"Damn it!"

Smith gritted his teeth. The detector was non-directional; he couldn't get a bearing on the target without at least two others running in tandem. Not that such things mattered now, because the suspicious signature had disappeared entirely.

He looked around for a few moments, then flipped the .45's safety back on, tucked the pistol into his pants and headed back towards the cages. It was probably a false positive, he told himself, and people would start asking uncomfortable questions if he ran around with a gun like this. For now, he'd focus on the test accident, whatever it was, and keep an ear open for further alerts.

"Misato, Ritsuko, Yui, someone here, give us an answer. What the hell are these things...", Asuka weakly said. "Please...I think we're entitled."

Shinji nodded at Asuka's words as he stood by her side, wanting to support and comfort her.

He was extremely worried about how weak the girl sounded, but knew NERV would make sure the redhead was alright.

"Can one of you just please tell us just what's going on?", Shinji tiredly asked.

The boy wasn't sure just how or why he managed to regain his composure.

Perhaps it was for Asuka's sake. Or even his own.

Shinji continued, trying to keep his voice level: "If I'm going to continue Piloting one of these things, knowing just what the hell Eva is and where it's from would be nice."


(OOC: Okay, Smith-san, your turn. ;))

(I may not be able to return for another couple of days, so exit Smith stage left for now.)

"If I'm going to continue Piloting one of these things, knowing just what the hell Eva is and where it's from would be nice."

Smith would have smiled, but to do so seemed inappropriate. "A great many people would like to know those things. Most of those people are not qualified to know them. I have already learned them, and my life has been naught but trouble ever since." Sensing that he was superfluous here, he stuck his hands in his pockets and ambled towards the nearest elevator. "Someone once asked me whether, were it my choice, the truth behind everything should be revealed. Having considered the matter at length, I still find that I can't easily answer that."

He reached the elevator and jabbed a finger against the call button, glancing back over his shoulder at the Children. "The truth can set you free, but it can also confine you for the rest of your life. If you're going to seek, seek carefully." A loud ding announced the arrival of the elevator; Smith promptly stepped in and punched the button for the highest floor.

He needed to get in touch with his handler at MATOSH before things got any further out of control.

A sigh escaped Eve's lips. Safe. For now, at least. She watched Smith depart via elevator, and finally got up off the catwalk.

Her original tactic wasn't going to work. Whatever had happened with the telepathy before, it was too dangerous to try to intercept it again. Either that, or she'd picked up some...outside interference.

Brushing herself off, Eve took a breath and composed herself. She walked quickly towards the cage holding Eva-01. The sync test problems were intriguing, but the pilots themselves weren't so much of an issue, according to the higher-ups.

A giant, sentient bio-weapon...now, that was more cause for concern. Eve was now right in front of the cage, only a few feet from the edge. She kept her face impassive, official, but couldn't help being somewhat awed by the appearance of the Evangelion.

"A great many people would like to know those things. Most of those people are not qualified to know them. I have already learned them, and my life has been naught but trouble ever since."

Smith continued, his hands now in his pockets. "Someone once asked me whether, were it my choice, the truth behind everything should be revealed. Having considered the matter at length, I still find that I can't easily answer that."

How can Smith-san be so calm at a time like this?!

Shinji was dumbfounded at Smith's words. Is the Truth...really that awful for us to know? Why? I...I don't understand! WHY?

Before Shinji could even say anything, Smith had made direct eye contact with himself, Asuka, and Ayanami.

The boy wasn't able to look away even if he wanted to.

"The truth can set you free, but it can also confine you for the rest of your life. If you're going to seek, seek carefully."

With those words, Smith had calmly and quietly left in an approaching elevator.

At Smith's departure, the Third Children seriously considered visiting Eva-01's Cage to speak with his Mother. Shinji felt himself starting to lose it from the stress; not a good sign.

Yet something stopped him: Finding out Asuka's condition, and Misato-san's sudden words.

all of a sudden, Ritsuko walked into the room, with a compact disc in her hand. "We've just recieved intellegence on the S-Virus. Apparently its a lot worse then originaly thought. its spreading rapidly. we have no choice but to put he entire nation of Lichtenstein under quarantine"
random Nerv personel "what but thats impossible! Lichtenstein is simply too large. it'll take days to seal off the borders!"
Ritsuko: "Its that or let the entire European Continent fall to the S-Virus in 3 months, 21 days, 2 hours, and 17 min. We HAVE to seal off Lichtenstien!"

Meanwhile, Sachiel was having his own troubles with a subway ticket collector who mistook him for some sort of cosplaying Otaku.
"Where's your ticket?" he asked.
Sachi understood nihongo, but he couldn't speak. After all, he didn't have an actual mouth. All he did was blink.
"No ticket?"
Sachi blinked again. He turned to the nearest advertisement and began to scribble on it, in an attempt at writing.
"Stop that!" The uniformed Lilin was joined by another Lilin in a blue uniform with a cap- a police officer, Sachi recalled. What was a police officer doing here?
"Ticketless traveling, vandalizing railway property, ignoring authority...500 Yen!" The police officer began to write out a ticket.
Sachi grabbed hold of the the writing pad, trying to turn it so he could see what the policeman was writing. The enraged police officer pulled back, and a tug of war between Lilin policeman and the Angel of water ensued. The railway inspector hit Sachi hard in the mask, and an annoyed Sachi extended one of his lances, shooting a sizzling hole through the policeman's pad.

"What the?" The policeman stared at the smoking hole through the middle of his writing pad. "Who the hell are you?"
Sachi blinked and bowed, one long arm raised up, in what he had learnt was the Japanese form of apology. Rather involuntarily, his core glowed red, and he couldn't stop it from glowing no matter how hard he tried. The police officer stared dumbly at him for several seconds before something terrifying headed his way.

Seven feet to a side and wailing like a banshee, the Archangel of thunder headed the way of Sachi and the two unfortunate Lilin, who, confused and terrified, fled.
Ramiel simply stopped and paused in the middle of the otherwise empty platform, looking more like some form of decoration than a real Angel. Sachi asked, "What do I do now...where's the train?"
Ramiel said, "Wait."
A train came in soon enough, and only one or two odd people got down. Sachi walked in- he just fit through the doorway. The compartment he was in had a couple of old men and a whole lot of cute schoolgirls, but Sachi didn't really think that much about them- other than that they were interesting to observe. He sat down on a seat next to an old man reading a newspaper (the cushion sagged slightly under his weight) and twisted his torso around so he could get a good view of them. The girls were dressed differently from the adults, and all of them were dressed alike. It was called a....seira fuku?

He was interrupted by the grouchy old man next to him, who said, "Stop that breathing."
Sachiel breathed in through his thighs and out through his crotch nostril. While he was breathing out normally into the seat, the gills on his thighs kept moving and fanning the air, which made the newspaper blow. Sachi didn't know what to say or do. He picked up a newspaper that someone had left behind and spread it out in front of him so that nobody could see his core if it started glowing. He listened in to the schoolgirls talking in front of him. What they said was rather hard to follow. It was even harder to follow why Lilin talked so much. He glanced again at the dirty old man sitting next to him. One of the schoolgirls was rather close to old man, and he was extending his hand with an unusual look on his face...

Unknown to anyone, Ramiel was following the train from just behind the unoccupied second driver's cab. She saw that one of the lines branched off and looped into the Geofront. Now would be a good time to be off. She saw that Sachi was inside the train and confused, as usual. Well, he could take care of himself for the time being, right? Rami-san switched lines and charged into the Geofront. Now, she thought, is when it gets interesting..

"Su...misu-san? SMITH, wait! COME BACK!" Asuka screamed after him.

Why does he have to be evasive NOW? Come on!

She tried to stand up and follow, but she was completely unable to move.

What? Why...can't I move? Dammit...

"Shinji...can you take me home? I need to lie down. But I can't move my legs...I hate to rely on someone like you, but I can't move..."

Rami san was upto something devious inside the Geofront, Shamshel was thinking of dropping Gaghiel for a swim in the Nerv underground lake before going off and bugging someone, and Sahaquiel was still playing fool.

Sachiel, meanwhile, was stuck with a dirty old man and a whole lot of schoolgirls on a train.

*Ahem, I'll write the rest later*

Rei didn't get what the story was about or where it was going at this point so she stood around looking pretty in the background.

(OOC: Sachi really IS cute! Also: WAFF is my forte. )


"Shinji...Can you take me home? I need to lie down. But I can't move my legs...I hate to rely on someone like you, but I can't move..."

"Um...oh, okay. I'll pick you up, Asuka." Looking worried, Shinji carefully scooped Asuka in his arms.

Although she wasn't that heavy, and Shinji wasn't that strong, he was surprised at how relatively light she felt.

Asuka...She, she really DOES feel weak...How...how can I help her? What can I do...? I want to comfort her somehow, but...

As he cradled the girl in his arms, a slight blush on his face, Shinji hesitantly spoke.

"Asuka, maybe it's best if you stay at Nerv for the day. Though I want to take care of you, I really wouldn't be much help. I, I'd just be getting in the way. The doctors and Ritsuko-san need to make sure you're alright. If you can't move, it probably means you need to rest. I...I'd...be sure to visit you tomorrow though. We should both just get some rest."

Shinji—without so much as a thought—softly kissed the redhead's lips: their second kiss.

As he broke away, clearly blushing while his heart pounded, Shinji gently, lovingly, added, "Let's just get some rest. Okay, Asuka?"

When Shinji kissed her, innumerable thoughts raced through her head.

What...? Did he just...what do I say? What do I do? That baka KISSED ME? How could he do that? But...I...DAMMIT!

She lifted her head slightly to protest, but she couldn't make words. She only was able to whisper, "Thank...you..." and passed out once more.

Misato briefly glanced over at Kaji who had...for the lack of a better word been acting insane lately. "Oh...hey Kaji...listen I'm a little busy now...lets cacth up later...."

Misato broke out to a ran as she saw Asuka lying prone on the floor floor. But stopped when she saw Shinji standing over her...asking her if she was alright. A smile broke out on Misato face despite, how crappy she was feeling....and how crappy she should feel seeing as Shinji disobeyed a direct order from her, but it was a little too sweet to get angry at him for doing it. Misato stepped in right after When Shinji lightly kissed Asuka, telling her to stay at NERV for the day....although Shinji didn't mean it to be, it was the perfect cue for her.

"Thats right Asuka, we really do have to make sure everything is okay. So even if it isn't, well it can be okay." Misato said gently offering a weak smile. Misato then sharply, said off to the medic off to the side so only she could her it " Why the fuck isn't she in the medical wing right now. Hurray up and get her out of here!"

While Asuka was taken away to the medical wing as Shinji silently prayed the girl would be alright, he turned to Misato.

"Misato-san...Asuka's going to be okay, isn't she?"

Panicking, he quickly said, "Asuka will be alright, right?! So, what should I do in the meantime? I don't want anything bad to happen to her! Asuka is...She, she's important to me!"

Blushing, Shinji added, "After I kissed her...Asuka...thanked me. She never thanked me for anything before. I really care about her, so she HAS to be alright! Misato-san..."

Misato gave a quick earnest nod to Shinji. "Probably, I think we would have known by now if anything serious was wrong her health but....something may be wrong with her when it comes to the piloting the Eva."

Misato then offered a Shinji a wink and rustled his hair. " You sly dog, you really did get to first base didn't you. I would say your lucky for nabbing such a hottie, but your kinda cute yourself." Misato said as she smiled.

"Shinji, I 'll see you tonight I'm going to busy trying to find out what the hell just happened

Ritsuko, noticing that everybody was ignoring her said "fuck it, i let you mutherfuckers die" and opened the all of Nervs defences, hacked into the Magi and pulled out a gun.

(OOC:This I'll be my last post for the next few days as I'm going to be in Las Vegas for the upcoming week. I'll be around again at some point once we're settled in. I want to get my mindfuck post out of the way to get the plot moving.)



As Shinji tiredly flopped onto his bed, he sighed loudly.
He still hadn't heard any word from Misato-san, but trusted that NERV was taking care of things.

With a frown, Shinji wondered just what was going on.

First he freaked out about seeing his Mother, and now Asuka had trouble in her Eva?

I wonder...if things will get any better? *Sigh* ...Whatever.
All he wanted right now was to REST.

Making a mental note to visit Asuka in the hospital tomorrow after school,
With a loud, tired, sigh, Shinji tightly closed his eyes.

******

Getting to school early that day, Shinji was somewhat upset that Misato-san still hadn't replied. But he assumed the woman was just busy pulling another all-nighter.

Sitting down, Shinji rummaged through his desk until he suddenly jerked back. "Eh?! What are you...Why are you...?! I, I'm sorry, I don't KNOW where your Mother is! I don't know anything! Ju...Just please, leave me alone! Ah-ha!"

Pain and fear burst through Shinji's body. That was all he felt from the Angel Ireul.

"U....uwa....UWAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Asuka!", Shinji cried, in disbelief the girl was still at the hospital. "Asuka!! Ayanami! Oh, God, somebody, make it stop! Please! Take me to Nerv! HELP!"

With those words, Shinji fell onto the floor, twitching.

Sachiel was watching. He had no idea why the old man was touching the girl's skirt in that odd sort of way. Something about it was just...icky.

He turned to the girl. She was about core-height for him, and with short brown hair. Hair, he knew, was a special feature that belonged to Lilin alone. Lilin girls had hair that came in all possible lengths and styles. How did Lilin get their hair in so many different styles if they couldn't use their A.T. Fields?

Sachi was interrupted by a low chuckle. The old man grinned as he touched the girl again. This time, the girl seemed to notice. She whirled around, her cheeks red. The old man was behind her, reading his newspaper. Sachi twisted his torso around, looking between the old man and the girl. Why was he doing all this?

The girl asked, "Excuse me, sir, did you touch me?"
"Hmm?" The old man looked up. "Yes?"
The girl said, "Sorry." and turned away again, still flushed. Instead of touching this girl, the dirty old man touched another girl, this one to her right- in front of Sachi.
"Eek! Someone touched me!" The other girl turned to Sachi. "You did it!"
Sachi blinked. Of course he had not done it. It was the dirty old man all along. He tried to indicate him by turning his torso around, but the short-haired girl said, "I don't think so."
The old man suddenly got angry, shouting. "Don't you girls have any manners? In my time, girls didn't dare speak in the presence of an elder! Modern day girls have no shame!"
Sachi jumped up and bumped the top of his frame (No head, only a shoulder extension over the face region) on the subway car, making everyone squeal in fright. Sachiel did not like sudden shouting or scolding. Anger made him upset. Why were Lilin- like that policeman and the ticket man, so angry all the time?

The old man gave a wierd look at Sachiel before turning to the girls. "If I were you I would watch my words, young lady. Would you believe an Otaku over me?"
Otaku? Sachiel blinked. Sachiel bent down and delicately picked up his fallen newspaper and used it to hide his core again, because he had the feeling it would glow right when he didn't want it to.
"Mana, please..." one of the other girls said. The girl named Mana turned to Sachi. "Did you do anything?"
The girl seemed to be angry with him now, for nothing. Sachi stuffed his newspaper in front of his core and turned his mask one side to another. Would that do as a no? He didn't have head to turn.
"I take that as a no. And you, sir, say you did nothing at all. One of you has to be the culprit. Who?"
Sachi turned and walked away, newspaper on core.
"He's the culprit! He's walking away!" The old man took his chance.
Sachi froze. Being blamed for something was worse than being in the middle of a fight. He dropped the newspaper and turned around, long arms drooping, face low. He tried to raise his hand as an apology...should he apologize? He blinked again. He had no idea what to do. And he didn't have a mouth to talk. He had seen the dirty old man touch the girls...hadn't he?

"This guy...is wierd." one of the other girls said. A dark-skinned boy turned up.
"Mana?" he asked.
"Musashi, we have a problem." Mana was about to tell Musashi the problem when the next station arrived. The old man had arisen and was moving towards the door- when he touched another girl-
Sachiel let out a sudden squeak- the kind of noise his muscles made in a sudden expansion, the equivalent to a Lilin gasp. Mana shouted, "Him!"
Musashi tried grabbing him, but the dirty old man pushed him hard, and he fell on his butt. Sachi extended and arm and grabbed the old man and pulled him back hard. Mana pressed the "Door close" switch and shut the door on the dirty man, still being held back by Sachi.

"This is for you!" Mana smacked him in the face.
"And this!"
"And this!"
"And a kick to the shin, for pushing me!"
Sachi held on to the dirty old man as the schoolgirls beat him up- all schoolgirls but one.
"..."
"What's the matter with you?" Musashi asked.
"His...his arms..."
Everyone turned and saw that one arm was suddenly bulkier and stouter than the other- the arm that had grabbed the dirty man and held him.
"He's, he's...."
The scream was unanimous.
"AN ANGEL, RUN!!!"

Everyone panicked and ran. All except Mana, who was looking at Sachi with a wierd expression on her face. She didn't seem afraid. More like confused.
"An Angel?"
Sachi tried to apologize again.
"Do you want to kill us all?" She was starting to get really afraid.
Sachi shook his face.
"No...you know what I'm saying, right...? Oh, I'll write it."
She scribbled on a notebook. "Do you mean to hurt us?"
Mana gave Sachi a marker. "Here...you can hold this better."
Sachi wrote in big letters N-O.
"Are you an Angel?"
Y-E-S .
"Why are you here?"
I D-O-N-T K-N-O-W.
"What do you want?"
W-A-N-T T-O K-N-O-W
"Okay, let me see... ah, this!"
"Do you want to be my friend?"
Mana actually blushed as she wrote it. Sachi's core glowed a deep, deep red when he saw what she'd written. His reply was as simple as ever. Y-E-S.
She threw her arms around Sachiel's spindly waist, her face next to his core.
"You're warm...what do I call you?"
"I'm Sachi." He thought.
"Sachi." She said. "I'll call you Sachi."
"Huh?" Sachiel wondered. "How did she understand?"
"Come with me, Sachi...you're interesting for an Angel."
"I am?"
"Yes."
Sachiel began to wonder how a Lilin could possibly understand an Angel without even talking...but he decided to follow Mana.


(Arael had his Hallelujah ray and Rei could actually sense Shinji calling her in EoE, but maybe there's something Angelic in Mana? After all, she isn't half as afraid...could we chalk it up to something rather strange...something that's been going on recently? Something in her that's changed? I'd love it if I could get one of the characters to ask Mana, "Hey, you've changed" or something like that. )

Leliel floated over the streets of Tokyo-3.

After the last Eva deployment -- and the resulting political drama -- Leliel had taken to wandering about the city in an attempt to learn the Lilin language. This venture met with only limited success. However, she had learned to imitate the sound of a human voice and her three favorite kanji -- 'East', 'Down' and 'Stop', all of which she learned from roadsigns -- where visible on her pseudosphere. She also added a pair of cartoonish eyes, though these and the kanji appeared somewhat distorted. The complex wave functions that described the black and white pattern on her pseudosphere didn't mesh very well with Lilin glyphs, so she had to compromise.

Today had been spent mostly picking up (for lack of better phrasing) trash and other small objects she could find and storing them in her Dirac Sea. This was not done out of courtesy, but curiosity. Hands were a novelty to the Angel of Night and any artifact designed to be used by them piqued her interest. However, finding such items proved to be difficult, considering how clean the city was kept.

There's hardly anything interesting around here. Hmm... Sachiel has hands, maybe he knows where to find some interesting artifacts... But his hands aren't quite the same as Lilin hands. Wait, I know! Yui-sama has Lilin hands! I can ask her. But she's somewhere underground.

She floated up to one of the skyscrapers.

I know these go underground, but... I hope the city won't get mad at me for using them.

Leliel's pseudosphere disappeared as her body slid down the edge of the building and into the geofront.

* * *

Presently, Leliel found herself in reduced proportions, somewhere in the administrative wing of NERV HQ, gleefully absorbing a smörgåsbord of items. Pencils, pens, buckets, waste baskets, stray leaves of paper, Post-it notes, toilet paper rolls, a broom, and an all-Rush-mix CD.

What's this? A door?
I wonder what's inside?
What's this?
These markings read 'SUPPLIES'...
There's more!
The empty space inside of me is filling up.
I simply cannot get enough!
I WANT IT! OH, I WANT IT!
Oh, I want it for my own!
I've got to know! I've got to know!
What is this place that I have found?
WHAT-
IS-
THIS?!

*ding*

Leliel arrived before the opening doors of the Pink Elevator of Doom.

why does Shinji have to hate rain...