-Chapter 12-
"We are beginning the test. Are you ready, Rei?"
"Hai."
I waited quietly as the LCL was pumped into the entry plug. I was given a few moments to allow my lungs to adjust to the oxygen rich liquid. When I was able to breathe easily, I ran through the procedure to activate my entry plug so I could synchronize with it. It was then that I felt that something was wrong. It felt as though there was something else inside the plug, a presence reaching out for me. This was not the same bond I had felt before in Unit Zero.
This new bond descended from the dark as though it meant to consume my body and soul. It was cold and suffocating. I felt a sharp pang shoot up my side, centering around my heart as though there was something sharp piercing it. My hands could barely close and I couldn't feel my legs at all. Yet the most disturbing were the voices. They called out to me in garbled tones, a dozen voices whispering at once. Shinji's voice was one of them, running through my head.mother.it echoed deep into my consciousness. Mother.Is there someone calling me?
"Rei! Rei, are you all right?"
I became aware that the voices had melted away into Doctor Akagi's voice. The entry plug had been deactivated and disengaged from the Eva unit. I breathed slowly, trying to catch my breath.
"I am fine."
"All right, I think we've got enough data for today. Why don't we call it a day?"
"Yes, ma'am."
I opened the narrow hatch and stepped out of my entry plug, the LCL dripping from my hair and rolling off my plug suit. The LCL disappeared in the many drain holes which were embedded in the floor. I smelled of blood. To another person it might have appeared that I was being born. I felt different, dizzy and slightly faint.
I was grateful to be free from the darkness. The presence that intruded upon my mind felt strangely familiar. There was a feeling that I knew what entity was trying to tap into my soul. My legs began to regain their warmth and my hands stopped tingling. The piercing of my heart was gone. Yes, I knew that presence. But could it be.mother?
Doctor Akagi waited for me in the next room. The bright lighting from the computers obscured the doctor's face in dark shadows. Her glasses glinted once as she turned toward me before becoming dark as well. Behind her, data was being collected and saved.
"Is everything all right, Rei?" the doctor asked, her voice sounding hollow.
"Hai."
We stood looking at each other as though there was something else to say. She kept her hands hidden in the deep pockets of her white lab coat as she eyed me like I was an impetuous child she was forced to tolerate. She glanced at the small puddle of LCL that had begun to pool beneath me.
"Why don't you go get cleaned up? We'll wait a few days before the next test."
"Hai."
She turned away and began busying herself with the papers that were being printed. Through the door, I heard the doctor pick up a phone and dial a number. A number I was sure went to a large, protected room with a long desk where Commander sat, disturbed and displeased with the recent turn of events.
I walked quickly to the locker room.
"We are beginning the test. Are you ready, Rei?"
"Hai."
I waited quietly as the LCL was pumped into the entry plug. I was given a few moments to allow my lungs to adjust to the oxygen rich liquid. When I was able to breathe easily, I ran through the procedure to activate my entry plug so I could synchronize with it. It was then that I felt that something was wrong. It felt as though there was something else inside the plug, a presence reaching out for me. This was not the same bond I had felt before in Unit Zero.
This new bond descended from the dark as though it meant to consume my body and soul. It was cold and suffocating. I felt a sharp pang shoot up my side, centering around my heart as though there was something sharp piercing it. My hands could barely close and I couldn't feel my legs at all. Yet the most disturbing were the voices. They called out to me in garbled tones, a dozen voices whispering at once. Shinji's voice was one of them, running through my head.mother.it echoed deep into my consciousness. Mother.Is there someone calling me?
"Rei! Rei, are you all right?"
I became aware that the voices had melted away into Doctor Akagi's voice. The entry plug had been deactivated and disengaged from the Eva unit. I breathed slowly, trying to catch my breath.
"I am fine."
"All right, I think we've got enough data for today. Why don't we call it a day?"
"Yes, ma'am."
I opened the narrow hatch and stepped out of my entry plug, the LCL dripping from my hair and rolling off my plug suit. The LCL disappeared in the many drain holes which were embedded in the floor. I smelled of blood. To another person it might have appeared that I was being born. I felt different, dizzy and slightly faint.
I was grateful to be free from the darkness. The presence that intruded upon my mind felt strangely familiar. There was a feeling that I knew what entity was trying to tap into my soul. My legs began to regain their warmth and my hands stopped tingling. The piercing of my heart was gone. Yes, I knew that presence. But could it be.mother?
Doctor Akagi waited for me in the next room. The bright lighting from the computers obscured the doctor's face in dark shadows. Her glasses glinted once as she turned toward me before becoming dark as well. Behind her, data was being collected and saved.
"Is everything all right, Rei?" the doctor asked, her voice sounding hollow.
"Hai."
We stood looking at each other as though there was something else to say. She kept her hands hidden in the deep pockets of her white lab coat as she eyed me like I was an impetuous child she was forced to tolerate. She glanced at the small puddle of LCL that had begun to pool beneath me.
"Why don't you go get cleaned up? We'll wait a few days before the next test."
"Hai."
She turned away and began busying herself with the papers that were being printed. Through the door, I heard the doctor pick up a phone and dial a number. A number I was sure went to a large, protected room with a long desk where Commander sat, disturbed and displeased with the recent turn of events.
I walked quickly to the locker room.