BOREDOM
by: Andross937
disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion or Dragon Ball Z. I do not claim any ownership over any of the characters of either series. I am not making any profit off of this story, and am only writing it for entertainment purposes. If the owners of either series wishes it, I will remove this story from the internet. I do not wish to offend anyone with this story. If anyone is seriously offended by this story, please notify me of the material you found offensive and I will attempt to remove it from the story. If it is impossible to do so, I may leave the story off of the internet. I do own the character Andross. He is not patented, but it would be greatly appriecated if anyone that wishes to use him would contact me for permission to use him before using him.
Authors Notes: Hello to everyone! I thank you all for your many reviews of chapter seven! They really kept my spirits up! A for this chapter, I'm finishing it kind of late, and thus have no time to preread it. So, I'm sorry if there are any mistakes. Don't worry, because I'm going to continue to correct spelling mistakes and such as I work on the next chapter. So more then likely any mistakes that you see, will be delt with.
Now then, you may notice that in this chapter, and in the last one, there was very little humor. I know I put this story in the humor section, and I intend to keep it there. It's just, that in life, no matter how happy and filled with laughter your life is, serious things happen. Well, serious things are happening, and thus the humor will be layed aside for the moment to deal with them. Don't worry, I hope to put the humor back into play soon, and have tried to put as much in here as I can with what I hope to be a serious setting. Enjoy the chapter!
-story begin!-
It was a shaky ride down. The doors still wouldn't close, but they were lucky the elevator was moving at all. As they traveled downwards, they were silent as they could see nothing but the endless warped steel and cracked cement as they were in complete silence. It got to the point where their own breathing was so loud, that it was almost deffening. When Misato began to tap her foot frustratingly, the sound of it echoed so loud in the elevator it was like a giant bell going off.
Finally the elevator came to a stop as something other then stone and metal entered their vision. They stepped out into a giant chamber, more then large enough to fit several Eva's comfotably inside. The chamber was cracked and broken everywhere. The walls, floor, and cieling all had giant cracks in the cement, and warps and bends in the metal. Rubble lay everywhere, and a section of one of the walls that was made of steel had a huge hole in it, and the metal was still red hot and melting. It must have been hit with a powerful ki blast at some point.
Immediately the smell of blood reached their noses, and when they turned their heads, it was easy to tell why. Eva unit 00 leaned against the wall, or what was left of it. It's armor had been bent, twisted, and ripped off of its body. The damage hadn't stopped there though. It's flesh had been beaten and ripped apart, pieces and chunks of it strewn about everywhere. It's limbs had been torn off and cast aside. It was a wonder that it's core had been left intact, and that the plug had survived at all.
The plug had also been damaged. It looked like Shin had smashed several sections of it with his fists, bending the metal inwards. He had also bent the door to the point where it wouldn't open from the inside, tearing through the Eva's flesh to reach it. The Eva's blood was spreyed everywhere in the chamber, filling it with its stench of carnage.
"Get the First Child out of there now!" Ritsuko ordered.
Immedaitely the paramedics rushed towards the fallen Eva. They had no idea what they were going to do to get Rei out of it, but they would have to try something. They scampered up the Eva's body, or what was still left of it, and soon reached the plug. They searched for a way to open the door, but couldn't find any way for them to open the twisted piece of metal. Then, it came to one of them. There was a hole punched through the side of the door. He scampered over to one of the many twisted and broken piece of armor, a piece that was as close to a rod as he could find. With the others help, they shoved it into the hole and managed to pull it like a lever, forcing the door open.
When they managed to get inside the plug, they found the First Child curled in a ball, barely conscious. They quickly pulled her out and put her on a foldable strecther they had brought. She didn't resist, almost as if all the will was gone from her. Already they could tell that her leg was broken, but they didn't know how badly. She may have also had a concussion, but they would have to wait until they could get her up to the infirmary to find out for sure.
"Mam, we have to get the First Child up to the Infirmary as fast as possible." one of the paramedics said.
"Two of you will stay behind to help us carry Shinji when we find him." Misato quickly ordered.
Two of the paramedics nodded and stayed behind as the others got on the elevator, beginning the ride up. Rei still seemed awake, but she didn't move. It looked to them as if she were scared stiff, and it freaked them out more then anything else had in their lives. Just as the elevator began to move upwards again, she turned her head to look further in the chamber. She tried to feel for his presence, like she had felt it before, but she could feel nothing...
Misato looked around the beaten chamber, nervously noting the way it seemed as if it would collapse at any moment. It didn't help her feel better when she noted that one of walls had already caved in. She hoped to all that was good that Shinji wasn't burried under all that rubble. A rush of adrenaline flowed through her viens though as she looked in the center of the room. There, laying in a large crater, was Shinji's dead body.
"Shinji!" Misato shouted in panic.
Immediately she began to run towards the body without thinking twice. Ritsuko saw the same thing and ran after her, knowing full well that it might not be Shinji. When they reached the body, both women unconsciously gasped at what they saw. His body was badly beaten.
His arms and legs showed signs of broken bones in various spots, not to mention to nasty way some of his ribs looked. His shirt was covered in blood, turning the white school uniform crimson red. His body was covered in bruises, while some of his cloths had been burned off, undoubtedly from a ki blast. Yet, these were all things that they knew Shinji could recover from in a day or two. Then, they saw the cut on his arm, and Ritsuko couldn't stop herself from whistling.
"His brachial artery was cut. He bled to death in less then twenty seconds..." she whispered to herself.
"How can you be so cold about this! This is Shinji!" Misato shouted, coming very close to slapping her friend.
"It might not be though. Infact, it most likely isn't..." Ritsuko said.
"And how do you know that?" Misato asked coldly.
"Look at his smile Misato. That's not Shinji, it's Shin. That's that same twisted smile he had while he was killing people up on the surface. Besides, if Shinji died and Shin survived, then we would already be dead." Ritsuko said.
"Or worse..." Misato said quietly, the memories of what Shin promised coming back to her.
"Mhmm." Ritsuko agreed quietly, a shiver running down her spine.
"Ladies, have you noticed the form next to the door?" Fuyutuski asked.
Both women looked up to see Shinji laying next to the giant metal door, easily as tall as the entire chamber. Once again Misato broke into a run, nearly stumbling several times over the broken floor. Ritsuko chased after her. Just when Misato was about to come close to Shinji, Ritsuko shouted out.
"Stop Misato! He could be an angel!" Ritsuko shouted, trying to get her friend to listen to her.
With that, Misato stopped dead in her tracks. Shinji, an angel? It didn't seem possible. He certianly didn't look any different. In fact, from where she stood, less then a hundred feet from him, he didn't even seem injured. She could even see his steady breathing through his torn and burned clothes.
Slowly she began to walk towards him again. Ritsuko joined her now, and stopped her once again with a hand on her shoulder. Misato pulled to get away, but Ritsuko held tight.
"Let me go! I have to help him!" Misato shouted.
"I know! I want to help him too, but he might be an angel Misato! That AT-field we detected was coming from him. We have to be careful with him. We can't know for sure if he's a threat until we can run proper tests on him. Until then, we shouldn't get too close." Ritsuko said, holding her friend back from reaching Shinji.
"Ritsuko, I hit the commander, don't make me hit you too." Misato said angrily.
"Fine." Ritsuko said as she let go, having noticed the way Misato's hand had been tensing on the handle of her pistol.
Misato then resumed her rush to Shinji's side, followed closely by Ritsuko. When they reached Shinji, Misato knelt by him and carefully held his face up. He breathed gently as he slept. It wasn't a pleasent sleep, but it was a deep sleep though. Ritsuko quickly ordered the paramedics over to carry him on a strecther. Once he was on it, they started their walk towards the elevator, with Misato never taking her hand off of Shinji's chest. He just continued his slow unconscious breathing.
Fuyutuski stayed behind, continuing to stand next to the dead body of Shin. He looked down at the boy's beaten and broken body. His demented grin still adorned his face even as his lifeless eyes seemed to stare up, directly into Fuyutuski's own eyes. It was quite disconcerning to Fuyutuski, especially as he could see so many resemblences of Shin, and Gendo himself. No one but himself knew it, but their grin was the same, even now. It sent shivers down his spine.
-NERV entrance-
Asuka stood before one of the doors to NERV. It happened to be the closest one to where she had been, but she still wished that she had picked a different one. The angel alarms had stopped blaring only seconds after they had started, but she still needed to get into NERV to find out what had happened. She was in such a hurry that she hadn't even shut off the car when she got out. Now she was comtemplating getting back in it.
The large and thick metal door that kept intruders out of NERV, had been damaged. It wasn't just a normal bit of damage either. This door could take a heavily loaded eighteen wheeler ramming into it at full speed with little more then a dent. No, it was not a dent that damaged the door, but a hole. A hole had been ripped right through the door, and it was just the right shape and size to fit a human body. Shin had been here. He had entered NERV through this door. Bent and squished bullets lay all over the ground, speaking of the futile efforts that the guards had put up to stop him, all in vain.
Asuka shook her head, trying to get her mind to think straight again. She didn't know how long she had been standing there, just staring at the hole, but she guessed that it was at least a minute or two. She was scared, scared that Shin had survived. If he had, they would all be in a lot of trouble. She would be in a lot of trouble. She knew exactly what kind of bad trouble she would be in...
She was also scared of what Shin might have done to everyone in NERV. What would she find if she made it down to the command center? Would she find a bunch of dead bodies, or only body parts? Were they still alive, or had Shin killed them for his own enjoyment too?
Still, she had to go on. Whether or not Shin lived, there might be an angel coming. If Shinji had survived, he would probably be too beaten up to face it on his own. Asuka guessed that Rei and unit 00 probably hadn't faired against Shin any better then she had with unit 02. Still, she would need unit 01. Even if an angel wasn't coming, then she could use it to finish off Shin if he had survived. She only hoped that if he was alive, that he would be weak enough for her to kill him.
She ducked through the hole, even though it was pretty much her size anyways. As she followed the trail down into NERV, she was always walking over a bread crumb trail of mashed and flattened bullets. Then she smelled something funny, and thought it was coming from around the next corner. It smelled like something fimilair to her... Then, it hit her, it smelled like LCL.
When she peered around the corner, she saw what it was. Nearly twenty NERV guards were laying dead on the ground infront of a passage way of Bakelite that looked like an explosion had ripped through. The shrapnel of Bakelite that had come from the explosion had ripped through the guards, killing each of them. Their blood had flowed out all over the floors, and that was what she had smelled.
"...Help..." called a voice.
Asuka looked again at the bodies, finding it hard to keep looking at the death. She then saw the body closest to her move a little. The man was the least injured of the guards, and he was still breathing, but slowly. His right arm had been cut up, a piece of shrapenel had cut a small gash on his head, and his leg looked broken. He slowly reached towards Asuka with his left arm.
"Help..." he asked again.
Asuka quickly made her way to him. She knelt beside him, and quickly looked him over. He didn't look Japanese, but rather more like an American with his light skin and light brown hair. It wasn't strange though, because NERV had employed almost anyone willing to work for them, in the lower less paying jobs. Guards and certain positions in Section 2 were among those jobs. As she looked him over more carefully, she saw that his radio had taken a piece of the shrapnel, saving his lung from being pierced. None of the other guards had been as lucky, and none of their radios had survived either.
"There's a phone, two intersections down that way..." the guard said as he pointed his left arm down the hall, further down the direction Asuka would have been walking had she not turned the corner. "Use it to call for medics. You can't get to the command center this way..." the guard said slowly.
"Why can't I?" Asuka asked.
"Maze program... Impossible to navigate through." the guard answered.
Asuka finally looked at his name tag. It read F. Taylor. Asuka quickly looked back up at his eyes, reading the pain in his green eyes. She nodded and started to run down the hall. When she found the phone, she quickly dailed up the infirmary. They picked up, and she quickly explained the situation. When they assured her that a team was being sent and would be there in less then less then five minutes, she breathed easier. They hung up, and she stood there for a few seconds.
Then she picked the phone up again. She paused, before finally dailing Misato's number. It rung a few times, and Asuka's heart began to race more. Was she alive? Had she been killed? Then, a rush of adrenaline flowed through her body as the phone was answered.
"Hello?" came Misato's tired voice.
"Misato?" Asuka asked.
"Asuka!" Misato exclaimed, obviously happy at hearing her voice. "We were really worried about you! Are you alright! Did Shin hurt you!" Misato asked in concern.
"No, he... he didn't hurt me... He..." Asuka couldn't bring herself to continue.
"It's alright Asuka. I already have a good idea what he did to you." Misato said quietly.
"You too?" Asuka asked, picking up on what Misato ment.
"Yes. Me too. Don't worry though. Shin is dead now. Shinji killed him." Misato said, hardly feeling better.
"And Shinji?" Asuka asked.
"He's alive. We have to... run some tests on him though. He'll be sedated until we're done..." Misato said, slight hesitation to her voice.
"How bad is he hurt? And what about the angel alarm?" Asuka asked.
"He's... going to be fine Asuka. You know how fast he heals. As for the angel..." there was a pause that made Asuka nervous. "It... was only a malfunction caused by the shaking of the battle. The two of them fought in an underground chamber, and it shook the base up pretty bad. That's what caused the angel alarm to go off." Misato said.
"So, it's over?" Asuka asked.
"Yes. It's all over. Where are you?" Misato asked, her voice returning back to concern.
"I'm inside NERV. I found some guards... they're dead. Shrapnel from a corridor of Bakelite killed them. Only one is alive, and I've called for medics." Asuka answered.
"Stay with the guard then. When the medics come for him, go with them and I'll meet you at the hospital. I'll see you in a few hours." Misato said.
"Alright." Asuka said before hanging up.
She made her way back to the injured guard. When she found him again, he had dragged himself to the end of the corridor and out into the hall. Asuka rushed to him when she saw this and knelt by him to check him over again.
"Don't move around like that you idoit! You'll just make yourself worse!" she berated him.
"Heh...heh heh... heh heh haha..." the guard started to laugh quietly, before it grew louder and louder, until it echoed eerily in the halls.
"Stop that." Asuka ordered firmly, becoming nervous.
The guard stopped laughing, and smiled up at her.
"You know... this was my first week. My first week, and already all the other guards I know, are all dead. Not even a full week in, and I'm already busted up. This sucks..." he said.
"Yeah..." was all Asuka could think to say.
"Is he dead?" the guard asked.
"Yes. The boy that killed everyone here, is dead. Shinji killed him." Asuka said.
"But, I thought that was Shinji Ikari? I thought that was the Third Child?" the guard asked.
"No, it wasn't him. He just looked like him." Asuka said.
"Bullshit! I may be new here, but I know the Third Child when I see him." the guard said.
"Yeah, I thought I did too." Asuka whispered. "What's your name?" she asked.
"Huh?" the guard asked.
"What's your name?" Asuka asked him again.
"Frazier M. Taylor." the guard answered.
"Well, Frazier M. Taylor, I think you deserve a medal for today." Asuka said even as she could hear the medical team coming.
"Why's that?" Frazier asked.
"I faced Shin, the boy that killed those men, in my Eva, and he beat me. You faced him, and you didn't have an Eva to protect you. Heck, it doesn't even look like you have a bullet proof vest. You had to have a lot of courage for that." Asuka said.
"Shiiit." Frazier said, drawing the word out. "I was scared stiff the whole time. I nearly wet myself when I saw him rip through that door just by walking through it. Besides, will a medal bring them back?" he asked, nodding his head to the dead guards.
"No, it won't." Asuka admitted.
"Keep your medals. I don't want them. I just want to do my job." Frazier said as the medical team arrived.
"Alright, but I'll still talk to Misato about you." Asuka said as they placed him on a strecther.
They began to wheel him off, and she kept following them as they went. She was more then glad to get away from the smell of the blood. She shuddered, wondering if she would ever be able to get back in her Eva and feel the same in the LCL again.
-four hours later - Commander Ikari's office-
"Status?" the commander asked, already back to his normal pose.
Still, even with everyone of his muscles in their accustomed places while he sat at his desk with his hands folded infront of his face, something was still off. The left side of his face was still swelled from Misato's hard punch, and his glasses were slightly cracked. Still, he sat as if nothing were amiss, but his attitude was darker and more serious then usual.
"Almost all the damage done to the facility has been accounted for. Forty eight NERV employed soldiers and guards were killed, with one guard injured." Ritsuko said, but was interupted by Fuyutuski.
"Only one injured and not dead?" he asked.
"Yes sir. Shin was very precise." Ritsuko answered.
"Very well. Continue on." Gendo oredered.
"Damage done to unit 02 is minimul. The damage done to unit 00 is very heavy. We will have to rebuild nearly its entire body." Ritsuko reported.
"Do we have the parts available?" Gendo asked.
"Yes sir." Ritsuko answered.
"Very well. You may procede with the repairs. What of the body of Shin?" Gendo asked.
"He is dead, and we are storing his body." Ritsuko said.
"Move it to a secure location. Begin further tests on it. Learn all you can from it." Gendo ordered.
"Yes sir." Ritsuko said.
"What of the Third Child?" Gendo asked, his voice ice cold.
"We are still running tests, and are keeping him sedated. We can find no evidence of any angel contamination. There is nothing in his D.N.A. showing any signs of angel D.N.A. at all." Ritsuko said, sounding puzzled a little, despite her attempt to hide it.
"So he is not a threat?" Gendo asked.
"No sir, not that we can tell. From what we can tell from scans of his brain, we believe that he may also suffer some memory loss. He will be questioned upon his awakening." Ritsuko answered.
"Do you have any ideas as to how this happened?" Fuyutuski asked this time.
"Yes sir. Earlier today we detected a power spike of the Third Child's power. We did not pay any attention to it since it was the time that he trained in the morning. Further examination of the scans we took though, reveal that his power readings split into two readings at that moment, and that his own went down similar to him fainting or being knocked unconscious, while the second one moved towards the city until it hid itself from our detection. We do not know the reason for it happening, but we believe that something occured that caused the Third Child to split and form a second person, Shin." Ritsuko explained.
"Very well. From now on, keep a close monitor on the Third Child's power signature, and set the Magi to monitor for any further occurenses." Gendo ordered.
"Yes sir." Ritsuko said, nodding.
"Very well. You are dismissed." Gendo said coldly.
"Sir?" Ritsuko said, not moving an inch.
"Yes Dr.?" Gendo asked, still just as coldly.
"What of Captain Katsuragi?" Ritsuko asked, almost quietly.
"She will be repremanded for her actions. No other actions will be taken." Gendo said.
Ritsuko's eyes widened and her eyebrows raised, but she didn't show any other signs of being surprised.
"Thank you sir." she said before turning and leaving, a great weight off her chest as she was assured that her friend would not be killed for what she had done.
When she left the room, and the door was firmly shut, Fuyutuski spoke.
"That was very unlike you." he said, a small smile forming.
"She did not see anything classified. For now, it is advicable to attempt to not provoke the Third Child's wrath. Captian Katsuragi is his guardian, and he has grown attached to her. If I were to do anything further to her while the Third Child is inneviatibly emotionally unstable from this incident, it would be a most unwise move." Gendo explained.
"I see. And what do you think of Shinji's dissapearing AT-field?" Fuyutuski asked.
"It will undoubtedly cause further disruptions later on. We will just have to be prepared to deal with them, and adapt when neccesary." Gendo said simply, sounding almost unaffected by it.
"Hmm, and what of the commitee? Will you inform them of this?" Fuyutuski asked.
"No. The damage to the city will be blamed on terrorists attacks. The funds for the repairs to NERV itself will be taken from the overly large requests of funds for the repairs to the city. The commitee should not find out about this." Gendo said.
"No, they shouldn't find out that your puppets are acting up." Fuyutuski said with a grin.
"Shin was not our puppet to command. He was an unknown factor." Gendo said.
"Right... ofcourse."
-hospital room 404-
The world was dark. The world was dark and cold, filled with never ending silence and emptyness. The silence was so loud, it was deafening, and it echoed everywhere in the darkness. Then, sound began to creep its way into the world. Blood rushed through veins at a steady pace, drowning out the silence with another deafening roar. Just as it was quieting itself, light poured into the world, blinding everything.
Shinji Ikari slowly opened his eyes, blinking several times as he looked up at the pale white cieling. It took a few moments for his mind to clear, but soon he knew very well where he was. He was in the hospital, the same room he had been put in every time he had visited that place. A small grin crossed his face for a moment as he could almost see the error sign that should be put on the cieling, as he realized he must have messed up again.
Shinji tried to remember what had happened, and why he was there. A frown quickly overtook his grin when he remembered trying to use the split form technique, and how it had gone so horrobly wrong. A deeper frown covered his face as he remembered being knocked out, but he also remembered knocking himself out. He remembered flying towards the city, nothing but dark intentions in mind. He quickly realized that he had all the memories of Shin, and he hated everyone of them.
He sat up in bed and curled himself up against the headboard in a fetal position sitting up, covering his once again naked body with the covers of the bed. He stayed curled up there, slowly rocking back and forth as dark memories that were not his own, and yet they were, flooded into his mind and haunted him deeply.
The door opened, and Misato walked in, finding him in his curled up position. Immediately she rushed to his side and took him in an embrace. He didn't respond at first, but then tears began to fall from his eyes. He slowly leaned his body away from her, almost as if he were afraid of her. She knew that he wasn't afraid of her though, he was afraid of himself and what he could do to her.
"Stay back..." he whispered just loud enough for her to hear.
"What?" she asked, confused.
"I said stay back..." Shinji whispered quietly.
"Stay back, but why?" Misato asked as she tried to hug him more, but he leaned away more.
"I don't know who..." Shinji whispered, stopping his sentence short.
Suddenly he floated upwards, forcing himself out of Misato's arms. He floated up and to the corner of the cieling, staying there with his blanket still wrapped over him. He still rocked back and forth in his curled position, but did it in the air.
"I don't know who I am..." Shinji whispered out in a desperately scared voice. "I can't tell which one I am. I have both their memories, but they're fuzzy. I can't remember which one won. I can't remember which one died..." Shinji whispered as his face was turning a paler and paler white from fear.
"You are Shinji Ikari." Misato said reassuringly.
"How do you know? I could be Shin..." Shinji suggested.
"I know, because I know you Shinji. Only you would have the strength to hold back Shin. Only you would be concerned with which one of the two you are. If you were Shin, you would still have your darkness in control, and you wouldn't have let me come in her without killing me." Misato said, sounding very confident with herself.
"Worse..." Shinji said quietly in fear.
"What?" she asked.
"I said, worse. I wouldn't kill you, I'd do worse..." Shinji admitted.
"There, you see? You have to be Shinji, or you would have already done it. So come down from there already." Misato said, sounding more like a mother then anything else at the moment, though deep down, she was still scared. Her fear shamed her, but she couldn't help it.
Shinji slowly nodded his head and lowered himself back to the bed. Once again Misato took him into a hug, but slower this time so as not to startle him. He didn't react, until the tears started to come again. He leaned into her now as the tears began to flow freely, coming out of his eyes like a river had just broken through a dam.
"Sshh, shh, it's okay Shinji. It's all going to be okay." Misato said as she rubbed his head lightly.
"No! No, it can't be okay. It can't be okay Misato... All those people..." Shinji said through his tears. "All those people died because of me..." he cried out.
"It'll be okay Shinji. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault but his own..." Misato said, trying to reassure Shinji.
"No Misato. He is me!" Shinji exclaimed through his tears. "It's my fault too, because I let him out... I didn't mean to, but I did, and it's my fault they died. It's my fault that so many died." Shinji sobbed.
"It was an accident Shinji. I don't know what happened, but I know that you would have never let it happen if you knew that something like this would come of it." Misato reassured.
"Misato..." Shinji whispered now as the tears began to let up.
"Yes Shinji?" she asked.
"I don't want to fight anymore..." Shinji whispered. "Is that wrong?" he asked, still scared of himself.
"No Shinji, but you shouldn't stop fighting because of this. There are still more angels, and they can will do more damage then Shin did if they get the chance. If we don't stop them, they will kill everyone on the planet. You can't allow that to happen Shinji... and... you owe it to those people to keep fighting..." Misato said.
"Alright..." Shinji whispered as he determined to keep fighting. "But, I don't want to fight like this anymore... When the Eva is finished being modified, I'll use it only..." Shinji said slowly.
"You can't just depend on the Eva Shinji. You were given the power to make a difference, and you have the responsability to do that. I know it's a lot of responsability for someone your age, but it isn't going to go away. You have to fight and use your power any chance you get." Misato said.
"Alright Misato... If I have to use my power, I will... I promise..." Shinji said, but he made a mental promise too. He wouldn't be trying to unlock any more of his knowledge. It had cost too high of a price this time... who knew what it could do if he tried it again.
"Good." Misato said before holding him tightly again.
They stayed like that for several minutes. Misato ignored the fact that she was holding Shinji in a rather intimate position, and Shinji ignored it for the most part too. Then something else popped in Shinji's mind. He realized that there was a gap in his memories. After Shin died, he remembered that he had been bleeding bad, and probably should have bled to death. He couldn't remember anything after that, but it wasn't like he had fainted.
"Misato...? What happened after I killed Shin? I can't remember a thing, except for the fact that I should have bled to death." Shinji asked.
"Uh..." Misato hesitated. She had been ordered, that if Shinji couldn't remember using an AT-field, to keep it a secret from him. So, she took a deep breath and prepared the lie that they had prepared. "We came down the elevator and brought you up to the infirmary. We were able to keep you alive long enough for you to heal yourself in your sleep." Misato lied, cringing as she couldn't help but come up with the mental image of Shinji so badly injured, that he would bleed to death. It was vague though, since she actually had no idea what kind of injuries he had sustained during the fight with Shin.
"And what of Shin's body?" Shinji asked.
"Destroyed..." Misato admitted. She herself had wondered what NERV was intending to do with it, and she had asked Ritsuko what was going to happen to it. Ritsuko told her that they had already destroyed the body. They had burned it in an incenerator just to be safe, under Commander Ikari's orders.
"Good..." Shinji said before nearly falling asleep in Misato's embrace, finding it very comfortable.
"Will Captain Katsuragi please report to Commander Ikari's office please..." came a voice over the hospital intercomm.
Shinji didn't miss the fluctation in Misato's ki levels, and the frightened look on her face.
"What's the matter Misato? Why does the Commander want to see you, and why are you afraid?" Shinji asked, suddenly concerned for her.
"I uh... The Commander wouldn't let me down the elevator to get to you. Something about something top secret down there... I uh... I punched him out to get past him..." Misato explained nervously.
"I'll go with you..." Shinji said as he uncurled himself from her arms and made his way to where they kept the hospital pajamas while the blankets were still wrapped around him.
"I don't know if you should Shinji... They might want you to stay in the hospital for a while." Misato said.
"I'm not letting you go by yourself if you're in trouble. Father sacraficed those guards to try and slow Shin down, even though he knew it wouldn't work. I know esactly what he might do to you. If he does, I'll stop him and finish what Shin intended to start... I'll kill him." Shinji said, now in a dark and angry voice.
He could remember how Shin killed all those guards... and he knew that they would have run, if not for his father's orders to stop Shin. He knew exactly where the darkness in himself came from. It came from his father... Well, he wouldn't let him hurt Misato. He wouldn't let him hurt anyone again.
"If he doesn't do anything to you, then I'll come back here after that and stay in the hospital as long as they like. Alright?" Shinji asked as his image blurred for a second and he was dressed in the pajamas now.
"There's no changing your mind, is there?" Misato asked.
"No." Shinji said simply.
"Not even about the killing part?" she asked, sounding a bit more desperate.
"No. I'll kill him if he tries to hurt or kill you. If he doesn't, then nothing will happen at all." Shinji said.
"Alright, I can't stop you, so you're welcome to come along. You know you shouldn't talk like that. They can hear you in this room." Misato said, pointing at one of the many audio bugs in the room.
"I know. I just don't care." Shinji said.
With that done, they left the room headed for Gendo's office.
-Commander Ikari's office-
There was a knock at the door. Gendo knew who it was, because he had been watched the monitors to the cameras outside his office. He also knew who was with them.
"Come in." he ordered.
The door opened and Misato walked in. Before the doors closed, Gendo easily picked up Shinji's intimidating expression aimed at him. Fuyutuski saw it too, and nearly shivered right there on the spot, because Shinji's face looked just like Gendo's face, but without his hands in the way. Gendo only raised his eyebrow slightly, but showed no other physical reactions.
"Captian Katsuragi." Gendo said coldly.
"Sir!" she exclaimed as she came to attention, nervous about what would be done to her. Her nervousness only increased when she noticed the obvious swelling of the left side of his face. Now she was happy that she had switched her gun to her left hand when she had punched him, instead of pistol whipping him like she wanted to do.
"Your actions were out of line, and should be severly punished. A note will be made on your permanent record. Forunately for you, I recognize that you were under extreme emotional stress, and thus your actions will not be punished further. However..." Gendo paused for effect.
"Yes sir?" Misato asked, still nervous.
"I warn you to not do it again." Gendo said, his voice becoming even colder as a flash came from the reflection in his glasses.
"Yes sir!" Misato said.
"Very well. You are dismissed." Gendo ordered.
"Yes sir!" Misato said again before turning and walking out.
Once outside of his office, she saw that Shinji was still standing in his original position, waiting for her. She could tell that he had been staring at the door hard. She knew that he was probably, more like definately, watching their energy levels to monitor them. She felt better knowing that Shinji wasn't going to bust through the door and rip the commander to pieces.
However, her nervousness jumped back to life when Shinji walked past her as she came out, to walk into the Commander's office. She paniced for a second, but Shinji looked at her and smiled. She got the feeling that he wasn't going to kill him, but beyond that, she didn't know what would happen in there as the doors closed on her.
"Yes Third Child?" Gendo asked when Shinji came to a stop infront of his desk.
"I don't know what kind of cover story you're coming up with to cover all of this up. I don't really care that much. However, I do know that you ordered those guards to their deaths. You sent them against an enemy they could never have stalled with what they were given, and you didn't care. You just wanted them to distract him, knowing it wouldn't work. All you cared about was your safety." Shinji said, the anger was boiling over into his voice as he spoke.
"Yes?" Gendo asked, still just as coldly.
"You're my superior officer, and I know I shouldn't kill you. So, I only want this. List those guards as heroes. List that they faced an enemy they stood no chance against, and died trying to stop them. Tell their families that they died heroes, and take care of their families. That is all I want." Shinji said.
"Very well Third Child. It shall be done as you ask." Gendo said.
"Thank you Commander. I will leave now." Shinji said before turning around and walking out.
When he had shut the door, Fuyutuski raised his eyebrow and smiled.
"Are you going soft Gendo?" he asked.
"No. For the moment, it is neccesary to keep the Third Child satisfied." Gendo said, his voice still cold.
"You know, he reminds me of a young man who knew what he wanted, and did everything he could to get it. As I recall, I had to bail him out of jail a few times because he would often fight for what he wanted." Fuyutuski said with a larger smile, recalling his happier years.
"That was a long time ago. That man is no longer so young." Gendo said, acknologing his professor's hints.
-Outside Commander Ikari's office-
Misato looked releaved when she saw Shinji come out of the Commander's office, and she could see Gendo sitting at his desk in one piece. Shivers ran down her spine as the Commander seemed to be staring right at her just before the door shut. That man creeped her out something fierce!
"Well, what did you want to see the Commander about?" Misato asked.
"Just making sure that those guards that Shin killed will be seen as heroes, like they deserve." Shinji said, his anger gone from his voice, replaced with something more like depression. "And that their families will be taken care of." he added.
"You know, one of them survived." Misato said.
"What? Really?" Shinji asked, surprised. Shin's memories came to mind, and he thought that they were all dead. One of them must have been knocked unconscious rather then being killed.
"Yeah, he got really lucky. His radio caught a piece of shrapenel that would have pierced his lung." Misato said.
"Where is he?"
-NERV hospital - room 302-
Shinji and Misato walked up to the hospital room. Shinji hesitated outside the door, not opening it. Slowly he looked towards the plate next to the door. It read Room 302 - Frazier M. Taylor and Shinji suddenly felt the strength in his body leave him. Shinji had never met him before, heard of him, or knew that he existed. He couldn't help but wonder of all the faces he had in his memories from Shin, which one belonged to this man.
"Shinji, are you sure you want to do this?" Misato asked worriedly.
"Yes Misato, I am." Shinji said as he took a deep breath and turned the handle for the door.
-perspective change-
Frazier sat up in bed, looking out the window. He had been in the hospital for three days now, and they said he would only be in there for a week more. It was lucky for him that NERV had developed a lot of new medical technology that allowed his bones to heal so rabidly. Until they were healed though, all he could do was stare out the window at the Geofront. It still amazed him how much they had made it to look like the perfect paradise up on the surface, but with a strange unreal feeling to it when the buildings lowered down into place.
He heard the door open, but didn't pay attention to it for a few seconds. It was probably just another nurse there to check up on him. She would go around the room making sure everything was okay, and when she needed to ask him something, she would speak up. And if it was Dr. Akagi, she would let him know the second she stepped in.
He heard footsteps come slowly in, and then stop. He probably would have looked at them, but he was watching something outside. Then he heard a pair of heels come in as far as the door before stopping. This did catch his attention, because nurses didn't usually come in pairs.
He turned his head to look at who had come in. Immediately he almost jumped out of the bed in shock. His reflexes went on high alert and he reached for the rifle that wasn't there. When he hands came up empty, he could do nothing but stare in horror at Shinji.
Shinji winced when he saw the fear in the man's eyes. It was made worse when he suddenly remembered his frightened face from Shin's memories. He didn't know what to do, so he just stood there.
"I'm sorry." Shinji finally said.
"What?" Frazier asked in confussion.
"I'm sorry he hurt you." Shinji said, his face now looking down.
Shinji knew what he looked like. He looked like he used to look. He would hardly ever look up, and he would apologize for everything. Things got worse when he slowly began to clinch his left fist. he knew he looked weak. It was fitting, because he felt weak. He felt weaker then he had ever felt before in his life. It was his fault this man had been hurt, and he couldn't do a thing about it.
"You're really not him, are you? Sorry about that kid. They told me it was someone else, and now I believe it. Hey, listen, it's not you're fault. Besides, in a week or so, I'm out of here." Frazier said as his fear left him. This boy was anything but the one that had hurt him and killed the other guards.
"I'll leave now. I just wanted to say that..." Shinji said before he left, passing by Misato on his way out.
"Hey, Shinji!" Frazier called out.
Shinji stopped mid-step, and slowly turned around.
"I've never seen you before, except in pictures. They breifed me alot about you and the other children, incase I ever met you or had to defend anyone of you if NERV was attacked. Almost everything they said about you, was impossible sounding. And it wasn't just that you could fly around, survive N2 mines, or kill an angel with your bare hands. It was that you could do all that, that you could be beaten to an inch of your life that many times, and face that many terrors, and still keep smiling. It was also that you could see that many things in your short life, and still be happy. So, don't let something like this get you down." Frazier said, trying to raise his spirits.
Shinji smiled the smallests of smiles. Yet, it didn't last long, and soon it was gone.
"Thanks..." he said slowly.
Once again he started to turn around, and once again Frazier stopped him with his voice.
"Hey Shinji... Listen, I forgive you. I don't know why you think this was your fault, especially since you're the one that saved us. You nearly got yourself killed doing it from what I heard. But, I still forgive you. Just thought you might want to hear that." Frazier said.
"Thanks..." Shinji said, this time smiling a little wider, and it didn't go away.
Shinji walked out, but Misato lingered for a few moments.
"Thank you for that. He really needed to hear that." Misato said.
"Hey, it's no problem. That kid's saved the world more times then I've started my car here in Japan." Frazier said with a smile.
"Um... that reminds me. You probably won't hear about it offically for a day or so, but... One of the energy blasts that Shin used when he was breaking into NERV happened to make its way to the parking garage you use. You don't have a car anymore..." Misato said with a sheepish look.
Frazier's jaw dropped almost to the floor with that.
"But... but... but, I was only renting that car. What am I going to tell the rental place? I'll never convince them to rent me another car!" Frazier exclaimed.
"Yeah... sorry about that." Misato said as she left the room.
-To Be Continued-
