This is a repost/revision of chapter 1. Chapters 2 and 3 are 
following immediately hereafter.

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

A Stitch In Time
A Neon Genesis Evangelion/Some other series fusion
Chapter 1

    *-*-*-*

DISCLAIMER

Neon Genesis Evangelion and all characters thereof are the sole 
property of Gainax. They own the copyrights, and the appearance 
of their characters in this work of fiction is not intended to overly 
infringe upon their copyrights.

    *-*-*-*

     Misato burst into the control center and quickly surveyed the 
situation with practiced eyes. The tactical display showed an 
unidentified target just beyond the outskirts of Tokyo-3. Color-
coded highlights indicated that the city above them was being 
evacuated. Aoba, Maya, and Makoto were typing away furiously at 
their consoles, lines of information scrolling through their displays 
faster than her eyes could follow. A quick glance over her shoulder 
confirmed that both Commander Ikari and Vice-Commander 
Fuyutski were standing in their customary positions overlooking the 
controlled chaos of the command floor. 

     She turned back to the tactical display. "Target status?"

     Aoba answered without looking up from his own display. "The 
target appeared approximately ninety seconds ago. It hasn't moved 
since."

     Misato frowned. "You mean it just appeared outside the city? Why didn't we detect it before then?"

     "We don't know." Makoto replied. "It could have been some sort 
of stealth system. Something that prevented us from detecting its 
approach."

     "But we can see it now." Misato pointed out.

     "Yes, Major."

     Maya looked up. "We're detecting anomalous energy readings 
from the target, Major. It could be some sort of modified AT field, 
but the Magi haven't been able to identify a definitive pattern yet."

     "We must assume that the target is an angel," Gendo said 
calmly, "until proven otherwise."

     "Right. Stand by to activate all defensive systems." Misato 
turned to Maya. "Eva status?"

     "All Evas standing by." Maya turned, her expression grave. "But 
only unit zero is ready for launch."

     "What? Shinji and Asuka haven't arrived yet?" Misato's eyes 
widened as a thought struck her.

     Ritsuko entered the room. "Rei was scheduled for a harmonics 
test, but neither of the other Children were needed. They elected 
not to come to observe Rei's test."

     Misato sighed. "They're at school. There was a big exam today, 
or something like that." She mentally kicked herelf for forgetting 
about that. "Figure approximately five to ten minutes for them to 
get here."

     "Have a dummy plug standing by in case we need to activate units one and two before the pilots arrive." Gendo ordered.

     Misato hesitated briefly, then nodded. "We'll deploy unit zero to a position inside the city, where Rei can intercept the target if it begins moving." Silently she added "I just pray that Shinji and Asuka make it in 
time."

     "Major! The target is entering the city!"

    *-*-*-*

As warning sirens blared their wailing cries, two children raced through the streets of Tokyo-3.

     "Hurry up, baka-Shinji! We'll miss all the action!"

     Shinji frowned. "I'm right behind you, Asuka."

     Asuka flashed him a grin over her shoulder. "Which is exactly where you should be."

     He bit back a reply to her comment, choosing instead to concentrate on keeping up with the racing redhead. A loud rumbling sound filled the air as the buildings around them began to decend into their sheltered positi
ons within the geofront below. "Where's the entry point, anyways?"

     Asuka stopped abruptly, causing Shinji to nearly run into her. As it was, he skidded to a stop several feet in front of her. He turned, and she regarded him with a questioning gaze. "What are you asking me for?"

     Shinji gaped at her. "Wha... what? You said you knew where it is!"

     She frowned, narrowing her eyes at him. Shinji swallowed nervously as her face began to take on a light reddish hue. "Of course I know where it is! Dumpkopf!" She reached up and cuffed him on the side of the head. "I
 *always* know what I'm doing. And don't you..." her voice trailed away as her eyes fixed on something behind him. "Mien Gott."

     Shinji blinked, then craned his head around. Standing approximately three hundred meters behind them was a large cylindrical object. It stood at least as tall as the highest building in Tokyo-3 and was at least three
 times the width. The surface of the cylinder seemed to be made up of highly polished golden-colored metal, but as Shinji looked closer he could see ripples and waves slowly making their way across the surface. The effect
 was almost hypnotic. "Is that.... is that an angel?"

     Asuka smirked as the angel began to move. "Excellent."

     Both children turned in surprise as a nearby building slid open, revealing the blue-and-white form of unit zero. The Eva stepped out of the elevator and brought a rifle to bear on the angel. At that moment the air ar
ound them was torn by a continuous peal of thunder as Tokyo-3's defensive batteries opened fire on the approaching angel.

     "Schist!" Asuka cursed. "C'mon, Shinji! I'm not going to let Wondergirl there get all the glory!"

     Shinji took a moment to watch unit zero as it faced off against the angel. As his eyes darted back and forth between them, be suddenly became aware of something. "Asuka?"

     "What?"

     He swallowed. "We're.... um.... we're between the angel and Rei."

     Asuka frowned. "What?"

     "We're between the angel," Shinji pointed at the approaching cylindrical angel, "and Rei," he pointed at unit zero.

     Asuka swore in German. "Let's find the damned entry point!"

    *-*-*-*

"Rei, do what you can to keep the target from getting further into the city." Misato explained. "Do not engage in close combat. Wait for units one and two."

     "Understood." Rei replied calmly. "How long until they arrive?"

     Misato paused. "Four minutes." She hoped.

     "Understood."

     Misato nodded to herself. "How's the target?"

     "AT field pattern determined, Major." Maya reported. "Pattern is blue. I repeat, pattern is blue."

     "Now we know for sure." Ritsuko commented.

     Misato snorted. "As if there was any doubt."

     Maya examined her displays. "The angel's AT field is still modulating, Major. It's emitting energy patterns unlike anything I've ever seen before."

     Ritsuko walked over to Maya's side. "Punch up the spectrographic and electromagnetic signatures of the angel's AT field."

     Misato considered waiting for more information, but decided against it. "All defensive positions, continue firing. Rei, stand by in case the target breaks through."

     "All defensive systems engaging the target. No discernable damage." Aoba paused, checking his display. "Target is changing course! It's heading directly for unit zero!"

     "Damn! Rei, engage the target from long range until we determine what it's capabilities are! Don't let it get too close to you!"

     "Understood."

     "The target's AT field is expanding." Maya reported. She motioned to Ritsuko. "Sempai... these new readings..."

     Ritsuko examined Maya's display for a moment. "What the..."

     Misato ignored the pair. "Rei, Expand your own AT field and try to use it to keep the angel at a distance."

     Makoto spun around. "Major! You'd better take a look at this!"

     "What is it now?" Misato asked, stepping over to him. In response, he keyed up an external camera view. Two people could be seen running between the angel and unit zero, apparently trying to get clear of the combat z
one. Misato grimmaced. "We don't have time to worry about two civilians who didn't get to the shelters in time." Even as she said it, something about the pair caught her eye. Perhaps it was the red hair of the one in fron
t, or the school uniforms they were wearing. Misato frowned. School uniforms? Red hair? 

     Misato stood straight. "Damn! Rei, belay that order!"

     "It's too late!" Aoba shouted. "Unit zero's AT field is expanding!"

    *-*-*-*

     The angel's AT field washed over Asuka and Shinji with the force of a sonic boom, tossing the two hapless children to their knees and throwing up a cloud of dust and debris around them. They both gasped as the concus
sion forced the air from their lungs. Asuka, clutching her head and wheezing for breath, climbed back to her feet just as unit zero's AT field smashed into the angel's field. Caught completely unprepared, Asuka stumbled a
nd fell to the ground, smacking her head against the pavement.

     Shinji, himself gasping for breath, crawled over to the unmoving Asuka. He couldn't help but notice that the hairs on his arms were tingling and standing straight up from his skin. The air felt charged with power, re
eked of ozone, seemed to sparkle in front of his eyes. A faint tremor ran through the ground beneath him, and then the very air around him erupted in a multicolor light show as his surroundings dissolved into a chaotic bl
ur of color and motion. The effect was too much for him, and Shinji felt Misato's version of breakfast push its way up his throat. As he swallowed against the nausea an odd thought struck him - Misato's breakfast tasted b
etter on the way up than it did on the way down.

     An ear-splitting screech filled the air. Shinji inhaled sharply, but didn't even have time to begin screaming before he and Asuka were engulfed in a blinding white light.

    *-*-*-*

     Misato blinked against the blinding flash that erupted between the angel and unit zero. "What's happening?" she cried out. 

     "We don't know!" Aoba replied, typing furiously at his console. "Energy readings are off the scale!"

     "Unit zero's AT field has interacted with the angel's AT field, Major!" Maya shouted. "We're showing massive energy readings at the point of contact!"

     Misato gasped. "Another sea of Dirac?"

     Ritsuko shook her head. "No. This is something new."

     The glare from the exterior cameras slowly began to fade. "Mobilize all search and rescue teams. Finding the Second and Third Children is our top priority!" She spun to face Commander Ikari. "Permission to activate u
nits one and two with dummy plugs."

     Gendo pushed his glasses back up. "Permission is granted to activate unit two. Unit one is to be held as back-up."

     Fuyutski leaned close. "Ikari, what will we do now? This wasn't part of the plan."

     "We shall adapt as best we can."

     "But if Rei should happen to be our last surviving pilot... we've yet to finalize plans for the fourth Children. And units three and four are still in America."

     Gendo glanced at him. "We shall have to deal with this one step at a time. Defeating the angel is our primary priority at the moment."

     "The dummy plug system is still untested, Ikari. What if it doesn't work?" Fuyutski looked at the tactical display. "Can Rei do it alone?"

     Below them, Misato looked back to the exterior displays. "Rei, do you see Shinji or Asuka?" There was no reply. "Rei?"

     "I..." Rei began, "I don't..." There was a pause. Then, more calmly, "Negative. There is no sign of either of them."

     Misato grimmaced. "Search the area. See if you can find anything." She turned to Aoba. "What about the angel?"

     He checked his monitors. "The target has stopped moving. It's taken up position just inside the city."

     "Its AT field is still active, Major." Maya reported. "But it has ceased modulating. The pattern has stabilized."

     Rei was talking again. "I have examined the last known location of pilots Sohryu and ... Ikari. There is no sign of them." Misato thought she heard a slight tremor in the girl's voice. "They're ... gone."

     Misato felt bile rise in her throat. "Are they dead?"

     "I'm afraid that that's a very real possibility." Ritsuko commented as her fingers flew across Maya's keyboard. "The results of AT field interaction upon the human body is, unfortunately, very well documented."

     Misato visibly paled. "But Rei said there were no b..." she paused, "bodies."

     "That's not entirely unexpected." Ritsuko replied. "They may have been atomized by the field reaction."

     Maya checked a nearby console. "The Magi predict a ninety-eight point six three five percent chance that the Second and Third Children are... dead." 

     Misato drew in a shuddering breath, blinking back tears. "No. Not both of them. Not like this."

     "Major, the target's moving again."

     She wiped her eyes and stared up at the external displays, where unit zero was readying itself to face the angel. "Lord help us," she breathed.

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

End of Chapter 1

Any and all comments about this fanfic, good or bad, are freely welcomed. If you want to archive this fanfic someplace (such as a web page or similar) please let me know beforehand, if only so that I'll know where it's wo
und up.



Derek Sherman
doppleganger@pipeline.com
mondomage@aol.com