10:21 PM

"This can't be happening. This can't be happening. This can't be happening."

Pant. Pant. Pant. Pant. Pant. PANT. PANT. PANT!

Shinji scratches the skin of his skull and brings his knees to his chest cramming himself in the corner of Rei's destroyed room. Commander Ikari ordered the soldiers to break some of her things before leaving. Bastard. The glasses Rei kept from Gendo are crushed and bent in the middle of the floor. Bastard. A moody blue light from above where her dresser is toppled over shines on the mess. Beep Beep. Shinji ignores it. Beep Beep. Shinji looks up and squints. Water from his eyes blinds him. He drags himself around the room with his forearms to find the source of the noise. Beep Beep. A light flashes from under the bed. Shinji reaches under blindly jabbing his arm on broken wood. He pulls his arm out seeing that it's his phone.

Shinji. I have no idea why, but I felt like something is wrong. Are you and Rei ok?

"MISATO-SAN!" he yells with relief. Shinji's eyes tear up as he grabs the bed to pull himself up. He dials her number and collapses onto the messy bed.

"Shin-"

"MISATO-SAN!" Shinji cries, tears finally fall from his eyes and leak down to his chest, "THEY TOOK REI! THEY TOOK REI!" Shinji's body shakes violently and he sobs into the sheets holding the phone roughly against his ear. Misato breathes heavily on the other end.

"Shinji," she says calmly, "Where are you? Can you meet me at Nerv?"

"Y-Yes," he gets out between cries. Spit trickles over his lips.

"Go there immediately. Run!" Misato hangs up. Shinji rubs his face with his shirt and bursts out of the complex nearly tripping down all the stairs. He runs faster than he ever imagined he could.

10:36 PM

Zoooom. SCRRRRRRR. Drrr. SLAM. Misato flies out of her car and catches up to Shinji who's right ahead of her.

"Shinji!" He spins around, completely not registering it was her car, and she pulls him against her in a deathly hug. His head is just below her chin and his nose is smashed against her clavicle. "I'm so glad you're ok," she says with complete exasperation. She pulls apart from him and grabs his hand. "We need to go to my office. Quietly."

SWIPE. SWIPE. They get through the front gates and sneak their way through the maze until they get to Misato's small dark office. Shinji tries to flip the light.

"DON'T!" Misato whispers. She tiptoes over to her desk and turns on the dim lamp. She sits down in her chair and Shinji nervously leans on her dark brown desk. "Tell me what happened." Shinji wrings his hands together.

"Father came in with soldiers. T-they tore her room apart. And then he told them to leave and…" Shinji tightens his fists and shuts his eyes tightly, "And he hit her n' dragged her out!" Misato winces and pulls on her jacket sleeve. "It was cuz she ignored his text. I told her to. It's my freakin' FAULT! I let her go! I DID NO-"

"Shinji. Lower your voice," Shinji swallows his spit and covers his face with one hand. "It isn't your fault. There was nothing you could do." Misato picks at the seam of her skirt. "Do you know where she could be?" Shinji shakes his head with a whimper. I might know someone who does. Misato pulls her phone from her pocket and sits back in her chair. Shinji watches with one eye through his fingers. Brrrr. Brrrr. Brrrrr.

"Why hello Misato. It's unusual for you to call so late," comes a sultry voice.

"Ritsuko. Can you come to my office for a moment? I need help with some UN papers."

"I thought you had already left?"

"I did," Misato doesn't lose her edge,"I forgot they were due tomorrow, hah."

"Tch. I'd expect nothing less," Ritsuko chides. "Give me three minutes, I'll be right there." Misato agrees and hangs up rubbing her temples. Shinji looks at her with confusion. "I think she knows more than she lets on." That's true. Rei said Dr. Akagi is the one who gives her the pills! Could she be in on the clone stuff?!

"Do you think she-"

"-I bet she knows where Rei is," Misato says with a confident smile. "Misato stands up. "Sit here," Misato pulls him over and he sits down hard. Misato opens a drawer on the right side of her desk and pulls out a slick .45 pistol. Shinji just about panicked but Misato put her finger to her lips. Shinji apprehensively sits still. The sound of heels clack down the hall. Misato quickly makes her way to the corner of the room against the wall next to the door. Clack clack clack SHWWOP.

"Misato wha-" Ritsuko looks at Shinji puzzled. SWHOOP. CLICK. Misato presses the gun against Ritsuko's back.

"I hate to do this to such a friend, but I'm gonna need some answers. NOW."

Six floors down the elevator later

Misato keeps her gun firmly against the spotless lab coat that hangs off Ritsuko's curved back. Ritsuko stands with her hands in her pocket and an empty smile creeps onto her face. Shinji has his body shoved into the corner of the elevator biting his nails. The doors open.

"May I walk Major?" she asks with total sarcasm. Misato rolls her eyes and pushes her out with the tip of her gun. Misato and Shinji look around. It's an empty grey metal room filled with only a rusty bed that has a broken leg, a small clothing rack, and multiple canisters of some sort.

"What the hell is this?"

"This," Ritsuko waves her hand about, "Is where Rei was born." Misato and Shinji feel a jab in their hearts. Shinji tries to sputter words but nothing comes out. Shinji shuffles across the room to the bed in the center. He gets on his knees and grabs onto the sheets balling his fists in them. He puts his nose to the sheets. Is that? Shinji rips the sheets off the bed. BLOOD. Misato and Shinji both go wide eyed.

"Ritsuko! What the FUCK is going on?!" Ritsuko bitterly laughs and turns to face Misato. "Hey hey hey-"

"-Commander Ikari and my Mother made her… and ultimately killed her." Shinji's spine twists and cracks in Ritsuko's direction.

"Killed?"

"My Mother was weak. She fell victim to a man and... " Ritsuko's face falls, "Jealousy consumed her."

Seven Years Ago

Naoko Akagi was just finishing up some of the final touches on the Magi system until she heard a specific tapping of small feet approaching her. Naoko crawled out of the claustrophobic crawl space of wires and motherboards on the Central Dogma. She spots an innocent faced young Rei standing a few feet away and smiles before covering up the hatch. SNICK.

"How are you dear?"

"Fine. Ikari-san said you were going to see him later so he could not play with me."

"Mmm, why'd you come to me then?"

"I wanted to play now." Naoko rolls her eyes and leans down to Rei's eye level.

"Like Ikari said, he and I will be busy tonight," she says with a dirty smirk. Rei frowns.

"Old hag," Rei mumbes. Naoko stands upright and stares down at her.

"Excuse me? Is that any way to talk to an elder?" Naoko puts her hands on her hips.

"That is what Ikari-san calls you," Naoko flinches, "Just earlier he said, 'I have to see that old hag tonight. All she is good for is-'"

Naoko grabs Rei by the throat with both hands squeezing as tight as possible. Rei doesn't fight back. Naoko imagines the face of Yui Ikari and squeezes harder. That BITCH should never have been with you Gendo! WHY DID YOU RECREATE HER?! You said that once she was gone, WE COULD BE TOGETHER! Rei's eyes slowly pop from her head and her body begins to be limp. I'LL KILL HER. I'LL KILL YUI! Naoko shoves her fingertips into Rei's muscles cutting her. Rei's eyes stay open, but it's clear that she's dead.

"oh my god…" Naoko whispers with shock. She releases her hold on Rei and her lifeless body thumps on the floor. Rei's head stares up at her sideways. Naoko falls onto her backside and she scoots away. The image of her own daughter appears on the body. RITSUKO. OH MY GOD. Naoko slaps her hands to her face and screams.

"WHAT DID I DO?!"

Present Time

"The next morning, they cleaned up the mess of what was left of my Mother once she jumped from the control bridge," Ritsuko says quietly looking off in the distance. Misato gags covering her mouth with her sleeve; Shinji covers his ears rocking himself on the floor next to that Rei's bed. "Do you want to see Rei?" Misato closes her eyes and shakes her head yes. "...Follow me." Ritsuko walks into the elevator. Misato follows but pauses momentarily.

"Shinji, let's go," Misato softly speaks. Shinji slowly rises and slugs his way into the elevator wrapping his arms around himself. The elevator goes lower by fifteen floors. This feels so wrong. I'm… horrified at what I'm going to see, Misato worries to herself. Ritsuko blankly stares at the crease in the doors. The elevator slows down with a dttttttttttttrrrr. Ding. Ding. Shffffff. The doors open. Ritsuko walks out first. Misato follows and nearly trips over herself the second she enters. Shinji sluggishly walks in with his eyes fixated on his shoes. "Sh-Shinji…" Misato says in horror. Shinji is broken from his mental hideaway and looks up. His pupils dilate.

"AAAARGHHHHHHHHHHH!" Shinji falls onto his back and crawls backward. He frantically tries to get into the elevator but it closes on his right hand. The elevator starts to go up without them and Shinji's hand is caught. "ARGHHHH!" Shinji stands up frantically pulling on his hand before it gets caught in between the next floor and this one. Misato sprints over to him and pulls his arm. CRACK. "ARGH! AHHHH!" Shinji holds his fingers with his other hand and drops to his knees smacking his head against the cold elevator door. Misato runs her hands through her hair on reflex and lightly pulls. This is a fucking mess! Ritsuko watches from the corner of her eye, slack jawed, standing in the center of the room. She pops her fingers one by one inside her lab coat pockets.

"Rei is watching you," Ritsuko mocks cocking her head to her left. Misato and Shinji slowly turn around with tears swelling in their eyes. The room is a huge circle with walls made of glass. The walls are really glorified tanks. At least forty copies of Rei's naked body float around in blood orange LCL with their eyes wide open. All of the bodies twitch in the water and squirm around one another. The floor is a glossy black that shares the reflection of the tanks making it truly feel like Rei is everywhere. Shinji looks at his feet to see a pair of Rei's reflected eyes staring up at him. He screams and jumps against Misato's back pressing his face into her shoulder blades. This isn't real this isn't real this isn't real. Misato stares ahead in disbelief. In the center of the room, pipes of LCL lead from the floor into a large cylindrical tube. A body floats in it. Her eyes are open too, but her face is contorted into a look of the realest depiction of pain and worry Misato has ever seen.

"Th-that's Rei isn't it?" Ritsuko shakes her head yes. Misato's eyes widen and she feels a tremor wrack through her body. She grabs Shinji's shirt from behind her and pulls him in front of her. Shinji almost falls to the floor, completely delusional at this point. Misato holds him up by his collar. Ritsuko looks at him pitifully and leisurely gets out of his line of sight. All he can do is look at Rei inside the tank with his jaw wide open. She looks back at him. Rei… it's still you? Shinji's broken fingers swell to purple. He hesitantly stands up with his legs shaking under him. He looks at Misato through his teary eyes. She looks just as scared as me. Shinji starts to walk agonizingly slow toward the center tank. His eyes fixate on her, and her eyes follow him as he moves. His shoes scuff the floor with each step. Df. Df. Df. Df…..Df. He looks up at her. Rei…. Shinji places his good hand against the glass. Rei looks at his hand then at him.

"She can't move when she's in there," Ritsuko comments. Misato glares at the back of her head. Shinji pays no attention and keeps his hand there. Rei. Prove it's you. Please. Rei looks at his hand again. Come on Rei. A wrinkle of worry forms on his brow. Rei's eyes flicker. Rei PLEASE. Please be you in there. "I told you… there's nothing she can do in there. Once she's in she can't come out for hours."

"Stop talking," Misato barks. Ritsuko looks at her with annoyance. Misato shoots it right back at her. You can do this Rei, Misato prays.

"Rei?" Shinji murmurs. He presses his other hand to the glass. The coldness makes the broken fingers ache. Moments pass and nothing happens. Shinji presses his forehead to the glass and shuts his eyes. I love you Rei. I'm sorry.

"My God," Ritsuko mumbles, completely floored. Misato smiles with relief. Shinji opens his eyes to find both of Rei's hands pressed against his on the glass. A warm smile awaits him. Shinji feels tears roll down his face and he full-heartedly laughs. Rei. It is you. DOOSH. The sound of a drain kicks in to a deafening level. The cylindrical tube begins to empty itself making Rei slowly sink to the bottom. Shinji releases the glass and steps back impatiently whispering come on come on come on. The second all the water drains out, the tube slides open and Rei stumbles out. Shinji catches her in his arms and they fall to the floor on their knees. Rei can't speak a word nor lift a muscle.

"REI!" Shinji kisses her head about twenty times and squeezes her with all of his strength. He pets her soaked hair with his palm. Misato holds her ground even when everything in her tells her to fall to the floor and hug them both. Something about Ritsuko is really bothering me right now.

You were in on this the whole time weren't you?" Misato aims her gun at Ritsuko once again. Ritsuko shakes her head with shame.

"My Mother and I weren't so different I suppose," Ritsuko says with a weak smirk. Misato feels her stomach burn with disappointment. "I have to end it somehow… just not yet." Misato raises a brow. "I wish I could do better for you Rei…" Ritsuko utters. She pulls her right hand from her pocket. Misato gasps.

"WATCH OUT!"

BANG. BANG. BANG.