Authors note: I'd like to give a hefty thanks to my pre-readers who have really been helpful in catching some of my mistakes throughout this story: Rvy, rgreat, D Flowers bTan,, and Sessha. Special thanks to: RedMage2k, and Srose for checking through this chapter in particular for mistakes.
Disclaimer: After eight chapters I'm sure everyone knows I don't own squanto concerning Evangelion or its characters.
"Speaking out loud"
'Thinking internally'
'memories'
Through the Mind of One
by: brindani
Chapter 8
(SEELE counsel meeting)
Within a room, into which few had ever dared step foot, twelve large screens alighted. There was nothing special about these screens; each held only a text message saying "voice only" with a large number ranging from 01 to 12. These monolith's appearance may have seemed insignificant, but what they spoke of would change the future for all time.
"So the pawn failed in its mission?" A voice came from the screen near the head of the table, marked only as 01.
"Yes, the Evangelions prevented the completion." Spoke a voice just to the side of the other.
"And Ikari's actions?"
"They have grown more abrasive and out of line with the scenario in the past thirty-two hours. Our last communications with our agents pointed to the conclusion that he may well start third impact himself."
"I see, now that all the angels have been destroyed, he is no longer a necessity. It seems that we must once again take matters into our own hands."
"The series is on stand-by and can be launched in twenty-three minutes. All adjustments have been made to the dummy plug system for optimal performance, including the new experimental variation"
"The JSSDF special forces are ready to deploy at any time as well."
"Good. Send in the initial wave to lure out their Evangelions."
"It is done." came a voice from the back a moment later.
(Misato residence)
Shinji was depressed, one of few things that he knew as truth in these confusing times. It was the last angel encounter that had left him in this confused state.
'Shinji shook himself awake. He found himself sprawled out on a cool black slab of rock. Looking to the side, he found a lake of LCL with the same crucified angel he had seen during the sixteenth angel's attack. But what was he doing here now? He didn't remember anything past opening the door last night and seeing Kaworu standing before him.
Sitting himself up, he noticed several others in the cavern as well. Asuka lay several meters away to his right while Rei stood to the left looking high above where her blue Evangelion crouched before her. For a second, he thought he saw something different there, something he had seen only rarely. The small smile was so brief, however, that he couldn't be sure. Especially since when she turned towards him, there existed no trace of any such emotion.
"Pilot Ikari, the seventeenth angel has been eliminated. You should report to Central Dogma for debriefing."
"How did I get here?" He asked bemused by the whole situation.
"You allowed yourself and pilot Soryu to be captured and were used as leverage against me during the confrontation." Startled by her bluntness, Shinji looked directly into Rei'seyes. In those depths, he found no hint of emotion, none whatsoever over the fact that he had come close to dieing.
"Don't you care at all about what happened to us?" Her continued emotionless gaze gave him all the answers he needed. Trying hard to hide several stray tears, he ran straight past Rei to the exit.'
'Maybe... maybe she doesn't feel anything just like Asuka said.' He thought to himself.
Abruptly, the door slammed open, revealing Rei with a very serious gaze.
"Wha....?"
"They have come, we must report to headquarters immediately." Not waiting for a reply Rei quickly walked over and grabbed his arm, forcing him to stand and follow along as she briskly headed towards a nearby window.
"Rei? What are you...No!" Shinji found himself flung out of the window, falling fast. With a thud, he abruptly came to a halt in the dumpster far below. Soon, Rei fell, far more gracefully, next to him and exited the garbage bin.
"Quickly, this way" Rei said while Shinji still flopped about trying to get himself righted from the very unexpected fall. Once he had done so, they went around the corner into a back alley. "We must remain silent or they will find us."
"Who are they?" He whispered. His statement was abruptly punctuated by an explosion from behind. When he looked back, all he could see were the remains of the apartment they had just left. Only the flutter of small bits of debris and ashes where left to fall around their feet.
"Them." Rei whispered back as she quickly pulled him against the wall and pointed off to the side where someone in a military uniform was looking up at the building.
"Yes sir, we have confirmation. Both the First and Third never made it out before the explosion. We got them alright. We're moving out to join the main infiltration group. Rodger" The man said into the walky talky before moving on.
"The JSSDF?" Shinji read from the patch on the man's side.
"We must hurry or they may find us here." Rei said as she walked in the opposite direction in which the man had left.
"But they must be attacking NERV. All the main entrances will surely be blocked off."
Rei didn't answer as she stood at the back of a nearby dead end street. Positioning her finger against the wall, she began to count both up and down before laying pressure on one of the bricks. The brick itself moved in, and to the side, followed quickly by half the wall noiselessly falling inward, allowing them entry into a dark tunnel that curved downward.
"We must hurry before they return." Rei said as she entered the newly formed path. Stupefied at seeing that such a thing existed, Shinji followed. After crossing the threshold, the wall abruptly flipped back up, engulfing them into blackness. It only lasted for a brief few seconds before bright lights further down the tunnel revealed a metallic corridor that stretched as far as they could see.
They walked down the tunnel in an uncomfortable silence for a long time, until a thought came to Shinji, "What about Auska? Is she going to be alright?"
Shinji nearly ran into Rei's back as she abruptly stopped. She turned around to face him with an unreadable expression on her face. "Several agents where dispatched to bring her in safely."
"Then why didn't they send agents to get me?" He asked quietly, almost hopefully.
Briefly, Rei's eyes softened before she turned around to continue walking. "Because I volunteered."
"Wh-why did you do that?" Shinji asked, struggling with himself.
"Because... I needed to."
"Needed? So someone ordered you to do it?" Shinji asked, his voice hardening.
"...No, I wanted to do it."
"Why?" Shinji asked, uncertainty heavily coating his voice.
"I wanted to make sure that you were safe." She answered barely above a whisper.
BOOM
Both turned around at the unexpected noise. Near the very entrance they had just used, they could see light poring in with several shapes moving about.
"We must hurry." Rei said while pushing Shinji in front of her as they went into a near sprint. "You can loose them in the switchways ahead. Remember, left, right, right, right, left, center, left, right, center. That will lead you to the cages."
"Lead me? Where are you going?"
"I must take care of some business before I enter my unit."
"Like what?" When no reply was forthcoming, he turned around and was startled to find that Rei was no where in sight. "Wha...?" Marching noises from behind starting to draw closer forced him to return to his sprinting. He never noticed the crack in the wall off to the side that closed softly after his departure.
Only seconds afterwards, Shinji came across a three way intersection. He blinked once before trying mentally to remember Rei's instructions. 'Lets see, it was left, right, left no right, then left, left?'
An explosion close behind him forced him to continue on with or without knowing exactly which way was correct.
(Ten minutes later)
Shinji was sure of at least one thing in his current situation: he was lost, really, really, really lost. He had been switching back and forth between intersections for what felt like hours. The only good thing about his situation was that all the sounds of pursuit had completely disappeared.
What came around the next corner knocked all thoughts from his mind. In a large tank floated hundreds of Rei's, with each of their eyes blank with an almost sadistic smile gracing their faces.
"....." Shinji said with his mouth gaping wide open.
"So, you found your way here." Shinji flipped around at the unexpected voice. As very little could startle him after all the events from the past hour, he wasn't very surprised to find Ritsuko Akagi standing behind him.
"What are all these?" Shinji asked tentatively, not really wanting to know the answer.
"These are puppets, his little puppets. Made to do whatever he wanted them to."
"But they look like..." Shinji swallowed nervously while trying very hard to ignore the not so subtle hint of insanity in the other's voice.
"Oh they are clones of Rei, alright."
"Does that mean that Rei... is a clone too?" Shinji cringed as Ritsuko let off a short, half mad, bark of a laugh.
"No, his precious Rei is not a clone. She was an ordinary girl once, until he took her. Ever since that time he always had more use for her then mere clones could provide. More use then he had for me." She finished barely above a whisper.
Giggling to herself, she walked pasted Shinji to the center of the room where a large control panel lay. "So many puppets, right Gendou? The puppeteer simply can not exist without puppets, right? Well, what if we were to cut those strings? You wouldn't like that would you, you bastard?" she said while typing furiously on the control panel. Moments later, a large noise started followed quickly by the LCL the clones floated in turning blood red. A large howl arose from the tank as the Reis began to disintegrate right before Shinji's eyes. Each clone glared at him with a feral grin, scraping and clawing at the side of the tank, trying to free itself, to hurt or maim anything that it could get it hands on.
He couldn't handle it any more. Shinji ran for all he was worth. He didn't care where so long as it was away from that horrid cry of death.
Ritsuko looked with glee at her handy work. "Well, I can't be late for our very important date, now can I, Gendou?" she said, while calmly walking down a side door, and began to whistle a happy little tune, having already forgotten that there was anyone with her.
(Several minutes later)
Rei stepped out onto the platform above the very holding tanks Shinji had just left. Starring dispassionately, she took in the scene before her. Red tanks filled with only bits and pieces of what had once held her sisters.
"I knew you would come here." a voice said from a speaker behind her. She turned to the side to see a table with a tablet and a glass of water. "It is almost time to complete your purpose. The first step is to take the pill on the table.
Nodding her understanding, Rei walked to the table taking both the pill and glass of water in hand. She plopped the pill into her mouth and took a small sip of the water before swallowing. In mere seconds, Rei's eyes began to droop as if she had gone into a catatonic state.
A wall to the side of her opened, revealing Gendou with a large smile on his face. "Yes, it is indeed time to begin." Rei only turned and half staggered around to face him. "Come, we have much to do with little time left in which to do it." With that, Gendou turned around, heading back into the secret entrance that he had just come through. Rei followed stiffly after him.
It only took minutes for both of them to reach their destination. The angel on the white cross remained where it had hung for countless millennia, its face mask shifting slightly when they entered, as if it could focus on them through the very eyes painted on it.
"I've been waiting, Gendou." Said a voice just off to the side of their entry. Turning, Gendou saw Ritsuko in her lab coat, holding her gun directly at the both of them. "I can't tell you how long I've waited for this." She said with a small insane smile.
"Rei." Was the only thing Gendou said before the gun discharged twice. Twin bullets raced towards Gendou's heart. Coming within inches of him only to abruptly ricochet off an AT field.
"So, yo...you used the auto-suggestive pill. But the side effects..."
"Matter little. Rei will perform her duty and be of no more use, doctor." He said as he walked up to her drawing his own pistil out and placed it directly onto her forehead. "It's time to say good-bye, doctor."
Ritsuko only glared murderously at him.
BANG
For a moment, the doctor remained standing as if the shot had missed, but soon dropped onto her knees and then to her face with a pool of blood quickly encircling her.
Smiling, Gendou turned around. He found Rei at the very edge of LCL Lake, looking intently at Lilith. "Rei?"
"Yes and no" She replied in a soft almost surreal way.
"Ah, Lilith has finally descended."
Rei turned around. The furious face revealed was the only warning Gendou received before he was slammed against the far wall.
"What? That's impossible, the pill should have..."
Rei slowly walked up to him before spitting the pill she had held in her mouth off to the side.
"No."
"Mother has told me much recently."
"Lilith, why..."
Rei gently shook her head. "Tokara."
The hair on Gendou's neck went straight up.
Lightly, Rei cupped her hand on Gendou's chin forcing his eyes to meet hers.
"I am Rei, but I will not be a nothing for you anymore, for I know who I once was: Sara, Sara Tokara.
Gendou flinched as if struck.
"And now, it is time to feel the suffering that you have been responsible for." Small threads of an AT field began to splice themselves away from Rei, snaking their way to strike at Gendou's mind. Upon impact, Gendou instantly began to relive Rei's life. He felt the pain of loosing her mother, the agony of the genetic splicing, and the despair of loosing all that he once was.
With a small twist of her hand, the threads began to weave together in a stable ongoing structure, replaying the memories again and again within his mind. Rei left Gendou screaming and twitching on the floor.
(Central Dogma)
"They've blocked off nearly all the exits now. Only a few are still open, but who knows how long that will last." Maya said as she read from her display panel.
"These guys are real pros. If we are going to win, we need to get the Evangelions out there. What is the status of the pilots?"
"The team sent out to pick up Asuka hasn't reported back yet. We expect that they got ambushed along the way."
"Close enough." the voice came from behind them. Everyone turned, some with guns drawn, to find a smirking Asuka looking down at them in her school dress.
"Asuka! But how did you..."
"Did you really think a bunch of pansy assed soldiers could keep me down? Honestly, sometimes I think you don't give me enough credit. Anyway, what's happening?"
"The United Nations has just declared that NERV is working to undermine the world's security through the use of its Evas. Those guys outside are the JSSDF, here to make sure we don't get any opportunity to do such abuse."
"Ma'am, I've found Shinji." Both Asuka and Misato looked very intensely at the tech that had called out this piece information.
"Where is he?" Both said nearly simultaneously.
"He's... well you better see for yourself."
Misato and Asuka walked down to stand just behind the tech.
"Oh, no."
"Damn."
They said as they watched Shinji rocking back and forth under a stairwell.
"Where is he?"
"Stairwell B, section 43" Maya replied off to the side.
"I'll go get him." Asuka volunteered.
"No, just before they took out our scanners we detected a large contingent of solders and air support coming in fast. We need you to get out there and hold them off as long as possible. I'll go get Shinji." Misato said while pulling out her gun and slamming in a new clip.
"Oh, alright. Just... hurry." Asuka said quietly before spinning around. "Now it's time to teach these fools a thing or two about fighting!"
"Aoba, could you escort Asuka to the cage?" Misato asked of the technician.
"Yes Ma'am." he said, while taking out a semi-automatic.
"Great, a baby-sitter." Asuka grumbled.
"Remember, Asuka, there are probably thousands of highly trained solders out there and only one of you. Anything to increase the chances of you getting to your Eva is our highest priority."
"Whatever, you do know how to use that thing right?" she asked of Shigeru.
"Yes, Ma'am. Been training with this kind of gun every day after work." he said as he expertly began fine tuning and adjusting the gun's scope. He paused briefly, looking around at all the stunned stares directed his way. "What? It's a great stress reliever." A small relieved expression crossed Asuka's face.
"Good, we might actually make it through this."
"Right, I'll see you later." Misato said as she took off running towards Shinji's location.
(Under Stairwell B, section 43)
Shinji sat with his arms tightly wrapped around his knees and slowly rocking back and forth. 'So many Reis. So, so Rei is... no Dr. Akagi said that Rei wasn't one of them. She was a normal girl. It...it was father that did that to her. I can not forgive him. He took her life away as well. He harmed her, but... I will protect her.
So much blood and all of those hate filled... wait that feeling from the Reis, it was the same as when the dummy system took over during the thirteenth angel's attack. So the dummy system has a Rei inside it?' Shinji thought skeptically.
Shinji was so busy with his inner turmoil that he did not notice the sounds of gunshots progressively getting closer.
These shots originated from an assassination squad that had broken off from the main contingent, their mission to locate the pilots and eliminate them on sight. The three wore light armor for added speed and stealth. The leader, a rough guy with an unshaven face, was the first to spot the boy under the stairwell.
"We've found the third child. Proceeding to eliminate the target." He spoke into his walky talky before giving a short laugh while pulling out his gun. One of the other soldiers was watching the child carefully. What sat before him was no professional killing soldier; he was a mere boy and a boy that was obviously disturbed.
"Hey Sarge, this is only a kid..."
"Shut-up, Lewis. Orders say kill him so we kill him." The sergeant said while undoing the safety on his gun and grabbing the now rather startled third child. "Don't blame me kid, nothing personal."
Thud, thud. Two bullets whizzed past Shinji's ear instantly killing the soldier behind him.
"What the..." The sergeant got no further, for as he turned around he was knocked upside the head and shot a second later.
"No offense taken." Misato said as she turned around to the last startled soldier. "Thanks" She briefly said before hitting him in the head, instantly knocking him unconscious.
"Ok, Shinji, we have to get going." For the first time since arriving Misato noticed that Shinji was a little disoriented. He sat in a heap exactly where he had fallen. 'Poor kid, but we just don't have time for this now.'
"Shinji" She said as she crouched down to gently shake his shoulder.
Looking up, Shinji grabbed a hold of her. "There were Reis... and Ritsuko... then soldiers..." He was stopped as Misato lifted his face up to meet hers.
"We can deal with that later. Ok? Right now, we have a situation. I've gotten word that both Unit 00 and Unit 02 are active, but that they may be sending the mass production models. Asuka and Rei..." Shinji's mind went into overdrive as the first name brought back the memories of such a short time ago in the hospital.
'Shinji continued to be led along as Asuka looked into any opened door they came across trying to find one that was empty. It was a rather busy time so it took several minutes. Eventually they came across a room that didn't hold a patient, or six; storage closets rarely do.
Closing the door sharply, Asuka turned to Shinji. Her face betraying a hint of deep seated emotions
"Asuka, what's wrong?"
"So, you... like Rei?" She asked hesitantly.
"What do you mean, Asuka?"
"You like her as more then a friend, don't you?"
Shinji paused at the odd question, taking a second before replying.
"I...think maybe I do." He said with a quite, almost reflective tone.
In a very un-Asuka-ish manner, she let her eyes drop to the ground, unable to hold his gaze any longer.
"Why do you want to know, Asuka? Is there some problem?"
After a second of gathering herself, she looked up with the smirk that he was more familiar with. "Of course not, I just wanted to make sure that's all." With that she flicked him in the head as she had done so many times in the past, and walked out the door. "Catcha later." She said while walking out. For several more seconds, Shinji stood within, contemplating Asuka's words and the meaning of his answer.'
"Rei is out there?!" His mind locked onto that one phrase. Seconds later, Misato was stunned, as the once reluctant boy suddenly fell away from her embrace and started tugging insistently on her arm. "Come on, we need to get there quickly.
(Several hundred meters above their heads)
Asuka was breathing heavily as she surveyed her handy work. Literally thousands of troops, aircraft, and ships lay in runes around her. Any artillery that they may have launched, simply bounced harmlessly off of her AT field. This, however, was not the real problem. What was becoming problematic lay in two different features. One was the sheer number of troops that continued to come in waves of ten thousand. The annoying little things also seemed to be trying to cut her power cord and had almost succeeded on numerous occasions. The second problem was time. Every second that she wasted with these ground troops brought nine very large aircraft closer. Within them lay the mass production model Evangelions. As confident as she was in herself, she truly did not believe that she would be capable of handling so many at once. Mere dots on the horizon when she had first emerged, the crafts were now small blobs and were rapidly growing.
She hated to admit it, but she really did need back-up on this one, even if that included the likes of 'Wondergirl'. Her slight distraction almost cost her, as choppers came up from behind and began to launch a barrage of missiles straight at her cord. She only barely managed to flip it out of the way and throw several destroyed jeeps on the ground at the choppers, sending them crashing down.
This provided several near by rocket launchers a clear shot. Asuka could see the missiles coming, but she was already overextended from dealing with the choppers. Just as they were about to hit, an AT field sprang into existence causing them to destroy themselves on it instead of the intended cord.
"Wha...?" Looking behind her, she slowly grinned as Unit 00 rose from the ground. "Took you long enough, Wondergirl."
"It's a pleasure to see you as well." Rei replied with no small hint of sarcasm. This took Asuka back a little.
'Did Wondergirl just make a comeback?' Deciding that now was not the time to think about such things, Asuka turned her attention back to the battle field where the final wave was advancing.
Working together, the last bunch was easily defeated with a barrage of swift and precise attacks. They had no chance to celebrate as nine very ominous looking planes were almost upon them. Moments later, each opened their cargo bay doors, releasing a white Evangelion that dropped several hundred meters before wings spread out from their backs. To those below, they appeared as small planes, lazily beginning to circle far above.
"Misato, I believe we will be in need of assistance presently." Rei said into her communications system.
For a moment, the system issued only white static back. Fortunately, that lasted only a moment. "...Yes, Rei, we're almost to Unit 01. We had some minor... delays." Misato said while in the background multiple rounds of ammunition could be heard going off and an especially large sound indicated that Misato had fired her own weapon near the walky talky.
"Understood." Rei returned her gaze above where the Evas remained circling.
"What the hell are they waiting for?" Asuka asked as she wearily followed their flight paths. "Well, at least they don't have any weapons on them." Asuka noted as she began to become seriously annoyed at the delay.
(SEELE counsel)
"Is it in alignment yet?" A display marked only as 04 asked.
"Yes, we should begin the recovery procedure."
"Agreed." Came consensus from around the room.
(Central Dogma)
Without notice, the lazy circling of the mass production evangelions began to accelerate.
"We're reading a massive AT field." Maya said.
"Tell the pilots to prepare for the attack." Fuyutsuki said in a very controlled tone.
"Sir? It isn't aimed towards the ground. It appears to be directed upwards."
"Upwards, but that doesn't make any sense... unless, no." Fuyutsuki said as his eyes widened noticeable.
(Battle ground)
Both of the mammoth Evas stood watching as the mass production models eventually stopped their odd behavior, gliding down some five kilometers away, where they landed in a perfect row directly opposite of them. There, they stood, silent.
"What are they doing now?" asked Asuka
"Waiting." came the obvious answer from Rei
"For what?"
"Hey, did I miss anything?" asked Shinji as his Eva rocketed to a stop a short distance away. The mass production models remained silent upon his entry onto the field; they only looked in Unit 01's direction with what appeared to be more then a little glee.
"What took you so long?"
"I'm glad you are alright, Shinji."
Shinji had expected Asuka's response, but Rei's held a subtle emotion that sent pleasant shivers down his spine. It was about then that Shinji first heard the faint whistling noise.
"What is that?" Looking around they could not find the source of the odd sound that continued to increase in volume until it dominated the field. "Wait..." Finally looking up, Shinji saw a pinprick of twinkling light that expanded rapidly. At near the speed of sound, the Lance of Longinus came thundering down, striking the ground only five meters from the very center of the opposing Eva formation.
With a large wicked grin, the middle Eva took the lance into its hands and pulled it out pointing it straight at Unit 01.
"The Lance of Longinus? It can't be. Shinji sent that thing into orbit. It should have been impossible to retrieve." Asuka said in disbelief.
Falling into a V formation, the mass production models began to walk slowly across the field, with the lance leading the way.
"So, what do we do now?" Shinji asked.
"Attack at close range, and do not depend on your AT field to hinder attacks." Rei's voice replied over the system.
"But first we will need a small distraction." Asuka said looking around. Seeing Shinji's pallet rifle, she got an idea. "Shinji, hand me your gun."
Obviously a little confused at the request, Shinji never the less, handed his large rifle over. Taking it aggressively, she pointed it at the other Eva's.
"That will not work." Rei said just before Asuka opened fire. But instead of shooting at the Evas, she shot directly at the ground in front of them, raising a large bloom of smoke and debris that covered up the units. "I see." Rei finished after observing what the other girl intended.
"Charge!" Asuka yelled at the top of her lungs.
All three Evas began to pick up speed rapidly with their prog knives drawn. Asuka, who was slightly ahead of the other two, was the first to find the little surprise that awaited them. In the middle of the cloud of smoke stood an AT field protecting the opposing side and forcing the heroes to run smack into it as if a brick wall. With a slight alteration the AT field expanded dramatically causing Units 00-02 to fly through the air, landing roughly several kilometers apart. The lead mass production model first pointed right towards Asuka's Eva then left towards Rei's and finally straight ahead where Shinji's Eva lay. Two broke off at either end of the formation while the remaining five continued to head towards Unit 01.
"Well that didn't work." Asuka said stating the obvious.
"That AT field should have given way before the prog knife." Rei said in a small disconcerted voice.
Static started to rise on their coms as Misato suddenly appeared before them. "We just got some major readings down here. It looks like those Evas are resonating their AT fields together, it's increased their field's strength nearly exponentially."
"Why can't we do that?" Asuka asked
"In order to resonate in such a fashion requires perfect coordination between the pilots. The probability of such occurring between the three of us is very small." Rei quietly answered
Asuka looked at the now split formation. "Well, they aren't taking any chances against Shinji. They have five on him."
"His Eva has done some pretty powerful things in the past." Misato replied not liking the odds especially with this new unforeseen factor laid before them.
"Well, they are seriously underestimating my power, only two against one." Asuka said as she began to get up for a renewed attack on her self chosen opponents. 'Here we go.' she thought mentally. Charging, towards the closing in units, she found herself once again flying through the air.
"Not an advisable action." Rei said as she slowly backed away from the ones that were after her.
"Now you tell me." Asuka said with no small amount of frustration.
"How dare you treat Asuka that way." Shinji screamed as he too began his charge.
"Shinji we just..." Rei stopped, as Shinji slammed hard against the mountain side behind her.
"That had to hurt." Asuka said with some sympathy towards what she had just gone through moments ago.
Rei then used a strategy originally developed by Asuka as she kicked a large amount of dirt into the opponent's eyes. They were so close now that they had no time to react as Unit 00 drove her prog knife up dismembering one of them before they could spring her back hard.
"Rei..." Asuka was cut off as the two following her took advantage of her distraction to attack, quickly shoving her down to the ground with their joint AT field and promptly ripping out the core from the unit. "Damn it." Asuka seethed, as she was caste into darkness.
Not bothering to finish her off yet, the two rejoined the main group after Unit 01. With a vicious smile, the ones after Unit 00 began to slam their feet into its side raising an intense cry of pain from Rei.
"Rei!" Shinji yelled, suddenly his unit shot out of the mountain side it had once been embedded in, eyes glowing a demonic yellow. It became a blur as it rocketed towards the group that had begun to surround Rei's Eva.
Immediately the lead Eva gave off a horrendous screech, which drew all the other mass production models to it.
The five's joint field sprang into being, but was almost carelessly broken through by the enraged Unit 01. The others then reached the group allowing them to form a joint field of nine. Inch by inch the Unit 01 continued on, reaching its hand out to destroy those that tormented him and his friends. Mere meters away from grabbing a hold of the leaders smirking face, the field became too much sending his Eva straight back into the mountain side with a deafening crash, its yellow eyes dieing away to a dull black. The leader raised one hand in front of itself, slowly forming a large glob of energy, which was released a moment later, straight into Unit 01. The heat was so intense that some of the purple armor instantaneously stripped away.
The leader took one final step forward when Shinji managed one final word "Rei..." he said almost pleadingly.
The leader smiled viscously as it turned away from Unit 01, with the lance still in hand as it headed towards Unit 00 and its helpless pilot. It took one slow deliberate step after another making sure that it was still within sight of the fallen Eva. It stopped in front of Unit 00 and began to laugh demonically as it raised the lance directly above the pilots entry plug.
(Shinji's mind)
Shinji lay on a small green hill alive with a variety of animals and luscious trees. He moved his hands slowly through the soft grass, savoring the feel of its smooth texture. Not a worry in the world troubled him. A sweet, almost musical, laugh drifted from below to fill the very air around him. Smiling, he sat up to see Rei's joyous face. A warm gentle breeze ruffled her light blue sundress as she ran up to him.
Happily, he stood and began to run towards her as well, both laughing in delight at seeing the other, their outstretched hands yearning to hold one another again. In a flash Rei's face turned to terror as she was violently flung away from him into a vortex of rippling flame. Blinking once, Shinji opened his eyes. He remained on the same hill, but now everything was charred black, not a living thing within kilometers.
"Shin...ji." It was barely above a whisper, but a shout to Shinji ears. Rei lay just to the side under a now dead cherry blossom tree. She was badly injured, her beautiful dress in taters. Shinji stooped besides her on his knees as he let his hand come down towards her. With all her might, Rei feebly reach up, to take that hand one last time. Only centimeters away, her hand fell, dropping to the ground lifelessly.
"REIIIII!!!!!!!" Shinji screamed clutching his head.
(Battle ground)
A large gust of wind suddenly pervaded the area before all was quite. The lance remained ready to pounce on the helpless victim before it.
"I will not let you." said an emotionless voice that seemed to come from the very air itself.
Unheeding, the lead Eva lifted the lance higher before descending with deadly speed and accuracy. A feeble AT field rose and was ripped asunder, as if through paper. Time slowed down as the lance drove mercilessly forward. A flash of light and a clap of thunder drove everything into white blindness. When the scene cleared, the lance had stopped. An enormous AT field rapped itself around Unit 00, protecting it from intrusion. The Lance of Longoneus was forced to remain frozen in air as it flickered angrily and spat red sparks against that which should not have been able to stop it. The interface between the two continued to flash and hiss for several seconds, but the AT field did not give way. Angrily, the Eva raised the lance once more and drove it down to the same effect.
"I will not let you hurt her. The Eighteenth angel will stop you." Came Shinji's distant voice once more.
(Central Dogma)
"The Eighteenth? But the Eighteenth angel is...humanity" Misato froze as pieces of a large complex puzzle began to fall into place. "Shinji is channeling the Eighteenth angel. Billions of AT fields all resonating together."
"That's impossible." Maya cried as she watched the screen before her. "That much energy would erode his very being."
Visions of Shinji after the Sixteenth angel's attack flashed before her eyes, the unexplainable weakness that almost appeared as if his very soul were...
"NO!!" She yelled as she refocused on the screen before her.
(Battle field)
The mass production models shifted around, trying to identify the source of the voice. Then they spotted it, a small form on the far ridge. It was Shinji, except something was different. His whole body seemed misty as if he weren't truly there. His eyes hanging open as if he were half asleep.
The lead Eva hoisted the lance up and threw it straight at the barely visible form. Like before, an AT field sprung into existence that almost encompassed the entire battle ground, blocking the lance. For seconds, the lance remained in midair, hissing and spiting, once more in apparent omnipotent rage at being balked again, but finally dropped harmlessly to the ground.
"You shall never hurt her ever again." The same voice said, as Shinji remained hovering meters above the ground.
The mass production series roared in fury as their arms unwillingly snapped to their bodies. All nine rising sharply into the sky.
"...A place where you will harm no one ever again."
The Evas remained in mid-air, all facing each other in a large circle that spanned kilometers. Slowly, each began to rotate around the circle. With baited breaths, everyone watched as they sped up, closing in on each other. All the while, the units screamed in fury as their bodies began to contort. First, their legs snapped up to their chests to be joined to their already bound arms, but it didn't stop there. The sickening sounds of bones snapping filled the air as they spiraled ever faster inward. First half a kilometer, then a quarter, then all that could be seen was a white streak that represented the Evas in their final moments of being.
With a large crack that shook the very ground, they smashed together in the very center, generating a colossal white flash that radiated across the sky for kilometers. After only a second, even the flash itself drew inward. Just as fast as it had left, it crashed back into a single point only to disappear.
Closing his eyes, finally in peace, Shinji faded from view.
Rei's head shot up. In her mind, she saw Shinji. Wearing his plug suit with the interface clips still attached. He sat down and began to wave at her with a small infinitely sad smile; waving good bye. Soon his form began to recede, becoming smaller.
"No! Shinji!" Rei yelled. Somehow, she knew that if his form disappeared he would be gone. And still the figure waved with that sad smile.
Unit 00's battered body rose to its feet causing sever agony in Rei's already injury racked body, but she paid no heed as she staggered to where Unit 01 remained incased within the mountain. For one heart stopping moment, her Eva fell onto the plain below. With all her might, she forced herself up.
Finally, she reached her destination. She pulled the Unit away from the mountain and ripped the still smoldering armor out of the way. On contact her Eva's hand armor melted, but it didn't matter for what she sought was now revealed. She took the capsule out and gently laid it to the side; Rei then ejected her own plug and climbed out to dash down to his. She grabbed onto the super heated bars turning them with all her might. Her hands sizzled as the doors stubbornly refused to move at first. With a small pop, they released their hold, opening before her. She immediately jumped inside. Shinji's body lay there, motionless. The form within her mind was now only a small pinprick in the background.
"Shinji, no. Don't leave me, please. Please Shinji, I understand what you felt when you saved me during the 5th. I..I...Just don't leave me." For an instant, the pinprick halted before vanishing completely. "NOOOOooooo!!!!" Rei cried out burying her head into his chest as she began to cry.
Minutes passed slowly as she sat there pondering everything that she had lost. All the times that they had shared together, all the things he had shown her. Now the most precious of them all was gone. But something distracted her from her grief; she felt it on her shoulder, just the barest of pressures. Looking up with a gasp, she saw Shinji's head still hanging to the side, but his eyes were slightly open. Just the barest hint of a smile formed on his face before they closed once more. Frightened that she had lost him once more, she put her head back onto his chest. This time to find a heart beat. For the longest moment in her life she found only absolute silence, then just a small almost imperceptible beat, followed by another.
THE END
Authors note: Mwwhhhaaa, the last chapter is finally done, completed, over with, faneto. Now this chapter should probably have been split into two sections for my sanity, but I promised that there would be only one more chapter with a potential epilogue, and I just can't go around lying to the very people who are so very nice and submit many many reviews now can I?
I'll try to explain anything that may have been confused about here. Rei probably appeared very OOC in this chapter, but you will notice that she regained her memories, which was punctuated by Gendou receiving his punishment. Rei joined with her younger self who was very in tune with her emotions. Rei is still Rei, but because of this joining, she is much more emotional hence, her behavior near the end. At the beginning, when she was so cold to Shinji, she was trying to hide the fact that she did remember from Gendou so had to act as her old self to everyone lest her surprise be caught on by him.
Asuka's reaction in their dialogue may have appeared off as well, but she simply thought she found out Shinji wanted Rei more then her so she did something very emotionally mature by letting go so that they could remain friends.
Obviously, everyone who has reviewed so far agrees with me that an epilogue is a good thing to rap things up. To this end, I'll get to work on it. Please review with comments, either good or constructive. It really helps me in the writing process.
Until next time,
brindani