Gendo stared up from the floor. Past the clear lenses of his glasses,
contentment filled his eyes.

"I've been waiting for this moment for so long...To finally be with you again,
Yui." Tiny pricks of moisture touched his eyelids. "When I was with Shinji, I
only hurt him. So it was better that I do nothing."

Yui tipped her head slightly to side. A lock of hair fell across her eyes. "So,
you were afraid of Shinji."

A pathetic smirk crossed Gendo's lips. "I don't believe that I can be loved by
others...I'm not worthy of love."

"You're just running away. You simply reject the world before you get hurt." 

Yui leaned down over Gendo, sliding against his body. Her forearm crossed his
shoulder, nudity against nudity. "Afraid of the shapeless, invisible things
between people...You just closed your heart to others."

"So, this is my retribution. Forgive me...Shinji." Nudity back against nudity.

"But, Gendo, you forgot one thing."

"Yes, Yui?"

Yui kissed his forehead. "I love you."

The tears freely ran down Gendo's cheeks. "I can't believe you forgot that it
doesn't matter."

Yui pulled back in shock. "Forgot what?"

"You see, Yui...

	<script language="complimentation">
	var Storge=1;
	var Philia=1;
	var Eros=1;
	var Agape=1;
	</script>

**********

Shinji's Alternate Universes
A fic that proves things are simpler than they appear. Really.

Started by a carbon-based biped, Farsan de Arnibia.
This part thrown together by a different carbon-based biped, Nicholas Callahan.

Neon Genesis Evangelion was created by Anno Hideki and is property of Gainax
Studios, with North American distribution rights controlled by ADV Films.

Chapter 6: Ultimate EVA, Lock Complete!

**********

*** Gendo-Private is now known as Gendo.
*** Yui-Unavailable is now known as Yui.
<Lorenz> Are you done with play time, Ikari?
<Gendo> Yes.
<Yui> I don't think it's your business, Keele.
<Yui> Gendo!
<Fuyutsuki> Ah, to be young again, tending the fields.
<Fuyutsuki> Yui, my dear, you're positively glowing today!
* Yui blushes. "How long have you three been here?"
<Gendo> I apologize for holding you up.
<Lorenz> Let's just leave this be, eh?
<Lorenz> Ikari, I would like to know why you gathered us here.
<Gendo> I want to do something for Shinji.
* Fuyutsuki nods sagely.
<Lorenz> What exactly is the issue here?
<Yui> Shinji is having...girl trouble.
<Gendo> We want your help setting him up.
<Fuyutsuki> Who else is involved?
<Yui> Rei and Naoko.
<Lorenz> This sounds like a waste of my time.
<Gendo> You owe Shinji a debt, Keele. 
<Lorenz> For the Third Impact?
<Gendo> Yes.
<Yui> This place is timeless. What do you have to truly waste?
<Gendo> We need to establish people's trust, make things believable. We can't 
obtain that without the presence of you and other Seele members.
<Gendo> Lorenz?
<Lorenz> You will have our help, Ikari.
<Yui> Thank you, Keele.
<Gendo> Thank you.
<Lorenz> What kind of plan is this, exactly?
* Gendo crosses his hands in front of his face. "I don't want to hear any
laughter..."
*** Rei@Curiousity is now known as Rei

*************

"A war game?"

"Yes, a war game." Rei nodded. "A challenge, specifically, issued by Seele."

"Seele..." Shinji leaned back across the sand. The soft half-light of
complementation played on the eternally rippling sea of LCL. The boy closed his
eyes and sighed. "Those guys. I thought they'd be happy now. They got what they
wanted."

Rei sat demurely on a nearby rock. Her hand smoothed the skirt of her school
uniform. "I can not vouch for their intentions. They merely told your father
they wished to play a game against NERV."

"This doesn't make sense." Shinji watched all of humanity ebb and flow. "I can't
trust those guys."

Rei pursed her lips. "Perhaps you're thinking in terms as if we were not one
body."

"You mean-?"

"They might also just be very bored."

"Uh-huh." Shinji gave Rei lidded eyes. "I don't feel for them. I'm not going to
get back into an EVA just so Seele can be amused."

Rei's expression remained blank. "You shouldn't do that."

Shinji furrowed his brow. "Do what?"

"Act like things can't change." Rei continued before Shinji could pipe in. "You
shouldn't say that the present will be like the past because they share common
links. Doing that denies hope. Isn't that why we left the world behind?"

"I don't think this is the same thing!" Shinji stammered. "I mean, there's hope
and then there's common sense, and then there's this, which is just a game, a
game that I don't feel like playing, so why am I defending myself to you? I just
don't feel like doing it, okay?"

The retort slipped off Rei like an oil drop. The albino leaned forward. "Can you
really be with someone if you don't have hope in yourself?"

"Argh!" Shinji sat up and spun away. "You're not even listening to what I'm
saying!"

"Shinji..." A hand lightly squeezed the boy's shoulder. He looked up at a
standing Rei. The corners of her mouth twitched up slightly. "There are some to
whom this means a lot to."

Shinji clenched his mouth, fixed in his resolution. He failed. "Fine, I'll do
it. Just...this one time, okay? I mean, don't drag me into something like this
every day, please?"

"It's just the one time. Thank you." Rei stepped back and bowed. Shinji stood
up, brushing the sand off his pants.

"I just hope it's not too bad." Shinji spun and called to the beach's third
citizen. "Hey, Asuka, do you want to do this too? I mean, it's for all of us."

"No."

Shinji began to argue, but the bikini-clad girl held up a finger, calling for
silence. "I don't want to hear it, idiot. There's no way I'm doing another one
of those role-playing things. Every time I do, it's like someone's actively
trying to humiliate me. Especially her." Asuka extended a lazy excuse for an
accusing finger towards Rei, the rest of her body devoted to sunbathing. 

"But-"

"She doesn't want to come, Shinji." Rei stood up. "It wouldn't be any good if
you forced people to do it."

Asuka merely nodded.

"Huh? Hey, what a minute...But, then, you just-" Shinji's mind hummed.

"Shall we go, Shinji?"

"...Yeah. Lead the way."

And then Asuka was alone.

**********

* Temporal subdimension "Seele Game" created
*
* Empty save state protocol used: Loading universe data ... ... done
*
* Waiting for other souls:
*
* Gendo joins.
* Fuyutsuki joins.
* Naoko joins.
* Lorenz joins.
* Seele_France joins.
* Seele_Germany joins.
* Seele_China joins.
* Seele_America joins.
* Seele_Russia joins.
* Seele_Angola joins.
* Shinji joins.
* Rei joins.
*
* Assigning roles ... done
*
* START!

**********

<Shinji> Hey, where's everybody else? This is for all of NERV, right?
<Gendo> They were unavailable.
<Shinji> Even Kensuke?
<Gendo> Mr. Aida is not and never was part of NERV.
<Fuyutsuki> I should warn you, although the combat will be similar to using your
Evangelions, the format is radically different in some respects.
<Fuyutsuki> Lorenz insisted on it.
<Gendo> Yes. It was entirely Lorenz's idea.
<Shinji> Uh...okay.

**********

The Lords of Seele watched the city of Tokyo-3 unfold before them on the view
screen. This was the coveted city, a single gem that would guarantee their
conquest of Earth. For within Tokyo-3 lay the Magi, a powerful computing system
created by Dr. Naoko Akagi, responsible for uniting mankind in a time of
unparalleled peace and prosperity. In the shadows of their secret moon base,
they could only sit in their extremely comfortable chairs at a big obsidian
conference table and desire it.

"Today is the day. I can feel it." The first intoned.

"All of Earth shall tremble before our might and genius." The second followed.

"Even their vaunted NERV Peace Force cannot stand against us." The third
offered.

"Our Nephilim unit is unstoppable, a force beyond any thing the humans can
anticipate." The fourth responded.

"God's in his heaven, all is right with the world." The fifth chanted. 

There was an embarrassed silence. The third one jabbed the fifth one in his ribs
softly. There was a rustling of papers as the fifth one checked his script.

"Oh, I apologize for that. It was the force of habit...let's see...Here we go."
He cleared his throat. "Do it now! Unleash our magnificent beast of
destruction!"

The sixth one nodded. "It is only right. It is only destiny."

Keele Lorenz leaned back in his chair, propping a bare foot up on the table. His
neon green bicycle shorts and polo shirt had already beaten the mood into a
bloody pulp. "You know, old boys, it's been a long time since we were all here
together, in one place. I mean, sure, we all worked with each other just to
attain a single ideal, but where's the appreciation? Where's the camaraderie, I
ask? We need to do more things together, is what I say. You see, what we need is
bonding."

All around the table, people avoided making eye contact. A few glanced at the
launch button right by Keele, which he made no move to push.

Keele, unmercifully, continued. "There's a confession I want to make. It's been
on my chest for a while, and I think that I should have admitted to it a long
time ago. The thing I missed about my lower torso the most was my genitals. The
legs, the feet, the buttocks, those are all good, but there's just something
about your genitals...I just love the feeling of wearing briefs, for example.
Don't ask me why. That's just the way it is."

The Lords of Seele sweatdropped. Keele motioned to the man on his right. "Okay,
Antoine, your turn. Anything you've want to say?"

Then, in a desperate attempt to end the scene, a man known otherwise as the
delegate from Germany leapt for the launch button.

*************

The command center of the NERV Peace Army glittered in the morning light.
Beneath it stretched the porcelain expanse of Tokyo-3, a look stereotypically
benefiting the most progressive city in the world. There, in the center of it
all, sat Commander Gendo Ikari, the man supremely responsible for the protection
of Earth. He sat at his post, eagerly anticipating his duty, ready to face
anything the forces of evil could offer up.

He had been eagerly anticipating for five minutes too long.

Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki sipped his coffee. The various read-outs said everything
was fine and dandy. "They're not exactly punctilious, are they? Do you think
that they might be making an actual war game out of this?"

"What would they gain from it? Lorenz and the others would not have said they
would unless they actually planned to. They don't lie without a clear purpose."
Gendo rubbed his chin. 

With all the timing of a kaiju monster, a blast appeared in the center of
Tokyo-3, unfolding out into The Tree of Life. The game exploded to life around
Gendo and Fuyutsuki, with men and women who didn't really exist running out of
the woodwork to man their stations. Fuyutsuki calmly put his coffee in a cup
holder.

"Say the Devil's name and it's show time." Fuyutsuki whispered to Gendo. "I
assume you want the honors."

"Yes, Kouzou, I do." Taking a deep breath, Gendo stood up and strode to the
observation window. Extending his arm dramatically, he called out to the entire
command center. "Now, it is the time for us to fight! Activate city defense
programs! Ready all pilots for battle! Launch Space EVA and Marine EVA! Go!"

Fuyutsuki leaned on his arm. "And the crowd goes wild."

*************

The first thing Shinji noticed in the scenario was the city. Vaguely, he
understood that it was Tokyo-3, just by the look of it, but it was different. It
looked cleaner, less mechanical, a little bit more like a real city.

The second thing he noticed was the outfit. He was dressed in a full-body white
polyester body suit, with dark purple racing stripes coming up the sides. Along
his arms and legs and up his torso, he recognized metal sockets from his
plug-suit. And over his head was a smooth, round helmet, with a clear blue
plastic visor down over his face.

This is going to be one dorky war game, he decided.

"Our EVAs are on their way. Prepare yourself." The voice came from Rei, standing
to his left. 

"Oh, they are? I guess dad doesn't like to waste time-" Rei's outfit wasn't that
different from his, really. It had blue stripes instead of purple, yes. And the
knee-high, high-heeled boots were an alteration, for sure. And the miniskirt
that left precisely three square inches to the imagination...okay, that was a
big change.

Rei looked over at him. She seemed almost...posable. "Is there a problem,
Shinji?"

"Oh no, no, no problem." Shinji hoped the visor would hide his blush.
"Just...these outfits are weird, that's all."

Rei turned away from him again. "There's no real script. Our characters can
merely be who we want."

"Huh?" Shinji blinked. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Our EVAs are here."

They certainly were. With a bestial roar, Unit 00, sans umbilical cord, flew out
of the nearby bay. A rainbow flowed behind the blue giant as it drew its feet
under itself. The EVA landed right in front of Rei, missing her by mere feet,
knuckles and heels digging deeply into the street, water held on its armor
plates raining down on the two of them. The windows of neighboring buildings
shattered from the crash of the landing.

Then the whistling came. Turning from the watery spectacle, Shinji spun to look
up at the sky, just in time for the reentry fires to illuminate his face. His
own EVA fell from orbit, making a disturbingly accurate beeline for him. Shinji
almost felt disappointed as, miraculously, the humanoid meteorite hit the ground
with only the same destructive force as Unit 00 did. Unit 01 stood ready as the
final atmospheric flames spiraled away from it, leaving the Oni no worse for
wear.

With a sleek, organic hiss, the stomach plating on both the EVAs rolled away.
Silently, a large scarlet orb came down to meet the pilots. They saw a bright
red light. They felt a distinct floating sensation.

Space EVA and Marine EVA were "go".

************

The monster waded through the buildings of Tokyo-3. Massive trunks of bulging
brown flesh, conveniently called legs, cycled up and down as it strode forward.
Arms that nearly dwarfed the legs hung down, peppered with white dots that
glistened with moisture and ending in be-clawed meat-hooks. Its back, a thumping
mass of muscle, was hunched almost all the way into a curl. Barely protruding
from the shoulders was the head, an avian skull with an indistinct beak and ruby
bead eyes.

"Is that the enemy?" Shinji flexed his hands over the controls of Space EVA.
Wires and tubing snaked in and out of his flight suit, the view of the EVA
projected onto his mask. Naoko Akagi's face hovered in the far-left corner.

"Correct. That entity is definitely hostile towards the city." The brown-haired
woman checked a clipboard. "It's carbon-based, with a skeleton and a
musculature. I can't tell if it has a central brain or not. There's no sign of
dimensional distortion."

Fuyutsuki's face replaced Naoko's. "We will neutralize it immediately. Both of
you, deploy your elemental swords and engage it up close. Shinji, you take point
while Rei circles around to the side. Aim for the area directly behind the
head."

Why couldn't they just use progressive knives? Shinji thought to himself as he
coaxed his EVA into action. A display window opened across his line of sight,
delivering his next line.

"Space EVA, Elemental Graviton Sword Deploy!"

"Marine EVA, Elemental Arctic Sword Deploy."

The left shoulder plate on both of the EVAs slid apart and a simple hilt flipped
out. The giants, as one, pulled their weapons free and swung them to the side as
the blades materialized. Marine's sword consisted of a swirling pillar of water
and frost ending in a jagged tip, swishing as it moved through the air. Space's
formed a solid elongated oval of darkness, surrounded by the dark purple glow of
a high-power magnetic field.

Space EVA crouched low, then surged straight forward, pulling the sword hilt
down to his torso. The Nephilim swung a massive paw at it, but the EVA slide
beneath the parry and delivered a slice along the monster's stomach. The dark
blade passed through cleanly, almost as if didn't even touch it. But as the
blade drew away, it trailed a line of blood and soft tissue, which disappeared
into the invisible depths of the sword.

The monster drew itself up to attack. The EVA finished its charge, coming out
from under the beast's arm. It spun on its heels just as the Nephilim turned to
face it. The EVA brought its sword up, going for an overhand strike at the
forearm. This time, the monster shifted out of the way, but not without a
counter-attack. From the white spots along its arm, tendrils snaked out and
caught the EVA mid-attack, the ends of them splattering and sticking to the
armor like glue. It used these to reel the purple giant in, landing an
open-handed blow on the EVA's arm before Shinji could act. The EVA tipped
forward from the force of the blow, and the monster backhanded it across the
face, sending Space EVA free of the constricting bonds and over several
buildings.

Marine EVA sprinted in across its blind spot. Reversing the sword, it stabbed
down on the left shoulder blade. The Arctic Sword splashed across the skin,
covering the area in a patch of frost. Before the Nephilim could react, the EVA
punched its free hand into the flash-frozen tissue. The monster roared in pain,
skin falling away in glittering chunks, and turned to Marine EVA, sending out an
army of ensnaring tendrils.

Rei's EVA spun its sword back up and masterfully caught the tendrils with a
sweep, turning them into useless ice sculptures, then sidled back, blade at the
ready. The beast brought both of its arms to bear. A mass of writhing white
formed between Marine EVA and the monster, making to catch Rei from all sides.
Marine EVA merely pulled its sword arm back and raised its free hand.

"Aquatic Shield."

A waterspout shot up through the gooey net. The spinning mass of water ballooned
out, catching up all the tendrils and tearing them apart, down to the component
slim. The wall of water didn't stop there, but poured forward, cutting off new
tendrils at the source. Rei watched passively as the microcosmic sea flew up
around her foe.

A twinkling red light poked through the depths. The water split down the middle,
flying off in all directions. A beam of pale red light, nearly half a mile wide,
engulfed Marine EVA. Rei shook in the cockpit as a wave of force jerked the EVA
clean off its feet. The robot slid through the remains of dissolved buildings,
the pilot helpless to regain control.

Space EVA stood up, moving drunkenly from the sudden shock to the internal
coordination processors. Shinji gripped at the controls, finding his own
bearings. He watched the monster silently as data on his EVA flitted through his
mind's eye.

"Why is their guy so strong? Isn't that cheating or something?"

"There's no cheating in an open battle." Fuyutsuki's face hardened. "But if
you're talking about the game, we did expect the rest of the pilots to be
participating. The field would be much more level if we had all four of you."

"Great." Shinji tightened his eyes. "Well, Asuka always did say I got lucky too
much. Come on!" 

Space EVA charged forward, sword at the ready. The Nephilim merely glanced
towards it, then loosed another blast. Flailing madly, the EVA leapt straight
into the air, over the beam of light. Sacrificing the sword in the fall, it
landed on all fours and continued on its beeline. The EVA scrambled desperately
as the monster shifted the beam to overtake it. With a final burst of speed, the
EVA made an undignified push between the Nephilim's legs, avoiding the beam as
it struck the ground behind it. Pivoting on the heel of its hand, the EVA spun
and righted itself, nearly falling backwards from the momentum.

"You might have more strength, but your mobility is a major problem! Gravity
Wings, Deploy!"

Sheets of golden light burst from the spine of Space EVA. Slowly, gracefully,
the skeletal forms of twelve distinct wings, strings of ephemeral energies,
stretched out and folded around in front of the EVA, surrounding the Nephilim.
There was a whisper of the merest hum, then an unearthly silence.

The Nephilim started to turn. The buildings around it shattered and fell on the
Nephilim, pushing into its skin. Its arms collapsed against its sides, unable to
move. Its feet slipped out from under it, and it floated in mid-air. Its skin
buckled and caved in. Powerful winds picked up as the air between the wings
shifted to the center, leaving a vacuum. A cloud of twilight started to
precipitate around the Nephilim.

With all its strength, the Nephilim fought to move its head slightly to the
left. It just managed to look at the wings, out of the corner of its eye. Its
eye twinkled, and a blast tore by the wings, ripping them to shreds. All things
no longer equal, the gravity wings tossed the Nephilim like a rag doll. Space
EVA stumbled back as Newton's Second Law provided kickback. All the compressed
air surged out, a boom resounding about the area.

The EVA forces wasted no time. The recovered Marine EVA grabbed up its sword.
The Space EVA didn't bother with it, dragging the remains of the gravity wings
behind it. The Nephilim looked up just in time to have its thigh frozen. It
tried to aim its beam, and Space EVA beat its head in, cycling its fist across
the shoulders. The two of them went on mercilessly, pounding away at the
behemoth. The ground shook. The city resounded.

Gendo watched on, slightly troubled.

A blast blew up from beneath the Nephilim. With a red trail, the monster flew up
into the air. It came down behind Marine EVA, fist first. The blue EVA crumpled
under the blow. White tendrils fell down over its head and shoulders. Running
towards Space EVA, the Nephilim heaved Marine EVA above its head and made it an
impromptu club. Caught off guard by the tactic, Shinji had only begun to react
when Marine EVA's feet struck Space EVA over the head, knocking it to the
ground.

The Nephilim followed through with its own punch, driving the horned helmet
through the asphalt and sewer system. Covering the purple EVA with a
complementary mass of tentacles, the Nephilim held its twin prizes up with
pride. Then it slammed them together, over and over again. Content with that, it
fired a sustained beam. Deliberately, like a craftsman, the monster placed the
Evangelions into the maelstrom. The defenders bucked and flapped in the pillar
of force, armor peeling away by the second.

In the command center, Gendo nodded with relief. "It's all going according to
plan."

Fuyutsuki watched reports from the EVAs. "They can only take so much of this.
You really made timing a critical factor here. Are you sure they will all
respond the right way?"

"Katsuragi isn't the only strategist NERV employed." Gendo checked his watch. It
was a useless gesture, since Greenwich existed only in human memories now. But
certain conventions had to be obeyed. "Yui should be making contact
just...about...now."

************

The sand trickled down through Asuka's fingertips. The redhead sat Indian-style
on the beach, LCL watching. Yawning, she dumped the rest of the sand on the
ground. Standings up, she stretched out. She scratched herself and frowned.

"What's taking those guys? It can't take this long to kick Seele's butt."

Yui smiled. "You have a lot of confidence in Shinji. Does he know that?"

Asuka jumped back, splashing LCL around her feet. She pounded her heart into a
beat again. "Jesus, don't do that!"

"I'm sorry about that, Asuka." The lab coat swished about a brown blouse and
jeans. "I guess I'm still used to being heard when I enter somewhere."

"It's all right, Mrs. Ikari." Asuka smiled jovially. "I was bored anyway. I
could use some conversation."

"Oh, really?" Yui tipped her head slightly. "I'd think you'd be worried about
Shinji. And Rei."

Asuka spun away from Yui, her face flushed. "You don't have to make it sound
like that! I thought adults were supposed to have decorum."

"They really could use your help." Yui gestured to the sea. In it, she and Asuka
could see the battle play out. "They're in a bit of trouble."

Asuka shrugged. "It's just a game, right? It's not like this is a real angel
attack. Give that thing a few more minutes and they'll slink back here. I think
Wonder Girl and the idiot could stand some humiliation."

Yui walked out across the LCL to stand next to Asuka. Her feet buoyed up and
down with the ripples. "Some time games can tell someone what we really mean
even better than the real thing."

Asuka raised an eyebrow.

Yui went on. "I really mean it. In games, we're completely uninhibited.
When there's nothing on the line, there's no reason to do the right thing. The
Fear of God is a moot point.

"I remember back when I first met Gendo, at college. He was tight-lipped, even
then. Getting him to laugh would make you a dorm legend. I could tell he liked
me, but he could never bring himself to ask me out and he'd practically run if I
brought up the topic. Guess what I did." Yui winked conspiratorially at Asuka.

Asuka, meanwhile, was rapidly cataloguing reasons why she didn't want to hear
about a college-aged Gendo Ikari. With most of her brain devoted to this task,
she could only mumble something sounding vaguely like "game".

Yui chuckled. "A game of chess, yes. I managed to catch him while he was free
and get him in a game. You can't imagine how much it changed him. Within a week,
he was coming to me, looking to play. And the rest, as they say, is history."

"Right..." Asuka's eye twitched. "Well, yeah, chess. I'll remember that.
Thanks." The girl turned to go.

Yui sighed and shrugged to herself. "You should see the EVA that Gendo meant for
you to use. I think you would like it."

Asuka stopped in her tracks. Her eyes stole quick glances down at the scene.
"How so?"

Yui folded her arms. "It uses fire."

************

Shinji's radio crackled with static. He desperately tried to contact somebody,
but being held in a force beam tended to screw with reception. On his view mask,
the faces of Fuyutsuki, Naoko, and Rei flitted back and forth, covered in snow.

"Does anybody have a plan?!"

"We're *phizt* -orking on *phizt*"

"EVA *phizt* -tand much mo *phizt*"

*phizt* "No." *phizt*

It's just a game, Shinji told himself. You don't have anything to panic about.
It's just...This really sucks!

The EVAs flopped like wet leaves under the Nephilim's continual punishment. The
monster showed no signs of letting up, more than happy to rain blazing electric
death on the hapless robots. It's body showed the fruits of battle against the
duo, in bruises and gaping wounds. It enjoyed a bit of secure retribution.

Which is why it got really pissed when someone hit it from behind.

"Blaze Missiles!"

Sheets of flame rolled over the much abused back of the Nephilim. The beast
buckled over under the attack, cutting off its torrent of deadly energy and
stumbling to the ground. Marine and Space EVA collapsed to the side. All eyes in
the city turned to see who the would-be savior was.

At least four of those eyes had a smile to go with it.

EVA 02 stood up from the cover of the few untouched buildings. Its right
shoulder still smoked from the four-tube missile launchers. Its armor glittered
in the setting sun like burnished bronze. The goliath pointed to the Nephilim.

"You can beat the shit out of my friends! You can trash a city! You can look as
ugly as you want! But no one, and I mean no one, can escape from Asuka Langley
Soryuu! Magma EVA, Elemental Flame Sword, deploy!"

The Red EVA drew its sword, an impressive but predictable blade of fire.

"And that means you."

"Um...nice speech, Asuka."

"Shut up, idiot, and hold that thing down!"

Magma EVA went off like a shot, vaulting off the nearest building, crushing it
in the process. The Nephilim registered a crimson streak before the flaming
sword dug into its gut, followed by the hand that held it. It raised arms to
tear the attacker off, but Rei and Shinji fell on them, smothering the rising
tendrils against their chest plates. It focused in, preparing a blast, when the
flaming blade came up around and blinded it.

"You guys had a hard time with this?! You wimps!"

"You weren't here for the first half of all this!"

"Yeah, whatever, idiot. Just pound the damn thing!"

"It's good to have you with us, Langley."

Asuka drove swiped her flames across Rei's handiwork. "It's good to be here,
Wonder Girl. Now, let's-"

The Nephilim heaved forward and rolled into Magma EVA, crushing it beneath the
monster's sizeable bulk. Marine EVA tore off against the ground, while Space EVA
got scrapped off on a skyscraper. The Nephilim righted itself and swept a beam
attack across the area, driving the trio back to an appreciable distance.

Shinji brought up the command center, screening out Asuka's angry german.
"Fuyutsuki, we need a plan! We just can't overpower it!"

"Yes, in your present form, you can't."

Shinji blinked. "Father?"

Gendo's face appeared, a mask of stoic grace. "Strength can sometimes be
worthless when spread out. You must consolidate the might of the EVAs, focus it
all into a single mighty strike. With a truly united fist, the most overwhelming
threat may fall. You must evolve yourselves into the ultimate form."

Shinji's face brightened with understanding. "Yes, I understand. I can see it. I
can see what you mean, father! We can combine the EVAs! We must combine the
EVAs! We must form the Ultimate EVA!"

*************

<Asuka> You guys are making this up as you go along, right?
<Asuka> Right?
<Shinji> Yeah, of course.
* Gendo adjusts his glasses.

*************

"Okay, team! Let's do it! Form Ultimate EVA!"

Glowing with the power, the three EVAs leapt into the air. Streaks of light,
they circled around each other, drawing tighter and tighter, until they came
together. In their cockpits, the three pilots gritted their teeth under the
stress. Reports poured in over the comm line.

"...synch rate at 50% and rising..."

"...Magi have taken over central data flow..."

"...power redistribution proceeding as normal..."

"...internal lines are disconnected..."

"...pilots are fully synchronized."

The heads on each of the EVAs disappeared, spinning away in their own beams of
light. Space EVA closed in on itself and bent over forwards, forming the torso.
Marine EVA split length-wise and slide up through the torso, forming the arms.
And Magma EVA split in half itself and attached to the hips, forming the legs.
The three beams met at the shoulders and there was the head, a gray face plate
with a single eye, hedged on both sides by plates of red armor, a purple horn
sticking up proudly from the top. There was a hiss and a click. Three voices
spoke in unison.

"Ultimate EVA, lock complete!"

"...complete."

The Ultimate EVA landed on the ground, shaking the rubble. The tri-chromatic
giant gazed passively at the Nephilim, its component parts no longer showing any
signs of the previous battle. The light sparkled off its single lens. It was
mighty. It was majestic. It was magnificent. 

It was just plain marketable.

The Nephilim charged forward. It swung a massive claw at the EVA, ready to tear
it apart.

"Berserker Punch!"

"...punch."

The EVA countered with its own fist, an aura springing to life around it. The
Nephilim's arm flew back in its socket, collapsing in a pile of torn skin,
broken bones, and mangled muscles. The monster screamed and focused its eyes on
the EVA, revving up a blast.

"Berserker Kick!"

"...kick."

The avian head snapped sharply to the side. The blast went wild, disappearing
into the sky. The force of the kick had been so great that muscles of the
Nephilim's neck had torn clean of the bone; the monster's head flopped down like
a cut puppet, while bloody flowed freely onto the ground.

"I'm picking up dimensional conversation rates coming from inside the monster."
Naoko's voice piped in. "It has a core."

Gendo nodded over the comm link. "Pilots, you're course is clear."

Ultimate EVA stuck its hands into the avulsion. It pulled the layers of tissue
apart, splitting the gash even wider, sending it over the back and down the
torso. Organs and bones were all that greeted it.

"Seraphim Missiles!"

"...missiles...Do we have to yell everything?"

The EVA's right thigh split up its side. Brilliant white light lanced up into
the Nephilim. The monster's body jumped from internal explosions; flesh fell
away in burning chunks. In the crucible, the three pilots could make out the
form of a core, reflecting the light of the flames. Shouldering a way in,
Ultimate EVA reached out and laid a hand on the orb.

************

The Lords of Seele watched their creation go from "glorious war machine" to
"mangled meat bucket" in a matter of moments. There was much twitching of eyes,
sniffing of noses, and running of hands through hair. After all, they had put a
little bit of effort into it, and it distressed them greatly.

"-And we raise our heads and we crowed out loud, to know our boys had made us
proud! Jolly the flag, make it whole, hold it 'til it's sold! So the generals
wept and-"

At least, the ones who were still sober. Near the back of the room, Lorenz and
the representatives from France and Russia fell down in a laughing heap. They
had already split five bottles of resin between them and a sixth was in the
works. It all started when France had been coaxed into talking about a failed
camping trip with his father. This brought on the sympathy drinks. Then came the
drinking contest. Then the agreements on various subjects concerning Misato
Katsuragi.

"It's a very disgraceful display, I think." The first said.

"Which?" The second asked.

"Oh, which do you think? At least the Nephilim's putting up a good fight." The
first snapped back.

"Reminding you too much of that meeting in Brussels?" The third ventured.

"...Yes."

"So it goes." The fourth stated.

The first threw up his hands in disgust. "Just launch the plot twist already!"

"Ikari might finally leave us alone, after this." The second mumbled.

There were low-toned agreements.

************

The cylinder fell from the sky. It dropped on the exact center of what was left
of the Nephilim's back. It moved through flesh like it wasn't there and slipped
silently into the core. Ultimate EVA pulled its hand back quickly at the
appearance of the projectile. Within the core, a dark purple discoloration
surfaced and swirled around, then faded away.

The ruined monster jerked and picked itself up. Its torn flesh melted back
together, not even leaving a blemish. Its crushed arm filled out and
straightened out, no worse for the wear. All the wounds of battle disappeared in
a matter of seconds.

But that wasn't all. The Nephilim's torso shrunk and deflated in. Its core
shifted to the front, coming out into the open air. Bone spikes extended along
its back. Its head stretched out and nearly doubled in size. The new and
improved beast hissed with pleasure.

Ultimate EVA attacked immediately, reaching out to grab its head.

Naoko took over the comm link. "Pilots, be cautious! I'm detecting a shift in
the dimensional stability of the battlefield! Spatial causality is falling out
of sync!"

Rei took her eyes off the enemy. "You mean-?"

A wall sprang between the Nephilim and the EVA, stopping the attack cold.
Stretching onto infinity in either direction, a pulsating series of golden
yellow octagons blocked all passage to the Nephilim. Ultimate EVA stumbled back
with smashed fingers.

Asuka gaped. "It's got an AT Field?!"

Naoko spoke gravely. "Yes, it does."

"And we don't." Shinji finished with a touch of horror.

There was a pause.

"These EVAs suck." To this day, no one could quite finger who said it.

"Hey, watch out!" Shinji yelled. Thick streams of constricting goo fired from
the Nephilim's arms. Ultimate EVA jumped back, stumbling away from the glue.
Asuka and Shinji called out to the command center in unison.

"We really need a plan!"

"We aren't defeated yet." Gendo folded his hands in front of his face. "Dr.
Akagi, I think its time to unveil the newest upgrade."

Naoko gave a curt nod. "Understood. Pilots, you needn't worry. I anticipated
that something like this may happen, so I secretly developed this, just in case.
It's a new weapon, a powerful one. It's highly experimental and may not work,
but it's our only hope."

A brown blur fired from the command center. Ultimate EVA caught it in mid-air,
gripping the humming shaft tightly. It was a spear, bigger than the EVA itself.
The mysterious rust-colored metal formed a tip at the butt and twisted at the
head, ending in two elongated prongs.

"You're receiving data on how to use it now." Naoko signed off.

Shinji rubbed his eyes. "Is that what I think it is?"

"The Lance of Longinus..." Rei's face glowed with the incoming data.

"Hell yeah!" Asuka smirked, taking a new hold of her controls. "Let's do it,
team!"

The EVA dodged a blast from the Nephilim, leaping over its head. Landing, it
turned to face its opponent for the last time. It held out the Lance
length-wise, then released it, letting it float inches from the palm. The Lance
began to spin, faster and faster, the octagons of an AT Field flowing along it.
A piercing hum filled the area and the blazing Lance shrank down to a mere dot
of light, surrounding the EVA's hand.

Energy ran through Ultimate EVA. It rocketed into the sky. It pulled back its
illuminated hand, the light becoming impossible to look at.

Asuka locked in her attack code. "For the onset of blindness..."

Rei locked in her attack code. "For the days of mystery..."

"For the Revelation of the Kingdom!" Shinji locked in the final code. And all
wrath broke loose.

"Longinus Smite!"

Rei coughed quietly. "...smite."

The Lance's shaft streaked out straight towards the Nephilim. Before it hit, the
end twisted around and split into the forked prongs. The weapon slid through the
AT field like butter and speared the Nephilim dead center. The core shattered
instantly from the assault. 

The EVA landed and yanked back on the shaft. The Lance shrunk back, returning to
normal. Triumphantly, the EVA turned from the Nephilim, holding the spear behind
its back.

Then the Nephilim toppled over and exploded into a flaming cross.

************

Asuka walked across the remains of the building. Shinji watched her from a chunk
of cement. A plain of glass, inverted windows, stretched out as far as the eye
could see. The night had come, now, peppering the sky's reflection with stars.
Just barely, though, Shinji could make out Asuka's outfit, red racing stripes
and stupid mini-skirt and all.

"Stop staring!" Asuka called out. 

Shinji fell back from his perch, flailing madly. "I wasn't!"

Asuka walked over to the fallen boy and helped him up. "You're so easy
sometimes, you know that?"

Shinji rubbed his recently de-helmeted head. "And you can be downright mean."

Asuka stuck her tongue out. Pulling back, she leaned over to Shinji. "So, how
does a sudden change of heart feel?"

Shinji dusted himself off. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Asuka folded her arms. "Yeah, pull the one with bells on it. You were pretty
enthusiastic out there, for someone who never wanted to climb into an EVA again
for the rest of his life."

"It wasn't quite like that, you know..." Shinji pressed his fingers together.
"You were there, right? With Rei talking to me and the things she said and..."

"And you folding like a wet napkin?" Asuka suggested.

Shinji bowed his head. "Yeah. I did."

Asuka threw up her hands in disgust. "Were you paying attention at all during
that battle? Wonder Girl moved looked she wanted to be there even less than you!
I just can't believe you! What kind of fantasy world do you live in?"

The wind blew past.

"I mean, besides this one." Asuka tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Do you know
what I think?"

"Oh, like I ever do." Shinji drove his bitterness towards a pebble on the
ground. "Look, do we have to do this no-"

Asuka placed a finger on Shinji's lip. "I think you had fun."

"Auhiwhasistnow?"

"You heard me, idiot." Asuka tapped the finger a few times, then pulled it back.
"You had fun. You had a good time. You *enjoyed* it."

Shinji backed away, waving her off. "You can't be serious!"

"Ultimate EVA? Really now?"

Shinji's jawed worked uselessly. Asuka poked him square in the chest.
"Somewhere, deep inside you, is a poor schmuck who actually has some hot blood
in him. And I don't know how, but he got stuck with you as a roommate. And
today, you let him out to play. That says something to me."

"Asuka..." Desperation filled Shinji's eyes. "I...it's just...I guess I'm just
not who you think I should be."

"No, you aren't." Firmly, Asuka gripped Shinji's shoulders. With deliberate
force, she pulled the face of the resistant boy down to hers. She leaned up and
kissed his forehead. Sighing sadly, she fell back. "Give that to yourself when
you've grown a spine."

Shinji tried to put his thoughts together. "Asuka..."

Asuka broke eye contact. The wind whipped up, pulling her hair across her face.
Shinji's mind melted into crystal clarity.

"Asuka...you're grip, it's getting kinda tight."

Asuka whispered low. "I don't know how..."

"No, Asuka, seriously, you're fingers are digging in. Hey, Asuk-Ow! Ow! Asuka?
Asuka, please? Asuka?!"

"You made me do that, you bastard."

"Asuka, no, wait-"

The sound of breaking glass resounded through the night.

*************
*
* End "Seele Game"
*
* Universe destroyed.
*
**************

<Lorenz> You call this a success, Ikari?
<Gendo> Yes, I do.
<Lorenz> How can you believe so?
<Gendo> Shared passions.
<Lorenz> Perhaps it may work. Perhaps.
<Gendo> It will.
<Lorenz> Are you a betting man?
<Gendo> I believe in fair play.
* Lorenz laughs.
*** Gendo has quit (whistling Deigo-Bot 5 theme)

***************

Hikari handed Rei a cough lozenge.

"So, how'd you get a sore throat?"

Rei hacked a bit, then slipped in the lozenge.

"Romance for men."

-----
-fin-
-----

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

-initial part completed Thursday, February 27, 2003.
-final part completed Monday, March 3, 2003.

Author's Notes:

I apologize. I don't know for what, but I have the impression that not
everybody's going to love everything in this chapter, so I might as well get
that out of the way now.

Writing this has been an experience in getting the right kind of luck at the
wrong kind of times. When I signed up to write, I had all these great and
not-so-great ideas I was toying around with it, including "Shin-ji-Oh: King Of
Games", "Project Ayanami...ko", "Keele And Fuyutsuki's Excellent Adventure", and
massive tea part with the EVAs to which no witty title can be attached. But none
of these anticipated the whole "set Shinji up with girlfriend" plot started in
the chapter before me. So, I pounded out the first thing that came to mind.
Perhaps if I hadn't been watching Nadesico right before I got the assignment
e-mail, things would've been different.

Now, here's the annoying part. Yesterday, smack in the middle of work, I have
the idea of doing something with The Incredible Hulk, some to which romance can
easily be incorporated. Such luck, such timing.

I want to thank David, Dot, Farsan, and Jerome for their workshopping efforts. I
like to think that I'm not such a bad writer, if you don't count my propensity
for grammar errors (uh...I guess that means I am bad writer, in sooth...), but
you can be truly amazed by how much better a piece can become under careful
review. Between the continuity mistakes, the characterization mistakes, and the
fact that Jerome was nice enough to go above and beyond the call of duty to
provide an amazingly detailed grammar fix (He made me say this! He's got my
dog!), it's been one hell of a ride.

I have a dirty line sin to confess. There is plagiarism in this part. The most
obvious is Gendo and Yui's conversation in the opening scene. If you don't know,
except for the last five or so lines, that's taken word for word from the End of
Evangelion movie. I thought that the emotional effect on the reader could be
increased by taking a familiar, dramatic scene and bending it to my own sick
whims. The other stolen bit is Rei's "Romance for men." This comes from
Dangaizer 3; it fit the scene quite nicely, I thought, and very accurately
describes the thinking you find behind Combiner Robot series, in my opinion.

Here's my best wishes to future authors of SAU. I hope that you have better
graces then me. Once again, I'd like to announce my availability for pre-reading
for anyone; my e-mail address (cruton@juno.com) is nice and publicly displayed.

Wait...one more thing. There were two scenes in this part that underwent drastic
changes on the editing room floor, the opening scene and the third to last
scene. Although I ultimately opted to change these scenes because of
characterization issues, I also liked the way their original versions turned
out. So, presented here as an environmentally sound omake are the original
versions of those scenes.

-Nick Callahan, 3/3/03
"Gai Daigoji never died! He's still playing cards with Hoffa and the King!
You'll see! You'll all see!"

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Opening scene, v.1

Gendo stared up from the floor. Past the clear lenses of his glasses,
contentment filled his eyes.

"I've been waiting for this moment for so long...To finally be with you again,
Yui." Tiny pricks of moisture touched his eyelids. "When I was with Shinji, I
only hurt him. So it was better that I do nothing."

Yui tipped her head slightly to her side. A lock of hair fell across her eyes.
"So, you were afraid of Shinji."

A pathetic smirk crossed Gendo's lips. "I don't believe that I can be loved by
others...I'm not worthy of love."

"You're just running away. You simply reject the world before you get hurt." 

Yui leaned down over Gendo, sliding against his body. Her forearm crossed his
shoulder, nudity against nudity. "Afraid of the shapeless, invisible things
between people...You just closed your heart to others."

"So, this is my retribution. Forgive me...Shinji." Nudity against nudity.

"But, Gendo, you forgot one thing."

"Yes, Yui?"

Yui raised a whip, coiled over itself, above her head. "Queen didn't say speak!"

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

Third to last scene, v.1

Asuka walked across the remains of the building. Shinji watched her from a chunk
of cement. A plain of glass, inverted windows, stretched out as far as the eye
could see. The night had come, now, peppering the sky with stars. Just barely,
though, Shinji could make out Asuka's outfit, red racing stripes and stupid
mini-skirt and all.

"Stop staring!" Asuka called out. 

Shinji fell back from his perch, flailing madly. "I wasn't!"

Asuka walked over to the fallen boy and helped him up. "You're so easy
sometimes, you know that?"

Shinji rubbed his recently de-helmeted head. "And you can be downright mean."

Asuka stuck her tongue out. Pulling back, she leaned over to Shinji. "So, what
did you think of the battle today?"

"It wasn't our best moment." Shinji shook his head. "We practically destroyed
the whole city."

"But wasn't it fun?"

"Huh?" Shinji took in the girl's face. She was smiling like a demon.

"Admit it." Asuka poked him in the chest. "You had fun."

"Oh, like you can say. You missed most of it. You just came in time to help win
it." Shinji spun and rolled his eyes.

"You're right." Gracefully, Asuka's arms draped over Shinji. The boy's eyes went
innocently wide. "I saw some of it, though. I never said you were that lucky."

The two of them stood still, locked in a one-sided embrace. It began to dawn on
them about how it looked, especially with no one there. Slowly, gently, Shinji
took hold of Asuka's wrist. "Asuka..."

"Shinji, I'm sorry, I don-"

"You look pretty."

Asuka blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Y-you look pretty, that's all. I don't mean anything, it's just...you're
pretty."

Asuka squeezed him a little. "Thank you, Shinji. You look handsome."

"Thank you, Asuka."

"You'll make some girl very happy, one day."

"Yeah. Some guy will be lucky to have you."

((Okay, it's finally done. Go home, because no where on your ticket does it say
that you can sleep here! -N.C.))