Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion. All characters and related content is owned by Gainax.
Consciousness wavered for Shinji Ikari; like his own reality was continually blinking in and then back out of existence. The only constant was the pain. All over him; surrounding him; pulling him down. His mind suffered this pain as well. Shinji Ikari had failed. Although in the end his task had been completed, it had not been a victory; he had not won. His life had been spared by the sacrifice of another. An innocent, someone neither deserving pain or death. His friends arrival had provided the distraction that he had needed to claim victory from the jaws of defeat, but at a terrible price. Kensuke and Hikari had returned, and for this he was happy, but did that justify the loss of Nishka? A loss that should have been his. Was this his punishment for his own foolishness in taking it upon himself to be his friend's savior, at the expense of the millions of lives of people in the city that he had risked? Again he drifted away from consciousness.
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Toji Suzahara had stayed by her bedside all night long. He had never been so happy in his entire life. She had returned to him. Everything would be okay now. He could feel the dark cloud of depression that had been following him begin to lift; the nightmares and the anger leaving him. She had not yet awoken, but he would make sure that he was there for her when she did.
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Asuka Langley Soryu slept in a chair next to the bed of Shinji Ikari. Her slumber was troubled by the events of the night. She kept reliving it all in her mind. She had not been able to move, all she could do was watch as Nishka sacrificed herself over and over again. The sword penetrating her body. Hikari and Kensuke crucified in the sky. Lifeless, and then, awakened. She could see Shinji screaming on the ground, blood spewing from his lips as he tried to warn her of the attack. It had been horrible seeing him like that. So much blood; the pain in his eyes. She had wanted to run to him, but still she could not move. She couldn't even help him crawl to the Eva. She was worthless. She felt the cold of the trip back to NERV. The horror of the swarming medical workers taking Shinji away. She had been shown to a room soon after that. She began to cry and scream, to break the furniture. She had thought Shinji to be dead. Asuka had collapsed onto the floor, drowning in her own tears. Soon afterward however a nurse had come for her. She had explained that Shinji had been stabilized. That the bleeding had seemingly stopped by the time he had made it to the E.R. Asuka didn't care that it seemed impossible for anyone to live through the injuries he had sustained, let alone already began healing them. All she cared about was seeing him.
And with that Asuka again woke next to Shinji's bed. She gasped as she again found herself in reality. She stood from the chair and walked to his side. He was breathing softly, peacefully. He had I.V.'s and other things hooked to him that Asuka did not recognize. Asuka looked at his face. Shinji had a horizontal cut on his right cheek, and the left side of his face was black and bruised. She reached down and slowly lifted the sleeves on his shirt. She could see two long vertical cuts on his right shoulder running from his upper back down to just above his nipple. She lifted his left sleeve and revealed another similar cut on Shinji's left shoulder. She reached down and parted his shirt. Several of his ribs had been broken, and his lower chest had been wrapped in bandages. The odd thing was that he seemed to have a long cross shaped scar running vertically up his chest until it stopped just below his neck, and then horizontally across his chest, stopping at the ends of the fronts of his shoulders.
"A cross?"
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Damon Robinson sat upright in his hospital bed unable to sleep. He glanced at the blue haired girl in the bed to the left of him. Her hands were bandaged though he didn't know why or what had happened to her. In truth his mind had been deeply shaken. For the greater part of his life he had been prepared and ready to give his life for his country; to give his life for the mission. He had never really thought that he had anything to lose. He was sure that the lives of the other people were worth the cost of his own. His mother had died, and his father was a man of God. He had always been told that sacrifice was the best thing you could do. Then he had met Ayanami. She was unlike the other pretty girls he had known. He felt for her. She had said that she would miss him. That he should be more thoughtful as to what his own death would really mean. How it would affect others. What it would mean to her. This very night the American boy had come face to face with death. He had always been faced with danger, and the possibility of death, but not until tonight had he ever truly thought that it would come. He had given up. He had accepted it. However he had been given a second chance. Shinji's victory had saved his life. Again he looked over at the sleeping girl next to him. The question now was what he would do with this second chance.
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Kozo Fuyutski sat down to his desk and began reading the medical report that Dr. Sagura had given him. It had been quite a night, and at this point he was still unsure what exactly had taken place. This knowledge would have to wait until Shinji awoke. The commander turned to the second page of the document:
1st Child: Rei Ayanami- Status stable. The first child was victim to minor bleeding from the wrists and hands (resembles stigmata). Causes unknown.
2nd Child: Asuka Langley Soryu-Status stable. The second child received no physical damage from the incident. However, emotional trauma seems to have ensued. Psychological therapy recommended.
3rd Child: Shinji Ikari-Status stable. The Third child entered the hospital suffering from massive blood loss and 2 broken ribs. Lacerations have been made to the right shoulder (2) and to the left shoulder (1), along with another minor laceration to the right cheek. The right side of the third child's face has received blunt trauma.
4th Child: Toji Suzahara-Status stable. The fourth child received no physical damage from the incident. Signs of sleep depravation and depression seem apparent.
5th Child: Kaoru Nagisa- Status stable. The fifth child was not involved physically with the incident. Increased energy patterns observed.
6th Child: Nishka Zalomai-Status pending. The sixth child suffered a massive wound beginning at the lower stomach and continuing downward. Chance of survival 30%. If survival is accomplished, reproduction is thought to be highly unlikely.
7th Child: Damon Robinson-Status Stable. The seventh child continues to suffer from partially reopened back wounds. Also, Evangelion related trauma to the neck, face, and chest.
8th Child: Kensuke Aida-Status pending. The eighth child received no physical damage from the incident. Tests are currently being run to check for affects of contamination or other negative aspects resulting in contact with Lilith's egg.
9th Child: Hikari Horaki-Status Pending. The ninth child received no physical damage from the incident. Subject has yet to awaken. When this occurs tests will be run to check for affects of contamination or other negative aspects resulting in contact with Lilith's egg.
Kozo Fuyutski finished reading the report and sighed. The return of the 8th and 9th children had him somewhat worried. Though they were included in the original Marduke report, the Dead Sea scrolls had made no mention of them, and therefore they had been deemed unnecessary for combat. However, their return so long after the rest of humanity suggested that it had some sort of meaning behind it. "Was this meant to happen?" The commander asked himself. He had no knowledge of the Dead Sea scrolls besides what he had been told, and it was likely that there was much he did not know. Or perhaps there was a second set of scrolls still to be found. He decided that it was a matter best looked in to.
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Kensuke Aida had had to be torn away from the dying girl when she was rushed to ER. He was now waiting in a medical room, lost in his thoughts. He was trying to comprehend what had happened to him. He was trying to remember what things had been like in side of the black egg. It had been like perfection at first. Then, a great deal of people had left, which of course ruined the perfection. After that, the sphere had been more akin to hell than to heaven. There was destruction and pain as the souls trapped inside were now being tortured by each others differences instead of harmonizing with each others similarities. Kensuke could remember the torment, he could see his idea of perfection perverted and distorted in front of his eyes until it had become his own personal hell. And then the men in white had appeared. What were they? Kensuke did not know. But he did know what they had offered. They had offered escape from the hellish egg. They proposed that if you were willing to again rejoin (at this point the souls had been separated by the distortion that such a great amount of souls leaving had caused) into a larger being, that the souls that had escaped could be brought back. Thus, perfection would return. Kensuke was starting to get a headache. He was trying to recall how he had felt; if he had wanted to become one of those things, one of those monsters that would attempt to continue third impact. Then he thought about all of the people still trapped inside; still suffering in pain.
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Nishka Zalomai's life was now flashing before her eyes. She was unsure of where she was, though she remembered much of the trek back to NERV and the boy Kensuke struggling to keep her alive. There was terror in his eyes that betrayed his words. He kept telling her to hang on, but she could tell by looking into his eyes how badly she had been hurt. And now she was seeing her family. They were freezing on the streets, starving. She hated these memories. Her father searching for a place to sleep for the night, her brother looking through the garbage. Then the men had come. The government men in the nice suits. They had asked her to become a pilot for some secret project. They had offered to pay her handsomely, and to provide good food and a nice house for her family. How could she have refused? Everyday her family fell farther into disease. She had made up her mind and they were all ushered into a limousine and taken away. That had been four years ago. She had been so glad to have been able to provide for her family; so happy that they were finally well. It had come at a price though. The government had been extremely paranoid about the project, and Nishka rarely had been able to see her father and brother. The NERV facility had not even been in the same city, let alone the same part of the country. She wished she could see them one last time.
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Koaru Nagisa could feel his mind racing inside of his motionless body; a body of sacrifice upon the cross. He had been hit with active consciousness; increasing as time passed and Wraiths met their demise. He was unsure of what was to happen next. Shinji had made his choice, and Koaru hoped that now he at least understood why. Koaru realized that with every defeat the black egg suffered, he would likely grow towards greater existence. He could feel his divinity slowly slipping away. At first there had been nothing. Then after Shinji had managed to defeat the first of the creatures, he had found that he was able to enter the boy's dreams. Now, he could see his surroundings; was aware of his physical existence. Perhaps soon he would be able to escape these physical bonds…perhaps soon he would no longer be an angel at all…
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"Were you successful doctor?" Fuyutski said intently to Sagura.
"Yes. She will live."
"Any permanent damage?"
"Nothing that will hinder her piloting abilities. The only problem that seems evident is childbirth. Her reproductive system will likely not be able to produce any children."
"I understand. Thank you doctor."
Sagura bowed and then quickly took his leave.
The commander leaned back in his chair, clearing his thoughts. The phone rang.
"This is Fuyutski."
He recognized the voice on the line. He was the commander of the NERV facility in Great Britain.
"The A^2 engine is nearing completion. The UN has sanctioned that we ship you five of the modules immediately upon completion."
Fuyutski sat back up in his chair.
"I understand. Thank you commander."
"Goodbye Kozo."
"Goodbye William."
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The month that had passed following Shinji's rooftop battle was the best one that he had ever had. Shinji was currently spacing out in the last bit of class before lunch. At last everything seemed to be going great. He had all of his friends back, and felt as if he had a new lease on life. Even Lilith's egg seemed to be done for. From what he understood from Misato, the energy readings from it had slowed almost to nothing. Knowing that an attack would likely not come suddenly, if at all, made Shinji at ease. He was now concentrating on simply enjoying his life, and it was wonderful. Even his normally bad grades were improving somewhat.
Shinji was however still quite amazed that everything had turned out as well as it had. He still had nightmares of the battle frequently. He still had doubts about his actions, and fears of their consequences, yet he found that what had taken place was slowly slipping from his thoughts more and more. Amazingly both he and Nishka had survived the fight. "I guess someone up there still likes me," he thought to himself. As far as that went, it was starting to become apparent that plenty of people on earth liked him as well. Shinji had begun to notice that a lot of the girls in the upper grades were starting to pay him attention. He figured it was most likely because he was now a rather large international celebrity, but he tried to ignore a lot of the extra notice. He could tell that it frustrated Asuka slightly, but he wasn't too worried about it. At least he hoped there wasn't anything to worry about; Asuka was known to go a little off the wall with jealousy sometimes. He smiled to himself. In truth he actually for some reason liked that about her. His friends of course all had there own theories on Shinji's popularity. Toji had proposed simply that "Chick's dig scars," and this soon had become the general consensus with Kensuke and Damon as well.
It seemed like Toji was finally returning to his old self now that Hikari and Kensuke had returned. It was now basketball season, and both Toji and Damon had made the team. Both of them seemed to be constantly competing with each other, but it was all in fun, and as a result they had become good friends and better basketball players. In truth Kensuke and Damon got along even better. Kensuke's love of all things military, coupled with Damon's vast knowledge of military experience and training led to conversations so boring to others that Shinji found himself falling asleep when they got into discussion.
Shinji was probably the most happy to see Rei emerging from her shell. She had taken up painting, and seemed eager to express herself. She had become good friends with Hikari and Nishka, and after a while a reluctant Asuka had followed suit as well.
In short, things were good. He looked down at his computer screen. He had forgotten that he had been chatting with Asuka and Damon. He typed "sorry, I spaced out." And then Shinji noticed several other conversation requests blinking on his screen. They all looked like they were from girls he didn't know. Shinji sighed. He was going to decline the requests but Damon accepted all seven of them. Shinji glanced to his right were Damon sat, shooting him a dirty look. The American boy chuckled. Asuka quickly left the conversation. Damon chuckled again, and Shinji couldn't help but smile as well, though he shook his head as he did it.
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Shinji Ikari and Toji Suzahara walked over to the lunch tables where they usually ate lunch. Kensuke and Damon were already there, deep in an argument about American stealth fighter superiority.
"Will you two shut up," Toji said immediately as he heard what they were discussing, "No one cares."
Kensuke shot him a dirty look.
"I care."
Toji grinned.
"See what I mean?"
Shinji laughed, spraying a bit of the rice he was eating on to Kensuke.
"Gross man!" Kensuke said as he wiped the grains off of his face.
They were all laughing now. After the joke passed several moments of silence followed as the three boys quickly ate their food.
"So," Kensuke was speaking with food in his mouth, "What's with that little pony tail thing Shinji?"
"What this?" Shinji pointed to the back of his hair.
"No dude, your other pony tail," Kensuke said back, his voice dripping with sarcasm. The other two boys laughed.
"Well, um, Asuka likes it," Was Shinji's rather awkward answer. Shinji knew that she probably liked it because it was how Kaji used to wear his hair, but he didn't mind.
Kensuke shook his head, while Toji made a whip cracking noise. Shinji smiled.
"Well whatever, you can't deny that girls seem to like it," Shinji said noticing two girls waving at him from a few tables over.
"No. no. no. That's not it," Damon said, his food finally entirely eaten, "We have already been through this, it's the scar."
"Definitely the scar," Toji agreed.
"Yessssssss…the scar," Kensuke said with a weird voice as he poked Shinji's right cheek.
They were all soon laughing again.
"Okay enough Shinji bashing," Kensuke said, "How'r things with Hikari?" Kensuke asked, looking towards Toji.
Damon saw his opportunity.
"Oh things are great. We made out for like an hour last night," He said shooting Toji a grin.
This time everyone was laughing except Toji.
"Yah, very funny."
In truth his anger was only making things funnier. Once the laughter died down Toji managed to respond.
"Well I guess things are good. Though I do say some dumb things sometimes," he said shaking his head.
"Ya man I know what ya mean. When I say something dumb and Rei's around its worse than normal because she takes it seriously, and then I have to explain that it was dumb so she doesn't think I'm weird," Damon said.
"You are weird."
Damon shrugged.
"Meh."
"Well what's up with you and Nishna, Kensuke?" Toji asked.
"It's Nishka."
"…and?"
"I don't know. Girls are complicated," Kensuke replied.
"Well no shit," Damon said with a grin, "that's what makes things interesting. And come on ya gotta give us a better answer than that."
"Yah man seriously, that was a bad answer," Toji said.
"Well," Kensuke started, "I guess I'm just glad she didn't die that night."
This was met with silence as the mention of the incident brought forth difficult memories for all.
It was Shinji who broke the silence.
"Well, she's one amazing girl that's for sure. If she hadn't done what she did…I'm sure that Asuka would have been dead." Shinji didn't add "and it would have been my fault."
Kensuke nodded.
"Yah, you're right."
Shinji was thinking about the Russian girl's courageous action during the fight. "I should really thank her," he thought as he realized that he really hadn't thanked her, or even spoken to her that much. He resolved to get to know her better. "Heck maybe I can convince Kensuke to go on a double date with her and Asuka and I," Shinji thought. "Looks like he could use some girl help anyway."
Shinji looked at Kensuke and grinned. Kensuke noticed and looked back.
"What?"
"Nothing."