/***
Author's Notes:
This is just a teaser to the next chapter, and the scenes for the Shinji/Asuka back story
are still being crafted in my head, but since I'll be gone on a long vacation
overseas, I thought I'd just throw what I already have out there. C&C appreciated.
***/
In the silent, gravelike confines of an empty room, a door suddenly slid open, admitting
a shaft of light. A woman's silhouette passed through the light, before the door closed
once again.
Small footsteps echoed through the dark cavernous room. The frail, solitary figure walked
into the center of the shadowy arena, and stopped several meters in front of an obelisk.
"I know you're in here," whispered the figure, her voice cold, firm.
Slowly, slowly, a dozen obelisks surrounding the woman lit up, like awakening ghosts.
"Welcome back, Ayanami," answered a grim, ancient voice. "We knew all along, that you'd
come back to us."
"Kihl... give it up," answered Rei, almost dispassionately. "You can finance a hundred
more wars and atrocities and we still won't return NERV's secrets to you. Give it up.
Just give it up. I grow weary of this."
The voice from the front obelisk answered her with a bark, and with derisive laughter
that was immediately echoed by his peers, in a growing symphony of scorn.
"The young traitor blames us for the evils she chose to perpetuate!" hissed a voice
from an obelisk to her right. "Ikari-spawn, open your eyes to the consequences of your
choices."
"You grow weary of your guilt, Commander Ayanami," accused a voice from an obelisk
to her left. "The late Commander Ikari would have been pleased to know of your guilt
for betraying him. A pity, that he's gone."
"I have never doubted that I did the right thing," she calmly retorted. While she
furtively clenched her fists at her sides.
"Really? Was it right for Yui to betray the man who dedicated his existence to her?"
"You cannot fault Yui for choosing their son's happiness."
"Your son's happiness! Is he really happy now, Ayanami? Is his estranged wife happy?
Is his former best friend happy?" growled Kihl, in a voice dripping now with
bitter sympathy. "The wounds left by the elder Ikaris and Soryus are too deep to excise.
You can still save the Eva Pilots, Ayanami. You can save the world from its pain.
And, most importantly... Yui can still have her Gendo back."
And, amidst their fading laughter, the lights from the obelisks faded, leaving the
young Commander alone again in the dark.
She had not been standing there, alone with her troubled thoughts, for too long when
she felt felt the gun on her back.
***
Author's Notes:
This is just a teaser to the next chapter, and the scenes for the Shinji/Asuka back story
are still being crafted in my head, but since I'll be gone on a long vacation
overseas, I thought I'd just throw what I already have out there. C&C appreciated.
***/
In the silent, gravelike confines of an empty room, a door suddenly slid open, admitting
a shaft of light. A woman's silhouette passed through the light, before the door closed
once again.
Small footsteps echoed through the dark cavernous room. The frail, solitary figure walked
into the center of the shadowy arena, and stopped several meters in front of an obelisk.
"I know you're in here," whispered the figure, her voice cold, firm.
Slowly, slowly, a dozen obelisks surrounding the woman lit up, like awakening ghosts.
"Welcome back, Ayanami," answered a grim, ancient voice. "We knew all along, that you'd
come back to us."
"Kihl... give it up," answered Rei, almost dispassionately. "You can finance a hundred
more wars and atrocities and we still won't return NERV's secrets to you. Give it up.
Just give it up. I grow weary of this."
The voice from the front obelisk answered her with a bark, and with derisive laughter
that was immediately echoed by his peers, in a growing symphony of scorn.
"The young traitor blames us for the evils she chose to perpetuate!" hissed a voice
from an obelisk to her right. "Ikari-spawn, open your eyes to the consequences of your
choices."
"You grow weary of your guilt, Commander Ayanami," accused a voice from an obelisk
to her left. "The late Commander Ikari would have been pleased to know of your guilt
for betraying him. A pity, that he's gone."
"I have never doubted that I did the right thing," she calmly retorted. While she
furtively clenched her fists at her sides.
"Really? Was it right for Yui to betray the man who dedicated his existence to her?"
"You cannot fault Yui for choosing their son's happiness."
"Your son's happiness! Is he really happy now, Ayanami? Is his estranged wife happy?
Is his former best friend happy?" growled Kihl, in a voice dripping now with
bitter sympathy. "The wounds left by the elder Ikaris and Soryus are too deep to excise.
You can still save the Eva Pilots, Ayanami. You can save the world from its pain.
And, most importantly... Yui can still have her Gendo back."
And, amidst their fading laughter, the lights from the obelisks faded, leaving the
young Commander alone again in the dark.
She had not been standing there, alone with her troubled thoughts, for too long when
she felt felt the gun on her back.
***