Chapter 134: Horsing Around
Back in the apartment, all three women stared at what happened with different levels of fright and horror. Misato stared with wide eyes and started to shake. Rana's face registered fear as she became petrified. Rei stared at what happened alarmed and scared from seeing the male pilot implode. Blood and organs splattered every in the apartment including the ceiling. Nothing of his body remained intact as everything turned into forms of crimson organic mass.
"…" Misato said breathing harder and harder.
Panic and terror were slowly seeping into her. Slowly looking at herself, she was splattered with blood. Feeling thick liquid slowly drip down her face, she slowly looked at the female twin. Rana looked shellshock at where the Third Child was sitting. Going toward her and touching her shoulder with a shaking hand, the female twin did not respond. She was too transfixed on what violently and unexpectedly happened.
'…oh god…this can't real…this can't be real,' she thought closing her eyes hard.
Repeating the statement over and over again, she slowly opened her eyes. Still seeing the bloodshed everywhere, she started to feel herself hyperventilate. Turning toward Ayanami, the First Child held a downcast face. Standing up, the Major could see that the female pilot was a bit disturbed.
'…this can't be real…oh please…please,' she thought reaching for her necklace. Grabbing the cross, she closed her eyes hard. 'Please let this be a sick joke of some kind.'
"…" Rei said breathing deeply trying to calm down.
Looking around the room spotted heavily with crimson, she looked at the large amount of blood that splashed onto the dining table. Nervously, she touched the liquid. It felt like blood as the familiar iron smell reached her nose. Cringing, she retracted her hand. Seeing the other two slowly become lost in their own fear, the First Child slowly began to search the living room.
"…" Kaworu said as he lied down on his bed with his eyes closed.
Remembering when he first was in his apartment, it didn't bother him how small it was. Now, it seemed too small to him and to have people over. Turning onto his side, his imagination continued to go on. Knowing he could stop it, a part of him did not want to. The more his mind created imagery, the more interested and allured he was from them. The ones that affected him the most was where both the Ikari twins were with him doing an activity.
"…the same response…" he said out loud to himself. Turning to the other side, he couldn't get himself to calm down. Cringing, the physiological response was creating a stronger impulse. As curious and interested he was from how affected he was from the imagination, it began to frustrate him.
"…why is this…appealing and desirable?" he thought opening his eyes.
Letting out a sigh, he heard something vibrate. Knowing what it was, he picked up his cell phone that was given to him by SEELE. Opening it up, there were urgent messages. Reading them, he closed his mobile. Placing it back on the nightstand, he got out of bed. Still in his school uniform, he walked a short distance to the front door. Getting his shoes on, he stood up straight. Vanishing, he appeared on the apartment complex's rooftop.
'Do those old men want to start it now?' he thought vanishing and reappearing on other building's rooftops. The direction that he was heading in was toward the lake area where he had a couple of meetings with the monoliths.
'What would prompt them to accelerate forward?'
'At first, I did not care. Once they gave the word, I would have executed without hesitation.'
'...now though…'
While continuing to go rooftop to rooftop, mixed feelings would start to interfere. His personal feelings would fight back with the will that was absolute. No matter which way he tried to go around it, both sides would conflict with each other. He was surprised that his personal wants, desires, and feelings were just as strong as the Angel will that he had. Shaking his head, he continued to head toward the lake area.
"Dr. Akagi?"
"…!?" Ritsuko said suddenly hearing different sounds after the screaming. About to move around in a panic, she felt a hand on her shoulder followed by a soft cloth being wiped on her face.
"Please be at ease Dr. Akagi."
"W-Where are we? W-what happened? Why c-can't I see?" she said in a hushed apprehensive tone. She felt his hand move and lightly lifted her jaw a little. He continued to wipe her face.
"We are outside of the SEELE facility. You had blood coming out of your eyes and nose Dr. Akagi," Shinji said removing the cloth. "Please cup your hands."
Calming down a little, she did what he asked. Air temperature liquid slowly pour into her hands. Hearing him state that it was only water, she splashed her face with the puddle in her hands. Doing so a couple of times, he handed her the cloth back. Patting her eyes and feeling a good majority of something being removed, she felt able to peered her eyes open. Blinking a little alarmed, she saw darkness around her. Looking around, she saw a familiar figure kneeling next to her.
"…!?" Ritsuko said flinching a little.
She saw his dark magenta eyes seemingly pierce through the darkness around them. There haunting glow always reminded her of the murky aura that he had. Soon after feeling it, she began to calm down from being use to it. Blinking and looking around again, the sounds around them gave an indication of what kind of place outside was.
"Can you see better Dr. Akagi?"
"Yes…thank you. Which forest are we in?"
"This is the area that is north-west from Neo-Tokyo," he said standing up and offering his hands. "Are you able to stand Dr. Akagi?"
"…" she said feeling her legs respond normally. Reaching and grabbing his hands, she was able to stand up on her own.
"I seem to be able to."
"That is good to hear and see," he said with a head nod. Letting go of her hands, he turned around and kneeled again.
"What now?"
"There are SEELE operatives scouting the surrounding areas."
"…great…" she said feeling cold. Crossing her hands over her chest, she could feel a cool breeze pass by. Goosebumps came to her arms and legs as she shivered.
"If you wish to Dr. Akagi, I have spare clothes next to us."
"…?" the scientist said looking at him surprised. "…you do?"
"Yes."
"…curious…how do you have spare clothes?"
"…" he said pointing to the ground near him. Turning her head toward where he was point, she didn't see anything. After her eyes adjusted a little more, she flinched with wide eyes. There were a handful of dead SEELE agents lying on the ground. Closing her eyes and rubbing them, her vision suddenly went into static.
'…where…where is the fault?' Ayanami thought to herself.
After looking around in the living room, there was nothing that seemed out of place. Avoiding all the blood splatter, she glanced back at both Misato and Rana. The female twin continued to be unresponsive while the Major was slowly becoming more panicky. Seeing her suddenly stand up and head towards the landline phone, she called out to her.
"Major…stop."
"…!?" Misato said stopping and looking back. "W-Why!?"
"Do not call anyone Major," Rei said slowly walking toward her.
"Shinji…just…freaking exploded! I have to call-"
"Major…please put the phone down."
"…wait…no…did you plant a bomb in him!?" the Major stated getting more terrified. The First Child stopped a few feet away from her.
"…" Rei said with a blank face and tilted her head. "How would I do that without him noticing?"
"…well…" Misato stated then slowly started to breath slower. After a couple of moments, she took a deep breath and put the phone back in its cradle.
"…alright…let me get a grip here…are you telling me that all of this is not real?"
"…" the First Child said with a small nod.
"…" she said blinking. Smelling the blood in the air and feeling it on her body, she crossed her arms in front of her. Cringing, she felt her fingers slide a little from the blood on them. Shaking her head side to side, the Major focused on Rei's face. It didn't have any blood thought her blouse was spotted with red.
"First, how can you tell?"
"If I recall correctly…this happened when Ikari was a schizophrenic…more than once."
"…hey…that's true," Misato said feeling a little relief from having something to relate and acknowledge. "So you think this is just another vision of his?"
"…it is not Ikari's," Rei said shaking her head slightly.
"…you are thinking it's…that thing in Unit-01?" she asked seeing the female pilot nod. Both saw movement nearby. Turning their heads, Rana slowly moved her head toward them. She seemed slightly out of her stupor and was blinking at them.
"…not…real…a…vision?" the female twin whispered slowly breathing more normally.
"If that is the case, then how do we wake up from this?"
"We are not asleep Major, we are all conscious," Ayanami said then started looking around the room. "If there is an abnormality…we will see reality."
"…that means…Shinji was…not here," Rana said looking at the table. "or even at the ice cream shop."
'…that is way too freaky…how is that even possible though?' Misato thought feeling the shakes from the aspect. All of the sudden, the female twin stood up and slammed her hands on the table.
"Damn him!" she said out loud clenching her teeth together.
"…" both Rei and Misato said not moving from their positions. The female twin looked enraged as she stared murderously at the table. Spotting something out of the corner of her eye, she looked at Shinji's bedroom door.
"There you are! Hold it you!" she stated out loud and walked quickly to the door. Violently, she opened the door with a slam. Strangely, both Ayanami and Misato heard something thud to the ground where Rana was standing. Walking over to where the female twin stood, they looked into the room to see something that made them recoil.
Reaching the outskirts of the city, Kaworu continued traveling until the lake was sighted from a distance. Disappearing and reappearing next to the body of water, he landed softly on the ground. About to reply out loud, the monoliths appeared around him. Blinking and looking at them, his eyebrows went up. All of them looked splattered with red paint for some reason.
"What is this? A new look? A party?"
[#$%#$find#$%destroy#$#$^Angel#$here#$]
"…?" the Sixth Child said blinking in surprise. The link had much interference. Despite hearing the message, no other word came out clearly afterwards.
'The only nearby facility is the underground one,' he thought levitating and disappearing. Going into the direction of the facility, he appeared and landed on a down slope of a hill. Looking down at abandon looking building, there seemed to be nothing amiss. Moving closer, he went to the front of the building. Still not seeing anything, he disappeared and reappeared inside. At the security screening area, he blinked in surprise.
'Hmm…' he said seeing signs of carnage down hallways. Bypassing the security doors, he walked down the hallways. Some were normal while others were completely coated with bloodshed.
'Seems more of a terrorist attack,' he thought going toward the large warehouse room with double doors. Opening the doors and going in, the entire room looked normal as before. Standing in the center of the monolith circle area, nothing happened.
"I am here," he said out loud. The monoliths came and looked normal as is.
[You are late…why did you not answer our call sooner?] one said panicky.
"I received it a couple of minutes ago," Kaworu said flatly.
[We have been reaching you since that thing came in here.]
"Oh, do tell."
[Whatever Dr. Akagi was, she is no more.]
"What do you mean?"
[That crazy lunatic exploded herself in front of all of us. The place is a bloody mess!] another stated agitated.
"…" the Sixth Child said tilting his head and looking around. "I do not see blood anywhere in this room gentlemen."
[WHAT!?]
[Do you mock us!?]
[Clearly you can see the blood on all of us.]
"All I see is still black rectangles with numbers. What blood are you talking about?"
[…] all the monoliths said noticing that there was no blood anywhere. […that's…impossible…]
[Seek what happened and report back here…now] 01 ordered firmly.
"As you wish," Kaworu said and disappeared. Appearing back in the security area, he disappeared and reappeared in the security camera feeds room. Blinking in surprise, the agent that was sitting there was out cold. The only thing on him that was odd was the nosebleed. Ignoring that, he started reviewing video of when the attack occurred.
"…!?" Ritsuko said flinching from seeing static.
Freezing, the static went away. Feeling that she had the morning cob webs on her eyes, she slowly rubbed them again. Moving her hands down, she blinked a couple of times before opening them. Noticing several differences, the sound of the forest had changed to something else. Instead of hearing the wind, insects, and animal activity, it was replaced with mild mechanical rumbling. Not only that, but she felt comfortably warm and a strap over her. Not moving, she saw that she was in a vehicle of some kind. Seeing that she was in the passenger seat, she glanced over at who was driving.
"Are you awake Dr. Akagi?" Shinji said quietly as he drove down the road.
"…what…happened?"
"I believe you had a syncope."
"I fainted?…for how long?"
"Based on the time…it has been 30 minutes."
"…" she said. Not knowing what happened when she blacked out made her uncomfortable. Shaking her head and trying to ease her tension a little, she looked around what was going by them down the road. They were on the highway and heading back to the city. Making a plausible guess of how she ended up in the car with him driving, she still could not relax.
"So where are we going?"
"Before heading toward Miss Misato's apartment, it would probably be beneficial to pick up dinner."
"…" she said thinking about what he stated. Her stomach started to ache from feeling empty.
"Did they not feed you Dr. Akagi?"
"Not really."
"Is there a place you prefer to get dinner from?"
"Are you offering? I don't have any money on me."
"It was my intention to pay…so yes…I am offering."
"There is one place that I go to that is near where I live…I believe it should be in the shopping district near Misato's place."
"Very well."
"By the way…which car is this?"
"One of SEELE's fleet cars."
"Isn't there a tracker in here?"
"Was."
"Was?"
"Yes."
"You removed it?"
"Yes."
"Did you know where it was located?"
"Yes."
"Do you get an answer if I asked how did you know?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"It was in the same location of their fleet vans when I contained Mr. Kaji from being assassinated."
"…" Ritsuko said with her eyebrows raised. She opened her mouth then immediately closed it.
"I see," she said staring forward. Still not feeling at ease, she tried to think of something. Remembering from all the lab results that she conducted on something he asked as a favor, she found another topic to discuss."
"I was able to analyze that solution you gave me."
"Splendid Dr. Akagi. I take it was troublesome to determine its components?"
"Initially, yes. Based on what it is composed of, it acts as an antidote."
"…I see…I am correct to assume that you tested it in simulations?"
"With MAGI, yes. To its properties and composition, it only cures blood related diseases and illnesses."
"…which kinds…if I may ask?"
"None that are already known."
"…" he said blinking. "Meaning that it is an antidote for only a specific blood condition."
"Correct."
"…" Shinji said turning to the off ramp. "Did you test the old blood samples taken from me?"
"…" Ritsuko said with a smirk. Though she should be surprised from him knowing, it didn't affect her as greatly. "I did…it removed those black spots on those samples. You wouldn't know what those were used for? They were all in your system"
"…" he said ignoring the image of the dark clone on his side window. "My apologizes Dr. Akagi. I do not know."
"That's alright…it was an interesting side track project," she said seeing buildings going by.
"Glad to hear that it gave you something to take your mind off work. As return for the favor, is there something I can do for you?"
"..." Rtisuko said blinking and thinking about it. "May I ask you a question?"
"Go ahead Dr. Akagi."
"Given what you already know about NERV including your father's original plan, what are you going to do with them when the Angel war ends?"
"I do not have a plan to do anything with them Dr. Akagi. I presume that everyone will move on. May I ask what of you of the same question?"
"Me? I don't know. If I am not imprisoned for the crimes that I have done, I probably have options looking a similar position at another competitor company."
"Sounds adaptive though troublesome," he said causing her to smirk again.
"Are you interested in science Ikari?"
"…" he said. A traffic light was ahead and he slowed the car down to a stop. "If I think about, I believe it is a field of interest."
"Any particular field?"
"At this point of time, I am open to any."
"I see. What about bio-mechanics, engineering, and technology?"
"…" he said blinking and continuing to stare forward. "Your field of expertise?"
"Yes."
"I can say it is of interest."
"That is good to hear...for the return of the favor, I have a request."
"Go ahead Dr. Akagi," Shinji said blinking then accelerated forward. Continuing down the streets, they headed toward the shopping district before heading to Misato's apartment complex.
'…strange…' Kaworu said.
In watching the security feeds, things were opening and closing without a person doing it. Places where an operative stood in front of a door, they would suddenly fall forward. Each one would be suspended in the air preventing them from hitting the floor. A glitch in the video would occur then show the agent back to standing guard at their post. Feeling confused, he looked at the hallways that were still in carnage.
'…what…how…' he thought looking closer at the video and not believing what he was seeing. 'what…what happened to all of the…?'
'It was just there a few minutes ago…and now…there is nothing there?' he pondered. He saw himself pass by through the camera feeds. Despite what he saw and the video showing him looking at things on the ground, there was no dead bodies and gore anywhere.
In looking at the security feed for the holding cells, the only active one was where Dr. Akagi was in. Reaching the point where two operatives entered, they pointed their weapons at her. Like the others, the video feed glitched. Suddenly, both operatives were headless with blood drenching the floor from their necks. In looking down the hallways outside of that cell, two more agents were shot dead. However, there was no evidence of someone physically doing the killing act. There was also no evidence showing that Dr. Akagi escaped from her cell or walked to the monoliths' circle.
"…" Kaworu said disappearing and reappearing in the holding cell. The two headless operatives were still there. Seeing the entire floor have a thin layer of blood, he remained levitated. Noticing something felt off in the room, there was an odd familiarity about it.
'…this feels…like,' he thought looking up to see a window on the side wall. '…strange…I didn't think they had interrogation windows installed.'
Getting closer to the glass, he peered through it to see only stone and the following cell over. Blinking in confusion and pulling away a little, there was something in the reflection of the glass. Instantly turning around and swiping his hand forward, there was nothing behind him. Scanning around, nothing stirred. Keeping his hand forward, he hovered forward to be in the middle of the room. Seeing, hearing, and feeling nothing stirring, he turned back to the window.
"…what…?" the Sixth Child said out loud with eyes widening. The window was not there. Feeling a tension inside of him grow a little, he quickly scanned around the room. Seeing nothing had changed, he disappeared out of the room. Appearing back in the large room with the monoliths, his feet touched the ground.
"So from what I have…found…!?" he started to say then stopped.
Recoiling from the sight, all the monoliths were butchered. Turned inside out, they were bleeding profusely as human organs were drooping down them. The entire large room had changed to the inside of mutilated body. Flesh bleeding walls, floors, and ceiling twitched and moved. A numerous chorus of moans and distance screams of agony sounded. Filling the large floor space, all acts of human atrocities were being committed. Every single coverage of the floor had morbid and vile destruction of lilims with a mixture of pleasure and torture mixed in.
'#$%#$^…h…i…t…h…e…r…e…b…i…g…b…o…y…#$%#$ ' a seductive evil feminine voice whispered next to his ear.
"…!?" Kaworu said feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Swiping behind him again, there was no one there.
[What is wrong?]
"…what…?" he said quietly to himself. Feeling more than confused and paranoid, he closed his eyes and turned around. Walking to the center of where the monoliths would be, he opened his eyes. Controlling his emotions and expressions, all of the black rectangles were back to normal. The room was back to being a cold, dark, and dead place.
"Nothing," he said then reported his findings to them. All of them expressed more than frustrations.
[Who was behind the attack? Was it someone from NERV?]
"The feeds did not show a face; however, the individual was armed to have killed more than a handful of operatives."
[Where is Dr. Akagi? Did she escape or die here?]
"Video shows that the scientist did not enter this room at all. Possible she escaped as there were no dead bodies resembling her."
[That is impossible! She was here during our entire interrogation!]
[Is what you say true?] 01 spoke over the others.
"I only state what I saw through the security feeds. It is possible that they were tampered prior to getting here."
[…yes…that is possible]
"Shall I inform the prototype that our first target would be Dr. Akagi?"
[The information she provided was beneficial and had collateral value. Do not seek her.]
"Very well."
[We will contact you both soon. Do be punctual next time pilot.]
"Of course. My apologies gentlemen," the Sixth Child said giving a friendly smile. The monoliths went away leaving him the only one in the large dark room. Still feeling the odd tension and familiarity around him, he disappeared and reappeared on the surface.
'…who…is doing these visions…is it Unit-01?' he thought traveling back to his apartment. '…I can't tell…from the mind merge and link…it could have been any of the Units, pilots, or Armisael.'
'...however...I do not have any proof that Armisael did die. It had began to merge with Unit-00 and Unit-03...I can not rule that the Angel has perished despite the outcome of the Angel battle.'
"…?" Rei, Rana, and Misato said seeing nothing out of the ordinary in Shinji's room; however, there was a large bulge on his bed. It was under a loose blanket and shook a little.
"Did…you two get a pet?" Misato whispered hoping that was the answer.
"…no…we never talked about getting one," Rana whispered back scratching her head. "We usually close everything when we leave."
"…" Ayanami said blinking and tilting her head to the side. The tension inside of her was heightened. It seemed that the bulge was the probable abnormality source.
"Did he get one and not tell you?"
"…maybe?" the female twin said confused. "I didn't think he was a pet person unless he was told to look after one."
"That does sound like him…well…who is going in?"
"…" the First Child said blinking. "…I will…go…"
Slowly taking a step forward, she continued while the other two remained at the doorway. About halfway through, all three heard an innocent child giggle. It came from the large bulge from under the blanket.
"…" Ayanami said blinking. Taking a step closer, the tension kept increasing the closer and closer she got. Getting to the bedside, a part of her was telling her to flee. Reasoning to herself that everything was part of this vision the three were seeing, it helped keep her put. Blinking again, she cleared her throat a little.
"…hello…" she said softly. The bulge stopped shaking, but didn't respond.
"…hello…do you…hear me?" the First Child tried again. A small giggle was heard again, but nothing else.
"…" Rei said blinking.
Looking back at the two, both looked back at her. Misato slowly walked forward followed by the female twin. All three stood at the bedside looking down at the large bulge on the bed. The Major kneeled down and slowly reached her hand forward. Grabbing the end of the blanket, she gulped and pulled the cloth off. Blinking at what was underneath, a small boy was curled into a ball. Slowly, the child uncoiled himself to be sitting on his knees.
"Ahhhh rats," he said looking up and smiling at them. "You found me!"
"…!?" all three said looking at the child with bewildered faces. They could identify who the boy resembled, but they didn't know what it was supposed to represent.
"Are we playing another game?"
"…" the three said and glanced at one another. Misato cleared her throat and looked at the small boy.
"What…game were we playing? Hide and go seek?"
"Yeah! Oohhh! Let's play peek-a-boo!" he said enthusiastically. "I'll go…no wait…mommy always said ladies go first."
"…oh…oh okay," the Major said with a nervous smile then turned to the other two. Both were still staring at the child with confused faces. Clearing her throat made both blink and look at her.
"It's a simple game girls…you just follow what I do," she said seeing both nod. Copying her, all three held their hands beside their face.
"Do we…cover our eyes Major?"
"Yep and then you say the phrase. Afterwards, you remove your hands from your eyes…so…one, two, and three," Misato said as all three covered their eyes. After waiting a moment or two, all three uncovered and inhaled to say the phrase.
"Peek-a…!?" all three stumbled together then stopped.
In front of them, the entire side of the apartment complex down was gone. Looking down was a multi-story drop to the ground level. However instead of the night lifeactivity of the city, it was a wasteland seemingly splashed with red everywhere. The aroma from the room changed from being little to no scent to an old blood, rot, and dust smell.
Immediately covering their noses, they stepped backwards to get away from the edge drop. Slipping on something slick, all three landed on their backs. Looking straight up, the women froze with fear. Looking down at them were numerous black-red eyes with hideous looking mouths littered everywhere. The room itself was organic of skin, bone, and ligaments. Hearing something approaching them from the other room, they nervously look with their eyes only. A dark silhouette stood at what was left the doorframe. Two eye slits appeared and opened to show dark magenta irises.
"Pardon me madams," a familiar voice spoke to them. Blinking, the environment changed again. Back to what the apartment looked when they entered the room, they saw the Third Child staring down at them.
"My apologizes for interrupting your activity. May I ask what you are doing in my room?"
"…" the three said looking at him wild eye. They heard another pair of footsteps. The individual came into view and stood directly behind him.
"Is this a new bonding activity Misato?" she asked moving her head next to the male pilot's.
"…!?" the Major said blinking in surprise and stood up. "Rits!? What are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to be with SEELE?"
"I was…until it happened."
"…it…happened?" she asked seeing the image of both Ritsuko and Shinji glitch rapidly till both vanished. Staring lost in front of them with heightened sense of fear, they heard a door open softly followed by a shuffling of bags.
"I'm…home," a familiar voice called out quietly. The three women blinked in confusion then heard a second voice.
"I guess Misato was not home and busy to not answer your call," a female's voice stated. Rana and Rei saw the Major fish out her phone and opened it. There were a couple of notifications in which two were from the Third Child not long ago. Looking up lost, the three saw the male pilot followed by Dr. Akagi come into the living room. Both of them were carrying plastic bags that looked like takeout. Stopping, Shinji slow turned his head to look at them.
"…?" Ritsuko said stopping and following his line of sight.
'...why are they in there...more importantly,' she thought recognizing the look on the three women's faces. '...it was here too?'
As both groups stared at each other without saying anything, an awkward silence went.
