A/N: I'm surprised at the initial reaction I got from you reviewers. No threats or anything in regards to Rei's health. More interest was drawn towards Shinji and Asuka getting a little kinky.And now the big question:WHAT IS WRONG WITH REI? Well, you can find out by reading this chapter. Let's rock!
The last twenty minutes had been a flurry of movement. Ritsuko and Maya had arrived at Misato's apartment with some medical equipment within ten minutes of Misato's call to the doctor. Ritsuko and Maya had gone into Rei and Ivana's room to examine Rei, while the others were now in the TV room, waiting out for Ritsuko to finish her diagnosis.
"Great so now Wondergirl is sick," said Asuka who was frustrated with being shaken out of bed for this, "What did she catch?"
"I'm not sure," replied Misato, who was feeling extremely stressed, "I've never seen anything like that before. Whatever it is, our little Rei is… YAWN… very sick."
"By the way Ivana," started Zack, who wasn't big over having the entire household minus Rei invading his sleeping space, "Why were you firing a gun to get someone's attention? Haven't you ever heard of a bucket of water?"
"In an emergency, you would do the first thing you know would awaken someone," Ivana curtly responded, "Besides, a hole in the roof can be fixed."
"Yeah, she's right," said Shinji, "Does anyone want coffee? Because I think we're in for the long haul tonight."
"Double-double," was the reply from a sleepy Zack.
"Triple-double," answered Asuka.
"Black," said Ivana.
"I'll have a beer please," called out Misato. And with that, Shinji went into the kitchen to prepare the coffees and beer. As he did so, the others continued to converse.
Asuka decided to start. "So Ivana, when did you notice something was wrong with Wondergirl?"
"Well, we've all noticed there was something wrong with her for the past few days," the Russian began, "But tonight I could hear that she was in a considerable amount of pain. So I turned the light on to see what the problem was. From looking at her, she was obviously soaking wet. And the first thing I thought of was that Mr. Casanova did something he shouldn't have."
"Hey!" Zack interjected, "I may be a ladies man and have my character flaws, but I wouldn't have done something like that!"
"You wouldn't have been able to do that without being shot six or seven times," Ivana shot back, "So I knew it wouldn't have been you. By instinct I checked her forehead, and she was obviously running a fever. And felt this substance on her body, which for some reason wasn't sweat. That's when I got Misato to come see Rei."
"Yeah, by shooting a hole in the roof," Asuka, grunted out, scratching the top of her head, "So we all know the rest. And Shinji and I came out of our room when we heard a bunch of racket from you three."
"Speaking of which, what were you and Shinji doing anyway?" asked Zack with a grin on his face.
"We didn't do anything," replied Asuka, raising an eyebrow at the so-called Casanova, "What the hell are you talking about?"
Now Misato joined in, with a wide smirk on her face, "Really Asuka? Then why is your pajama shirt half unbuttoned?"
"What?" Asuka looked down and then had a look on her face that said 'oh my god'. They could see her breasts because she had undone the top buttons earlier when she let Shinji feel them. Her face turned red pretty fast.
"You two were looking?" she yelled at Misato and Zack, who were grinning widely, "You perverts!"she shot out, quickly buttoning up her shirt. Next she heard some laughter from Ivana.
"You think it's funny too?"
Ivana was trying hard not to laugh. "It's just funny how you, of all people, who is so obsessed with modesty, let something like that slip for twenty whole minutes." Asuka was about to unleash her German fury on the three, when Shinji came back with several mugs and a beer on a tray he was carrying.
"Coffees are ready," he announced. He also had flushes of red on his face, and was pretending not to pay attention to what had just happened. He then noticed the big grins on Zack, Ivana, and Misato faces, along with a look of pure embarrassment on Asuka's face.
"So Shinji, were you and Asuka getting a little… kinky?" asked Misato with an obvious tone in her voice that showed she was teasing him.
Shinji tried to play dumb. "W-what are you t-talking about M-Misato?"
Misato continued to tease him, completely ignoring the rage being built up on Asuka's face, "Oh come on Shinji enlighten us. You got to feel them. Are her breasts soft, or hard? Did she moan loud, or quietly?"
Shinji was frozen in complete embarrassment, but Misato didn't stop. "Come on Shinji. Don't leave us hanging here. We want to hear some details!"
Asuka had about enough, "Hey! Shut up du hure! You're the dirtiest woman I've ever seen!"
"A-anyway, coffees are done. And there are coffees here for Dr. Akagi and Lt. Ibuki as well when they're done examining Rei," Shinji quickly stating completely trying to ignore what Misato was saying!
As if on cue, the doctor returned from Rei and Ivana's room. Misato immediately jumped up, "So Rits, what's the scoop on Rei."
Ritsuko quickly spoke up. "Not now Misato. All I can say at the moment is that whatever is wrong with Rei, it is really bad. I'm moving her to the NERV hospital where we can use better equipment to have a better understanding of the problem. I'll call for a NERV ambulance." Ritsuko pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number into it. After a few seconds she began to speak.
"Yes this is Dr. Akagi. I'm requesting an ambulance be sent to Major Katsuragi's residence immediately. I'll explain the details later," a momentary pause as she waits while the person on the other side speaks, "Good. Get over here as fast as you can, and cut off anybody if you have to." She then hung up.
Shinji finally spoke. "Doctor, here's some coffee for you and Lt. Ibuki. I figured you two are still tired, and could use a boost."
Ritsuko took two of the mugs, "Thank you Shinji. It's good to see you have your mother's traits." She went back into the room to give Maya her coffee and returned.
"So will Rei be alright?" Shinji asked.
Ritsuko gave him a face that showed doubt and concern. "To tell you the truth Shinji, I don't know. Tell you what, when I get Rei over to NERV and have her examined there, I'll be able to come up with an explanation as to what is wrong with her. That I promise you," Ritsuko then looked at Misato, "By the way, what was going on out here?"
"Oh just the same thing I play referee for everyday. Mindless, senseless arguing."
"Senseless?" interjected Asuka. "You were laughing the loudest!"
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In a car on the road
Gendo Ikari was driving towards NERV as fast as he could when he heard the news. He couldn't believe what was happening. Rei, the First Child, the last one like her that was still alive, had contracted some unknown illness that Dr. Akagi did not know of.
He did not even bother to get his limo driver up to escort him to NERV, as that would take too long. He checked the car's clock. 2:45am. It was going to be a long day indeed. From what he knew, Rei's body had some strange substance coming from her body, and a very high fever to tag along with it. From the looks of things, it was likely that Rei would not be able to pilot EVA for a long time, if not ever again.
He would be at NERV shortly. Telephoning Fuyutski about the situation would be better put off for later, as the Vice Commander was not going to be in today. Gendo always had a bad feeling about something happening to Rei or all the Reis for that matter if the scenario was aborted or compromised because nothing was ever planned to happen after the scenario.
A few minutes later, he had arrived at NERV. He quickly got through clearance, and proceeded straight to the NERV medical wing. Not wasting anytime whatsoever, he arrived at where Rei was being examined. He noticed right away, that Rei did not look well at all. And from the look on her face, one could tell she was in a lot of pain. Gendo knew Rei always had pale skin, but she looked as white as a ghost right now.
Ritsuko noticed the commander come in, "Commander Ikari sir."
"What is… the problem with Rei?" the commander inquired. So Ritsuko replayed back the entire story of how Ivana discovered Rei had a high fever, had some strange substance all over her body, and was in a lot of pain.
"I see," Gendo finally stated, after letting the story sink in, "Was a sample of the substance taken for analysis?"
"That was the first thing we did," said Ritsuko, "I hope it isn't what I think it is." The doctor took the thermometer that was in Rei's mouth out.
"What? Oh my god! She has a 106.5 degree temperature!" she darted over to the phone, "Maya! Get as many icepacks as you can down here! NOW!" she yelled into the phone. Less than a minute later, Maya, Makoto, and Shigeru who also came in when the news got out about Rei's illness had several icepacks in their hands. The three technicians placed the icepacks all around Rei in hopes that the ice would help lower her temperature which was dangerously high.
"Okay, now we can just hope that will lower her temperature," Ritsuko breathed out, the stress taking its toll.
She turned to Maya, "Did you finish analyzing what the substance was?"
Maya took a second before answering. "Yes doctor. You're not going to believe this, but the substance that we took from Rei matches the DNA of the Angel Lillith!"
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Later that day. Let's say about noon.
The Katsuragi household had pretty much gone back to bed after Rei went to the NERV hospital with Rei. They had a stretcher team come up and everything. Misato offered to come along for the ride, but Ritsuko said she should get some rest and come by later when the results came in.
Shinji was already up and out of bed. He went to the kitchen to get himself a glass of milk. While he was sipping away at the milk, he wondered if Rei was going to be alright. She was in a lot of pain when he saw her there lying in her room, drenched in whatever that was she was covered in. He didn't exactly love her like he did Asuka, but he knew there was something about Rei that he couldn't put his finger on. And whatever that was, it made her feel important to him.
He noticed Asuka come out of their room and walk into the kitchen, being quiet so as not to wake Zack.
"Hey. Look who's awake," she said softly.
"Hey Asuka," he replied back also speaking softly, "Yeah, I figured I'd sleep longer, but I'm just worried about Rei. I hope she'll be okay."
"You better not be getting depressed on me Shinji." Asuka leaned in front of him with her hands on her hips, "I spent too much time grooming you into someone who would actually be happy about life."
"I'm okay. Just can't help but be worried."
Asuka wrapped her arms around his neck, "Hey. Don't worry. She's the Wondergirl. She'll be fine." she kissed him quickly, "She's survived the 16th and 3rd Impact." She kissed him again.
"Since when are you nice about Rei?" Shinji asked.
"I prefer not to kick an adversary when she's down." She kissed him once more.
"Wow, since when did you become quite the kisser?"
"Since I fell in love with you." This time, she pulled him into a deeper kiss.
It seemed like the two would have gone on kissing forever if the phone didn't ring.
After two rings, Asuka just gave up and grabbed the phone, "Yeah, who is it?" a pause as Asuka listened to whoever was on the other line, "What? You were there all along?" another momentary pause follows before she responds, "Fine. But I'm coming too." She hung up the phone with great irritation.
"What is it Asuka?" Shinji asked, getting up from his seat.
"Oh it's Misato. She went to NERV while we were sleeping. They finally have an explanation as to what's wrong with Wondergirl, and they want you to go to hear the diagnosis," said Asuka, "But I'm coming with you."
"Alright, I guess we'll have to leave Zack and Ivana a note then." Shinji got his brown raincoat on as it was raining. Asuka donned her yellow raincoat, and the two tired EVA pilots made their way towards NERV.
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NERV HQ – Medical Wing (Quiet Please)
"So that's the diagnosis?" Misato asked, "That still does have to be the strangest thing I have ever heard."
"But it's the truth," said Ritsuko. "We have the evidence to back up that claim. PLUS you witnessed what I showed you two and did back in the Chamber of Guff just before the 17th Angel."
Misato asked another question. "Will Rei survive? I mean, this is pretty serious. And Asuka is coming too. Do you think it would be alright if she heard the news too?"
"I'm sure it'll be fine. Asuka knows or at least has some idea that Rei isn't exactly a normal human being," replied Ritsuko, "Oh look, the guests of honour are here now." Misato turns her head to see Shinji and Asuka come walking in with raincoats on, which was evidence that it was raining outside.
"We're here," declared Asuka, "So let's hear the explanation already."
"Okay," said Ritsuko. "Let's find a more comfortable spot to explain this."
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NERV Cafeteria – Today's special is a rib steak covered in BBQ sauce on a bun
And so, Shinji, Asuka, Misato, Ritsuko, and Elly who decided to follow along were now in the cafeteria about to discuss what was wrong with Rei over rib steak sandwiches.
"Why did we have to bring her along?" asked a frustrated Asuka.
"Hey I live here!" retorted Elly, "And besides, I just can't pass up a chance to see Shinji!" Elly just loved pissing Asuka off, and she was doing it again, "On top of that, I wanna hear what's wrong with poor Rei."
"You don't care a thing about Wondergirl!" shouted Asuka, "I know why you're here!"
"That's enough you two!" Misato shouted, rubbing her temples, as the stress from Rei and playing referee were staring to drive her mad, "I'm so tired of playing referee with you kids!"
After calming down, she motioned for Ritsuko to speak, "Okay, it's time they heard what is wrong with Rei."
Now Ritsuko began to speak. "So you three know of Rei's bizarre past right?"
The three kids nodded. Asuka spoke though. "Yeah, she's a test tube baby, about 200 times over."
The doctor continued. "But the thing was, I never explained what we used to originally create Rei." She looked at Shinji. "Shinji you should be aware of this, but the other need to know, so bear with me."
"Sure, but I need a refresher anyways," answered Shinji.
'That might complicate things,' Ritsuko thinks to herself before speaking, "To create Rei Ayanami that could pilot the EVA, we required two things. One of which would be Angel DNA. That was obtained from Lillith, which used to be kept in Terminal Dogma."
"And what was the other thing?" Asuka asked, with great interest.
"At your father's insistence," continued Ritsuko. "We used the DNA of Yui Ikari," now facing Shinji, "Your mother." Elly jumped back from the revelation, and Asuka brought her hands to her mouth in surprise.
"Yes, and that is why she bears some resemblance to Yui, and probably part of the reason why Yui's soul can integrate with Rei for a short time too. And it's also the reason why Rei can show some mother-like characteristics."
Shinji took some time to let this sink in, as he started to piece back what he had worked so hard to forget, 'So that's why I felt like her and I had some special bond,' he thought. 'She was created from my mother.'
Asuka decided to speak up, "So now that we know that, then what is wrong with Wondergirl?"
"Yeah," put in Elly. "I wanna know!"
"Very well," the good doctor continued. "But the thing is, is that Rei's original genetic code is based more on Yui than on Lillith. So Rei has more human properties than Angel properties. And Rei has a human immune system too."
"Wouldn't that mean that Rei's immune system would recognize the Angel DNA as a foreign invader?" asked Shinji.
"Yes that would be the obvious case," answered Misato.
"But we had altered her immune system so it wouldn't recognize the Angel DNA as foreign," Ritsuko continued, "But now, her immune system fixed itself, and now it's trying to reject the Angel DNA. And it will do so by whatever means necessary. Since her white blood cells can't take in the DNA, her system instead will expel the DNA through the pores in her skin instead."
"Can the immune system actually do that?" asked Elly.
"Logically, no," replied Ritsuko. "But it likely may have happened by accident when we first created her."
"So why is she in danger?" inquired Shinji, panic and worry starting to creep up.
"Two reasons," Misato began, "One is that her body is breaking down from rejecting the Angel cells, and two, to expel the Angel cells is putting a great deal of strain on her body. Too much of either would eventually kill her."
"We've decided to call this illness ARS or Angel Rejection Syndrome," said Ritsuko.
"Can we see her," Shinji hopefully.
Ritsuko shook her head. "I would advise against it. She's in isolation right now. The strain her immune system is under has weakened it greatly. If one of you was carrying something, she would catch it in no time. And her fever has shot up to 106 degrees, so another illness would put her in great danger. But I will tell her that you came to see her though. And I will try my best to help her."
"Thank you Dr. Akagi," Shinji replied dejectedly, letting out a heavy sigh as he gets up, "I'm going to go home and let this sink in."
"Me too," said Asuka as she rises to leave, "And I wanna get some rest." And so the couple grabbed their coats and made their way out.
"Bye Shinji! Bye Shinji's… bitch!" Elly called out as they walked down the hall.
"Hey! That little…"
"Just let it go Asuka," said Shinji. "Let's just go home."
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Home
Once they finally got home, they noticed that Zack was still snoring away on the couch. And Ivana was still sleeping too.
Since they were still tired, and had no interest in waking Zack up so they could use the TV, they simply returned to their room.
As they lay on their extra large futon, Asuka asked a question. "Are you okay Shinji?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine. It's still sinking in. I couldn't believe Rei was made from my mother's DNA when I first found out before I met Kaoru, and I still can't believe it," he let out a wry chuckle, "When I think about it, it's like she's my sister."
Asuka had a smile on her face, "If that's the way things are, then I got nothing to worry about."
"What do you mean Asuka?" he asked with curiosity.
"That means I get you all to myself." And with that she rolled on top of him, and kissed him.
A/N: And there is the explanation. Will Rei survive ARS? Or will she eventually succumb to the deadly illness? Hopefully, this may become a hot topic on either my forum, or in the reviews you readers may send. Until the big 50, be cool!
