless trap-and-hit.

Goku picked himself up with a grunt. This was going to be more of a
challenge. Since Rei had nothing to get out of her system, and was ready
to learn, Goku was going to teach her. The hard way.

"Hands up, keep your hands up and your eyes open." A flurry of punches.
"Counter. The best defense is a good offense." Another round of punches.
Asuka walked in to see Rei talking and giving ground with Goku like a
natural. Well, no, she was pretty sloppy, but seemed to be getting
better by the minute. Goku would hit an open spot and call out a
correction, and Rei would do it. Why hadn't he been doing that for her?

Nearly ten minutes went by, as Goku moved rapidly to more and more
dangerous and obscure Kung Fu techniques that had taken him years to
master. Finally, he called match and dabbed himself off with a towel.
Rei followed suit.

Goku glanced down at his shirt. He had elected to wear a white tank top
with black gi pants for maximum mobility, and zero chance of getting
tangled in his own clothing. Besides, it was what he usually wore when
working out.

"Okay you two, this is how it works. We need to work on speed and
technique. The Eva will provide strength and speed, but you must be able
to use proper technique to harness the strength, and must get used to
the added speed. I'm going to show you some alternate guards and blocks,
but we'll spend most of our time here sparring and drilling to sharpen
our skills. Rei is a little weaker than you Asuka," He indicated the
blue haired girl, who was still panting. "But has a heck of a lot more
skill, and is a quick study. Okay, we go for one and a half hours here,
nonstop, then break for the showers. Got it?"

"Yes."

"I'm ready for anything you can give me, Goku!" She sneered the name.

"All right. First off, Asuka, your kicks lack focus..."

It was to be a long night.

---

Home. A sweet, inviting place all one's own. This home was simple, small
(not uncustomarily so), and was filled with only one person.

Goku Takagi sat utterly without movement in the main 'dinning' room.
Moonlight washed across his still figure silently, preying upon the
imagination in the deep night. He sighed and moved, looking at his
watch. Oh, seven forty-five.

Takagi went back to his moon-watching, an activity which normally filled
him with joy, trying to catch that relaxing peace that made his heart
pulse in calm regular rhythms that soothed his jangled nerves. He hadn't
a workout like that in a long time. Of course, that meant it was time to
consider the source of that particular good workout.

Asuka Langly Sohryu.

'What a tramp' didn't begin to describe her character. Or rather, Goku's

characterization of her. His characterization was more like 'second-
rate, insecure, mentally fucked up unemotional bitch...' Well, that
didn't rate any further thought.

He sighed again, and reached out for the small cup of tea that was
conveniently at his elbow. He missed the first time, his arm too sore to
control properly. Taking a sip, he thought more carefully (and more
sedately) about the 'training.' In theory, it was simple. Practice on
speed and simultaneous offense and defense, and they might have a chance
at defeating the Angel. What he'd seen; what almost nobody else had
seen, was that the Angel couldn't focus the field in more than once
place at a time. The Evas had been practically on top of each other when
it flung them away during the first engagement. Hence, their failure.

This time, if they stayed apart, but fought as a team, three might keep
it from kicking them all out at the same time, but there was an
additional risk. What if the Angel 'warped' them into solid rock? What
if they ended up in the ocean? Outer space? How far could it fling them?
Another dimension?

An involuntary shudder. He didn't want to see a repeat of the twelfth
Angel. THAT was a certifiable disaster. To be honest, he really wasn't
in the mood to be sucked into an alternate dimension, left to die slowly
while cut off from the rest of the....

Well, there wouldn't be much constructive thinking if he was brooding
like this!

Asuka.

He had read her file. Well, browsed it. Misato could be a saint
sometimes. As could his skills at hacking government computers, not that
he was ready to tell Ikari that just yet. Now, the problem at hand.
Asuka was withdrawn. Not superficially, of course, but emotionally. She
hid behind a veil of anger, used it like a shield. After some quick
observation and investigation he deduced that she used anger as a way to
keep people at bay when they got to close. Kaji, he'd heard about, but
hadn't seen him around much. Still hanging out with Misato. He'd also
seen that gaijin, whatsisname, 'Rahn' talking to him too. Presumably,
Kaji knew more about Asuka than Misato, but Goku hadn't been able to
talk to him yet.

At this rate, he'd be figuring everything out by himself. Psychology
textbooks weren't hard to come by, and some staffers at NERV had
suitable backgrounds to answer a few questions in a... relaxed
atmosphere. Sometimes, it was useful to be so smart when you were only
fourteen. People didn't think you could be much of a 'threat.' After the
investigation part was over (two days, hell, even he should have been
faster than that), it was a simple matter of polishing the details of
the solution, then putting said solution into motion.

She used her anger to keep people at bay. Use that anger against her.
Not in the usual sense, but bring it into conflict her professional
skills as a pilot. Offer a way out. Make it look like you're not really
helping, and lay real low. Asuka had potential, skill and intelligence,
not to mention vigor. Now she needed control.

He wasn't looking forward to this plan, but what other choice did he
have?

With Shinji gone, it was him, Rei, and Asuka between now and the end of
the world.

Goku reached for his tea again, not aware he had set it down, and
knocked the cup over like a three year old. "As if things weren't bad
enough already." He growled.

Time for bed, he had school tomorrow.

---

Day after day passed without pause, time seemingly compressed... forcing
the remaining Eva pilots to train like there was no tomorrow amidst the
tests, school, and constant ground-shaking from Tokyo-3's latest
unwanted resident.

It was the Angel that drove them to train so hard, and the practice for
an inevitable battle that made training all the more unpleasant. On a
schedule, no less. Perfection and hordes of luck would be needed in this
assault if they were to live.

Indeed, the fruits of their labor were literally the fate of billions.

School wasn't too hard, with second impact bouncing off their heads like
cotton balls. Assignments seemed like welcome rest after hours of
banging forearms against fists...moving faster than sight could follow,
anticipating blows that could only be felt, not seen. Preparing to test
their mettle against something that already out-massed their mechas by a
factor of more than fifty, and rocked what was left of the city more and
more every day.

School was eventually canceled all together, leaving more time to brood,
train, and generally think about things which were best kept distant
from a trouble-conscious mind.

---

Takagi was awash with these thoughts a week further into the desperate
refitting of Unit-03. School was out until the Angel menace was taken
care of, which meant more time in the hanger.

Takagi loved being an engineer. He loved designing things which he could
see in his mind days, weeks, months before they came to fruition. It
was, in a way, giving birth. This time to ideas. Ingenious ideas that
were so unconventional he had to defend their merit no less than ten
times a day.

Dr. Akagi would have made a good interrogator, he mused. She got right
to the point, fishing for the right answer, thoroughly analyzing every
aspect of the answers she did not expect to receive. She was quick,
intelligent, and knew even more than he did about the Evas.

It was a little scary piloting something that you couldn't understand.
Kind of like jumping off a ledge with no idea where (if) the bottom lays
below you.

It was a rush.

It was scary.

It was painful.

Looking up at the black monstrosity he would soon walk into battle with,
Goku was struck with a montage of emotions. Conflicting thoughts that
tried, without success to choke one another out of existence. Lost in
the sea of colors behind his eyes, Takagi didn't notice Ritsuko walk up
behind him.

"Fancy meeting you here." A female voice announced her presence.

"Charmed." Takagi yawned.

"They keeping you busy?" Takagi glanced in Ritsuko's direction to see
her looking more haggled than he felt.

"Huh? Who?"

Ritsuko also looked in a daze. "The, ah, pilots. Asuka."

Funny she should mention the demon by name... "She's, well... determined
not to lose. There's something about her I don't like though... like
she's unstable or something."

"If you read her file, there's something that might explain that."

Takagi shifted, leaning out over the green railing a little. He had...
in a way. That was one angel he had overlooked. Hmmm, mental note: Read
files on the people who are going to watch your lousy back. "So how far
have you gotten?"

"Regeneration at 91%, nerves taking nicely. I think he likes you."

There was a pause as Takagi totally missed the joke.

"We're having some test done to the onboards right now. Basics and
stuff. It should be operational on time."

"Any guarantee it'll work?"

"Marginal. Do you really want to hear it?"

"No, lord no. I'm just here to save the world." He struck a mock-heroic
pose, eliciting a small laugh. "Just leave it all to, uh... what's my
name again?"

"Need Sleep, I believe. We'll have it ready for you, pilot."

Takagi's face darkened for a second. "Yes. Well, good luck, Doctor. Need
Sleep bids you farewell." Unit-03's pilot bowed deeply, then sauntered
off to the simulation Eva test cage, already cringing internally at the
thought of crawling into a plug suit for four hours of breathing a
viscous liquid that tasted like blood. It was only slightly less
pleasant than being beaten within an inch of his life, which he had
already gone through once. And getting beaten up didn't mess with your
head like piloting Eva did.

---

Day turned to night, and Takagi once again stood facing his 'students'
in the loosest sense of the word.

"We've come this far, but we're barely halfway there. The few next days
aren't going to be a picnic, but we'll get our just reward after this is
over."

"Which is..." Began Asuka in a patronizing tone.

"Whatever you desire." For once, Goku was actually in the mood for a
fight.

"Very funny, Rat-boy."

A discrepancy. "Well, miss strudel, it seems someone here fails to
understand humor." Well, that didn't exactly go as planned, she was just
laughing now.

Rei hadn't moved.

Takagi was _really_ in the mood for a fight. "Rei, attack Asuka. Now."

Rei and Goku moved as one, arms flashing out hundreds of time in an
endless stream of blows that rapidly pushed the no longer laughing Asuka
back with steamroller force.

"Hey!" A screechy voice rose. Takagi stopped dead in his tracks, arms
extended yet lose. Rei halted her attack, not sure what to do now that
Goku had halted his advance. Asuka took another measured step back, arms
shifting into a more efficient guard position as she slid sideways to
circle them.

Her opponents just stood there.

"Asuka."

"What is it now, Rat-boy."

He grinned. "You're learning, you almost blocked everything."

"ALMOST? What's the idea attacking me like that, and using Wondergirl
here to help you!"

"Enough talk." More fighting.

---

It was some time later, after many bruises and much sweating, that Goku
found himself cool down with Rei as the pair sat in front of an AC duct
thoughtfully placed at a convenient level for the aspiring (and
perspiring) Eva pilot. Ahh, the wonders of technology.

Takagi's thoughts drifted slightly, often to a place he was seeing less
and less of recently. On one hand, good riddance, the place gave him the
creeps sometimes. On the other hand, he'd made a living there. It was...
_his._ Ahh, sentimental nonsense.

Maybe.

"Hey, Rei."

"Yes?"

"What do you think of the Evas?" A little risky, as far as questions
went, but worth asking.

Her brow moved a fraction of a millimeter, showing concentration on
answering his question. "They are part of all things." Cryptic. "They
feel as one with the people we protect." Very cryptic. "They are...
unique." Strange. "Does that answer your question?" Ver...wha?

Red eyes met brown, and thoughts swirled where words dared not tread.

"I think. They seem..." Human? Alien? All weapons of destruction were
not always plainly so. Things created by humans to serve their form were
always a point of reference in Takagi's world. This was not exactly
artificial form to match human necessity.

It was...human?

"very unique."

No response.

He had, of course, tried to talk to Asuka earlier. Lots of shouting had
been the result. He wasn't much looking forward to talking to her again,
but it was a necessary evil, so to speak. You see, he had a plan. Well,
not really, but it was something to do. Get Asuka to loosen up a little
and see how the people around her could be genuinely beneficial to her
existence. It was _not_ going to be an easy task.

But then again, Rei had some awfully interesting things to say.

---

In a place not so real, where the imagined was fact...

SEELE-2: He has done well, his place in the scenario is acceptable.

SEELE-1: Ikari, you seem confident in his actions.

IKARI: The scenario can afford no failure. The pilots' performance will
be sufficient.

KEEL: Thus far, progress has been made. Pray it continues, Ikari.

The other SEELE members vanished, leaving Ikari and Keel to look at each
other one last time. A baited silence hung in the air for a moment.

KEEL: Do not forget, Ikari. The scenario WILL succeed, do not let him
fail. _Now_ is not the time...

And Ikari had no response, save to leave silently.

---

Another day came and went, then another.

Again, training was top priority, but that didn't keep a smooth,
constant line of b.s. from flowing out Asuka's mouth.

Timing was more important than endurance this time around, so no-one was
in too bad a shape after their ninety minute workout. It was late, and
perhaps because of the hour and Goku's diminishing sanity, he decided to
put his 'plan' for what it was worth, in to action.

How appropriate.

The sake was nearby, thank you Kaji. He smoothly opened the wooden
container the drink had been resting in, and removed the two associated
glasses. Asuka had gone in search of a sweet beverage somewhere, Rei had
gone home. As it was only seven, he expected the whole place to nearly
be buzzing.

But this was NERV. Life didn't operate by the normal rules in here. At
seven p.m., this place was tomb, while central command was _always_ open
for business.

Bottle in one hand, he silently exited the training room, and turned
left down the hall, where he knew Asuka would be attacking one of the
vending machines. The humming of recirculators and the hiss of sodium-
vapor lights guided his bare padding feet.

Sure enough, Asuka was... sitting peacefully on the bench, staring into
space. If you gave her a lot of credit however (and Takagi tried not to
give her too much), she could be intently concentrating on just one
kanji character printed in maniacal size on the vending machine directly
in front of her.

He paused at the door, painful memories flooding back into him. He
regarded Asuka again. She was... well, gorgeous. Flaming red hair, lithe
athletic frame. Not the best built he'd seen....

But her attitude. Well... it was a sight to be seen from a distance, not
to attempt a description.

How could he be doing this?

A throat cleared. "You want a drink?"

For a moment, time stood still. The moment passed without either being
aware, as their eyes locked for a second. "Is that sake?"

He made a big show of looking at the label. "Yes."

Her tired eyes looked back at him. Really _at_ him this time, as though
actually expecting to see him. Before, it had always seemed to him that
her eyes were just looking in his general direction before dismissing
him as unimportant to her majesty.

Boy, was she in for a shocker.

"All right, one glass."

He sat. He poured. He drowned the first glass in one shot.

She sipped.

A nameless silence stretched on and on. Goku became acutely aware of the
lights buzzing above him, pushing him onward. "Question."

Her eyes quickly narrowed on him. "What do you think of the training.?"

"I think you're being a baka about it." Well _that_ went downhill in a
hurry.

"That's how people are taught fighting."

"And how do you know?"

"I've talked to a few of the remaining masters. I learned a bit from my
father. I've also read some. Besides, it _is_ working."

"Working on _us_, you mean." She took another sip.

Even this was subdued for Asuka. "I'm train-"

"You're bitching us out because you think we're not good enough?!!"

He was so very tempted to just say 'yes', but that would have ruined the
point of him starting this. He had to finish it. Seizing opportunity, he
took another drink and answered quickly. "Is that what you hear me
say?!! Those are not the words that come out of my mouth!"

"Don't they?!! Corrections! Corrections to our form, to our speed, to
our-" Goku basically had two options here. One, kiss her to shut her up.
Two, shut her up anyway, and get her back to the mat so he could control
her.

Being this close to her shot down number one in a hurry. Such a shame,
option two was going to hurt a lot worse. He reconsidered. No it
wouldn't.

"Only because you want to! You think it isn't good enough for you? If
you take anything of value from those around you, do you see it as
charity?!!" Goku was practically screaming at this point, gesturing
wildly. "Does it fucking matter so much that someone might actually care
about you enough to share a piece of their lives with y-" Goku broke off
as a fist hit him solidly in the gut.

Wham. He'd hit a nerve too. He quickly caught his breath, looking away
from a furious Asuka, who was probably still ready to hit him. Glass
three went down with that same fury heating the room up. The stuff
really was way to strong, he'd be totally blasted in fifteen minutes or
so. And even though Asuka had barely touched hers, she'd be feeling it a
little pretty soon too.

Perfect.

He slammed his glass down and asked another loaded question. "Don't you
want people to...to..." Oh Gods, no! At a loss for words when now, more
than ever, he needed them.

"Want them to what?" Her voice was cold and strangely quiet.

Time to play another trump card and force out her anger. "Want someone
to care?"

Again, she managed to freeze perfectly in place, her emotions written
plainly on her face. Wary of the danger, Takagi put the cup down and
backed up a few steps.

For a second, she looked like she was going to cry. For a moment, the
arrogant, self-assured girl he had come to tolerate over the past week
or so seemed to evaporate right before his eyes. In it's place was
small, weak, scared, lost child. But only for a second. Her younger self
was pushed away quickly, exposing her anger once again. This, Takagi
could deal with.

"What do you know, you idiot!!!" The vehemence in her voice seemed more
direct, focused. Focused on him. This was going to hurt.

"I know you're better then you make yourself out to be in front of
others." Quickly making for the door, Takagi was suddenly stopped by
Asuka looking at him again with _that_ look. The one that asked him
silently, 'how do you know this?' and maybe 'Why do you care about
little old me?' He tried to move, but felt trapped by her gaze.
Silently, he wished her to fight, and to understand. Not to break down.
There was something major here, she was even worse off than he had
assumed from reading her file and being in close contact with her the
last few days.

The redhead lunged forward with a simple, direct punch. Takagi barely
jumped aside, thinking quickly. It would be just a while before the
alcohol hit.

"What the hell is WRONG with you?!!"

Wrong with me? He silently thought. She was much worse off than him, and
in his opinion, needed lots of help. They just didn't have the time to
provide that kind of help. So, as much as this was going to hurt, it was
important for him to go through with it. He needed her to burn off her
fear and fight side by side with him and Rei to beat the Angel, and that
was going to happen soon. Too soon.

"I'm smart, why do you ask." And if all else fails, insult her!

More punches, this time less direct. Goku got into a rhythm, then got
hit by a low kick that Asuka had aimed nicely at his shin. He barely
moved his foot aside but caught the greater force of the blow badly. He
pulled back, being struck in the face several times by a now flaming
Asuka (not literally).

He retreated further down the hall quickly with the redhead flat out on
his heals, cursing him and his entire family in German.

His response: "Catch me if you can!"

She took a right hook out of her arsenal, and gave him a go with it. He
ducked and returned by hitting the opening in her ribs hard enough to
leave a bruise. She staggered back, coughing violently. Now was the
point of no return. He had let her know that he was serious now, and if
she had any grievance with him, she could take it up with him now.

Takagi ducked back into their practice room, using some low kicks to
keep Asuka from charging him. Once safely inside, he let her come, but
started sprinting just out of range, exchanging long-range attacks with
ferocity that matched their intensity.

"Hold still!" But that didn't mean the insults couldn't stop.

"Make me!" Roundhouse.

"You baka!" Double left jab, right hook, reverse punch.

"Try harder!" Duck, dodge left, low sweep, double high kick.

"I am! You're cheating!" Low kick, backfist, ridgehand.

"Don't lecture me on fairness!" Elbow, spinning backfist.

"You bastard!!!" Block, block, hammerfist, reverse punch.

"Hah, thought I was 'Rat-Bastard' to you!!" Again they closed in and
exchanged blows, a quick inside punch hit Goku solidly in the lip. He
responded by finally kicking one leg out from under Asuka and kicking
her in the side on her trip to the mat.

"You're just-" She kicked his legs now, and rose to her feet. "a plain
old bastard!"

"Meanie!" He jumped to his feet, and grabbed Asuka's shin in mid-kick,
and sucker-punched her in the face at point-blank range while releasing
her leg.

Asuka reeled back, blood streaming loose from her broken nose. Then she
ducked her head, steadied her stance... and charged straight for Takagi.
He foolishly tried to take the blow, not expecting a fist to proceed it,
a fist hidden by Asuka's position. He gritted his teeth as he felt his
ribs crack under her assault.

They grappled fiercely, and Takagi took a hard hit from Asuka's elbow
right to his ear. He responded by stomping at her shin, she side-stepped
and did the same, but with crunching success. Goku was NOT in this for
broken ribs, but Asuka staggered out of his range before he could catch
hold of her.

Fighting off the nausea and dizziness, not to mention the pain exploding
throughout his head... Takagi looked harshly at the seven Asukas arrayed
in front on him. They didn't look so hot either. Then he stepped
forward, letting loose punch after punch at his varied targets. Much to
his annoyance, they were rather good at dodging, and his aim wasn't all
that. suddenly, everything solidified, and he snatched one of Asuka's
blocking arms like a rattlesnake.

Her eyes went wild and she lashed out again without thinking. Takagi's
reflexes, reflexes he didn't even know he had, kicked in and he moved
swiftly. Pulling back, he leaned off to one side, her strike missed by a
mile and his hand still holding hers jerked hard. The result wasn't what
he expected.

With the loss of balance, both parties landed roughly on the floor. The
problem this time, was that they landed on top of each other.

"Fancy meeting you here." Takagi slurred out.

A knee to the groin was his answer.

Both rolled away quickly, and Asuka struck again. Takagi grabbed her
fingers without thinking and twisted them back violently, eliciting more
crunching noises. A scream broke into his consciousness.

Both combatants paused, looking one another over carefully. Asuka was
breathing heavily, sweat glistening over her hot body. Blood flowed
freely from her broken nose and cut lip, soaking the undershirt she wore
under her gi. Takagi didn't look much better, favoring his broken toe,
barely balanced, and eyes slightly unfocused from the alcohol.

Thoroughly beaten, both backed away cautiously.

"If you don't mind-" Takagi broke off his line his line of thought, then
ran (or his drunk impersonation of the action) for the far corner and
began retching violently.

Asuka dropped heavily to the mat. How did this happen? And good God did
she hurt.

It was at that moment that Misato walked in.

---

Footsteps... soft lighting... the confines of a cell.

And one _mother_ of a headache.

"Do you have _any_ brains at all?"

"Yes ma'am."

"_Don't_ play smart with me!"

"Yes ma'am."

"Do you realize how much trouble you're in?"

"Yes ma'am."

"The Commander isn't going to be happy about this."

"No ma'am'"

"Did you think of the repercussions to this?"

"Yes ma'am."

"I mean, assaulting one of our own pilots?!! What in the name of all
things holy were you thinking?!!"

"Ma'am, do you really wish to know?"

"Hell yes! How could you do such a thing!!"

"Well ma'am, it has to do with her psychological condition-"

"I'm WELL aware of that!"

"as it could cause problems with her combat effectiveness."

Misato stopped, her short pacing in Takagi's cell halted like a CD put
on pause.

"And you decided to deal with this?"

"I was trying to help, ma'am."

"You broke THREE of her FINGERS! How can that be helpful?!!"

"Well ma'am, I didn't intend for that to happen."

"Well it DID!"

"Yes ma'am."

"And the Commander wants to talk to you."

"Yes ma'am." A strange look came over Misato's face, but passed quickly.

"Are you even listening to me?"

He sighed, his own voice ringing in his ears. He was still nauseous and
no one had thought to give him any painkillers, so he was still feeling
the after-effects of a less-than-healthy dose of sake and numerous blows
to the head. With all that, it wasn't surprising that he wasn't paying
much attention to what was going on around him, but he was still lucid
enough to answer questions, or in this case, tell when someone was lying
to him.

"Yes ma'am."

---

As expected, commander Ikari was not happy. The hour was far from late,
and it had been a relatively uneventful day, apart from a drunken brawl
involving two of NERV's pilots. The embarrassing thing was, the two
pilots were the only people involved.

"I'm not going to patronize your behavior towards Miss Sohryu. However,
I do want you to explain this behavior to me. Now."

Always one to follow orders, despite his present condition, Goku was
able to relate his views on the subject, and explain his 'plan' to the
commander in a monologue.

It was quite simple really. Asuka had a double-complex of fear and anger
that worked in a cycle to keep her sane, a kind of automatic defense
mechanism. Fear to warn her of danger to her emotions, and anger to keep
that danger away. Releasing her anger, usually in the form of insults,
kept it from boiling over too often. Lately, something had been keeping
her depressed, and while anger usually accompanies depression, in
Asuka's case, there was nothing but a bleakness in her soul.

Goku had set out to get her angry, and allow her to release her
frustrations. As it turned out, in a violent manner.

And it was Goku's lack of control over the situation that resulted in
their injuries, something which he took full responsibility for.

After he finished his somewhat laughable explanation, the Commander did
his glasses thing, and dismissed Takagi with a little wave. He waited
outside for a moment, biting his lip against the pain that seeped
through his veins. He was still waiting there when a nurse of
nondescript character walked up and handed him a little paper cup with
two pills in it.

"Here. I found this in the room the admitted you to. You were supposed
to take it before you left, but apparently the doctor misplaced them."

She smiled a smile without charm or sincerity, and hovered over him
until he swallowed the pills and took a drink of water from the nearest
fountain.

Then Commander Ikari called him back into his office.

"You do not have a medical degree in psychology. Your practical
experience does not warrant examination and treatment in this area.
However, you are also a sort of behavior specialist, so for now this
will not go on anyone's records, except as an accident, as long as I
have your assurance that it will not happen again."

"You have my word, Commander."

"Excellent. Dismissed."

---

Four days later, Cage 4, the eve before the attack is to be launched...

Goku was feeling much better. His injuries had healed somewhat, and he
found that the pain was easy to ignore while synched with an Eva,
provided the Eva itself wasn't damaged. Unit 03 had been completed on
schedule, and it was hot rumor that Ritsuko hadn't sleep in the last
fifty hours to get the thing up and running. This didn't improve
Takagi's already fragile mood in the first operational synch test with
Unit 03.

"Pre-locks engaged."

"Power flow nominal."

"Beginning countdown."

"Point oh two..."

Takagi waited passively for all the connections to be made.

"Absolute borderline reached..."

Suddenly, he felt horribly sick and dizzy, like the world was spinning
around him a hundred times a second. He closed him eyes, but that just
made things worse since he could _still_ see with his eyes shut. There
was no up and no down.

"Synch ratio stabilizing at forty-one point three percent."

[Ritsuko?]

"I'm right here Goku. How do you feel."

[I feel like I'm in free fall.]

Ritsuko's face twisted into something like a scowl before her lack of
energy began to override her caffeine rush.

"And..."

[IT'S MAKING ME FUCKING NAUSEOUS!!! Check nerve connection three dash
seven one seven, NOW!!!]

A technician looked over his screen. "The backflow is nothing but
static."

[Flip it's input with the reverse polar of connection 4301!]

"Do it." Ritsuko was a little too drained to follow what Takagi was
trying to do, but decided to follow his lead.

A few clicks later.

[Ahh, much better. Now, Dr. Akagi... WHY THE FUCK DIDN'T YOU GET THAT
FIXED?!!]

"I didn't know it was a problem. The static just looked like feedback-"

[Well it's not! The fucking nerve is toast, we had to re-route to get it
to work right. It was fine then, why did you switch it back?]

"The connection tables were a mess, don't you ever look at these
things?"

[I don't have the fucking time for this, I gotta be up a four a.m.
tomorrow. Is everything else working OK?]

A pause. "Yes."

[Then get me the hell out of here.]

---

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow would be the day to face fears. To remember those who had
fallen, and to fight for those who wanted to live.

Tomorrow three children, barely in their teens, would climb into the
most power weapons man has ever constructed, and fight a malicious life-
form for the fate of every human life on earth.

It wasn't grand. It was annoying.

---

End.
6/24/99



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