Nightshift

Nightshift
Sentient

“Please make it stop!!” Asuka screamed as the Angel invaded her mind, “Someone… Please!!”

The fifteenth Angel attacked the pilot’s mind from the dark confines of outer space. Extending its wings, the Angel forced more of its radiant light to rain down on the tortured Evangelion.

Everyone watched as Unit 02 released the weapon it had pointed at the target and started to shake uncontrollably. The display in Central Dogma relayed the images of the girl trying her best to fight off the attack on her mind but to no avail.

“Father…”

The Commander, who calmly watched the events unfold before him, answered his son’s question before he could be bothered to even hear it, “Rei is assisting the Second Child.”

Gendo pushed his glasses back to the bridge of his nose, “Your help is not needed.”

“Someone… help me…” Asuka cried as she pulled her knees up to her chest in the entry plug, “Please… Shinji.”

Nearly at the same time, the words of his father and of his roommate affected him. To one he was overlooked and, to the other, he was needed more than ever before. Shinji’s eyes were transfixed on the com-link as the tears started to roll down Asuka’s face.

It was obvious something had to be done and, even if Ayanami was in motion to follow the orders she was issued, she wouldn’t save Asuka in time.

While Asuka pleaded for his help, Shinji briefly decided he had no choice. No matter how Unit 01 functioned or looked, if he could move it he was going to try.

“Asuka…” Shinji softly said before he allowed the darkness he met when he fought the twelfth to overtake him again. It felt like he was passing out but, at the same time he felt like he was becoming more aware. It was like he was letting himself go… almost like he was losing his ego.

It wasn’t painful in any sense of the word. As a matter of fact, placed in a different situation, he would have realized it felt good but his mind was set on only one thing and one thing only.

Kill the Angel.

Unit 01 smiled as the bandages that covered its face started to fall off. It was free again but this time it was completely liberated and unrestrained by any annoying notions such as protecting anyone. Today, it was allowed to do what it always wanted to do.

Kill.

The armor that sought to both contain and protect it started to fall off as its wings started to appear.

“I-Impossible!” Maya cried causing Ritsuko to look over her shoulder at the computer screen, “The MAGI picked up a blue pattern detected in the Evangelion cages!”

This got Gendo’s attention.

The Commander rose out of seat and unintentionally knocked over the chair he was sitting in, “Display Unit 01 on the main display! Now!” Gendo ordered amidst the screams of Asuka.

It didn’t take long for the feed from the cages to be accessed and, the exact moment it was, everyone was awed. With six lightning yellow wings that seemed to be created from pure energy growing on its back, Unit 01 was leaving the complex on its on power.

“Fill the cages with bakelite.” He stated as his usual cool demeanor started to return.

Misato stared at the screen as Unit 01 rose, “It’s moving too fast! That wouldn’t work.”

Gendo frowned at his lapse in judgment as Unit 00 got back into position with the Lance of Longinus held firmly in its hands. When he received word that Unit 01 was approaching the surface, he knew he had to use his trump card.

“Rei, the recovery of Unit 01 takes priority over the target.” The quiet gasps from most in Central Dogma came as no surprise, “Secure Unit 01 by any means necessary.”

“Understood...”

Unit 01 broke through the ground and continued on its way. Calmly observing the situation before her as her emotions started to stir, Rei started to look for the best way to down Unit 01 without completely destroying its pilot.

As the violet Evangelion rose higher, the Angel took notice and left Unit 02 to falter to the ground. Rei forced Unit 00 to draw its arm back and the fifteenth Angel started to adjust itself for descent.

At the same time, the Lance of Longinus and the bright light of the Angel sped towards the winged monster. The light had no effect and the lance was easily caught before it speared the Evangelion through the head.

Gendo took off his glasses as he stared at the display.

While all of Central Dogma watched, Unit 01 and Arael drifted closer to each other. Even though the distance between them was great, the desire to destroy its adversary drove the Evangelion onward.

Finally at the same altitude, Unit 01 flew directly into the light and plunged the spear through the AT field and as deep into the Angel as it could. Enjoying the process of destroying the Angel, Unit 01 didn’t notice that the lance was not actually penetrating the Angel but instead merging with it.

Aware of what was happening, the Evangelion was about to abandon the weapon in favor of its on hands until it realized that it too was merging with the Lance of Longnius and the Angel.

“They… ” Ritsuko said as she watched the feed from the display, “They are becoming one.”

~*~

A movie that wasn’t supposed to be watched…

The boy blinked as he realized his surroundings. He was sitting in the last row of a movie theater as an old movie flickered across the screen. Looking around the cool air conditioned room also made him aware that he was alone.

Sitting up and stretching his arms, he wandered how long he was sleep until a fact arose in the sleepy haze that clouded his mind.

He didn’t know why he was here. In noticing that, something more important came to mind.

He couldn’t remember anything at all.

“Where… No… Who…” He looked down at his clothes and found himself dressed in a white short-sleeved shirt and black slacks. It was a school uniform, “Who am I…?”

“You… many things…”

Someone was sitting in the row in front of him. The boy narrowed his eyes at the figure, “What is that supposed to mean…?”

The person stood up and the light from the projector made her features clear. She was probably around his height and size. Her crimson red eyes along with shoulder length gray hair certainly made her more different that most people he could think of, a fact that would have been more believable if he could remember faces. Her shapely curves and tanned complexion made her extremely attractive but the most stunning thing about her was the fact that she was naked.

“Who are you then?”

The crimson orbs that he found so familiar were filled with undeniable indifference, “I enemy.”

He pulled his eyes off the girl as he unbuttoned his shirt and handed it her. He knew that if he was feeling cold with that and his T-shirt on that she was probably freezing, “Here… and I don’t have any reason to be your enemy…”

“I… You… fight.” She said, not motioning to get the shirt.

Seeing that she was unconcerned about being nude, he held the shirt at his side as he spoke, “We were fighting…?”

A slow nod was the answer to his question.

Aghast, he asked a question that he really didn’t want to know the answer to, “Did… did I do anything to you?”

Instead of a simple yes or not, she turned and pointed at the screen before them. They both sat down in order to let the projector display what was on screen and his heart started to pound in his chest as he dared to look.

In the grainy, black and white movie he saw two monsters fighting. One of them vaguely resembled a human while the other simply seemed to be a pair of large white wings.

Although no sound accompanied the movie, the boy could easily remember the sound of the monster as it opened its mouth and yelled before it drove a lance into the being of light.

No, he knew more than that… He knew how it felt to be bathed in that radiant light, he knew how it felt to break through an AT field, and he knew how to kill.

“That… is you.” The girl said as her understanding of Japanese started to get better.

She raised her hand and pointed at the monster that plunged the spear deeper into the being.

“But that’s not me… That’s Unit 01.”

That sparked his memory.

That name… it meant he was a pilot. Yea, he was a pilot. What was his name? Shinji… Shinji what? Shinji Ikari? Yea, that was it. Why… No, what was he fighting? An Angel? Yes, that’s what it was.

“That means you are…”

She turned around and looked over her shoulder, “Yes, I am that which you call an Angel.” She whispered as her speech patterns continued to develop.

Shinji leaned back in his seat as the movie continued on, “Why are we fighting?”

“I am not fighting.” She whispered in the same flat tone as before, “You are.”

He sighed as he realized that he couldn’t remember much more than he already knew. Shinji looked away from the movie and focused his eyes on her, “So we are both trapped here?” He asked, overlooking her last remark.

“I do not know.”

“You… You didn’t try to leave or anything?” Shinji looked around but didn’t see any doors of any sort in the large room, “I thought we were supposed to be enemies…”

“I have no intention of harming anything.” Her crimson eyes calmly looked at him, “I merely want to attain that which is called knowledge.”

“What do you mean?” He asked as he stared back into those eyes.

She returned her attention back to the screen, “Every living thing has desire. Like humans’ selfish desire to be accepted or animals’ desire to survive, we have a desire to find our father. I am different from my kin in that I desire to know more.”

Suddenly, a flood of memories came back. All the times he fought the Angels thinking that he was protecting humanity was more or less correct but that didn’t mean that humanity’s destruction was their goal. The thought that they were simply trying to get their father back and fought just because he was in their way was enough to bother him.

In remembering the previous attacks he also recalled what took placed before Unit 01 became one with its enemy. Shinji’s eyes landed on the girl who sat in front of him, “Why… Why did you hurt Asuka?”

“I only looked into her mind. It was not a painful experience. She simply perceived it as such. She hurt herself.”

Shinji turned away from the Angel as his rage started to die down. It was obvious that she honestly didn’t mean to hurt Asuka but that still didn’t change the fact that she did, “You could have looked at my mind instead and left her alone…”

The Angel considered this long ago. When Unit 01 caught her attention she focused her light upon it but she saw nothing except darkness and it was something she didn’t want to witness again.

“I cannot utilize my abilities here so if you may share your mind with me verbally.”

The pilot looked around and sighed, “I guess that’s the only thing I can do since we won’t be out of here anytime soon. Can you at least do something for me though?”

“Yes?”

Shinji held out his shirt again, “Please put this on… I can’t look at you while you are naked.”

It was an accepted trade but she found it strange that he didn’t want to view the form she took, “What is unacceptable with this body?” She asked as she accepted the shirt.

“Nothing…” He blushed despite the situation, “It’s just that… Well, I can’t concentrate with a naked girl next to me.”

“I am not female.” She stated as she slowly put the shirt on, “We do not have what you call a gender.”

Thankful that the shirt was also long enough to cover her thighs, Shinji leaned forward and looked her up and down, “I don’t understand… Why do you look like that then?”

“I took this form because it is your opposite. That is all.”

Now that one of his questions was answered, Shinji had another one to ask before he started answering her questions, “What is your name…?”

“We do not have names or titles. Call me whatever you wish”

“What do you want to be called though…?”

Besides following her own desires, this was the first time a question of wanting something other than knowledge was proposed to her. The simple answer to his question would be that she didn’t want a name but, in pondering about it, she discovered that she did indeed want to possess one.

A name was something that, like her knowledge, would remain unlike her wings or her light and, more than that, it was something she would finally be able to share with others unlike the information only she had interest in.

“I…” She found herself at a lost for words for the first time since she could remember, “I don’t know what I want to be named…”

Shinji shuffled around in his seat, “A long time ago… I looked up some stuff on the Angels and found out that they were winged people that fought for God.”

“We do not fight for-“

“Yea… I know you are different but the only thing I remember is that one of the, the Angel of Birds, was named Arael,” Shinji couldn’t hide his blush as he reclined in the seat, “I think it fits you well…”

Arael stared at him as she thought of how she would respond and opted to put one of the expressions she learned to use. She stared at Shinji and, suddenly, smiled.

It was not a happy smile or even a thankful smile. As a matter of fact, the small but cute smile on her face would be hard to notice if you weren’t staring at her. It was at that moment, that Shinji wondered how it was possible that he once wanted to kill her.

~*~

“That is why humans prefer to be surrounded by other humans?”

Shinji scratched his head, “I don’t really know how other people feel but I guess no one likes to feel lonely.”

The two lost interest in the rewinding video a long time ago. The movie itself was nothing more than what seemed to be the brief one-sided fight between them that started over the moment that they combined.

Eventually, they lost track of time if that even existed in this place.

In the dark theater, Shinji recounted many of his experiences to the girl who sat beside him and took everything he had to offer. From how it felt to be hurt to how good it felt to be praised, from how things tasted to all of the colors he liked, and from his friends to the subjects he was taught in school… All of it would seem like useless small talk to anyone else but Arael.

“Does being alone mean that you are lonely?”

Shinji leaned back, “Well, not really… When you are alone you are just by yourself but, when you are lonely, you are by yourself and don’t want to be alone.”

It was confusing but it was the best way to put it.

When one was alone, he was separated from other. When one was alone they followed their own agenda but, when surrounded by other, they become influenced by the standards of the rest.

Was it wrong to be alone and not desire other?

“I do not understand the concept,” Arael turned toward him, “We do not associate with each other. We are alone but we not seek other. Should I become lonely?”

“Arael, I’m not really good at stuff like this but um,” Shinji scratched his head, “It’s not about becoming anything. It’s about how you feel.”

Feel?

They were beings that only moved with rational thought. Feelings were not necessary when you driven by intent. They possessed intelligence but only used it to further their cause not to think about other things like she did. Did this mean that she was capable of feeling?

“How do I feel?”

He touched her.

Shinji reached for her lap and took her hand into his. It wasn’t an intentional intrusion on her personal space. It was an example he made by squeezing her hand.

Arael didn’t understand at first and she had good reason to seeing that this wasn’t her actual body. Her present form was merely a replica of the body of Asuka but, because of the interference of Unit 01, she couldn’t make up every detail exactly and was forced to ‘make due’ with what she had.

Then she noticed it.

She could feel the warmth coming from their joined hands. Seeing the reaction on her face, Shinji started to release but Arael used her strength to keep his hand in place.

By exerting that pressure, she felt her hand tightening around his and then it happened.

A flood of feeling hit her like a tidal wave.

Suddenly, she could feel the fabric of his shirt rubbing against her skin. She could feel the crisp, chill atmosphere of the room. She could feel her back pressing into the comfortable material of the chair. She could feel her feet on the cool texture of the floor.

She was overwhelmed by her senses.

Of course she used her senses before but never to this extent. She felt reborn. Almost like she was waking up for the first time… and this was something humans encountered on an every day basis?

She was so caught up in her own feelings that she almost didn’t notice his hand slide out of hers. Again turning to face him, she couldn’t help but see that his whole face was a light red, “I’m sorry for touching you so suddenly…”

An apology?

Overlooking the fact that she still didn’t understand the concept of being sorry, Arael shook her head, “I do not desire an apology. I…”

The Angel felt something in her chest tighten but it didn’t feel as pleasant as the feelings before. It felt like she could put what she wanted to say into words but, at the same time, she wanted to say something.

She wanted to let him know how she felt.

A pink shade of color rose on her light brown face, “I… w-wish to feel more.”

It was a simple statement but it made her body temperature rise. Arael’s entire body felt hot as he stared at her. It wasn’t so much that his surprised, navy blue eyes were looking at her, it was the fact that this feeling was unknown to her.

Shinji’s smile made her feel warmer than she already was, “You’re embarrassed?” He teased as he looked at her face.

She turned away, “I do not know…”

Out of the spectrum of feelings, she was familiar with none. She only had a mild understanding of a few thanks to looking into the girl’s mind but to actually experience those human emotions was far different than just observing them.

Still, there was a single feeling that she wanted to posses.

She watched Asuka as Unit 01 broke free and, the moment the berserk Evangelion took to the air, the pilot was bathed in relief and another feeling that she didn’t understand.

She discovered relief when she found out that she still existed but the other one remained unknown to her until now. Filtering through what she could remember from the redhead’s memories, she could add a name to the feeling she wanted to experience.

The riveting emotion was not something as extreme as love or resentment but instead was something common. Like a blade of grass in an endless plain, it was everywhere but was easily overlooked in light of sharper emotions such as hurt or lust.

“Well,” Shinji continued with the small smile still adorned on his face, “I don’t mind telling you more if you want me to.”

Arael brought her crimson eyes back to the boy in beside her, “I…”

Again, she wanted to say something but, this time, it wasn’t embarrassment that held back her words. It was a darker emotion this time. One far more brooding than the last. Another feeling she was familiar with thanks to her encounter with Unit 01.

The bleak stirring in her chest was fear.

She was scared of what could happen if she said it. If he knew how she felt how would he react? She couldn’t look into his mind and the barrier of her heart was useless seeing that it couldn’t be manipulated to her liking.

“What is it?” Shinji asked seeing her hesitation.

“I care for you.”

She admitted it.

He was the first being of any sort that willingly shared what she wanted the most. Even though he didn’t regard himself as the best person when it came to teaching her, everything he said was warmly received and everything he was about to say was patiently waited for.

Unknowingly, she became closer to him.

No more did she view him as human. He was something essential, something that couldn’t be replaced, and, most importantly, something that she desired.

“I want you to stay with me.” She voiced as the fear of his reaction tugged at her thoughts. Given their present situation, he had no choice but to stay with her but she of all people knew that nothing lasted forever.

Irony was cruel.

The very enemy he was supposed to eliminate was the first person to say something like that to him and he didn’t know how to reply.

Even if she was a person now, she was still the same monster that attacked Asuka. She was one of the Angels that arrived at the city and it was his job to kill her like those who came before but she was also a naïve girl who just admitted her honest feelings.

Like her, he was enjoying himself. She didn’t demand or even ask that he give up what she wanted. It was a simple request that he accepted and she was content with listening to his mindless banter like it was the best thing she ever heard.

Shinji turned in her direction only to find that she was slightly shaking.

Instantly, he knew why.

It was scary to share your feelings with others because you could get hurt. Staring into the same terrified eyes that used to intimidate him, Shinji mustered all of the willpower he had and placed his hand on top of hers.

“I care for you, too.”

She might have been his enemy but she wasn’t anymore…

Now she was just a person. She was an inexperienced girl who never encountered other people and he truly cared about how she felt. He didn’t care what she was or what she used to be. At the exact moment, she was simply a girl who bravely shared her feelings for the first time.

His touched calmed her but his words relieved her.

“But…” His hand gripped hers again, “I can’t stay here.”

It wasn’t bad spending time with her. It was just that he had to go back. Even if he wanted to stay, he had things to do. If an Angel could come forward with her feelings then he couldn’t run away from his problems.

“Why?”

“I’m a pilot… I have to protect the city.” Shinji looked at the screen and watched as Unit 01 pierced her with the lance, “No, I want to protect the city.”

Arael tilted her head, “You desire to fight?”

Shinji shook his head, “It’s more than just defeating the Angels. Talking to you made me understand.”

“You made me realize…” The pilot leaned back in the chair, “Being alone isn’t wrong… but being isolated is. I want to protect people because I can but it’s more that I don’t want to be cut off from everyone else even if I can be hurt or unhappy...”


“We’re stuck here but, outside, there are kinds of things for you to experience. There are other-“

“Her?”

Shinji returned his sight back to the girl beside him, “Huh?”

Arael’s hand slid from under his as she stood up, “You wish to see her instead of me.”

“Wait, what are-“

“I copied her body. I am better than her.” The Angel interrupted him again.

Arael didn’t know why she felt like this but she wanted him to stay with her simply because, if he left, she would be… lonely. She was desperate to keep him with her. That’s why she showed him what made her feel so embarrassed.

She pulled the shirt tail of his shirt up, “You… made me feel this.”

Shinji’s eyes were greeted with a part of a female’s anatomy that he never saw before. Tracing her slim, caramel thighs with his eyes, he brought his attention further up until he was starting directly between her legs.

Under the small patch of gray hair, he found what he was looking for.

Thanks to the light coming from the projector, he could make out even the most minuscule detail. Besides the light gray pubic hair, he could see the smooth outline of her sex… and he could see the moisture there as well.

Unable to turn away from the sight, Shinji could only close his eyes but the image became much more vivid in his mind. Despite how much he tried to block it out, it stayed in his mind and he couldn’t deny that it aroused him.

"Ara-" He couldn’t even get out her name as she rubbed the bulge in his pants, “Ah…”

Her touch was gentle and innocent despite the act. Lacking any malicious or ulterior motives, her touch was for him not only because he shared what he knew with her but because she wanted him more than anything else.

With his eyes opened because of her sudden movement, he started to notice other things about the form she took.

If Arael was reborn by feeling, he was awaken by her body.

Her light brown skin seemed to shine other the light of the projector and, thanks to that light, he could clearly see her firm, petite breasts as she removed the his shirt. Casting the school shirt aside, his eyes focused on her lips as she spoke.

“I want you.”

It was a bold declaration that meant exactly what it sounded like. She did not care about her knowledge. It was simply something she busied herself with since she found it interesting but Shinji was something entirely different.

Shinji was other, an enemy as a matter of fact, but she came to accept his existence on completely different level of understanding. Unlike her thoughts or knowledge, he was tangible.

He was something she could reach out and feel… something that she could touch.

And she did exactly that.

Bringing her hand back to the swell in his pants, the Angel leaned forward and kissed him.

Shinji relented the moment their lips came into contact with each other. It was another declaration of her feelings and he returned her affection the best way he could.

The kiss they shared was far from being the best one ever but their resolve to make it as such made up for it. With nothing short of raw passion, she tried her best to imitate the only kiss she could think of but she long since forgot about mimicking something from a past that didn’t belong to her.

This was her kiss.

The soothing feel of her lips pressed against his while her tongue flicked around in his mouth was being provided by her and no one else. It was more than just a display of her feelings or being tolerate of other, this was acceptance.

Her breasts pressed against his tee shirt but he paid that no mind as his tongue roamed her mouth. His hands unconsciously pulled her closer as the kiss continued and, by now, the bulge in his pants was now a small tent.

Yes… This was acceptance.

She tasted just how she looked…

Exotic.

Contrary to her calm attitude, the gentle kiss that surprised him so much was wild. Her tongue explored every region of his mouth and her hand slowly stroked his stiff erection until she slowly broke away and stared at him.

Dark red eyes met ocean blue as they looked at each other and, gradually, their faces started to drift closer to each other. Another kiss it was, but neither of the two had any qualms about it.

It wasn’t as heavy as the first kiss. It was lighter but still bore the same affection the first one retained. This times their tongues didn’t clash… they met with each other with a soft exchange of feelings.

The innocent desire behind her kiss intertwined with the understanding need behind his but neither stopped. Even as her hand unbuckled his belt, they continued to fall into the peaceful satisfaction that resulted from the intimate affair.

They parted and his unbuttoned pants were exposed to the cool air that filled the theater.

Pass the kiss, she had no experience with intimacy. It was merely by chance that she discovered his reaction when she touched him. That’s why she pulled his pants, with his boxers following, down and saw his stiff penis.

Shinji shuddered as she touched it… and, soon, started to trail her hand up and down the sides.

He felt the same way she did. It was a hunger that was unfamiliar to her… a zest that made the spot between her thighs more moist and a craving that made his dick twitch slightly as she caressed it.

Arael held back a moan as he shifted under her causing his leg to provide just enough friction to further arouse her. Her gentle caress soon turned into a motion as her hand with up and down his length as his face showed her how much he enjoyed it.

There was no doubt. He belonged inside her.

She shifted…

He moved…

The tip of his dick touched the folds of her pussy.

A tingling feeling shot up her spine as it rubbed against the most sensitive part of her body. If the friction felt this good, Arael decided, then having it inside her would feel much better.

With one hand on the armrest and the other guiding him into her, the Angel slowly descended until he parted the pink folds of her sex with his shaft. She could feel him going deeper into her until he was met with some resistance.

Her innocence…

It was a barrier similar to the one that contained her soul except that it retained her virginity. It was simple to understand that they were not to be breeched but, unlike the barrier that protected her very being, her hymen was not so much a barrier as it was a symbol.

Even a being like her could comprehend that this wasn’t something you gave away.

His stiff member plowed through her virginity and a sharp, distinct pain caused her to clench her eyes close. It hurt but she could endure this for him…

It was something you gave to someone you cared for.

The rest of his length was finally sliding inside and she was about to rise again before he stopped her. He stopped her not with another kiss or surprised yelp but his knowing touch. His arms wrapped around her small frame and pulled her against him as his penis fit snuggly into her vagina.

Shinji held her close and, even if he didn’t say it, she knew that he wasn’t ignorant of her pain. He knew that she was going this far for him and she knew that he understood. If she was confused at first, she was more than certain that this was what she wanted exactly.

Tilting her head, she kissed the corner of his mouth until his lips parted and allowed her as much access as she wanted. Her tongue slid from the side of his lips into his mouth where he met his tongue. As her tasted him again, his hips moved and she finally realized it…

They were one.

Every one of his thrust was like a shot. His dick would drive deep into her and then partly slide out until he moved forward again. Arael moaned into the kiss as he moved faster… each one meeting harder than the last.

She was tight… but his length went in and out so fast that, if not for the way he was doing it, one would believe that it was her that was moving.

This was what it meant to feel good…

His arms pulled her even deeper into the kiss as his pelvis rocked against hers.

Shinji wanted her just as much as she wanted him. He was accepting her… he was touching her.

The kiss she initiated was turned into a kiss of his own. He kissed her like she wanted him to. His tongue explored her mouth like he was looking for something missing and she was enjoying it. His arms loosened around her frame and his hands landed on her thighs which he started to stroke.

Abruptly, the kiss was ended and she was about to open her eyes until she felt him lick her breast.

A whimper came from the Angel… a soft plea for more and he gave it to her as his shaft continued to slide in and out of her pussy.

The moment his mouth landed on her breast… she experienced something that she only had a taste of. The rapid pace that his dick entered her, his hand sliding up and down her thighs, and the soft sucking on her breast only severed small increments of ecstasy by themselves but together…

Her tangled her hands in his hair and pushed him onto her breast as he continued to suck. She could feel something… something big coming and she wanted this to last as long as possible.

When his hand made its way to her inner thigh with a slow caress… she couldn’t hold it back any longer.

They were one…

His pace slowed as her vaginal walls closed down on him and a release of her juices surrounded his member that was still pumping in and out of her.

They were one.

The movie theater was gone… The seats were gone… The movie was gone…

He stopped moving as his seed was shot into her…

They were one.

~*~

“Uh…”

Shinji rubbed his eyes and sat up as he opened an eye to look around.

“Hmm?” Misato hummed as she looked over the hospital bed, “You’re finally awake huh?”

The dull white of the walls and the beeping equipment made him realize where he was instantly. It was a place he long since got accustomed to since he found himself waking up here enough to remember exactly how it looked, “The hospital… What happened…?”

His guardian smiled despite the situation, “I thought it was over when you started to combine with the Angel…” She whispered, the memory of Shinji being trapped in that gray sphere making her feel oddly shaken.

Misato stared at her charge, “After a few minutes the sphere took the shape of Unit 01 and you fell through the air.” She said, starting to reflect on the answer to his question.

She remembered as Unit 01 slowly descended with a pair of wings that looked like they were stolen from an Angel from biblical times. The raging monster that took the skies returned to the ground with a magnificent pair of bright white wings made of light.

Idly noticing that her hand gripped the bar tighter, Shinji looked her in the face only to discover that the serious expression she held at first turned into one full of concern. Misato sighed as she decided to tell him, “You were almost labeled the fifteenth Shinji…”

His voice got caught up in his throat as he received that information. If he was listed as the enemy would he had fought to protect… He trailed off as he realized that he wouldn’t have fought for himself but for the girl that cared for him. Suddenly everything came back to him. If he wasn’t labeled as the Angel then that meant…

“Misato, where is she?”

She narrowed her eyes, “Shinji, you-“

“Please tell me…”

Again, his guardian sighed.

“She’s over there.” The raven haired woman voiced as she pointed behind her.

Shinji turned around and looked at the bed beside him where a gray haired girl peacefully slept oblivious to all the machines around her. His eyes skimmed over her light brown skin as Misato dropped her arm, “They found her in your entry plug. I didn’t know those things could-“

“She’s not a thing…” Shinji quietly injected.

Misato returned her attention to him with a questioning glance, “What did she do to you?”

A slight smile appeared on his face as he looked at the hands he touched her with, “She… She told me she cared about me Misato.”

She blinked, “Say what?”

“She said she cared… That she wanted to be with me.” Shinji repeated as he looked up at the major.

Misato shook her head. Even if she somehow took the form of a little girl, they were still monsters. They weren’t capable of emotions or feelings, they were simply savage monsters that tried to exterminate them and it was her job to find ways to kill them. She was going to tell him that he was too gullible until he spoke first.

“What’s going to happen to her?”

She shrugged, “I don’t know all the details but I think they’re going to experiment and-“

“N-No!” Shinji exclaimed, “Don’t let them do anything to her!”

“Shinji… She’s the enemy.” Misato frowned as he frantically looked at her, “You pilot to kill things like her!”

“I don’t want to kill her!!” Shinji turned to look at her again but the Operation Director’s hand gripped the hospital gown he wore. She pulled him closer to her and coolly looked him in the eyes.

“Look,” Misato stared at him, “It isn’t a girl. Hell, it isn’t even human. It’s an Angel!”

“And besides,” She continued as she released him, “They already put her to sleep...”

If humans could break Shinji would have been in pieces as he turned and found that, despite being hooked up to all of those machines, she wasn’t moving. Her chest wasn’t even moving up and down.

Panicked, he looked up at her, “Misato… Please don’t… They…”

He trailed off as he realized he couldn’t say anything.

It was unbelievable… He was going to show her everything that she wanted to know. He was going to teach her more stuff. He was going to introduced her to new things. He… He was going to stay with her.

Shinji bit on his lip to stop from screaming as tears started to roll down his face, “She… She said she didn’t want to hurt anyone… She… She…”

He couldn’t continue as he felt his heart break. For the first time, someone showed him affection and wanted to be with him but, now, she was gone... even if she was only a few feet away from him physically.

Misato didn’t expect this. What could have happened in those few minutes while they were combined was up in the air but she was just relieved that he was alive. His guardian reached out, “Shinji...”

With his hair blocking the view of his eyes, Misato wasn’t completely sure of how he felt but the way he was trembling made her feel guilty for breaking the news to him and, even worse, talking to him like that, “I’m sorry… for saying it like that.” She said as she placed her hand on his.

Immediately, he snatched his hand from under hers, “Don’t touch me!” He cried as loud as he could. Misato recoiled from his words like he shot her. Slowly drawing her hand from the bed, she watched as a sob escaped his mouth.

Shinji wrapped his arms around himself.

“Don’t touch me…” He repeated, his vision blurred by tears as he looked at the only person who ever told him she cared.

Unaware to the major, who had her back turned, and Shinji, who was silently sobbing... Arael's eyes snapped open.

~Fin

Author’s notes: This is basically what Lost Halo, one of my other stories, was supposed to be.

Some of the stuff in this story is out there like the fact that Third Impact didn’t happen, Arael didn’t turn back into her original form, the movie, and Unit 01 managing to escape… but I think it was reasonable enough.

The thing about this chapter was the ways it could have ended. At first, I was going to end it with Shinji being ‘infected’ and thus having the same eye and hair color as Arael but I started thinking, “I don’t want too many people going zomgswtfcake…” Joking of course, I respect the fans a lot. >_<

Anyway, I decided this ending fit better than the other one even if it wasn't as interesting. It’s going to take more than a few doses of crap to beat an Angel. Thought I was going to pull another Mana huh? e_e?

I was going to post this with another chapter (I posted the Technician’s chapter with Ritsuko’s because I wasn’t sure it was that good by itself for real) but I think the Angel chapter is alright.

Kind of thinking I should have went with female Kaoru though.

Nevertheless, many thanks for the feedback everyone. I’ll get to work on the next chapters soon.