Chain Lightning Studios Presents
Together We Stand Book Two
Divided We Fall
By T. L. Webb
what shall we use to fill the empty spaces
where we used to talk
how shall I fill the final places
how shall I complete the wall
Pink Floyd
The Wall
[]=========================[]
Book Two Part Eleven
[]=========================[]
With a soft whir of gears, the door to Gendou Ikari's office
opened and Fuyutski walked in carrying the disks that held the
latest data from the day's activities. At the desk, Gendou sat facing
the window. He didn't respond to his colleague's presence until the
man was practically beside him.
"How did the activation proceed?" he enquired as Fuyutski set
the files on the desk.
"About as Dr. Akagi predicted. Pilot Horaki is just over the
activation threshold, and as soon as she becomes aquatinted with
the system she should be up to battle levels within a month."
"Very well, and the second?"
"Soryu has run off, as predicted," Fuyutski said with a frown,
"Section Two has her under surveillance down in the temporary
residence quarters--in her old room specifically. Major Katsuragi is
demanding we retrieve her."
"I see. How does Dr Akagi suggest we proceed?"
"She recommends letting her stay there with an increase on her
surveillance until the fifth arrives. She's apparently been buying
supplies with her credit line. If I may interject an opinion, unless the
situation changes there doesn't seem to be any harm in it. If we
need her we can collect her fast enough."
"Very well, go along with the Doctors recommendation, but
keep me updated on her status. Until Horaki is combat ready we
will most likely have use for her--no matter how far her levels have
dropped."
"Understood, incidentally, shall I reserve your and Rei's usual
table or are you dining with Dr Akagi again?"
"The former, I've been neglecting Rei as of late... and I can
not afford to do so this late in the game."
"I see, I'll make the call before I leave for my meeting with the
city council. Enjoy your dinner."
[]====[]
[]====[]
As soon as they arrived at the restaurant, Gendou began to feel
uneasy. Having raised Rei from 'birth' he knew her better than
almost any living being on the planet. Any changes in her
personality-- no matter how subtle-- would be more than obvious
to him. He'd only been with her a few moments before a disturbing
realization came over him.
The changes were not in the least subtle.
If compared to any other girl her age, Rei would still be
considered pathologically shy and withdrawn. She spoke only when
asked a direct question, and she was unfailingly polite as always.
There was, however, an ever so slight lift to her spirits that possibly
only Gendou would have noticed. She spoke warmly of Pilots
Horaki and Ikari as she told him of their trip to the shopping
Center. Most interestingly had been a moment where she used Pilot
Horaki's first name-- something he'd never heard her do before
with anyone.
She smiled no less than three times during their meal, and each
time he had to fight to remain calm. It was not just the fact that such
a dangerous creature was developing bonds to others than
himself-- that had been anticipated. It was that she was beginning
to painfully resemble his late wife, and each smile was like a blazing
hot needle in his heart.
"What is your opinion of the other Pilots' relationship?" he
asked, curious as to just how much she understood of what she
was seeing.
"I have not been able to reach any conclusion," she replied,
"what I have read and seen in films has been chaotic and mostly
useless. Some books claim that relationships grow out of nothing
more than physical attraction, yet the two have not proceeded to
any deeper intimacy than kissing. Despite many opportunities to do
so, they have not... I believe the term is consummated. I have been
invited to join them to a celebratory gathering relating to Pilot Horaki's
activation, and with your permission would like to go. It might
further my understanding."
He paused for a moment to think that over. As of yet he'd found
no reason to stop Rei from socializing with the others. Despite the
slight risk that she might grow beyond his control, the risk was
greater if her were to begin denying her the opportunities. All the
failsafes in the world might not help if she began displaying the
rebelliousness typical of a girl her age. Should he begin ordering her
to cease her contact with the others, it was highly likely she'd resent
him for it. It was a dangerous game that he was playing, and rather
than alienating her-- his top priority was to keep her in his thrall for
the final move.
"Very well," he told her.
[]====[]
[]====[]
Later that evening, as Misato drove him to the Horaki residence
for the activation party, Shinji shifted around in his seat and looked
nervous.
"I don't know about this Misato," he told her, "I'm going to feel
kind of weird being there."
"That's it," Misato said with a shake of her head, "I officially
give up on trying to figure you out Ikari. Most guy's your age would
kill to be the only male at a jammie-jam... strike that, most _guys_
would kill for that."
"Most guys don't have to worry about having their girlfriend
there," Shinji responded, "I'm probably going to be strangled before
the night is over."
He sat back in the seat and sighed, and Misato raised an
eyebrow and demanded he elaborate.
"I've seen that little nothing you call your pajamas! How am I
supposed to keep my eyes to myself if all of you are running around
like that all night?"
"Shinji," Misato said as she tried not to laugh, "you are the most
considerate, weirdest, sweetest, most screwed up kid I've ever
met... and I think you're worrying about nothing. I doubt Rei will
even show up, and Kodama is still waaaay to practical to
underdress like me--"
"You mean to say you haven't finished corrupting her yet?"
Shinji inquired with a laugh--which Misato ignored as she
continued.
"Besides," She said, "I'm sure you'll be too busy sneaking kisses
from your sweetie to drool over any of us."
"How come every time I start to worry you always make it
seem like I'm wasting my time with it?" Shinji asked with a laugh.
"Because you insist on panicking over every little thing.
Remember this-- Rule number one; don't sweat the small stuff. Rule
number two; it's _all_ small stuff."
Shinji shook his head and smiled as they pulled into the
driveway. Misato was still the strangest combination of maturity and
immaturity he'd ever seen, but he was glad to have her as his
guardian.
[]====[]
[]====[]
Tucked away in a corner of the Geofront was a complex that
had originally been used for temporary quarters during its original
excavation. After the preliminary work had been completed most of
the staff had moved to a more comfortable set of buildings
above ground until the construction of Tokyo Three had been
completed. Rei still lived in this second set of apartments, while the
first set had long been abandoned. Nowadays it was only used as
temporary living accommodations for new Nerv personnel until
actual residence could be arranged within the city itself.
During her first few days in Japan Asuka had lived there, and
on a whim had kept the key to her room. Now-- as she lay in the
small, dark room curled up on the bed-- she thought back to the
odd dream she'd had before they'd released her from the hospital.
Had it not been for one thing she could almost believe it had been
real.
That one thing was something she'd heard a day or so before
the battle with the fifteenth angel. She'd been getting a glass of
water when she noticed that the answering machine was missing.
Puzzled by the disappearance-- and seeing that the phone was still
there, she checked the living room, and on a hunch Misato's room.
Having found it, she had just been about to return to her room
when she noticed that the message light was still blinking. Now
completely confused, she walked over to the desk and pressed the
switch to play the message. Seconds later she backed out of
Misato's room-- trembling in uncertainty and fear.
She didn't want to know what the message she heard meant.
She didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to believe Kaji
was....
"Shut up shut _up_!" she told herself as she curled up tighter into
her fetal position on the bed.
As she cried silently in the dark, a hidden inferred camera above
recorded everything.
[]====[]
[]====[]
As the third movie of the evening ended, Shinji got up to change
the discs. Nozomi had been sent to bed after the first movie, and--
despite Kodama having to chase her back upstairs three times
during the second-- she had finally fallen asleep. Kodama herself
had fallen asleep fifteen minutes ago, and Misato was out of the
room getting herself another bowl of popcorn. It occurred to him
suddenly that she hadn't had anything to drink all night... he'd have
to remember to ask her about it later
Even though it prevented him and Hikari from being alone, he was
glad Rei had come. She and Hikari had become rather close friends
lately, and she'd said more that evening alone than in the entire first
month he'd known her. Even so it was a little disconcerting having
her there. She was constantly watching him and Hikari-- in fact
paying more attention to them than the movies. He'd never gotten
used to Rei's eyes... and sometimes he wondered if he ever would.
The next film started and he stepped over Kodama's sleeping
form to settle back down beside Hikari. As she snuggled up against
him he smiled-- thinking back to when Rei had first shown up.
Apparently Rei had either misunderstood that she was supposed to
bring pajamas to a pajama party, or she didn't have any to begin
with-- something Shinji had tactfully refrained from asking about...
After realizing this, Hikari had taken Rei to her room and soon
the two immerged wearing Chinese style silk pajamas. He himself
had --after dismissing Misato's tactless suggestion-- changed into
his shorts and a tank top, while Misato had insisted on wearing a
negligee that was probably illegal in some counties. After Kodama
had changed into her own silk pajamas they'd prepared the snacks
and the party had begun.
Now as Misato returned and sat down besides Rei they all
settled in to watch the movie-- a romantic comedy that Misato had
insisted on. He and Hikari chuckled quietly together at the antics
on screen, but after a few moments, he felt Hikari's head turn
against his shoulder.
"Aren't you enjoying the movie Rei?" Hikari asked.
"I find it very interesting," Rei replied as she took another
handful of popcorn from the bowl Misato had brought back with
her.
"But you aren't laughing," Hikari pointed out.
"Should I be?" Rei asked curiously.
"I guess," Hikari said as she sat up, "come to think of it, I've
never heard you laugh before."
"I do not believe I ever have," Rei agreed after a thoughtful
moment.
"I'd ask if you were kidding," Hikari said blinking in surprise,
"but you don't."
"I... am sorry," Rei said blushing slightly.
"No need to be," Misato said cheerfully, "we just have to figure
out what'll make you laugh... what do you think is funny?"
"I don't understand."
"Well," Misato said, nonplused, "come to think about it-- if we
just sit around telling jokes that could take weeks... hey, I think I
have an idea!"
"What is that?" Rei asked, intrigued at the possibility of a new
experience.
Misato's smile turned to a grin.
"Just this," she said as she reached over to Rei's side-- tickling
the younger girl without warning.
Rei's eyes went wide and she let out a small yelp as she jumped
back reflexively. Her surprised look was replaced by one of
puzzlement and as Shinji watched a small smile briefly flashed
across her lips. Beside him, Hikari began to laugh.
"W--why... what was that?" Rei asked as Misato turned to him
with another grin.
"Hey Shinji, did you know Rei was ticklish?" she asked
"Um.. No?" he said, not sure what was going on, but finding it
hard not to laugh himself.
"Yep, check this out," Misato said as she turned back and
started to tickle Rei once again.
Rei didn't seem to dislike it, but squirmed and tried to pull away
as her cries grew louder. Finally-- to Shinji's own surprise-- the
yelps gave way to laughs. Misato stopped after a moment and as
Rei caught her breath she sat up with a startled, but happy, look on
her face.
"That was... new," she said, "does everyone respond the same?"
"Well I guess most people-- eek!" suddenly Rei poked Misato
lightly in the ribs, revealing that she wasn't the only person in the
room who was ticklish. After a few moments Hikari jumped up and
joined in. Over to the side, Kodama sat up and rubbed her eyes
before laughing at the sight before her.
'Kensuke's going to really wish he'd been here,' Shinji though as
he watched the three laugh and squeal. He chuckled as he thought
of his friend trying to catch every moment on tape. His laughter
caught the attention of the girls-- who immediately stopped what
they were doing. Suddenly he had four sets of eyes looking right at
him.... Four sets of eyes with _very_ mischievous looks in them.
Hikari looked from Misato to Rei to Kodama, and the other
three did the same.
"Rei" Hikari said, "I do believe our little Shinji is enjoying himself
a touch too much."
"Perhaps," Rei said-- her voice suprisingly calm for someone
who'd seconds ago been in the thralls of laughter.
"Think we ought to teach him it's not nice to stare?" Misato
asked playfully.
"Sounds like a plan to me," Kodama chimed in.
Shinji barely had the time to gulp as all four of them pounced.
[]====[]
[]====[]
The next morning Shinji woke to find all but Rei asleep. In fact
Rei was nowhere to be seen. He sat up from his place beside the
couch and looked around the room, but there was no sign of her
other than the rumpled sheets of her futon. Climbing to his feet he
stepped quietly to the kitchen where he found her sitting by the
window calmly peeling an orange.
"Good morning, Rei," he said as he sat down across the table
from her and took an apple from the fruit bowl that they'd set out
the night before.
"Good morning, Shinji," Rei said in a tone of voice that Shinji
almost didn't register for a moment.
"Are you alright?" he asked--wondering why she sounded so
sad.
"I do not know," Rei told him as she began separating the slices
of the orange, "I had a... a wonderful evening."
"Why would that make you sad?" he asked.
"Shinji," she said--turning to fix him with her crimson eyes, "I
can not speak too deeply of this, but if you were shown something
you deeply desired, yet knew you could never posses, would you
be sad?"
"I--I don't understand," he said, "what are you talking
about?"
Rei closed here eyes and for a moment Shinji wondered if he
was imagining things. He'd seen her smile more and more often as
of late, but this expression was different. He could swear the smile
was bittersweet. She opened her eyes and rose to her feet--
walking over to the wall where she placed her hand against the
pattern of the wallpaper. Taking the small knife she'd moments ago
been peeling the orange with, she made three swift incisions and
pulled back the triangle she'd cut out.
Before he could ask what she'd done or why she'd done it, he
saw. Buried in the wall was a small device the size of a coin. Shinji
didn't know a great deal about surveillance or security, but it was
more than obvious that the device was some type of electronic
monitoring equipment.
He looked from the device, to Rei and back. His confusion
must have been plastered all over his face because Rei placed a
finger to her lips and walked back to here seat where she began
eating the slices of the orange.
"I wish I could explain it to you Shinji," she told him, "but
perhaps it is best I do not."
All he could do was nod, as he wondered what else Nerv had
taken it upon themselves to wire for monitoring.
[]====[]
[]====[]
She'd intended to ignore the sirens. As Asuka pulled the pillow
tighter over her head she began to wonder if she ought to go to the
shelters. That thought was immediately dashed to the wind as she
remembered the checkpoints she'd have to pass between her room
and the closest shelter. Security inside the Geofront was nothing to
sniff at even when there wasn't a war. She'd been very careful to
stay out of sight during her few trips for supplies and so far she
was sure she hadn't been seen.
The problem was that during an attack any movement was
bound to receive three times the attention. If they picked her up
now they'd-- at best-- send her to a holding cell.
So she ignored the sirens until they finally died down, and was
about to doze off when her front door was kicked open and three
Section Two agents stormed in.
"What the hell?" she shrieked as they grabbed her and pulled
her to her feet, "let go!"
"Asuka Langley Soryu, in accordance with section C of the
Nerv Security Protocols you are required to report to the fifth Cage
for battle."
"Hell no!" she shouted as they pulled her along behind
them, "leave me the hell alone damn you! You can't do this!"
"Thank you for your co-operation," the man in black said
sarcastically as he pushed her into their car.
[]====[]
[]====[]
As she launched for the first time, Hikari felt a combination of
excitement and dread wash over her. The purple and black
Plugsuit she wore was comfortable to the point where she barely
felt it, in fact she barely felt her body at all. Being synched with the
Eva was playing with her senses, she knew. She'd felt it slightly the
first time she'd been in Unit One, although it hadn't been enough to
be able to identify the sensation at the time. It had been more if a
subtle disorientation than anything.
Her first synch tests had allowed her to identify it, and as her
levels had grown over the past few days she'd tried to grow
accustomed to the odd feeling.
Now as she stepped off the platform and took her weapon from
a nearby armament building she wondered what Shinji had felt at
400%. Her own level was barely over thirty, and she still hadn't
grown high enough to engage the AT Field.
Even so, she was far from defenseless. Nerv had recently
delivered a set of shields based on the one used against the 5th
angel. She had a hard time believing that the clear material would
be much good, but they'd assured her that it's material was twice as
effective as the makeshift one had been.
Rounding a set of buildings, she got her first good look at the
angel. It was a brilliant circle of light that was floating above a
nearby mountain and didn't seem to have any intention of moving.
Misato had told them that it'd just appeared with no warning.
They weren't sure what its capabilities or weaknesses were, or
if it even did anything else other than sit there.
The orders Misato had given her and Rei were to observe and
collect intelligence until it made the first move, in which event they
were to attack with everything at their disposal. On her map she
could see it's position as well as her own, and closing in on both
Unit Zero.
She switched the monitor across half a dozen different
spectrums, but most of them still showed nothing that the Magi
hadn't already deciphered. She was about to ask for further
instructions when Misato's voice came over the communications
system.
"That's enough... we're not going to get any more data out of
this thing unless we take some intuitive. Both of you, take flanking
positions and move in, lets see what it does."
They acknowledged and began moving out.
[]====[]
[]====[]
"It's still just sitting there," Hikari announced as she arrived at
her position.
"Don't get cocky," Misato warned, "we have no idea what we're
dealing with. Rei, I want you to move in, if it doesn't react by the
time you're within a kilometer, open fire."
"Understood,' Rei replied as Unit Zero moved in.
[]====[]
[]====[]
Rei had been suspicious of the sixteenth angel from the moment
she'd seen it, but even she hadn't anticipated the speed and ferocity
of its attack.
Less than a second before it's swirling shape began to shift;
she'd felt a burning sense of dread. She barely had time to warn
Hikari before the shimmering band of light flew towards her faster
than she could react.
"Rei!" Screamed a chorus of familiar voices as the 'head' of the
angel blasted past her AT field and buried itself in Unit Zero's
abdomen. As she grabbed the end of the angel and opened fire on
it's serpentine body, she began to feel a strange static in her sense--
her crimson eyes went wide as she realized the angel was
attempting to bond with her mind.
"Hold on Rei!" Hikari shouted to her as everything began to pull
away as if she were viewing it down a long and growing tunnel.
Suddenly everything was clear as crystal as a dagger of pain
sliced across her arm. She screamed aloud as she heard Major
Katsuragi order Hikari to abstain from using the progressive knife.
"Every time you cut that thing Rei's neural connections are
transferring the pain reception to her, try something else!"
Then everything faded away and she heard a voice that sounded
like her own speak in her mind...
[]====[]
[]====[]
"Why the hell is it ignoring Hikari?" Misato demanded as the
angel continued to assimilate itself into Unit Zero.
"We don't know!" Makoto shouted back as he franticly ran
tests and scans on the data he was receiving.
"The AT Field!" Ritsuko shouted suddenly, "Hikari still
hasn't manifested her's! That has to be it."
Indeed, this was not the first occasion that an angel had
attacked in accordance to manifestations of the Eva's AT Fields.
The eleventh immediately came to mind, and both the second and
fifth had appeared soon after the activation tests of Unit Zero.
"Okay, but why isn't it affecting Unit Three like it is Unit Zero?"
"Unknown," Shigeru told her, "the Magi give a 43.4% chance
that residue from the thirteenth is preventing it from being a proper
host."
"Get Asuka up there right now!" Misato shouted, her mind in
overdrive. If they'd just let her use Unit One they might have a
chance... but the commander was the only one who could authorize
that.
"Have her expand her AT field to maximum immediately upon
arrival!" she added as Unit Two was prepped for launch.
[]====[]
[]====[]
"Why am I in this thing again?" Asuka muttered to herself as
Unit Two rose to the surface of the city, "it's not like they need me
anymore."
She was totally oblivious to what happened around her-- not
even noticing her arrival in the city. She sat in the entry plug, and
looked out at the scene before her without really seeing it. She
didn't see the danger Unit Zero was in, or the clumsily and futile
attacks Unit Three was making. All she saw was two people she
hated fighting an Angel without her.
"I'm worthless," she said as she closed her eyes.
[]====[]
[]====[]
"What the hell?" Misato shouted, "Asuka! Get your ass in gear!"
"This is... Asuka's synch rate is below ten percent!" Yuri cried,
"she can't synch with Unit Two!"
"Damnit!" Misato growled as she turned back to the screen
where Hikari was disparately trying to pull the snakelike band of
light away from Unit Zero, "okay, get her out of there... we have to
get that thing off of her. Send up a--"
"Sortie Unit One, have it divert the Angel's attention," the
commander said from above. Misato grimaced in annoyance-- she
would have done that right off had he simply authorized it.
"Yes sir," she said in place of the cutting insults she wanted to
say, "cancel the freeze on Unit One and launch as soon as possible.
Shinji? We're counting on you."
"Understood," came the reply over the com, and Misato could
tell he was barely holding it together. That was understandable
given how the last battle had gone. Not being allowed to help when
he could make a difference must have been harder on him than
anyone knew.
"What's Unit Zero's status?" she demanded.
"Over forty percent of the angel has fused with the Eva, but the
process has slowed-- the Magi suggest that Rei's resisting
somehow."
"That gives us some time," Misato whispered before activating
the com again, "Hikari, keep it up, help is on the way!"
[]====[]
[]====[]
"Damnit!" Hikari shouted as the Angel continued to squirm in
her grip. It was like trying to keep hold of an oiled eel on
amphetamines. She didn't know just how much good she was doing,
but the angel didn't seem to like it, so she intended to keep trying to
haul it away from Unit Zero until Shinji could get there.
The odd swelling beneath Zero's armor was beginning to
advance, and she could see cracks forming at the joints as the
contamination spread across the Eva's torso. As Hikari fought to
keep her hold, an odd gray residue began leaking from the cracks
in the armor. Fighting the reflex to let go she placed a foot on Unit
Zero and continued trying to pull the Angel free.
"Let her go you damn worm!" she screamed as the residue
began to enclose Rei's Eva. As the gray muck spread, she could
see the armor covering Unit Zero's chest-plate bulge and
shatter--revealing a red orb that was rapidly swelling.
'That's a core!' Hikari realized with a start, 'but what's
happening to it?'
[]====[]
[]====[]
"Oh my god... we're picking up a new signal from the Angel!"
Makoto shouted, "I think it's trying to merge with Unit Zero's core."
"What's the status on Unit One?" Misato shouted as she gripped
the headrest of the chair in front of her.
"Seventy seconds left before arrival," Yuri announced.
"Run a full scan on Zero's core," Misato told them, "I want to
know what that damn thing is trying to do and I want to know
ninety seconds ago!"
[]====[]
[]====[]
Shinji was moving the very instant that the restraints released.
Gun in hand, he and Unit One charged towards the battle at top
speed. In the entry plug, sweat beaded his brow as it dissolved into
the LCL around him. Saving Rei was the only thing on his mind.
He'd been refused this chance with Asuka, and he'd be damned if
he'd fail now.
As he leapt over the hill separating him and the battle he gasped
at the sight before him. The angel seemed to be growing out of the
Eva, and a shifting mass of gray matter was coating most of Unit
Zero. The only sign of the Angel's original shape was the end that
Hikari was still grappling with.
Suddenly the shifting coating began taking form, and as it did
Shinji let out a scream that was equally rage and horror. The shape
that the mass took on closely resembled Rei's face.
Charging forward he spread Unit One's AT Field to maximum,
but before he could do anything the angel broke free of Unit Three.
It coiled like a snake and flew towards him almost faster than he
could react. By a stroke of luck, he managed to grab the 'head' of
the band of light as it coiled itself around Unit One's arm.
Pain flared all through his hand up to his shoulder as the Angel
began to merge with Unit One, and he let out a scream as the
sensation of invasion permeated his arm. As Hikari tried to
intervene, however, he suddenly heard a voice over the
communications system.
"No, it is not yours to be one with Ikari!" Rei screamed as the
angel suddenly jerked back from him.
Looking up he saw that Unit Zero's hand had broken free of the
gray ooze and had gripped the angel tightly. Hikari reached his side
and -- just then registering that the situation had changed-- cried
out Rei's name as the angel seemed to disappear into the Eva's
core.
"Look out, Her core's gone critical!" Misato screamed at them
as Shinji realized what was about to happen. Rei had told him
months back what she would do if captured by an Angel. Now, as
he grabbed hold of Unit Three and spread his AT Field, he could
see the blazing glow from the Eva's core through the mass of the
Angel.
As the core of Evangelion Unit Zero erupted with a force five
times as powerful as a N2 mine, Shinji closed his eyes as the world
burned all around them.
[]====[]
[]====[]
"Horaki residence," Kodama announced as she picked up the
phone. She glanced back to her sister's room and stepped around
the corner. After what she'd been told she didn't want to wake the
room's occupants.
"Its Misato," came the reply, and Kodama let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank God, I was getting nervous. Is there any news on Dad's
condition?"
"It doesn't look like it's serious and the last I heard he was
stable. He got lucky and didn't get hurt as bad as some of the
others in that shelter-- they're still clearing debris from that section
and finding people. Most of the City structures were retracted at
the time of the blast, but it's going to take months to repair the
melted layer on top to raise them. That shelter took the brunt of the
damage, but they think there will be a few more survivors. How are
the kids holding up?"
"Finally asleep. I don't know Misato; they haven't say a word or
moved or anything all day... they just sat there and stared out the
window... I didn't dare close it, I was afraid of what would happen
if I tried. Nozomi got them to eat, but other than that they didn't
move all day."
"It's hard on them Kodama, they saw it happen. What's worse
is Ritsuko won't answer her calls and I still don't know if they found
the entry plug or not."
"Did Rei have any family? Shinji told me once that his father was
her guardian, but that he wasn't related to her."
"I don't think so... I think she was an orphan or
something."
"What do you want me to tell Shinji and Hikari when they wake
up?"
Misato let out a sigh, "I don't know, just-- hold on I've
got another call."
The phone beeped and as she waited, Kodama stepped quietly
back into Hikari's room. She'd had a hard time doing it, but she'd
mostly forgiven Shinji for what he'd done to her sister. Looking at
them now as they slept she couldn't help but be thankful that Shinji
was there for Hikari.
Kodama knelt down beside where the two slept and lightly
brushed a lock of hair from her sister's face. It might be cruel to
think so, but she was glad that it hadn't been Hikari that had died.
The Eva project frightened her now more than ever. So many times
these children had been through emotional and physical horrors that
she couldn't even imagine... she wished there were some other way
to stop the angels.
Suddenly the phone clicked back on and Misato's voice
startled her out of her thoughts.
"Kodama?" Misato practically shouted. She sounded excited,
nervous, jubilant and frightened at the same time.
"Still here," Kodama whispered back, curious as to what had
excited Misato so.
"Get the kids and have them meet me at your front steps in five
minutes!" she said quickly. In the background, Kodama could hear
an engine start.
"What's going on?" Kodama asked as she shook Hikari's
shoulder.
"It's Rei," Misato said, her tone edging from excited to slightly
fearful.
"What do you mean 'its Rei'?" Kodama asked-- totally
confused. Beside her Hikari was blinking her eyes in shock at what
she'd just heard her sister say. As she sat up, Shinji woke as
well.
"Rei's alive," Misato told her.
"What's going on?" Hikari asked her as she stood and gripped
the windowsill, "Kodama what did you just say about Rei?"
"What's this about?" Shinji asked as he perked up.
Kodama turned off the phone and took a few deep breaths
before answering.
[]====[]
[]====[]
As the two people turned the corner and shouted her name,
Rei searched her mind for their names. The memory transfer
process had saved most of her memories, but many were lost.
She could recall specific information only up to a point. For the
most part the important information had survived intact.
Mathematics, procedures, and security information seemed to
have transferred with little to no distortion and much of the
training she had received for Eva and other Nerv projects had
also been successfully given to her... it was the small things that
were less clear. According to Dr Akagi, the programming data
for the dummy plugs had allowed them to save her from a full
memory loss. In this she was at least fortunate.
When she had awoken the Commander had briefed her on the
events of the past few days and she understood that the explosion
of Unit Zero had caused a lapse in her memories. The area of her
mind that contained that information had been saved with the data
from the dummy plugs, and while she understood that there would
be some gaps, she was, at least, alive. Unfortunately she didn't
know how or why the explosion had happened. Many other
frustrating gaps such as that existed, but she supposed it was to be
expected.
She knew these two people were Pilots Ikari and Horaki. She
knew she had school with them, and that the older woman behind
them was Captain--no, _Major_ Katsuragi. But beyond that it was
a jumbled mess of impressions and distorted ideas that she could
make little sense of.
She quickly went over in her mind the information packet on
Pilot Horaki-- who seemed to be the most emotional about her
recovery. apparently she had socialized with the girl on many
occasions. Several of the jumbled memories supported this.
"Hello Pilot Hor--" was all she had time to say as the other girl
threw her arms around her and began to cry loudly.
"Oh thank God Rei! We thought you were dead!"
"That was a premature judgment," Rei told her, a little annoyed
by the embrace, "I am quite alive, although injured."
"Oh!" Hikari said--seeing the bandages around her most likely
for the first time, "I'm so sorry, are you alright?" she stepped back
as the others reached them. Pilot Ikari and the Major seemed as
emotional as Pilot Horaki, however, thankfully restrained
themselves from similar outbursts.
"I will recover," Rei told her.
"We were so scared!" Pilot Ikari said, "when you destroyed
Unit Zero we thought you had died!"
Rei paused. The most frustrating thing about the process was
that all the memories between the last transfer and her previous
self's demise was gone forever. All she knew was that the Eva had
detonated, she had not known the cause.
"I am afraid I do not remember," she said.
"Really?" Hikari asked in a shocked voice, "you destroyed Unit
Zero so the angel wouldn't kill Shinji, you nearly gave your life for
him!"
"Did I save you?" Rei asked him in honest surprise, "I am afraid
I have many gaps in my memories as a result of the explosion."
"I couldn't believe you survived it," Shinji noted, "if a few lost
memories is the price though, it's worth it to have you back."
"I do not know," Rei said. It was strange... in many ways it was
as if she was seeing them for the first time, yet she had several
memories of the three of them. It frightened her, "I think... I should
go home," she told them as she stood and walked away, leaving
them standing in the hall looking as confused as she felt.
[]====[]
[]====[]
Later, back at Misato's apartment Misato and Hikari sat at the
kitchen table as Shinji prepared some of Misato's tea.
"I don't know why," Hikari said, "but it's more than what you're
saying... it's like she's gone back to the way she was when Shinji
first got here. I don't know... she just wasn't like that lately."
"Look," Misato said, "I'm not saying that you're wrong, just that
it's too early to jump to conclusions."
"I think Hikari has a point," Shinji said as he poured their drinks,
"did you notice how she called us by our titles? She hasn't done that
for months."
"I don't know... but I just want you two to stop worrying about
it, I promise to do enough of it for the both of you."
Shinji served the tea, and as they drank, Misato looked around
the table. She knew how dangerous it was to question what had
happened-- Kaji's death had shown her that. She also didn't care.
Something beyond 'wrong' was going on in Nerv, and Rei's
miraculous recovery was only a part of it. She decided that she'd
find the answers that night. If she waited any longer the kids might
get too involved, and she'd be damned if she let that happen to
them.
[]====[]
[]====[]
Later that evening as Shinji and Hikari sat in the living room, the
phone rang and Shinji got up to answer it.
"Hey Shinji," Kensuke greeted him.
"Kensuke? Hey how are you, I haven't had a chance to talk in a
few days... did you guys make it through the attack ok?"
"Kind of... everyone's ok, but when Hikari's dad got hurt my
pop decided it was time to get me out of here. I'm going to be living
with Touji and his gramps for awhile."
"Y...you're moving?" Shinji asked in surprise.
"Yeah, in a few days. Don't worry though, I'll keep in touch."
"I know you will but still its kind of sudden."
"Well there was also the wh#$%^&" Kensuke's voice began to
break up and in a moment there was only static.
"Kensuke?" Shinji asked as he checked to make sure the
battery light wasn't flashing.
"Shinji Ikari?" a different, but familiar voice asked suddenly--
almost surprising him enough to drop the phone.
"R-Ritsuko?" he asked, finally placing the new voice, "is that
you? What happened to the line?"
"Listen very carefully," she told him, ignoring his questions, "for
the next few minutes you will be free of the secret service. I want
you to get a piece of paper, write what I'm about to say down and
follow the instructions exactly. It is very important."
"Um.. Ok, hold on."
[]====[]
[]====[]
A few minutes later Shinji stepped back into the living room and
Hikari asked who was on the phone.
"I'll explain on the way, we need to go."
"But what about the movie?" Hikari started to say, as she
looked up and saw the serious expression on his face, "just let me
get a sweater," she said as she climbed to her feet and stepped
into Misato's room.
[]====[]
[]====[]
An hour later they met up with Ritsuko in an old part of the
Geofront. She had been a little surprised to see Hikari, but had
shrugged it off and soon the three of them were in an elevator
traveling down into sections that Shinji had never seen.
"What are we doing down here?" he finally asked as they
walked down a seemingly endless hallway.
"You'll find out soon enough," Ritsuko told him, and as she
spoke Hikari gripped his hand tighter. She sounded as if she were
angry at something, "for now suffice it to say there are some things
that you do not know about our organization, and recent events
have proven to me that you should be informed."
He gave Hikari's a hand a squeeze-- telling her that she wasn't
the only one Ritsuko was making nervous. As they continued along
the dimly lit path, their guide began to speak.
"Did you know I used to live here when I was about your age?"
she asked-- but before they could answer she continued on, "yes, I
don't think I was even sixteen at the time, but I stayed here with my
mother while they excavated the Geofront and she worked on her
Magi system. I even met your mom Shinji. She was a rather nice
lady, although my own mother never liked her much. Once I
finished my equivalency tests they sent me off to the Germany
academy they had been building to train Nerv personnel-- of
course at the time we still called it Gehirn."
"Do you remember the first time you came into the Geofront
Shinji? How Misato got hopelessly lost? It's almost funny, because
even after a year down here it happened to me all the time. I
suppose I shouldn't have been as harsh with her... then again I
hadn't thought of the past much until just recently."
She rambled on a bit longer, talking about how she'd first met
Misato, and then Kaji. She told them about the day her mother
committed suicide, and how she suspected that her mother and his
father had been having an affair.
"Just think," she told him, "I came that close to becoming
your sister!" after that she started laughing hysterically and they had
to stop until she was finished. By the time they came within sight of
an enormous door, both Shinji and Hikari were more afraid of her
than anything they might see beyond it.
When they reached the door, she told them to wait just beyond
the floodlights reach.
"The security system will take my picture as I open the gate, I
don't want you two in it."
"I wouldn't worry about that," came another voice from the
side. As they all spun in its direction, Misato stepped from the
shadows aiming her gun at Ritsuko's face.
"What the hell are you doing with them?" she hissed as she took
another step forward.
"Ironically they're here for about the same reason I assume you
are."
"Don't assume to know what I'm thinking Ritsuko," Misato said
as she cocked the weapon.
There was a long pause as the two stared one another down,
and Shinji put his arm around Hikari to reassure her, and to calm
himself.
"You want to see all the dirty laundry we have down here,"
Ritsuko said finally, "you want the truth behind the Eva's and
project E."
Misato smirked and lowered her gun, "well... maybe you
can read my mind after all. One thing before you open the door,"
she said as she stepped up and slid a card through the scanner, "the
security system is disabled, you wouldn't have gotten in without this
for about an hour or so."
"Perhaps you still have a surprise or two left, "Ritsuko said with
a sour smile as the four of them entered Terminal Dogma.
[]====[]
[]====[]
"What makes you think that was Adam?" Ritsuko said with a
laugh as they rode a jeep to another section.
"Well it sure as hell looks like it!" Misato said with a growl, she
was getting tired of Ritsuko's patronizing attitude, and it looked as if
the kids thought likewise.
"Naturally there is a resemblance, but trust me-- that is
not the first Angel."
"Wait... are you saying that--- that _thing_ is the second angel?"
Shinji said suddenly. Misato was proud of him-- she hadn't made
the connection until he'd said something. Early on when they'd first
started battling the Angels she had wondered why the one Shinji
had faced had been classified as the Third. She'd briefly suspected
that another Angel she hadn't seen had been involved in Second
Impact, but after many guesses and no leads she'd abandoned the
mind bending riddle for other questions.
"Very good Shinji, you go to the head of the class," Ritsuko said
as she shot a haughty look at Misato.
"But why is it... crucified like that?" Hikari asked quietly, the Eva
graveyard had bothered her more than anything else they had seen,
and she was still a little shaken up from it.
"To be honest we don't know," Ritsuko said, "it was like that
when we found it-- so was Adam actually, or at least that's what
Ikari says. He is after all the only other person than you to survive
the expedition thirteen years ago, Katsuragi, and you didn't see
much."
"What makes you people think you can just play around with
these things?" Misato growled back, "That... Monster should be
destroyed right now!"
"Its out of our hands. Seele wouldn't tolerate it. They have great
designs planed for it, and you have no idea how close we came to
being detected back there. Seele won't allow anything to alter their
plan, even if it means destroying Nerv itself."
"You all disgust me," Misato told her as the jeep neared the next
gate, "you create all this and send children out to fight with it when
you know-- you _know_-- that you don't have control over it!"
"Calm down Misato, save it for the next part of our tour,"
Ritsuko told her as they reached the gate.
[]====[]
[]====[]
"This looks... like Rei's room," Shinji said quietly as he and
Hikari stood in the middle of the lab.
"That's not surprising, she was born here after all."
"What do you mean 'born here'?" Hikari asked as she stepped
over to the refrigerator. She lifted a bottle of pills and read the label
before setting them back down, "I don't understand."
"That's not surprising either. What does surprise me is that you
all still seem to think that she's just a normal girl."
"I'm getting tired of these games Ritsuko," Misato said, "spit it
out!"
"I guess none of you thought it was odd that she doesn't have
any family, birth or school records, yet has been with Nerv since
just before it was changed from Gehirn? Or that she was 'found' to
be the First just as we started her tests for Eva? Or that she is an
albino? Or that she is totally devoted to the commander-- almost
like she was programmed? Or even that she looks so much like
your mother Shinji?"
Misato glanced quickly at Shinji, who had paled at the mention
of Yui Ikari. To his credit, he hadn't reacted otherwise, and she
reminded herself to congratulate him-- he had more nerve than
she'd thought.
"After a point it becomes ridiculous to call them coincidences,"
Ritsuko said with a bitter laugh, "although to tell the truth I had no
idea what it all meant until I was appointed as chairperson for
Project E."
"What _does_ it all mean?" Shinji asked in a low, nervous voice.
"Follow me," Ritsuko said as she walked down another corridor,
"and you will see-- and no this isn't another game Misato, so put
the damn gun down."
They looked at one another, and began after her. It didn't take
long before they reached a room lit only be an odd neon pattern on
the walls and floors that resembled DNA strands. In the center of
the room was a tank full of an amber liquid that was obviously
LCL. On top of the round tank was a jumble of wires, tubes,
cables, and fiber optics that dimly resembled a brain. As they
stepped closer, Ritsuko pulled a small computer pad out of her lab
coat.
"This is where we program the cores of the dummy plugs," she
told them.
"W-what goes in the tube?" Hikari asked, not sure she really
wanted to know.
"Actually, Rei goes into the tube. We use her thought patterns to
program the dummy plugs. In a sense it was _her_ that almost
killed you when Unit Three was possessed."
"Change of subject Ritsu," Misato said coldly, "_now_!"
"As I was saying, her thoughts run the system, this room is a
storage unit for the extra cores of the system," she pressed a switch
and all around them the walls lit up.
"It only took them a moment to realize that the 'walls' were
glass, and beyond them was a round holding tank. It only took
them a moment more to recoil in horror of what was within the
holding tank.
Rei... Reis... lots of them. Over a dozen exact copies of Rei
floated in the LCL, all nude, and even more disturbingly, all smiling
at them.
"What the hell is this?" Misato screamed as she and the others
turned round and round staring in disbelief.
"This is the dirty little secret I brought you here to see. This is
the truth behind Rei."
Shinji started to say something, but the words caught in his
throat as his grip on Hikari's hand tightened.
"Rei," Ritsuko said, "is a clone... I think you can guess who she
was cloned from, Shinji."
"M... moth..." Shinji couldn't finish the word. He stepped up to
the glass and placed a hand against it.
"Why the hell did you do this?" Misato asked as she walked
over to the tube, "why her?"
"You'd have to ask Fuyutski, he was in charge of that little
project," Ritsuko said as she turned off the lamp and looked down
at the control, "you know... it's funny. I used to hate her."
"Hate who?" Hikari asked as she put her hands on Shinji's
shaking shoulders, pulling him back to where Misato stood.
"Rei..." Ritsuko answered, "I was jealous, actually. Now I can't
help but notice something that didn't occur to me until today. She
and I have a great deal in common. We were both raised as
slaves to Nerv's designs, we're both at the same time expendable
and indispensable, we're both obsessed with the commander... and
we both crave death."
"What?" Misato shouted, "why?"
"I'll keep that answer to myself," Ritsuko told her with a fierce
and dangerous smile, "a person needs to have _some_ secrets after
all."
"Damnit Ritsuko, what the hell happened to you?" Misato asked
sadly, "You used to be the most stable person I knew... now look
at you-- you're falling apart!"
"Good question... that's one I don't have an answer for... but
lets get out of here, I always hated this place."
No one argued with that suggestion.
[]====[]
[]====[]
Over the past few weeks Shinji had convinced Misato to teach
him the basics of driving, and after a few lessons, she'd pronounced
him a better driver than she was. Now he was glad he'd learned,
because he didn't want to rely on the trains for what he had in mind.
He was confident that his Nerv ID could keep him out of any major
trouble, and if that didn't work he could always call Misato on the
car's phone
He picked up Hikari in the car Kaji had left him and the two
drove for an hour and a half before finally reaching the monument
where his mother's grave was. They took the basket he'd prepared
and after setting flowers on her grave, set up a picnic not too far
from the car.
"Did you see anyone on the road after the last turn?" he asked
as he set out the sandwiches.
"No, I think we pulled it off," she told him. With her house
bugged, and their surveillance so tight they had been hard pressed
to figure out a way to talk about all this and insure privacy. This
was the most open space Shinji knew of, and they doubted even
Nerv had anything that could record voice over such a distance.
"So what do you think we should do... do we ask her?"
"I don't know, Shinji, Ritsuko said that she doesn't know all of
it, so we might be able to convince her... but if she's like she was
when we first met then she's still totally devoted to the commander."
"This sounds so nuts" he said with a sigh, "what can we do?
We're just kids!"
"Yeah, but we're also famous pilots and heroes and all that, if
we find something we have a better chance of getting it out-- with
Asuka like she is and Unit One being picky they cant risk loosing
us... but we still don't have anything to show that cant be covered
up with a few tons of cement."
"So it's down to Rei," Shinji admitted, "I guess I ought to go," he
gave a weak smile, "being family and all."
"We'll both go," Hikari said, "we're in this together, remember?"
[]====[]
[]====[]
They planed for days on just how to approach her, but in the end,
they decided to keep it subtle.
"Here goes everything," Shinji whispered as he knocked on the
door to her apartment.
"Why didn't you ring the bell?" Hikari asked.
"Because," Shinji told her as he gestured to the pile of mail in
front of the door, "if this is any indication, she probably never had it
fixed."
A few seconds passed, and after shifting the package he'd
brought from one arm to the other nervously, he was just about to
knock again when the door opened.
"Pilot Ikari... and Horaki," Rei greeted them.
"Hi Rei," Hikari said, "can we talk to you for a bit?"
Rei nodded and turned to walk back inside. The moment they
were in, all suspicions were confirmed of Rei's regression. The
place was exactly as Shinji had seen it the day he'd walked in on
her. Hikari let out a little gasp as she saw the mess, but kept quiet
for the moment.
"Um, we were thinking about you memory problem," Hikari
said, "and we had an idea."
Rei nodded, but still said nothing.
"Well," Shinji said nervously--he'd forgotten just how disarming
Rei's stare could be at full power, "um... I have a few pictures of
some of the things we all did together in this scrapbook," he held it
out to her, "I was thinking that they might help you remember."
Rei blinked, and to Hikari's delight, blushed slightly, "t-thank
you," she told them as she took the book from his hand.
"The pictures of all of us are near the back, there's some other
stuff there too, mementos that... um, were given to me to help
remember my mother."
It wasn't the safest way to go about it, but they'd decided that if
they had any hope of getting Rei to help them then they had to
accomplish two things-- Win her confidence back, and hope that
the pictures of Yui Ikari they'd placed within would catch her
curiosity.
"I see," Rei said, "I will look over it."
"We have to be going," Hikari told her with a smile, "I hope it
helps"
"Perhaps it will," Rei said, and there was a touch of hope
in her voice.
[]====[]
[]====[]
Just outside of Tokyo Three, Asuka smiled as she stepped out
of the woods. She'd remembered the layout from the map after all
and ended up just where she'd planed. The hospital clothes she
wore were torn and dirty from a few falls she'd taken while ditching
the section Two agent that had seen her sneaking out of the medical
building.
As she stepped away from the trees, she took a deep breath
and inhaled the sea air. Just a few yards away was her destination.
She didn't care anymore. No one needed her, no one wanted
her, and she didn't want anyone. There was no point in anything if
she couldn't pilot. It had been all she had, and now it was gone.
They'd all beaten her. One by one they'd humiliated her. She'd lost
to Ikari when he'd surpassed her synch rate. She'd lost to Ayanami
when she'd beaten the 15th Angel. Now, Horaki had beaten her.
Beaten her in so many ways...
So she'd decided all that was left was to follow her mother's
final wishes.
"I'm coming momma," she whispered as she stumbled over a
stone.
Just a few feet and it would all be over. No more defeats, no
more failures. No more shame at being second best. Her momma
would be there to make it all go away soon. If she did this one
last thing-- the thing that her momma had wanted-- then they'd
be together at last.
As she stepped to the edge of the cliff and looked down, she
could see the tide coming in below. In just a few seconds it would
be deep enough to take her away from this awful place, deep
enough to sweep her far, far away.
Behind her she suddenly heard a shout, and saw the section
Two agent burst from the woods.
"No," she murmured as she stepped back off the edge, "this
time I win,"
The look on the agent's face was almost comical.
Then she was falling, tumbling down to the beach below. As she
fell she looked down to meet her fate. As the ocean rushed up to
meet her, she whispered, "I'm comming mama..."
Suddenly, violently, the sensation of falling ended. Just
before she blacked out, the last thing she saw as the cold water
welcomed her were a haunting pair of red eyes that seemed to
stare straight into her very soul.
[]=================[]
To be continued...
[]=================[]
Author's incoherent babbling
Okay, first off, I know the fight with the angel was a little...
different. Let me explain. I haven't seen the director's cuts. I want
to, but I just don't have access to the funds I'd need to get them. So
I have to make do with info gleamed from the web (I know, not
always accurate, but better than nothing... some of the time ^_^)
now, back to the point, I've seen pics of the Angel merging with
Unit Zero and a bunch of weird morphing going on, I've also seen
pics of the core swelling up and making the Eva look pregnant. I've
also heard about twenty different versions of what was happening.
So what I did was make a guess. That being that the angel was
using Unit Zero as an incubator to pull a Mothra and change form. I
figure it laid some type of seed in the core and started some new
critter growing inside the Eva. Rei's little trick with the self destruct
saved the day an who can saw what would have been, but that's
my guess and as I've said before Eva is nothing if not open to
interpretation.
By the way, I have no idea what Rei or Hikari's measurements
are. I dunno if they wear the same size dress or even have matching
shoe sizes, but judging from the character sketches in the Newtype
100% book it looks like they have similar enough builds that Rei
could borrow Hikari's pajamas. So unless someone out there has
the official measurements, lets just go with the bit ^_^
As to the tickling scene, I can't take full credit for coming up with
that. The idea belongs to whoever posted the topic way back on
the original IOW message board. So while I might have taken the
concept and run with it, the props go to whoever that person was--
thanks! ^_^ Perhaps the scene was overly waffy... ok it _was_
overly waffy, but I felt having Rei reach such a peak of her
emotional development only to face the 16th made her sacrifice all
the more tragic-- and Rei is nothing if not a tragic figure.
The shield that Unit Three is using is based off the one that is
sold with the Evangelion Unit Four action figure. With the US
pulling out of the Eva arms race it stands to reason that Nerv would
send the spare parts to Japan, including such experimental
designs as the shields.
Rei's knowledge of the dummy plug program is a tricky issue. I
Decided that I'd keep the full truth from her, seeing as how after the
battle with the 12th angel Ritsuko said that "if Rei or Shinji were ever
to learn Eva's secret's they'd never forgive us," I assume that part of
that was referring to the multiple clones of Rei. I think that eventually
the Rei's are told, but only after they've been properly trained and
conditioned by Gendou. Its a theory, anyway. ^_^
I've never really had a chance to write Kaoru, and I'm looking
forward to what I have planned. I warn you know that we'll be
pulling the focus back from Shinji and Hikari for a bit to focus on
some of the others. Don't get me wrong-- we'll still have enough of
the lovebirds each chapter, but there are a few plot threads to
prepare and some stages to set up before the final act... which I'm
really looking forward to
What?
Asuka committing suicide?
All I'm gonna say is "wait for it"
[Grins like an idiot and sings] tumbling down, tumbling down,
tumbling dooooown
Hotwire
Chain Lightning Studios
http://www.chainlightningstudios.com