Neon Genesis Evangelion:

Neon Genesis Evangelion:

The Darkness Emerges

By Doffman

I've noticed a problem with me. It seems that when I'm writing, I have a different personality than when I'm talking to people. When I'm talking to people, I'm generally likeable if not a tad bit annoying. When I'm writing, I am a Total Ass. And even when I'm not writing under my pen name, I find it hard not to sign the paper or story as Doffman. Is this multiple personality disorder, or am I just insane?

Note: I KNOW I'm insane, because I am a co-founder of the SOIP (Society of Insane People) forum. The_ayanami_card! Rei… Hanyan…* You can be a member too at www.envy.nu/soip!

*Please excuse me for the Card Captor Sakura reference.

Chapter 29:

Love is a many splintered thing…

'Why did I do this? I love Shinji.' Asuka asked herself as she walked through the doors of the Fancy Italian restaurant.

'Because he went out with another girl, that's why!' She answered herself.

'Isn't talking to myself a sign of insanity?' She asked.

'Not if it's in your head. If I start talking to myself ALOUD then I'm insane.' She pointed out. Yuuhi led her to a table, which had just room enough for two, that overlooked the beach.

"So. Why did you change your mind?" He asked, a sincere smile on his face.

"Well, I finished unpacking early, so I was free for the rest of the night." Asuka said confidently. It wasn't a lie; she had finished unpacking days ago, and she had no plans… "Why does it matter? Either way, you get to spend the evening with me." She said, showing a sparkling smile.

"Too true… You could have any guy in the school like nothing…" Yuuhi said. "…So why'd you choose Yuu?" Yuuhi asked with a knowing look.

"W-what… I don't know what you're talking about…" Asuka said defensively.

"I could see it written all over you. When he came back to class late, and what Mina said, it bothered you." He said with a smile.

"So… Why'd you go out with me then?" Asuka asked. Yuuhi laughed.

"Because, frankly, I don't like how close he and Mina are getting." Yuuni said casually.

"What do you mean?" Asuka asked, puzzled.

"Well, Mina and I go a long way back. We grew up together, and were dating for a while." Yuuhi said sadly. "But… She broke up with me for some reason that I don't know. I want her back." He quickly switched back to his cheery self. "So I picked a girl that I knew wouldn't want anything from me. Then, I proceed to go out with her and make her jealous. I got the idea from an old TV show." Yuuhi shrugged.

"Ah… Well, the same is going on here. I'm trying to make Shi… Yuu jealous, too…" Asuka said.

"Then it's a deal. No making moves on each other, ne?" Yuuhi extended a hand, and Asuka shook it.

"Alright, Yuuhi. You got yourself a deal!" Asuka said smiling, before picking up her wine glass and taking a sip. She nearly choked when she saw Shinji and Mina come in the room.

***

"Drac… No… It's not true…" Rei kept whispering as she ran home. "Drac can't have lost his feelings for me… NO…"

'If that were so… Drac… You protected me, you've comforted me… You've made me laugh, you've made me cry, you've made me embarrassed, you've made me shy… You've made me angry, you've made me sad… You've made me happy… You've made me love you! You've made me NEED you…' Rei said, tripping to the ground, and then getting quickly to her feet.

"I need you in my life. If you can't be there for me, then… There's nothing left to live for." She said aloud as she entered her house.

"You say that word, and yet you don't know what it means." Someone said. She turned to the source of the voice to see…

Herself.

"What…?" Rei murmured below her breath.

"You did not know the true meaning of life because you have never died. A TRUE death." The other Rei said. "This is your only life. You no longer are immortal, Ayanami Rei."

"Who… Who are you…?" Rei whispered quietly he question.

"I am what has always pulled you back form death. What you no longer have." She responded. "I am what remains when the body dies. I am your soul."

"WHAT?!" Rei demanded. "What are you talking about?! My soul is inside of me!" Rei said firmly.

"No. You are merely a doll. You exist to comfort Dracan, and nothing more. What Dracorian wished, I did. I gave one of my bodies to make the boy happy. The true Dracan."

"What are you TALKING ABOUT!?" Rei cried.

"The boy you met in Yumi's apartment was the true Dracan. The one that has been asleep for years. Dracorian has been his stand-in for that time. Now that what is needed to be done HAS been done, Dracan has been awakened."

"Who is Dracorian? What's going on?!" She backed away sharply.

"You do not need to understand. All you need to know is this. You exist only to be with Dracan. You exist only to comfort him, and to make him happy. You are a doll created for this task. I can no longer stay here, in the confines of a mortal body. I must go to Dracorian, and you must stay with Dracan. Protect him as Drac has protected you over the years. Make him happy. That is your only purpose. You are nothing."

"I am… Nothing…?" She said, falling to her knees.

"You are a source of pleasure for Dracan, and nothing more. You were created only for this purpose."

"But… He doesn't love me…" She said helplessly.

"Then make him love you. Make him fall in love with Ayanami Rei all over again." Rei said, walking away slowly.

***

"This is a nice place, Yuu-kun! I should come here more often!" Mina said cheerily, brushing an azure strand of hair out of her eye.

"She's absolutely gorgeous…" Asuka whispered, upset.

Mina held her hair out of her face with a white barrette that emphasized the blue of her dress perfectly. Her dress was a sleeveless one, spaghetti straps holding it to her shoulders and doing a very poor job. The cut in her dress wet all the way up to her waist and, when she took a particularly long stride, you were shown that she wore snow-white underwear…

Her gloves, going half way between the elbow and shoulder were as white as her barrette, and the brightness matched her skin tone rather well.

"I feel jealous now…" Yuuhi said miserably. Asuka poked him in the arm and winked. Yuuhi gave her an inquisitive look, and Asuka put on her poker face.

"I'm having a GREAT time, Yuuhi. Thank you for dinner!" Asuka said loudly, drawing attention to herself. Yuuhi quickly caught on and joined in on the act.

"No need to thank me. Your smile is more than enough." He said dashingly. Asuka almost fell for it, until Yuuhi kicked her in the foot.

"I can do more than SMILE, Yuuhi…" Asuka said, sliding the chair around the table to sit next to him. She leaned close and gave him a long, drawn out stage kiss. From Shinji's perspective, however, he couldn't tell the difference.

"I think we should go…" Shinji said quietly to Mina.

"Yes. Let's." She replied, growing pale. The couple left the Restaurant in a hurry, most likely due to the display given by Asuka and Yuuhi.

"What a performance, Yuuhi! Couldn't even tell that you weren't hitting on me!" Asuka said, patting him on the back.

"Believe me. It wasn't that difficult." He said with a wink. "But I think we made them sufficiently jealous. I give 'em one more day, tops, and by Monday I'll have my Mina-chan back!"

"And I'll have my Shinj… Err… Yuu back…" Asuka said.

"Why do you keep on screwing up on his name?" Yuuhi raised an eyebrow.

"Err… Because… He's my little Shinjin {New Hero, Rookie}! And I keep accidentally calling him that!" Asuka covered herself.

"Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight…" Yuuhi rolled his eyes at the pet name, looking out at the stars.

'By Monday, Shinji will be mine again.' Asuka said quietly.

***

"I can't face her now." Kensuke said, defeated, pacing in front of her house. "I shouldn't have done that… Now everything's all awkward! Why did I have to be so stupid?!" He said, hitting his head on a wall.

"Because you're male." Yumi said blandly. Kensuke jumped 5 feet up in the air, and began sweating bullets.

"YUMI! Funny meeting you here, of all places!*" Kensuke said nervously. 'Wait… This is her house…' "I mean HI!" Yumi put her hands on her hips and looked at him crosswise.

*Anyone who doesn't know that this comes from Ranma ½ when Dr. Tofu sees Kasumi should be taken out and shot.**

**Not really, all you serial killers out there! I was just kidding! Don't hurt these poor misguided people! They'll see Ranma ½ EVENTUALLY!

"I was wondering why you were pacing in front of my house for the past two hours." Yumi said, frustrated, then sighed heavily when she saw Kensuke slowly inching away. "We can just forget it ever happened. Come inside. I'll get you something to eat."

Kensuke knew he was trapped. He COULDN'T just forget what happened. The event was embedded in his memory. The smell of her hair, that of shampoo mixed with LCL... The feel of her lips as he kissed her gently, that of a rose falling on his mouth… The warmth of her body when she pressed herself against him, begging for his embrace…

These things clouded his judgement now as he watched her enter the house, waiting for him to come in. He shook himself before he hurriedly followed her inside, assuring himself that he was being foolish.

"Would you like anything specific?" Yumi asked, heading into the kitchen.

"Anything you make is fine…" He said indifferently, picking a random place to sit at the table. The house seemed so empty now. Despite the fact that Yumi's father had been abusive, and her sister was cruel, and her brother was generally uncaring, it had been Yumi's family. When Yumi lost her family, and Allen too, she felt that there was no one left that loved her.

When Kensuke had kissed her, it proved to her that someone DID in fact love her, and she wanted more. 'That must be why' Kensuke thought. 'That's why she kissed me back. She needed to be loved by anyone. It wouldn't have mattered whom it was. I was just there at the time.' Kensuke said to himself bitterly.

Kensuke looked at Yumi from his chair at the table for a few moments, then decided, 'But I really wouldn't have cared, would I have?' Kensuke sighed, and got up to see if Yumi needed any help in the kitchen.

***

A loud banging noise came on Drac's door in the middle of the night, stirring him from his sleep. He looked at the clock, then decided to KILL whoever was on the other side of the door. He took the nearest heavy metal object, and went to answer the door. The banging continued, and he heard Rei begging him to open the door.

The candlestick holder fell from his hands with a soft thud as it hit the ground.

Drac opened the door slowly, to find Rei sobbing on the other side. Not 2 seconds after the door opened, Rei threw herself at Drac and bawled into his chest, sobbing out unintelligible sentences.

"Rei… What's wrong…?" He asked calmly, pushing her slightly back so he could see her face.

"I… I… I want to be with you, Drac! I just want to be with you! Please don't send me away! I am nothing without you! I need to be with you! I…" She said the words in almost a panic, terrified of the possibility that he might tell her to leave.

"Shh…. It's alright. Let's talk, okay? Just calm down a bit." Drac said, guiding her to the living room. He sat her down on the couch, and he pulled a chair up close so that he was facing her. He took her hands in his and squeezed them lightly.

"Alright, Rei. Everything's okay now. Just tell me what's wrong." He said comfortingly.

"I don't want to be alone, Drac…Please… Let me stay with you tonight…" She said quietly, fighting back tears.

"What? What are you saying, Rei?" Drac asked, startled. Rei leaned forward quickly as she kissed him firmly on the lips, her tears flowing freely now. She took off her coat quickly, and began to unbutton her blouse before Drac pushed her away. "What are you DOING!?" Drac shouted at her pshing her on the couch.

"I… I want to be with you… Now and forever… I was born for you… If you don't want me… Then… Without you, I am nothing…" She said, bringing her hands her ears, not wanting to hear his response.

"Rei…" Drac whispered quietly. 'Why is she acting like this? What's wrong with her? I can't recall her ever being like this before… But… Then again… These memories that I have are so strange… So new to me… They aren't mine…' Rei grabbed his hand tightly, not willing to let go for anything.

"Please don't leave me alone, Drac…" She said longingly. Drac sighed, and picked her up, took her to his room, and put her in his bed. He pulled a blanket over her and took a seat in the rocking chair

"I'll be right here, okay Rei?" Drac said with a small smile. "I'll be right here. I'll stay with you." Drac didn't know the feeling that he was feeling. A warmth in his chest spread throughout his body when he was near her, his judgement became cloudy, and all thoughts of pushing her away faded in an instant.

'I'm not the guy you fell in love with, Rei. Don't you see that?' He asked her silently. Almost as if it were in response to the question, she reached out and grasped his hand, holding onto it tightly as she closed her eyes in slumber. 'Rei…'

***

"Shinji, I'm not feeling well. Maybe we should call our date off." Mina said as they left the restaurant.

"Are you sure? We can still go to the movie." Shinji offered. Mina shook her head.

"No, I can't. I feel ill." Mina said, depressed. Shinji shrugged, and escorted her home. "Shinji." she called after him before he left.

"Yeah?" Shinji leaned closer.

"Maybe you should go after Diana." Mina said quietly.

"What? What are you talking about?" Shinji asked.

"It's obvious that you aren't just brother and sister. But you two had a fight." Mina said, looking away from him. "Make up with her soon, or you'll never get him back." She said, closing the door to her house behind her.

'Him?' Shinji asked himself. "I wonder what she meant by that…" Shinji muttered as he headed home. When he got home, he took off his coat and hung it in the closet. He entered his room and laid on his bed quietly, staring up.

"Unfamiliar Ceiling…" He muttered to himself as he took out his SDAT player and listened to it. He hadn't used this since he had moved back in with Asuka and Misato… It always helped him brood when he was in a bad mood.

"Why Asuka? I just want to be with you…" He said quietly, gazing at the ceiling with deep forlornness.

After a long while, he heard the door open and close as he knew that Asuka had arrived home. A knock came at his door, but he refused to answer it, quickly turning of his music and pretending to be sleeping. The door opened, and Asuka came in quietly, so as not to disturb him. Shinji wondered what she was doing, coming into his room without permission, but pretended to still be asleep.

Shinji freaked out when Asuka laid on the bed next to him.

"DA!" he squealed. Asuka looked him strait in the eye with a sincere look, one that was fighting back tears.

"I'm sorry, Shinji." She said quietly. "I shouldn't have done what I did." Shinji turned away from her.

"No, you shouldn't have." Shinji said firmly.

"Shinji… We can still pretend to be brother and sister at school. We don't have to pretend at home." Asuka said quietly.

"This isn't home. This is just a place where we sleep." Shinji said crossly.

"Shinji, my home, for me anyway, is any place where you are with me." Asuka said, kissing the back of his head softly. Shinji turned around, and looked into Asuka's eyes, which were now flowing with tears.

"Asuka… I…" Shinji stopped himself, and continued. "I'm not sorry for making you think that I liked Mina. You deserved it." Shinji said firmly.

"I know. It was my fault. I shouldn't have broken up with you in the first place." Asuka said quietly. Shinji didn't know where to go from there. He had expected her to yell at him. He had expected her to run out of the room, crying "BAKA SHINJI!".

But she didn't. She accepted the blame, and stayed close to him, holding his hand as tight as she could.

"Asuka… You're not mad at me?" Shinji asked.

"OF COURSE I'M MAD AT YOU! I'm FURIOUS!" Asuka screamed, rearing back for a punch. The punch connected lightly in his shoulder, a weak effort put forth by Asuka. "But I need you more than I need my anger. I need you more than I need my pride. I need you more than I need anything else. I see that now." Asuka said, looking away to conceal the tears. After a few seconds of silence, Asuka looked back into his eyes, pools of teardrops soaking into his pillow. "Without you, I am nothing."

Shinji, developing tears in HIS eyes as well, clutched Asuka close to him and kissed her passionately on the lips. After the kiss, Asuka leaned her head on his chest, and went to sleep as if she were in the safest place in the world.

***

"And the pendulum continues to swing back and forth between the two sides…" Kaoru said quietly. "Are you sure what we did to Rei was necessary?" He asked Bren.

"Rei needed to be separate from the one that calls herself Zero. She could not be with Drac and be with Dracorian at the same time." Bren replied.

"But now things are complicated. After the death. Rei will die, and only Zero will remain. There may be war in heaven in that event." Kaoru pointed out.

"And If we don't do it this way, there may BE no heavens. There may be nothing left." Bren said.

"What about Drew? What is he doing now?" Kaoru asked. "I can't see him."

"Most likely, he's spending time with his lover. I haven't been able to see SEELE as of late either." Bren said.

"Had he joined forces with SEELE, he would have told us." Kaoru said. "we're not working against SEELE. On the contrary, we're working WITH them."

"If only Shinji would awaken, then we wouldn't have to worry about this." Bren said quietly.

"We have Shinji as a backup in case Drac doesn't work. I know, it should be the other way around, but it's not." Kaoru said.

"Shinji would be the ideal, but this is not an ideal world." Bren said.

"This World of the Damned… It's as if it doesn't WANT to be saved…" Kaoru said quietly.

End of Chapter 29