The Child of Love 2
By David Templar
Neon Genesis Evangelion was created by Hideaki Anno. The characters and other things from the series belong to Studio Gainax. The Child of Love is the idea of Axel Terizaki, and the story, along with any character(s) created by him is as such his. This fanfiction is not intended to be profitable for the author or his associates in anyway.
Don't sue me!
NEON GENESIS EVANGELION
The Angel's beam struck Unit-01 square in the chest, causing a massive shower of sparks. The Evangelion was thrown back into a building, which imploded from the impact. The large beast, partially obscured by the dust, lay motionless amidst the rubble.
"Shinji!" cried out Asuka, desperately looking to see if her love was all right. Smoke and partially wrecked builds prevented her from seeing much.
"Eerrk..." responded the boy weakly over the radio, signaling that he was still alive.
"Don't worry Shinji," she said, turning her attention to the enemy, "I'll avenge you!"
Unit-02 raised its massive pallet rifle, and took aim.
"Come on, come on," sneered Asuka, waiting for the target to center up in her sight. What usually took mere seconds seemed to take an eternity.
"Schiesse," cursed Asuka, as she threw her EVA on to its side, narrowly avoiding a particle beam from the Angel. She rolled for several hundred yards, then stopped to aim again. The target finally centered up in her sights.
"AT-Field, full power!" she shouted. Two powerful yet unseen fields clashed, then neutralized each other.
"Die!!!!" screamed the girl, sending a long burst from her rifle into the enemy. The impact of a steady stream of tracers caused a cluster of explosions, which enveloped the target, followed by a cloud of dense smoke.
"Good job, Asuka," Misato's voice came over the radio.
"Piece of cake, I..."
A beam pierced the smoke, and struck Unit-02 in the stomach. The girl let out a cry as her EVA was thrown back on top of Unit-01. Slowly, the Angel emerged from the thick haze, unscratched from Unit-02's attack.
"Rei," commanded Misato.
"Hai," responded the girl.
"You're up," ordered the Colonel coldly.
"H..." Rei was cut-off before she could answer.
"I'll go," said Takuma, "I have a better chance." He set his EVA into motion, moving from the outskirts of the city into the battle zone.
"Fine," said Misato, "I'm sending you a rifle."
"I don't need a rifle," he responded confidently. As Takuma drew closer to the Angel, Unit-04's left shoulder 'wing' opened, revealing a progressive knife. The Evangelion's right hand reached up, and grabbed the sleek double-edged blade. The Angel turned to face its new opponent.
"AAAAAAAARRRGG!" came the boy's battle cry, as he charged at the Angel. His enemy responded by unleashing a barrage of particle beams, all of which the boy manages to dodge. Just before reaching the Angel, the massive EVA leaped into the air. Flipping the progressive knife so the blade faced downwards, Takuma plunged the weapon deep into the Angel's core.
"AAAH! You got me!" said the creature; "I admit defeat."
Suddenly the boy was no longer inside his EVA, but beside a lake inside the Geofront.
"Good job, Takuma-kun!" said Misato.
"Nice work, you're clearly a better pilot than I am," said Asuka.
"Same here," said Shinji.
"My hero," said Rei. The girl closed her eyes, and leaned towards him to initiate a kiss.
"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!"
Takuma bolted upright in his bed, and slowly turned his head to face the source of the agitation. His radio-alarm clock received a vengeful look lethal enough to kill any living thing.
"I never get to finish that dream."
---
NEON GENESIS EVANGELION:
TCoL2
Chapter #7:0 Blood and tears
---
"And that concludes the budget report for last quarter of this year," said the director of NERV's treasury. The overhead lights blinked on, and computer projector was turned off.
"Talk about starting your day with bad news," said Misato, sitting at her seat by the large conference table.
"Quite," said Fuyutsuki. The Commander turned his seat to face the room's large windows. Normally sunlight would be filtered into the Geofront through the large openings overhead. However, today's rainstorm prevented any chance of that.
"While the UN has publicly announced that they are increasing NERV's 4th quarter budget by 50%," said the treasurer, "most of that money is going directly to NERV facilities overseas, key EVA hardware manufacturers, and so on. The UN also made it quite clear to the public that the increase in our spending comes at the price of tens of thousands of lives in Africa."
"Thank you Major, that'll be all," said Fuyutsuki. The man responded by picking up his briefing materials, and leaving the room.
"In reality," said Ritsuko after the man left; "we have very little control over what the increased budget can be spent on. At the same time negative publicity is generated against us."
"None of the personnel have had a pay raise in over two years," said Misato.
"We can also forget about the defense system upgrades," added Ritsuko.
"That is SEELE's intention," said Fuyutsuki, "what is the status of generating profit through NERV operated good and services?"
"Not great, yet not terrible either," said Ritsuko, bringing up a computer display of the income generated. "After subtracting the costs of start ups, equipment acquired, operating costs..."
"Couple that onto the money we manage to skim off non-essential projects and divisions," said Misato slyly.
"We should be able to afford new equipment for NERV security, and key personnel," Ritsuko finished.
"And we've already stepped up combat training for all personnel."
"That wouldn't do much against a full assault by SEELE," said Fuyutsuki, "but then we only need to buy some time."
"All we need is for the Children to defeat the main enemy force outside NERV headquarters," said Misato confidently, "the troops inside would see their futility and surrender."
"SEELE will not hold back anything," said Fuyutsuki grimly, "we can expect to see their EVA series in action against ours."
"I have thought of that," said Misato, "that's why I have found two people who should be able to find out more about the Mass Production EVAs, so we can teach the Children how to fight them." Misato looked at her watch; "they should be here soon."
Moments later, the doors to the conference room slid open. Kaji and Makoto proceeded walked into the dimly lit room.
"Hey folks," said Kaji as door slid close behind him. Makoto behaved like the good soldier he was, formal and proper.
"Hyuga will be using his computer skills to 'acquire' information," explained Misato, "Kaji will handle the other covert operation aspects, and they both have an extensive network of sources and contacts. With a team like this, what can go wrong."
Makoto turned his face towards Kaji, and forced a polite smile.
---
"Shinji."
"Ikari-kun."
"Shinji."
"Ikari-kun."
"Shinji!"
The last call finally broke through the wall that guarded Shinji's train of thought, causing the proverbial locomotive to derail; the boy finally snapped back to reality.
"Huh?" muttered Shinji. He looked around the almost empty classroom, while Takuma and Rei stood to his left and right. He shook his head at the realization that he had missed the dismissal call entirely.
"I'm sorry," Shinji begin packing up his bag, "I've got something on my mind."
"You've been acting strangely ever since you came back from your vacation," observed Rei. "Is there something wrong?"
"Rei, you shouldn't just ask a question like that, it's his personal life."
"No, it's alright." Shinji looked out the window; the poor weather seemed to add to the burden on his mind. He left the classroom, with the other two pilots tagging closely behind. They were almost half way to Misato's apartment before Shinji spoke up again.
"It's about my father. I haven't spoke to him since...Teri-chan's birth. Now I nee...have to talk to him. I know Rei knows him well," the girl remained wordless, "how about you Takuma?" The boy's voice was determined, yet so quiet that it was almost drown out by the sound of rain.
"It was years ago," replied the other boy, "but back then he was rather secluded, secretive, yet somewhat gentle and kind in his own way."
"Gentle?! Kind?!" Shinji stopped dead in his path, and turned to face the other boy. His eyes burned with a multitude of conflicting emotions as it met Takuma's. A lightening bolt flashed across the sky, followed by the deep boom of thunder. Once the air was filled with only the sound of rain again, Shinji spoke.
"He sent me away, he killed my mother, he manipulated everyone, and he used Asuka for his own gains. How could he be gentle and kind?!"
"He wasn't that bad years ago, at least not that I can tell. Sorry, but that's how I remember it."
Shinji turned to continue on his way, even though he wasn't quite satisfied with the answer.
"Did he really send you away and kill your mother?" Asked Takuma, "I mean, he always had that picture of you and your mother in his home."
Shinji stopped again.
"He told me there were no pictures left..." said the boy without turning around.
"There surely was one, I remember it cause it was right on top of his living room table." Takuma turned to Rei. "You know what I'm talking about, right?"
"I do not remember much from then," replied Rei, "but I think I remember a picture in an ivory frame..."
Shinji didn't wait for the full answer; he dropped his umbrella and schoolbag and ran away from the direction of his house.
"Was it something I said?" asked Rei, as the two watched Shinji running unprotected from the drenching rain, towards NERV headquarters. The streets were quiet except for the sound of rain and a set of rapid footsteps, quickly fading away into the distance.
---
"He's WHAT?!" gasped Asuka, cuddling her child in her arms. Her facial expression could not fully express the confusion and concern she felt. Teri could sense that something was wrong from the volume level and tone of her mother's voice, and the fact that her father was not there.
"Running to HQ without an umbrella like a madman," said Takuma. Rei placed the umbrella Shinji had dropped into a holding container.
"Well did you call Misato?" demanded Asuka, furious at the situation. "Who knows where he is right now?! Maybe something happened to him on the way there!" The girl's mind raced through dozens of possibilities, all of them bad.
"We contacted NERV headquarters on the way here," Rei tried to sound as reassuring as she knew how, "Colonel Katsuragi informed us that Ikari-kun arrived safely."
"That Shinji!" growled Asuka, "I'll give him a piece of my mind when he gets back! How could he worry me and Teri-chan over a lousy picture?"
"The picture isn't lousy," said Takuma in defense of Shinji, "it's a picture of his mo..."
Asuka stared at Takuma, who turned to stone in response.
"We will leave now," said Rei politely, "goodbye." She tipped the stone statue beside her at an angle and dragged it out the door. By the time the door had slid shut, Teri was in her crib and Asuka was on the phone with NERV headquarters.
---
"Shinji, where are you going?" asked Misato, trying to keep up with the boy. She finally caught up with him, and threw a blanket on him.
'Thanks' was all he said as he continued to walk down the hallway.
"I know what you're looking for."
"That bastard..." whispered Shinji.
"Rei and Takuma called me."
"He lied to me again..."
"They told me about the picture."
"I should've known..."
"I know how much it means to you, but..."
"And to think I was going to ask him for his blessing to marry Asuka..." Shinji sneered quietly.
"You're going the wrong way, the warehouse where we store the items we confiscated from your father when we arrested him is on the OTHER side of the Geofront."
Shinji finally stopped in his tracks, shook his head in frustration, and sneezed. Misato put her hand on his shoulder blanket covered.
"Come on, I'll take you there."
---
Asuka tapped her foot impatiently as she was asked to hold, again. Finally a voice came on the phone.
"Hello..."
"What is wrong with you God damned operators?! How hard is it to get a hold of ONE PERSON?!" Asuka unloaded all her bottled up rage on the phone receiver. "Do you know who I am?? Do you know who I am?? I am the Second Child, the great Langley Asuka Soryu, and the person who is gonna personally see to it that you're thrown out of NERV head first if you don't get me Ikari Shinji NOW!!" Asuka took a series of short shallow breaths, and looked down the phone receiver she was crushing with her bare hand.
"Asuka-chan, it's me," came the familiar voice of Shinji, from the phone. "I'm alright, sorry for scaring you like that."
"Shin-chan!" cried Asuka, loosening her death-grip on the phone, "I was so worried! What were you thinking? You could catch a cold running in the rain like that! Don't ever scare me like that again! I'm so glad that you're ok..."
Then her tone changed.
"I'm gonna be so angry at you when you get back...grrr..."
"I'm really sorry, Asuka-chan," laughed Shinji, "it's just that something really important came up."
"I heard, your mother's picture, right?"
"Yeah...I have to...need to find it."
"I understand, silly." Asuka paused for a moment.
"I love you," she finally said.
"I love you too. Give Teri-chan a kiss for me, and tell her that's I'm sorry for not coming home right away."
"I will."
"I'll be home soon, I promise."
---
NERV warehouse 2-B (miscellaneous and personal items, items below 150kg)
"This is where we keep the personal items of Mr. Ikari," explained the chubby man in NERV uniform. He lifted a plastic container on to the table in front of Shinji and Misato.
"As you can see," the man patted the container twice, "he really didn't have much in terms of personal belongings." He looked at Shinji, who was staring at the container as if he was about to leap on top of it and rip it open with his teeth.
"I'll leave you two alone," the man quickly retreated from sight.
For a long time, Shinji simply stared at the plastic block, trying to grasp the impact of what he might find inside it. Slowly, he reached out and touched the top of the box. With a suddenness that surprised Misato, he tore off the NERV anti-tampering seal. All Misato could do was watch, as the boy threw the box lids open and begin hurtling its contents out. A comb bounced off a nearby shelf, followed by a copy of Dante's Inferno, whose pages flattered like bat wings as it sailed across the room.
"Shinji, maybe you should..." Misato's words were cutoff by the sound of a small clay
Hello Kitten statue shattering into several pieces as it hit the ground. All she could do was sigh as Shinji continued to empty the box. In a few short minutes, the box had almost been completely emptied of its contents. Then it happened.
A light spray of warm liquid splashed against Misato's cheek. She reached up, wiped the droplets off her face, and took a good look at it.
Blood.
Misato looked up from her hand to see Shinji with a gash across the palm of his hand. Bright red blood poured out of the fresh wound and slowly streamed down his hand. His instinctive reflex to pull his hand away from the pain had been what had caused the spray of blood. However, Shinji didn't look the least bit concerned with his injury. It was the look on his face that stopped Misato from rushing over to him, for he just continued to stare into the box. Cautiously, he reached into the box with his bloody hand, and pulled out a picture frame. Broken shards of glass, on which Shinji cut his hand, hung from the creamy white frame.
"Mother?"
Droplets of water fell on the picture frame, forming a mixture of tear and blood.
---
"Shinji," gasped Asuka as the boy arrived home, "what happened to your hand?!" She rushed forward and gently grabbed his injured hand. She held it up and examined it carefully.
"I'm OK, Asuka," Shinji reassured the young mother. They wrapped their arms around each other in a warm embrace, until Asuka remembered what she said on the phone. Her soft embrace turned into a death-grip.
"Can't...breathe...Asuka-chan..." gasped Shinji, he looked into the girl's vengeful blue eyes.
"You scared me so much..." she said quietly through clenched teeth, tightening her embrace on the boy, "you ran off, and now you're hurt...I...I am so angry at you!"
"I'm sorry," Shinji said, turning a bit red, "I didn't mean to scare you like that, I'll never do it again."
"You promise?" asked the girl, looking at him with puppy eyes.
"Yeah," said Shinji, "I promise, as long as I live." Asuka loosened her grip, and looked into the boy's face carefully.
"You look like you've been crying, Shin-chan."
"..."
"Did you find it?"
Shinji nodded slowly.
"Well," Asuka smiled, "may I meet my mother-in-law to be?"
---
"Shinji isn't going to school today," said Takuma, breaking the silence between him and Rei as they headed for school.
"Do you think he found that picture, Rei?" he asked, turning to look at the girl.
"Yes, otherwise he would have been at school today," she replied, looking at him for a brief moment.
"How do you figure that?"
"Because if he had found the picture, he would want to speak to the person who told him it did not exist."
"Commander Ikari," said Takuma.
---
The jail cell door slid open, causing light from the outside to pierce the interior darkness. "Ikari, you have a visitor," declared the guard. The man turned to Shinji, "five minutes." After the guard left, the door was slid shut and almost completely dark again. The only source of light came from a very small lamp on a table at the other side of the room. Shinji fumbled for the light switch.
"Leave it off," commanded a deep, low voice from the far corner of the narrow cell. Shinji ignored the man, defying him on purpose and turned on the lights in the cell. In the far corner of the dimly lit room sat Gendo. He looked paler and thinner since the last time Shinji saw him. The former head of NERV sat in his usual posture, in front of a desk, and a Chinese chessboard.
"What do you want?" demanded Gendo, not even looking at his son.
"I...I..." stuttered Shinji, before his rage helped him regain control.
"You lied to me, you bastard," sneered Shinji, "that picture of mother, you had it all along." The boy reached into his pocket, and pulled out a folded photocopy of the picture. He threw the proof onto Gendo's table.
"You just wanted to keep it to yourself," spat the boy, "you selfish bastard." Gendo's gloved right hand reached up. It moved shakily towards the folded piece of paper, then past it. The hand finally came to rest one a chess piece for the opposing side to Gendo. After making a move, the man returned to his usual posture.
"Is that all?" asked Gendo, still impassive.
"I hope they keep you in here forever," said Shinji, "even that'll be too good for you, after all that you have done."
"You mean like bringing you and the Second Children together?" asked the father, with almost a tone of smugness in his voice.
"I didn't need you for that!" shouted Shinji angrily, clutching his fist, "we never needed you to fall in love! You were only using me, using Asuka, using Teri!" Shinji took a short breath before shouting out again.
"HOW COULD YOU?!"
The boy's voice vibrated throughout the cramped cell.
"Because I needed to," Gendo simply replied.
Shinji briefly considered using Unit-01 to crush his father, perhaps take a bit out of him. However, the boy knew he would never be able to forgive himself if he did that. Ikari Shinji wasn't that kind of a person. The boy took a deep breath, then turned to leave.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" asked Gendo. Shinji stopped in his path, but didn't bother to turn around.
"..."
"I was thinking, I know that Colonel Katsuragi is now your legal guardian," said Gendo suddenly, "but shouldn't you ask me for permission to marry the Second Children, even if it's merely for formality?" He allowed a small grin to slide across his face.
"..."
"You are planning to marry her, aren't you? You are the father of her child."
"We don't need anything from you. We want nothing to do with you. This will be our last meeting, as far as I am concerned." The boy reached for the control panel beside the door. "I'm finished here," he said, holding down the intercom button. The door slid open, and Shinji slowly walked through it. The door then closed behind him, while the lights in the room turned themselves off. Once again, the room was completely engulfed in darkness, except for the small lamp beside Gendo. For a few moments, there was only complete silence, without even the sound of breathing.
The silence was finally broken by the sound of paper being unfolded.
---
Misato sat in front of a computer in her office. She held a phone in one hand, while the other hand tapped impatiently on the table.
"Sorry for the wait ma'am," said the voice from the other end in English. A file was being sent over from the United States, and the transfer was taking longer than expected. Finally a 'Transfer Complete' message appeared on her monitor, only to be replaced by a 'Decrypting File' and a percentage complete status bar.
"Damnit," cursed Misato in Japanese, "MAGI seems to be slower than usual today."
"Excuse me?" said the voice on the phone.
"No it's nothing," replied Misato in accented English. She swerved her chair, taking her eyes off her computer.
"So you guys have completed your investigation?" asked Misato.
"Yes ma'am," confirmed the US Army officer, "we have concluded that the temporary disappearance of NERV 3rd Branch was the result of human error."
"Human error?" Misato almost fell off her chair. "What, did the scientists decide to shoot themselves while conducting the S^2 engine test?"
"Yes ma'am," the officer explained, "it is our belief that either a malfunction or a design flaw within the S^2 engine itself caused electromagnetic interference within the human brain. The scientists were overcome with paranoia, hysteria, and other mental instabilities. They broke into the monitoring room's weapons locker, armed themselves, and then proceeded to engage in a firefight with the security personnel. During the fight, stray bullets damaged the control of the experiment, causing the S^2 engine to go out of control. The final result was the temporary loss of the base, and the permanent loss of all its personnel."
"That sounds pretty unbelievable," said Misato.
"Having an asteroid wipe out South Pole and 1/2 the world's population is unbelievable ma'am, what I said was a result of several months of intense investigation. Anyway, everything is detailed in the report, I'm afraid I have other things to attend to." The line clicked dead, so Misato dropped the receiver back onto its holder. She turned to see that the computer had finished decrypting the file. She began to access the file, searching for something in particular.
"Katsuragi-san," Misato's secretary announced through the desktop intercom, "Shinji has finished meeting with his father. He said that he's going home."
"Thanks Noriko," replied Misato, she then went back to her computer.
ACCESSING NERV 3rd BRANCH PERSONNEL ROSTER. STATUS OF PERSONNEL LISTED UPDATED AFTER INVESTIGATION INTO THE FACILITY'S DISAPPEARENCE AND SUBSEQUENT REAPPEARENCE.
NOTE: NO BODIES WERE FOUND IN THE FACILITY, DEATH DETERMINED THROUGH DNA COMPARISON OF BLOOD SAMPLES FOUND IN THE FACILITY. THE SUBJECT IS CLASSIFIED AS DECEADED USING A COMPARISON OF AMOUNT OF BLOOD FOUND VS SUBJECT BODY MASS. FURTHER DETAILS IN MEDICAL ATTACHMENT #734-B.
SEARCH BY SURNAME: _
This is just to make sure, thought Misato; it doesn't make any difference what-so-ever to Takuma. She slowly typed the boy's family name into the computer.
SEARCH BY SURNAME: SATORI_
2 ITEMS FOUND: SATORI, KASUMI
SATORI, SEYOKO
NAME: SATORI, KASUMI
SEX: FEMALE
BIRTHDAY: 03/26/1990
AGE: 26
LIVING RELATIONS: 1 YOUNGER BROTHER. SATORI, TAKUMA
STATUS: MISSING BUT PRESUMED DEAD (NO BLOOD SAMPLE FROM SUBJECT FOUND)
NEXT LISTING
NAME: SATORI, SEYOKO
SEX: FEMALE
BIRTHDAY: 03/26/1967
AGE: 49
LIVING RELATIONS: 1 BIOLOGICAL SON. SATORI, TAKUMA
STATUS: CONFIRMED DECEASED
"Should I even bother telling him?" Misato asked herself out loud, "what difference would it make? Other than giving up hope of ever seeing his mother..." I also can't just keep lying to him, Misato thought, he still thinks Rei is suffering from amnesia.
"That kid is way too gullible sometimes," sighed Misato.
---
Clouds hung over the great city of Tokyo-3 for the second straight day in a roll. Rain poured down from the heavens, battering and soaking all below it. The mood of the city reflected that of the weather, resulting in gloomy streets which are mostly deserted. Two figures with umbrellas walked quietly through the rain.
"Lovely weather," grumbled Takuma, walking down the street.
"I do not love the rain," replied Rei, "but it is agreeable."
"I sense that something bad is gonna happen to me," he said.
"Why?"
"Because it's a Wednesday," Takuma explained, "bad things always happen to me on Wednesday."
"That is very improbable," Rei shook her head slightly.
"We'll see, let's stop off at Misato's house and see how Shinji is doing."
"I have a feeling that he is going to be fine for the time being."
---
NEON GENESIS EVANGELION:
TCoL2
Chapter #7:5 Impressions of tomorrow
---
"Hello Ayanami, hello Takuma," greeted Shinji at the door. The boy appeared tired, but otherwise fine.
"We just wanted to check on you," said Takuma, he opened his bag and pulled out a floppy disc. "Today's notes and homework assignments, Hikari told me to make sure you get it." Shinji took the disc with his bandage right hand.
"Thanks."
"How did the meeting with Comma...Ikari-san go?" asked Rei. Shinji was slightly surprised by the directness of the question, but recovered quickly.
"It went OK, I guess," said Shinji, "I got a lot of things off my chest. I have nothing to fear from him anymore. From this point on, I am finally free of that man's influence." The boy emphasized the 'man' with spite. His mood brightened when Asuka appeared beside him.
"Hey you two," she said with her hands behind her back. She gave Rei a funny look, not so much as annoyance but more of tolerance and understanding. Rei retaliated with her usual blank expression.
"Shinji, I think you forgot something," said Asuka. She produced a ball of paper towel.
"Oh that's right," Shinji took the paper ball and unwrapped it. Inside the paper was a small clay Hello Kitty statue. It wasn't hard to tell that it had been smashed and then glued back together, but the workmanship was still quite good.
"I found this among his possessions," Shinji was careful to avoid using the word father, "I accidentally dropped it, but Asuka here fixed it up." He turned the statue upside down, and scribbled underneath were the words "made in Japan" and "Ayanami".
"He seemed to have a nasty habit of stealing personal items from people around him," said Shinji. He thought about the pair of black lingerie he found among his father's things. Who the heck is Naoko, thought Shinji.
"Anyway," Shinji presented the clay cat, "I wanted to return it to you, Ayanami. It's the least we can do after all you've done for Teri-chan."
Rei took the small statue with both hands, and looked at it carefully.
"Not bad, eh?" said Asuka, quite proud of her ability to piece the shattered kitten back together.
Takuma cranked his head to try and see the statue, too.
"Hey, wasn't that the birthday present you got from..."
There was a quiet cracking sound, as a shoe's heel met toes.
"I was mistaken, never mind," Takuma completed his sentence, trying not to appear in pain.
"Thank you very much Ikari-kun, Asuka," Rei said politely. She carefully wrapped the statue back inside the paper towels, and placed it carefully inside her schoolbag.
"We have to go now, Dr. Akagi is expecting us," the girl said. "See you later."
"Yeah, see you later," Takuma limped slightly as he followed Rei to the elevator. Asuka and Shinji went back inside their apartment.
"So Asuka-chan," said Shinji, putting his arm around her waist, "what did you and Teri-chan do today while I was out?" Asuka laughed, and slipped out of his half-embrace.
"Wait in the living room and I'll show you," the young girl went into the bathroom. Shinji followed his orders and went to wait in the living room. A moment later, Asuka appeared with a small stack of paper.
"Ta-da!" she said, "today we have for your viewing pleasure, the artwork of Ikari Teri, child-prodigy!" Asuka handed Shinji the watercolor pictures.
"Wow," gasped Shinji, "this IS incredible! She draws like she were 6 or something, I can tell this is Unit-02!" The painting clearly showed a red EVA-like being, with what appeared to be puppet strings attached to its limbs.
"Actually..." Asuka pulled that painting away from Shinji, "I drew that. It's a contemporary style painting which was suppose to represent my feelings towards my EVA."
"Oh," Shinji looked at the rest of the paintings, which were all done by fingers. There were blue donuts, and what looked like double-helix strands.
"This is still incredible," said Shinji, "she can draw complete circles, and DNA strands!"
"Told you she takes after me," grinned Asuka proudly. The two young parents begin talking about how smart their child is and how wonderful she was going to be, when the phone rang. Shinji went to answer it.
"Hello?" said the boy.
"Hello," the caller's Japanese was accented, but understandable. "May I speak to Asuka, please?" Shinji covered the phone's speaker, "Asuka-chan, there's a man asking for you."
"Huh?" Asuka went over to Shinji, and took the phone. "Hello?"
"Hello Asuka-chan," said the man in German.
"Papa?"
"Yes, it's me sweet heart."
"Papa!" cried Asuka; "it's been so long since you called! Mama is usually the one that calls, you're always so busy."
"I'm sorry about that Asuka-chan, I should call you more often."
Shinji tried to understand Asuka's rapid-fire-German, but the little German Asuka taught him were next to useless. He ended up going back into the living room and looking at Teri's paintings again. Finally, he decided to stick two of the paintings on the refrigerator door, like what proud parents would do with their child's good report cards. He chose the best blue donut and the best double helix, and posted them on the fridge door for all to see. By then, Asuka had finished her phone call. She joined him in the kitchen.
"They're coming to visit," the red head said, "they're coming to visit, Shin-chan."
"Huh? Your parents?"
"Yeah, papa said that he'll be here on business, but that he'll have time to spend with us. He says he's really looking forward to meeting you in person."
"That sounds great," Shinji noticed the lack of excitement in the girl's voice. "Aren't you happy that your mom and dad are coming to visit?"
"Yeah," the girl looked down, her eyes looked as if they were gazing inwards rather than out. "Papa, mama, and my new stepbrother."
---
"Go right in Takuma-kun," smiled Misato's secretary.
"Thanks Noriko-san," the boy opened one of the double doors into the Vice-Commander's office, and entered. Inside, Misato was waiting for him behind her desk.
"You called Misato-san?" Takuma slowly walked up to the Colonel's desk, looking around the room as he went. "We're supposed to have a synch ratio test in 30 minutes."
"I know," the woman said calmly, "but Ritsuko said she needs to delay the test for 15 minutes, so we have plenty of time. Sit, please." She gestured at a chair in front of her desk.
"No, thanks," Takuma said politely, "I think I'll stand. I take bad news better on my feet."
"What makes you think I called you here to tell you something like that?"
"For one thing, you're only pretending to be smiling right now."
Misato shook her head.
"I'm sorry Takuma-kun," Misato decided to come straight out, "I have news about your mother."
The boy's eyes seemed to light up at the word.
"...What?"
"I'm afraid she's dead," Misato said.
"No, she's just missing."
"Not anymore, only your sister is listed as missing now. They found enough evidence to prove that your mother...passed away. I'm sorry, Takuma-kun."
"What kind of evidence?" Takuma demanded.
"You really shouldn't hear..."
"What kind of evidence?" there was a much darker tone this time, so Misato gave in.
"They found enough of her blood to determine that she would have died from blood loss..." she explained.
"But no body."
"No, but the doctors are sure that the amount of blood she lost would have been fatal..."
"What happened if she got an emergency transfusion?" Takuma asked.
"The report didn't say."
"So there is a chance," the boy sounded hopeful.
"..."
"Isn't there?"
"Yes, well..."
"And nothing about Kasumi?"
"No, they didn't find a trace of your sister."
"Then as far as I'm concerned, everything is as the way it was." He checked his watch. "I gotta go now, I'm supposed to meet up with Rei. See you at the synch test, Misato-san."
After the boy left, Misato breathed a breath of relief.
"That went better than expected. He just chose to rely on reasonable doubt."
---
A blade of light cut through the darkness inside Gendo's cell. The path of the light was blocked by a figure stepping through the open door, then disappeared all together as the door closed.
"I know Shinji-kun came to see you today," the visitor said softly. Her words were greeted by silence.
"How did it go?" she asked, trying to probe his thoughts. Silence rebuffed her attempt.
"You didn't say anything damaging to him, did..."
"What do you want?" asked Gendo impatiently.
Dr. Akagi pulled out a personal access display device and turned it on. The light from its LCD display illuminated Ritsuko's face with an eerie glow.
"The test results are complete," she said coldly, "they confirm that Adam is continuing to grow and merge with your hand, despite our best attempts to impede it." She turned the device off and placed it back into the side pocket of her long lab coat. Gendo looked at his shaky gloved right hand, clenching and unclenching it slowly.
"At this rate, you'll loose all control over your right hand within six month. And 2 months after that, the growth would be spreading to your chest area. Amputation is currently the only method of stopping Adam."
"I am already well aware of all this," said Gendo, "and so I ask you again: What do you want?"
Ritsuko stood there silently for a moment, then moved towards Gendo. She stood behind him, and rested her hands on his shoulders. She gently began massaging his back.
"You still want me, even after all that I've done? Even though I'm becoming something else?" asked Gendo, who remained motionless.
"Yes..." confessed the woman.
"But I don't want you anymore."
Ritsuko stopped.
"I don't want you anymore. I have no further use for you."
Ritsuko's eyes locked on the colored photocopy tacked onto the wall in front of Gendo.
I don't want you anymore.
I have no further use for you.
I don't want you anymore.
I have no further use for you.
I don't want you anymore.
I have no further use for you.
I don't want you anymore.
I have no further use for you.
I don't want you anymore.
I have no further use for you.
I don't want you anymore.
I HAVE NO FURTHER USE FOR YOU.
I've been replaced; Ritsuko's mind screamed, by a picture, a memory.
"You...you never had any hopes about me, did you?" asked Ritsuko, weakly backing away from the man.
"That is correct, Dr. Akagi."
"You were using me," the raw emotions began to surge up, mix, and react inside Ritsuko, "just like how you used my mother..."
"She served me well, even in death."
The image of a MAGI mainframe, covered with blood flooded the woman's mind.
"Please leave now," Gendo said. Ritsuko banged her leg on the edge of the cell's bunk as she backed away from the man. She weakly left the cell, and headed towards her office. On the surface, she remained fairly composed, as if everything was normal. However, inside her mind a beast was feeding on her feeling of rage, pain, and worthlessness. An unwanted woman, even by an incarcerated lover. The beast grew stronger by the second. It was a something created purely by Ritsuko's self pity and inadequacy, by her sorrow and agony. She wanted to lash out at something, hold something responsible for her problems, lay blame on an object and condemn and destroy it.
"Dr. Akagi," a voice in front of her caught her attention. She looked up to find its source.
Yui.
It was because of Yui all this happened.
It was because of Yui her mother died.
It was because of Yui she herself was abandoned and cast aside.
Everything Ikari did was for her, and her alone.
She created the world they lived in now.
She deserved to die; she must die.
Ritsuko's hands reached out on their own, and slowly situated themselves around the woman's neck. However, before they could apply any force on the woman's neck, someone behind her snapped her back into reality. She turned around to find Takuma behind her.
"Ritsuko-san?" asked the boy. He was grabbing onto one of her hand, and shaking her.
"Are you ok?" he asked, releasing his grip. Ritsuko snapped her head back to Yui, but Yui wasn't there anymore. She found herself looking into Rei's red eyes.
"Dr. Akagi," said the girl, "is something wrong?" Ritsuko quickly dropped her hands back to her sides, and shook her head rapidly.
"No," she said calmly, managing a smile, "everything is fine, sorry about that."
"What about the synch test today?" asked Takuma.
"It's...it's cancelled, sorry for making you come all this way. I have something else I need to do." Ritsuko quickly retreated from sight, she rounded a corner and pressed her back against the wall. She listened to the two teens as they tried to figure out what happened.
"Are you OK Rei?" the boy asked, "it looked like she was going to choke you."
"I do not know," the girl replied, "I do not think Dr. Akagi is capable of such an act."
"You must admit, she's a lot like her mother though. She can be quite mean and scary at times."
"What did Colonel Katsuragi want to talk to you about?"
"...Nothing, let's get something to eat."
Ritsuko listened as the children's footsteps died away into the distance. Afterward, she found herself wandering headquarters, going down passageways no one ever used. Ritsuko drifted around for what seems an eternity, before finding someone in one of the deserted corridors. The lights weren't very bright, but she could make out the lonely NERV personnel, hunched against the wall. He had in his one hand a syringe, and with his other hand was rapidly tapping his arm, looking for a blood vein. Ritsuko slowly approached the young man.
"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded. "Article 02-01, subsection B of NERV personnel conduct codes expressly states that the use of controlled substances is illegal for all NERV employees. And upon discovery the user could face a minimum of 20 years in prison and/or ¢D666,000 fine."
The man was surprised to see anyone in this part of NERV headquarters, much less one that spits out codes of conduct and threats.
"I...I..."
"Place the syringe on the floor," Ritsuko order, she produced a small pistol and pointed it at the man. He complied willingly.
"All of it," she said. The man produced three more identical syringes, and placed them on the ground, too.
"Now, report back to your post, and I'll pretend this never happened." The man nodded, and he appeared quite shaken by the experience. As he turned to leave, he was given one last warning.
"If I or any other member of NERV ever catches you again. Be certain that you jail term is going to be way longer than 20 years." The man ran from sight, towards the more commonly used parts of the facility. Ritsuko walked over to where the man was, and scooped the syringes off the ground. She read the label. The substance in the syringe was a new kind of drug just gaining popularity on the streets. It was made up of a mixture of substances like tetra-9 Hydrocannabinol, synthetic endorphins, and various other pleasure inducing and addictive chemicals.
Ritsuko gripped the glass tubes tightly, then placed them in her coat pocket. She slowly walked back towards her office.
---
OPERATION CONCLUDED AT 2010
ALL OBJECTIVES WERE COMPLETED.
AGENT SUCCESSFULLY INFILTRATED NERV HEADQUARTERS.
DIRECT AND PRIVATE CONTACT WAS MADE WITH SUBJECT.
SPECIAL PACKAGE WAS TRANSFERRED SUCCESSFULLY TO SUBJECT.
AGENT SUCCESSFULLY EXFILTRATED NERV HEADQUARTERS UPON COMPLETION OF DELIVERY.
"It is done," said SEELE-04.
"Soon Dr. Akagi will be under our control," said SEELE-09.
"She will help us undermine NERV from within," said SEELE-11.
"They will be unready for our final move against them," added SEELE-12.
"And with that," concluded Kihl, "will come the end of NERV, and the fulfillment of promised day."
---
END of Chapter #7.0 version 3 (04/14/00)
Version 1 dated 03/29/00
Version 2 dated 04/08/00
Version 3 dated 04/14/00
You folks know what I always say here, so I'm gonna skip it this time. I dare you to read the rest of his page without passing out from boredom!
Don't read me, you've been warned:
I won I won I won! *jumps up and down* I won the Chicken Ball 1999 Award's annual Most Underrated Fanfic award! The funny thing is that 23 other people also won this award, but who cares? I won I won I won something! Notice the slightly darker tone of this chapter? Don't say I didn't warn you people =P Anyhoo, I'm going to Cuba for a week. I think I might try starting Chapter 8 there. Well, later folks.
Oh and I turned 18 last month, thanks to those who wrote and congratulated me (you know who you are).
My e-mail: david_templar@bigfoot.com
My ICQ: 8155557
Also, please (very please) visit Axel Terizaki's new and improved website, at: http://www.asukanotebook.com.bi/
He great, he WAFFy, he Axel.
My wonderful (and often too picky) prereaders for this chapter:
Axel, EBJ, |ncubus, Disaster, Rajen, Yousef Al-Shamsi, and Nschinden.
Next chapter/episode:
Rei III
Rei: Am I gonna die?
Axel: That's up to Dave.
Rei: Where is Dave?
Axel: Hiding from you. He's scared.
Rei: There is no need. If I die, I can be replaced.
Dave: *emerges from underneath the couch* Oh that's good to know.
Rei: However, if I break your arms, I would not need to die, and be replaced. Attack, Takuma.
Takuma: I am just a doll. *THWAK*
Dave: AAAAHH!
Rei: *THWAK* There, everything is as it was.
By David Templar
Neon Genesis Evangelion was created by Hideaki Anno. The characters and other things from the series belong to Studio Gainax. The Child of Love is the idea of Axel Terizaki, and the story, along with any character(s) created by him is as such his. This fanfiction is not intended to be profitable for the author or his associates in anyway.
Don't sue me!
NEON GENESIS EVANGELION
The Angel's beam struck Unit-01 square in the chest, causing a massive shower of sparks. The Evangelion was thrown back into a building, which imploded from the impact. The large beast, partially obscured by the dust, lay motionless amidst the rubble.
"Shinji!" cried out Asuka, desperately looking to see if her love was all right. Smoke and partially wrecked builds prevented her from seeing much.
"Eerrk..." responded the boy weakly over the radio, signaling that he was still alive.
"Don't worry Shinji," she said, turning her attention to the enemy, "I'll avenge you!"
Unit-02 raised its massive pallet rifle, and took aim.
"Come on, come on," sneered Asuka, waiting for the target to center up in her sight. What usually took mere seconds seemed to take an eternity.
"Schiesse," cursed Asuka, as she threw her EVA on to its side, narrowly avoiding a particle beam from the Angel. She rolled for several hundred yards, then stopped to aim again. The target finally centered up in her sights.
"AT-Field, full power!" she shouted. Two powerful yet unseen fields clashed, then neutralized each other.
"Die!!!!" screamed the girl, sending a long burst from her rifle into the enemy. The impact of a steady stream of tracers caused a cluster of explosions, which enveloped the target, followed by a cloud of dense smoke.
"Good job, Asuka," Misato's voice came over the radio.
"Piece of cake, I..."
A beam pierced the smoke, and struck Unit-02 in the stomach. The girl let out a cry as her EVA was thrown back on top of Unit-01. Slowly, the Angel emerged from the thick haze, unscratched from Unit-02's attack.
"Rei," commanded Misato.
"Hai," responded the girl.
"You're up," ordered the Colonel coldly.
"H..." Rei was cut-off before she could answer.
"I'll go," said Takuma, "I have a better chance." He set his EVA into motion, moving from the outskirts of the city into the battle zone.
"Fine," said Misato, "I'm sending you a rifle."
"I don't need a rifle," he responded confidently. As Takuma drew closer to the Angel, Unit-04's left shoulder 'wing' opened, revealing a progressive knife. The Evangelion's right hand reached up, and grabbed the sleek double-edged blade. The Angel turned to face its new opponent.
"AAAAAAAARRRGG!" came the boy's battle cry, as he charged at the Angel. His enemy responded by unleashing a barrage of particle beams, all of which the boy manages to dodge. Just before reaching the Angel, the massive EVA leaped into the air. Flipping the progressive knife so the blade faced downwards, Takuma plunged the weapon deep into the Angel's core.
"AAAH! You got me!" said the creature; "I admit defeat."
Suddenly the boy was no longer inside his EVA, but beside a lake inside the Geofront.
"Good job, Takuma-kun!" said Misato.
"Nice work, you're clearly a better pilot than I am," said Asuka.
"Same here," said Shinji.
"My hero," said Rei. The girl closed her eyes, and leaned towards him to initiate a kiss.
"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!"
Takuma bolted upright in his bed, and slowly turned his head to face the source of the agitation. His radio-alarm clock received a vengeful look lethal enough to kill any living thing.
"I never get to finish that dream."
---
NEON GENESIS EVANGELION:
TCoL2
Chapter #7:0 Blood and tears
---
"And that concludes the budget report for last quarter of this year," said the director of NERV's treasury. The overhead lights blinked on, and computer projector was turned off.
"Talk about starting your day with bad news," said Misato, sitting at her seat by the large conference table.
"Quite," said Fuyutsuki. The Commander turned his seat to face the room's large windows. Normally sunlight would be filtered into the Geofront through the large openings overhead. However, today's rainstorm prevented any chance of that.
"While the UN has publicly announced that they are increasing NERV's 4th quarter budget by 50%," said the treasurer, "most of that money is going directly to NERV facilities overseas, key EVA hardware manufacturers, and so on. The UN also made it quite clear to the public that the increase in our spending comes at the price of tens of thousands of lives in Africa."
"Thank you Major, that'll be all," said Fuyutsuki. The man responded by picking up his briefing materials, and leaving the room.
"In reality," said Ritsuko after the man left; "we have very little control over what the increased budget can be spent on. At the same time negative publicity is generated against us."
"None of the personnel have had a pay raise in over two years," said Misato.
"We can also forget about the defense system upgrades," added Ritsuko.
"That is SEELE's intention," said Fuyutsuki, "what is the status of generating profit through NERV operated good and services?"
"Not great, yet not terrible either," said Ritsuko, bringing up a computer display of the income generated. "After subtracting the costs of start ups, equipment acquired, operating costs..."
"Couple that onto the money we manage to skim off non-essential projects and divisions," said Misato slyly.
"We should be able to afford new equipment for NERV security, and key personnel," Ritsuko finished.
"And we've already stepped up combat training for all personnel."
"That wouldn't do much against a full assault by SEELE," said Fuyutsuki, "but then we only need to buy some time."
"All we need is for the Children to defeat the main enemy force outside NERV headquarters," said Misato confidently, "the troops inside would see their futility and surrender."
"SEELE will not hold back anything," said Fuyutsuki grimly, "we can expect to see their EVA series in action against ours."
"I have thought of that," said Misato, "that's why I have found two people who should be able to find out more about the Mass Production EVAs, so we can teach the Children how to fight them." Misato looked at her watch; "they should be here soon."
Moments later, the doors to the conference room slid open. Kaji and Makoto proceeded walked into the dimly lit room.
"Hey folks," said Kaji as door slid close behind him. Makoto behaved like the good soldier he was, formal and proper.
"Hyuga will be using his computer skills to 'acquire' information," explained Misato, "Kaji will handle the other covert operation aspects, and they both have an extensive network of sources and contacts. With a team like this, what can go wrong."
Makoto turned his face towards Kaji, and forced a polite smile.
---
"Shinji."
"Ikari-kun."
"Shinji."
"Ikari-kun."
"Shinji!"
The last call finally broke through the wall that guarded Shinji's train of thought, causing the proverbial locomotive to derail; the boy finally snapped back to reality.
"Huh?" muttered Shinji. He looked around the almost empty classroom, while Takuma and Rei stood to his left and right. He shook his head at the realization that he had missed the dismissal call entirely.
"I'm sorry," Shinji begin packing up his bag, "I've got something on my mind."
"You've been acting strangely ever since you came back from your vacation," observed Rei. "Is there something wrong?"
"Rei, you shouldn't just ask a question like that, it's his personal life."
"No, it's alright." Shinji looked out the window; the poor weather seemed to add to the burden on his mind. He left the classroom, with the other two pilots tagging closely behind. They were almost half way to Misato's apartment before Shinji spoke up again.
"It's about my father. I haven't spoke to him since...Teri-chan's birth. Now I nee...have to talk to him. I know Rei knows him well," the girl remained wordless, "how about you Takuma?" The boy's voice was determined, yet so quiet that it was almost drown out by the sound of rain.
"It was years ago," replied the other boy, "but back then he was rather secluded, secretive, yet somewhat gentle and kind in his own way."
"Gentle?! Kind?!" Shinji stopped dead in his path, and turned to face the other boy. His eyes burned with a multitude of conflicting emotions as it met Takuma's. A lightening bolt flashed across the sky, followed by the deep boom of thunder. Once the air was filled with only the sound of rain again, Shinji spoke.
"He sent me away, he killed my mother, he manipulated everyone, and he used Asuka for his own gains. How could he be gentle and kind?!"
"He wasn't that bad years ago, at least not that I can tell. Sorry, but that's how I remember it."
Shinji turned to continue on his way, even though he wasn't quite satisfied with the answer.
"Did he really send you away and kill your mother?" Asked Takuma, "I mean, he always had that picture of you and your mother in his home."
Shinji stopped again.
"He told me there were no pictures left..." said the boy without turning around.
"There surely was one, I remember it cause it was right on top of his living room table." Takuma turned to Rei. "You know what I'm talking about, right?"
"I do not remember much from then," replied Rei, "but I think I remember a picture in an ivory frame..."
Shinji didn't wait for the full answer; he dropped his umbrella and schoolbag and ran away from the direction of his house.
"Was it something I said?" asked Rei, as the two watched Shinji running unprotected from the drenching rain, towards NERV headquarters. The streets were quiet except for the sound of rain and a set of rapid footsteps, quickly fading away into the distance.
---
"He's WHAT?!" gasped Asuka, cuddling her child in her arms. Her facial expression could not fully express the confusion and concern she felt. Teri could sense that something was wrong from the volume level and tone of her mother's voice, and the fact that her father was not there.
"Running to HQ without an umbrella like a madman," said Takuma. Rei placed the umbrella Shinji had dropped into a holding container.
"Well did you call Misato?" demanded Asuka, furious at the situation. "Who knows where he is right now?! Maybe something happened to him on the way there!" The girl's mind raced through dozens of possibilities, all of them bad.
"We contacted NERV headquarters on the way here," Rei tried to sound as reassuring as she knew how, "Colonel Katsuragi informed us that Ikari-kun arrived safely."
"That Shinji!" growled Asuka, "I'll give him a piece of my mind when he gets back! How could he worry me and Teri-chan over a lousy picture?"
"The picture isn't lousy," said Takuma in defense of Shinji, "it's a picture of his mo..."
Asuka stared at Takuma, who turned to stone in response.
"We will leave now," said Rei politely, "goodbye." She tipped the stone statue beside her at an angle and dragged it out the door. By the time the door had slid shut, Teri was in her crib and Asuka was on the phone with NERV headquarters.
---
"Shinji, where are you going?" asked Misato, trying to keep up with the boy. She finally caught up with him, and threw a blanket on him.
'Thanks' was all he said as he continued to walk down the hallway.
"I know what you're looking for."
"That bastard..." whispered Shinji.
"Rei and Takuma called me."
"He lied to me again..."
"They told me about the picture."
"I should've known..."
"I know how much it means to you, but..."
"And to think I was going to ask him for his blessing to marry Asuka..." Shinji sneered quietly.
"You're going the wrong way, the warehouse where we store the items we confiscated from your father when we arrested him is on the OTHER side of the Geofront."
Shinji finally stopped in his tracks, shook his head in frustration, and sneezed. Misato put her hand on his shoulder blanket covered.
"Come on, I'll take you there."
---
Asuka tapped her foot impatiently as she was asked to hold, again. Finally a voice came on the phone.
"Hello..."
"What is wrong with you God damned operators?! How hard is it to get a hold of ONE PERSON?!" Asuka unloaded all her bottled up rage on the phone receiver. "Do you know who I am?? Do you know who I am?? I am the Second Child, the great Langley Asuka Soryu, and the person who is gonna personally see to it that you're thrown out of NERV head first if you don't get me Ikari Shinji NOW!!" Asuka took a series of short shallow breaths, and looked down the phone receiver she was crushing with her bare hand.
"Asuka-chan, it's me," came the familiar voice of Shinji, from the phone. "I'm alright, sorry for scaring you like that."
"Shin-chan!" cried Asuka, loosening her death-grip on the phone, "I was so worried! What were you thinking? You could catch a cold running in the rain like that! Don't ever scare me like that again! I'm so glad that you're ok..."
Then her tone changed.
"I'm gonna be so angry at you when you get back...grrr..."
"I'm really sorry, Asuka-chan," laughed Shinji, "it's just that something really important came up."
"I heard, your mother's picture, right?"
"Yeah...I have to...need to find it."
"I understand, silly." Asuka paused for a moment.
"I love you," she finally said.
"I love you too. Give Teri-chan a kiss for me, and tell her that's I'm sorry for not coming home right away."
"I will."
"I'll be home soon, I promise."
---
NERV warehouse 2-B (miscellaneous and personal items, items below 150kg)
"This is where we keep the personal items of Mr. Ikari," explained the chubby man in NERV uniform. He lifted a plastic container on to the table in front of Shinji and Misato.
"As you can see," the man patted the container twice, "he really didn't have much in terms of personal belongings." He looked at Shinji, who was staring at the container as if he was about to leap on top of it and rip it open with his teeth.
"I'll leave you two alone," the man quickly retreated from sight.
For a long time, Shinji simply stared at the plastic block, trying to grasp the impact of what he might find inside it. Slowly, he reached out and touched the top of the box. With a suddenness that surprised Misato, he tore off the NERV anti-tampering seal. All Misato could do was watch, as the boy threw the box lids open and begin hurtling its contents out. A comb bounced off a nearby shelf, followed by a copy of Dante's Inferno, whose pages flattered like bat wings as it sailed across the room.
"Shinji, maybe you should..." Misato's words were cutoff by the sound of a small clay
Hello Kitten statue shattering into several pieces as it hit the ground. All she could do was sigh as Shinji continued to empty the box. In a few short minutes, the box had almost been completely emptied of its contents. Then it happened.
A light spray of warm liquid splashed against Misato's cheek. She reached up, wiped the droplets off her face, and took a good look at it.
Blood.
Misato looked up from her hand to see Shinji with a gash across the palm of his hand. Bright red blood poured out of the fresh wound and slowly streamed down his hand. His instinctive reflex to pull his hand away from the pain had been what had caused the spray of blood. However, Shinji didn't look the least bit concerned with his injury. It was the look on his face that stopped Misato from rushing over to him, for he just continued to stare into the box. Cautiously, he reached into the box with his bloody hand, and pulled out a picture frame. Broken shards of glass, on which Shinji cut his hand, hung from the creamy white frame.
"Mother?"
Droplets of water fell on the picture frame, forming a mixture of tear and blood.
---
"Shinji," gasped Asuka as the boy arrived home, "what happened to your hand?!" She rushed forward and gently grabbed his injured hand. She held it up and examined it carefully.
"I'm OK, Asuka," Shinji reassured the young mother. They wrapped their arms around each other in a warm embrace, until Asuka remembered what she said on the phone. Her soft embrace turned into a death-grip.
"Can't...breathe...Asuka-chan..." gasped Shinji, he looked into the girl's vengeful blue eyes.
"You scared me so much..." she said quietly through clenched teeth, tightening her embrace on the boy, "you ran off, and now you're hurt...I...I am so angry at you!"
"I'm sorry," Shinji said, turning a bit red, "I didn't mean to scare you like that, I'll never do it again."
"You promise?" asked the girl, looking at him with puppy eyes.
"Yeah," said Shinji, "I promise, as long as I live." Asuka loosened her grip, and looked into the boy's face carefully.
"You look like you've been crying, Shin-chan."
"..."
"Did you find it?"
Shinji nodded slowly.
"Well," Asuka smiled, "may I meet my mother-in-law to be?"
---
"Shinji isn't going to school today," said Takuma, breaking the silence between him and Rei as they headed for school.
"Do you think he found that picture, Rei?" he asked, turning to look at the girl.
"Yes, otherwise he would have been at school today," she replied, looking at him for a brief moment.
"How do you figure that?"
"Because if he had found the picture, he would want to speak to the person who told him it did not exist."
"Commander Ikari," said Takuma.
---
The jail cell door slid open, causing light from the outside to pierce the interior darkness. "Ikari, you have a visitor," declared the guard. The man turned to Shinji, "five minutes." After the guard left, the door was slid shut and almost completely dark again. The only source of light came from a very small lamp on a table at the other side of the room. Shinji fumbled for the light switch.
"Leave it off," commanded a deep, low voice from the far corner of the narrow cell. Shinji ignored the man, defying him on purpose and turned on the lights in the cell. In the far corner of the dimly lit room sat Gendo. He looked paler and thinner since the last time Shinji saw him. The former head of NERV sat in his usual posture, in front of a desk, and a Chinese chessboard.
"What do you want?" demanded Gendo, not even looking at his son.
"I...I..." stuttered Shinji, before his rage helped him regain control.
"You lied to me, you bastard," sneered Shinji, "that picture of mother, you had it all along." The boy reached into his pocket, and pulled out a folded photocopy of the picture. He threw the proof onto Gendo's table.
"You just wanted to keep it to yourself," spat the boy, "you selfish bastard." Gendo's gloved right hand reached up. It moved shakily towards the folded piece of paper, then past it. The hand finally came to rest one a chess piece for the opposing side to Gendo. After making a move, the man returned to his usual posture.
"Is that all?" asked Gendo, still impassive.
"I hope they keep you in here forever," said Shinji, "even that'll be too good for you, after all that you have done."
"You mean like bringing you and the Second Children together?" asked the father, with almost a tone of smugness in his voice.
"I didn't need you for that!" shouted Shinji angrily, clutching his fist, "we never needed you to fall in love! You were only using me, using Asuka, using Teri!" Shinji took a short breath before shouting out again.
"HOW COULD YOU?!"
The boy's voice vibrated throughout the cramped cell.
"Because I needed to," Gendo simply replied.
Shinji briefly considered using Unit-01 to crush his father, perhaps take a bit out of him. However, the boy knew he would never be able to forgive himself if he did that. Ikari Shinji wasn't that kind of a person. The boy took a deep breath, then turned to leave.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" asked Gendo. Shinji stopped in his path, but didn't bother to turn around.
"..."
"I was thinking, I know that Colonel Katsuragi is now your legal guardian," said Gendo suddenly, "but shouldn't you ask me for permission to marry the Second Children, even if it's merely for formality?" He allowed a small grin to slide across his face.
"..."
"You are planning to marry her, aren't you? You are the father of her child."
"We don't need anything from you. We want nothing to do with you. This will be our last meeting, as far as I am concerned." The boy reached for the control panel beside the door. "I'm finished here," he said, holding down the intercom button. The door slid open, and Shinji slowly walked through it. The door then closed behind him, while the lights in the room turned themselves off. Once again, the room was completely engulfed in darkness, except for the small lamp beside Gendo. For a few moments, there was only complete silence, without even the sound of breathing.
The silence was finally broken by the sound of paper being unfolded.
---
Misato sat in front of a computer in her office. She held a phone in one hand, while the other hand tapped impatiently on the table.
"Sorry for the wait ma'am," said the voice from the other end in English. A file was being sent over from the United States, and the transfer was taking longer than expected. Finally a 'Transfer Complete' message appeared on her monitor, only to be replaced by a 'Decrypting File' and a percentage complete status bar.
"Damnit," cursed Misato in Japanese, "MAGI seems to be slower than usual today."
"Excuse me?" said the voice on the phone.
"No it's nothing," replied Misato in accented English. She swerved her chair, taking her eyes off her computer.
"So you guys have completed your investigation?" asked Misato.
"Yes ma'am," confirmed the US Army officer, "we have concluded that the temporary disappearance of NERV 3rd Branch was the result of human error."
"Human error?" Misato almost fell off her chair. "What, did the scientists decide to shoot themselves while conducting the S^2 engine test?"
"Yes ma'am," the officer explained, "it is our belief that either a malfunction or a design flaw within the S^2 engine itself caused electromagnetic interference within the human brain. The scientists were overcome with paranoia, hysteria, and other mental instabilities. They broke into the monitoring room's weapons locker, armed themselves, and then proceeded to engage in a firefight with the security personnel. During the fight, stray bullets damaged the control of the experiment, causing the S^2 engine to go out of control. The final result was the temporary loss of the base, and the permanent loss of all its personnel."
"That sounds pretty unbelievable," said Misato.
"Having an asteroid wipe out South Pole and 1/2 the world's population is unbelievable ma'am, what I said was a result of several months of intense investigation. Anyway, everything is detailed in the report, I'm afraid I have other things to attend to." The line clicked dead, so Misato dropped the receiver back onto its holder. She turned to see that the computer had finished decrypting the file. She began to access the file, searching for something in particular.
"Katsuragi-san," Misato's secretary announced through the desktop intercom, "Shinji has finished meeting with his father. He said that he's going home."
"Thanks Noriko," replied Misato, she then went back to her computer.
ACCESSING NERV 3rd BRANCH PERSONNEL ROSTER. STATUS OF PERSONNEL LISTED UPDATED AFTER INVESTIGATION INTO THE FACILITY'S DISAPPEARENCE AND SUBSEQUENT REAPPEARENCE.
NOTE: NO BODIES WERE FOUND IN THE FACILITY, DEATH DETERMINED THROUGH DNA COMPARISON OF BLOOD SAMPLES FOUND IN THE FACILITY. THE SUBJECT IS CLASSIFIED AS DECEADED USING A COMPARISON OF AMOUNT OF BLOOD FOUND VS SUBJECT BODY MASS. FURTHER DETAILS IN MEDICAL ATTACHMENT #734-B.
SEARCH BY SURNAME: _
This is just to make sure, thought Misato; it doesn't make any difference what-so-ever to Takuma. She slowly typed the boy's family name into the computer.
SEARCH BY SURNAME: SATORI_
2 ITEMS FOUND: SATORI, KASUMI
SATORI, SEYOKO
NAME: SATORI, KASUMI
SEX: FEMALE
BIRTHDAY: 03/26/1990
AGE: 26
LIVING RELATIONS: 1 YOUNGER BROTHER. SATORI, TAKUMA
STATUS: MISSING BUT PRESUMED DEAD (NO BLOOD SAMPLE FROM SUBJECT FOUND)
NEXT LISTING
NAME: SATORI, SEYOKO
SEX: FEMALE
BIRTHDAY: 03/26/1967
AGE: 49
LIVING RELATIONS: 1 BIOLOGICAL SON. SATORI, TAKUMA
STATUS: CONFIRMED DECEASED
"Should I even bother telling him?" Misato asked herself out loud, "what difference would it make? Other than giving up hope of ever seeing his mother..." I also can't just keep lying to him, Misato thought, he still thinks Rei is suffering from amnesia.
"That kid is way too gullible sometimes," sighed Misato.
---
Clouds hung over the great city of Tokyo-3 for the second straight day in a roll. Rain poured down from the heavens, battering and soaking all below it. The mood of the city reflected that of the weather, resulting in gloomy streets which are mostly deserted. Two figures with umbrellas walked quietly through the rain.
"Lovely weather," grumbled Takuma, walking down the street.
"I do not love the rain," replied Rei, "but it is agreeable."
"I sense that something bad is gonna happen to me," he said.
"Why?"
"Because it's a Wednesday," Takuma explained, "bad things always happen to me on Wednesday."
"That is very improbable," Rei shook her head slightly.
"We'll see, let's stop off at Misato's house and see how Shinji is doing."
"I have a feeling that he is going to be fine for the time being."
---
NEON GENESIS EVANGELION:
TCoL2
Chapter #7:5 Impressions of tomorrow
---
"Hello Ayanami, hello Takuma," greeted Shinji at the door. The boy appeared tired, but otherwise fine.
"We just wanted to check on you," said Takuma, he opened his bag and pulled out a floppy disc. "Today's notes and homework assignments, Hikari told me to make sure you get it." Shinji took the disc with his bandage right hand.
"Thanks."
"How did the meeting with Comma...Ikari-san go?" asked Rei. Shinji was slightly surprised by the directness of the question, but recovered quickly.
"It went OK, I guess," said Shinji, "I got a lot of things off my chest. I have nothing to fear from him anymore. From this point on, I am finally free of that man's influence." The boy emphasized the 'man' with spite. His mood brightened when Asuka appeared beside him.
"Hey you two," she said with her hands behind her back. She gave Rei a funny look, not so much as annoyance but more of tolerance and understanding. Rei retaliated with her usual blank expression.
"Shinji, I think you forgot something," said Asuka. She produced a ball of paper towel.
"Oh that's right," Shinji took the paper ball and unwrapped it. Inside the paper was a small clay Hello Kitty statue. It wasn't hard to tell that it had been smashed and then glued back together, but the workmanship was still quite good.
"I found this among his possessions," Shinji was careful to avoid using the word father, "I accidentally dropped it, but Asuka here fixed it up." He turned the statue upside down, and scribbled underneath were the words "made in Japan" and "Ayanami".
"He seemed to have a nasty habit of stealing personal items from people around him," said Shinji. He thought about the pair of black lingerie he found among his father's things. Who the heck is Naoko, thought Shinji.
"Anyway," Shinji presented the clay cat, "I wanted to return it to you, Ayanami. It's the least we can do after all you've done for Teri-chan."
Rei took the small statue with both hands, and looked at it carefully.
"Not bad, eh?" said Asuka, quite proud of her ability to piece the shattered kitten back together.
Takuma cranked his head to try and see the statue, too.
"Hey, wasn't that the birthday present you got from..."
There was a quiet cracking sound, as a shoe's heel met toes.
"I was mistaken, never mind," Takuma completed his sentence, trying not to appear in pain.
"Thank you very much Ikari-kun, Asuka," Rei said politely. She carefully wrapped the statue back inside the paper towels, and placed it carefully inside her schoolbag.
"We have to go now, Dr. Akagi is expecting us," the girl said. "See you later."
"Yeah, see you later," Takuma limped slightly as he followed Rei to the elevator. Asuka and Shinji went back inside their apartment.
"So Asuka-chan," said Shinji, putting his arm around her waist, "what did you and Teri-chan do today while I was out?" Asuka laughed, and slipped out of his half-embrace.
"Wait in the living room and I'll show you," the young girl went into the bathroom. Shinji followed his orders and went to wait in the living room. A moment later, Asuka appeared with a small stack of paper.
"Ta-da!" she said, "today we have for your viewing pleasure, the artwork of Ikari Teri, child-prodigy!" Asuka handed Shinji the watercolor pictures.
"Wow," gasped Shinji, "this IS incredible! She draws like she were 6 or something, I can tell this is Unit-02!" The painting clearly showed a red EVA-like being, with what appeared to be puppet strings attached to its limbs.
"Actually..." Asuka pulled that painting away from Shinji, "I drew that. It's a contemporary style painting which was suppose to represent my feelings towards my EVA."
"Oh," Shinji looked at the rest of the paintings, which were all done by fingers. There were blue donuts, and what looked like double-helix strands.
"This is still incredible," said Shinji, "she can draw complete circles, and DNA strands!"
"Told you she takes after me," grinned Asuka proudly. The two young parents begin talking about how smart their child is and how wonderful she was going to be, when the phone rang. Shinji went to answer it.
"Hello?" said the boy.
"Hello," the caller's Japanese was accented, but understandable. "May I speak to Asuka, please?" Shinji covered the phone's speaker, "Asuka-chan, there's a man asking for you."
"Huh?" Asuka went over to Shinji, and took the phone. "Hello?"
"Hello Asuka-chan," said the man in German.
"Papa?"
"Yes, it's me sweet heart."
"Papa!" cried Asuka; "it's been so long since you called! Mama is usually the one that calls, you're always so busy."
"I'm sorry about that Asuka-chan, I should call you more often."
Shinji tried to understand Asuka's rapid-fire-German, but the little German Asuka taught him were next to useless. He ended up going back into the living room and looking at Teri's paintings again. Finally, he decided to stick two of the paintings on the refrigerator door, like what proud parents would do with their child's good report cards. He chose the best blue donut and the best double helix, and posted them on the fridge door for all to see. By then, Asuka had finished her phone call. She joined him in the kitchen.
"They're coming to visit," the red head said, "they're coming to visit, Shin-chan."
"Huh? Your parents?"
"Yeah, papa said that he'll be here on business, but that he'll have time to spend with us. He says he's really looking forward to meeting you in person."
"That sounds great," Shinji noticed the lack of excitement in the girl's voice. "Aren't you happy that your mom and dad are coming to visit?"
"Yeah," the girl looked down, her eyes looked as if they were gazing inwards rather than out. "Papa, mama, and my new stepbrother."
---
"Go right in Takuma-kun," smiled Misato's secretary.
"Thanks Noriko-san," the boy opened one of the double doors into the Vice-Commander's office, and entered. Inside, Misato was waiting for him behind her desk.
"You called Misato-san?" Takuma slowly walked up to the Colonel's desk, looking around the room as he went. "We're supposed to have a synch ratio test in 30 minutes."
"I know," the woman said calmly, "but Ritsuko said she needs to delay the test for 15 minutes, so we have plenty of time. Sit, please." She gestured at a chair in front of her desk.
"No, thanks," Takuma said politely, "I think I'll stand. I take bad news better on my feet."
"What makes you think I called you here to tell you something like that?"
"For one thing, you're only pretending to be smiling right now."
Misato shook her head.
"I'm sorry Takuma-kun," Misato decided to come straight out, "I have news about your mother."
The boy's eyes seemed to light up at the word.
"...What?"
"I'm afraid she's dead," Misato said.
"No, she's just missing."
"Not anymore, only your sister is listed as missing now. They found enough evidence to prove that your mother...passed away. I'm sorry, Takuma-kun."
"What kind of evidence?" Takuma demanded.
"You really shouldn't hear..."
"What kind of evidence?" there was a much darker tone this time, so Misato gave in.
"They found enough of her blood to determine that she would have died from blood loss..." she explained.
"But no body."
"No, but the doctors are sure that the amount of blood she lost would have been fatal..."
"What happened if she got an emergency transfusion?" Takuma asked.
"The report didn't say."
"So there is a chance," the boy sounded hopeful.
"..."
"Isn't there?"
"Yes, well..."
"And nothing about Kasumi?"
"No, they didn't find a trace of your sister."
"Then as far as I'm concerned, everything is as the way it was." He checked his watch. "I gotta go now, I'm supposed to meet up with Rei. See you at the synch test, Misato-san."
After the boy left, Misato breathed a breath of relief.
"That went better than expected. He just chose to rely on reasonable doubt."
---
A blade of light cut through the darkness inside Gendo's cell. The path of the light was blocked by a figure stepping through the open door, then disappeared all together as the door closed.
"I know Shinji-kun came to see you today," the visitor said softly. Her words were greeted by silence.
"How did it go?" she asked, trying to probe his thoughts. Silence rebuffed her attempt.
"You didn't say anything damaging to him, did..."
"What do you want?" asked Gendo impatiently.
Dr. Akagi pulled out a personal access display device and turned it on. The light from its LCD display illuminated Ritsuko's face with an eerie glow.
"The test results are complete," she said coldly, "they confirm that Adam is continuing to grow and merge with your hand, despite our best attempts to impede it." She turned the device off and placed it back into the side pocket of her long lab coat. Gendo looked at his shaky gloved right hand, clenching and unclenching it slowly.
"At this rate, you'll loose all control over your right hand within six month. And 2 months after that, the growth would be spreading to your chest area. Amputation is currently the only method of stopping Adam."
"I am already well aware of all this," said Gendo, "and so I ask you again: What do you want?"
Ritsuko stood there silently for a moment, then moved towards Gendo. She stood behind him, and rested her hands on his shoulders. She gently began massaging his back.
"You still want me, even after all that I've done? Even though I'm becoming something else?" asked Gendo, who remained motionless.
"Yes..." confessed the woman.
"But I don't want you anymore."
Ritsuko stopped.
"I don't want you anymore. I have no further use for you."
Ritsuko's eyes locked on the colored photocopy tacked onto the wall in front of Gendo.
I don't want you anymore.
I have no further use for you.
I don't want you anymore.
I have no further use for you.
I don't want you anymore.
I have no further use for you.
I don't want you anymore.
I have no further use for you.
I don't want you anymore.
I have no further use for you.
I don't want you anymore.
I HAVE NO FURTHER USE FOR YOU.
I've been replaced; Ritsuko's mind screamed, by a picture, a memory.
"You...you never had any hopes about me, did you?" asked Ritsuko, weakly backing away from the man.
"That is correct, Dr. Akagi."
"You were using me," the raw emotions began to surge up, mix, and react inside Ritsuko, "just like how you used my mother..."
"She served me well, even in death."
The image of a MAGI mainframe, covered with blood flooded the woman's mind.
"Please leave now," Gendo said. Ritsuko banged her leg on the edge of the cell's bunk as she backed away from the man. She weakly left the cell, and headed towards her office. On the surface, she remained fairly composed, as if everything was normal. However, inside her mind a beast was feeding on her feeling of rage, pain, and worthlessness. An unwanted woman, even by an incarcerated lover. The beast grew stronger by the second. It was a something created purely by Ritsuko's self pity and inadequacy, by her sorrow and agony. She wanted to lash out at something, hold something responsible for her problems, lay blame on an object and condemn and destroy it.
"Dr. Akagi," a voice in front of her caught her attention. She looked up to find its source.
Yui.
It was because of Yui all this happened.
It was because of Yui her mother died.
It was because of Yui she herself was abandoned and cast aside.
Everything Ikari did was for her, and her alone.
She created the world they lived in now.
She deserved to die; she must die.
Ritsuko's hands reached out on their own, and slowly situated themselves around the woman's neck. However, before they could apply any force on the woman's neck, someone behind her snapped her back into reality. She turned around to find Takuma behind her.
"Ritsuko-san?" asked the boy. He was grabbing onto one of her hand, and shaking her.
"Are you ok?" he asked, releasing his grip. Ritsuko snapped her head back to Yui, but Yui wasn't there anymore. She found herself looking into Rei's red eyes.
"Dr. Akagi," said the girl, "is something wrong?" Ritsuko quickly dropped her hands back to her sides, and shook her head rapidly.
"No," she said calmly, managing a smile, "everything is fine, sorry about that."
"What about the synch test today?" asked Takuma.
"It's...it's cancelled, sorry for making you come all this way. I have something else I need to do." Ritsuko quickly retreated from sight, she rounded a corner and pressed her back against the wall. She listened to the two teens as they tried to figure out what happened.
"Are you OK Rei?" the boy asked, "it looked like she was going to choke you."
"I do not know," the girl replied, "I do not think Dr. Akagi is capable of such an act."
"You must admit, she's a lot like her mother though. She can be quite mean and scary at times."
"What did Colonel Katsuragi want to talk to you about?"
"...Nothing, let's get something to eat."
Ritsuko listened as the children's footsteps died away into the distance. Afterward, she found herself wandering headquarters, going down passageways no one ever used. Ritsuko drifted around for what seems an eternity, before finding someone in one of the deserted corridors. The lights weren't very bright, but she could make out the lonely NERV personnel, hunched against the wall. He had in his one hand a syringe, and with his other hand was rapidly tapping his arm, looking for a blood vein. Ritsuko slowly approached the young man.
"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded. "Article 02-01, subsection B of NERV personnel conduct codes expressly states that the use of controlled substances is illegal for all NERV employees. And upon discovery the user could face a minimum of 20 years in prison and/or ¢D666,000 fine."
The man was surprised to see anyone in this part of NERV headquarters, much less one that spits out codes of conduct and threats.
"I...I..."
"Place the syringe on the floor," Ritsuko order, she produced a small pistol and pointed it at the man. He complied willingly.
"All of it," she said. The man produced three more identical syringes, and placed them on the ground, too.
"Now, report back to your post, and I'll pretend this never happened." The man nodded, and he appeared quite shaken by the experience. As he turned to leave, he was given one last warning.
"If I or any other member of NERV ever catches you again. Be certain that you jail term is going to be way longer than 20 years." The man ran from sight, towards the more commonly used parts of the facility. Ritsuko walked over to where the man was, and scooped the syringes off the ground. She read the label. The substance in the syringe was a new kind of drug just gaining popularity on the streets. It was made up of a mixture of substances like tetra-9 Hydrocannabinol, synthetic endorphins, and various other pleasure inducing and addictive chemicals.
Ritsuko gripped the glass tubes tightly, then placed them in her coat pocket. She slowly walked back towards her office.
---
OPERATION CONCLUDED AT 2010
ALL OBJECTIVES WERE COMPLETED.
AGENT SUCCESSFULLY INFILTRATED NERV HEADQUARTERS.
DIRECT AND PRIVATE CONTACT WAS MADE WITH SUBJECT.
SPECIAL PACKAGE WAS TRANSFERRED SUCCESSFULLY TO SUBJECT.
AGENT SUCCESSFULLY EXFILTRATED NERV HEADQUARTERS UPON COMPLETION OF DELIVERY.
"It is done," said SEELE-04.
"Soon Dr. Akagi will be under our control," said SEELE-09.
"She will help us undermine NERV from within," said SEELE-11.
"They will be unready for our final move against them," added SEELE-12.
"And with that," concluded Kihl, "will come the end of NERV, and the fulfillment of promised day."
---
END of Chapter #7.0 version 3 (04/14/00)
Version 1 dated 03/29/00
Version 2 dated 04/08/00
Version 3 dated 04/14/00
You folks know what I always say here, so I'm gonna skip it this time. I dare you to read the rest of his page without passing out from boredom!
Don't read me, you've been warned:
I won I won I won! *jumps up and down* I won the Chicken Ball 1999 Award's annual Most Underrated Fanfic award! The funny thing is that 23 other people also won this award, but who cares? I won I won I won something! Notice the slightly darker tone of this chapter? Don't say I didn't warn you people =P Anyhoo, I'm going to Cuba for a week. I think I might try starting Chapter 8 there. Well, later folks.
Oh and I turned 18 last month, thanks to those who wrote and congratulated me (you know who you are).
My e-mail: david_templar@bigfoot.com
My ICQ: 8155557
Also, please (very please) visit Axel Terizaki's new and improved website, at: http://www.asukanotebook.com.bi/
He great, he WAFFy, he Axel.
My wonderful (and often too picky) prereaders for this chapter:
Axel, EBJ, |ncubus, Disaster, Rajen, Yousef Al-Shamsi, and Nschinden.
Next chapter/episode:
Rei III
Rei: Am I gonna die?
Axel: That's up to Dave.
Rei: Where is Dave?
Axel: Hiding from you. He's scared.
Rei: There is no need. If I die, I can be replaced.
Dave: *emerges from underneath the couch* Oh that's good to know.
Rei: However, if I break your arms, I would not need to die, and be replaced. Attack, Takuma.
Takuma: I am just a doll. *THWAK*
Dave: AAAAHH!
Rei: *THWAK* There, everything is as it was.