Chapter 20
Darkness shrouds the fortress-city of Tokyo 3. Stars shine brightly in the heavens above. The city lights push back the darkness that threatens to engulf it. The night is a time of rest from another busy day. For one person, it was a time of horrible dreams.
Asuka tosses and turns in her sleep, eventually waking up for the eighth time that evening. Her blue eyes, which were once full of life, gaze at the white ceiling above. The same dreams haunt her over and over that evening, each time succeeding in waking her. As she gazes at the ceiling, a single word escapes her lips.
"Useless."
Earlier.
"C'mon, Asuka, concentrate."
Asuka looks up for a moment before letting her head drop, closing her eyes in pure concentration.
Ritsuko, Misato, and some of the tech crew continue to monitor the pilots as the sync-testing draws towards its second hour. Misato's gaze shifts from the live entry plug feed to another, each time ending on the feed from Asuka's plug. Next to her, Ritsuko hunches over the console, monitoring and reading the data being collected by the computers.
"How she doing, Ritsu?"
"Not too good. Her sync-ratio is fluctuating at 40%."
The head of Project E types in a series of commands into her console bring up an array of data.
"If her sync-ratio continues to degrade at this rate, she won't be able to activate Unit 02 in a month. If, and when, her sync-ratio reaches that point, we will more or less have to look for a replacement pilot for Unit 02."
Misato turns to her friend.
"A replacement? But why?"
"Misato, we need pilots that are capable of piloting the Evas and countering the Angel threat. What use is a pilot that can't pilot?"
"Can't you do anything to help her or improve her sync-ratio?"
Ritsuko shakes her head.
"I can't. There's nothing wrong with her physically. It's all here."
She taps her head, emphasizing her point.
"Asuka's problem is in the mind. It's something only she can fix."
Unknown to the two women, the communication channel to Asuka's plug had been on the entire time, allowing her to hear every word of their conversation.
"All right, children! We're done for the day."
Present.
Asuka turns over on her side, clutching the blanket close to her body. She closes her eyes and drifts back into the world of dreams.
Several days later.
"Status!"
Sirens blaze around NERV HQ while various employees scramble to their stations.
"An unknown object was sited heading towards the city approximately three minutes ago," reports Hyuga.
"What's the analysis of the object?" asks Misato.
"Analysis completed. Pattern.blue! It's an Angel!!"
"Go to red alert!"
Red lights flash around the headquarters. Above the bridge, the Commander and Sub-Commander watch over the buzz of activity below, showing no reaction to the latest information.
"So, the 16th has finally arrived?"
"So it seems," replies Gendo in his emotionless monotone.
Fuyutsuki studies Gendo for a moment, looking for any kind of reaction, but finds none. He lets out a sigh and turns his attention to the bridge.
"Do we have visual of the target yet?" asks Misato.
"Yes, it just came into range. Putting it up now."
The main screen flickers to life, projecting the live feed. On the screen, a large, white ring hovers over a set of electrical wires in the hills of Tokyo 3. It slowly moves towards the city, maintaining its altitude and rotating in a clockwise direction.
"What do we have on the target?"
"Nothing. Strength of AT Field is unknown, core location is unknown, and its abilities are also unknown. All we know is that it's an Angel."
"Great," mumbles Misato.
"Ma'am! The pilots have been inserted and are standing by."
"Thanks, Maya."
Misato establishes a link to the three pilots.
"We don't have much data on the target. All we know is that it is slowly making its way towards the city, so be careful when you engage it."
"Hai," reply all the pilots in unison.
"Unit 01 is to remain in cryostasis. Asuka, you and Unit 02 will engage the target first. Rei, you just stand by for now. Good luck."
She turns off the link and turns her attention back to the main screen, then the bridge crew.
"Launch Unit 02!"
The red Eva is propelled up the launch tube towards the surface. It exits at the edge of the city in one of the mock-up buildings. The door opens as the final safety locks are disengaged. An image of Misato appears in the entry plug.
"OK, Asuka. Grab the pallet rifle in the armory building and head towards the target."
Asuka nods in reply and pushes her controls forward, but gets no response from the Eva. She tries again, but receives the same result. Frustrated, she sharply pulls the controls back and forth, her head lowered.
"Move, damn it! Move!"
The Angel makes its way into the city limits. It passes by the red bio- mech, as if it were never there.
Misato watches the stationary Eva from one of the numerous cameras placed around the city.
"Why isn't it moving?"
She makes her way to Maya's control console.
"What's happening? Is something wrong with the Eva?"
"No, the Eva is fully functional."
"Then why isn't it responding?"
Maya enters a series of commands, bringing up data on the Eva.
"Her sync-ratio is at 25%. There's no way she can move the Eva with that low of a sync-rate."
"What?! 25%? How did it get so low?"
"It's in her mind."
Misato whips around to face the source of the voice. Ritsuko takes another sip of her coffee before continuing.
"She's locked her mind out. There's no way she can pilot the Eva in this state."
"Then what."
"Sortie Unit 00."
Misato looks up at the person who cut her off. Gendo pays no attention to the Major as he continues to stare at the main screen.
"Launch Unit 00!"
The blue and white Eva emerges on the surface, a few blocks from were Unit 02 stands. It rushes over to a nearby armory building and grabs the sniper rifle within. Immediately, the Angel stops its journey into Tokyo 3. Rei seizes the opportunity and ducks behind a nearby building, using it as cover as she centers it in her scope.
The bridge crew watches the stationary Angel as it continues to rotate in place.
"What is it doing?"
Maya looks over the data being received by the MAGI.
"Sensors don't indicate any sort of activity, Major..Wait! Something's happening!"
The Angel stops rotating and reverses its spin. As it slowly rotates, it splits at a single point, stretching out its circular body into a straight line. One it its ends moves around, as if it is searching for something. It stops and charges towards its target with lighting fast speed.
Rei gasps as she realizes where it is heading. It's heading towards her. The Eva grabs its rifle and dashes away from its hiding spot, narrowly missing the Angel. Having missed its target, the Angel turns sharply and resumes its chase.
The Eva makes its way to the hills outside the city and turns to face its stalker. Rei wills her AT Field into existence in front of her unit, hoping to stop the Angel in its tracks. The Angel charges towards its target. It reaches the AT Field, and slips right through it, burrowing itself in the Eva's abdomen.
Sirens sound all over the bridge.
"What happened?!" demands a shocked Misato.
"The Angel passed right through Unit 00's AT Field as if it were never there!" reports Hyuga.
Warnings flood over Maya's console, alerting her of the Eva's condition.
"Reading contamination of Unit 00! The Angel has come in contact with it bio-components!"
"What?!"
"Contamination at 5% and rising!"
"Is there anyway to stop it?"
"No," responds Ritsuko, "the only ay is to destroy the Angel before the contamination can spread any farther."
Rei cries out in pain in the LCL filled entry plug, her back arching as the Angel continues to contaminate the Eva. Large veins emerge around the Angel on Unit 00's abdomen and slowly spread throughout it. Similar veins are visible on Rei, mimicking the condition of her Eva.
Unit 00 grabs the Angel by its free end and rams the muzzle of the rifle into its body, firing off several shots, each having no visible affect on it. It discards the now spent rifle and pulls out its Progressive Knife. The Angel detects the threat and speeds up its assault. Overwhelmed by the pain, the Eva hunches over, dropping the weapon, the veins now up to its chest. Rei struggles to remain in control of the Eva, but blackness overcomes her.
Rei slowly opens her eyes. The first sensation that she feels is of liquid around her legs. As her vision clears, she discovers that she is waist- deep in LCL. The sea of orange liquid spreads as far as her eyes can see. She looks around her and finds nothing, except for the LCL, herself, and the blackness around her. A splash behind her catches her attention and she quickly turns towards the origin of the sound. What she finds is herself.
"Who are you? Are you the Angel?"
"I am what you would refer as an 'Angel.'"
"What do you want?"
"To unify with you. Do you not want to become one with me?"
Rei takes a step away from the other Rei.
"No, you are the enemy."
"You call us 'enemy,' yet, you are like us. Does that not also make you the enemy?"
"I."
"Hmm. Fear? You are afraid, afraid of death. Why? Cannot you be replaced?"
Rei ponders the question. She knows her answer, yet she is unsure of it.
"I am Ayanami, Rei. I am unique. I cannot be replaced."
The Angel looks over Rei.
"I see."
It closes its eyes for a moment, as if in deep thought. Rei watches the Angel cautiously. Then it opens its eyes once again.
"Jealousy. You are jealous of another, are you not?"
The blackness around her comes to life. Images of the Second Child, Asuka Langley Sohryu, flash around the darkness. One image remains hovering in front of Rei, of the time she saw Shinji comforting Asuka after the 15th.
"You do not like her becoming close to the other one."
Rei remains silent, turning her head to avoid eye contact with the Angel.
".then something must be done about her."
The Angel stops moving. Its free end looks around and finds what it is looking for. It darts towards the inactive Unit 02, while still remaining attached to the blue Eva. Rei opens her eyes and can only watch as the Angel closes in on Asuka's Eva.
"No.."
Asuka looks up from her entry plug and sees the Angel coming at her. Fear overcomes her and she tries desperately to activate her Eva.
"Move!!"
Her cries are left unanswered as the Angel reaches the red Eva and wraps around its left leg and proceeds to it up.
Misato is frantic as she can only watch the battle above.
"What is it doing? Is it trying to merge with Unit 02 also?"
"I'm not reading any signs of contamination," responds Maya from her console.
"Then what is it doing?"
The angel lifts up the red giant into the air and holds it in place. Inside of Unit 00, Rei tries to stop the Angel, but to no avail.
"No, please don't."
The angel doesn't respond to Rei's protests and continues with its assault. With one quick motion, it slams Unit 02 into the hillside, kicking up debris and imbedding the Eva in the dirt. It then proceeds to pull the Eva out of the hill and smash it into the opposite hillside.
Inside the battered Eva, Asuka cries out in pain, as her Eva is repeatedly smashed into the hillsides.
The bridge crew stares at the screen in horror as Asuka's Eva is thrown around like a rag doll.
"Prepare to sortie Unit 01," commands Gendo from his position above the main command center.
"Start the unfreezing process!" commands Misato.
Inside Unit 01's entry plug, Shinji grips the control handles, as look of determination on his face.
"Hold on, Asuka, Rei. I'm coming," he mumbles.
Rei finds herself in the LCL sea once again. She turns to face the Angel.
"Why are you doing this?" she demands.
"Is it not what you want? To eliminate her to keep her away from the one you wish to become one with?"
"No! She is my friend!"
"Interesting. She is your friend, yet she hurts you."
"She doesn't do it on purpose! Now stop hurting her, please!"
By this time, was on the verge of tears, looking at the Angel with pleading eyes.
The Angel is about to answer, but something catches its attention.
"He is coming."
The next thing Rei knows is that she is back in the entry plug. She looks down and find a small drop of water on her legs.
"These are my tears? I've been crying?"
A loud mechanical 'clank' echoes throughout her entry plug. She looks up to find Unit 01 walking out of the catapult with a pallet gun.
"Shinji-kun."
Having detected its arrival, the Angel stops its assault on Unit 02 and drops the battered Eva.
Shinji surveys the battlefield. He sees the battered form of Unit 02 in the distance, dents all over its dirt-covered armor.
"Asuka!!"
He wills his Eva towards the fallen Eva. As he charges forward, something catches his attention out of the corner of his eye. He quickly jerks his controls back, stopping the massive bio-mech. Just then, the Angel flies through where his Eva would have stood if he hadn't stopped.
"That was close."
The Eva disengages the safety on its weapon and scans the area for any sign of the Angel. As if on queue, the Angel darts around the corner and heads towards its target.
Shinji grits his teeth as the centering clusters make their way towards each other. The two markers overlap each other, flashing brightly on the screen. He jerks the trigger back, sending a volley of hot metal at the approaching Angel. The rounds fly past their target, unable to hit the sleek Angel.
He quickly reassesses the situation and wills his Eva back to dodge the Angel, hoping that it would fly right past him. As the purple giant turns, the Angel arches upward, slamming into the pallet gun. The impact shatters the several-thousand dollar weapon as if it were a mere toy. Shinji stumbles back, caught off guard by the Angel's sudden change. Luckily, there was a skyscraper behind the Eva, which absorbed the impact and kept it upright.
Inside the entry plug, Shinji cringes as the Eva impacts the building. As the pain subsides, he slowly opens his eyes, only to see the Angel closing in. He wills the Eva to its feet, but he isn't fast enough. The Angel darts between the giant's legs and makes its way up its left side, moving behind the head and then around to face its target.
Shinji instinctively leans back, trying to get away from the Angel, which was right in front of his Eva's face. As Shinji, watches the Angel, the end begins to pulse and change shape. Staring at it with a mix of fear and curiosity, he watches as the end takes the form of a pure white Rei, with the area from the waist down still connected to the rest of the snake-like Angel.
Shinji's eyes go wide as the Angel giggles at him. It slowly makes its way towards the Eva's face and caresses its cheek. Shinji shivers with fear at its touch, wishing it would just go away. The Angel cocks it head to the side and giggles again, resting both of its hands on the sides of the Eva's face. Inside the entry plug, Shinji lets out a scream of terror.
"Shinji-kun!"
Rei stares at the 'screen' in the blackness, which shows the Angel holding Unit 01's head. The sound of Shinji's scream continues to echo throughout the void. The Angel turns around to face the ecstatic First Child.
"Is this not what you wanted? To become on with him?"
Rei falls to her knees, the LCL now up to her chest. Ripples form in the orange liquid as the tears continue to fall.
"No! I don't want this! I don't want to see him in pain!"
The Angel looks curiously at the crying girl.
"You are a strange one. You know what you want, yet you do nothing, even denying your wants."
"Sometimes, you can't always get what you want," Rei manages to get out between sobs.
Rei finds herself back in the entry plug of Unit 00. She turns her gaze towards the purple Eva.
"I know what I have to do..."
She closes her eyes and concentrates, not noticing the tears that fall from them.
Shinji tries to escape from the Angel, but is backed against a building. He can only stand and watch as the Angel continues to draw closer to his Eva's head. Just as the Angel reaches Unit 01's head, it lets out a cry of shock and as pulled away from the Eva suddenly. Shinji quickly turns to follow the Angel. His gaze falls upon Unit 00.
The Eva clutches its sides as it takes the Angel into its body. The armor around the lower chest shatters, revealing a darkened core. As the Angel is continually pulled in, the core crakes apart and quickly expands into a large, pink mass, almost the size of the Eva. Just as quickly as it expands, it shrinks back into the blue Eva's body, along with the rest of the Angel.
Rei turns around in her entry plug and looks around the back of the seat. Her gaze falls upon a circular hole with a handle across its diameter. She grips the handle and pulls the tube outward.
"My God!" exclaims Ritsuko.
"What is it?"
The blonde-haired scientist turns away from the console to face the Major.
"Rei's about to activate the Eva's self-destruct!!"
"What?!"
Misato rushes over to the communications console and quickly opens a link with Unit 00. A window opens up, with the word 'Sound Only' across the center.
"Rei, what do you think you are doing?!"
"This is the only way, Major. I will maintain my AT Field to contain the Angel and the explosion."
"But what about you? You can still eject the entry plug before the Eva explodes!"
"I cannot do that. If I leave, then the AT Field will no longer be maintained."
With those last words, the window disappears.
"Major! The pilot has cut communications!" reports Maya.
Misato remains silent and stares up at the main screen. Had there been video during the conversation, she would have seen the First Child trying to hold back the tears as she talked.
Rei closes her eyes as she rotates the tube a quarter turn, and then re- inserts it. The lights in the entry plug instantly turn red. Along the side of the seat, the word 'Self-Destruct' flash on and off.
"Rei!!"
Rei turns around and finds a communication window from Unit 01.
"Shinji-kun."
"Rei! What are doing?! You have to get out of there!"
Rei lowers her head, unable to look at Shinji.
"I can't. As I told Misato, I have to maintain the AT Field."
She looks up at the young pilot, tears falling down his face.
"Tell Asuka that I was glad I could be her friend, and Shinji-kun...," Rei takes a deep breath of LCL before continuing, "I love you. Goodbye."
Rei quickly ends the link and blacks out all communication. She leans back in her chair and closes her eyes.
"REI!!"
Shinji charges towards the blue Eva as he screams her name. As he runs, he sees Asuka's battered Eva off to his left.
"Asuka!"
He quickly turns to look at Unit 00, which begins to glow a bright white. Without a second thought, he dashes towards the red Eva and drives on top of it to protect it from the blast.
Unit 00 glows brightly, and then explodes in a large ball of fire. The blast extends outwards, only to be contained by an AT Field. The shockwaves uplift trees and debris around the area, sending them flying into the air. As the dust settles, the only thing left of the mighty Eva is a large crater where it once stood.
The command bridge is dead silent as the events unfold above them. Then, someone chose to break the silence.
"REI!!"
All eyes turn towards the origin of the scream. Above the bridge crew, Commander Gendo Ikari stands from his chair, his hands flat on his desk, supporting his weight, a look of dread in his eyes.
Outside, Unit 01 rises from its position and turns towards where Unit 00 once stood. Shinji breaks down crying inside his entry plug, Rei's last words echoing through his head: 'I love you.'
Darkness shrouds the fortress-city of Tokyo 3. Stars shine brightly in the heavens above. The city lights push back the darkness that threatens to engulf it. The night is a time of rest from another busy day. For one person, it was a time of horrible dreams.
Asuka tosses and turns in her sleep, eventually waking up for the eighth time that evening. Her blue eyes, which were once full of life, gaze at the white ceiling above. The same dreams haunt her over and over that evening, each time succeeding in waking her. As she gazes at the ceiling, a single word escapes her lips.
"Useless."
Earlier.
"C'mon, Asuka, concentrate."
Asuka looks up for a moment before letting her head drop, closing her eyes in pure concentration.
Ritsuko, Misato, and some of the tech crew continue to monitor the pilots as the sync-testing draws towards its second hour. Misato's gaze shifts from the live entry plug feed to another, each time ending on the feed from Asuka's plug. Next to her, Ritsuko hunches over the console, monitoring and reading the data being collected by the computers.
"How she doing, Ritsu?"
"Not too good. Her sync-ratio is fluctuating at 40%."
The head of Project E types in a series of commands into her console bring up an array of data.
"If her sync-ratio continues to degrade at this rate, she won't be able to activate Unit 02 in a month. If, and when, her sync-ratio reaches that point, we will more or less have to look for a replacement pilot for Unit 02."
Misato turns to her friend.
"A replacement? But why?"
"Misato, we need pilots that are capable of piloting the Evas and countering the Angel threat. What use is a pilot that can't pilot?"
"Can't you do anything to help her or improve her sync-ratio?"
Ritsuko shakes her head.
"I can't. There's nothing wrong with her physically. It's all here."
She taps her head, emphasizing her point.
"Asuka's problem is in the mind. It's something only she can fix."
Unknown to the two women, the communication channel to Asuka's plug had been on the entire time, allowing her to hear every word of their conversation.
"All right, children! We're done for the day."
Present.
Asuka turns over on her side, clutching the blanket close to her body. She closes her eyes and drifts back into the world of dreams.
Several days later.
"Status!"
Sirens blaze around NERV HQ while various employees scramble to their stations.
"An unknown object was sited heading towards the city approximately three minutes ago," reports Hyuga.
"What's the analysis of the object?" asks Misato.
"Analysis completed. Pattern.blue! It's an Angel!!"
"Go to red alert!"
Red lights flash around the headquarters. Above the bridge, the Commander and Sub-Commander watch over the buzz of activity below, showing no reaction to the latest information.
"So, the 16th has finally arrived?"
"So it seems," replies Gendo in his emotionless monotone.
Fuyutsuki studies Gendo for a moment, looking for any kind of reaction, but finds none. He lets out a sigh and turns his attention to the bridge.
"Do we have visual of the target yet?" asks Misato.
"Yes, it just came into range. Putting it up now."
The main screen flickers to life, projecting the live feed. On the screen, a large, white ring hovers over a set of electrical wires in the hills of Tokyo 3. It slowly moves towards the city, maintaining its altitude and rotating in a clockwise direction.
"What do we have on the target?"
"Nothing. Strength of AT Field is unknown, core location is unknown, and its abilities are also unknown. All we know is that it's an Angel."
"Great," mumbles Misato.
"Ma'am! The pilots have been inserted and are standing by."
"Thanks, Maya."
Misato establishes a link to the three pilots.
"We don't have much data on the target. All we know is that it is slowly making its way towards the city, so be careful when you engage it."
"Hai," reply all the pilots in unison.
"Unit 01 is to remain in cryostasis. Asuka, you and Unit 02 will engage the target first. Rei, you just stand by for now. Good luck."
She turns off the link and turns her attention back to the main screen, then the bridge crew.
"Launch Unit 02!"
The red Eva is propelled up the launch tube towards the surface. It exits at the edge of the city in one of the mock-up buildings. The door opens as the final safety locks are disengaged. An image of Misato appears in the entry plug.
"OK, Asuka. Grab the pallet rifle in the armory building and head towards the target."
Asuka nods in reply and pushes her controls forward, but gets no response from the Eva. She tries again, but receives the same result. Frustrated, she sharply pulls the controls back and forth, her head lowered.
"Move, damn it! Move!"
The Angel makes its way into the city limits. It passes by the red bio- mech, as if it were never there.
Misato watches the stationary Eva from one of the numerous cameras placed around the city.
"Why isn't it moving?"
She makes her way to Maya's control console.
"What's happening? Is something wrong with the Eva?"
"No, the Eva is fully functional."
"Then why isn't it responding?"
Maya enters a series of commands, bringing up data on the Eva.
"Her sync-ratio is at 25%. There's no way she can move the Eva with that low of a sync-rate."
"What?! 25%? How did it get so low?"
"It's in her mind."
Misato whips around to face the source of the voice. Ritsuko takes another sip of her coffee before continuing.
"She's locked her mind out. There's no way she can pilot the Eva in this state."
"Then what."
"Sortie Unit 00."
Misato looks up at the person who cut her off. Gendo pays no attention to the Major as he continues to stare at the main screen.
"Launch Unit 00!"
The blue and white Eva emerges on the surface, a few blocks from were Unit 02 stands. It rushes over to a nearby armory building and grabs the sniper rifle within. Immediately, the Angel stops its journey into Tokyo 3. Rei seizes the opportunity and ducks behind a nearby building, using it as cover as she centers it in her scope.
The bridge crew watches the stationary Angel as it continues to rotate in place.
"What is it doing?"
Maya looks over the data being received by the MAGI.
"Sensors don't indicate any sort of activity, Major..Wait! Something's happening!"
The Angel stops rotating and reverses its spin. As it slowly rotates, it splits at a single point, stretching out its circular body into a straight line. One it its ends moves around, as if it is searching for something. It stops and charges towards its target with lighting fast speed.
Rei gasps as she realizes where it is heading. It's heading towards her. The Eva grabs its rifle and dashes away from its hiding spot, narrowly missing the Angel. Having missed its target, the Angel turns sharply and resumes its chase.
The Eva makes its way to the hills outside the city and turns to face its stalker. Rei wills her AT Field into existence in front of her unit, hoping to stop the Angel in its tracks. The Angel charges towards its target. It reaches the AT Field, and slips right through it, burrowing itself in the Eva's abdomen.
Sirens sound all over the bridge.
"What happened?!" demands a shocked Misato.
"The Angel passed right through Unit 00's AT Field as if it were never there!" reports Hyuga.
Warnings flood over Maya's console, alerting her of the Eva's condition.
"Reading contamination of Unit 00! The Angel has come in contact with it bio-components!"
"What?!"
"Contamination at 5% and rising!"
"Is there anyway to stop it?"
"No," responds Ritsuko, "the only ay is to destroy the Angel before the contamination can spread any farther."
Rei cries out in pain in the LCL filled entry plug, her back arching as the Angel continues to contaminate the Eva. Large veins emerge around the Angel on Unit 00's abdomen and slowly spread throughout it. Similar veins are visible on Rei, mimicking the condition of her Eva.
Unit 00 grabs the Angel by its free end and rams the muzzle of the rifle into its body, firing off several shots, each having no visible affect on it. It discards the now spent rifle and pulls out its Progressive Knife. The Angel detects the threat and speeds up its assault. Overwhelmed by the pain, the Eva hunches over, dropping the weapon, the veins now up to its chest. Rei struggles to remain in control of the Eva, but blackness overcomes her.
Rei slowly opens her eyes. The first sensation that she feels is of liquid around her legs. As her vision clears, she discovers that she is waist- deep in LCL. The sea of orange liquid spreads as far as her eyes can see. She looks around her and finds nothing, except for the LCL, herself, and the blackness around her. A splash behind her catches her attention and she quickly turns towards the origin of the sound. What she finds is herself.
"Who are you? Are you the Angel?"
"I am what you would refer as an 'Angel.'"
"What do you want?"
"To unify with you. Do you not want to become one with me?"
Rei takes a step away from the other Rei.
"No, you are the enemy."
"You call us 'enemy,' yet, you are like us. Does that not also make you the enemy?"
"I."
"Hmm. Fear? You are afraid, afraid of death. Why? Cannot you be replaced?"
Rei ponders the question. She knows her answer, yet she is unsure of it.
"I am Ayanami, Rei. I am unique. I cannot be replaced."
The Angel looks over Rei.
"I see."
It closes its eyes for a moment, as if in deep thought. Rei watches the Angel cautiously. Then it opens its eyes once again.
"Jealousy. You are jealous of another, are you not?"
The blackness around her comes to life. Images of the Second Child, Asuka Langley Sohryu, flash around the darkness. One image remains hovering in front of Rei, of the time she saw Shinji comforting Asuka after the 15th.
"You do not like her becoming close to the other one."
Rei remains silent, turning her head to avoid eye contact with the Angel.
".then something must be done about her."
The Angel stops moving. Its free end looks around and finds what it is looking for. It darts towards the inactive Unit 02, while still remaining attached to the blue Eva. Rei opens her eyes and can only watch as the Angel closes in on Asuka's Eva.
"No.."
Asuka looks up from her entry plug and sees the Angel coming at her. Fear overcomes her and she tries desperately to activate her Eva.
"Move!!"
Her cries are left unanswered as the Angel reaches the red Eva and wraps around its left leg and proceeds to it up.
Misato is frantic as she can only watch the battle above.
"What is it doing? Is it trying to merge with Unit 02 also?"
"I'm not reading any signs of contamination," responds Maya from her console.
"Then what is it doing?"
The angel lifts up the red giant into the air and holds it in place. Inside of Unit 00, Rei tries to stop the Angel, but to no avail.
"No, please don't."
The angel doesn't respond to Rei's protests and continues with its assault. With one quick motion, it slams Unit 02 into the hillside, kicking up debris and imbedding the Eva in the dirt. It then proceeds to pull the Eva out of the hill and smash it into the opposite hillside.
Inside the battered Eva, Asuka cries out in pain, as her Eva is repeatedly smashed into the hillsides.
The bridge crew stares at the screen in horror as Asuka's Eva is thrown around like a rag doll.
"Prepare to sortie Unit 01," commands Gendo from his position above the main command center.
"Start the unfreezing process!" commands Misato.
Inside Unit 01's entry plug, Shinji grips the control handles, as look of determination on his face.
"Hold on, Asuka, Rei. I'm coming," he mumbles.
Rei finds herself in the LCL sea once again. She turns to face the Angel.
"Why are you doing this?" she demands.
"Is it not what you want? To eliminate her to keep her away from the one you wish to become one with?"
"No! She is my friend!"
"Interesting. She is your friend, yet she hurts you."
"She doesn't do it on purpose! Now stop hurting her, please!"
By this time, was on the verge of tears, looking at the Angel with pleading eyes.
The Angel is about to answer, but something catches its attention.
"He is coming."
The next thing Rei knows is that she is back in the entry plug. She looks down and find a small drop of water on her legs.
"These are my tears? I've been crying?"
A loud mechanical 'clank' echoes throughout her entry plug. She looks up to find Unit 01 walking out of the catapult with a pallet gun.
"Shinji-kun."
Having detected its arrival, the Angel stops its assault on Unit 02 and drops the battered Eva.
Shinji surveys the battlefield. He sees the battered form of Unit 02 in the distance, dents all over its dirt-covered armor.
"Asuka!!"
He wills his Eva towards the fallen Eva. As he charges forward, something catches his attention out of the corner of his eye. He quickly jerks his controls back, stopping the massive bio-mech. Just then, the Angel flies through where his Eva would have stood if he hadn't stopped.
"That was close."
The Eva disengages the safety on its weapon and scans the area for any sign of the Angel. As if on queue, the Angel darts around the corner and heads towards its target.
Shinji grits his teeth as the centering clusters make their way towards each other. The two markers overlap each other, flashing brightly on the screen. He jerks the trigger back, sending a volley of hot metal at the approaching Angel. The rounds fly past their target, unable to hit the sleek Angel.
He quickly reassesses the situation and wills his Eva back to dodge the Angel, hoping that it would fly right past him. As the purple giant turns, the Angel arches upward, slamming into the pallet gun. The impact shatters the several-thousand dollar weapon as if it were a mere toy. Shinji stumbles back, caught off guard by the Angel's sudden change. Luckily, there was a skyscraper behind the Eva, which absorbed the impact and kept it upright.
Inside the entry plug, Shinji cringes as the Eva impacts the building. As the pain subsides, he slowly opens his eyes, only to see the Angel closing in. He wills the Eva to its feet, but he isn't fast enough. The Angel darts between the giant's legs and makes its way up its left side, moving behind the head and then around to face its target.
Shinji instinctively leans back, trying to get away from the Angel, which was right in front of his Eva's face. As Shinji, watches the Angel, the end begins to pulse and change shape. Staring at it with a mix of fear and curiosity, he watches as the end takes the form of a pure white Rei, with the area from the waist down still connected to the rest of the snake-like Angel.
Shinji's eyes go wide as the Angel giggles at him. It slowly makes its way towards the Eva's face and caresses its cheek. Shinji shivers with fear at its touch, wishing it would just go away. The Angel cocks it head to the side and giggles again, resting both of its hands on the sides of the Eva's face. Inside the entry plug, Shinji lets out a scream of terror.
"Shinji-kun!"
Rei stares at the 'screen' in the blackness, which shows the Angel holding Unit 01's head. The sound of Shinji's scream continues to echo throughout the void. The Angel turns around to face the ecstatic First Child.
"Is this not what you wanted? To become on with him?"
Rei falls to her knees, the LCL now up to her chest. Ripples form in the orange liquid as the tears continue to fall.
"No! I don't want this! I don't want to see him in pain!"
The Angel looks curiously at the crying girl.
"You are a strange one. You know what you want, yet you do nothing, even denying your wants."
"Sometimes, you can't always get what you want," Rei manages to get out between sobs.
Rei finds herself back in the entry plug of Unit 00. She turns her gaze towards the purple Eva.
"I know what I have to do..."
She closes her eyes and concentrates, not noticing the tears that fall from them.
Shinji tries to escape from the Angel, but is backed against a building. He can only stand and watch as the Angel continues to draw closer to his Eva's head. Just as the Angel reaches Unit 01's head, it lets out a cry of shock and as pulled away from the Eva suddenly. Shinji quickly turns to follow the Angel. His gaze falls upon Unit 00.
The Eva clutches its sides as it takes the Angel into its body. The armor around the lower chest shatters, revealing a darkened core. As the Angel is continually pulled in, the core crakes apart and quickly expands into a large, pink mass, almost the size of the Eva. Just as quickly as it expands, it shrinks back into the blue Eva's body, along with the rest of the Angel.
Rei turns around in her entry plug and looks around the back of the seat. Her gaze falls upon a circular hole with a handle across its diameter. She grips the handle and pulls the tube outward.
"My God!" exclaims Ritsuko.
"What is it?"
The blonde-haired scientist turns away from the console to face the Major.
"Rei's about to activate the Eva's self-destruct!!"
"What?!"
Misato rushes over to the communications console and quickly opens a link with Unit 00. A window opens up, with the word 'Sound Only' across the center.
"Rei, what do you think you are doing?!"
"This is the only way, Major. I will maintain my AT Field to contain the Angel and the explosion."
"But what about you? You can still eject the entry plug before the Eva explodes!"
"I cannot do that. If I leave, then the AT Field will no longer be maintained."
With those last words, the window disappears.
"Major! The pilot has cut communications!" reports Maya.
Misato remains silent and stares up at the main screen. Had there been video during the conversation, she would have seen the First Child trying to hold back the tears as she talked.
Rei closes her eyes as she rotates the tube a quarter turn, and then re- inserts it. The lights in the entry plug instantly turn red. Along the side of the seat, the word 'Self-Destruct' flash on and off.
"Rei!!"
Rei turns around and finds a communication window from Unit 01.
"Shinji-kun."
"Rei! What are doing?! You have to get out of there!"
Rei lowers her head, unable to look at Shinji.
"I can't. As I told Misato, I have to maintain the AT Field."
She looks up at the young pilot, tears falling down his face.
"Tell Asuka that I was glad I could be her friend, and Shinji-kun...," Rei takes a deep breath of LCL before continuing, "I love you. Goodbye."
Rei quickly ends the link and blacks out all communication. She leans back in her chair and closes her eyes.
"REI!!"
Shinji charges towards the blue Eva as he screams her name. As he runs, he sees Asuka's battered Eva off to his left.
"Asuka!"
He quickly turns to look at Unit 00, which begins to glow a bright white. Without a second thought, he dashes towards the red Eva and drives on top of it to protect it from the blast.
Unit 00 glows brightly, and then explodes in a large ball of fire. The blast extends outwards, only to be contained by an AT Field. The shockwaves uplift trees and debris around the area, sending them flying into the air. As the dust settles, the only thing left of the mighty Eva is a large crater where it once stood.
The command bridge is dead silent as the events unfold above them. Then, someone chose to break the silence.
"REI!!"
All eyes turn towards the origin of the scream. Above the bridge crew, Commander Gendo Ikari stands from his chair, his hands flat on his desk, supporting his weight, a look of dread in his eyes.
Outside, Unit 01 rises from its position and turns towards where Unit 00 once stood. Shinji breaks down crying inside his entry plug, Rei's last words echoing through his head: 'I love you.'