Disclaimer: I don't own Evangelion or GAINAX.  In fact I'll be lucky if I can even pronounce them correctly!^-^;

Picking Up The Pieces – Part 3

Would I lie to you?

Would I lie to you honey?

Now would I say something that wasn't true?

I'm asking you sugar

Would I lie to you?

                                    Eurythmics- Would I Lie To You?

Doctor Ritsuko Akagi, ex-Technical Supervisor of Project E and one time polymath genius, was sitting with her leg in traction, bored out of her brilliant mind. Since the 'incident' the doctor had been sent to a special prison hospital and was now currently not enjoying her own company. Her body hurt and despite the heavy-duty painkillers, the dull throb refused to completely leave her. On top of that, the gown they insisted she wear was polyester, which made her back itch, and just recently, she had made the unpleasant discovery that there was no nicotine gum left. At all. Which, as Misato would say, really, really sucked. Still, she had to admit, it was better than the alternative.

She should have been dead.

Gendo wasn't kidding around when he shot her. He had aimed to kill. But wonders of wonders here she was, still alive and marginally kicking. Ritsuko winced at the thought of her poor shattered right leg doing anything of the sort. That was courtesy of his first bullet, a token of his love, it tore right through her femur like a hot knife through butter. The second though, hit her in the chest before she even had time to blink. That one was the keeper. Or should have been.

Vaguely, Ritsuko remembered the sensation of floating, tasting far too much blood and hearing the little whispering voices of her own analytical mind coldly diagnosing how she was going to die.

'Depending how close the bullet was to the heart, and it was very close Ritsy, a lung could be punctured, and/or one of the great vessels surrounding the heart, (the vena cavas, the aorta, the pulmonary arteries and veins) could be nicked or lacerated. Bad, bad, bad…  Injury to one of the great vessels is very serious, blood collects in the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs causing "hemothorax"…can't breathe and going into shock…may be a matter of minutes…heh… he broke your heart Ritsy … how oh so fitting…'

As she succumbed to the delirium, everything had stopped feeling real. She was drowning in her own blood and nothing seemed to matter. There was no pain and time had no meaning. Then just as her vision-tinged black, the light came, and She came with it.

At first Ritsuko thought it was Rei, which was understandable considering the circumstances, but then she noticed the hair colour was wrong and she was wearing a lab coat. Rei never wore a lab coat. Then the dying doctor understood and confusion turned to fear as she stared at the glowing form bending over her.

Yui Ikari.

The cold dread of seeing a dead woman was immediately replaced by perplexed shock when Yui gently kissed her forehead and sadly smiled. Ritsuko didn't understand. Why was this happening? Why was Gendo's wife even here? Was she dead? Was this Hell? Was this her punishment? Yui shook her head and answered for her.

"No Dr Akagi, you're not dead and you're certainly not in Hell," Her features flickered with deep regret. "I'm so sorry, Ritsuko. It was never meant to be this way. He has taken so much from you, so much that can never be returned." There was a soft haunting sigh. "He was lost you see, like so many others. But now I feel it's time to make amends. So please, Ritsuko, at least allow me to give you this one thing back."

Then, without another word, Yui placed her cool white hands on each side of the stunned blonde woman's face and closed her eyes. Almost immediately the shimmering aura began to seep from Yui's fingertips and into the doctor's skin. It prickled down her spine with an almost maddening gossamer tingle and Ritsuko could do nothing but shiver helplessly in Yui's embrace, bathed in the pure light of another soul. Relentlessly, the raw healing power poured over her body like boiling neon and the prickling became a burning sensation that swiftly intensified and consumed her in a balefire beyond anything she could possibly describe. All she could remember with absolute crystal clarity was- It. Bloody. Hurt.

Then she woke up screaming and Yui was gone.

Now here she was, for better or for worse, alive and although it had only been less than two weeks, in true miracle style, completely healed. Well…maybe not completely, the wounds were gone and the injury was mended, but the pain still remained, especially when she moved her leg. That was why it hung suspended in traction, wrapped in a gauze bandage, though, for all the good it did, she still felt like someone had happily carved the flesh from her thigh right down to the bone with a rusty blade. It was a white throbbing mass of torment and the doctor wondered why her leg wasn't visibly pulsating with every agonising beat of her heart. Tylenol and codeine were Ritsuko's new best friends. It seemed that being pulled out from the brink of death had a catch. But then, what else was new?

With slow stiff movements, Ritsuko leaned carefully to her right and reached for the remote control sitting on her bedside table. Although she was technically still under arrest, being shot had done wonders for her prison arrangements. In comparison to her cold dark dripping cell, she was feeling positively pampered now she had a nice comfy hospital bed and a wall mounted television. At least she wasn't going to be alone with the long drawn creeping hours, as deep as a never-ending day. At least she could distract herself, even if momentarily, from the monotony of brooding about her bleak future. She also needed something to stop herself thinking about cigarettes. Ritsuko was a two pack a day addict and she hadn't had a good lungful since she'd been shot. Now her body was crying out for some nicotine, but she was not allowed to smoke. Which was the only down side to being in a hospital. She didn't know what was worse, the constant phantom pains in her leg or the burning craving for a cigarette. God, she needed that gum! Irritable with the combined might of the two, Ritsuko pointed the controller and hoped for a little escapism.

The last thing she expected to see was a familiar face on the screen. Big, purple and grinning the grin that had haunted her dreams for years. Ritsuko blinked. Then she blinked again. But it was still there. Still grinning. It was like a surreal joke. She tried switching to another channel, then another, and another, but she couldn't get rid of the damn thing.

What in God's name was Unit 01 doing on television?

Ritsuko stabbed the volume control up until the tinny voice of the newscaster could be heard.

'…exclusive new developments for Nerv's Open Policy, as the machines that protected our cities now work to rebuild what was once destroyed. Earlier today the pilot of Evangelion Unit 01 demonstrated this by helping the Tokyo-3 construction workers in his own unique fashion.'

Ritsuko could feel her mouth hanging slack as she watched the massive robot carefully hold a piece of scaffolding while using a modified laser gun to weld the metal to the rest of the frame. What would have usually taken days, took only a few minutes for the giant fingers and the doctor couldn't help but think about matchstick model building as a tower began to quickly take shape.

'Hmmm…Shinji's motor control has improved,' commented Ritsuko's detached analytical mind.

'What the HELL is Nerv playing at?' screamed her less science based self.

Then the unmistakable image of Maya Ibuki, in full dress uniform, walked on the screen and Ritsuko's brain promptly lurched to a halt. Maya Ibuki. Now there was a sight for sore eyes. Akagi grit her teeth a little as she leaned closer to the TV and focused on her ex-assistant who was now making some sort of official statement to the press. Despite the tiniest bit of a waver, Ibuki's voice sounded quite crisp and clear up on the podium. The familiar red leaf insignia appeared to outline a halo behind her as she recited her speech.

"In light of the fact that we are no longer at war, we at Nerv believe it is high time the Evangelions should be taken from their negative military context and placed firmly in the public eye. We hope today's demonstration has provided a glimpse into the exciting possibilities this establishment has to offer."

Ritsuko wryly noted that the Lieutenant still looked every bit the bright and perky friendly face of Nerv that she knew so well. The girl had a certain trusting innocence about her. After surviving the horrors of Second Impact, Maya believed in what the 'establishment' represented and the hope it could bring. Even after discovering the not so happy truth that Nerv was run by total cold-hearted bastards, the girl refused to give up her optimistic nature. In a way Ritsuko envied that luxury. Looking for silver linings had long lost its appeal many bitter years ago. Sleeping with a tyrant would do that to you…

"The progression of our science has taken great leaps thanks to the development of Nerv innovation," Maya continued in an enthusiastic and confident tone. "However, although our advancements in cybernetic application hold an immense global multinational appeal, we also wish to highlight the potential medical and neurological enhancements concerning the utilisation of this technology." The watching doctor raised an unbleached eyebrow. "With the recent development of the neural interface system and, in conjuncture with human genome nano-technology, extremely critical and debilitating injuries such as spinal fractures and even amputated limbs can now be effectively treated. In some recent cases, even fully rectified. With our new Open Policy, we at Nerv hope to continue to provide more positive results from these notable medical achievements." Ritsuko let loose a derisive snort at the laughable notion they cared. "In conclusion, we believe that although initially created as Man's last and only effective defence against the Angels, Evangelions can also offer us not only protection but together, with your support, the beginning of a bright and better enhanced future for us all. Thank you."

Maya then bowed and exited the podium and of course, the press clamoured for more, bristling with microphones and cameras, but they were out of luck. Nerv had all ready given them their quota of bullshit for the day. Ritsuko stared at the screen with a darkly amused expression. It looked like things had changed while she had been away. It was clear that even though the speech was very short, it was also very sweet. It hinted of great things becoming available and a certain change of tactics for the usually secretive organisation. Which was just not Gendo's style. The blonde thoughtfully massaged the bridge of her nose as she contemplated the significance of that. Perhaps, and this made her smile, she was not the only one to have fallen from grace.

However, what brief, bitter comfort this offered dwindled when she thought of Maya. It was painfully obvious that whoever was running the show, was hoping she would charm the public with that innocent air of hers, maybe even bring a lot more positive PR. Lord only knew, after the travesties of the Angel War, they were far from popular. It was a cunning ploy to use her. Not that there wasn't going to be some sort of sinister ulterior motive behind this fair façade anyway. Suppressing or misleading the inquiring minds of the media was nothing new to Nerv; in fact it was one of Section-2: Damage Control's favourite games. But to see her old technical assistant in this way was rather…disheartening. It seemed nothing was sacred anymore. Unless of course, Maya was telling the truth and Nerv's new 'Open Policy' was, indeed, going to be a wonderful opportunity for the freshly saved souls of Mankind after all.

But Ritsuko highly doubted it.

God, she needed a cigarette!

The constant gnawing that had been quietly lingering in the back of her mind, now came crashing upon her little rock of resolve, wave upon merciless wave. The shock of seeing Nerv's televised propaganda had upset her. It brought back bad memories. Things she'd rather not dwell on. She felt sick. She felt like crying. Or screaming. Or laughing. Maybe just for kicks, she'd try all four of them. All at once.

Although the TV was still on, Ritsuko was so deeply entrenched in her thoughts she hardly seemed to notice. It was only after the screen abruptly clicked off that she jerked awake from her self-imposed daze. When she did, Ritsuko was surprised to find three people had suddenly, out of nowhere, appeared in her room. This was puzzling because, a) she recently had her check up for the day and b) she was not allowed to receive visitors during her incarceration. Not that anyone gave a flying crap about her anyway. But still…

Ritsuko frowned and began to formulate questions as the newcomers; one nurse and two men dressed as orderlies surrounded her bed and loomed over her. Which made the blonde furrow her brows even more. She did not like to be loomed over.

Tiny little alarm bells began to ring in her head.

"Good Afternoon, Dr Akagi," the nurse said, nonchalantly placing the TV remote, which she had used, back on the bedside table. "I apologise for disturbing you, but I am afraid my superiors insist that they see you. Today."

Ritsuko cautiously sat up straighter in her bed, trying not to wince from the stabbing cramp it brought her traitorous leg and looked from one unfamiliar face to the other.

'This is wrong,' her little alarm bells chimed. 'Wrong, wrong, wrong…'

"I see," she breathed, biting back the surge of unease. "And…when are they coming?"

The nurse smiled, casually tying a surgical mask to her pretty face.

"Oh, they won't be coming here."

Then she nodded to the two orderlies who stood silently at either end of Ritsuko's bed. Acting on the unspoken signal, both men suddenly grabbed Ritsuko's arms and pressed down, pinning her to the mattress. Akagi's surprised painful cry of shock was short lived as the nurse stretched across and clamped a dripping cloth over her mouth with a wet slap. Almost immediately, a thick cloying sweet dizziness engulfed her senses and her muffled protests became fainter as she quickly succumbed to the drug soaked rag.

Her last coherent thought was about Unit 01 and that god-awful grin. It seemed to watch her as she fell through the darkness, its eyes burning with malicious joy.

'See? They haven't forgotten about you, little doctor.' the demonic creature hissed. 'Got a nice surprise waiting…a real treat…you're going to love it. I know all about it. Oh, you'll be grinning too once they've finished with you. You'll be grinning too…'

Then she spiralled into its gaping jaws and saw no more.

Author's Mad Ramblings: *whoooooo* Evil me. Ended on a cliff-hanger. *Bwahahahahahahaaa!* Gee this writing lark's like a big power trip or something…0_o  But fear not!  The next chapter is being written even as I speak. Should be done by oooooooh…say… end of June?

Juuuuuuust kidding! ^-^;

*scurries back to the keyboard before she is pelted with bricks*