Gendo Ikari's week was finally looking up. Dr. Akagi had come to him with fantastic news: the first of the Dummy Plugs had been finished following Rei's last memory upload. When she came to him with the news, he had insisted that she show him right away.

It looked deceptively innocuous; it looked like an Entry Plug painted red with a plate reading 'REI DUMMY PLUG 01'. He nodded, pleased to see it, "So this is the first one, is it?"

"That'd be correct," Dr. Akagi confirmed, "It uses Rei's memories and "persona" but there is no soul. It's just a fake, a believable facsimile."

"I am aware of this. It tricks the Eva into believing there's a pilot onboard. You bring this up because…?"

"Because we have no way of telling how it will react when we turn it on. So I'd prefer it if we could do a field test before we go ahead with producing more—in case, there is any unforeseen errors."

The Commander hummed in acknowledgment, "That's reasonable. So what do you need to go forward?"

"Mostly your opinion on which Evangelion its loaded into."

"Unit 02 is out of the question. The likelihood of rejection is too high and there's the possibility of...unsavory interactions with its S2 Engine."

"Naturally. Unit Zero is completely incompatible so that leaves 01 and the two Evangelions arriving from America."

Gendo went silent as he mulled over his options. Unit 01 was the initially obvious choice but his son had been cooperative up until now. So using it in 01 might be a complete waste. Seeing who was to be Unit 03's pilot told him that there would be no problem getting them to cooperate. That left Unit 04 and the Fourth Child.

He decided, "Ship it to Matsushiro. We will have it loaded into Unit 04."

Dr. Akagi raised her eyebrow and tilted her head, "That's an...unusual choice."

"Call it a contingency. There's merit in having an additional way to revoke control of Unit 04 from its pilot."

---

The next couple days at school were largely normal. Kensuke made a few couple more attempts at prying the identity of the next pilot from them but that was stopped by Asuka snapping at him that no one knew at all! That afternoon they once more had sync tests—though notably Kaworu was made to stay longer for extra tests, no doubt in preparation for the arrival of his Eva.

Asuka decided to use her time in NERV HQ productively. Last time, she had stumbled upon the next pilot's identity accidentally. While she was sure it was going to be Toji again, things had diverged for seemingly no reason before! After all, last time Unit 04 had been destroyed while this time it had been spared.

She turned into Kaji's office and was glad to see that man himself lounging in his chair...but not so much to see his computer screen turned off. He sat up with a smile, "Asuka, what can I do for you today?"

She frowned but decided to forge forward anyway, "I was wondering if you might...tell me who the pilot of Unit 03 will be…"

He grinned freely, "They've chosen them already?"

"I assumed they had? Since the next two Evas are being shipped here."

Kaji gave her a long stare before asking, "Misato didn't tell you?"

"Would I ask you if she told me?" Asuka scowled, propping her hands on her hips.

"Fair point," he conceded, "But if she hasn't told you, perhaps she's not allowed. Or doesn't think you need to know. I'm sure she wouldn't keep it from you."

"Maybe if she was a coward!" Asuka frowned.

Immediately, Kaji's face fell, "Asuka, that's not very kind."

"You only think that because you want to get her in bed," she grumbled under her breath.

He raised an eyebrow, "What was that, young lady?"

"Nothing," she hissed as she stalked off.

Kaji was a bust and, unless Misato grew a spine and told them what she knew she knew, so was she. That didn't leave her many options. Dr. Akagi was an absolute no-go and she couldn't think of any of the other employees who either would know or have any reason to tell her. If any of her other pilot friends knew, she would have found out by now. That left the pilot themselves. But Toji hadn't told anyone last time, which didn't guarantee they would come to her.

So her only real options was waiting for Misato or the mystery pilot to tell her or any of their friends. Great.

Turning the corner was Kaworu and she smiled. There was a good chance he would know who the other pilot was! Approaching him, she teased, "Akagi's putting you through the gauntlet, huh?"

He sighed, hanging his head overdramatically, "I'm off for a physical now."

"You hear anything about who's the mystery pilot?"

Kaworu frowned and shook his head, "Now that you mention it, I haven't."

"Aren't you more concerned?" she put her hands on her hips, "Considering what's to come?"

To her great frustration, he merely shrugged, "I'm sure Misato or whoever it is will tell one of us."

"Sometimes I think you're not putting as much energy as you could in this," she grumbled.

Once more, he shrugged as he continued onwards, "See you later! Hopefully!"

She watched him go with a simmering frustration. She could only hope he was correct.

---

Lunch rolled around the next day at school and it found Shinji's friend group severely depleted. The only friends of his there at school were Asuka and Rei. Kaworu had informed them the previous day that it was likely he wouldn't be at school, preparing for his trip to Matsushiro. Toji and Kensuke's absence were both mysteries—ones that filled his chest with dread.

Asuka, seeing him anxious, went off to see who else might be able to join them for lunch. The only other person who she really knew (or respected, to be honest) was Hikari and luckily, the other girl didn't seem to mind joining them.

As they sat together, Hikari commented, "It's weird. Kaworu, Toji and Kensuke all out of school."

"Kaworu's getting ready for NERV business so that accounts for him," Asuka told her.

"Toji could be busy with his sister and it's not the first time Kensuke just hasn't come to school," Hikari offered.

"I thought Sakura was going to be in the hospital for a while longer," Shinji pointed out.

"He sometimes misses school to see her!" Hikari defended, "It's quite sweet…"

"Of course you think that," Asuka teased.

"What's that supposed to mean!" Hikari cried.

"It means you're actually worried about him."

Hikari frowned and looked at her feet. Asuka felt bad for teasing her now. Hikari murmured, "You see...I was going to offer Toji a lunch today. He's so busy with his sister so he doesn't make himself lunches."

"That's sweet," Asuka complimented, completely genuine before she prodded at her once more, "Can't say I expected him though. Isn't be a bit of a delinquent?"

"Not that bad! Sure, he's punched people a couple times...like Shinji...but it was always because he was thinking of someone else!"

She chuckled, "Nah, sounds like favoritism to me."

While Hikari stuttered out of embrassment, she turned her attention to Rei and Shinji who had both been quiet all this time. It wasn't all that unusual for Rei to just listen but Shinji seemed to be completely spaced out. She asked him, "Earth to Shinji?"

He practically jumped out of his skin, "Huh...wha?"

Asuka crossed her arms, "You've been zoning out all the time!"

"I've got a lot on my mind," he dismissed.

"Are you okay, Shinji?" Hikari murmured, "You can talk about it."

"There's a lot going on," he told her, "I'd hate to burden you with stuff like that."

Asuka nearly insisted that was a stupid thing to say, that your friends were there to hear what worried you. But considering the nature of what he was concerned about, she decided to keep her mouth shut. Hikari was a smart person; she would easily string together his concerns about the mystery pilot with the absence of their friends. She'd have to press him herself later.

Hikari frowned but didn't press him, "Alright, Shinji. Whatever makes you most comfortable. But y'know, as class rep, that's what I'm here for."

He nodded slowly, "I'll, um...I'll keep that in mind."

Soon enough, school let out and Asuka had found her opportunity to press Shinji. The trio was walking home and he was once more off in his own world, staring into space. She frowned and said, "Shinji, are you alright?"

His response was a lot more pointed than she expected, "I said I have a lot on my mind!"

Her frown turned to a scowl, "Jeez! I'm just worried about you. Sorry about asking."

Rei said softly, "Shinji, is it about Kaworu?"

He nodded then sighed, "Not just him but...I'm worried about who the other pilot is...and if Kaworu and them are going to be alright."

Rei frowned, tilting her head slightly, "You think something bad will happen."

"I'm worried about how poorly it could go."

It was most likely going to go poorly...but Shinji didn't know that. Asuka butted in, "Or it could go great! You don't know what's going to happen!"

"Well, what if it goes badly!?" he argued.

To that, Asuka rolled her eyes, "Haven't you heard the expression 'hope for the best and prepare for the worst'?"

"How can I do that if I can't stop thinking of the worse case scenario! Or even prepare at all!"

Before Asuka could blow up at him, Rei set a hand on his shoulder, "The Major and Dr. Akagi will be overseeing both activations. They will make sure things go smoothly...they've prepared for it."

He sighed, "If you say so...say, do you two mind going ahead? I just remembered I've got to run an errand before we get home."

"What kind of errand?" Asuka asked.

"I noticed we were getting low on chili oil," he told her.

She searched his face for any indication he was lying but his morose expression told her nothing. She then looked to Rei, wondering if she saw anything weird. The other girl merely nodded, "Very well. See you later."

He smiled and walked ahead of them, before taking the next turn right. As they began to walk once more, Asuka asked her companion, "Did that seem a little...weird to you?"

Rei shrugged, "Perhaps he wanted to spend some time alone and was sparing our feelings."

---

Shinji's request hadn't been an entire lie. He had stopped by a grocer to pick up some chili oil, which he slipped into his bag to carry to his intended objective. He had a hunch that had come to him earlier in the day so now he was following it. He hoped no one back home would think too hard on his absence...especially Asuka. She had been especially suspicious of him earlier.

He took the walk out to Rei's old apartment and ventured inside. He hadn't been here for quite some time and he swore it felt even creepier now. Maybe it was because, before, someone he cared about deeply lived here which blunted its worn-down and decrepit appearance. Now, he truly felt like he had no reason to have come here.

But trying the door to Rei's old apartment confirmed he did. It opened and, beyond, it wasn't as empty as it had been left. Someone had used sheets to rig up a curtain, which cast the abandoned apartment in even deeper shadow. They had set up what looked like a military cot just under the window and beside it was a collection of boxes and a backpack. There was even a modest stack of books too. But there was no one here. With a frown, he closed a door.

Not yet deterred, he climbed the stairs to the dizzying height of the roof and when he stepped out, he found who he was looking for.

Sitting on the edge, whistling a cheery tune and eating a sandwich was Mari. He called, "So this is where you set up, huh?"

Mari yelped and turned to face him. Seeing him, she beamed, "Puppyboy! You're a lot more clever than people give you credit for."

He walked halfway onto the roof and shrugged, "I was thinking you might set up somewhere where I could find you. If I thought about it."

"Bingo. What brings you to my extremely humble abode?" she grinned as she asked.

"...who is the Fifth Child?"

Her wide smile faltered, "You won't be getting any spoilers out of me. Really. I've no clue who it is this go around."

Shinji crossed his arms, "Have you even tried?!"

"I have, for your information!" she sighed, "I've got all sorts of passwords and MAGI backdoors that have worked before. I just haven't found the one that works this time around. But I will find it, trust me!"

"But probably not in time to figure out who the Fifth Child is," Shinji deflated.

She turned around completely to face him. She looked regretful, even if her tone was light, "You know it's not very subtle to go cheating like that."

So he had came all this way for nothing. Well, maybe not nothing. He was starting to work out who exactly Mari was.

He raised his chin at her, defiant, "You're one to tell me about subtlety. I'm gonna do whatever it takes."

---

It was nearly a whole hour after Asuka got home when Shinji did and nearly 10 minutes before that when Misato and Kaji came home. When Shinji walked in and found the three, he asked, "Hey, what's Kaji doing here?"

The man, who had been sitting at the table with a couple pizza boxes he had brought for dinner, smiled, "Misato is off to Matsushiro for the next few days."

Misato, dressed in a uniform coat, nodded, "Yep. So you both better behave for him!"

"How about you?" Asuka scowled, "Where have you been?"

He sighed and took a seat at the table, "I got the chili oil then took a walk."

That was a likely story but Asuka decided to not press him. She was already having a hard time putting on a happy face for Misato's departure. She crossed her arms, "Misato, you really can't tell us who the Fifth Child is?"

"Sorry, kids. Classified until we're sure they can activate Unit 03. Hell, might not even work out. Not even Kaworu knows!" Misato told them with a tight smile.

Shinji looked positively miserable but was able to squeak out a weak, "Be safe, Misato. Tell Kaworu and the other pilot 'hi' for me, I guess."

With a chuckle, she ruffled both their hair, earning an annoyed scowl from Asuka, "So melodramatic! It'll be fine."

She headed out, leaving her two charges with Kaji, who watched their farewell with a soft, amused smile. He teased, "Anxious as you two are, I might suspect you know something no one else does."

"We do not!" Asuka snapped then internally scolded herself for being way too defensive.

Kaji took it in stride, "Relax. Whatever happens will happen."

Shinji placed his head in his hands, "I don't know how you do it, Mr. Kaji. Act so…"

"Chill?" Asuka supplied.

"More or less."

Kaji shrugged, "Maybe it's just in my nature, maybe it's because I went through the hell called Second Impact. I can't say for sure. If you can't change something, there's no need to worry. Worries drag you down and don't even help you in the end. You might need to get to be my age to understand that though."

The pair sighed, having found no solace in his advice.

---

The pair of Misato and Ritsuko decided to head out right away, even if they had to drive through the night. They met at one of the Geofront parking garages inside a large van that would carry them and some of Ritsuko's equipment. "I know you don't like to drive so I'll take the wheel," Misato grinned, tossing her bag haphazardly into the truck.

"Oh good, we might not make it at all then," Ritsuko teased.

The pair drove in silence until they reached city limits. Ritsuko chose to break the silence, "So how did the children take the news of who the Fifth Child?"

The silence in the van turned icy.

"You didn't tell them."

Misato scowled, keeping her eyes to the road—it helped that she didn't want to see the accusatory look her companion was no doubt giving her. "Alright, I lied. Told them it was classified. What's it matter? They'll find out soon enough. The Fifth Child will probably tell them himself."

"It matters because that's cruel."

"Cruel?! You didn't see Shinji's face. Looked like someone shot his dog or something."

Ritsuko sighed, "We still have some time before activation so you can also always call him—both of them—and make this right."

"...I'll think about it."

---

The next day marched forward like a funeral procession. Like the previous day, Toji and Kensuke were conspicuously missing. Anxiety permeated the air between Asuka and Shinji; one of which who knew what was likely to come and the other who only feared it. Rei didn't know what to say to soothe either of those worries so she didn't end up saying anything at all.

Meanwhile, miles away at Matsushiro and somewhere around noon, Kaworu had suited up in his black plugsuit and been loaded into his Entry Plug. Just moments ago, with no issues whatsoever, he had activated Unit 04.

"How's it feel?" Ritsuko asked through his comm.

"Good," he answered, "Everything feels smooth."

"Great to hear! Sit tight while we work on activating Unit 03."

Truthfully, Unit 04 didn't feel like any other Eva he had been in. Those all felt different; warm, hostile or welcoming. They felt something. But Unit 04 felt empty. He was sure this meant the core held no soul, leaving him able to exert his control over it using his AT Field without suspicion. For a moment, he entertained the idea of someone donating their soul to it but who that person would be, he had no idea. After all, he had no idea who his human donor was and his guardian hadn't cared to share the identity with him. He doubted he cared or frankly, if it even mattered.

Yet he found, when he focused, he could swear there was something lurking beyond his self. Something unfamiliar...but familiar.

His comm line remained open so he could hear the chatter between the technicians, Ritsuko and the other pilot. At first, he had wondered why she decided to go ahead with his activation before the other pilots. After all, 03 came before 04. Ritsuko had admitted she felt his was going to be the smoother experience.

She had no idea how right he was.

The persistent buzzing at the edge of his consciousness had gotten so loud it was nearly impossible to ignore.

But there was nothing he could do but wait, listening to as the seconds ticked agonizingly slow to activation.

He was zoning out when he heard, as if from a long distance, Ritsuko count down to activation. The pilot sounded chipper. The techs chatter blended together into a drone that harmonized with the buzzing. It was all almost overstimulating.

Then the cage next to him exploded and snapped him back to awareness like nothing else could.

He could feel his Evangelion pushed over with a shriek of tearing metal as the restraints were blown apart. Still synchronized to the machine and miraculously plugged into power, he caught himself, thrusting his arms out to stop his Eva from falling completely.

Bardiel's presence had changed from mere buzzing and now felt sticky and uncomfortable along the edges of his AT Field. Through Unit Four's eyes, he could see its sister Evangelion, black and looking like a living shadow, lurch out of its cage and through the rubble.

His communications were down which meant Kaworu was flying directionless. That was fine; he could take care of himself well enough. He had piloted Evangelions many times before. He ejected the power cable and pursued Bardiel. While doubtful he could do much with five minutes power, maybe he could do something.

The other Evangelion turned to watch him approach.

TABRIS, YOU TRAITOR. HOW IRONIC. YOU THREW YOURSELF FROM HEAVEN FOR THE SPAWN OF LILITH.

Kaworu scowled.

When no response came, Bardiel continued.

I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU SEE IN THESE DISGUSTING CREATURES, SKITTERING AROUND WHAT SHOULD BE OURS.

It would take far too long to explain before my timer runs out. I simply love them, he replied.

He launched to throw a punch but Bardiel grabbed his wrist and, with hardly no effort, twisted it around painfully. The pain radiated through his and Four's connection and he hissed. He feinted for another punch to his face then moved at the last second, directed it to his brother's gut. A sharp gasp signaled his punch had hit true.

Bardiel roared in anger and, with more strength than he anticipated, yanked him to the side, knocking him off-balance and onto the ground. Before he could get back onto his feet, Bardiel pressed a foot onto his back, not hard enough to hurt him but enough to keep him pinned.

I KNOW YOU CAN BEAT ME, TABRIS. YOU ARE THE BEST OF US. USE YOUR AT FIELD.

"I can't," he hissed aloud.

OF COURSE YOU CAN'T. IF THE LILIN KNEW WHAT YOU WERE, THEY WOULD HATE YOU JUST AS THEY HATE ME.

Bardiel kicked him, sending him tumbling a few hundred feet, back into the debris of Matsushiro.

I'M ONLY SPARING YOU BECAUSE YOU'RE MY SIBLING, NOTHING MORE AND NOTHING LESS. STAY OUT OF MY WAY.

And with that, Bardiel turned and began his death march towards Tokyo-3.

---

When Asuka, Shinji and Rei's phones all rang in tandem, Asuka knew right away what was happened. She flipped her phone open and listened to the automated message, already shooting up from her seat. Around the trio, their classmates watched with wide eyes, as all of them knew what it was likely to mean if all three had to leave at once. As they left, Hikari yelled after them, "Be safe!" before having to rein a quick-panicking class under control.

According to the message, the activation test for Unit 03 had gone poorly and there had been an explosion. From the ruins, an Angel had emerged, approaching Tokyo-3. Even though the message had declined to identify what exactly the Angel was, Asuka knew.

The trio rode into the Geofront in silence, no words shared between them. It was only once they split to suit up did one of them finally say anything. Shinji stopped, staring off into space, and murmured, "I knew this was going to happen."

Asuka whipped around, in the middle of all but running into the girl's locker room, "Shinji Ikari, don't think like that!"

He gave her a pained look and opened his mouth as if to protest. Then he closed it and his expression shifted over and over. Anxiety then disdain then a cold fury before a quiet acceptance of the hand he had been dealt. He strode away into the locker room with a hurried pace. Asuka only took a moment to note how weird that was before she rushed off to duty.

To Asuka's great surprise, once she had entered 02's Entry Plug, she learned 02 was being waived of its low-priority status on this engagement. She was less surprised when it was confirmed to her that, like last time, Shinji's father was to be in control of this operation, in Misato's absence. She wondered if maybe he knew they were going to need every hand in this one with what secret knowledge he had access to.

A million concerns raced through her mind as her and her comrades were lifted by air to the rendezvous point. Was Kaworu alright? Was Misato and Dr. Akagi alright? Who was the mystery pilot and were they alright? Were they going to be alright?

Her eyes drifted to her right, where Unit 01 was being ferried. Was that where the Dummy Plug rested once more? And if so, was it going to come into play? Was Shinji going to have the determination to fight or would, once more, the terror of harming a fellow person still his hand?

She lifted her hands and looked at them with a frown. Would she be able to do it?

She clenched her hands and hissed. She would have to do her best to disable the Angel without harming the pilot and do it before the Dummy Plug could even come into play!

Finally, they were placed into the rendezvous point; a place far outside the city limits where civilization was middling. There was a few farms and homes nestled within the hills but it seemed an evacuation order had left them empty. Coming from the opposite direction, she could see another plane bearing a cross-like shaped set of restraints, holding an unfamiliar silver Evangelion unit with a pair of bunny ear-like horns, large vertical pauldrons and a red visor. Was that Unit 04 and Kaworu?

She pressed her comm button, choosing the channel labeled '04', and asked, "Kaworu, are you there?"

The comm buzzed with static for a few moments before it cleared up and, through it, came Kaworu's voice, haggard and tired, "Asuka?"

"You're alright!" she smiled.

"As well as I can be," he murmured, "Well enough to fight."

"I can see that," she trailed off as she actually took note of their positions.

Kaworu was placed first in line, tucked just at the base of one of the hills. Then her, hidden in the shadow of that hill. Higher up, just past her was Shinji and finally, tucked up on the hill with her sniper rifle was Rei. Her lip curled.

She wasn't so stupid to see their order of placement was in order of how much the Commander cared. First, Kaworu, who she knew he didn't trust at all and probably wanted to die. Then herself. A pawn at best and a liability at worst. Then Shinji, valued not for himself but for the Evangelion around him. And finally Rei. Beloved...and useful Rei.

The silence was broken by the crunching of trees and she had only a moment to whip around before the Angel was upon her. She shrieked in terror as she lunged to the side as Bardiel launched itself from behind the hill. Bardiel landed in the space she once was and she lashed out, actually catching it in the jaw with the butt of her gun. So it had bypassed Kaworu entirely and snuck up on her, probably to sow further chaos! "It's here!" she screamed.

She whipped the butt of her gun around again, landing another miraculous hit on a hand advancing to grab her.

Bardiel flinched away with a horrible, gurgling growl and would have attacked her again if a piercing shot didn't hit it in the side.

Skidding down the mountain was Rei who leveled her rifle at Bardiel and shot again. This one hit air as Bardiel's AT Field flickered into view. It immediately abandoned Asuka and literally pounced at Rei, bowling them both down the hill.

He snarled with satisfaction:

THE LILIN'S ABOMINATION. I'll TAKE SPECIAL CARE IN DISMANTLING YOU.

Rei gasped as the Angel garbled...something...at her. She couldn't tell what sort of sound it was making but it sounded almost purposeful. It pinned her down and blue ooze seeped out from its hands and onto her Unit's arm. It melted then melded with its arm and Rei, in sympathetic feedback, screamed in pain. It felt just like someone was injecting hot metal into her skin!

Over the comm came the Commander's dispassionate voice, "Blow it off."

Her arm exploded off, blowing her attacker away a few dozen feet and earning another scream from Rei. Asuka saw red and let loose a whole string of curses, directed at the Commander, the entire bridge and the Angel too. She emptied her clip into the Angel's fallen form and, bereft of bullets, flipped it around to use as a bludgeon.

Her first swing hit true, the armor on the Angel's head cracking from the force. Her anger dimmed as she hoped that whoever was in there couldn't feel any of this. Hopefully, the Angel's influence had disconnected the pilot inside from feeling any of this because there was no way around hurting the Angel. She just had to keep away from its neck, where the Entry Plug was half-exposed, no doubt due to an earlier attempt to eject it.

She went for another swing but this time, Bardiel caught it and growled again, the sound ugly and wet.

It didn't try to yank the gun away but instead, absorbed it into its skin. Asuka recoiled, disgusted, "Huh?!"

Her hesitation cost her dearly as the Angel's hand morphed before her eyes into a spear-like point. She had a split-second to dodge a hit that would have gone through her chest as it lunged. Its spear instead went through her shoulder, out her back and through her cable. She grabbed her shoulder with a shriek.

The Angel pushed her off dismissively and turned once more to Unit Zero, where Rei was making a vain attempt to stagger to her feet using one arm. Asuka snarled viciously and used her good hand to propel herself off the ground and once more into the Angel. It whipped around to see her flying at it, as if surprised she was still functional without her cable. She grinned right before they collided. Good thing Unit 02 no longer needed the pesky thing!

The pair tumbled down and away from Rei. To her surprise, the agony in her shoulder was ebbing away, being replaced by a cooling sensation, like someone running cool water over a burn. A quick glance told her why; the exposed wound was bubbling and regenerating! She had forgotten about that little quirk of the S2 Engine! "We're unstoppable!" she howled in excitement.

She could have sworn she felt the Plug radiate back the same excitement but in the heat of battle, she had no time to ponder that.

The pair wrestled for control, Asuka using her entire body weight to keep the Angel pinned. It roared and surged up underneath her, flipping her up and over through the air with surprising strength. She cried as the ground flipped underneath her in nauseating fashion. When she hit it, the combo of sympathetic feedback through her injured arm and how the Entry Plug shuddered left her dazed and in pain.

Bardiel twisted its arm once more into a spear and drove it into her lower back and into the ground, Asuka screaming as it did. To keep her there, it twisted its own arm off with a horrible wet ripping sound, leaving it inside her and effectively pinning her.

"Cheater, dirty cheater!" Asuka spat and cursed.

She knew she shouldn't have gotten so cocky so soon. But that wasn't reason to give up yet. She took hold of the spear arm and began wrenching at it.

If Rei felt comfortable ascribing emotions to the Angels, she would describe this one as having lost its patience. It regarded her but she was in too much agony to be able to make an attack. Behind it, Units 01 and 04 were approaching cautiously. This took its attention away from her as it turned back. Once more, she heard that odd garbled noise from it.

I SEE YOU DIDN'T LISTEN TABRIS. NO MATTER. THEN YOU'LL HAVE TO DIE WITH THE ONES YOU LOVE.

Kaworu opened his line to Shinji, closing all others—including his line to the command center. He told him, "I've got a plan, Shinji."

"Kaworu, there's someone in there. We'll kill them if we attack," Shinji replied, a protesting note in it.

"I know. That's why I'm going to hold it down and you're going to cut the Entry Plug free."

"But you heard what it did to Rei! It'll try to infect Unit 04!"

"It'll be alright," Kaworu soothed, "You'll be fast right? See, it's already halfway out. You just have to saw through the flesh around it."

The silence from the other end told him Shinji was mulling this over. Bardiel was approaching slowly, as if he was treasuring the agony of waiting.

"...alright. Let's try it."

Kaworu broke into a run and Bardiel was perfectly happy to meet him. Once more, they grappled hands. Kaworu dug his heels in, making a show of his struggling. He tried to jerk his opponent to the right but Bardiel stood firm. His fury towards his sibling was so great he didn't notice Shinji prowling around his back.

Shinji grabbed one of Unit 03's pauldrons, yanking it closer to him. He stabbed into the flesh surrounding the Entry Plug and tried slicing it in one clean cut, as Kaworu had instructed. But the ooze keeping the Plug in place refused to cut cleanly and he could only get through a few strands before his knife refused to budge. He hissed and stabbed again, willing to saw the entire way around if he could.

"Pilot Ikari. What are you doing? Kill the Angel," his father's stern tone came over the comm.

"We will but first, I gotta—"

His explanation was cut off as the flesh on Bardiel's back bubbled and warped, instantly forming a second pair of arms. Fast as a snake, they lunged for Unit 01's throat. Shinji gasped as the Evangelion's airway was cut off and his own throat constricted in response.

"Shinji!" Kaworu cried.

"Keep going!" he wheezed, "Rescue the pilot! I'll be fine!"

For one moment, his grip on his sibling faltered and Bardiel's eyes narrowed.

...I SEE.

He let go of Unit One's throat, grabbed the Evangelion's leg and yanked it from its socket.

Shinji howled in agony and Kaworu saw red. He shrieked and blindly attacked, grabbing for his sibling's face, to drive his fingers into his eyes or better yet—rip his head off.

Bardiel would have grinned had he the capacity for it. Too much time spent around the lower lifeforms had him even adopting their sentimentality! He shoulder-checked Unit 04 off of himself. Once more, his sibling was on the ground and this time he was going to finish him off. Looming over him, he grabbed his biomechanical vessel by the throat and began to squeeze.

A WEAKNESS WITHIN YOUR WEAKNESS. YOU REALLY ARE BETTER OFF DEAD.

Kaworu scrambled to grasp and pry Bardiel's hands from his throat but his sibling was too furious to react. No matter how he tried to worm his fingers under his own or push him away, his sibling wasn't to be stopped. Perhaps, if he reached out to try to strangle him in turn, he might be able to kill him before he passed out but the threat to the pilot...it was too great.

This was it; this was the end of this loop. One of the others would have to free themselves and come kill Bardiel instead.

"Pilot Nagisa. Fight back. Fight back or I will have you terminated," the Commander ordered.

"I can't…" he wheezed.

He could see Shinji, drawing from some unknown well, staggering onto one leg, even as the other was hanging useless. And better yet, there was Asuka, ripping the spear holding her in half so she may get free. Good, he wouldn't have died in vain.

"So you will let yourself die and make your friends fight through their pain?"

Kaworu squeezed his eyes shut. That stung.

"So be it."

The cockpit plunged into darkness and for a few terrible moments, all was quiet but for his own gasping. Then, with the ringing of an alarm, it went crimson-pain-red. With a kerchunk, a large metal array flipped over the seat and in front of him, effectively shielding his eyes from his Eva's view. At the very top of its viewscreen, it read: DUMMY PLUG OPERATIONAL.

"No...NO!" He howled.

Unit 04 began to move once more around him and that familiar but unfamiliar feeling had returned like a roaring tsunami, drowning him within its influence. Of course! It felt familiar because he had felt it somewhere before...within the Entry Plug of Unit Zero. It was a ghost of Rei.

Distantly, he could feel as his Unit lifted its arms and, mirroring his sibling, grabbed around his neck and pulled.

TABRIS...TABRIS WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

Bardiel shrieked, the sound so high pitched across his connection, Kaworu had to clap his hands over his ears. But the sound wasn't physical, it was mental. It did little to hide his sibling's shrieks as his Evangelion ripped his head off and threw it to the side.

Even headless, Bardiel was still conscious. His headless form let go and lurched away from Unit 04.

TABRIS...THIS ISN'T YOU.

Unit 04 lunged and, with the sound of straining metal, the locks on its jaw tore open and it snarled. Grabbing one of Bardiel's arms, it began to pull. Kaworu couldn't see it but his companions had all frozen, no longer coming to his rescue but staying out of Unit 04's way as it began to rip the Angel limb from limb.

SAVE ME!

CALL OFF YOUR MONSTER! DON'T LET IT DO THIS TO ME!

Helpless to stop the mindless Unit 04, he squeezed his eyes shut. Kaworu knew what had to be done and never relished in killing his own siblings. Yet, he couldn't stop the pang of empathy he felt as he could still hear the carnage; the ripping of flesh and the begging from Bardiel between screams of agony.

He just had to hope that maybe, just maybe, the Dummy Plug would leave the Entry Plug alone.

And if his despair wasn't deep enough, he could feel Unit 04 dig into its twin's flesh, pull free a long, hard object—the Entry Plug—and crush it.

He couldn't even scream, only let loose a strangled sob. He was left in silence as the Dummy Plug went inactive and the facial shield returned to behind the seat. He refused to open his eyes, see the crushed Entry Plug still within his Eva's hand.

There was no point as he already knew whose body they would pull from it.

Bardiel had gone silent long ago but the brutalization had continued past that, like 04 had become a mindless animal.

Because that's exactly what the Dummy Plug reduced an Evangelion to.

He tucked his head between his knees and waited—for someone to say something to him, for rescue, for anything.

His comm crackled to life and Asuka's voice, small, came from it, "Kaworu…?"

"No," he whimpered. He didn't want to hear anyone's voice right now, much less hers.

She didn't respond for some time. He didn't know for whose sake; his or hers. When she found her words, she murmured, "That wasn't you...please tell me, that wasn't you."

Her tone held a restrained fury in it and, at the thought she might think he would have done that on his own, he couldn't help but let loose another sob.

She didn't respond and for a while, he thought she had left him alone. He didn't know what he wanted more; for that to be true or for her to still be there with him in the silence. She inhaled sharply, answering his question. She spoke again, her tone firm but forced, "Okay. I understand. Do you..did you...did you know who was inside?"

"I'm sorry I didn't say," even though she couldn't see him, he gave a sardonic smile, "I'm like everyone else. A coward."

Te next words she said, through a ragged half-sob, told him her true feelings, "It tore him apart. There's blood and gore...it's everywhere. And Shinji! Oh, he really let his dad have it, threatened him and everything! I think they want to put him in custody but...I dunno...I dunno."

There was some things that don't change, Kaworu thought grimly.

He murmured, "Did you see who was inside. Are they alright."

Her silence said more than if she had answered. He asked, "Did Shinji see."

"Why do you think he made that threat?"

"...I see. Is he...is he alive at least?"

"Kaworu...they just pronounced him dead."

Hours ago, Kaworu had been standing on the catwalk beside his Evangelion. He didn't expect it to be silver this time. It reminded him a little of the Mark.06 from a few loops ago, with its addition of large vertical pauldrons, bunny ear-like horns and its red visor. In a way, Sakura had gotten her wish of his Eva having bunny ears in one little way. All in all, he decided he liked it.

"Hey, Kaworu! You're here too!"

He frowned deeply and turned to find the other Evangelion pilot.

The Fifth Child.

Kensuke Aida, grinning wide and dressed in a bumblebee yellow plugsuit.

Seeing his frown, he stopped and asked, "You...hoped for someone else, right?"

"If I may be honest, you could have been anyone and I wouldn't be happy. It's not personal."

"Ah," he shuffled in beside him to admire Unit 04. "White, huh? Gonna be a pain keeping it clean," he joked weakly.

Kaworu pushed the knowledge of what was come to his mind, even as it hurt, and put on a smile, "What does Unit 03 look like?"

"Oh, it looks just like Unit 04! But it's this really cool blue-black!" he tilted his head, eyes hooded, "Though, I think I would have liked green better. Like camo green."

"They may let you request it be repainted. Asuka told me she requested Unit 02 to be painted red."

"Really? Awesome!"

They stood in mutual silence for some minutes before Kensuke straightened, as if to leave. He didn't immediately, instead saying, "Y'know, I didn't say yes just because y'know. Me being a military nerd and all, right?"

"...I had hoped there might be more depth to your decision than that," Kaworu murmured.

"Well, there is!" he turned to him and defended, "When they asked me, all I could think of was Shinji with me n' Toji in his cockpit while he fought that Angel! I've known all this time that it was gonna be awful and terrible and hurt but…" he swallowed thickly, "...if maybe me helping you guys can make it less terrible, then I've got to do that."

"Oh," Kaworu blinked, genuinely surprised, "I...that's great. That's really great. How much of what you said the other day...was the truth?"

"About military prowess and stuff?" the other boy rolled his eyes, "I gotta admit, yeah the Evas are pretty damn cool. But after me n' Toji went along with Shinji...they did lose some of that magic. But it felt weird to drop the act! So I hoped, maybe I could help Shinji see some good in it."

"He does see a good in it," Kaworu told him, "Maybe in not that way...but that's kind of you. This really wasn't supposed to be your responsibility though."

"Maybe it's not but I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I said no! They'd just get some other sap to do it," Kensuke leaned up against the railing, "What if that sap was Toji or Hikari?"

To say was Kaworu was blown away by this revelation would not be a lie at all. Then again, this wasn't the first instance of Kensuke stepping up to plate when he had to. Taking responsibility when he had to.

A long silence stretched between the two before Kensuke whispered, so quietly he nearly didn't hear it, "And all that aside...it's not like I have a choice in the matter."

"What do you mean?" Kaworu asked, dropping his tone to his level.

Kensuke shot him a glance, "Dad. He had an accident. He always told me he never wanted me to pilot, no matter how much I thought I wanted to."

Kaworu's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, "You aren't saying?"

"Well, if Dad's unconscious and my brother has no say in it...they don't need anyone's permission to put me in an Eva."

Kaworu's stomach dropped then twisted. Ah. So they were the same. He asked quietly, "Does your brother even know?"

Kensuke's crumpled expression told him the answer. He looked away, "I'm a coward. I couldn't do it. He'll probably find out soon anyway. Then he'll be all mad I didn't tell him."

Kaworu raised a hand to his shoulder, ignoring how it shook, "You should have. But I understand why you didn't."

A loudspeaker droned above them, "Pilots Nagisa and Aida report to your respective holding bays. Activation tests commence in 15 minutes."

"I guess that's my cue," he smiled weakly at him, "I'll see you after."

"...yes, I'll see you then. Be safe, okay?"

"I've got all these people overseeing the test, should be fine!" he flashed his grin and a thumbs up as he left.

Kaworu frowned at his back. It wasn't going to be fine.

Because there was a persistent buzzing at the edges of his awareness.

There was nothing Kaworu could say to Asuka, nothing he could say to make it better. He wished so desperately for the sick feeling to go away.

---

Goichi had been pacing for god-knows-how-long. Night had set in and he hadn't even stopped to turn on a light, leaving the living room barely lit by the streetlights from outside. His week had gone from bad to worst to downright nightmarish in a matter of days.

A few days ago, his and Kensuke's father had been admitted into the NERV medical wing, after suffering a workplace accident. Goichi had tried to press them on the details but the most they could tell him was a heavy armor component had fallen from a crane and clipped him in the head hard enough for him to lose consciousness.

Shortly after, Kensuke had come home, then left as soon as he had come, insisting he was going on a solo camping trip for the next few days. Emphasis on solo. Most of the time, him and Goichi went together, especially lately when he had more and more days off. But it didn't take too much for him to realize his brother had to process their father's accident alone.

At least, that's what he had thought.

No. Kensuke had lied to him. He had been chosen as Evangelion pilot and wasn't even anywhere near Tokyo-3 but rather at a secondary testing facility at Matsushiro.

Why he had kept it from him, even lying to do so, Goichi didn't know. But he had said a lot of things to himself about how he had to impress upon him how disappointed he was. Wasn't it bad enough he was without their father? Hadn't they agreed to tell each other everything?

Then, near sunset, the day had reached the nightmare stage. An evacuation order went out ahead of a new Angel which was trudging its way towards Tokyo-3. Every pilot on hand had been scrambled to intercept—even the new ones.

Kensuke had been dropped into the deep end.

Now, it was dark and it was over. The Angel was dead. Goichi had come home from the shelter. But Kensuke remained MIA. So he had taken up vigil by the phone, alternating between pacing and standing over the phone like a vulture.

The phone rang. He snatched it up, "Hello?!"

A tired and pained feminine voice came from the other end, "Is this Mr. Aida?"

"Majo—Miss Misato," he breathed, "It's me, Goichi."

"Goichi," she repeated, probably remembering who it is, "I'm calling about Kensuke."

"Where is he?"

"Do you know...they chose him to pilot?"

"Yes, yes," he snapped, "I heard all about how you ghouls chose him then dropped him right into the fire."

"Goichi...that's...that's not what happened. I can't tell you exactly what happened but know...we didn't make him fight."

That was a cold comfort. Especially with what she said next.

"But he didn't make it."

It felt like the color drained out of the world. "No. That's not true," he denied.

"Goichi…"

"You're wrong!" he yelled, "It can't be...he can't be gone. I can't...it can't be true…"

"I'm sorry."

He slammed the phone back down on its receiver, sank to his knees and screamed. He sobbed, "He's gone, he's gone," and couldn't say anything else but repeat those two words.

He felt so small; like after the first time the world ended, when the very Earth screamed. Now, the only one screaming was him.

Why hadn't Kensuke told him? He could have gone with them, made them take him with him.

If only so he might have died too.