THEY BAILED ON ME!!!! ALL MY PRE-READERS LEFT FOR THEIR VACATIONS!!! Not that I really blame them... I'd do the same in their situation.
Ok. This is what I'm labelling as WAFF. Well EVENTUALLY. Anyway, read and let me know what ya think afterwards(If only you could find me afterwards, hehheh hehheh)
'...' stands for thought
"..." stands for talking
--?--?-- stands for author interruption(Me, making myself heard)
--- stands for... I guess the next Scene
Enjoy!
DrunkDrake
World from the eye's of Another
01 : Enter Arael
--?--?--
Shinji was sitting at his desk looking over his notes. His dark blue eyes studying the Kanji on the papers and laptop in front of him. Oddly enough the teacher assigned a massive test that would be worth a lot, no that's not correct, A LOT of the final grade. 2 days to go. Shinji looked back at his work and felt doomed. This stuff was too much for him. Just as he was about to give up his door suddenly whipped open. Shinji's dark hair swung around and stung his eyes as he looked over.
'Damn, Gotta remember to get a hair cut'.
Wiping the hair from his eyes he saw that the intruding figure had 2 sapphire blue eyes framed by a long red mane. Asuka had barged into Shinji's room. If not for the fact that studying for the test held his attention, a few thoughts that would have proven Asuka right about calling Shinji 'Hentai' might have surfaced.
"Shinji...I know your an idiot, but you need my help don't you?" Shinji and Asuka shared the same apartment and both went to the same school however Asuka already had her college diploma.
"That would be great Asuka!... I guess, I could do something for you if you..."
"Thanks for the offer but let's just get to work"
Shinji smiled inwardly. College diploma or not, Asuka still hadn't remembered all 2000 kanji. Whether or not she already told Shinji this, didn't change the fact that she'll never admit to a weakness or needing help.
--- 2 days later
"Oh My God!!!" Asuka exhaled the sentence. Toji, Kensuke, Hikari and Shinji all nodded with her knowing that she would continue to vent. They didn't mind, in fact some were trying to figure out if they should join her.
"That test was almost the level of my college tests!!" Ok so they didn't expect her to say that.
"I'm too tired... But how could anyone make something that hard without being an evil genius or something!?" The group nodded in agreement. They scattered when they reached their turns on the way home. Shinji and Asuka walked towards their apartment.
Asuka looked over to Shinji, he looked like he went a full 12 rounds with against his eva. Hell, he looked like if he stopped moving he'd fall asleep on the spot. The test had be hard, if it wasn't for Shinji helping her...Asuka bit her lip. Ok so maybe the idiot was helpful...
"Shinji... I want to tell you something" Shinji lulled his eyes towards Asuka in front of him but they continued to walk.
"Thanks..."
"For what?" Asuka turned around and glared at him as if he was stupid. Hadn't she been complaining about it for the past 20 minutes?
"For... studying together" Asuka shut her mouth after that. Shinji had caught on at that point.
"Ah... oh? No problem. You would have done just as well without me dragging you down" Shinji replied. She gave up her study time to fast forward my understanding of this stuff. I doubt I'd have been able to pull it off without her.
They continued in silence. Asuka continued to think about things, Shinji focused on staying awake. That test really was bloody hard. Worse by the fact that Asuka hadn't known some of the kanji. Shinji had royally pulled her butt out of fire with their last minute studying. She bit her lip again and decided that he really was useful. 'I'll never admit it but...'.
"Hey Shinji..." once again his eyes lulled their way to the back of Asuka's head as they walked.
"Yeah?"
"Promise me something?"
"Sure... what?" Shinji's interest peaked at this. This wasn't too normal for Asuka. Oh well, agree with it and avoid any and all following pain that would result in refusal.
"I'll cover your back if you cover mine" Shinji didn't bother to think it over. It wasn't anything that really big, and definitely wasn't too life threatening if agreed too.
"Sure"
---
Rain...The rain still hasn't ended. It's been raining for 3 days now. It reflected the mood of one Major Katsuragi. The sky was a gloomy grey and the rain splattered against the windows of the break room that Misato was in. Her raven black hair under some light looked almost purple and was currently tied in a ponytail behind her head. Her ruffled red jacket hung from her chair and her favourite black dress clung warmly to her body in the air conditioned room as she watched through the windows. The hospital break room windows. She had been here fairly constantly ever since the angels had begun attacking. She even remembered when she had to spend a day here after the 13th angel. Misato shook her head clearing those unpleasant memories from her head for now, she had two downed pilots to worry about. The attack had come 2 days ago, raining no less. Misato glared at the rain drops hitting the window as if they were the cause for the unconscious pilots in the medical ward. Sighing she undid the pony tail and shot the elastic towards a garbage can across the room. Her companion Ritsuko eyed the projectile as it arced towards the can. It missed, 'fine then'. She continued to nurse the lukewarm coffee from before. The silence enclosed her and her memories again fluttered to the surface.
---
"You know Shinji..."
"Pardon, what did you want Misato?" Misato stood near the kitchen table holding a package of sorts and was watching Shinji from his spot at the couch. He had turned to face her but half his attention was still on the cooking show.
"Well... how's Asuka today?"
"...Well... I think she's feeling better. Killing that angel seemed to have worked something out of her system"
"So?"
"Well, I guess she's perfectly fine. She's like she was a few months ago"
Misato nodded at Shinji knowingly. Asuka had been getting silent and withdrawing into her shell for weeks now. She had been viciously beaten by the last angel. Her pride was damaged worse then her eva.
"Well she's as good as new. Bet you missed your Asuka, eh. Shinji?" Shinji loosed a gurgling sound and blushed, mumbling some retort, while Misato smiled to herself and walked to her room. 5 minutes later the angel alarm sounded again.
---
"What do we know about this one?"
"We're establishing a video feed now"
The main office monitor switched from a overlay map of Tokyo-3 to a video feed from a satilite orbiting above them
A being with sharp wing like extensions and glowing a ghastly white even in the blackness of space. She was the Arael, the 15th.
--?--?--
If only she attacked when Gendo Ikari and Kouzou Fuyutsuki, the commanders of NERV, were there. Perhaps then the author wouldn't be rubbing his hands together thinking up different ways to make the EVA pilots lives more hectic.
--?--?--
"EVA unit 02 LAUNCH!!"
"ASUKA WAIT!...fine Asuka has point, Rei will be the back up. Equip her with the positron cannon"
---
I'll prove to them all that I'm the best! I'm Asuka Langley Sohryu, the most beautiful girl in Tokyo-3, the most talented person in the world and the best EVA pilot. If only her record backed up the last bit she wouldn't have felt so desperate, desperate to win, desperate to show that she wasn't useless and that she had a purpose to fulfil.
"Come and fight angel!"
---
Well, Asuka's going to end this fight. If she lives up to her boasting she'll have it dead in 15 seconds. Too bad no angel yet has really played fair. Shinji sighed and wiped his hair out of eyes.
"...Gotta remember to get a hair cut soon..."
Shinji could have sworn he heard Hallijueya in the background a spilt second before Asuka's screaming was heard. Shinji sat in shock at what he was hearing. His roommate and comrade the one that complained about Shinji's kindness, the one that would always tease Shinji while he relaxed, the one that never gave Shinji an excuse to like her was suffering from a mental Assault. The wild and prideful Asuka was screaming for the angel to stop.
Shinji didn't know what came over him but he never felt so helpless that he felt that he must do something. Hadn't he promised to watch her back just a few days ago?
"Misato send me!"
---
Misato watched hopelessly as the positron rifle's shot bounced off the AT field. Asuka's screams were coming loud, faster and more desperate. Rei fired the rifle a second time with the same effect. Fate made Shinji yell now.
"Misato send me!"
Misato looked up and saw the determination in Shinji's eyes. Shinji was totally unlike himself, his determination seemed resolute. If Misato didn't send him, he'd probably break out anyway.
"Launch unit 01 and equip it with another positron rifle for long range combat!"
---
Shinji set up his rifle on a building on a more northerly location allowing a crossfire. He charged the rifle and targeted the angel. The brackets focusing on a speck that couldn't be seen with the naked eye.
Rei fired another shot, again with the same result, the beam was scattered across the sky. It was quite the light show in the Chinese night sky. The 2 brackets mingled together and gave a solid lock tone. Shinji fired the rifle, the kickback nearly knocking him over. The beam raced straight for the angel and the every member of the audience was awarded the sight of seeing one of the angel's sharp appendages being knocked off, and was flung off into space.
The angel experienced it's first emotion in that moment. It felt anger. Anger at having an infidel strike it was such a blatant way. This Lillim will suffer the fate of the red one.
---
The white beam stopped shining over Asuka for a moment and they all gave a sigh of relief thinking the angel had finished. However Shinji wasn't ready when he saw an even bigger beam hit Asuka.
"You bastard leave her alone!" Shinji pulled the trigger again and once again scored another weak hit.
The angel was infuriated and redoubled it's strength. Shinji never had a chance to react, for the same second that he pulled the trigger the beam covering Asuka split and headed across the city. It's white radiance shining upon both purple and red. Shinji and Asuka now felt the same pain. The pain of having their minds being opened and rifled through. The angel's wrath wasn't done yet as it felt that it was letting the Lillim off too easily. It gave the mental image of a pull. Suddenly Shinji no longer had a body.
---
"What is this place? Memories? My memories? Somebody else's? Where am I and why am I here?"
Shinji didn't seem to have a body but he felt like he was swimming upwards...or was it downwards? In fact... was there even anything that could ever be used as a reference to gravity?
"More memories...This is mine..." Gendo Ikari was seen with his back turned and walking away.
"Father..." a feeling of some sort. Rejection? Loneliness... Hatred...
Another one came up. This one of Asuka. She had stepped out of the shower and was yelling at Shinji.
"Rejection... loneliness... yet... something else... happiness? Why? Doesn't she... well... hate me?"
Shinji felt himself moving upwards again and he felt as if something was wrong. His perspective was all wrong. He looked up and saw another Asuka memory. She was in the volcano, he watched as she slew the angel, but started to fall deeper, her safety cord gone. Falling until suddenly, a hand gripped her. It was eva 01. She looked up and smiled.
"What is this? This can't be my memory... Why do I feel relief? Why do I feel love?"
Shinji continued his journey. More and more memories had Asuka in them. Shinji begun to grow confused. He remembered most of them, but the emotions were wrong almost like... like he was watching through... Asuka's eyes? Suddenly Shinji felt another presence near him.
---
"What the hell happened?!" Misato stood staring into the screen over Hyuga's shoulder.
"I don't know!!! I really don't know!" Hyuga stuttered rechecking the data.
"Brain wave pattern is...at the lowest possible depth without risking death!" Maya stated
"What's that mean!"
"It means that they will continue to breath but otherwise... they're zombies..."
Misato glanced back up at the vid-windows that revealed 2 sets of unblinking hollow eyes from 2 different entry plugs that seemed content to stare back at her.
---
"Asuka?!" The presence near Shinji suddenly jittered as if it had just woken up. Shinji could almost feel Asuka's blue eyes drilling into him. The walls of this place were unfamiliar to Shinji. The walls seemed dark... each wall held a memory of sorts that was, to Shinji, in constant replay. A doll, a rope a hospital door a hall, a little girl running.
"Shinji... what are you doing... here?" Shinji stopped paying attention to the 'walls' in question and approached Asuka.
"Well... don't you remember how we get here?" Asuka's presence twisted around itself tightening. The walls growing closer and darker.
"You didn't come here for me?" Shinji twisted around himself at hearing Asuka sound so... pathetic? Could that describe what he saw? Here he could talk to someone, and know exactly what they felt by feeling how their presence reacts. He knew this because he saw himself as he felt. An odd revelation. The timing wasn't the greatest either.
"Well Asuka... I don't know where here is but I am here with you..." Asuka's presence seemed to inflate a bit and if possible seemed to glow a gentle colour. The walls also seemed to back away and some even faded.
"Well, useless Baka is better then nobody" Shinji seemed to flatten out at the sudden flare that came from Asuka.
"...Shinji wait I didn't mean it! Come back where are you!" Shinji was puzzled he didn't move... Asuka's presence had grown and glared, perhaps her sudden flare had blinded her of him. He noticed that at her last words, the walls enclosed again and the images replayed faster.
"Asuka... I'm still here. How did you get here? Maybe if we work together we could figure out what to do here" Asuka must have raised her eyebrows or something but when Shinji turned around Asuka followed him out of the darkness that had surrounded her like a womb.
"You really don't know where we are do you..." Asuka seemed to have reverted almost immediately after leaving that area. Shinji gave a nod and wondered if Asuka noticed the movement. 'Not like we have bodies or anything'.
---
"Rei reposition yourself on the section E-3 platform. We'll power up the JSSDF's positron sniper rifle. You'll only have one shot"
"Hai"
Rei stared at the angel that had claimed the minds of her comrades. It would soon know the pain of the 5th. Just as long as it maintains that beam on unit 01 and 02 She should be safe. By killing the angel the 2 pilots should be returned to normal. Well that's what Ritsuko's science department say.
---
"DAMN IT, YOUR REALLY LOST AGAIN AREN'T YOU!!!!" Asuka flared again. Shinji could have sworn she'd already covered this conversation twice.
"JUST LIKE A MALE TO GET US HOPELESSLY LOST!!! YOUR NOT EVEN ASKING FOR DIRECTIONS!!!!"
"Your the only real person I've seen while here. It's a little hard to get directions from the natives that way" Shinji wasn't know for his backbone but having listened to this exact same ranting for the past, 'has it been 20 minutes or 2 seconds?'. All sense of time was hopeless here Shinji thought bleakly. Even he would put up a front if pressured enough.
"HOW DARE YOU TALK BACK TO ME, YOU BAKA!!!" Shinji really didn't feel like this. He was about to make another comment to Asuka when he suddenly felt a pull. Perhaps Asuka felt it too because she had stopped talking.
"What was that?"
---
The JSSDF's positron sniper rifle was in better condition then when they took it apart after the 5th angel was killed. A massive generator was attached to the power input socket and was juicing up the rifle. The 15th hadn't moved and maintained it's twin beam on the unmoving Eva's.
"1 minute until critical mass!"
Say your prays angel.
---
"I could have sworn I felt something from that way" Asuka leered in the direction that shinji had indicated and felt nothing now. No wait that wasn't true. She felt nothing in the direction Shinji pointed at but felt something bad coming from the other way. It felt like that dark womb which had enclosed her earlier.
The world, if you could call it that, was made up of memories the 2 of them had and the feelings that went along with them. Looking back she saw darker memories coming closer. Memories even she couldn't stand against. They set about running towards the pull they had felt earlier, and the darkness chased after them just as doggedly they ran.
---
What happened?! I had both of the Lillim?! What struck me?! Arael looked upon itself and saw it's body shattered. It had not expected another attack but when the lime green beam came towards him, he had placed the AT field up as before. The beam however was too strong. Though Arael's field was too strong to allow a perfect hit. The beam hit the field and shattered into 1000 needles of light, needles of light which shredded his body. One had struck his core too.
Too... Arael didn't know the term of the feeling that over came him. Perhaps I shall await another time to finish my test. I will crush these Lillim first and then I shall rest. Arael turned it's thoughts inward and begun to hunt the Shinji and Asuka within it's beam.
---
"Damn it. It's coming closer!" Asuka and Shinji leaped and bounded through their memories making little headway against the chasing presence. Whatever it was, it wanted something to do with them.
"Don't think about it, just keep going!!" Shinji found himself racing through hallways, under tables, around street corners, nothing that made sense other then that something bad was behind them and something else was in front of them. No wait 2 something's!
"Umm... Asuka. You go that way, I'll go this way?" Asuka gave a glare huffed a few nasty sounding tones and left off towards the one that Shinji had meant for him.
"I guess this one is mine then" Shinji raced off. The closer he got to the source of the pull the more complete he felt. There was a sense of something out of place but he only doubled his pace to avoid the ever closing darkness. It was closing too fast. He could have sworn it was reaching over his shoulder. Suddenly he tripped and the world got real bright.
---
"The rifle's spent!"
"65% of angel body mass has been eliminated.The angel has stopped it's attack!"
"Pilot life signs confirmed!" Misato stared at the limb figures sitting in the entry plugs of Unit 01 and 02. They made it. Their syncro graphs had stabilized just now.
"The angel's orbit has taken it out of our reach..."
"The angel is dormant currently, however their are still signs that show it is still functioning"
Misato's mind finally clicked back into action.
"Recover our pilots, and maintain a watch on that damned angel" Misato watched as the recovery crews reached the entry plugs and hauled tail back to HQ with the recovered pilots.
---
"Both are very tired" Misato glanced at Ritsuko from where she stood leaning against the wall. Ritsuko was in the nearest lounge in her short break time and was enjoying a few mere minutes before her job demanded all her time.
"So nothing else is wrong with them?" Ritsuko might be on break now but it was only after she had went through all the check ups of the two top pilots.
"Perfectly fine. Though, I'll be the one having to do that damned memory test" Misato chuckled at Ritsuko's discomfort. The memory test involved Ritsuko, going up to the children and asking them, who they are, where they live, how old they are and what the last thing they did. Add in a few bonus questions depending on what happened before the pilot blacked out and that's the whole thing.
"Hell, maybe this time, I'll ask how long they've been married" Misato cracked a weak grin.
"You shouldn't mess with their heads. They've gone through enough. Perhaps your not taking this seriously enough" Ritsuko couldn't care less at this point. She had 15 major projects behind schedule, the head scientist of project-E and they still want her to do that damn memory test!
"Well Misato, go in there for me. I could use the break" Ritsuko handed Misato the clip board with all the questions that Ritsuko and the 3 pilots could name off by heart.
"These are the questions!? No wonder Asuka is reluctant for this test" Misato flipped through a few more pages "Oh my god!! You actually ask them these!?"
Ritsuko slanted her eyes over to Misato staring shell shocked at the clip board, and gained a slight grin. Ritsuko pointed out to Misato that those were the 'special situations' only questions. Misato just nodded woodenly and left the room. Ritsuko grinned and thought that she should have switched a few of those questions just to have some fun in her off hours watching the video feed.
Giving a sigh she snuffed the cigarette she found in her hand and left heading back towards the labs. Just another day, another dollar, another duty, another angel.
---
Shinji's head felt like 'a ton-O-bricks'(TM) and he was wondering where the license plate indent was from that truck that was backing through his skull.
Across the room Asuka felt the same. Only that she could have sworn there was a draft. She looked around and found she was in the hospital room that was standard issue in the recovery ward.
"Wonderful... just wonderful. Lost again..." Shinji didn't look up from his bed. 'So they put me across from Asuka in the same room?'
"Morning Asuka" Asuka peered over the sparse bed sheets and saw a figure huddled under the bed sheets in a bed across from her.'So Shinji is here too? Did that mean he lost?... That bitch Rei didn't kill the angel did she... nah Shinji's ended up in the infirmary after beating the angel. That's how it usually is anyway' Asuka felt slightly relieved by that. Better to be rescued by the invincible shinji then the cold hearted Rei. 'Damn doll'.
"Hey guys!" Misato burst through the door, and wore a smile like it was a birthday party.
"So Misato can we go now!" Misato faced away from her.
"Nope sorry, Asuka. I'm doing the memory test" Asuka frowned that was weird...
"Well let's get started..." Misato went through the list neither of the children bothering to sit up to answer them 'in sync too' as they stared at the ceiling. However one question seemed to stump the pilots.
"What do you remember of the angel battle that just occurred?" Asuka and Shinji blinked at the ceiling a few times and both looked at Misato.
"Well Misato, we were hoping that you'd fill us in" Misato paused herself. She slipped the clip board under her arm as she held her chin trying to come to terms with how to explain what happened. 'How do you explain a watching your friends being... having their minds...' Misato shuddered at the thought. She shrugged as her response.
"Well... It's probably better that you don't remember..." Misato checked off the last item on her list as the pilots nodded. She headed out the door looking better, some of her fears were but aside for know. Now to worry about how to fend off an enemy that attacks a persons mind...
---
Shinji wiped the hair out of his eyes for the 20th time. 'I can't put off that hair cut much longer. At this rate I'll go insane'. He sat up and looked around. The normal infirmary settings were always the same room to room. White walls, white floor, white beds, white clothes, even the ceiling was the same in each room. Shinji blinked a few times and stared off towards the door leading out.
"Misato sure is taking her time..." Shinji yawned and reached his arm up to cover his mouth. He bumped something on the way up but his state of awareness didn't acknowledge this. Successfully covering the yawn, he struggled out of his tangled sheets and stood beside the bed searching for the nearest shower stall.
"I desperately need a shower... LCL still smells like blood" Shinji shivered at the thought of the stuff drying in his hair as he went past Asuka's bedside. A dark blue eye peered out from the covers.
"No way..." Shinji didn't bother to stop at her words. He heard the bed sheets untangle behind him. She'd probably go on about bathroom rights but Shinji didn't feel like talking right now. He turned around to close the door behind him when he caught a sight of red auburn hair in the mirror. Shinji paused now. Why was did I see red hair in the mirror when Asuka's still outside. Shinji looked over his shoulder and saw 2 perfect sapphire blue eye's staring back at him in the mirror. Surrounded by red auburn hair over a creamy white skin colour.
"Sh....Shinji?..." Shinji opened the door horrified. They looked directly at each other. Dark blue to light blue, only problem was that the wrong person had their eyes, hair and body. Shinji stood stock still, not even daring to breathe. He felt as if he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. The figure in front of him that had his every feature. Every crease, every tone even the small scar he remembered from a grease burn on the lower half of his chin. The figure in front of him... was him.
Asuka stared at herself. 'A dream... A nightmare maybe?! What the hell is happening!!!'
They stared at each other for some time. Until the figure that was Shinji said.
"I feel sick..."
--?--?--
...*Cough* Oh oh. They spotted me!~!
Well, I can explain why I've done this(hopefully before I'm hung from my toe-nails in Kaoru's 'dungeon of Luv' as punishment) to my favourite femme and the almighty spineless wimp/savour of the world. *Raises right hand* I plead insanity... Ok so you aren't buying it. I wouldn't either. I hope to romp around with their reversed roles and see how things go. I doubt I'll be posting chapters daily or weekly because I've decided that this should be done properly and thus I'm going to take it seriously... Well mostly... Ok not at all, but I haven't gotten that far yet.
I'm still rattled at the sudden disappearance of my few (but loyal) pre-readers. It appears I underestimated this thing called 'Summer Vacation'. Oh well.
R & R, Flames or reviews, neither or either.
-DrunkDrake
Ok. This is what I'm labelling as WAFF. Well EVENTUALLY. Anyway, read and let me know what ya think afterwards(If only you could find me afterwards, hehheh hehheh)
'...' stands for thought
"..." stands for talking
--?--?-- stands for author interruption(Me, making myself heard)
--- stands for... I guess the next Scene
Enjoy!
DrunkDrake
World from the eye's of Another
01 : Enter Arael
--?--?--
Shinji was sitting at his desk looking over his notes. His dark blue eyes studying the Kanji on the papers and laptop in front of him. Oddly enough the teacher assigned a massive test that would be worth a lot, no that's not correct, A LOT of the final grade. 2 days to go. Shinji looked back at his work and felt doomed. This stuff was too much for him. Just as he was about to give up his door suddenly whipped open. Shinji's dark hair swung around and stung his eyes as he looked over.
'Damn, Gotta remember to get a hair cut'.
Wiping the hair from his eyes he saw that the intruding figure had 2 sapphire blue eyes framed by a long red mane. Asuka had barged into Shinji's room. If not for the fact that studying for the test held his attention, a few thoughts that would have proven Asuka right about calling Shinji 'Hentai' might have surfaced.
"Shinji...I know your an idiot, but you need my help don't you?" Shinji and Asuka shared the same apartment and both went to the same school however Asuka already had her college diploma.
"That would be great Asuka!... I guess, I could do something for you if you..."
"Thanks for the offer but let's just get to work"
Shinji smiled inwardly. College diploma or not, Asuka still hadn't remembered all 2000 kanji. Whether or not she already told Shinji this, didn't change the fact that she'll never admit to a weakness or needing help.
--- 2 days later
"Oh My God!!!" Asuka exhaled the sentence. Toji, Kensuke, Hikari and Shinji all nodded with her knowing that she would continue to vent. They didn't mind, in fact some were trying to figure out if they should join her.
"That test was almost the level of my college tests!!" Ok so they didn't expect her to say that.
"I'm too tired... But how could anyone make something that hard without being an evil genius or something!?" The group nodded in agreement. They scattered when they reached their turns on the way home. Shinji and Asuka walked towards their apartment.
Asuka looked over to Shinji, he looked like he went a full 12 rounds with against his eva. Hell, he looked like if he stopped moving he'd fall asleep on the spot. The test had be hard, if it wasn't for Shinji helping her...Asuka bit her lip. Ok so maybe the idiot was helpful...
"Shinji... I want to tell you something" Shinji lulled his eyes towards Asuka in front of him but they continued to walk.
"Thanks..."
"For what?" Asuka turned around and glared at him as if he was stupid. Hadn't she been complaining about it for the past 20 minutes?
"For... studying together" Asuka shut her mouth after that. Shinji had caught on at that point.
"Ah... oh? No problem. You would have done just as well without me dragging you down" Shinji replied. She gave up her study time to fast forward my understanding of this stuff. I doubt I'd have been able to pull it off without her.
They continued in silence. Asuka continued to think about things, Shinji focused on staying awake. That test really was bloody hard. Worse by the fact that Asuka hadn't known some of the kanji. Shinji had royally pulled her butt out of fire with their last minute studying. She bit her lip again and decided that he really was useful. 'I'll never admit it but...'.
"Hey Shinji..." once again his eyes lulled their way to the back of Asuka's head as they walked.
"Yeah?"
"Promise me something?"
"Sure... what?" Shinji's interest peaked at this. This wasn't too normal for Asuka. Oh well, agree with it and avoid any and all following pain that would result in refusal.
"I'll cover your back if you cover mine" Shinji didn't bother to think it over. It wasn't anything that really big, and definitely wasn't too life threatening if agreed too.
"Sure"
---
Rain...The rain still hasn't ended. It's been raining for 3 days now. It reflected the mood of one Major Katsuragi. The sky was a gloomy grey and the rain splattered against the windows of the break room that Misato was in. Her raven black hair under some light looked almost purple and was currently tied in a ponytail behind her head. Her ruffled red jacket hung from her chair and her favourite black dress clung warmly to her body in the air conditioned room as she watched through the windows. The hospital break room windows. She had been here fairly constantly ever since the angels had begun attacking. She even remembered when she had to spend a day here after the 13th angel. Misato shook her head clearing those unpleasant memories from her head for now, she had two downed pilots to worry about. The attack had come 2 days ago, raining no less. Misato glared at the rain drops hitting the window as if they were the cause for the unconscious pilots in the medical ward. Sighing she undid the pony tail and shot the elastic towards a garbage can across the room. Her companion Ritsuko eyed the projectile as it arced towards the can. It missed, 'fine then'. She continued to nurse the lukewarm coffee from before. The silence enclosed her and her memories again fluttered to the surface.
---
"You know Shinji..."
"Pardon, what did you want Misato?" Misato stood near the kitchen table holding a package of sorts and was watching Shinji from his spot at the couch. He had turned to face her but half his attention was still on the cooking show.
"Well... how's Asuka today?"
"...Well... I think she's feeling better. Killing that angel seemed to have worked something out of her system"
"So?"
"Well, I guess she's perfectly fine. She's like she was a few months ago"
Misato nodded at Shinji knowingly. Asuka had been getting silent and withdrawing into her shell for weeks now. She had been viciously beaten by the last angel. Her pride was damaged worse then her eva.
"Well she's as good as new. Bet you missed your Asuka, eh. Shinji?" Shinji loosed a gurgling sound and blushed, mumbling some retort, while Misato smiled to herself and walked to her room. 5 minutes later the angel alarm sounded again.
---
"What do we know about this one?"
"We're establishing a video feed now"
The main office monitor switched from a overlay map of Tokyo-3 to a video feed from a satilite orbiting above them
A being with sharp wing like extensions and glowing a ghastly white even in the blackness of space. She was the Arael, the 15th.
--?--?--
If only she attacked when Gendo Ikari and Kouzou Fuyutsuki, the commanders of NERV, were there. Perhaps then the author wouldn't be rubbing his hands together thinking up different ways to make the EVA pilots lives more hectic.
--?--?--
"EVA unit 02 LAUNCH!!"
"ASUKA WAIT!...fine Asuka has point, Rei will be the back up. Equip her with the positron cannon"
---
I'll prove to them all that I'm the best! I'm Asuka Langley Sohryu, the most beautiful girl in Tokyo-3, the most talented person in the world and the best EVA pilot. If only her record backed up the last bit she wouldn't have felt so desperate, desperate to win, desperate to show that she wasn't useless and that she had a purpose to fulfil.
"Come and fight angel!"
---
Well, Asuka's going to end this fight. If she lives up to her boasting she'll have it dead in 15 seconds. Too bad no angel yet has really played fair. Shinji sighed and wiped his hair out of eyes.
"...Gotta remember to get a hair cut soon..."
Shinji could have sworn he heard Hallijueya in the background a spilt second before Asuka's screaming was heard. Shinji sat in shock at what he was hearing. His roommate and comrade the one that complained about Shinji's kindness, the one that would always tease Shinji while he relaxed, the one that never gave Shinji an excuse to like her was suffering from a mental Assault. The wild and prideful Asuka was screaming for the angel to stop.
Shinji didn't know what came over him but he never felt so helpless that he felt that he must do something. Hadn't he promised to watch her back just a few days ago?
"Misato send me!"
---
Misato watched hopelessly as the positron rifle's shot bounced off the AT field. Asuka's screams were coming loud, faster and more desperate. Rei fired the rifle a second time with the same effect. Fate made Shinji yell now.
"Misato send me!"
Misato looked up and saw the determination in Shinji's eyes. Shinji was totally unlike himself, his determination seemed resolute. If Misato didn't send him, he'd probably break out anyway.
"Launch unit 01 and equip it with another positron rifle for long range combat!"
---
Shinji set up his rifle on a building on a more northerly location allowing a crossfire. He charged the rifle and targeted the angel. The brackets focusing on a speck that couldn't be seen with the naked eye.
Rei fired another shot, again with the same result, the beam was scattered across the sky. It was quite the light show in the Chinese night sky. The 2 brackets mingled together and gave a solid lock tone. Shinji fired the rifle, the kickback nearly knocking him over. The beam raced straight for the angel and the every member of the audience was awarded the sight of seeing one of the angel's sharp appendages being knocked off, and was flung off into space.
The angel experienced it's first emotion in that moment. It felt anger. Anger at having an infidel strike it was such a blatant way. This Lillim will suffer the fate of the red one.
---
The white beam stopped shining over Asuka for a moment and they all gave a sigh of relief thinking the angel had finished. However Shinji wasn't ready when he saw an even bigger beam hit Asuka.
"You bastard leave her alone!" Shinji pulled the trigger again and once again scored another weak hit.
The angel was infuriated and redoubled it's strength. Shinji never had a chance to react, for the same second that he pulled the trigger the beam covering Asuka split and headed across the city. It's white radiance shining upon both purple and red. Shinji and Asuka now felt the same pain. The pain of having their minds being opened and rifled through. The angel's wrath wasn't done yet as it felt that it was letting the Lillim off too easily. It gave the mental image of a pull. Suddenly Shinji no longer had a body.
---
"What is this place? Memories? My memories? Somebody else's? Where am I and why am I here?"
Shinji didn't seem to have a body but he felt like he was swimming upwards...or was it downwards? In fact... was there even anything that could ever be used as a reference to gravity?
"More memories...This is mine..." Gendo Ikari was seen with his back turned and walking away.
"Father..." a feeling of some sort. Rejection? Loneliness... Hatred...
Another one came up. This one of Asuka. She had stepped out of the shower and was yelling at Shinji.
"Rejection... loneliness... yet... something else... happiness? Why? Doesn't she... well... hate me?"
Shinji felt himself moving upwards again and he felt as if something was wrong. His perspective was all wrong. He looked up and saw another Asuka memory. She was in the volcano, he watched as she slew the angel, but started to fall deeper, her safety cord gone. Falling until suddenly, a hand gripped her. It was eva 01. She looked up and smiled.
"What is this? This can't be my memory... Why do I feel relief? Why do I feel love?"
Shinji continued his journey. More and more memories had Asuka in them. Shinji begun to grow confused. He remembered most of them, but the emotions were wrong almost like... like he was watching through... Asuka's eyes? Suddenly Shinji felt another presence near him.
---
"What the hell happened?!" Misato stood staring into the screen over Hyuga's shoulder.
"I don't know!!! I really don't know!" Hyuga stuttered rechecking the data.
"Brain wave pattern is...at the lowest possible depth without risking death!" Maya stated
"What's that mean!"
"It means that they will continue to breath but otherwise... they're zombies..."
Misato glanced back up at the vid-windows that revealed 2 sets of unblinking hollow eyes from 2 different entry plugs that seemed content to stare back at her.
---
"Asuka?!" The presence near Shinji suddenly jittered as if it had just woken up. Shinji could almost feel Asuka's blue eyes drilling into him. The walls of this place were unfamiliar to Shinji. The walls seemed dark... each wall held a memory of sorts that was, to Shinji, in constant replay. A doll, a rope a hospital door a hall, a little girl running.
"Shinji... what are you doing... here?" Shinji stopped paying attention to the 'walls' in question and approached Asuka.
"Well... don't you remember how we get here?" Asuka's presence twisted around itself tightening. The walls growing closer and darker.
"You didn't come here for me?" Shinji twisted around himself at hearing Asuka sound so... pathetic? Could that describe what he saw? Here he could talk to someone, and know exactly what they felt by feeling how their presence reacts. He knew this because he saw himself as he felt. An odd revelation. The timing wasn't the greatest either.
"Well Asuka... I don't know where here is but I am here with you..." Asuka's presence seemed to inflate a bit and if possible seemed to glow a gentle colour. The walls also seemed to back away and some even faded.
"Well, useless Baka is better then nobody" Shinji seemed to flatten out at the sudden flare that came from Asuka.
"...Shinji wait I didn't mean it! Come back where are you!" Shinji was puzzled he didn't move... Asuka's presence had grown and glared, perhaps her sudden flare had blinded her of him. He noticed that at her last words, the walls enclosed again and the images replayed faster.
"Asuka... I'm still here. How did you get here? Maybe if we work together we could figure out what to do here" Asuka must have raised her eyebrows or something but when Shinji turned around Asuka followed him out of the darkness that had surrounded her like a womb.
"You really don't know where we are do you..." Asuka seemed to have reverted almost immediately after leaving that area. Shinji gave a nod and wondered if Asuka noticed the movement. 'Not like we have bodies or anything'.
---
"Rei reposition yourself on the section E-3 platform. We'll power up the JSSDF's positron sniper rifle. You'll only have one shot"
"Hai"
Rei stared at the angel that had claimed the minds of her comrades. It would soon know the pain of the 5th. Just as long as it maintains that beam on unit 01 and 02 She should be safe. By killing the angel the 2 pilots should be returned to normal. Well that's what Ritsuko's science department say.
---
"DAMN IT, YOUR REALLY LOST AGAIN AREN'T YOU!!!!" Asuka flared again. Shinji could have sworn she'd already covered this conversation twice.
"JUST LIKE A MALE TO GET US HOPELESSLY LOST!!! YOUR NOT EVEN ASKING FOR DIRECTIONS!!!!"
"Your the only real person I've seen while here. It's a little hard to get directions from the natives that way" Shinji wasn't know for his backbone but having listened to this exact same ranting for the past, 'has it been 20 minutes or 2 seconds?'. All sense of time was hopeless here Shinji thought bleakly. Even he would put up a front if pressured enough.
"HOW DARE YOU TALK BACK TO ME, YOU BAKA!!!" Shinji really didn't feel like this. He was about to make another comment to Asuka when he suddenly felt a pull. Perhaps Asuka felt it too because she had stopped talking.
"What was that?"
---
The JSSDF's positron sniper rifle was in better condition then when they took it apart after the 5th angel was killed. A massive generator was attached to the power input socket and was juicing up the rifle. The 15th hadn't moved and maintained it's twin beam on the unmoving Eva's.
"1 minute until critical mass!"
Say your prays angel.
---
"I could have sworn I felt something from that way" Asuka leered in the direction that shinji had indicated and felt nothing now. No wait that wasn't true. She felt nothing in the direction Shinji pointed at but felt something bad coming from the other way. It felt like that dark womb which had enclosed her earlier.
The world, if you could call it that, was made up of memories the 2 of them had and the feelings that went along with them. Looking back she saw darker memories coming closer. Memories even she couldn't stand against. They set about running towards the pull they had felt earlier, and the darkness chased after them just as doggedly they ran.
---
What happened?! I had both of the Lillim?! What struck me?! Arael looked upon itself and saw it's body shattered. It had not expected another attack but when the lime green beam came towards him, he had placed the AT field up as before. The beam however was too strong. Though Arael's field was too strong to allow a perfect hit. The beam hit the field and shattered into 1000 needles of light, needles of light which shredded his body. One had struck his core too.
Too... Arael didn't know the term of the feeling that over came him. Perhaps I shall await another time to finish my test. I will crush these Lillim first and then I shall rest. Arael turned it's thoughts inward and begun to hunt the Shinji and Asuka within it's beam.
---
"Damn it. It's coming closer!" Asuka and Shinji leaped and bounded through their memories making little headway against the chasing presence. Whatever it was, it wanted something to do with them.
"Don't think about it, just keep going!!" Shinji found himself racing through hallways, under tables, around street corners, nothing that made sense other then that something bad was behind them and something else was in front of them. No wait 2 something's!
"Umm... Asuka. You go that way, I'll go this way?" Asuka gave a glare huffed a few nasty sounding tones and left off towards the one that Shinji had meant for him.
"I guess this one is mine then" Shinji raced off. The closer he got to the source of the pull the more complete he felt. There was a sense of something out of place but he only doubled his pace to avoid the ever closing darkness. It was closing too fast. He could have sworn it was reaching over his shoulder. Suddenly he tripped and the world got real bright.
---
"The rifle's spent!"
"65% of angel body mass has been eliminated.The angel has stopped it's attack!"
"Pilot life signs confirmed!" Misato stared at the limb figures sitting in the entry plugs of Unit 01 and 02. They made it. Their syncro graphs had stabilized just now.
"The angel's orbit has taken it out of our reach..."
"The angel is dormant currently, however their are still signs that show it is still functioning"
Misato's mind finally clicked back into action.
"Recover our pilots, and maintain a watch on that damned angel" Misato watched as the recovery crews reached the entry plugs and hauled tail back to HQ with the recovered pilots.
---
"Both are very tired" Misato glanced at Ritsuko from where she stood leaning against the wall. Ritsuko was in the nearest lounge in her short break time and was enjoying a few mere minutes before her job demanded all her time.
"So nothing else is wrong with them?" Ritsuko might be on break now but it was only after she had went through all the check ups of the two top pilots.
"Perfectly fine. Though, I'll be the one having to do that damned memory test" Misato chuckled at Ritsuko's discomfort. The memory test involved Ritsuko, going up to the children and asking them, who they are, where they live, how old they are and what the last thing they did. Add in a few bonus questions depending on what happened before the pilot blacked out and that's the whole thing.
"Hell, maybe this time, I'll ask how long they've been married" Misato cracked a weak grin.
"You shouldn't mess with their heads. They've gone through enough. Perhaps your not taking this seriously enough" Ritsuko couldn't care less at this point. She had 15 major projects behind schedule, the head scientist of project-E and they still want her to do that damn memory test!
"Well Misato, go in there for me. I could use the break" Ritsuko handed Misato the clip board with all the questions that Ritsuko and the 3 pilots could name off by heart.
"These are the questions!? No wonder Asuka is reluctant for this test" Misato flipped through a few more pages "Oh my god!! You actually ask them these!?"
Ritsuko slanted her eyes over to Misato staring shell shocked at the clip board, and gained a slight grin. Ritsuko pointed out to Misato that those were the 'special situations' only questions. Misato just nodded woodenly and left the room. Ritsuko grinned and thought that she should have switched a few of those questions just to have some fun in her off hours watching the video feed.
Giving a sigh she snuffed the cigarette she found in her hand and left heading back towards the labs. Just another day, another dollar, another duty, another angel.
---
Shinji's head felt like 'a ton-O-bricks'(TM) and he was wondering where the license plate indent was from that truck that was backing through his skull.
Across the room Asuka felt the same. Only that she could have sworn there was a draft. She looked around and found she was in the hospital room that was standard issue in the recovery ward.
"Wonderful... just wonderful. Lost again..." Shinji didn't look up from his bed. 'So they put me across from Asuka in the same room?'
"Morning Asuka" Asuka peered over the sparse bed sheets and saw a figure huddled under the bed sheets in a bed across from her.'So Shinji is here too? Did that mean he lost?... That bitch Rei didn't kill the angel did she... nah Shinji's ended up in the infirmary after beating the angel. That's how it usually is anyway' Asuka felt slightly relieved by that. Better to be rescued by the invincible shinji then the cold hearted Rei. 'Damn doll'.
"Hey guys!" Misato burst through the door, and wore a smile like it was a birthday party.
"So Misato can we go now!" Misato faced away from her.
"Nope sorry, Asuka. I'm doing the memory test" Asuka frowned that was weird...
"Well let's get started..." Misato went through the list neither of the children bothering to sit up to answer them 'in sync too' as they stared at the ceiling. However one question seemed to stump the pilots.
"What do you remember of the angel battle that just occurred?" Asuka and Shinji blinked at the ceiling a few times and both looked at Misato.
"Well Misato, we were hoping that you'd fill us in" Misato paused herself. She slipped the clip board under her arm as she held her chin trying to come to terms with how to explain what happened. 'How do you explain a watching your friends being... having their minds...' Misato shuddered at the thought. She shrugged as her response.
"Well... It's probably better that you don't remember..." Misato checked off the last item on her list as the pilots nodded. She headed out the door looking better, some of her fears were but aside for know. Now to worry about how to fend off an enemy that attacks a persons mind...
---
Shinji wiped the hair out of his eyes for the 20th time. 'I can't put off that hair cut much longer. At this rate I'll go insane'. He sat up and looked around. The normal infirmary settings were always the same room to room. White walls, white floor, white beds, white clothes, even the ceiling was the same in each room. Shinji blinked a few times and stared off towards the door leading out.
"Misato sure is taking her time..." Shinji yawned and reached his arm up to cover his mouth. He bumped something on the way up but his state of awareness didn't acknowledge this. Successfully covering the yawn, he struggled out of his tangled sheets and stood beside the bed searching for the nearest shower stall.
"I desperately need a shower... LCL still smells like blood" Shinji shivered at the thought of the stuff drying in his hair as he went past Asuka's bedside. A dark blue eye peered out from the covers.
"No way..." Shinji didn't bother to stop at her words. He heard the bed sheets untangle behind him. She'd probably go on about bathroom rights but Shinji didn't feel like talking right now. He turned around to close the door behind him when he caught a sight of red auburn hair in the mirror. Shinji paused now. Why was did I see red hair in the mirror when Asuka's still outside. Shinji looked over his shoulder and saw 2 perfect sapphire blue eye's staring back at him in the mirror. Surrounded by red auburn hair over a creamy white skin colour.
"Sh....Shinji?..." Shinji opened the door horrified. They looked directly at each other. Dark blue to light blue, only problem was that the wrong person had their eyes, hair and body. Shinji stood stock still, not even daring to breathe. He felt as if he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. The figure in front of him that had his every feature. Every crease, every tone even the small scar he remembered from a grease burn on the lower half of his chin. The figure in front of him... was him.
Asuka stared at herself. 'A dream... A nightmare maybe?! What the hell is happening!!!'
They stared at each other for some time. Until the figure that was Shinji said.
"I feel sick..."
--?--?--
...*Cough* Oh oh. They spotted me!~!
Well, I can explain why I've done this(hopefully before I'm hung from my toe-nails in Kaoru's 'dungeon of Luv' as punishment) to my favourite femme and the almighty spineless wimp/savour of the world. *Raises right hand* I plead insanity... Ok so you aren't buying it. I wouldn't either. I hope to romp around with their reversed roles and see how things go. I doubt I'll be posting chapters daily or weekly because I've decided that this should be done properly and thus I'm going to take it seriously... Well mostly... Ok not at all, but I haven't gotten that far yet.
I'm still rattled at the sudden disappearance of my few (but loyal) pre-readers. It appears I underestimated this thing called 'Summer Vacation'. Oh well.
R & R, Flames or reviews, neither or either.
-DrunkDrake