Title: Above All Else Author: Psilanthropy Chapter:02 -- The Unsure Times Agent Horaki Hikari sat behind her desk, which was currently covered by numerous stacks of paperwork. She didn't mind these kinds of things so much anymore, but she heavily favored field work. Pushing some stray hairs aside, Horaki continued her reports on Watanabe Kunihirou and Soryu Megumi. Of course NERV had copious amounts of information on the half-sister of Soryu Asuka Langley, former pilot of Evangelion Unit 02. Since she had the same father as the former Second Children, there was a possibility of making synchronization possible. NERV's commander had waited a long time for that girl to live her life, to mature. The mistakes of the original Children were avoidable by such actions. With a healthy psyche and firm mindset that comes with age, it was assumed that harmonics readings would improve, as well as the stability of the EVA itself. That boy, though, was another story. Even though NERV had began watching him as soon as he moved to Tokyo, very little was known. It had been determined that the information with which he applied for school was false to an extent. Once it was determined that he would be involved with Soryu Megumi, Commander Ikari had ordered Watanabe to be passively observed, with no intrusions. At the time he wasn't of any concern to the project. Consequently, not much useful information had been uncovered. However, that was all about to change. Hikari got excited just thinking about it. The years of work and patience would finally pay off. Things had never been easy after the day the Angels began to attack, but maybe things would change soon. If the things the commander said were true, things would get better. But things would get especially better after she got some sleep. -- Two NERV Intelligence agents sat outside the apartment complex at which Watanabe Kunihirou lived. They watched patiently, just as they always did. The children had gone inside the complex ten hours ago and had not yet returned. The agents did not expect them to wake up until after their shift was over, but nonetheless they waited. What they did expect was a checkup call from their superior, Agent Horaki. The entire section thought she was an odd choice for the head of Section 2, but the commander had personally chosen her. Then again, she had been around NERV for many years, in one way or another involved with the original pilots or directly with NERV. It was a warm and sunny afternoon, but the blinds remained closed at Watanabe's apartment. The agents received a call from Horaki an hour later, as expected. They were ordered to leave, as expected. Remote monitoring would begin once their shift was over. The men left quickly. Both of them were anxious for the process to begin. -- Kunihirou awoke to the sound of running water. He groggily assumed that Megumi was taking a bath, and he noticed that the sunlight no longer tried to push its way into his room. Kuni slowly got out of bed and walked to his mirror. He looked horrible, in his opinion. His black hair was matted in odd areas and felt stiff: he had forgotten to wash the gel out of his hair. He also realized that he had forgotten to remove his contact lenses. He promptly removed them and placed them in cleaning solution. They were not to correct his vision; he simply wore them to change his eye color. His natural eyes, the dark blue orbs that were as deep as they were tired, stared back at him now. He pulled on his black jeans and threw on a random t-shirt that he picked up off the floor. Walking out of his door, he wondered if Megumi had a change of clothes. At their last encounter he had returned most of the clothes which she had left at his old apartment, but when he moved, he found more. They were all kept in the dresser in his spare room. Watanabe walked quietly out into his small kitchen and flipped on a light. He was temporarily blinded, but he found his cell phone buzzing when his sight returned. There were a few voice mails and even a couple video mails left, all from the girls he was supposed to race the previous night. He erased them without a second thought. As he heated up some tea, he noticed Megumi's purse sitting on the counter. Her cell phone was sticking out of the top, buzzing just as his had been. Kunihirou looked around cautiously, the sound of running water still audible. He knew she would notice if he moved it, so he tilted his head to look straight at the small screen. It said there was a message from "Schwester." What did that mean? Kuni's eyebrows furrowed. Suddenly he heard the door to his bathroom slide open. His head snapped up and turn as he looked down the hallway. Megumi's head was sticking out the door, her wet hair dripping down onto the carpet. "Do you have any clean towels?" she asked in a monotone voice. He nodded and pointed to a smaller door directly across from the bathroom. "They're in that closet." She frowned. "Get it for me! I'm not going to walk out of here naked!" He sighed and got her a towel from the closet, as ordered. "You talk like it's something I haven't seen before," he said sarcastically as he handed it to her. He watched as her eyes burned into his own, her visible fist clenched tightly around the towel. She disappeared back into the bathroom and slammed the door closed. "If you want clean clothes, there are some in that dresser. I found them after I moved," he explained in a louder voice. He was sure she would draw the wrong conclusions from it if he didn't explain why he still had her old clothes. As he sat down to sip some of the tea, he was perturbed again by the fact that she was back in his life. Her attitude hadn't changed much since then, and she was still very pretty. He couldn't deny that fact. He wasn't physically attracted to her despite that, but he did have the urge to make things right. Their breakup had taken months to be completely finished, and it wasn't easy for him. He was lonely at heart; he always had been. Megumi had been someone who filled that void for him, and when they could no longer tolerate each other, his dream was over. For weeks he wondered if he had made a mistake. He wondered if she would accept him if he tried to go back, but he didn't think she would. Kuni saw her occasionally at school but never initiated contact. After a few weeks, she appeared at his apartment door. She was upset, and he understood why. He'd been to the movies the night before with another girl. By chance another classmate had seen them, and the news spread through the grapevine. Megumi had simply slapped him and walked off. Kuni yelled at her as she walked, angry that she believed such gossip. When she drove away, he tore apart all the pictures of her in his apartment, putting them with his burnable trash. He gathered the clothes that belonged to her and shipped them to her house. Only a couple days later, he moved to Tokyo. He worked hard over the summer break to rid himself of her, totally. And until the prior night, he had done so. But now she was in his apartment, and he didn't know what to do. He didn't feel like he could treat her coldly, and he knew he couldn't pretend she wasn't there. Things were already past that point. His eyes widened just a little when Megumi walked out of the bathroom, the towel wrapped around her body, ending his reminiscence. "Stop staring! Remember what you said?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips. She raised a single eyebrow and tilted her head to the left. Kunihirou couldn't help but smile just a tiny smile. "Megumi... I've missed you." Her head straightened and her arms fell limply to her sides, but her face was the most surprised. Kuni expected her to run into his arms, and things would be how they used to be. For just a second, she thought she would do just that. However, her eyes began to tear up. She held back the tears as she ran into her room, quickly sliding the door closed behind her. Kunihirou stood in confused shock at what had just transpired. -- On the outside the city was still a busy place. People were rushing to dinners and dates, driving or walking or taking the train. Tokyo knew what events had occurred on that soil. The older people remembered the attack of fifteen Angels on New Tokyo-3, and the younger learned about it in school. The Evangelion robots were common knowledge, but these events were largely tied to the Second Impact. Most people recognized the names of Soryu, Ikari, and Ayanami, the three pilots who had faced such horrible monsters. However, those people had not been seen in many years by the public. Whether they were in hiding or simply went about their business under the radar, no one knew, and no one really cared. Their world was at peace. NERV had ceased to exist in 2017 when the government cut all funding and personnel from the pointless operation. For years the Geofront had been silent, visited only occasionally by scientists. The two Evangelions had been locked in their cages and shut down. The entry plugs were all destroyed at the request of Fuyutsuki Kozo in 2020. A small portion of the staff stayed with the Vice Commander as he rallied private investors for capital to continue the research of EVA-based biomaterials for medical use. The third branch at Germany reverted to the private organization Gerhirn. However, everything had changed in 2025, ten years after the Angel's attacks. Ikari Gendo appeared before a special United Nations committee. NERV's Geofront branch had been reopened only a year later, totally remanned and operational. Most of the original staff had gone away with its pilots, but replacements were found for most of the open positions. -- Monday morning was very hard on Watanabe. Returning to school was never something he enjoyed doing, but recent events had caused him to lose a lot of sleep over the weekend. Megumi was still at his apartment, but they hadn't spoken since Saturday evening. Indeed, she had remained in her room the entire time. Kuni had tried to extend a peace offering by leaving food in front of her door, and he always found it missing later on. Kunihirou left quietly, assuming that Megumi was still asleep. When he pulled up in front of Ienari's house, Fuugo was waiting, as usual. "Hey, what's up?" the other boy asked as he got into the Nissan. He was dismayed found his friend in much the same state that he had last seen him. His eyes were quiet, and the bags under his eyes pointed towards a sleepless night. "Not too much," Kuni said quietly, taking off. At that point both men were unsure of how to continue. Kuni wanted to explain to his friend what was going on, yet it was so stupid and complicated. "Fuugo, I-" "No, it's OK, you don't need to explain anything. It's none of my business what goes on in your personal life... I mean, well you know... It's OK if you don't want to tell me." He understood how uncomfortable Kunihirou was. "Thank you." Once at school Fuugo made small talk with some of his other friends, and Watanabe sat alone, quiet. Most of the class noticed this, but no one wanted to chance a question. They were intimidated by him because of stupid rumors. One person who was not swayed by such rumors was Ienari Chizuri, the class rep. She stomped over to Kunihirou's desk as soon as she was done talking with her friends. "Watanabe-san, you were supposed to clean the room last Friday!" she yelled, gathering the attention of the entire class. "Where were you?" He looked up at her and made no response. Of course, this only infuriated her more. "You're just going to sit there?! I think it would be appropriate for you to stand on the fence today! I think the teacher will agree." Kunihirou was in no mood to argue, so he simply nodded and put his head back down on his desk. "What nerve! Watanabe-san is a shining example to you all! This is what happens when you cease to care about your classroom and your studies!" When the teacher finally did walk in, he agreed on the punishment. "However, before you step outside, Watanabe-san, we have another new student in class 4-A. Miss?" The teacher gestured to the transfer student standing outside. Murmurs ran through the class as the girl walked in. "Good morning." Her voice was quiet, barely making it to the back of the room. The sound was very smooth, but emotionless. It beckoned Kuni from his rest, and his eyes fixed on the transfer student. She was a little shorter than Megumi, but that was where any similarity ended. Her hair was a light blue and cut relatively short, but what caught Kuni's full attention was her eyes. They were red, blood red. He had never seen someone with red eyes, and he assumed they were contacts like his. But those eyes seemed somehow familiar to him... She wrote her name on the chalk board slowly but boldly. "My name is Ayanami Rei. It will be a pleasure to study with you all," she said dryly. Kuni suddenly cursed himself for reserving the only empty desk as the one in front of him as "personal space." "Ayanami-san, you can sit in front of Watanabe-san, who will now be leaving us to serve his punishment." Her eyes gazed towards Kuni, where the teacher was pointing, and they made eye contact for just a second before Kuni broke it. He felt uneasy as she sat down in front of him, so he left quickly to find the fence and two buckets full of water. -- After standing outside for two hours with two buckets full of water, Kunihirou's muscles burned. At first he had tried to think of nothing, tried to clear his mind, but he failed. Too much was going on around him. All of a sudden his simple life was a complicated mess again. Soryu Megumi had appeared again, changed very little yet different. He had decided to try and embrace her, to be her friend, but it seemed to him like she had totally rejected that idea. Indeed, he halfways expected her to be gone when he got home from school. Fuugo, his only friend, had been totally confused by this change of pace. Kuni felt bad about it but nothing could be done. She was like a storm; you don't get in the way, just run for cover. The new transfer student also bothered him. Ayanami Rei. The name seemed familiar to him, and she also looked familiar. Was she related to the pilot of the doomed EVA-00 from those old days? He could not place her, no matter how hard he tried. -- Far under where Kunihirou stood, the Commander of NERV also stood. He overlooked the Geofront, bathed in the orange artificial sunlight just as it had so many years ago. Ikari Gendo was an older man now, almost the same age that his former Vice Commander had been during the Angel attacks. He closed his eyes and remembered those days. So long ago... They were almost like a dream now. He smiled just a little. "Of course, the Third Impact was little more than a dream for us all," he thought to himself. He heard a beeping from behind him, an incoming message. Ikari pressed a button on his desk. "Yes?" A small hologram appeared above his desk. It was from the third lab, where reactivation of Unit 02 was scheduled to occur. The chief science officer and head of E-Project, Doctor Ibuki Maya, was sending the message. "Sir, we've finished with the removal of all cryostasis processes and system reboots are all green." "Excellent." "Yes. We encountered some abnormalities with certain parts that had been regenerated recently, but they will all be corrected shortly. It should be compatible with the new S-Type equipment as well as the improved B-Type. Personality patterns completely match the last recordings." "That is good news. Synchronization will be possible then, with the list of candidates you were given?" "I believe so." Ikari nodded stiffly. His neck was giving him problems, as it did almost every day. He had aged hard, his hair almost completely gray now. His beard had disappeared long ago, along with his glasses. However, age had been good to the doctor, who looked not a day over 30. Her eyes shown her true age, and she almost always looked tired, much like her predecessor. "That's all I have to report." "Good work, Doctor. Keep me informed." She bowed slightly before disappearing into the solitudes. "Yui, you will be back in my arms soon. I've waited so long... But it is all worthwhile." -- The NERV cafeteria was bustling with activity, as it usually did at lunch time. The food wasn't extraordinarily great, but the cuisine was decent enough to be good, especially since it was free. It was much like a school's cafeteria, with the separate groups sitting together. Agent Horaki wasn't keen on the food, but she never had time to cook her own food anymore. She looked in the usual location to find her friends. "What's up, guys?" she asked cheerfully as she sat down. "Ah, things are so-so," a strong-looking man said. She smiled at him, her best friend, Lieutenant Suzuhara Touji, who happened to be the head of the Operations Division. "The development of that stupid S-Type equipment is going a lot better now, but the Commander's got us working overtime on the construction of the new Progressive knives." "Yea, I understand. We've been so busy watching those kids that are supposed to pilot the EVAs... I haven't slept in almost three days!" she sighed. "That's nothing," a second man said between mouthfuls. He was a little portly, but he was one of the smartest people either Suzuhara or Horaki had ever known. "We've been working nonstop for days on the reconstruction of Unit 00, let alone Unit 02! That thing was a complete disaster!" complained Aida Kensuke, assistant to Doctor Ibuki. "When are those damned kids supposed to be ready to pilot, huh?" "Well, they introduced Ayanami to the 4-A class today," Touji said quietly. The three of them remained silent for a little while. They had watched that young girl grow up, but she was so strange. In fact not one of them had talked to her once outside of orders. "What about Soryu?" "She has been brought here, but I don't like having to deceive her about such a sensitive subject as an ex-boyfriend," she said, venom apparent in her tone. Touji looked up to find her looking straight at him. He held up both his hands. "Hey, I only suggested it. How was I supposed to know the commander would choose that particular suggestion as the plan of action?" he asked defensively. "It's my job to give options." "It's not nice to play with a girl's heart," Aida stated, careful to avoid eye contact with his two counterparts. He loved bringing this subject up, as it always brought a blush to Touji's face. The three of them knew each other pretty well. "Don't try to start trouble, Aida-kun!" Hikari yelled. Kensuke started laughing when he noticed that Hikari was blushing as well. Ever since they had attending secondary school here, Hikari and Touji had been dating on and off. Kensuke had expected them to get married years ago, but nothing had ever come through. No engagement or anything, and he never heard Hikari complain about it. He didn't know what the problem was. "What about the Operation R?" Kensuke asked to change the subject. "Well, once the pilots are in place, it should go ahead," Touji said confidently. "The commander is set on a date, but it depends on how quickly they adapt to piloting." "It shouldn't be too bad," Kensuke responded. "Rei has already started, at Ikari's direct order of course." "Why is she so damn special to him?" Hikari asked. Both of the others shrugged. "Oh well, we just need him as a figurehead." "Right." "Hey, I was thinking," said Touji. "These new pilots are going to need a place to live, right? Is the commander going to ask one or all of us to watch these kids? You know, be their guardians?" "Well, Rei has her own apartment already. She lives alone," Hikari replied. "About Soryu Megumi, I have no idea. I can't watch her, since I'm never home, you know?" "And she won't want to live with us, since we're men," Touji added. "Or, you don't want to live with an eighteen year old girl?" Kensuke inquired. "Yea, that too. Should we ask Ikari?" The three shared an uneasy glance. "Right..." -- Watanabe stood in front of the door to his apartment. Fuugo had continued to be understanding of the situation, and Kuni was grateful for that fact. He had found Megumi's car sitting in his usual spot in the parking garage, which was a problem since they were assigned spots. The Circle-K down the street had been his next best choice, but it was a fair walk back. Now, as he stood outside his apartment, he became even more annoyed as he listened to the booming bass and techno-beats of modern pop music that were audible from three rooms down the hall. The door slid open with a mechanical whoosh and he stepped inside, his muscles tensed. He attempted to keep his face blank, but didn't know how well he was doing. Sure enough, Megumi's shoes sat on the mat next to the door. They were lined up perfectly with each other. From the entryway he saw her, wearing some of the clothes that had been in his second dresser, bobbing to the music and also watching television. Kuni noticed she had cleaned the dust off most of his electronics, which had been barely used since he moved in; he had known her to be a little bit of a neat-freak and that hadn't changed, apparently. She must have noticed something in her peripherals because she turned around after he had watched her in silence for a couple minutes. Her face lit up when she realized it was him. "Oh, hi Kuni-chan!" she yelled over the music and the TV, the volumes of which she then turned down. "How are you? Where have you been?" He rolled his eyes a little and sighed. "You parked in my spot." "Yea, I figured we could park together!" she said cheerily. He nodded stiffly. "A nice thought. But I guess you didn't realize that those spots are assigned; they cost money. And they aren't cheap. I had to leave my car at the Circle-K down the street." Her smile quickly soured. "You don't have to be so condescending, you said yourself it was a nice idea! Anyway, why not just steal someone else's spot?" she asked as she turned back to watch TV again. "I can't, Megumi, it doesn't work that way," Kuni sighed, holding a hand on his left temple. He was trying to keep his patience, but he couldn't help but think this was why he'd left her. "Well, your car had an alarm, right?" "Yes, but-" "So it'll be fine!" "Not if it gets towed." She had no response. He frowned as he set his bookbag down next to his shoes. "I'm surprised you're still here," he said when she stayed quiet. "Why is that?" "Well, you seemed pretty mad at me; you didn't even come out of your room yesterday, so I thought you might just leave," Kuni said calmly, regaining his composure. "Do you want me to leave?" she asked, still not facing him. "No," he blurted before he could give it any real thought. In truth he didn't know if he wanted her there or now, but of course he couldn't have told her that anyway. "Well I guess it's good that I decided to stay, huh?" "Stay? For how long?" he inquired cautiously. He asked as he stood behind the couch on which she sat. "I don't know." "You don't know? Don't you have to go to school? Don't you have friends and obligations and responsibilities you need to attend to?" "I guess, but... I want to stay with you, Kuni-chan." He sighed and walked into his small kitchen across from the living room to see what kind of food he had. He hid his face behind a cupboard door, which housed just one large container of sugar for his tea. "What's for dinner?" "Whatever you want," Watanabe said blankly. "Oh, well, I don't know what I want... What are you making?" "I'm making my dinner. You can make what you want," he said with some satisfaction. He had deliberately led her into the trap, knowing what her response would be, and what she would say next. "You won't make me something?" she asked, still only giving him half of her attention. "Why should I? You appeared from nowhere, without invitation, and decide to stay at my apartment for a while, with your car in my parking space. If I were you, I would at least ask the other person, right?" "You just said you didn't want me to leave! Plus, you said that you missed me, Kuni-chan. I wasn't mad... I just took a while to realize that I missed you too. I want to try things over." Kunihirou closed the cupboard; now she was looking over the couch at him. He'd seen that face before, many times. "Women always have to get their way," he said with a great deal more anger than he meant to. "That's why they have faces like that one." "So you'll make me dinner?" Megumi asked sweetly. After a long pause, he decided. "Yes." Just as he uttered the word, his door buzzed. He walked over to the intercom. "Yes?" "Is Soryu Megumi there?" a female voice asked. Kuni turned off the intercom and looked back at the girl. "It doesn't sound like your mom. Who else would be looking for you in this city?" She shrugged. He scowled as he turned back to the intercom's shiny grill. "You're no help." "Excuse me? Are you still there?" "Um, yes, she's here," he said, trying to sound serious. "May I ask who you are?" "I just need to speak with her. It's important." The girl quickly got off the couch and ran to the door. "Were you expecting someone?" Kuni asked. The girl shook her head. "It's important!" was all she said before opening the door and stepping out. He got just a glance of the other person, indeed a woman. She wore a black suit and a long braid. -- Not more than two hours later, the second observation lab at NERV was bustling with activity for the first time in many years. Evangelion Unit 02 stood in the giant test bay, fully restored in all its ruby splendor. Ibuki Maya walked from station to station, her mind filled with doubt. "The personal data has been rewritten?" "Yes, Doctor Ibuki. Rewritten and verified." "Good. Pilot's status?" "Besides the whole LCL deal, no problems. That girl was surprisingly compliant, thanks to Section 2," Suzuhara stated happily. The EVA-02 was just as it had been during Touji's school days. Red. Four-eyed. And big. It had been totally restored, updated with stronger armor. A holographic display of the new pilot also shown on the glass of the observation room. He had been surprised when he met the pilot of Unit 02. It was obvious just looking at the girl that she was Asuka's immediate relation. Her hair, eyes, and physical features were very similar, but there was something subtly different about the girl. She was totally compliant with his instructions and made no qualms about being thrust into her current situation, unlike the previous pilot. "Entry started!" Aida exclaimed. The excitement in his voice was plainly obvious. He had been waiting to be a part of EVA for twenty years, and now his childhood dream was becoming a reality. "First connections initiated!" The plug screwed itself into the spinal cord of the EVA, and when done, the armor casing closed back up. The screen showed the normal patterns appearing on the walls of the entry plug. "Megumi, how do you feel?" Ibuki asked. "OK. Kind of sick in my stomach." Her voice was uncertain, but not afraid. "That's normal. It'll go away when you get used to it. Connect the main power supply." One by one, the Unit's appendages lit up green on the board, showing optimal power levels. "S2 engagement successful," Kensuke stated proudly. "Restrains are all green, too." "The first startup and activation of Unit 02 will proceed to the second stage," Ibuki ordered. The room was busy and in order. Maya allowed herself a little smile. Things were going well. "Unit 02, activate!" There was a long silence as the 'boom' of the activation filled the room. There were many beeps and mechanical sounds coming from the many computers in the room, but no one spoke for what seemed like an eternity. Although there had been doubts about the new pilots' ages, the Commander had reassured everyone that the activation would be totally successful. "What's the intitial synchro-rate?" "Fifteen percent," a tech answered. "It's barely above the activation point." "All harmonics are normal, as is the synchro-graph." "Good. Connect the A-10 nerve." Megumi's eyes buldged for a split second as she was suddenly linked to something other than her body, but she looked normal after that. She definitely felt different, but she couldn't identify how so. "Approaching the borderline. 1.7... 1.2... 0.8... 0.5... 0.2..." There was a long pause. Ibuki began to frown slightly. It had been so long since the EVA had been activated, would it pass the borderline? Or did it just need to take its time? "Cleared! Borderline cleared." The room broke into cheers and congratulations. "Unit 02, activated," Maya said, her voice shaking slightly. She'd worked so hard to get this far, to continue her teacher's work. Now her dream was a reality. NERV once again had its main weapon, Evangelion 02. Once the two pilots were trained and ready, then the Retrieval could begin. -- END chapter:02 Author's notes: So, are things making sense yet? Let's review. Watanabe Kunihirou: main character, not a pilot, not who you think Soryu Megumi: Kunihirou's ex-girlfriend, Asuka's step-sister, pilot Ayanami Rei: you know something the characters don't know, pilot Doctor Ibuki Maya: head of E Project Aida Kensuke: science department, Ibuki's aid Lieutenant Suzuhara Touji: Head of Operations Department Horaki Hikari: head agent of Section 2 NERV Intelligence Ikari Gendo: Commander of NERV, old man Aren't I twisted?