I don't own Evangelion. Gainax does. I'm just killing off their characters.
Author's Note: Look, before we all get started here, I should let you know that my grammar is poor. I hope its readable though. I went through a few rewrites and brick walls before making this the chapter I posted. Please note that just because people are having conversations doesn't make them possible lovers. Though in Rei and Shinji's case I might reconsider. Please enjoy and tell me if I should add more to this.
*Cairo, from whence it came, to whence it shall return.
Asuka was gone but three hours when Shinji went to check on Rei again. She wasn't doing well by normal standards. She was an angel! This wasn't supposed to happen! Angels don't get sick. Not his angel…that was an odd thought. He never thought of himself as possessive of either of his two friends. Shinji sighed as he switched cold rags on Rei's forehead. Her temperature was steadily increasing. And there wasn't much he could do about it.
The hollow sound of hooves brought him from his task. "What?"
"He…rode a pale horse…" Rei whispered, trying to sit up.
"And she who sat upon it was Death."
She nodded, "And all of Hell hath followed." She coughed fiercely into her hand and wiped the blood on the bed.
"He came for you."
"I think so. You aren't the one dieing." Shinji was surprised Rei could be so casual about it.
Shinji stood up. "I think you should rest here. I have to stop him."
"But…you don't have any weapons…" She started.
Shinji nodded. He raised his hand and clenched it in a fist. "I said we'd go Fisticuffs if we had too."
And he walked out the door. Determined to save her from it. Rei laid down and closed her eyes, so very tired…
She felt something. A twitch on her ear, whatever it was it snapped her wide awake [Live.] she says, [I am coming.]
"One should die proudly when they can no longer live proudly." Nietzsche said that. She staggered up. Far be it from her to just lay here and let someone else save her. She was going to do it herself.
"If I can get to the Prototype." She looked at her plug suit draped over the chair. 5 feet never seemed so far away.
It was a pale horse. Extremely muscular. White as the snow of the artic, and it shined a bright radiance. The contrast was amazing as Death sat upon it smugly. A purple robe with black and green trim was draped over a female skeleton. Shinji noticed the Yellow eyes, and red trim by them. Unit-01 showed no fear as he saw that every step Death took it robbed the place of life. The grass turned to stony dirt, and was no more. The air seemed to get thick. The scythe was of wooden nature with a long steel blade. The space behind Death was a raging inferno of fire. It was as if Hell truly did follow her.
"We cannot allow you to go any further."
[You have no choice.]
"I can choose to stop you."
[Yes…its sad isn't it? You try so desperately to live, but all you find is Me. Death and pain follows you Shinji Ikari]
"We don't care about you. You are just an obstacle to overcome."
Death stopped her horse. [There are but two constants in the universe, Death and Taxes.]
" The only constant we've ever encountered is change what is death, but a change?"
[You don't fear me. That is brave, but unwise. I have not come for you, but for another. Then I can complete my task.]
"We can't allow it. You will not complete you task, just as the others didn't."
[Fool. Did you really think that those things were your enemy? Those are also constants of Earth. War, famine, and Pestilence. Destroying a thing that merely brought out those things was meaningless. They will remain.]
"It allowed people to confront their fears and they are better, more hopeful."
[This conversation is over. Stand aside Shinji & Yui Ikari.]
Unit-01 did not move. It reared back its fist and struck the horse across its long face. It fell to the ground with a resounding thud. Death stood up, and knocked the scythe against the ground and the dust fell off of its robes.
[Insolent fool. Risking your life for what you deem to be more important than my job. You can't save her. Once she chose not to be a doll, but a human, she was granted the rights of one, including death. Fighting a losing battle…why? It will only proceed into an extra two trips to the after life.]
Eva-01 took a step forward.
Death advanced a step.
[Choose. Quick, or slow?]
"Slow."
[Buying more time? I see.] Death ran a bony finger along the blade of the scythe.
Shinji was unsure. He was pretty sure that Death was here for Rei, and then she was to go about her duties. But did he really want to stop people from dieing forever? He doubted that could happen though. If he failed was that dieing in vain? He knew that his chances were not good, because just being in her presence made him feel sick.
Do it.
"But…"
Worse case scenario we die.
"I know."
Unit-01 actually smiled. Death looked at the Eva with an odd look. Death was not unintelligent; in fact she was probably as much a scholar as anyone else in the afterlife. Smiling is not done in the face of Death. A new and surprising feeling rolled through her bones, all she had. Fear. She feared Artificial Human Evangelion Zero-Zero series: model Zero One-Test type. Pilot: Shinji Ikari. Soul: Yui Ikari. The angels had said that together they were a god. A God can't die. Can it?
Unit-01 Howled at the sky and hit death. With Death's AT field neutralized, touching her wouldn't cause instantaneous death. Death had never been hit before. This was only compounded her new fear. Steeling herself for another blow, she readied her scythe. And swung.
Unit-01 ducked it and gave devastating uppercut.
* About ten feet from Unit-00.
Rei stumbled forward. She felt a little better, as Unit-01 neutralized Death's AT field. The pain was still there, but the foreboding was gone. She stepped up to her Evangelion. It was frozen in time almost. "No…"
Rei saw the black mark through the cracks of the armor. The Eva was dead. Its soul gone forever. She couldn't take much more of this. How could she fight without her Eva? She pushed herself up and knew she had to try.
Death saw a faint outline of the Unit-00 a faded version of it anyway. [You must let me do this. They will still Die, but with no recourse but to walk the earth forever.]
Unit-01 stopped. "What?"
[I am here for Unit-00. Ayanami Rei will not live longer. I had hoped to stay by her side though. It is rare to meet such an individual.]
With Death's AT field matched, Shinji could see what she saw-the floating apparition of unit-00. "So…"
[You can't stop Death. I don't mean me. You can stop their salvation. Is that what you want? I'm sorry about this. I am.] Death touched the shoulder of unit-01 and Shinji saw black.
The plug ejected and Shinji stumbled out. The LCL was cold in his mouth, and his Eva cool to the touch. She was gone as well. His mother's soul was finally resting forever. No more turmoil. He was kind of happy for her, but saddened at his loss. He considered crying, but his mind was directing him to someone he had a chance at saving.
"Mother…Rei!"
Death was no longer a towering 150-foot tall giant. It stood about two to three heads taller than Shinji. He walked over to her now black robed figure.
"Shinji!"
"Rei!" He ran over to her. She was sitting on the ground in her plug suit. As soon as he got over there he dropped to his knees, hugging her. "Oh God Rei. I thought…"
"You were partially correct Shinji. I am not to live through the night."
"No!"
[You are a strong person Rei. You came this far to try to fight me. I'm sorry for your loss.]
Rei looked up at her, "If you were truly sorry, you wouldn't do it."
[Eh, maybe.]
Shinji looked at Death, "Do you have to?"
[Yes. You could challenge me, but that would accomplish nothing, but prolong her suffering, a thing that you don't want to happen.]
"But…even after all we've been through. We're all just children yet."
[You thought you could save humanity from the things that plague it. It was very noble, but unfortunately impossible. Even when God is in her heaven all is not right on earth.]
"Its time. Good-bye Shinji."
He let out a pained chuckle, through his tears, he whispered, "What have I told you about saying good bye?"
[It was written down this way, you couldn't stop it.]
Shinji looked at Death, than at his angel, "The question which has been haunting my soul has been answered, the future is not set, my choices are my own. And yet how ironic, for I realize I have no choice at all."
Death nodded and realized that it was not the huge Evangelion she feared. But the Young Ikari's will to live.
*
Asuka walked slowly by unit-01. The huge Eva was no longer shining, but it appeared grayed out. A monochrome almost. That couldn't be a good sign.
She let out a gasp as she neared unit-00. The ground was a dead brown stretching out for a good fifty feet. It was dried and cracked, the air stagnant. The two pilots, Rei Ayanami and Shinji Ikari, were sprawled on the ground, unmoving.
"Did he do it? Did he…die trying to save her?"
Touji walked into the circle of Death and approached the two pilots. "Looks like it. I'm no doctor though, but that looks like dead." He didn't want to see this. For the love of god he would have given up his other arm to not have to deal with losing more friends. And he was talking like he did every day! He was surprised by his own callousness.
"I knew that Idiot was going to try to die for her and nothing would come of it." She said harshly, not really sure on what she should be feeling. Pain, at the loss of her friends, hurt, that he chose Rei over her.
Not really sure what to do or feel besides sadness, she began to cry. She almost fell to the ground, but Touji caught her. He was in turmoil too, thinking about how Shinji was prepared to die for the world that hated him. He wondered if he was man enough to do that.
Asuka wiped her tears and pushed Touji away, "I'm fine. Just stay back." Her face was a mix between hate and sadness. He shook his head, knowing that some people will never change. He started walking closer to his friends, curious.
He heard a faint groan come from over there, Asuka's head instantly cast her gaze in that direction, but the person stirring was not Shinji.
"Please save…*cough*…the long faces till I'm actually dead." Rei whispered. Barely able to stay conscious. Their gloom was lifted only enough to help Rei up, who kept looking at Shinji and Unit-01.
Touji finally got close enough to flip Shinji's body over. And he looked calm. He wouldn't go as far as to say happy, but he wasn't in pain. Damn, why did he always do the stupid things that were going to get him killed?
* Tokyo-03, or the barren field that used to be Tokyo-03.
She didn't understand why it happened, or what Shinji said to Death to make her exchange their lives, and she wasn't sure if she was grateful. But she knew that Shinji was right. He could never live a good life, even if he spent his very last days giving food to the poor, and achieving world peace. Maybe it was better this way. The world was rid of the third worst person in the world, and she got to say goodbye at least.
"No. I won't tell myself lies to get over it. That would be running away."
Rei looked over at Asuka and Touji, the only other people there who actually gave a damn. There was a reporter or two, to make sure it was true, but really, it was a very small ceremony. Giving a small nod, Asuka and Touji hit the detonators on their Eva self-destruct mechanisms. They were destroying all of them, for the people who were scared of them, and to remind themselves that there was a life outside of Eva. Shinji would have liked that.
