Neon Genesis Evangelion: Cross

By: Blue Taboo

Chapter 3- Double Reality

Misato opened a much needed can of her favorite beverage as she heard the door to Shinji's room close. She gulped down the can of beer in a matter of seconds, hoping it would tell her what was going on if she finished it off quickly. Of course, it didn't, and Misato turned to the only other living creature in the Katsuragi residence at the time, PenPen, who'd just gotten out of the bathtub.


She grabbed another can from the fridge with one hand, and her pet penguin with the other, then retreated to the living room. She sat down on a cushion, amongst the piles of trash and boxes that Shinji had tried fervently to clear out, but had been forced to give up. There were just too many of them. The Major sighed.


"Now with this whole situation..." she said aloud as she placed PenPen on her lap and spoke to him, wishing that he could understand, "Who knows if he'll ever even scold me about it. I think I'm even more worried about Shinji than I am either of the girls, as sad as that may seem."


PenPen blinked back up at her, staring into her eyes, almost seeming to sense her feelings of grief and terror at the day's events.


"I just hope that all turns out well somehow..." she prayed with a note of resignation, fingering the rim of the still unopened can in her hand, "Too many horrible things have happened to these kids already..."


She put the now antsy warm water bird down, looked at the can, and then walked back over to the kitchen, and put it back in the fridge. She looked longingly at Shinji's door, wishing that she could do something, then opened her own and entered her room, hoping to get some sleep for what would promise to be a very long tomorrow.

"Why are you always such a wimp?"


"Ikari..."


"Dummkopf!"


"Will you get off?"


"Idiot!"


"Why are you crying?"


A pair of blood red eyes turning to ice blue...


Long, soft, auburn hair, like fire, turning to blue...


Red and blue melding together...


Swirling in a discontent spyrograph pattern...


Then being consumed by a flash of white light...


"Shinji!"


"Ikari-kun!"


He wakes up, a cold sweat running down his neck, wondering how he had fallen asleep in the first place, then wondering how he had woken up. A female voice, muffled by the door, tells him the answer to the second question.


"Shinji! If you're awake I just want to let you know that I'm leaving for work...Okay? Kaji's coming over to watch you while I'm gone, so don't be surprised if he comes in. Bye..."


Shinji puts his pillow over his head, hoping to escape the world, both in reality and dreams.


Misato goes back to her cell phone conversation. "Are you sure that he can't come?" she asks the person on the end of the other line as she grabs her car keys and heads out the door.


"I'm absolutely sure," the serious voice of Ibuki Maya answers, "It would only cause more stress on his part, and hers. Dr. Akagi's orders. Please don't try either, Major..."


"Maya--"


"I have to go. Goodbye, Major."


Misato lets the dial tone ring in her ears for a moment before she ends the call. Ritsuko's avoiding me, I just know it. She would've called me herself if she wasn't. Dammit! She's the only person with the answers I want! Why does she have to act like this? she thought to herself as she reached the elevator, Oh well, I'll find a few things out for myself, but why am I shaking?

Commander Ikari Gendo stared down the tree of life, his orange-tinted glasses reflecting a strange glow on Sub-Commander Fuyutski Kozou.
The gray-haired man cleared his throat. "I take it that this incident was not predicted."


Gendo still refused to make eye contact. "It was merely a possibility," he stated coolly, "But one that was not anticipated. In that you are correct. However, I have been assured that it will be rectified."


"Is it really possible?" Fuyutski asked with a note of surprise.


"Of course. Don't you know your physics, Professor? For every action, there is an equally and opposite reaction..."


The dim light of the Geo-front barely illuminated the older man's expression of disgust. "Is that all this is to you? An action?"


"It is more than that," the head of NERV told him, "But that is an easy way to explain it. Dr. Akagi assures me that there will be a solution, however, it will significantly alter the schedule, but that cannot be helped."

"We believe she's been up for about four hours," a tall female doctor explained.


Misato cut her off. "That long? And I was just informed?!"


"Please, Major Katsuragi, we weren't aware of it until an hour ago. She hasn't said a word since she woke up, but she appears to be able to move just fine, further proof that there was actually no serious physical damage. She's just sitting up in bed now, looking out the window. We figured that maybe if she recognized you..."


By that time, one particular purple-haired Major was getting very bored and had already begun to storm off down the hall to the room she had been in no more than eight hours ago. She finally reached room 103, and she began to feel herself shaking again. You have to face this, Misato, she told herself, You won't do any good just standing outside the door. But who knows what I'll find in here...


She quickly opened the door and stepped in, making sure to shut it behind her. Slowly, her eyes came to rest on the figure that sat on the hospital bed before her. She was transfixed on her hand, watching it as she balled it into a fist then opened it again. Misato found that she couldn't bring herself to get the being's attention. She just stood there and watched, paralyzed by a combination of feelings that really couldn't be named. Then, as if in slow motion, the girl in the bed turned her head, inch by inch, to meet Misato's gaze. Her ice blue eyes were cold and angry for a moment, but then they seemed to change as they were blinked over and over in surprise.


She recognizes me...Thank God.

"Look," Kaji's announced, "I'm coming in, all right? I have to make sure you're okay. I'm actually getting paid to baby-sit you..."


With that Kaji slid open the door and stepped into Shinji's room. He found the boy with the pillow over his head and his SDAT playing full blast in his ears. Kaji couldn't bring himself to say anything. It must've been horrible for him, he reasoned, To just sit there and watch the whole thing. It's a wonder he didn't get involved himself...

"Misato..." a weak voice said in more of a factual way. The Major could barely believe it came from the girl's mouth.


"Y-yes...It's me. How-how are you?" she stammered in response, trying to sound cheerful.


"Make her go away, Misato! She won't leave me alone!" the girl screamed in a voice that was now full of anger and aversion. But just as she seemed finished, she then said calmly. "That isn't possible..."


"W-what?" Misato stuttered, not understanding the strange change in voice.


"It's me! Asuka! I'm trapped in here with Ayanami and it's sick! She's even more messed up than I thought! WHY DID THIS HAPPEN!?" she yelled at the top of her lungs, then said calmly again, "We agreed not to speak of what we saw, Pilot Sohryu, and I will keep to that agreement. This is a side effect of the Eva to Eva synchronization experiment, so please calm down. You are frightening the Major..."


"Oh my God..." Misato again could think of nothing else to say.


"A SIDE EFFECT?! Do you see this, Freakgirl? We are trapped in one body, not yours, not mine, but a whole new one! Do you know how FUCKING MESSED UP THAT IS??!!" screeched what must've been Asuka through the mouth of their shared body. Tears started to run down her face as Misato could only look on.


"So this is why you cry..." what must've been Rei assumed.


"GET OUT!!! I promised myself I wouldn't cry in front of anyone anymore, but now, of all people, I have to cry through you! DAMMIT! Why didn't we just die?!"

-Blue Taboo-