Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ Evangelion: OMEGA ❯ Faces from the Past/ EVA Unleashed! ( Chapter 3 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Legal Stuff: We all know the drill by now, but let's get it out of the way just the same. EVA belongs to Gainax and Anno. All my ACCs belong to me. I think that pretty much covers it.
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Dedication: To everyone who has taken the time to read and review my stories. Thanks so much for your support.
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Neon Genesis Evangelion: OMEGA

Chapter 0:3- Faces from the Past/ EVA Unleashed!

"Michiru, can you hear me?" Dr. Maya Ibuki's voice came over the radio link and into the test plug where Michiru sat.

"Loud and clear." Michiru said.

"Good." Maya replied. "Beginning to feel comfortable in there are you?" she asked.

Michiru smiled. "You were right." She said. "I am starting to get used to it." Nearly a week had passed since her first battle in Unit 01. During that week, most of Michiru's time outside of class had been spent at NERV headquarters, training in the EVA. The more time she spent in training, the more comfortable she felt with the bizarre, weightless warmth that came with synchronization. Moving the Evangelion's body as her own was fast becoming second nature for Michiru.

"Today we're going to monitor the harmonics between you and Unit 01." Dr. Ibuki said. "Just relax and we'll have you out of there as soon as we can."

Michiru sighed. Harmonics tests were, she had decided, the second worst part of her job as an EVA pilot, second only to actual combat. Of course, Michiru wasn't sure she could really compare the two. Her only experience of fighting an Angel had been terrifying, certainly, but it had only lasted a few minutes. They had been the longest minutes of her life, but that was beside the point. Dr. Ibuki's harmonics tests probably weren't life threatening, but sitting in Unit 01's entry plug for three to five hours with nothing to do sometimes made Michiru long for the next attack, if only to end the monotony.

"Be careful what you wish for....." Michiru muttered under her breath, pushing such thoughts out of her mind.

"What was that?" Dr. Ibuki asked. "I didn't catch it."

"Nothing." Michiru said. "Just talking to myself."

"I know this is tedious," Maya apologized, "but it's necessary for us to observe how your connection with Unit 01 varies during a period of prolonged activation. This will allow you to synchronize more efficiently in the future."

"All right." Michiru sighed. "Let's just get it over with. I have somewhere I have to go tonight."

"Oh really?" Misato's face appeared on a holographic image in front of her. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"It's not like that!" Michiru snapped. "I have a study group for English class."

"I see." Misato winked at her. "Well we'll all do our best to make sure you aren't late for 'studying'."

"Okay Michiru." Dr, Ibuki said. "You know the drill. Just relax and let us take care of the rest."

* * * * *

"How's it look?" Misato asked.

"Very good Commander." Maya replied. "Her Synch Ratio is up by .91 percent since yesterday. That puts her at 41.3 percent."

"41.3 percent? That's outstanding." Misato said. "Especially since most of her advancement has been through non-combat training."

"She really was born to pilot EVA." Maya said. "It's in her blood."

"I just hope what we're doing is right for Michiru." Both women turned to see Toji Suzahara leaning against the back wall of the observation booth.

"What do you mean 'what *we're* doing'?" Misato asked. "You said yourself when we picked her up; we aren't forcing her to do this. It's of her own will."

"You really believe that, Commander?" Toji asked. "Do you really think there's any way Michiru can leave now?"

"Of course she can." Maya said. "If she wanted to, she could leave today. None of us would stop her. And she knows that."

"But she also knows something else." Toji said. "She knows that we haven't found anyone else who can pilot an EVA yet. She knows that if she quits we won't have any way to fight the Angels. She knows that if she doesn't fight, it's all over, for everyone. She couldn't live with herself if that happened. She isn't doing this because she likes it. No one likes piloting EVA. *No one.* She doesn't feel like she has any choice. She's trapped. Trapped by her own sense of duty."

"How do you know how she feels, Major?" Maya asked.

Toji sighed, unconsciously flexing the stainless steel fingers of his left hand. "Because that's how I felt."

* * * * *

The Student Cafe was quite a lively place, considering it's relatively bland name. The cafe was run by Tokyo University's Campus Activity Group, a council of upperclassmen whose job was to set up extra-curricular activities for students. The small building had been decorated by students. Its walls were covered with bumper stickers, Christmas tree lights, and movie posters. Loud dance music played over speakers throughout the building.

The cafe was not the kind of place one went to for quiet studying. Then again, from what Michiru had seen of Akira, studying had probably never been part of the plan to begin with. *Figures* Michiru thought, rolling her eyes. At least she was able to blend in this time, unlike in class the other day. She had managed to find some time a few days earlier to go shopping.

For tonight, Michiru had picked out a pair of light blue jeans and a plain black shirt. She felt much less conspicuous in her new clothes than she had in her NERV uniform. Of course, next to Claire's.....ensemble, Michiru's casual outfit seemed downright conservative.

From her dress and behavior at school, Michiru had taken Claire to be somewhat reserved, especially for an American. But tonight, Claire was showing off her wild side. She had shown up wearing a pair of baggy green pants that looked like part of an army uniform and a sleeveless white T-shirt that left her midriff bare, the better to show off the tribal tattoo on her right arm and her pierced navel. Standing next to Claire, Michiru actually began to feel over dressed.

"Do you always dress like this for studying?" Michiru asked.

Claire laughed. "Not really." She said. "But in this case I thought I'd make an exception. I see you found something nice to wear. Trying to impress someone?"

"No!" Michiru said forcefully. "This is how I always dress. I'm not here to hook up with what's-his-name."

"Fine if you say so." Claire said. "Don't worry, by the way." She added. "You look great. I'm sure Tai will like it."

"I didn't pick it out for Tai." Michiru said. "But thanks."

Claire smiled. "Hey what are friends for, right?"

"So where are those two anyway?" Michiru asked, looking around the cafe. "They were supposed to meet us here weren't they?"

"Over there." Claire pointed to a booth in the far corner of the cafe, where Akira was waving to them.

* * * * *

"What about her?" Akira drew Tai's attention to a pretty girl walking by their booth. Tai looked, made a sound to indicate that, yes, the girl was indeed pretty, then went back to concentrating on the drink in front of him.

Tai didn't spend a lot of time in the Student Cafe as a rule. The place was too loud for his taste. He was here tonight on a mission. The only way he would ever be able to talk to Michiru without tripping over his words would be to call her at home. Tai's sole purpose for being in the crowded, dimly lit cafe was to somehow convince Claire to give him her friend's telephone number. He had explained all of this to Akira, who had reacted with his usual tact and restraint.

"You're a damn idiot!" had been Akira's exact words. "Didn't you learn your lesson back there in class? It would take an N2 mine to melt that girl's heart!"

Thinking back, Tai still didn't know what it was about Michiru that had captivated him. Sure she was beautiful, but so were a lot of girls. There was something else; something that set her apart and made it impossible for Tai to simply move on and put her out of his mind. Whatever the reason, it bore further investigation. And if the only way he could find out more about her was to pry her telephone number from her friend, then that was what he would do. Because although Tai Matsumoto was many things, a quitter was not one of them.

"Hey, there's Claire." Akira said; raising his hand over his head and waving at someone behind Tai, he assumed that someone was Claire. "Oh look; she brought your girl with her." He added.

Tai whipped his head around fast enough to cause serious neck injury. Sure enough, Michiru had decided to come to the cafe after all. Tai once again found himself hypnotized. He couldn't take his eyes off Michiru as she and Claire made their way to toward his table. His attention was drawn away by Akira tapping his shoulder. He turned back to face his friend.

"All right now pay attention." Akira said. "You may have a chance with her after all. If she was willing to come here at all then there's hope. Now what you have to do is not blow it like you did last time. The key here is to act natural."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Tai asked.

"Just try to pretend you aren't madly obsessed with her and it'll be just like talking to anyone else. I know it sounds dumb but it works, trust me."

"Okay." Tai said with a sigh. "I'll try."

Just then, Claire and Michiru reached the booth. Akira stood up to great them. "Hi." He said. "You two are looking great tonight. Glad you could make it, Michiru." Michiru simply nodded and slid into the seat next to Tai. Tai felt his face redden from being so close to her. Fortunately, the cafe's red lights hid his blushing from Michiru.

"Uh....hi." He managed to say. Michiru looked at him.....and smiled! If Tai had blinked, he would have missed it but there was no doubt, Michiru had smiled at him.

* * * * *

Michiru had a feeling that Claire would want to sit next to Akira and that was fine by her. She certainly had no desire to sit with him. Instead, she took the seat next to Tai. She thought she saw traces of red in his face as she sat down, but that could have been a trick of the light.

"Uh....hi." Tai said. Michiru glanced at Tai and couldn't help smiling. Tai really was quite handsome; she hadn't noticed it before. His black hair hung down to just below his jaw line. Michiru didn't normally find long hair on guys attractive, but Tai pulled it off, mostly by keeping his hair tied back in a short ponytail. Only a few thin strands of hair were left to dangle in front of two emerald green eyes. Tai's face somehow managed to portray strength and sensitivity at the same time. It was a very appealing combination.

Michiru wiped the smile off her face the second she realized it was there. But she couldn't seem to draw her gaze away from those eyes. She kept her eyes on Tai, studying every detail of his face. Afraid that Tai would notice she was staring at him, Michiru quickly looked away, focusing her attention on Akira. At least she didn't find herself uncharacteristically getting lost in *his* eyes. "So...." She said, giving Akira an accusing look. "Studying, huh?"

Akira laughed. "Looks like I've been caught." he said. "Well I figured we should just get to know each other first, you know...."

"Right." Michiru said, in a voice that made it clear that she didn't buy Akira's story for one minute. "I'm sure you get to know all your 'study partners' by taking them out drinking."

"Just the pretty ones." Akira said with a smile. Michiru rolled her eyes. "So I see you got them to give you the night off. Where do you work anyway?" He asked.

"I don't think that's any of your business." Michiru said.

Akira held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Hey, I'm just making conversation here." He said.

"I can't believe I let myself get talked into this." Michiru said, standing up. "Sorry to leave you hanging like this Claire, but I have to go now." Without another word, she turned and headed for the door.

* * * * *

Akira waited until Michiru was out of earshot, not too long thanks to the cafe's noisy atmosphere, and turned to Tai. "Okay Grasshopper." He said. "Now's your chance."

"What?" Sometimes Tai swore he and Akira spoke different languages altogether.

"You get to be the nice guy and go talk to her." Akira said. "And don't say I never did anything for you."

"Oh I get it!" Claire spoke up. "It's like 'Good Cop/Bad Cop'. Pretty tricky." She smiled at Akira with a new look of respect.

Finally it hit Tai. Akira had been baiting Michiru the whole time. The entire point of their "conversation" was to get Michiru to leave the table so Tai could talk to her alone. Not wanting to let his friend's efforts go to waste, Tai jumped up and ran after Michiru.

He caught up with her at the doors leading out of the cafe. "Michiru!" He called. "Hold on a second!"

Michiru stopped and turned around, a look somewhere between anger and annoyance on her face. "What do you want, Tai?" She asked impatiently.

"I just wanted to...apologize, for what happened back there." He said. "Akira can be a little...."

"Irritating?" Michiru suggested.

"Yeah." Tai said with a smile. "But he really is a decent guy, once you get to know him."

"Yeah?" Michiru said. "Well I'll take your word for it." She turned to leave. Tai had to try something else or he would lose her.

"Why don't we just forget about Akira?" He said, rushing to catch up with Michiru. "I don't think those two want us around anyway." He drew Michiru's attention to their booth where Akira and Claire were enthusiastically flirting with each other. "Look;" he said, "You got off work, you came all this way; the least I can do is buy you a drink, right?"

"Listen, Tai." Michiru said gently. "You seem like a nice guy, despite your unsavory associations." She threw an evil look at Akira. "But I'm really not ready to be in the 'dating' scene right now. I'm sorry." Tai could only nod silently. "I *would* stay and have a drink with you, I really would." Michiru continued. "But I had a long day today, and I'm very tired so I think I'm going to go home. Tell Claire I said goodnight."

"Wait." Tai called after her. She turned again; giving him the kind of look you gave a stray puppy that wouldn't stop following you around. "At least let me give you a ride home." He said.

"I can take care of myself." Michiru said.

"That was never even a question." Tai assured her. "It would just be a lot easier for you than walking."

* * * * *

Michiru couldn't help smiling at Tai's persistence. Misato's apartment wasn't that far from the campus, and Tokyo 3's streets were some of the safest in the world. There was no reason why she couldn't walk there by herself. Still, there was something endearing about Tai's insistence that she not walk home alone. In any other guy, she would have called it chauvinism, but Tai's offer lacked the necessary condescension. Michiru found only one word to describe Tai; gentleman. There was no implication in his offer that she was incapable of getting home on her own. Nor was there the indication that she would owe Tai any kind of favor. As far as Michiru could tell, Tai was simply offering her a ride so that she would not have to walk.

"Sure." She finally said, smiling. "Why not?"

Tai paused when they reached his car. "Listen..." He said. "I think we got off to a bad start back there. And in class Monday."

"Yeah." Michiru agreed. "I guess we did."

"Want to try again?" He asked.

"Sure."

"Okay then." Tai stuck out his hand. "I'm Tai Matsumoto."

Michiru smiled and shook Tai's hand. "Michiru Ikari." She said.

Tai smiled. "Nice to meet you Michiru."

* * * * *

After their pleasant 'introduction' in the parking lot, Tai found himself right back where he started: nervous as hell. He drove in silence, trying desperately to come up with something, anything, to say to Michiru that wouldn't sound totally idiotic.

"So.....uh.....have you...lived in Tokyo 3 long?" *Oh THAT was brilliant, Tai.* He thought. *Not at all pathetically lame.*

"Actually I just moved here a week ago. From Tokyo 2." Michiru said. "What about you?"

"Oh...I've lived here for about two years." Tai replied.

"And before that?" Michiru asked.

"Well...everywhere." Tai said, somewhat reluctantly. "Okinawa, Kyoto, New Hiroshima....But I'm from here originally."

"So you moved a lot?" Michiru said. "Military family?"

Tai's face seemed to fall. "No....." He said. "Uh....no family actually. Lots of foster homes."

"Oh...." Michiru fell silent. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Tai said. "I try not to worry about it. It was a long time ago." *Now you're lying* Tai said to himself. *Of course that's probably better than telling her the whole nasty story when we just met.* "....So this lady you live with...."

"Misato." Michiru said.

"Yeah." Tai said. "Is she, like...family or...."

"Uh that's kind of complicated." Michiru said, smiling. "She's a....friend of the family. And she's sort of my boss too."

"Oh yeah." Tai said. "Where *do* you work. If you don't mind me asking, I mean."

"Oh....it's not that I mind." Michiru explained. "It's just that.......there are parts of my job that I'm not allowed to talk about." She thought for a moment. "I.....do some work for the UN." She finally said.

"Oh, you work for NERV." Tai said casually.

"You know about NERV?" Michiru asked, startled.

"Sure." Tai said. "Everyone around here knows about NERV. This whole city used to be NERV's company town back in 2015. Practically everyone moved away for some reason, no one really knows why. Anyway, pretty much the only people who stayed here worked for NERV. It's still one of the main employers and I just realized that the 'Tokyo 3 History Lecture' isn't exactly an exciting topic for conversation."

Michiru laughed. "It's okay." She said.

"Speaking of that;" Tai said, "I hear a lot of people are planning on leaving again. You know, after the incident last week. I guess no one wants to live in a war zone." A thought hit Tai. Michiru worked for NERV. NERV was involved in the so-called "Giant Monster" incident. Michiru moved to Tokyo 3 a week ago. The incident took place a week ago. *No.* Tai shook that thought off. *It's probably just a coincidence.*

"Yeah." Michiru was suddenly quiet. "What about you?"

"No way. I'm here for the long run." Tai smiled. "I've already done two years of pre-med here. Transferring now would be more trouble than staying. Besides, I like it here."

"You know, Tai?" Michiru said. "You're not like other guys."

"How so?" Tai asked.

"I don't know." Michiru said. "You're just different from the other guys I've met since I got here."

"What do you mean 'different'?" Tai asked with a bemused smile.

"Well....." Michiru thought for a moment. "You're not a total jerk for one thing." She said with a laugh.

Tai found himself laughing along with Michiru. "Well I'm glad you think so." He said.

* * * * *

"So how was your study group?" Misato called out from the living room as Michiru entered the apartment.

"Oh, it went great." Michiru said cheerfully, walking into the living room and flopping down on the couch next to Misato. "*I* met someone." She said.

"Really?" Misato said. "Is this 'someone' a boy?"

"No." Michiru said. "That's the great part. He's a total gentleman."

"Does this gentleman have a name?" Misato asked.

Michiru leaned back, letting herself sink into the couch cushions. "Tai." She said with a sigh. "Tai Matsumoto."

* * * * *

Michiru's alarm began buzzing incessantly at 6:00 A.M. the next morning. Michiru slapped the snooze bar with slightly more than the necessary force and pulled herself out of bed, muttering a few choice phrases that described her feelings toward alarm clocks. If Michiru had one complaint about her dual responsibilities as a freshman in college and a Private in NERV, it was having to juggle two very demanding schedules at once. Her full schedule of morning classes during the week meant that the only days that she could set aside enough time for useful combat training were weekends. And that meant that she now had to report to work by 7:00 A.M. every Saturday morning.

She had spoken to Dr. Ibuki about this problem. Maya had acted sympathetic, but the general gist of her response was, "Would you rather sleep in Saturdays or survive the next battle?" Michiru had tried to make the doctor reconsider, reasoning that she wouldn't be much good as a pilot if she was too tired to concentrate on the battle. Her argument had fallen on deaf ears, however. Michiru had learned quickly that once the people at NERV set their minds on a course of action, there was very little point in arguing. It was better just to accept the schedule they set up voluntarily rather than waiting for suggestions to become orders. Michiru sighed, heading for the bathroom. At least combat training wasn't as tedious as harmonics tests.

After bathing, Michiru put on one of her new NERV uniforms. The uniforms had been fitted specifically for her. Now that they were the right size, Michiru found the NERV uniforms quite comfortable. After eating a quick breakfast, Michiru left the apartment and headed for the nearest entry to the Geofront, sliding her ID card through a scanner and taking a long elevator ride down into NERV Headquarters.

Captain Aida was waiting for her when she got off the elevator, along with Major Suzahara.

"Ah, there you are." The Captain said. "Right on time."

Michiru smiled. She had always taken pride in being punctual. She liked others to know they could count on her. "What are we doing today?" She asked.

"Today we find out how much you've learned." Major Suzahara replied. "You're going to take your first run through the Hazard Course."

"Hazard course?" Michiru wasn't sure she liked the sound of that.

"Go get changed." Captain Aida said. "I'll explain everything once you're in the test plug."

* * * * *

Michiru changed clothes in the small locker room adjacent to the EVA restraint cage. She hung her uniform in her locker and pulled on the light blue entry plug suit that had been made for her. She marveled at the irony of the suit. While piloting Unit 01, Michiru's actual body barely moved at all, all of her motions were translated to the EVA. Yet the plug suit allowed more freedom of movement than any other outfit Michiru had ever worn. At the press of a button, the entire suit conformed to every contour of her body; it sometimes felt like she wasn't wearing anything at all. Of course, the plug suit was designed the way it was to remove the neural interference that loose clothes could sometimes cause. The comfort and added mobility were merely agreeable side effects of the suit's design.

After putting on her plug suit, Michiru made her way to the test chamber and climbed into the test plug. The plug was really just a copy of Unit 01's actual entry plug suspended in a metal tube. It simulated synchronization without using the EVA itself, allowing Michiru to train without risking damage to Unit 01. Synchronizing in the test plug was identical to piloting Unit 01 itself, except that the visual data could be altered to whatever was needed for training. The blank walls of the test chamber were replaced with whatever the officers running the test wanted her to see. When the test plug was activated on this particular day, Michiru saw what looked like an obstacle course in front of her.

"This is the Hazard Course, Michiru." Captain Aida said to her. "We'll be evaluating how quickly and efficiently you complete the course objectives. Understand?"

"Got it." Michiru said.

"Then begin." A timer appeared in front of Michiru and began counting seconds up from zero. Michiru wasted no time in sprinting for the first obstacle, a sheer stone wall. Just before reaching the wall, Michiru jumped, engaging her progressive knife as she flew toward the wall. She hit the wall halfway up and drove the knife in. The blade held and she pulled herself the rest of the way up over the wall. She leapt down on the other side and ran for the next hazard. The obstacle consisted of several missile turrets firing at her. Michiru stopped in her tracks, relaxed, and concentrated, sending the emotional signals to Unit 01 as she had been instructed. The missiles impacted harmlessly on the AT Field that unfolded in front of her. And it was on to the next obstacle; a reconstruction of the Angel Michiru had fought her first time in Unit 01, which she blasted to pieces with the rifle that was provided to her.

Twenty minutes later, Michiru stepped out of the test plug. She took a towel from the shelf next to the door and wiped as much LCL off of her as she could. Then she headed for the briefing room to get her test results.

"That was *very* good." Captain Aida said, smiling. "You completed the course in 19.5 minutes with a minimum of collateral damage. That's quite exceptional for your first time."

"Don't get cocky though." Major Suzahara said. His voice held a tone somewhere between warning and concern. "This was just a simulation under controlled conditions. Battle against the Angels is a whole different story, as I'm sure you know." Michiru nodded. She knew. She knew all too well. The Major smiled. "You did do well though." He said. "Good work."

"Okay." Captain Aida said. "That's it for today. Sorry to get you up so early just for that." He apologized.

"It's alright." Michiru said.

"By the way, Michiru." Major Suzahara said. "Don't let Misato forget about tonight."

"Tonight?" Michiru asked.

"She forgot to tell you?" Toji asked.

"Well....we haven't seen a lot of each other this week. I've been really busy." Michiru said.

"You two are supposed to come over for dinner tonight." He said. "That is, if you didn't make other plans."

"Uh...no." Michiru said. "No plans."

Toji smiled. "Great." He said. "Then I'll see you both tonight."

* * * * *

The Suzahara residence was a small apartment near Tokyo 3's downtown area. Misato and Michiru arrived late in the afternoon. Toji greeted them at the door. "Hi." He said cheerfully. "Come in."

Toji led them into the living room and invited them to have a seat, which they did. Michiru took a moment to take in her new surroundings. Toji Suzahara's house had a style of decorating that could best be described as 'Spartan'. The living room was decorated with only a few chairs and a couch. A large cabinet in the corner held a television and a stereo system. The only other piece of furniture was a large bookcase. Despite the sparse furnishings, the room had a warm, inviting feel to it.

"So." Misato said after a moment. "Where's the munchkin?"

Toji smiled. "She just called." He said. "Soccer practice ran late. She should be here soon. So should Kensuke, actually."

"Captain Aida?" Michiru asked.

"Yeah." Toji nodded.

"Kensuke's coming tonight?" Misato asked.

"Well I figured it would probably be a good idea to invite him." Toji replied. "Otherwise he'd have wasted a perfectly good Saturday night working at the lab. That's all he does these days."

"I thought he was going out with someone from the Medical Division. What's her name......?" Misato seemed to be thinking.

"Mariko." Toji finished for her.

"Yeah." Misato said. "Don't tell me they broke up."

"Yeah." Toji nodded. "Apparently she 'wasn't his type'."

"Oh." Something unspoken seemed to go between Toji and Misato. Michiru felt awkward listening in on their conversation. She still wasn't totally comfortable around her parents' friends. She hoped that 'the munchkin' was someone she could talk to without feeling out of place. She politely excused herself and walked down the hallway to the bathroom at the far end. She didn't have to use the bathroom, but she couldn't stay in the living room for much longer. She hoped she hadn't made the wrong decision by coming here tonight.

Michiru splashed her face with cold water from the sink. Misato and Toji didn't have any problem being friends outside of work, but they had obviously known each other for years. She had just met these people and she still didn't feel very comfortable around them socially.

On her way back to the living room, Michiru noticed a series of pictures hanging in the hallway. A large portrait in the center of the wall showed Toji and his wife on their wedding day. Michiru noted that the woman standing next to Toji was the same girl he had been with in her picture. Next to that was another picture of Toji and his wife. This time she was holding a tiny baby in her arms. Michiru moved down the hall to the next picture in line. At first she thought the picture of a teenage girl in a soccer uniform was of Toji's wife. She had the same dark brown eyes and freckled face. But where Toji's wife had brown hair this girl's hair was the same dark black as the Major's. Michiru figured that she must be Major Suzahara's daughter. What was the girl's name? Machiko? That sounded right. The last picture was somewhat smaller than the others. However, it was this final picture that caught Michiru's interest most.

In the picture, smiling brightly, were extremely young versions of five people from her picture, including her parents. Michiru stared at the photo for a long time. The figures in the picture, two of whom she knew only as middle-aged men, could not have been much more than thirteen or fourteen years old when the picture was taken. She noticed that the young Toji had both arms and an unmarred face. Oddly, her mother and father stood on opposite sides of the group, almost as if they were avoiding each other. Michiru was busy pondering the photo on the wall when she heard the front door open.

"....saying is they should *tell* us when it's going to start getting cold so we can get warm clothes for practice!" A girl's voice came through the door.

"Hey kid, cut the weather guy some slack." Michiru heard Captain Aida say. "This is the first cold snap Japan's had in forty years."

"I know." The girl said. "But still; how are we supposed to practice when we're freezing our butts off?"

"Beats me." He replied.

Michiru followed the sound into the foyer where she found captain Aida talking to the same teenage girl she had seen pictured in the hallway. Misato and Toji joined her in the foyer seconds later. Kensuke and the girl seemed to notice them for the first time.

"Hey Toji." Kensuke said. "Look what I found in the elevator." He gestured toward the girl. "She *claims* to be yours."

The girl smiled. "Hi Dad." She said cheerfully.

"Hi Munchkin." Toji said. "How was practice?"

"COLD!" The girl replied forcefully. She seemed to notice Michiru for the first time. "Uh.....hi." She said.

"Hi." Michiru replied, stepping forward. "You must be Machiko. I'm Michiru."

"Nice to meet you." Machiko said.

* * * * *

After Machiko's arrival, Michiru felt right at home. The conversation switched to mundane issues such as work and school; issues Michiru had no problem talking about. After dinner, Machiko began clearing away the table. Not wanting to be left in the same uncomfortable position as before, Michiru volunteered to help. Grabbing a plate in each hand, she followed Machiko into the small kitchen.

Machiko smiled when she saw Michiru enter the kitchen. "Thanks." She said, taking the plates from Michiru and washing them off in the sink. "So you live with Miss Misato?" She asked.

"Yeah." Michiru said.

"Talk about a mess, huh?" Machiko said. "I stayed there for about a week once when Dad was out of town on business. Don't get me wrong, I love Misato, she's the best. I just can't imagine living with her."

"Oh, it's not so bad once you get used to it." Michiru said.

"Really?" Machiko cast a dubious glance at Michiru.

"Well......no." Machiko laughed. "So you play soccer?" Michiru asked.

"Yep." Machiko replied, grinning. "Ever since grade school. I'm captain of the team this year."

"That's great." Michiru said.

"Yeah." Machiko said. "We're gonna kick butt!"

"Really?"

"Oh yeah!" Machiko said enthusiastically. "No question. Besides obviously being the best;" She smiled. "We're also the most motivated."

"Oh?" Michiru was amused by the girl's enthusiasm.

"Yeah." Machiko continued. "We have the cutest assistant coach in all of Japan. So no one ever wants to miss practice."

"Well I hope you have a good season."

"Oh we will." Machiko assured her. "Do you play?"

"Soccer? No." Michiru said. "I'm more of a softball kind of girl."

"Oh." Machiko smiled. "Well nobody's perfect."

* * * * *

Later that evening when it was time to go home, Misato and Michiru got ready to leave. Michiru was getting their jackets from the closet when Captain Aida came up and spoke to her. "Michiru?"

She turned around. "Uh...yeah." Michiru said.

"Um....I used to be a pretty big video nut back when I was a kid." Kensuke began. "I carried a video camera around all the time."

"Uh huh....." Michiru wasn't quite sure where Captain Aida was going with this.

"Well anyway." He said, pulling a small videodisk out of his pocket. "I meant to give you this for your birthday, but it took me longer to find it than I expected." He handed the disk to Michiru. She read the handwritten label. 'Reunion Party 2016'.

"Is this.......?" Michiru began.

Kensuke smiled. "Happy Birthday, Michiru."

* * * * *

"So what did you think of Machiko?" Misato asked as they drove back home.

"She's great." Michiru said. "She seemed to have a lot of good stuff to say about you."

Misato smiled. "Well Machiko and I go way back." She said. "I.....helped Toji take care of her.....when her mother died."

"Her mother?"

"Yeah." Misato said sadly. "Machiko was only three when it happened. Toji took it really hard; he and Hikari grew up together. He went through a pretty bad time right after. So I helped take care of Machiko until he was better." She smiled. "She's turned out great though."

"Yeah." Michiru said quietly. She couldn't pity anyone as happy and well adjusted as Machiko Suzahara, but she did feel sympathy for the girl. Michiru couldn't decide which was worse, never knowing your mother, or losing her at three years old. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the disk Kensuke had given her. "Misato, do you have something at home that can play this?"

Misato took the disk and examined it closely, keeping one eye on the road. "Not at home." She finally said. "But I'm sure there's something at the lab that can play it. I'm going in tomorrow night, you can come along if you want."

"Definitely." Michiru said. Her whole life, her only connection to her mother and father had been through a photograph. But a photo couldn't move, or speak. It couldn't tell her what her parents had been like. Hopefully, the video Captain Aida had given her could.

* * * * *

The next night, Michiru went into Headquarters with Misato. She went straight to the video analysis lab. She showed the disk to the woman in charge of the lab. "Do we have anything here that can play this?"

The woman examined the disk, frowning. "I don't think we can *play* this here." She finally said. "It's a pretty old format."

"Oh." Michiru's face fell.

"Well...." The woman said. "I can probably transfer this to another format if you'd like."

"Really?" Michiru said. "Could you?"

"Sure." She replied. "Any particular format you'd like?"

Michiru thought for a moment. "Well......can you do DVD?" She asked.

"Sure." The woman replied, smiling. "It'll take about an hour to transfer."

"Okay." Michiru said. "I'll come back in an hour."

* * * * *

The next hour seemed like an eternity to Michiru. She sat in the break room, sipping a cup of tea and trying desperately not to look at the clock on the wall every three seconds. Eventually after what had seemed like two or three hours, she glanced at the clock and realized that only twenty minutes had passed. Fed up, she left the break room, determined to find something useful to do.

She was on her way to Central Dogma, NERV's fancy name for the control room where the Magi supercomputers were housed, when alarms started blaring throughout the base. A chill came over Michiru. She stood completely still, terrified of what would happen next. Sure enough, seconds after the alarms started, her cellular phone began to ring. Michiru didn't waste time answering the phone. She dropped her cup and sprinted for the nearest elevator.

As the elevator descended, Michiru grabbed her phone and punched in one of the many speed-dial combinations she had memorized. Misato answered on the first ring. "Michiru!" She said. "Where are you?"

"In the elevator." Michiru replied. "I'm on my way to the cage."

"Good." Misato said. "Suit up. I'll have Unit 01 ready to launch by the time your finished changing."

"Misato? Is it......?" Michiru began.

"Yes." Misato said.

"Understood."

Michiru put away her phone and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She had known this day would eventually come. Once again, it was time to do what she had been brought here to do. Once again, Tokyo 3 was under attack. By an Angel.

* * * * *

"Primary and Secondary safety locks released."

"Entry plug inserted. Detecting Pilot."

"Graphs are normal. Pilot readings in the green."

"S2 Unit functioning normally."

Toji listened to the reports coming in from all around him. "Move Unit 01 into position." He ordered. "Use delivery route 35."

"Yes Sir."

Toji opened a video link to Unit 01's entry plug. "Michiru." He said. "If we've timed this right, you should come out right behind the Angel. Raise your AT Field as soon as you start to launch. That'll neutralize the Angel's field. Then you can take it out with the rifle."

"Okay." Michiru said.

Toji nodded. "EVA Launch!" He called.

* * * * *

This time Michiru was ready for the g-force pressing her down as Unit 01 launched. She ignored the pressure and concentrated instead on unfolding her AT Field. By the time she jolted to a halt on the empty, twilight streets of Tokyo 3, she had raised the field completely. However, far from coming out behind her target, she couldn't see the Angel at all.

"It's not here." She said.

"What do you mean 'it's not there'?" Toji asked.

Michiru scanned the city in every direction. Nothing. "I mean it's not here." She said.

"That's impossible." Toji said. "It's on our scanners. It's right in front of you."

"There's nothing out here, Major." Michiru insisted.

* * * * *

"What's going on?" Misato asked.

"She says the target isn't there." Toji replied.

Misato opened her own link to Michiru. "What's going on out there?" She asked.

"How many ways am I supposed to say this?" Michiru asked, slightly annoyed. "It. Isn't. Here."

* * * * *

Michiru's nervousness was quickly being replaced by irritation. They simply wouldn't accept that there was no Angel out here. Michiru slowly walked forward keeping her eyes open for any sign of an Angel. Maybe it was hiding behind one of the decoy buildings nearby. Raising her rifle, Michiru stepped around the corner of the nearest building, but there was no Angel waiting for her.

"Michiru!" Misato called out. "You're right on top of it!"

"Where?" Michiru asked. "I don't see anything!" She turned and headed for the next building.

"Now you're moving away from it!" Major Suzahara yelled. "It's behind you now!"

Michiru heard a sound behind her and spun around. The building she had just passed was moving! As Michiru watched, astonished, the sides seemed to unravel. Looking closer, Michiru realized that there was actually something wrapped around the building. The Angel, for that had to be what it was, could apparently change colors like a chameleon. It had fooled Michiru by mimicking the building it was clinging to. Now that its ruse had been exposed, the angel dropped its camouflage, its skin fading to a mottled green and gray color.

Michiru had expected the Angel to look like the one she had fought before, but it was completely different. The Nineteenth Angel had been a sort of humanoid crab. This Angel looked more like a giant snake. The Angel even hissed like a snake when its eyes fell on Unit 01. But instead of striking out to bite like a snake, the Angel opened its mouth, revealing the S2 Core lodged deep in its throat. The Core began to glow.

"Get out of the way!" Misato yelled. But it was too late. A beam of energy shot out of the Angel's core and struck the ground just below Unit 01. An instant later, the ground beneath the EVA exploded. The massive shaft of energy from the explosion surrounded Unit 01 and rose thousands of feet into the air. Near the top of the shaft, the energy spread out horizontally. The end result was an explosive blast that looked for all the world like a giant, glowing cross rising above the Tokyo 3 skyline.

Michiru screamed as the explosion enveloped her. The pain was like nothing she had ever felt before; a white hot burning that penetrated every cell of her body. Everything around her turned white, the brilliant light from the explosion blinded her temporarily. Desperately, Michiru raised her rifle and fired at random. Either one of the bullets accidentally hit its mark or the Angel ran out of power, because seconds later the explosive energy dissipated and Unit 01 fell to the ground, still smoking from the intense heat.

* * * * *

"Tanaka! Report!" Toji yelled at the young woman monitoring Unit 01.

"The first layer of armor has been completely vaporized!" Tanaka reported. "The second layer has sustained massive damage! Another hit like that and she'll be defenseless!"

"Michiru!" Toji yelled. "You have to get up! Get out of there!"

* * * * *

Michiru couldn't move. Her skin still felt like it was on fire. The top layer of Unit 01's armor had been melted to slag. The next hit would probably kill her. She knew she had to get away from her attacker, but she couldn't stand up. Whenever she tried to move, the searing pain intensified.

"I....can't." She whispered. "I.....can't.........move."

"Michiru! It's coming for you!" Misato cried. Michiru looked up. The Angel was slithering toward her, hissing evilly. Michiru closed her eyes, expecting to feel the burning pain of the Angel's energy beam. Instead, she felt a cold sensation surrounding her.

Michiru opened her eyes and looked down. The Angel was coiling its body around Unit 01 like a python. Seconds later, the Angel began to squeeze.

* * * * *

Lieutenant Minako Tanaka stared at the screens, confused by the Angel's strange method of attack. "What the hell is it doing?" She wondered aloud.

"It's like a snake." Commander Katsuragi said grimly. "It's going to crush her to death."

"Why didn't it just shoot Unit 01 again?"

"Maybe it used up all its energy with that first blast." Hisashi Kusanagi, a fellow lieutenant, suggested.

"Commander, what are we going to do?" She asked.

"There's.......nothing we can do." The Commander said. She kept her voice even, but there was no mistaking the fear she felt for Michiru. "We can't use conventional weapons without harming Unit 01's pilot further."

"But she'll be killed!"

"Michiru!" Commander Katsuragi said urgently. "You've got to fight back! You've got to!"

* * * * *

Michiru heard Misato urging her to fight, but she couldn't move. She was no longer paralyzed by the pain from the explosion. Now it was the Angel that had immobilized her. It had Unit 01 completely surrounded with its thick, muscular coils, pinning the EVA's arms to its sides. Michiru struggled, but the Angel held her tight and continued to squeeze. Michiru suddenly realized that she was running out of air. She knew that the LCL filling her lungs would give her oxygen no matter what. But she couldn't shake the feeling that the air was being crushed out of her.

"Misato!" She gasped, with the last of her breath. "Help....me! I........can't.......breath!" She felt the world turning dark. As her vision blurred, she saw one last thing; a man standing, or rather floating, in front of her. When she realized who she was looking at, Michiru finally accepted that she was dying. Floating there, expressionless, was a man she had only seen before in pictures.

"Daddy?"

* * * * *

"Pilot life-signs are dropping! Respiration failing!" Maya Ibuki called out. "We're losing her!"

"We have no choice!" Misato said. "Cut all synchronization! Force eject the entry plug!"

Lieutenant Tanaka pulled the emergency eject switch, but the plug did not eject. "The signal's not being received!" She yelled.

"What?" Misato demanded.

"The abort codes are being rejected!" Tanaka replied.

"Oh God." Maya turned to Misato. "Do you think........?"

Just then, Unit 01's graphs went insane. "Pulses are flowing backwards!" Tanaka screamed. "Nerve rejection across the board! The Signal Graph is reversing!"

"It's happening again." Misato whispered.

* * * * *

Outside, wrapped in the Angel's deadly embrace, Unit 01 suddenly stirred. Its eyes began to glow with a light of their own. The Evangelion opened its mouth and let out a deafening roar of fury. Straining with all its might, the EVA pushed its arms away from its body, struggling against the Angel's massive strength. After nearly a minute of struggling, the EVA managed to bring its arms up in front of its chest.

The Angel suddenly let out screech of surprise when Unit 01 dug its fingers into the Angel's thick hide. With another furious roar, Unit 01 pulled its arms apart. The Angel's grip loosened immediately as its body was torn in half. The EVA fell to its knees. The Angel's thick blood poured over Unit 01's shoulders, turning the street into a dark, crimson river. But the Evangelion wasn't finished yet. Hatred burned in its eyes. The Angel that had tried to kill it would suffer. And then it would die.

* * * * *

"This is impossible!" Minako said, staring in disbelief at the screens in front of her. "The pilot is no longer synchronized! Unit 01 is acting without any interface! That just can't happen!"

"No." Commander Katsuragi said quietly. "It can."

"What?" Minako turned to face her superior.

"This isn't the first time."

* * * * *

The Angel had been torn in half by the rampaging Evangelion. It moaned in pain as it tried to drag itself away from its attacker. The EVA turned and fell upon its enemy, tearing the Angel apart with its powerful fists. Huge gouts of blood flew through the air as Unit 01 tore at the Angel, spraying the surrounding buildings with splashes of the dark red liquid.

The Angel weakly turned it's head toward Unit 01, summoning the last of its energy to attack the EVA. Before it could fire another energy blast, though, the EVA shoved one hand into the Angel's open mouth. Unit 01 grabbed the S2 Organ lodged in the Angel's throat and closed its fist, crushing the core to powder. The massive energies that had built up in the glowing sphere were released in a single instant, erupting into another giant, cross-shaped explosion that incinerated the Angel and sent Unit 01 flying. The EVA landed on its back hundreds of feet away from the explosion. The light went out of its eyes and it lay still, covered in its enemy's blood.

* * * * *

The Control Room was eerily silent. Only four people in NERV's entire staff had ever seen anything like what had just happened. The new crew sat in silence, mesmerized by their first sight of the Evangelion's true colors. At one of the workstations, someone could be heard trying valiantly not to vomit.

"Report." Toji said quietly. No one answered. "Report!"

Lieutenant Tanaka was the first to move again. "The target has been.......vaporized." She said.

"The Signal Graph is returning to normal!" Maya called out. "The neural connections are stabilizing!"

"Michiru!" Misato cried. "Can you hear me?"

* * * * *

Michiru was woken up by Misato's voice calling her name. "Michiru! Can you hear me?"

"Misato?" She asked weakly. She opened her eyes and saw a field of stars in front of her. Realizing that Unit 01 was lying on its back, she sat up; and immediately wished she hadn't. Before her was a scene that didn't belong in the real world. It was like a medieval painting of Hell. A giant crater marked the spot where the Angel had exploded. The last of its energy was slowly dissipating. The remaining energy illuminated the street far too well, though.

Blood. It was everywhere. Thick and dark like some horrible crimson paint poured over the city. It covered the street and ran down the sides of the buildings. Everywhere Michiru looked, she saw red. She didn't want to look down, but something forced her to turn her eyes toward Unit 01. As she knew she would, she saw blood. Once a beautiful, royal purple, her EVA was now stained with the Angel's blood. Raising Unit 01's hands in front of her face, she saw the blood, felt it dripping from her fingers. And that was when she screamed.

* * * * *

"Michiru?" Michiru heard Misato say her name, but she did not turn. She could not take her eyes off of Unit 01. The EVA was locked in place. Jets of steaming hot water shot from the sides of the chamber, washing the dried blood off of it. Physically, Unit 01 was beginning to look like itself once more. But in her mind, Michiru knew that she would never see the Evangelion the same way again. Just this morning, she had thought of the EVA as something she had control over. Now she knew that she only controlled Unit 01 because the massive creature *allowed* itself to be controlled. And that frightened her, more than any Angel ever could.

Misato stood next to her. "Someone from the Video Analysis Lab asked me to give these to you." She said, holding up the disk Kensuke had given Michiru, along with an unmarked DVD. Michiru barely even acknowledged them. She continued to stare at the EVA.

"What is that thing, Misato?" She whispered, keeping her eyes trained on the Evangelion in front of her. "What the hell am I piloting?"

* * * * *

They didn't get home until Three A.M. the next morning. Michiru was exhausted, but she didn't want to sleep. She knew that if she closed her eyes, she would once again see Unit 01's hands in front of her, dripping gore.

Instead, she went into the living room and put her new disk into Misato's DVD player. Moment's later, a shaky, slightly out of focus video began playing. Her parents and their friends sat in Misato's living room. Michiru did some quick math in her head and figured that her parents would have been fifteen years old when the video was made. Misato was there, so were Toji and his future wife, Hikari. Michiru barely registered the conversation that went on between her parents' friends. She concentrated instead on her parents themselves. Shinji Ikari sat on the sofa, quietly listening to the conversation around him, occasionally chiming in briefly but mostly remaining silent. He seemed to be a shy and reserved person, just like Misato had said. Her mother, Asuka, was the complete opposite. She seemed to have something to say about everything. The two of them didn't seem to be too interested in one another, though. In fact, at some points the two acted as if they could barely stand each other.

Michiru smiled. The verbal sparring that went between her mother and father was actually kind of sweet, in a way. She could see why they ended up together. Even through their front of disinterest bordering on hostility, the attraction between them was obvious. For the moment her fears and anxieties about Unit 01 and the Angels were pushed out of her mind. The images of her parents, alive and well, held her total attention.

The video was still playing an hour later when Misato found her curled up on the living room sofa, fast asleep.

To Be Continued...

Next Chapter:

Michiru decides to take a risk and accepts Tai's invitation to go on a date. They have a good time, but the peaceful day is soon shattered when Michiru is called to battle. But the surprise of having her date interrupted is nothing compared to the shocking news that awaits her at NERV Headquarters. Is it possible that Michiru's latest foe is not an Angel at all? It's the next installment: Chapter 0:4- "First Date/ EVA Rebellion!"