Shinji shook his head to clear away the fuzziness and disorientation. He retook the controls and stood his simulation EVA up again. For the third time that week, he and Asuka were paired together in a fight against a computer controlled angel. He ducked behind a building, and waited. "Asuka, have you got that rifle yet?"

"Not yet. This damned thing is jammed." He saw Unit 02 struggling with the door of an armory building. "I’m gonna try another one."

"Okay. Hurry."

She winked at him through the display. He turned his EVA’s head to look around the corner at the angel. This one was stranger than most. It’s natural form was vaguely human, but it shapeshifted sometimes. As he peeked around the corner, a claw shot right past his face, and startled him. He had not known that it was this close. Jumping back, he took out his prog knife, and took up a ready stance. Then pain seared him from behind as the monster jumped on his back, and raked him with AT field enhanced claws. He spun around, and tried to throw the assailant off of himself, but it hung on, staying close to his back.

He could feel it moving up, trying to get a position on his neck. Reaching over his head, he grabbed it, and pulled. It wouldn’t let go, and then suddenly his hand came away with something. He brought it down, and saw that was one of the angel’s arms. <How curious. It doesn’t seem to be made of anything very tough. >

He crashed around on some buildings, and finally loosened his adversary, which promptly changed form again, and ducked behind another building. "I sure do wish it would just stand still. It should know by now that it is going to die, why make it so hard on us."

"Sometimes I wonder how and shy you fight in these things Shinji. I am coming to you. I have rifles for both of us."

"Swing by and throw me a rifle, then move around to the other side, Lets see if we can surround him a little."

"Coming. Here!" Unit 02 ran by, tossing the rifle, and then veering to the left, moving in and out of buildings. Shinji caught the rifle, and checked to make sure the first round was in the chamber. Sure enough it wasn’t. "I see they’re trying to trip us up. The decided to let the armory crews slip up a little." He pulled back the charging handle, and chambered the first round.

"Well, at least the computer isn’t stacking things way against us. It could be raining so hard we couldn’t see anything.

The MAGI computer system, upon hearing this went into deliberation for a few microseconds, and figured that they had overlooked something in the scenarios. In the program, it started raining.

"What the? Hey, that’s not very nice. I’m gonna kill that computer when I get out of this thing." Just then Lightning struck the building next to her, and lit up her screen. She had a hard time following the angel. It was trying to circle around Shinji, and get behind his field of vision.

"Shinji, look out, it’s coming around on your right. By the way, what’s with that arm in your right hand?"

"I decided I didn’t like it scratching my back, so I ripped it off." Shinji crept around the building, holding the arm in his left hand, rifle in his right. The angel flashed past, trying to get to the building on his right side, but had misjudged where he was, and so was caught. Shinji fired, but his rifle was not up yet, so he only got it in the leg. The H.E. rounds hit the leg, and blew it off, leaving shredded meat dangling from what was probably a knee.

Then angel morphed again, getting smaller due to the decreased mass, this time into a large conglomerated creature. It had a dog-like head, with sharp teeth, a long serpentine body, with four legs, and a long tapered whip-like tail. It made like it was going to jump at him, tensing up a little.

Unit 02 appeared behind it, and fired off a round, but it hit just behind it. The thing jumped at unit 01, baring its teeth. Shinji jumped back, and swung his left arm, which held the creature’s arm, what used to be the creatures arm. The claws sliced cleanly through the flesh of the angel, cutting it neatly in half, along its stomach. Its legs hit the ground, but its upper body continued their trajectory, and smashed into him.

Dropping the arm, and grabbing its head, he pulled it off of him, but kept a hold on it. He stood up, still holding the creature by its head, then raised his rifle, and was about to shot when a thought occurred to him. Flexing his left fingers, he crushed the head of the angel, taking out the core too. "That was a little messy. I thought that would do it."

"Why didn’t you just shoot it?"

"Well, I had to destroy the brain or control center or whatever, because unless I did that, it would keep turning into other stuff."

"Oh, good thinking then. But I think I am going to access one of the targeting programs before I get out. I have a little aggression to work out before I stop."

"I’ll see you later then." Shinji started the shutdown sequence as soon as he entered the catapult restriction arms, and the screen went blank. LCL slowly pumped out of the entry plug, and he got out. After a quick spray down, to wash off the residual LCL on his suit, he made his way to the small control station that overlooked the computerized plugs. He saw the estimated casualties, and was amazed. It was only 10-20 injuries. He queried to find out why, and the computer told him that they had actively engaged the angel after people had been evacuated from that district, but Asuka’s H.E. round had collapsed part of a shelter below ground level.

He watched her EVA firing at moving targets while running, jumping through the simulated obstacle course. She juked and wove, jumped, always moving, and then firing a burst that would hit the target, and blow it away. His thoughts were still on her when he entered the shower room, and started the cleaner for his plug suit.

While in the shower he suddenly felt happy. It came over him very quickly, and he had the feeling of being satisfied with himself. Then just as suddenly he was angry for some reason. He began wondering what it was, and absently picked up the soap, and started washing his hands.

Asuka rinsed her hands off, and dried them. She had opened the door to the locker room, and put her hand in some sticky gum. It was dirty, and grossed her out. "Why do people have to do that. Why can’t they just put it in the trash? Stupid people."

Back in the shower, Shinji realized what he was doing, and put the soap back, confused. His hands were clean, but he couldn’t figure out why he had thought they were dirty in the first place. He finished showering, and got out.

After getting redressed, he went to the vending machines, and got a drink. He was always thirsty when he came out of the entry plug, whether real or simulation, so it had become a routine for him to come here. He sipped it, and reflected over the battle.

Asuka stepped out of the shower, and walked to her locker, her bare feet slapping on the tile. She dressed, and left, looking for Shinji. She found him, sipping his tea as usual, musing to himself.

"What are you thinking about that can keep you occupied when I, Asuka, end all be all of existence, enters the room?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Come on, what is it?"

"Have you ever known of the MAGI to have a sense of humor?"

"No. All it does is make sure things run smoothly. Why do you ask? Is this about the rain thing?"

"Yeah. The MAGI has never shown any ability to add stimulus. All it does is respond, but today, it was almost like it was trying to be funny."

"Well as long as it does its job, it can try to be as funny as it wants."

"I guess your right. You want to go do something. I am getting tired of just sitting here, even if I do it every time I get done with EVA." Shinji threw his can away.

"Like what?"

"I don’t know, what is there to do?"

"Well, it has been a while since we have just sat and though about things; I could go for the peace and quite."

"That’s not a bad idea. You want to go tot he usual place?" She asked raising her eyebrow.

"Gulp! Uh…yeah. I like it up there. I haven’t been there since…uh." He let it go at that. They exited, and started the long journey to the other side of the city where, sitting on top of a large hill rested the Shinto shrine that had become the lookout spot for the two lovers.

They lay on the grass for what seemed like an eternity, but it was growing dark. When it was too dark to be out, they started home. They found Misato on the floor, laughing so hard that her sides hurt. The TV was on, and obviously she had watched some kind of comedy and it had just set her off.

After a few minutes of laughter, for the most part Misato’s, she finally greeted them. "Oh, hi, Shinji, where have you two been?"

"We were just." Asuka poked him in the ribs. "Out at the park. We met Touji and Hikari there."

"Oh, well, you had better get something to eat, and go to bed. You have some tests in the morning concerning your little…. thing. They haven’t decided on a name for it yet. But you need to be well rested."

"Wouldn’t it do better if we were tired enough to go to sleep easily tomorrow?" Asuka asked."

"No, they want you fresh, not worn out. Now, come on, go to bed." She coaxed.

After a quick Korean fish and rice meal, they went to their separate bedrooms, but met secretly in their dreams. No one would know, and even if some one did find out…who cares!

The next day, they began testing the limitations and boundaries of the ability. "OK, now try shaping the AT field into something. Try a cone first." The air shimmered, and for a moment you could see the phase-state of the AT field in a conic shape. Ritsuko Akagi sat in the control room studying the readings on the field. She gaped at the control the two teens had over it. So far they had been displaying unheard-of ability in shaping and moving the field. Instead of having it surround their respective Eva’s, they could detach them, and meld the two fields together, even making different shapes. "Try inverting it. Make it like a bowl. In fact, try taking some water from the reservoir over there." She indicated the body of water on the maps of their heads up displays. From inside the dreamstate, Shinji and Asuka were concentrating lust a little on the AT field.

They had found out that control was easy, and it took very little brainpower compared to just unfolding it in reality. The AT field in reality changed a little, and dipped into the water. Not even a ripple issued forth. Raising was as easy as lowering it. Even though the water must have weighed thousands of tons, it was as though they were lifting the AT field only.

"OK, you two, come out of it. That is enough for today. There will be more tests tomorrow, so be ready for them. I wasn’t to see the full potential of this." Ritsuko turned around and found the approving stare of Gendou. He nodded, then stood and left.

The Evas shuddered, then stood and moved to the launching catapults, and were withdrawn back into the Geofront. The pilots got out more excited than normal, talking to each other as though they had known each other for years. They chatted about this and that as they headed towards the showers, unawares that eyes were on them.

In an office high above the Eva cage, Commander Ikari stared down at his son. The only natural tie to the life he once had. He never wanted to lose Yui. She there fore became a permanent part of the project. He didn’t like the way it had gone, but he made up for it. Seeing his son actually opening up to another person the way he had… that might cause problems with the schedule. He would have to see how things went before he made a decision on the matter. For now, let Shinji know what life is all about. That might atone for some of the things that he had and would put him through.