Inescapable Grasp of Eva
Chapter VII Enter the 8th Child
Hey guys, glad you enjoyed the chapter. At least I know that it's starting to become a source of interest amongst some of you guys. Anyways, some people have been asking for fluff and a chapter of no battles, well here you go; I'm going to take a break from the battles, and simply write 'normally'.
TheLegendaryManHimself: Yeah, Yui did set Gendo straight, however, not completely, as you'll see as the story goes on. As for Fuyutsuki, you'll see him later; however it won't be for a while.
CrimsonGaze: Well I can't promise you a chapter of waff, at least for this one. But I'm considering doing a chapter, just pure Shinji and Rei. Maybe next chapter.
WebKnight: Yeah I suppose the dialogue was a bit over the top, but meh, it's my story, and he's the Lord of Terror. I know that gives you ideas, but sadly he's not the telepathic type. However I'll make sure that there are telepath Hellspawns later. Yes, I'm glad you enjoyed the lack of Sam in the battle. Considering what happened to him. And as for Asuka opening a can of whoop ass on him…that is left to be seen.
Naon Tiotami: You really need to stop freaking out. Sure I'm a die heart S/R fan but I still appreciate a good S/A story.
CG1 Temporal: Would you care to be a prereader?
JamesConrad01: I'm glad you enjoyed the battle. There is more to come. However if you expect violence in the next three, don't, however I'll try my best to make it descriptive.
Shinji laid there in bed as he quietly seethed in anger over the fact Rei was required to possibly pilot her Eva. He was angry that his father had ordered Rei possibly to her death, without caring what Rei's feelings were or even the possibility she was not strong enough to even move her Eva. His thoughts were soon disturbed by a huge commotion of various equipments being pulled out from a nearby room, along with the sound of people frantically trying to sort out the situation.
"I wonder what's going on?" he thought aloud. Soon the noise died when. His door soon after opens as Rei is wheeled in, wearing her blue bottoms and t-shirt, her hair still wet from a recent shower. Shinji noticed she was hanging her head in a shameful manner as if she had been punished. He felt his anger rise again wanting to know what his father did to make her sad. He waited until the nurse sat Rei down into the seat and left with the chair before he asked.
"Rei-chan, what's wrong? Did my fath…I mean, the Commander yell at you?" Rei looked up, revealing thin streams of tears, shimmering in the light as they continue down her face.
"He did not," she quietly responded, "However; I feel I was at fault for the battle that had just occurred."
"Rei-chan, what are you talking about?" now feeling confused.
"As you know, I was only to be deployed as backup. So I was on the catapult waiting when I was told to enter the battle. Before that, Jon and the Hellspawn, Spawn as it calls itself, engaged in one-on-one combat. When I was called, Jon had lost and was about to be slain." Her voice was nearly inaudible the whole time.
"What?" Shinji breathed out in disbelief, his eyes widened in shock and fear.
"Spawn imbedded his axe here, the bottom left section of his ribcage," showing Shinji the general of where the strike was made, "It nearly struck the S2 engine of his Eva. However, the damage was much more substantial than that. The attack had collapsed his left lung," Shinji's eyes widened even further, completely shock at the ferocity of the Hellspawns.
"Why didn't he run?" Shinji croaked out.
Rei shook her head, "He could not. Spawn had deployed an A.T. field around them, and he was too strong and too fast for him to get away. By the time I had joined, he had a major skull fracture, internal bleeding, head trauma, and massive wounds, all over his body from being thrown about and from a series of energy blasts. I believe his head injuries were severe, as when his head was struck the head armour shattered."
"Oh my god…" he quietly replied as the information sank in, "What happened next? In fact what the hell happened to Jon?"
She closed her eyes, shuddering as she forces herself to remember, "After I had retrieved the Lance of Longinus as I was ordered to, I surfaced to see Unit 05 was already down and Spawn was about to strike him down. I quickly threw the lance piercing the A.T. field," she shuddered yet again as she drew in quick breaths, "But the lance landed short of him." Her hands that had once been lying limp on the armrest quickly clenched into tight fists.
"I thought that I had failed him," starting to shudder violently as she battled to keep her emotions in check, "If his Eva did not go Berserker, he would've died. But…" he voice trailed off as she hugged herself in an attempt to control her shaking body.
"But what Rei-chan?" Shinji gently whispers, as he reaches out, resting the back of his hand on her knee. She stops shuddering as she opens her eyes and looks down upon the hand that rested upon her knee. She sniffs a few times, fighting back the tears as she picks up the hand, holding it tightly in hers as she prop her elbows on the edge of his bed, and starts crying, pressing her forehead into his fingers.
"He was still synced with his Eva," Rei sobbed, taking in sharp breaths in an attempt to control her tears, "He was injured even further due to speeds even he could not execute without hurting himself," she tightened her grip on his hand, "If I had thrown the lance with greater force I would have prevented injuries from occurring."
Shinji squeezed her hand in return as he replies, "Rei-chan, you were lucky to have been able to lift the lance. Remember, your energy was drained during the last battle. You couldn't have done much, especially in your condition."
"But I was-"
"No buts about it," Shinji stated firmly, surprising Rei, "You are not at your best. There was no way you could have helped Jon without hurting yourself," he then changes his expression as he smiles warmly at her, "Besides, I'd rather have your company over anyone else's anytime, Rei-chan."
Rei sniffed and wiped away the tears with the back of her hand, "Thank you, Shinji-kun."
"My pleasure Rei-chan," then tugging on Rei's clasped hands, "Now how about we resume what we were doing before the emergency okay?" Rei giggled slightly as she wiped away the residual tears. Shinji smiled broadly when he heard Rei giggle.
"You should laugh more often Rei. It suits you."
She leans in, so that their noses nearly touched, "I will aspire to do so, Shinji-kun." She tilted her head slightly as her lips met Shinji's.
They were immediately bathed by a warm felling as their lips met. They could feel each others breathing against their cheeks as they enjoyed the feel of one another's lips. Shinji released Rei's hands as he brought up his forearm as he gently caressed the smooth silky skin of her neck.
'Her lips are so smooth,' Shinji thought to himself as they kissed, 'I wish Rei was the first girl I kissed instead of Asuka.'
'This kiss is most enjoyable. I must do this more often with Shinji-kun.' They soon break the kiss and not a moment too soon as Misato storms in all teary eyed. She stumbles towards them, and stops short of the bed as she leans on the back of Rei's chair for support.
"Misato, what's wrong?" Shinji asks worriedly as he watches Sub Commander cry.
"It's Jon," she sobs wiping the tears with the sleeve of her shirt, "He's gone into a coma." Shinji and Rei gasp in shock.
"Ritsuko doesn't know what's wrong. She's repairing the damage, but he's in a coma. He slipped into it in mid-operation. She doesn't even know what happens…Oh god I can't believe this is happening." She falls onto her knees as she cries uncontrollably into her hand. Shinji and Rei could only watch helplessly as Misato continues to cry. Moments later Maya enters to see Misato on the floor crying.
"Misato," she cries out, as she rushes up to her, "Its okay, its okay, Jon's going to be fine, she's managed to get the internal bleeding controlled, and she's restored Jon's lung. You already know he's in a coma, but that's the best thing that could happen to him."
Misato looks up to Maya, "How?" shrieking out, "How can Jon fall into a state of unconsciousness constitute as a piece of good news!"
"The drugs to keep him unconscious were interfering with the operation. Because he was in a coma, we could continue the operation much quicker, and save his life, without being so cautious. He's already stabilized. He is going to be fine." Misato sniffs a few times before she cries into Maya's shoulder. She had only known Jon for a week and already they had a connection. And now just when he was starting to finally settle in, an Advocate has waltzed in and put Jon into a coma for who knows how long.
Maya looks up at the two sympathetically, "Sorry you guys had to find out like this."
"Ibuki-san, what about Asuka and Natasha? How are they?" Shinji inquired, barely able to lift his head.
Maya bit her lip, as she struggled between telling and not telling, "Sorry guys, but I don't think Misato would-"
"I have just completed regenerating my right arm," a Russian voice suddenly interjects. Everyone looks at the door to see Natasha, in her white plug suit, sporting a full arm.
"Regenerate?" Shinji breathes out in wonder, "Like how Toji regenerated his?" Natasha simply nods, "How did you lose your arm in the first place?" Natasha closes her eyes as her faced grimaced in pain, remembering the incident, as she subconsciously rubs her right arm.
She opens her eyes and looks at him, "After I struck down the Hellspawn with its own weapon, as you already know, it exploded. However, when it did, its axe also exploded in my Eva's hand. So I suffered the damaged dealt by the explosion. The explosion more or less destroyed my forearm. But, thanks to your good Doctor, and NERV, my arm is back and fully functional," smiling at as she stated her last sentence, then noticing Misato, "What happened to Misato?"
Shinji and Rei looked at one another before turning to face Natasha again, this time Rei speaking, "Jon-san has entered a coma."
"He what?" she asks, as she falters, leaning against the doorway for support.
"He has entered a coma during his operation," Rei repeated.
"How, and what happened?"
"I can answer that," a new voice suddenly replies. The pilots look into the hall to see Toji standing there, hands in his pockets, looking down shamefully.
"The Advocate fought him in one on one combat. Jon lost. He almost died, twice. Once when the thing slammed its axe into his side, deflating his lung, and nearly cracking the Eva's engine, second time was when he was down for the count. If his Eva didn't go Berserker, he would have been a goner. However, his Eva pulled moves that not even he could do without hurting himself. So, there you have it in a nutshell. Jon lost, his Eva hurt him further to defend him, and now, he's out for who knows how long."
"Until his Eva is back online," a female voice speaks from behind. Toji wheels around to see Ritsuko standing behind him.
"I had the MAJI run some tests on the Eva," she explains as she walks in, "And found that somehow, Jon and the Eva are completely synced together for the time being."
Misato growls as she gets up and grabs Misato by the collar of her shirt, "Just what the hell are you saying, Ritsuko? That Jon's stuck like that until this Eva is fixed?" Misato stared into Misato's face to see the hurt in her eyes.
She sympathesised, but knew she didn't know the kids well, but tried to speak in the most assuring voice as she quietly replies, "It appears to be that way."
"WHAT?" she shrieks, "ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT SO LONG AS HIS EVA IS NON-FUNCTIONAL, JON'S OUT FOR THE COUNT?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying," she firmly replies as she tries to pry Misato's hands off.
"THEN WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE? YOU SHOULD BE OVERSEEING THE REPAIRS OF UNIT 05, NOT HERE CHIT CHATTING WITH US!"
"Sub Commander, stand down," a voice growled. Everyone looked to the door for the umpteenth time to see Gendo standing there, looking rather solemn, "You cannot rush the repairs, or the healing. Jon has some issues to resolve with his mother."
"What are you talking about sir?" Misato whispers out, releasing Ritsuko as her arms hung limp.
"I am saying that Jon and his mother were not on the best of terms when she died. Or rather, became the soul for Unit 05. Even if Jon and Unit 05 are to be fully restored, it is up to him and his mother, to decide when Jon will wake up and pilot again. Until that time, we can only ensure Jon's body is fully healed and that his Unit is combat ready. Because I assure you, the moment Jon awakes, he's going to have a new found sense of duty."
"That actually makes sense," Ritsuko states, "It's a similar fashion when Shinji first hit the 400 sync ratio. He merged with his Eva, and if I'm correct, it was his Eva and him who chose the leave. So same concept I'm betting in this. We just have to wait it out until Jon's ready to wake up."
"So that leaves us with one available pilot," Misato says aloud, "Natasha is fine, but her Eva is still being repaired, Rei won't be ready for at least a week, Sam might not be able to with his wrist, and Asuka's still recovering from her burns, and all and-" she gasps as she realised what she had just said.
"Asuka got burned? How bad?" Shinji cries out from his bed.
"I shouldn't have said anything," Misato sobs, "Oh god, I shouldn't have said anything." She suddenly runs out of the room, with Maya and Ritsuko hot on her trail.
Shinji turns to his father, "Father, what the hell happened to Asuka."
Gendo lets out a heavy sigh, "I suppose you have a right to know. As you know, when a Hellspawn is slain, it explodes. Unfortunately for Unit 02 and Asuka, the one she fought exploded in front of her. The explosion burned her severely. I will not tell you the extent, but if I was to wake her up, while she's still healing, all of NERV would resonate in her painful scream. That is how bad it is."
"God my god," Shinji breathes out in shock. Rei could only sit there, while Toji and Natasha stood rooted to their spots, dumbstruck by the extent of her injuries. It made Shinji's injury sound minor in comparison. Rei had a feeling, but she could not confirm, as she was not allowed inside Asuka's room.
Gendo turns to go, "You will be released on Monday. I have arranged that both of you are released. So for the next 3 days you need to rest, as you will need your strength. You're going to be enduring pain during the movement as they get you back. However, during this time, you may notice that you are regaining mobility in your other limbs. I will say this right now, DO NOT; move anything except your arm, and your head. Is that understood?" Shinji nods this head, "Good. If your mother were in her body, she would have my head for putting you into that mess. Do not be surprised if Unit 01 is overprotective of you the next time you sit in the plug." He nods his head and walks down the hall, leaving the four pilots alone with one another.
"Did my father just make a joke?" Shinji asks dumbly.
"I do not believe so, seeing as your father was in command of the mission, and if she was alive, she would do what any mother would do. Protect their child from harm," Rei quietly replies. Shinji smiles wryly as he thinks how Asuka is somehow suffering while Jon is in a bed, unconscious for god knows how long.
"Hey Shinji, I'm heading out. See you in a few days, ya hear?" Toji states as he turns to go.
"Sure, I'll be in a chair hopefully by Monday," Shinji replies, smiling at his friend. Toji nods and leaves.
"I shall be going as well. I need to shower," Natasha states as she takes a sniff of herself, "Good lord, I smell a lot worse than I had expected. Good day, and get well." She leaves as well.
Shinji was about to settle in for some sleep when he hears a snide remark, "So, you two Japs are couples eh?" Shinji and Rei look to the door to see Sam standing there, his hair undone, leaning against the door, his arms crossed, as he stares at them smugly.
"What do you want, Pilot Jackson," Rei replies from her seat.
"Oh nothing really, except that I'm enjoying the fact that you two are the weak pile of shit that you Japs are," he rudely replies with a wide smirk on his face, "I swear, if I knew I was going to be surrounded by you Japs, I would have turned down the chance to pilot Eva. Nothing's worth working around this crap. And what's with the Nazi in the tube? At least she got what she deserves."
"Explain yourself," Rei snapped out.
"Oh you didn't know?" he asks, raising his eyebrows.
"We were not told in detail."
"Oh, ho, ho," he laughs out, "I'm going to enjoy this."
"What do you mean?" Shinji asks, raising his head.
"The Nazi is in an LCL tube, covered, and I mean covered from head to toe, somehow her most tender area survived but-"
"Quit stalling and tell us!" Shinji yells out before his head fell back onto the pillow.
He walks up to Shinji's bed, places his fists on either side of Shinji's pillow as he looms dangerously close to him, with an evil grin on his face, "She's covered, in," he chuckles for a moment, then emphasizing the next few words, "Third, degree, burns." He starts to laugh as he sees the look of horror on their faces.
"At least crashing here has some perks. At least I can see you Japs freak out as you watch your, 'friends' get hurt. That's the difference between us White Americans, to all other part Americans and the rest of the world. We only never allow ourselves into situations where we can get badly hurt, or even killed. You are nothing to me, so stay out of my way. And now with Jon in a coma and Natasha useless until her Eva's fixed, I can do what I want in battle. See you guys around." He walks out laughing.
"Asuka, in 3rd degree burns," Shinji weakly croaks out in completely shock, "That's…that's just horrible…"
"Asuka-san needs to be in a tube of LCL to live? Are the Hellspawns that powerful?" Rei whispers.
"Asuka," Shinji breathes out as he looks up to the familiar white ceiling, as he felt hot tears stream down his face. It was a really bad day for the Evangelion pilots.
"AHHHHH! OH MY GOD!" Shinji yells at the top of his lungs as the nurses try to sit him down on a wheelchair, but to of no avail. Every movement always resulted in a wave of pain for Shinji. Misato began to worry that Shinji would be stuck longer, but hated the idea as she knew Rei would stay by his side.
She knew they were getting involved, but she knew it was unhealthy for Rei to stay here and do nothing else. She also noticed that Rei was starting to lose weight, and that was a sure sign she was not eating, or not eating properly. She had to somehow get Shinji out of the hospital and into the wheelchair, without him screaming and squirming as they tried to lift him up. However, because of the extent of his injuries, any movement would cause him pain.
"How the hell are we going to get Shinji out of here," she says aloud.
"I can help you with that," a female voices states from behind Misato. She wheels around to see a Chinese girl, with shoulder length hair tied up into a pony tail, wearing a green t-shirt and jeans, standing behind her.
"And you would be?" she asks suspiciously as she raises an eyebrow.
"I am Jane Tao, 8th Child, pilot of Unit 07," she replies politely.
"Oh. You're early. You're not due until the end of the month," her voice ringing with surprise.
"Yeah I was, but my transfer orders were changed after Unit 05 was damaged," she replies.
"Well anyways, I'm Sub Commander Katsuragi, but please, call me Misato. Anyways, you said that you can help us with this situation."
Jane nods, "Yes I can," she approaches Shinji and looks to the nurses, "Please flip him on his back."
"What!" he yells in surprise.
"Trust me, you will only feel the pain of being flipped," Jane replies, "And be glad I am helping you, because I normally do not help people I do not know." Shinji nods as the nurse carefully flip him over, only resulting in a few moans of pain. Jane looms over the bed, and places her right hand and gently rubs against his back.
Rei however eyes her suspiciously, "Pilot Tao, what are you doing?"
"I need to know if he has any injuries on his back," she soon removes her hand, "At least his back isn't injured. Now, what I am going to do is a bit of acupuncture. I am going to numb you from the neck down, alright?" Shinji nods. Jane then gets on the bed and straddles Shinji. Rei continues to eye her suspiciously, as she suddenly feels an urge to shove her right off.
'Why do I feel this anger towards her? She has done nothing offensive to me. Is this jealousy? I must ask someone of this matter later.' Jane then opens her hands and holds them in a karate chop fashion, her middle fingers pointing towards his back. She takes a moment to breathe before slamming middle fingers along certain points on his back. As she does so, Shinji braces himself for pain, clenching his eyes shut. However from the moment her first contact, he notices that he cannot feel the stinging pain or the weight around his waist.
"What just happened?" he asks Rei.
"What do you mean?" Rei replies, raising her eyebrows.
"Did she actually numb me from the neck down? I can't feel anything besides my head."
"Good," Jane states as she jumps off, "Get him on the chair now. The numbing is only temporary." Sure enough moments after the nurses sit him down, he starts groaning in pain as he wraps his left arm around his abdomen. Rei instinctively stands next to Shinji as she lowers herself to his level.
"Shinji-kun, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Rei-chan," he painfully replies.
"No you're not, Shinji, and you are NOT to do anything except rest, GOT IT?" Misato states as she shoves her face in front of Shinji.
"Got it, Misato-san," he nervously replies.
Misato smiles brightly, "Good. Rei, take him home. If you want to walk back, fine with me, but there is a Section 2 officer waiting to drive you if need be."
"Thank you, Sub Commander," she starts to walk out, pushing Shinji along, and stops next to Jane, "Good day, Pilot Tao."
"Good day yourself, Rei was it?" Jane politely responds.
"That is correct, however I would prefer it if you call me, Ayanami." Jane politely nods as Rei walks out.
"So with that done, what are we going to do about your living arrangements?" Misato states as she approaches Jane.
"There is no need Sub Commander," Jane calmly replies as she turns to go, "I shall be living in assigned quarters until my house is constructed."
"Constructed? House?" raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I've already discussed it with the Commander, and he approves. I'll be living on the outskirts of town once my cabin's been built."
"But why don't you want to live in the city, and close to NERV?" eyeing the new girl suspiciously.
Jane however shrugs, "I just prefer it to live on my own. I'll get picked up when I'm needed to pilot, and I prefer living in the country side. I lived that way back in China, so I prefer to continue that lifestyle. Is there anything else you need me to do, ma'am?" Misato shakes her head. Jane walks down the hall and takes a left.
Misato on the other hand dumbly scratches her head, "Great, we've got a KGB, a military boy, a slanderous racists and a country girl added to our team, which already consists of, an ex-self-loathing, now back boned and caring son of the boss, a quiet nearly emotionless girl, a proud and somewhat snobby university grad and a local jock who happens to care for his sis," she smiles, "People may find it weird, but I'm sure this is going to be a great family of pilots. Save for Sam that is. Man, what's his problem." Misato laughs as she leaves the room.
And that concludes the latest chapter. As for the next chapter, most likely, a pure moment between the two as they get home, and spend a few days together. To those who like Jon, don't worry, he's not out. I'll wake him up in couple of chapters. And boy it will be an explosive one. And sorry, but I had to put Sam in there. He's the asshole, so I need him to start playing the role. Well anyways, that's all from me.
Cheers Ja ne