N.G.Evangelion - When Angels Deserve to Die

Chapter Three:


A young looking girl walked into Ikari\'s office. She was dressed in jeans and a white shirt and keds. Her brown hair was pulled back with a white ribbon. \"Commander Ikari. I heard that I am supposed to be dead... Is this part of the plan that you told me about?\" Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper. Vibrant yet lifeless blue eyes looked at him.

Auska smiled, letting him lead the way.

Kensuke looked at him as well.

Gendo had his hands folded over his mouth, leaning forward, his elbows resting against the polished surface of his desk. \"Yes...it is. We need to be prepared for the worst-case scenario....we can\'t be sure of the loyalties of the Sixth Child...and he may not be of any use...you, on the other hand, are someone I can rely upon to carry out our goals.\"

Kaji lead her back the way they had come, still smiling as they passed a few random people. Soon his car was in sight. \"So, getting along well with Misato, and the techs?\"

She nodded. \"What of the First Child. Does she know I am here?\" She asked, her voice still quiet. All her life Alexia had been quiet, being found after her parents had left her for dead. At least that was the official story.

\"Misato is okay. Though she drinks too much. The techs are okay though.\"

Jack rubbed the top of his head, his hair spilling down over his head, making him look almost like a different person at that moment. \"What? Something on my face?\"

\"Not at all.\" Kensuke grinned at him.

Ikari shook his head. \"Not yet...we\'ve kept you a secret from most of the staff here...other than Fuyutsuki, no one else knows what really happened...\"

\"Then I am to remain here?\" Fuyutsuki entered and sighed.

\"I\'m sorry sir, I turned for a moment and she was gone.\"

Jack rubbed his head some more, and tilted his head, the impression he was someone else too overwhelming to ignore. \"If you\'re sure...\" He looked up, to see Shinji with a glass of water and a bottle of tablets. \"Gimme those..\" he reached with both hands, his hair springing back up, making him Jack again.

Kensuke looked at Rei a moment.

Kaji laughed, and unlocked the doors. \"I see...yes, Misato\'s always been like that...amongst other things...\" He chuckled as he started the car up, and headed towards the nearest transport train they could use.

\"I see.\" Asuka sai thoughtfully.

Rei blinked, almost seeing what was familiar, before the hair went back, and it was gone. She blinked again, and noted the odd differences between herself and Jack. Things that made them stand out in different ways...her quiet, almost lifeless voice, his loud, and boisterous...her hair, short and around her head, a light blue, while his was standing upright, and a brilliant red...her eyes, the color of blood, his the color of the sky....there was something there..

\"Ayanami? you okay?\"

Ikari waved his hand. \"I don\'t really mind, Fuyutsuki...at least she\'s nowhere near as bad as the Sixth Child....is Rei watching him at this moment?\"

Kaji spared her a glance, then passed through a NERV checkpoint, waving his id. \"Anyway, I thought I\'d warn you as well...it seems our newcomer has a fondness for...certain movies...the horror kind. And loud volumes. At night.\"

\"Yes, they\'re at Misato\'s apartment. We got a report that Soryu\'s on her way.\"

\"He\'s at our complex, isn\'t he?\"

She blinked, confused, watching as Jack swallowed three of the tablets, despite the warnings that said no more than two on the bottle. \"i..believe so...but...\" She tilted her head at him again, still trying to figure out what she had seen.

\"Maybe it\'s the excitement. You usually don\'t hang out with us.\"

Gendo nodded to himself. \"Good. We need to keep close attention on both Jack and Soryu...they\'re too free-spirited...and intelligent. Then there\'s the fact that we don\'t know how much he knows about...the TRUTH...\"

Kaji shrugged, then drove through, parking on the train and waiting for it to start moving. \"I believe they\'re considering it...he\'s been living out of a more....ill-reputed building that\'s slated for demolition in three months, pending relocation of the tenants.\"

Rei nodded, forcing herself to look away from Jack long enough to focus on something else. \"perhaps...\"

Alexia was still standing by the desk. She looked at the decor of the room. \"Soryu isn\'t that smart. She can still be of use.\" She said quietly. \"I have read her file, she is emotional, once she finds out about the Evas, she will be more useful to us.\"

\"Must be the same building as Wondergirl”

Ikari nodded once more to himself. \"Jack though....is a problem....he\'s too smart....in terms of what he knows...not to mention the fact that while he IS one of the Children, he displays no sign of emotional OR psychological issues....something that is ESSENTIAL to an EVA pilot...\"

Kaji shrugged, and leaned back as the train started, carrying them towards the NERV base. \"Could be...I\'ve never been there myself, of course, so it\'s only speculation.\"

Alexia looked at Ikari. /That was not the name of the other pilot... At least not the one I met.../ She thought, her eyes still emotionless.

Asuka nodded.

Jack swallowed the tablets, and nearly choked, before slapping his chest hard. \"WHOO! Thick buggers you use over here...\"

Gendo spared her a sidelong glance, then looked back at Fuyutsuki. \"For the benefit of the child, please tell us what was the last Angel defeated?\"

\"You know something Alexia?\" Fuyutsuki asked noting her look. She shook her head. He nodded, going into the report.

Alexia listened with interest. \"So there are not many more...\"

Kaji turned on the car radio, some transmissions coming through as a J-Pop tune came on.

Gendo nodded. \"We assume there are at most ten left...however, I may be off..there may be less....even though we have one Angel in Terminal Dogma.\"

\"Something wrong, Kaji? You never listen to music.\"

He spared her a glance. \"Thought I\'d give it a try this once...to make it less quiet in here...\"

Alexia grinned. \"May I be permitted to see it?\"

She nodded.

Gendo looked at her closely. \"I\'m going down there later...you may accompany me..\"

\"Thank you, sir. I wish to see if a theory is right.\"

Rei looked down at her watch, then let out something close to a sigh. \"ikari, jack...we are going to be late..\" she said, making Shinji look up. Jack instead ran a hand through his hair, flattening some of it.

\"What does she mean? I\'m new here...\" he asked, standing up.

\"Your testing sessions.\" Kensuke said, having had memorized the schedule.

Gendo looked over at Fuyutsuki. \"Have the latest sync tests been scheduled? I want to see what progress the Children have made since the last series.\"

\"We will have them tonight.\"

Jack made a face. \"Oh...God, no...I hated those...it was so cold...\" he shivered, and rubbed at his arm again. \"But, I\'m guessing we don\'t have much say in the matter...so, lead on...someone..\"

\"Will I participate?\" Alexia asked.

Kensuke grinned. \"Touji and I can go as far as the train with you.\"

Gendo considered that. \"Perhaps...we need to see if everything is prepared....we already have the test data from Unit Three and Four for the Sixth Child...we\'ll need to see if we have yours as well.\"

Touji nodded, the swelling having gone down. \"Sure, and THEN we can see you beat the pants off that Gai...German..\" he corrected himself at the last minute. Jack nodded, and put an arm around Shinji, who went red from the contact.

\"But mine disappeared sir... During the first test. I was injured when someone attacked the compound... So they tested with the plug...\"

\"She\'s the worst kind of gaijin though. At least Jack has shown intelligence and that he\'s not trying to get everyone\'s attention.\"

Ikari stood. \"Well, we\'ll see what we can do...we do not want to risk...a Beserker...like the last time...\" He remembered quite clearly the fists of EVA-00 coming for him, wanting to rend him limb from limb...

Touji shrugged. \"Well, let\'s get goin\'...maybe we can get them there in time so they can get back EARLY..\" His eyes lit up again, and Jack sighed.

She nodded. \"I will observe from the room I was given then.\"

\"Does HE do that often?\" he asked, still half-hanging from Shinji out of dizziness as they walked outside.

Asuka moved to get out of the car as Kaji pulled up. \"Coming to watch?\"

Ikari nodded. \"Good. Now, Fuyutsuki..let\'s get to work.\"

Kensuke nodded, pushing his glasses up. \"Normally he hates being touched.\"

Kaji thought for a moment. \"Well, since I have some business inside anyway, sure. And then after you can tell me about this…\'challenge\'..\"

\"Ah...I meant Touji...\" Jack poked Shinji in the forehead. \"So, you\'re a...what\'s the word...agorophobic? You know...fear of social situations?\"

Taking that as his way of dismissing her, Alexia left the office. She paused at the door. /Mother, I am sorry I couldn\'t protect you..../ She thought touching the locket she kept hidden in her shirt.

Shinji, still slightly red, remained silent as they walked down the stairs, Rei following. \"i do not know if we will make it in time..\" she said mostly to herself.

\"They can\'t test without you right?\"

Rei shook her head. \"no..but i would rather not be late.\"

Asuka grinned, seeing she was the first one there.

Jack mock-whispered, a little high on the painkillers, \"She\'s...afraid...of Mr. Specs...right, Sonic?\" He poked Shinji, grinning.


Kensuke looked at him. \"You’re right - he does look like Sonic if you squint.\"

Shinji made a face. \"Thanks...\" he muttered, softly, getting irritated by the constant poking. It reminded him of Misato...and somehow, of his near-forgotten mother...

Touji, his arms behind his head, began to strut. \"Come on...it\'s taking us forever to get there...\" Rei silently walked behind Jack and Shinji, still put off by the strange boy.

\"Though who would that make you, Jack? Knuckles or Tails? Asuka\'s definatly Rouge. She\'s all batty.\"

Jack laughed strangely, and thought. \"I\'m no sidekick...I\'d be the Enchinda...I think Rei\'d be Tails..hee hee..tail...\"

Kaji nodded. \"Looks like they ran into trouble...so, where are we headed?\"


Kensuke squinted. \"Nope don\'t see it. She\'s too quiet most of the time.\" He smiled at her.

\"I have to suit up. Why don\'t you go to observation to watch?\"


Rei blinked, unsure of whether to be complemented, or insulted.

Kensuke smiled at her. \"It\'s a compliment. Tails is a weakling.\"

Kaji nodded, and gave her a wave as he headed off. \"I hope you do well.\"

Rei blinked again. \"i see.\"

Jack snorted. \"Come on, lil\' doggies...we got to get there in time to get my buzz off..\"

The station was just ahead of them now.

Shinji was grateful, because he\'d soon have Jack off of him, and sitting elsewhere... Jack was slowly coming down from his high, and muttering again. Rei just walked in silence. Touji was looking around, resisting the odd urge to whistle.

\"Pet...the...kitty...\" Jack droned, before slumping slightly against Shinji, who nearly buckled under the weight.

Alexia made her way down to the lower levels. She didn\'t fully trust Ikari, but she knew she needed him to protect her for now. She wasn\'t watching where she was going and crashed into someone who she knew shouldn\'t b a l a level that was off limits to all but the children and Ikari.

Kensuke moved to help carry Jack.

Kaji blinked, and looked down at her. \"Who are you?\" he asked, smiling politely. He brushed his hair away from his eyes to get a better look at her.

Shinji was grateful to have the help. \"Thanks..\" he offered, as Rei walked past them and headed to board the train. \"Looks like Ayanami\'s in a hurry…wonder why..\"

She stepped back. \"You don\'t have clearance to be down here.\" She said stepping back from him.

Kensuke shrugged. \"Probably to report in to your dad.”

Kaji smiled dismissively. \"I was here with Asuka, just now...and I was trying to find my way to the Observation area...I\'m not quite used to the layout of this place yet.\"

Shinji nodded as they got Jack up the stairs. \"I don\'t want you to get in trouble, so I can handle it from here...I guess you guys can wait up for us..\"

She looked at him. \"You wouldn\'t have been able to get off on this floor... I will have to tell Ikari there is a glitch in the computers.\"

Kensuke nodded. \"We\'ll see you soon. Come on Touji, let\'s watch the city from the hill.\"

Kaji nodded. \"Sure, that\'d be a good idea...I\'d\'ve hated to get stuck here..\"

Touji nodded, offering a wave to them as they boarded, and the train pulled out. \"Yea...let\'s get going, Ken...\"

\"Get back on the tram and get off on level 66.\"

Asuka made it to observation and didn\'t see Kaji. /He must be off giving Ikari reports again./

Alexia turned to leave. She knew that Ikari would hate finding out someone else knew about her.

Kaji nodded, and headed back. \"Thanks for the help...I guess it\'s those computers screwing up again, as always..take care, kid.\" He then left her sight, making his way back to the tram.

\"Wait..\" She turned catching up with him. \"Don\'t tell anyone you saw me.\"

Kaji nodded. \"Only if you do the same for me.\"

\"You were here for a reason weren\'t you?\" She asked looking at him, her eyes showing puzzlement.

Shinji set Jack down on a seat, where the boy fell asleep, smiling slightly, a different smile than the ones he usually wore...this one more at ease with the world. He looked to
\"So, Ayanami-san, what are we going to do about him?\"


Kaji nodded again. \"I was, but..well, some people just don\'t like me...I have no idea why..\"

\"Commander Ikari.\" Asuka said, smiling as he entered. \"Is Kaji with you?\"

\"What were you looking for? Was it something to do with the Evas?\" She asked balling her hands up. She knew enough about fighting to take him down if he was a threat to the project.

Gendo frowned slightly. \"No, he isn\'t...I didn\'t know he was on base yet...\" He gave Fuyutsuki a glance, then pushed his shades up. \"Well, he\'ll turn up here soon enough..\"

Kaji blinked. \"It\'s nothing like that...I just have some people who aren\'t fond of me in general...I assure you, the commander is not one of them...\" He held his hands up in a sign of peace.

Fuyutsuki nodded and slipped from the room. /If he\'s with the last child... I told Ikari that bringing her here would be trouble. He trusts her, but she\'s too good at hiding her emotions... Even Rei shows them now and then.../

She relaxed slightly. \"I will ride with you to the floor you need.\" She said, her emotions going back into hiding.


Kaji nodded, slower. \"Okay, fine. That\'s reasonable.\" He started walking again.

Rei remained silent, leaving Shinji to watch as Jsnorsnored softly in the seat, before slowing opening his eyes again. \"Now I feel....fuzzy...\"

She entered the elevator.

Asuka sighed. \"I told them not to be late...\"

looked over at her, and pressed a button. Then he waited.

\"You are not of NERV.\" Alexia said calmly almost reminding him of someone.

Gendo looked over the technicians. \"Status report?\"

Aoba looked over his shoulder, his long hair falling down over his shoulders. \"Everything\'s fine here, sir.\"

\"Ayanami, Ikari, and Jack are all in the transport…they\'ll be here in four minutes.\"

Gendo nodded, satisfied. \"Good...hopefully we can get started....SOON...\" He began tapping one shoe against the floor, impatient.

Fuyutsuki made it to the elevator seeing it was on the way up.

Kaji blinked. \"Well, not exactly, no...but I do some...consulting, and the like...all hush-hush stuff, you know?\"

She nodded as the door dinged.

Jack sat up, and ran his hands through his hair, yawning. \"Well, how much longer?\" he asked the other two. Rei remained silent, so Shinji sighed.

\"About two minutes, I think...\"

Kaji stuffed his hands in his pockets, and smiled as the door opened. Then he blinked. \"Well, fancy meeting you here.\"

“Kaji.\" Fuyutsuki said seeing him. He then saw Alexia, who cringed slightly. \"You were told to return to your quarters.\"

Aoba tapped a few keys, checking through the different systems. They\'d manage to get things working again, but since he was the only command center tech there, he had to make sure of that himself.

Kaji smiled to the older man. \"Don\'t be so rough on her, huh?\" He walked past him, patting his shoulder. \"It pays to be gentle, you know.\"

\"I am sorry... I did not think that escorting this man would be a problem...\"

Gendo continued tapping his foot, the sound steady and carrying through the room, like a tap dance.

\"We\'ll find out what Commander Ikari thinks. I trust you can find your way to his office, Alexia.\" Fuyutsuki motioned for Kaji to follow him.

Slowly the train pulled in, and Rei stood up, despite the last minute jarr from the brakes. Jack nearly smacked his head again, and stopped himself in time. \"Man, they need to invest in shock absorbers...\"

\"The children are here now.\"

The green-haired man gave Alexia a salute/wave, and followed after the professor, looking ahead slightly.

Alexia caught the worried look from the elder man and nodded to the salute the younger gave her before stepping into the elevator again.

Aoba let out a sigh of relief - the sound of the tapping was beginning to get on his nerves, though he\'d never admit that out loud to the Commander. \"Systems are go...awaiting the subjects..\" He tapped a few more keys as he was watched.

Rei stepped off first, followed by Shinji, then Jack, who whistled. \"Big place...so where do we head now?\"

\"What she tells Ikari is between them, but if I were you I\'d act like I didn\'t see her if I were you, Kaji.\" Fuyutsuki said after a few moments.


TBC