Disclaimer: see part 1.
Fire and Ice
Part 7
One with You
By Random1377
"Why am I here?" Rei asked softly.
The figure in the bed offered no answer – indeed, Shinji did not even acknowledge the presence of the First Child in any way.
The blue-haired girl leaned forward and studied the Third Child's face closely. "I… do not have anyone that I may talk to, Ikari…" she whispered, "but I feel that I must talk to someone." She took a deep breath, "I did what I needed too, Shinji… was it not more important that the angel be defeated than Asuka be happy?"
Shinji found it both amusing and horribly frustrating that everyone seemed to be coming to his side to confess their sins and seek absolution – as if he could offer them anything but cold silence.
-Maybe that's what everyone wants,- he thought, longing to hold the sad girl close to him, -someone to just listen without judging them.-
"I wanted to make her happy," Rei continued, "even though we had not dated for long, all I wished for was to see her smiling." She sighed, regarding the boy in the bed intently. "I think, perhaps, that I regret…" she trailed off, reconsidering her words. "Shinji," she whispered, "I hope that some day I might have the chance to speak with you again. I regret that I could not appreciate you… that I pushed you away. Some day, I hope to tell you that I care."
Shinji felt that he had never been so close to the brink of insanity. –Nothing,- he thought madly, -nothing can be worse than this… God… I just want to come back!-
Slowly, Rei stood. "I must go now," she told him, "I thought that by being with her I could change who I am and what I must do, but I no longer believe that to be true."
-Wait!- Shinji wanted to shout, -Stay here with me… don't go and… and…- Even in his thoughts, he had to trail off. He had no idea what Rei 'had' to do, but he certainly did not like the dispirited tone in her voice when she spoke of it. –Rei,- he thought sadly as started for the door, -come back to me. If you can't stay… come back to me – promise you'll come back to me!-
Rei paused with her hand on the door, her resolve wavering for a moment as she recalled the sound of Shinji's voice. "Goodbye," she whispered, finally shaking off the sensation of comfort that tried to come over her.
Had he the ability, Shinji would have screamed out loud.
**
"It is begun."
Fuyutsuki nodded. "So it seems," he replied, glancing at a running clock on the Commander's desk. "It will be soon?"
"Before daybreak," Gendou murmured, "or, more likely, at daybreak. We have inconvenienced the council too long, old friend… they will come for what is theirs."
"Are we prepared?" the older man asked, running his forefinger idly over the surface of the great desk that dominated the center of the room. "Should we… go to alert status?"
"It would not make a difference," the Commander retorted, waving a hand to dismiss the idea. "I would guess that even now the city is taken."
"Cut off the escape routes first," Fuyutsuki mused, "of course."
"All that remains," the Commander said calmly, rising from his desk, "is to wait."
"On the command bridge, I assume?"
"Naturally," Gendou nodded. "We must be present when the attack commences."
"To be seen," Fuyutsuki whispered, "so that the lower-level technicians do not lose heart… so they will fight while you conclude the scenario."
A faint hint of amusement crept into the younger man's voice. "You do not approve?"
"If I do or do not," the Sub-Commander shrugged, "would it affect your decisions?"
Gendou said nothing, simply starting towards the door without a backward glance.
"Of course…" Fuyutsuki sighed.
Taking a final glance around the office, he followed the Commander to the bridge. –Tell me this is for the best, Yui,- he thought tiredly, rubbing his eyes as he assumed his position at his former student's side.
-Or at least let me believe it when I say it myself.-
**
Three hours later, Maya stood quiet watch over Shinji's bed. Unlike Rei, however, the brown-haired tech had no urge to break the silence in the room. –He looks so fragile,- she thought sadly. –The doctors say he's still… in there, but he can't get back. Or else… he doesn't WANT to get back.-
"I'm sorry, Shinji," she whispered, speaking for the first time since entering the room. "You did so much to protect us… and all we did was hurt you and your friends. Touji…" she swallowed, forcing herself to speak, "Touji piloted Unit 01 better than I thought he would be able to… he really saved us."
She sat back in the visitor's chair. –I feel so stupid,- she thought guiltily, -but don't they always say that people in comas sometimes come back when they hear the voice of someone they know? Yeah, ok, I don't know him that well, but he still-
Abruptly, the lights in the room cut out.
"What's happening?" Maya whispered, glancing around fearfully and reaching out in the dark to find Shinji's hand.
A scant thirty seconds later, the emergency lighting sprang to life… accompanied by the strident ringing of the alarm system at maximum alert.
Maya looked around the room, finding herself at a loss for what to do. She knew she should get to the command deck, but she also felt a strong urge to stay by Shinji's side. "I can't leave him alone," she decided finally, reaching out and brushing some hair off the boy's forehead. "Besides… all the angels are gone, so they won't need me." She frowned. "But if it's not an angel, then-"
The door to the room opened with a bang, causing the young woman to cry out.
"Don't hurt him!" she begged, standing in front of the boy's bed and holding her arms out to the sides. "Please!"
She clenched her eyes closed, waiting to die. –The alarm,- she thought frantically, -someone's here to hurt us… I have to protect him – he deserves that! If I have to-
"Lieutenant Ibuki," a very familiar, very tense sounding voice whispered, "thank god."
Cautiously, Maya opened her eyes. "Major!"
Misato strode into the room, lowering her service pistol to her side and peering into Shinji's sleeping face. "We're being attacked," she muttered, starting to unceremoniously yank the wires and sensors off the boy's body. "Get out of here."
"Attacked?" Maya repeated, dumbfounded, "Another ange-"
"It's the Self Defense Force," Misato cut in sharply, never looking up from her task. "After all we've done… our greatest enemy is man."
"But… but WHY??" the younger woman protested desperately. "We won, didn't we?"
"They're after Unit 01."
Maya blinked. "Unit… 01?"
"I have to find a place to hide him," Misato murmured, unconsciously stroking the boy's hair and tossing the last of the wiring to the side. "Then I need to see if I can find Asuka and Rei – we have to fight back, and if we have to use the EVAs to do it… well… so be it."
Maya nodded, looking pale. "I thought… with the last angel," she said hesitantly, "it would all be over… but it's all happening so fast," she shook her head, "I don't understand any of this…"
"It's only been 12 hours," Misato agreed, "talk about impatient."
"Why do they want EVA so bad, Major?" Maya asked slowly. "I mean… if we give it to them, do you think-"
"No, Lieutenant," Misato cut in coolly, "I don't think they'll just let us go. I guess you haven't seen the monitors… but they're killing everyone." She met the other woman's eyes. "Everyone."
The technician's shoulders slumped. "Put Shinji in Unit 00…" she said quietly, "he'll be safe there."
Misato paused. "I thought Unit 00 was destroyed by Asuka?"
Maya flushed slightly. "Not destroyed," she murmured, "but close to it. It was almost unsalvageable – and it was a bottom-of-the-list priority… but it's still the safest place for him." She looked at the floor. "The armor plates have been seventy five percent restored… and the life support systems are fully functional, though I don't think it can move yet."
Misato was dumbfounded. "Maya…" she breathed, "have you been working on it??"
The young tech flushed brighter. "Yes. I just thought…" she shook her head, trying unsuccessfully to meet the Major's eyes, "I just thought I could help… I thought if I could restore Unit 00, I could make Sempai proud of me…"
Misato smiled. "Maya," she said gently, "you know that you've saved Shinji's life, don't you? There's no way I could protect him in the base."
Maya's face was now a brilliant shade of crimson, "Ummm… you should get him there…" she said awkwardly.
Misato nodded, lifting the boy into her arms and resting his head against her shoulder. "If they find Rei," she said, moving towards the door, "get her to Unit 01. I'm pretty sure I saw Asuka through one of the monitors, hiding out on one of the lower levels… so I'm going after her." She paused. "And Maya… thank you."
"I… just wanted to make her proud of me," Maya replied, her voice barely audible.
"Well," Misato said firmly, "if she isn't by now then she's stupid." She hesitated. "You should get out of here," she said quietly, reaching awkwardly into her jacket pocket and extracting a thin, red card. "Here," she handed the item to a confused Maya, "It's my Priority-Evac card – it'll get you into one of the emergency elevators… I don't think the JSSDF knows about those, since they were put in so recently." Her voice became hard and commanding. "Use it. Now."
Maya simply nodded, staring at the card with wide eyes.
"Take care of yourself," Misato whispered.
When Maya looked up, the purple-haired woman was gone.
**
Asuka hugged her knees to her chest, resting her chin on them and staring straight ahead. "So this is what it's like," she muttered with some disgust. "Running away isn't so bad…" she shivered, closing her eyes tightly. "Kinda… cold, but not so bad."
-Some warrior I turned out to be,- she thought tiredly, -face to face with the enemy, and I couldn't even…- Her thought trailed off.
Enemy. Angel. Rei.
"I should hate her…" she whispered to herself. "I should hate her for making me care."
What was most confusing to the redhead was the fact that, in spite of what her girlfriend had turned out to be, and in spite of the feeling of betrayal and pain in her chest… she could not bring herself to hate the blue-haired girl. Rei was an angel – Asuka had seen her cancel another angel's AT field with her own eyes – yet, she was still the only person to push past Asuka's self-made barriers and reach her heart.
"Should have kept trying with Shinji," Asuka told herself sullenly, "maybe I could have convinced him…"
-Convinced him of what?- she thought bitterly, -That I care? Please… even if I could, he never cared for me! When I kissed him…- She shivered. –When I forced him to kiss me,- she thought slowly, refusing to lie to herself any longer, -I gave up any chance I ever had to--
"Second Child located," a strong, cold voice cut through her thoughts, "proceeding with termination."
-Shot like a dog…- Asuka thought as three camouflage-clad soldiers approached her hiding place under the stairs. –I guess I deserve this, somehow… God, I don't want to die… but if I can't even spot the enemy when they're standing right…- she trailed off, rearranging her thoughts. –If I can't even talk to her – to find out what she really is – then how can I even say I'm her girlfriend? How can I even say I'm a good person, if I just run away when it's most important? At least Shinji stood and fought when it really mattered…-
Further thought became pointless as the men reached her side. She did not look up as one of them pressed his gun to her head. "Don't take this personally, kid…" he said softly.
The click of the hammer being drawn back was loud in the spacious hallway, making the other two soldiers flinch slightly. None of them liked what they were doing, but as they had been told, this was for the greater good. They looked away as their commanding officer hesitated, his resolve wavering for a moment before finally hardening and allowing him to start squeezing the trigger.
His hesitation cost him his life.
Two bullets caught the man in the side and head, a third shot taking one of the other soldiers in the stomach as a red and black blur streaked down the hallway.
Misato arrived with all the style of an old-fashioned action hero, slamming her right foot into the last man's stomach, then pushing his head back with the barrel of her gun. "Don't worry," she growled, meeting the man's eyes, "she never takes anything personally."
Asuka barely even registered the sound of the last gunshot.
"Let's go," Misato said flatly, staring down at the motionless girl.
"Go away," the redhead retorted listlessly.
"Like hell."
Asuka found herself being dragged to her feet, but offered no resistance. On some level, she felt ashamed of her cowardice… but she could not find it in herself to do more than shuffle along. She had opened her heart to another, and found herself betrayed.
As far as she could see, there was nothing left to fight, and nothing left to fight for.
**
"So he's ok?"
Touji breathed a sigh of relief as the reply to his query came over the tactical network. "That's right," Makoto's voice confirmed, crackling slightly from the interference of several miles of concrete and steel. "I just got a report from Major Katsuragi that Shinji's been secured in a safe location. She didn't want to say where, just in case communications were being monitored, but she wanted to make sure that you knew."
"And you said there's another battalion on the other side of the Geofront, right?" Touji asked, shaking his head as Unit 01 crushed another of the attacking tanks.
He had been on the surface for a scant eight minutes, and in that time he estimated that he had killed over a hundred men. –It's us or them,- he thought, trying not to feel sick as another tank fell to his borrowed Unit's immense fists. –But as much as I hate to admit it… I kinda wish it was you in here, Shinji. Killing angels is all well and good, but people – that's another story. I don't think it would be easier for you…- He sighed, creating bubbles in the LCL. –But at least I wouldn't have to do it…-
It was a selfish thought, he readily admitted, but if a person could not indulge in at least a little selfishness from time to time – especially when being forced to kill others in the name of survival – then why bother getting out of bed? A dash of self-indulgence made life that much easier.
"I've got incoming contacts," Makoto reported suddenly. "Coming in from the south… nine… airborne."
"Well," Touji murmured, looking around at the smoking remains of the tank battalion, "guess I don't have anything better to do… bring it on."
"I'll leave you to it," Makoto said quietly, not wanting to shock the boy too much by telling him what was coming, "Good luck…"
"Thanks," Touji replied, glancing up to the sky. His eyes widened as he spotted the targets in the distance, gliding majestically towards him on enormous white wings. "The EVA series?" he breathed, remembering the brief training Doctor Akagi had given him on the Units five weeks prior. "It's been completed?"
He stood in dazzled uncertainty as the nine machines touched down all around him, their wings folding in on themselves and disappearing into their backs, and he hesitantly drew his progressive knife, his eyes going from it to the huge blades the others bore.
"Well," he whispered, addressing Unit 01 for the first time since entering it, "you saved Shinji's ass a few times… think you've got enough left in you to help me out? Maybe a little berserk action, like, now?" He shrugged as the white EVAs began advancing. "Guess not. Ok… I'll just have to kill them all myself."
Taking a deep breath, he tightened his grip on the controls.
"Unit 01, preparing to engage!"
**
"There it is," Misato sighed, coming to a stop. "We'll get you into the emergency elevator, get you to the cages… and you'll be safe."
Asuka simply continued staring at the floor.
"I never thought I'd see the day," Misato murmured, trying to get a rise out of the girl. "Nope – never would have thought that you'd give up, Asuka. I always thought you would-"
She was cut off… not by the girl she was trying to bait, but by the harsh explosion of gunfire from the next level down.
"Move!"
Yanking Asuka's hand, she dashed for the elevator, but she was a moment too late. A sharp gasp escaped her as one of the bullets buzzing angrily through the air found her back, and it was all she could do to stumble through the door and slam the button to close it.
"Misato…" Asuka breathed, finally shaking her head as if waking from a long dream. "You're…"
"It's… not that bad," Misato gasped, leaning against the wall for support. "Get… in the elevator. Get out of here, Asuka…"
"I can't just leave you!" the redhead protested, pushing past the realization that this was directly her fault. Had she simply walked… this never would have happened. "Come on, I'll help you."
She paled at the woman's next comment.
"You have to find Rei for me…" she managed, "get her somewhere safe."
"Why?" the redhead muttered sullenly, trying to close off her feelings once more. "She's the enemy."
"She is what she is…" Misato said quietly, "and I know that she cares for you…"
Asuka looked into Misato's brown eyes, searching for the loathing and disapproval she feared must be there. "You knew about us?" she asked finally, looking away.
"I suspected," the Operations Director shrugged, grimacing slightly from the pain this action caused, "it's been quite a while since you've said anything bad about her… and you always smile when she's around, just a little."
"It's wrong, isn't it?" Asuka asked softly, "I'm not supposed to like girls… it's wrong…"
"You love who you love…" the purple-haired woman replied, "you can't make yourself not love someone." She put her arms around the redhead and held her close, "I'm sure that she loves you too, Asuka… she was always more alive when you were around."
"I don't know what to do, Misato…" Asuka said brokenly, "she's not human… she's some type of freak…" she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, "but I still want to be with her."
"That's what love is," Misato said simply, kissing Asuka's forehead, "if you really and truly love someone, nothing they do, nothing they are, nothing that anyone else says about them… matters even a tiny bit. All that matters is how you feel, Asuka… so… how do you feel?"
"I love her…" Asuka replied plainly, "what she is scares me, and what other people will think scares me almost more than that." She sighed and stared at the floor, "But I do love her, Misato…"
"Then go to her."
The redhead gave a startled yelp as the older woman abruptly shoved her into the elevator. "Misato, what-"
"Tell her I said hi," Misato smiled, pushing the button next to the door.
"Misat-"
Asuka's cry was cut short as the door slammed shut, initiating the elevator's emergency ascent program and sending it shooting towards the EVA cages. "Mmmm…" the purple-haired woman sighed, turning around and leaning against the wall, "I guess I can say I've seen it all, now…" She smiled, a thin line of blood running from the corner of her mouth down to her chin.
Carefully lowering herself to the floor, she closed her eyes, holding her smile as she imagined the redhead's subconsciously happy expression upon seeing the First Child.
"You said the truth was with me," she whispered, imagining that she could see Kaji standing in front of her. "I told her the truth, right Kaji? It doesn't matter who… you should never stop loving someone… right?"
She imagined that she could see her deceased lover smiling… as the world around her exploded into white heat.
**
Shinji could feel the LCL all over his body. That was probably his second biggest curse throughout this ordeal – the ability to still feel. –At least if I was a vegetable I wouldn't have felt every time they took blood,- he thought objectively. –But I guess… I can still feel, so maybe I can find my way back somehow.-
He thought back over all of the confessions he had heard… all the pain and suffering he had left behind.
-Maybe it IS better this way,- he mused, -kinda funny… but I think, now, I'm closer to Asuka and Rei than I've ever been or ever would have been… kinda iron-
"Unit 01, preparing to engage!"
Shinji's thoughts came to an abrupt halt as the communication system in Unit 00 buzzed to life.
-Touji…?-
"Roger that, Unit 01," Makoto's voice returned, crackling with interference… and what sounded like gunfire. "It's confirmed – there are nine, no more incoming as far as we can tell."
"Got it," Touji replied, "I'll take care of them."
-Nine?- Shinji thought with some agitation, -Nine enemies? There's no way! Oh God… he's going to get killed!!-
Harder than ever, Shinji struggled, trying to force his body to reply to his commands… but all of his efforts were in vain, as nothing happened. In his mind's eye, he could see Unit 01 being torn apart by some unknown force, wrenched limb from limb as his friend screamed in pain.
"You wish to help him?"
Shinji's mind stilled as a softly feminine voice rang in his ears.
"Who are you?" he 'said' concentrating his thoughts.
"It does not matter," the voice answered, reverberating through his mind. "Answer my question."
"Of… of course I want to help him," Shinji replied slowly, "he's my friend."
"Your body," the voice echoed, "you wish to be returned to it, yes?"
"Yes!" Shinji said emphatically, "I do! Can you do that??"
"Exchange…" the voice responded, sounding vaguely pained, "every action… has an opposite reaction."
"What can I exchange?" the boy asked, seeing his hopes slowly fading away. "I don't have anything."
For a moment, there was silence. –I must have finally cracked,- Shinji thought. –Hearing things that-
"Vengeance…" the voice whispered suddenly, "there is always vengeance. I will help you… you will execute my revenge…"
Shinji thought about it for a moment, feeling rather stunned at the intense note of hatred in the voice. "Revenge against who?" he asked cautiously.
"Yes or no?" came the cold reply.
It took him less than a second to decide.
Unit 00 rose, bearing the weight of the battleship on its shoulders and uttering a low, rumbling growl. Shinji felt pain all through his body as the still-damaged machine pushed itself to operate… trying to give all that it had – and more.
Shinji scanned the countryside, looking for Unit 01. "Where are you?" he whispered softly, absently tilting the battleship to catch a salvo of missiles launched from a battalion of tanks on the shore. His eyes narrowed as the blue mecha was pelted by round after round of mortar fire, "If that's the way you want it…"
Awkwardly, the giant machine threw the ship up onto the shore, crushing the entire tank squad. Shinji frowned, saddened that he was now forced to use the EVA to kill… but knowing that he must.
He brought the Unit onto the shore, thinking of the unstated price, and what he would do when the time came to pay it. –I had no choice,- he told himself firmly, wondering if the voice would correct him, -I can't let everyone die.-
A squad of VTOLs swarmed him, firing desperately. "I won't surrender…" he whispered, destroying them one by one, "to you… or anyone." Finally, he caught sight of Unit 01, fighting desperately with what looked like five white EVAs.
He narrowed his eyes.
"Vengeance," he said softly, "isn't that what you said?" Getting no reply from the machine, he shook his head. "Ok… then let's get it over with…" he thrust the control yokes forward, willing Unit 00 into motion.
**
Touji was sweating – a feat he hadn't thought possible while surrounded by the thick LCL that filled the entry plug. "Damn it!" he gasped in frustration, "Why won't you DIE?!?"
Four of the mecha had fallen, lying motionless around the battlefield in various states of damage, but there were still five left, and they kept trying to circle him, an obvious pattern to their movements… a pattern Touji felt he almost recognized.
He grunted, a small grin appearing on his face as one of the white Units fell, taken down by a sharp twist of Unit 01's hands, neatly breaking its neck. "Who needs a high sync rate?" he panted.
The answer to that question came as two of the other EVAs charged, swinging their broad weapons directly at the one Touji had commandeered from one of their fallen comrades.
There was an enormous ringing sound as the blades met, sending the Fourth Child's careening off to land upright in the dirt. "Damn!" he cursed, backing Unit 01 up as the white machines slowly advanced, moving to encircle him. He blinked as his Unit suddenly stopped moving. "What the hell?" he whispered, yanking on the control yokes with rapidly increasing fear.
He clapped his hands over his ears as a second, louder ring echoed through the cockpit, and his mouth went dry as he gazed out at the other EVAs, finding them all encased in a softly glowing ring of light.
They had completed their pattern.
"No," he gasped, pulling frantically on the controls as the Units he had destroyed slowly rose to their feet, broken bones and rent flesh mending before his eyes as they unfurled their wings.
As one, they beat their wings, hurling themselves into the sky and carrying Unit 01 in the center of their awful, familiar pattern.
"Sorry…" Touji whispered, slumping in his seat and putting his head in his hands, "I'm sorry, everyone…"
Abruptly, the sensation of movement ceased. Or, more precisely, reversed.
Touji pulled his hands away from his eyes, barely grasping the controls in time to right Unit 01's angle as it fell back to the earth. He looked around, trying to get his bearings. "What hap- YES!!"
Like a war god from an old oil painting, Unit 00 stood over one of the fallen white mecha, the sun gleaming off its broken, imperfect armor plates as it yanked its progressive knife free and dropped into a low, defensive crouch.
"Ayanami!" he laughed, "Man am I glad to see you."
"N..t…yan…mi…" the broken reply came back to him. "…inji."
"Shinji?" Touji echoed softly, quickly moving to Unit 00's side as the white EVAs touched back down. "Is it really you!?"
"No time," Shinji replied, his voice clearer now that they were closer. "Here they come."
"Hey," Touji said quickly, "they get back up – they can fix themselves, or something." He paused, then added, "Damn, it's good to hear your voice!"
"Thanks," Shinji answered, his tone indicating a smile, "it's nice to have a voice." There was a moment of silence as he thought, broken when he murmured, "Go for the core. They can't fix themselves if there's nothing left to fix, right?"
"Right!" Touji nodded. "Alright, you freaks!" he shouted, bracing himself as the white EVAs began cautiously approaching, "Let's go!"
With renewed enthusiasm, energy, and hope, the battle was rejoined.
**
Rei stood in the heart of Terminal Dogma, gazing up with rapt attention at the huge form of the second Angel. "If it all returns to nothing," she whispered quietly, "perhaps it will take the pain away. Would you believe that, Asuka?" She lowered her eyes, staring at the floor as a quiet footstep sounded behind her. "Perhaps Complementation can offer you the happiness I could not…"
"It is unlike you to talk to yourself," a voice spoke behind her. "It is time, Rei."
The First Child turned, completely unsurprised to find her commander standing behind her, slowly removing his gloves. "Yes," she murmured. "I have been… preoccupied lately Commander. I apologize."
"I have noticed," Gendou replied calmly. "Your… relationship was not unobserved."
"I see," Rei nodded.
"You were rejected," the Commander said softly.
"Yes," the girl confirmed, keeping her emotions in check as she had been taught to since her youth. "I have read that love will conquer all," she said quietly, for the first time in her life feeling the need to express herself to her commander, "but it seems… that is not the case."
"You love the Second Child?" Gendou asked, finding himself mildly interested in spite of the pressing need to accomplish his own agenda.
He knew of the relationship between the two pilots, of course. They had been exceedingly careful, and he doubted anyone outside of Section Two and Fuyutsuki knew of it, but he did not maintain his status as the commander of the most powerful secret agency in the world by letting details as seemingly trivial as a small fling escape his attention, because what you do not know can hurt you.
What he had not known, mostly since it did not strike him as terribly important, was that the two were in love.
"Yes," Rei replied after a brief pause. "I… love Asuka." She shook herself slightly. "But it seems that love is not enough, so I suppose… there is nothing remaining but to fulfill my purpose."
Gendou nodded. "You are correct," he told her smoothly. "Through Instrumentality, you will both-"
"I think I've heard enough."
The Commander turned towards the sound of the intruding voice. "Doctor Akagi," he murmured, narrowing his eyes as the Project-E director rose from the shadows at the edge of the LCL lake and aimed a small pistol towards him. "I would have expected you to be on the bridge, protecting the MAGI… with supervision, of course."
"There is a firewall in place," Ritsuko replied coolly. "Since it is self-sufficient, and since there are other considerations to take into account…" she smiled, "my guard was a bit remiss in his duties."
"So you felt the need to come here," Gendou mused, "to settle your score with the First Child for your perceived slight."
"No," the blonde growled, "not anymore. I did come here to kill her… I won't deny that. I thought the reason you weren't happy was because of her – because you always chose her." She stepped away from the edge of the LCL pool, her eyes never leaving the commander's. "Then she started talking about Asuka…" she murmured, "and love… and being rejected… and I realized it was you – it was always you that chose her, that wasn't her fault, Gendou!"
"Love," Gendou murmured, "how moving."
Ritsuko scowled, keeping the gun trained on the man as she looked towards the ceiling. "Mother," she called, "hear a loving daughter's last request… and die with me."
She closed her eyes, triggering the handheld in her pocket to activate the explosive charges located throughout the base. When nothing happened, she slowly opened her eyes, glancing down at the device with disbelief and lowering her weapon.
"Caspar betrayed me," she whispered with shocked horror, "mother… how could you choose your lover over your own daughter??"
A soft click drew her attention.
"Doctor Akagi," Gendou murmured, leveling the pistol in his hand at the woman's chest. "Honestly…"
Ritsuko looked surprised at his whispered declaration, swallowing with some difficulty before replying, "Liar…"
Rei never blinked as the woman's body was flung backwards, sprawling on the floor at an unhealthy angle. She spared her a final glance as Gendou approached, however, the barest hint of a frown on her face. –Interesting…-
"Now then," Gendou grumbled, turning to face the First Child, "Is there any reason we should not proceed?"
Though it was a rhetorical question, the blue-haired girl shook her head. "No," she whispered, turning from Ritsuko to face the Commander, "there is not…"
"Don't."
Rei's eyes flew to the doorway and widened as a red-clad figure slowly made its way into the room. "Asuka…?"
"Don't," the redhead repeated, approaching the two slowly but surely and drawing in a deep, wavering breath, "don't… leave me," she whispered, "please."
"Why are you here?" the Commander demanded, his patience wearing thin at this newest impediment. "You should-"
"I am sorry," Rei said quietly, ignoring Gendou and turning her eyes to Ritsuko's lab coat, noting the spreading crimson spot on the front. "I did not have the strength to tell you… I was so afraid of what you would think of me. Now… it would be best to continue this way."
"Damn it!" Gendou snapped, reaching into his pocket, "Get to your Unit, or-"
"No," Asuka murmured, forcing her eyes to stay on her girlfriend's face, "I'm the one who should say I'm sorry. I didn't even listen to you… or bother to find out for sure what was true. I got," she drew a shuddering breath, gesturing to her plugsuit with a sickly smile, "I got all the way to the cages, and I even got all dressed – like there was something I could do besides sit around… but in the end, all I could think about was seeing you. I knew I would find you here, so…" She slowly lowered herself to her knees, bowing her head. "Please forgive me," she whispered, her voice barely audible as her face flushed with shame, "please. I lo-"
In all of her life, Rei had never been listening as closely as she was when Asuka began to express her love. And so it was that she heard the soft rustle of cloth, the dry click of a hammer being drawn back, and the mechanical ratcheting of a firing mechanism being engaged.
Her mouth was open to cry out even as the gun in Commander Ikari's hand went off, sending its deadly messenger hurtling down the short barrel and towards the penitent girl in front of her.
She tried. Oh how hard she tried to will that marvelous field into existence in time, to catch the bullet before it could reach the one that meant the most to her.
But time is cruel. Time does not stop for wishes, or second chances. Time does not let you make up for mistakes, or take things back.
Time does not care for love.
"NO!!"
Rei's AT field distorted the air in front of Asuka precisely one second after the bullet had completed its deadly journey. There were no more words of apology. No tear-jerking final moments wherein the redhead confessed that her love was true. There was merely a hollow thumping sound as the lead slug entered her body, followed a moment later by the sliding sound of neoprene on neoprene as she slumped to the floor.
"Now then," Gendou muttered calmly, slipping the pistol back into his pocket, "let us begin."
"This is not real," Rei breathed, staring down at the still form less than ten feet from her, "this cannot be real."
Asuka did not stir.
"Asuka?" the First whispered, taking a hesitant step towards the inert form. "As…uka…?"
"It's done, Rei," Gendou said coldly. "All obstacles have been removed. Let us go now."
-Help her,- Rei thought, unable to look away. –There must be some way to help her… to save her. Please… someone… anyone…-
"Rei," Gendou grated, "now!"
"Come to me," Rei whispered, her mind whirling with names and images, "come to me…"
"What are you muttering?" Gendou demanded.
-Come to me,- Rei's mind begged, -brothersonfriend… come… come to me now.-
She closed her eyes.
Asuka… broken and alone after the fifteenth angel's attack.
-Come to me.-
Asuka… asking her to be her girlfriend.
-Come to me!-
Asuka… on the edge of expressing her love.
-COME TO ME!-
Image after image flooded the First Child's mind, each punctuated by the simple request – the simple demand, growing in strength and intensity until it could be contained no longer.
Gendou's mouth compressed into a thin line, and he reached out for the girl, intending to shake some sense into her… but before he could reach her, her eyes opened once more and she screamed.
"COME TO ME NOW!"
**
Shinji screamed as Unit 00 drove its knife into one of the white EVA's chest, forcing it deeper as the creature thrashed under the weight of his mecha. "That's one more," he called as EVA finally stilled, "just two more to go!"
"One more," Touji replied, bringing Unit 01 back to its feet, its hands covered in blood and internal fluids. "There's only one more, Shinji."
"Together, then?" Shinji asked, on the verge of laughing with elation.
It had been a tough fight. The mass production Evangelions had not gone down easily, and both of the older units had sustained a fair amount of damage… but the end was in sight. Soon it would all be over.
Touji was grinning. "Sounds good to me," he chuckled, "maybe we can each take an arm and… pull…" he trailed off into silence, leaving nothing but dead air for thirty seconds.
"What's wrong?" Shinji asked, concerned by his friend's sudden quiet. "Touji?"
The athletic boy did not reply for a moment, and when he did speak, the weight of his words killed any mood of good cheer the two shared. "I'll finish this," he said quietly, turning Unit 01 to face the final white EVA. "You need to go."
"Go where?" the Third Child snorted, "I can't get Unit 00 down the hallways in headquarters…" his voice grew softer, "I can't help the people inside… where am I supposed to go?"
"Terminal Dogma," Touji said calmly. "And you need to get there fast. I'll take care of this guy, then I'm gonna take Unit 01… set the self-destruct for fifteen minutes… and activate the dummy-plug with directions to move at top speed into the bottom of the ocean." His voice grew exasperated. "Or something like that, but after this – no one is going to use her to kill again."
"What are you talking about?" Shinji demanded. "Touji, I don't-"
"Trust me," the other boy cut in quickly, "I just… you should get there – don't ask me why, I really don't know! All I know is that you have to go." He narrowed his eyes as the last EVA dropped into a low crouch, its body tense as if preparing to spring. "Trust. Me," he said firmly.
"I trust you," Shinji whispered, turning Unit 00 away. "I just don't understand…"
"That's ok," Touji grinned, "I don't either. Goodbye, Shinji."
Shinji flinched. "G-goodbye…"
Touji sighed as the blue mecha began moving off towards its destination. "Damn it," he muttered angrily, bracing Unit 01 for combat, "I hope I did the right thing."
Though he had no concrete idea of why he had sent Shinji into the heart of NERV, he felt that it was right. There had been no voice, whispering, 'I need you,' or anything as dramatic as that, but he could testify to feeling a strong, unmistakable intuition. And Touji always trusted his intuition.
"Intuition's been wrong before," he mumbled, his eyes narrowing as the white EVA reared up and began its attack, "guess it's up to God… how funny."
There was no more time for thought. The final battle was joined.
It was a quick, brutal fight, with neither of the gargantuan opponents giving even an inch as they traded blows powerful enough to level buildings. Ultimately, the two giants fell to the ground, vying for position as they scrabbled and clawed at one another until finally, one Unit found its hands around the throat of the other, squeezing and twisting until there was a sharp snap… then plunging its fists into the still form to ensure that the task was complete.
Slowly, the victor rose, turning to scan the countryside for a moment before moving quickly, unerringly… towards the ocean.
**
Silence dominated the scene for five full minutes as Gendou simply stared, completely unable to believe what was happening. Never before had he heard the blue-haired girl's voice so loud. She hardly ever spoke above a whisper, and she had never even shouted, let alone screamed.
Finally, the Commander shook his head. "It is over," he said flatly. "She rejected you, Rei, she-"
"She loved me…"
Gendou's jaw dropped open. –Did she just… interrupt me??- he thought angrily.
"She loved me," Rei repeated, taking a step towards Asuka. "I must go to her…"
"No!" the Commander ordered suddenly. "Your purpose is to bring about the Complementation of man – that is why you exist, Rei, not to pine over a silly love affair with a girl that never truly cared for you!"
Rei paused, slowly turning to look over her shoulder. "I…" she whispered softly, "am not your doll. I love Asuka, and I will not allow her to die."
Gendou stared in disbelief as the girl calmly walked over and knelt at the Second Child's side. "You," he bit out, his body shaking with rage, "will do… what you are told!" He turned his hand over, staring at the single, visible eye of Adam (grafted into his palm five weeks prior) and trying to regain his composure. "I did not want it to come to this," he told her, straightening his back and taking a step towards her, "but you leave me no choice. If you will not willingly surrender Lillith's essence and begin Instrumentality… then I will simply take it from you."
Rei nodded, then closed her eyes, a soft smile appearing on her lips.
"Why are you smiling?" Gendou demanded.
The First Child opened her eyes, reaching out to stroke Asuka's hair as she replied.
"Ikari is coming…"
The Commander blinked. "What?"
Rei continued to run her fingers lightly over her fallen girlfriend's features, gently exploring her face with diligence and care. "Shinji," she replied quietly, "though all he has experienced is pain… he is still coming." She smiled softly. "Perhaps love is strong enough to-"
"Shut up."
Rei looked up, unable to resist the draw of pure, unbridled fury in her commander's voice.
"No one is coming," Gendou told her coldly, "Shinji ran away from reality, and chose not to return – he is not coming back. And she," he tilted his head towards the still form on the floor, "would never truly accept you under any circumstances, because she is incapable of allowing anyone close to her." He nodded as the girl averted her eyes. "It's true," he said quietly, "her psychiatric evaluation gauged her ability to connect with others at a three out of fifteen. Even if she survives, she will never… love... you."
Rei shivered at the cold certainty in the man's voice, but still, she refused to leave Asuka's side. "You are wrong," she managed, fighting the memory of the redhead tearing her hand away and leaving her behind. "People can change. Love can chan-"
"Love means nothing," Gendou spat. "Enough of this! It is time, Rei!"
The First Child closed her eyes, slipping her arms around her girlfriend. –Wait for me,- she thought sadly, -I will be with you soon, Asuka.-
Instinctively, she raised AT field… but she knew it was a futile gesture. She could feel the presence of the first angel radiating out from the commander's hand, and she knew its power was greater than her own, so she simply held Asuka close to her, gently pressing her lips to her forehead.
As the commander began walking towards her, she became aware of a rhythmic pounding, growing in strength and intensity. –That sounds like…-
Gendou frowned as the girl looked up suddenly, her eyes darting to the far side of the chamber. He followed her gaze, his eyes widening as the wall nearest them buckled, allowing a hulking blue form to come crashing into Terminal Dogma.
"Impossible!"
His cry was drowned out as Unit 00 rose to its full height, its single eye half exposed through a crack in the helmet as it focused on the small cluster of people in the center of the room. Slowly, obviously operating with much difficulty, it started towards them.
Rei glanced up at the commander, blinking as she found his shock being replaced by a cold sneer.
"It is too late," he said quietly, looking down at the First Child. "Instrumentality will happen now – nothing can stop it."
Rei closed her eyes as he reached out, Adam's mere presence sapping her will to live and leaving her feeling drained and breathless.
"Father!"
Gendou paused, looking up once more to the steadily advancing mecha. "There is no other way," he called, turning his attention back to Rei, "Mankind's time is up… and I need my Yui…"
Rei cried out as the Commander's hand touched her throat, hesitating only a moment before sinking in, the power of the angel making her skin weak and malleable.
"NO!" Shinji's voice boomed.
Rei's eyes were wide from the pain the angel's intrusion was causing… so she was the only one to see exactly what happened. All at once, seemingly fueled by Shinji's fear and anger, Unit 00 reached over its shoulder and tore off a small piece of its right fin, hurling it across the room like a makeshift shiriken.
The aim was perfect.
The results… unexpected.
Somehow sensing the attack, Gendou pulled his hand from Rei's throat and shot to his feet, holding his palm in front of him to block the blow with Adam's AT field… but, for the first time since becoming commander, he did not take every factor into account. He knew that Rei was manifesting her AT field, and he knew that Adam's was stronger and could overwhelm it, but what he did not take into account was that, by neutralizing her field, he had weakened his own.
The fragment of Unit 00 encountered Adam's AT field at over three hundred miles per hour… and it penetrated it at a paltry twenty-five.
Rei flinched, averting her eyes as the piece of metal slammed into the man, sending him flying backwards to land in a heap five feet from Doctor Akagi.
And for a moment, all was quiet.
**
Shinji stared in wide-eyed horror, his mouth gaping open as he panted in LCL. "What have I done?" he gasped.
It was tempting to try to flee once more – to force his mind to shut back down and escape the responsibility of his actions… but there was no more retreating. He shook himself, willing Unit 00 to start forward again, needing to reach Asuka and Rei.
-I have to save them,- he thought determinedly, -after all of this, I have to save them… or I might as well have stayed in a coma!-
Reaching the shore, he levered the great machine up, frowning as it seemed to waver. "Come on," he whispered, trying to coax the thing to continue its forward motion, "once we get them out, I'll get your vengeance for you… so come on!"
In his mind, he thought he could hear the vaguest hint of a sigh… and then Unit 00 was falling.
Quickly, he keyed in the sequence to eject the plug, gasping with relief as the blue mecha fell to the ground, the plug spinning out if its back and venting its supply of LCL. With shaking hands, he opened the hatch, climbing quickly but awkwardly down to the floor, landing beside Ritsuko.
As he turned, sparing his father a final, regretful glance, a voice whispered, "Finally… came for me…"
He spun around. "Doctor Akagi!"
The blonde was still lying on her stomach, her hands concealed under her as she craned her neck to look up at the boy. "Help… me for a second…"
Shinji nodded, crouching at her side and helping her force her way up to a sitting position. Her right hand, he noticed, was clutched around a small computer device, the word, 'Execute?' flashing in red on its screen. He gasped as the woman slowly, painfully crawled over to where Gendou lay, pressing her head against his chest and closing her eyes.
"He's… alive…" she sighed, opening her eyes and glancing up at the boy, "but I'd say… not for long, Shinji. I'm sorry."
"I… didn't even think," Shinji managed, "I just… he was hurting Rei… I didn't even think…"
"You should get out of here," Ritsuko whispered, forcing herself up to a sitting position and laying a hand on Gendou's chest. "You can't do anything for him." Her eyes flicked to the still form of Unit 00, and she added – almost as an afterthought, "Bet she was happy to see me in a pool of my own blood…"
Shinji looked uncertainly over his shoulder. "I don't… understand…"
"It… doesn't matter," Ritsuko managed, coughing weakly. "Shinji, listen…" she met the boy's gaze straight on, "The self-destruct has been activated. There's an escape elevator over there… take Rei and go…"
"Come with us," Shinji entreated, trying not to look at his father, "you can-"
"Shinji," the blonde cut in, "Rei needs to be free – not me. Do you understand? She needs to escape here more than I do, and I would weigh you down. Besides…" she coughed again, a line of blood running from the corner of her mouth, "I would just be prolonging it…" When Shinji still hesitated, she narrowed her eyes. "I didn't just crash the Magi's defenses and reprogram Caspar so you could gape, Ikari – GO NOW!!"
"Y-yes ma'am…"
Slipping slightly on the damp floor, Shinji dashed over to where the First Child knelt over the Second. "Come on!" he cried, holding his hand out to the girl as the blonde's words truly sank into his consciousness. "We have to go, Rei – there's no time!"
"I will not leave her…" Rei replied, cradling Asuka's head to her chest, "I will not."
Shinji looked at the girl pityingly, swallowing as he whispered, "She's gone, Rei…"
Rei closed her eyes, bowing her head and tightening her grip even more. "I… will… not… leave her…"
The brown-haired boy looked from the two girls to the elevator door and back, feeling the each second tick by like a tap on his soul.
"Alright…"
Rei's eyes snapped back open as she heard footsteps slowly approaching her, and felt Asuka's body being tugged from her grasp. "N-no…" she pleaded, trying to hold tighter to the plugsuit's slippery fabric, "she-"
"I'll carry her."
Rei looked up hesitantly.
"I'll carry her, Rei," Shinji repeated quietly, pulling Asuka into his arms and resting her head against his shoulder. "I'm sorry I wasn't here to protect you – and her – but I will not see you die, Rei…" He slowly rose to his feet. "She'll come with us," he whispered gently, "Maybe… maybe the doctors can still do something for her…"
Uncertainly, Rei nodded. "Thank you, Shinji…"
"Come on," he replied softly, averting his eyes, "we have to try to find help…"
"You are right," Rei whispered levelly, "of course, you are right – I cannot help her from here… let us go."
"Yeah," Shinji murmured, pulling Asuka's limp body closer to his chest.
They hurried towards the elevator, leaving Unit 00, Gendou, Ritsuko, and Lillith behind them. Shinji kept silent as they moved, deciding to keep his comments and observations to himself. There was no need to tell Rei how very little hope he had for the redhead in his arms… no need to tell her that he couldn't feel her breathing, or find a pulse through the thin fabric of her plugsuit…
No need to tell Rei that the heart monitor on Asuka's wrist had not flashed once since he had arrived.
She probably already knew, on some level anyway.
"Hold on," Rei whispered as they entered the elevator and pushed the button marked simply: surface. "Do not leave me, Asuka."
Shinji had to face the wall, unable to wipe his damp eyes as he cradled the still, silent form of the Second Child.
In Terminal Dogma, all was silent. Ritsuko ran her fingers idly through her lover's hair, wondering how things had gone so very, very wrong. "Why couldn't it be me?" she whispered sadly, "Why couldn't you choose me just… once – that's all I ever would have needed, Gendou. Just one night without hearing her name. Just one evening without going over her vitals. Just one, single, solitary day where you were all mine… and I would have died happy…"
A low-pitched whine drew her attention.
"Still trying?" she asked lightly, wiping an errant runnel of blood from her chin as she met Unit 00's single, glowing optical sensor. "Ha," she snorted as the blue machine began laboriously crawling towards her. "I thought I was hopeless – but you… you couldn't even let go in death." She shook her head. "Pathetic."
Unit 00 pushed itself to its feet, a dangerous growl issuing from somewhere in its massive frame.
"Well," Ritsuko coughed, trying to blink away the black spots that danced through her field of vision, "you'll get your wish…" her lips pulled away from her teeth in a feral snarl. "Hag!" Unit 00 roared with anger, staggering towards the doctor with an unsteady, rolling gait.
It was still roaring when Ritsuko activated the self-destruct charges.
**
"Is that your final report, Mister Ikari?"
Shinji stood rigidly at attention, trying not to sweat under the harsh, blinding light shinning down on him. "That's everything, sir," he said levelly, "after I'd made it to the surface, I felt the explosive charges go off."
"So you can confirm," the disembodied voice pressed, "that Gendou Ikari, Ritsuko Akagi, Misato Katsuragi, Rei Ayanami, and Asuka Souryu were all killed?"
"Yes sir," Shinji replied softly, "all of them."
"And Evangelion Units 01, 02, and 00?" the voice demanded.
"Units 00 and 02 were in NERV when it was destroyed," Shinji answered uneasily.
"And what of Evangelion Unit 01 and its acting pilot, Touji Suzuhara?"
Shinji lowered his eyes, knowing from other reports that all communications in the area had been lost when Tokyo-3 was leveled… so, in a way, his word was law. "I have not seen them since the last battle, sir," he whispered, "I think that Touji must have taken Unit 01 into NERV to try to rescue-"
"I am not interested in your opinions, Mister Ikari," the voice cut in sharply, "only facts!"
"Then… I have no answer," the boy murmured, "the last time I saw Unit 01, it was engaging one of the Production Model Evangelions."
"I see."
There was a moment of silence. –If Unit 01 blew up, though,- the boy thought suddenly, -Even at the bottom of the ocean, they would have some record of the explosion, right?- He smiled, -Then Touji's probably somewhere-
"There is one last question," the voice boomed suddenly, making Shinji jump.
"Y-yes sir?" he stammered.
"The escape elevator you were found near," the voice asked, sounding low and dangerous, "there was a small amount of blood in it. This blood is a genetic match to Asuka Souryu's, yet you claim she was killed in the explosion. Explain."
Shinji took a deep breath. "Asuka was shot before the explosion," he whispered, "I tried to save her, but I couldn't." He stared straight ahead. "The blood was from my hands…"
"That's all you have to say on the matter?" the voice asked slowly.
"Yes sir."
"Very well," the voice answered, sounding faintly amused, "you are dismissed, Pilot Ikari – but be aware. Though the Evangelions are gone, and NERV is no more, you will still consider yourself in our service, and we will still watch over your… wellbeing…"
Shinji lowered his eyes. –In other words,- he thought, bowing formally, -I'm still your pawn, and you'll watch every move I make until you decide that I'm not a threat anymore…-
After a moment of silence, the monolith winked out of existence, leaving Shinji to his thoughts.
Epilogue:
The young woman steps out of her apartment, locking it behind her and brushing an errant strand of hair back over her left ear. In many ways, she has changed. Affection comes easier for her now, as does speaking her mind and having her own opinions. No longer is she a tool to be used by others.
Slowly, she makes her way down the rebuilt streets of Tokyo-3, moving towards a well-known, if not well-loved destination.
Her crimson eyes have seen much. Her fragile heart has felt much. Her extraordinary mind has comprehended more than scholars three times her age. She has seen relationships come and go, seen hearts torn apart as she stood helpless on the sidelines. She has watched the tender Third Child's painful recovery, both physical and emotional. Seen him fumble with love and be rejected so very many times before finally finding it in the arms of an outspoken, vivacious young woman… a woman unwilling to allow him the luxury of self-pity.
She has seen the Fourth, often abrasive, but more often caring, push away at those around him time and time again before taking solace in the company of his sister, and his sometime girlfriend… but even then refusing to let anyone truly know him. She has seen friends come and go, whirling through her life like leaves in a lazy stream.
So many relationships made and broken. Sometimes by her… sometimes by them. And throughout, only two have remained constant.
"I am here."
A soft whisper announces her arrival.
The Tokyo-3 public memorial is a structure built to remind the survivors of Third Impact of those that were not so fortunate. The woman ran her fingers over the names on the pyramid, carved in the likeness of NERV HQ… the place where the most people lost their lives.
Finally, she found the name she sought, kneeling before it and bowing her head.
"I am here," she repeated, closing her eyes tightly. She tilted her head to the side, smiling as a light wind picked up, running over her face like a lover's touch. "Shinji sends his love," she whispered, her fingers playing over the engraved surface. "He said he is sorry that he cannot be here, but… well… you know that he has found another, don't you? Yes… I am sure that you do…" she sighed. "I believe it is hard for him to see me, sometimes, but for him to keep coming here, well… I do not begrudge him his desire to move on."
Taking a calming breath, Rei opened her eyes.
"But I know… why you could not come back," she whispered, swallowing unevenly. "I finally realized why you could not make it back. Shinji explained it to me. He told me that if we had allowed the Impact to complete, you could have come back. He explained that, had we let it all go according to the scenario, anyone with the will to live could have returned. And I know you had the will." Her eyes followed the graceful curve of the tombstone as she whispered, "Had I known… I might have allowed Complementation to commence. Perhaps I would be with you now." She took another breath, making herself smile. "I am going to try to live," she said quietly, "For you, I will try."
She rose to her feet, shivering now in the stiffening breeze and wrapping her arms around herself.
"Shinji invited me over for dinner," she murmured, trying her best to avoid the name on the epitaph… failing entirely. "So… I shall go."
Leaning forward, she pressed her lips briefly to the cool stone.
"I miss you," she whispered, feeling the tears beginning to fall. "I miss you, Asuka."
Slowly, she straightened… and walked away from her lover's memorial.
Second Child – Asuka Langley Souryu. Hero of the war. Pilot of Evangelion Unit 02. Beloved daughter and loved one. Taken before her time. You are always remembered, by those you saved and those who knew you. Especially by those who knew you.
The End
Author's notes: a word on why this chapter took so long, since I actually do have a good reason. When this story began, I admit, I didn't have a clear vision for the ending. I even thought (briefly) of ending with a wedding. *shrug* I went between happy and sad endings just about every time I opened the last chapter, and I just couldn't decide how to end it. Then I got a review of one of the chapters, I believe it was 6, that asked, 'Is this just fluff, or are you trying to say something with all this?' So I decided… that I was trying to say something. Once I figured that out, a lot of the rest of the plot fell into place – from Misato and Asuka's conversation in the elevator room, to Asuka being shot, to Rei's desperate call for Shinji, I had a storm of ideas. So why did it take so long to get out if that review was posted months ago? Easy – I was lacking inspiration. I knew where I wanted to go, but lacked the inspiration and drive to get there… so I waited until it hit, and wrote when I was 'feeling it.' Hopefully this produced a superior story, but I guess that's for you to decide. What was the message of the story? Ask Misato…
One more thing – this is the original ending as it came to me. I tried (really hard, actually) to force a nice, happy, 'Asuka turns out to be alive and she and Rei live happily ever after, relying on each other's strength to face the adversity of the world' type ending. But it felt about as flat as a glass of week-old Coke.
Pre-read was done once again by Ryoma, so big thanks to him. One more down, my friend… one more down. Also had pre-read help by Ignatz – so big thanks to him as well.
Feedback is always welcome at random1377@yahoo.com
