Conversations and Observations Chapter One Part 6 – Precious Declarations

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Author's Notes:

Hello one and all. PitViper here. And the latest part of chapter one is here with me. Dear God, has it been so long? Read, enjoy, and review. Read, hate, review. Read, whatever… just review. :D

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Chapter One Part 6: A Momentary Lapse of Reason.

Shinji expected many things when he walked through the door to Rei's and Asuka's apartment. But no force on Earth could prepare him for the sight that intruded upon his vision. "Rei?" He whispered softly, hoping that at least one of the two individuals in the room might explain to him what was going on.

Hovering in mid air, approximately a half-meter above the floor, was Rei Ayanami. She was awash in a bright orange glow, tendrils of energy whispering over her form. The tendrils were wrapped like a cocoon around another form. Rei gently brushed her hand through long strands of red hair, cooing softly as a mother would give comfort to an injured child. Upon Rei's face was a welt, a handprint about the size of Asuka's. But the girl was now curled up in the embrace of her former tormenter.

Shinji stood for a full minute, his back to the friend who had helped him get home through the worst of the pain. It felt like years, but it had only been minutes that the torment had seemingly been tearing apart his very soul. Then it ended, leaving an echo of the pain and the memory of the screams. Right now the only thing within Shinji's mind was concern for his two most cherished friends.

However, Karwou had different thoughts on the subject. 'Ever the mother, First?' He wanted to spit in disgust at the scene before him, those tendrils of AT energy, so delicate and yet so deadly. The First could always control her AT field like that, spinning her tendrils about herself like a web. But he was powerless to do anything about the First. She was Shinji's friend, and a coworker, of sorts. Karwou extended his senses ever so slightly, reaching towards the glowing First Children.

Rei's eyes snapped open as though she had suddenly found her hand immersed in scalding water. Then her eyes narrowed, looking in Shinji's direction.

Shinji had a shocked look upon his face, wondering just why Rei would send such a hateful glare in his direction. Had he done something wrong? "Rei?"

Rei's features narrowed into an impressive scowl as her eyes became slits. "Move aside, Shinji-kun. Let me see… him." Rei's voice growled deeply, several octaves below what Shinji had ever considered possible for the delicate angel before him, magnified by the intimidating aura of her AT Field.

"First." Karwou said in greeting, laying Shinji's package down upon the floor before him. "Feeding?" He queried; nodding towards the embraced Asuka.

Rei winced, and then shot an even more hateful glare in his direction. "Only you could think of something so disgusting and cruel, Tabris."

Shinji's eyes widened a bit, "Tabris? His name's…"

Rei didn't look to Shinji when she spoke next, "He is the Seventeenth Angel, Tabris."

"As you are the First – Lilith…"

Rei glanced quickly at Shinji, who stared unfazed at the two individual. "I believe that you underestimate me, I've been honest with Shinji. What have you been with him?"

Tabris smirked. "I am Karwou of the Seashore. Or I may be called Nagasa Karwou. Or Tabris, if you prefer. I may even be referred to as the 'Seventeenth', but I do not enjoy being a number on a list."

Shinji looked onward in concern at Rei and Asuka, "Rei…" Shinji whispered softly, "What happened to Asuka?"

"The Second Branch of NERV is no more." Rei said. "We were trying… synchronization when the branch disappeared. She felt all their pain of being pulled into the Void of Dirac."

"The Void of Dirac?" Shinji asked.

Karwou looked at the boy. "The Sea of Dirac… It's the ocean of the mind – The ebb and flow of the energy that binds the universe and drove its creation. Some have called it the Breath of God."

"That doesn't answer what it is, Karwou." Shinji muttered, looking at his new 'friend' with suspicious eyes.

Sighing, Karwou tried again. "An AT field forms a barrier to the soul. It can also form a barrier to the body. Although you can sense what is beyond the barrier, nothing can penetrate it if you do not allow it passage. So imagine an AT field so powerful, that it folds inwards upon itself. That is the Dirac Sea. A void whose shadow is form…"

"Lelial?" Shinji muttered, involuntarily remembering his time trapped within that void. "Yes, I remember now, that's what Doctor Akagi had called it in the debriefing."

"Yes." Rei said, beginning to float to the ground. "She will wake soon, but will be disoriented. I don't know if I'll be able to calm her down much more. She's experienced so much pain."

"And how much of that is due to you, First?" Karwou asked harshly.

Shinji spun around on the grey-haired boy, "Don't insult Rei. You two obviously have a history, leave it at the door."

Karwou blinked softly, "My apologies, Shinji-kun." He then bowed before Shinji, "No offense was intended to you."

"Offending Rei in her house is an offense to me." Shinji proclaimed.

"I understand." Karwou said softly.

Rei's AT Field folded back in upon itself, disappearing from view. "Do not worry about it Shinji." Rei dismissed the Angel entirely, focusing solely on Ikari. "It is not of importance."

Karwou looked at her oddly. "I don't understand…"

Rei turned slightly in Karwou's direction. "I… felt something when I saw you Tabris. It was anger… betrayal. But feelings aside, I have no memory of what happened. It was too long ago."

"If you do not remember… Then I will not be the one to remind you of it, Ayanami-san." Karwou closed his eyes. "I wish I were so lucky, at times."

Rei nodded, then turned back to Asuka. "She will wake soon. I fear that we may fail in our attempt, she may never trust us with the Trinity…"

Karwou gasped, "The Trinity? You would attempt that?"

"Whatever it takes to stop the Angel's attacks." Shinji said.

Rei looked at Tabris, "To stop Bardiel, I will do much."

"Ah, Bardiel, the ancient warrior," Tabris' eyes lost focus as he thought about times far gone and lost. "We called him, 'He of many hands…'"

Rei furrowed her brow slightly, "He was a specialist in nano-technology…"

"I see your memory is not completely lost, First." Tabris looked at her cautiously.

"Don't call her 'First'… It feels like an insult." Shinji instructed his fellow pilot. "If we're to be friends, Karwou-kun, then you must to respect Rei. She's a part of my family. As is Misato and Asuka…"

"My Apologies, Shinji-kun. I hope to be considered a friend by you, perhaps there is time to include me in that statement – one can only hope." With that, Karwou shrugged slightly. "As for Bardiel, Ayanami. He was a master of nano-technology. His field of study became his prison, as did his wife's…"

Rei nodded, "We all became prisoners, didn't we."

"Slaves to our determination, our insanity… perhaps slaves to ourselves." Karwou admitted. "My sister and I were friends of Adam. Alas, Areal is still very upset at what occurred."

"So you both remained free…" Rei muttered. "I wish I could remember something."

"It is for the best that you do not remember, Ayanami-san." Karwou said. "Do you believe that Shinji or Asuka would like to experience what was done to you? If you proceed with that foolishness… They just might! You do realize that no one has ever successfully completed a Trinity?"

Rei nodded, "Yes."

"It doesn't matter what other's have succeeded or not succeeded in doing, what is important that we try. I…I don't want to be responsible for the end of the world." Shinji said, looking between the two not-so-human beings standing before him.

Just then a grumble came from the floor. "Head…hurt…" Asuka said, beginning to shift from her position on the floor.

Rei walked wordlessly from the room, leaving Shinji and Karwou in the company of Asuka – who was in the process of slowly returning to consciousness.

"My apologies, Shinji-kun. There are some deep-seeded animosities between the Fir… I mean between Ayanami and I."

"It seems there's no lack of hate between you two. The only problem is, Rei doesn't know where her hate comes from. Perhaps it was a mistake…"

"I will cause no trouble, and no harm to anyone you care for, Shinji-kun. I, however, cannot speak for my brethren." Karwou said softly. "You have my oath."

"Good. I'd hate to have to lose a friend to this. If you haven't noticed, we're a bit short of friends here…" Shinji was interrupted by Asuka's voice.

"Hurt… Shinji?" Asuka said, looking at him, "W…What happened?"

"You were trying to synchronize with Rei… the Second Branch was destroyed while you were in the link.

Asuka turned her head, and then clutched her arms around her head and face, as though remembering something excruciatingly painful. "That… bitch… she violated my mind!"

Rei returned from the kitchen with a glass of water. Asuka suddenly stood up, and walked over to Rei. "I asked you… I begged you not to… But what did you do? You went in there and raped me..."

"The Second Branch… The trauma caused us to travel into your mind. You turned inward to escape the pain."

"And you followed along!" Asuka accused. "So what do you think, huh?"

"I think that you are stronger than you think you are Asuka." Rei said softly. "And that you deserve someone to love and care for you…"

Asuka blinked, "Don't you dare start patronizing me…"

"See it as you will. You have suffered Sohryu-san. Much of it has been needlessly, and at the hands of your father." Rei said, "As Shinji as suffered at the hands of his father and as I have suffered at the hands of Commander Ikari…"

"Oh, yeah, First Child, how have you suffered?" Asuka asked, refusing to let the tears she felt within fill her eyes. "You're the Wonder-child. The invincible Rei Ayanami, unafraid to throw down life and limb for your precious Commander… How could you have possibly suffered at his hands?"

"He promised me death… a mortal life." Rei paused for a moment before continuing, "He lied."

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Author's Notes:

It's been a while since my last update, I'm sorry it took so long. Please forgive this chapter, I've had a lot of difficulty in finding inspiration to fill the gaps between the segments that I've already written. Its difficult to maintain the flow over a large work such as this, and I'm endeavoring to keep this from falling into the pit that so many large fictions eventually find themselves dangling over. But I've recovered my muse a bit. Hopefully future chapters won't be as awkward.

For those of you who have been waiting to see the next chapter – C&O is back. Now to do some work on my other fics. :D

Thanks for reading, please feel free to review.

Later,
PitViper (pvalpha@yahoo.com)