The sand was warm under his bare feet.

Gendo Ikari frowned. He was vaguely aware that he should have resulted injured in the last battle; he was expecting to awake in the infirmary... or not to awake, falling forever in a dreamless sleep. But certainly he didn't expect to awake in a beach. And even less in such a strange beach, with white and warm sand and dark water under a purple sky.

He got up, letting the sand fall between his fingers; dry and warm, it shone with a smooth bright, illuminating the beach with an eerie light. He was confused, and he didn't like it; he wasn't used to the feeling. Gendo looked at the water. The water... was calling him, he thought, with an alluring voice. He shook his head, trying to convince himself that that was merely the noise of waves. But he knew then that it wasn't; the dark ocean was whispering him to submerge in the gloomy waters. Without understand why, he knew then that he should avoid it.

Gendo deviated his gaze from the water, and looked at the beach. It seemed endless, the sand filling everything in three directions. He frowned when he realized that there was a soft bright, next to the water, but far in the distance where the sand, the water and the sky met.

The lone man started to walk following the coastline.

***

CHAPTER 1: CHOICES

Fuyutsuki didn't notice Ritsuko when she entered the office. He was sat down where Gendo used to be, and his gaze was lost in the Tree of Life drawn in the ceiling. Ritsuko had to cough hard until the old man heard her.

"Ah, Doctor Akagi..." he muttered absently. "What do you want?"

"I have Commander Ikari's medical report, sir."

"It was about time," replied Fuyutsuki sarcastically.

Ritsuko shrugged.

"Ah..." she said, looking at her papers, "let's see... Ah, it's here. I read.... 'The subject has suffered heavy injuries that came from the impact of several fragments of shrapnel all over the body, including three broken ribs, fractures in the left leg and the right arm, injuries in the left side -which forced to the extraction of the spleen-, ocular damage, and a cranial fracture. Notwithstanding, in a few weeks all of them should be healed. The subject seems to have suffered heavy brain damage as shown by the scanner, and he's currently in a deep coma. We cannot foreseen any changes in this condition.' And that's all, I'm afraid."

"I see. A whole month to say that they don't know when he could awake, do they?"

"No, they don't," nodded Ritsuko, ignoring Fuyutsuki's sarcasm. 'I need holidays,' she thought. 'Badly.'

The last month had been a nightmare for the head scientist of Nerv. Planning Shinji's rescue had resulted a really hard task. And the fact she didn't know how the boy had come back didn't help her to relax.

"How is Shinji?" Fuyutsuki asked.

"Well. I don't expect any problems," she shrugged again. "He finally got up today, and he's going to perform a sync test this afternoon."

"Isn't it a bit early?" he pointed.

"We need to put in service the Eva-01 as soon as possible, so we need new synchronization records," replied Ritsuko. "Besides, Shinji needs to return to active service. Routine will help him to recover sooner."

Fuyutsuki groaned vaguely, not really listening to her.

"So, you're now officially in charge, aren't you, sir?" asked Ritsuko. Fuyutsuki seemed to be the most logical choice for the charge. He had been always Gendo's shadow. She wondered often why the old man was there, always obeying orders, always being merely a executor of Gendo's will.

Fuyutsuki nodded tiredly. "Yes, I've been officially appointed Nerv's Commander this morning."

"Is there any change in the schedule, Commander?"

He frowned deeply, looking at the blonde woman. He didn't like how 'Commander' sounded.

"No... by the moment. Dismissed, Doctor Akagi."

He got up and looked at the tree of life drawn in the ceiling.

"By the moment," he muttered while the scientist walked out of the office. Shaking his head, he followed her and went out, picking an elevator. While the floor numbers increased, he frowned again, remembering the meeting with Seele.

"Ikari failed us. I expect you to prepare our scenario, Commander Fuyutsuki," Keel had said.

"Yes, sir."

"Well. Don't commit the same mistakes than Ikari. And don't think we're not going to watch over you," he had said, disappearing from the meeting room.

"Ikari, Ikari... Why had you to leave all the responsibility over me?" he sighed. "And now, I have in my hands everything. Exactly what I didn't want."

***

Asuka heard how Shinji was walking out of his changing room and heading for the sync room. She turned then to Rei. The blue haired girl had just arrived, and she was still putting on her white plug suit.

"Look at this," she said ironically, "Wondergirl arriving late."

"It's not late," said Rei softly. "The test is scheduled in ten minutes."

"You know what I mean," Asuka laughed. "It's the first time I'm dressed before you were. Wait, this is not the first time. The last month you've arrived just on time twice," she pointed, trying to get a reaction from her. And failing.

Rei didn't answer anything. She simply stared at Asuka, looking at the redhead with her blood-red eyes. Asuka tried a bit harder.

"I bet you were watching over your beloved Commander," said Asuka, although she knew it wasn't true -she had asked Maya about it-. It was strange; she'd had thought that Rei would show interest for the Commander's condition, but she hadn't gone to see him.

"No," replied Rei finishing to put on her suit. Pressing the button on her wrist, she felt how the suit took the shape of her body.

Asuka opened the door of the room and decided to make the last attempt to get any reaction from the albino girl. She needed to erase that picture of a broken doll from the back of her mind. Each time she saw the emotionless face of Rei, she saw it -she heard again 'Die with me, Asuka,' softly whispered in her ears-. And she hated that.

"Then were you nursing Shinji, like a good Wondergirl?"

She sighed relieved when she saw Rei look slightly uneasy. That would have to be enough, for the moment. She knew it already, of course. Wondergirl was always watching over Shinji only because the Commander ordered her to did so, she thought, but it was nice to see her embarrassed.

Asuka laughed while she walked out of the dressing room and headed for the Sync Lab. Something tried to jump into her conscious mind, but the redhead couldn't put a finger on it. She shook her head.

"Asuka, focus," she muttered.

***

Shinji was still trying to forget the taste of the LCL when he found himself submerged in it. "Smell like blood," he complained, trying to keep himself relaxed.

He couldn't. Ritsuko had just told him about his father's injuries. A part of him was mischievously happy; the old bastard had finally got what he deserved. The another part, the part that usually said 'I'm sorry' for everything, the part that Asuka used to hate, was ranting and claiming that it had been his fault... but not very loud. He was vaguely ashamed for not feel more sorrow -'After all, he was... he is my father,' he thought-. But then he remembered.

Himself. With four years, crying alone in his uncle's door because his father had abandoned him.

Rei. The first time he saw her, crying in pain because his father had ordered her to pilot the Evangelion.

Touji. Almost dead when he was recovered from the Eva-04.

Asuka. The head of her Evangelion falling in front of him.

More images. Pain and suffering in the ones he cared for. And only a responsible.

'He deserved this,' he thought bitterly. 'At least he cannot hurt anybody else ever.'

His train of thoughts went broken when Ritsuko ordered him to start the test. Shinji closed his eyes and let the simulation take over his mind. The odd sensation of familiarity that he had each time he was piloting the Evangelion returned...

Half an hour later the test ended. Tired, Shinji yawned inside the plug, and instantly, he regreted it, feeling again the taste of blood in his mouth. Shaking his head, he looked down searching for the 'drain&eject' button. He couldn't help but laugh, because the draining system sounded exactly like a giant...

'I should go to see him,' he thought. He remembered then one of the last things that his father had said to him.

"I didn't want to see you any more," he had said, meaning each word.

"Well, then," muttered Shinji while he walked out of the Geofront, "you won't see me."

***

It was dark in the cages of the Evangelion. The repairing works in the plate armour of the Eva-01 had finished several days ago, so now the orange pool where it rested was silent and empty. Empty, except for the lone figure of Kouzo Fuyutsuki. The brand new Commander of NERV was engaged in a staring contest with the deadliest combat machine ever constructed by man's hand.

He didn't do anything but stare for a long time. Finally, who was now one of the more powerful men of the planet seemed to have taken a decision, because he turned back to leave.

He stopped at the door, though, and he looked again at the frozen Evangelion.

"Is this the correct choice, Yui? I'd wish I know. After all this time, after all the scenarios and the schedules, now... the decision is mine," he whispered. "I have the God's power in my old hands. I could... bring you back for me, or for them, or extinct the human race, or merge them all, or... I know what I'd want to do, but what should I do?" he asked to the air.

He didn't get a response. Nor he was waiting for any. The decision was taken, and the new schedule soon will be established. The old man looked at the Nerv logo in the wall; he had chosen it, five years ago; but it seemed a whole lifetime, now. He left the room, closing the door behind him.

"God's in his heaven. All's right with the world."

Soon Browning's words would probe to be right... or awfully wrong. And it was his choice.

+++

Author's Notes

First of all, many, many thanks to Lynx for help me with this fic.

I know that this is still too much short, but I cannot help it. Any comment will be more than welcome at chobits@hotpop.com, and I'm usually hanging around the forum of darkscribes.org, if you want to discuss something.

See you!

Athos