Evangelion Ressurection: Hell on Earth

Author\'s note- Thank you to everyone who left me a review.

Dinner consisted of ramen at a noodle cart, the Three Stooges reunited, and telling stories about the last couple of years. Already Kensuke and Toji had welcomed Shinji back with open arms, and they had managed to renew their friendship right where it left off. To Shinji though it actually hurt for them to be this close, because he didn\'t plan on staying more than a month or two, he\'d hidden that from Misato too. He found that he was happy on the road, where he didn\'t know people in much more than passing terms.

\"Hey c\'mon Kensuke, when are you actually going to pop the question to Ayanami?\"

Kensuke Aida choked momentarily on the ramen he was eating, managing to pull himself together before it became a full on couldn\'t breathe choking. He looked dangerously at Toji before he shrugged with a laugh, \"Don\'t know.. I mean we\'ve gotten pretty serious lately. She was just telling me the other day..\"

\"What a minute Kensuke, Ayanami is actually talking now?\"

\"Yeah Shinji, she\'s really opened up in the last year or so. Just last month we went on a sightseeing tour..\" He lowered his voice to a whisper and leaned close so that only Shinji could hear him, \"And information gathering session for SOUL.\" He straightened out again, Toji already knew about them gathering information, \"And she was a variatable fact book on the ships in the harbor. She knew the history of the ships, was able to tell me exact tonnage, and told me things that I didn\'t even know! Not only that but she was the one that noticed an aircraft carrier was sitting lower in the water than it should have even if it had a full fighter compliment. She probably knew more about military equipment than I do!\"

Quietly Shinji cleared his throat and looked away, unable to tell Kensuke that Rei had been, or could possibly have been classified military equipment some time ago. Shinji looked suddenly like he\'d forgotten something and pulled out an envelope from his interior jacket pocket. He slid the envelope to Kensuke and sipped down some tea, \"I\'d been camping out on the bluff a about a month ago over looking Yokosuka, security seemed really tight down there but not a distance away. I took a few pictures that night because I\'d decided to come back and I thought you would like a few pictures like this Kensuke. But this one..\" He pointed at the picture that Kensuke was currently looking at, \"I can\'t place why but it seemed odd from the others, other than being a different aircraft carrier design. Kensuke your the expert on military proceedures and equipment, tell me what\'s so different?\"

Kensuke looked at the picture and slid it under the light, he couldn\'t see anything odd at all about the picture at first. Then he realized Shinji said it had been taken at night and things started to make sense. He slapped the picture down and pointed at the aircraft carrier, pointing more specifically at the planes on deck, \"About the only time the planes have wings unfolded on deck is in case of a scramble. Why would they have to have all the planes on deck with wings unfolded when in port?\" He looked at the owner of the noodle cart at a clear glass on the wall and pointed, \"Excuse me sir, can I borrow that glass for a moment?\" The vendor looked at the glass, and then handed it over to Kensuke without thinking.

Setting the glass on the photo he leaned in looking through the bottom at the magnification effect brought on by the glass. He pointed, \"I can even see pilots sitting in some planes, and instrument illumination on the cockpit glass of others. They were ready to scramble that\'s for sure, but for what..\" Kensuke went quiet for a moment, shifting his glasses up on his nose as he looked at the picture again before he got some sudden inspiration, \"The base is all lit up too! They had be be receiving a shipment but you said nothing else seemed out of place.\"

Shinji nodded a little bit and motioned for him to continue going through the stack, \"I also took a couple with an enhanced night vision camera. Figured the night vision might catch your interest. I spent a lot of time taking pictures while I was wandering.\"

Kensuke had gone to the night vision camera picture, and looked at it for a few moments before he took a sharp intake of breath and pointed to something through the glass before glancing up to Shinji and Toji, \"I think the three of use need to get to work, and I mean as soon as possible.\"

Shinji looked confused at the comment that Kensuke had made, about getting to work. Toji on the other hand took the meaning and nodded, \"Yeah, Misato and Akagi will really chew our asses out if we don\'t tell them you we found something.\" The three rose from the noodle cart, and Shinji tossed down enough yen to pay for their meal before looking at the other two. He had an idea of what they must mean, because SOUL wasn\'t an official government agency, and had possession of four Evas if the government found out things would not be good.

He needed answers to his question and tried to think about how to word everything without directly asking the question, and without it sounding out of place in every day speech. For nearly five minutes he walked with the other two, and they remained silent along with him but finally he had worded things how he wanted them to be spoken, \"So, work is the soul of the outcasts?\"

Kensuke looked at Shinji as if the black haired man had grown a second head, while Toji couldn\'t help but laugh. He understood the meaning after Shinji had said it, and bobbed his head, \"Yeah, the outcasts that feel put off by what the people at the top think. It\'s the way of the beast they say, stay hidden without letting your presence be known until the last moment.\"

Kensuke suddenly turned and slapped Shinji on the shoulder leaning in to ask him a question in a low but rather serious tone, \"Have you two completely lost it? You\'re both talking nonsense.\" By the tone of his voice Kensuke showed his complete misunderstanding of their sentences, just what could Shinji mean by it he had no clue.

Shinji laughed as they came up to a nearby set of stairs that led down into a subway station of Tokyo 3. Toji took the lead down the stairs, taking them carefully with his crutches as Shinji spoke back in a whisper to Kensuke, \"I kinda figured that because SOUL isn\'t affiliated with the government that you two meant headquarters when you said work. Toji understood me, and just acknowledged it, and to anyone it sounds like passing conversation. The beast he talked is the Eva. Work means SOUL, and outcastes are everyone that wasn\'t pleased with the decision to destroy the Evas.\"

While Kensuke purchased the tickets, Shinji glanced about at the almost deserted subway station before making an attempt to strike up conversation with Toji in a quiet tone, \"So what exactly were Rei and Kensuke supposed to be on a sightseeing tour for? Anything in particular or just in general?\"

Toji looked to Shinji before he managed a slight nod, Shinji might just make it after all in SOUL if he could keep up this type of thinking, that it had to be kept hushed, \"They were looking for the successor to the beast. We\'d been hearing that things changed in Japan, and that incident involving a nuclear reactor, you, and Misato a few years ago had been upgraded and changed.\"

Shinji was bewildered, an incident with a nuclear reactor, Misato and himself? He pressed his memory trying to figure out the meaning of it. Obviously with him and Misato involved it meant the Eva was too, then it hit him the Jet Alone test. He nodded as he understood the words, the Japanese government had green lighted the Jet Alone project, and they were going full steam ahead trying to redesign the robot which had for a time threatened to overtake the Evas, \"So the solitary plane is thought to be on the aircraft carrier?\"

By that time Kensuke had arrived and looked lost again, they were already shifted into hidden conversation and he wasn\'t about to try and pick up on what was being said. Instead he checked his watch, the train was on time and would be there in seconds. Toji only nodded to Shinji\'s words, and moved closer to the white line as the train came rumbling into the station. Immediately the trio boarded the train, and it was empty for the most part. They moved to a car where no one was sitting inside and dropped into seats.

Kensuke was the first one to break the silence they sat in as the train began to head out of the station, \"So just what the hell were you guys talking about back there? And why don\'t I get what you\'re talking about?\"

\"We were talking about why you and Rei went to Yokosuka, looking for what\'s now the Eva\'s replacement. And that we thought the Jet Alone was on the Aircraft carrier. Right Shinji?\"

\"Yeah.\"

\"Well for your information Toji, Shinji.. the Jet alone isn\'t on the Aircraft carrier, at least it wasn\'t when this picture was taken. It was taken three days before the pictures Rei and I took, according to the date and time stamp on the corner. Shinji got pictures of the Jet Alone being transferred that night, without realizing it. And I\'m surprised they would try to transfer it in such a way as this.\"

Shinji and Toji both looked at Kensuke in surprise, and it was Shinji that beat Kensuke to the point, \"Just how the hell were you able to get that from the pictures I showed you Kensuke?\"

Kensuke pointed not to the ship but to a section of water of to the side of the aircraft carrier and puffed out his chest, almost as if it should be evident what he\'d seen. Shinji and Toji both looked at the picture and shook their head wondering just what Kensuke was pointing out. The looks on their confused faces caused Kensuke to visibly deflate as he explained it to them, \"You can only see it in the night vision picture, but there\'s actually a tube sticking out of the water somewhere around this area. A submarine periscope is my guess. They dropped the Jet Alone into the harbor by way of a submarine passing underneath the Aircraft carrier. It\'s probably in a water tight capsule with air balloons that can be inflated by remote control. Cause it to surface, and then from there they could recover it onto the lower flight deck and keep it there. Shinji, you\'ve brought us gold information that even Rei and I couldn\'t get.\"

\"Uhh yeah you\'re welcome Kensuke.\"

\"Shinji, I have to say I\'m kinda touched though that you thought of taking pictures of an aircraft carrier for me. Thanks.\"

\"No problem Kensuke. When will we be arriving?\"

As if the train had read his mind a speaker box came to life, announcing arrival at the Geofront subway terminal, and undercity. Shinji looked at Toji and Kensuke, \"The undercity?\"

\"Oh yeah, you haven\'t been here, I assumed you knew that the Geofront was now being used as an additional city space.\"

\"It\'s okay Toji, but I have to ask.. do cellular phones work down here being so far from towers?\"

\"Nope, why do you ask?\"

\"I wanted to call Misato and let her know I wouldn\'t be back until late tonight.\"

Kensuke was busy looking out the window of the train, and suddenly pressed his face against the glass and waved. \"No need Shinji. Misato\'s in the station, and it looks like Asuka is with her!\"

\"Shit I need to get out of here!\"

Shinji froze in place, he wasn\'t planning on this and immediately rose to walk towards another car, calling back over his shoulder, \"I\'m not looking to run into Asuka just yet, I\'ll meet you at work. Just try not to let Asuka know you\'ve seen me!\"

Shinji was gone from the car as the two looked to one another in confusion, Shinji was back and wasn\'t looking to run into her yet? The two just shrugged and waited at the door, and had just stepped out when Asuka stood hands on her hips a pair of shopping bags sitting on the cement floor next to her, \"Where the hell is Shinji?! I know he\'s gotta be with you two, the first people he would contact after Misato is two of the three stooges!\"

Kensuke was sweating and looked about ready to spill the beans, when Toji stepped forward verbally to deflect the question, \"Haven\'t seen him, he called earlier but that was all. More importantly, Misato it looks like Rei and Kensuke\'s trip a few weeks back wasn\'t without reason.\"

Asuka huffed and crossed her arms before turning her back to Toji and concentrated on Kensuke, stepping forward with a sly grin on her face, \"Come on Kensuke, you know where Shinji is.. tell me, please? I\'ll make it worth your while...\"

\"Huh? The only thing you could do to make it worth my while Asuka is by telling me you would dress up in a camoflage bikini and let me take pictures. Besides, I.. uh.. I have no idea.\" Kensuke\'s face looked distant after that suggestion he\'d made to Asuka, he was already day dreaming about putting that idea together in the future.

\"Sheissekopf, don\'t go getting any perverted ideas like that! And I know you\'re lying.. What would Ayanami say if she knew you imagined me in a bikini?\"

\"Asuka, leave Kensuke alone and let\'s get to work. We\'ve got a long night ahead of us.\"

\"Not you too Misato!\"

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As soon as Shinji had left the car that the three stooges had inhabited he bumped into a man dressed in a business suit and carrying a brief case. Shinji\'s eyes were drawn to the man\'s head, and instantly he couldn\'t help but smile, \"Sorry about that sir. I must say though, that\'s a nice hat you have there.\"

\"Thanks.\"

\"Would you mind selling it for 2500 yen?\"

\"I should think not, I paid 4000 yen for it just yesterday.\"

\"Alright, 4500 yen then?\"

\"I suppose I could part with it for that.\"

Shinji reached into his wallet and thought about how he hadn\'t been looking to spend that much yen on a hat, but it was worth it to him if Asuka didn\'t see him before he was ready. He decided on an even five thousand yen and the man handed over the bowler style hat. Shinji plopped it on his head and lowered it as he moved quickly out the doors of the subway train. Hands tucked in his pocket he looked at the quartet just five meters away from him, then moved off glad that Asuka had turned her back to him and Kensuke.

----------------

Within twenty minutes Shinji had arrived at Central dogma and was leaning against the wall a cigarette tucked between his fingers, and holding a conversation about the topside weather that night with a man who was standing by the building.

It must have been a common enough sight to see people in the undercity, because the group except for Kensuke didn\'t even bother looking. Misato saw Kensuke looking off and followed the gaze before she saw Shinji and started handing out orders to the other three, \"Kensuke, I want you to show that picture to Ritsuko and then head over to the cage. If what you found is right, I think they might be making a move soon. They have some information that we don\'t. Toji you give Ritsuko help as normal, and Asuka head up to the cage and suit up. Yokosuka is too close for this thing to be, I think it could be they\'re planning on using it soon. Just yesterday the aircraft carrier, Murasame, took up post a mile off shore closest to Tokyo 3.\"

All three of them bobbed their head and moved through the doorway into the building and Misato moved over to Shinji holding out a card, \"And you I want you down there with Kensuke and Toji for now. Seeing as how this is sooner than we had planned on it, Ritsuko will probably have Maya running a synch test as soon as possible, probably tonight. I got ahold of her while Asuka was trying outfits on, and she said she would keep it all quiet. Here\'s your card to get past security. It\'ll get you into all areas.\"

\"Alright Misato, thanks for everything.\"

Shinji looked at the card, a black and white card that had a picture of the Lance of Loginus on it, with a caption below that read, If God loved man why try to kill them with Angels? Shinji bowed and followed Misato through the doorway. Sliding his card through a reader terminal before the door opened and he went inside, and back into a life he had almost forgotten, wishing he could forget it again.