THE RAILWAYS END-CHAPTER 3
In which we see Destiny's garden,
Attend a funeral
And witness the Grim Reaper noogie her little brother…
Destiny walked.
Of course, he is almost always walking. He walks to see to it that everything is correct in his realm.
The garden of Destiny is a massive place. There are countless turns and corners and untold numbers of plants and statues.
"Statues?" you may ask, "Statues of whom?"
Everyone, quite simply. Destiny cares very little about who comes into his garden. Popes, presidents, and emperors come and go; but Destiny is always there.
And so, statues rise up in his garden, with little regard to who that person is or what they are doing (Newt Gingrich's statue portrays him on a toilet, grimacing in pain while viewing a Thai pornographic magazine).
The largest statues in the garden rest near the entrance to his Threshold. They are the statues of his family, the Endless.
His path took him to these statues, and he looked up at the face of his brother, Dream.
Dream's statue showed a passive face, the look of someone satisfied with the results of their work.
Destiny opened his book and began reading, the words forming a clear picture of what has been done. And then he spoke:
"It begins, then. The child's path is correct, as are those of the mortals around him…"
Kozo Fuyutsuki dabbed at his forehead with a handkerchief. How Ikari managed to stay cool like this was beyond the Vice-Commander's comprehension.
They had spent the last three hours watching a coroner slice open Shinji's body, probing around for a reason for the boy's death. The Commander hadn't moved beyond looking at his watch from time to time, as if watching his deceased son being cut open were keeping him from an appointment.
Finally, it looked as though the doctor was finished and the man moved toward the door while his assistants began cleaning up. Gendo stood up, followed by Fuyutsuki, and met the coroner as he stepped out.
The doctor had removed his bloody gloves and tossed them into a disposal while still inside the examination room, he pulled down his mask and nodded to the Commander of NERV.
"Can it affect any of the other Children?"
"Commander Ikari, in all frankness, I have no idea what killed your son; his heart and lungs…"
"Can it affect any of the other Children?"
"Well…I don't believe so, but your…"
"Thank you, Doctor; you may go." And Gendo Ikari turned to the door and left.
Fuyutsuki looked after the Commander in amazement, shrugged helplessly to the equally shocked—and somewhat repulsed—doctor, and went after Gendo.
What are you doing?
I am going to speak to them.
Speak to them? What are you going to say? 'Sorry I killed a boy who saved the world time and again and who didn't deserve to die after all that's happened to him'?
Well…not in such words…
Ah, jeez…
I am new at this, my sister, I will admit that; but I must…
No! You just look after the kid; I'll go down there myself.
But, sister…
Dreeeeammm…
Haahhh…as you wish…
The wood coffin lay before Fuyutsuki's podium. He cleared his throat nervously as the gathering of NERV staff and Shinji's friends stared at him, waiting for his words. Gendo sat in a chair to the Vice-Commander's left.
"I did not know Shinji Ikari very well," he began, "During his time here, he served with great bravery. I…know that he suffered a great deal in his life. His mother lost, sent to live with his aunt and uncle by his father…"
Crap! Why did I say that?
"But nevertheless, he stayed with us and helped us defend humanity. And for that, we should be eternally grateful."
And they came up and spoke: Asuka, Rei, Touji, Kensuke, Hikari, and Misato; all of them invoking memories of a quiet teenage boy that befriended them. Three broke down in the middle of their written speeches, with Kensuke wiping away his tears with his necktie.
The funeral ended in the cemetery, with a black tombstone bearing the Third Child's name and the phrase "May he finally rest…" inscribed on it.
Many said their final goodbyes there and left, leaving Misato, Rei, Asuka, Touji, Kensuke, and Gendo.
"What now?" asked Asuka quietly.
"We find a new pilot for Unit-01," was Gendo's cold reply.
There was silence then, as they contemplated the grave in front of them. The Commander turned around and was about to leave when he heard soft footsteps approaching. Turning his head slightly, he caught the glare off a corner of a silver ankh.
The ankh hung from the neck of a young woman, advancing from the other side of the cemetery. Her black-colored lips were in the form of a small smile, despite the surroundings. Her skin was white as fresh snow. Her wild hair was black as the space between the stars at night. Her clothing was just as dark, with black leather pants tucked into cowboy boots, and a black jacket over a black tank-top; her nails were black as well. Most bizarre of her appearance was the black lining around her right eye that went into the shape of an ankh at its right end.
She waved slightly as she got closer, stepping into the area of the grave. The others looked at her strangely, coolly regarding this intruder who had walked into their grief.
She looked at the coffin waiting to be lowered into the ground and smiled.
"You mourn him. Good; they all appreciate that…"
Her voice was light and beautiful as she was. It was like there were a hundred other voices like hers, rising and falling as she spoke.
Misato was the first to speak, "I'm sorry; did you know Shinji?"
"Know him? Nah; but eventually I meet everybody,"
Misato blinked at this answer, confused at this statement. The woman looked towards Asuka and Rei.
"It's okay to cry for him, you know; there's no shame…"
Asuka frowned and mumbled something about not wanting to cry for some dork-king pervert. The woman simply laughed.
"Oh, I see…alright then.
"But sometime, you'll have to cry; it does no good trying to hold it in."
"How would you know?" snapped the Second Child.
"I know…"
And Asuka realized she did.
The woman turned to examine the coffin, talking on.
"Someone—I forget who, my brother probably knows—once said that Death is an absolute. Probably right, but to get there you have to live," the woman leveled her gaze at Misato, "Speaking of my brother, he once said something to his son, Orpheus, a long time ago." The woman scanned the group with her dark eyes and said,
"You should mourn, it is the mortal way; the right way. You bury the dead and move on.
"And at times," the woman looked at Asuka and Misato, "the horrible truth of his absence will hit you, like a blow to the chest. But this will happen less as time goes on.
"He is dead, you are alive.
"So live…"
The woman produced a black rose which she tossed into the grave and kissed the coffin lightly. She then looked up at Touji and smiled sadly. The woman walked up to the athlete and placed a white hand on his shoulder.
"Touji Suzuhara; I wouldn't see you hurt anymore and neither would my brother, so I'll tell you this: stay out of the third Eva."
"Huh? Whadda you mean?"
"Stay out of it; refuse to get in it. Don't worry, you'll have my guarantee you'll be fine,"
Light glared off of her ankh as she said this.
The woman turned and walked away.
"Well? What did she say?"
Touji turned around, still shocked, to regard Asuka.
"What? You were close enough, didn't you hear?"
"No, dumkoff', we couldn't hear anything. It was like trying to hear through water."
"…nothin'. Nothin' at all…"
Asuka huffed and looked toward where the woman was going, but the stranger was gone.
See? That's how it's done…
I see. Very impressive, my sister. Thank you.
Ah, no problem. How's your new servant?
Resting at this moment; sleeping quite peacefully.
Huh. Say, Dream?
Yes?
If your servants dream, where do they go when they do so?
That is for me to know and for you to find out, my sister…
Wha…Dream of the Endless, are you teasing me?!
Am I?
Why you, come here!
What are you…AHH!
NOOGIE TIME!!
*Hey, it's a new Dream…